For Targaryens, matters of family and war are often the same thing, and this week’s episode of House of the Dragon uses this in the best possible way in the last scene between Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) and her heir, Prince Jacaerys Velaryon (Harry Collett). What starts looking as if Jace is about to get scolded by Rhaenyra quickly turns into a tender moment between mother and son, one among many Season 2 has given us so far. These are the moments that best capture the complexity of Rhaenyra’s character, and “Regent” does it again as she and Jace come up with a plan that may turn the tides of the Dance of Dragons.

Rhaenyra Is Not Afraid To Be Vulnerable in Her Scenes With Jacaerys

There have been at least three different scenes in which Rhaenyra is able to be her actual self, all of them involving just her and Jacaerys. In the season premiere, “A Son for a Son,” Jace can barely speak when he meets his mother after the death of his brother, Lucerys (Elliot Grihault), and Rhaenyra doesn’t even let him finish his report on the status of the Eyrie and the North before embracing him. She may be the queen, but she is a mother first, and her children need her.

Then, in Episode 4, “The Red Dragon and the Gold,” Jacaerys makes his anger at Rhaenyra clear about her having disappeared in the previous episode, “The Burning Mill,” to try and sue for peace with Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) in King’s Landing. Without getting into whether she should or shouldn’t have done this, she pretty much disarms Jace when she summons him to talk after their Small Council meeting. At that moment, she is performing the role of queen while addressing her heir, but she starts by caressing her son, showing that, once again, matters of family and state have to be discussed as one. She then tells Jace about the Song of Ice and Fire, like Viserys (Paddy Considine) told her younger self (Milly Alcock) years before.

Now, in “Regent,” it’s Rhaenyra’s turn to be angry at the start. Jacaerys went to the Twins without her leave. He is her heir, and they are at war. She tells him she is just as eager to fight as he is. It’s a war being fought in her name, but she has to stay on Dragonstone while people die for her. The notion that they have no more fighters casually evolves into the idea of seeking dragonseeds to claim the riderless dragons on Dragonstone. Rhaenyra and Jacaerys have talked the whole time as mother and son — not exactly equals, but as people who share the same burden as queen and heir and can dispose of formalities. Rhaenyra’s humor completely shifts, and Jace is able to introduce the idea that there are others who have the blood of the dragon, thin as it may be.

Rhaenyra’s Scenes With Jacaerys Show a Unique Side of Her Character

The scene in “Regent” is superbly directed by Claire Kilner, making full use of both Emma D’Arcy’s and Harry Collett’s range as actors. They work through a variety of emotions before almost stumbling on the dragonseed idea. While they talk, dragon sound effects can be heard in the background, reminding both Rhaenyra and Jacaerys (and us, too) that they are both dragons, not people who like to stay grounded. Their scenes together offer a unique insight into Rhaenyra’s character, showing just how multifaceted she is in her depiction in House of the Dragoncompared to Fire & Blood.

One of the main complaints about how House of the Dragon depicts Rhaenyra is that she isn’t as ruthless as in the book. In Fire & Blood, she immediately says that she will either have her throne or Aegon II’s (Tom Glynn-Carney) head, for example. While that does seem like a Targaryen thing to say, it doesn’t sound very prudent nor well-developed as a character (probably what George R.R. Martin intended, granted). In the series, she takes it as a burden, burying most of her actual feelings for private moments, like the ones with Jacaerys. Her true nature only comes to light then, as a mother who fears for her children in times of war but who still has to shoulder the biggest legacy than anyone in the Seven Kingdoms.

Rhaenyra has her share of anger and eagerness to fight. Every Targaryen has. It’s her war that is being fought, after all, and she can’t fight. This frustration and vulnerability can only come out when she is around someone she can confide in, and the only person she can do that with is her son. It’s nice to watch Daemon (Matt Smith) and his contradictions or Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) being evil. But Rhaenyra is much more complex than both, and it’s thanks to her moments with Jacaerys that we get to see that. A twisted and disturbed character may be fun to watch, but, as people, it takes something else to do the right thing and act responsibly, and that’s her.

These Scenes Also Empower Jacaerys With a Legitimacy Other Men in the Series Don’t Have

Image via HBO

It’s nice to see Rhaenyra allowing herself to be warm towards someone. With Daemon, she always has to be on her guard. With Baela (Bethany Antonia) and Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell), she can be warm but still has to keep her pose. With Jacaerys, she can be herself. It’s such a wholesome moment when she commends him for doing what he did at the Twins, and her well-balanced approach to being a mother who is also a queen also empowers Jace with a legitimacy that no other man in the series has.

Jacaerys is Rhaenyra’s heir, so he has a legitimacy inherent to his political position. He is hot-headed sometimes, leading him to confront his mother and be reckless sometimes, like going to the Twins on his own with a young dragon and no battle experience. However, something that is always clear in his dynamics with his mother is that they always have each other’s backs. As long as they understand each other, everything is game (even if they only talk after doing something reckless, like Rhaenyra going to King’s Landing or Jace going to the Twins).

Of course, Jacaerys has more room to act than Rhaenyra solely for being a man. Men acting on whims is perfectly acceptable, as “Regent” makes clear. Daemon does it by going to Harrenhal. Aegon II does it by flying into battle at Rook’s Rest. Jace does it, too, by going to the Twins. The difference is that Jace is well aware of his role as heir and the responsibilities of it. He knows that winning the war isn’t about power but about ensuring that the right Targaryen sits on the Iron Throne. Without a ruler who knows what she is doing like Rhaenyra does, Jace would be just another hot-headed and spiteful angry man in House Targaryen. Thankfully, Rhaenyra knows how to be both a mother and a ruler.

Now, in “Regent,” it’s Rhaenyra’s turn to be angry at the start. Jacaerys went to the Twins without her leave. He is her heir, and they are at war. She tells him she is just as eager to fight as he is. It’s a war being fought in her name, but she has to stay on Dragonstone while people die for her. The notion that they have no more fighters casually evolves into the idea of seeking dragonseeds to claim the riderless dragons on Dragonstone. Rhaenyra and Jacaerys have talked the whole time as mother and son — not exactly equals, but as people who share the same burden as queen and heir and can dispose of formalities. Rhaenyra’s humor completely shifts, and Jace is able to introduce the idea that there are others who have the blood of the dragon, thin as it may be.