How many times could the Dance of Dragons have been prevented? We look at the tragedy of HouseOfTheDragon's story in Season 1.
Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for Season 1 of House of the Dragon.The biggest tragedy of House of the Dragon is how often the war could have been avoided. In nearly every episode, a simple choice could have changed the course of history. But, alas, the Dance of the Dragons has officially begun. With the season final including the first death of the war, Season 2 is set to get bloody. But that doesn't have to stop our wishful thinking.
Viserys Not Marrying Alicent Viserys chooses to remarry Alicent Hightower out of love or at least mutual friendship. But it is a result of Otto's scheming. There are a few ways this could have been handled differently. First, he could have stayed unmarried. That would have stopped him from having more heirs, which would be a problem, except that Rhaenyra was older than some of his potential wives. He could have married Rhaenyra to someone earlier and let her have heirs to continue the line.
Marrying Rhaenyra and Aegon The age difference is uncomfortable, but it wasn't uncommon in Westerosi culture. Marrying the brother and sister would be typical Targaryen fashion, and it would make the war of succession unnecessary. Of course, the marriage would be contentious, as it would likely consist of Rhaenyra and Aegon competing over who held the power, but it would force the two sides of the family to work together.
Otto Not Becoming Hand Again When Lyonel Strong dies, Otto becomes the Hand of the King again. The tension in King's Landing is high already, and Viserys was aware of Otto's plots in the past. So why bring him back? Otto manipulates the situation to make matters worse and actively pushes the realm toward war. If Viserys had made almost anyone else hand, it could have stabilized the realm. For example, Corlys would have supported Rhaenyra.