Why is team green so hard on Rhaenyra?
Rhaenyra gets a lot of hate, but when you really look at her character, it’s hard to understand why she’s the only one who gets labeled as cruel or "Maegor with teats." Sure, she’s spoiled—most royals are. She was Viserys’ “favorite,” but only after he neglected her for years because he was obsessed with having a male heir. His neglect was part of the reason she ended up in the mess she did. He tried to make up for it by making her heir, but that didn’t bring back her mother or brother.
People call her “perfect” but also talk about her being cruel, murdering family members, helping Daemon kill an innocent servant, and more. But that’s not perfection—those are complicated choices from a complex character. The same could be said about Aegon. He’s not perfect, and neither is she, but both are far from evil. Yet only Rhaenyra gets written off as the villain.
Rhaenyra goes through a lot of suffering—usurped, losing a child, her son killed by her nephew, and even being choked by her husband. She asks for vengeance, and instead, her husband kills a toddler, further complicating and exacerbating things. This doesn’t even include her mother-in-law’s death or the loss of her dragon. She’s constantly dealing with heavy losses, and yet people act like she’s never going through anything. Some act as if it’s butterflies and rainbows for her.
Both Rhaenyra and Aegon deal with similar struggles—lost children, betrayal, neglect from their father. But Aegon gets sympathy, and Rhaenyra doesn’t. Why? Because they’re both dealing with the same things: a messed-up family, pressure to lead, and the consequences of tough decisions. Neither is perfect, but both deserve to be understood as more than just their worst moments.
It doesn’t make sense to overlook Aegon’s worst moments while making Rhaenyra’s the defining ones. Aegon is allowed to be messy, snarky, and cocky, and that doesn’t take away from the sympathy people have for him. But when Rhaenyra shows the same traits, she’s often called cruel or evil.
Aegon is seen as someone with the odds stacked against him, but so is she. He could die if he bends the knee, but so could she. He tries to be a good leader, and so does she. Both were neglected by their father, both lost children, both felt alone, both suffered betrayal, and both made hard choices. Yet, it’s Rhaenyra who gets vilified for her actions, while Aegon’s flaws are overlooked. Both deserve empathy, and both deserve to be understood.
Rhaenyra gets a lot of hate, but when you really look at her character, it’s hard to understand why she’s the only one who gets labeled as cruel or "Maegor with teats." Sure, she’s spoiled—most royals are. She was Viserys’ “favorite,” but only after he neglected her for years because he was obsessed with having a male heir. His neglect was part of the reason she ended up in the mess she did. He tried to make up for it by making her heir, but that didn’t bring back her mother or brother.
People call her “perfect” but also talk about her being cruel, murdering family members, helping Daemon kill an innocent servant, and more. But that’s not perfection—those are complicated choices from a complex character. The same could be said about Aegon. He’s not perfect, and neither is she, but both are far from evil. Yet only Rhaenyra gets written off as the villain.
Rhaenyra goes through a lot of suffering—usurped, losing a child, her son killed by her nephew, and even being choked by her husband. She asks for vengeance, and instead, her husband kills a toddler, further complicating and exacerbating things. This doesn’t even include her mother-in-law’s death or the loss of her dragon. She’s constantly dealing with heavy losses, and yet people act like she’s never going through anything. Some act as if it’s butterflies and rainbows for her.
Both Rhaenyra and Aegon deal with similar struggles—lost children, betrayal, neglect from their father. But Aegon gets sympathy, and Rhaenyra doesn’t. Why? Because they’re both dealing with the same things: a messed-up family, pressure to lead, and the consequences of tough decisions. Neither is perfect, but both deserve to be understood as more than just their worst moments.
It doesn’t make sense to overlook Aegon’s worst moments while making Rhaenyra’s the defining ones. Aegon is allowed to be messy, snarky, and cocky, and that doesn’t take away from the sympathy people have for him. But when Rhaenyra shows the same traits, she’s often called cruel or evil.
Aegon is seen as someone with the odds stacked against him, but so is she. He could die if he bends the knee, but so could she. He tries to be a good leader, and so does she. Both were neglected by their father, both lost children, both felt alone, both suffered betrayal, and both made hard choices. Yet, it’s Rhaenyra who gets vilified for her actions, while Aegon’s flaws are overlooked. Both deserve empathy, and both deserve to be understood.