Top 10 Things You Missed in House of the Dragon Episode 6

Titled “The Princess and the Queen", the sixth episode kicked off after a 10 year time jump. It was sad to see Milly Alcock and Emily Carey absent from the cast, but Emma D'Arcy and Olivia Cooke did impressive jobs taking over the roles of Rhaenyra and Alicent. What you might not have known is where exactly we’re now at in Westerosi history. Several events in the episode correspond to the year 120 AC, which became known as the Year of the Red Spring due to a series of notable deaths. The timeline between the show and source material doesn’t quite match up, so we may be a little later, but not before the outbreak of civil war in 129 AC.

The previous episode ended with King Viserys I collapsing, and a rat seeming to symbolize his death. But he returned in episode six, albeit much older and more haggard. In George R. R. Martin’s book “Fire & Blood”, Viserys became rather stout and suffered from “gout, aching joints, back pain, and a tightness in the chest”. In “House of the Dragon” his affliction is much more sinister, with a wound from the Iron Throne leading to an infection that soon covers his arm and back. Fans have speculated that it’s Greyscale, while actor Paddy Considine calls it “a form of leprosy”. After the time jump, he’s gone from missing a few fingers to missing his arm. We hope they had some milk of the poppy around for that procedure.

At this point, the most frightening thing in all of Westeros has gotta be a cesarean section. We can’t blame Laena for running from even the possibility, although we are amazed she was so fast on her feet, leaving her attendants and Daemon in the dust. Her immolation was hardly missable, but what some viewers may not have known is how this departs from “Fire & Blood”. There, Laena births a malformed son who soon dies. She tries to reach Vhagar for one last flight, but collapses. The show gave Laena a much more memorable and dramatic ending instead.

“The Maury Povich Show” would have had a field day in Westeros, which seems sorely in need of paternity tests. Of course, while King Viserys might marvel at the mysteries of nature, it’s obvious to everyone that Harwin ‘IS the father’ of Rhaenyra’s children. This parallels the scandal that ignited all the action in “Game of Thrones”. As Ned Stark learned, Robert Baratheon’s bastards all had dark hair, revealing that Jaimie Lannister was the real father of the royal princes. We guess Harwin’s, um, ‘seed’, is strong too.

Growing up, a lot of us dreamt of having our very own castle, with a drawbridge, ramparts, towers, the works. But we think we’d pass on Harrenhal. We learned of the curse of Harrenhal in “Game of Thrones”, during which the castle changed hands over half a dozen times. The castle was originally completed back in the year 2 BC, but that same year, Aegon the Conqueror unleashed Balerion’s dragonfire on its towers - reducing much of it to rubble and starting a tragic tradition. “House of the Dragon” saw Lyonel Strong and his son Harwin also succumb to the curse. We guess that leaves Larys as the Stong-est man standing ...

Incest was a major theme in “Game of Thrones”, which kicked off with the relationship between twins Jaimie and Cersei Lannister, and culminated in Jon Snow’s romance and betrayal of his aunt Daenerys. “House of the Dragon” has already made us squirm with an uncomfortable scene between Rhaenyra and her uncle Daemon. But the family tree has gotten more complicated than you may have realized. Because Rhaenyra married Laenor, and Daemon wed Laenor’s sister Laena, Rhaenyra and Daemon are also family-in-law. Oh, and Rhaenyra’s proposal that her son, Jacaerys, marry Alicent’s daughter Helaena? Helaena and Jacaerys are aunt and nephew. That would have made Viserys Jacaerys’ grandfather and father-in-law. Helaena would have been Rhaenyra’s half-sister and daughter-in-law.

The dragons in the show are all quite distinct, with different horns, scale colors, and silhouettes. Showrunner Ryan Condal has said that there’ll be 17 in total. In case you want to keep track, here are the ones we’ve seen so far. There’s Rhaenyra’s yellow she-dragon Syrax, and Daemon’s red, sinuous mount Caraxes - nicknamed the Blood Wyrm. Laenor rides the silver-grey Seasmoke, and Rhaenys the ‘Red Queen’ Meleys. Episode six introduced Jacaerys’ young dragon Vermax; Helaena’s pale blue she-dragon Dreamfyre; and Laena’s hulking she-dragon Vhagar, the oldest and largest alive. Laena mentioned Vhagar in a previous episode, and must have since found and bonded with her. By the way, the nickname of the pig trotted out for Aemond is a pun on Aegon the Conqueror’s mount ‘Balerion the Black Dread’.

Oblivious to the shadow hanging over Rhaenyra, a drunken Laenor rambles about war in the Stepstones. He’s heard of a general from the Free City of Tyrosh who dyes his beard and wears women’s clothes, which amuses him to no end. This references a character from “Fire & Blood” with the colorful, swashbuckling name of Racallio Ryndoon. He was a man of contradictions, a foul-mouthed drunkard who also delighted in sweet scents and fine frocks. In battle, he wielded swords in both hands. Here’s hoping that such an incredible character makes an appearance later in the show!

There are over 2,000 named characters in George R. R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” novels. Where does he get his inspiration? Well, there are a LOT of Aegons and Joffreys. But Martin also dipped into a rather unexpected well: namely, Jim Henson! In episode six, the small council mentions Grover Tully, the Lord of Riverrun. In the books, Martin gave Grover a grandson named Elmo … and great-grandsons Kermit and Oscar! Kermit is described as “commander of their host”, but “green as summer grass”. Oscar was “still greener” and cursed with “prickly pride”. Their different colors are represented by the names of the forks of the Trident river, which runs through their territory: Blue, Red, and Green.

Before we unveil our top pick, here is an honorable mention.

Keep These in Mind for Future Episodes

“Game of Thrones” brought us to Pentos when we were first introduced to Daenerys, and after Tyrion fled across the Narrow Sea. We visit the Free City again in “House of the Dragon”, as the Prince of Pentos delves into the history of Essos .... As readers of the books know, the ‘Century of Blood’ that he mentions was a period of chaos that followed the Doom of Valyria, when a cataclysm destroyed the capital of the Valyrian empire. In the sudden power vacuum, the Dothraki pillaged and burned cities, and Volantis tried to assert power over Essos, until Aegon the Conqueror joined the fight. Who knows, maybe one day we’ll get an Aegon spin-off too!