Because in addition to his physical torment, Alicent’s oldest son soon finds himself threatened by his power-hungry little brother and played with by his Master of Whispers, who knows a little something about the effects of physical deformity himself. Is it any wonder that most of Aegon’s waking moments this week are spent crying?
In fact, there are a lot of tears to go around in Sunday’s hour. King Viserys (!) makes an appearance in Daemon’s dreams, mourning the loss of Queen Aemma. And then, upon waking, Daemon himself gets choked up as the reality of his situation starts to sink in.
It’s a lot — and I haven’t even gotten to the flambéed knight or Rhaenyra’s unexpected kiss. Or that appearance by Viserys . Read on for the highlights of Episode 6.
THE PLEASURE OF THE KING | Jason Lannister leads a whole lotta soldiers to meet up with the men of House Lefford at the Golden Tooth. He instructs Lefford to send a raven to Tyland Lannister, still in King’s Landing, and says that they’ll be ready to march on Harrenhal when Aemond joins them “on Vhagar.” Until then, Leffords just got a lot of new houseguests.
Predictably, Aemond doesn’t like being summoned, so he refuses. He also refuses to listen to what his mother has to say on the subject during a small council meeting, then breezes right on to his next idea: He wants to make an alliance with the triarchy so they’ll attack Corlys’ blockade. No one thinks this befriending the notoriously devious pirates is a good idea, but Aemond doesn’t care. He tells Ser Criston to march on Harrenhal and be snappy about it. And then, as his parting blow, he kicks Alicent off the small council.
“You have the impetuousness of youth and its arrogance, neither of which is to be desired in a king,” she says, but it does nothing to sway him. Then she touches his face and quietly wonders, “Have the indignities of your childhood not been sufficiently avenged?” But he just stands and walks away, thanking her for her service as he goes.
Much later, Larys also swings by Aegon’s room to tell the crispy king “you will never be whole” and forecasts how the king will be pitied and mocked for the rest of his life. “They will underestimate you,” Larys says, “and this will be your advantage.” As Aegon cries, Larys goes on to say that Aemond’s place as king regent means that Aegon’s life is in danger “but I think you know that.”
WELP, BACK TO THE DRAGONBOARD | Baela’s speech must’ve gotten through to her grandfather, because he shows up to the next black council meeting with the hand of the queen’s pin on his chest. So he’s there when Rhaenyra summons Ser Steffon Darklyn and tells him he might be their next dragon-ridinghope, given that — per her research — his grandmother’s grandmother was born a Targaryen princess. Some members of the council roll their eyes at the idea, but Ser Steffon is ALL IN… even though, if it goes badly, he’ll probably die.
Rhaenyra and Jace watch as the dragon handlers summon Seasmoke, who emerges from the depths of the dragon hangout and gives Ser Steffon the once-over. At first, things seem to go well; the beast eventually lowers its head and appears to give the knight permission to approach. “I’ve done it,” an awed Steffon says… just before Seasmoke torches him, taking out the handler nearest to him in the process. The men, engulfed in flame, writhe in pain. The handler cuts his own throat to end the misery, but Steffon is rolling around like a dropped, over-roasted marshmallow skewer as Jace pulls a stunned Rhaenyra away. Seasmoke, we learn later, leaves the castle for parts unknown.
Later, Lord Bartimos Celtigar lectures Rhaenyra on how she was wrong and he was right; when she’s had enough, she turns and slaps him across the face. “It is my fault, I think, that you have forgotten to fear me,” she says coldly, then walks away. On the bright side, Mysaria swings by Rhaenyra’s quarters to let her know that the dissent they’re fomenting in King’s Landing is working. So the people are primed to love the Black Queen when they see that she’s floated boats full of food into Blackwater Bay.
THE PLEASURE OF THE QUEEN | Still, later on, Rhaenyra despairs that she cannot win the war, especially now that she thinks the worst about Daemon. “I fear he may have turned against me,” she confides in Mysaria, which means she’s lost not only her husband’s support but also his very powerful dragon.
She’s deep in woe-is-me land when Mysaria decides to inject a little perspective into the conversation. She relates how her father abused her as a child, eventually impregnating her. The outcome of that situation left her scarred and unable to have children. “He left me for dead, but I lived,” she says, adding that her upbringing led her to believe that the world is cruel, and few people are steadfast enough to be trusted. However: “ You , I think, are steadfast,” she tells Rhaenyra. “For that, I will serve you. I believe you are meant to be queen.” That earns her a fervent hug from Rhaeynra… which goes on for a very long time… and then turns into something else entirely as Mysaria starts kissing the queen’s neck. Rhaenyra is INTO IT. They quickly break apart, though, when they’re interrupted by a knight at the door: Seasmoke has been spotted with a rider . “The Greens?” Mysaria asks. “I don’t know who else it could be,” Rhaenyra responds. So she mounts Syrax and takes off to see for herself.
VISERYS RETURNS! | Daemon dreams that he’s in the Red Keep and that Viserys, who sits the Iron Throne, is taking him out of the line of succession all over again. It’s the scene we saw in the series premiere , and Daemon runs away from his brother, but the doors of the throne room refuse to open. He pulls at them, begging for them to open, and then suddenly they do — and Ser Simon Strong is there, in the main room at Harrenhal, wondering if Daemon is OK.
He absolutely is not. He pulls a knife on the old man, accusing him of poisoning him and/or being an accomplice of the Hightowers, Larys Strong and/or Rhaenyra herself. He’s truly unhinged. Daemon eventually backs off, warns everyone in the room to “stop watching me,” then packs and prepares to leave.
On his way out, Alys wonders if he was planning to bid her farewell. He insists that he’s being poisoned. She counters that he’s being haunted, which makes him angry. “It is your way, is it not? When something does not please you, you run?” She goes on to note that his anger blinds him, which he takes as an invitation to start a therapy session. “She never even wanted it,” he says of Rhaeynra. “The crown. She spared it no thought.” She’s like, yeah, because people who want power shouldn’t have it. “Don’t lecture me!” he yells. Ruling the realm “is not a prize to be won, but a burden to bear,” she points out, coming over and sitting with him on a fallen branch. And, perhaps because even HE understands the wisdom in that statement, he asks for her help — excuse me, “counsel” — with the situation in the Riverlands.
She tells him that House Tully has been keeping everything copacetic in the area forever — they rest of the houses will never unite to fight alongside Daemon without Grover Tully’s support. Then she tells him to do nothing and to wait three days, then she walks away after an owl casually flies up and lands on her outstretched arm.
Daemon’s next dream places him in the room as Viserys weeps over Aemma’s dead body, a scene we have not previously seen. “Daemon, she’s gone,” the king says, collapsing into his brother’s arms in grief. “You needed me,” Daemon says. “I’m here now.” He wakes abruptly when Ser Simon wakes him to let him know that Grover Tully — the old, ill man who held together the Riverlands — has died… and that Alys had been at Riverrun to help (or is it “help”?) the maesters who were trying to keep him alive. After Ser Simon leaves, Daemon cries.
AEGON AWAKENS | Back in King’s Landing, the small folk are ANGRY and HUNGRY, a situation that Larys advises Aemond is a very bad combination. Then he tacitly puts himself forward as a candidate for Hand of the King… and is summarily rejected in favor of bringing Otto Hightower back to his old job. Maester Orwyle then arrives to announce that Aegon is awake and seems to be improving. “He may live, thank the gods,” the maester adds.
Aemond quickly goes to his brother’s bedside, orders everyone else out, and then demands to know what Aegon remembers from the battle. Aegon says nothing, then Aemond presses Aemond’s own fist into his scorched and raw skin to press home the point that it better stay that way.
Meanwhile, in the courtyard, Alicent hasn’t heard from her father, though Gwayne says that’s not weird: Otto only communicates when he needs to. She asks him for an update on her son, Daeron, who’s been raised at Oldtown for most of his life and is now 16. “He’s stalwart, clever,” he reports. “He’s kind.” This relieves Alicent, given how Aegon and Aemond turned out. Then she bids him farewell, and he and Ser Criston ride off to battle again.
WHAT ARE ADDAM AND ALYN UP TO? | Corlys, perhaps with Rhaenys’ advice still ringing in his ear and with the idea that he needs an heir, asks Alyn to be his first mate when the newly fixed ship sets sail. Alyn is not into the idea but eventually to assume the post. Addam encourages his brother to take advantage of any opportunity that Velaryon offers, but Alyn says no… and confirms that both men are Corlys’ illegitimate children. “The Sea Snake would sooner have High Tide claimed by the sea than call us his sons,” he says, advising Alyn to stop waiting “for something that will never come.”
But wait: When Addam is out on the beach, foraging, Seasmoke circles and eventually comes too close for comfort. Addam starts to run, but the beast follows him, eventually landing a few feet from the frightened man. Rather than attack, though, the dragon seems to regard him with interest. Has Seasmoke found his new rider, do we think?
FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD | At the tavern in King’s Landing, self-proclaimed Targaryen bastard Ulf grouses that there’s very little food beside fish to be found in King’s Landing. The brothel madame — you remember, Aemond’s favorite? — sits at a table nearby and speaks loudly of how she knows that the inhabitants of the Red Keep feast every night. Then she reveals herself as a supporter of Rhaenyra’s, calling her Viserys’ “rightful heir.”
Later on, Hugh is walking through town (and stops to pet Cheese’s dog, whom I fear he’s planning to eat, but he just scratches his neck — PHEW), when a man runs by with food from the flotilla. He credits Rhaenyra for the bounty (“she thinks of us, even now!”), and Hugh quickly grabs himself some cabbages. There’s a clamor growing in the streets, and the kingsguard rushes Alicent and Helaena out of the sept, where they’re praying for Aegon. But it’s too late, and things go pear-shaped with haste.
Someone calls Alicent the “queen of fishes” and throws fish guts that land on her face. Ick. Helaena gets separated from the group, Alicent falls, and when a commoner reaches for the young queen, a member of the kingsguard CUTS HIS HAND OFF. Alicent yells for her men to sheathe their swords, but pandemonium ensues. The queens wind up having to make a run for it themselves; they get to the carriage and ride to safety, with shouts of “Queen Rhaenyra!” following behind them.
Now it’s your turn. What did you think of the episode? Sound off in the comments!
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