credit: House of the Dragon
It didn’t take long for the Targaryen line to start turning on each other. Still, it does feel as though House of the Dragon made it clear with the premiere episode that the clan had already been suffering from infighting and a desire of each individual in power to ascend to the throne. Sadly, Prince Daemon already feels like the type who would gladly cut the legs out from beneath anyone, including his kin, who denied him what he felt was rightfully his. It stands to reason that had his nephew, Baelon, survived that he would have found a way to take the throne from the rightful heir at some point and make sure that his rule would no longer be challenged. Maybe it’s painting Daemon in a lousy light prematurely, but he does appear to be the kind of person who would gladly take the opportunity if it were to be presented. That’s highly unfortunate since his brother, the king, doesn’t appear to be the strong and confident man that he needs to be, especially in the face of having to find a new wife and make sure that his kingdom doesn’t come crashing down.
credit: House of the Dragon
Let’s talk about the Crabfeeder for just a moment.
This guy, a pirate of sorts who nails people to posts and allows the crabs to feast upon them, hence the name, is still a bit of a mystery since his methods are ruthless, his style of torture is highly unusual, and yet his actions are by far and large effective since he is disrupting the shipping lanes and harrying the ships of Corlys Valeryon. This has prompted Corlys to speak to his king in a manner that might have cost many their lives, but the understanding is that something needs to be done. What’s truly irritating about this is that Otto Hightower, the hand of the king, is proving to be a rather devious and manipulative individual as he continues to buffer the king from his subjects and convince the king to either take action or remain vigilant. The king has his own mind regarding some issues, but Hightower is a serious problem. As for the Crabfeeder, he will remain a problem so long as he has backing from the Free Cities.
Prince Rhaenyra is doing what she can to make herself heard.
Being a woman in GoT has never been easy since being set back in medieval times; it’s easy to assume that women are going to be looked down on and treated as objects far more often than not. Women can hold titles, but it often appears that they’re not much more than figureheads and helpers that are not seen as important as men. In GoT and now HotD, it would appear that each woman is going to have to fight or manipulate her way into power. As GoT has already shown, this is entirely possible. But in a show such as House of the Dragon, when having one’s own dragon isn’t quite enough to be taken seriously, it does feel that the princess will have to do much more to become a severe figure in the eyes of many. Even the ceremony announcing her succession didn’t appear to be enough.
credit: House of the Dragon
Corlys is playing a dangerous game, not to mention he made a seriously disturbing move.
The intrigue and deals that are seen to go on behind the scenes are no different from what was seen in GoT over eight seasons, but Corlys is already stepping behind the king’s back to make a deal with Daemon, is something that’s bound to kick things off in a way that could make fans expect the tension to build in episode three. How things will progress if Daemon decides to ally with Corlys could create the spark that needs to happen to kick things off, but the Crabfeeder still feels like the biggest problem that’s front and center at the moment. After all, if the shipping lanes that serve the kingdom are compromised, the damage that will be done could be insurmountable.
The war doesn’t appear to be too far off.
If the standoff that emerged between Princess Rhaenyra and Prince Daemon wasn’t evidenced enough, the Targaryens will be going to war eventually and it will get nasty. The young princess was more than a little incensed by the fact that her uncle took the egg that had been meant for her brother, and she had no trouble letting him know what was what. More than that, however, she made it clear that she wasn’t going to sit around and be a figurehead. The coming conflict is going to be a truly impressive war to watch, but the victor, as anyone should know, is not going to be better off since history has already been written.
Still, being able to see the framework of said history will be interesting.
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