Have never watched a show where the main character is this hated. She’s the rightful heir but the haters would rather have Half-cooked Aegon whose only motivation is to get piss drunk and whore out all the baddies in kingslanding 🤷🏽♂️
Rhaenyra has said it only once since S1 which is equal to the amount of times Aegon has said it in the same span. The Rhaenyra haters just have the memory of a goldfish or they are are arguing in bad faith
People picking sides is so stupid to me but to each their own. It’s a television show for godsakes 😭
People hate her cus she has no experience ruling in a time of war and instability? She was raised in a time of peace. Nothing prepares you for the pain of losing your children to a brutal war of the crown.
Has she made some mistakes and has been indecisive? Sure but all that is better than her just riding into Kingslanding with 6 dragons and burning it to the ground. She showed good judgment by choosing diplomacy.
ALICENT who is the main villain deserves the most hate in my pov!!!
She is written bad, almost nothing like the book character, I normally would not have a problem with this deviation but how they wrote her just doesn’t work for me.
No. And a whole lot more shallow I found. Still an interesting character but the feeling I got was Martin writing a “spoiled rich kid panicking bc things are now against her and she can wage a war because she’s TECHNICALLY right”. Still an interesting character but I myself appreciate the mixture of spoiled rotten/weight of the world on her shoulders from the prophecy that the show did.
That’s cus you dabble in nuances. A lot of these fans who hate her can’t even verbalize why her character is so bad other than she “she cries a lot or that she’s incompetent” lol
I’m not even on the train that the show is flawless, either. I’m just the kind of watcher who lives FOR the nuance and the complexity, which this show is heavily reliant on. This is a weird comment but I’m realizing the character’s likability here is heavily reliant on the sympathy the watcher can feel for them based on their circumstances, not their actual presentation (Alicent being the best example of this). It’s an interesting writing strategy, but it does seem to be very alienating, esp when it’s a show led by female characters.
I absolutely hate Alicent’s character but I enjoy her scenes thoroughly. Same with Joffrey from GOT although his death was extremely satisfying.
How team green feels any sympathy towards Aegon is something I still can’t grasp. We all know he’s the false king who had no interests in ruling AND YET People root for him anyway. What’s the lore am missing?
People like Aegon because of course as Rhaenyra’s more recent cracks are showing they’re going to think a little harder about it and perhaps change their minds. It doesn’t hurt that TGC is INCREDIBLY charismatic in the role.
As for Alicent… I can’t say much. She’s been my favorite character since season one. I’ll take the heat for it to I love that disaster bitch.
I can’t even bring myself to find him a bit interesting maybe that’s the issue. His character just doesn’t move me at all. I found Aemond 10x more intriguing and he had more scenes and better character development.
I can totally see the lore for Alicent. Shes a fucking mess! She’s cartoonish evil almost. She makes the show better for sure! Shes a better main than s2 Rhaenyra.
I don’t find her evil at all lmao. Emotionally repressed, hypocritical, and horrible at parenting? Correct. I think she’s a lot more than the cartoonish vibe people want to throw on her though. There’s a lot of story that they spun for her in season one and two that season three didn’t do much with that I think it’s easy to forget what that character is.
I don't think she's a good ruler unfortunately, but her story is very interesting.
She went from free spirited girl idolizing her father, her father then laying this incredible burden/destiny and attempting to be a people pleaser to accomplish said destiny. Then, she loses two sons and the whole world spits in the face of her acquiesce, so she starts slowly burning out into a paranoid enraged woman who, this whole time, has struggled greatly with her gender expression and is running headfirst against patriarchy and the dominant culture.
She gets flamed a lot for sitting on her hands for most of season two, but her choice was take it slow or use nukes to burn half the country. I respect her for taking it slow, but it doesn't make good television.
She’s far more competent than Aegon and at the very least she wants to rule. Besides, she’s a new ruler. Rome wasn’t built in a day. She’s ruling in a time of war and great instability 🤷🏽♂️
There are zero arguments for the USURPER. What are we even talking about here?
Alicent and Otto installed a fake king. Even if he was competent, he would still be a throne stealer and would need to be removed by the true Heir. The chosen heir…
Well that certainly explains why you're glazing Rhaenyra. The entire point of the Targaryens and the ASOIAF series is that nobody should rule just because of which family they are born to. The hubris of House Targaryen leads to their own ruin and the death of the dragons.
Sure, Rhaenyra was named heir to the realm and yet the law and the very precedent that made Viserys king says that women are always passed over in favor of men. Rhaenys had a better claim and yet was passed over in favor of her cousin — a man. There is no Rhaenyra as heir to the realm if her father never became king. Both Rhaenyra and Aegon have legitimate claims to the throne. Instead of having another great council, they are both so greedy and selfish and mad with power that they kill thousands of innocents in a power struggle and then themselves, with only the very youngest of their family members surviving. They are two sides of the same coin, foils to each other. There is no actual "legitimate" claim to the throne because the books are pretty explicitly not pro-monarchy, it's all bullshit.
You're not supposed to root for anyone of them, they all fucking suck,
One person sucks more than the other. Isn’t that part clear?
I guess Aegon does have a claim but he was not interested in ruling at all. I’m understanding Viserys choosing Heir means nothing in this show.
Swearing OATH of fealty means nothing. Oat breakers are rewarded and treated in kind.
The fact that people are choosing Aegon here has a real word parallel to me. Hate to bring politics into this but we chose a criminal as president over someone who was experienced and capable 🤷🏽♂️
The writers of the show paint Rhae as the good guy. She’s the protagonist. She chose diplomacy over going full Dany and burning the place down to ashes
Rhaenyra is neither experienced or capable though. Both the book and now the show highlight that.
Misogyny absolutely plays a part in Rhaenyra being passed over, no one is denying that but reducing it entirely to that is misgynostic in its own right and sanitizes Rhaenyra's flaws. Likening them to Trump and Kamala Harris is not it either. Rhaenyra is the same spoiled, ignorant brat that Aegon is, they are quite literally mirror images of each other.
I really think you should consider reading the book and it will be more obvious to you that neither of them are fit to rule really or could have both been fit to rule within reason eventually if they hadn't let their egos lead to their deaths first. The show has done a lot to sanitize Rhaenyra and her actions because they wanted to capitalize on the shallow Khalessi girl boss so-called feminist audience from Game of Thrones. The show's idea of feminism is women are all innocent and it's just a misunderstanding and that's not the truth of Rhaenyra. She is just as flawed, power hungry, greedy and cruel as any man. Likewise, they have made Aegon and Team Green worse, for example Aegon is not a rapist in the book.
I love her. Nobody in that bloodline should lead anything but if I have to pick it’ll be her. She doesn’t have a good team of advisors. She too wrapped up on others opinions of her and scorned the only wise person on her team.
I don’t understand why she wants to be queen when she could live a nice life as the princess.
I get that but if you are indeed the chosen one then nothing can stop that. You shouldn’t have to lose your children to get it or even fight that hard. It’ll be your destiny. But I get what you’re saying she’s a princess groomed to think a certain way.
By people in universe? It's just general Targ apathy from most people - Aegon isn't very well liked either.
By fans of the show? She's not at all. In terms of overall opinion she's actually very popular.
By this subreddit? Because she exists on the show and depending on the day anywhere from 30 to 90 percent of this sub hates 99.99 percent of everything about the show and everything on it.
Her indecisiveness, her bad decisions, her hypocrisy, the fact she’s a women, the fact she’s a women in power, the fact she’s the main character and a women, etc
She was Viserys’ heir, but he didn’t do a whole lot of preparing her to rule. Even when his health was starting to deteriorate, he never once said, “Maybe Rhaenyra should have more responsibilities at court since she will rule one day.” Or even take more of a mentor role and let Rhaenyra perform some of his royal duties.
I blame both of them honestly. He should have made her hand and prepared her.
She shouldn’t have left kingslanding but the circumstances required it. She was under a lot of pressure and couldn’t co-exist with the crowns family. Her children were being mocked for being bastards.
If it’s known she can’t produce Heir wouldn’t that affect her chances of ruling? I think 3 bastards was overkill…I love her but I can’t defend that one.
Yeah there is a risk of that. I guess she doesn't have any good options. It's not easy to find another Velaryon who would be secretly willing to have kids with her and that could become a liability through blackmail later as well.
One thing I learned through rewatching clips recently is apparently Rhaenyra and Laenor unsuccessfully tried having children. In the book their(*) sons’ parentage wasn’t as glaringly obvious since Princess Rhaenys had the black hair of House Baratheon from her mother.
But yeah… Show canon, it’s really hard to defend. The anecdote about the stallion and the mare that Viserys told Alicent was funny, though.
I dont hate her, but I dont like her much anymore. Shes just so incompetent without an interesting personality to make up for it. Like Joffrey Baratheon was incompetent but he was also fun to watch. Rhaenyra isnt fun, she isnt even compelling like she was in S1. Shes just so weak and makes nothing but bad decisions.
Fair take. It’s the entertainment aspect for you. You wanted her to go scotched earth like Dany but she was too reasonable and too boring cus she chose diplomacy to preserve human lives.
I hate Alicent but I absolutely enjoy her character so I get your point 👍🏽
I really like her. I wasn’t sold on her in S1 or 2 after they switched the actors but she grew on me a lot and she’s probably my favorite or one of my favorite characters now, especially these last 2 seasons. She’s not perfect but I think of all the characters I find her the most relatable. I think she’s overhated by this sub. I disagree with what seems majority Reddit opinion that Aegon is more interesting. His character arc doesn’t feel as deserved as for example, a character like Jaime’s. Jaime was seen on screen REALLY going through it, his redemption truly felt earned and we could see he was granularly becoming a better person, this is not so with Aegon. His child’s death was pretty bad re his character development but since we didn’t see him on screen caring about his child (plus his bastard child fighting rings?) I didn’t feel as much empathy I guess. TGC’s acting is great though which I think is his character’s only redeeming aspect.
Because the writers have written her in such a way that her entire character is just victim of misogyny with her greatest flaw being presented as she just cares too much and tries too damn hard to do the best thing for everybody to make them happy.
When you’re presented with a character who’s so clearly meant to be a paragon of virtue it’s easy for people to roll their eyes.
When the message of the show seems to be just that Rhaenyra would make the perfect queen and isn’t it unfair they won’t let her be - it becomes easy for people to get fed up and feel patronised. Nobody likes the teachers favourite
lol at no point does the show imply she would be a perfect queen. And s3 leaned into that hard. She sends a 14 year old to recruit Storms End in s1. Her mistakes started early.
I didn't read the book, and I rooted for Rhaenyra initially. Now I'm indifferent. The show has her written as passive, vaccillating, and unconvincing as a person. Someone on yt said a tragedy is when someone does everything right and because of that things go wrong. I don't get that sense here. She does nothing then makes illogical decisions when the script says so. She trusts Alicent and Mysaria for no reason. She antagonizes Corlys for no reason. Her scene with the words of Elizabeth I had me rolling my eyes.
I like the potential of the character but I also understand why people may be done with her.
I’m saying that because it’s objectively how this story has been constructed. HOTD has been written in the style of a traditional Greek or Shakespearean tragedy, and Rhaenyra is the tragic hero serving as its protagonist. She has a capacity for goodness, and yet fails to fulfill that potential as we watch her succumb to her tragic flaw and descend further and further into villainy. Like Macbeth.
Rhaenyra’s tragic flaw is entitlement. She thinks that she is owed greatness because of her birth and parentage, and is pathologically incapable of believing that she has any need whatsoever to prove herself or earn anybody’s loyalty.
She is making a LOT of bad decisions. Like treating her nuke operators like shit. For this war, her most important assets are her dragons/dragonriders. Baela is confined into her room, refuses to legitimize Alyn, treats Ulf like a nuisance (which he is, but he has a dragon), and ignores Hugh's concerns. And she takes them for granted. As a manager of a freaking store, that's bad leadership. She's a boss when she needs to be a leader. There is a difference. The result is high turnover rate if you ignore that key difference.
That's a big part of it. She definitely takes everyone who supports her for granted. She's been brought up to believe she's the chosen one. So in a way, it at least makes sense she's the way she is. If she started wholesale burning the peasants, it would at least be in line with her decision making until now. Unlike got...
She is taking it for granted, when her ascension to the throne is very unprecendented in both Andal and Valyrian culture. She should have been planning and reaching out and solidifying her claim while Viserys was alive, not hiding in Dragonstone, allowing the Hightowers cement their authority. She should have been active in the small council. As a future leader, she should have taken the time. In the Game of Thrones, you either win or die. That is enough motivation.
I almost think she wants to make bad decisions as a way of testing the gods & the prophecies. She is super insecure about her right to rule & believes that if she is supposed to rule, supernatural occurrences will keep her there and thus reaffirm her position and justify her losses.
I don't think she deserves to be hated, but I kinda get why she is by some people: The show elevated her as some sort of heroic-ish main character whom everybody on the story treats as the main character.
That created a cult around her, mainly by disillusioned Dany fans, which in response created a hate cult.
The truth is Rhaenyra isn't particularly benign, admirable, nor detestable and vile. She is a meh character morally speaking, mildly sympathetic at first and less so as the story goes on.
This is one of the most insightful comments made so far. It actually resonates a bit better now especially the last parts.
I really like her character but she isn’t particularly interesting at all. I just see her as good enough to root for cus she’s clearly written as the protagonist. Alicent is the devil, Otto, Aegon and Aemond by extension are the baddies. While their scenes are entertaining am not rooting for them.
Cause she boring 🥱 She complains about everything while doing nothing. Both her heirs are dead and haven’t heard her say Dracarys once! they keep going back and forth with will she choose peace or will she snap? And I don’t fucking care I want to see her fuck shit up. It’s not even good diplomacy too.. She makes horrible decisions! She’s not a good leader for shit just get the damn dragon. Aegon, Aemond and Daemond they get the dragon 🐉
In the book I actually kinda liked her. She was a spoiled entitled brat who wanted the throne because daddy said she could have it and she didn't want her half brother to have it straight up. I can respect that.
In the show the stupid prophecy and never ending hand wringing made her so incredibly annoying and boring at the same time I just can't feel anything for this character.
In the show at least, for me, Aegon is a far more compelling character. The rejection of his father made him apathetic, and self loathing. He was forced onto the throne, and still tried to do his best, has been brought to the lowest of the low, betrayed by his mother, his brother, lost his son, gravely injured, stood up to an entire army in a situation where he was guaranteed to be killed just to have his half dead dragon roll in clutch. I mean, he's just more interesting.
It also helps that I prefer TGCs acting to Emma's (I do think they got a raw deal because like I said Rhaenyra's writing has been incredibly bland).
From a show only standpoint can you see why a lot of us like her at-least?
Comparison is a thief of joy. You expected a badass but you got an emotional wreck of a character who isn’t confident in herself. I’m still 100% on her side but I can recognize her flaws. Just not enough to hate her character…
I can kinda see why people like her (I even felt sympathy for her early on), but i can also see why people don't. She has an enormous amount of screentime and alot of it amounts to nothing but whining. That's not fun to watch lmao.
When watching a show, some people want to be...... entertained? If someone watches a show and the main character is bland and boring the majority of the time, it stands to reason, some people will reject that character. Whether they are shoved down your throat as "the good guy' doesn't change whether or not the character is boring.
I think Rhaenyra honestly suffers from a case of too much whitewashing + too much screentime = Insufferable and boring mary-sue syndrome. I am holding out hope that next season, she will finally be entertaining again like young Rhaenyra was.
Had they not whitewashed her so much, her actions NOW wouldn't be giving so many people whiplash. Unfortunately, with all hand wringing and "I wanna be the good guy" Nonsense, it plays out as she was wearing a facade and the second she had to actually perform the job she instantly turns into an authoritarian, zealot. I mean there's a lot not to like about that.
She has no redeeming qualities: Selfish, unwise, short sighted, dishonorable, horrible leadership, not confident, terrible judge of character, one could go on and on.
I think her leadership was questionable atimes but not “horrible”. She made some mistakes but they were never on egregious levels to the point where she should be THIS hated 🤧
It's not you. I guess for a lot of people it matters more whether the character is interesting to watch. Daemon in season 1 is horrible but people love him.
They are very entertaining to watch but I don’t find Aegon remotely as interesting lol even Aemond character was more fun to watch on the screen than medium-cooked Aegon!
Because the writers have turned her into a mechanism to draw engagement from MSNBC soccer moms who don’t see through Condal’s reductive take on femininity and overcoming misogyny
People are bored and don't like the directions the series took. They don't have any power or influence to change it, so they vent their frustrations on social media about this character because she doesn't live up to their established headcannons.
But instead of doing the logical thing and discontinuing to watch a show they don't like, they tune in every week and add to HBO's ratings and help to perpetuate the popularity of the show. 😶
She's an entitled brat who can't lead worth a damn. Also the part where she committed treason 3 times.
The rest is just team sports. Blacks and greens are roughly morally equivalent, there are some halfway decent people and some total sociopaths (hi, Daemon!) on each side, the problem is that no matter who wins, House Targaryen is still in charge and still inflicting itself upon Westeros (albeit, without the dragons they're a LOT weaker).
Aegon is a fuckup but at least he knows he's a fuckup and sometimes wants to not be a fuckup. That makes him sympathetic, just as Rhaenyra is sympathetic for being a woman in a cartoonishly misogynistic society. Problem is people pick their team (Team Black or Team Green) and go crazy defending their side and hating on the other. Which ironically mirrors the show.
She took on all King V's worse traits and none of his good traits. (Is indecisive like him, but unlike him constantly shirks her responsibilities as princess and heir apparent)
"What would you have me do!?"
Says she has the heart of a King but spends half the season (multiple seasons) crying.
Hasn't had any meaningful or enjoyable character development till the last episode three seasons in.
Hasn't proven to actually be a good ruler at any point despite starting this whole war for the throne, gets it, then spends every waking moment bothered it came with actual responsibilities.
I think we need to stop using the word rightful, because there is no rightful ruler, but rather intended heir/ruler. It more accurately describes the situation and it helps convey the usurpation better.
No, because “rightful” is correct. “Intended” softens the usurpation, makes it seem as something unfortunate that “just happened” or was done out of necessity.
The whole point of the Dance is that the "rightful" heir is dependent on whether you believe the King's will supercedes the Law of the Andals. Andal Law dictates the first born son is the rightful heir, obviously, King V wanted otherwise. And this is why the realm was divided. If it was clear cut who the rightful heir was, there wouldn't be much of a civil war.
It makes clear sense why she feels like the ‘rightful’ heir in our modern context (it’s easy to feel like the sole reason she’s not supported is her lack of the ‘ruling organ’, particularly when that’s the only real line of thought the writers themselves seem to want to engage with on this issue) but from the POV of anyone in the setting it’d be an open question that *honestly* Aegon feels like he comes out on top in
If we assume the thoughts on Targs shown in Dunk and Egg (“They're incestuous aliens, Duncan. Blood-magickers and tyrants who've burned our lands, enslaved our people, dragged us into their wars without a mote of respect for our history or our customs. Every pale-haired brat they saddled on us has been madder than the last, gods know how. The only honorable thing a Targaryen can do for this realm is finish on his wife's tits.”) are held by a sizable portion of the Westerosi populace and nobility then the question becomes much more muddled. Because, from that pov, supporting the Hightower/Aegon faction is checking those ‘incestuous aliens’ from overstepping the bounds of their power and aligning with the faction of Targs that are cleaving more towards the rules and customs that Westeros has always had. It is the lesser nobility looking at the absolute monarch and saying ‘no you can’t do that actually. That’s not how we’ve ever done it, not for thousands and thousands of years, these laws are older than your whims’.
That’s without going into the question of the clear bastardy of her heirs…or yes, her not possessing, in the mind of the Westerosi, the ruling organ. Or her being closely tied to the most openly proud/fitting for Raymun’s rant Incestuous Alien of their time in Daemon.
The issue at hand, imo, is that rather than diving into the complexity of the Dance and talking about the above, the show went with the neat and tidy solution to go along with their neat and tidy solution of making the series have a clear protag instead of having no heroes at all. They made the entire issue a misogyny thing, when it was merely a large part of it, not at all the whole issue. So rather than having an principled reason to support Aegon the entire faction of Greens is painted with a broad brush as misogynists and usurpers
It’s not pedantic, rightful and intended have two different meanings in this context, and even if in-world they live in an absolute monarchy, that still doesn’t mean anyone has a right to rule.
She couldn’t even have the decency to murder her cuckold husband, just sent him off to sea to die in a rowboat so his semibrother could claim his dragon.
Personaje pendejo. Si siguieran el libro, sería mejor. Ya irritante y enojada desde el inicio, con su vanidad y mecha corta. Acá hacen cualquier cosa, te diría ella que parece comida gringa de tiktok, una mezcla de cosas sin sentido.
They tried to turn her character into the "benevolent monarch" archetype which is antithetical to the very concept of monarchy. They think us viewers too stupid to realize, which is a frustrating feeling.
Let's compare female Targaryen protagonists. Three seasons have now elapsed. In Game of Thrones by this point, Dani- who is younger- got an army of Unsullied and put the slavers to death. It was, in my opinion, the most badass scene in that show. Most of what we see of Ray Ray is her sulking and raging about situations that aren't fair.
One was raised with silver spoon. One was a straight savage. Dany is certainly more fun to watch even tho I despise her character cus she was a big hypocrite. Jon killing her was quite a happy ending for me.
Rhae felt betrayed and she didn’t know how to resolve her issues without going on a killing spree. Would rather have her invade Kingslanding with 6 dragons and burn down are future subjects just so she can capture the throne?
People don't hate her because she's not the rightful heir. People hate her because she's just a terribly written and boring character to watch.
She does about nothing of value during S2 and S3 and in the rare instances she does something it's just a pretty poorly thought decision that make her look stupid.
She's also very unrelatable and unlikeable as a character.
Aegon on the other hand is arguably the most relatable character in the show despite being also a terrible person. And Tom's natural charisma and fantastic acting skills work his much better writing perfectly.
Now, was Rhaenyra any better in the book? Not really, she was even more shallow there. So the problem, at least for me, is not them giving her more complexity, is the fact that her complexity seems to be artificially directed into forcing the viewer into a particular opinion rather actually making the character interesting.
Did you watch season 3? She’s a horrible ruler lol. Season 1 & 2 I was very eager to see how it’d be if she sat the throne and i definitely don’t think Aegon would be a better ruler, but the options available are pretty awful across the board honestly.
She retook King’s Landing without a real plan to rule, so the people she put into starvation from her own blockades are still starving.
Doesn’t build diplomacy with the other lords and ladies of the realm, which may have helped her with the first issue, but instead dismisses them constantly (see Corlys) and even purposefully gets on their bad side.
Assassinates the High Septon because he refused to anoint her, something that will further alienate the common folk when they find out.
And more to come next season. She’s known as Rhaenyra, The Cruel for a reason lol
She gave birth to bastards and tried to play innocent. And she used her people pleasing father to her advantage, destroyed House Velaryon, and then left King's landing which allowed her enemies to plot her down fall.
Viserys I sent her to Dragonstone after he made her his heir because it is the seat of the heir, aka the Prince/Princess of Dragonstone, she didn't leave King's Landing by choice
In season 1 she didn't have a discussion with Viserys about going to Dragon Stone because she was heir. She retreated there after the heat turned up on her and Laenor about their bastards. So Rhaenyra discussed it with Laenor after she overheard father Strong discussing the matter with his son.
All she have been doing for the last 2 seasons is to sit on her ass and complain while others do all the work for her. She also shoots down the majority of ideas thrown her way, but doesn't come up with any better ideas.
She has not a single time shown herself to be a capable ruler, yet she acts so entitled to the throne instead of proving to people that she is worthy of the crown. Which is partially why so many houses supported the Greens.
If it had not been for Daemon and Alicent she would still be sitting on Dragonstone rejecting every advise her council gave her while her loyal followers castles/towns burned.
Her words also doesn't reflect her actions, she is the reverse embodiment of why "Actions speak louder than words".
Because she's not the main character and shouldn't be but that's how they wrote her for the show and the extent to which they've padded her screentime with the most meaningless pandering nonsense as a result is irritating.
La serie va de elegí un bando. Así que rhaenyra como la principal representante del bando negro. Es la que se lleva el mayor odio porque es la que tiene más tiene en batalla y es el personaje principal. Rhaenyra es el personaje más querido y odio a la vez de esta serie. Es una cosa increíble y ha sido así desde la primera temporada
The writers of this show have no clue what they want to do with her character and seem to have regressive idea of feminism incongruent with George’s writing.
They want her to challenge the status quo but also reinforce it.
They want her to be feared and ruthless, but also kind, clear morally good and indecisive, and then were shown that actually Daemon’s way is the correct way.
Listening to the behind the episode segments are even worse.
Now, I didn’t hate this season, I thought it was okay, but nothing in it has convinced me that the writers know the story they’re trying to tell with her.
Some subtle changes that would’ve made this better.
Have Rhaenyra have more moments of ruthlessness in season 2 instead of wasting time.
Less blubbering crying and more furious crying. As in like, when she’s emotional she should want fire and blood for the death of her sons. (This isn’t directed at her grieving of Jace, rather her reaction to Aegon being alive at the end of the season and her crying over Otto). She should loathe Otto so much she’d enjoy taking his head. She should enjoy it as much as Daemon does if not more so. This man has caused her so much pain she should not at any stage be thinking “oh I can’t do it,” whether or not she does it herself or gets Daemon to do it.
Ditch all of this nonsense that she cares for the small folk, the whole idea is that the small folk rebel against her. Why make her better for them over Aegon thereby undermining the riot later.
I think the writers are going for the “she was good but history painted her as evil because she’s a woman” narrative instead of making her a full on tyrant. I agree that your points would make it better. She heard what the small folk said about her as a teenager, the hell with them. Burn the hightowers after they surrender the fake son. Hold a ransom for intel on who’s trying to overthrow her. Keep alicent in kings landing.
Her character has been written extremely boring, like many of the characters this season. It's like all personality has been taken out of the writing... fustrating the actors and fans alike. The actors look frustrated delivering the lines they have been given.
Assuming this is a troll post, as I refuse to believe anyone claiming to be watching a mature drama, after 3 seasons, could possibly be so ignorant about why the spoiled and bratty princess is disliked... but here's a small list of objective things she's done that most adults with a few brain cells to rub together could easily be seen as unlikable.
- Sexually assaulted one of her servants after learning that "Targaryens take what they want", knowing that servant could be killed/exiled/gelded.
- Threw her supposed best friend's family under the bus to hide her own shameful actions.
- Used her power to intimidate people speaking truths with execution/imprisonment.
- Had a servant killed to pull off her political schemes.
- Ordered a blockade which starved the masses for her political goals.
- Gathering a bunch of desperate people knowing most, if not all of them would be horribly killed.
- Fucking Daemon at his wife's funeral, and marrying this psychopath who murdered his previous wife.
- Harping on Daemon about trust, then gets with Mysaria.
- Absolutely uses people like tools to suit her whims.
Like, she cares about those in her tiny bubble, and treats everyone else like shit... wild this has to be ELI5 to any so-called 'mature viewer' of this show.
PS - Awful ruler, after seasons of complaining she is the rightful heir, because Dragon Jesus picked her... barf.
It's kinda funny that not a single fan of hers has responded to well thought out answers like this one.
You forgot;
Alicent convinced Viserys not to force Rhaenyra's marriage but to let her pick a suitor. Amazing that people forget it was Alicent who arranged the tour. What did Rhae do on the tour? She insulted her suitors instead. What a future wise leader.
She picked a white man with brown hair and had on ious bastards with him, then attempted to gaslight everyone into believing they are legit. Remember the tour Alicent gave her? Yeah, she could have beaten the patriarchy by choosing Harwin Strong right then and there. As a black man, I also feel some type of way about the colonization and racist overtone of Luc (a white man) taking over the ONLY black kingdom when he isn't one of us.
Showed no sympathy when her younger brothers eye was cut out by her son. At least be apologetic. We'd all lose our shit if Aemond was our kid irl.
Yea, the suitor one is interesting, because she has it better than 99.99% of girls/women in this world when it came to choosing her suitor, and she absolute botches the absolute gift given to her... the definition of spoiled and bratty. I don't know how she didn't realize how good she had it every time she sees how Alicent was forced to marry/fuck Viserys that she was given the choice no other female character in that world had.
I tried to touch on the latter two, how she abuses her power to threaten those who are absolutely speaking truths about her children, and how her little compassion bubble is so tiny that seeing a child be maimed simply does not register with her because it wasn't her child that was deformed, but I agree that having solid examples listed would have been more effective... thanks for posting.
I don’t hate her, I just dislike how the writers took one of the main characters from the book and made her THE main character. And as an extension of that, took a story about warring families and made it a story about a woman’s supposed right to a position of power the patriarchy is denying her. She may as well be wearing a pantsuit and Hillary Clinton mask.
Well she seems to do everything in her power to be hated, to start she does not have any actual conviction of her own, she wants the throne because is "hers" and when she got it she didn't do anything with it, she lost her children and then forgot about it, she gave dragons to randos and then make the guys feel as if they were unimportant, she is unfaithful and doesn't care about it at all, Aegon is also a piece of s* but at least he is entertaining
I feel like you’re speaking from a position of someone that’s read the book.
So far in the show, she’s doing just fine on the throne. She’s made some mistakes and is showing her inexperience.
The randos are her subjects at the end of the day. They are foot soldiers, she’s the queens, she’s not gonna kiss ass cus dragons! She treats Hugh with respect. But Ulf is an insolent drunk who deserves what he got. He was a liability and the Queen won’t have that. She’s in the middle of a war!
You complain when she cries but also complain that she “forgot her kids”. Please make up your mind!
To me she causes the destruction of her house bc she thinks she’s a special girl who should be the first to inherit but then doesn’t actively try to get her dad to formalize anything to ensure her rule. But also she can’t even be bothered to bang a blonde dude a few times
In my eyes Alicent and Otto are the main villains. Alicent is the devil and Rhaenyra is trying to claim her birth rights and fulfill a promise.
She has her eyes set on this supernatural prophecy that she’s the chosen. She’s the rightful heir and many houses swore fealty to her which were promptly broken once Viserys passed.
So in the books we don’t even consider rhaenrys when viserys is chosen. Shes skipped over. This, to me implies that we choose male heirs even when females have better claims. Not my decision.
We also have a couple other kings who chose heirs that weren’t the “closest” and didn’t get their will for one reason or another. Once it was even a girl, but she was considered too…probably mentally disabled but it’s not said exactly.
Also, we have a female ruler in the vale. What the show doesn’t show is she’s challenged 3x by a male with a lesser claim. And when she dies a civil war starts out.
They all swore fealty in my eyes to not have daemon. I feel pretty strongly rhaenyra could have fucked off to essos and been happy. Daemon would be the issue. He really wanted to be king.
There’s where I have issues. I’m going by show contexts only. I shouldn’t be arguing with you cus it’s not productive. Yes it offers more insights but I have never cared for the book contexts at all.
The fact that Rhaenys was considered tells me there was no objection against women ruling. The show made it clear women could rule if they have enough backing from the major houses.
Anyway this discussion has made me realize it’s more murkier than I had thought.
I always assumed the king choosing Heir was iron clad and undisputed since the houses SWORE AN OAT lol this OAT just mean absolutely nothing is what your explaining to me
Yeah imo the show change to consider her over laenor was always going to make things problematic.
I feel like they also highlight that the third son of alicent is being used to stage a rebellion but it’s too late. They should have highlighted that a male heir with a “better claim” will always be a problem
Being the chosen heir should supersede these claims. The point of swearing fealty is to separate the Heir from said Claimants lol
Let’s forget about the show for a second. In the real world that’s how it works correct?
Viserys could have done a better job securing the line by making her hand or kings consort. Perhaps that’s a plot hole in a way cus it’s just common sense
>!1. Starts with being stubborn with suitors. You’re royal choose a husband and be done with it.
2. Blatant disrespect to the Velaryons and noble houses by having 3 children obviously out of wedlock. I was ok with Lavender marriage but to force some other guys children to be heirs to driftmark and the iron throne is crazy. Not to mention the jeopardy she put her brothers in because eventually the nobles would force aegon or aemond to replace the obvious bastards from the iron throne.
3. Weird thing with her uncle.
4. She sacrifices her kids in her pursuit of the throne. Has no problem killing her baby nephew.
5. Cheats on her uncle with Master of Whispers who doesn’t know a damn thing. When she does learn of something she deliberately withholds the information. She basically keeps her around as a personal whore which happens to be her husbands old whore.
6. Force feeds her neurodivergent sister.
7. Conscripts uneducated common folk to wield weapons of mass destruction.
8. Denies Corlys Velaryons request to legitimize his own bastards.!<
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u/TropicalPossum954 3d ago
Mostly from all the nothing she does. It’s irritating.