Can we stop mentioning “misogyny” and “femicide” as if the setting of the story isn’t based on a patriarchal medival Europe

The “misogyny” and “femicide” framing around the show ignores the obvious, it is a deliberately brutal, medieval patriarchal setting. That’s not a flaw, it’s the premise. Every woman in the show navigated the same system: Alicent, Rhaenys, Helaena, Daemon’s other wives. Criticizing the show for depicting misogyny in a story built around a patriarchal power structure is like criticizing a war story for having violence in it.

And within that system, Rhaenyra is arguably the least consequentially harmed. She’s a king’s chosen heir, she flies a dragon, she has real political power. Compare that to women married off, sidelined, or killed with no say in anything.(Also women could be executed just on the accusation of infidelity see the terrible Aegon IV)

Her own choices made things worse, too. Empowered by Viserys weakness and willingness to turn the blind eye. She had children with Harwin knowing exactly how they’d be perceived, then passed them off as trueborn Velaryans anyway. The Greens claims were real, material grievance beyond “we don’t like being ruled by a woman.” Framing the Dance as simply men punishing Rhaenyra for existing erases her own agency and the political consequences she set in motion.

If you want to critique how the show handles gender, fine. But pretending the setting isn’t supposed to be oppressive, or that Rhaenyra is some blameless victim of it, misreads both the world and her own role in it.