How Rhaenyra’s Miscarriage Is Worse In The Book

Rhaenyra Targaryen had a stillbirth in a gruesome scene from HOTD season one finale. Martin’s book describes a worse child born to Rhaenyra.

By Pratyush Singh
October 28,2022
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We all remember Rhaenyra’s ghastly miscarriage scene from the season finale of House of the Dragon. In the season finale of House of the Dragon, we witness Rhaenyra becoming increasingly agitated, pacing around the room, and ensuring that the child is removed as soon as possible. Despite her handmaidens’ attempts to assist her with labour and delivery, Rhaenyra took matters into her own hands, resulting in what was possibly the most disturbing sequence in House of the Dragon.

Even though the viewers had their stomachs turned during HOTD episode 10, things could have been worse, if House of the Dragon Writer, Ryan Condal, had followed the events from the book exactly as described. The miscarriage scene was much milder in the show, and here is how it was depicted in Fire & Blood novel.

 

Rhaenyra’s Baby Was Born With A Dragon-Tail

Rhaenyra's stillborn child in House of the Dragon season one finale
Rhaenyra’s stillborn child in House of the Dragon season one finale

They say that Targaryens have dragon blood running through their veins, and George R. R. Martin made sure that we understand it. In the universe where dragon and blood magic exist and dead men march with swords in their hands, it would not come as a surprise even if House of the Dragon showrunners displayed a monster-like baby that was born to Rhaenyra, as described in the book.

Rhaenyra does not give birth till the next moon cycle, in Fire and Blood, but her anger at being taken her birthright by her half-brother, Aegon II Targaryen, drives her to labour. Rhaenyra screamed and cursed Prince Aegon, Queen Alicent, and her baby within her, for three days. She clutched at her stomach, shouting obscenities at the baby to come out. The screams were so loud that Maester Gerardys and the midwife tried to contain her.

Rhaenyra’s baby in Fire & Blood was not only called a monster but was also said to have a hole in its chest. The baby, according to the book, was ‘”Twisted, and malformed, with a hole in her chest where her heart should have been, and a stubby, scaled tail.’ The baby was to be named Visenya Targaryen, after the sister-wife of Aegon The Conqueror.

 

Did Rhaenyra Want To Be Alone During Labour?

Rhaenyra in agony during labour
Rhaenyra in agony during labour

Rhaenyra Targaryen is shown to be an independent woman who takes action on her own. In the last episode of season 1 of Hous of the Dragon, we see Rhaenyra’s uncle-husband Daemon Targaryen plotting against The Greens while Rhaenyra is in painful labour. After the death of his brother, King Viserys, Daemon is shown to express his grief in form of rage. Even after he finds out that his son is with Rhaenyra as a stillborn, he simply goes out on the beach in solitude.

Rhaenyra labours alone as the handmaidens look on hopelessly, and the viewers are shown constant snaps of her dragon Syrax, who appears to detect her pain and anguish, reinforcing the Targaryens’ inherent bond with their dragons. After a long sequence of these shots, her water breaks, and she squeezes her stillborn daughter out, gently cradling the baby against her breast in blood-stained sheets.

Rhaenyra’s mother Aemma Arryn (also, Targaryen, as she was wife to King Viserys Targaryen) had told Rhaenyra that the birthing bed is the battlefield of a woman, in which case, Rhaenyra should be a 5-star general!