House of the Dragon Recap, Season 1 Episode 4: King of the Narrow Sea
When we left our characters last episode, King Viserys had told his daughter to pursue marriage for love and Daemon had just made food a bit scarcer for the crabs in the Stepstones. No one was crushing it socially; Corlys Velaryon was disagreeing with his brother and his King, Rhaenyra was down to just Criston Cole to confide in, and Alicent was stuck as a sounding board for her husband and no one to chat with herself. Westeros can be a lonely world, even if Criston provides a much-needed non-royalty perspective.
Always important to include a non-royal perspective
Let’s jump into it!
Storm’s End
Princess Rhaenyra and the head of House Baratheon are hearing from potential suitors in the Stormlands. None seem particularly appealing, with many representing smaller houses or looking too old or too young to make a good match. After dismissing Lords Dondarrion and Blackwood, Rhaenyra decides to cut the tour short and leaves with Criston Cole and her attendants just ahead of the young Lord Blackwood killing a member of House Bracken. This is…unsurprising.
LORE: THE BLACKWOOD-BRACKEN RIVALRY
House Blackwood and House Bracken have a centuries-long feud between them stretching back to the invasion of the Andals. House Blackwood is one of the few houses in the south to still honor the Old Gods, and have accused House Bracken of poisoning their weirwood tree like some bizarre version of Alabama and Auburn. It’s hard to say either house is really in the right, but in recent history the Blackwoods have more often been on the “right” side of things, notably against King Harwyn Hoare of the Iron Islands and on the side of the Starks against the Lannisters in Game of Thrones.
On their way back to King’s Landing, the Princess’s boat gets a buzz from Daemon and Caraxes as they return from the Stepstones.
It seems like the Princess’s proposal tour is a regional affair, with the liege lords of the Stormlands coming together in Storm’s End. If that’s the case, it’s going to take a long time to make the circuit, which seems to suit Rhaenyra just fine. It’s not fair, but not securing alliances through marriage or producing new heirs is leaving her just as politically vulnerable as she was last episode.
King’s Landing, Daytime
“I missed you too, bro. Maybe we can just take it easy for a bit and relax. Right, Daemon? Daemon, are you paying attention?”
King Viserys takes his place in the throne room to prepare for Daemon’s arrival. The self-styled “King of the Narrow Sea” presents his brother with the Crabfeeder’s hammer and his new crown and kneels; Viserys happily welcomes him back into the fold.
The Targaryens have a backyard party to celebrate their reunion, and Alicent and Rhaenyra seem to be on better terms as they discuss their personal problems. The Queen, like Criston Cole last week, points out that the Princess’ dilemma could be far worse, and expresses some feelings of isolation and claustrophobia living as the royal baby factory.
Bardcore “Cry Me a River” plays in the background.
Rhaenyra moves on to a conversation with her Uncle Daemon who seems similarly nonplussed at her challenges. He’s right about the abundance of circumstances that could be far worse, but we finally see Rhaenyra plainly state her aversity to childbirth after what happened to her mother.
In the Small Council meeting, Otto Hightower reveals plans by Corlys Velaryon to marry his daughter to the Sealord of Braavos. With such a formidable alliance in the works, the King must start working on partnerships of his own.
It was only a matter of time, really. Corlys himself told Viserys you must either sail into or around the storm. He’s been waiting for it, and now he’ll need to move faster than he may have wanted. If House Velaryon did forge an alliance with Braavos, it might represent the biggest threat the Iron Throne has faced. It’s still hard to pick anyone going up against House Targaryen and their dragons, but we know Laenor and Rhaenys are dragonriders and Braavos is home to the Iron Bank and the Faceless Men. The camera lingers on Rhaenyra because she’s the only realistic marriage chip available to play, at least until Aegon gets a bit older.
King’s Landing, Nighttime
Rhaenyra returns to her rooms to find a rough disguise and instructions to a secret passage left by Daemon. Following the map, the Princess meets her uncle and they enter the city to mingle with the commonfolk. Daemon tries to give his niece (very good) advice about securing the affection of the populace while they watch a play, and aside from a brief run-in with Ser Harwin Strong, the Targaryens seem to pass through unnoticed...
…until, of course, Daemon takes her to a brothel and removes her cap to expose her silver hair. They soon begin making out (yes, ew), but Daemon pulls away before things progress much further. He disappears into the crowd while Rhaenyra heads back to her room, where she seduces Criston Cole. Meanwhile, Alicent has been tending to her duties as Queen: taking care of the latest baby and attending to the King when he decides he wants to try to add another member to the Royal Family.
I would say she didn’t sign up for this, but she never really signed up for anything
Word reaches Otto from someone called “The White Worm” about Rhaenyra and Daemon’s activities; based on the following scene of Mysaria in a white dress receiving payment from the child who informed Otto, she seems the likeliest source.
Sadly it was only a matter of time before we saw more incest in a Targaryen-centered show, and it was just as uncomfortable as you’d expect. There are a couple of interesting developments in the sequence, though: first, Daemon tries to tell Rhaenyra how important it is to gain the confidence of the realm’s commonfolk. He’s well-known for his exploits abroad and at home, but we haven’t seen the Princess have any of the same genuine interactions with the people of King’s Landing. The other bit that stood out on rewatch was the encounter with Harwin Strong. I wasn’t expecting him to be wearing the gold cloak of the City Watch, but more interestingly he didn’t pause to ask any questions or even reveal to Daemon that he recognized the Princess. Not sure if it will mean anything, but it seemed curious.
As for what Daemon and Rhaenyra did and didn’t do, I’d rather not think about it and I don’t think it matters. The rumors can be more important than the truth if they aren’t handled correctly, and if they are, House Targaryen is strong enough to make other houses look past any puritanical concerns they might have.
King’s Landing, the Next Day
Otto informs the King of what he’s learned, and Alicent overhears. She calls on Rhaenyra to confront her directly, and Rhaenyra denies all accusations related to her uncle. It should be more absurd of a charge than it actually is, but Viserys was married to his cousin until she died in the first episode.
Thanks Otto, now I have a new word to feel uncomfortable about
Dragged before the King and confronted on these charges, Daemon proposes marrying Rhaenyra himself to consolidate the Targaryen bloodline. Sensing another attempted power grab, King Viserys sends him away from the city again. Alicent vouches for Rhaenyra to Viserys, who calls his daughter in to discuss the accusations. Using the dagger as a prop, he reminds Rhaenyra of the obligations they both have to the realm at large and commands her to marry Laenor Velaryon. In exchange, the Princess demands he replace Otto Hightower as Hand. Seeing the way Otto’s ambition has grown, Viserys concedes and strips him of his position.
In the final scene, Maester Mellos delivers some tea to Rhaenyra that would cause an abortion if she is pregnant.
Now we get to the actual fallout of Rhaenyra’s nighttime activities. A pregnancy WOULD complicate things for any possible marriage, and the honest alternative to her Uncle as the father is a sworn-to-celibacy Member (nudge nudge, wink wink) of the Kingsguard. I suppose it’s possible Viserys sent the tea as a test to see if Rhaenyra would drink it and implicate herself, but based on his conversations with Otto and Daemon I don’t think he cares about what actually happened as much as the possible fallout. He’s more progressive about his daughter’s adventures than other characters on the show, but he also knows the world isn’t fair.
Medieval teenagers, amIright?
Daemon’s interest in his niece has been on display since the series premiere, but his unwillingness (inability?) to follow through in the pleasure house might suggest his feelings are getting in the way of pure ambition. Forcing a marriage to the Princess would put him closer to the throne than he can get through the usual paths. I doubt he’ll go back to his wife in the Vale, but without a war in the Stepstones to attend to, I’m not sure what he’ll get up to.
Removing Otto as Hand shouldn’t have terrible fallout unless Viserys chooses a very poor successor. Changing the Hand of the King isn’t exceedingly rare, and House Hightower isn’t positioned to make a retaliatory play. Otto had shifted too far from giving sound, unbiased advice to be a huge loss, and listening to Viserys recount his history with Alicent was genuinely sad.
Rhaenyra half-lied to Alicent in a couple of ways (“Daemon never touched me” isn’t quite accurate, and she scooched around any mention of Criston), which could become an issue. For all the drama between the two, Alicent has been backing Rhaenyra when we’ve seen her, especially to the King. Swearing on the memory of her mother would only make any fallout worse if Alicent learns the truth.
Dragonflame Burn of the Week
