It shouldn’t be a spoiler to say that weddings within the Game of Thrones franchise don’t usually finish nicely. There was, in fact, the notorious Red Wedding, the place Robb and Catelyn Stark had been murdered after the previous spurned a wedding/political alliance with House Frey. Then there was the marriage of the horrible King Joffrey to Margaery (not Sansa), the place he was poisoned throughout his feast. So, after the choice that Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock) and Laenor Velaryon (Theo Nate) must be wed in final week’s episode, you really shouldn’t be shocked to be taught that their getting hitched didn’t go off and not using a hitch.

Although to be truthful, even established marriages have a troublesome time in “We Light the Way,” because the episode begins with Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) bludgeoning his hated spouse Rhea Royce to loss of life with a rock after which pretending she fell off her horse. This is technically true, since Daemon triggered her horse to rear up and fall on her, however then he completed the job himself. Now he’s free to wed a brand new spouse and inherit Rhea’s riches, since she was the Lady of Runestone.

Even the overture to Rhaenyra and Laenor’s “courtship” begins ominously as Viserys (Paddy Considine) and his daughter journey to Driftmark to make (i.e., request) Lord Corlys “Sea Snake” Velaryon (Steve Toussaint) to simply accept the match between the 2. Viserys seems tough. He throws up on the ocean voyage, he’s coughing up extra blood than ever, and is clearly weak and getting weaker quick. Corlys is aware of he has the higher hand as a result of he instructions the largest fleet in Westeros, and feels the suitable to throw his weight round after Viserys snubbed his daughter Laena (Savannah Steiy) for Alicent (Emily Carey). He asks if Rhaenyra and Laenor’s kids can have the daddy’s final identify, as per customized, and the irritated Viserys agrees to it however with the caveat that whichever offspring inherits the throne will change their identify to Targaryen upon turning into queen or king. It’s compromise, provided that Viserys had backed himself right into a nook.

On the plus aspect, Rhaenyra makes a really completely different proposal to Laenor as they take a stroll on the seaside. She spells out how this marriage can work for each of them. She is aware of that Laenor is homosexual, and she or he definitely desires to proceed her dalliances with Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel). Her thought is that this: they make an inheritor, after which they will every “dine as we see fit” on different sexual companions as per a belabored metaphor about preferring broth versus juice, lifted practically wholesale from Stanley Kubrick’s Spartacus.

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Criston Cole, however, is not at all pleased to be dined on. During the voyage back to King’s Landing, the princess’ Kingsguard asks Rhaenyra to run away with him to Essos and marry him, something he feels somewhat confident she might choose given how much she’s complained about her lack of freedom. Instead, Rhaenyra rebuffs him by telling him she must prioritize her duty as an incipient queen. Milly Alcock’s excellent performance also conveys she has no intention of giving up the throne for a life of obscurity and powerlessness for a guy she’s just hooking up with. Cole is hurt, angry, and upset that he broke his oath of chastity to the Kingsguard, and Rhaenyra has no idea she’s just lit a fuse.

Meanwhile, at King’s Landing, trouble is brewing, and it’s being brewed by Larys Strong (Matthew Needham), the unexpectedly sly son of the newly-minted Hand of the King Lyonel Strong (Gavin Spokes). He asks Alicent if Rhaenyra has been unwell, all so he can slip the queen the news that Grand Maester Mellos brewed the princess a medicinal tea by hand upon the king’s order. Knowing what that tea could mean, Alicent has enough doubts that she summons Ser Criston Cole to question him about whether Rhaenyra had sex with Daemon. But since she’s too delicate to mention the king’s brother by name, Criston assumes she’s asking about himself, who definitely had sex with Rhaenyra that night. He quickly confesses, and that’s how Alicent learns that Rhaenyra lied to her face. Another fuse is lit.

When the Velaryon family arrives for the wedding and Viserys begins holding a seven-day celebration of feasting and jousting tournaments, Alicent is conspicuously absent from the king’s side. But guess who shows up? Why, Daemon Targaryen, who just got exiled from King’s Landing forever last week. But Viserys forgives his brother yet again—it’s probably easier than acknowledging what potentially happened between Rhaenyra and his brother—and invites him to the royal table.

It’s hardly the only drama happening on the first day of the week-long wedding party. Rhea’s cousin accuses Daemon of murdering his late wife. Jason Lannister (Jefferson Hall), Lord of Casterly Rock, makes a sexist joke to the king in front of Rhaenyra. And Alicent, without a speck of warmth in her eyes, makes a grand entrance timed specifically to interrupt Viserys’s big speech. And when she sits, she greets Rhaenyra coldly as “step-daughter,” and then refuses to look at her.

Like the royal hunt seen in “Second of His Name” a couple of weeks ago, “We Light the Way” showcases the over-the-top, hedonistic pageantry of medieval life to what must be George R.R. Martin’s immense satisfaction. There’s a ludicrous amount of food and wine, there are ornate decorations, and everyone (including a great many extras) wears the finest outfits the costumes cepartment could make. There’s even an elaborate dance that Rhaenyra and Laenor play out in front of the crowd, followed by a full dance floor of extras getting down. It’s a marvel to behold, at least before it all comes crashing down.

The problem is Ser Joffrey Lonmouth (Solly McLeod), Laenor’s lover, who realizes Criston Cole must be Rhaenyra’s lover by the upsetting intense way he’s staring at her while she dances with Laenor. Joffrey sidles up to his fellow sidepiece to commiserate together about their soon-to-be fulfilling lives as paramours to the wedded couple. Criston, having hoped to marry Rhaenyra and regain some measure of honor after breaking his oath disagrees, and by disagrees, I mean he beats Joffrey to death with his bare hands.

The way Clare Kilner, who did a great job directing last week’s extremely horny episode, stages all of this is just fantastic. When Rhaenyra and Laenor’s dance begins, all eyes are on her—Viserys smiles at his daughter, happy she’s finally doing her duty; Daemon gazes at her with his sardonic smirk, lusting for the power she’ll wield; and Criston ogles her with anger, pain, love, and self-loathing. After the group dance starts, Daemon cuts in with Rhaenyra and tells her to marry him, but Rhaenyra only taunts him and says to carry her away if that’s what he wants. It’s upsetting and gets increasingly tense, but so does everything else. Kilner uses quick, tight shots to intensify the anxiety building both in the viewer and the characters when the fight suddenly breaks out and none of us see who’s fighting. It takes what seems to be a very long time to reveal Criston and Joffrey as the combatants, although that’s being rather magnanimous to Joffrey, who mostly has the side of his face caved in, to Laenor’s heartbroken horror. (It is extremely gross.)

It’s all so horrible, in fact, that Viserys seemingly ends not just the party but perhaps the entire week of planned festivities. That same night, he has Rhaenyra and Laenor married in a small, extremely private ceremony in the throne room to avoid any more disasters. Kilner also does a marvelous job here; other than an establishing shot of the “happy” couple’s backs and a quick mid-ceremony peck on the cheek, the director keeps Rhaenyra and Laenor completely out of each other’s footage. As the High Septon talks about the unity being formed, Kilner shows it’s anything but, lingering on Rhaenyra the most as she struggles with Criston’s anger, Daemon’s advances, Laenor’s grief, Alicent’s fury, her status as heir, and her father’s increasingly ill health—which causes Viserys to collapses on the floor immediately after the ceremony. The last shot of the episode is a close-up of a pool of Joffrey’s blood and viscera, still lying on the throne room floor, as a rat comes forward to enjoy a free meal.

It doesn’t get much more ominous than that, but “We Light the Way” is all about people picking sides in the fight that will erupt the minute Viserys kicks it. The Velaryons have thrown their weight in with Rhaenyra, because it’s the only way their blood with sit on the Iron Throne. Alicent, furious at Rhaenyra’s betrayal and likely jealous the princess has been enjoying the freedom and happiness she’s long denied herself, is clearly preparing to grab the throne for her son Aegon against her husband’s wishes. And it looks like she’ll be joined by the despondent Criston Cole, who’s about to commit suicide when Alicent stops him, almost certainly recruiting the jilted lover to her side. Rhaenyra made two major enemies tonight, something that she will certainly regret when she takes—or, more likely, tries to take—the throne.

I think it would have been beneficial for the show to have taken more time to focus on Rhaenyra’s friendship with Alicent and love affair with Criston to make their rejection of the princess more powerful and poignant, but I understand why House of the Dragon kept it brisk. The show has already spent five episodes (minimum!) exploring the characters and the events leading up to the war of succession, so the conflict can have more resonance. It’s plenty. Besides, we’re halfway done with the show’s first season, and we still haven’t seen the main actors who will be playing Rhaenyra and Alicent.

The good news is that all that needs to happen for the war over the throne to get started is the death of Viserys. If tonight’s episode is any indication, he’s not going to make it past episode six, at which point this violent, tragic party can get started. And unlike Rhaenyra’s wedding feast, everyone in Westeros will be attending—whether they want to or not.

Assorted Musings:

• Thank you to everyone who replied to last week’s recap; you were thoughtful and civil and I greatly appreciate hearing your thoughts and perspectives, especially regarding the tea. I’ve learned something I need to be more thoughtful and careful about, and I’m better for it. Thank you!
• Which side will Daemon pick? Well, he does some flirting with the Sea Snake’s daughter Laena, which would more or less put him in Rhaenyra’s camp. Plus, I think he’s got a better chance at wielding some kind of power if Rhaenyra becomes queen, given their… relationship. If he supported Alicent and Aegon, he’ll be completely supplanted by the male heir sooner or later.
• In Spartacus, the comparison between preferring women or men came down to preferring oysters or snails instead of broth or juice. Just FYI.
• When Criston confesses he had sex with Rhaenyra to Alicent, he begs the queen to kill him instead of gelding him. Just a quick, casual reminder of the brutality of the times!
• Joffrey, at least before he was beaten to death, was called the “Knight of Kisses.” I feel like that’s probably a homophobic epithet given to him by others, but a Knight of Kisses sounds adorable.
• Matt Smith is among an elite few who can say “I’m positively bereft” and convey how infinitely he does not give a shit. It was outstanding.

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