I really resonated with the fact that you said Corlys provided physical protection because Bruh even at the council scene when he was injured he was still physically imposing. I think he legit towers over most men we’ve seen him have scenes with.
He knows how to make an entrance. He knows how to own a space, and command a room and you never doubt that he would lay his life down for his wife. He does tower over most men. Don't ask me how tall Steve Toussaint is but it's over 6 feet tall. And that physically imposing stature has been brought up in interviews a little bit. Eve says Rhaenys feels very protected by him and also thinks he's very macho and masculine and all of that, and he's a great warrior and that that is attractive to her. You would not want to mess with Corlys, no sir.
So there is the traditional sense of him being physical protection in terms of if anyone were to draw swords, but it's also a physical presence as protection as we're in a patriarchal society and it's really good to have your husband as a reminder of the power you hold or can bring to a situation. He's also her advocate, her champion and her shield. All of that. And then in private, when he holds her in his arms, the way she puts her hands on his chest. Swoon!
But more than that, thinking of the formal way they interact, I'm really intrigued by the roles they have. Rhaenys always walks behind him, just a little bit, except for a few exceptions, one of which is the wedding where they make a boss-ass entrance and walk through as equals. But for the most part, Rhaenys stands to the side, or walks behind or there's some body language that says: focus on Corlys.
To me, that's exhibiting "Protector and Supporter" - with the normal dynamic of Corlys being the protector and Rhaenys as the supporter. He is the speaker, and she is the silent. He is ruler, she is his Hand, when Viserys and Lyonel visit Driftmark. It's not an imbalance of power, it's a delegation born of the world they live in. She does hold influence and has a role in those conversations: ever observing, ever marking, ever thinking, moving unseen. And she asserts when she feels she must to support her husband, such as talking in Episode 02: It is an honest one, cousin.
In Episode 08, when Corlys isn't there, Rhaenys has to step into that central space, most notably in the Throne Room, in front of Viserys. She takes the space/role normally reserved for Corlys and becomes the protector, which in this case means protecting Corlys's will and Driftmark's succession. And Corlys's love and thought must be her support as she clings to the idea he is alive.
Then we get to the end of the series and there's a beautiful restoration of dynamics with them entering side by side, but then Corlys commanding that room and Rhaenys standing to the side. Her observing the scene, supporting Corlys silently, and him looking to her and taking action (in this case, pledging the fleet) that will protect her. And that's then further, deliciously, developed by her stepping up to the table herself.
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