Let’s make one thing clear: Rhaenyra and Daemon Targaryen may be all that, but the best power couple of House of the Dragon was clearly Princess Rhaenys Targaryen and Lord Corlys Velaryon. Unfortunately, Westeros is anathema to happy couples. Sigh!
Spoilers for season 2 episode 4 ahead!
Ask anyone who their top three characters from HOTD are, and I bet Princess Rhaenys makes it to the list. She may be the Queen That Never Was, but she didn’t need some silly crown or throne to rule over our hearts. She did that by being absolutely badass enough to dragon-crash a king’s coronation, but also a great enough advocate of sense and peace to have left the place without starting a war.
From the time that she was passed over for rule, through the loss of her two children, and up to her last breath, Princess Rhaenys kept the peace like a true Protector of the Real. And her husband, Lord Corlys Velaryon was her partner in every way. He loves her deeply, supported her claim, and when she decided to step back, he respected her wishes and didn’t go on to impatiently murder people like a certain king consort we know.
Together, they commanded a powerful naval fleet, had dragons like Meleys (and Vhagar and Seasmoke before their kids died), and were rich, too—a true power couple who made good decisions and survived.
That is until HOTD season 2 episode 4, which confirmed a suspicion we had since the first episode of season 2 about Lord Corlys Velaryon, and which causes a major crack in the “perfect couple” illusion. Lord Corlys has been unfaithful to Rhaenys at some point.
We met Alyn of Hull as the sailor who saved Lord Corlys at the Stepstones when he was about to die in the water, and we kept wondering why the show was spending time on the character, and his brother Addam. With the scene between Rhaenys and Alyn, and right after with Corlys and Rhaenys, the latest episode confirms for non-book-readers what Fire & Blood book fans already know: Alyn is the bastard son of Lord Corlys.
It’s not a great idea to go down the rabbit hole of why people cheat on the spouses they love as much as Corlys clearly loves Rhaenys. Fire & Blood says Alyn’s mother was a sailor too, one Marilda of Hull, daughter of shipwright, and a trader and captain of a ship herself. She was pretty, and gave birth to Addam at the age of 16, and Alyn a year later. She claimed that her sons were fathered by Ser Laenor Velaryon, but rumors of his sexuality made people suspect that it was actually his father, Lord Corlys. It’ll be interesting to see if the show sticks to this or confirms Alyn as the definite bastard of Corlys.
Lord Corlys Velaryon’s infidelity docks quite a few brownie points from his and Rhaenys’ best couple tally. However, it is also what happens after this scene that makes their story even more tragic. In the span of one episode, we see Rhaenys being remind of her husband’s betrayal and then getting killed by Vhagar, once the dragon of her daughter, Laena.
You can imagine what the grief of her passing is going to do to Lord Corlys, who is sure to blame Rhaenyra for this, having lost his son Laenor and daughter Laena (married to Daemon and died in childbirth and dragonflame) to the Targaryens. You can be sure this is going to have major repercussions on the Velaryon support for Rhaenyra and the Blacks, and set things in motion that won’t be undone in time.
RIP Rhaenys and RIP best power couple (though you still get my vote)!
Published: Jul 8, 2024 04:19 pm