House of the Dragon - Episode 6 Season 1 | a Review
originally published on 30/09/2022;
Hello everyone, I am the very sad, quite sad, G.E.M.Simov, a fella in mourning, here to tell you all about the Sixth Episode of the First Season of the serial film: “House of the Dragon”.
Simple review details - I try to rank films on an out of 10 basis, granting up to 3 points in 3 categories, as well as a last, single point from my own self, depending on my experience with it. Due to the fact that this is a fundamentally unfinished work, both from a perspective of a beginning and an ending, I will have to slightly change up my criteria, and follow up the collection of episodic reviews with a review for the season, collectively, in which I will be able to present everything that needs to be said in as complete a manner as possible.
In addition, as a disclaimer, I might refer to this episode as ‘the movie’ or ‘the film’ (used interchangeably), by merit of the fact that it is an hour long. As a secondary disclaimer, I will abstract myself wholly from the idea of having read “A Song of Ice and Fire”, as well as the idea of having watched “Game of Thrones”, and will attempt to view and judge this based on its own merits, as its own thing.
Presentation
This episode does everything the previous episodes do in regards to Presentation, at least when it comes to the things that reappear. The intro - not that good; the music - only decent; Sound Effects - good enough to appear normal. It is unfortunate, but there really was no moment in this episode that allowed me to focus on the music, no moment that invited contemplation or displayed such an activity on the part of any of the characters, and then the music, itself, was nothing incredibly impressive.
So things are not out of the ordinary.
In regards to this episode’s visuals, there are a few things that are done, which things leave me with a bad taste. We do have the “show, don’t tell” rule, however we also have a use for decency. In the case of this episode, however, there is a bit of an issue in regards to decency, as is common for previous House of the Dragon showings… Though that does not mean it is good.
There is a scene in this episode - one of many, frankly - that showcases something very unnerving. What most of the scenes in the episode that showcase unnerving things do, and they do it quite neatly, is that they do not outright show it. They hint at it.
As a good example of this - which doesn’t make the scene any less unnerving - is one of the earlier sequences in the episode. A character has just given birth, and she winds up getting on her feet and going on to walk about. Well, that’s… That’s not a good idea, and the movie shows the audience why that is not a good idea… But not by presenting the audience with a close-up shot of a bloodied vagina, no.
Instead, the viewer is only provided with a suggestion. The context is known - this woman has just given birth - and then there’s a sound cue… A very unpleasant sound, mind you, but one evocative of minced meat or just raw meat being handled, or perhaps a wet thing splattering on the floor, or even just blood dripping or splashing on a surface. In addition to that sound cue, which is more than enough to send the observant, and maybe a bit sheepish viewer, into a spiral of cringe, there is a visual cue, which is owed up to the actor in question. More on that later, but the important thing is that the nasty thing is not directly shown to the audience.
It is only hinted at. Or, rather, it is indirectly presented, in a manner that might disgust or disturb some viewers - as is the intention - but it is not tastelessly done.
In contrast, the episode does that same exact maneuver - where it has a scene which can benefit greatly from indirect presentation, but instead of presenting things in a nice manner, it goes on to spill the ravioli from the pocket-oli.
The scene features a number of individuals, lined up, with one of them lain on a block. The person’s mouth is then opened, his tongue is grabbed by a pair of tongs. There are reactions shown, there’s a shot of a knife heated to red being taken out of a burning flame, and then the film shows the audience how a tongue was removed in medieval times. The tongue that was grabbed by the tongs is cut off.
Was that necessary? No. The scene could have easily been a scene, and a very good one at that, if there was no gruesome depiction of Real Life Muting. If the last shot - the one with the lad’s tongue getting cut off - was not in the film, then we would have had an equally powerful scene.
The build-up is there, and then the red-hot knife gets procured… After which we can just jump to the shot after the ‘cutting’, which shows the audience a very disturbed, shocked, even frightened person, while the recently muted fellow’s screams sound in the background. That’s good enough - if not even better. The imagination of the viewer is, often-times, more powerful than the image shown on screen.
As a result of that, this scene feels overbearing. It feels as though it’s too much, and as though it is needless, pointless… Unnecessary. It’s gruesome just because that’s the ‘style’ of Game of Thrones, and evidently House of the Dragon wants that style. Gore porn, torture porn - all the kinds of porn that really aren’t focused on the sexual act, but rather this other, far fouler aspect of the thing. Gratuitous for the sake of gratuity.
Then there is another scene that really befuddled me. A scene I can only describe as fan-service - as in something that only exists as a means of pleasing fans of the show, rather than showcasing something or furthering the story - featuring a character, fully naked, masturbating while standing in a window. His ass is shown to the audience, and there’s a very lengthy amount of time dedicated to the showcasing of his face in the throes of masturbatury passion, coupled with the grunts and gasps of the activity, before something actually happens.
In reality, what this fan-service scene leads into is very important to the story, but the fact that this is what we get, instead of getting an implication, a suggestion - that fact is bothersome. Maybe the transition from the showcase of this character’s indulgences, which are then not at all considered or addressed by the other character who takes part in the sequence… Maybe that transition is important, in a sense? I’ll speak of this more when it comes to the Story part of the review, but I believe the scene could have been just as impactful and valuable if it started off from around 15 seconds later, rather than showing the audience a fellow jacking off.
Then, there’s a scene that really fails at paying any respects to the viewer’s intelligence. In a recent previous scene, the audience was shown a number of individuals - one of whom’s face was focused on a decent bit, enough so that it could be remembered, maybe in just the short term - as well as a very specific, in appearance, object. Following that, the audience is treated to a scene showcasing both the individuals in question - with a focus on the fellow whose face was allowed screen-time - as well as a very well displayed brooch on their apparel, one that is identical with the object showcased in the previous scene.
That is more than enough, right? But, then, there’s a slow pan down towards that object, in a shot that directly follows a shot that shows the object. This scene could have only been worse if the show featured someone telling the audience: “Hey, look, those guys are those guys!”
It felt pointless. It felt needless. It was a shot that existed solely to show the audience that this batch was that batch, which shot followed another shot that was mostly focused on the showcase of the fact that the batch in question was that batch. Comparing that to the previous episode - number 5 - which featured a much better shot that showcased something on a character’s apparel, this one is sorely lacking. It feels as though the quality of directing is lessening, or maybe this is just an outlier that left a big impression.
There’s a lot of CGI in this episode, and the CGI on Vermax is not bad, but the CGI on Vhagar is… It’s weird. Maybe it’s really good, because Vhagar is OLD and thus should look off putting, maybe weird, but… I still didn’t really like the scenes themselves.
Then there’s a very good scene, a very good visual metaphor, if that can be said, featuring dear Viserys and a rat. Viserys is alone, in a moment when things are going downhill overall, and a rat shows up in his room. A rat - what could that signify, ladies, gentlemen and N-bees?
It seems incredibly interesting. Rats in the walls, with everyone knowing things that maybe should not be known by them; Rats overall, being perceived as vile vermin that do nothing but consume and worsen things; Rats being known to show up in places that are unkempt, as well as being heralds of death, of ill tidings.
Then there’s the link to that rat from the previous episode - could this be the same rat? Unlikely, as this would mean the rat lived around 3x as long as it should have lived. But it could be its progeny, King Rat, if you catch my drift. Even so, the sheer fact that the Rat shows up, considering the context, is fantastic.
The viewer has things, be they concepts or otherwise, that they associate with rats. The viewer also knows what is commonly associated with rats. As a result of that, the appearance of the rat, next to Viserys, who does not appear that bothered by it, but rather accepting, is interesting.
With that being said, that’s all I’m going to say about the Presentation. It was decent, maybe even good, but there were things we could have done without. 2/3
Acting
This episode featured a multitude of child actors. Child actors, as is known, are, almost always, not that good. However, I must admit that the performances did not strike me as far too wooden or wonky. Naturally, there was a measure of offness, if it can be so described, but then maybe that’s just my reaction to seeing children in a show that’s about people killing one another in the most gruesome ways imaginable and doing other unspeakable things to each other.
There was also an introduction of four new actors who are taking on the roles of other characters. The transition was decently good, and the approach taken by the actors in representing the characters in question is not bad at all - in fact, I feel as though they did an outstanding job in furthering and evolving the characters.
After all, some of the characters in question were 17 years old last time the audience got to see them, and they are now ten years older. It would’ve been inappropriate for them to remain the exact same, personality-wise, but then too-large a shift would’ve been somewhat unfaithful to the characters and the fact that stuff is… Well, stuff does not seem to have happened. No big events that could shape the characters or plunge them off the path.
As a result of that, I am very pleasantly surprised by the performances given. Not only that, I feel as though the casting choices, while not absolutely perfect - as Laenor’s chin has a very distinctly different shape and Rhaenyra also has a few features that are in conflict with the previous depiction of her - have differences that are minor enough to be ignored. After all, there’s suspension of disbelief, and the slight amount that’s needed to make things plausible here is within the norm.
It was all very good. 3/3
Story
This episode features a massive time-skip - ten years - but manages to follow-up on almost every thread that was presented by the preceding episodes. There’s the intrigue, there’s the drama, there’s the irrationality of people deluded by their own thoughts AND the influence of their fathers…
There’s a lot that happens in this episode… Or, rather, there’s the impression that a lot happens in it, because of the fact that the sheer appearance of the characters, and their apparent physical growth, is enough of a change to appear as an event, in and of itself. As an example, Lyonel Strong is balding, and he definitely looks older than he did in his previous showing. King Viserys also has a very different appearance, visibly wracked by his illness, but still alive and… Well, maybe not kicking, but wobbling about.
Then there’s the change in station of some characters. The assistant of Mellos - the grand maester in the previous episode - is now grand maester, which implies Mellos is no more. In hindsight, the difficulty the ex-grand maester displayed in getting up could be construed as an indication of just how old he was, aside from his appearance, so this is not unexpected. It’s a very natural change, as well as a well set-up one.
Harwin Strong has been made commander of the City watch, which is evident from his apparel alone… And there also some very important things that have happened, which things are well conveyed and appear incredibly plausible.
But is there a big issue with this episode? Why, of course there is. An example would be the fact that “sir” Criston “can’t keep my dick in my pants and my brain in my skull” Cole is still alive and kicking. Not only that, but the way Laenor reacts to Cole is also very strange. It almost fails to suggest that… Well, that Cole did THE THING in the previous episode.
There’s no consequence of the actions performed at the wedding. That’s just… That’s a problem. A very big problem, but I suppose adapting the source material and changing it so drastically leaves you with big plot holes, doesn’t it? It does! Either way though, there’ll be more on that in the spoiler section of the Story section.
Lastly, among the bad, there’s definitely the deed of the antagonist. It was unexpected, yes, but not for any good reasons. The antagonist goes on to do something that seems to go against what has, so far, been done by the character in question. Well, not entirely, but there is a number of scenes that depicts that character doing things, which things do not suggest that character’s disposition towards the deed committed.
In addition to that, what the character says in a funky voice-over narration seems to imply there’s literally no motivation that can be discovered. Perhaps there is, actually, some motivation, but that monologue discards almost every other possible reason for a character to do something. It seems as though Batman’s Alfred can say: “Some men just want to watch the world burn.” and in this case it would be appropriate, or so it seems.
I must admit that I found some things to be very neat, very cool, and that they brought me great joy, and that said things were very masterfully teased, or maybe barely suggested, in previous episodes. There was a lot of good in this film, but there was also a lot of bad, and…
Well, I suppose we’re going to be spoiling things from this point onwards.
We open up with Rhaenyra giving birth in a very uncomfortable scene. She doesn’t even get to be happy about her child being born, as a servant comes in and informs her that the Queen has requested the child be brought to her. Rhaenyra gets up, agreeing with the midwives' protests while doing so, and then has a wobbly walk through court. Laenor appears and congratulates her, then accompanies her.
It’s a bit of a challenge, with everyone paying their respects, while the air of the scene feels awkward. Laenor gets to show the audience that he cares for Rhaenyra, while Rhaenyra gets to show the audience that she’s only grown stronger (in a character sense). They pass by a random servant boy and Laenor gives him a smile, albeit a forced one, then they reach Cole (guarding the Queen’s chambers), and Laenor provides him with no smile, not even a forced one.
That’s as much as the audience is going to get in relation to Laenor’s relationship with Cole. The most interesting thing, frankly, is the fact that Cole is alive and well, seemingly perfectly healthy and unchanged. That’s bothersome, considering the fact that he killed a member of a noble house who was a sworn sword to another noble house AND the fact that he physically assaulted Laenor, future King Consort, or at least Prince, and heir of the second strongest noble house.
One would assume punishment to be in order, especially if we take into account the reality that his outburst cut the celebrations short - the celebrations the King was looking forward to with great excitement.
Instead, it appears as though all that happened was him killing Joffrey in a most vile manner, with the guards just standing there, doing nothing. Not only that, but he then walks off unimpeded, covered in his victim’s blood, having stricken the future/current(?) Prince, evidently past the guards or the other members of the King’s Guard.
Surely there must be some repercussions, right? No? Even the King’s own brother was not spared consequences, and the writers mean to have me believe that this nobody - actual nobody - who was made a member of the King’s Guard is going to duck under the radar? Of course, one could argue that Alicent, having found him about to kill himself (at the exact same time as she was attending her step-daughter’s wedding and afterwards tending to her husband), pulled all the strings she could and managed to stop him from going kaput.
That’s an argument I’m not really willing to roll with. Sure, maybe not death, but there are other means of punishing somebody in Westeros, as we have been shown time and time again! Either way, this will, evidently, remain. That’s just bad writing, so we’ll keep that in mind for the whole of the show - any time Cole shows up doing whatever, it’ll be an indication of bad writing, and it might lessen the quality of the story itself, as well as the experience.
With that considered, the pair enters the Queen’s chambers. There’s tension, as Alicent is evidently still not very friendly. In fact, she’s almost combative, but in a pensive manner. Viserys shows up, merry and cheerful at the occasion, missing an arm and looking far worse for wear than he did last time - his hair has thinned greatly, he looks completely drained… Very ghoulish.
But the scene hints at something - at the fact that maybe things are not as they seem. Viserys seems very happy about the situation and doesn’t appear to be considering the wrongness that is potentially afoot, but Alicent, Rhaenyra and Laenor betray that there’s a bit of a fumble. Prior to the pair’s exit, Alicent manages to unveil the babe’s head, and there’s some dark hair on it. Funny, considering both of little Joffrey’s parents are ashen blonde.
I must say that the performance on the part of every actor here is very strong. This scene is superb based on that - everyone has done a phenomenal job portraying their characters.
There’s a bit of strife, seeing as Laenor picked the name for the baby without consulting Rhaenyra, but I think everything is relatively okay. Then, the pair ventures to their chambers, where their other two sons are playing. They’ve been escorted by Harwin Strong, who’s wearing the Gold Cloak of the City Watch, for they’ve gone and picked out a dragon egg for their baby brother.
There’s no need to imply anything anymore. The kids all have dark hair, and the fellow in the room, who’s very evidently dark-haired, and a man, and not gay, is Harwin. Harwin, who is very happy.
After that, the boys - along with two other Targaryen-ishly blonde lads, who are both older than them - go to the dragon pit. The eldest son of Rhaenyra is training his mastery over his dragon, Vermax, but it doesn’t seem as if he’s that confident, nor does it appear as if he has that great a mastery over the dragon, but he’s getting somewhere.
Then, the lads - excluding the younger of the blonde boys - announce they’ve a surprise for him. Aemond, presenting him with a pig that’s had ‘wings’ fashioned for it. Evidently, those are kids doing childish things - such as having fun at the expense of others and being unreasonably cruel to those who are not in their circle (the circle of dragon havers, obviously)- and it’s believable, to a degree.
I’d have assumed Aegon, who is at least thirteen, would’ve had some desire to act more maturely, as teenagers tend to, but I suppose he’s been coddled. Aemond goes on to go into the depths of the dragon pits and somewhat agitates the dragons.
Then, a scene featuring Alicent and her daughter, Helaena, doing some… Well, Helaena is examining a centipede, while Alicent is being present. Aemond is brought in by a member of the King’s Guard, and it becomes clear he’s in trouble for doing that - mainly because he has done it before. He’s obsessed with dragons, because he, himself, does not have a dragon. Helaena is shown to be a bit weird.
After that Alicent has a conversation with Viserys, trying to pin the blame of Rhaenyra’s sons. The conversation turns into an almost argument - because Alicent gets very upset and very mad - but Vizzy T (Viserys) is calm and collected and tells her about a black horse making a brown baby with a white horse. Alicent asks if he has seen the horse sex, for she’s very upset that he’s closing his eyes.
Shortly thereafter, Alicent is headed somewhere, escorted by Cole, while she’s unloading her great disappointments onto him. She’s, evidently, jealous of the apparent freedoms Rhaenyra wields, or maybe she’s been so deeply set into the system that she, herself, was suffering under, that she can not beat the thought of someone managing to trick said system. Either way, Cole showcases that he’s a bitter twat by going on to insult the Princess, with his last one being absolutely ludicrous, and Alicent reprimands him for it.
Alicent then goes on about Honor and Decency. Yes, all the honor in Cole - the honorable act of beating up a man in dress clothes while you’re in full armor, the honor and decency of doing so by mounting him, breaking his arm and rendering him incapable of defending himself and then pummeling him to death, when the decent and honorable thing would’ve been to spare him after he’s no longer capable of fighting. The HONOR and DECENCY of attacking your opponent from behind. Alicent really found who to talk to about honor and decency.
But it is strange that she’s going on about those two things. Is it honorable to bring the matter of someone’s children doing a bad thing to the King, rather than to the parent of those children? Is it honorable to spare someone who just killed an innocent man, for no reason at all, mind you? Is it decent to interrupt your husband’s speech (which husband is the King) and to show up late to the wedding of your step-child?
This stinks of biased interpretations of honor. Of hypocritical beliefs, frankly. What she does is all very decent and honorable, but there are things that she does, which are honorable and decent, but when done by others are indecent and dishonorable. Reminiscent of the Republican party in the USA (whoops, I got political!)
Either way, that’s a good way of showcasing just how great her animosity towards Rhaenyra has grown, all as a result of her believing and listening to her father’s words, taking them on face value. Now, sure, Otto was right - there is going to be war, and it will be because Rhaenyra is going to ascend the throne, seeing as she was made heir, but not due to the fact that the realm will not accept her, but, rather, because of the fact her step mother had her brain filled with scary thoughts, courtesy of her father.
THEN, Aegon is having a wild time jerking his peepee whilst standing at the window, when his mother walks in on him and completely ignores that, instead asking about the pig. I quite like the fact that Aegon calls Aemond a twat. It was funny.
What was not funny was Alicent deciding to tell Aegon that he’ll be in danger, because he’d be a challenge to Rhaenyra’s rule. Aegon then tells Alicent that he just WONG CHALLENGE HER RULE, but Alicent gets shouty-Mc-angry at him, filling his head with the garbage that’s been splashed in her head by her own father. Way to go at doing division, baby!
I simultaneously like that - it showcases that while Aegon is a bit eccentric, he’s a decently reasonable lad and doesn’t really exhibit great amounts of greed. A pure entity, still brimming… Well, maybe not brimming, on behalf of the window exploits, but still rich in childish innocence. And his mother is going to force him into a deadly war with his half-sister. That’s just sad, but it’s not a badly written afflux of events.
After that display of self-imposed terror, we see Daemon and Laena Velaryon riding dragons in som weird place. Turns out the place is Pentos. The Prince of Pentos, Reggio, offers Daemon and Laena, who are married and have 2 daughters, expecting another child, a whole manse. Essentially, he offers Daemon, mainly, a lord’s title in Pentos. Laena seems to be inclined to refuse, but Daemon gives a more inconclusive answer.
They then have a conversation about it, which conversation ends a lesson in high Valyrian Daemon was giving to one of his daughters. They chat about the offer of the Prince, about what it means, as well as about their own wants and wishes. Well, Laena does most of the want and wishes talking, which is sorely needed, as there’s need for her character to be developed. After all, last time we saw her she had around 2 or 3 lines.
Daemon also shows some very interesting… Growth, I suppose. He’s caring for his children and he also seems to show great affection towards the unborn child in Laena’s womb, though he doesn’t appear to show much interest in the conversation at hand, though the mellow nature of his interaction is… Well, refreshing. Almost makes one forget that he crushed his previous wife’s skull with a stone.
What can be gathered from this, however, is that Daemon does care for Laena. Maybe he is really in love - and I would not put that beyond him - as he has spent at least nine years with her. The little bit of flirting they did at the ill fated wedding was good enough foundation for this relationship. It’s very plausible and very believable, and I quite like it. I am left a little curious as to what Daemon’s motivations are - they’ve never been very clear, and still they aren’t.
There’s a common point of interests between him and his brother, though. They’re both very deep in the histories of the world - Daemon mainly on house Targaryen and Valirya… I quite like that. It gives more depth to the character, definitely, and it further enforces that they are brothers. Daemon being the younger brother is an even better explanation as to why he is, seemingly, just now getting into history.
Or perhaps that has something to do with what he wants to do? Maybe it’s bound with his goals? I can’t tell. That’s the thing about Daemon - everyone else’s motivations are very clearly cut, while his are far harder to discern. I suppose the best call here is that he just wants to live well, and that for him living well is mostly having fun.
After that, we’re back with the royal kids. The four boys are having combat exercises, overseen by “ser” Cole, with the King and his Hand observing the proceedings. Aegon seems to be most capable, while the others are doing their thing. There’s a tinge of camaraderie, though also a bit of bibbling (not in the common sense of the word, but rather a made-up meaning that I’ve attributed to it, reading: an apparent strife that may or may not be sincere).
Harwin shows up to also observe, but on the field, which is noticed by Aegon, who seems… Well, happy to see sir Strong. I don’t really know what to think of this, but I’d like to interpret it as there being no real ill will between the children of Alicent and the children of Rhaenyra, as well as Rhaenyra herself and those who are, evidently, friends of hers.
Criston gets Aegon and Aemond to fight him, and he bests them. Harwin gives a little pointer to the to uninvolved lads and suggests Cole involves them, and then Criston goes on to almost take offense to that - I suppose he’s fully transitioned from a likable, witty lad to an unlikable, bitter twat.
As one can expect, Cole gets angry (wowie) and starts being even more of a twat, especially towards Jacaerys. Jace and Aegon fight, things get a bit stinky, ser Strong interrupts when it seems very ugly. Harwin seems to have an issue with Cole’s approach - “this is what you teach, Cole? Cruelty to the weaker opponent?”
It is evident that Cole doesn’t like Harwin, because Cole is jealous Harwin is getting to bone Rhaenyra. Well, it could’ve been him boning Rhaenyra, but he wound up being delusional and blew it. Harwin, by contrast, is a very likable character, but he also seems to not be that big a fan of Cole’s. In fact, I really, REALLY like Harwin. Oh wait, no, that’s a mistake. I should not start liking characters in anything related to Game of Thrones, because they die… Oh dear, especially the good, likable characters who seem to be decent people. Those REALLY get the shank, and quickly on top of that.
“Ser” Criston “can’t keep my dick in my pants, my brain in my head and my words in my mouth” Cole then makes a very accusatory statement, Harwin gets angry, tackles him and hits him a few times in a manner similar to what the current victim did at a wedding.
Unlike that time, though, FOUR King’s Guard members (how are there this many) descend upon Harwin and barely hold him back (he is strong).
Rhaenyra catches wind of the incident and sneaks off to Harwin’s chambers (I guess), but Harwin is having an argument with his father. An argument that further clarifies that, indeed, everyone knows. Everyone suspects it, at least, and the only reason things haven’t gone to Hell is the King’s willingness to turn a blind eye to it. Then… Then Harwin delivers a very important statement, in my eyes.
“You have your honor and I have mine.”
That line is important. Incredibly important, reminding the audience of the subjectivity of things. Naturally, it could be bound to the fact that Harwin’s honor is not the same as Lyonel’s honor, and that Harwin’s honorable or dishonorable approach to situations is not something that affects Lyonel’s honor, but I think it’s more than that.
It’s not an admission that Harwin’s 3 honor points are his honor points, whereas Lyonel’s 333 honor points are Lyonel’s honor points, but rather that honor is something completely made up. As a result of it being made up, it is a concept, and as a concept it is very bendy and flexible, capable of being entirely unique for every single person.
Cole’s sense of honor was too rigidly bound to what the common conception of honor was, too rigidly bound to the subjective views of others, rather than his own. Whereas Harwin’s sense of honor appears to be different - maybe even call it liberal - for he does not allow himself to base his own value off of the value attributed to him by others and their opinions of him.
I really like Harwin. I will really miss Harwin.
The next event is one involving Laenor and Rhaenyra, as well as Laenor’s new lover, Qarl. I suppose Qarl is Laenor’s new lover, of course, but I can’t be too certain. There’s nothing too overt. Either way, Laenor shares that war is brewing in the Stepstones and that he really wants to go and fight, but Rhaenyra will not allow that.
There seems to be a bit of disdain on Rhaenyra’s part towards Laenor, maybe because he did not follow through on giving her children, and that now, because of that, things are getting very nasty for her. Or, maybe, she’s being crass because of the fact she knows what will happen with Harwin - that he’ll be punished and/or sent away. The conversation is interesting, establishing some minor-ish conflict between them, but nothing too grand and dire.
Then we’re back in Pentos. Laena is having a chat with Rhaena, whose dragon egg has not hatched. Much like Aemond, she’s worried about that, but Laena provides some encouraging words which also serve to comfort her daughter.
She goes on the roof and has another chat with Daemon, informing the audience that there’s correspondence between herself and her brother, Laenor. Daemon and Laena also ‘suspect’ that Harwin is the real father of the children. The conversation turns back to the topic Daemon so deftly avoided - by barely talking - in the previous scene between them. It ends in much the same way - with Laena doing most of the talking and Daemon being quiet. He does, however, reaffirm that he cares for her when she puts herself down.
Back to Westeros - small council meeting - where the audience sees that Mellos has been replaced by his assistant (whose name is not really mentioned). Rhaenyra presents big political advice, but Alicent is always going counter to her proposals. As the meeting is about to end, Rhaenyra makes an offer to Alicent - that Jacaerys is married to Helaena and the bad blood between the two is left behind. Alicent doesn’t react much, but Viserys is very pleased.
In addition to that, Rhaenyra offers, in the event that Syrax (evidently a dragon, maybe her dragon) has another clutch of eggs, that Aemond gets to pick one of them. Unfortunately, the event is cut short when motherly issues arise (well hinted at in the preceding scene involving Rhaenyra, nice Chekhov’s gun). The meeting ends and Alicent doesn’t seem, at all, pleased with the turn of events… Which is strange.
It is strange, because if her motivation is to protect her children and herself, then this is her get out of jail free card. Her children will be protected, as they will directly enter into Rhaenyra’s family, and kinslaying is a very big no-no. Even if they are the princess’ half brothers, their bond can be deepened through that. THOUGH, by the looks of things, Alicent does not, actually, want that, as she’s obviously not interested in accepting that offer.
So what is her goal? Does she want her child to be King? But then that offer is going to work in her favor, as Jace and Helaena can and will have children, and those children will be of Alicent’s descent. Thus, essentially, her children will be seated on the Iron Throne… But then, apparently, that’s not a good enough offer, either, as her expression and reaction is absolutely dour.
In which case… Why? What does she want? Does she explicitly want Aegon to be King? Or does she explicitly want Rhaenyra to not get away with it? Is she going to act out of spite? It seems as though that might wind up being her only motivation for what she’s going to be doing… And I don’t like that.
What I like even less is the fact that she immediately starts BadMouthing Rhaenyra TO Viserys after they’re out of the council meeting chamber. Viserys tries to reason with her, but she’s not willing to listen. She is, simply put, being a bitch for no good reason.
There is another thing. During the small council, she seemed to be doing most of the talking, with Viserys giving his agreement or disagreement on things. It appears as though she is trying to, or has been allowed to, obtain a greater measure of control. Not only that, but she ignores his orders and acts a lot more willful than she did in previous episodes.
That’s made even more apparent when they get to their chambers. Viserys informs her that he does not need a blanket, she puts it on him regardless. The Hand asks for an audience, Alicent tries to no-no by saying “The King is resting”. It is very clear that she’s trying to take control of things, to control Viserys and the situation. That’s concerning, as maybe her motivation is different.
Maybe she wants to be the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms, if from the shadows. Her father told her to prepare Aegon to rule, but Aegon doesn’t seem at all prepared. Perhaps she wants to be an ever present shadow over Aegon’s shoulder, telling him what to do and how to do it, essentially being the true leader of Westeros.
And that’s the only other explanation I can come up with in regards to why she is doing what she is doing, aside from the being petty answer, which is actually a real reason people do things. Have you heard about student loans and student loan forgiveness? How petty people who have paid their student loans are about others being forgiven? That’s truly miserable and speaks entire speeches on how low a character a person who exhibits such traits is, especially when they aren’t self aware.
Either way, Lyonel “The GOAT” Strong comes in and attempts to resign. Considering recent events, he can’t be impartial and, thus, he can’t do his job as Hand right. Viserys tries to argue that the punishment received by Harwin - expulsion from the City Watch - is enough, but Lyonel disagrees. Viserys recognizes the GOAT status of Lyonel, and tries to convince him to stay on as Hand, whilst simultaneously delivering a funky dig on Alicent - with the claim that Lyonel’s lack of self-interest backing his claims stands in contrast to all others.
Lyonel is touched by the King’s words, but he mentions a shadow (we know what it is), Viserys also maybe suspects what it is, and Alicent immediately pounces, trying to insert herself, trying to give herself power. “We must…” she says, as if she has the same amount of power as Viserys. This further emphasized to me that she’s grown into a power-hungry glutton of the nasty variety.
Lyonel can’t bring himself to admit the great shame, so Vizzy T denies his resignation. Alicent REALLY tries to insert herself again, to exert any control she has over Viserys, because she obviously hopes that if Lyonel is no longer hand she might be able to get her father brooched once again with the symbol of the Hand, but VIZZY T proves he’s also THE GOAT and ignores that.
Lyonel then asks for permission to take Harwin to Harrenhall (seat of house Strong), and Viserys allows it. After the Hand leaves, Viserys sits down and provides the audience with another jab at Alicent, asking her if she isn’t going to help him - considering she was willing to help him against his wishes - and she just walks off.
It is so OBVIOUS that what Alicent is doing is for her own gain. It is obvious that she no longer cares, not one bit, for Viserys. She’s evidently been going ham at the accumulation of control and influence over him in an attempt to get to a point where she can convince him to name Aegon heir, and when her control seems ineffectual, she gets so upset she’s not even bothered with anything.
She’s a bad person, judging from that, and even if she’s wound up in a bad situation, she’s still reacting in a very specifically unpleasant manner. Fuming, huffing and puffing, almost tearing up, Alicent goes to her personal chambers and there’s Larys Strong, eating pie.
They have a funky chat, establishing that there’s A relationship between them. One of Larys being a reporter of happenings around the castle to Alicent, and also maybe an ally of hers… Or, perhaps… I can’t quite tell, but dining with somebody in the privacy of your chambers - someone who isn’t your husband - is a bit sussy.
Either way, they have a chat about the audience between Viserys and Lyonel. Alicent erupts, complaining about the absence of her father, and Larys tells her that Otto wouldn’t be impartial in this matter… But Alicent doesn’t care about that. She cares about the fact that Otto Hightower would be partial to her, and then she complains about how no one in King’s Landing would take her side.
This is a complete admission. She does not care about anything reasonable - be it her children’s safety or her blood’s ascension to the Iron Throne. She cares about being petty, she cares about ruining that which someone has and she could not have.
Here’s the second big issue. Larys. Larys rhymes with Varys but doesn’t seem able to step on anything bar his… Penis? Larys is a very strange character. Much like Daemon, it’s hard to figure out what he wants. Maybe he just revels in discovering the secrets of others, or in soaking up drama and gossip?
Maybe he has some ulterior motive that’s yet to be shown. EITHER WAY, he goes to prison, collects a number of death-row inmates, has their tongues cut out and gives them an order. What kind of order are we talking about?
First, the second childbirth scene in this episode, and the third in this show. Laena is giving birth - or at least trying to, but she’s failing. The midwife… The midhusband… The health-man (doctor or whatever) tells Daemon that it’s over, and that nothing can be done. He informs the King’s brother of the possibility to save the baby, but that it could be dead, too.
In an interesting parallel, Daemon does not agree to that. It seems that he either doesn’t care for his unborn child, or he cares too much for Laena - seeing as she has expressed her wish to die as a dragonrider, and dying from a cut-open belly is not very dragonrider-ish. Maybe he realizes that this could be what his brother had to go through when Baelon was born, or maybe it's something else.
Either way, Laena manages to leave, wobbling off to her dragon - which turns out to be Vhagar, the dragon she showed curiosity towards and also the location of which dragon she apparently knew WAY back when in episode... In episode 2, I think. The fact that she sought Vhagar out, managed to bond with her and became her rider, is really cool, and it turns out to have been very well set-up in the preceding episodes, whilst also being explained in this episode (when Laena talks to Rhaena, she unveils that this happened when she was 15 years old).
Even if that is really neat and cool, well… Laena commands Vhagar to burn her, and she has to utter the command multiple times as, evidently, Vhagar does not want to kill her master(?). Just as Vhagar opens up her mouth and breathes fire onto Laena, Daemon comes looking for her, and observes her death. A shame, I dare say, as Laena had potential to be an interesting character… In fact, she was already an interesting character, but alas.
This might have some major repercussions for Daemon, though. What those will be… I’m hoping he gets inspired to do some of the things that Laena was talking about, but he might go back to King’s Landing to flirt with his brother’s daughter. That seems to be his go-to solution.
Following that unfortunate scene, which is quite saddening, we get on to another tear-wrenching scene - Harwin is parting with Rhaenyra and the lads. As he does so, Jace winds up sussy and asks his mother if Harwin is his father. The Princess tells him he is a Targaryen and that is all that matters.
Now, I can’t really say much about this in a story sense. In fact, it might be a bad thing for the story, because Harwin going to visit the Princess and her sons, and being so touchy-feely with the boys and the baby, is incredibly conspicuous. It’s as though they’re not even hiding it, and that bothers me. It takes away the plausibility, it makes me wonder how Jace and Lucerion did not sus it out earlier. Or, perhaps, Laenor is a really good dad.
There’s also one very interesting thing, which I saw… Somewhere, I don’t remember where, but it pertained to the fact Harwin tells baby Joffrey that next time they meet he will be a stranger. And one of the Seven gods is the Stranger, who is death. With what happens in this episode, that seems like a funky bit of foreshadowing, perhaps? Twas a really neat meme, if anything.
After that, Rhaenyra goes and tells Laenor, who’s sparring with Qarl, and they have a chat, in which Rhaenyra announces they’re leaving, hitting Laenor with the saying about the sailor and the storm (used, famously, by Corlys and more recently by Laenor when talking to Rhaenyra before that small council meeting). Qarl is brought along, too.
The following scene features the goons who were let go by Larys, bearing his sign, trailing Harwin and Lyonel Strong as the Hand and his son reach Harrenhall. THEN, a fire, and both Lyonel and Harwin burn to death. Rip to the GOATs.
Then there’s a short montage of characters doing things. Rhaenyra and crew arriving to Dragonstone, Viserys, alone in his room, kissing a ring on his one remaining hand - the ring belonging to his first wife, whom he evidently still loves greatly and misses even more-so. A rat shows up while he is doing so, and that was mentioned in the Presentation part of the review.
The montage is accompanied by a monologue, provided by Larys himself, talking about children. Seeing as he does not want children, what are his motivations? Who can tell. Either way, Alicent is standing there, a little spooked and shocked, informing him his father and brother are dead…
And Larys does not react at all. He doesn’t care. He just keeps going: “Oh, you know, Harrenhall is cursed and its gates pass judgment.” Alicent is really shaken by that, but Larys just keeps babbling: “Queen makes a wish and the realm’s servant does his thing hehe.” He gives her the cheekiest of smiles when she says that she did not wish for this, and informs her that he is certain she will reward him handsomely when the time is right.
This here shows us that Alicent was, actually, just petty, not evil. Larys, on the other hand, is either impossibly, irredeemably evil, or totally insane. He killed his father and brother in one of the worst possible ways - burning them alive - even though both of them appear to have been good to him, even though it seemed as though they both, or at least Harwin, had good rapport with Larys, showcased in the previous episode…
What could his goals be? Maybe - just maybe - it’s implied that he wants Alicent, that he’s in love with her? That is implied by the fact he smells that foreign flower he spoke of the first time he dipped his toes in the intrigue swirling about King’s Landing, which first mention of the flower was almost a metaphor for Alicent herself.
This episode does a good amount of setting up for the future. It also does not end on a stinky cliff-hanger - it actually provides the audience with many questions that ought to be answered naturally. Even with the great disappointment that Cole’s presence brought to yours truly, I can’t say that the episode was not well written. 3/3
Legendary Point
Does this episode get the legendary point, so craved and wanted by all and none at the same time? While I really liked Harwin, and I really liked the fact that Cole got his face beaten, I did not find this episode that impressive.
Unfortunately, the scene that featured Harwin trying to get out of the burning room was… It was very impactful. I really wound up thinking about it for a while, and it left me feeling very saddened. Alas… NO legendary point. 0/1
Conclusion
8/10. Maybe the highest rated episode of House of the Dragon so far. It was really good, and it makes me think that maybe there is hope for the show. In hindsight, maybe I should not have been extending recommendations for episodes, as one watches the show or just doesn’t, but maybe I was extending recommendations for re-watchings of episodes.
This one is not a bad choice.
Another one finds its way, tucked under my belt and filling me with mirth. It could have been better, but it does glimmer quite nicely.