9 things House of the Dragon must do right to be a success

None of that “Targaryen madness” talk, please

If I hear one more mention of “Targaryen madness” or how “every time a Targaryen is born, the gods flip a coin,” I might go mad myself. This concept is incorrect anyway: in 300 years of Targaryen history in Westeros, there have been maybe a handful of people who could be considered “mad.” Others might have been cruel or ruthless, but the way HBO abuses this phrase, you’d think there’s a gene in Targaryen DNA that predisposes them to mental illness.

The show should really limit their usage of the term and the concept of madness altogether. The Green faction will surely bring up the madness card to discredit Rhaenyra, but we need to see it’s their propaganda, rather than the truth. It’s 2022 and we don’t deserve to have a woman in a position of power painted as mad; I still get war flashbacks to how Daenerys was treated in season 8 of Game of Thrones. Later in the story, Rhaenyra might become a bit paranoid, but that would be justified given how everyone on her side has either betrayed her or died (would you look at that, just like Daenerys). And then again, it’s the pro-Green sources that portray her like that in the first place.

Daemon Targaryen also isn’t mad, simply chaotic, despite what Otto Hightower would have you believe.

No jealousy needed, either

On a similar note, we need Rhaenyra not to be jealous, because that would instantly be flagged as “mad” behavior, even if it’s not.

There are several points in the narrative where she may come up, particularly after she gets married to her uncle Daemon Targaryen (Targaryen incest is in full effect on this show). She knows and loves Daemon for what he is, and always has. Fire & Blood even says at one point that Rhaenyra is happy for Mysaria, a long-time confidante of Daemon’s, to warm Daemon’s bed while they’re married. And yet Rhaenyra is supposedly very upset when Daemon spends time with Nettles, a young dragonseed we probably won’t see in the first season. Why the difference? The show will have to account for that, or change it. They might opt to show Rhaenyra as tolerating of her husband having affairs, or they might go the extra mile and give her no reason at all to be jealous.

To start, there would be no need for Rhaenrya to be jealous of Daemon’s first wife Rhea Royce, as he himself detests her company and the two barely spend any time together. Next Daemon marries Laena Velaryon, with whom Rhaenyra is said to have a “strong bond.” The show could use this ambiguity to write them as romantic as well. If Rhaenyra and Laena are more than platonic besties who grow “fond and more than fond” of each other, polyamory wouldn’t be so far-fetched. The two women and Daemon are described to be visiting constantly, loving each other’s company and flying together, even betrothing their children to each other to seal their strong connection.

Similarly, Mysaria ends up becoming Rhaenyra’s most trusted advisor, towards the end. Could they also be closer, behind closed doors, than our sources know? Lastly, for “the girl Nettles,” who is a young base-born child of putative Valyrian heritage, the show could choose to go with a popular fan interpretation: that she wasn’t Daemon’s lover, but his own bastard daughter. If they choose that path, Rhaenyra wouldn’t need to be jealous of her husband’s daughter.

Queerness appreciated

Rhaenyra could be an even more compelling character if consciously written as queer. I could write an entire essay about everything that points to Rhaenyra being bisexual in Fire & Blood, but you’ll never find explicit confirmation in the text. However, sexuality matters to Rhaenyra’s story; it’s a fundamental aspect in a way that it wasn’t in, say, Daenerys’ or Sansa’s stories. Acknowledging that queerness is part of that sexuality and incorporating it into the show would enrich her story. The show wouldn’t need write a whole arc for it, but simply show that Rhaenyra has the potential to be attracted to women as well as men. Just FYI, a queer character is in no way less queer if they end up in a seemingly straight relationship.