It’s time for Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) to finally demand what she wants. Now that she’s taken her rightful seat on the Iron Throne in House of the Dragon season 3, she has to play a little dirty to make things happen. Though she might not be as cruel as her Fire & Blood counterpart (who was even nicknamed “Maegor With Teats,”) Rhaenyra is quickly learning how to get people to listen to her.
The majority of tonight’s new installment, season 3 episode 2, follows Rhaenyra navigating her new role. Becoming Queen has been her goal for so long, but now that she’s got it, the reality doesn’t seem as triumphant or glamorous. Instead, she’s got a long list of people to answer to and not enough people to help her. Her Small Council has shrunk in size after she was betrayed back in Dragonstone, and she’s got conflicting opinions from the people she does have around.
One major issue she needs to help figure out is the matter of money. The crown’s gold is gone, and the commoners of King’s Landing don’t have enough food to eat because of the blockade at the Gullet. When listening to petitions from the smallfolk, Rhaenyra learns from the brothel madam Sylvi that the nobles squirreled away resources to keep for themselves, leaving out the poor. This soon sparks a very creative idea in Rhaenyra.
Rhaenyra finds inspiration in the castle’s rat problem
As you’ll remember, the Red Keep now has a rat infestation problem because of Aegon’s (Tom Glynn-Carney) decision to have all the rat catchers hanged. This is in response to his son Jaehaerys being slain in the season 2 premiere, knowing that one of his killers is a rat catcher. Unfortunately, no one’s figured out what to do with the vermin by the time Rhaenyra takes the city, and she seems, understandably, annoyed by them.
That is, until she realizes she can use the rats to her advantage. Needing support from the noble lords, she invites a group of them to the castle for a dinner, only it’s not as welcoming as it might seem. As her guests are served, they question a strange shape on their plates: rats. Yep, Rhaenyra hosts a rat feast for the nobles as a way to prove a point; the smallfolk have had to eat rats (and worse options) while they hid resources for themselves. She tells them that members of the City Watch are currently in their homes, taking back the food they’ve been hoarding to then re-distribute to the city.
Though the group of nobles are disgusted and shocked by the situation, Rhaenyra remains steadfast in her decision. The unexpected scheme ends up being successful (at least for now), with Rhaenyra cheerfully handing out food to the smallfolk alongside Mysaria later on in the episode.
The rat feast was leaked months ago
The rat feast may have been surprising to many watching tonight, but for those who have been keeping up with House of the Dragon rumors and leaks, it was suspected. In a since-deleted tweet from X account @housethedragons in May, it was revealed that Rhaenyra might be hosting such a dinner. At the time, we didn’t understand why this might be happening—though we did speculate on it—but the actual storyline makes more sense than I was anticipating.
Though it’s undeniably disturbing to serve cooked rats to your noble guests (even in Westeros), the way it plays out is a bit less twisted than I was picturing. Of course, no one actually eats the food, and it’s more of a production Rhaenyra puts on rather than actually forcing people to consume rats. It’s gross, yes, but it’s still not uncharacteristic for Rhaenyra.
A lot of new responsibilities are being thrown Rhaenyra’s way, and as we see from the end of the episode, that’s not going to slow down anytime soon. Between navigating the castle and city’s needs to navigating a war that’s still going, she has to be both logical and innovative to be successful. Will she do it? We’ve got faith in her.
Keep watching new episodes of House of the Dragon season 3, releasing new episodes every Sunday night on HBO and HBO Max. And check back in with us at Winter Is Coming for our continued analysis of the new season.
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