House of the Dragon (2×06) Smallfolk Review

For our review of the last episode of House of the Dragon, click here.

In this latest episode of House of the Dragon saw Team Green at King’s Landing succumb to the youthful impulsiveness of yet another Targaryen ruler while Rhaenyra set her risky plan in motion and Daemon got a reality check from a familiar source. War appears to still be on the horizon but it seems like whoever could get their affairs in order first will likely win. As Aemond found himself in a position of power (and that is likely to remain for a long time based on the condition of his brother and if the knowledge of what happened to him stays locked within his mind), it may not be the best thing as his plan was to make controversial relationships to break up the King’s Landing blockade and rush into battle in the Riverlands before their forces were good and ready. Meanwhile, a consummate member of the small council and the only voice of reason, he decided to relieve Alicent of her seat.

After dismissing his mother from the small council, he needed a new hand, therefore he called upon the wisdom of Sir Otto Hightower, whose current whereabouts were unknown. On the outside, the smallfolk of King’s Landing suffered from a food shortage caused by the various blockades and that frustration slowly percolated to the surface and Mysaria looked to leverage that to her advantage. Aemond’s advisors noticed this but his lack of concern left them vulnerable. Either way, they lost the chance to respond as boats packed with food sent by Rhaenyra arrived in the middle of the night which rallied the smallfolk to her cause. As a result, they understandably showed their dissatisfaction with the current regime in a big way, one that was scary for anyone or anything in their path. Getting up close and personal, Alicent and Helaena found themselves in the line of fire in what was a tense sequence for them.

Corlys Velaryon accepted his position as the Hand of the Queen as Rhaenyra found her first candidate for dragonrider, though that candidate would fail miserably and his prospective dragon, Seasmoke, later escaped. An unfortunate speed bump, the search for another would have to wait. Setting sail for a voyage, he enlisted Alyn of Hull (Abubakar Salim), brother of Addam of Hull (Clinton Liberty). Essentially his son, his brother believed that he could leverage his position and the fact that he saved his life in the past for the Driftwood throne. However, with no aspirations of power, Alyn wanted to be his own man outside of Corlys’ shadow but the men working under him were not blind to what was happening between the two. Perhaps Addam was just jealous of their relationship.

Harrenhal continued to play tricks on Daemon but the latest one hit especially close to home as Viserys returned to scold him for his past actions that led him to lose the heirship to Rhaenyra. Rattled like never before, Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin) helped to put things in perspective and offer some wise council as he became more ripe to accept help from others. A wildcard that continued to prove herself as a powerful ally for Daemon, she worked to clear an obstacle for him to possibly take control of the Riverlands.

Bonding over their relationships with the men in their lives that have taken advantage of them, Rhaenyra and Mysaria trusted each other as they opened up to another, showing vulnerability and expressing their feelings in the heat of that vulnerable moment. That moment, however, would be interrupted upon the news that Seasmoke had been spotted with a rider. Upon the news, Rhaenyra set out on Syrax, her own dragon, to pursue the lead. Taking charge, she no longer wanted to be someone to sit back while others protected her but rather, wanted to fight. Rhaenyra wanted to be feared again. Presumably, that mystery rider would be Addam of Hull as Seasmoke had been seen flying over the area where he had been preparing to set sail before the dragon had cornered him but the outcome of that encounter remains to be seen. The Vale is also home to a potentially large and powerful dragon of its own, thus adding another wildcard to the proceedings.

While it was certainly nice to see Paddy Considine come back at Viserys to highlight so much of the burden he faced as king, that final scene between Emma D’Arcy’s Rhaenyra and Sonoya Mizuno’s Mysaria was the strongest moment of the episode, where they each let their guard down and bonded. Name dropping Otto Hightower, on the other hand, could be a good sign as King’s Landing needs an adult in the room. Alicent could only do so much so he will surely assert himself and stand up to Aemond.

Get it together, people!

still courtesy of HBO

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.