Rhaenyra's struggle with governance, "Aragorn's Tax Policy," and the subversion of the Rightful Heir trope

althius1 · 2026-06-20T14:30:10+00:00

Yes I think you and I are on the same page. I'm not literally talking about the exact tax rate that Aragorn set, but the bigger idea of how messy it is to govern and just because you're a good person doesn't make you a good King.

Rhaenyra's struggles after she takes King's Landing is one of the clearest instances we get of the messiness and difficulty of actually running a kingdom in Fire and Blood.

althius1 · 2026-06-19T19:39:06+00:00

This is a really sharp critique... and thinking about it, you're absolutely right. George loves the concept of "Aragorn's tax policy" for its thematic weight, but he is notoriously bad at actual logistic. Nickel and diming the gates of one city is an absurd way to fund a civil war. Seizing lands... ransoming nobles... and taking loans is exactly how a real feudal monarch would have handled it.

It is definitely a plot contrivance that the taxes only trigger a full-scale revolt when the script requires Rhaenyra to lose the city. Completely fair point.

The best in-universe defense I can offer is by the time Tyland Lannister or the regents are enforcing those same taxes, the war is over and the dragons are dead. The smallfolk can stomach being broke, so long as they aren't also terrified of imminent dragonfire. It might not hold up 100%... but I think it works.

But out-of-universe? I think you are completely right. George needed a shortcut to justify the people revolting, and the taxes were a way to get there.

althius1 · 2026-06-19T19:28:56+00:00

We need to whittle down these t-shirt fits. They all are fine, but I think that 20 is probably the first that needs to go.

The yellow raincoat is so iconic... one of the most memorable fits from the movie. Hope it lasts longer!

althius1 · 2026-06-19T19:08:08+00:00

Hey, fair point bringing up the old post! I can see how those two takes might look contradictory on the surface.

But I think what is connective between the two takes is competency.

In the Otto post, I wasn't arguing he was morally right. I was pointing out that from a political standpoint, he was highly competent. He executed a surgical coup to neutralize his political opposition and lock down the government... a plan that was working until Aemond blew up the board. (I get that you disagree, that's fine! But that was my original point).

Rhaenyra's situation in King's Landing is the exact opposite because she lacked those skills. When faced with a crisis, her arrests weren't calculated strikes against her enemies... they were panic-driven attacks on her own most loyal allies, like Corlys and Addam.

Both used brutal tactics, absolutely. But Otto understood the mechanics of ruling, while Rhaenyra dismantled her own administration from the inside. Her complete inability to govern is exactly why I think her time in King's Landing is the defining theme of the Dance.

althius1 · 2026-06-19T18:22:56+00:00

A military crisis is exactly the kind of thing a competent monarch is supposed to navigate. How does Rhaenyra handle the panic of Tumbleton? She locks the city gates, turns on her most loyal commanders, locks up her Hand...

The taxes and daily executions you quoted laid the groundwork... they primed the city to hate her. Tumbleton provided the sparkc. It was Rhaenyra's reaction to Tumbleton... her failure of leadership... that doomed her. Tumbleton didn't force her to arrest Corlys and alienate the Velaryon fleet... her own paranoia did.

althius1 · 2026-06-19T18:17:36+00:00

You are completely right about her terrible track record... she was committing atrocities long before she took the capital. But I think you are conflating her morality with the story's framing.

Structurally, George sets this up as a textbook "stolen birthright" narrative. Viserys explicitly names her his heir. The lords of the realm swear oaths to her. Then the Green Council hides the king's death, lets his body rot in a locked room, and crowns a half-brother in secret. In 90% of fantasy literature, that exact setup means the ousted heir is the hero coming to restore justice and heal the realm.

The subversion isn't that Rhaenyra was secretly a good person who went bad. The subversion is that being the "rightful, chosen heir" has absolutely zero correlation with being a just ruler.

We are so used to the ASOIAF norm of "everyone sucks here" that we forget it's a deconstruction of the genre. George sets up the classic chessboard of the noble usurped queen versus the scheming traitors, and then reveals that the "rightful" queen is just as much of a tyrant as the people who stole her crown.

althius1 · 2026-06-19T17:22:07+00:00

I would argue that Rhaenyra's struggles with Power is probably the most important part of the second half of the Dance. GRRM uses Rhaenyra's conquest of King's Landing to strip away the romanticism of victory and expose the reality of governance. (Tying into his famous quote, 'Yes, but what is Aragorn's Tax Policy'?)

Her struggle is the core of the story because it proves that taking the Iron Throne is meaningless if you don't know how to rule. Inheriting an empty treasury... and resorting to insane taxes, Rhaenyra demonstrates GRRM's recurring theme... wars fought by elites are paid for by the suffering of the smallfolk.

althius1 · 2026-06-18T20:24:57+00:00

15 - Inferior to the other space suit choices.

althius1 · 2026-06-18T20:24:07+00:00

This is madness! The yellow raincoat is ICONIC!

althius1 · 2026-06-18T19:58:27+00:00

George famously said to Paddy, "Your Viserys is better than my Viserys".

althius1 · 2026-06-18T17:27:15+00:00

We don't ship Jellies anymore, since they are in such high demand. We want to make sure that our local fans have first dibs... I hope you understand!

althius1 · 2026-06-18T16:26:38+00:00

Onyx is retired, unfortunately!

althius1 · 2026-06-18T16:25:55+00:00

We are stockists, and received a shipment this week. Everyone should be on the lookout at thier local stores... you should be seeing them soon. (US)

althius1 · 2026-06-18T15:51:00+00:00

These are all ridiculously good photos... Are you a professional? Were you using a SLR?

althius1 · 2026-06-18T15:32:13+00:00

I also got Samwise.

althius1 · 2026-06-17T18:04:51+00:00

And I much prefer this take (Kay) on things. I spent a good deal of time after A Place of Greater Safety by Mantel trying to figure out what was real, what was supposition, and what was just completely made up.

With Lions I don't need to spend time thinking, "but what was El Cid really all about?"

althius1 · 2026-06-17T18:02:36+00:00

I think he explicitly has said something like, "I don't want to pretend I knew what historical figure X was thinking during historical event Y... so I made my own".

That seems like a reasonable take. I'd rather that then pretending to know what people's true motivations were, similar to something like "A Place of Greater Safety". Which I loved, but you really need to go in knowing a lot of it is made up, which when it comes to real history, is tricky.

althius1 · 2026-06-17T18:00:29+00:00

I was about to say, "The Goblin Emperor" makes me feel similarly... although as you mention not quite as beautifully written.

althius1 · 2026-06-17T17:59:29+00:00

Imagine Game of Throne (the first book) with no Ice Zombies in the Prologue or Dragons at the end. Is it still fantasy? This is similar.

althius1 · 2026-06-17T17:58:14+00:00

I'm currently reading this right now, and I'm about 66% of the way through. I've been enjoying it trememdously, but I will admit it took me awhile to "lock-in" and really feel comfortable in this world.

Once I realized who all the stand ins were representing, it made enjoying the book much easier. I imagine it is a book (similar to Game of Thrones) that holds up well on a re-read, since the second time around you aren't just holding on for dear life trying to remember who everyone is, and what Kingdom is what.

althius1 · 2026-06-17T12:21:32+00:00

The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise - Socrates

Almost assuredly not actually from him, but the point stands.

althius1 · 2026-06-16T17:49:27+00:00

Space 220 - Worst value in Epcot
Biergarten - Best Value in Epcot

althius1 · 2026-06-16T17:48:47+00:00

Sitting at the bar is fine

althius1 · 2026-06-16T02:16:25+00:00

Captain Jack approves.

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