really think that everyone underestimates the effect of Varys' whispers on a psychology like Aerys'.
Which had a bit of innate madness to him from the get-go, of course.
I mean, look at his fingernails. Serious mental problems. ,
But on top of that....
- Extreme pressure of the job and feeling of inadequacy compared to his great forebears(not all of them were great, but some were.).
- Jealousy of Tywin's competence; fear of his power.
- Practically unlimited power; no one to tell him no.
- Angered Tywin off by naming Jaime to the King's Guard (and possibly raping Tywin's wife) which increased his fear of Tywin.
- Targaryen habit of thinking that they are better gods, causing him to piss off a lot of high lords
- Defiance of Duskendale totally sent him off the deep end
- Various tragedies of his life.
- Jealousy of son's enormous popularity
- The alliance between Stormlands, Riverlands, The North and the Vale of Arryn creating a new hierarchy of de facto power.
- Varys whispering in his ear for years about all these things to make him more and more paranoid.
- Each event leading up to the Rebellion seeming to confirm his paranoid fears.
Put all these things together and you've got a recipe for a very unstable realm, which was Varys' goal (assuming that the popular theory that Aegon VI is a Blackfyre is true.).
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