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Is Rhaenyra’s victory inevitable? House of the Dragon boss teases a dangerous path ahead for her

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Is Rhaenyra's victory inevitable? House of the Dragon boss teases a dangerous path ahead for her

As a seasoned fan with a rich tapestry of Game of Thrones and A Song of Ice and Fire lore sewn into my soul, I must confess that the second season finale of House of the Dragon left me feeling both awed and apprehensive. Rhaenyra’s ascension to power is undeniably thrilling, yet her transformation into a potential messiah worries me.

The second season of House of the Dragon ends with Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen ascendent. She has a new dragon air force staffed with Targaryen bastards, her enemy Aemond Targaryen is running scarred, her estranged husband Daemon recommitted himself (and his army) to her, and even her best frenemy Alicent Hightower agreed to help her take over the city of King’s Landing, even though Alicent is the mother of King Aegon Targaryen, Rhaenyra’s main rival for the Iron Throne. Alicent even said she’d be okay with Rhaenyra executing Aegon if it means the realm could be at peace!

In simpler terms, I must admit that the series felt overtly biased during the Dance of the Dragons conflict. It appears that the show favors Rhaenyra as a potential ruler due to the Ice and Fire prophecy, hinting at her role in saving humanity from an impending dark age (referenced in Game of Thrones as the White Walker invasion). The series seems to be implying that she might indeed be the chosen one, which I found quite evident when Daemon saw a vision of Rhaenyra sitting on the Iron Throne surrounded by divine light. This isn’t exactly understated.

This concerns me because I think Rhaenyra is a more interesting character if she’s a conflicted and flawed human being rather than a literal messiah. But maybe she can be both? Speaking to reporters, showrunner Ryan Condal hinted that belief in Rhaenyra’s great destiny may be more of a hindrance than a help, saying that the team is “very interested” in “the idea of how prophecy and these ideas of these messianic ideals that we always see interpreted in stories like this and in Harry Potter, in Star Wars, the ‘chosen one,’ the ‘one,’ the one who’s going to save us from everything, the Lightbringer, the Prince Who Was Promised/Azor Ahai, how those ideas are interpreted in George’s world, which is, as we know from all of the storytelling that he has taken us through to date, that these things are very rarely black and white and one thing or the other, and often can be cautionary tales for how ideas like this are interpreted by people in power.”

Remember that Game of Thrones, A Song of Ice and Fire, House of the Dragon in many ways, or Fire & Blood in many ways, are warnings about the perils of power and people in power, and particularly, I think, in this world, absolute power. I will just say that we’re very interested in how those things play out in this world, and how once somebody, as we’ve seen Rhaenyra [Emma D’Arcy] be given this football to run with, that, ‘My father chose me. I was the one. There is a Prince Who Was Promised, it must be me. This dragon rider was delivered to me,’ and how that is going to see itself manifested over the course of the rest of this war.

Recently, Rhaenyra has been displaying more extravagant speech, such as when she disregarded her son Jace’s objections about allowing commoners to ride dragons by claiming it was beyond her power to contradict the gods’ will. This could be a tactic by the show to create a false sense of security before surprising us with a delusional Rhaenyra in the future. As Ryan Condal, co-creator, explained to Entertainment Weekly, “What you’re seeing is growth, but not always good growth.” He added, “She’s becoming increasingly convinced that she was destined for the throne, as her father believed. She starts seeking signs and omens that confirm Viserys was correct in choosing her as his heir. We know this could be a hazardous path for someone in power.”

In summary, even though House of the Dragon, as depicted in George R.R. Martin’s book Fire & Blood, does not reveal the fate of dragons at the onset of Game of Thrones, it is established that there were no dragons then. However, during Rhaenyra’s era, many dragons existed. Unfortunately, their story does not end well.

As a devoted fan, I’m thrilled to share some exciting news about our beloved series, House of the Dragon! The wait isn’t over yet, but it seems we’ve got a long journey ahead until we can finally revisit Westeros. The third season is officially in production, though we might not get to watch it until 2026. After that, brace yourselves for the final act – the fourth and concluding season will tie up all loose ends sometime after that.

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2024-08-06 22:41

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