House of the Dragon has a woman problem that needs fixing

Warning: spoilers ahead for House of the Dragon.

Here we go again: a woman descending into madness when given power. We saw it with the once-great Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones, and now, inevitably, the most formerly likeable female character in House of the Dragon, Rhaenyra Targaryen, is beginning her steep downward trajectory into hysteria. Of course. 

Now there’s not much HBO could do about George RR Martin’s story in this sense. House of the Dragon is an adaptation of the writer’s book, which tells the history of Westeros and the downfall of the Targaryen dynasty, years before Game of Thrones begins. 

They can’t just rewrite Rhaenyra. Likewise, George RR Martin gave production the general arc of the end of Game of Thrones, even though he hasn’t written it yet. 

But it seems that within this fantasy world of A Song of Ice and Fire, there is a problem with women, from the initial books through to the TV adaptations. 

Where there is creative licence within this medieval-esque fantasy world, with, oh you know, dragons, they could not muster the imagination to create one truly likeable woman who has power, wit, brains – and wears a skirt.

I’m not imagining them creating a world that is not inherently patriarchal, where women are not violated, shamed and raped: that, unfortunately, is unrealistic, whether it be a fantasy world or the one we are living in today. 

They could have done so much more with – and for – women by creating a Tyrion-esque character who is good and kind but funny and clever, and who everyone adores. Or a Jon Snow-type, a humble but brave and brilliant woman who is destined to rule and always makes the right decision. 

But no, that would be unrealistic, wouldn’t it? Instead, we have Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy), who is pig-headed and laughably bad at ruling. We have Baela (Bethany Antonia), who, while in the book has more Daemon-inherited pazazz, in the show is forgettable and rarely takes up space.

We’ve got Laena (Nanna Blondell), who died and was dry as dishwater on screen anyway, so no one cared. Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno), who has never cracked a joke in her life, so no one was really that bothered when Rhaenyra shipped her off. Helaena Targaryen (Phia Saban) – bless her soul and love her – just can’t cope. 

Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) is arguably the most interesting female character in the series, and well-written in that she’s multifaceted. She’s brave, morally rigid… but also keeps trying to kill off her children. And let’s face it, does anyone actually like Alicent? She’s not exactly a hoot to be with. 

We know the Game of Thrones world can do different ‘types’ of women. They can be evil, like Cersei (Lena Headey). We know they can do the perpetual victim, with poor Sansa (Sophie Turner), who was a punching bag for a good chunk of the series, though her arc at the end was admittedly satisfying as she became Queen of the North.

We know they can do femme fatales, like Margaery Tyrell (Natalie Dormer). These women characters were not anything groundbreaking, but more an extension of female tropes we’ve seen for hundreds of years in literature.

I know what you’re thinking. Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) is a fan favourite, and for good reason: she has all the ingredients of the female character I’m looking for: she’s headstrong, entertaining, brave, and could actually – and does – save the world. 

However, within this fantasy world, Arya soared because her character has inherited masculine traits. She epitomises the rejection of femininity. It’s like within this totally made-up fantasy world, the writers and producers couldn’t possibly envisage a woman being all this and having conventionally feminine traits. 

This is a problem, because women in life, and in Westeros, shouldn’t have to reject femininity in order to be liked. What message does that send to teenage girls watching the heroes and heroines of Westeros? 

These kinds of unimaginative representations on TV perpetuate the idea that if women want to be likeable, they’ve got to tone down their femininity. If women want to go far, they must wear a suit.  

Now there is a risk that depicting a traditionally feminine woman with a halo on could be seen as reductive and backwards: there is a danger of perpetuating the idea that women must be good and kind and wear skirts and smile to be adored. 

On TV we know how to do flawed yet captivating women now – see Fleabag, Killing Eve as examples. Women can be murderers and depraved and loved and powerful too, and that’s great. 

But in this specific universe, in a show where goodness is rare and often sullied, it would be quietly radical to have a good woman triumph, and importantly: she’d be written so we all want her to. Just like Tyrion Lannister, or Jon Snow. Or Jaime Lannister at the end. Or Robb Stark at the beginning. Or even Samwell Tarly. I can’t think of a comparable woman in the show to any of these men who isn’t a well-worn trope. 

In season four of House of the Dragon, I’d love to see Baela come into her own, and as for the rest of them, I’m not sure there’s hope. Maybe we will get new female characters who will change the tide for the women of Westeros, but I’m not holding out for it.

Of course, generally speaking, women should be celebrated in all their varying gradients of feminine to masculine, as women are, needless to say, all different. But wouldn’t it be nice in a show where anything is possible in this made-up world, if a woman could be powerful and celebrated and adored without trying to fit in with the men?

House of the Dragon is available to stream on HBO Max, Sky and NOW.

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing Ross.Mccafferty@metro.co.uk. 

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