Sending Lucerys to Borros Baratheon Was Rhaenyra's Dumbest Decision in HoTD Finale
If you think about it, there could have been a way to avoid the tragedy.
The season finale of House of the Dragon was quite painful to watch as we had to witness Aemond's dragon Vhagar literally tearing apart Arrax and his rider, Prince Lucerys Velaryon.
What began as a messenger exchange has quickly escalated into an unequal dragon battle between Aemond and Lucerys. While many fans have pinned the blame for the tragic outcome on Aemond, others believe that it was actually kind of... Rhaenyra's fault.
If you think about it, there is a point. What was Rhaenyra hoping for when she sent her teenage son, who is "unavailable for marriage" and does not have any tempting offers, to Borros Baratheon? Undoubtedly, Lucerys behaved himself in the best way possible, but the move itself looked quite bizarre.
Some fans even turned it into a meme.
Naturally, after lack of proposals — obviously, Borros was not in the mood to read what Rhaenyra wrote him — Aemond stepped forward to once again take a jab at Lucerys over their past. The latter made it clear he didn't want to fight, but it no longer mattered: Aemond decided to chase him on Vhagar, and that's when things have gone horribly wrong.
Sending a kid could be a good way to show peaceful intentions, but Blacks should have kept in mind that Greens were no longer in the mood for peace. Aemond might not have intended to kill Lucerys, but the danger was way too obvious not to foresee it.
"Rhaenyra REALLY should have told Luke to offer Borros something if he wasn't amenable to the 'reminder' – not like she could have anticipated what goes down, but still, poorly handled," said Twitter user MeereeneseKnot.
Another fan noted that "Rhaenyra should have sent Lucerys with a marriage pact offer of Joffrey, Viserys in the future and offering Borros a position on her war council. She stated he was a proud man, the offer was weak and Vhagar was a literal mountain". According to the fan, it "makes sense he sides with Aemond in the moment."
Anyway, what's done is done, and it seems that the consequences will be faced by both factions of the Targaryen house. But fans of the prequel will have to wait for around a year until they can know how the story continues.
Season 2 has already been greenlit by HBO, but the premiere date is yet to be scheduled.