‘House of the Dragon’ Season 2 Needs To Change the Approach to Rhaenyra

The Big Picture

• House of the Dragon
  ‘s time jumps affected the characterization of Rhaenyra, making her older self feel drastically different from her fierce younger self.
• Emma D’Arcy has the perfect opportunity to portray Rhaenyra’s compelling character in the upcoming season, as they will have more time to make a strong impression.
• As war looms and tragedy strikes, Rhaenyra must reclaim her audacious and defiant spark to assert her claim to the throne and fulfill her duty.

A few years after the controversial ending of the hit HBO show, Game of Thrones, a prequel series was released that helped remind viewers of what they loved about George R. R. Martin‘s fantasy world. House of the Dragon brought audiences back to the world of Westeros, nearly two centuries before the events of the earlier series. While House of the Dragonalleviated much of the distaste left behind by the oft-criticized finale of the earlier show, it’s not without its missteps and areas of improvement. One character in particular requires rejuvenation and, luckily, the upcoming second season of the series is set up to be the best opportunity to bring back their lively spark.

Rhaenyra Targaryen is one of the central focal points of the series, following the dragon-riding princess from her younger years (Milly Alcock) into her adulthood (Emma D’Arcy), with all the harrowing plotting and violence that naturally surrounds the Iron Throne. She was first introduced as a headstrong and independent young woman, defiant of the traditions and limitations around her gender and steadfast in her beliefs. However, as she grew older, much of the fiery rebelliousness that defined her character became far more subdued. This narrative direction limited the full potential of Rhaenyra’s character and, if she hopes to effectively reclaim the Iron Throne, she needs to rekindle that audacious rebelliousness and fire.

Rhaenyra Was First Introduced With a Fiery Attitude in ‘House of the Dragon’

One of the main differences between House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones is their depiction of the passage of time, as the former spans multiple decades within a single season. The numerous time skips in House of the Dragon made it feel unique, allowing for a variety of different storylines to be explored in just a few episodes. However, this creative decision was not without its sacrifices. Due to the constant jumping forward, several years at a time, certain narrative arcs feel disjointed due to the amount of off-screen time and interactions that the audience does not see. One of the missteps of the time skips was the characterization of Rhaenyra, whose older character felt like a stark difference from her younger self.

When Rhaenyra is first introduced, she is depicted as a fiery and self-assured young woman. She was willing to speak her mind to her father, King Viserys, (Paddy Considine), and appointed Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) to the Kingsguard despite him not being of noble rank. When her uncle Daemon (Matt Smith) contested her father’s decision to name her heir, Rhaenyra was willing to fly in on dragonback to assert her claim. As is common with youth, she was readily willing to attain what she desired, coming to an agreement with her betrothed Laenor Velaryon (John Macmillan) to allow them each to pursue discreet romantic endeavors while married.

The Older Rhaenyra Felt Drastically Different From Her Younger Self

However, at the halfway point of the season, the series jumps forward a decade, and Rhaenyra has drastically changed. Though no one could question that Rhaenyra retained her inner strength and resilience, her actions in the second half of the season displayed a weariness and lack of initiative that were not characteristic of her younger self. She becomes more reactive and defensive to the actions and accusations of the Greens, in particular, because her sons are illegitimate. Rhaenyra takes her family from King’s Landing back to Dragonstone, leaving the Iron Throne and the King’s council open to the influence of the Hightowers. In addition to the time jump, showing a change in Rhaenyra’s demeanor also prevented the viewers from seeing her overcome her character obstacles, such as her fear of childbirth and motherhood that she had earlier in the season.

The change in Rhaenyra is more notable because of her stark contrast with her former friend and rival, Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke). When the two were younger, it was Alicent (Emily Carey) who was the less assertive, however, her tenure as queen forged and revealed her inner strength and resilience. Their friendship helped emphasize the differences in their characters that would later be a source of conflict. Comparing Alicent to Rhaenyra in the second half of the season shows a role reversal, depicting Alicent as someone willing to walk out on the king in conversation and effectively rule in his place. Rhaenyra was more passive and still dependent on the king’s favor.

Emma D’Arcy Is in the Perfect Situation in Season 2 of ‘House of the Dragon’

Despite criticisms of the time jumps, they were a necessary step when adapting the series. To set up the fateful conflict that would come to be known as the Dance of the Dragons, dozens of players needed to be put in place, and tensions needed to be tightly wound. Thus, the first season needed to explore how the Blacks and the Greens found their way on opposing sides with a willingness to go to war for the Iron Throne. Now that King Viserys has died, it’s time for the parties to make their moves for the throne. The Greens struck first and struck hard, placing Aegon II (Tom Glynne Carney) on the throne and killing Lucerys (Elliot Grihault). However, despite these setbacks, it’s the ideal opportunity to bring back what made Rhaenyra so compelling in the first place.

An important factor is also that the audience will be able to spend more time with Emma D’Arcy as Rhaenyra. Since D’Arcy only had half a season in the role and was introduced abruptly after audiences became familiar with Milly Alcock, they had to make a strong impression with less time. However, now that D’Arcy is the sole actor in the role for House of the Dragon Season 2, the audiences will get even more opportunities to be enthralled by their acting prowess. The final scene of Season 1, depicting Rhaenyra’s grief at the news of her young son, was an exceptional example of things to come.

The dire situation set up in Season 2 means that Rhaenyra needs to reclaim the assertiveness and decisiveness of her younger years. Now that one of her sons has been killed and war is all but declared, it’s time for her to regain that audacious and defiant spark. Rhaenyra’s claim to the throne is fueled by her need for justice, vengeance, and a duty bestowed upon her by her father. Whether you’re in favor of the Greens or the Blacks, viewers await in anxious anticipation for the continuation of the series this June.

House of the Dragon Season 2 premieres on June 16. Season 1 is available to stream on Max in the U.S.

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