Rhaenys Targaryen Was My Favorite Book Character, but I Am Ready for Her Show Death

While some of the differences that House of the Dragon has brought to George R.R. Martin's Fire & Blood have made the underlying conflict of the series deeper and more interesting to explore, others have done nothing but ruin beloved characters. One of my personal favorites from the novel was Rhaenys, but now I am counting the days to see her death.

Thanks to Ryan Condal's version of her character, I have come to appreciate her book counterpart even more. And worst of all, Eve Best would absolutely kill as the book's Rhaenys if only she were given the chance.

Will Rhaenys Targaryen Die in House of the Dragon?

If the show doesn't change yet another detail about Rhaenys Targaryen, she will die during the events captured in House of the Dragon, and it should happen quite soon. However, it is upsetting to think that her death is the only thing that can stop the constant massacre of her character in the adaptation.

During the first season of the show, the glimpses of Rhaenys' feisty character were very obvious to the viewers. She was straightforward when talking to young Rhaenyra about her father's marriage and the line of succession, she was strategic about her husband's ambition to get his blood on the Iron Throne.

The first sign of her character's complete turnaround was the scene in episode 9, when Rhaenys emerged from the dragonpit to ruin King Aegon's coronation. If she were true to her book self, she would have murdered them all on the spot, not only for usurping the throne, but for holding her hostage.

However, even the changes suggested by the show were not consistent. In the third episode of season 2, Rhaenys completely dismisses her own wrongdoing by trying to convince Rhaenyra to find a way to avoid the war. Speaking of men seeking bloodshed, she conveniently forgets about the hundreds of commoners murdered in the throne room.

The three-episode arc of both sides doing nothing and trying to postpone the war that was so hyped during the promotion of season 2 is disappointing on its own, but Rhaenys being the one to push Rhaenyra to peace, almost blaming Lucerys for starting it, and praising Otto is what makes me seethe the most.

It is now clear that House of the Dragon has no intention of being faithful to the original novel. Reliable narrator or not, it had a certain structure, but the show rewrites it completely. However, if you're still interested in seeing where this version of events might lead, don't forget to tune into season 2 every Sunday on HBO or Max.