HOTD: Regent
While a slower episode of House of the Dragon this week, we do get to check in on some of our characters as they process the battle from last week, and lay plans that will surely lead to more exciting scenes in the near future. It is to note that the title sequence has remained the same since Prince Jaehaerys was beheaded, will it ever change again? Or are we just waiting on the right event?
There’s a particular loneliness this episode shows us with our characters, starting with Corlys looking at the throne of Driftmar, alone. So much of his family has passed, and now his wife is no longer by his side. The cut to Rhaenyra also alone in her thoughts, sets the tone well that these characters are mourning this episode over the loss of such an impactful character of the series.
The check in on King’s Landing shows the greens in their own mourning. In a PR move that Otto surely would never have been so daft to recomment, Cole carts Meleys’s head through the middle of the streets, shouting about how Aegon has slayed her. A small folk member remarks, “This is a black omen,” and it certainly appears so as the commoners do not have the response Cole expected. They are looking at the very beast that came to Westeros and helped entrap them and made the Targaryans kings. Daemon said it last season best, dreams didn’t make them kings, dragons did. And now, the small folk are looking those beasts that they remark as gods, and realizing that they are killable. They are in fact destructible, and so is the Targaryan lineage.
A quick check in on Alicent and Aemond lets us know that Aemond is in possession of the dagger of prophecy that is handed from heir to heir, and Alicent knows her son did something to hurt Aegon but he won’t admit it. This is when we get to see Aegon in his true horror, as pieces of his armor are being stripped away from his burned skin. In the original text, Aegon’s armor is literally melted into his skin, but potentially to save money on the special effects budget it does not appear that that horror is going to be as visceral on the show. Seeing him full of burn marks and resetting bones is still a gruesome task. Alicent asks, “Is my son going to die,” which is just a fantastic piece of both writing and acting. Olivia Cooke as always plays this complicated figure with so many nuances that make her neither hero nor villain. The use of the word son highlights the grief Alicent must be feeling, especially after her last conversation with Aegon where she told him to do nothing. Before we jump back to Rhaenyra, Alicent speaks to Cole, expecting for him to reveal what Aemond did, but he says nothing. This is the first moment we see Cole dealing with some form of PTSD after encountering a dragon on the battlefield.
Meanwhile, Rhaenyra is having her own problems with her small council. There’s obvious sexism afoot, as Rhaenyra was not taught the ways of war, but she reminds her council that under her father they lived through a lifetime of peace, they have seen no more war than she has. Jace, however, cannot stay put. He is sick of being trapped at Dragonstone and resolves to go to Harrenhal to speak with Daemon who still has not communicated with them. Baela does remind him that if Rhaenyra could not tame him what makes him think that he can. A good character moment to show how impulsive Jace can be, and how perceptive Baela is. Instead, Jace resolves to go the Fray’s and discuss terms of being able to use the Twins for safe passage of the Stark army. It’s a fun play on anticipation, GOT had a very similar circumstance, and it did not go well for Rob Stark. How will it go for Jacaerys Targaryan?
Speaking of Daemon, he is off in the Riverlands trying to instill the fear of dragons into men, and it’s not working. After telling a bunch of Brackens that they must swear their fealty to him or die by dragon fire, he lets them leave, shocked that they were so committed to dying than succumbing to him. There’s a great shot here of the men in front of Caraxes, with his head blurred in the backround. Caraxes is massive, and it’s yet another reminder of how fun it is to get to see so many dragons in this show compared to Thrones.
Now at the Eyrie we are introduced to Lady Jeyne Arryn who is a little upset that the dragon she requested to guard the Eyrie is Joffrey’s, a very young dragon that would not stand a chance against Vhagar. In a touching moment between Rhaena and Lady Arryn though, the two women confess their distaste of feeling powerless and some sort of bond is almost immediately formed. Hopefully as this plot line continues to unfold, we get to see Rhaena come into her own. This is the subplot the writers have affirmed viewers will be different than the book, because a whole character is being taken out of it. It will be interesting to see how the show works around this and fleshes out Rhaena, Joffrey, and Lady Arryn in the future.
Rhaenyra is growing frustrated as it seems she has less and less moves available for her on her chess board. But her discussion with Mysaria continues to be one of my favorite dynamics of this season. Trying to figure out how to win the favor of the people, especially after Cole’s blunder of taking Meleys’s head through King’s Landing, Mysaria reminds Rhaenyra there’s more than one way to win a war. Using the influence of rumors to gather people together is just as effective as winning a physical battle in the Riverlands.
Rhaenyra and Baela get a moment together to discuss Rhaenys. A touching scene where these two women remark upon their grief and loss of Rhaenys, and a moment that reminds us that Rhaenyra is really pulling double duty on the mom job. With the exception of Rhaena last episode, Rhaenyra appears to be parenting not only her children, but Daemon’s children exceptionally well, as she opens the space to have a deep and meaningful conversation with Baela. She remarks upon how Baela is so similar to Rhaenys, and we can’t help but see the similarities of the two women to Rhaenyra herself. Savvily, Rhaenyra asks Baela to go to her grandfather and inform him that Rhaenyra would like him to be her hand.
Then we get the fun Daemon scene of the episode. His hands are full in a gorgeously sex scene with a mysterious Targaryan woman who is cooing his name and singing his praises. Daemon is hearing everything that he wants to hear. He was the stronger of the two brothers, the better with a sword, the one that was suited for the throne. But then the floor is drug out beneath him as this mysterious woman is revealed to be an image of his mother.
Alys Rivers is surely doing her witchy magic on Daemon, as even he appears shocked in this dream that this is his mother. She died when he was a young boy, only three, so it would make sense that not only does her appearance seem different than what the source text has told us, but that he would not recognize her even if it was accurate to this show version of her. This is leading into this whole complicated plot of Daemon though, where he is becoming so full of himself, he is trying to seat himself on the throne. Even as Daemon has lamented not being an heir, never has he attempted to seize the throne from his family before.
He's informed by Lord Strong that Larys took all of the castle’s coin with him to King’s Landing, and that while Daemon is trying to create this Host to fight this battle, there is not payment for the men and women who would fight and come to Harrenhal to work on its crumbling walls. Daemon assures him that he will figure out the payment, casting aside the idea of contacting Rhaenyra. We get a delicious back and forth between Simon and Daemon as Daemon asserts himself as King, and Simon reminds him he is a consort. Daemon doesn’t think that’s necessary, but the way Simon Strong remains unbothered by Daemon’s own petty attempt to seize power for himself in the Riverlands is so much fun to watch.
Back at King’s Landing the small council is discussing what to do with the fact that Aegon is essentially in a milk of the poppy induced coma. In a scene that is not at all shocking, the majority of the council with the exception of Maester Mellos, thinks that Aemond should be the prince regent. As Alicent goes to her last two trusted members of the council, Larys, and Criston, she watches as her power slip away from her. Once having played the part of Queen Regent when Viserys was ill, she thought that her literal experience of the job would assure that she could rule peacefully, instead of her son that has committed a series of heinous actions to date. In a uniquely cinematic moment, the sound drops out as the camera focuses on Alicent processing all of this before she leaves. Cooke plays this in such a way that not only draws sympathy from the viewer, but a tisking, ‘told you so,’ as Alicent falls for the same trick they used on Rhaenyra. She has nobody but herself to blame at this moment, and yet you still can’t help but hold pity for her. Aemond’s first rule of course, is to close the gates so the people cannot leave King’s Landing, and to cut down the rat catchers.
Quietly between Alicent and Criston, we see the display of Cole’s trauma on display. He wanted Aemond to rule because now having seen dragons up close and personal it has become apparent to him how needless the men actually are. This is a war being fought by dragons, and needs to be ruled by dragon riders. The gates close on the small folk of King’s Landing, and we’re left knowing that the greens might be the more interesting to watch, but they really are the worst at ruling over people.
Unlike Rob Stark, Jace is able to strike a pretty solid bargain with the Frey’s. To get access across their bridge they want Harrenhal, which Daemon is currently residing over. Jace can promise this, considering as far as he knows Daemon is not currently losing his mind to a witch, but is just pissed at his mother. The compromise, of course, is a dragon and bent knees. Jace has now singlehandedly made the three most promising transactions of this entire war between the Starks, the Arryn’s, and now the Frey’s.
Speaking of Harrenhal, Daemon is in the middle of another vision, hearing the screams of a realm suffering. The screams remind of us some scenes that have occurred in the series already. Rhaenyra during her miscarriage of their first child, his late wife Lhaena’s death, and Aemma, his sister in law’s death. His own mother died in a miscarriage, and he seems to be thinking about her a lot this episode as Alys reminds him that he never really knew her. These visions and dicsussion with Alys are feeding into his own ego. Again, it’s uncertain what Daemon’s arc is going to be in Harrenhal and if he’s ever going to entirely snap out of it because as he speaks to Simon Strong he asserts that he himself is king, and when he takes King’s Landing Rhaenyra can join his side if she wishes. He is now in possession of house Bracken, which will surely strengthen his host. It’s a strange twist of this character that we saw last season have surprisingly soft moments, like when he picked up the crown and placed it atop Viserys’s head. Daemon is an interesting character because he is complex, because for every awful thing he does, he does an admirable thing that makes people want to root for him. Hopefully, there is a redemption for him in this storyline and not just a devolve into utter chaos.
Following up on Baela, she goes to Corlys where she sees him mourning. She reminds him though, that Rhaenys was not just his to lose. She was a mother, a grandmother, the queen who never was, and a fantastic dragon rider that chose to fight and die the way she wanted, just as Baela would like to go out. She speaks with a real clarity to Corlys, who seems to finally see her potential and offers her the position of being his heir, but instead she tells him that she is fire and blood, and Driftmark must go to salt and sea. Baela is proving to be a fascinating character to watch, as she is so certain of herself and her place in this war.
To follow up on Daemon, Rhaenyra is sending Sir Alfred, her most conflicting small council member, to Harrenhal. She lets him know to tell him, “I would like to finish our last conversation,” a chilling response considering one of her last words to Daemon was that he was pathetic. And as the camera flips back to check in on Daemon, we see that he’s being awoken at an ungodly time, the hour of the wolf. The Bracken’s have come to inform him that the Blackwood’s have been acting intolerably, and that dragons or not, they will not raise their banners for tyrants, especially not one’s that order the death of young princes. Daemon, half tired and half delusional, lets them go in a flurry with nothing but a shocked expression.
The transition back to Rhaenyra is exquisite as the camera jumps from Daemon slouched over his fireplace to Rhaenyra in the same position over her own. They are two sides of a similar coin, but while she has tact and patience, Daemon is all passion and impulse. We see the follow through of Myisaria’s conversation with her as one of Rhaenyra’s servants makes her way to King’s Landing and begins their rumor mill. Helaena eyes Aemond on the throne, she’s surely seen this moment in a vision and asks him, “If it was worth it.” And whatever fondness was once there between the two of them also seems to be dwindling.
Rhaenyra is looking through the histories, something her father would do, looking for answers. And as Jace enters he strikes up an interesting idea, given, this idea was also delivered last season by Daemon but this time it’s by her very handsome son who has not run off to Harrenhal by himself and called himself King. They have dragons underneath their feet that require riders, and while maybe not Rhaena, who we learn in a throwaway line tried to ride a dragon at some point in the past, there could be scores of men and women with Targaryan blood in their veins that could ride them. As the two look over the library collection of Targaryan documents, their expressions turn from frustrated to hopeful, as it appears that maybe team black does in fact have the upper hand when it comes to dragons.