Starting your reign as queen on day one of your period — men could never.
The first two episodes in this season of House of the Dragon felt more like a conclusion to season 2. Now that those loops have been closed, episode 3 begins to lay the foundation for Rhaenyra’s queenship. This episode is our first glimpse into Rhaenyra Targaryen as queen. Until now, we’ve fought for House Black, almost blindly, because we believed in her claim. Here, for people ignorant of the books, is our first peek into the type of rule we can expect from Viscery’s one true heir.
A few moments after the episode opens, we get a beautiful shot of Daemon Targaryen, with Caraxes, Silverwing, and Vermithor behind him, standing opposite Ormund Hightower and his army of men to announce that Rhaenyra has assumed her place on the Iron Throne and they have the option to bow the knee or continue their pursuit, which we could only assume would end in ash at the declaration of “Dracarys.” Ormund agrees, for the sake of his men, and bows the knee. But before Daemon leaves, he takes custody of Viserys’s other heir, Daeron Targaryen.
After this bit of business, we head to King’s Landing, where Rhaenyra is struggling to find her footing. Nothing is as she expected. The main thing is that the crown has no money. She wants to legitimize her queenship, but there are other matters at hand. In the meantime, she has a meeting with the High Septon to request that the church anoint her, but without Aegon’s remains, she cannot claim his death. The High Septon cannot be swayed and is even less impressed with her dragons: “They destroy, but they do not create.” Their confrontation ends with him insisting that Rhaenyra not make an enemy of the faith. Sounds like a threat to me.
The next day, the first day of hearing petitions, she learns that the main reason the commonfolk have been struggling is partly due to the cost of war and partly due to the greed of the high-borns. All the while, there are rats everywhere.
Rhaenyra has a quick chat with Alicent about how she was able to reign. Alicent tries to inform Rhaenyra that she will not be able to be the same person she was and be queen. Rhaenyra scoffs at the idea that she can’t stay true to who she is and reign over the kingdom effectively. Yet, Alicent’s words prove to be true before the episode ends.
Lord Corlys Velaryon has stood by Rhaenyra since the beginning. He has no home and no money. During a dinner with Rhaenyra and his two sons, Alyn and Addam, he reveals to her that they are his sons and asks her to legitimize them so they may be Velaryons and his official heirs. Later, Corlys confronts Rhaenyra about her stalling; she tells him that she couldn’t possibly legitimize his bastards when she’s been queen for a minute. Corlys doesn’t take this well, and neither did I while watching.
“Your son Joffrey is a bastard. Your son Lucerys, whom I accepted as my heir, was a bastard. Your son Jacaerys lived and died a bastard.
Lord Corlys Velaryon
Say aloud to me the reason your children deserve what mine are denied.”
Just like that, Rhaenyra is not only Queen of the Iron Throne but also a huge hypocrite. So many people stood by her and turned a blind eye to her son’s birth out of noble troth, and yet she denies Corlys the gift that she herself has benefited from so quickly. This is the episode’s most explosive scene because it reveals a lot about Rhaenyra and the potency of her secret shame.
It’s not all bad, though. Rhaenyra has made good decisions like choosing not to murder Alicent’s son* and dealing with the nobles who’ve been hoarding food and money, which has left the commonfolk in dire need. She invites them to a dinner, and, while she feeds them the slop commonfolk have been forced to eat, she has their storehouses raided so she can share with those in need. And she did all of this while on her period, dealing with heavy cramps. We can’t help but applaud.
There’s also a sweet moment between Daemon and Rhaenyra as he gazes at her. “You’ve come so far, and yet you still don’t know who you are.” He attempts to remind her of the power she has through her dragons, urging her to think beyond the Seven Kingdoms, “They say there is a city at the edge of the world where men have wings.” But Rhaenyra is hesitant to embrace such power, heeding her father’s warnings about its dangers and remembering the fall of Old Valyria.
Another major component of this episode, though it might seem small, is the scene where Rhaenyra walks with Mysaria in the hallway and sees a vision of Jace. This seems like a minor thing, but in the books, Jace’s death is what begins to alter Rhaenyra’s state of mind. You can liken it to how Daenerys changed in Game of Thrones after Missandei’s death. So this scene might’ve been the beginning of what will inevitably become Rhaenyra’s undoing. Maybe? *shrug*
The Hightowers will always be a problem. Not only did we discover that we don’t have the real Daeryn Targaryan*, but the episode ends with Ormund taking over Tumbleton and holding the people hostage. And speaking of Hightowers, we still haven’t seen the vicious nature of Alicent that the book alleges. House of the Dragon is still painting an uneven portrait, placing the weight of things on Rhaenyra while Alicent’s hands have been washing cleaner with each episode. Fans of the books constantly remind me that Alicent appears more like Cersei in the books, and while we (collectively) can’t stand Cersei, we all admired her villainy. And, it would be a nice spice to the series to have someone who is calculated and shady. With the secrecy surrounding Ormund’s plans, it seems like the writers might’ve traded Alicent’s role for Ormund’s. The big question: Is Ormund acting alone? Time will tell.
House of the Dragon airs 9PM ET Sundays on HBO.
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