House of the Dragon Season 3 is set to take the battle for the Iron Throne to a whole new level, and it’ll be incorporating some elements of Daenerys Targaryen’s most controversial Game of Thrones story as it does so. Danys arc in Game of Thrones‘ ending sparked a backlash that endures to this day, as she became the “Mad Queen,” laying waste to King’s Landing with Drogon and taking the Iron Throne, before being killed by Jon Snow.
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House of the Dragon is no stranger to backlash already, though it’s not yet faced anything on the level of Thrones Season 8. The second outing was somewhat divisive and received criticism from author George R.R. Martin for its changes to his book, Fire & Blood, and the effect they will have on the narrative going forward. It also suffered from complaints that not enough was happening, something Season 3 certainly looks to address with several major battles lined up, but within that will be a shift in how viewers see Rhaenyra Targaryen.
Rhaenyra Will Change In House Of The Dragon Season 3 (Like Daenerys Did In Game Of Thrones)
In Entertainment Weekly‘s cover story on House of the Dragon Season 3, Emma D’Arcy notes that Rhaenyra is undergoing a “movement towards tyranny,” and that this represented a chance for audiences to see a character who had been sympathetic go through a major change, the implication clearly being that those sympathies will be strongly challenged by her actions.
A Targaryen woman who is claiming the Iron Throne. Who has dragons to help her cause. Who will take a much more active role in things to get what she believes is hers. Yes, there are clear similarities to Daenerys’ Game of Thrones arc there, and already some concerns on social media about these comments, especially with D’Arcy adding:
“I think in Rhaenyra’s case, it’s a kind of religious fanaticism, actually, that starts to radicalize her position.”
To a degree, these broad similarities were always going to happen. Rhaenyra is obviously the closest thing HOTD has to a Daenerys-like figure; she is the rightful heir to the Throne, she’s the protagonist, she has generally been sympathetic and the one we’re invited to root for (even if there are Team Green supporters among the audience, Team Black and Rhaenyra specifically have mostly been painted in a kinder light). And, in the book, she does go and take King’s Landing, albeit without the same level of destruction or involvement as Dany in Game of Thrones.
We’re going to see her take King’s Landing in Season 3, as well, though quite how that plays out remains to be seen. With talk of her taking on a more active role, and shots of her flying her dragon, Syrax, in the trailers, it’s possible there will be more fire and blood involved in that. Crucially, though, while this is being sold as a change in how audiences will see the character, it’s one that is very much underpinned by the show’s story so far; it isn’t a sudden shift, but a development that’s been building for years.
Aegon’s Dream Makes Rhaenyra’s Change Better, Not Worse
Rhaenyra’s “religious fanaticism” does not come from out of nowhere, but is instead due to Aegon the Conqueror’s dream, aka his Song of Ice and Fire. That prophecy, a huge change to Game of Thrones canon and what had been established about the Conquest, foretold of the White Walkers, and how only a Targaryen on the Iron Throne could unite the realm to defeat them. We know that Rhaenyra is not the Prince That Was Promised, but she believes she could be. She was told the prophecy by King Viserys when he named her as his heir, and she has clearly been influenced by it ever since.
That, and Team Black’s growing number of dragons, has seen her develop a God-complex. She believes that she has been divined not only as the Queen, but as the savior of all humanity. And if she believes that, then she’ll also now do anything to take what belongs to her. As D’Arcy describes the more active role, they say: “I wanted to see what happens when that character stops having to apologize.”
Again, that fits to a degree with Dany at the end of Game of Thrones: someone unshackled, more ruthless. But while more could have been done to set that story up (though I do think there was some groundwork for it throughout the show that displayed her tendency to go Full Targaryen), there’s already a lot of work been done for Rhaenyra, with Aegon’s dream as the driving point of it. It’s understandable why she’s changed into this person – and should be even more so after some events early in Season 3, assuming it follows the book.
That doesn’t mean audiences will like it. There’s a decent chance that Rhaenyra’s arc will end up being divisive, but I think it’s already proved to be interesting to watch, and D’Arcy’s performance can certainly handle it (as could Emilia Clarke’s, to be fair). I also think this is an improvement on the book: that version of Rhaenyra is far too passive, and giving her more agency in the story is a good thing, while the show’s version shouldn’t just be a black-and-white hero (and hasn’t been so far). Her detractors have given her the nickname “Rhaenyra the Cruel,” and it’s going to be fascinating to see just how much she lives up to that, and how much we still sympathize with her while she does so.
House of the Dragon Season 3 premieres on June 21st on HBO and HBO Max.
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