#also im not criticising nyra

[gameofthronedd]

The difference between Rhaenyra and Daenerys is this: whilst both are women making a claim to the throne, the latter is actively attempting to change the world via the abolition of slavery in Essos.

The former is not attempting to change the world or Westeros. Show-only, she wants the throne because 1) the song of ice and fire and 2) she was made heir, and she goes to war because of what happens to her sons. Never does she attempt to change the foundations of Westeros' political sphere. See: not opposing male primogeniture when it comes to her sons & potential future children of her sons. Also, her attitude towards Rhaenys being overlooked.

I know there seems to be a general attitude/belief that Rhaenyra is going to overturn Westerosi tradition and make it more egalitarian/favourable to women, but that is not the case pre-war or during the conflict. She is not exempt from the patriarchal system and nor is she some outlier who seeks to destroy it. As far as we know, in terms of succession, if Rhaenyra became Queen then her heir would be Jace (and his heir would be his son, so on and so forth). Her intentions for becoming Queen are not "feminist" and are not about emancipation of women, and aren't even about challenging male primogeniture. For Rhaenyra, it's about upholding the perceived law as laid by her father when naming her heir as well as, to a lesser extent, Aegon's dream and Rhaenyra desiring to "unite the realm" because her father believed she should carry the Targ dynasty forward. And, then, of course, she is going to war because of Luke's death.

Just some thoughts. I like Rhaenyra but it grates on my nerves when some people treat her character as if she's some badass feminist who's going to change the Westerosi world. She isn't Dany, that's basically what I'm trying to say.

I know we all loved Dany, especially a lot of Nyra stans loved Dany too, but they are fundamentally different characters (obviously) and whilst it's easy to see some similarities, conflating the two will result in reductions of their characters. They are different and have different intentions and motivations, and that's okay.