The second episode of House of the Dragon takes a break from the violence, gore and nudity of the first episode. It is definitely a breath of fresh air. It also dives deep into the existing misogyny in Westeros. Let’s take a look at some of the key moments from today’s episode.
1. Lord Corlys spurned
The second episode of House of the Dragon ended with Lord Corlys aligning himself with Damon to reclaim the stepstones from pirates. This was a result of the King’s inaction as he refused to use any form of force, and allowed things to escalate. The King also turned down Corlys’ proposal to marry his eldest daughter Laena who was merely 12. Corlys with his hunger for power was greatly offended by this.
2. Daemon seizes Dragonstone
In this episode of House of the Dragon, with the loyalty of his city watch, Daemon seized the ancestral home of the Targaryens that is Dragonstone. Thousands of golden cloaked men now protect him and his capture of the castle. He also stole a dragon egg from the Red Keep which was specifically used by Rhaenyra to put in Baelon’s cradle as is the custom of the Targaryens. He is also accompanied by Mysaria though he angers her with his lies about marriage and pregnancy.
3. Rhaenyra retrieves the dragon egg
Despite being doubted by her own father and the other Lords in the King’s council, Princess Rhaenyra in House of the Dragon knows what she’s doing. She managed to retrieve Dragonfyre’s egg from Daemon without any bloodshed. She rode to Dragonstone on Syrax and cemented her position as the fierce heir to the Iron Throne.
4. King Viserys takes a wife
In this episode of House of the Dragon, the entire kingdom expects King Viserys to take a new wife and produce more heirs so as to secure their future. The King despite his reluctance realizes his duty toward the realm and chooses to take a wife after talking to his daughter and gaining her support. However, his decision to turn down Princess Laena and instead choose Lady Alicent has consequences as it pushes away Lord Corlys and also shocks his own daughter who was unaware of the two.
5. Ser Criston Cole joins the Kingsguard
Rhaenyra chose Ser Criston Cole to join the Kingsguard. She chose Ser Cole due to his prior experience in real-life combat. He already displayed his talent during the Tourney in the first episode where he hailed victorious over Daemon. All this is important to the story as Criston Cole is expected to become a major character in future episodes of House of the Dragon.
6. Craghar Drahas
We finally get a glimpse of the mysterious and menacing Craghas Drahar. This episode also shows us why he is called the Crabfeeder. We see him nailing Westerosian sailors to sandboards and letting the crabs slowly feed away on them. He wears a creepy mask and most likely has Greyscale which is an illness.
This episode of House of the Dragon simply built on the characters we had seen before. Otto Hightower’s intentions became even clearer as he succeeded in his quest for more power. Lady Alicent remained her demure and quiet self while also making her play behind the scenes. Lord Corlys doesn’t bother with subtlety anymore and simply defies the King and shows absolutely no respect. While, Rhaenyra is a character that is both fierce and gentle, strong yet grieving and fearless but still not proud. We cannot wait to see where House of the Dragon goes next.
