House of the Dragon trailer breakdown: Episode 4, “King of the Narrow Sea”
By Daniel Roman
Things are heating up on House of the Dragon! After lots of politicking and family drama in the first two episodes of HBO’s long-awaited Game of Thrones spinoff series, the action kicked up a notch in Episode 3 as Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) made a bloody example of the Crabfeeder. Meanwhile, King Viserys (Paddy Considine) and his daughter Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock) went on a hunt in the Kingswood that neither of them seemed to particularly enjoy, what with people trying to manipulate them each for their own ends. By the end of the episode, Viserys and Rhaenyra found a tenuous peace with the idea that the princess will make her own marriage match.
But how will it all shake out in House of the Dragon Episode 4, “King of the Narrow Sea”? Based on the teaser trailer, the answer is, “messily.” Let’s break it down.
A prophecy in the steel
The trailer starts off with a a hot of a certain dagger as Rhaenyra reads some ominous words: “From my blood comes the Prince Who Was Promised, and his shall be a song of ice and fire.”
This is the catspaw dagger from Game of Thrones, the one Arya Stark used to kill the Night King. Once you heat it up, apparently you can see writing on it. Perhaps that’s where Rhaenyra is reading this prophecy from?
“King of the Narrow Sea” will revisit the twist from the end of the premiere, when Viserys revealed to Rhaenyra that Aegon the Conqueror had prophetic dreams about the White Walkers storming Westeros and conquered the continent in part to unite the houses ahead of the wars to come.
Next up, Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) looks smug as ever as he gazes upon the Iron Throne.
And then we get our first huge punch to the gut. Forget prophecies; Daemon got a haircut! How do we feel about this new look?
Alicent Hightower (Emily Carey) is concerned, but probably not about Daemon’s hair. Later on in the trailer, we learn that Alicent’s son Aegon is now three years old, meaning that a whole year has passed since Episode 3. So presumably Alicent is no longer pregnant here. Unless baby number three is on the way…in which case, someone give this poor girl a break.
The skull of Balerion the Black Dread. Years may have passed since the last time we saw it, but those Targaryen housekeepers are real good at making sure the candles stay lit.
The House of the Dragon will stand as one for a further generation…right?
In the Iron Throne room, Viserys is waxing philosophical about how House Targaryen will be united for the foreseeable future. He’s presented with his crown on a pillow, putting it on before holding court.
From the way the shots line up in the trailer, it looks like Viserys will be dealing with Daemon Targaryen’s return to King’s Landing. “They named me King of the Narrow Sea,” Daemon tells his brother-daddy while the knights of the Kingsbuard keep him back at swordpoint. Daemon is wearing his driftwood crown here, which is a neat little detail from George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood.
Next, we see Rhaenyra and Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) being entertained by Boremund Baratheon (Julian Lewis Jones). No idea who the young man facing them is, but from the Baratheon sigil on the wall above Rhaenyra we’re guessing this scene is taking place in Storm’s End. We never really got a good look at the inside of the castle on Game of Thrones, so it’s exciting that we’ll be visiting it in House of the Dragon.
Despite making nice at the end of “Second of His Name,” Rhaenyra and Viserys are still having issues in “King of the Narrow Sea.” Viserys tells her that her courtship is at an end, so it sounds like she still hasn’t made up her mind about who to marry. She accuses him of putting a stop to her tour of the realm’s suitors as a way to “remedy [his] political headaches,” and he shoots back that she is his political headache.
This conversation happens in Viserys’ chamber; you can see his model of Old Valyria in the background.
A new day dawns over King’s Landing:
Throughout the trailer, we hear someone speculating about who will become the next ruler of Westeros: “Who will it be? The brother, the daughter, or the little princeling of three?” That last line about the princeling lingers over this shot of Alicent with her child. However, this baby is clearly not a 3-year-old. More than likely this is Alicent and Viserys’ second child, Helaena Targaryen.