Giving Rhaenyra & Alicent the Spotlight Sparked ‘House of the Dragon’s Most Tiresome Debate

Team Green or Team Black? It doesn’t matter. If you’re part of the House of the Dragon fandom, then you’re probably already rolling your eyes and thinking, “Here we go again.” But yes, even in season 2, the Rhaenyra vs. Alicent debate rages on.

While the majority of fans agree that the rivalry between Olivia Cooke’s Alicent and Emma D’Arcy’s Rhaenyra is (and should be) the focal point of House of the Dragon, another side prefers arguing that this position really belongs to Rhaenyra and Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney)—and that the series is doing itself a disservice by mostly ignoring that feud. Debates like this litter X, Reddit, and Tumblr, and you’d be hard-pressed not to run across them if you’re a House of the Dragon fan.

One look at George R. R. Martin’s source material, however, confirms that Rhaenyra and Alicent are the main players. So, at this point, more debating isn’t controversial or edgy; it’s just tiresome.

The Princess and the Queen puts the debate (mostly) to rest

Martin’s 2013 novella The Princess and the Queen chronicles the Targaryen civil war and the events leading up to it, with a particular focus on (you guessed it) Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and Queen Alicent Hightower. In that light, it’s not surprising that HBO would pick up and expand on this complicated relationship.

That’s not to say that Rhaenyra and Aegon’s tension is unimportant. After all, the battle is really between them. Alicent will never sit on the Iron Throne. However, there’s a bit more substance between Alicent and Rhaenyra to unpack versus Rhaenyra and her half-brother, who barely interact. Martin highlights the importance of the women’s rivalry in the book, laying a strong foundation for the series to expand on.

It’s no secret HBO made many changes to the source material. For starters, Alicent and Rhaenyra’s age gap in Martin’s telling turned their relationship into the “wicked stepmother versus abused stepdaughter” trope. While we get a bit of wicked stepmother Alicent in the series, her childhood friendship with Rhaenyra offers more complexity and nuance. The betrayal both women feel hits a lot harder when they once loved each other.

Although it never happened in the book, Rhaenyra and Alicent’s meeting in Season 2, Episode 3, “The Burning Mill,” was the perfect reminder that these two women exist in the center of this story. Here, they acknowledge each other as friends and mothers but also as rivals who can’t broker peace despite their shared history.

There is no arguing that Rhaenyra and Alicent remain the faces of their respective sides (in the book and show). “Greens” and “Blacks” didn’t just spring out of nowhere; they formed based on the favored colors of each woman. Source material aside, Alicent’s misinterpretation of the prophecy (whether intentional or not) kicked off all this chaos in the first place, so attempting to diminish her role in the series with the simple argument that Aegon deserves more attention feels petty, especially when we are, at the time of writing, still looking at an incomplete project.

House of the Dragon season 2 will likely shift focus

While there’s no denying Rhaenyra and Alicent remain the backbones of House of the Dragon, that doesn’t mean the story won’t grow beyond them. It’s worth noting that HotD has an ensemble cast with lots of characters and complex dynamics to explore. And, ultimately, the war comes down to Rhaenyra and Aegon, who is likely to get his time in the spotlight in due time, depending on how closely the series follows the source material.

Rhaenyra might be battling her half-brother for the throne, but his significance to her pretty much stops there. She barely even considers him family, choosing to primarily refer to him as “Alicent’s son.” If anything, this confirms Aegon is exactly what some Alicent vs. Rhaenyra haters fear he is: a supporting character who is really an avatar for Alicent and Otto Hightower’s plans.

Aegon and Rhaenyra’s tension may get fleshed out. However, what started as Alicent and Rhaenyra will likely end with Alicent and Rhaenyra. That’s where the emotional resonance lies, and House of the Dragon knows it. Still, the Rhaenyra vs. Alicent and Rhaenyra vs. Aegon debate will rage on, even if George R. R. Martin’s The Princess and the Queen confirms the first pairing is worthy of being House of the Dragon’s main characters.