House of the Dragon: Rhaenys’ mercy – that’s why she lets Aegon II and the Hightower live

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When Rhaenys Targaryen escapes from King’s Landing in the 9th episode of “House of the Dragon”, she has the unique opportunity to prevent the approaching war “Dance of the Dragons”. But she decides against it and for good reason.

In the eighth episode, Rhaenys Velaryon travels to King’s Landing to support her grandson Lucerys in his claim to the throne of Driftmark. Unlike her grandchildren, however, she does not travel back directly after the king’s ruling and remains at the royal court for the time being.

After the death of Viserys I Targaryen, Rhaenys is imprisoned in her chambers. Only later does Alicent Hohenturm come to her to inform her of her cousin’s death. The Queen asks House Velaryon for support to place Aegon II on the Iron Throne.

But Rhaenys refuses because she believes that she won’t change anything in Westeros. She is then imprisoned again until Ser Erryk Cargyll helps her escape. Chaos on the streets forces Rhaenys into the Dragon Pit to attend the coronation of Aegon II. In an unobserved second, she takes the chance and sneaks down to the dragons’ cages.

There, Rhaenys unleashes her dragon Meleys and interrupts Aegon II’s coronation ceremony. The dragon opens its mouth and gestures to engulf the new king and his family in the flames, but nothing happens. Instead, the dragon and rider turn around and flee the city.

Instead of ending the impending war before it breaks out, Rhaenys has merely expressed her dominance. She showed Alicent and the Greens that she could have killed them. This leaves Rhaenyra with the decision to start the war between the Greens and Blacks.

What would have happened if Rhaenys had destroyed the Greens?

If Rhaenys had killed Alicent, Aegon II, Aemond, Helaena, Otto and Kriston, then there would be no Targaryens left to oppose Rhaenyra’s rule as queen. However, the Targaryen princess’s reign would have started under a tyranny.

In the seventh episode, Rhaenyra and Daemon Targaryen have decided that they want to avoid tyrannical rule at all costs. They first want to resolve the conflict diplomatically. By refusing to wipe out the Greens, Rhaenys shows the lords of other houses that the Blacks act wisely and mercifully. The Greens, on the other hand, had already committed treason when they seized the throne.

Rhaenys also knows that burning the Greens would reflect poorly on Rhaenyra. If the Velaryon had acted so impulsively, Rhaenyra would probably have had them executed, for war has not yet been declared.

But the “Dance of the Dragons” will come. But it will not be the blacks who will shed the first blood.

Where does Rhaenys fly to after her escape?

After her escape from the Dragonpit, Rhaenys flies to Dragonstone. Rhaenyra does not yet know about her father’s death or that her brother has been crowned king. It is therefore up to Rhaenys to tell her cousin Daemon and her second niece about the events in King’s Landing.

What will happen to Rhaenys during the “Dance of the Dragons”

During the war between the Greens and the Blacks, Rhaenys and her dragon fight alongside Rhaenyra. When she is called to support the Black Armies, Aegon II and Aemond lie in wait for her on their dragons. Instead of fleeing, Rhaenys fights and thus meets her death.

However, since House of the Dragon has caused a few surprises so far, the Velaryon Princess may have survived this. According to George RR Martin’s book Fire and Blood, her body was discovered so disfigured that it could have been someone else’s. Like Laenor Velaryon, who faked his death.

The “Dance of the Dragons” begins with the coronation of Aegon II. Rhaenyra has also had herself crowned in response to the usurpation of the throne, which will escalate the disputes. We’ll see how the war begins in the upcoming second season.

If you missed the free TV broadcast on ProSieben, you can watch all of “House of the Dragon” in the stream on Joyn.