“It doesn’t matter if Aegon II (Daeron II) is the first and trueborn son, the King don’t like him and wants Jace(Daemon) on the throne, who cares if he’s a bastard”
They probably had some sort of a crush on each other when they were like 5 and that’s the whole story.
Not to mention he was a faithful husband, and it’s clear he loved the children he had with her (after all, he died because he refused to leave his son's body behind)
If this nonsense actually makes sense to y’all, then I don’t really know what else to say..
When Aegon ascended the throne, he was married to the Princess of the Greens while he himself was the son of the Blacks. I believe everything that happened from that point on was 100% plot armor:
1. Queen Jaehaera died suspiciously soon after he took the throne. She was the last living Green and the daughter of beloved Queen Helaena. But somehow the same realm who hated Rhaenyra for Helaena’s fate didn't give a damn about the fact that Helaena’s daughter died the moment Rhaenyra’s son took the throne, they just mourned.
2. House Targaryens was at its weakest, Aegon was just a boy and the only living Targaryen male, his hand probably killed his wife, he’s on a thin ice. House Velaryon’s state was even worse. And what did Aegon's two stupid sisters who took after their Valyrian supremacist father and didn't know shit about politics, do? Did they marry him off to the daughter of a powerful former Green supporter house who could bear a child as soon as possible? NO.
They married him off to a 6yr old baby from the defeated, team black, weak ass House Velaryon which just to squeeze some benefit out of this disaster.
Now look at it from the realm’s perspective: as soon as the pretender Rhaenyra’s son took the throne, King Aegon II’s daughter died, and Daemon’s daughters brought him a bride from a pro-Black Valyrian house. Is there any world where this wouldn't spark a backlash? Especially when the King is just a little kid? BFFR
Nkt to mention with this marriage, the King won't be able to have children for a LONG time, and let’s just pray that Unwin, who killed the last Queen just to marry his daughter to the King, doesn't try to kill Aegon or his new little wife until the King finally manages to produce an heir, right? And then what happened?
Shockingly, Unwin Peake actually did try to kill the King. But thanks to his Plot Armor, the one who ended up dead was Gaemon, yet another child of Aegon II.
Somehow, Aegon and Daenaera managed to grow up without anyone inside or outside the red keep taking their lives. And then, his the King’s brother Viserys who is also a plot armor final boss, managed to return safe all the way from Essos, despite having been kidnapped and sold off.
This might be the weakest era George has ever written, but I think his obsession with Daemon Targaryen and his blood also didn’t help.
Believing Rhaenyra won the Dance just because her 4th and 5th sons took the throne is simply saying "I view her as nothing but a walking womb." bc someone who actaully cares about the character would know that, without a doubt, she was the greatest loser of the Dance:
1. Because of her historical effect, every potential female ruler in the future lost that chance. It is truly impossible for a feminist to see it as a victory.
2. Rhaenyra was cooked alive and devoured piece by piece. Beyond that HORRIFIC physical pain, she died with the fear of leaving her only living child (she thought Viserys was dead), in the hands of her enemy, having no idea what would happen to him. Furthermore, the way she was killed was her House's method of executing traitors. In other words, Rhaenyra didn't die as a hero seeking her rights, but as a traitor, and it didn’t even bother none of her ruling grandsons enough to do something about that reputation. Anyone who sees this absolute tragedy as “heroic” instead of horrific and dishonorable, cannot have an ounce of respect or pity for this character.
So, at the end of the Dance, both Rhaenyra’s cause and her name died. Her name wasn't given to the princesses of her line, instead, it was tossed around the streets as a curse. No daughters were made heirs in honor of her "bitter, heroic quest for justice" on the contrary, the chapter on female rulers was closed forever due to the trauma she caused, this is how her bloodline/kingdom viewed her. But if, despite all this, you see it as a victory just because the bloodline of a son who didn't even know her, then you don't care about Rhaenyra or women. You’re probably care more about Alicent’s lose than any other woman’s rights.