House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 6: George R.R. Martin’s Fanfiction

OK, I think we, as a fanbase, need to collectively catch our breath after the last few minutes of that episode. I mean sheesh, Ryan Condal sure knows how to rile an audience up, and if this doesn’t break X (Twitter), I don’t know what will. The alliance between Rhaenyra and Mysaria has been a strong point of the season, and the sexual tension between them has been building exponentially over the past few episodes. And then....the kiss! Phew. The Game of Thrones universe has never been scared to explore a gay romance, but often those relationships found their way to the butt of many jokes (or doomed their participants to death). So maybe I am naive for getting my hopes up, but this time feels different. Nothing brings two women together like the combination of mutual respect for each other and disdain for the same man, and Rhaenyra and Mysaria have both of those things in droves. Plus, they have been proven to be formidable allies. With Rhaenyra’s steadfastness, honor, and claim to the Throne, alongside Mysaria’s strategics and connections, the two of them might just be unstoppable.

But I don’t want to get ahead of myself (though it is clearly too late for that). Because we have over sixty minutes to get through before that explosive last five. Episode six opens up with a familiar sight for Thrones fans—a marching Lannister army. They have arrived in the Westerlands, but they won’t move forward toward Harrenhal until Aemond joins them with Vhagar, lest they get decimated by Daemon and his dragon, Caraxes. What the Lannisters don’t know is Daemon isn’t totally himself at the moment. His complete failure to raise any sort of army has become almost laughable at this point, and his slowly crumbling mind has left him a paranoid mess. The King regent has seemingly aged years in the time he has spent in Harrenhal, though the walls of the crumbling castle have shielded this reality from the outside. All everyone else sees is a formidable dragon guarding a very important stronghold.

There are some benefits to Daemon’s mental deterioration, however—one being the opportunity for Matt Smith to flex his acting chops. It also means we get cameos from the much-missed season one characters, like Paddy Considine’s Viserys, Daemon’s current apparition. Daemon comes upon his late brother in the throne room, and the two engage in a conversation plucked almost word-for-word from the series pilot. Viserys admonishes his brother for mocking the death of Baelon, Viserys’s son who passed the day after he was born. He then informs Daemon that he is naming a new heir. This is a pivotal moment in Daemon’s character arc. It’s his villain origin story, the point when everything went wrong. We actually don’t know for sure if Daemon really made the “heir for a day” comment about Baelon that so angered Viserys last season, but this dream could be his conscience confirming the rumor to be true. Either way, Daemon is forced to revisit what is likely the worst moment of his life. While previously Daemon sliced off the head of his hallucination, this time he leaves Viserys be, proving that despite the anger he has toward his brother, there is still some love there.

Or, perhaps Daemon is simply losing his edge. Once he emerges from his latest walking nightmare, he confronts Simon Strong, threatening the old man and claiming trickery on the part of his host. Thus far, Strong has been a fairly affable, bumbling ally of Daemon, but could the King regent be right? Is Strong the one messing with Daemon while hiding behind his genial nature? We must remember no one is to be trusted.

The more obvious culprit, of course, is the witchy Alys, though Daemon doesn’t even seem to consider her as an option when it comes to the reason for his slow demise. In fact, she seems to be the only person Daemon will truly listen to, willing to “do nothing” when she commands it. Of course, Daemon is very good at doing nothing; it has basically been his only activity of interest since arriving in Harrenhal.

In the end, obeying Alys’s order proves beneficial when, just as she predicted, the winds shift just days later. Of course, those “winds” had a little help from Alys, who takes it upon herself to kill Grover Tully, the insentient Lord Paramount of the Trident, placing Oscar Tully in charge. Now, the question is, did Daemon burn the bridge with the young boy with his verbal daggers upon their first meeting, or can the King regent find a way to gain Oscar’s trust and, by extension, the loyalties of the Riverlands?

And if Daemon is successful, will he align with the Tullys in the name of Rhaenyra or continue his feckless attempt to claim the throne for himself? Rhaenyra is worried her husband will set out on the latter, which is just one of her many concerns at this point. The Queen is itching to fight but knows she cannot risk injury or death in battle, lest she end up like Aegon. Instead, she has taken to battling with members of her small council, like Lord Bartimos who, let’s be honest, had it coming. But leading is all about taking risks, albeit calculated ones, and Rhaenyra proves in this episode that she is unafraid to do just that. Following her brainstorm with Jace in “Regent,” Rhaenyra attempts to find a dragon rider for Seasmoke, summoning Ser Steffon Darklyn—a distant Targaryen relative—to try his hand. All seems to be going well until Darklyn gets a little too cocky and Seasmoke gets a whiff of that heavily-diluted Targaryen blood, ending with one very charred Steffon and guilty Rhaenyra. Many assure the Queen that the risk was worth taking—that finding dragon riders is important, but Rhaenyra can’t seem to shake the image of Darklyn screaming in burning agony out of her mind.

Instead, she turns her attention to more strategic efforts led by Mysaria. The White Worm’s work in King’s Landing has proven successful. The smallfolk are growing increasingly weary of the Greens and their greedy ways, making it the perfect time for Rhaenyra to send a little gift to the shores of Blackwater Bay. Mysaria’s plan to feed the hungry smallfolk is successful, and the peasants take just long enough of a break from fighting each other over carrots and bread to heckle the Queen and Dowager Queen. Still, the success of their plan can only lift Rhaenyra’s spirits lightly, though that kiss seems to do a much better job.

And while Rhaenyra is exploring her sexuality on Dragonstone, Alicent is busy attempting to hold onto what small sliver of power she still has within the Red Keep. Unfortunately, it isn’t going too well. It seems Alicent was so busy acting as a helicopter parent to Aegon that she forgot to over-mother Aemond. Now that her more independent second son is in charge, he no longer has any use for his mother. While Aegon is pitifully attached to his mother, Aemond is so void of emotions that he barely seems to register her existence. Well, there’s always her third son, the rarely-mentioned Daeron, who is apparently doing well. Too bad Alicent played absolutely no role in his upbringing.

Anyway, now that Alicent has been exorcized from Aemond’s small council, she has a lot of free time, which she spends mourning Aegon’s injuries and praying at the Sept. And when Alicent isn’t at the suffering King’s bedside, the seat is occupied by Larys, who is impressively committed to his scheming. Attempts to manipulate Aemond fail and leave the Clubfoot humiliated, but he’s able to make further headway with the increasingly desperate Aegon. The broken King has few true allies at the moment, and Larys is able to connect with Aegon and provide advice based on his own experiences with physical maladies. This act will likely bond the King to Larys, and assuming Aegon eventually gains enough strength to rule again, will no doubt put Larys in a very powerful position.

And that just leaves us with the happenings on Driftmark, where Velaryon bastards Alyn and Addam are grappling with their future. Alyn is unwilling to accept that his father may be attempting to make amends and continues to reject his birthright by shaving the silver hair off his head. Addam (who oddly doesn’t have the signature silver locks), meanwhile, is more eager to bask in the benefits of his Velaryon decent, and it seems he gains the perfect opportunity to do so when Seasmoke literally sniffs him out in Driftmark. When Rhaenyra (in her post-smooch haze) hears that Seasmoke has been claimed, she assumes it was by a member of Team Green, and she mounts Syrax and flies off Dragonstone for the first time since episode one. Likely, the Queen will be in for a surprise when she learns it’s her new hand’s son who has managed to tame the capricious dragon. It seems the winds are shifting elsewhere besides just the Riverlands these days.