Warning: Contains spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 1, Episode 7, “The Drifting Mark.”Marriage of Rhaenyra and Daemon Targaryen Dragon House The seventh episode of the first season, “Driftmark,” confirms that the prequel expects viewers to actively cheer and invest in incest far more than game of Thrones did.The idea of incestuous relationships has persisted in Westeros ever since game of Thrones In the first episode of the first season, Bran Stark discovers that Cersei and Jaime Lannister are getting too close in the tower of Winterfell. But in a world where murder, though not entirely with impunity, is certainly a common occurrence, nearly every character can and will take part, incest remains one of the last great taboos, even in more medieval societies in this way.
absolutely not Dragon HouseTo date, the show has presented multiple instances of intra-family marriages: King Viserys married his cousin Emma at the start of the show; Alicente betrothed her son Aegon to her daughter Helena, Rhaenyla had previously suggested that one of her own children might marry Helena. Rhaenyra was first married to her cousin, Lanor Velaryon, and now to her uncle, Daemon. The moral code says incest is wrong, but it isn’t, even though it’s inherently weird to the audience. Let Rhaenyra marry Damon, and see it as a politically and romantically wise decision for both characters (one of whom is set to be the main hero of the show), Dragon House Really hope viewers support incest.
Why Rhaenyra and Damon’s Romance Is Better Than ‘Game of Thrones’ Incest
Long before Emma Darcy replaced Millie Alcock as Rhaenyla and Damon, House of the Dragon had a romance between Rhaenyla and Damon. It’s clear in both cases that there’s chemistry between the characters, and a spark of desire that ultimately has to lead the two of them together in some way. While Damon’s behavior in Rhaenyra’s youth is certainly questionable (to put it mildly), the show has done enough to make it clear that these two characters are the “ultimate” couple and explain why that’s the case.
This certainly helps to justify its political importance – for Damon, who has long been denied the Iron Throne; for Rhaenyra, a great and wealthy warrior who helped support her the claim; for both, there is a chance of having a child who will be the heir to the Iron Throne, and their lineage cannot be doubted. But it’s also true in terms of romance: Damon and Rhaenyla clearly desire and love each other, more like lovers than relatives.They are the rare couple married out of duty and Love, so it works in a world where incest has been so normalized.
In contrast, game of Thrones Usually against incest. In that sense, its biggest romance is Cersei and Jaime, but as the former grows increasingly villainous and the latter struggles to redeem, it makes audiences wish they were apart, not together. Even from the start, it’s clear that their affair was an illegal act that shouldn’t be encouraged, eliciting a more natural reaction to the concept (and not just because it was originally tied to the attempted murder of a young child). Since both Jaime and Cersei are villains (for a while) and incest is illegal in Westeros, there is a clearer and easier moral code for the audience to end up wanting Jaime to kill Dead Cersei, not sleeping with her. Likewise, another example of incest is the relationship with Custer Beyond the Wall, who marries his own daughter and is one of the show’s most repulsive villains.
Even though Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen are great heroes, it all carries over to their love story.because game of Thrones Having never supported the concept of family love before, it was much harder to support them as a couple, and even Jon wasn’t sure about the idea himself. Arguably, there was some chemistry between the two as well, but for the most part, there was no real basis for the relationship to pop up. game of Thrones So it’s more jarring (and has a bigger nausea factor), which is not the same as how Dragon House These things have already been introduced.
Why House of the Dragon Needs Your Support for Incest
In addition to these factors, there is another consideration Dragon House Need the audience to somehow support the relationship game of Thrones No. Cersei and Jaime’s relationship certainly isn’t as healthy as it appears, and audiences shouldn’t want that to happen. Things were a bit muddled with Jon Snow and Daenerys, but in the end, the bigger focus was their claim to the Iron Throne, which ended up doing what he thought was right for Jon, rather than their romance.Still, Rhaenyla and Damon help form the backbone Dragon Houseas well as the key romantic relationships of the show’s main protagonists so far.
And in George R. R. Martin’s fire and bloodan introduction to rival factions in the Civil War — while still showing blacks in a better way than the Greens — is more balanced in a “both sides sucks” way, Dragon House Explicitly supporting Rhaenyla (for now) to make her a more sympathetic and likable character, rather than wanting you to hate Alicente as a villain. For this to work, the audience also had to engage in incest and invest in her pairing with Damon as a triumph rather than a sin. If audiences call off Rhaenyla and Damon’s marriage because of their relationship, the rest of their plot and the emotional response they’re supposed to inspire falls short.
Why House Targaryen Can Marry, But Cersei and Jaime Can’t Be Together
Dragon House and game of Thrones Possibly both are set in Westeros, but have a very different take on incest.However, this is not as clear-cut as it seems: even in Dragon Housetimeline, it is still a taboo and considered a mortal sin by the major religions game of Thrones‘The World, the Old Gods and the Faith of the Seven. Cersei and Jaime’s romance will be as illegal as in the movies. game of Thrones, but House Targaryen is considered different. Aegon the Conqueror himself was given a free pass when he arrived in Westeros with his two sister wives (despite facing the double whammy of incest and polygamy), developing a good relationship with the Archbishop (who was also clearly aware of to trying to oppose the Conqueror) a man with three dragons is not a good idea).
Things finally began to change after Aegon’s reign, and the Faith militants eventually rose up against his successor, Aenys, and later his brother, Maegor. It’s worth noting that the Archbishop didn’t speak out against Aegon’s marriages, but didn’t support them either: at this point, incest is still illegal, and it’s believed that even among Targaryen family members, such Practices will also disappear. . The Archbishop protests against Maegor marrying Aenys’ daughter Rhaena, and instead encourages him to marry Lady Selyse Hightower (who happens to be the Archbishop’s niece). While the Friar’s advice was heeded, more incidents occurred over the years, leading to tension between the Crown and Faith, a relationship that arose when Aenys asked his daughter Rhaena to marry his son Aegon Completely broken, which led to him being called the “Lord of Abominations” and a military conflict that would end his and Maegor’s reign.
When King Jaehaerys I Targaryen ascended the Iron Throne, he made peace with the Faith of the Seven, but did take steps to preserve the Targaryen custom of marrying each other. This is known as the doctrine of exceptionalism, which states that the incest of the Targaryens is different from that of any other Westerosi house because the gods set them apart due to their Valyrian blood and dragons. As a result, Targaryen houses are free to marry each other, but incest remains illegal overall. This largely only applies to the most direct relationships though, as cousin marriages are common in Westeros – Tywin Lannister married his cousin Joanna – and there are uncles in the North Example of marrying a niece.Still, none of this gets to the extent of House Targaryen, and how Dragon House Hope viewers view incest in a… different way.
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