The War Where Rhaenyra Claimed the Iron Throne: A Dance of Dragons Tale

Remember the last scene of House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 8? Alicent Hightower and Rhaenyra Targaryen made a deal to take advantage of Aemond Targaryen and the dragon Vhagar’s absence from King’s Landing, and to capture or kill the currently injured King Aegon II, so that Rhaenyra Targaryen could take the Iron Throne on behalf of Black. Well, in the original book ‘Fire and Blood’, the two friends never planned such a thing. But Rhaenyra Targaryen almost certainly did take the Iron Throne according to their plan.

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In the chapter ‘Dance of the Dragons’ of the book ‘Fire and Blood’, this event is called ‘The Fall of King’s Landing’. The makers of ‘House of the Dragon’ have tried hard to confuse fans like us who have already read the books by changing several small parts from the original book, leaving out some characters and dragon stories. ‘House of the Dragon’ season three is currently in production. It will take about a year to come to HBO. So I thought that today I would briefly describe for you how the event that will happen at the beginning of season three, i.e. ‘The Fall of King’s Landing’, is written in the original book ‘Fire and Blood’, and how much the story can be changed and shown in ‘House of the Dragon’.

However, of course, a big spoiler alert! Because, this review will talk about the fate of many characters, you will be informed about many events, which will be a big surprise for the upcoming seasons of ‘House of the Dragon’.

In the story of ‘House of the Dragon’, now Aemond Targaryen from King’s Landing with his dragon Vhagar and Criston Cole with a large army are heading towards Harrenhal to confront Daemon Targaryen. A very bad decision! They are leaving King’s Landing completely unprotected. Rhaenyra has arrived in Harrenhal by direct Syrax to check Daemon’s loyalty. Our rebel hero Alys Rivers is now completely loyal to his wife under the spell of the wizard. The entire Riverlands army is ready for war. Let me tell you, this never happens in the original book. Daemon Targaryen is the first to know that Aemond and Criston Cole have left King’s Landing unprotected. Daemon himself flies to Dragonstone for 48 hours in a car and informs Rhaenyra about the matter. The next morning, Daemon sees four new dragon riders on their side at the Black Council meeting. Hugh Hammer is with the dragon Vermithor, Addam Velaryon is with the dragon Seasmoke, Ulf White is with the dragon Silverwing, and Nettles is with the dragon Sheepstealer. Well, the whole story of Bastard Nettles has been omitted from the show ‘House of the Dragon’. Rhaena Velaryon is going to be the rider of the dragon Sheepstealer. I uploaded a short video today at 12 noon about Bastard Nettles and his dragon Sheepstealer and Daemon’s relationship with Nettles. There will be a link in the i-button and description, those interested can check it out. It is worth mentioning that in this part, Daemon learns about the tragedy of the Battle of the Gullet. This terrible sea battle will be shown at the beginning of ‘House of the Dragon’ season three. I also made a details video about the Battle of the Gullet. However, I will tell you in a short form here. Of course, spoiler alert again!

In the season two finale of ‘House of the Dragon’, we saw that the Triarchy’s naval commander Sharako Lohar was coming to attack Corlys Velaryon’s navy. They clashed head-on. Rhaenyra’s two infant sons, Aegon III and Viserys II, sacrificed their lives to save Aegon III and bring him back to Dragonstone. Viserys II was captured by Sharako Lohar. But neither Rhaenyra nor the Black team knew about it. Everyone assumed that another infant son of Rhaenyra had died. But an even bigger tragedy occurred when Rhaenyra’s eldest son, Jacaerys Velaryon of Black, lost his life along with his dragon Vermax in the Battle of the Gullet. Sea Snake Corlys Velaryon’s property, home, and fleet were reduced to less than half. Despite the heavy losses, Corlys had enough power and fleet to take control of Blackwater Bay. Daemon and Rhaenyra planned and sent Corlys Velaryon to King's Landing in advance. Three days later, four Bastard Dragonseeds and Daemon Targaryen and Rhaella Targaryen with six dragons set off for King's Landing. But Aegon the Younger could no longer be left alone at Dragonstone. Lucerys and Jacaerys were already dead. Joffrey was left in the Vale by Rhaena Velaryon. According to the books, Rhaena could not ride a dragon at that time. So Baela was left at Dragonstone with the dragon Moondancer for Aegon the Younger to take. Not only that, but Ser Robert Quince was given the responsibility of the castle as the children's immediate guardian.

Then the game began. The dragons Caraxes and Syrax flew over the sky of King's Landing, raining fire. The other four dragons in the open sky also joined them. However, their main task was to scare the defenders of the Red Keep without burning anyone with direct fire. There were many other dragons from the Green Team in the dragonpit, but they were all riderless and small baby dragons. Only Helaena's dragon Dreamfyre was huge, but Helaena was never interested in fighting on her own. Panic spread throughout the city. Corlys Velaryon appeared from the east through Blackwater Bay. In the original book, Alicent tried to send a raven to inform Aemond and the other loyal lords. But in the show, she may not do so. The city's City Watch, The Gold Cloak Army, was once the commander of Daemon's group. They are now loyal to Daemon. The Gold Cloak Army beats Grand Maester Orwyle because he was sending messages to the other lords. Soldiers and commanders loyal to the Green Team were either killed or imprisoned. Ser Gwayne Hightower, Alicent's brother, who in the show is traveling with Criston Cole, but in the original books Gwayne Hightower is caught sounding the alarm. Ser Luthor Largent kills him and opens the City Gate, allowing Corlys' army into the city. Although 13 Hightower guards and several hundred Green Team loyalists hold out at River Gate for almost eight hours, the remaining gates of the Red Keep are soon overwhelmed. With all hope lost, Queen Alicent Hightower orders her troops to surrender. Meanwhile, King Aegon II, aided by Lord Larys Strong, escapes.

But we have already seen ‘House of the Dragon’. Lord Larys has been fleeing to Essos with Aegon for a long time, not out of fear of Rhaenyra, but out of fear of Aemond. The main difference here with the book is that Aegon did not flee alone. He fled with his two children, daughter Jaehaera Targaryen and baby son Maelor Targaryen, who survived Blood and Cheese. The showrunners of Aegon’s ‘House of the Dragon’ did not even give birth to Maelor. In my opinion, this is quite good. Because the tragic death of Ser Rickard with this baby Maelor would have been impossible to show on a small TV screen like HBO. Meanwhile, Lord Jasper Wylde and Alicent’s father, the cold-witted Otto Hightower, were killed immediately after surrendering to Rhaenyra. I am also confused about this. Because at the end of the last season, we saw Otto imprisoned somewhere. Some of the Green Council lords wanted to side with Rhaenyra. But Rhaenyra did not trust them. Helaena and Alicent were imprisoned. Meanwhile, Tyland Lannister, who was directly responsible for the Battle of the Gullet, was tortured and blinded. This is how the Black Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen took the Iron Throne.

However, the Targaryen Civil War did not end with Rhaenyra's accession to power. Rather, the bloodshed of the 'Dance of the Dragons' and all the draws were made one by one. But according to the books, the Black Queen's reign was one of the most terrible reigns in Westeros. Although Rhaenyra was welcomed by everyone due to the cruelty of Aegon and Aemond. But every day there was some bloodshed in King's Landing. High taxes to cover the costs of the terrible war were causing discontent among the Black Lords. On the other hand, in the world outside of King’s Landing, one great war after another and loss of life is going on. Meanwhile, problems begin in Rhaenyra’s family life. And in the midst of this, the betrayal of the Dragonseeds occurs. However, this is not the subject of this article.