HOUSE OF THE DRAGON: “Rhaenyra Triumphant”

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The Blacks have taken the Red Keep, but what will happen in the fallout? We open with Daemon (Matt Smith) meeting with Ormund Hightower (James Norton) in the field. Pretty formidable sight rolling up with three dragons, though Ulf (Tom Bennett) isn’t super terrifying himself. Ormund bends the knee, and Daemon takes his awkward moment to announce that his nephew Daeron will need to come with them. He is a son of Viserys (Paddy Considine), so it makes sense the Blacks would need to secure him. The moment the boy walked across the field, I tilted my head like a dog hearing a noise they’ve never heard before. Didn’t he have Alicent’s (Olivia Cooke) hair color the last time we saw him? Having the shock-blonde Targaryen hair usually clears the matter of genetics and why everyone knew Rhaenyra’s (Emma D’Arcy) first three sons weren’t Velaryon’s. Never mind them not looking like mixed kids because Daddy Laenor Velaryon (Theo Nate) was a beautiful Black man. Daemon reaffirms that they should have just burned them all, and you know, I agree with him. He’s not diplomatic, but the man hasn’t been wrong yet.

Corlys (Steve Toussaint) has arrived, and while he doesn’t have the position of Master of Coin, he lets Rhaenyra know that the Hightowers have taken off with the gold and the crown will soon cease to function. Talk about a rough start to your rule; you get there and there ain’t no money to be spent on a big fancy coronation. Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno) has also arrived to be Mistress of Whispers; love that for her. She reminds Rhaenyra that hosting a big fancy party for herself while the common folk starves will not endear her to them. Pirates from the Gullet are ashore causing mayhem. Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) had all the rat catchers killed, so now the Keep is overrun with rodents. She’s truly feeling the weight of the crown immediately, as well as having her period. This woman needs a damn break, but instead she’s seeing the ghost of her son in the halls. 

She challenges Alicent about the money, and Alicent doesn’t know. This scene really pissed me off. Because while plenty of her life has been manipulated by men, let’s not pretend you’re innocent, Alicent. You heard what you wanted to hear from your Lord Husband before he died. You’ve played many a game within the Red Keep, so you absolutely cannot blame Rhaenyra for questioning you. I truly feel for poor Helaena (Phia Saban), who isn’t even allowed to be with her own daughter. I mean a couple hours a day every few days, come on, Rhaenyra. That’s unnecessarily cruel to someone who helped make sure you could walk into the Keep and take it. Justice for my baby girl and her chickens!

So if a grand coronation is out of the question, Rhaenyra will settle for a simple anointing from the Faith. Only, the septon doesn’t want to do that either. Rhaenyra can claim Aegon has met his fate, but without definitive proof, he’s sticking to what he’s already done. Not to mention, it’s very clear this man hates dragons. Tread carefully with this one; I have the feeling he could make quite a fuss if he wanted to do so. And speaking of fussing, she can’t bear to sleep in her father’s quarters. I did find it odd her Lord Husband would have a room elsewhere, but it doesn’t surprise me that’s the only place she finds true rest: in Daemon’s arms. He does quite well at protecting her. 

Corlys is proud of how Addam (Clinton Liberty) and Alyn (Abubakar Salim) have fought, and he is ready to give them his name. Rhaenyra is not. She knights Addam but doesn’t recognize him as Velaryon. She can’t very well have the image of an army of bastards if she legitimizes them, now can she? Meanwhile, Alicent begs for her father’s remains to be sent to Oldtown so he might be placed at rest with her mother. Rhaenyra agrees but also asks Alicent how she handled running the throne when her father was ill. Alicent is brutally honest and acknowledges you cannot please everyone and you will at times have to make decisions you would have recoiled from in the past. “There is a door in you that must shut.” This is not the answer Rhaenyra was hoping for.

Time for a nice banquet to celebrate the lords who begrudgingly supported her. But what’s to eat, with the sheep being all eaten by dragons? There is an abundant protein source roaming the castle, though I doubt any of these nobles have eaten rats before. If this is what the lowborn were to suffer while resources were hoarded, Rhaenyra wants to make sure they get their fill. The Gold Cloaks were sent to plunder their stores so wealth might be better redistributed…huh, sounds like quite a fascinating concept…

“I style us gods, Rhaenyra.”

Daemon keeps coming back to the idea of Old Valyria and how, as dragon riders, they are meant to be conquerors. It’s fully built into him as a warrior and adventurer. This man might be married to the Queen, but that doesn’t mean he wants to sit still in the Keep. He’s meant to be on his dragon, seeing the world. It was a beautiful moment of listening to them speak Valyrian, but also how a stubborn man will still follow the woman he loves, even if she doesn’t always listen to his advice.

She delivers the goods to the common folk, and it was a nice reminder that while she’s been gone, this was her home. She grew up here and was someone the lowborn were familiar with. It was a nostalgic moment that wouldn’t last long. Corlys is upset finding out Addam was not knighted a Velaryon. He challenges her, proclaiming loudly that her sons were bastards, but he accepted Luke (Elliot Grihault) as his heir to Driftmark, and frankly, he did love the boy. I think it hurt him knowing they weren’t his true blood, but it was very clear in the small scenes we got that he and Rhaenys (Eve Best) loved their unofficial grandchildren. To have accepted them, but not have his own sons accepted, though they are fighting for Rhaenyra’s cause, is a slap in the face. He lost his son, the true heir; he lost his grandson, the accepted heir; he lost his wife, and his home was set ablaze. All he is asking for is that these sons be accepted, and it cannot be. But he’s lucky Daemon wasn’t around for the argument.

We finish up the episode dealing with the issue of Daeron. Little bits and pieces kept the tension alive throughout the episode as Rhaenyra grappled with what to do with him. Daemon says death, but if there is room for mercy, should we not take it? She allows Alicent to come see him before sending him to the Wall to Castle Black to join the Night’s Watch. This whole scene was a masterclass of acting between Cooke and D’Arcy. The moment Alicent enters, she knows that it is not her son. And now I’m thinking Rhaenyra’s just jealous of such a good dye job. Dyeing Luke and Jace’s (Harry Collett) hair would have solved a lot of problems. But now she has another: the Hightowers have taken Tumbleton, and if they have a foothold anywhere, the fight is not over yet. In fact, it might actually just be starting…

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