This is a late review for the Game of Thrones prequel series, House of the Dragon. We have had other articles in the pipeline. So it is only now that we’ve gotten a chance to review the entire season. We want to go over something significant: sexism against the Queens in the fantastical world of George RR Martin.
We will NOT be incorporating the books into this review as we haven’t read them. Though, we will include minor comparisons for certain characters. Since we’re talking about HotD and not GoT, don’t expect Cersei Lannister or Daenerys Targaryen to play prominent roles. Let’s not forget that we’ve already spoken about comparing Matt Smith’s character, Daemon Targaryen and the real-life Prince Harry. There have also been parallels between Westeros and the British Royals.
So, let’s jump into our review, beginning with Rhaenys.
Rhaenys Gets Passed Over For Viserys
Before Rhaenyra, there was her father’s cousin, Rhaenys Targaryen. As King Jaehaerys was dying, he needed to choose his successor. His sons were dead, and he had two grandchildren that carried the Targaryen name. The eldest was Princess Rhaenys, while the second was Prince Viserys.
Rhaenys had the most substantial claim to the Iron Throne, but there was one hiccup. She is female. No Queen had ever sat on the Iron throne. Instead, Viserys was chosen purely because of his sex. The princess would become known as ‘The Queen Who Never Was’ as she had more rights than her cousin.
While Rhaenys understood that the Targaryen’s claim to the throne had to be male, part of her remained bitter. However, she never held this against Viserys as they remained on good terms.
Aemma’s Demise
A big part of House of the Dragon is the constant need for male heirs. Queen Aemma Arryn, King Viserys’ first wife, was constantly pregnant and lost multiple children. The only successful pregnancy was with her daughter, Rhaenyra Targaryen.
Aemma understands her role as Queens during her time, and those that preceded and succeeded her are meant only for child-rearing. She even voices this to Rhaenyra before her grisly demise. In time, her daughter will also fulfil the same role as paralleled when the series transitions between actors from episodes 5 and 6 due to a decade time jump.
In episode 6, the first time we see adult Rhaenyra (portrayed onwards by Emma D’arcy), she is giving birth to her third child, her third son Joffrey. This scene mirrors Aemma’s death, where Viserys is forced to choose between his wife’s life and their unborn child. However, the difference here is that the Realm’s Delight has survived two births already and will do the same for the third.
Viserys having to choose between Aemma and the baby was not one he made lightly. However, he understood the importance of the child, hoping and praying it would be his long-awaited son, whom he would place on the Iron Throne, wearing Aegon the Conqueror’s crown. Little did he realise that child would die within the day, like all the others.
Rhaenyra’s Accession
After Aemma’s death and that of their infant son, Viserys decides that he knew it would cause controversy; he would name Rhaenyra as his heir. While a lot of houses were supportive and backed her claim, a lot weren’t. Some later transferred their allegiance to support Aegon II’s claim to the throne.
Westeros did not like the idea of a woman in power, which is why they were privy to having all kings. Rhaenyra had she not been displaced by her half-brother, would’ve been the first woman to rule from the Iron Throne. It would’ve symbolised a sign of change. However, because Otto Hightower was power-hungry, he couldn’t allow a woman to rule. He had his daughter, Alicent Hightower, seduce Viserys, marry him, and have his four children, putting Rhaenyra’s claim in question.
After she loses her sixth pregnancy, Rhaenyra becomes hardened, and when she speaks to Daemon about the Song of Ice and Fire, he grabs her by the throat. Now, she realises how dangerous he is when he doesn’t know something, such as Viserys never seeing him as his heir.
Alicent: Best Friend To Stepmother To Upsurper’s Mother
In just over 25 years, Rhaenyra and Alicent’s relationship goes from close sisterhood to enemies. The two women start out as childhood friends but slowly become enemies as Alicent marries Viserys, becoming Queen Consort after being told to seduce the king on her father’s orders.
Alicent is unwilling but goes along with her father’s plotting so that she can get attention from him. Otto had no time for her as she was a girl. The attention mostly fell on her brothers. As time goes on, the Queen Consort starts turning against Rhaenyra when a rumour is spread throughout King’s Landing that she had unmarried relations with her uncle, Daemon, after being seen at a brothel.
However, it goes back much further when Alicent wed Viserys and gave him a son, Aegon, whom people wanted as the heir. She later provides the king with three more children; Helaena, Aemond and the unseen Daeron. Alicent morphs into a woman that Rhaenyra doesn’t recognise.
Thanks to Otto’s moulding, Alicent becomes paranoid that if Rhaenyra takes the throne, she will have Aegon and his siblings put to the sword. She also becomes heavy-handed with Aegon when she grabs him by the face when he tells her he doesn’t want to be king.
Helaena Gets Ignored
The final of our House of the Dragon Queens is Helaena, the sister-wife of Aegon II. Unlike the rest of the greens, Helaena keeps to herself and is found to be a little strange due to her love of insects. She also talks in riddles, which are thought to be dragon dreams.
While there isn’t a ton to talk about with Helaena, we do know that Aegon ignores her most of the time unless she gives him what he wants.
Final Thoughts
The first Season of House of the Dragon has been enjoyable to see how they deal with the women in Westeros 200 years before the birth of Daenerys Targaryen. Unfortunately, it appears that men during this period don’t treat the opposite any better than they do in the future—props to the actors who bring these extraordinary ladies to life.
