At the beginning of episode 6, House of the Dragon creator Ryan Condal explained why Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen needed to give birth. When Rhaenyra’s mother, Queen Aemma Arryn, passed away while giving birth to Rhaenyra’s stillborn sibling during the series premiere of House of the Dragon, viewers observed birth for the final time on television. Since it led King Viserys to choose Rhaenyra as the successor to the Iron Throne, the tragedy served as the impetus for significant events in the television series.
Children and bloodlines play a significant significance in House of the Dragon, even though we haven’t seen any birthing scenes since Aemma’s passing. Despite Viserys’ determination to keep Rhaenyra as his successor, recent episodes have indicated that Queen Alicent Hightower thinks she and Viserys’ son, Aegon Targaryen, is the legitimate heir to the Iron Throne. For Rhaenyra’s connection to lineage, episode 6 reveals that Ser Harwin Strong, a member of the Kingsguard, fathered Rhaenyra’s three children rather than her husband, Prince Laenor Velaryon. Joffrey’s birth in episode six’s opening sequence is reminiscent of Aemma’s passing in episode one.
Ryan Condal, the showrunner, and creator of House of the Dragon explained why episode 6 began with Rhaenyra giving birth to her son Joffrey in an interview with Variety. Condal outlined the rationale for choosing to introduce Rhaenyra to viewers after a 10-year gap with the childbirth scene. He also emphasized the importance of Queen Aemma’s fate in their choice to describe the incident in meticulous detail.
How do the children of Rhaenyra affect House of the Dragon?
The first time viewers see Emma D’Arcy as the Targaryen Princess is in Rhaenyra’s labor sequence, providing a solid connection to the character’s current predicament and the new actor portraying her. The moment also highlights the significance of lineage in the show and how Rhaenyra’s offspring contribute to the idea. With episode 6 demonstrating that he doesn’t care if the children Rhaenyra bears are Prince Laenor’s or not, Viserys wants Rhaenyra to sit on the Iron Throne once he has died away. The fact that Alicent tells her son Aegon that he will lead the Seven Kingdoms in the future suggests that she does not want Rhaenyra’s descendants to succeed to the Throne.
Rhaenyra’s birth, which opens the play, gives viewers a direct connection to her suffering because of both her labor and the scene’s echo of her mother’s passing. It’s odd that Rhaenyra lives through the birth of a kid whose father is Ser Harwin, but that her mother passed away while giving birth to a child who would be regarded as having only Targaryen ancestry. The symbolic difference between the two delivery situations and the outcomes suggests that Rhaenyra may still experience sorrow, but not in the same way as her mother. The Dance of the Dragons, the Targaryen civil conflict House of the Dragon is gradually gearing up to, may be significantly impacted by the world learning who the real parents of her children are. In addition to reflecting Aemma’s loss, the delivery scene of Rhaenyra was suspenseful owing to the influence Targaryen heritage will have on the second half of the series.