Miguel Sapochnik directed the sixth episode of House of the Dragon. His opening statement in the after-show discussion for this episode will form part of my preamble to this review.“In six, we have the time jump and the changeover of actors, and it felt like a second pilot.” We have a ten-year time jump in this episode. We say goodbye to the younger versions of Rhaenyra and Alicent, played by Milly Alcock and Emily Carey, and welcome their older versions, played by Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke, respectively. The characters of Laena and Laenor Velaryon were also recast. Savannah Steyn and Theo Nate handed their batons to Nanna Blondell and John Macmillan to play the older versions of Laena and Laenor Velaryon, respectively. Kate Rhodes James did an excellent job of casting the actors. The changeover was seamless. The new cast looked the part, and I fell in love with them from the onset.
Titled “The Princess and the Queen,” this episode felt like a second pilot. Off the bat, if you were keen, you would have noticed that the opening sequence has slightly changed to accommodate the new branches in the Conqueror’s bloodline. Queen Alicent’s children, Aegon, Aemond, and Princess Helaena, and Rhaenyra’s children, Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Joffrey Velaryon, are now denoted in the sequence. Daemon’s Dragon helm has also been included in the flow to symbolize his marriage to Laena and their twin daughters, Baela and Rhaena.
In keeping with the topic of new characters, episode six also introduced young and old dragons. We saw the legendary Vhagar, now mounted by lady Laena. Vermax and Dreamfyre were also introduced and are currently claimed by Jacaerys and Princess Helaena, in that order.
The rift between Alicent and Rhaenyra has widened, and Alicent’s requests to inspect Rhaenyra’s third son immediately after his birth widens the rift. In keeping with her belligerent stand, Alicent has been consistent with her green dresses. Her rejection of Rhaenyra’s marriage pact shows her deep-seated disdain for the princess. She considers Rhaenyra’s children bastards and not suitable matches for her true-born daughter. “She feels the earth washing away beneath her feet, and now she expects us to ignore her transgressions and for me to marry my only daughter to one of her plain-featured sons.” Otto’s parting words are still tolling in her head. If left to her devices, she would have Otto reinstated as Hand of the King to help advance Aegon’s claim and thwart Rhaenyra’s ascent. Her paranoia causes her to poison Aegon against Rhaenyra and her children, “Do you think Rhaenyra’s sons will be your playthings forever? As things stand, Rhaenyra will ascend the throne, and Jacaerys Targaryen will be her heir….. If Rhaenyra comes into power, your very life will be forfeit. Aemond’s as well. She could move to cut off any challenge to her succession.” Stoking the flames, she further tells Aegon that he is the King’s firstborn son and that everyone in the realm knows he will be the King one day.
War is afoot in the Stepstones – the Triarchy takes new life from its alliance with Dorne. They are waylaying ships and cargo. Daemon has taken up residence with his family in Pentos for the last ten years. Reggio Haratis, the Prince of Pentos, is proposing an alliance with Daemon’s family, the terms of which are simple, in exchange for gold and comfortable life, Daemon and the three dragons in his family would offer Pentos their protection against the Triarchy. It is important to note that at this point, Dorne has not yet become part of the Seven Kingdoms. Students of Westerosi history will know of the Dornish wars that eventually ended later in the timeline culminating in Dorne joining the fold following a marriage pact between Daeron the Good and his brother-in-law, Maron Martell, the Prince of Dorne. Aegon the Conqueror and his heirs waged four wars in their attempt to conquer Dorne, resulting in countless deaths, notable casualties being Queen Rhaenys and her dragon, Meraxes. Dorne remained independent during the reign of King Viserys, who, before wedding his daughter to Ser Laenor in the previous episode, had, according to history, considered marrying his heir, Princess Rhaenyra, to the Prince of Dorne as a way of bringing Dorne into his realm.
The conflict between Houses Bracken and Blackwood that we saw glimpses of at Storm’s End during Rhaenyra’s tour in the Stormlands to vet her suitors has also escalated.
New members of the Small Council
Maester Orwyle used to be Grand Maester Mellos’ assistant – he has now taken over his seat in the Small Council. Known as Ironrod, Jasper Wylde is the new master of laws, and Ser Tyland Lannister is the new Master of Ships, a position he assumed when Corlys Velaryon left to fight in the War for the Stepstones. Ser Tyland is the younger twin of Lord Jason Lannister, the head of House Lannister and Warden of the West. Rhaenyra and Alicent have also joined the Small Council.
The Open Secret of “The Strong Boys.”
The rumor of the questionable parentage of Rhaenyra’s children has spread far and wide and is a subject of discussion throughout the realm. “Do keep trying, Ser Laenor. Sooner or later, you may get one who looks like you,” said Alicent after inspecting the baby. Daemon more or less confirms the parentage of Rhaenyra’s children after receiving news of Laenor’s letter from Lady Laena, “Does your brother mention if this one also bears a mark of coincidental resemblance to the Commander of the City Watch?” The showrunners also use Ser Criston at the sparring yard to confirm that the rumors are true when Ser Harwin plays advocate to Rhaenyra’s children, “Your interest in the princeling’s training is quite unusual, Commander. Most men would only have that kind of devotion toward a cousin, a brother, or a son.” Ser Harwin is irked by those words, and in rage, he attacks Ser Criston. In HBO’s after-show, we learn that Ser Criston, who doesn’t fight back, had aimed to goad him into admitting his parentage. While on the ground, Ser Criston mutters these words, “I thought as much.” When the princess and her husband return to their chambers with the baby, they find Ser Harwin waiting. He expresses his wish to be introduced to the baby. Ser Laenor hands the baby over to him and then leaves the room after a short while accompanied by “his other sons,” leaving the presumed parents alone.
“I have raised this matter before, and you forbade me to speak of it, so I held my tongue. To have one child like that is a mistake. To have three is an insult, to the throne, to you, to House Velaryon, and the match you battled so hard to make for her. Not to mention decency itself.” – Alicent Hightower.
The rumors and insinuations cause the Velaryon household to leave the capital for Dragonstone. “The wise sailor flees the storm as it gathers.” Laenor’s wise words prove true eventually when their stay in King’s Landing proves untenable.
The Claiming of Dragons
“There is more than one way to bind yourself to a dragon. I was without one until I was fifteen years old, and now I ride Vhagar, the largest in the world. You have a harder road. Baela’s dragon was born to her. But if you wish to be a rider, you must claim that right.” – Lady Laena.
Students of A Song of Ice and Fire will know that there are two main ways to bind yourself to a dragon: One. You hatch the dragon egg like Daenerys did in Game of Thrones. We see Jacaerys and his brother Lucerys plan to put an egg in the crib of Joffrey, their newborn brother hoping it would hatch in the future, as is customary. Daemon’s daughter, Rhaena, is also trying to do the same with her egg. At the dragonpit, Vermax is already bound to Jacaerys because he hatched from the egg placed in his crib. Two. You boldly claim a dragon that was previously bonded to another rider who is no longer alive – as Laena claimed Vhagar. In the Dragonpit scene, Aemond goes down the pit to claim a dragon after the other children bring him a pig as a prank. He fails because he is afraid of Dreamfyre.
There is a third way to claim a dragon. Lovers of Westerosi history will know of Nettles and Sheepstealer. Known as Netty, Nettles was a dragonseed who tamed the wild dragon Sheepstealer by bringing it slaughtered sheep each morning, allowing the dragon to become accustomed to her.
The Greens and the Blacks
Fittingly titled “The Princess and the Queen,” this episode of House of the dragon, In my opinion, brings into focus the two factions that will eventually form to champion opposing claims to the Iron Throne. Queen Alicent’s position is known, and she is looking for allies to back Aegon’s claim when the time comes. The queen’s banners are gathering; Old Town is firmly behind her, as are Larys Strong and Ser Criston Cole. Rhaenyra, on the other hand, has the King in her corner, and should her marriage hold, House Velaryon. The Princess feels it in her gut that war is inevitable. On her way to deliver Joffrey to the queen for inspection, she responds to Lord Allun Caswell’s offer of service by telling him that the day may yet come when he would be of service to her. In the source material, Lord Caswell is one of Rhaenyra’s fiercest supporters. When it dawns on the princess that her stay in the capital is no longer tenable, she tells her husband, Ser Laenor, who she finds sparring with his new lover, Ser Qarl Correy, that the family will have to move to Dragonstone. And in keeping with their marriage arrangement, Rhaenyra says to her husband, “Bring him. We are going to need all the swords we can muster.”
The different factions are already taking shape, and what better way to distinguish them than with the colors the children wore underneath their armor at the sparring session with Ser Criston? Rhaenyra’s children wore Black and Red, while Alicent’s children wore Green, synonymous with the beacon on top of the Hightower in Old Town calling its banners to war.
Rhaenyra was bleeding when she left Alicent’s chambers. The trail of blood behind her, in my opinion, symbolizes the destruction in her wake when she eventually wages war to defend her claim. Knives will come out, and the realm will bleed.
The Clubfoot
The alliance between Larys Strong and Queen Alicent is proving too dangerous, and the Queen’s ambitions are nothing compared to the lengths the Clubfoot will go to advance his agenda. Whether Alicent will eventually see this is up for debate, although she is shocked when Larys informs her in one of their meetings that the “curse of Harrenhal” had claimed both his father, the Hand of the King, and his brother, Ser Harwin. We know he orchestrated their deaths because the assassins were wearing brooches that resemble the beetle on the handle of his walking stick. And we saw him make his way down to the black cells to proposition the inmates to carry out his plan in exchange for “reduced sentences,” but not before having their tongues cut out to ensure their silence. He is motivated by his ambitions because he uses this information to leverage Alicent into rewarding him in the future. Although he acted alone, we know he killed his father to pave the way for Otto’s return. The Queen had intimated earlier that she would have her father reinstated because he would make decisions that would be partial to her cause. She lamented, “In all of King’s Landing, is there no one to take my side?”
A Dragonrider’s Death
“At my end, I want to die a dragonrider’s death. Not that of some fat country lord.” Lady Laena spoke those words to her husband, prince Daemon, on the roof of their villa in Pentos. She had joined him up there to express her desire to return to Driftmark and have her daughters raised there according to their birthright as opposed to living the lives of eternal guests in a foreign land, albeit for gold and comfort. Heavily pregnant with their third child, Lady Laena did not know that her words would soon manifest. Cut to her birthing scene, and I couldn’t help but draw parallels between her and Queen Aemma. Her baby is also breech, and a crude C-section is in the offing. Rather than let the Pentoshi Surgeon cut her open and leave her to bleed to death, Lady Laena opts for a dragonriders death. She walks out of the chamber, finds her way to Vhagar’s lair, and commands the she-dragon to burn her. The dragon is hesitant due to their bond but eventually relents and burns the pregnant Laena leaving behind charred bones.
Theories And Speculation
I have only one speculation to make this week. All the groundwork is in place to pave the way for Otto’s return. I venture to say he will return to the capital and resume his position as Hand of the King following the death of Lyonel Strong.
Rating
I will give this episode a rating of 8.5/10. The casting and changeover of actors were excellent. The wheels of the inevitable conflict are turning.
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 and my review of episode 5. You can also check out works by George R. R. Martin in case you want to learn more about the source material that influenced House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones.