Will Lord Corlys Betray Queen Rhaenyra in House of the Dragon?

Lord Corlys is one of the main characters who has stuck by the side of the Targaryen family, and this decision literally cost him everything. He had married into the Targaryen family when he had wed Rhaenys, the cousin of the past king, Viserys. He had two children with her, a daughter and a son, that he deeply loved. He ended up cheating on her at some point during their marriage, an obvious regret that he carried with him, when he refused to even acknowledge his two bastard sons. He ignored their existence, choosing to stay with his wife and children.

Over time during the slow buildup of the Targaryen war, he lost both of his children, including his wife, who died in combat against Aemond. Then during the Battle of the Gullet in season 3, he lost the last thing that he once cherished with his family, his own castle, that he sadly witnessed during the battle.

After he realized that he had nothing left, he decided to finally acknowledge his children, and even told Rhaenyra about this, which she accepted with no judgement, since she herself mothered three bastard children as well.

Corlys finally had his breaking point with the queen when he asked her to name his kids as heir, but Rhaenyra refused to do this, wanting to protect her new image as queen. Corlys got pissed off at her after this was not agreed upon, and he reminded the queen of her own bastard children, which shocked the queen for a brief second.

Even though Corlys was right in this moment, I still felt that he was being such a hypocrite. He only wanted to claim his kids as his heirs after he lost his home and family, so I was a bit taken aback by this statement. They are both villains in their own way, and I felt that both of them were in the wrong.

Corlys is still wanting to serve the queen, but it's obvious that he still carries some disdain for her, as he asked one of his kids to take his place as the right-hand man for the queen. While Rhaenyra is appearing to get along with his two sons, I have a bad feeling that she will eventually become the mad queen, and she will do one last thing to Corlys that will lead to his betrayal.

Corlys has literally done everything that she has asked of him, and I think his breaking point will be when she will either have his sons killed, or she will do something messed up to him behind his back to save herself. Anyone in a crazy situation like this can only take so much, so I wouldn't doubt that Lord Corlys is going to do something to Rhaenyra as his form of revenge.

I struggle to picture Corlys joining the Hightower family during the war, since they are the ones who were responsible for the death of his wife. I think he might give up Rhaenyra in his own way and then escape before she can go after him with her own wrath. Or she might even have him killed at some point too, after she learns of his betrayal. I do picture Rhaenyra doing this, because if she does become a crazy queen, then she will be capable of anything.

Honestly, I wouldn't blame Corlys for going against Rhaenyra at some point during season 3 or in the final one. I think he is only continuing to serve her, since his wife was extremely loyal to the queen, and maybe he believes that he is fulfilling her wish, since he always supported the fact that she should have been queen for the Iron Throne instead of Rhaenyra.

Whatever is in store for Corlys, it won't be a good outcome for Rhaenyra.

Thank you for reading!

Emy Quinn