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Ok so here’s the thing. I love both Alicent and Rhaenyra, but my love of them is very different. I think they are both extremely interesting characters.
But the difference between them for me is this:
With Alicent, I genuinely believe that she is a good person. Like everything she’s done I completely understand, and it’s always been with the intention of defending herself, her children, or Rhaenyra. But you guys probably know how much I love Alicent by now and this post is mostly about Rhaenyra so I’m gonna move on.
With Rhaenyra, I think she’s more morally gray. She’s done some things that I would definitely label as bad. I wouldn’t call her a good person. Honestly, I agree that she’s selfish. But that’s part of the reason why I like her.
The thing is, she’s a victim just like Alicent. It’s just that she’s less victimized in the show, and amongst her own fans. (For some reason people think being a victim makes you less of a girlboss, but whatever).
Just like Alicent, she had a crusty old man grooming her.
And Viserys and Otto weren’t exactly the same, but they were certainly both shitty fathers.
My point being, I definitely feel sympathy for her. And she’s not the villain.
The similarity between Alicent and Rhaenyra is that they were both young girls who were groomed and manipulated by the men in their lives. But the difference is the results of this.
Alicent was made to be more mature than her age. She was exposed to some very harsh realities very early on. And now she’s paranoid and pessimistic. So of course she’s scared for her life and the lives of her children.
Rhaenyra was made to be more childish. Viserys made it so that she never had to face any consequences. And Daemon has tried to keep her powerless and immature. And now, as a grown woman, she’s extremely disconnected from reality. While Alicent is overly aware of how in danger she is, Rhaenyra is incredibly naive and oblivious.
I don’t really know what else to say. I guess I just needed to rant a little. Basically the point I’m trying to make is that Rhaenyra antis annoy me because she was a victim and she’s not evil or dumb, but Rhaenyra Stans that make her out to be a saint also annoy me because she’s far from perfect, and she’s far from selfless.