Why Rhaenys Didn’t Burn The Greens When She Had The Chance

In last night’s episode of House Of The Dragon, the Greens—led by Otto Hightower and Queen Alicent—make their move.

King Viserys is dead, and within hours the Small Council is plotting to push Rhaenyra aside and replace her with her half-brother Aegon. Alicent justifies this with Viserys’s delusional ramblings on his deathbed. Otto and the other co-conspirators have been plotting the succession behind her back for a long time, justifying the deception because Rhaenyra is a woman.

As luck would have it, almost every member of Team Black is outside of King’s Landing at the time of the king’s death. Rhaenyra and Daemon have taken their children back to Dragonstone and won’t have heard of the king’s passing yet. Even with spies in the city, the Greens have kept the king’s death under wraps and it will take time for news to travel to Dragonstone and more time still for Rhaenyra to mount a response of any kind.

The only ally of any significance in the Red Keep at the time of Viserys’s passing is his cousin, Princess Rhaenys who was passed over for the Iron Throne years before. She is locked in her quarters as the Greens carry out their business.

(The only other faithful lords are killed. Lord Beesbury is killed during the Small Council meeting by Ser Criston Cole and Lord Caswell is hung after trying to escape to bring her news; Ser Westerling, the commander of the Kingsguard, turns in his White Cloak but is able to leave unmolested since it appears he will not take sides).

Queen Alicent approaches Rhaenys in her chambers and pleads with her to come over to Team Black. What good has an alliance with Rhaenyra and Daemon brought her, after all, save for two dead children? But Rhaenys is unmoved. She tells Alicent that she’s just being manipulated by the men around her, fashioning a window in her prison cell rather than any true liberation.

This should give us a window into her support for Rhaenyra. At the very least, supporting her cousin’s daughter will mean supporting a woman and set an important precedent. When she was passed over for the crown, the law of succession changed. Instead of honoring the firstborn son and his progeny the crown went to the eldest male of the second-born son. Rhaenyra taking the Iron Throne would, to some degree, right that wrong in Rhaenys’s mind.

So when Erryk Cargyll rescues her from her chambers and takes her out of the Red Keep, she goes willingly. She also has her wounded husband, Corlys Velaryon to consider. He has been steadfast in his support of Rhaenyra and her sons. Her son Luke is set to inherit Driftmark and become Lord of the Tides and marry Daemon’s daughter Rhaena, Rhaenys’s granddaughter.

But all does not go as planned, and soon she finds herself in a throng of small folk being herded to the Dragonpit for Aegon’s coronation. This brings a smile to her lips. She thought she would have to flee the city without her dragon Meleys, also known as the Red Queen—a swift, ferocious dragon said to be much faster than Vhagar or Caraxes. Now she has a chance to escape with her dragon as well.

As the coronation ceremonies takes place, Rhaenys sneaks to the dragon chambers below, mounts her dragon and—in Aegon’s moment of triumph—breaks through the floor, scattering small folk and shocking the Greens up on the dais.

At this moment, Rhaenys has the entire cabal before her. With a word—dracarys—she could burn them to a smoking heap of fire, ashes and bone. She could end the coming civil war before it’s even begun.

Many people have taken to social media, to forums and comment sections, and wondered why on earth she didn’t just kill them all when she had the chance?

The answer is complicated. I will do my best to explain. There are several reasons that all conspire to make her show mercy. We’ll go through them one by one.

Why Rhaenys Doesn’t Burn The Greens

Rhaenys isn’t a cold blooded killer. She comes from a generation of peace. Her grandfather, King Jahaerys, ruled over a decades-long peace where most conflicts (though not all) were resolved with diplomacy and words. Her cousin, King Viserys, also ruled over decades of peacetime. His way was one of resolution. Rhaenys is cut from the same cloth, and would be loathe to solve this problem simply by murdering everyone before any other bloodshed has occurred.

She would become a kingslayer and a kinslayer. Superstition is strong in Westeros, as it was in our own Medieval era. Killing a king is no small thing, even if that king is a pretender to the throne. He’s been anointed by a Septon and wears a crown. All of King’s Landing was there to witness the coronation. Killing Aegon II would make Rhaenys a Kingslayer which would stain her reputation and that of House Velaryon forever.

Worse, perhaps, would be the title Kinslayer. Killing one’s family members is the most accursed crime of all, and Rhaenys would have the blood of her own nephews and niece on her hands, as well as Alicent, Otto Hightower and many more. She would not only stain her reputation beyond repair, she could face retributive justice. Even her allies would look upon her differently after such an act, and she would make grave enemies in Oldtown, the seat of the Hightowers, and elsewhere. She would be spurned forever by all of the Seven Kingdoms.

The war has not yet begun. At this point in time, there is no war. Yes, we all know the Dance of Dragons is coming—one of the bloodiest and most tragic eras in Westerosi history. But Rhaenys doesn’t know that. In the beginning of this conflict, words are wielded rather than swords. Alliances must be made (and broken) and ravens must fly. No blood has been spilled, no vengeance has yet to be exacted. It is not in Rhaenys’s nature or best interest to kill before any killing has begun. For all she knows, Rhaenyra will bend the knee or the two factions will come to a peaceful resolution and bloodshed can be avoided entirely.

There are innocents to consider. It’s easy to say “burn them all” but we’re forgetting that this includes young princess Helaena who has done nothing wrong. Nor has Aemond at this point. Both are Alicent’s children and still youths and both have simply joined their brother on the stage. Even Aegon was reluctant to take the crown, having been literally chased down and brought back to the Red Keep. But even if we can hold the young king guilty of treason, at this point his siblings are not.

Then there is the Septon to consider. Killing the Septon would spark outrage among the faithful and surely incite condemnation from the High Septon and the church. This could have long-lasting ramifications for Rhaenys and her family and for Rhaenyra who could be seen as complicit.

She’s known them all for years. This cannot be overstated. Rhaenys isn’t staring down at a pack of strangers or an invading force of Dothraki. These are people she’s known since they were babes. Even Alicent would have been just a child when she first came to King’s Landing and Rhaenys would have known all her children since they were infants. Killing people you’ve known a lifetime would be no simple thing. Imagine yourself in this position. She clearly has respect and love for Alicent. Surely for the sweet, slightly mad Helaena as well. Perhaps even for Aemond and Aegon. For all we know, she’s spent quality time with Otto Hightower.

The fact is, these are kin and friends and nobility and any violence meted out to them would not only be troubling to her as a person, but would forever stain her reputation and the honor of House Velaryon. Even her closest allies would shrink back from such a move, especially since they are all still at peace and the slaughter would involve so many innocents.

I made a video about this as well:

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