Hey everyone - So House of The Dragon Season 2 Episode 3 was pretty mixed. I’m going to say right from the beginning, the moment that has been the most controversial in episode 3 with Rhaeyra and Alicent, shouldn’t have been reworked or it shouldn’t have presented differently either, I actually believe this entire scene should have been removed entirely. And I’ll explain why as we get further into this, but I also will point out why I think they had to include this, and why I think they will characterize this scene as vital for moments that will occur later in the series.
So yeah lets rip the band-aid off and discuss Rhaenyra infiltrating King’s Landing. Now I’ve heard some criticism suggesting that the insistence of building up Rhaenyra as to pure intentioned and reluctant to war has been too much, that it’s too obvious that her position is more righteous based on how her character is framed, that her going to secretly meet with Alicent takes this idea too far. I suppose that could be an issue. As compared to the book version of this story, Rhaenyra is portrayed in Fire & Blood as both sides of the morally grey character. Not all actions are purely good and not all are purely evil. House of The Dragon to this point has removed this balance from her character up until now(granted I believe this will begin to change). And on the other side of this meeting is Alicent. While Alicent you could argue is a driving force for Aegon Usurping the Iron Throne, but this is framed as Alicent truly believing this to be Viserys’ final wishes. Yet, Alicent is the voice of reason that pushed back against the murder of Rhaenyra in season 1’s episode 9.
Deep down, Alicent has conflicting emotions for Rhaenyra, which is to say that regardless of their differences up until now, Alicent does still care about Rhaenyra and sympathizes for Rhaenyra. Alicent has expressed her desire to avoid violence and war to Rhaenys in episode 9 of season 1 and and again with a letter of remorse she has sent to Rhaenyra. So understanding why Rhaenyra would want to meet with Alicent makes sense as long we ignore the obvious.
#houseofthedragon #houseofthedragonseason2 #gameofthrones
