We are now a full decade in the future.
Episode 6 opens with Rhaenyra giving birth to her third son, Joffrey.
They must continue the line of succession, they must create heirs.
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The birthing bed is their battlefield, as Aemma once told Rhaenyra.
When they arrive, Alicent’s judgment is blatant.
She shoots a barb at Laenor, saying, “Do keep trying, Ser Laenor.
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Sooner or later you maybe get one that looks like you.”
Not to mention decency itself."
But, is it really decency or honor that makes Alicent so doggedly opposed to Rhaenyra?
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It is quickly confirmed that Alicent is right, however.
Rhaenyra’s sons are bastards.
They’re the illegitimate children of Rhaenyra and Ser Harwin Strong (Ryan Corr).
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To her, Rhaenyra should be living in shame and feel shameful of her children.
But the question is, does it really matter?
Should she feel shame for the parentage of her sons?Shouldit matter?
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That’s all that matters.
If men could give birth, would there really be any issue with making bastards heirs?
Westeros has seen plenty of lords legitimize their bastards and make them the heir to their seat.
As a woman, there is really no actual fear that her son is not a Targaryen.
They, obviously, all are because we just watched her give birth to one of them.
Why does it matter who the father of Rhaenyras kids is?
She tells her father, “Were I born a man, I could bed whomever I wanted.
I could father a dozen bastards, and no one in your court would blink an eye.”
Which Viserys admits is true but, the fact is, she is a woman.
This trickles down to how Ser Criston treats the two boys.
By all rights, Jacaerys is the future heir to the throne.
He is the heir to Harrenhal much like the way Laenor is the heir to Driftmark.
His pedigree is certainly not a question.
In her eyes, Rhaenyra is flaunting her illegitimate children in her face.
Rhaenyra lives exactly as a man would in this situation.
She married as a political arrangement, but beyond that, she is free to do as she wishes.
She resents Rhaenyra and likely blames her lie for ultimately leading to her father’s sacking.
They give the illusion of immortality because they carry on your legacy.
But what is right and wrong for Larys is very different from what we might consider right and wrong.
Would it be right of Viserys to doom his daughter and grandchildren?
Are Rhaenyra’s children her transgressions?
