House of the Dragon 1×03 “Second of His Name” really put an emphasis on the family dynamics of the royal family. We watched them bicker and argue (sometimes in embarrassing venues), and just… dysfunction their way to celebrating Aegon’s second birthday.
If there’s one thing that we learned in this episode, it’s that this family needs to seriously communicate more. Effective communication is key, really.
The whole thing was reminscent of that moment in horror movies when someone hears something in the basement and decides to go check it out for themselves — without turning the light on. And how, as the viewer, we’re yelling STOP? That’s what this week’s episode offered us, metaphorically, of course.
With only three episodes in (and a 2–3-year time jump), we can see just how much the King’s indecisiveness has taken a toll on not only his family but his court as well. Rhaenyra has withdrawn from him emotionally, and it seems like the whole realm is just waiting for Viserys to name his newborn son, Aegon the new heir.
And this isn’t without cause. Viserys confides in Alicent that his vision, which we learned about in the first episode, is the reason he cannot fully put his heart and soul into backing Rhaenyra as his successor. Sometimes, I do wonder what would happen if the King perhaps spoke to his heir about his doubts and concerns. His doubts and concerns which are made quite obvious when he names his son “Aegon.” (Yes! That same Aegon from Game of Thrones!)
But the problem is, he won’t stand by it. He won’t stand by anything; he tells the Lannister boy that he believes in Rhaenyra as his successor, and anyone hoping for the naming of a new heir, would be seen as acting in rebellion — but then he names his child Aegon and won’t give her any seat in the small council or training in becoming a leader. It’s incredibly frustrating! If Viserys and Rhaenyra — both — would just sit down, and talk about their thoughts, one would think they could put their heads together to work something out. But right now, these two aren’t even capable of speaking to each other civilly. There’s snide, and passive-aggressiveness in each conversation with voices that rise enough to seek a crowd.
And that just turns into anger. It’s incredibly entertaining to watch, but it’s definitely not a how-to manual on ruling a Kingdom.
No wonder Rhaenyra rides off into the night just to be alone (With the dreamy Criston Cole of course) and get away from all the politicking.
And that is where the episode climaxes. We get to see, symbolically, just what kind of leaders both Viserys and Rhaenyra are or will be. During the “hunt,” we see Viserys — who is honestly served a stag on a silver platter — have a pretty hard time killing it. His blow is weak, and his courtiers must awkwardly watch as the creature suffers in pain.
This is such a vast, and beautiful contrast to Rhaenyra — and also, perhaps, Daemon! (Remember him?) While Rhaenyra is out in the woods at night, she is attacked by a boar. Though at first, she seems to freeze, she does end up getting the upper hand and stabbing it (multiple times) to its death.
This is the first glimpse of a very explicit comparison between the current King and his heir. It also goes to show, with the visions of both Rhaenyra and Daemon (who battled his way through a rampage and killed the Crab Feeder) drenched in blood, that perhaps they are better suited for each other than we previously thought.
It’s something that was hinted at last episode as well, and will probably come to fruition soon. We can see that Rhaenyra is strong and ready to fight. She is decisive, and not afraid of hurdles and a challenge.
With Viserys finally giving Rhaenyra the blessing to find her own husband, I do wonder how long it will take for her to realize her uncle (still ew) is perhaps the person to teach her the Game of Thrones.
Some additional thoughts:
- LOL at Otto very casually recommending that Rhaenyra marry her half-brother. And the King being so offended. Not because incest is gross, but because the boy is only 2!
- RIP Crab Feeder. You were a very strange villain, with no real backstory, and so I will not really mourn you. But you served a purpose, and I cannot wait to see Daemon make his way back to court now
- The back and forth between Alicent and Rhaenyra is very sad and interesting to watch. Their relationship has obviously deteriorated, but it is amusing to see them try to “one up” each other.
- Also kudos to Alicent. She is trying. To be the queen to the king, a wife to a fairly new husband — all while standing up for her friend who is the heir, while her father schemes. It’s a lot, but she is doing so well!
