HOTD: Smallfolk
This episode focuses on broken characters, reaching out with their past vulnerabilities in attempts to get closer to power and understanding. It starts with a new opening title sequence, displaying the battle at Rook’s Rest. It’ll be interesting to see what other pieces of the war become Targaryan history that are threaded into the tapestry of the opening credits as this show continues.
Jumping into it, the Lannister army is off to war, complete not only with a host of men but real live lions. Jason Lannister summons Aemond to the battle field. Aemond is not happy that he is being summoned. After voicing his frustrations to his council he makes his plan for the war known. First, he wants to get rid of this blockade. He’s planning on forming an alliance with the Triarchy, a group of ship pirates that Daemon, Laenor and Corlys defeated last season. Alicent doesn’t think this is a good idea, but Aemond steamrolls her opinion. They bring up the option of marrying her off to the Greyjoys as a way to bind their houses and get a naval force. Alicent is also swiftly vetoing that decision. The battle at Rook’s rest took many men, and Aemond intends on sending Cole back out there with more, which doesn’t settle well with Cole.
After he dismisses the small council, Aemond keeps Alicent back. He takes this time to strip her of whatever power she held, effectively kicking her off his small council. As the shot lingers on the side of Aemond’s face with the eyepatch, visually we see that he wears it almost like a mask from his deeper feelings. Alicent attempts to reach out to him saying, “Have the indignities of your childhood not been sufficiently avenged?” It seems that Alicent’s attempt to be a soothing mother to her children is coming too little, too late as he sends her away.
Now, in Dragonstone Corlys is sitting as hand of the queen, and Rhaenyra lets the small council know of her dragon riding ideas. Sir Steffan Darklyn, a knight of Rhaenyra’s Queensguard appears to have Targaryan blood in him. Lord Celtigar is not approving of this, but Rhaenyra pays him no mind and tells Darklyn of the dangers of attempting to ride a dragon. He says to her, “I am but a man, the dragons are gods.” In this instance, he recognizes the important of the dragons, and the danger that lies ahead, but it also points out that by getting a commoner to ride a dragon, Rhaenyra is diminishing their power. Just as the greens diminished their power by carting Meleys through the city last week, so is Rhaeynra when looking for men and women that do not carry the Targaryan name to ride at her side.
And we return to Harrenhal, where Daemon sees what most people have been waiting for, the vision of his brother Viserys! Paddy Considine is back, without his disheveling makeup. Daemon is reliving the heir for a day conversation he had with him in season one. He’s confronting the very moment Viserys decided to not make him his heir. And as he awakes from this vision he threatens Simon Strong, his mind a mess wondering if Rhaenyra herself has something to do with these visions he is seeing. He leaves, stating, “whatever your game is Strong, I assure you, your king is on his guard.” A line that Matt Smith delivers with just the amount of craziness to tell you, he is absolutely not even close to being on his guard.
He tries to leave, to flee Harrenhal, but Alys stops him. In a strangely intimate conversation, they discuss the crown, and the value of not wanting it. Neither Viserys nor Rhaenyra wanted it, and maybe that is why it suits them. The crown is not something that should be sought after, it is a burden to bear. Daemon is not a king, he is another piece on the board, and he needs to confront that. He did not get what he wanted, but that does not make him useless. And as he sits and ponders, he asks Alys for counsel, which he reminds her is not help, it is counsel. She tells him to wait three days, and disappears. This appears to be a turning point for Daemon. He’s confronting his inheritance, and asking for help with his current task. Alys’s motivation in this is confounding, but I find that it probably loops back to the state of the Riverlands itself. That maybe as a woman of the people she would like the wars to stop, and for the families to get along with one another, and that maybe underneath Daemon and Rhaenyra they could.
Back in the dragon pit, the dragonkeepers are chanting and singing high Valyrian to Seasmoke who has come to claim his new rider. And for a brief glimmer of a moment, the dragon extends his long next and appears to let Darklyn ride him. That is, until he rears his head and blasts dragon fire on the man, causing him to slit his own throat to avoid the agony. Everyone present, including Rhaenyra and Jace, hurry away.
Corlys meanwhile, is trying to promote Alyn to be is first mate. He brings up great reasons why, Alyn is respected, and experienced, but he doesn’t want it despite Corlys’s insistence. Jumping from Driftmark to King’s Landing, Ulf shows us how Mysaria’s rumors are continuing to spread as none other than Sylvie, Aemond Targaryan’s favorite woman to curl up to, is talking about how the Red Keep is having feasts every night while everyone else in King’s Landing is starving. There’s a notable touch of respect for Viserys. He seemed to be a king that was beloved by the small folk for his ability to always be giving to them, or at least making them perceive that he was during times of hardship.
Speaking of if Rhaenyra is the rightful heir or not, we see her reeling from the death of Darklyn. Lord Celtigar stands beside her berating her for her decisions. She slaps him. “It is my fault I think you have forgotten to fear me,” Rhaenyra says, with an incredible line reading by Emma D’arcy. We cut to a long shot of Rhaenyra holding a sword as it slowly pans in on her in a room that is only lit by the yellow the sun through the windows. The silhouette of Rhaenyra simply trying to prepare herself for battle is simply gorgeous, and a reminder that there is true craftmanship involved in creating this show beyond the plotting and CGI dragons. Mysaria reminds her that her attempts with the dragon were not in vein, and Rhaenyra absolves to try again. Mysaria also reminds her that the work with the smallfolk of King’s Landing is going well, and that while they may not capture the throne for her, it is harder for Aemond to wage a war when also trying to keep peace at home.
Aemond and Larys finally get to talking in King’s Landing. Cole was Aegon’s hand, but now that Aemond is sending him off to war he needs to change that. Larys thinks at first that Aemond is referencing himself, but in a line that absolutely eviscerated him, Aemond tells him, “Not to serve as the hand you toad, but to fetch him.” Aemond wishes for him to inform Otto that his position is being restored. What disrupts the two’s discussion, is that Aegon is regaining consciousness, and Aemond needs to check in on him.
In a deliciously tense scene, Aemond presses upon Aegon’s chest, causing him immense pain as he tries to determine what exactly Aegon remembers. And from his bodily response of distinct fear to Aemond, it’s clear he remembers that it was him that caused both Aegon and Sunfyre to burn tragically and plummet to the earth, but he tells him over and over, he does not remember anything.
The next couple scenes are quick enough. We get some more Rhaena and Joffrey, complete with Joffrey’s baby dragon, Tyraxes. Rhaena realizes that there is a wild dragon in the Eyrie, and while there is an opportunity to leave and board a boat to Pentos, she’s probably going to stay to try to ride the dragon instead. The Hull brothers are also debating over whether or not Alyn should accept the position. Addam is convinced he needs to, that their father owes them this, but Alyn wants a quieter life. He’s disinterested in high society and what it brings.
Meanwhile Rhaenyra and Jace are analyzing her war efforts. In a quite soft moment, Jace reveals to her that seeing her as his mother is not something that he rejects, but respects. But still, he brings up Daemon, which sends Rhaenyra into a flurry. She can’t stand to hear his name anymore, knowing full well he’s probably plotting his own deeds against her. He’s not on her side anymore, she’s lost a good member of her queensgaurd, they are no closer to getting any more dragons, and she still cannot leave that rock in the middle of the sea for if she dies so does her whole side of the war. They are interrupted by Mysaria, who informs Rhaenyra that their gift has been sent. And Jace seems perplexed, mostly because maybe now he’s realizing his mother is making war decisions without him, especially with Mysaria. What is this menacing gift they are sending to King’s landing? Turns out its boats with food. A PR move that rivals that of Otto, Rhaeyra and Mysaria have sent food to the starving people of King’s Landing.
Alicent is with Aegon, dutifully looking over him. She apologizes to him. It’s actually quite gut punching to see her looking over her son, and realizing that her last conversation with him might’ve sent him to his doom. She goes to send her brother and Cole off, making eye contact with Cole across the courtyard. She’s obviously there to see him off, her heart having softened from seeing him so shaken up and what war can do, but instead she discusses with her brother their father, who is nowhere to be found at the moment. He brings up her third son who she sent to them to be a ward. He is young, handsome, charming, and a musician. Most importantly he is kind. And while Olivia Cooke smiles at this, it is maybe one of the saddest smiles you’ve ever seen as she remarks how her other sons are not kind. Alicent’s constant conflict of motherhood is both the thing that makes her the most sympathetic, as well as the nail in her own coffin.
The place Alicent connects to the most is at the Sept, so of course she has to tear Helaena away from her bugs to go with her. Meanwhile, Rhaenyra’s food is spreading through the small folk and we get to see our favorite scorpion forger, Hugh, and the rat catchers dog! In this chaos, Alicent and Helaena are escorted out of the sept, and as they make their way back to the carriage all Hell breaks loose. People are throwing things at the women, they’re yelling at them about how Rhaenyra is the true queen, the Kingsguard are chopping off smallfolks hands, and everyone is rushing to get a piece of Alicent or Helaena. Notably, in a moment of good parenting, Alicent does protect Helaena with her own body, getting a cut on her wrist that mirrors the same cut she gave Rhaenyra last season.
Following this Larys comes to Aegon, and informs them to not give him milk of the poppy just yet, and as Aegon writhes in discontent, Larys reminds him that now all he has is his wit. He will never be the same again. He tells Aegon the intimate story of his birth, how when he arrived on the earth with the club foot, his father went on a rage about the castle. He reminds Aegon something that Game of Thrones viewers will remember Tyrion had a similar sentiment for. That for the rest of Aegon’s life all people will see is that he is crippled, and to use that to his advantage. An intimate moment that surely is connected to Larys clawing for power, but also, an honest moment where he opens himself up to his King and reveals something very close to him.
Daemon finally reaches his peak moment of ghost therapy when this time he sees his brother mourning over the loss of his wife, and instead of fighting him and using his heir for a day quote, he comforts him. He apologizes. He should have been there for his brother. He awakes to learn that the Lord Tully has died, Alys Rivers of course being behind it, and young Oscar Tully is now the Lord. This is good for Daemon, but instead of rejoicing he sobs on the table. Daemon is beginning to actually confront how his actions effected his loved ones, and hopefully we’ll see a much more familiar and empowered Daemon after this episode.
In an almost comedic sequence, Seasmoke literally hunts down Addam of Hull. He find him working, and as Addam runs into the woods to escape him, drops down in front of him. Whether it is because Seasmoke misses a rider with Laenor gone, or knows in his dragon soul that he is dead, he’s ready for another rider. He has chosen Addam.
And finally in the scene that broke half of the fandom, we get Rhaenyra and Mysaria discussing the war. There’s a lot going on here. Rhaenyra is lamenting her position, and is becoming despondent as she does not know how to win the war. She reflects on her connection with Daemon, how they were two sides of the coin, and how as a man he was everything she wanted to be but couldn’t be. And Mysaria chimes in, knowing him intimately as well, she remarks about how even now his temperament is not to quarrel and fight but to leave and flee, which he almost did earlier this episode. Mysaria finally reveals her history of assault and how it led to her scar on her throat. And Rhaenyra reveals that she is not even confident of herself as a queen because of her shaky standing with not just her council but her son. And in a moment that rings true but also sounds like it’s coming from Mysaria’s own manipulations, she tells Rhaenyra that she believes in her as queen. The core of Mysaria has always been that she is rooting for the small folk, and in this moment of desperation between the two, she reminds Rhaenyra that the reason she has sided with her is because of her belief that she would be a good queen for the people. And as the two women embrace over this intimate moment, it turns into something else, and passion takes over. Their makeout scene might be one of the hottest scenes in both HOTD and Thrones, that is until they are interrupted to learn that Seasmoke has a rider. And after spending most of the season cooped up at Dragonstone, Rhaenyra is off to find out exactly who it is, and what they plan to do with Seasmoke.