Since the very first season of House of the Dragon, Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy) has been characterized by her noble heart. Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine), the former King of the Seven Kingdoms, chose her specifically as his heir because she was the only one who could unite the kingdom ahead of a perpetual winter. The show doubled down on this idea by making a young Rhaenyra cross paths with a White Hart—a rare type of deer that's seen as an omen of royalty. And while anyone else would've killed the deer, the soon-to-be-queen simply let it live, signaling her desire to preserve life above anything else.
During the events of House of the Dragon season 3, Rhaenyra finally ascended the Iron Throne and became the queen of the Seven Kingdoms desperately needed. But with great power comes great pressure, and Rhaenyra has started to succumb to her new role. Now, a whole new side of her character is starting to emerge—one that's a little more cruel and paranoid than ever before...
And we love it.
In the world of Game of Thrones, nothing is completely black or white. Characters like Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) may start out as heartless killers only to find redemption further down the line. Furthermore, noble heroes like Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) can eventually turn to the dark side and burn King's Landing as a whole. Fortunately, House of the Dragon has continued this trend.
Aegon Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney) was once cruel to his brother and unbothered by the politics around him. Now, he's undergoing a bit of a humility arc that's slowly making him a little more... likable? Similarly, audiences could feel sympathy for Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell) at first because he was mocked by others around him. However, now he's one of the show's biggest villains.
All of these characters are flawed, and none of them are entirely good or bad. They go through ups and downs and react in different ways to different scenarios. That's what makes their arcs so engaging and rewarding to see unfold. We never know which side of them we're going to get, and that makes us tune in week after week to discover what surprises lie in store.
Rhaenyra was the only character who could've been seen as completely "good" prior to the release of season 3, but things have now changed. While Rhaenyra hasn't fully turned into a villain by any means, she is starting to do some things that we never would've imagined in the early years of House of the Dragon. It all started when the queen brutally beheaded Otto Hightower. Did the man deserve to die? Yes. Was it still shocking to see Rhaenyra take his life all the same? Absolutely.
Since then, Rhaenyra broke her promise to gift Harrenhal to the Freys after they granted passage to her army. Furthermore, she appointed a new Master of Coin only to have a scapegoat now that the kingdom doesn't have any money. Upon finding that there was graffiti in King's Landing calling her the "queen of bastards," Rhaenyra asked the Gold Cloaks to deal with the situation by any means necessary. But perhaps her most iconic act has been to host a rat feast for the wealthiest members of the city (which, to be honest, was very understandable).
To make matters worse, Rhaenyra is more paranoid than ever after being deceived by Ormund Hightower (James Norton), which means the worst could be yet to come. It will be interesting to see how fans react to this new side of Rhaenyra and whether they will still support her in her mission to "unite the kingdom" or join the Greens and stand against her. Fortunately, it won't be long to see how her arc evolves.
New episodes of House of the Dragon season 3 air every Sunday on HBO and HBO Max.
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