House of the Dragon has been trying many new things in its latest season. After the waves of success that the first season got, it would seem that the showrunners believed that they had enough room to be somewhat experimental with the story of the second. However, trying something new doesn’t always pan out, and the same has been the case for the hit series.
Although a lot of their new stories have been excellently executed, some have fallen short with their audience. There is no better example of this than Daemon’s arc in the Harrenhal, which many have called frustratingly stretched out. Another example is that of Rhaena Targaryen, who has pretty much been floating through the series with no proper motivations until her encounter with the dragon in the final moments of the final episode.
Recently, Ryan Condal was asked about her character and the directions he wants to take with her. Unfortunately for him, his answer seems to have only further infuriated the fans.
The House of the Dragonless
During a recent press conference (via RadioTimes), Ryan Condal, the showrunner and creator of the series, was asked if he had any intentions of bringing Nettles into House of the Dragon. Nettles was a beloved character from the books, who was a bastard of uncertain birth, a Dragonrider for Sheepstealer. Interestingly enough, he mentioned that the fans would have to be patient, and then immediately began to talk about Rhaena Targaryen.
I think that’s a ‘please stay tuned and keep watching the story,
I will say we love Rhaena as a character and we’ve we’ve really done a lot of legwork to set her up from the beginning as somebody in this Targaryen household who does not have a dragon and we see how powerful an idea it is.
In the interview, it seems to have been confirmed that Rhaena’s character has been merged with Nettles’, avoiding some future conflicts and focusing on her arcs that have been set up this season. The showrunner then went on to talk about how Daemon’s daughter has been fairing in the new season. Early on, one very important part of her was established; she did not have a dragon, even though she tried really hard to form a bond with one.
We’ve seen how with Aemond’s character, somebody that grows up in a family, even at the time of peace, when you don’t have a dragon, how it changes how you’re identified even within the family and how how desperate Rhaena is for that sort of self identification as a dragon rider and is willing to go to fairly dangerous lengths to try to see that realized.
With the places her story goes, being belittled at the Vale, running from her fleet, her desperate need to become a dragonrider and her eventual dangerous encounter with a wild dragon in the finale. Condal put emphasis on the pressures that come with being from the House of the Dragon when one does not have one.
We’re providing the television version of one objective truth of this history and anybody who reads the book is free to interpret it however they want to, but there is a there are a lot of paths to interpretation through this and I think the the Rhaena story, as we’re seeing it unfold, is potentially one of those interesting interpretations that we have to offer and I would just say that we don’t do any of this stuff lightly.
Taking the example of Aemond and the lengths that he went to in order to claim Vhagar, it is safe to assume that being a Targaryen comes with a lot of pressure.
Fans Are Not Impressed
Although Ryan Condal gave quite a lengthy answer to the question of Rhaena Targaryen’s story in House of the Dragon, fans do not seem satisfied with what he had to say. One fan specifically pointed out that they did not like how he answered fan questions. Accusing the showrunner of complicating simple answers, they mentioned that his words often do not make much sense.
What? I hate the way he answers questions. None of that word salad makes a lick of sense. Especially considering the waste of a storyline Rhaena had. 8 episodes looking for a damn dragon? And it wasn’t even a thoughtful search. There is no emotional connection to it. She’ll…
— 🗣️Summertime Sublime 👱🏽♀️👩🏽🦱🐾🐶 (@RevereRomance) August 6, 2024
Seriously couldn't have said it better. It felt forced af and the way he answered that makes me think he has no idea either it's giving .. pic.twitter.com/I3gCCNkiBB
— Emily P LaFleur (@EmilyP587628) August 6, 2024
I hate that they sprinkled in random scenes of her running… like ok? HBO writers are talented, I refuse to believe the execs didn’t order them to stretch out the season.
— 🍁𝒫𝓁𝑜𝓊𝓇𝒹𝑒🪨 (@SimmerPlourde) August 6, 2024
Its the typical “I’m a writing genius” energy lol.
Alot of screenwriters today think they are the next Kubrick or Scorcese. D&D where the same, so was Lauren Hissrich. They forget their job isn’t to play around with it as if it was their own story but to ADAPT the story 😂
— PSN Darkavenger_13 (@Darkavenger_13) August 6, 2024
they truthfully could have shown us a sequence where she suffered going thru the vale like a time lapse and finds sheepstealer. I don’t hate her character but more time couldve been spent showing her tryna tame her, more wild reactions and a better view of Sheepstealer.
— DLRM Maj (@MajinnJayy) August 5, 2024
They then went on to talk about Rhaena’s arc this season, believing it to be a waste of screen time and a character that had a lot of potential. Considering how long she was just floating around the story, having no addition to the plot, they pointed out that all of that for a meeting with a dragon was not satisfying to watch.
Especially because she happened upon the dragon by accident, and it is very obvious that she will end up taming Sheepstealer eventually. While some might get upset with this take, there were more than a handful of fans who agreed with this perspective. They believe that HBO has a lot of talent that is being wasted with such lazy writing.
