For two seasons of House of the Dragon, patriarchal Westeros has tried to quash its women leaders. And in Season 3, we see Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) literally shredding her gown in frustration, in one of the defining moments of episode 1.
Despite the fact that no queen had ever sat on the Iron Throne, Rhaenyra Targaryen (then played by Milly Alcock) was named heir of King Viserys (Paddy Considine) in Season 1, though it came with sexist doubts and death bed confusion. “Men would sooner put the realm to the torch than see a woman ascend the Iron Throne,” Rhaenys Targaryen (Eve Best) told a young Rhaenyra, having experienced such bigotry herself.
By Season 3, Rhaenyra’s since been usurped by Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney) and entered into civil war for her own birthright. She’s constantly interrupted and mansplained by her councillors on Dragonstone; she’s competed with her husband Daemon for influence (he’s all good now); and she has had just about enough of this sexist shit.
“For two seasons we’ve seen Rhaenyra restrained from action, often by her male council,” D’Arcy tells Mashable. “And at the start of Season 3, there’s finally huge momentum in her campaign, and she is poised to move into action. That momentum hits a very sudden brick wall — or locked door.”
Without spoiling anything, this locked door, though noble in intention, represents the ultimate male defiance for Rhaenyra in the opening episode. In utter frustration within her prison, the queen (who is dressed in her riding leathers, ready for battle) seizes her court gown — another elaborate masterpiece from House of the Dragon costume designer Caroline McCall — and tears it to pieces. And here, she utters one of Rhaenyra’s most unfiltered lines:
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“I may appear to have the weak and feeble body of a woman, but I possess the heart and spirit of a king.”
Viewers who’ve seen Rhaenyra go through extreme resilience in body and mind over the last two seasons, and who know the staggering might and power of women’s bodies in general, will probably bristle at the beginning of this line — and in reality, it could be seen as indicative of Rhaenyra’s internalised misogyny, the result of being raised in a patriarchal kingdom. However, it’s the second half that truly hits home for the usurped queen, who finds herself yet again undermined by a man, even in a moment of heroism.
“Rhaenyra has become very familiar with the ways in which patriarchy looks to consolidate male power, and there’s something interesting going on here, where something that’s framed as protection or care is actually an arm of control. I think that’s a strong tool within the toolkit of patriarchy,” says D’Arcy.
“Rhaenyra has become very familiar with the ways in which patriarchy looks to consolidate male power.”
“When Rhaenyra destroys the dress, I think it’s about destroying an image that has suffered so much criticism or skepticism, I suppose. And taking up the mantle of a king, again, is about trying to take on the machinery of othering and say no, I’m the same, with the same facility for leadership as you, as my male colleagues.”
Dress plays an enormously important part in House of the Dragon, as we’ve seen in previous seasons. Costume in court can show more power than armor on a battlefield, with women characters including Rhaenyra and notably, Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke), wielding dress as a political tool. For some in Westeros, gowns represent oppression; for others, agency.
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House of the Dragon
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