‘House of the Dragon’ Season 2 Episode 6 Recap: Dragon Ballsy

Now guest starring in the Harrenhal production of Daemonic Possession is Paddy Considine. That’s right, in House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 6, ol’ King Viserys himself is the latest fan favorite to return in hallucination form, as Daemon’s tortured mind builds entire throne rooms to his madness and arrogance. Ghost King V is angry with his brother, angry that he never respected the weight of the crown, and only wished for it to fulfill a perceived right. Embarrassed about being brain-locked into a vision, Daemon lashes out at Lord Strong, dismisses Harrenhal’s curses as drivel, and prepares to depart on Caraxes, still no closer to building any kind of land army for Team Black. But let’s have a word from the wise Alys Rivers. While it’s just like Daemon to run, it’s also just like him to push away what he knows deep down is the truth. “There are older things in this world,” Alys says. “Older than you, or I, or living memory. You are not the player, but a piece on the board, as am I.” It’s Daemon’s burden that he just might not be destined for anything grand.

But if Daemon’s looking for a fight, Aemond’s happy to give him one. In the Red Keep, the prince regent has plans. Team Green will treat with the free cities of the Triarchy, whose ships and mercenary captains will disrupt the Velaryon fleet’s blockade of King’s Landing. It will be a diversion enough that the greens’ land forces can march with confidence toward their next target. While prickish twin Jason Lannister (Jefferson Hall) masses his forces at Golden Tooth in the Westerlands – complete with real lions in caged wagons; that is admittedly way cooler than just a sigil on a banner – Ser Criston Cole and Ser Gwayne Hightower will be on the march again. “I’ll fly out to meet you when the time is ripe,” says Aemond. He’ll provide air support with the feared Vhagar. And if Daemon shows up with Caraxes? Well. “My uncle is a challenge I welcome. If he dares face me.”

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But Aemond is also making cold administrative moves. After she protests the small council’s idea to marry off the dowager queen as “honey” to bring Dalton Greyjoy into their alliance, the prince regent pushes his mother right off the council. (In another development, he also wants to bring back Otto Hightower as Hand of the King.) Alicent wonders where she went wrong with Aemond. “Have the indignities of your childhood not been sufficiently avenged?” It seems like they haven’t, and it certainly seems like Aemond enjoys power enough to make sure a still-breathing Aegon never reveals what really went down at Rook’s Rest.

In Dragonstone, Rhaenyra’s still got rider troubles, and the idea of tapping dispersed dragonseeds goes into action. She did her own research, and Steffon Darklyn (Anthony Flanagan) is a Queensguardian captain with traces of the right kind of blood. He gets it – “I am but a man; the dragons are gods” – and understands the deathly peril, but he’s ballsy and wants to serve his queen, so off they all go into the pit. Cue the old songs in High Valyrian, and an attempt at the elusive, all-important dragon-human mind-meld. Do not show fear! And Steffon thinks he’s got it, though you can smell his fear through the TV screen. So can Seasmoke. The dragon emerges from the pit’s gloom, burns the knight to a crisp, and flies off pissed.

Well, that didn’t work.

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But the dragonseed thing is a good idea, and while Rhaenyra’s attempt failed, House of the Dragon is stirring up its pot of potential dragonriders. In a King’s Landing pub, Ulf gripes about sucking down thin fish soup while the usurpers in the Red Keep feast on honeycakes and rack of lamb. (We also get a shot of the blacksmith Hugh Hammer, another suspected dragonseed.) And while Addam of Hull complains about Lord Corlys with his brother Allyn – “The Sea Snake would sooner have High Tide claimed by the sea than call us his sons” – Seasmoke has his own ideas about legacies and ridership. After the failed attempt in the dragon pit, Laenor Velaryon’s former mount drops out of the sky in front of Addam. Not to terrorize or incinerate, but to let this lowly shipwright and bastard son of a Velaryon know that he just got promoted.

Seasmoke choosing his own rider will be a boon for Team Black. And if Alys Rivers’ prophesying is correct, mad king Daemon might still have juice enough to gather the Rivermen into a fighting force. But in the meantime, Rhaenyra’s connection to Mysaria is growing in more ways than one. Aemond’s stated position on his starving subjects is “Who gives a fuck?”, so Mysaria’s hearts and minds campaign to win over the smallfolk proves fruitful when Rhaenyra floats boats full of fresh food across Blackwater Bay. There is rioting in the streets of KL, and fresh anger at the usurpers. Caught in the open during the chaos, Alicent and Helaena are accosted – cries of “Queen Rhaenyra!” and “There’s the queen of the fishes!” as mother and daughter are pelted with rotten guts – and they barely make it to their armored carriage. Aemond wishes to rule with steel, and on dragonback. But in the streets, Rhaenyra and Mysaria’s victory from below is turning the city against Team Green.

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Mysaria has become Rhaenyra’s closest confidante in Dragonstone. “This world is cold and cruel, and there are few in it who are steadfast. You, I think, are steadfast.” While the ruler has to slap around her chattering advisors, and Jace is frustrated over his mom’s lack of offense, and Daemon is still ghosting his wife’s ravens, Mysaria stands with Rhaenyra. She encourages her queen. She offers reason, and cunning. And when they embrace, it begins from a place of thanks and mutual comfort. But in a beautiful, wordless moment, there is a vibe shift to intimacy.

• The adventures of Rhaena Targaryen in the Vale continue as her already frosty relationship with Jeyne Arryn takes a turn toward suspicion. When she questions her host about evidence of dragonfire she saw outside the Eyrie, Jeyne only says it’s a large but untamed creature searching for food. “Alas, still wild.” “Alas,” Rhaena repeats. Is this hint of a mystery dragon a tease that Rhaena might mind-meld with one of the beasts after all?

• While Aemond tasked Larys Strong with restablishing Otto Hightower as Hand, Lord Clubfoot is also bonding with the now forever broken and scarred Aegon at his bedside. “Your brother rules in your place now. Which means your life is in danger.” And these two, whose physical condition will always be a factor in how they are perceived, come to an agreement of mutual support.
• Daeron watch: the mystery Targaryen brother is still not a direct factor in House of the Dragon , but his profile is growing. Through Ser Gwayne, who knows him at court, we learn that Alicent’s other son is 16, stalwart, handsome, and most of all kind. Kindness is key, considering Alicent’s dismay over how Aemond and Aegon turned out. And let us give thanks for Freddie Fox as Gwayne, delivering lines like this: “It seems the Red Keep, for all its privileges, may in fact be a less than salubrious environment for the forming of young men.”

Johnny Loftus ( @glennganges ) is an independent writer and editor living at large in Chicagoland. His work has appeared in The Village Voice, All Music Guide, Pitchfork Media, and Nicki Swift.

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