House of the Dragon’s Biggest Change Is Backfiring
Rhaena’s arc ends with a fizzle in Episode 7.
House of the Dragon’s intentions with Rhaena Targaryen (Phoebe Campbell) have been pretty obvious for weeks now — and controversial as they might have been, there was still hope that showrunner Ryan Condal would find an interesting new avenue for the character. Condal did away with a crucial Dragonseed from George R.R. Martin’s source material, the commoner known as Nettles, and folded her storyline into Rhaena’s. The Targaryen princess ends up filling the role that Nettles did in Fire & Blood, just not in a way that anyone expected. She tentatively tames the wild dragon called Sheepstealer and rides him into the Battle of the Gullet, but that victory immediately turns sour when Sheepstealer’s antics lead to the demise of Prince Jace (Harry Collett) and cause a rift in Team Black’s resolve.
Per Condal, Rhaena took on Nettles’ place in the narrative to keep House of the Dragon feeling like a family affair. “It felt more apt, as this is a family story… to involve one of the family members in the storyline,” the writer recently told IGN. There was also something appealing about “pairing a wild dragon with a lady of noble blood [who] then becomes somewhat feral herself” — and there was an interesting opportunity to mine something interesting out of Rhaena’s character. In a perfect world, this familial angst would also give Rhaena’s sister Baela (Bethany Antonia), who was engaged to Jace before his demise, a bit more to do.
With only two episodes remaining in its third season, HotD delivers what seems to be the culmination of this family drama. Was it worth the wait, or Condal’s big creative risk? Not really.
Spoilers ahead for House of the Dragon.
What happens to Rhaena in House of the Dragon?
Rhaena’s new storyline could have been so much more.
In Fire & Blood, Rhaena spends most of the battle chilling in the Vale. She becomes the ward of Lady Jeyne Arryn, enjoying the privileges of court and becoming the darling of the realm. The same goes for Nettles, who lives in total comfort after she claims Sheepstealer and joins Team Black as a dragon rider. But it’s a very different story in House of the Dragon: after Jace dies in the Battle of the Gullet, Rhaena returns to the Vale in shame. She hides out with Sheepstealer high in the hills, only coming out of her cave to look for Baela and hunt the dragon Vhagar. She also has a few conversations with her dad, Daemon (Matt Smith), who — upon realizing that his daughter accidentally murdered his stepson and the heir to the throne — is really conflicted about his duties to the queen, Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy).
That conflict comes to a head in House of the Dragon Episode 7. Daemon visits Rhaena in the Vale again, just as Rhaenyra learns that Sheepstealer has been sighted there with a rider. The Queen interrupts their heart-to-heart just when things seem to be turning a corner, triggering a harrowing stand-off between four dragons. Sheepstealer nearly mauls Rhaenyra’s dragon while protecting Rhaena, but eventually Daemon and his dragon, Caraxes, retaliate and attack Sheepstealer with such force that he can’t even fly. Rhaena flies home to King’s Landing with Rhaenyra, where she assumes she’ll be put to the sword for her mistakes... or, at least, thrown into the dungeons of the Red Keep.
Baela and Rhaena reconcile in Episode 7, no questions asked.
Though Rhaena feared what might have happened to her if she owned up to her mistakes, she is still a Targaryen princess. Rhaenyra is pretty merciful, considering she’s still mourning Jace: rather than lock her up, she sets her up with a plush room in the palace, where Rhaena finally (!) gets a bath. Not even Baela seems able to stay mad at her sister. Though Rhaena totally expects Baela to hate her for what she accidentally did to Jace, she’s surprised by a comforting hug and the reminder that she can always begin again.
Nice as it is to see Rhaena met with a softer fate, it doesn’t exactly jibe with the familial angst that Condal promised early in the season. The showrunner teased plenty of “strife” for this branch of the Targaryen family tree — but in reality, Rhaena’s transgressions only really affect Daemon’s loyalty to Rhaenyra.
What was it all for?
Rhaena’s self-imposed exile feels more unnecessary than ever.
Ironically, Condal was against bringing Nettles into the series for fear of relegating Daemon and Rhaenyra to “an infidelity story” — but that happens anyway in Episode 7, just through another path. Rhaena’s own feelings ultimately don’t seem to matter as much to the HotD writers; the same goes for Baela, who’s suddenly caught in a regressive love triangle between Addam (Clinton Liberty) and Alyn of Hull (Abubakar Salim).
The chance for some sisterly angst between the Targaryen princesses could have gone a long way to giving these characters some interiority. It’s not like HotD needed an all-out grudge match between Rhaena and Baela, but seeing weeks and weeks of build-up end with a fizzle and a half-hearted hug just feels like a letdown. It almost feels like Rhaena imposed her own exile for nothing — and maybe that’s the irony Condal & co. were going for, but it doesn’t pack a punch worthy of the behind-the-scenes build-up.
The fallout from Rhaena’s mistake will continue into the show’s Season 3 finale, but Rhaena’s role in it seems to be completed. We’ll see how this continues to erode Rhaenyra’s trust in Daemon, but at this point, it’s hard to stay invested in the messy dynamics at play.
