I would give you many children of pure Velaryon blood, so that we may strengthen
the Royal line and the realm. You're still fertile. You need
to marry and breed. I am Queen Regent, not some broodmare. You're my daughter!
You will do as I command and you will marry Loras Tyrell.
Only two episodes into House of the Dragon, and we can quickly see that the more things change,
the more they remain the same. The characters may be different,
the conflicts might be different, the atmosphere and locations might be a little different,
and the character arcs and story might be a little different as well, but beneath the surface,
the greater underlying omnipresent themes are all the same. The political maneuvering,
the desire to expand one’s own scope of power and influence, the behind the scene deals and wavering
alliances of convenience, and of course, the overall misogynist mistreatment of women in this
mean spirited testosterone driven patriarchy. Feminism in Westeros! Or perhaps Feminism
in Reverse, or something like that. Women in this world have never been treated well,
with fathers quick to pimp out their young daughters like property,
when other men aren’t simply assaulting whatever women they like with impunity.
Indeed, most of the underlying themes all revolve around the scope of power and influence, and women
are one of the primary means to an end for the powerful men in the family. They use even royal
women as pieces of chattel to trade for stronger alliances, binding houses together and resolving
conflict without the women themselves having any choice in the matter. Cersei is a prime example,
as she was shipped off to Robert Baratheon like a common whore by her scumbag father Tywin. The
same dynamic is at play here, with scumbag Otto and his daughter Alicent, as well as the scumbag
Sea Snake and his obscenely young daughter Leana. It would’ve been two years before she could even
have done the deed to consummate the marriage, but the Sea Snake was ready to barter her off anyway,
feeding her lines that he felt would please Viserys. Daenerys herself was given up as property
to Khal Drogo by her scumbag brother. And then in the extreme case of someone like scumbag Stannis,
he was quick to burn his own daughter alive, with the false belief that it would help him grow more
powerful and influential. It’s almost impossible to believe he would’ve done that to a male heir,
but women are expendable in this world. The one thing that makes it very easy to
become immersed in House of the Dragon is that we are already very familiar with this world and
its working mechanisms. Part of the appeal in House of the Dragon is how certain themes and
character traits transcend the generations. A House of the Dragon episode could easily be a
Game of Thrones episode. You could take almost the same dialogue, assign it to characters from the
much earlier generation, and it wouldn’t make a world of difference. The lines could be delivered
by anyone from any generation, as if the entire world were frozen in the same loop for all time.
The characters are what they are; perhaps because of where they're from, the families they group in,
and the people that surround them. The anti-feminist mood in Westeros makes it
difficult for women across all social classes, even the mighty and powerful. Difficult, but
not impossible. Some extraordinarily strong and ambitious women have carved out their own lot on
their own merit in this disgustingly chauvinistic world. Chief among them was Cersei Lannister,
a great woman who had everything stacked against her, where time and time again she overcame
adversity with triumphant class and style. Indeed, Cersei was a strong and independent woman who was
smart, resourceful, and when need be a little manipulative, which I would say is a requirement
for any woman to survive in this world. Even as a woman, Cersei ascended the Iron Throne,
and Queen Cersei did her very best to protect the realm from that power hungry maniac Daenerys
Targaryen. And Cersei wasn’t alone, there were many other strong women in Game of Thrones,
including the Night Kingslayer, Brienne of Tarth, and even that smirking whore from High
Garden to name a few! And of course, the great Lady Olenna, matriarch of House Tyrell.
There are some valid comparisons to be made between Cersei, Olenna and Rhaenys, but in terms
of the Queen Who Never Was, a precedent was set that no woman shall ever ascend the Iron Throne.
That was the way of the world, which Rhaenys understood all too well. Which brings us to
Rhaenyra. She is the one character in House of the Dragon who has already proven to be a badass. She
exuded great wisdom in choosing Ser Criston Cole for the Kingsguard, and even when Otto attempted
to undermine her decision, she stood firm and called him out, noting the King deserved someone
with battle experience first and foremost. Then when Otto was having his Kobayashi Maru moment,
which incidentally, it’s amazing to me Otto never even anticipated the looming dragon
might be a problem - but when he knew he was screwed in a no win situation,
Rhaenyra swooped in on Syrax, she confronted her belligerent Uncle with unwavering courage, putting
her own life on the line, and she was triumphant in the battle of wills with Uncle Daemon.
Rhaenyra exhibited leadership, courage, and decisive action, which sadly is a rarity for
women in both Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon. Their chief power seems to be the innate
charm of their sex. Men in this world are a sucker for a beautiful woman as they are in ours. The
only way they can exert their influence is via subtle manipulation, moving pieces into position
behind the scenes, building power without anyone knowing it. Cersei is a perfect example of this.
In addition to sleeping with the love of her life, her brother Jaime, she also seduced her cousin,
Lancel, who was a squire to her wretched husband Robert. She used this affair to influence him to
kill the king. This put the throne in the hands of her son from Jaime, sadistic young Joffrey.
Joffrey is not yet of age though, and the noble Ned Stark is to serve as Regent. Cersei cannot
allow this, and manipulates the court to arrest Ned. Nor was she finished, after Joffrey is
poisoned, she accuses her own brother Tyrion of his murder and convinces his lover, Shae to lie
against him. She summarily buys off Tyrion's only friend Bronn. To some extent this barely scratches
the surface, she also convinces Jaime to head to Dorne to save their daughter Myrcella, ultimately
resulting in her death. She isn’t happy that her other son, Tommen, is to marry that smirking
whore from Highgarden, so she schemes to blow up the Sept of Baelor and kill the entire family.
This results in Tommen’s suicide, but what else was a girl to do when a misogynist world denies
her power and influence and threatens her family at every turn? As she said, if she were born
with a schlong, she could go out and fight like Jaime and would be the Lannister heir herself.
Ultimately, Martin presents us with something of an irony between the sexes.
He has produced a long list of strong female characters: Cersei, Danaerys, Arya, Brienne, the
Queen of Thorns and of course right now Rhaenyra. You can imagine the world itself would be better
off if they were given more power and were able to take their rightful place leading their families
and Westeros, but they are repeatedly denied these opportunities by men, forced to exert their power
behind the scenes or in manipulative ways. At the same time, Martin also takes great pains to
illustrate that the men in this world aren’t all rotten apples even with the obvious sexism. Key
characters from Ned Stark to King Viserys clearly care very much about the women in their life,
and are at times capable of expressing emotion in what we might call almost a modern manner,
but they are as trapped in their circumstances as the women. Their love cannot overcome the
violence of men who feel nothing similar. Their love can barely even allow them to imagine a
world where this violence is overcome. In that regard, we might call Martin the ultimate cynic.
It’s clear what is right, but right cannot be done in the face of brute force and might.
Martin himself has said he was inspired by the Wars of the Roses that wreaked havoc in England
between 1455 and 1487, which was also the subject of Shakespeare’s historical plays. The world back
then also had little respect for women and much fear of the sword, but over the course of time, it
changed. Things progressed. THIS is where House of the Dragon is provided with a real opportunity.
Women today are not the same as those in the Middle Ages and those in Westeros. In the real
world, powerful women like Elizabeth I became Queen and ultimately the long march to something
resembling equality began. At the same time, this march was very long and uneven. Shakespeare’s
plays are littered with misogynist references and the belief that men had the power to make
decisions for women. Hamlet’s former lover Ophelia is just as manipulated by her father as anyone in
Westeros. Hamlet himself tells her, forcefully, to become a nun. Even in the early days of the United
States, progressive figures at the time like John Quincy Adams, an adamant opponent of slavery,
believed women should be denied the right to vote because their authority was subservient to men
and men would make the ultimate decision with the wife behind the scenes.
The question for House of the Dragon fans: Are we seeing the very beginning of this march in
the fictional world of Westeros? 175 years later in Game of Thrones, we know that women are still
subjugated, but there have been women queens and heads of houses. Is Rhaenyra the first? Do the
few clues so far regarding her unique boldness and courage represennt a sign of things to come?
Will she evolve into a master of manipulation to carve her own way? Is Rhaenyra the pioneer
Rhaenys once aspired to be, paving the way for great women like Queen Cersei?
Long Live Queen Cersei, in our hearts forever. Thank you very much for watching everyone, I hope
you enjoyed, and have a wonderful night! Get thee to a nunnery. Farewell. Or,
if thou wilt needs marry, marry a fool, for wise men know well enough what monsters you
make of them. Go to a nunnery! For no matter how silly the idea of
having a Queen might be to us, as Americans we must be gracious and considerate hosts.
Our child murdered at his own wedding, our only daughter shipped off to Dorne,
our baby boy set to marry that smirking whore from Highgarden!
Shame, shame, shame. She’s a maniac, a maniac, I
sure know. I sure know!