Women of Thrones: The supporting ladies we hope to see in House of the Dragon

HBO’s upcoming Game of Thrones prequel show House of the Dragon will cover a brutal civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons, a time when women thrived. Some bore immense losses, some achieved incredible victories, and they all became active players in the game of thrones.

By the end of the civil war, six out of the nine Great Houses of Westeros were ruled by women, this on a continent that mostly operated under an equivalent of real-world Salic law, which decreed that a female heir may only inherit a title in the absence of a male relative. The time after the Dance is known as “the winter of the widows.” As George R.R. Martin lays out in his fictional history book Fire & Blood, a volume was even written about this period: When Women Ruled: Ladies of the Aftermath.

HBO’s House of the Dragon will have plenty of women protagonists, many of whom we’ve already celebrated: they include Rhaenyra Targaryen, Rhaenys Targaryen, Alicent Hightower, Mysaria of Lys, Laena Velaryon, Helaena Targaryen, Baela and Rhaena Targaryen, among others. Fire & Blood tells us of many more women who made history during the war, women we hope we also get to see on House of the Dragon, starting with the Queens of Days Gone By.

Alysanne Targaryen 

Good Queen Alysanne was the wife of King Jaehaerys I, grandmother and great-grandmother to the main players of the Dance, and a great advocate for women. Throughout her reign, she established the tradition of holding a women’s court where she listened to all women who came to her, the highborn and smallfolk alike, and tried to improve their conditions by bringing their concerns to the king’s Small Council.

While Alysanne died years before the supposed start of the first season of House of the Dragon, we saw a glimpse of a flashback to the Great Council at Harrenhal in the newest teaser trailer. This is the event where Alysanne’s husband Jaehaerys asked the lords to decide on who should succeed him when he died, as he recently lost his male heir. Why not go further back and show Alysanne supporting her granddaughter Rhaenys for the position? This caused a rift in their marriage and is the reason why the king called the council in the first place. We are not sure we will get such a scene, but Good Queen Alysanne’s name will for sure be brought up on the show.

Aemma Arryn 

Queen Aemma was the daughter of Lord Rodrick Arryn and Princess Daella Targaryen. She was the first wife of King I Viserys Targaryen and the mother of Rhaenyra Targaryen, one of the most important players in the Dance.

Aemma had multiple miscarriages throughout her life. She also birthed a son who only lived for a day. She died in childbirth in 104 AC but may appear in flashback; we could see her struggles with motherhood as a way to establish how important it is to have a male heir and so avoid a succession crisis. A particular scene in the trailer — a blonde Targaryen man who is forcefully being dragged by the Kingsguard — suggests the possibility of such a flashback; the man may be the king’s brother Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) drunkenly japing about the “heir for a day” that Queen Aemma just died giving birth to.