Warning: Spoilers up for the "House of the Dragon" play 3 finale.
Daenerys Targaryen is calved astir 2 hundreds of years after the events of "House of the Dragon," yet she haunts the communicative almost arsenic overmuch arsenic the characters onscreen.
There are echoes of Daenerys' self-righteous emergence to power — and perhaps, her tragic eleventh-hour downfall — successful the communicative of Rhaenyra Targaryen, who becomes progressively power-hungry successful pursuit of the Iron Throne successful the "Game of Thrones" prequel's bloody warfare of succession.
"House of the Dragon" showrunner Ryan Condal told Business Insider that was intentional.
"This is the logic that Daenerys is begging for a crown crossed the Narrow Sea, and the dragons are each dead. Because of this story," Condal said. "So I deliberation those connections are important to make to punctual group that these 2 periods successful history are intimately connected pinch 1 another."
Rhaenyra and Daenerys are some dragon queens pinch deity complexes
In 129 AC (the measurement of years utilized successful Westeros, meaning "after conquest"), Rhaenyra Targaryen, the heir to the Iron Throne named by her father, King Viserys, is usurped by her younger half-brother and his mother's powerful family, the Hightowers.
To retake her father's throne, Rhaenyra shores up her dragon fleet (sacrificing respective guiltless group successful the process) and becomes convinced that her convulsive run is preordained — that she is the "Prince That Was Promised" who will prevention the realm from darkness.
Sound familiar? In 283 AC, House Targaryen is usurped by different powerful family, the Baratheons, and Daenerys Targaryen is sent to unrecorded successful exile. To retake her father's throne, Daenerys uses humor magic to hatch 3 dragons and uses this atomic threat to conquer cities, build an army, and, successful her ain words, prevention the realm from tyrants, "no matter the cost."
The parallels betwixt Rhaenyra and Daenerys are difficult to ignore, arsenic is the sadistic irony of Rhaenyra's descent into tyranny.
In the "House of the Dragon" play 2 finale, Rhaenyra's hubby and king consort, Daemon Targaryen, has a vision of his family's future. He sees Daenerys pinch her 3 babe dragons, but he doesn't cognize who she is. He besides sees Rhaenyra sitting connected the Iron Throne and seems to erroneously conflate those 2 images.
Both Rhaenyra and Daemon usage his imagination to warrant the unit and suffering wrought by Rhaenyra's reign.
"We cognize that Rhaenyra's not the chosen one. If location is simply a chosen one, a 'Prince That Was Promised' successful the story, it's 200 years away. It's Jon Snow, aliases it's Daenerys, depending connected really you construe the prophecy," Condal explained. "But of course, Rhaenyra and Daemon person nary measurement of knowing that."
In the "House of the Dragon" play 3 finale, Rhaenyra kicks her messianic obsession into overdrive. She orders the execution of the High Septon, the caput of the Faith successful Westeros. Her justification is that she is the humor of Old Valyria, and she answers to higher gods.
Rhaenyra past delivers a reside to the commonfolk gathered extracurricular the Sept, revealing herself to beryllium the prophesied savior of Westeros — aliases truthful she believes.
"If your world is to survive, I must ray the way," she declares. "Because I americium the shield of the people. I americium the Rhaenyra the Chosen."
The segment mirrors the triumph reside that Daenerys delivers successful the "Game of Thrones" bid finale aft she razes King's Landing pinch dragonflame, framing herself arsenic the eventual liberator. Actor Emilia Clarke antecedently said that she studied videos of Hitler to thrust location Daenerys' translator into a dictator.
Condal said he was "certainly aware" of the Daenerys parallel while penning and filming Rhaenyra's climactic, self-aggrandizing monologue.
"Daenerys and Rhaenyra find themselves connected parallel tracks," he said, adding, "I deliberation it's important that the show has echoes of the original bid successful it, successful immoderate ways, truthful that they stay connected."
"House of the Dragon" play 3 is now streaming connected HBO Max.
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Callie Ahlgrim is simply a elder newsman astatine Business Insider who writes astir popular culture, pinch a typical attraction connected the euphony industry.As a cofounding personnel of BI's euphony vertical, Callie has covered a scope of basking topics astatine the intersection of art, personage culture, and business: the political implications of Bad Bunny's success; the symbolism of Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl halftime show; the impact of Beyoncé's blockbuster country album; the mythology of Frank Ocean; the promotional powerfulness of TikTok; the marque strategies of stars for illustration Morgan Wallen, Addison Rae, Chappell Roan, and Katy Perry; the modern challenges of making money arsenic a musician; and more.Callie is simply a two-time finalist astatine the LA Press Club Awards, astir precocious earning 2nd spot successful "Commentary Analysis/Trend, Music, Online" for "Taylor Swift's caller era."She graduated from Boston University pinch a Bachelor of Science successful Journalism, a Bachelor of Arts successful English, and a insignificant successful Spanish. She antecedently wrote columns for Man Repeller and Elle magazine.
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