In the “House of the Dragon” recap, King Viserys looks for a new wife, Rhaenyra begins to realize her true role and Daemon lashes out at his brother…
By Damon Martin — Editor/Lead Writer
If you remember anything about first season of “Game of Thrones,” it’s well to be reminded that every episode set up what happened for the rest of the series. That’s something to keep in mind when watching “House of the Dragon” because the chess pieces being moved around the board in these initial episodes will certainly set the stage for everything that happens in future seasons.
We already know there will be a second season after “House of the Dragon” was renewed earlier this week so get ready to learn a lot more about these characters, the noble houses they represent and the fight to determine who will sit on the Iron Throne.
Last week saw King Viserys I Targaryen visited by tragedy after his wife and son Baelon died just after the baby was born. The King’s son was meant to be the heir to the Iron Throne after several past attempts to have a male child came and went without any of them surviving.
Once the King’s son perished, he was tasked once again with naming an hair as the line of succession has to be protected. But after learning that his brother Daemon reportedly mocked his son as the “Heir for a Day,” King Viserys decided to disinherit his younger sibling and instead name his eldest daughter Rhaenyra as the heir to the Iron Throne.
Now that choice was supported by his closest advisors, mostly because none of them wanted Daemon to eventually rule as king, but nobody has ever truly supported a woman sitting on the Iron Throne. King Viserys himself was chosen by a Great Council to serve after a choice was made between him and his cousin, Princess Rhaenys.
In fact despite Rhaenys having the public support of several great houses, the final tally was supposedly 20-to-1 in favor of Viserys becoming king rather than the Seven Kingdoms being ruled by a queen.
Despite all that, King Viserys decided that Rhaenyra should rule once he dies but it’s safe to say this second episode starts to unravel how many people are actually on board for that idea, especially after it’s suggested that His Grace take a new wife to further strengthen his bloodline. As much as King Viserys insists that his daughter will rule one day, the rest of the kingdom doesn’t seem nearly as convinced and that’s a spark that will eventually light the deadliest fire in Westeros history (to this point anyways).
With that said, let’s get to our full recap for “House of the Dragon” episode 2 titled ‘The Rogue Prince’
A Princess’s Duties
Six months have passed since the events in “House of the Dragon” episode 1 with King Viserys still mourning the loss of his wife while his daughter Princess Rhaenyra does much the same, except she’s done so in silence while trying to learn what it will take to one day be queen.
Despite being named heir to the Iron Throne, Rhaenyra is still acting as her father’s cupbearer at meetings of the Small Council, which isn’t exactly showing any kind of confidence that she will eventually lead.
It’s here that we discover the King’s brother Prince Daemon Targaryen has taken root in Dragonstone — ancestral home to House Targaryen — and ruled there for the past half year. After he was disinherited by his brother, Daemon flew there on the back of his dragon Caraxes, set up position at Dragonstone where he’s welcomed several members of his Gold Cloaks, who still serve him loyally.
In addition to that revelation, King Viserys also learns that Ser Ryam Redwyne — the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard — has died and in his place has stepped Ser Harrold Westerling. But now Ser Harrold’s place in the Kingsguard much be filled, which means several knights will have to vie for that coveted.
News about Ser Ryam’s passing is interrupted when Lord Corlys Velaryon storms into the chamber to tell the king about further advances of the so called Triarchy led by a vicious man named Craghas Drahar —better known as his nickname Craghas Crabfeeder, a moniker he earned by killing his enemies and leaving them to be feasted upon by the crabs on whatever beach he just conquered.
Craghas leads an army funded by the Free Cities of Lys, Myr and Tyrosh, to rid the Stepstones — a chain of islands between Westeros and Essos — where pirates have called home before launching attacks on ships traveling through the area. In the debut episode, Corlys warned the king about the advances of Craghas Crabfeeder but the threat seemed minimal as Viserys felt it was good that the pirates were being thwarted before attacking any more ships.
Of course, Lord Corlys Velaryon commands the largest fleet in the Seven Kingdoms and much of his wealth and power are maintained through shipping, which is being threatened thanks to the unchecked advances of Craghas and his army from the Free Cities. King Viserys would rather ignore the problem than cause some kind of open conflict with the Free Cities — a war he doesn’t want to start after so many years of peace in the Seven Kingdoms.
Remember, prior to King Viserys’ reign was King Jaehaerys and his time on the Iron Throne is one of the most celebrated in the history of the realm. King Jaehaerys led through 60 years of peace and the kingdoms all flourished under his rule.
While no one considers King Viserys at the same level of leadership as his grandfather, he wanted nothing more than to continue the peace and prosperity that was shepherded prior to his reign. By that logic, King Viserys wants to avoid conflict at any cost — even if that means one of his most powerful allies and the richest man in the Seven Kingdoms is being threatened.
Hearing all of this, Princess Rhaenyra finally decides to let her voice be heard as she reminds her father that at Targaryens, they have dragons and plenty of dragon riders. She believes a show of force by fire will be more than enough to back off the army led by Craghas Crabfeeder, thus protecting the shipping lines near Westeros and giving Lord Corlys peace of mind.
But rather than take his daughter’s counsel, King Viserys appears almost annoyed that she dared to voice her opinion much less went against his ruling. At the suggestion of the Hand of the King, Otto Hightower, the King tells Princess Rhaenyra that perhaps she would be better served going with Ser Harrold Westerling and helping them select a new member of the Kingsguard.
King Viserys justifies his suggestion by reminding Rhaenyra that the Kingsguard is there to protect her as much as him, which means she should have a hand in selecting its members.
Princess Rhaenyra leaves the Small Council and goes out into the courtyard where Ser Harrold presents her with the candidates to join the Kingsguard. It doesn’t take her long to realize that everybody being introduced only has experience during tournaments where they joust or battle in melee but because Westeros has been at peace for more than the lifetime of any of these knights, none of them have really experienced war.
Except for one.
Ser Criston Cole — the common-born soldier who ascended to knighthood — actually fought in the skirmishes in Dorne — the only land that Aegon couldn’t conquer even on the back of his dragon. Ser Criston actually has real battle experience, which is why Rhaenyra wastes no time naming him as the newest member of the Kingsguard.
Despite Otto Hightower suggesting that perhaps she acknowledge all of the candidates available, Rhaenyra has made up her mind. Ser Criston Cole will serve as the seventh member of the Kingsguard and protect her from any potential harm.
While Rhaenyra deals with the selection of a new Kingsguard member, her father King Viserys has quietly retired to his chamber where he continues to spend time with Alicent Hightower. Over the past six months, she’s offered the King an ear to listen to his grief and a shoulder that he can cry upon.
She marvels over the giant model that’s been built to mirror Valyria — the once great city that boasted over a thousand dragons at one point — that King Viserys has constructed to remind him of his family’s roots.
Valyria was once considered the most prosperous place in the Known World where lords ruled on dragon’s backs with magic and great wealth at their disposal. In this kingdom, the Targaryens were dragon lords but considered one of the lesser families, which means they had no real power.
Nearly 100 years before Aegon’s conquest of Westeros, Lord Aenar Targaryen decided to move his entire family to a desolate island later named Dragonstone after his daughter, Daenys (nicknamed Daenys the Dreamer) had a prophetic vision about the fall of Valyria. Lord Aenar opted to heed his daughter’s warning and moved his family along with their five dragons to Dragonstone with a few other families including the Velaryons opting to leave as well.
The Doom of Valyria was ultimately a cataclysmic event that wiped out the entire city and all of its people including the dragons. Because Valyria was founded on a volcano, which is where the dragons were birthed, many believe an eruption served as the event that destroyed the once great city that had prospered for over 5,000 years.
The real truth is nobody knows for certain what happened to Valyria because all records were destroyed along with the city, which was left in a fiery, smoldering ruin. The Doom of Valyria also wiped out the knowledge to make Valyrian steel — the dragon forged metal that comprises several powerful swords including Jon Snow’s Longclaw as well as the swords possessed in this series by Daemon Targaryen (Dark Sister) and King Viserys (Blackfyre).
Many attempts to return to Valyria have been met with disaster, which is why the entire city is considered cursed. Jorah Mormont and Tyrion Lannister traveled by boat through Valyria back in “Game of Thrones” season 5, which is when they were attacked by the Stonemen — the diseased people whose skin literally hardens and essentially turns to a grey, scale like material.
In this instance, King Viserys waxes about the greatness of Valyria and the model that was built for him by stone masons, which is where he comes to reflect and mourn the loss of his wife. It’s also the place where he shares conversations with Alicent, who has continued to be a great comfort to him over these past six months.
While talking, King Viserys admits that he’s sad that he hasn’t grown closer to his daughter, particularly in the wake of the death of her mother. Alicent tells the King to seek her out because she’s certain Rhaenyra would cherish that time together.
Of course, the King also asks Alicent to keep these conversations private — he’d rather his daughter not know that he’s been spending so much time with her best friend. Later that same day, Alicent meets with Rhaenyra at the Great Sept of Baelor where she prays to her fallen mother and she suggests the Princess do the same to deal with the tragic loss of Queen Aemma.
It seems in the six months since the Queen passed away, Rhaenyra has barely acknowledged it much less dealt with the extreme sadness that her mother is gone. Rhaenyra finally caves to offer a prayer before breaking down in tears as she clutches hands with Alicent right by her side.
A Matter of Duty
In the wake of the disagreement at the meeting of the Small Council, King Viserys decides to speak to Lord Corlys Velaryon and his cousin, Princess Rhaenys, in private so they can hash out their differences. The King knows he needs Lord Corlys as an ally rather than an enemy given the size of his fleet, the close proximity of his kingdom in Driftmark — which sits at the edge of Blackwater Bay near King’s Landing — and his incredible wealth as the richest family in Westeros.
King Viserys insists that he wants to maintain a good relationship between their houses, which is when Lord Corlys requests to speak freely.
He then informs his king that all eyes are on the Red Keep and the power in Westeros currently after the queen has died, the King named his daughter as a successor to the Iron Throne and now the Stepstones are being threatened by a group of cutthroats, who apparently have no fear that they are treading on ground awfully close to Viserys’ kingdom.
In other words, King Viserys is being perceived as weak and his enemies are ready to feast upon it.
While Viserys scoffs at the idea that fighting and war is the only way to settle this issue, Lord Corlys offers another suggestion — join their families together.
The Velaryon bloodline is already connected to the Targaryens through their roots in Valyria — and the fact that just about everybody involved has incestuous relationships through marriages going back hundreds of years. Lord Corlys would like to strengthen those bonds by marrying his eldest daughter Laena to King Viserys.
As is customary in Westeros, the death of a queen is supposed to be followed by the King remarrying so he can further his bloodline. It’s been six months and people are starting to wonder why the King hasn’t selected a new wife so Corlys offers his 12-year-old daughter as the perfect candidate to serve as his wife.
Yes, it’s quite creepy to offer a 12-year-old girl to a man at least 40 years her senior but that has always been the way in the Seven Kingdoms (and real history as well). In the original books, Daenerys Targaryen is only 13 years old when she’s married off to Khal Drogo but they obviously aged her up in the show.
In an effort to appease Lord Corlys request, King Viserys spends a day walking around the gardens with Lady Laena and the awkwardness between them is palpable. During their conversation, Laena asks the King what it was like to ride on the back of Balerion the Black Dread — the largest and most powerful dragon that Aegon I Targaryen called his own while conquering the Seven Kingdoms.
Viserys only rode on Balerion for a short time before the dragon died of old age and he never bonded with another dragon again. Laena asks him about Vhagar — a dragon that was ridden by Aegon’s sister Visenya during the conquest — who hasn’t had a rider in many years. Vhagar is a large she-dragon, who should eventually appear in the series, although judging by the comment that she’s gone missing for several years seems to hint that the show will go in a slightly different direction than the books.
In the books, Vhagar eventually bonds Baelon Targaryen, who is actually Viserys’ father and the fourth born son of King Jaehaerys. It’s unknown if that just never happened in the series but it’s likely that Vhagar will make her return in the future.
Laena then tells her king that she will make a fine wife for him and sire him many children but Viserys knows this is exactly what her father told her to say as she attempts to convince him that this is the marriage he should accept.
Still, Viserys can’t envision himself taking a child bride — at least one this young who hasn’t even come of age yet to have children of her own.
As Viserys walks around the gardens with the young Velaryon girl, Princess Rhaenyra watches from a nearby terrace before she runs into her cousin Princess Rhaenys, who is also Laena’s mother.
Rhaenys understands that seeing her father possibly marry this young girl just six months after her mother’s death is bothersome but it’s also probably hard to swallow the idea that a new wife could also lead to male heirs, which could then call into question the line of succession again.
Princess Rhaenyra believes Rhaenys is trying to get under her skin, especially after she was personally passed over to become queen during that Great Council meeting where her father was declared the rightful heir to the Iron Throne.
Remember the nickname Rhaenys was given — “the queen that never was.”
But Rhaenys promises she isn’t trying to upset her young cousin but rather give her a harsh lesson in the reality of the realm and the lords who rule it. All of these men may have bowed before her when she was named hair to the Iron Throne but once a male child is born into the world, that will all change. Rhaenys knows from personal experience how much the men of Westeros detest the idea of answering to a woman as queen.
“Here is the hard truth, which no one else has the heart to tell you. Men would sooner put the realm to the torch than see a woman ascend the Iron Throne. And your father is no fool.”
~ Princess Rhaenys
Later that night, the King receives treatment from the Maester for the cut on his finger that has taken to infection. Remember last week when he was berating Daemon on the Iron Throne, Viserys cut his finger and now it’s gotten infected.
The Maester suggests the King place his hand in a pile of maggots that will eat the rotted flesh from his finger and prevent the infection from spreading any further. While he’s receiving this unique treatment, King Viserys informs Otto Hightower about the proposal made to him by Lord Corlys Velaryon about marrying his daughter Laena.
That obviously spoils Otto’s plans to marry his own daughter to the King but even the Maester agrees that it’s a move that makes the most sense for the good of the Seven Kingdoms.
The next morning, the King sits in his chamber where he talks with Alicent again as he shares with her the question he soon has to answer about taking a new wife. Viserys knows that marrying Laena Velaryon would probably be the best move to solidify his power but he still can’t envision himself taking a child bride.
As she listens and offers advice, Alicent also presents the King with a present — a repaired model of a dragon that had fallen off his giant monument built to Old Valyria during one of their prior encounters. King Viserys is humbled by the gift as he continues to grow closer and closer to Alicent, who is supposed to be 15 years old during this part of the story.
The meeting is interrupted by Otto Hightower, who informs the King that he’s called an emergency meeting of the Small Council to deal with a matter of great importance.
The Rightful Heir
After arriving in the Small Council chambers, King Viserys learns from the men working at the Dragon Pit that an egg was stolen the previous night. It seems the King’s brother Prince Daemon Targaryen returned on the back of his own dragon, Carexes, to retrieve a dragon egg to place in the cradle next to his child, who is expected to be born soon to Lady Mysaria — the prostitute who Daemon favors as his paramour that later traveled with him back to Dragonstone.
After taking the egg, Daemon left a note informing his brother — as the Prince of Dragonstone and the rightful heir to the Iron Throne — that he’s going to take a second wife in Mysaria and he wants their child to have a dragon much like all the other Targaryen children.
Needless to say, King Viserys isn’t amused at his brother’s attempts to get his attention, especially after learning that Mysaria is just a whore who’s taken up favor with Daemon. Still, Viserys recognizes this as nothing more than an elaborate tantrum from his brother, who was disowned and disinherited when they last saw each other.
Still, Otto Hightower and the other lords remind the King that the entire realm is watching as Daemon took Dragonstone as his own kingdom and now he’s stolen a powerful weapon to give to an illegitimate bastard child. Viserys answers back about what they would have him do?
Send Daemon to The Wall where he would take the black and serve in the Night’s Watch? Should he have his own brother beheaded?
Before further discussion is had, Princess Rhaenerya voices her own question by asking the dragon trainers which egg was stolen.
It turns out Daemon took Dreamfyre’s egg — the dragon that once belonged to her baby brother Baelon, who lived and died within the same day. Dreamfyre is another dragon of Targaryen ancestry that was once ridden by Rhaena Targaryen, sister to former King Jaehaerys Targaryen.
Hearing this news only further enrages King Viserys, who vows to travel to Dragonstone to see his brother but the Hand of the King reminds him that it’s far too dangerous a mission for him to embark upon. All Daemon wants is to get his brother’s attention and the King traveling to Dragonstone would only succeed in caving to his sibling’s demands.
Instead, Otto offers to take a garrison of soldiers to Dragonstone to force Daemon to relent his claim on the kingdom, return the dragon egg and exile him even further out of the Seven Kingdoms.
Before leaving for Dragonstone, Otto meets with his daughter to insist she visits the King again that night. It’s quite obvious that Otto needs Alicent to strengthen that bond with the King because her days to be named queen might be numbered after Lord Corlys made the bold move to try and marry his own daughter to Viserys.
Once he finally arrives on the rocky island, Otto and his garrison of soldiers is met on the bridge by Prince Daemon Targaryen, his wife-to-be Mysaria and a troop of men from the City Watch, who have followed him there after he gained their loyalty in King’s Landing.
Otto mocks Daemon’s attempts at getting his brother’s attention by taking up residence on Dragonstone, stealing an egg and then offering it to a bastard child born from a common whore. The entire conversation catches Mysaria off guard, who later reveals she had no idea Daemon was using her as a weapon against his brother. All she ever wanted from Daemon was the promise of freedom fulfilled but now he’s treating her like a slave again as he announces their marriage and a child being born — despite the fact that she’s not even pregnant.
Mysaria knows this is exactly what Viserys’ predicted — a plea for attention from his forgotten brother.
Still, Daemon despises Otto and the feeling is mutual.
The tense situation only gets more fraught when Daemon meets Ser Criston Cole for a second time and he’s reminded that he was bested by the new Kingsguard member when they met at the tournament prior to the birth of his nephew, Baelon.
When swords are finally drawn, Daemon shows his true power when his giant dragon Caraxes emerges from the back of Dragonstone and roars loudly. Even Ser Criston, arguably the most battle tested of all the knights, shudders in fear knowing that one wrong move could end with all of them being roasted alive.
Just when it appears that a fight is inevitable, the clouds around Dragonstone begin to flutter and a second later another dragon appears roaring out of the smoke. It’s Princess Rhaenyra on the back of her dragon Syrax.
After landing on the bridge, Rhaenyra leaves Syrax behind to confront her uncle much to the chagrin of Otto Hightower, who attempts to get her to return home and stay out of this conflict. Rhaenyra barely regards him while reminding the members of the Kingsguard to watch their movements because Syrax is awfully protective of the princess.
When she finally comes face-to-face with Daemon, Rhaenyra reminds her uncle that he’s sitting on the throne in Dragonstone after she was named princess and now he’s taken her brother’s dragon egg when he could have stolen any other. When Daemon protests that this is a celebration of his wedding, Rhaenyra comments that he’s already married — even if he despises his wife — and she gets him to admit that Mysaria isn’t even pregnant.
Rhaenyra knows this is all about Daemon being passed over in the line of succession so she tells her uncle that his quarrel is with her, not with his brother. If Daemon is so determined to once again become the rightful heir to the Iron Throne, then he should strike her down and be done with it already.
Daemon doesn’t say a word but instead turns away from his niece before tossing her the dragon egg as he walks back into the castle still sulking from his plan backfiring because all he wanted was his brother to show up and demand to put a stop to all this.
A Crown for a Queen
Back in King’s Landing, Viserys sits for a private meeting with Lyonel Strong, who serves as the Master of Laws on the Small Council. Unless the story changes dramatically from the books, Lyonel and his family will play an important part in the future of this series, or at least this season but it remains to be seen how much or how little will actually appear.
Lyonel Strong is the Lord of Harrenhal — the burned kingdom that melted under the might of Balerion the Black Dread during Aegon’s conquest of the Seven Kingdoms — and while he’s recognized as a large, imposing man, he’s also an incredibly educated and intelligent advisor after studying at the Citadel before joining the Small Council.
It’s there King Viserys asks for Lyonel’s honest opinion about whether or not he should marry Laena Velaryon, which would solidify his power base with the richest family in the realm, but it would also commit him to a 12-year-old child.
But Lyonel Strong reminds the King that he can have anything he wants even if it’s done in poor taste. He also tells Viserys that a war in the Stepstones is growing closer with each day and Lord Corlys — known by his nickname “The Sea Snake” — controls half of the royal fleet. If this war draws nearer to King’s Landing via Blackwater Bay, an angry Lord Corlys might not have his ships there as protection.
Instead, Lyonel tells Viserys that the best move is to marry Laena Velaryon and allow her to have his children and by extension that will put Lord Corlys at his side as a valuable ally.
The meeting is soon interrupted so the King can learn that Princess Rhaenyra has returned from Dragonstone — a journey he forbade her to take.
He confronts his daughter after she disobeyed his orders but Rhaenyra is able to tell her father that she put Daemon in his place, got the dragon egg back and did so without a single drop of blood being spilled. If he expects her to become queen one day, how can she rule if she’s never allowed to make decisions like this one?
Rather than scold his daughter, Viserys takes the opportunity to admit he’s overprotective of Rhaenyra because she’s the heir to the Iron Throne but more importantly she’s the last remaining connection to his true love, Aemma. She reminds him of her mother so much that Viserys couldn’t bear the thought of losing her, especially over some unnecessary conflict started by his brother.
The conversation eventually turns to the matter at hand about the King taking a new wife — something the kingdom essentially demands of him.
Realizing that a new marriage is inevitable, Rhaenyra gives Viserys her blessing but now he has to decide who will be the woman to share his bed and give him more children?
The next day at the Small Council meeting, King Viserys announces his intention to marry again and after a smile and a nod from his daughter, he announces his plans to wed Lady Alicent Hightower.
Rhaenyra’s smile soon turns to shock as she sees her best friend named as the future wife to her father. A small smirk creeps across Otto Hightower’s face as he see his plans come to fruition while Lord Corlys Velaryon is disgusted by this decision.
The Velaryons are bonded to the Targaryens through blood of Old Valyria and by right, Laena should be the next queen to serve next to King Viserys. Lord Corlys takes this as an utter insult to his family before storming out of the Small Council chamber.
He’s soon followed by Rhaenyra, who can’t quite believe that her supposed best friend is about to become her stepmother by marriage.
After leaving the meeting, an angry Lord Corlys returns home to Driftmark where he calls for a meeting with another royal family member who’s been spurned by the crown. He explains his roots in Old Valyria and how the Velaryons were never dragonlords, which meant his family had to scratch and claw for everything they’ve ever earned.
It’s then revealed that he’s speaking to Prince Daemon Targaryen, who he finds a kindred spirit in this situation.
Lord Corlys then lays out his plan — the advances on the Stepstones have given Craghas Crabfeeder even more confidence as he continues to root out pirates and kill Westerosi pilots along the way. Ever since this fighting started, Lord Corlys has begged the King to take action but he’s refused to call his men to order to stop Craghas and the Free Cities from advancing any further.
Now Lord Corlys sees this as a perfect opportunity for Daemon to prove his worth by joining forces and launching an attack to stop Craghas Crabfeeder and the rich men backing him from the Free Cities, which only continues to make King Viserys look that much weaker from his lack of response.
“Our worth is not given. It must be made”
~ Lord Corlys Velaryon
Daemon looks back at Lord Corlys before a smile crosse his face — a battle is all the Prince has ever wanted and now he has a chance to secure a kingdom of his own through fire and blood. We also get a final terrifying look at who we have to believe is Craghas Crabfeeder as he continues to put men on spikes and leave them on the beach where the tide will wash over them and crabs will dine on their flesh.
For the first time in more than 60 years, a war is coming to Westeros and it will be forged by Daemon Targaryen and his new ally Lord Corlys Velaryon.
“House of the Dragon” will return for a new episode next Sunday night at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and don’t forget if you have questions about this episode send them to @DamonMartin on Twitter for our weekly Send the Ravens column that returns this week!
