House of the Dragon’s latest criticism comes from its slate of on-screen women, and about why it’s doing them a disservice by not letting them engage in war.
There’s no denying that House of the Dragon is led by the women of Westeros. The very foundation of the Targaryen Civil War comes from the debate surrounding Princess Rhaenyra’s claim to the Iron Throne, with the latest Targaryen king taking it out from under her.
While this, plus Rhaenyra and Alicent’s troubled history buried beneath a rising war, forms the backbone of House of the Dragon Season 2, not everyone thinks the TV show’s female characters are being portrayed in the right way. Namely, they’re tired of the women sitting on the sidelines while the men dictate the war.
“The ‘men are violent, women strive for peace’ trope this show is pushing does a disservice to the female characters,” said one post on Reddit. “They keep pushing this notion that ‘men are violent’ and ‘women push towards peace’; which is nonsensical and waters down the female characters in the Dance.
“I want complex female characters that do selfish decisions, ‘evil’ acts, and act for mere self gain rather than needing some type of moral justification for pursuing it.”
They also noted some differences between the TV show and the book House of the Dragon is based on that confirm their point. In the book, they say Alicent is far more of a “political mastermind” than that of her on-screen counterpart, while Rhaenyra is much more vicious.
(It’s worth noting that, in House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 3, Rhaenyra was very much pushing for peace when she infiltrated King’s Landing to speak with Alicent.)
Others seemed to agree with this statement, arguing that House of the Dragon’s fictional women have been watered-down to seem amenable.
As another user wrote: “I’m all for women’s rights, but it’s time we had some women’s wrongs.”
“It’s also a disservice to the women as it just makes them all look very naive and sometimes downright stupid,” said another. “It’s likes the show fears to make any women do something bad in case they get the Dany sh*tstorm while fundamentally misunderstanding that the Dany sh*tstorm started not because she went mad, but because it made no sense as the build up was so poor.”
One comment added: “Allow the women to be proactive and active, allow them agency, let them be all they can be, give them the full range of human emotions and actions, that’s what makes a character interesting.”
“House of the Dragon’s perspective on gender relations is so f**king childish it’s aggravating,” said one user. “…Every single female character is wise, perfect, and unambitious; the ones who occasionally commit villainous acts only do so because of misunderstandings, mistakes, or because they had no other choice due to the evils of men.”
To learn more about some of House of the Dragon’s leading ladies, check out our guides to Alys Rivers, Alyrie Florent, and Baela Targaryen.
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