House of the Dragon Recap, Season 1 Episode 3: Second of His Name

Buckle up, buttercups: we’re jumping through time again. If you thought the six month gap between The Heirs of the Dragon and The Rogue Prince was disorienting, we skipped three years to get to Second of His Name. It feels like a long time to us, but if you think it’s enough for Rhaenyra to give her dad a pass for marrying her BFF, you’ve never met or been a teenager. While she’s alternating between sulky and snippy on a royal hunting trip in the Kingswood, her Uncle Daemon and Corlys Velaryon are taking on the Crabfeeder in the Stepstones and her new half-brother is turning two years old. It’s a lot, so let’s break it down.

King’s Landing

As King Viserys and Queen Alicent prepare for their son Aegon’s second nameday, the topics of conversation are struggles in the Stepstones and marriage partners for Princess Rhaenyra. Based on Alicent’s baby bump, it’s been close to three years since Viserys announced his wedding plans at the end of last episode (maybe more, depending on how quickly they can arrange a royal wedding in King’s Landing). We’ll get into the specifics later, but the efforts of Daemon and Corlys haven’t been enough to bring their private war against the Triarchy-funded Crabfeeder to a conclusion. More importantly, Westerosi nobility seems very uninterested in lending aid and openly backing their efforts. No one wants to get tangled up in a war started by a self-proclaimed enemy of the crown and a discontented former Master of Ships, and House Velaryon might have the most at stake in the conflict anyway.

Rhaenyra, also unsurprisingly, doesn’t seem to be having many amicable chats with her father and bestie-turned-step-mother. She is studying, suggesting she may be taking her role as heir more seriously, but it’s not enough to prevent her from getting into a pissing contest with Alicent and a poor minstrel in the middle (good name for a kids’ game). Our very unsteady family will be making a trip to the Kingswood for a hunt in honor of the youngest son’s second nameday. Even if it doesn’t seem like the King and Queen are interested in walking back the choice of Rhaenyra as heir, naming their first son Aegon, the name of the most famous and successful Targaryen, doesn’t make things any easier from a PR standpoint.

The Kingswood

Ahh, the Lannisters are here! As the feasting begins (can’t go hunting on an empty stomach, after all), the newly introduced Jason Lannister makes a not-at-all subtle run at proposing to Princess Rhaenyra. I’m not one to throw shade on anyone shooting their shot, but if you’re cocky and get shot down, I will definitely laugh. J-Lann certainly fits the bill; in the words of King Viserys, “that man’s pride has pride”.

Rhaenyra, displeased with her father’s attempts to arrange a marriage, goes a little too strong and storms off on a horse with Criston Cole in pursuit. Before we get into Viserys’s descent into a very salty and sloshy state, let’s look at some of the other noteworthy actions and introductions from the feast:

Otto Hightower’s brother, Hobert Hightower

He seems to be pushing Otto to get young Aegon named heir to the throne, and his public comments aren’t subtle

This is what you get for naming him after the most famous ruler in your family’s history!

The Lannisters

Right to left: Brett (no clue), Jason (eldest and heir to Casterly Rock), Tyland (Jason’s younger twin and Corlys’s successor as Master of Ships) and their mother Ceira

The Strongs

Left to right: Larys, his father Lyonel, and his brother Harwin, nicknamed Breakbones and rumored to be the strongest knight in the Seven Kingdoms. Like a hunky Gregor Clegane, I guess.

With Rhaenyra and Criston absent, Jason Lannister presents King Viserys with a massive spear to use in killing the white hart spotted in the Kingswood. With only a few cups of wine in him, the King savagely shuts down the Lord of Casterly Rock and asks for a refill. Not to be outdone (and perhaps at the urging of his brother), Otto recommends the King marries Rhaenyra to his own two-year old son. It isn’t as absurd as it should be in the Targaryen family, but Viserys laughs Otto off stage and moves on to more wine. Unprompted, Lyonel Strong steps in and recommends Laenor Velaryon as a match; his logic is again sound, and the King seems appreciative.

The universal sign for “thanks bro, I gotta walk this one off though”

Once Criston catches up to Rhaenyra, we’re subjected to some sad teenage whining about how difficult things are as an heir apparent before darkness and a lack of urgency forces them to make camp for the night. Some rustling in the woods interrupts their conversation, and together they manage to kill a wild boar before it can injure Rhaenyra. A well placed sword from Ser Criston makes the creature susceptible, and Rhaenyra stabs it to death with a dagger.

The next morning, as they return to camp, the white hart draws near; Rhaenyra orders Criston to let it be, and together they haul the dead boar into camp.

Notable that Harwin really appreciated this look and J-Lann was put off - I’m with Breakbones on this one.

Queen Alicent goes to comfort her very drunk husband near the camp’s substantial bonfire and learns (we assume) of Viserys’s dreams. He’s tired of wobbling between certainty and doubt, and seems to be questioning every decision that has brought him to this point. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have time to dwell on it or sober up before he’s asked to kill a captured stag. He doesn’t manage it in one blow, but it’s enough to bring the hunt to an end. Upon returning to King’s Landing, Alicent seems to ignore her father’s request to push Viserys towards naming Aegon heir and instead encourages him to send aid to his brother. Viserys speaks to Rhaenyra and tells her he still has no plans to replace her as heir, and asks her to pursue a marriage with someone of her choosing.

In the Stepstones

A small war council is being held on an island across from the Crabfeeder’s stronghold, and it sounds like the efforts of Daemon and the Velaryons can only continue another two weeks. Corlys and Laenor propose sending Daemon in as bait while Corlys’ brother Vaemond is ready to surrender. Once Daemon reads the message of aid from Viserys, he does everything but shoot the messenger and jumps on board with the Velaryon plan.

Left to right: Corlys’s brother Vaemond, Laenor, some rando, Corlys, Daemon

After faking a surrender, Daemon demonstrates the martial skill he’s known for, cutting through a score of footsoldiers with Dark Sister to close the gap between him and the Crabfeeder’s cave. Aerial support from Laenor Velaryon and his dragon, Seasmoke, arrives just in time, allowing Daemon to cleave the Crabfeeder in half and end the war.

It’s easier to arrive just in time when everyone surrounding you pauses, but it’s still a cool battle sequence

So What’d I Miss?

I really enjoyed most of this episode, but the battle scene at the end happened so quickly I found myself playing catch-up on the first viewing instead of enjoying the scene itself. I think it might have been nice to learn a bit more about the Velaryon players involved or how exactly TWO dragons were losing a war so badly, but let’s try to fill in some of the gaps.

We met Laenor Velaryon briefly in Heirs of the Dragon when he was seated with his sister at the tourney, but we didn’t know he was a dragonrider until this very moment. Presumably his ability to ride a dragon came from his mother’s bloodline, meaning Laena could also be a dragonrider at some point. It significantly increases the presumed power of House Velaryon who are now not only rich but also interrupting the Targaryen’s monopoly on dragons. Lyonel Strong’s choice for Rhaenyra’s spouse is making more sense by the scene. Also, I think we can all agree Seasmoke looks awesome.

His uncle and Corlys’s brother, Vaemond, doesn’t seem supportive of the war effort in the slightest. Whether he was against it from the beginning or just thinks it’s time to cut bait, his blatant opposition to his older brother and liege lord felt noteworthy.

So Long, and Thanks for All the Crabs

An unremarkable end for a character we never heard speak. Maybe he couldn’t speak because of his greyscale (Daemon should probably wear gauntlets for corpse-hauling), but I was expecting a bit more from the leader of a three-year war against two dragons. His strategy was sound on paper; Dorne at this point has never been conquered by the Targaryens, and their preferred strategy was to retreat into caves while the dragons burnt the cities above. I wish we knew a bit more about the Triarchy’s ability to interrupt trade with their funding of the Crabfeeder and how it worked while his troops were hiding in caves, but I don’t think we’ll be getting those answers. I do think it raises an important point about the strength of dragons, though. They might be more effective as deterrents and defensive weapons than offensive weapons, as we can see from their inability to end things in Dorne or the Stepstones and the indiscriminate damage they cause (R.I.P. dude from the intro). There isn’t a lot of information to add from the extended universe materials, so looking ahead I’m most interested to see how Daemon’s Dash bolsters his reputation with the people of Westeros and whether we hear from the Triarchy again or if they’ll fade into the background like the Iron Bank.