House of the Dragon Season 1 Ep 6 is the sixth instalment of an American fantasy TV drama series based on the Fire and Blood novel written by George RR Martin and is a prequel to the highly successful Game of Thrones TV series. House of the Dragon will focus on the war of succession within House Targaryen, the ruling House of Westeros, almost 200 years before the events depicted in Game of Thrones.
S P O I L E R S
Plot
Entitled “The Princess and the Queen”, House of the Dragon Season 1 Ep 6 involves a ten year time jump and drops us into a very different Westeros from what we became used to in the first five episodes. Thus, this episode has a lot to do in terms of catching the audience with the new status quo. Rhaenyra has three sons – apparently sired by Ser Harwin Strong – commander of the King’s Guard – as her husband Laenor is gay. This scandal threatens Rhaenyra’s claim to the throne as heir, which her ex-friend now rival Alicent needs to capitalise on to secure the future of her own children.
READ OUR ANALYSES OF HOUSE OF THE DRAGON.
Viserys is still alive but now a ghost of a man, having lost an arm and visibly wasting away. Alicent is constantly nagging at him about how evil Rhaenyra is and hopes that her son Aegon will be named as heir instead. Meanwhile, Larys Strong is poisoning Alicent’s mind against his own father Lyonel (the Hand of the King) and brother Ser Harwin and ultimately murders his own kin, which he claims, at the behest of the Queen. We have found our own Littlefinger here!
Elsewhere, Daemon – now married to Laena and with two daughters – is in Pentos, hiring out his dragons for coin. Daemon appears to have lost his will to live, remaining outside of Westeros. Unfortunately for Laena, birth complications lead her to kill herself at the end, in a situation reminiscent of Queen Aemma.
Characters
House of the Dragon Season 1 Ep 6 does an excellent job in providing a smooth transition and setting up the major conflicts that will occupy the remainder of this first season. Raenyra and Alicent are on a collision course which schemers and supporters on both sides will turn into a civil war of succession. The seeds are planted in this breakdown of the relationship between the pair. Rhaenyra appears to have matured into a strong, decisive leader and Alicent sadly is now a twisted bitter schemer – very much in the mould of Cersei in Game of Thrones. Most of the men are weak or compromised in some way.
The Final Analysis
Looks like we will be in for an exciting ride for the remainder of the first season! Highly recommended.
Now streaming on HBO Max.
… still there’s more …