aemond and rhaenyra parallel each other in their relationships to sylvi and mysaria respectively, both older smallfolk who have worked in prostitution and seen the vulnerable side of their rulers, who they now try to guide towards gentler ways. alicent's absence serves as the common denominator in both of those dynamics, which, though no less important in their own right, serve as placeholders to characters who require from alicent types of affection she is not, as of yet, willing to give.
aegon and daemon, on the other hand, act as its direct antithesis, for they corrupt and incite fury, even though those relationships are only in place as a consequence of their own actions (aegon running away from his coronation, and daemon capturing mysaria at dragonstone). both mysaria and sylvi meet rhaenyra and aemond when they are children, but their relationships only develop in adulthood and represent a turning point for those main characters regarding their uncertain position as queen and king (daemon threatening to position for himself and aegon accepting his place as king).
when challenges to their claims as targaryens emmerge, they seek the love of the commonfolk in the ways they're able to.
