Spoiler-Free Review Of HBO's 'House of The Dragon' Episode 6
Image Source: IMDb
WARNING: SPOILERS FOR EPISODES 1 -5
We have officially entered the second half of season one, and… it was a lot. The time jump has finally happened! HBO has been teasing the ten-year time jump since House of the Dragon was first announced at San Diego Comic-Con. In every trailer, promotional photo, and poster, fans were given glimpses of the older Alicent and Rhaenyra. However, we were unprepared for where their relationship would be after the time jump.
Last week’s episode saw Alicent declaring war against Rhaenyra after learning that she had slept with Ser Criston Cole. However, Alicent remained unaware that Rhaenyra also had a moment with her uncle, Daemon. In retaliation to this news, Alicent not only arrived late to the celebration dinner honoring the upcoming nuptials between Rhaenyra and Laenor Velaryon, but she arrived wearing a green dress. As noted by Larys Strong, green was the color of House Hightower and signified that she was not only choosing House Hightower over House Targaryen but that she was also declaring war against the Targaryens. While the green dress was gone, Alicent’s wardrobe for Episode 6 comprised of blue, almost green dresses throughout.
RELATED:
Tonight’s episode featured a similar goal to Episode 1 and Episode 2 which was to introduce the main players and the internal and external conflicts at the present time. While we already knew the main players going into tonight’s episode, we were introduced to the children of King Viserys and Alicent, Rhaenyra and Laenor, and Daemon and Laena Velaryon. Most of the focus was on Aegon, King Viserys’s firstborn son, and the three children that Rhaenyra had given birth to over the last ten years.
Image Source: Entertainment Weekly
This episode felt more similar to Game of Thrones than the first five episodes of House of the Dragon. The backstabbing, rumors, networking, and heartwrenching deaths will remind fans of earlier seasons of Game of Thrones. While this episode did move at a slower pace than the last few episodes, the twists and turns made it feel like you were on a rollercoaster. This episode also showed the growth of Daemon’s character from Episode 1 until now as he was faced with a difficult decision that his brother was asked to make in the premiere. Unlike his brother, he was not quick to make the decision. Without giving anything away, I will say that this episode had one of the saddest deaths in the entire Game of Thrones universe. I am interested to see how it will affect the remaining four episodes of the season.
House of the Dragon has done something that I don’t think anyone expected it to do. While the show itself has gotten plenty of viewership, it has also renewed interest in the original Game of Thrones series. According to Variety, Game of Thrones is getting more views than House of the Dragon at the moment. I think that this show has ignited interest in fans that were not originally part of the fandom, which speaks to how great this show has been so far.
Overall, I loved this episode. Each week, the cast and crew bring us an immersive experience that blows my expectations out of the water. With Game of Thrones, there were episodes that I hated watching, but so far each House of the Dragon episode grabs my attention and refuses to let go. I am interested to see how the rest of this season will play out and what the creators will do for the second season.
All-new episodes of House of The Dragon will air Sundays at 9 P.M. ET on HBO and will stream the same day on HBO Max.
READ NEXT:
