Every episode of House of the Dragon season 1, ranked worst to best

8. “The Princess and the Queen” (Episode 6)

“The Princess and the Queen” is by no means a bad episode. We’re now at the point where we’re splitting hairs. And hey, it only took us three episodes to get there. Not bad, House of the Dragon season 1!

Episode 6 picks up after the largest time jump of the season, with 10 years passing since Episode 5. In that time, Rhaenyra and Laenor grew their family and Alicent Hightower cemented her position as queen. The leap forward felt like a big event. We also get introduced to new leads Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke as Rhaenyra and Alicent respectively.

If “The Princess and the Queen” finds itself lower on the list, it’s once again because it is primarily serves as set up for future events. There is a lot of heavy lifting to be done in this episode, not just because it introduced new actors for Rhaenyra, Alicent, Laenor, and Laena; but also because it introduced us to a slew of new, younger characters Jacaerys, Lucerys, Joffrey, Aemond, Baela, Rhaena, and teenage versions of Aegon II and Helaena Targaryen. It was a lot.

Despite all that, “The Princess and the Queen” handles the transition about as adeptly as I think it can. From its harrowing opening birth scene to our first glimpse of the enormous dragon Vhagar and Laena Velaryon’s tragic end, there is a lot of good stuff in this episode. The complex dynamic between Ser Harwin Strong, Rhaenyra, and Laenor is another highlight.

But for as good as “The Princess and the Queen” was, there are plenty more episodes that hit even harder.