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House of the Dragon S1, Ep 6 Review

Until tonight, I thought the Lannisters were the most messed up family in Westeros. Emotionally abusive dad, incestuous twins, and alcoholic son. However, after seeing what House Targaryen was like in their heyday, it’s clear that I was mistaken. The Targaryens take the top spot as Westeros’ most messed up family. A family that’s only staying civil while the King lives. Once he dies, the House of the Dragon will go to war…and it already has its first casualties.

New Girls on the Block

This episode marks the debut of Emma D’arcy and Olivia as the now adult Princess Rhaenyra and Queen Alicent, and they hit the ground running and don’t stop. I was skeptical that we couldn’t replace Milly Alcock and Emily Carey as the female leads, but these post-timeskip actors do a wonderful job. In their first scene as Rhaenyra, we see Emma play the Princess as she goes through the labors of childbirth, which the show depicts in vivid detail. Ten years have not softened Rhaenyra one bit, as no sooner has she given birth than she heads off to see Alicent with her newborn son, even while trailing blood on the way.

While Rhaenyra’s now the mother to three sons, there’s a problem, and everyone but the King seems to know it: they’re not Laenor’s sons. They’re all bastards, born from Rhaenyra and Ser Harwin Strong of the City Watch. And the more that are born, the more frustrated Alicent gets. Her attitude makes it clear: she doesn’t understand how her husband doesn’t see that his daughter’s undermining the marriage he worked to build.

In all fairness, Viserys might be aware of what’s going on, but chooses to ignore it. What matters to him is Rhaenyra’s sons are of his blood, regardless of who the father is, though everyone else may not feel the same way. Or maybe he’s just deluding himself in the hopes that his family will be as happy as he wants them to be.

Targaryen Family Is Messed Up

Truthfully, the whole Targaryen family is messed up, best shown through how Rhaenyra and Alicent’s kids interact with each other. Rhaenyra’s eldest boys, Jace and Luke (they’re nicknames) are nice enough, but it’s Alicent’s kids that are odd. Aemond laments how he’s the only Targaryen without a dragon, leading him to be the butt of a cruel prank by his brother.

As for Aegon? He acts like a spoiled brat. We see him standing naked on a window doing his…business, which is not something I want to remember. He’s basically a foolish boy.

Daemon Has a Happy Family, Though.

Ironically, the family that has it best ends up being Daemon’s new family with Laena Velaryon. They’re now living in Pentos as guests with their dragons, and this marks the first time that we see Vhagar, the largest dragon alive and the last one from the time of Aegon the Conqueror. She easily dwarfs all other dragons and is a triumph of CGI. 

In other words, Daemon goes from being unhappy to having a loving wife, two daughters, and another one on the way. Best of all, he’s away from the toxic environment of King’s Landing.

If only fate would be kind enough to spare the kids the heartache of what’s to come. Westeros doesn’t work like that, though.

Scandal Rocks the Royal Family

After what he did at the end of last week’s episode, Ser Criston’s gone from golden boy to hated by the show’s fans, and it only gets worse from there. This week, he provokes fights between the Targaryen kids, and when Ser Harwin steps in, he accuses him the things he’s guilty of. So, Harwin beats him up, and the resulting scandal opens the floodgates.

And from here, the bodies start dropping.

The First Big Casualties

I never mentioned him last week, but there’s another member of House Strong, Larys Strong. And he’s this era’s Littlefinger, acting the mild-mannered servant in public. In private, though, he’s just as cunning. Maybe even more so, to the point that Alicent fears him.

Case in point, when Lord Strong takes Hardin back to Harrenhal to quell the rumors of Rhaenyra’s children, he burns them alive. He wipes out his own family, which isn’t new, but still disturbing. It also prompts Rhaenyra to take her family and leave for Dragonstone, depriving her of her power base.

Meanwhile, Laena dies from the stresses of childbirth in Pentos. In a moment meant to contrast Viserys’ decision to sacrifice his wife to save their child, Daemon hesitates to take the same route. However, Laena takes the choice out of his hands by approaching Vhagar and having the ancient dragon immolate her. It’s a tragic example of female agency and one that leaves everyone saddened. 

A Family Divided Against Itself

Thus, the episode ends with the die already being cast. The first members of the house of the dragon have fallen, and more will follow.

Watching all this, I’m mentally berating everyone for pushing things to this point out of pride. At one point, Rhaenyra even offers an olive branch by promising to marry Jace to Alicent’s daughter, Helaena. The latter refuses to marry her daughter to a bastard, and another chance to make peace flies out the window.

Right now, I’m glad I promised not to become attached to the characters in House of the Dragon. It lets me see the entire Targaryen family for what they’re being: dumb. And once King Viserys dies, fire and blood will consume them all. Meanwhile, I’ll be munching on popcorn, lamenting the foolishness of everyone.

That, and the sight of Prince Aegon doing his business in a window. Who does that?!? Even if that was David Tennant’s son playing him.

I Give “The Princess and the Queen” a 4.5/5

House of the Dragon S1, Ep 3 Review

I know it doesn’t need to be said at this point, but I’m saying it anyway: Westeros sucks. As much as I love the world and the plot at times, it drives me nuts how self-serving so many of the Elite are. Almost every Lord or Lady we meet does something for their gain rather than the good of all, and the people who are good people get eaten alive. Or worse, they become the thing they hate the most. This is a fact that House of the Dragon cruelly reminds us of in this week’s new episode with the arrival of the new Prince, Aegon

Aegon, Second of his Name

In the next of the show’s time skips, Kong Viserys has married Alicent as he said he would. What’s more, they now have an infant son, Aegon, and another child on the way. Everyone in court showers praise upon the Prince and act like he’s the second coming of his namesake.

Anyone who’s watched Game of Thrones long enough knows that most of this is empty flattery, trying to brown nose the King for favor. It gets to the point where even Rhaenyra’s sick of it.

Despite being made the heir, something that Viserys reminds her of, she never receives such praise, not that she wants it. Moreover, her relationship with her friend/mother-in-law, Alicent, has gotten much colder. She fears, rather rightfully, that Alicent’s children will supplant her as heir to the throne. Despite Alicent dismissing that for the moment, Rhaenyra’s right. Already, Alicent’s father is scheming to make Aegon the future King. He’s trying to pull a Tywin Lannister centuries before Tywin is born.

The Lannisters are Back

As for the Lannisters, they make their formal return in Jason Lannister, ancestor to the family we see in the show. He tries to make a marriage proposal to Rhaenyra, but arrogance must run in the Lannisters because he comes off like a self-entitled jerk. Rhaenyra flatly turns him down.

This won’t be the end to her problems, though. Now that Rhaenyra’s old enough to marry, her Dad’s been getting marriage proposals from all over. Most of them are from people who want to use her for her power, something she doesn’t want, and prompts her to run off into the Kingswood with Ser Criston Cole while the court is on this big hunt for Aegon’s birthday. Not that anyone can blame her, though. At one point, Otto Hightower suggests marrying her to her infant half-brother, Prince Aegon! Political machinations aside, how disgusting is that, marrying her to a two-year-old?

Rhaenyra+Criston Cole?

I may not be as familiar with the prequel to Game of Thrones as I would like to be, but I know chemistry when I see it. And Rhaenyra and Ser Criston have a lot of chemistry. They talk to each other so casually, and they work well together. This is made more apparent when they end up saving each other from a wild boar. Then, as if to hammer home how she’s meant to be in charge, Rhaenyra finds the White Hart her father’s lord’s have been hunting, but lets it go. In her mind, this will solidify her as the rightful next ruler of the Seven Kingdoms…which only makes what will happen harder to watch.

Not that I care. I swore I wouldn’t get emotionally attached to the characters again.

Wrath of the Dragon

Meanwhile, Prince Daemon and House Velaryon have spent the time skip fighting in the Stepstones. Their opponent is the pirate prince of the Free Cities, the Crab Feeder. Despite having a dragon on their side in the form of Caraxes, though, they continue to lose the war. Then, word reaches Daemon that his brother’s sending them aid. Rather than be happy that his brother’s helping him, Daemon snaps.

What happens next is what we anime fans would call “Pulling a Vegeta.” Daemon pretends to surrender to the Crabfeeder, but it’s an obvious lie. Despite committing what would be considered a war crime (I.E. attacking while waving the white flag), Daemon’s plan works. With all their attention on him, the pirates fail to notice the Velaryon’s and Caraxes sneak up on him until it’s too late. In the second of the episode’s big battle scenes, the Westerosi forces massacre the pirates. As for Daemon, he single-handedly slays the Crabfeeder, leaving him the undisputed ruler of the Stepstones. And he intends to let all of Westeros know he’s in charge.

A Storm is Coming to Westeros

So, by the end of the episode, the cracks continue to grow in House Targaryen as Rhaenyra continues to get ignored. And now Daemon’s ruling over the islands of the Narrow Seas. As for me, I refuse to become emotionally invested in anyone in this show. That way, I won’t be upset when characters start dropping like flies. And drop they will.

Irritation at sychophant’s aside, House of the Dragon has done good so far. Whether they can keep it up for the rest of the series will be another matter entirely. They have a chance to redeem the mistakes of the final seasons of Game of Thrones. For HBO’s sake, they shouldn’t mess it up.

I Give “Second of His Name” a 4/5