As a history enthusiast with a particular fascination for the Targaryen dynasty, I can’t help but be captivated by the tragic tale of Rhaenyra Targaryen – the Realm’s Delight and Half-Year Queen. Her life was a rollercoaster ride filled with power struggles, betrayals, and heartrending loss, making her story as gripping as any modern drama series.
Individuals who followed “Game of Thrones” in its prime were likely anticipating a similar pattern for its prequel and initial spin-off, “House of the Dragon” – they knew there would be numerous violent deaths, and that cherished characters might suffer untimely and perhaps undeservedly harsh demises. In the series’ first two seasons, many significant characters have faced dreadful fates – so what about Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (played by Emma D’Arcy), often referred to as “The Realm’s Delight” or “The Half-Year Queen”? According to the show’s timeline, she is still alive (though her wellbeing is a different matter), but fans are aware from George R.R. Martin’s Targaryen family history “Fire & Blood” that she will eventually meet her end in the storyline.
In the third season of “Game of Thrones,” the malicious young king Joffrey Baratheon (played by Jack Gleeson) gleefully informs his soon-to-be bride, Margaery Targaryen (Natalie Dormer), that a once powerful dragon queen was killed by her own sibling. “Rhaenyra Targaryen met her end at the hands of her brother, or more accurately, his dragon,” Joffrey says with unconcealed delight. “It devoured her as her son looked on. What remains of her is entombed in the crypts below.” While Joffrey’s account of Rhaenyra’s death is essentially accurate, there are many complexities surrounding her demise and its consequences for the Targaryen civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons.
Who is Rhaenyra in House of the Dragon?
In the initial season, viewers are introduced to Rhaenyra Targaryen, who at this point is a princess and the presumptive heir to King Viserys I Targaryen (Paddy Considine), as she doesn’t have any sons – Milly Alcock portrays her as a teenager. When King Viserys officially designates Rhaenyra as his successor, it creates a stir throughout the Seven Kingdoms. However, Rhaenyra faces trouble when her friend and trusted advisor, Queen Alicent Hightower (Emily Carey as a teen and Olivia Cooke as an adult), who married Viserys under the influence of her powerful father Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), contests this by claiming that Viserys’ last wish was for their son Aegon II Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney) to ascend the throne instead, upon Viserys’ death from old age.
In essence, the struggle over who should succeed Viserys, between Rhaenyra and Aegon II (and Alicent), forms the main conflict of the Dance of the Dragons, resulting in numerous violent skirmishes and casualties. By the end of Season 1 in “House of the Dragon,” Aemond, second-in-line to Alicent, and Lucerys, Rhaenyra’s son, engage in an aerial battle on their dragons. However, Vhagar, Aemond’s massive and ancient dragon, turns the tide tragically, annihilating both Lucerys and his younger dragon Arrax in mid-flight.
It’s clear that this incident intensely angers Rhaenyra, causing her husband-uncle Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) to command Aemond’s execution; however, due to Daemon’s vague orders and the incompetence of his assassins, Aemond survives but instead it’s young Prince Jaehaerys – son of Aegon II and his sister-wife Queen Helaena (Phia Saban) who is cruelly killed. Throughout Season 2, both Rhaenyra and Alicent’s sons face life-threatening situations, with Aegon II experiencing a near-death experience at the hands of his own brother during the Battle of Rook’s Rest. The season concludes with Rhaenyra calling for Aegon’s death, but unfortunately for the queen, this attempt is unsuccessful.
Who kills Rhaenyra and how does she die?
Following the hypothetical scenario where Rhaenyra captures King’s Landing in Season 3 (as yet unseen on-screen), she maintains the crown for a brief period. However, Aegon II and Alicent’s troops eventually drive her out of Westeros’ capital city. In George R.R. Martin’s novel, as defeat looms, Rhaenyra grows despondent; unable to sleep or eat, she clings desperately to her only surviving son, Prince Aegon, who stays by her side day and night, like a faint, pale echo of himself.
lengthy and violent conflicts erupt, leading us to conclude that Aegon had foreseen Rhaenyra’s journey and was preparing for her at Dragonstone. It is also revealed during this time that Ser Alfred Broome, portrayed by Jamie Kenna, has switched allegiances to Aegon against Rhaenyra. Although Aegon doesn’t fully recover from his wounds sustained at Rook’s Rest (as depicted in “Fire and Blood,” he becomes hunchbacked with swollen features due to opium and burn scars covering half his body), he exacts his revenge on his sister by having her fed to his dragon, Sunfyre.
Though Martin writes that Sunfrye “did not seem at first to take any interest in the offering,” the tide turns quickly for Rhaenyra. “The smell of blood roused the dragon, who sniffed at Her Grace, then bathed her in a blast of flame […] Rhaenyra Targaryen had time to raise her head toward the sky and shriek out one last curse upon her half-brother before Sunfyre’s jaws closed round her, tearing off her arm and shoulder. Septon Eustace tells us that the golden dragon devoured the queen in six bites, leaving only her left leg below the shin ‘for the Stranger.’ Elinda Massey, youngest and gentlest of Rhaenyra’s ladies-in-waiting, supposedly gouged out her own eyes at the sight, whilst the queen’s son Aegon the Younger watched in horror, unable to move. Rhaenyra Targaryen, the Realm’s Delight and Half-Year Queen, passed from this veil of tears upon the twenty-second day of the tenth moon of the 130th year after Aegon’s Conquest. She was thirty-three years of age.”
Why Rhaenyra’s death is such a gamechanger
Following Rhaenyra’s demise, a slight tranquility ensued as Aegon II emerged as the sole claimant to the Iron Throne. However, the strife and rivalries did not entirely cease. For instance, as depicted in “Fire & Blood”, Alicent engaged in contentious disputes with Lord Corlys Velaryon, portrayed by Steve Touissant in the series, over the succession of Rhaenyra’s son, Aegon, to Aegon II. This arrogance would prove detrimental for her later on.
In simpler terms, despite Aegon II being ill and unaware of the escalating conflicts after killing Rhaenyra, this ignorance benefits the other Aegon. Soldiers approach Aegon II demanding submission, but he and Alicent refuse. Later, after a council meeting, Aegon II retires to drink his favorite sweet Arbor red wine, eventually passing away at a sept, with his men discovering him dead upon arrival.
‘Here we stand, Your Grace,’ said Ser Gyles Belgrave, according to the account. No response was given, just silence. After asking twice more, Ser Gyles Belgrave drew back the curtains, revealing King Aegon II dead on his cushions. ‘There was blood on his lips,’ the knight declared. ‘Had he been sleeping, he might still be alive,'” the book states. It then hints that while many were suspected of murdering Aegon II from House Targaryen, it seems all evidence points to the cunning Ser Larys Strong (Matthew Needham), a former ally of Aegon II and Alicent. “Thus ended Aegon of House Targaryen, the Second of His Name, eldest son of King Viserys I Targaryen and Queen Alicent Hightower. His reign, though brief, was as bitter as it was short. He lived forty-two years and reigned for merely two,” the book concludes.
Currently, you can stream the initial two seasons of “House of the Dragon” on Max. We eagerly anticipate the inclusion of some thrilling moments from the book in Season 3.
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2024-12-07 18:30