Actress Milly Alcock discusses whether Rhaenyra, who she plays in the television series “House of the Dragon,” really aspires to rule Westeros from the Iron Throne. The Targaryen civil war is described in detail in “House of the Dragon,” which takes place over 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. The program, which debuted in August, has already established itself as a major success, boasting the biggest premiere in HBO history and receiving favorable ratings from both viewers and reviewers.
King Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine), Alicent Hightower (Emily Carey), Deamon Targaryen (Matt Smith), Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), Corlys Valerion (Steve Toussaint), and other new characters are all introduced in “House of the Dragon.” Lacking a male heir, Viserys names Rhaenyra his successor in the opening episode, confusing the other lords of the realm. Rhaenyra spends a large portion of episode 3 by herself, venting her fury as the awful truths of what it means to be queen begin to light on her, including her responsibility to marry for political and economic reasons. The actor has now provided her own opinions on the subject, even though Viserys reiterates her belief that Rhaenyra will take the Iron Throne in the most recent episode of “House of the Dragon.”
Rhaenyra isn’t interested in playing political games, according to Alcock, who describes the character’s mindset on the most recent episode of The Official Game of Thrones Podcast: “House of the Dragon.” But the actor did go on to say that Rhaenyra is someone who wants to see a change in Westeros and that she will have the authority to bring about that change if she becomes queen. See Alcock’s entire statement down below:
“I think she’s just like ‘f–k it to the entire game.’ I think Rhaenynra wants change within the world, but I don’t necessarily think she wants the responsibility of being queen. But she wants change and she sees the throne as an avenue for change so like, ‘if I can f–king get on that throne, things are going to be different.’ So, yeah, she’s just angry that no one listens to her. No one takes her seriously. She’s just used as a prop for everybody else’s political – she’s a chess piece and it frustrates her. So, yeah, there’s lots of sulking and storming off.”
Rhaenyra has come to be seen more and more by her father and other people as a political pawn since being revealed as the successor to the Iron Throne in the first episode of “House of the Dragon.” Her father’s insistence that she get married is a major source of friction for Rhaenyra. Viserys frequently explains that, as a ruler, marriage is more about the political advantages it can provide you with than it is about your personal feelings. Rhaenyra, as Alcock points out, obviously disagrees with this custom and other parts of being queen, but at the same time, the character sees the Iron Throne as possibly offering a solution to some of the issues she sees in the world.
Though it is unclear what Rhaenyra’s future holds, it has already been established that there will be a sizable time jump at about halfway through the series. The Rhaenyra character will be played by Emma D’Arcy in this “House of the Dragon” time jump, and it appears that this could bring about some significant changes to the program, possibly affecting the character’s connection to the Iron Throne. Rhaenyra’s power conflicts in “House of the Dragon” appear to be just getting started given that Daemon appears to be vying for the Iron Throne and that many advisors anticipate Viserys to declare his young son heir instead.
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