After three years, fans are finally back in Westeros, and it’s clear that many of us have been waiting eagerly for the chance. House of the Dragon has smashed the series premiere viewership record for HBO, and is so far being well received by audiences and critics alike.
The second episode, “The Rogue Prince,” moved forward a lot of major plot points and character arcs. By the time the dust settled, King Viserys (Paddy Considine) was engaged to Alicent Hightower (Emily Carey), Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) and Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint) were heading for war in the Stepstones, and Rhaenyra’s position as heir is more precarious than ever.
As it did with Game of Thrones, HBO is releasing Inside the Episode featurettes to go along with each installment of House of the Dragon. Let’s discuss the one for “The Rogue Prince.”
Inside the Episode: “The Rogue Prince”
Much of Episode 2 centered around Rhaenyra Targaryen adjusting to her new position as heir to the Iron Throne. Rhaenyra never asked to be heir, yet once the responsibility was given to her by her father, it’s clear she takes it seriously. “It seemed very important to have engaged and involved and interested in the royal politics,” said co-showrunner Miguel Sapochnik.
Of course, Westeros being Westeros and the patriarchy being as closed off as it is, Rhaenyra is challenged every step of the way. Six months have passed since the premiere, when Rhaenyra’s mother and infant brother died and she was named heir, yet Rhaenyra is in many ways no closer to her throne than she was before. “We wanted to capture the idea that Rhaenyra, in spite of her being made heir, continued to the cupbearer with no real change in her life,” said Sapochnik.
“She still has to study at her dad’s feet, and that doesn’t mean she suddenly has a voice at the Council, and I think that all that stuff is really important for the gradual evolution of Rhaenyra’s character,” explained Ryan Condal, House of the Dragon’s other showrunner.
Rhaenyra will have a huge arc on House of the Dragon. Like everyone else on House of the Dragon, Rhaenyra is a gray character; that will only become more apparent as the show goes on and she’s forced to deal with more difficult situations, like the fact that her best friend is marrying her dad.
In Episode 2, Rhaenyra finds herself in several situations where she has the chance to prove her mettle. One is when she’s tasked with choosing a new member of the Kingsguard. Rather than go with a political choice, as Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) urges, Rhaenyra chooses Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) since he’s the only knight there who’s fought outside of tourneys.
“She’s basically saying ‘I’m going to pick the person who’s gonna do the job right,'” said Milly Alcock. “She’s smarter than they think she is, and she’s trying to prove it.”
Rhaenyra gets advice from the Queen Who Never Was
In one of the episode’s more memorable scenes, Rhaenyra gets advice from her cousin Rhaenys Targaryen (Eve Best), known as the Queen Who Never Was because she was passed over for the crown at the Great Council of 101 AC in favor of Rhaenyra’s father Viserys.
“We were aware that we needed to differentiate this scene from all other scenes,” recalled Sapochnik. “The important thing for us was to look at the way the patriarchy sees and conditions women to believe they are of lesser value, and the way that women in power treat women in power.”
“There’s something in Rhaenys that, actually it perversely wants to cling to this idea that it is just that the status quo is fundamentally sexist, and that the patriarchy cannot be touched,” said actor Eve Best.
“Really, it’s the theme of the series…this particular story,” said Condal. “Rhaenys is right. She saw it happen to her at the Great Council. She sees the same thing happening in a different way to Rhaenyra.”
Deamon, Rhaenyra and Baelon’s egg
The biggest set piece of “The Rogue Prince” is on Dragonstone, where Rhaenyra’s uncle Daemon Targaryen had taken up residence with his paramour Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno), whom he says he intends to wed and give a dragon egg, for their unborn child.
Otto Hightower is the one who goes to Dragonstone to set Daemon straight. Otto and Daemon hate each other; it’s only by Rhaenyra’s timely intervention on her dragon Syrax that bloodshed is avoided. Sapochnik explains the complicated dynamic between Daemon and Rhaenyra, and how they’re more alike than they perhaps realize:
"She identifies with Daemon very much, in that he’s trying to get a rise out of her father. But she also feels, somehow, that he has chosen to kind of get at her as well. He sees her as part of the problem, and she didn’t choose to be heir. She did not wish to have something taken away from him, and I think she’s venting to him as well."
When your best friend becomes your stepmother
And then there’s the final wrench in the works: after averting danger with Daemon and smoothing things over with her father Viserys the king, Rhaenyra gets hit with the bombshell that he plans to marry her bestie Alicent Hightower. “There is this misunderstanding, which is Viserys believing that he has to get married, and he has to explain this to Rhaenyra, and Rhaenyra saying ‘Whatever you choose to do, I’m okay with it,'” explained Sapochnik. “Although what she really should’ve said is ‘As long as it’s not my best friend.'”
Alicent has been an interesting character in part because it’s much harder to parse out her motives than it is for bold personalities like Rhaenyra or Daemon or even Rhaenys. She’s ordered to tend to the king by her father Otto, who is trying to further his own ambitions. Alicent, however, isn’t quite in that same space.
“She does it out of kindness. She doesn’t go intentionally to court the king,” explained Emily Carey. “She cares, and she has seen her father go through the same grief that Viserys is going through. For Viserys, it’s having someone who genuinely cares without having an ulterior motive of trying to get closer to him. And for Alicent, it’s just someone to be with where she feels comfortable and not overlooked.” Alicent may not have ulterior motives, but you know her father Otto does.
The relationship between Alicent and Viserys is something House of the Dragon needs to develop; many of the conflicts heading our way come about as a direct result of this marriage. Not everyone is going to be happy for them, and judging by the trailer for next week’s episode, Alicent’s marriage to the king is already beginning to destabilize Rhaenyra’s claim to the throne. It’s going to get messy.
House of the Dragon premieres new episodes Sundays at 9:00 p.m. ET / 8:00 p.m. CT on HBO and HBO Max.
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