Episode 6 opens with the birth of the youngest child, Joffrey, in a scene that echoes Aemma's death in episode 1. In an interview with Variety, showrunner and
Prosthetic designer confirms: the baby was deformed
“When the babe at last came forth, she proved indeed a monster: a stillborn girl, twisted and malformed, with a hole in her chest where her heart should have been and a stubby, scaled tail. The dead girl had been named Visenya.
In the book, Visenya was described as being born with dragon-like defects, including scales, a tail, and a twisted body. Rhaenyra's baby did end up having scale-like defects and a malformed body in House of the Dragon, which aligns with the occasional reports of Targaryen women bearing dragon-like stillborn children.
Rhaenyra Targaryen was getting married to Ser Laenor Velaryon, last we saw her. In this episode, the first thing we see is Rhaenyra giving birth.
Princes Aegon III and Viserys II Are Daemon and Rhaenyra's Sons. After the deaths of Rhaenyra and Daemon Targaryen's spouses, there was nothing left to stand in the way of their long-awaited union. Not long after they were married, Rhaenyra gave birth to their first son together named Aegon III.
Aegon III, aka Aegon the Younger: Rhaenyra and Daemon's first child together. Aegon Targaryen, aka Jon Snow: Yes, he comes much later, when a song of ice and fire plays out. But he could be the prince that was promised, though that's still up for debate.
Daemon and Rhaenyra share two children together: Aegon III and Viserys II.
After what must seem like an eternity her water breaks she pulls her stillborn daughter out, then gently cradles the baby in blood-stained sheets against her chest. If a woman's birthing bed is a battlefield, as her mother once told her, then Rhaenyra is a goddamned five-star general.
When finally did give birth to the baby, it is said that the child had a hole where her heart should have been, a tail, and scales for skin—a monster, as her mother had cursed her to be. Upon her death, Rhaenyra swore yet another vow. “She was my only daughter, and they killed her.
Rhaenyra and Daemon now have two children—sons Aegon and Viserys—with a third on the way. Aegon the Elder is now married to Helaena, and it's mentioned that they have children. It isn't clear exactly which kids they've had yet, but in the books they have three: Jaehaerys, Jaehaera, and Maelor.
Rhaenyra's baby died during childbirth.
We only briefly see Visenya in the TV series, but Fire and Blood, the book House of the Dragon is based on, gives a detailed description of the malformed baby. According to the book Visenya, like Maegor the cruel's children, was born with scaled dragon-like skin and a small tail.
Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen labored for three days in her apartments in the Sea Dragon Tower of Dragonstone. One month premature, Visenya was a stillborn.
In 196 AC, the year of their marriage, she painstakingly produced a set of twins, Aegon and Aella. Another set, Visenya and Valarr, came in 197 AC. After her troubled deliveries, it was said Rhaenyra had nearly beaten a serving girl to death for having claimed the princess would die in labour.
Rhaenyra, recalling the death of her mother in childbirth, refuses help from her maidens as the pregnancy wreaks havoc on her body. Knowing something is wrong, she gives birth all by herself. The baby doesn't survive. The family and its inner circle gather as the child's body is burned on a funeral pyre.
The HBO series' Season 1 finale on Sunday ended with Princess Queen Rhaenyra receiving the news that her second-born son, Lucerys “Luke” Velaryon, had been killed by a dragon ridden by Alicent's son, Aemond Targaryen.
At the end of Episode Nine, she crashes King Aegon's coronation atop her massive dragon, and the beast simply lets out a petty roar before flying away. The series teased that she would incinerate Aegon and Alicent right on the spot, but Rhaenys chooses to flee with a warning instead.
Two of the most powerful folks in Westeros are Queen Alicent and Princess Rhaenyra. The former had three children with King Viserys, and the latter also gave birth to three sons during her marriage with Laenor Velaryon.
Rhaenyra's sixth pregnancy in House of the Dragon sets up one of the most utterly tragic moments still to come. House of the Dragon frequently emphasizes the dangers of childbirth and pregnancy for women in Westeros, with the two major characters Laena Velaryon and Aemma Arryn already dying from such complications.
Regardless of this, Rhaenyra's pregnancy was soon announced, and in the waning days of 114 AC she gave birth to their first child. Laenor wished to name the child Joffrey, but was overruled by his father, who named the boy Jacaerys. Rhaenyra gave birth to a second son a year later, who was named Lucerys.
However, the end result is the same. Like Laenor Velaryon's sexuality, it was a “known secret” in the Red Keep that Harwin Strong was the father to Rhaenyra's three children: Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Joffrey. But this did not stop his own brother, Larys Strong, from threatening to reveal the truth to the general public.
Rhaenyra and Daemon's sons Aegon, Viserys, and Visenya Targaryen. Sorry for the spoiler, but we did watch Daemon and Rhaenyra get married in last week's episode, so you probably knew this was coming! We haven't seen them yet in the show, but Daemon and Rhaenyra have three sons together.
In the books, they have three: daughter Visenya, who does not survive infancy; and two sons, Aegon III and Viserys II, who will grow up to be next Kings of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men.
One of the first times we see Rhaenyra as truly angry throughout the entirety of Season 1 is during the traumatic miscarriage of her daughter Visenya. Her father had just died, her half-brother has taken the throne from her and now she was about to lose her daughter and possibly her life.
If the birthing bed is the battlefield, Rhaenyra needs control rather than help from the midwives. Rhaenyra wasn't going to let herself die during House of the Dragon episode 10's birth scene, and felt that only she had the power to get the baby out quickly.
Rhaenyra's three eldest sons all died fighting during the Dance of the Dragons, but her two youngest sons, the sons by her second husband, Prince Daemon, survived the civil war.