The Big Mistake Casual Viewers Make When Reading Targaryen Alliances

With their silver hair, complicated family tree, and penchant for dramatic entrances, the Targaryens can be tough to track. But if you're struggling to figure out who is allied with whom and why, you might be making one common mistake.

The Myth: It’s All About Family

The most common trap for casual viewers is assuming Targaryen politics operates on a simple principle: family first. You see a dynasty defined by incestuous marriages to ‘keep the bloodline pure,’ and it’s natural to conclude that their alliances are driven by a deep-seated clan loyalty. When Rhaenyra Targaryen talks about her birthright and her father’s wishes, or when Alicent Hightower frames her son Aegon’s claim through the lens of tradition, it all sounds like it’s about protecting the family’s legacy. We’re conditioned to see family as a unit, a team that bands together against outsiders. So, when we watch the Greens and the Blacks form, we try to map our own understanding of family onto their world. The mistake is thinking their definition of ‘family’ means anything close to ours.

The Reality: It’s All About Dragons

Here’s the truth: Targaryen power isn’t in their blood. It’s in their dragons. A Targaryen without a dragon is just a person with a fancy name and a complicated backstory (ask Viserys). A Targaryen with a dragon is a weapon of mass destruction. Therefore, alliances are not made with *people*; they are made with *dragons*. When Daemon Targaryen and his dragon Caraxes patrol the Stepstones, they aren't just one man and his pet—they are a mobile military force. When Aemond Targaryen claims Vhagar, the largest living dragon, he doesn't just gain a mount; he fundamentally alters the balance of power in Westeros. He becomes the single most valuable military asset for the Greens. Alliances are built around this brutal calculus. Who has dragons? How many? How big? These are the only questions that truly matter. The family ties are just the complicated packaging for these living nuclear assets.

Personal Ambition Trumps Blood Purity

The idea of blood purity is the Targaryen dynasty’s best piece of marketing. It’s a powerful slogan used to justify their rule and their unusual marriage practices. But when the chips are down, personal ambition almost always wins. The entire conflict of the Dance of the Dragons is the ultimate proof. This is not an external threat forcing the family to unite; it is the family tearing itself apart from the inside over one thing: the Iron Throne. Rhaenyra believes it is her right. Aegon is told it is his. Daemon craves the power and influence that comes with being near the throne. Otto Hightower uses his daughter and grandchildren as chess pieces to secure his own family’s legacy. In every case, the grand ideology of ‘Targaryen unity’ is revealed to be a hollow facade. They use the language of destiny and bloodright, but their actions are driven by the raw, universal desire for personal power.

Alliances Are Contracts, Not Feelings

For the great houses of Westeros, marriage is never about love; it’s a political transaction. And for the Targaryens, it’s the primary tool for acquiring assets they don’t have. Rhaenyra’s marriage to Laenor Velaryon wasn’t about uniting two people; it was about uniting the Targaryen dragons with the Velaryon fleet, the most powerful navy in the world. When that alliance becomes unstable, Rhaenyra secures it by marrying her uncle, Daemon, another powerful dragonrider. Similarly, the Hightowers don't just want their blood on the throne; they want to be the power *behind* the throne. Every betrothal, every wardship, and every pact is a cold calculation. The mistake is to view these relationships through a modern lens of affection or personal connection. For Targaryens, an alliance is a contract for power, and it lasts only as long as it is mutually beneficial—or until one side decides they can get a better deal by breaking it.