Mother of All Messes: Why the Targaryen Civil War is All Rhaenyra's Fault
Rhaenyra Targaryen has been one of the most divisive characters in the entire House of the Dragon fandom.
When she was a child, fans wanted to see her claim her birthright of ascending the Iron Throne. But as she grew into a woman, the audience started to lose sympathy for her.
It was not her dalliance into the King's Landing brothel with her uncle Daemon that caused this. Nor was it her sexual encounter with Ser Criston Cole, which led to her father having moon tea prepared for her. These were acts that could be forgiven because they were missteps by a young girl finding her way in life. It was the moment that she lied to her former best friend, stepmother, and Queen, Alicent, that set her down the path of darkness.
Rhaenyra learned from this experience, but all she learned was that she could engage in any behaviour she wished, and deceit could keep her out of trouble. This pattern continued when she had three children with Ser Harwin Strong whilst married to her husband Ser Laenor Valaryon. Despite it being ludicrously obvious that her first three sons were bastards, due to their lack of silvery hair, Rhaenyra persisted in lying about who their father was.
It was these lies that spurred into motion what would become the Targaryen civil war, also known as the Dance of Dragons. The fact that everyone knew her first three sons were illegitimate, only allowed those who objected to her claim to the throne a stronger stance on which to make their case. She had faced significant opposition from the moment she was named her father's heir, purely because she was female.
She did not help herself at all by having three bastard sons, then being complicit in their legal father being killed so she could marry Daemon.
While purists would argue that it was her half-brother Aegon II being placed on the Iron Throne in her place against her late father's wishes that caused the Dance of Dragons, there is little doubt that had Rhaenyra been honest from the beginning and conducted herself as befitting the future Queen that she was, events would have turned out very differently.
Had Rhaenyra remained true to the realm and not given in to her own selfish desires, she would have had no reason to lie, especially to Alicent. This would have strengthened their relationship, rather than fractured it and seen the Queen support her claim to the Iron Throne, rather than fight for her son to take it. Thus, the war could have been prevented.