House of the Dragon: The Biggest Mistakes Rhaenyra Made, According to This Fan Theory

By the last episode of House of the Dragon, pretty much all the consequences of Rhaenyra's actions start to catch up with her.

This matters to fans because House of the Dragon is often framed as a story of the Greens against the Blacks, and I want to push back on that simple framing by putting real blame on Rhaenyra's own decisions.

Rhaenyra and Daemon Leaving King's Landing Was a Mistake

I always found it dumb of Rhaenyra and Daemon to leave King's Landing. My reasoning is straightforward: if she really does not trust the Greens, then the last thing she should do is leave them alone with Viserys. Hindsight is 2020, but there is no way I would have left King's Landing in her position.

Luke's Death Is the Biggest Consequence

The biggest consequence of Rhaenyra's actions is the death of Luke. Rhaenyra had ten years to get her children to bond not only with Alicent's children but also to repair her own relationship with her siblings.

If Rhaenyra had been a good sister to Aemond, there is no way Aemond would have terrorized Luke and gotten him killed. There was "no way" that outcome happens if that relationship had been maintained.

This Is Not All Rhaenyra's Fault

To be clear, this is not entirely on Rhaenyra. Alicent, Otto, and Viserys all play a major role in the family's breakdown as well. But Rhaenyra still could have been the bigger woman and tried to make amends with her siblings over those ten years.

Did Rhaenyra Ghost Her Own Siblings?

It is possible Rhaenyra did try to reconcile and it was simply glossed over on screen. But given her attitude toward her siblings, and the fact that any reconciliation attempt was never addressed in the show, my read is that Rhaenyra ghosted all her siblings.

Do you think Rhaenyra could have prevented Luke's death if she had made peace with her siblings, or was that tragedy always inevitable?