Welcome back, folks, to the latest recap for HBO’s terrific House of the Dragon TV series. Tonight, we’re looking at Episode 6, which presumably exchanges the likes of Milly Alcock and Emily Carey with Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke. Essentially, the first half of the season served as a massive prologue for the remaining five episodes — in theory, at least.
This is a curious move for the producers to make, and I wonder if they thought a Season 2 wasn’t a possibility at the time they made the decision. Was “House of the Dragon” meant as a one-off that would arrive at a conclusion? Or was it always planned to kick a series entirely off with different actors? I’m choosing to believe the former because why else would you only use the younger actors for five episodes? Why not go full Crown and let them play their respective roles for a season or two before replacing them as the timeline saw fit?
No matter. I lament the loss of Alcock and Carey, who I really enjoyed in the roles of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower. It took each a little time to fully grow into their characters, which is why it’s so vexing to see them removed just as they were getting most comfortable. Maybe they’ll appear in flashbacks.
Moving on.
Last week culminated in Rhaenyra and Laenor’s disastrous wedding. While not on the scale of, say, the Red Wedding, the shocking death of Laenor’s lover, Ser Joffrey Lonmouth, at the hands of Ser Criston Cole was enough to create quite the stir. I think the moment would have had more impact had we really gotten to know Joffrey and/or Laenor, but what’s done is done. I assume we leap ahead quite a few years and see how that particular event impacted the lives of everyone involved. I’m also curious to see what happened to Ser Criston, who was last seen going full suicide before Alicent stepped in and prevented another useless death. Rhaenyra and Laenor were eventually married, sealing the two great houses, after which King Viserys collapsed from too much drama.
Let’s do this!
What Happened in House of the Dragon Season 1 Episode 6
Right off the bat, we see our new Princess Rhaenyra … giving birth. At least this one wasn’t as gory. Once the task is completed, however, a woman storms into the room. “The Queen wants to see the baby,” she says. “Like, right the hell now.” There’s some fun afterbirth stuff, but let’s move the hell on.
We get our first glance at John Macmillan’s Laenor. He’s all smiles at the news — it’s a boy! — but frowns when Rhaenyra skirts past him. “Gotta go see the Queen.”
“Was it terribly painful,” he asks, hilariously.
Speaking of which, Rhaenyra is still very much in pain. “Fuck,” she says before commanding Laenor to help her walk up the stairs. “This is absurd,” he moans. “Why does the Queen need to see us now?”
Rhaenyra knows why and isn’t about to let her baby head up to the Queen unaccompanied.
En route, we pass Ser Criston Cole, who guards the Queen’s chambers. Yeah, that’s gotta be, ah, weird for everyone. Inside the bedroom, Olivia Cooke as the Queen turns around and is shocked to see Rhaenyra. (I love Cooke, by the way, ever since Bates Motel.) “You should be resting!”
“Where’s my grandson,” comes a voice, followed by Viserys stumbling in looking like Reverend Kane from Poltergeist 2. The years have not been kind to our dear King, though I’m shocked he’s still on his feet. “A fine prince,” he says.
What’s the name of the kid? “Joffrey,” Laenor cuts in. Ah, yes. Name the kid after your secret lover who was pummeled to death by the dude standing guard just ten feet away. That won’t stir up bad memories at birthday parties. Rhaenyra smirks and prompts Laenor to come up with an excuse to get them the hell out of there. Before they can leave, the Queen snatches the babe and tells Laenor: “Do keep trying, you might eventually get one that looks like you.” Ouch.
Alicent heads back to the walking corpse that is the King — and probably the only reason Rhaenyra is still alive.
Outside, they hilariously pass Criston, who has his back to them. Rhaenyra scolds Laenor for not consulting her about the kid’s name. “You haven’t been too interested in our affairs lately,” Rhaenyra snaps. (Laenor looks back at Criston, who gives a bro nod.)
Rhaenyra goes back to her room and greets two other boys — Jacaerys and Lucerys — and Ser Harwin Strong, gold-cloaked Commander of the City Watch. The way he looks at the child you’d think he was the father … I wonder if Laenor knows? Is he still cool with their pact?
We cut to a gloomy pit and see a small dragon emerge from the darkness and crawl slowly towards Jacaerys, Lucerys, and a bored-looking Aegon and Aemond (Alicent’s children). The dragon, Vermax, doesn’t pay much attention to Jacaerys (who, I assume, is its new owner), especially when the workers bring out a goat. “He’s gonna eat the goat? Excellent!” No matter, the dragon burns the goat to a crisp on Jacaerys’ command, and the boys shriek with delight. All except Aemond, who apparently is the only one of the lot without a flying beast.
The others present him with a pig dressed as a dragon just to make him feel more like an ass and then leave the young man to stare into the darkness by himself. Naturally, he hears whispers, sounds or some damned thing and makes his way below the pits where he spots one of the massive beasts locked up. The dragon takes a breath and shows off its impressive firepower as the lad stares in wonder. He then goes up to see his mum and sister (Helaena, who looks an awful lot like Rhaenyra — also, there are a lot of characters on this show!) and cries about the pig.
“You will have a dragon one day,” said no mother ever until now.
Alicent later cries to Viserys about Aemond’s cries. Our King has, well, kept himself quite busy with that model of his. Honestly, that actually sounds like a lot of fun, but I’m old and would probably lose interest after carving the first window.
Anyways, Alicent loses her shit over the new kid. “To have one like that is whatever, but to have three is an insult! To you! To the Throne!” The King knows his daughter is sleeping with someone else — Hell, the whole kingdom probably knows! — but either doesn’t care, is happy playing ignorant or is too damned tired to worry about it. He kisses his wife on the cheek. “Don’t speak of this again,” he says, which is what I tell my wife after every Seahawks game.
Alicent complains to Criston. “I feel like I’m taking crazy pills,” she shouts. “Does no one see what Princess Rhaenyra is doing?”
“Everyone sees what she is,” Criston replies. “A spider and a c–t.” That’s enough to make Alicent pause long enough to remind him that honor and decency must prevail. I’m not sure who to root for right now.
We then cut to Aegon jerking off out of his window, Homelander style. Where my mom would have shot me on the spot, Alicent takes the incident in stride. “Who came up with the pig,” she asks as her son dives into some blankets. He tries to deflect, but the Queen reminds him that it is his responsibility to protect his brother. “Do you think Rhaenyra’s kids will be your playthings forever,” she asks. “As things stand, Rhaenyra will ascend the Throne and Jacaerys Targaryen will be her heir!”
“Cool,” Aegon says, looking for some munchies.
Alicent chastises him for his flippant manner. Why is she the only one who cares about this family’s claim to the Iron Throne?! She reminds him that he is the challenger and must step up to Rhaenyra when the time comes or his life will be forfeit. Would Rhaenyra kill her step brothers to protect her kids? Would Alicent murder her grandkids to protect her sons? These are the days of our lives …
We cut to Daemon flying on his dragon alongside Nanna Blondell’s Laena. Remember when Daenerys shouted “Dracarys” in that one episode of Game of Thrones and rode away like a boss? In House of the Dragon, “Dracarys” is uttered at least sixteen times per day, it seems. Even just for fun.
Later, Daemon and Laena meets with a man named Reggio, who offers a permanent residence “here in Pentos,” which means our new couple (and their children) will have farms, lands, vineyards, the city, the harbor … the tenants will pay tribute to Daemon (who looks intrigued) and Laena (who does not). (Also, remember in the last recap when I thought Daemon was planning/plotting something during the wedding? I feel like an ass.) “Lys and its allies rise again! In exchange, you can protect us from the Triarchy!”
Later, the pair bicker over the offer. Laena wants to return to her home in Driftmark with her family. Daemon likes being separated from the world of politics. He could make a nice life out here where he’s respected and needed. She thinks they should strive for more. He listens to her argument, then gives her a look that says, “I’m done,” and she exits.
We cut to the courtyard where Alicent and Rhaenyra’s kids practice their sword fighting under the King’s watchful eye. Criston also watches the practice and instructs Aemond and Aegon to attack him. We get one of those scenes where two men get their asses handed to them by a lone warrior — and all the while I wonder, what would happen if either of those kids accidentally hit Criston? Would he be removed from duty? Simply embarrassed? Knowing Criston, he’d probably smash the offender’s face in.
To make matters worse, Ser Harwin Strong appears and insults Criston’s teaching technique. Criston can’t handle the constructive criticism and pits eldest son against eldest son. I love how each of these “not fathers” instructs their kids during this bit. Eventually, things get out of hand and, long story short, Strong ends up beating the holy shit out of Criston after the whorish knight makes a snide remark about his “fatherly” care for Jacaerys.
Nearby, the King is like, “Ah, hell no. Not this again.”
Also, Criston sucks. I do not like that dude. Lucky for him, Strong leaves before Criston’s brains spill out all over the dock. He heads upstairs and incurs the wrath of his father, who reminds him of the dangers brought about by his sexual frivolities with the Princess. Like a scene out of Harry Potter, the Princess lingers nearby and hears all of this — you’d think the two men would keep their voices down when discussing such details. This whole plot is building towards Rhaenyra v Alicent: Dawn of Dragons, and since no one has anything better to do, we’re gonna see this whole bloody tragedy play out.
Later, Laenor arrives with a new mate and reveals the news: the Stepstones are at war again! The Triarchy is causing problems, which means he may get a chance to head off to the sea, where he feels he truly belongs. “Are you mad,” Rhaenyra asks. “We’ve got rumors floating about, insinuations …”
“Insinuations, are they,” Laenor smirks.
“I need you here,” she says.
“I have played my part for 10 years,” he snaps. “I belong at sea!”
“Nah, you’ve indulged yourself for 10 years — and I was cool with that,” she fires back. “But now I need you and I command you to stay.” Boom.
Back at Pentos, Daemon again speaks with Laena. She wants to go home. So does he, but he just won’t admit it. “You are more than this,” she says. Also, she rides Vhagar, the biggest dragon in the world … which is, dayum!
We cut back to King’s Landing where an awkward Small Council meeting takes place. The discussion? The Sandstones, of course. Rhaenyra snaps that the realm should have built fortifications after Daemon beat Crabfeeder all those years ago. “We can’t afford it,” Alicent shoots back. (I like how Rhaenyra leans back in her chair and carefully navigates the council. She’s a long way from the young girl we saw pouring drinks and offering timid suggestions a few episodes ago.) Before things get out of hand, Alicent ends the meeting, much to the delight of our withered King — but Rhaenyra has more to say. “We are one house, my Queen,” she says. “Before that we were friends … My son Jacaerys will inherit the Iron Throne after me. I propose we betroth hm to your daughter, Helaena. Ally our houses, once and for all. Let them rule together!”
Interesting move.
Viserys offers a “hip, hip, hooray!”
Alicent smirks.
Rhaenyra sweetens the pot and offers Syrax’s next dragon egg to Aemond as a token of her good will. Before she can go further, Rhaenyra’s breasts start leaking, which is something I never thought I’d type, but here we are. “Oh Seven Hells,” she says, hilariously as the men do their best to look away. Basically, I imagine this entire exchange stands up there as one of the more humiliating moments in Rhaenyra’s life. She made the right move, but also kind of played her hand. If someone can prove the accusations about her and Strong, she’s as good as dead; along with her kids. By binding one of her own with Alicent’s offspring, she can at least be assured the realm will do its best to protect her.
Alicent sees through this ploy, unfortunately. “We got Skynet by the balls now,” she says. “Rhaenyra is desperate.”
Viserys tries to get her to see reason. (Honestly, I’m surprised Alicent hasn’t murdered the old man by now, but I suppose she’s not a killer. Yet.) They bicker, but are interrupted by Lyonel Strong, the King’s Hand, who arrives to give up his position. The King is flummoxed. “WTF? We were doing so well?”
Strong says his house is tainted by a dark shadow.
“What dark shadow,” the King asks.
“Yes, what dark shadow,” Alicent repeats, practically squealing with glee. “And do say your words slowly.”
“No,” Strong says.
“No?” Alicent shouts.
“No!” the King snaps. “You cannot resign.”
Strong says he will send Harwin away.
“Do it,” the King beckons.
Queen Alicent is beside herself. She hastens off to a weird dinner with Harwin’s brother Larys. The pair conspire, but to what end? “Is there no one on my side around here,” Alicent shouts.
Later that night, Larys heads down to the dungeons to cut some tongues off a few prisoners willing to exchange a death sentence (and their tongues, apparently) with a favor. Oh, boy. The plot thickens. What does Larys want exactly? Do we know?
We cut back to Daemon’s wife Laena, who gives birth. Complications arise. We find ourselves in a similar predicament as we saw in the first episode. Get the kid and kill the mom, or kill the kid and save the mom. Daemon contemplates the choice, but Laena is no fool. She gets to her feet and stumbles out of the castle, approaches her mammoth dragon, Vhagar, and orders, “Dracarys!” The dragon hesitates, looks longly at its master and then, after a good beat or two, takes a breath and sprays Laena with fire.
Daemon watches this all go down with a twinge of emotion. I don’t get this dude.
Herwin says goodbye to his boys and Rhaenyra. “Sorry for abandoning you in your time of great need,” he says. Great acting in this scene by D’Arcy, by the way — it’s only been one episode, but she owns this role. As Herwin bids adieu, Jacaerys asks his mother straight up, “Is Herwin my dad? Am I a bastard?”
“You are a Targaryen,” she replies. “Now, go brush your teeth.”
The next day, she seeks out Laenor and suggests they get the hell out of dodge and head for Dragonstone. He worries about her father, but he’s basically dead anyway. Either sit around here and wait for Alicent to kill us, or leave and prepare for battle. Oh, and she tells Laenor he can bring along his mate for good measure. “Sick!”
Later, the Strongs head off to their new home … the camera cuts to a group of cloaked men — the tongue-less prisoners! That night, Herwin is burned alive in his room. That wasn’t nice.
We also see Rhaenyra arrive at Dragonstone with the clan in tow. Now we’re talking.
The King sits in his room and sees a rat scurry by … Larys’ voiceover explains the crazy things we all do for love … we see burned corpses, presumably of Herwin and Lyonel … then see Laena’s charred corpse … Daemon’s children cry, but he’s indifferent and saunters away … we cut to Larys talking to the Queen … she’s gobsmacked. “They’re dead?” she asks through tears. “I didn’t wish for this?”
He smirks. “Call your pop. And don’t worry, you will reward me when the time is right,” he says, sniffing a flower. Good ole creepy Larys. Where did this guy even come from? Suddenly, he’s the most dangerous man on this show — and he waited ten long years to spring his trap! Scary.
Final Thoughts on House of the Dragon Season 1 Episode 6
Well, that was the end of the episode. Not to sound like a recording, but man that was great. Really, this felt like the first episode of a new season, which is weird, and also makes me wish they had allowed the younger cast to play out their roles a little longer before recasting. Not that the new additions were bad, but I felt like we were back at square one again, meeting new (but familiar) faces and laying the foundations for the remaining season — as one does in Episode 1.
Maybe the plan is to leapfrog through the various decades every five episodes or so and tell a sprawling (albeit connected) tale with different actors stepping in each time? I’m cool with that, but there has to be a payoff of some sort. Right now, House of the Dragon has mostly been set up… we spent five episodes laying the groundwork for Rhaenyra and Laenor’s wedding and then … jumped ahead 10 years and essentially started over. Where is this going?
Still, this was an impeccably acted and directed episode. I love the moves and countermoves made by Rhaenyra and Alicent, who are doing what’s best for their own. Neither are bad, just desperate. Except, where Rhaenyra appears more likable than ever, Alicent is mostly just angry. Angry at Rhaenyra. Angry at her father. Angry at the King. Angry at the world. She scoffed at Rhaenyra’s proposal, even though she knows it was the right move … I have a feeling this bitter feud is going to lead to something tragic.
I just don’t know when exactly tragedy will occur.
