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- Warning: Spoilers up for "House of the Dragon" play one, occurrence 9 "The Green Council."
- HBO's TV adaptation of "Fire and Blood" has made immoderate changes to the communicative of House Targaryen's war.
- When Rhaenys killed a clump of radical successful the dragonpit, determination was coagulated strategy down the bold move.
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At the extremity of "House of the Dragon" occurrence nine, which aired Sunday, Rhaenys shocked everyone by bursting done the level of the dragonpit connected the backmost of Meleys (her dragon). Despite sidesplitting hundreds of random King's Landing citizens who were herded successful determination without choice, Rhaenys chose not to termination the recently crowned King Aegon II and virtually each Hightower protagonist with immoderate power.
Rhaenys could person ended the warfare earlier it started, oregon truthful immoderate person interpreted that scene.
But there's a furniture of strategy astatine play present that mightiness not beryllium wide yet if you don't cognize the discourse of "Fire and Blood," the publication upon which the bid is based. This full Rhaenys series was created for the show's much omniscient telling of events successful the fictional past of House Targaryen.
'Fire and Blood' is giving much characterization and nuance to the aftermath of Viserys' death
In George R.R. Martin's "Fire and Blood," the communicative readers are told comes from assorted sources of either biased oregon unreliable witnesses. "House of the Dragon" is presenting a new, much nuanced bid of events and choices that volition yet pb to tragedy. Anyone who has seen "Game of Thrones" knows that House Targaryen began declining aft their dragons died retired — that is the full magic and awe of Daenerys Targaryen's accomplishment of hatching not 1 but three dragons and reviving the powerfulness of House Targaryen successful the earlier HBO series.
So, what does this each person to bash with Rhaenys?
Throughout "The Green Council" episode, some Otto Hightower and Queen Alicent are vying for power of the situation. Otto wants Rhaenyra, Daemon, and each their children killed instantly — earlier the radical of King's Landing adjacent cognize that King Viserys is dead.
Alicent wants to nonstop presumption to Rhaenyra and crown Aegon successful the meantime arsenic accelerated arsenic imaginable (wrongly believing that was Viserys' dying wish), and hoping for a truce betwixt their families without bloodshed.
Both of these are beauteous ambitious plans, fixed the defenses Rhaenyra and Daemon person astatine Dragonstone and the bonus of Rhaenyra's rightful assertion to the Iron Throne by nationalist decree of the precocious King.
Rhaenys is the lone idiosyncratic who knows what is going connected and tin relay the existent bid of events to Rhaenyra and Daemon and their children (who are besides meant to beryllium successful the existent enactment of succession).
Rhaenys was imprisoned successful the Red Keep portion Otto had highborns similar Lord Caswell executed for trying to nonstop connection to Rhaenyra that her begetter had died. Rhaenys' beingness was perfectly successful danger, should she neglect to crook the genu to Aegon. So she needed an retired — and recovered it with her dragon.
But conjecture who knows nary of this? The existent radical who unrecorded successful the Seven Kingdoms
Very fewer radical knew Viserys had died successful the archetypal afloat time aft helium took his last breath.
And arsenic we've seen successful conversations implicit each the clip jumps successful earlier episodes, the lords and ladies of the tribunal person either stayed loyal to the oath they swore to Viserys astir 21 years ago, oregon person decided that of people a lad should inherit the throne implicit a girl due to the fact that antheral rulers are each they've ever known.
The radical of the Seven Kingdoms person nary crushed to uncertainty the relationship from the Hand of the King himself that Viserys changed his caput and wanted Aegon to regularisation alternatively of Rhaenyra.
Rhaenys is the 1 who brings Aegon's crowning into uncertainty — reminding the radical however dragons are the real power. The creatures are weapons susceptible of wide execution astatine a whim, and erstwhile bonded with a Targaryen, the dragons volition service their commands.
By crashing into the dragonpit similar that, and past sparing the lives of the recently ascended king and his family, Rhaenys brought the communicative of the family's disagreement into nationalist view. In her ain way, Rhaenys was mounting the code for the radical of the Seven Kingdoms: Get successful enactment with the rightful Queen Rhaenyra, oregon endure the destiny of our dragons.
But Rhaenys besides makes the strategical prime to not termination the freshly crowned King Aegon II oregon Alicent and Helaena and the different members of her ain household by humor and marriage.
Rhaenys doesn't wants the nationalist communicative to beryllium "Rhaenys is simply a kinslayer and Rhaenyra conscionable wanted powerfulness astatine immoderate cost." Rhaenys wants to show her power, springiness Alicent 1 much changeable astatine doing the close thing, and past get the heck retired of King's Landing safely.
How passages successful 'Fire and Blood' besides springiness discourse to the strategy astir Aegon's coronation astatine the dragonpit
We cognize that nationalist cognition is thing that factors into wars and governmental strategy. In "Fire and Blood," Martin tells america that "riders went distant connected airy horses to dispersed the connection to the radical of King's Landing, crying 'King Viserys is dead, agelong unrecorded King Aegon'" erstwhile the Hightowers decided it was clip to marque Viserys' decease public.
"Hearing the cries, Munkun writes, immoderate wept whilst others cheered," the publication continues. "But astir of the smallfolk stared successful silence, confused and wary, and present and again a dependable cried out, 'Long unrecorded our queen.'"
Martin besides says successful this fictional past publication that the dragonpit seated 80,000 radical (about 4 times arsenic galore arsenic successful the existent Madison Square Garden successful New York City), and that the Hightowers thought the operation would support them from extracurricular "traitors."
"The pit's heavy walls, beardown roof, and towering bronze doors made it defensible, should traitors effort to disrupt the ceremony," the publication says.
"House of the Dragon" pokes a large spread into this logic with the shocking country of Rhaenys bursting retired of the floor, putting the Greens connected their backmost feet and giving different triumph to Team Rhaenyra.
The occurrence besides goes retired of its mode to amusement america that Aegon is simply a disastrous campaigner for the occupation of King. He's much funny successful watching children combat to the decease and siring bastards and getting drunk than thing to bash with ruling.
His opponent, and the existent idiosyncratic who Viserys wanted crowned, is Rhaenyra — a accepted Targaryen queen who served successful Small Council meetings from a young property and was appointed heir astatine 14 years old, giving her much than 20 years to hole for ruling.
Rhaenyra has done plentifulness to crook nationalist sentiment against her, including siring bastards successful a overmuch much nationalist mode than Aegon and passing them disconnected arsenic trueborn (with the consent of her full contiguous household and husband). She's besides rumored to person murdered her hubby successful bid to wed her uncle successful the contented of incest that astir believers of the Faith deliberation is wrong.
So if Rhaenys had killed her ain household members and shed the archetypal royal humor successful the combat implicit the throne, it would sway sentiment against Team Rhaenyra. Kinslaying is simply a peculiar benignant of motivation flagrance successful Westeros.
And yes, truthful is murdering hundreds of guiltless citizens of your city. This has been a large sticking constituent for galore radical who didn't deliberation the ending of the occurrence was satisfying.
Without going into spoilers from "Fire and Blood," I'll conscionable accidental this: Don't deliberation that the deaths of each those radical volition spell unremarked upon by the full story's ending.
The play 1 finale of "House of the Dragon" airs Sunday connected HBO astatine 9 p.m. ET. For more, read our breakdown of the champion details you mightiness person missed successful past week's episode.
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