Top 10 Things You Missed in House of the Dragon Episode 4
#10: The Play
Top 10 Things You Missed in House of the Dragon Episode 6
With so many characters being either born into or surrounded by nobility, we don’t often get “the people’s” perspective of what’s going on in Westeros. But a fun and effective plot device to consolidate it is live theatre. Undercover in the streets of King’s Landing, Rhaenyra and Daemon come across an acting troupe performing a farce of the succession drama. Neither Rhaenyra nor Daemon are portrayed favorably, with Aegon clearly being the smallfolk’s pick. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen something like this, as Arya witnesses a Braavosi play covering the first four seasons of “Game of Thrones.” It’s called “The Bloody Hand,” and it paints a very different picture of Tyrion Lannister than the one we’re used to.
#9: Bath Reversal
Sure, a lot of people take baths on “Game of Thrones.” Heck, a lot of Targaryens take baths on “Game of Thrones.” But this scene has made fans wonder. During Rhaenyra’s sightseeing tour, Viserys bathes as his servants aid with his skin afflictions. Alicent then takes over, reminding us of a scene from Episode 1. Here, Viserys comforts his previous spouse Aemma while she bathes, also for medicinal purposes. Seeing as Aemma later dies in childbirth - either due to normal complications and / or poor decision-making - some fans have taken this scene to be foreshadowing. It’s no secret that Viserys’s mystery illness is getting worse, so could this really be a bath o’ death? Probably not, but it is interesting to think about.
#8: New Small Council Members
Top 10 Things You Missed in House of the Dragon Episode 8
With “House of the Dragon” episodes taking place months if not years apart, it can sometimes be difficult to catch all the little changes that have occurred in the leap in time. For one thing, King Viserys’s Small Council looks a little different since the last time we saw them convene in Episode 2, which took place about four years prior. Here we see Rhaenyra’s been promoted from cupbearer to having her own seat at the table, even if she doesn’t say anything. And seeing as Corlys Velaryon had effectively abandoned his post as Master of Ships to fight in the Stepstones, we learn that Tyland Lannister has since taken his place, even if he doesn’t say anything either.
#7: The Bronze Pejorative
Top 10 Things You Missed In House Of The Dragon Episode 1
It’s no secret that Daemon doesn’t care for his wife Rhea Royce, a character we’ve yet to meet on the show. He sees marriage as a means to an end and something that doesn’t really need to be cultivated. In the first episode, he has some choice words when referring to Lady Rhea. This is of course a play on House Royce’s bronze sigil and former status of ruling over the Vale with the Bronze King. Well, three episodes and four-plus show years later and Daemon is still using the same words to describe his wife, only this time in High Valyrian. Daemon’s a naturally spiteful character, so you’d at least think he’d come up with a new insult after so much time.
#6: Rhaenyra’s Necklace
We’ve made a lot of hullabaloo about Rhaenyra’s necklace in previous recap videos, mainly because the show has clearly meant for it to be a recurring motif. After receiving it from Daemon in the first episode, she’s seen not wearing it in the second after Daemon’s dragon egg escapade. However, the opening shot of Episode 4 sees Rhaenyra playing with it while receiving suitors. It seems in the years since her opinion of Daemon may have changed, as she likely envies the freedom he has to fight with his dragon. You could also read it more literally insofar as Rhaenyra is thinking of another man when Viserys would have her consider anyone else. After all, she’s clearly on Team Daemon in this episode.
#5: House Bracken & House Blackwood
Top 10 Things You Missed in House of the Dragon Episode 5
During the opening scene, Rhaenyra gets the full spectrum of suitors, from the ancient Lord Dondarrion to a very young representative of House Blackwood. The Blackwood suitor does his best to exude confidence, but still he’s heckled by an onlooker from House Bracken. These may just seem like random Houses, but it’s actually no mistake that these two would be at odds. Both seated in the Riverlands, the neighboring Houses have an ancient rivalry, despite both being descended from the First Men. Sure, the prospect of Rhaenyra’s hand may have brought it out of them, but these two didn’t need another reason to dislike each other, and we’re sure enmity will only increase after the Blackwood kid slays his taunter.
#4: Mouse Metaphor
Mickey Mouse vs Bugs Bunny
It’s no surprise that King’s Landing is teeming with mice, so viewers may not pay much mind whenever they scurry across the screen. But the fact that they’re seen multiple times in the same extended sequence speaks to there being more than mundanity behind it. When Rhaenyra sneaks out of her bedchambers, she passes Balerion’s dragon skull in the cellars - perched atop the jaws are a couple of the furry rodents. Later on, after Alicent has performed her “wifely duties,” she spies another of the creatures atop the canopy bed. For this metaphor, it’s where the mice are placed relative to the characters that’s key - Rhaenyra was meant to ride dragons, whereas Alicent was raised to serve her husband, much to her dismay.
#3: Escape Route
Speaking of Rhaenyra sneaking out after dark, it stands to reason that the Red Keep has several secret passageways, ones that have been used for centuries before and after. As previously mentioned, Rhaenyra makes her way down to the cellar in this episode before surreptitiously meeting Daemon for a night of debauchery. Interestingly, it’s this same method of escape that Cersei and Jaime Lannister attempt to exploit in the penultimate episode of “Game of Thrones.” Though they conceivably enter the cellar somewhere from the direction of the war room, it’s likely their next passageway would’ve been the same one Rhaenyra takes, if only the building wasn’t collapsing due to a dragon attack.
#2: The White Worm
Top 10 Things You Missed in House of the Dragon Episode 3
Mysaria has come a long way from being Daemon’s paramour and almost-second-wife in Episode 2. Here, we see her employ one of her little “birds” for Otto Hightower to get dirt on Rhaenyra and Daemon. Heck, she even receives payment from Otto for this right in front of her former lover. While we’re happy to see Mysaria find some agency, the fact that she’s using a brothel as her base of operations is more than a little familiar. As viewers will recall, “Game of Thrones” featured two characters with extensive spy networks, Varys and Littlefinger, the latter of whom also ran a series of brothels in King’s Landing. Let’s just hope Mysaria doesn’t similarly fall off the chaos ladder.
#1: “The Prince That Was Promised”
Top 3 Things You Missed in Season 8 Episode 6 of Game of Thrones
For anyone who thought Viserys’s speech at the end of Episode 1 was just a one-off to allude to “Game of Thrones,” think again. Here, he again stresses the importance of Aegon I’s dream, this time doing much more to bring attention to the Valyrian steel dagger. Not only is the dagger etched into the prophecy, but the prophecy is etched into the dagger, literally, as the much-discussed “Prince That Was Promised” is inscribed on it. As you’ll remember, the Valyrian word for “prince” is genderless, which led “Thrones” characters to have varying interpretations. Melisandre shifted her prediction from Stannis Baratheon to Jon Snow, whereas Daenerys Targaryen was also a likely candidate. Will “House of the Dragon” elucidate further? Only time will tell.
