House of the Dragon: Two women, one fate – Rhaenyra and Daenerys Targaryen are so similar

Years before the Khaleesi Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) was able to develop a sense of power in “Game of Thrones”, her ancestor Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) was named the rightful heir to the Iron Throne in “House of the Dragon”. .

Both women wanted power and both had a right to the crown of the seven kingdoms according to their bloodline. But fate had different things for them.

The young women’s lives are closely intertwined, even if they are separated by hundreds of years. In “House of the Dragon,” Rhaenyra must face a war of inheritance with her younger half-brother Aegon II Targaryen. As the eldest son of King Viserys I, he stakes his claim to rule in Westeros.

Daenerys was also robbed of her inheritance. As the daughter of the Mad King Aerys II Targaryen, she and her older brother Viserys were the rightful heirs to the crown. But Robert Baratheon killed her father and took the iron throne himself.

Daenerys and Rhaenyra succumbed to the fate of their time. As women, they were not given the respect they deserved and were treated like lepers. As legitimate heirs, they had to face this fate and fight for their rights in bloody wars. This is how the once inconspicuous women became strong leaders.

By marrying Khal Drogo, Daenerys gained more power than her older brother Viserys, who had sold his sister to the Dothraki like cattle. Thus, she was able to ignore its injustices and strive for the rule of Westeros herself.

Rhaenyra, as the king’s eldest daughter, was named the rightful heir to the throne. After her father remarried and his wife Alicent Hightower bore him a son, Rhaenyra’s legacy fell into trouble. According to tradition, the king’s successor should be the firstborn son and not his daughter. For this reason, her succession to the throne was never considered legitimate. After the death of King Viserys, the so-called “Dance of the Dragons” broke out between the rival siblings.

The characters from the “Game of Thrones” series are very similar through these experiences, even if they have very different characters. Daenerys is more calm and collected, whereas Rhaenyra is more temperamental. Through their experiences, both women learned to stand up for themselves and thus influenced the fate of House Targaryen.

In both series, the continued existence of their house is uncertain and Rhaenyra and Daenerys are largely responsible for this. To claim her rightful inheritance, Rhaenyra waged war against half her family and Daenerys killed her last known relative, Viserys, out of revenge. So they fought against their own family ties.

You can currently see how the fight for the Iron Throne and Rhaenyra’s power ends for the first time on German free TV. Every Monday, ProSieben shows two new episodes of the first season of “House of the Dragon”. The episodes are also available free of charge from Joyn.