In Season 5, episode 10 of Game of Thrones, Shireen Baratheon was shown reading a big book called Dance of the Dragons, which is an actual book written by George R. R. Martin, inspired by which the HBO superhit House of the Dragon is created. In the scene, Stannis Baratheon enters his daughter’s room, finds her reading the book, and talks to her about it. This scene is iconic, as this is the last conversation Stannis would have with her daughter before she is burnt alive as a sacrifice to the Fire God that Lady Melisandre prays.
While talking about the book, Shireen says, “It is the story of Rhaenyra Targaryen and her half-brother Aegon for control of the seven kingdoms. Both of them thought they belonged on the iron throne. When people started declaring for one of them or the other, their fight divided the kingdoms into two,” Shireen continues to say, “Brothers fought brothers, dragons fought dragons. By the time it was over, thousands were dead and it was a disaster for the Targaryens as well. They never truly recovered.”
Based on this, let’s explore what leads to the demise of the House of the Dragon.
The Kingdoms Were Divided Into Two: Rhaenyra’s Side and Alicent’s Side
Alicent Hightower and her family
After episode 8 of House of the Dragon, we now know that Alicent believes her son Aegon is the heir, and Rhaenyra believes otherwise. This will most likely cause two sides to be formed, one led by Otto Hightower with his daughter and grandson (King) as his puppets. On the other side, you have Rhaenyra and her family. Not many houses would side with Rhaenyra; however, she does have more dragons on her side than the Hightowers.
Shireen says exactly this, “When people started declaring for one of them or the other, their fight divided the kingdoms into two,” which means we are very close to seeing this happen.
Symbolism of Shireen Reading Dance of the Dragons Before Her Death
Shireen Talking About Dance of the Dragons to Stannis
During the Dance of the Dragons, family members battled each other. In the book (MAJOR SPOILER ALERT), Rhaenyra needed to sell her crown to escape Bravos and return to Dragonstone in her final days. Her half-brother, Aegon II Targaryen, kidnapped her and gave her to his injured dragon, Sunfyre. As a result, Rhaenyra was murdered and burned by fire. Aegon the Younger, Rhaenyra’s son, was compelled to witness and detest dragons for the remainder of his life.
The symbolism here is that Shireen was also burnt to death, and her mother, Lady Selyse Baratheon, was forced to watch. After witnessing her death, Selyse also ended up killing herself by hanging.
How House Targaryen Was Destroyed
In ancient Valyria, there were thousands of dragons. Fast forward to 126 AC (the current time of House of the Dragon), and we have only seventeen, most of whom have not been shown in the House of the Dragon yet. We know that after the civil war is over and Aerys Targaryen, the Mad King, is born, all dragons will be dead, which is why the Mad King used wildfire, and we don’t see dragons in Game of Thrones until Danaerys hatches the three dragon eggs. Therefore, it is the ‘Dance of the Dragons’ or, in a literal sense, the fight between the dragons that destroys House Targaryen, and that is precisely what King Viserys said to Rhaenyra; only the House of the Dragon can destroy itself.
