Let’s go for the offbeat recap of House of the Dragon with a big big change in this episode 6 which renews the female cast. Farewell Milly Alcock and Emily Carey! Hello Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke!
Please note, the following details the plot of episode 5 of the House of the Dragon series, available on OCS on demand. If you haven’t seen it yet, and don’t want to know anything about its content, then you are strongly recommended to stop reading this article now.
Credits and rivers of blood. Welcome to the sixth episode of House of the Dragon.
And it starts with a birth scene. Rhaenyra gives life and her suffering does not escape us. The child barely emerging from his womb, the Queen asks to see him. And what does Rhaenyra do? Not even five minutes after the delivery, she gets up and goes to present the child herself.
The journey to the Queen’s chamber seems endless. Fortunately Laenor shows solidarity with his wife and accompanies her all along this way of the cross. This is enough to pose the introduction of the new Rhaenyra as it should.
And oh surprise! Who do we see at the entrance to the Queen’s chamber? Ser Criston Cole! (who pays lip service to the princess) Alicent pretends to inquire about Rhaenyra’s condition. A dying Viserys comes to see his grandson. And Laenor decides to name the child Joffrey as her late lover. As for Alicent, she takes the child in her arms without asking permission to make sure he doesn’t look like Laenor. Passive-aggressive mode enabled.
HBO Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy), mother courage until the end
To leaving the Queen’s chamber, a trail of blood follows Rhaenyra. Back in her apartments, she finds her other children, two boys and Ser Harwin Strong, her new protective knight and no doubt the father of her three children.
In the dragon pit of the palace, the children of Rhaenyra and Alicent undergo their dragon training. One of Rhaenyra’s boys learns to master his assigned one and utters his first “Dracarys”. And a poor goat ends up as a barbecue.
Aemond, one of Alicent’s sons, doesn’t have a dragon and is therefore mocked by his brothers. The poor boy is offered a pig with dragon wings placed on its back. When everyone is gone, Aemond is left alone and enters the creatures’ lair, shrouded in darkness. He comes across a dragon who greets him by spitting fire on the ceiling and the kid takes to his heels.
mother dragon
Alicent spends some time with her daughter who seems to have a fetish for insects. Aemond returns frightened after his terrible encounter and a priori, this is not the first time.
Shortly after, Viserys and Alicent make out like the old couple they are. Alicent broaches the subject of the paternity of Rhaenyra’s children. And the fact that they look absolutely nothing like their father. Viserys does not want to hear anything and asks his loving wife not to bring up the subject again.
Alicent enrages Criston Cole who allows himself to insult Rhaenyra. The boy has therefore become more and more bitter over the years and has still not digested being turned away.
In his bedroom, Aegon – Viserys and Alicent’s eldest son – masturbates while standing on the windowsill. (This scene speaks for itself). His mother enters without knocking. She’s pissed about Aemond and the trick Aegon played on her with the pig. She too pretends to ignore her son’s activities and gives him a hard time.
His concern: Jacaerys, Rhaenyra’s eldest son, will be his heir when his mother takes the throne. This rise to power poses an immediate danger to the children of Alicent. She has visibly lost all her calm over the past 10 years and intends to see her son ascend the throne.
We find Daemon and his wife Laena, the daughter of Lord Corlys, who both go on a dragon ride because why not, it’s more fun than the horse. And right after, they are offered a nice feast. They are the guests of the Prince of Pentos. He offers them an alliance and a permanent residence in Pentos. In exchange for their help – and their dragons – against the enemy that threatens the region.
Laena is absolutely not thrilled. But Daemon is seduced by the idea. And guess who will have the last word in the story? When the evening comes, Laena tries to make her point of view known to her husband. She refuses to give birth in Pentos, far from her land. But talking to Daemon to make him listen to reason is like talking to a wall.
A fit of rage
To Port-Réal, the sons of Alicent and Rhaenyra each train in combat under the supervision of their protective knight / instructor: Criston Cole on one side and Harwin Strong on the other. Cole gets tough on Aegon and his brothers and challenges them to touch him. (Looks like Galadriel in episode 5 of the Rings of Power).
But Harwin and Criston challenge each other from a distance through their students. And Cole arranges a fight between Aegon, the Elder of Alicent and Jacaerys, the Elder of Rhaenyra. The age difference between the two boys makes the confrontation totally unequal. Harwin teaches fair play. And Cole teaches him to win with low kicks.
Cole provokes Strong who stepped in to defend young Jacaerys barely implying that his reaction was that of a father. Provocation to which Harwin Strong responds by breaking the face of Criston Cole. A welcome beating.
Ladies-in-waiting warn Rhaenyra who takes the secret passage to her room and overhears a conversation between Harwin Strong and her father Lord Lyonel Strong, still Hand of the King. The father warns his son about the danger of his affair with Rhaenyra.
Back in her apartments, Rhaenyra sees Laenor tumbling down completely drunk in the company of Ser Qarl who is undoubtedly her lover. Laenor is happy to return to war against Dorne and the looming Triarchy. Rhaenyra reports to Laenor the rumors about her children and refuses to see her husband leave at this time of danger. She orders him to stay.
To Pentos, the second daughter of Laena and Daemon laments not having a dragon. And mentions at the same time that Daemon is not the best dad in the world. If he doesn’t bully his children, he doesn’t care. Shortly after, Laena goes to join her husband and informs him that Rhaenyra has given birth. She tries again to convince him to return to Westeros.
Agreements and disagreements
In the King’s Council, Alicent and Rhaenyra continue their passive-aggressive mode of conversation. They discuss the affairs of the kingdom by sending pikes. But Rhaenyra addresses the dissensions between the Queen and her. To calm things down and avoid carnage, she offers her former friend an alliance: the marriage of her son Jacaerys, future heir to the throne, with Helaena, the daughter of Alicent and Viserys. Obviously, we will not address the question of morality or consanguinity here.
Viserys looks delighted. Alicent much less. As a bonus, Rhaenyra offers a dragon egg for Aemond. But Alicent points out to Rhaenyra that she is losing milk and steps back saying to think about the matter.
Completely uninhibited, Alicent says all the bad things she thinks of all this to Viserys who no longer has the energy to fight her or impose her will. Lyonel Strong appears in the King’s Chamber to resign after the scandal caused by his son Harwin with Criston Cole. Resignation refused by Viserys. Lord Lyonel then asks permission to escort his son to the family seat after his exclusion from the palace. Permission granted.
Annoyed, Alicent goes to Lord Larys, Ser Harwin Strong’s brother and Lyonel Strong’s son. They have a little dinner planned together to gossip and organize conspiracies of all kinds. She brings him the latest news: Lyonel remains Hand of the King and Harwin is sent home. Larys disagrees…
Alicent laments not having any allies. After dinner, Larys goes to jail. He’s there to recruit criminal vermin…
To Pentos, Laena is giving birth but the situation is looking bad. The doctors are without solution except that to carry out a cesarean section. Laena hears the conversation between Daemon and the doctor. She leaves the room and goes before Vhagar, her dragon, and orders him to burn her. The dragon does not obey immediately but ends up yielding to the command of its mistress in front of a Daemon scared by this scene of horror.
HBO
Daemon, horrified (like us)
To Port-Réal, Rhaenyra is very sad to see Ser Harwin, her love and the father of her children, leave. The knight embraces his sons and leaves. Jacaerys understands the situation and asks his mother if Harwin Strong is his father. Question to which Rhaenyra responds with a pirouette. He’s a Targaryen and that’s all that matters. (We will speak again another time of the child’s right to know his biological father).
After Ser Harwin leaves, Rhaenyra decides to leave King’s Landing to settle in Dragonstone with Laenor and their children. A way to protect them from the backbiting of the court. And in her great leniency, she grants Laenor to take Ser Qarl with him.
To Harrenhal, seat of the Strongs, father and son arrive at the castle. But a welcoming committee awaits them. In the middle of the night, they are awakened by a gigantic fire that traps them.
Rhaenyra and her small family arrive in Dragonstone. Laena’s daughters mourn their mother. And Lord Larys confides in Alicent that it is he who is behind the assassination of his father and his brother. He lays the weight of guilt on Alicent, saying he has done his will and expecting his reward when the time comes.
Generic.