One word to describe this episode? Frustrating..
House of The Dragon continues to show us a highlights reel of Rhaenyra’s life instead of letting us get to know her, and while I’ve enjoyed the show so far – it’s wearing a little thin. I reached out to some friends to see how they were feeling about the show 6 episodes in, and it appears it’s not just me that is a little tired of the time jumps.
I will miss Milly Alcock, who did a superb job of introducing us to Rhaenyra and her clever, mischievous nature. Emma D’Arcy takes over the role in episode 6 and while she does a great job, it’s jarring to change actresses for not only Rhaenyra but also Alicent – halfway through the season. I feel it would have been better to sort out the pacing and plot holes and spend one season with the younger Rhaenyra and Alicent, then switch actresses for season 2.
Pacing is my one big problem with HOTD. I feel like I’m missing more than I’m seeing in the lives of the Targaryens. Episode 6 opens with Rhaenyra giving birth to her third child, Joffrey. She has barely given birth to him when Alicent demands to see the child, and Rhaenyra insists on taking him herself despite still bleeding. Laenor promptly names the child Joffrey without consulting Rhaenyra, who leaves a trail of blood behind her as she returns to her room.
Given all of Rhaenyra’s children have dark hair, it’s obvious Laenor is not their father – Ser Harwin Strong is. We are not shown any of Rhaenyra’s relationship with Ser Harwin from the past 10 years. We don’t see the birth of Jacaerys (aka Jace) and Lucerys (aka Luc), or Daemon and Laena’s marriage, or the birth of their children Baela and Rhaena. How are we meant to get to know these characters properly when we’re missing so much of their lives?
Alicent – now played by Olivia Cooke – currently has three children: Aegon, Helaena and Aemond. We last saw Aegon as a baby, and now he is a precocious preteen. Alicent and Rhaenyra’s friendship remains distant, with Alicent clearly disapproving of Rhaenyra’s relationship with Ser Harwin. I was shocked to see Viserys still alive, given his poor state of health in the last episode.. which was set 10 years ago. Alicent has Ser Criston and Lord Larys as her close friends, ensuring she knows everything that goes on. In an attempt to mend their friendship – and buy legitimacy for Jacaerys – Rhaenyra offers to betroth Jacaerys to Alicent’s daughter, Helaena.
The Targaryen/Velaryon children bring some fun to the show, playing pranks on each other, messing with dragons and learning how to fight. Aegon seems to a be a spoiled brat who enjoys bullying those younger than him. Jace and Luc are treated differently because of their dark hair, which marks them as bastards. It’s a shame their biological father was exiled and then killed all in one episode, though Ser Harwin did manage to get some sword training time with his sons before he met his fiery demise courtesy of Lord Larys. Again, the pacing speed for the season is way off.
Daemon seems to have grown up a bit, being married to Laena with two children and one on the way. But things never go the way they’re meant to, and by the end of the episode Daemon loses both his second wife and their unborn child when Laena’s labor goes awry, and she chooses dragonfire over a slow painful death. We barely even got to know her.
I don’t know what to expect for the rest of the season, given the time jumps could land us anywhere from the next week to the next year – or another 10 years ahead. I wish more thought had been put into this as I feel it’s affecting the audiences ability to really get attached to these characters and their stories. It’s fairly obvious Laenor will soon meet his end and Daemon and Rhaenyra will end up together. With all of this happening halfway through season 1, what will even be left for season 2?
