Small Council: What did you think of House of the Dragon Episode 2, “The Rogue Prince”?

Every week, we talk back and forth about the latest episode of House of the Dragon. The small council is in session!

DAN: I liked the premiere of House of the Dragon a lot. I thought it did a great job of introducing a whole new set of characters, it effectively set up the conflicts to come, it looked great, and it made an early bold move with Aemma Arryn’s birthing scene, announcing that this show was going to push boundaries and raise issues that resonate beyond the confines of the television screen, not unlike its predecessor.

I didn’t think “The Rogue Prince” reached those heights, which is to be expected; not every episode can be one for the history books. But there was still meat on this one, and I liked it more on rewatch.

My favorite scenes were the Small Council meeting right at the beginning, where Rhaenyra surprises everyone by suggesting a plan to help with Corlys Velaryon’s Crabfeeder problem; King Viserys’ unspeakably awkward walk-and-talk with the 12-year-old Laena Velaryon; and of course, the confrontation with Daemon Targaryen at Dragonstone. “The Rogue Prince” had some good stuff.

But there were other bits that bothered me. For one, it’s hard to care much about the threat of the Crabfeeder when we know so little about him; we’ll see how the next couple of weeks go there. I also don’t like that we got so little of the Alicent-Rhaenyra friendship before it goes downhill; obviously their relationship will change now that Alicent is becoming Rhaenyra’s stepmom. I wish we had more of them just hanging out and being buddies. I have a hard time getting a grasp on the Hightowers in general, character wise.

But TV is a marathon, not a sprint, especially when it comes to a heavily serialized show like this one. What did you all make of “The Rogue Prince”?

SABRINA: “The Rogue Prince” was the setting of the chessboard. After the horror that was the birthing/murder scene in the premiere, Episode 2 drops some more patriarchal ickiness onto our screens in the form of a potential child bride for Viserys, but the real meat of the episode actually lies in the playing field expanding before the characters.

Viserys, who is weak-willed and spineless, is a king whose time is coming to its end. The sharks are circling, he seems to be blind to the signs, and there are stronger candidates for the throne. Petulant, petty, and volatile as Daemon may be, he is a man who makes decisions for himself, without being steered into them.

Rhaenyra, seemingly the most forthright Targaryen of this lot, is severely underestimated due to her gender and the show comes alive when Milly Alcock graces the screen. For me, House of the Dragon is most interesting when it lets the women wrestle with the patriarchy and their positions within in it rather than them being victims of it sans agency and autonomy.

I must say though this series really does know how to highlight how galling it is that even the thought of Rhaenyra on the throne is spurned but marrying a child to a grown man is not only seen as fine but also as a sacred duty in the name of producing a male heir. The need to maintain order through patriarchy truly will make some folks a banana short of a sundae.

Speaking of which, I know Dan was unimpressed with the Crabfeeder, but what did y’all think? I’m more interested in the coming battle against him than him as a character, to be honest. The Crabfeeder was giving medieval Party City Michael Meyers vibes to me.

ASHLEY: First and foremost, let’s get this out of the way: House of the Dragon is good. Really good. Episode 1 was definitely more of a stand-out, blockbuster entry compared to Episode 2, “The Rogue Prince,” but there’s still a lot to love here.

So far, Paddy Considine as King Viserys gives my favorite performance in the show. He brings a lot of charm to the role. And of course, I’m super impressed by Matt Smith’s Daemon Targaryen, whom I love to hate.

“The Rogue Prince” has some great moments. Particularly, I loved King Viserys’ totally awkward walk with Laena Velaryon. People raved about Game of Thrones for its epic battles (as they should) but another thing that made it so popular was the superb dialogue. A couple of characters talking could be truly fascinating, or awkward, or hilarious. We’re seeing this with House of the Dragon.

As for the Crabfeeder, I hope the show builds on his story in the coming episodes, rather than teasing us with what’s to come. It feels like his story is on the back-burner at the moment. Overall, however, I’m totally invested in this show. We’re spending enough time with each central character to actually care for them, or loathe them. I’m super interested to see how the relationship between Alicent and Rhaenyra develops. The board is set, and the pieces are moving.

CHELSEA: This episode of House of the Dragon cemented for me how much I love unhinged, chaotic men and women riding dragons.

First, let’s talk about Prince Daemon Elizabeth Targaryen (not his actual middle name, but it works so well). This man is a walking red flag and I would gladly watch him burn Westeros to the ground with his dragon (ahem, with Rhaenyra eventually by his side).

This man — portrayed incredibly by Matt Smith — nicknamed his dead nephew “the heir for a day,” stole that dead nephew’s dragon egg, faked his not-wife’s pregnancy, and sent a casual letter inviting his brother (the king) to his wedding the day before it happened. He also nearly started an entire civil war just to get his brother’s attention.

Incredible. No notes.

Then there’s Princess Rhaenyra, the star of the show and at only 15 years old, vastly more capable of running the kingdom than her father, King Viserys. As Daemon eggs on his brother (literally) from Dragonstone, Viserys can’t be bothered to deal with it himself. So he sends his Hand Otto Hightower, probably the most hated character in the show so far. Then Rhaenyra is basically, “ugh, men,” and deals with the problem herself by flying her dragon to Dragonstone. She calls Daemon’s bluff by telling him to just kill her already if he’s so upset about her being the heir to the Iron Throne. Then she catches the stolen egg, walks away from Daemon, and turns to Otto with a look that says “and that’s how it’s done.”

Again, no notes. Princesses Rhaenyra and Rhaenys and Prince Daemon are going to commit incredible crimes together.

These two outshined the ickiness of the literal child brides of the episode and the horrors of the Crabfeeder, which I’m incredibly interested to learn more about, even as Sabrina said, he looks like a medieval Party City Michael Meyers. More dragons, please!

DANIEL: I’m going to just throw in my vote of agreement for the Party City Michael Meyers version of the Crabfeeder. Not sure how I feel on him yet. It’s interesting to me that the show is taking such a different tack with Craghas Drahar, making him a faceless scary villain as opposed to the direct agent of the Triarchy’s power that he is in Fire & Blood. We’ll see how that shakes out next week.

Overall, I enjoyed “The Rogue Prince” a lot. It wasn’t quite as shocking as the series premiere with its horrific murder of Aemma Arryn — which was fine, really. Would we have wanted to go through something like that again for a second week in a row? Part of what makes those horrific moments work is that we have quieter times in between. This was the ebb, the setting of the chess board for whatever comes next, and it was pretty effective.

Speaking of effective, I loved how Rhaenyra cutting through to the wisest course was basically a running theme of this episode. From suggesting dragonriders go to the Stepstones to asking which dragon egg Daemon stole to showing up on Dragonstone herself to sort things out with her uncle, she just radiated imperious queen vibes and I was so here for it. I didn’t expect to fall so hard in love with Milly Alcock’s performance as Rhaenyra, mainly because we know she’ll only be featuring in half the season before the character is aged up and portrayed by Emma D’Arcy. But man is Alcock doing a great job.

That Dragonstone scene in general was my favorite part of the episode. Syrax and Caraxes were stunning; I’m loving that we’re getting so much dragon stuff in this show out of the gate. The different dynamics between the characters are so fascinating to watch play out; it makes the show feel like it really rewards close viewing. House of the Dragon is off to a great start!

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