Chris, Jim, and I give their thoughts on a most interesting episode of House of the Dragon. This episode had sex, betrayal, more betrayal…. a lot of betrayals, and a puppet show. But did anything Daemon do in this episode make that much sense? As always, anything written in BOLD is from me.
1. What was Deamon’s big goal of taking Rhaenyra out? Did he accomplish anything that he set out to do or did he fail entirely?
Chris: Daemon’s goal was accomplished. He enticed his niece; he absolutely believes in the Doctrine of Exceptionalism, the belief that incest is ok as long as it is Targaryen. He wants her for a wife, to bring back the strength of old Valyrria, a strength he thinks Viserys doesn’t have. He stopped at the end, because there is a modicum of decency in him, and he had already accomplished his goals. (We don’t always get modicums and doctrines in this space, but when we do, it feels right.)
Jim: I am in the camp of thinking that Daemon did exactly what he wanted to do. He sewed enough seeds of doubt within Viserys about Rhaenyra to just create chaos. I don’t believe he was actually there to sleep with Rhaenyra, or he wouldn’t have stopped when he did. He is calculating in his actions. And while I do believe some part of him wanted to wed Rhaenyra, it was the same part that wanted to be king, but knowing with a new male heir it wouldn’t happen. (I have read quite a few people’s opinions stating that when Rhaenyra was willing, that was like a turn-off for Daemon. With a dude like Daemon, if his goal was really to do the lusty limbo with his niece, I think he’s gonna just do it.)
Kent: I look at Daemon as a dude with absolutely nothing to lose. He gets bored. He did this stupid 3 years long war, and for what? He comes back a hero just to piss it away by acting like a juvenile! And I am all in on that, but it seems like terrible writing. You wrote a character to do a 3 years long war, so he could come back to King’s Landing and do this???? The goal, to me, was to have fun and get under his brother’s skin because he was annoyed. Did he accomplish anything? NO! Nothing was accomplished as far as I’m concerned. Once again, imagine that you get talked into a bad idea by some blonde dude. You go about this idea wasting 3 years of your life. You know that there is nothing at the end of the rainbow other than taking your niece out so you can drink and make out with her. Once again, I must call out the character development here.
2. In this one instance, was Otto really a bad guy for having spies, especially on Rhaenyra?
Chris: Otto isn’t a bad guy for having spies on Rhaenyra, so much as he is for how he goes about using the information he gets. Hindsight being 20/20, he has a great monologue in episode 5 explaining his motivations. (Honestly, I am glad I did this blog before seeing episode 5. I get to look back on what I got right and wrong.)
Jim: Otto is a bad guy. He was not specifically wrong for having spies on Rhaenyra, so much as I don’t believe those are his only spies. He, like Varys and Littlefinger before (or after? Damn space-time continuum), is using children as a dragnet for useful information. This time, he found some on Rhaenyra, versus the time before it had been damning info on Daemon, and the time before on the gold cloaks. He, like Corlys and his monologue in the second episode, is a second son who needs to claw and position and take everything he gets, and that is exactly what he is doing. I was just surprised that Viserys saw through his string pulling so easily. (In a way, it almost felt uncharacteristic for Viserys to see it for what it was.)
Kent: Jim is pretty spot on here. I’ll simply add, if you’re the King’s Hand and you don’t have spies, you shouldn’t be the King’s Hand. Huh…..maybe this is why Ned had to get got. He was too honorable, and thereby, too stupid, to be a good King’s Hand. There are only a handful of things that really help you at this time: money, dragons, a nice head of hair, and information. Some of those things may be redundant. I don’t think Otto was a bad guy for having spies. But yeah, overall, he’s kinda doing the right thing, given where he’s at in life. Sometimes being the bad guy is the right thing to do for yourself.
3. What does Ser Criston do now that Rhaenyra is set to wed Prince Laenor?
Chris: Uh, I couldn’t have guessed what would happen in any way. I would have said he would have kept on keeping on, but … (I think it is fair to suggest that Crispin is a fighter and not a lover.)
Jim: As I mentioned last week, Set Criston is doomed to be a side piece for Rhaenyra. While I don’t think anything will happen right away, I can foresee a time after being wed, that he steps in and assaults or kills Laenor for mistreating Rhaenyra. Or he dies before the wedding, both are possible. (If I had to bet, I would have bet on him dying at the wedding, or during it.)
Kent: I like wacky theories, so here’s mine. Ser Criston marries Alicent after Vis dies. He is gonna have his feelings hurt by the news of Rhaen marrying. Alicent will see value in this guy because she already is mom to the heir, when that inevitably changes, so why not add more drama?
4. Did Viserys make any mistakes in this episode? Also, is there any chance that he survives the whole first season?
Chris: I like Viserys, so no he is going to die soon. Like Jim says, good choices all around from Viserys in this episode
Jim: I actually think this was his best leadership episode yet. I don’t believe he made any mistake. He surprisingly saw through Otto’s intentions, banished Daemon (permanently again I assume), listened to his wife and Rhaenyra, took the role away from Otto (the Handship?), and hedged his bets with the “Tea” for Rhaenyra that is probably illegal in Texas. Seemed like a strong episode for him as a leader and father, which means he’s going to die soon, so no he won’t survive. Going bold, My guess is episode 6. (I like bold predictions! Put me down for episode 7 for the Vis death.)
Kent: After poking holes through Daemon’s character arc this week, I am struggling to find any weakness in Viserys’ job this week. Soooo, he’s dying next episode, right? Typical TV series of having a character finally make the right decisions and then get got. Yes, I am technically predicting episode 7, but my point is that it has become very TV cliche to kill a character immediately after an episode like this. Huh, there’s a wedding next episode. Those always end well. Still sticking to episode 7.
5. Who is more stuck in their position currently; Rhaenyra or Alicent?
Chris: Just think of the scene where Alicent is stuck underneath the rotting body of Viserys. I think that that answers the question. (And yet Viserys is more virile than I am. Now I’m sad.)
Jim: Alicent, hands down. While Rhaenyra is backed into a corner, and forced to marry, Alicent is in a position of servitude as a professional breeder, bather, and creature of comfort, and will end up without any role when Viserys dies, as her oldest is only 3 (until we get another crazy time jump). Furthermore, I could see those kids and her killed depending on who actually gets control of the throne (I think Rhaenyra, which means that wouldn’t happen, but if not her it’s on the table). (I don’t think Rhaenyra is ever getting control of that throne based on what Dany told us in Game of Thrones. But, things can still go down.)
Kent: I definitely feel it is Alicent. I think that the show is trying to drum up pity for Rhaen like they did for Dany, but I didn’t buy it then, and I don’t buy it now. Rhaen is gonna most likely have a decent life, if she plays her cards right, but then this wouldn’t be much of a TV series, would it? Alicent is just gonna be stuck in a weird place because she lacks Cersei’s ambition. She doesn’t seem to be a bad person, and probably too much of a pushover once Vis is dead. Of course, if I am right and she ends up with Ser Criston, then she will have some muscle behind her. Or the whole family gets executed. I need some death or something soon, and I know Vis is gonna happen, but I like him. If we can navigate to a point where Daemon sits on the throne, I am actually willing to sacrifice any 2 characters in the show right now, for that to happen because it would be fun as hell.
Bonus – Hypothetically speaking, who makes the best husband for Rhaenyra from a sheer entertainment perspective: Laenor, Criston, or Daemon? This isn’t just for awkward laughs, but potential storylines moving forward.
Chris: From an entertainment perspective, Daemon. Criston doesn’t make a good match in any way. Laenor politically makes the best choice. But Daemon is showing himself to be batshit crazy, and I love it.
Jim: For pure entertainment, it’s Laenor. This gets his father and mother close to the throne, thinking that Rhaenyra will be an easy mark. It also progresses the stories of Otto/Alicent/Aegon as well as Daemon, all vying for the throne that they feel a claim on in some way or another, and has been pledged to Rhaenyra. But I’m not opposed to bringing back the tween Blackwood who stabbed a heckler! (Damn, I should have made Willem Blackwood an option!!!)
Kent: Daemon would have to be my answer because he just does stuff. Eventually, that will probably get old, but for now, this show needs some loose cannons. Crispin bores me. He needs to get a personality. Laenor has a ton of potential because of his mom and dad. Maybe he has some interesting personality that we don’t know about yet. For now, Daemon keeps me Kentertained.
Speaking of Kentertainment, don’t forget to check out this week’s episode of Kenter At Your Own Risk podcast where Chris and I go balls deep into the episode.