The Fate of the Young Dragon: The Downfall of Young Griff

If you have read any of my posts about him (Young Griff) and the Golden Company, I am a huge fan. That said, I do think the evidence points to everything going perfect for him and people seeing him as a "savior" like the Young Wolf or the Young Dragon. That said I also fully expect him to die. In this post I wanted to explore just how that could end up happening.

Background

Young Griff (who may or may not be legit) is invading Westeros at the head of the Golden Company. I fully expect them to take Storm's End (through "guile") as the realm bows before him:

Doubt, division, and mistrust will eat the very ground beneath your boy king, whilst Aegon raises his banner above Storm's End and the lords of the realm gather round him." -ADWD, The Epilogue

after he takes King's Landing and is crowned as Aegon VI Targaryen he will likely immediately be facing numerous potential places of opposition in the early portions of his brief, bloody reign (similar to the Young Dragon):

A youth of rare brilliance and forcefulness, Daeron at first met resistance from his uncle, his councillors, and many great lords when he first proposed to "complete the Conquest" by bringing Dorne into the realm at last. His lords reminded him that, unlike the Conqueror and his sisters, he had no more dragons fit for war. To this Daeron famously responded: "You have a dragon. He stands before you." -TWOIAF, The Targaryen Kings: Daeron I

and:

And then Prince Aegon spoke. "Then put your hopes on me," he said. "Daenerys is Prince Rhaegar's sister, but I am Rhaegar's son. I am the only dragon that you need." -ADWD, The Lost Lord

and:

“And dragons? How many dragons do you have?”“One.”“By which you mean the boy.”“Prince Aegon is a man grown, princess.” -TWOW, Arianne II

Potential Fates/Parallels

As Aegon sits the Iron Throne, there will be numerous threats, facing his reign. It should be noted that some of these threats overlap as it could be multiple factors. That said I think it would be pretty cool if he stayed undefeated until his downfall. I posted the other day about the different potential brides for Young Griff, any one of which obviously would affect the below.

The Dance of the Dragons II

The most often discussed. The Dance of the Dragons II could happen in so many ways, but it should be noted that GRRM did say that it did not necessarily have to mean Dany's invasion. With that in mind we could see a situation where Young Griff dies fighting Euron, or after betraying Dany.

I feel like Aerys II when I say that I love Young Griff, but damn I want to see him burn (even better if he is riding a dragon).

The War of the Three Queens

While the War of the Three Queens could end up being the same conflict as the second Dance, etc. I just wanted to mention it as a possibility.

The Young Wolf

As I mentioned above, he could end up undefeated in the field before his final encounter (w/dragonflame, etc.), hell it could even happen at a wedding (there are going to be a few of them in TWOW according to GRRM):

We have more deaths, and we have more betrayals. We have more marriages. EW Interview, TWOW Tease: 26 June 2014

But similar to Robb, a woman could be his downfall.

The Young Dragon

The Young Dragon was assassinated in Dorne (along with several members of the Kingsguard) under a peace banner. As I mentioned above Young Griff's invasion and the Young Dragon are quite similar.

Its possible he is assassinated (Sand Snakes, etc.) if say he were to marry Arianne but then leave her for Dany, etc.

Euron

If Euron doesn't somehow acquire a dragon (dragonhorn) or summons something else entirely in his ritual sacrifice (my bet is still krakens but who knows), then I don't think we can consider this the second Dance.

I do expect Euron (and potentially his "mate") to be the primary antagonist in the south in late TWoW.

The Battle for the Dawn

The dragon has three heads. That said I really don't think he lasts this long/or even ever makes it north of the Riverlands. But it is possible he dies fighting against the Others.

TLDR: A list of potential fates for the brief and bloody reign of Young Griff aka Aegon VI.