The Dance of the Dragons will finally begin on Sunday, June 16, and lines are being drawn around the world as the Greens and Blacks get ready to battle.
Yet, those who tune into House of the Dragon Season 2 wanting to see either side triumph are missing the point. Neither team deserves your allegiance, and that’s sort of the point of the new TV series.
You see, this entire civil war is essentially just a petty family squabble about who gets to sit on the least comfortable chair in the Seven Kingdoms. Neither Aegon nor Rhaeynyra want the throne because they feel a duty to the people; they only care about what they believe to be rightfully theirs.
It speaks to the skill of Ryan Condal, the writers, and the House of the Dragon cast that we forget how selfish the Greens and Blacks are. But it’s true, and this isn’t just some republican rant. It’s a theme that runs through Martin’s stories, like a knight’s sword through a peasant’s neck.
Shades of gray
Anyone who’s watched Game of Thrones or House of the Dragon Season 1 knows there are no clear-cut goodies or baddies. George R. R. Martin’s worlds aren’t full of noble heroes and wicked villains; they are populated by complex characters with complicated wants and desires.
On the surface, these can seem outright evil, yet when you interrogate them even slightly, you’ll see more going on under the surface. Take Alicent’s actions in usurping Rhaenyra, for example.
On paper, this seems like a terrible thing to do, but if you stop for a moment and consider Alicent’s position, it starts to make sense. Forgetting the confusion over Viserys’ last words, Alicent’s children are in a very precarious position.
As the sons and daughters of the late Targaryen king, they’re a threat to Rhaenyra’s rule. Any ambitious lord could back them and spark a civil war. In the cut-throat world of the Seven Kingdoms, the easiest option for Rhaenyra is to have them killed or neutralized in some way. What mother wouldn’t want to protect her children in that situation?
Yes, you could argue that Rhaenyra wouldn’t do that, but what about Daemon or another Black loyalist? Are Alicent’s children really safe? When you consider Otto Hightower has spent the last two decades or so dripping this poison in Alicent’s ear, you can understand her paranoia. The same’s true for Rhaenyra if she lets Aegon have the crown. Why would he let her children live?
Those who seek power…
This moral ambiguity ties into the idea that monarchy is fundamentally a bad system of government: it’s too easily influenced by personal motivation. This point that personal desire will always outweigh any sense of duty is key to Martin’s work; to paraphrase Plato, those who seek power are the ones least suitable for it.
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To borrow some questions Martin once asked of Aragorn (Yes, the Lord of the Rings character), what’s Rhaenyra or Aegon’s tax policy? Will they maintain a standing army? What will they do in times of flood and famine?
We genuinely don’t know because neither the Greens nor the Blacks have spent the last decade preparing to rule; they’ve spent it plotting and scheming. We don’t know how Aegon or Rhaenyra will rule. They simply believe it’s their divine right.
Now, you could argue that had the Dance of Dragons not broken out, they would have had more of a focus on domestic matters and that this was all Visery’s fault for not preparing his heirs for the burden of the crown.
Divine right
But that argument doesn’t hold water. The greatest Targaryen king of all time, Jaehaerys I, the third son of King Aenys, had a similarly tumultuous upbringing and never thought he’d rule Westeros. Yet despite the trials of his youth, he grew into a wise and kind king who reformed the land and is credited with binding the conquered Westeros into the Seven Kingdoms we know (well) and love.
Jaehaerys never pursued power. It was thrust upon him by circumstance. Rhaenyra and Aegon, though? Well, each wants the throne for the wrong reasons, and they’ll spill blood to get it. Indeed, the half-sibling’s pursuit of power will lead to the deaths of thousands and bring ruin to their house.
It’s a recurring theme in Martin’s work that ambition and the need to control everything will always be your undoing. It’s what brought Cersei, Littlefinger, and even the Night King down in the end, and it will do the same to the Targaryens.
If you love Westeros, check out our House of the Dragon season 2 review. We’ve also got guides to the Game of Thrones dragons and the deadly Blood and Cheese. But that’s not all; we’ve also compiled all the Game of Thrones casting rumors in one handy article.
Finally, if you’re bored of dragons and kings, why not check out our list of the best new shows hitting the streaming this month?
