Carefully! This text completely contains spoilers for the first three episodes of House of the Dragon. If you haven’t watched it yet, please stop reading.
Like last time, we start on a beach in the Steps area. The destroyed ship is burning with might and main. Crab-feeder Mirian Prince-Admiral Drahar ecstatically tortures another sailor. But then it looks like Damon is riding a dragon – and the flame around him grows visibly (but the sailor does not have to rejoice: the dragon with its huge claw accidentally turns him into a cake). While Drahar hides in the coastal caverns, Damon and his pet find themselves in a rain of burning arrows. One of them slaps the fiery Targaryen on the shoulder and leaves the battlefield. Not surprisingly, Daemon accepted Lord Corlis Velaryon’s offer, voiced at the end of the second chapter, and started a full-fledged war with the Triarchy without the king’s approval.
Meanwhile, there is a celebration in King’s Landing. The new Queen Alycente, daughter of the Hand of King Otto Hightower, gave birth to Viserys’ first son, Aegon. The boy is already two years old. Will he be chosen as heir or will the king keep his promise to Princess Rhaenyra? The question is in the air, but so far they are trying to find a solution to the situation with the Steps and Triarchy from Viserys. But now she seems more interested in where Reynira disappeared to.
House Box (HBO)
He does not particularly hide and sits with a book under his favorite tree, at the same time forcing the bard to sing the same song in a circle. Alicenta (already pregnant with her second child) catches him doing this. The Queen tries to persuade Rainier to attend the family celebration at the palace. Resting: The relationship between the princess and the new queen, who were once best friends, is now pretty bad. Alicente needs to exercise her monarchic muscles and show that her word is more important now – she is no longer just the right hand’s daughter.
On the occasion of Aegon’s second name day, the royal family goes hunting. At camp, Rainier first makes jokes as he discusses the military-political situation with a group of ladies, and then communicates with Lord Jason, the twin brother of the ship’s captain Tyland Lannister. The lord is clearly cramming himself into a husband for the princess. This obviously cannot happen without the king’s knowledge, so Reynira goes to sort things out with her father. Is it just a prize for the fun of big houses? But Jason Lannister would be a great match, the King replies. The princess disagrees: she does not want to get married at all. The king begins to shout, but his right hand stops the clash: A white deer is spotted in the forest. This is a wonderful sign – the white deer was a royal symbol before the advent of dragons.
House Box (HBO)
Enraged, Reynira gets on her horse and runs towards the forest. Christon Cole, the chosen head of the Royal Guard, chases after him. When she finally manages to catch Rainier, the girl complains about her father’s attempts to sell her to Jason. Kriston jokingly (joking?) offers to kill Lannister. The couple goes through the forest for a sweet chat.
In the camp at the moment the king is full of interlocutors. First, Otto Hightower’s Hand implies that the appearance of a white stag must be interpreted as a blessing for Aegon to be heir to the throne. Jason Lannister later says he would be honored to marry Rhaenyra and take care of her when she “loses her position”. The Lord is completely confident that Aegon will be declared heir. Viserys is uncomfortable with such obvious assumptions. He advises to convey to the lords that Rainier’s appointment was not a whim at all – and that the time has come to reconcile with it.
House Box (HBO)
The Lannister is expelled, but his place is not empty for long: Otto reappears. And he makes a radical proposition: he gets engaged to Rhaenyra and Aegon. The king says he’s already tired of everyone else with his politics – he just wants to enjoy the hunt. Viserys spends the rest of the night on alcohol. But that doesn’t save him from talking to his subjects. The Master of the Law, Lionel Strong, advises Rhaenyra to marry Velaryon’s son, for the same reasons that he advises the king to marry Corlis’ daughter two years earlier. But this, of course, if the young man survives the current battle for Steps.
The princess still does not want to return to the camp and apparently plans to spend the night in the forest. He and Kriston start a fire. Reynira asks if her country will accept her when she takes the throne. Kriston says people will have no choice. The discussion is interrupted by a wild boar attack. The monster knocks Kriston to the ground and attacks the princess. The head of the Royal Guard pierces the animal with a sword, but this is not enough. Then the boar finishes Rainier with a knife. His face is covered in blood.
House Box (HBO)
The situation in the camp is a little calmer. Already drunk, Viserys stands by a great fire. Alicent approaches him. The king tells him that he has chosen Rhaenyra as his heir to protect the country from Damon. He also admits that a long time ago he had a dream in which his son was crowned Fatih. Weatheris wanted the dream to be so prophetic that he killed his previous wife and forced her to become pregnant again and again in hopes of conceiving a son. Viserys hoped to right his wrongs by declaring Rhaenyra his heir. But what if it’s the wrong decision?
Morning is coming. Hunters eventually catch the deer. True, not white. But at least a big one. The animal is held on the ropes to be finished by the king. He succeeds only on the second try: Viserys looks rather pathetic, and the applause is forced. An adult king copes with a chained deer worse than his daughter, a 17-year-old boar – but so far only the audience knows.
House Box (HBO)
By the way, saint white deer Rainier. Kriston pulls out a sword, but the princess stops him. They gaze expressively into each other’s eyes with the majestic animal until the deer escape. Reinira, covered in blood, and her friend still going to camp, carrying with them the trophy of a boar.
The hunt is over. Everyone returns to King’s Landing. Otto wastes no time visiting his daughter Alicente. He convinces her that Aegon should be the next king. And he strongly recommends that you pass this idea on to Viserys. Alicenta goes to him. At royal headquarters they discuss Rainier. Alicente expresses her confidence that the princess will marry sooner or later, but she must consider that she has made this choice on her own. Viserys shows his wife a letter from Lord Corlis’ brother who was also fighting on the Stairs. This is a request for help. They are losing. Alicent asks why the king didn’t send help. She explains that it will seem strange: the war was unleashed by two rebels, the crown did not react for a long time, why is it now suddenly involved? Then Alicenta poses a direct question: Will the country be better off if Drahar wins? It seems that this cannot even be answered.
House Box (HBO)
The next morning, Viserys sends Damon a letter promising to help. Reinira comes to the king and a friendly conversation begins between them. The princess retells her opinion on the situation: the king has a son, he is no longer useful, so, apparently, it is possible to marry him profitably and receive in return something useful, such as a ship. The king objects: he does not intend to appoint another heir, he just wants his daughter to be happy and not alone. But he has to marry: it is necessary to strengthen the rights to the throne and provide offspring. However, he can choose the chosen one himself: the king no longer shifts his candidates over him. Finally, Viserys admits that for a while he really doubted his choice, but now he is determined: Rhaenyra will take the throne.
On the steps, the commanders of the Velaryon army convene a council. They are in a helpless situation. It would seem, you need to attack – and come no matter what. Damon flies on a dragon to them. Then the news comes from the king with the promise of help: 10 ships, 200 people. Damon silently reads the letter and begins beating the messenger. Humiliated? Or is it a tender?
After that, Targaryen goes alone to the caves where the Crab Feeder forces take refuge. Damon waves a white flag, kneels down and defiantly holds his sword over his head. The dragon is not with him. Would he rather surrender than accept his brother’s help? Drahar’s warriors approach the “vicious prince”. However, it jumps here and starts to smash them. Under a shower of arrows, he rushes towards Drakhar, killing opponents along the way. A few arrows still hit Damon, falling onto the sand and surrounded by enemies. And then the army of Velaryons appears. And also dragons! The meat grinder starts. Damon hides in the cave where Drahar escaped. He soon returns, dragging half the severed body of the Crab Feeder (the previous process is not shown to us). The war with the triarchy is now not only begun, but won without the participation of the king.
Source: Gazeta
Barbara Dickson is a seasoned writer for “Social Bites”. She keeps readers informed on the latest news and trends, providing in-depth coverage and analysis on a variety of topics.