Claire Kilner directed this episode and achieved what she set out to do. She delivered a slow burn and buried landmines. The coming episodes will be explosive. Characters that were on the same side, albeit for the wrong reasons, are now on a collision path. Your guess is as good as mine. I’m referring to Viserys and Otto.
The fourth episode of House of the Dragon is titled “King of the Narrow Sea,” a befitting title that segues a seamless transition from the last scene of the third episode. In case you are wondering, Daemon was installed off-screen as king of the narrow sea, or should I say, the Stepstones. Cut to the opening scene; Rhaenyra is in the Stormlands. She is seated next to Lord Boremund Baratheon, sifting through a group of suitors who have come to Storm’s End to ask for her favor. Willem, a boy from House Blackwood, steps forward and makes his pitch amidst jibes from Jerrel of House Bracken. House Blackwood and House Bracken, both of which have the blood of the First Men in their veins, competed for the throne of the Riverlands when it was an independent kingdom. The animosity between the two Houses intensified when House Bracken converted to the Faith of the Seven. It is this old feud that plays out at Storm’s End. One jibe too far and steel is unsheathed. Willem and Jerrel engage in a duel that ends with Willem’s sword in Jerrel’s gut. With that came the end of Rhaenyra’s tour in the Stormlands. A few minutes later, we learn that Rhaenyra is on her way back to the capital and her ship is one hour away from the docks. Her arrival at King’s Landing coincides with that of a victorious Daemon, who arrives on the back of Caraxes. Word of Daemon’s arrival spreads like wildfire leading to the throne room quickly filling with Members of the Court who are ill at ease. Daemon walks into the throne room with the Crabfeeder’s hammer in hand, throws it at the king’s feet, and then says, “add it to the chair.” “You wear a crown. Do you also call yourself ‘King’?” Viserys asks.
“Once we smashed the Triarchy, they named me ‘King of the Narrow Sea.’ But I know there is only one true king, your Grace.” Daemon bends the knee and offers his crown to his brother; “My crown and the Stepstones are yours.” And just like that, the brothers are reconciled. And that, my friend, is how the fourth episode of House of the Dragon acquired its title.
Daemon is back in the capital, and his intentions are self-serving. He’s not come back to look for his brother but rather to get back at him. He has taken a page from Otto’s playbook. This time, he is the one playing the game, and at the center of it is Rhaenyra. Three episodes down, we are disabused of the notion that Rhaenyra is innocent – the blood of the dragon runs hot in her veins, and Daemon uses this to set his game in motion. He somehow leaves a bag in her room containing clothes meant for her to wear to disguise herself. Also in the bag is a map leading to a secret passageway from her chambers. Because he knows Rhaenyra is not a rule follower, Daemon lays in wait at the exit, and when she comes out, he leads her through Flea Bottom and eventually into a pleasure house. It is pointless to recount what happened in the pleasure house. However, I will say this, uncle and niece are both hotblooded, and Targaryens wed brother and sister. Daemon aims to sully Rhaenyra and bring into disrepute her maidenhood. He knows that the White Worm [Mysaria] has a little bird positioned outside and that word of this will soon get to the king. With the princess besmirched, possible suitors would recoil, leaving him to claim her hand in the tradition of old Valyria. His plan works, but it does not yield the results he intended – Viserys refuses to let Daemon have Rhaenyra as his second wife, and with one stroke, he scuttles Daemon’s long game to ascend the iron throne. “It’s not my daughter you lust for, is it? It’s my throne.”
Daemon’s failure yields a different result, one that most viewers, myself included, have been yearning for – the nullification of House Hightower. Mysaria’s little bird took the word of the happenings at the pleasure house to the Hand of the King, and Otto saw an opportunity to have the King disinherit Rahenyra and position his grandson as the legitimate heir. He took the news to the Viserys, hoping for one result, and instead, he set the ball rolling for his dismissal as Hand of King. How satisfying was that?
House Targaryen, The Long Game
Viserys finds himself in a bind. He has to do what no father would find pleasure in doing – confront his daughter about the happenings at the pleasure house and then lay down the law. What stems from this confrontation triggers a series of events that would either, in my view, have serious ramifications or bring about stability and end the constant politicking. Father and daughter have a back and forth, and Viserys makes the following dictate:
“Your courtship is at an end. You will wed Ser Laenor Velaryon and you will do so without protest. Your wedding to Ser Laenor will unite the two most powerful Houses in the realm. With the combined strength of our shared dragons and naval fleets, no one would dare to stand against us. The House of the Dragon will stand as one for a further generation.”
Rhaenyra does not turn down the king’s pronouncement. Instead, she comes up with a condition of her own, leveraging it against her duty to wed Ser Laenor: “And what will you do about the vulture that perches upon your throne?” to which her father responds: “What vulture?” “Your Hand,” Rhaenyra quips. “He wants Aegon to be named heir. And he will stop at nothing to see it done, including spying on me to bring about my ruin. You speak of the conqueror’s vision and the need for strength and unity across the realm. But how can that be accomplished with your most trusted advisor so self-interested?”
At this point, it was clear that Otto’s sacking would follow swiftly and that the Sea Snake had to be assuaged and brought back to the fold. The King and the Princess were on common ground for the first time. How satisfying was that?
The Prince That Was Promised
When Rhaenyra is brought into the King’s chamber after Viserys had been made aware of the happenings at the pleasure house, the princess finds the conqueror’s dagger resting on burning coal. The blade is red-hot, and there are inscriptions written on it in High Valyrian. The writings are only visible when the blade is heated. In that scene, Viserys explains what the markings are and why they are there:
“That dagger once belonged to Aegon the Conqueror. It was Aenor’s before that. And before that, it’s difficult to know. Before Aegon’s death, the last of the Valyrian pyromancers hid his song in the steel.” He then hands the dagger to Rhaenyra, who reads from the instructions what I can only assume is the last and most significant part of Aegon’s prophecy: “From my blood come the Prince That Was Promised, and his will be the Song of Ice and Fire.”
In my review of episode 1, you will find my in-depth analysis of the prophecy based on what the showrunners confirmed in that episode. In this scene, we get another confirmation and a call back to what Melisandre said to Daenerys in the second episode of the seventh season of Game of Thrones when they first met at Dragonstone. In that episode of Game of Thrones, we learned that the noun connoting the Prince in the prophecy was gender neutral, that it could mean Prince or Princess, inferring that both Jon and Daenerys had significant roles to play in the great war. If Daenerys and Melisandre’s meeting is considered canon, then prophecies are dangerous if not correctly interpreted. George R. R. Martin issued that warning in A Feast for Crows in the Samwell Tarly POV chapters.
Tea from the King
The happenings at the pleasure house awoke the perception of sex as pleasure in Rhaenyra’s mind. When she gets to her chamber, her sworn shield, Ser Criston Cole, is standing guard outside the door. Her blood is boiling. Who better to ease her storm than the member of the Kingsguard sworn to uphold an oath of chastity? Ser Criston’s attempts to rebuff Rhaenyra’s advances prove futile and the two contort in sweet agony of coitus. Although Rhaenyra swears to Alicent and the king that nothing happened between her and Daemon, Viserys is not convinced. At the end of the episode, we see Grand Maester Mellos walk into Rhaenyra’s chamber with a special tea in hand brewed at the king’s request. “A tea Princess. From the King. It will rid you of any unwanted consequences.” We know what the consequences are. Although Viserys doesn’t know for sure, his doubts are not entirely misplaced. Should the princess be pregnant, the tea will stifle the pregnancy and restore the perception of her maidenhood and the possibility of a formidable match to shore up her claim.
Theories And Speculation
This week my predictions are few and straightforward. Firstly, I venture to say that Lord Lyonel Strong, the current Master of Laws, will be the next Hand of the King following Ser Otto’s dismissal. If I were a betting man, I would stake a lot of money on him for this simple reason; he has consistently offered the king very sound counsel. Secondly, now that Otto is unencumbered, he is free to pursue the ambitions of his House. Whether he will pursue those ambitions openly and without fear is another thing. Going forward, we will meet an unfettered Otto who will be more dangerous.
Rating
Titled “King of the Narrow Sea,” I will give this episode a rating of 8.5/10. The embers smoldered on this one setting the series up for more conflict and drama. I can’t wait to see the consequences of Otto’s dismissal.
For more content on House of the Dragon, head to our in-depth article on Everything You Need to Know Before Watching House of the Dragon. You can also check out my review of episode 3 in case you missed it.
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