Warning: SPOILERS ahead for House of the Dragon episode 6.House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal revealed why it was important for Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen to give birth at the start of episode 6. The last time House of the Dragon viewers saw birth onscreen was during the show's premiere, when Rhaenyra's mother, Queen Aemma Arryn, died giving birth to Rhaenyra's stillborn brother. The tragedy acted as the catalyst for major events in the show, as it influenced King Viserys to appoint Rhaenyra as heir to the Iron Throne.
Despite not witnessing any birthing scenes since Aemma's death, children and lineage have a strong role in House of the Dragon. Recent episodes have shown that Queen Alicent Hightower believes her and Viserys' son, Aegon Targaryen, is the rightful heir to the Iron Throne, despite Viserys' insistence to keep Rhaenyra as his successor. For Rhaenyra's own association with lineage, episode 6 reveals that her three children were not fathered by her husband, Prince Laenor Velaryon, but instead by Kingsguard member Ser Harwin Strong. Episode 6 opens with the birth of the youngest child, Joffrey, in a scene that echoes Aemma's death in episode 1.
In an interview with Variety, showrunner and House of the Dragon creator Ryan Condal explained why episode 6 opened with Rhaenyra giving birth to her son Joffrey. Condal explained the purposeful decision to have the birthing scene be the first glimpse audiences see of Rhaenyra after a 10-year time jump. He also underscored the influence Queen Aemma's fate had on their decision to present the scene with methodical detail. Check out what Condal said below:
The death of her mother in the pilot is the real underlying psychological reason Rhaenyra does not want to get married, because she’s terrified of going the way that her mother did. To drop in on her giving birth — knowing that the last birth the audience has seen has gone terribly wrong — was an incredibly tense and visceral way to begin the story, to get you in with Rhaenyra, to make you hopefully connect with her and care about her, and also to communicate that a ton of time and story distance has passed since the last time we saw her.
How Rhaenyra's Children Impact House Of The Dragon
Rhaenyra's birthing scene is the first time audiences see Emma D'Arcy as the Targaryen Princess as well, giving audiences not only a strong connection to Rhaenyra's situation in the moment, but also to the new actor playing the character. The scene also emphasizes the importance of lineage in the series and how Rhaenyra's children play a role in the concept. Viserys wants Rhaenyra on the Iron Throne after he has passed, with episode 6 showing that he doesn't care if the children she births are Prince Laenor's or not. Yet it appears Alicent is not keen on allowing Rhaenyra's children to inherit the Throne, as she indicates to her son Aegon that he is the true future ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. The painful presentation of Rhaenyra's birth contrasts how easily Alicent dismisses her children as heirs.
Opening with Rhaenyra's birth presents audiences with a raw connection to her pain, both through her labor and through the scene's echoing of her mother's death. It's interesting that Rhaenyra survives the birth of a child sired by Ser Harwin but that her mother died giving birth to what would be considered a child of pure Targaryen blood. The symbolic contrast between both birthing scenes and their results indicate that tragedy could still befall Rhaenyra, but differently than it did her mother. The world's discovery of her children's true parentage may act as a major factor in the Dance of the Dragons, the Targaryen civil war House of the Dragon is slowly building up to. Rhaenyra's birthing scene was tense not only because of its reflection of Aemma's death, but also due to the impact Targaryen heritage will have in the show's second half.
Source: Variety