Are the women of HotD too nice?
Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2024 8:05 pm
I'm a huge House of the Dragon stan and absolutely love that it's managed to reverse some of the sour taste in my mouth about Game of Thrones' ending. Unfortunately, we're not getting the Jon Snow series that could have been used as more of an apology for Season 8 (I still think they could get four seasons out of dropped plots like Alys Karstark, Val, Craster's Sons, and Lady Stoneheart).
However, one thing that has come up in recent discussions is the characterization of the women in HOTD. Specifically, the question of whether Alicent, Rhaenyra, and Rhaenys (RIP) are too nice. There's been a conscious attempt by HBO's showrunners to scrub away some of the nastier elements of both Alicent as well as Rhaenyra from the original Fire and Blood manuscript. Some of this makes sense as Rhaenyra is subject to vilification by the deliberately written as misogynist maesters of the citadel.
However, I think Season 2 has suffered from the fact that all of the women involved are incredibly anti-war while all of the men involved are the ones forwarding it. There's a spectrum from early season Daenerys to AFFC Cersei Lannister in terms of how saintly to evil women in Westeros can be but I feel like it's sanded off a lot of differences in their personalities. GOT thrived by making Cersei, Catelyn, Arya, Sansa, and Daenerys a multitude of different kinds of women. I feel like this one seems to make all three peace-loving family orientated types without a shred of vengeance in their bodies.
Which wasn't Alicent in Season One at least.
What do you think?
However, one thing that has come up in recent discussions is the characterization of the women in HOTD. Specifically, the question of whether Alicent, Rhaenyra, and Rhaenys (RIP) are too nice. There's been a conscious attempt by HBO's showrunners to scrub away some of the nastier elements of both Alicent as well as Rhaenyra from the original Fire and Blood manuscript. Some of this makes sense as Rhaenyra is subject to vilification by the deliberately written as misogynist maesters of the citadel.
However, I think Season 2 has suffered from the fact that all of the women involved are incredibly anti-war while all of the men involved are the ones forwarding it. There's a spectrum from early season Daenerys to AFFC Cersei Lannister in terms of how saintly to evil women in Westeros can be but I feel like it's sanded off a lot of differences in their personalities. GOT thrived by making Cersei, Catelyn, Arya, Sansa, and Daenerys a multitude of different kinds of women. I feel like this one seems to make all three peace-loving family orientated types without a shred of vengeance in their bodies.
Which wasn't Alicent in Season One at least.
What do you think?