The latest episode of House of the Dragon, "The Red Dragon and the Gold," begins with a dream sequence in the castle of Harrenhal, where Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) has been having trouble sleeping of late. He is visited by the specter of a young Rhaenyra Targaryen, played by Milly Alcock, returning from the first season. Descending from the Iron Throne, she gives a speech to Daemon in High Valyrian. He doesn't understand it, but the sleuths on the internet do. The Twitter account @westerosies posted a translation of the speech into English, working off info from House of the Dragon language consultant David J. Peterson:
"It’s been said that Targaryens are closer to gods than to men...In my eyes, you were a god. Daemon Targaryen. The Prince of the City. The Lord of Flea Bottom. I was an innocent. You exploited me and abandoned me. You sullied my name at court. You empowered my rivals. You tried to make my ruin. You put me on that throne. And you love me and you hate me for it. You created me, Daemon. Yet you are now set on destroying me. All because your brother loved me more than he did you. This is what you always wanted, is it not?"
This is a pretty clear expression of a lot of the guilty feelings Daemon has been working through since he arrived at Harrenhal, where he's been having a rash of nasty dreams. Remember when he ordered a pair of assassins into the Red Keep to kill his nephew Aemond, but they killed the young Prince Jaehaerys Targaryen instead? Young Rhaenyra called him out for that as well, in the third episode of the season. She's taken the form of his conscience, but will he heed her?
The jury is out on that one. Also up to something is Alys Rivers, a new character played by Gayle Rankin. She seems to know Daemon is having trouble sleeping, and may even adding to his restlessness. In the latest episode, she gives him a paste ostensibly to help him sleep, but who knows if that's the thing keeping him up?
Alys, Daemon, and the rest of the gang will return when new episodes of House of the Dragon air Sunday nights on HBO and Max. No word on if we'll see more of Young Rhaenyra. Somehow, HBO managed to keep her involvement in the series a secret, and I don't imagine they could have done that if she were hanging around set the whole time.
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