The brilliant scheme devised by Rhaenyra and Daemon in House of the Dragon episode 7 demonstrates their claim to the Iron Throne over Alicent. The events surrounding Laenor Velaryon’s “death” illustrate how House of the Dragon’s adaptation of Fire & Blood demonstrates that much of the history written down is only partially accurate. The conclusion of House of the Dragon episode 7 shows that they had faked Laenor’s death through an elaborate ploy, contrary to the book’s suggestion that Daemon may have paid Qarl to kill Laenor so he could marry Rhaenyra himself. This not only alters how people view Daemon and Rhaenyra before the Dance of the Dragons, but it also strengthens their claim to the Iron Throne.
Daemon and Rhaenyra’s ability to use brutality, mercy, and political cunning to deceive history and their opponents into believing they had brutally murdered Laenor for their own advantage is a noteworthy example of their cunning. In House of the Dragon episode 7, they still had to execute a Driftmark servant, but discreetly saving Laenor and Qarl had a far greater historical significance. The manipulation tactics of Otto Hightower in House of the Dragon or Littlefinger and Varys in Game of Thrones pale in comparison to Rhaenyra and Daemon’s strategy since the Targaryens emphasize that they must govern by instilling both fear and affection.
Rhaenyra and Daemon are far better than Alicent at the game
Rhaenyra and Daemon are playing the game of thrones in a way that is planned and strategic rather than motivated by passion and retaliation. While King Viserys has been preaching that a ruler shouldn’t make decisions based on their emotions, Alicent’s attack on Rhaenyra in House of the Dragon was actually motivated by anger and fear. They would have been playing a game similar to Alicent and the greens if Rhaenyra and Daemon had just slain Laenor because they felt the need to get him out of the way at the time. In order to clear the path for Otto Hightower to reclaim his position as Hand, Larys Strong assassinated Harwin and Lyonel.
Rhaenyra and Daemon’s approach is really clever since they took a lesson from the stories that caused a scandal in the fourth episode of House of the Dragon and realized that perception matters far more than reality. They show mercy by discreetly providing Laenor with a happy ending in Essos, they continue to benefit from their adversaries’ dread of what they could do next. Alicent, Viserys’ wife, on the other hand, gains from the cruelties of others or shows no mercy when it counts. Rhaenyra and Daemon are shrewdly exploiting the power of perception to support her claim to the Iron Throne, while Alicent genuinely needs such bloodshed on her route to crowning Aegon.