foreshadowing rhaenyra’s loss of virginity and rise to power (house of the dragon 1x03)
I’ve tried to keep this meta short, but if you don’t want to read all of it, the key point is that the killing of the boar in 1x03 foreshadows Rhaenyra’s loss of virginity (which I would expect to occur in the next few episodes) and her rise to power.
When she leaves camp, she is clean and riding a white horse (a symbol of her “purity”), and is pursued by a man who is a potential romantic interest for her, even if he would not be considered a suitable match for someone of her standing. Ser Criston acts as her confidant in this episode – they are bonded by the station she gave to him, and he reminds her of her own power several times when she feels like she is being supplanted by her younger brother.
Notably, she has spent the episode resenting the prospect of motherhood and spurning the advances of suitors. She clings desperately to her girlhood while simultaneously wishing others would accept her as their queen.
She is sharply contrasted with the dutiful and heavily pregnant Alicent Hightower, who has accepted her womanhood and the traditional roles it entails. In the godswood, Alicent’s orders as Queen are given more weight by the bard than Rhaenyra’s, implying that Rhaenyra could gain power and standing – if she would only give up her independence.
The boar that attacks Rhaenyra in the woods is a distinctly masculine symbol (hair, tusks, ferocity), mounting her while she is lying on the ground. This is a moment of vulnerability for Rhaenyra. She is too weak to fight off the boar, though she does attempt to resist – and her resistance here is consistent with her earlier attitudes towards men in this episode. She is still very young and has expressed no desire for a husband or children, she rejects the potential Lannister match, and now she resists the masculine symbol of the boar.
At this point, Ser Criston Cole pierces the boar with his sword (so obviously a phallic symbol that I doubt it requires further explanation), which bloodies her (a stand-in for the breaking of a hymen, though I’ll spare everyone the speech about how not all virgins bleed). Rhaenyra throws the boar off of her, breathing heavily in the aftermath of the attack.
This is where we would expect her attention to turn towards Ser Criston, her handsome “savior” knight, and to show him some manner of affection or gratitude. Instead, she subverts this expectation and focuses only on the boar, drawing a knife (another masculine symbol, but this time she is the wielder) to ferociously attack the boar until it is dead, and she is drenched in blood.
There are a few noteworthy elements here. First, she is actively participating in the killing of the boar (or by parallel, the loss of her virginity), suggesting that we will see her begin to pursue men more directly and with a fuller understanding of her own sexual empowerment.
Second, she wields a small, simple knife to kill the boar, a surprising display of violence and strength after her previous vulnerability. Meanwhile, in this same episode, her father struggles to kill a bound stag with a massive, highly decorated spear. All of this indicates that she will no longer be a passive player in this game – she is coming into her own power and is fit to rule.
Perhaps an even more interesting component of this episode is that Ser Criston Cole leaves the encounter with the boar completely unscathed. The next morning, when the stag appears, Rhaenyra’s face, hair, and clothing are all drenched in blood – but Ser Criston is pristine, suggesting that even though he was the white knight in this episode foreshadowing the loss of her virginity, he is only a stand-in for the person who will actually take her virginity in episodes soon to come.
And who else ends the episode drenched in blood? Our rogue prince, Daemon Targaryen.
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