Those Are My Two Cents - Tumblr Posts

The Dance was never about Rhaenyra having bastards. It was always based on succession and the fact that the Greens felt the precedent set during the Great Council of 101 AC meant Aegon was the rightful heir. The fact that Rhaenyra had children who were very clearly not Laenor’s was just an extra point for her opponents to bring up to try and discredit her.

If the only thing you change is Rhaenyra marrying Harwin instead of Laenor, all that changes is which husband she’s grieving in 120. It just means that she may have genuinely loved the man she lost. Because there’s a good chance that even if he’s prince consort, Harwin still could’ve been killed. The only marriage that could’ve possibly prevented the Dance would have been Viserys agreeing to what Otto/Alicent asked for when they suggested Rhaenyra and Aegon be betrothed. And even then there’s a chance it still could have happened.

I see a lot of posts saying if Rhaenyra married Harwin, the Dance of the Dragons could’ve been avoided, but I’m not so sure. The point of contention with the succession was the fact that it was being passed down to the eldest daughter instead of the eldest son. And that doesn’t change, whether Rhaenyra’s children are legitimate or not. Plus Otto’s scheming. It wouldn’t just seize. Yes, it would’ve been harder to undermine Rhaenyra, but the point of contention stands.

Anyway, I would’ve still loved to have seen them married and happy 😭