House of the Dragon ep 6: The second half of House of the Dragon season 1 has officially kicked off and I am happy to report that it delivers the drama I’d be craving. The 6th episode Game of Thrones prequel series premiered on Monday morning (IST), the longest episode yet of the season with an air time of 68 minutes, and much like an Ekta Kapoor serial, took yet another leap in time.
Warning: Spoilers Ahead: The new House of the Dragon episode featured the series’ third leap in time. To jog your memory, the first was the shift in time after Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine) was crowned the King whereas the second was after Viserys decided to marry Alicent Hightower.
The new timeline is a decade after Princess Rhaenyra and Laenor Velaryon tie the knot. While it was clearly established that Leanor is gay, the episode opens with a shocker showing an older Princess Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) giving birth to a baby. It is soon revealed that it is Princess’s third baby, a third boy, but it doesn’t seem to be of Laenor Velaryon (now played by John MacMillan).
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While fans are left to guess who the father is, the series hints that all is not well between Rheanyra and Queen Alicent (now played by Olivia Cooke). The tension is evident after the Queen calls for the newborn baby but Rheanyra decides to head to introduce the baby herself, despite bleeding profusely post-delivery.
It is during their introduction that the Queen confirms that the baby boy isn’t of Laenor. While Laenor doesn’t seem affected by it, Rheanyra is visibly miffed. Her worried vanish when she meets Ser Harwin Strong (Ryan Corr), the eldest son of the Hand of the King, Lyonel Strong, and heir to Harrenhal. It is soon revealed that the three sons Rheanyra has are of his blood.
Although it seems like an open secret, given the whispers in the castle, Rheanyra manages to have a tight grip on the gossip. However, not for too long. We soon learn that her past lover, Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) has shifted sides after the Princess chose a gay man over him. Siding with Alicent, Criston decides to trigger Harwin with the hope that he would reveal Rheanyra’s precious secret.
Criston gets under Harwin’s nerves when he is training the Queen and Princess’s children for combat and Harwin is publicly showing his support to Rheanyra’s sons. The clash of words turns ugly with Criston and Harwin getting into a fight. This leads to Harwin being dismissed as the Commander of the City’s Watch and putting Rheanyra’s position at in the House at a risk.
Post the mighty men’s quarrel, Rheanyra decides to take the situation under her control. She offers to the King, her father, and the Queen, her stepmother, to wed off their daughter to her oldest son. She makes the proposal suggesting that the power remains within the house. However, Alicent sniffs her worry, understanding that Rheanyra is merely saving her position and face in court with the wedding offer.
While a panicking Rheanyra is finding ways to keep her place in the court and on the throne intact, Alicent eyes the Iron Throne for her oldest son Aegon. In one of the scenes, Alicent is seen drilling her idea into Aegon’s mind so that he prepares to take over the throne after his father’s death.
Amid this chaos, Lyonel Strong offers to step down from the duties of the Hand to the King. A move that Alicent was glad about until the King rejected it. Aware that the Hand has been compromised and it could impact negatively her in the court, she confines in Larys Strong, the younger son of Hand of the King. Assuring her that things will be taken care of, the situation takes a dark turn. Larys sets fire to his father’s chambers, leaving him to burn to his death. The situation shock Alicent, who realizes that things went too far and she is now indebted to Larys.
As the drama continues to unfold in King’s Landing, we learn that Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) has also formed a small family of his own. The former heir of the Iron Throne has married Lady Laena Velaryon (now played by Nanna Blondell) and has two beautiful daughters together. They also have two dragons that they ride together. It is also revealed that Daemon and Laena are expecting their third baby but things don’t go as per plan during the delivery.
The baby’s birthing position is compromised, leaving Daemon to choose between the mother and the baby. The Deja Vu situation reveals that Daemon doesn’t follow in the footsteps of his regal brother, choosing to save his wife. The death of the baby doesn’t go down well with Laena. She finds herself standing in front of her mighty dragon and ordering it to burn her into ash. The dragon evidently refuses to give in but eventually kills her, leaving Daemon and the daughters in shock.
Will Daemon get involved in the game of the throne or will Rheanyra beat Alicent for the rightful place on the throne? We’ll have to wait until next week and see.
House of the Dragon ep 6 review:
The new House of the Dragon episode finally gets back on track with the drama. Given how linear the plots were until the 5th episode, the politics and games are finally seeping into the series. The 6th episode is high on writing and acting.
The idea of including a third time jump also reminded me of an Ekta Kapoor serial. I don’t remember the last time a show, obviously besides Ekta’s serials, featured so many time jumps. Anyway, the time jump has helped the show branch out.
The subplots featuring not only the members of Alicent and Rheanyra but also Daemon’s likely bigger plan are advantageous to the series. Despite the numerous new twists and subplots, the episode manages to tie the knots properly to help you navigate through newer characters.
All through the first half of House of the Dragon, Matt Smith and Paddy Considine were carrying the show on their shoulders. But now, they have Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke to help them. The two leading ladies were undoubtedly the scene stealers in this episode. In scenes featuring both actresses, it was difficult to pick who to focus on.
While acting wise the dynamics have changed, House of the Dragon continues to wow with its cinematography and visual effects. Fabien Wagner is doing a fantastic job in keeping the series visually rich.
Catch new episodes of House of the Dragon with the rest of the world every Monday at 6:30 am IST, exclusively on Disney+ Hotstar in India.
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