‘House of The Dragon’, the prequel to ‘Game Of Thrones’ describes the Targaryen family dynamics and the civil war Dance of the Dragons. However, the Targaryens have a very weird tradition of marrying their siblings or relatives.
It started with Aegon, who married his sisters Visenya and Rhaenys Targaryen. This practically set the path for his descendants to marry within the family. Rhaenyra and Daemon also got married despite having a relationship as a niece and an uncle. Aegon Targaryen also followed in the footsteps of his ancestors and got married to his sister. But how exactly did the decision come about?
Aegon And Helaena’s Marriage Is A Political Arrangement On ‘House Of The Dragon’
In season one of ‘House Of The Dragon’ there is a big time jump between episodes 7 and 8. It is during this time that it is revealed that Aegon II gets married to Helaena. What happened, when it happened- nothing was revealed. However, we can make the idea that this arrangement was purely political.
It was Rhaenyra Targaryen’s proposition that Helaena get married to one of her sons in order to sweeten the bitter bond between the families. However, Alicent Hightower was incredibly against this proposition. So one reason behind Aegon and Helaena’s marriage is to prevent this arrangement from happening.
Moreover, Otto Hightower and Alicent wanted someone they could easily control. As they schemed to take over the Iron Throne, Aegon II was the perfect candidate for it. But having him marry into another house could have complicated things and made them difficult to control for Otto and Alicent. So marrying off Aegon and Helaena was the easiest solution.
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Keeping The Dragon Blood Pure And Strengthing The Claim To The Throne Is A Risky Business
Nothing in the ‘House Of The Dragon’ is unplanned. Everything has a political vantage. The most important being having a strong claim to the Iron Throne. Alicent is known to question Rhaenyra’s virtue often and question her children’s legitimacy as well.
So when it was time for her son to lay claim to the throne it was important to have pure blood. Aegon II and Helaena’s marriage ensured they would have more silver-haired children and maintain pure blood. Thus making their claim to the throne stronger.
Aegon II Is A Reincarnation Of His Namesake
Viewers pointed out that the Targaryens should stop naming their children Aegon as that caused all the problems. Aegon is probably the most commonly used Targaryen name. But to make the smallfolk believe that Aegon II should be the ideal king, the Greens had to do more than just a name.
Aegon II wanted to give the small folks the illusion that he was the reincarnation of his namesake and ancestor. Just like Aegon the Conqueror married his sisters, Aegon II also decided to marry Helaena, his sister. This was probably to keep up appearances.
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