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Were Daenerys and Jon the last Targaryen on Game of Thrones? Just how many are left now? That’s a question many viewers are asking as the series finale airs and the iconic television series comes to a close. This post has MAJOR spoilers for Season 8 Episode 6, the finale.
The answer is a bit complicated.
On the show, Daenerys appears to be the last Targaryen aside from Jon Snow, mostly because many storylines were dropped from the books. Daenerys often talked about not having family and being the last one with a legitimate claim to the throne. Her father the Mad King Aerys was killed by Jaime.
Her older brother Rhaegar (and Jon Snow’s father) was killed in “Robert’s Rebellion,” during a battle called the Battle of the Trident by Robert Baratheon. Robert was king and sat on the Iron Throne when Game of Thrones first began, and he and Ned Stark were close friends. Robert is also the father of fan favorite Gendry.
Robert killed Rhaegar with a single blow from his warhammer. Rhaegar was wearing armor encrusted with rubies, and the rubies were scattered under the water. Book readers have theorized that Rhaegar wasn’t really killed, but someone glamoured to look like Rhaegar. This is because Rhaegar was wearing rubies, and we all know that Melisandre used a ruby necklace to glamour her appearance. But this theory was never addressed in the TV show. So that’s one Targaryen that might still be alive (at least in the books.)
Daenery’s other brother, Viserys, was killed by Khal Drogo in an earlier season. He was threatening Daenerys at the time.
Daenerys’ mother is also dead (she died giving birth to Dany), as are Rhaeger’s two children with Elia Martell. Those children were killed by the Mountain. (Interestingly, in the books there is a plotline where one of those children might have secretly survived. It’s not known if this is the case or not, but Daenerys could have another sibling alive in the books.)
Aemon Targaryen, uncle of Aerys II, was a maester who served at Castle Black until he died at the age of 104, after renouncing his claim to the Iron Throne.
The Targaryens are actually offshoots of the Valyrians, who were all killed during the mysterious Doom of Valyria. Because the Targaryens were living on Dragonstone at the time, they were spared.
In the books, there is also another offshoot of Targaryens known as the Blackfyres. The house was founded by Daemon Blackfyre, according to the Game of Thrones wiki, who was legitimized when King Aegon IV legitimized all his bastard sons on his deathbed. In the TV show they were actually listed among the noble houses in The Lineage and Histories of the Great Houses of the Seven Kingdoms, but that’s the only mention they have.
In the books, the House is extinct by the time the series takes place. They repeatedly tried to overthrow the Tagaryens. The last male member of House Blackfyre was killed by a young Ser Barristan Selmy.
Interestingly, the Golden Company was founded by Blackfyre supporters, according to the wiki.
And now, with Dany dead, Jon is the last known Targaryen. But since he has to take the Black, he won’t be able to continue the Targaryen lineage.
In summary, as far as we know, Daenerys and Jon Snow were the last of the Targaryens. But there is a possibility that there are more out there in the world, largely unknown or perhaps once part of the Blackfyres.