House Of The Dragon's Rhea Royce Must Have Just Set Some Kind Of Westerosi Record
The world of "Game of Thrones" and "House of the Dragon" is an exceptionally brutal environment with a fairly low understanding of medical sciences. Right from the get-go of "House of the Dragon," leeches, maggots, and other such archaic medical practices are put front and center, which highlights that even the slightest of infections can balloon into something far more serious. Just look at poor Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa), the fearsome Dothraki warlord who has no problem ripping somebody's tongue out from their neck but later succumbs to a festering wound.
Lady Rhea Royce (Rachel Redford) had not been seen in previous episodes of "House of the Dragon," but she has been mentioned several times. The reason for this is that the character hails from the area known as the Vale, and that she is the proper and legal wife of Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith). Although when Lady Royce is brought up in conversation to Daemon, he often comments about how ugly everybody looks in the Vale, and how the sheep look better. Needless to say, Daemon is not fond of his wife nor the kingdom in which she hails. Now that viewers have finally gotten a chance to see the character that invokes such a visceral response from Daemon, it may become apparent that she has set a rather dubious record in the world of Westeros involving major players.
Lady Royce is probably the fastest any major character has been killed off in the story of Westeros
As mentioned earlier, and a bit of a reoccurring joke in the world of Westeros, no real character is safe from the cold embrace of death. Between naturally occurring tragedies, poor medical understanding, backstabbing politics, and exposure to poisons, some characters can be introduced, only to be killed off abruptly. Then again, that is one of the major draws of "Game of Thrones" and "House of the Dragon." What makes Lady Royce so special is that she has been referenced several times, and in the few moments she is on screen, she leaves a rather potent impression as a noble who doesn't want to be treated as such and somebody who is more than capable of handling herself.
Unfortunately, she has probably earned the problematic accolade of being an important character that dies almost as quickly as she is introduced. She isn't like the random Lannister soldiers who enjoyed a bit of flatulence-based humor, or any of the unnamed denizens of Moletown killed during the assault of the Wildlings in "Game of Thrones." Lady Royce of Runestone is a noble, an accomplished hunter, the wife to a prince (whom she despises), and she carries the weight of titles. Though the character quickly left her mark in a short amount of time, the fact she is killed by Daemon when he startles her horse and she falls and breaks her neck, only to have Daemon perform a coup de grace with a rock is sure to have far-reaching consequences to the growing power struggle in "House of the Dragon." It is just a shame that we won't be seeing more of Lady Rhea Royce.