Hotd 2x07 - Tumblr Posts

All in all not my favorite episode, but I'm glad we got to see Vermithor again, and that Silverwing finally made an appearance. Doesn't matter how much they screw up the characters, the dragons are always done perfectly. Also, we finally got a Tessarion mention!

I've seen a lot of people calling Rhaenyra a bad mother for letting bastards claim dragon even though it weakens her son's claim, and even saying that it's her fault for not having children with Laenor and she's stupid to not consider how it affects her claim to the throne.

First of all, it is completely unfair to blame Rhaenyra for having bastards. Her husband was gay. Their situation isn't her fault or Laenor's, it's just a very bad situation. Rhaenyra even says that they tried to concieve a child, but it didn't work, and "there was no joy." I swear, some people would rather she force her gay husband to have sex with her, which would not only be unpleasant for both of them, but probably wouldn't result in children anyway. I've also seen people say that she could hafe just not had children, but that really wasn't an option. In a society like Westeros, a married woman without children would have been considered to be barren, and would be looked down upon by the court. This would have seriously damaged her reputation and claim to the throne. Admitidly, having three bastard sons also damaged her reputation, but with her father supporting her, and Laenor claiming them as his, it would be much harder to openly question Rhaenyra or her sons. Also, with all three of her sons, there was a chance they would favor her over Harwin and help dispel rumors of their bastardy. Obviously, none of them did, but there really isn't anything Rhaenyra could do about that. With the crown protection her and her children, no one could actually do anything, save for spread rumors, and with Rhaenyra next in line to inherit, I think she assumed she'd be able to protect her sons after her fathers death. Obviously the fact that she is a woman and has three bastards would cause problems with her ascension, but it's much easier to deny that her sons are bastards than it would have been to deny that she was barren, had she chosen not to have children.

Now onto the dragonseeds. Rhaenyra definitly knows the danger of putting Targaryen bastards on dragons, but at this point she doesn't have another option. She knows that it threatens Jace and Joffrey's legitimacy, but she needs dragonriders if she is to win the throne. It is definitly valid for Jace to feel like she is undermining him and his claim, but Rhaenyra is also right in that, without the dragonseeds, he won't have a claim at all. Like it or not, the dragonseeds are a crucial part of the war. The dragonseeds put Rhaenyra in a very vulnerable position: either use them and risk undermining her sons, or don't use them and try to face Vhagar with only Syrax or Caraxes. In the end, she chooses the option that would, hopefully, leave her with a claim to defend, and the power of the crown to protect her sons with. It’s a very difficult decision to make, but Rhaenyra makes the choice that seems most logical to her.