Warning: SPOILERS for House of the DragonIn House of the Dragon takes audiences back almost 200 years before Game of Thrones when the Targaryens were at the height of their powers as the rulers of the Seven Kingdoms, yet the blonde dragon riders' dynasty was on the verge of an epic collapse.
House of the Dragon begins with the Great Council of 101 AC. Old King Jaehaerys I, who reigned peacefully for almost 60 years, foresaw that the matter of succession could tear the Targaryen family apart. Jaeherys called a Great Council where the lords of Westeros debated the succession and the 14 claimants who wanted to sit upon the Iron Throne. Only two claims were seriously considered: Prince Viserys Targaryen and Princess Rhaenys Targaryen. Viserys was the grandson of King Jaehaerys and the eldest son of Baelon Targaryen, who was Jaeherys's son and named heir. When Baelon died, the question of who among the Targaryen family dynasty would be the next heir became tantamount. Meanwhile, Rhaenys's claim was based on her father, Aemon Targaryen, the third son of King Jaehaerys. The Princess had already been ed over in the line of succession in favor of Baelon, even though Rhaenys' father, Aemon, was the Prince of Dragonstone before his death in 92 AC.
As depicted in the opening scene of House of the Dragon's premiere, the Great Council chose Viserys. This decision was founded in Westeros' patriarchal society and based upon the tradition established by Aegon the Conqueror that Targaryen males would be favored over females. This is why Aegon I became Westeros' first King and not his older sister, Visenya, who conquered the Seven Kingdoms alongside her brother husband. As a full Targaryen, Viserys' bloodline was also deemed stronger while Rhaenys was half Baratheon on her mother, Lady Jocelyn Baratheon's, side. Upon King Jaehaerys' death in 103 AC, Viserys was crowned King, while Rhaenys was given the nickname of the "Queen Who Never Was." Even after the Dance of the Dragons to be depicted in House of the Dragon, no woman sat upon the Iron Throne and ruled the Seven Kingdoms until Cersei Lannister and Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones.
Why Cersei And Daenerys Could Be Queen But Rhaenys Couldn't
In truth, Cersei Lannister only became Queen because she seized the Iron Throne after the death of her son, King Tommen (Dean-Charles Chapman), who succeeded his older brother, King Joffrey (Jack Gleeson). By that point, the Seven Kingdoms had endured the War of the Five Kings and was in a far weakened state, and Cersei gradually eliminated her enemies and handpicked the of the Small Council to get her way. Meanwhile, from Essos, Daenerys Targaryen arrived in Westeros to win back the Iron Throne and restart the Targaryen dynasty. After the defeat of the Night King and the White Walkers, Daenerys and Cersei went to war, with the Mother of Dragons victorious. However, Daenerys' lamentably short reign was ended by conspiracy and her murder at the hands of Jon Snow (Kit Harington).
Rhaenys Targaryen's failed claim to the Iron Throne was during a less tumultuous era of Westeros where the patriarchal system was far more ingrained. Had the same system been in place during Game of Thrones, it no doubt would have blocked Cersei and Daenerys' ascensions too, just as Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock) will face resistance as Viserys' named heir in House of the Dragon. Both Queens "broke the wheel" and took the Iron Throne for themselves in Game of Thrones. Unfortunately, neither could hold it for long. Ultimately, the patriarchal system returned after Cersei and Daenerys' deaths, with Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright) named King Bran the Broken. But Rhaenys had no chance or means "to break the wheel" and become Queen in House of the Dragon.
House of the Dragon airs Sundays @ 9pm on HBO and streams on HBO Max.