If you've been keeping up with House of the Dragon, you know that fans are...let's say, ~not pleased~ with Queen Alicent.
It’s crazy how Alicent hated Rhaenyra for having consensual pre-marital sex while she’s routinely picking up after her rapist son and doling out plan-B teas. How she called the Targaryen customs “queer” yet forced her SON AND DAUGHTER TO MARRY EACH OTHER. #HouseOfthedragon
It all has to do with the way Alicent has treated Rhaenyra — and Rhaenyra's children, whom Alicent is, like, 99.9% sure are not Laenor's kids, but rather Harwin Strong's kids.
In the setting of House of the Dragon, the fans' dislike of Alicent makes sense. Who cares if Rhaenyra's kids are bastards? They seem like good kids, and Rhaenyra — who is soon to be queen — gave birth to them, so the line of succession is pretty clear.
However, some fans are pointing out that there was a verrrrry similar story back in Season 1 of Game of Thrones. Remember when Ned Stark discovered that Cersei's kids were bastards, and that Jaime Lannister was their biological father?
Yeah, we were all on Team Ned then. We were all, "Joffrey Baratheon isn't the true heir to the throne!" and all that.
Ned Stark pointing out the heir to the Iron Throne is a bastard vs Alicent pointing out the heir to the Iron Throne is a bastard
So, are we all hypocrites for giving Alicent so much hate while cheering for Ned Stark? Maybe, but it's worth pointing out the differences. Perhaps most importantly, Laenor was fully aware that the kids were Strongs, and not only didn't mind, but considered them his own children. Robert Baratheon, on the other hand, didn't know that Cersei and Jaime were cheating behind his back.
We gotta stop comparing House of the dragon characters to Game of Thrones characters. Viserys is not Ned, Rhea is not Danny, & Alicent is not Cersei. Lol
But on the other hand, if it's about the rules of succession, then Jace and Luc would be illegitimate heirs, just like Joffrey. I mean, those are the rules! Sure, it's possible that a Baratheon bastard could have ascended to the throne, but that would've been contested.
this is actually a good example why the protagonist-centered morality of got/hotd fandoms bugs me. the lannisters defending their bastard's claims to legitimacy = evil monsters while the targaryens doing it = loving progressive family. ned gets sympathy but vaemond deserved it? https://t.co/M8f1BNE7UU
On the other OTHER hand, Joffrey Baratheon was absolutely awful, so of course we wanted Ned to reveal the truth.
