The co-showrunner of House of the Dragon, Miguel Sapochnik, previously explained how the team approached the childbirth scenes like “battles.” In episode one of the show, Aemma explains to a young Rhaenyra, “We have royal wombs, you and I. The childbed is our battlefield. We must learn to face it with a stiff lip.” And fast forward to Princess Rhaenyra in episode six, and she does precisely that. Having just gone through a painful delivery, she still climbed up the stairs holding her newborn son on Alicent’s orders. She never complained either, the way her mother had taught her.
The older Rhaenyra even looked like her mother during her childbirth scene, with their straight pale blonde hair wrinkled with the sweat of all the effort. The portrayal of how the women on the show deal with childbirth is spectacular. While Aemma did not have the freedom to choose her fate, Rhaenyra and Laena did. In the book Fire & Blood, Harwin was supposedly in the room while Rhaenyra gave birth. But in the show, no man was in the room; Rhaenyra was making all the decisions.
In Laena Velaryon’s childbirth scene, she knew she would die. Instead of leaving the matter up to her husband, Daemon, she took control of her situation. Laena bravely decided that she would die on her terms, “a dragon rider’s death.” While it was sad to know her for such a short time, what is essential is that, in the end, she was free to make her own decision, unlike Aemma.
Like warriors on a battlefield, some survive, some do not, and some choose to die an honorable death of their own accord. After birthing multiple children, the ladies are no less than war veterans. Did you catch the not-so-subtle nod to Aemma in episode 6?
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