Team Green vs. Team Black: Which Side Actually Has the Better Claim?

One of the brilliant aspects of House of the Dragon is that it refuses to let you have an easy answer to the central conflict. Both sides have legitimate gripes. Both sides have legitimate claims to the throne. Both sides are convinced they’re right and the other side is evil. And here’s the thing: they’re both kind of correct, which is exactly what makes the civil war so devastating.

Let’s break down the arguments for each side, not as propaganda or cheerleading, but as actual legal, moral, and political arguments. Because if we’re going to understand why the Dance of the Dragons happens, we need to understand why both sides believe their claim is just.

Team Black’s Argument: Rhaenyra’s Claim

Rhaenyra’s supporters argue that she has the strongest possible claim to the throne, and they have some genuinely solid points.

First, there’s the matter of direct designation by the king. When King Viserys I was still alive and had the opportunity to reshape the succession, he actively chose to name Rhaenyra as his heir. He did this after becoming king. He did this with full knowledge of the realm’s laws and customs. He even made the major lords swear oaths to support her succession. This is a big deal. A king has the power to designate his successor, and Viserys used that power explicitly in Rhaenyra’s favor.

The argument goes like this: if a king, with his full authority, decides that his daughter should rule after him, then his decision should be binding. He’s not violating some sacred law by choosing his daughter over his son. He’s exercising the power that he has as king. Nobody can tell a king who his heir should be. That’s literally part of what it means to be king. So when Viserys named Rhaenyra, the matter was settled.

Second, there’s the matter of oaths. Rhaenyra didn’t just get named heir. The major lords of the realm literally swore oaths to support her succession. They made vows before gods and men to back her claim when the time came. These weren’t casual promises. These were formal, binding oaths. When those lords later switched their support to Aegon, they violated their vows. From Team Black’s perspective, this is a massive betrayal of sacred duty.

Third, there’s the question of legitimacy and precedent. Westeros does have a history of queens regnant. It’s rare, but it’s happened. There’s no law saying a woman can’t be queen. It’s not forbidden by the gods or by the customs of the realm. It’s just that most lords prefer male rulers, which is more about sexism than about law. From Team Black’s view, preferring a male heir just because he’s male is not a valid legal argument. It’s prejudice.

And let’s be honest: Rhaenyra is capable. She’s intelligent, she’s thoughtful (for most of the conflict anyway), and she has genuine support among the lords. She’s not some incompetent person who was forced on the realm. She actually seems like she might be a decent queen if the realm wasn’t tearing itself apart around her.

Team Green’s Argument: Aegon’s Claim

Now let’s look at Team Green’s argument, because they’ve also got points, and a lot of the realm actually found their argument pretty persuasive at the time.

The first argument is what you might call the “natural succession” argument. Westeros has a strong tradition of male succession. When you look at how the realm has historically worked, it’s almost always the oldest son who inherits. It’s not a written law, exactly, but it’s the consistent practice. Team Green argues that Viserys’s choice to name his daughter as heir was unusual and goes against the realm’s traditions. When Viserys later had a son, that son represented the natural heir according to how Westeros actually operates.

Related to this is the argument about what Viserys “really” wanted. Team Green claims (through Alicent) that on his deathbed, Viserys said he wanted Aegon to be king. Now, we don’t actually know if he said that or if Alicent is lying, but from their perspective, they believe they’re honoring the true wish of the king, even if it contradicts his earlier named choice. The argument is basically that a dying man’s last words should matter more than a formal declaration made years earlier.

There’s also an argument about what’s best for the realm. Team Green’s supporters argue that having a male king is better for stability, better for the realm’s military posture, and better for governance. It’s a sexist argument, but it’s the argument they make. They believe that a woman ruling will create instability and that the lords of the realm won’t respect female authority. This is partly about prejudice, but it’s also partly about genuine concerns about how the realm’s military and political structures function.

Aegon himself, despite being sort of useless at actually being king, is a Targaryen of royal blood with a claim through his father. Even if his claim is inferior to Rhaenyra’s under the system Viserys set up, it’s not completely illegitimate. He’s not some random person claiming the throne. He’s the king’s son.

And here’s the thing that a lot of people miss: the lords of the realm actually chose Team Green. When faced with the succession crisis, the lords in King’s Landing voted for Aegon. Were they influenced by Otto Hightower? Absolutely. Were they biased against female rulers? Absolutely. But they made a choice, and there is something to be said for saying that the realm’s lords have a voice in who their king is. They didn’t just accept Aegon passively. They actively voted for him.

The Legal Murkiness: Why There’s No Clear Answer

Here’s the thing that makes this conflict so good as drama but so terrible for the realm: there is no clear, unambiguous legal answer to the succession question. Westeros doesn’t have a constitution. It doesn’t have a clear written law of succession. What it has is tradition, precedent, and the power of kings.

King Viserys exercised his power to name Rhaenyra. That’s within his authority as king. But king’s decisions can be… flexible. They’re not binding on their successors (technically, though they usually are respected). And the tradition of the realm is male succession. So you’ve got a situation where Rhaenyra has a strong legal argument based on formal designation, while Aegon has a strong traditional argument based on customs and practices.

In a realm with clear laws and constitutional governance, this would probably be resolved in Rhaenyra’s favor. She was formally designated by the king, and oaths were sworn. But Westeros doesn’t have that level of legal clarity. Its governance is basically “the king decides, and if everyone accepts it, then it’s legitimate.”

The Moral Dimension

Beyond the legal arguments, there’s also a moral dimension to each side’s claim.

For Team Black, the moral argument is about honoring commitments and respecting the decisions made by people in positions of authority. If King Viserys gets to designate his heir, then his word should mean something. When the lords swear oaths, those oaths should mean something. A moral society doesn’t allow people to just break oaths whenever it becomes inconvenient for them.

For Team Green, the moral argument is about what’s actually best for the realm. They genuinely believe that a male king is better for Westeros, that it will bring stability, that it’s what the people actually want. Now, they’re wrong about some of that, but they believe it. And there’s also something to be said for the idea that the realm’s nobles get some say in who they’re going to follow. If the collective will of the lords is against Rhaenyra, does forcing her on them anyway actually create legitimacy?

The Political Reality

Here’s where things get really messy: politics trump legal arguments almost every time. From a purely political standpoint, Team Green had several advantages that made their claim practically stronger than Rhaenyra’s legal argument.

They controlled King’s Landing. They controlled the capital, the center of power in the realm. That’s huge. Whoever can hold the capital can project power and authority. If you can make it seem like you’re the legitimate authority, you’re halfway to actually being the legitimate authority.

They had the support of the major lords in and around King’s Landing. The Lannisters supported them. The Baratheons supported them. The Reach supported them. When the civil war started, Team Green had more actual military support than you might expect for someone with a “weaker” legal claim. That’s because the lords of the realm actually did agree with their interpretation of what should happen.

They had religious support. The Faith of the Seven, which has enormous power and influence in Westeros, sanctioned Aegon’s coronation. That lent legitimacy to his rule.

In contrast, Rhaenyra had the law on her side, but she was physically far away in Dragonstone. By the time she found out about Aegon’s coronation, it was already happened and the capital had already declared against her. She had to actually fight to make good on her legal claim, which is not a recipe for success.

Who’s Actually Right?

So, which side actually has the better claim? The honest answer is “it depends on which legal system and moral framework you’re applying.”

If you believe in the absolute power of kings to designate their successors, and you believe that formal designations and sworn oaths should be binding, then Rhaenyra has the better claim. She was formally named, the lords swore oaths, and those commitments should be honored.

If you believe in traditional succession laws, in the practical governance preferences of the realm’s nobility, and in the idea that the realm’s lords have a voice in their succession, then Aegon arguably has the better claim. The realm’s traditions favor male succession, and the major lords did choose Aegon.

If you think the “better” claim is the one that’s more practically achievable, then at the moment of succession, Team Green’s claim is better because they control the capital and have military support. Might doesn’t make right, but it does make the difference between a claim being theoretical versus actually functional.

The Tragedy of It All

The real tragedy of the Dance of the Dragons is that both sides have legitimate claims, which means neither side can be written off as just wrong, and neither side can back down without feeling like they’re surrendering something real and important.

Rhaenyra can’t just accept Aegon’s coronation because that would mean accepting that the king’s word doesn’t matter, that sworn oaths don’t matter, that the formal laws of succession don’t matter. From her perspective, she’s fighting for the principle that the realm should be governed by law rather than by might.

Aegon and Team Green can’t just accept Rhaenyra’s legal priority because that would mean accepting that the realm’s traditions and the preferences of the major lords don’t matter. They’re fighting for the principle that the realm’s governance should reflect the values and choices of the nobility.

Both sides are fighting for legitimate principles. Both sides believe they’re fighting for the good of the realm. Both sides think the other side is doing terrible, unjust things. And that’s precisely what makes the Dance of the Dragons so catastrophic—it’s a conflict between two legitimate claims, where there’s no obvious solution and no way for both sides to declare victory.

That’s the genius of House of the Dragon as a show. It refuses to let you pick a side based on who’s obviously “right” and who’s obviously “wrong.” Both sides are right. Both sides are wrong. And both sides are willing to burn the realm to the ground rather than compromise, which is why the Dance of the Dragons becomes one of the most destructive civil wars in Westerosi history.