Rhaenys Could Have Ended 'House of the Dragon.' So, Why Didn't She?
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Plot armor must run through the chainmail in House of the Dragon. Evident throughout Rhaenys's (Eve Best) journey in the series thus far, you can lose both your children, your brother-in-law, and probably soon your husband—and still take the high road. At the end of Episode Nine, she crashes King Aegon's coronation atop her massive dragon, and the beast simply lets out a petty roar before flying away. The series teased that she would incinerate Aegon and Alicent right on the spot, but Rhaenys chooses to flee with a warning instead. Now, the biggest question on viewers' minds after the shocking penultimate episode is... why?!
Well, HBO seemingly knew this would be a hot question. Eve Best, showrunner Ryan Condal, executive producer Sara Hess, and director Clare Kilner, all gave interviews within two days following Sunday night's episode, explaining just why in the hell Rhaenys didn't end the series right then and there. "Why not pull the 'dracarys' trigger and save countless lives—possibly including her own—by preventing war?" The Hollywood Reporter asked the series creators. "Does it make sense that she doesn’t kill them?" As House of the Dragon clearly shows, it's not as if Rhaenys is not averse to murder. By barging in with her dragon, she kills what must be hundreds of civilians in King's Landing.
"I think she just can’t do it. It’s not her war," said executive producer Sara Hess. "The fight is between these two sides and she’s kind of not in it. She doesn’t feel like she’s the one to come in and do that. But you’re right. If she had just incinerated everybody, it’s game over, Rhaenyra wins and we’re done here." So, was it better to take Rhaenyra's side and regroup, even when you had Alicent and the new king right in the palm of your hand? The consensus seems to be that the scene before, between Rhaenys and Alicent, was meant to show the first time that they both saw each other as mothers trapped in a terrible world orchestrated by men. While Rhaenys can literally shatter the ceiling and escape, Alicent is still doing the bidding of her father, late husband, and crowned son. "We wanted her to be rising like a phoenix from the ashes," director Clare Kilner told EW.
For Rhaenys, she "doesn’t want to be responsible for doing that to another mother," showrunner Ryan Condal said in HBO's Inside the Episode. "It’s a complex choice, and one that people might dispute or have a problem with, but that’s the choice that Rhaenys makes at that moment." Eve Best also echoed support for her character's decision, stating, "It's because she's so intelligent and in the end chooses to do the right thing, which is not to destroy." Rhaenys has "suffered so much loss," Best continued to EW, "and yet the choice not to destroy becomes even stronger. That's the mark of greatness and [a] truly inspiring moment."
If the moment feels out of place in the world of Westeros, however, it's probably because it was an original idea conceived for the show. In George R.R. Martin's Fire & Blood, King Aegon's coronation actually goes off without a hitch—which is rare for what fans have come to expect. Momentous events usually seem to turn bloody in Game of Thrones. If anyone flies a dragon in the book, it's the newly crowned king on his dragon Sunfyre, whom he triumphantly rides around King's Landing with three times before settling back down in the Red Keep. Meanwhile, Rhaenys is back on Dragonstone, preparing for war with Princess Rhaenyra. Fans have already seen a glimpse of their talk in the preview for House of the Dragon's upcoming finale. Will she come to regret her decision? Audiences will have to see if it was the right move, but my hunch tells me that House of the Dragon has no interest in saving any more lives.
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