Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen's (Emma D'Arcy) time on the Iron Throne has been an absolute nightmare.Her treasury? Empty. The Gold Cloaks? Murdered. Tumbleton? Taken hostage by Ormund Hightower (James Norton). Now, as if things can't get any worse, her own throne has betrayed her.
In House of the Dragon Season 3, episode 6, Rhaenyra endures yet another rough session of listening to her subjects' petitions. The citizens of King's Landing are worried about rising costs of their basic needs, as well as the lack of protection from the Gold Cloaks. Rhaenyra is unequipped to answer their worries, and as she stews in her discomfort and rising panic, the Iron Throne cuts her finger and draws blood.
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Rhaenyra hides her injury, but as she does, she looks towards one of the statues of the Targaryen kings lining the throne room. It's that of her father, Viserys (Paddy Considine), seen holding what looks like a model of Old Valyria. Viserys was no stranger to getting chopped up by the Iron Throne himself. Throughout his reign, he suffered many minor injuries from the throne's swords. They were the Iron Throne's way of saying he was unworthy, that he was losing his grip on the realm. Eventually, the wounds festered and led to his drawn-out, rotting death. From just this one cut alone, Rhaenyra sees her father's fate playing out before her. She knows her time on the Iron Throne is in peril.
