Rhaenyra and Daenerys are deeper connected in the House of the Dragon season 1 finale, but the results of their conflicts make Dany’s Mad Queen twist more sad.
WARNING! Major SPOILERS ahead for House of the Dragon season 1 and George R.R. Martin’s book, Fire & Blood!
A crucial Daenerys Targaryen scene from Game of Thrones is referenced in one Rhaenyra statement from the House of the Dragon season 1 finale, which makes the latter’s Mad Queen twist worse. Rhaenyra Targaryen and her descendant Daenerys are the only Targaryen Queens to hold the Iron Throne (even if Rhaenyra’s reign was practically wiped from history), and House of the Dragon has already drawn various comparisons between them. The means in which they eventually win the Iron Throne, however, highlight their contrasts even though the two are so similar in their quest for tyranny-free rule.
Rhaenyra hesitates to make war on Aegon in the House of the Dragon season 1 finale because she “does not intend to preside over a kingdom of ashes.” I am not here to be queen of the ashes,” Daenerys said in Game of Thrones season 7 in response to recommendations to invade King’s Landing. Only one of the two characters initially succeeded in taking their proper place without turning into fear-based rulers. King’s Landing was taken by Rhaenyra peacefully, but Dany’s “Mad Queen” twist saw her set fire to the city and countless innocent people. Dany could have ascended to the throne without torching King’s Landing, much as Rhaenyra, but she chose to become the infamous “Queen of Ashes.”
Reasons Rhaenyra Can Rule Without Burning King’s Landing
When the Targaryen civil war first broke out, Queen Rhaenyra was compelled to reign from Dragonstone while her brother King Aegon II Targaryen occupied the Iron Throne. Even when Aegon lost consciousness, her more volatile brother Aemond and his terrifying dragon Vhagar continued to protect the capital. Rhaenyra and Daemon take advantage of Aemond’s departure from King’s Landing for Harrenhal to capture the Iron Throne, with Alicent Hightower grudgingly ceding control of the city. Rhaenyra seized the Iron Throne without the need to massacre innocent people, with the exception of battles with Aegon’s troops in the City Watch and Green men-at-arms.
As her brother King Aegon II Targaryen occupied the Iron Throne at the onset of the Targaryen civil war, Queen Rhaenyra was compelled to rule from Dragonstone. Her more volatile brother Aemond and his terrifying dragon Vhagar continued to protect the capital even after Aegon lost consciousness. Rhaenyra and Daemon grabbed this chance to capture the Iron Throne when Aemond departed King’s Landing for Harrenhal, with Alicent Hightower unwillingly ceding control of the city. Rhaenyra took the Iron Throne without killing innocent people, despite fighting with Aegon’s troops in the City Watch and Green men-at-arms.
Queen of Ashes Link Between Rhaenyra and Dany Has One Important Difference
Daenerys might have seized the Iron Throne by simply setting Cersei and her army on fire, but instead she chooses to rule in terror and transform into the “Mad Queen” by setting King’s Landing on fire. This is another significant distinction between Rhaenyra and Daenerys, as Rhaenyra was forced to use dragon-on-dragon combat in order to prevail in the Targaryen civil war. During the wars of the Dance of the Dragons, several towns would burn, with flaming destruction coming from both sides. However, because Daenerys had the only dragon power in existence, it was cruel to use fire to needlessly destroy a city away from the conflict.
As a result, Dany’s “Mad Queen” twist in Game of Thrones is considerably worse because Rhaenyra only uses dragonfire when directly confronting an adversary. Daenerys had no need to burn the city down if there were no other dragons or powerful creatures standing in her way. She might have still won the Iron Throne. Dany’s devastation was sparked by her rage over Missandei’s death and her belief that the people would never love her, but in House of the Dragon, the wheel-breaking Rhaenyra still refrains from destroying the city despite the murder of her children and the turn of the smallfolk against her.
