I agree if it weren’t for that Jon would make more sense. But Gendry? Nobody would go for him. Bran might not be personally well known to all but the Starks are, and they are free to jazz up his story however they want to make him exciting.
And I like Tyrion’s attempt to set up a succession process that isn’t about genetics. After Jaffrey I think everyone would agree automatically going to the son is a bad idea.
Gendry kinda is the legal choice though. Granted it was Dany who legitimised him, but he seems to still be Lord of Storms End.
Going with a succession process that isn’t based on genetics is very problematic. Peasants and royalty alike tended to celebrate when Kings produced male heirs because it generally meant stability. When nobody knows who the next king will be, you get lots of rival factions gunning to put their man on the throne. This produces a lot of political instability, which is bad for everyone. Again, the main cause of the War of Five Kings was that there wasn’t a clear successor.
The new rule should simply be to go by genetics but maybe give the incest a rest.
EDIT:
Robert was hardly well loved, he was known as a drunk.
Robert was incredibly well loved. His main strength throughout the rebellion was an ability to make people like him, and he put on a ridiculous number of tournaments with big prizes once he took the throne. His main weakness was that he wasn’t raised to be king, so he had no notion of what to do and didn’t bother teaching his own son.
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