This illustrated family tree will finally help you make sense of the complicated Targaryen family

Let’s be real for a second, Game of Thrones fans. The only thing more fascinating than a complicated yet totally plausible fan theory is the lineage of the powerful (now fallen but may rise again) House Targaryen.

Love or hate them (though, TBH, Daenerys is easy to love), the Targaryens legacy have had a huge and lasting impact on the world of Westeros. They were the ruling house of the Seven Kingdoms for three centuries, and often married each other to keep their bloodline “pure” and their power in the family. Oh, and they like were like BFFs with dragons and would ride on their backs into battle.

Their history is colorful and complicated (like so many other parts of George R.R. Martin’s A Story of Ice and Fire series). And in order to better appreciate (and visualize) their family history, freelance animator and artist Maryon B. created a stunning and comprehensive Targaryen family tree.

House Targaryen complete Family Tree by poly-m on DeviantArt

Way down at the bottom right you can see the Mother of Dragons and (supposedly…) the only surviving Targaryen. Above and next to her are the faces (and sometimes descriptions) of her family members who ruled for ages.

The artist jokes about her creation in her post saying, “I DON’T EVEN LIKE HOUSE TARGARYEN WHY DID I DO THIS.” But the crazy thing about Targaryens is that you don’t have to like them to respect them. And she obviously showed some mad respect to this once Great House of Westeros by spending so much incredible time and energy on this incredible work of art. She even has sections of it broken down and zoomed in so you can even better appreciate the look and feel of every character she’s brought to life.

People are (understandably) requesting that she do one of these for every major house because they’re intricate and so engrossing to study. And while that would be absolutely amazing (if she even has time for it), I think it’s fair to say that we need a find out a few mysterious lineage theories before anything can be set in stone (or even to paper).