One Scene in 'House of the Dragon' E4 Rhaenyra is Roasted For
Some things are better left unsaid.
Warning: the following article contains spoilers for 'House of the Dragon ' episode 4
In 'King of the Narrow Sea', Rhaenyra Targaryen certainly comes in a new light. Not only does she continue her quiet riot against her father, King Viserys, but also explores her sexuality in ways that are sometimes uncomfortable to watch.
As part of her looming adult life, she goes out with her uncle Daemon, with their "date" ending in a brothel, where the rogue prince finally makes a move and kisses Rhaenyra. She looks like she is all in; the two start undressing each other and things are about to get steamy, when Daemon suddenly breaks the spell and leaves.
The mere fact of the two going out undercover to visit a brothel predictably makes waves when Otto Hightower, the King's Hand, reports their night out to Viserys. Alicent, Otto's daughter, openly challenges Rhaenyra and demands the truth about her audacious brothel adventure with Daemon – and the princess does something fans immediately deemed cringe-worthy at best and simply mean at worst.
She swore on her mother's memory that Daemon never touched her. First of all, not true – the two did not eventually hook up, but there was a lot of touching and everyone knew where it was going. Secondly… on Aemma's memory, really?
"Rhaenyra swearing on her dead mother daemon didn't touch her was hilarious they really are two sides of the same coin." - @tropotropotropo
People immediately flocked to Twitter to perpetuate Rhaenyra's "oath" in memes.
In the end, episode 4 had Rhaenyra doing the following: gaslighting her father into firing Otto; almost hooking up with her uncle, and fully hooking up with Sir Criston (who might get into real trouble after that, might we add); and finally, lying about the whole thing on her mother's grave while talking to her best friend. Didn't we forget anything?
With six more episodes to come, it looks like Rhaenyra will deliver even more unsavory moments, like the rest of 'House of the Dragon' characters. The show is already notorious for pretty much everyone being morally grey, which sometimes makes it hard to root for your favorites.
'House of the Dragon' is currently streaming on HBO Max, with new episodes premiering every Sunday.