This article contains spoilers from Fire & Blood so readers' discretion is advisedAmong other things, House of the Dragon is about the deep fissures and fractures that mar the Targaryen dynasty. Although they are some of the most powerful people in Westeros, they also have many flaws that have kept some of them from attaining the type of success that they might otherwise enjoy.
In fact, the Targaryens are rather a mixed bag when it comes to how competent they are at ruling their realm. Even those who have become particularly well-known because of their presence on-screen have not always shown themselves to be particularly effective when it comes to dealing with the stresses and strains of ruling.
Aerys II Was Seen To Crumble Under The Pressure Of Being King
Aerys is arguably one of the most evil kings to have ruled Westeros. Consumed by paranoia, he brought the Seven Kingdoms to the brink of ruin, sowing the seeds for further destruction and mayhem in subsequent generations.
Unfortunately for Aerys, all of the worst traits associated with the Targaryens were magnified with him. Although his son, Rhaegar, did the most he could to temper his father’s excesses, even that wasn’t enough to save Aerys from his own self-destructive tendencies. His death was harsh but, ultimately, probably saved the realm from an even worse fate.
Maegor The Cruel Was Disliked By All In Westeros
From the very first days of their rule, the Targaryens have shown themselves prone to dynastic squabbling and war. Maegor the Cruel, for example, usurped the throne from his own nephew, and he ruled the realm with an iron fist.
However, although he thought he was ruling Westeros with a firm hand, he was remarkably ineffective. As was so often the case with the Targaryens, it was his brutality that led to widespread issues. In fact, his ruling was so ineffective that the Iron Throne itself rejected him, and he was found impaled on its spikes mysteriously (which certainly made him one of the most interesting Targaryens).
Aegon II Has Already Proven That He Doesn't Want The Throne
Aegon II has already shown in House of the Dragon that he has the worst vices of his dynasty. Far more prone to sadism and debauchery than ruling, he is also very susceptible to flattery and attempts to salve his ego.
Those who have read Fire and Blood know that he was a particularly ineffective ruler. He was far more interested in exacting revenge on those who wronged him than on healing the wounds inflicted by the Dance of the Dragons. Given just how much damage the civil war inflicted, this is a particularly glaring flaw on his part.
Daenerys' Ruling Fell Apart At The Last Seconds
For many, Daenerys was one of the best characters on Game of Thrones. While this might be true, it has to be said that she was not a particularly effective or competent ruler. Aside from everything else, she was far too convinced of her own sense of rightness to ever be able to manage ruling a sprawling realm like Westeros.
Furthermore, as she showed when she managed to conquer King’s Landing, she believed that only through violence could she be able to introduce her reign. Had she paid attention to the lessons of her ancestors, she would have known that this hardly ever ends well for even the most powerful of Targaryens.
Rhaenyra Ruling Didn't Go The Way Everyone Expected It To
Those who have read Fire and Blood know that, for a very brief time, Rhaenyra actually manages to claim the upper hand and take control of King’s Landing (so she does get to actually rule for a time, just as her father intended).
Unfortunately, whatever her strengths as a character and as a member of her dynasty, Rhaenyra proved far too haughty and headstrong. As a result, she managed to alienate the very people that she needed to get on her side. She forgot that the key to being a competent ruler is making sure that their allies remain that way - even during the difficult times.
Aegon III Is One Of The Most Underrated Rulers
In Fire and Blood, Rhaenyra’s son, Aegon III, actually manages to take the throne after the death of his uncle, Aegon II. Although he was emotionally scarred by the events of the Dance of the Dragons, he did end up being a remarkably competent king considering just how much work he had to do to bind the fractured kingdom back together
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Competent though he was, he was also a remarkably unhappy man (very unsurprising). However, his gift was that he had a competent Hand in the person of his brother, Viserys. Whatever his flaws, at least Aegon III did not exhibit the same flaws as his predecessor.
Viserys I Proved To Be An Effective Ruler
Viserys is one of the most likable of the characters in House of the Dragon and while he ignored certain fractures in his court, it has to be said that, at the very least, he kept conflict and war from engulfing his kingdom.
To that end, it must be said that Viserys was one of the most competent of the Targaryens. He never allowed himself to become the egomaniac of some of his predecessors and successors. Above all, he at least kept the realm together in ways that many others of his dynasty, including his children, absolutely failed to do.
Aegon V
Made famous for appearing in the Dunk and Egg stories by George RR Martin, Aegon V would go on to become king (despite the fact that he was not the eldest son). Despite this, he would go on to become one of the more competent leaders in the Targaryen household (perhaps because of his squiring for Ser Duncan).
Among other things, he enacted many laws that were designed to help the poor and the downtrodden. Thus, it’s all the more tragic that he perished at Summerhall, in an effort to bring back dragons. As so often with the Targaryens, even competence couldn’t take their worse impulses.
Jaehaerys I Was Responsible For Several Great Reforms
Jaehaerys was, in many ways, one of the best and most heroic of the Targaryen family. He came to the throne in troubled times but, as a result of his good nature and his wisdom, managed to bring a period of peace and promise to Westeros.
Among other things, it was Jaehaerys who instituted many of the reforms which reshaped life in Westeros (including building roads to link his far-flung realms together). With his wife, Alysanne, by his side, he was also able to forge some remarkable alliances among the various families of Westeros.
Aegon The Conqueror Was One Of The Greatest Leaders In House Targaryen
In some ways, Aegon the Conqueror was the most important Targaryen of them all. After all, he was the one who united the kingdoms under his rule, a feat which is truly remarkable in and of itself.
However, his competence goes beyond that. He realized that he needed to lay the groundwork for future ages. He also built a new capital that was centrally located, rather than relying on the ancestral seat of Dragonstone. In doing so, he ensured that the realm would slowly start to cohere in a way that it had never really done before.