House Of The Dragon Episode 6 Review: WHAT AN EPISODE!

Did I just watch a new piolet? House of the Dragon Episode 6: “The Princess and the Queen” completely re-shifted the focus of this series back on the characters and their compelling motivations and desires as it was head and shoulder better than last week’s episode.

This is such a weird and great series. I can’t think of too many series that feel so dysfunctional and have its episodes so disconnected from one another, but also have compelling, interesting, and emotional story arcs and characters.

In all practicality, this show really shouldn’t be as good as it has been. Its plot cohesion is a mess, which strangely works really well.

And that’s a testament to the performances of the actors and actresses, while also praise for the production, directing, cinematography, and writing departments.

They have done what Rings of Power’s crew can only dream of: successfully translating the relatable, sympathetic characters and interesting worlds from their, respective, legendary source material onto the small screen.

Nevertheless, that’s enough Rings of Power bashing from me as this episode was way too complex to spend a moment longer on another show.

First off, let me just say that this is episode basically just piloted a whole new, 5-part mini-series. All of the character work and relationships that we spent 5 hours on have been thrown out the window as the show jumped 10 years into the future.

Rhaenyra now has three kids with Laenor Velayron (well, not really, but more on that later), Alicent’s sons and daughter have now grown up into teenagers, Otto Hightower has been fully replaced by Lyonel Strong as Hand, Alicent and Rhaenyra now HATE each other, Criston Cole now HATES Rhaenyra, and King Viserys looks like he just walked out of a tub of acid.

I mean, the guy looks absolutely awful as his skins is all patchy and peeling, his fair has almost completely fallen out, he’s bound to a wheelchair/chair most of the day, he’s a drunk, and he’s lost his right arm entirely.

Simply put, he’s not long for the world of Westeros…to the peril of everyone around him.

And that would include his daughter and current heir, a now 30-something-year-old Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, chiefly.

Given the fallout of Rhaenyra and Ser Criston Cole’s brief relationship, the Realm’s Delight has taken it upon herself to start a new relationship.

Who might that be with? Well, it is none other than Ser Harwin Strong, son and heir to the Hand of the Kind, Lord Lyonel Strong. (Facepalm!)

These Targaryens really just can’t get out of their own way, can they?

Nonetheless, the first few shots we see of Emma D’Arcy as Rhaenyra is her giving birth to her third son, a boy Laenor Velayron names Joffrey (in honor of his friend and lover that was slain last episode).

Before I say anything more about the story, let me just say that Emma D’Arcy NAILED IT as this version Rhaenyra.

She was absolutely fantastic in portraying an older and much more authoritative, resolute, and determined Rhaenyra. There wasn’t a moment in this episode where I was thinking, “Oh, that’s not something Milly Alcock’s Rhaenyra would have said/done,” or “I wish Milly Alcock was still Rhaenyra because she was better at…”.

Nope, Emma D’Arcy was simply tremendous as Rhaenyra and has seamlessly transitioned into the leading role…even though her inclusion creates a HUGE discussion about this series’ structure as a whole. But I’ll get to that later.

Back to the story, Rhaenyra and Alicent’s newfound hatred for one another was explored instantly as the queen ordered the princess to carry up her newborn baby so she could see him, even though Rhaenyra had just given birth.

Now, of course, this wasn’t Alicent’s idea of affection or love for her new grandson-in-law as she just wanted to see the baby’s hair color, which was black, and to insult Laenor and Rhaenyra over that fact.

Why is the hair color important? Well, Laenor and Rhaenyra’s hair color are white/bleach gold, while Harwin Strong’s hair color is black.

So, Alicent is actually trying to expose Rhaenyra as a liar and an adulterer in the eyes of her own husband and Rhaenyra’s father, King Viserys, in a hope to also push him into naming her own son, Aegon, as his heir.

Like I said with Emma D’Arcy, Olivia Cooke was just as good in her portrayal of this older, ruthless, and more independent Alicent Hightower. Cooke didn’t miss a beat as Alicent and was actually made her a little more compelling and interesting than Emily Carey did (in my humble opinion).

I’m not saying Carey was bad, because she wasn’t as she was great as young Alicent, but only that Olivia Cooke was just a step better.

Think of it as Carey’s grade for Alicent was an A- and Cooke’s is an A+ (so far).

Anyway, the majority of this episode was spent at Kings Landing and around Alicent’s plots and schemes to get Aegon, who may be the funniest and most nonchalant character to ever be introduced into the Game of Thrones world, onto the throne and the rivalry between Alicent and Rhaenyra’s children.

There were some great scenes, such as introduction of the ‘Pink Dread’ (who’s just a pig), introducing the cousin rivalry brewing between Aegon and Aemond (Alicent’s other son) and Jacaerys  Velaryon and Lucerys Velaryon (Rhaenyra’s eldest children).

I actually felt really bad for Aemon in that moment as not only were his cousins mocking the fact that he was the only one without a dragon, but also because his own brother was the one who started the insults.

Seeing how brooding and closed off Aemond is now because of the bullying, I now understand the reason why he became the man he would be during the Dance of the Dragons.

And let me just say that he becomes rather…uh…brutal. Think Joffrey but 20 times worse.

Nevertheless, in my opinion, children’s best scene together was that training yard battle.

This scene not only showcased the brewing contention between Ageon and Aemond vs. Jacaerys and Lucerys (though, mainly Aemond vs. the Velaryons), but also showed how widespread the secret to the parentage of the Velaryons really is.

Moreover, Ser Criston Cole, who is becoming the jerk we all knew from the books, in that scene initially took it upon himself to only train the Targaryens, while abandoning the Velayrons to learn the art of swordsmanship for themselves.

And, when Harwin Strong spoke up in the defense of his children…ahem…the Velaryons, Cole goaded him into all but admitting they were his sons by mocking his involvement in their training until he broke and attacked Cole.

Thus, Strong was stripped of his place in the City Watch and exiled back to Harrenhal by his own father, Lord Strong.

Soon after that outburst, Rhaenyra must have realized that EVERYONE knew the true parentage of her children as, during the next day’s council meeting, she tried to mend the rift between her and Alicent by proposing a betrothal between Helaena, Alicent’s only daughter, and Jacaerys, Rhaenyra’s eldest son and heir after her to the Iron Throne.

Obviously, Alicent rejected, much to the dismay of Viserys, and again tried to have him disinherit Rhaenyra for Aegon, though he refused once again as he valued the safety of his daughter and his Hand’s, Lord Strong, advice too much to just cast them aside.

In her despair, Alicent went to Lyonel Strong’s other son, the mysterious and mischievous Larys Strong to complain about Viserys, Harwin, Rhaenyra, and Lyonel, and lament that her father is no longer the Hand of the King.

Now, any normal person would probably have just nodded and soothed Alicent’s complains and venting by just agreeing/promising to be on her side of the argument.

But not Larys.

No, Larys decided to go to a whole new level of cruelty, dedication, and ambition in his quest to fulfill Alicent’s wishes.

Yet, I’ll get to that in a second as I have to address the other storyline of this episode: Prince Daemon and his new family with Laena Velaryon.

Across the Narrow Sea in the uber wealthy city of Pentos, we found Prince Daemon and his new wife, Laena Velaryon, happily married with two twin daughters (Baela Targaryen and Rhaena Targaryen), living a lavish lifestyle in the company of the Prince of Pentos.

Though, if you thought that the Prince of Pentos was housing Daemon out of the kindness of his heart, you clearly don’t know anything about Essos or its politics.

After toasting to the memory of Aegon the Conqueror, the Prince of Pentos gives a proposal to Daemon: he will give Daemon gold, jewels, honors, manses, and whatever his heart desires in Pentos in exchange for the dragonlord, his wife, and his daughters to join his armies and their fight against the Prince’s enemies in the Triarchy of Lys, Myr, and Tyrosh.

Now, Daemon is entertained by the offer, but Laena wants no part of it. She would rather raise her children, and the one in her womb, on her home island of Driftmark and in the castle of her father, Lord Corlys Velaryon.

This relationship, even though it was established in a brief scene in the last episode may have been one of the most heartwarming ones we’ve seen yet.

Laena was such a caring, considerate, but independent wife and mother that she understood that Daemon desperately wants to live up to the legacy of the Conqueror and become a hero himself. Nanna Blondell, the actress who portrayed Laena, did a masterful job in giving characterization to a character that had little in the source material.

“Wait, why are you speaking in the past tense when talking about Laena?” you’re probably wondering. Well, she ends up dying in the most emotional moment of the show to date.

After a long, difficult labor, the doctors of Pentos tell Daemon that they cannot deliver the baby and they need to cut open Laena to get the child out.

Daemon, unlike his brother Viserys, refuses and walks away out of frustration and sadness (I think?).

Regardless, Laena rises from her child-birthing bed and hobbles outside to her dragon, the mighty Vhagar (the last dragon alive from Aegon the Conqueror’s conquest) and commands the dragon to burn her alive to give her a ‘dragon rider’s death’.

It was really sad to see Vhagar struggle with the task as she initially refused, before eventually accepting, that her rider was dying and that she wanted to go out in flames as befitting a dragonlady.

Before Daemon could stop Laena, Vhagar let out a loud roar and set her rider a flame with a hot spew of dragon breath, incinerating Laena in a second. Like I said, it was really emotional as Daemon was left bereft and shocked and his children inconsolable.

Okay, getting back to Larys, the final few scenes of the episode showed the true depravity that goes through the Clubfoot’s mind. The second son of Lord Strong goes down to the Black Cells to offer some criminals a chance at freedom.

What is that chance? They have to agree to getting their tongues cut out and then accept a murder contract on the lives of…Lord Lyonel Strong and Ser Harwin Strong, the father and brother of Larys.

Yes, Larys has his own father and brother brutally murdered as the criminals-turned-assassins set fire to the castle of Harrenhal while Lyonel and Harwin sleep, causing both men to burn alive.

When Larys reports the news to Alicent, she backs away from him mortified by what he had done and denies responsibility, though it was too late to rebuke the Clubfoot. She’s now indebted to the new Lord of Harrenhal whether she likes it or not as now she can bring her father back to court to serve as Hand of the King.

Man, another long review. Is it me or are these episodes getting longer and longer? I know my reviews of them are.

But I’m not complaining as this was easily the best episode of the series to date, easily righting the plot hole and contrivances of the previous episode. Just everything about this episode was great as it introduced the most interesting and important characters of the Dance yet: the older versions of Alicent and Rhaenyra and their children.

The new actors and actresses were just as good, if not better in some circumstances, than the old actors, while the plot has finally moved on to the ‘pre-Dance’ tensions that will be as gripping as the early days of GOT (if done correctly, that is).

This episode gets a 9.7/10 from me, easily bettering its predecessor episode.

Though, now that I think of it, the greatness of this episode does kind of introduce a major question about the very structure of the series: Why did the showrunners and writers have to condense the’ pre-Dance’ tensions to tell the early story of Rhaenyra and Alicent? This series would probably have worked out even better without it.

I guess I’ll get to the bottom of that question in another article as this one is long enough as it is.

 

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