Over the centuries, House Targaryen has produced both great men and monsters.
Prince Daemon was both.
In his day there was not a man so admired, so beloved, and so reviled in all Westeros.
He was made of light and darkness in equal parts.
To some he was a hero, to others the blackest of villains.
Those are three of the first five sentences of a novella about Daemon called “The Rogue
Prince,” so George R.R.
Martin presumably chose those words carefully.
A redditor named Zehahahaah posted that on Reddit so as to start a conversation, asking
who else is both loved and hated?
Immediately, one person came to mind.
I will get to that person, but first, let’s talk about two other people.
The redditor named zehahahaah mentioned Jamie Lannister, claiming that he was hated by many,
but also very admired in the Westerlands.
Let’s break that down.
According to Tyrion, Jaime was the type of man whom other men liked to follow.
Men would even die for Jaime if need be.
So that backs up the OP.
When he was a prisoner, Jaime told Catelyn how he thought it passing odd that he was
loved by one for a kindness he hadn’t done, and reviled by so many for his finest act.
Jaime was hated by some such as Lord Eddard for killing the Mad King, and in terms of
the lie that he was loved for, check out the link above.
So, Jaime is a good answer, but I don’t think he is the best answer.
An argument could be made that Ser Duncan the Tall is both loved and hated.
On the one hand, Dunk is an awesome human, and most people who meet him see that.
However, there’s always at least one guy in every town who hates Dunk often due to
envy.
An even stronger argument for Dunk being both loved and hated by the masses is that he proved
himself a selfless hero many times over, but Baelor Breakspear died fighting for Dunk at
his Trial of Seven.
As a reminder, Baelor Breakspear was the heart of chivalry and the soul of wisdom.
He served his father most ably as Hand, and few could doubt that Baelor Breakspear would
be a great king.
And then he died.
For Dunk.
Since Baelor was so beloved, some people hated Dunk, blaming him for Baelor’s death.
Afterwards, Dunk traveled around the realm with a young prince named Egg.
Eventually, Egg would become known as King Aegon the Fifth or King Aegon the Unlikely
since he was the fourth son of a fourth son.
Dunk became the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, and he ended a rebellion by defeating Ser
Lyonel Baratheon in single combat.
He was also a hero at an event known as the Tragedy of Summerhall.
So, Dunk is an interesting answer for this topic, but I don’t think he is the best
answer.
Before we get to that, let’s do two quick shout outs.
Jon Snow was both loved and hated by the Night’s Watch, primarily due to the fact that he let
the Free Folk pass through the wall.
Meanwhile, Daenerys Stormborn became a breaker of chains, and as a result, she was revered
by many, but hated by many as well.
Those two certainly fit the bill.
Even Rhaegar himself fits the bill.
But I still believe there is an even better answer.
Who is the most loved and hated character in this story?
Daemon Waters also known as Daemon Blackfyre.
Daemon was born in 170 AC, which is around 40 years after the Dance of the Dragons.
Daemon’s mother was Daena the Defiant, and his father was her cousin, King Aegon IV.
But here’s the problem.
They were not married, so Daemon was a bastard.
That is why his original name was Daemon Waters.
Supposedly, Daemon had been the wonder and the terror of his age, and in later days that
was seen as a warning of what the boy would become.
Daemon was raised at the Red Keep and was given the instruction of the wisest maesters
and the best masters-at-arms at court, including Ser Quentyn Ball, the fiery knight called
Fireball.
Daemon loved nothing better than deeds of arms and excelled at them, and many saw in
him a warrior who would one day be another Dragonknight.
King Aegon knighted Daemon in his twelfth year when he won a squire’s tourney (thereby
making him the youngest knight ever made in the time of the Targaryens, surpassing Maegor
the First).
King Aegon also shocked his court, king and council by bestowing upon Daemon the sword
of Aegon the Conqueror, Blackfyre, as well as lands and other honors.
Daemon took the name Daemon Blackfyre thereafter.
Before King Aegon the Fourth died, he set out his will.
And in it, he left the bitterest poison the realm ever knew: he legitimized all of his
natural children, from the most baseborn to the Great Bastards who were the sons and daughters
born to him by women of noble birth.
Scores of his natural children had never been acknowledged, so Aegon’s dying declaration
meant naught to them.
But, for his acknowledged bastards, it meant a great deal.
And for the realm, it meant blood and fire for five generations.
When King Aegon the Fourth died, his son Daeron was raised to king.
King Daeron the Second Targaryen.
Unfortunately, his half-brother Daemon Blackfyre declared war.
The First Blackfyre Rebellion.
Daemon Blackfyre created a new sigil.
Instead of the standard red dragon on a black field, Daemon reversed the colors to a black
dragon on a red field, earning him the nickname, the black dragon.
Some people, such as his half-brother, Bloodraven, hated Daemon Blackfyre, but another one of
his half-brothers, Bittersteel, was a loyal ally.
The same goes for the realm.
Half of the realm was for the red dragon, and half was for the black.
The rebellion ended at the Redgrass Field, nigh on a year later.
Daemon and his eldest sons, Aegon and Aemon, were brought down beneath the withering fall
of arrows sent by Bloodraven and his private guards, the Raven’s Teeth.
In the aftermath, King Daeron showed a sternness that few expected.
Many lords and knights who had supported the Black Dragon had lands and seats and privileges
stripped from them and were forced to give over hostages.
And here’s where it gets interesting.
Despite losing loved ones, land, and riches, many people continued to revere Daemon.
In fact, there were four more Blackfyre rebellions.
Between the First and the Second Blackfyre Rebellions, Dunk and Egg served a man named
Ser Eustace Osgrey who had sided with Daemon Blackfyre during the First Rebellion.
All three of Eustace’s sons died on the Redgrass field.
Then, he had lands taken from him.
His daughter was also taken to king’s landing as a hostage, and his wife was so broken by
their losses that she killed herself.
Yet, despite all that, Eustace was steadfast in his belief that Daemon Blackfyre should
have been king.
When Egg pointed out that King Daeron the Second was a good man and asked Ser Eustace
why he had chosen to fight for Daemon Blackfyre, Ser Eustace’s response was very telling.
“Daeron …” Ser Eustace almost slurred the word, and Dunk realized he was half-drunk.
“Daeron was spindly and round of shoulder, with a little belly that wobbled when he walked.
Daemon stood straight and proud, and his stomach was flat and hard as an oaken shield.
And he could fight.
With axe or lance or flail, he was as good as any knight I ever saw, but with the sword
he was the Warrior himself.
When Prince Daemon had Blackfyre in his hand, there was not a man to equal him … not Ulrick
Dayne with Dawn, no, nor even the Dragonknight with Dark Sister.”
“You can know a man by his friends, Egg.
Daeron surrounded himself with maesters, septons, and singers.
Always there were women whispering in his ear, and his court was full of Dornishmen.
How not, when he had taken a Dornishwoman into his bed and sold his own sweet sister
to the Prince of Dorne, though it was Daemon that she loved.
Daeron bore the same name as the Young Dragon, but when his Dornish wife gave him a son he
named the child Baelor, after the feeblest king who ever sat the Iron Throne.”
“Daemon, though … Daemon was no more pious than a king need be, and all the great knights
of the realm gathered to him.
It would suit Lord Bloodraven if their names were all forgotten, so he has forbidden us
to sing of them, but I remember.
Robb Reyne, Gareth the Grey, Ser Aubrey Ambrose, Lord Gormon Peake, Black Byren Flowers, Redtusk,
Fireball ... Bittersteel!
I ask you, has there ever been such a noble company, such a roll of heroes?”
“Why, lad?
You ask me?
Because Daemon was the better man.”