The show was brutal, often criticized for its depictions of sexual violence against its female characters, but that brutality could be confrontational. Game of Thrones spent considerable time exploring what it meant to be a woman in this medieval fantasy world, through characters like Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey), and Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner). Indeed, the plot of “King of the Narrow Sea” revolves largely around the loss of Rhaenyra’s virginity. Later on, she witnesses the misogyny of a street performance that asks the citizenry of King’s Landing to laugh at the idea of a female ruler. The episode opens with the princess enduring a tiresome round of would-be suitors at the Dragonstone. It is easy to root for a character in these circumstances, and “King of the Narrow Sea” foregrounds the various indignities that Rhaenyra must suffer to pursue the crown. As Rhaenys (Eve Best), “the Queen Who Never Was,” warned her back in “The Rogue Prince,” “Men would sooner put the realm to the torch than see a woman ascend to the Iron Throne.” James Hibbard explained the show’s central theme: “ The patriarchy would rather destroy itself than see a woman on the throne.” Even after her father Viserys (Paddy Considine) named her as his heir, her ascent has never been assured.

Rhaenyra is obviously a subject to the patriarchal culture of Westeros. The character of Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock) is a compelling and complex protagonist, and one of the central tensions of House of the Dragon is the extent to which the show is willing to lean into the contradictions of such a character. This discussion and review contains spoilers for House of the Dragon episode 4, “King of the Narrow Sea,” on HBO.

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