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.
A second followed in episode six, when Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy) gives birth to Joffrey.
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 has six children, but unfortunately has already lost two of them, including one during birth. House of the Dragon's second season will undoubtedly continue to follow her family as they fight for control of the Iron Throne.
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.
With him, she found a love so deep it filled the void in her heart, not to mention her womb. In 196 AC, the year of their marriage, she painstakingly produced a set of twins, Aegon and Aella.
Visenya Targaryen
In what perhaps should've been accompanied by a warning for viewers, Rhaenyra has a stillborn daughter upon learning the news of her father's death and the subsequent coronation of Aegon II. The daughter was to be named Visenya, after one of Aegon the Conqueror's sister-wives.
Rhaenyra has been pregnant with her daughter Visenya since House of the Dragon's latest and last time jump, and it is heartbreaking to see her deal with this loss. The way in which the scene plays out makes it especially disturbing. RELATED: House of the Dragon: Which Dragon is Daemon Singing To?
In Fire & Blood, the book House of the Dragon is based on, Daemon and Rhaenyra go on to have two boys: Aegon and Viserys. Yup, another Aegon and another Viserys. They also have a daughter, Visenya, but she is sadly a stillborn baby.
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.
One month premature, Visenya was a stillborn. The labour had begun when Princess Rhaenyra heard the news from King's Landing, that her father, King Viserys I Targaryen, had died, and that her half-brother, Prince Aegon, had claimed the throne and had been crowned King, despite Rhaenyra having been Viserys' heir.
Laenor and Rhaenyra had three sons together: Princes Jacaerys 'Jace', Lucerys 'Luke', and Joffrey 'Joff' Velaryon. It was rumored that those sons of Rhaenyra's were actually fathered by her lover, Harwin Strong, called "Breakbones".
In episode 10, Rhaenyra, shortly after learning her father King Viserys (Paddy Considine) has died, goes into early labour, which leads to her baby being stillborn.
The shock of learning of her father's death appears to induce early labour for Rhaneyra, who undergoes a distressing and bloody labour in a scene that many viewers have criticised as “traumatic” and “overkill”. The scene culminates in the birth of a stillborn girl.
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.
Rhaenyra and Daemon both know Laenor is alive, and faked his death.
The premature stillbirth of Rhaenyra Targaryen's (Emma D'Arcy) sixth child – the fourth bloody, screaming birth in the series, by my count – and the graphic images of the dead babe and its mother's grief feel gruesome in an entirely new and tasteless way.
Daemon and Rhaenyra share two children together: Aegon III and Viserys II.
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.
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.
In 117 AC, Rhaenyra gave birth to her third son, whom Laenor named Joffrey, in honor of Ser Joffrey Lonmouth.
Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy) and Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) finally had sex on House of the Dragon. After teasing their deep connection for weeks, making out in a brothel, and flirting their way through King's Landing, uncle and niece at long last did the dirty.
The shock of the loss of her father, combined with the Greens' ruthless betrayal sends her into early labor. Without modern medicine, a baby born so early had very little chance of survival in the best of circumstances - and in these terrible conditions the baby, a girl named Visenya, is stillborn.