House of the Dragon season 2 is in the works. First footage from the set reveals a nickname for Rhaenyra Targaryen, which will become crucial for the further course of her story.
- The shooting of House of the Dragon season 2 is in full swing.
- Now the first video footage from the shoot has surfaced, in which Rhaenyra Targaryen is referred to as “The Cruel One.”
- Behind this is a long story related to the future history of the queen, which has great consequences for Westeros and the dragons.
The 2nd season of “House of the Dragon” is in the middle of filming. Now a video from the set has surfaced that reveals an interesting detail for a possible 3rd season of the “Game of Thrones” spin-off.
In the video, which was shared on Twitter, Rhaenyra Targaryen can be heard being referred to as “Rhaenyra the Cruel.” With this, the 2nd season of George R.R. Martin’s fantasy epic introduces an important plot that will have a cruel ending.
But first, let’s get to the beginning. In the first season of “House of the Dragon”, the bloody war of succession, which goes down in the history of Westeros as the “Dance of the Dragons”, was slowly introduced. The war really breaks out after Rhaenyra’s half-brother Aemond Targaryen kills her son Lucerys Velaryon at the end of Season 1.
This sets the conflict between the Blacks and the Greens in motion. At some point during the war between the opposing parties, Rhaenyra is referred to as “Rhaenyra the Cruel”, the name being based on her ancestor King Maegor I Targaryen.
Maegor I was called “Maegor the Cruel” and is considered the worst and most despicable king to ever rule Westeros. Considering that the Greens are at war with Rhaenyra and her Blacks, a comparison to the cruel king is certainly conceivable as a means of propaganda.
However, the name will actually become reality at some point. The name “Rhaenyra the Cruel” does not come from the novel “Fire and Blood” itself, but it does refer to a part of Rhaenyra’s coming history.
House of the Dragon Season 2: The Story Behind “Rhaenyra the Cruel”
When Rhaenyra takes King’s Landing and the Iron Throne in the book, the people are initially euphoric and welcome the new ruler. But that soon changes. As the war against Aegon II. Targaryen and the Greens continues and the Blacks need money for it, Rhaenyra raises taxes and introduces high fines.
With this she raises the people against her. The people go on the barricades against her and call Rhaenyra “King Maegor with teats”. This equates her with the cruel Maegor and it seems as if the nickname “The Cruel” already lays the foundation for Rhaenyra’s later designation in House of the Dragon season 2.
The fact that Rhaenyra is already referred to as “the Cruel” in season 2 could mean that the bloody uprisings against Rhaenyra might be coming much sooner than initially thought.
Even though Rhaenyra will be called “the Cruel” in Season 2, it raises the question of how much the rightful queen of Westeros actually deserves this dpitz name. So far, “House of the Dragon” has portrayed Rhaenyra as a much more gracious and level-headed woman than in the book. This is only a retelling of events, which is why not everything has to turn out as described on paper.
For example, the book says that Laenor Velaryon was murdered by his former lover. However, we saw that Rhaenyra’s husband only faked his death. The historians assumed that Daemon Targaryen ordered the assassination of Laenor. This is not entirely untrue either, except that Daemon helped Laenor fake his death and then his subsequent escape.
The death of Daemon’s wife Rhea Rois was also different from what is described in the book. The story states that Daemon’s wife died in a riding accident. However, as we know from House of the Dragon, it was caused by Daemon himself, as he wanted to get rid of his wife.
The cruel deeds that Rhaenyra carried out as queen could therefore also have been committed by someone else, and Rhaenyra could have been framed for them. The murder of her son will have triggered something dark in Rhaenyra, but it cannot be assumed that she only wants revenge.
Rhaeynra has tried several times in Season 1 to settle the conflict between herself and her siblings peacefully, despite cruel actions of the Greens towards her.
However, it is also possible that Rhaenyra acts even more cruelly than described in the book. In this one, she just sits out most battles and lets others do the fighting. However, since she has one of the most powerful dragons on her side, it could also be that she fights most of the dance herself.
Sometimes truth and perception are close together or terribly far apart. We rather assume that Rhaenyra will have much less to do with the riots in King’s Landing than the history books would have us believe.
