House of the Dragon: what is episode 6 of the Game of Thrones spin-off worth? (review and spoilers)

Episode 6 of House of the Dragonentitled “The Princess and the Queen” Where “The princess and the queen” in original version, bring viewers at the heart of what is being prepared since the very first episode. The civil war within the extended Targaryen family is the origin of the story called The Dance of the Dragons by George RR Martin, and it is also what hastened the end of the Targaryen dynasty. To be able to understand the characters involved in this conflict and the dynamics in place, the Game of Thrones spin-off started with five essential introductory episodes to get to know Rhaenyra, Viserys I, Alicent, Daemon and everyone around them. And it is this episode 6 which made the leap in time as expected as it was feared by the fans, the very one which means that serious things are about to begin but which forces us to say goodbye to part of the cast.

Emma D’Arcy thus replaces Milly Alcock in the skin of Rhaenyra Targaryen, and if the talent is there, the change is still disturbing. Milly Alcock’s charisma and intensity have made her a standout Targaryen, and as with any cast change, her new face will likely take some getting used to. The same goes for Emily Carey, who gave way to Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower. Just like the heiress to the throne, the new interpreter of Alicent has an appreciable resemblance to her younger version but a few disparities in his game make the change a bit more noticeable. These new faces are all the more noticed as other characters, such as Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) or Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) are always played by the same actors. Only the teenagers, and in particular Laenor (played by Theo Nate then John Macmillan) and Laena Velaryon (played by Savannah Steyn then Nanna Blondell) in addition to Rhaenyra and Alicent, have been replaced.

An obvious parallel with Game of Thrones

Following this ten-year time jump, Rhaenyra is now the mother of three children, just like her former friend Alicent. The two women compete for power against a weakening Viserys I, and the friendship or even the love that bound the queen and the princess has now given way to the instinct of survival. Each seeks to protect her place and that of her children, an always complex task in the universe of Game of Thrones. One of the themes of episode 6 will also be very familiar to fans of the series since it is once again about children, inheritance and fatherhood. Like Ned Stark will do hundreds of years later, Alicent questions Rhaenyra’s relationship with her husband Laenor, and implies that her children are in fact those of her knight. If Alicent does not know the tragic fate of Eddard Stark, she still finds herself forced to measure the weight of her words when her adviser and spy Larys has her own father and brother killed to please her.

The parallel with Game of Thrones is too obvious to ignore, and it will be hoped that subsequent episodes of House of the Dragon will detach more from the original series in order to continue to build its own identity. In terms of form, the spin-off follows in the footsteps of its big sister, but certain performances prove to be more forced, in particular that of Olivia Cooke in the role of Alicent, to the point of giving a certain aspect of soap to a series. which is meant to be dramatic. Despite a few false notes, episode 6 remains a good transitional episode that fulfills the difficult role of introducing new faces to already known characters and laying the foundations for a dense plot that will only grow in the four last episodes of the season.

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