Why House the Dragon's Decision to Kill the Best Character was a Smart Move

Rhaenys Targaryen was the best character in House of the Dragon. She was a fierce warrior since season 1, and I was not expecting her character to get killed off so early. Even though I was pretty upset with her demise, there was one thing that made me happy with her death. Her death truly did prove that plot armor is not really a thing in House of the Dragon.

Her death really gave off the old school Game of Thrones vibes, something that I really did miss. Seriously, I really thought her character was going to live all the way to the final season.

Rhaenys was introduced as The Queen Who Never Was. Apparently, her character was being considered for the Iron Throne many years ago, but she was happy with the decision, even if her husband, Corlys, was upset over this for a good while. Her husband always believed that his wife was meant to rule, and I completely understand why he was outraged over this.

Rhaenys was a powerful fighter that did not have an ounce of fear within her. After losing her children to two different circumstances, including her brother-in-law that dared to go against Rhaenyra, she still remained loyal and strong through everything.

I think the only reason she remained so loyal, is because she shared a strong bond with her cousin, Viserys, who was the father of Rhaenyra. Her loyalty was so shocking to me, because she easily could have switched sides to the Hightowers. They were the obvious powerful family, but she did not give a single damn, because she was more pissed off at the fact that they betrayed Rhaenyra, taking away the Iron Throne from her grasp at the end of season 1.

She even broke through the building during Aegon's official rule as king, to let the Hightower family know that she was for Rhaenyra. She shockingly did not kill the family right then and there with her dragon, but like she told Rhaenyra, the war wasn't hers to begin.

After this, she became one of the Hightowers biggest enemies, so it really wasn't a surprise that the family was now after her. She unfortunately meets her demise during season 2, in an epic battle with dragons. She goes against Aemond and his huge dragon, including Aegon, who wasn't supposed to be there for the fight. Aemond burns his brother and heavily injures his dragon, leaving only Rhaenys left.

She does fight for a good while, barely escaping from the fight.

Then instead of leaving the fight, she shares one final look with her dragon, and she tells her dragon to turn back, to attack Aemond.

I instantly knew she was going to die, and it broke my heart the first time I saw this scene. She was a warrior through and through and was willing to die fighting then escape from a fight. She loses against Aemond, and along with her dragon, they both die together.

This was such an impactful death and was such a shocking one for a season that was kind of a bit slow for me. This was definitely the biggest highlight of the season, and I really missed her character after she died. I felt so sorry for her husband, who was now a broken man after her death.

What's crazy is that Corlys has always been about having pride and having a great history, and now he does. He is always going to tell the story of how his wife bravely died, and he even named a ship after her, which was such a sweet gesture on his part.

Rhaenys is the best character in House of the Dragon, and her character will be dearly missed. If only she were alive, because the war is only going to get so much worse.

Thank you for reading!

Emy Quinn