The most recent episode of House of the Dragon, "Queen's Landing," proved to be a huge one for the series' leading character, Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy). At long last, she takes the Iron Throne for herself, becoming the official ruling queen of Westeros.
However, before Rhaenyra can sit on the Iron Throne, she must first face one final obstacle: Her husband, Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith), brings in a prisoner, Ser Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), the father of Rhaenyra's longtime frenemy, Alicent (Olivia Cooke), and the former hand to the false king Aegon Targaryen II (Tom Glynn-Carney). Daemon presents Otto to the throne room, and calls for his execution.
It must be Rhaenyra herself who takes Otto's head. Using a sword for the first time, Rhaenyra swings down upon his neck, sobbing as she takes someone's life for the first time. In contrast to most executions depicted in the franchise to date, it take Rhaenyra two swings of her sword to kill Otto, with her first attempt only slicing into his neck.
Longtime fans of HBO's on screen A Song of Ice and Fire adaptations might recall a similar incident of a botched execution from House of the Dragon’s predecessor, Game of Thrones. With the original story in mind, audiences can gather an insight into Rhaenyra's character, and what her two swings might mean for her storyline going forward.
Theon's brutal beheading of Ser Rodrik Cassell
Way back in Game of Thrones season 2, Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen) finds himself at a crossroads. After having sworn to support Robb Stark's (Richard Madden) campaign for independence, Theon visits his home, the Iron Islands, for the first time since becoming the Starks' ward. However, he feels out of place on the island, as his family is quick to remind him, and he learns of his father, Balon Greyjoy's (Patrick Malahide) own plot to enter the War of the Five Kings with a claim of his own.
Theon feels conflicted over whether to support his father or his friend in this war, but ultimately decides to fight for the Greyjoys, burning the letter he'd written to Robb to warn him of Balon's impending attack. However, Theon feels slighted when his father essentially only entrusts him with busywork, with his sister Yara (Gemma Whelan) receiving far more impactful missions. Theon then decides to go rogue, capturing Winterfell, the ancestral seat of House Stark, in his father's name and proclaiming himself the "Prince of Winterfell."
In order to inspire fear in his new subjects, Theon must execute the dissenting Ser Rodrik Cassell (Ron Donachie), who spits in his face. Taking Ned Stark's (Sean Bean) famous advice, "the man who passes the sentence must swing the sword," Theon attempts to behead Rodrik in front of the people of Winterfell.
However, Theon's attempt at Rodrik's life plays out terribly. It takes him multiple swings, far more than Rhaenyra, to sever Rodrik's head, making it a harder execution to watch than most. This symbolizes how Theon himself is not a "true prince," unready for any sort of rule or command, much unlike Ned, who executed a man with a single swing in the previous season, or Robb, who would go on to do the same in season 3.
What Rhaneyra's first swing symbolizes
Warning: MINOR spoilers for Fire & Blood are below.
Just before executing Otto, Daemon whispers to Rhaneyra that this is the moment she will finally become queen. Knowing this, Rhaneyra's first swing of the sword represents her final shred of doubt that she can rule. The Rhaenyra who swings the sword the first time is not quite ready to rule the Seven Kingdoms. The Rhaenyra who swings the second time feels prepared to become a just queen.
However, it is worth noting that, in the source material, George R.R. Martin's Fire & Blood, Rhaenyra does not remain a just queen for long. In addition to her cruel punishments towards anyone who helped Aegon flee the capital, filling the spikes of the gates with their severed heads, she also treats the smallfolk terribly, over-taxing them. This results in her unfortunate nickname of "Maegor with Teats," referring to King Maegor Targaryen, a.k.a. Maegor the Cruel, a notoriously evil former king.
Of course, this is just Rhaenyra’s depiction in Fire & Blood, and we do not know how her immediate storyline as the queen will play out in House of the Dragon just yet.
Perhaps Rhaenyra's first swing of her sword could represent a conenction to Theon, the only other character to have failed to execute someone in one stroke previously. If House of the Dragon follows Fire & Blood's story closely, Rhaenyra's brief rule of King's Landing will ultimately prove similar to Theon's unceremonious tenure as the Prince of Winterfell.
To see how Rhaenyra's story continues, make sure to tune into House of the Dragon season 3, releasing new episodes every Sunday on HBO and HBO Max.
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