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Rhaenyra had a plan to take the Iron Throne. What about after that? House of the Dragon Season 3 Episode 3 expertly showed a major issue when it comes to takeovers.
It’s a flaw in the planning that so many shows that have come before it have shown. Whether it’s Snowpiercer or The Hunger Games, there has been this constant reminder of a real issue.
People Don’t Think Past the Takeover
As Queen Rhaenyra sits on the throne and listens to the people share their concerns, she looks like a deer in headlights. Even behind the scenes, there are questions at hand. New knights want to know about the lodgings promised to them, and the tiny Small Council discusses what is next.
Sure, things like the Lannisters taking and hiding the treasury couldn’t quite be planned for, but there were a lot of other conversations that could have been discussed. Yet, nobody thought about it.
The focus was on getting the Iron Throne throughout House of the Dragon Season 2*. After all, if the plan to walk through King’s Landing’s gates and just take the throne didn’t work, what was the point in thinking of the next steps?
Yet, there should be a plan for afterward. Otherwise, people are like fish out of water, struggling with every single decision that they need to make. We start to see Rhaenyra suffer from the odd panic attack — or at least, the panic attacks are brewing — and we can see how the tiny Small Council struggles with making even the most basic of decisions.
With just a little bit of thinking about what happens when she takes over, the whole of the Red Keep could have been on a bit more of a steadier ground.
House of the Dragon Did an Excellent Job Showcasing This
I’m not sure how many people are going to see just how much this episode played the mistakes so well. House of the Dragon Season 3 Episode 3 highlighted the very real problems, but it was done in quiet ways — through facial expressions as Rhaenyra struggles and through subtle hints that nobody has any control.
Of course, the person in power doesn’t want to admit that they have no idea what they’re doing. Rhaenyra should know what it means to be a queen. She watched her father rule, and she was supposed to be preparing for this. She was in those Small Council meetings, so she should have heard some of the discussions that happened.
Yet, she couldn’t focus on that without being in that position. She was trying to remain safe, keep her people safe, and deal with the loss of her sons. She’s still grieving, and she is grasping to hold onto power to make it feel like the loss was worth it.
Other shows have highlighted this exact same problem, making it clear that this isn’t bad writing but a wonderful human arc. When Snowpiercer* saw the Tail take over the train, it came with questions about how to rule and manage everyone. When The Hunger Games* saw the end of the Capitol, Coin immediately took control, as she likely planned to, but nobody else had really considered the next steps.
It makes sense, as there’s so much focus on the fight that nobody can even think about what comes after that. There’s a question of whether peace will even come, so when it does, it feels alien.
I’m looking forward to seeing more of Rhaenyra being a fish out of water as she figures out what comes after the takeover, especially with threats from the Greens still out there.
House of the Dragon* airs on Sundays on HBO and HBO Max.
