Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine) is the primary really good man we’ve seen sit on the Iron Throne. After eight seasons of Game of Thrones and Robert Baratheon, Joffrey, Cersei, and Daenerys, it’s genuinely bizarre to see somebody ruling Westeros who cares about one thing greater than energy or sating their needs. Unfortunately, there’s a distinction between king and somebody who is nice at being a king, and regardless of Viserys’ finest intentions, the Seven Kingdoms are going to pay the value.

When “The Rogue Prince” begins, it’s been six months for the reason that occasions of the premiere. Since then, quite a bit has occurred: pirates have been overtly attacking the fleet of Lord Corlys “The Sea Snake” Velaryon (Steve Toussaint). Daemon (Matt Smith) has seized the Targaryen house of Dragonstone and surrounded himself with a military of fanatically loyal Goldcloaks. Viserys’ pinky finger has rotted, one other signal that his days as king are restricted. Alicent (Emily Carey) has been visiting him recurrently per the veiled orders of her father and Hand of the King, Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans). And Rhaeryna (Milly Alcock) has been watching with growing unease because the members of the Small Council stress her father to take one other spouse and produce extra heirs.

King Viserys desires to do nothing about any of it. Not as a result of he’s indecisive or weak, however as a result of he’s the primary really good man we’ve seen sit on the Iron Throne. As Viserys tells Corlys and his cousin Rhaenys (Eve Best), the “Queen Who Never Was,” a king’s job is to keep away from warfare, whether or not that’s with pirates possible funded by the Free Cities of Essos or his brother. He doesn’t wish to marry once more as a result of he nonetheless loves his late spouse Aemma an excessive amount of, and is afraid that it would estrange Rhaenyra from him. It additionally doesn’t assist that the prime marriage candidate is Laena (Nova Foueillis-Mose), the daughter of the Sea Snake and Rhaenys. Their union would construct energy by merging the 2 nice households of Valyria and bringing Corlys’ fleet beneath the crown’s management—however she’s a horrifically younger 12 years outdated, which is terrible however sadly traditionally correct for the time/setting (fortunately for the viewers, Viserys is tremendously disturbed by the concept of marrying a baby).

Unfortunately, Viserys’ pacifism is seen as weak point by others, whether or not it’s the pirates, his advisors, or Daemon. Even Rhaenyra believes her father can’t get issues finished, whilst she’s pressured to stay the king’s cupbearer to be aware about the conferences of the Small Council. When she dares to recommend dragonriders needs to be despatched as a lethal present of power to the pirates, Otto suggests there’s a “better use” for her “talents” and sends her to select the subsequent member of the Kingsguard. She exhibits her practicality by selecting not the knight with essentially the most political worth, however the one with essentially the most fight expertise—Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel), who was additionally the winner of final episode’s event. I think about it will show to be a smart selection.

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Rhaenyra additionally proves to be pragmatic (arguably moreso than her father) by realizing the king will remarry and produce extra heirs, though she believes she’ll stay inheritor to the throne. That doesn’t imply it doesn’t hassle her to observe Viserys take his stroll with the upsettingly younger Laena. It additionally bothers Rhaenys, watching along with her cousin as soon as eliminated, to successfully pimp out her youngster to the king, however she understands “the order of things”—an order, she tells Rhaenyra, that can possible produce male kids who will change her as inheritor. As Rhaenys places it, nearly smugly, “Men would rather burn the realm to the ground than see a woman ascend the Iron Throne.”

Is she incorrect? No. I sincerely doubt that Daemon can be staging a passive-aggressive revolt if Viserys had a male inheritor. He definitely wouldn’t have snuck into the Dragonpit and stolen a dragon egg—not simply any egg, however the one Rhaenyra has chosen for her short-lived brother Baelon—leaving a notice inviting Viserys to return to his marriage ceremony in two days’ time, and rejoice the incipient delivery of his youngster. It’s a slap within the face even Viserys can’t ignore, however Otto correctly stops him from going to Dragonstone himself. Instead, Otto goes himself with 20 armed guards and confronts Daemon on the lengthy, skinny stone bridge to the hold.

Honestly, it looks as if a dumb plan given how a lot Daemon hates Otto already, to say nothing of his military or his dragon Caraxes, which perches ominously close by. Daemon, his bride-to-be, and his guards meet Otto’s group midway. Daemon carries the egg, which he carelessly tosses from hand at hand within the good show of contempt, revealing he didn’t really steal the egg for his unborn Targaryen youngster, however to impress his brother. Daemon doubles down by making a menace on Otto’s life—whether or not he means to do it and started an outright warfare is hard to inform—however at that second, Rhaenyra bursts out of the clouds atop her dragon Syrax. When she lands, she has a showdown with Daemon, daring her uncle to strike her down, one thing he in flip dares not do. So as an alternative, he sulkily tosses her the egg and returns to his hold.

Rhaenyra instinctively is aware of that a greater approach to forestall warfare, at the very least on this planet of Westeros, is to indicate energy however not use it as an alternative of doing nothing and searching weak. In that scene, she appears extra of a queen than Daenerys did, though I admit my reminiscence is probably going curdled by the Game of Thrones’ remaining season. Rhaenyra calls Daemon’s bluff and brings him to heel, and it looks as if he may even respect her for it, just a little—not that it’s going to cease him from his quest to take the Iron Throne for himself.

And but, there’s additionally one thing heartwarming about poor Viserys’ retroactive concern when Rhaenyra returns—not for the political ramifications, not due to what she may need provoked, however as a result of she may have been killed. Rhaenyra says she retrieved the egg with out bloodshed, one thing Otto couldn’t have finished, and even Viserys has to confess she’s proper. But then, what did he anticipate by sending Otto? Was he attempting to spare his household (and their dragons)? Was he merely sending a token power, believing that by exhibiting a small effort he may appear to be he had stood as much as Daemon with out inflicting a combat? Viserys is aware of a king’s responsibility can also be the realm, initially. But his sentimentality is simply courting catastrophe.

Or ought to I say, brings catastrophe. Because Viserys spends the whole episode asking members of his Small Council whether or not he ought to marry Laena for alliance, for energy, for naval energy, even simply to maintain the Sea Snake pleased because the king’s strongest ally—they usually all say it’s the appropriate name, together with Otto. But when it comes time to announce his bride-to-be, he names Alicent. She’s not a woman he loves (and even lusts after, I’d say), and he’d a lot reasonably stay a widow in honor of Aemma. But Alicent is a woman that has been a consolation to him after Aemma’s loss of life, and Viserys feels a connection to and protected along with her, whereas having no concept that she’s been mauling her fingernails in anxiousness and unhappiness the whole time.

Backed right into a nook and basically pressured to marry for the nice of the realm, Viserys makes an emotional choice, and the realm will probably be a lot worse off due to it. Corlys storms out of the council room, livid and humiliated. And after we see him subsequent, he’s again at Driftmark, the seat of House Velaryon… the place he’s invited Prince Daemon to supply him a proposition: Take care of the pirate drawback and present the realm his value as a king. It’s an act that can steal the help from Rhaenyra, of these males who have been already upset on the thought of a lady with energy. Meanwhile, Rhaenyra feels completely betrayed by her father and her finest good friend.

Now, admittedly, House of the Dragon didn’t do sufficient to promote Rhaenyra and Alicent as finest pals, however Milly Alcock does; the betrayal the character feels will get conveyed with some fantastically delicate appearing. Likewise, Alicent’s tamped-down unease is probably going performed completely by Emily Carey. And the humanity that Paddy Considine brings to Viserys—truly, you already know what? Everyone within the present is completely implausible. The solid is stacked with expertise from high to backside.

In reality, in the intervening time, I’d say the solid bears House of the Dragon on their backs for these preliminary episodes. Not that the present is dangerous by any means, minus a number of hiccups within the premiere. But whereas the unique Game of Thrones was new and distinctive sufficient when it debuted to maintain viewers riveted because it ramped up its story, Dragon is acquainted sufficient that doesn’t have something to propel the gradual burn of its political intrigue apart from each character is nuanced, compelling, and sympathetic, and that features Daemon.

The result’s that House of the Dragon is already a really entertaining present, and I think the jillion or so individuals who watched the premiere are possible already hooked. While I nonetheless don’t belief the present to not make any Thrones-ian missteps, I feel there’s a number of purpose to be cautiously optimistic. I think Viserys feels the identical about the way forward for Westeros. Hopefully, I’m not as incorrect as he’s.

Assorted Musings:

• Hey, a gap credit scene! It’s high-quality, however I feel it could have been cooler and extra helpful to have had a information to the 17 dragons which will probably be featured within the present, very similar to Thrones’ opening credit have been a information to the world of Westeros to assist viewers hold observe of all the pieces.
• The pirates are led by a person nicknamed Crabfeeder for his behavior of feeding his foes to crabs which we see in completely ugly element originally of the episode. I used to be genuinely upset to study one of many corpses being eaten by the tiny, horrible crabs was the truth is fairly alive, and fewer than thrilled to study of his predicament.
• Grand Maester Mellos (David Horovitch) has Viserys stick his finger in a bowl of maggots to have them eat off his rotted flesh. Between this, the crabs, and final week’s balls scene, it seems House of the Dragon goes to go heavy on the graphic violence as an alternative of the sexual violence, which I’m high-quality with.
• Viserys’ bum finger causes him to drop and break considered one of his mannequin metropolis’s stone dragons in an extremely unsubtle reminder of what he’s doing to House Targaryen. Alicent has it mounted, which Viserys takes as an extremely considerate present—it’s very presumably what makes him resolve to decide on Alicent.
• I don’t wish to gloss over Daemon’s scene together with his love Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno), who could be very a lot scheduled to marry Daemon and positively not carrying his child. As she furiously tells him, she left King’s Landing with Daemon to be liberated from worry, however Daemon has put a goal on her again, and he or she doesn’t have the Targaryen lineage to guard her. She’s a lady who’s already “ensured long ago that [she] would never be frightened by childbirth,” which makes Daemon’s endangerment of her for an pointless jab at his brother much more infuriating. It’s scene.
• Apparently, Aegon’s “Dream of the Events of Game of Thrones” from final week is one thing that George R.R. Martin got here up with and can finally seem within the books (ought to they arrive into existence), making it canon. This makes it higher, in fact, however I nonetheless contend it sounded very dumb and like a determined approach to join the 2 exhibits.
• “They denied you, princess” is an excellent and sick burn.

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