TV Review: HOUSE OF THE DRAGON: Season 1, Episode 6: The Princess and the Queen [HBO]

House of the Dragon The Princess and the Queen Review

HBO‘s House of the Dragon: Season 1, Episode 6: The Princess and the Queen TV Show Review. The Princess and the Queen is seamless in its transition from one time-frame to another, while introducing older versions of two key characters.

This transition is handled well, with the new Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) and Queen Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) instantly taking charge of their versions of the characters in two back-to-back dramatic scenes that show their current disposition and their degenerated rapport for each other.

The Birth and the Summons

What to show during the birth scene and what not to show, even-though you could show much. Even-though some expect it because of the legacy of Game of Thrones and the channel House of the Dragon airs on. These are the conundrums and undertones as a woman screams in agony and the lights come up in The Princess and the Queen. The camera is focused on her, her face and turmoil, not on sensationalism, not on gore (e.g. the after-birth, though the viewer hears its squeezed passage outward from her womb).

When the queen summons the new born, absolutely ridiculous and cruel when one considers the timing, Rhaenyra shows an equally audacious level of determination to not let the new born out of her sight.

When Ser Laenor Velaryon (John Macmillan) protests and Princess Rhaenyra says that it will end right there if he carries her back down the staircase (almost a dare), Ser Laenor should have picked her up and carried her back down the stairs. It would have been the gallant thing to do, the husband thing to do. It also would have been a show of his affection for her, taking the stress of the stairs fully onto himself.

Better yet, Laenor should have stopped Rhaenyra at the bottom of the staricase, before their ascent, and carried her and her child up them from the very beginning, making a joke on their journey up to lighten the mood.

Neither scenario, in actuality, would do.

This moment is about Rhaenyra and her ability to push forward through adversity.

This moment is about showing her strength, determination, and will-power, like Lagertha did on Vikings by performing manual labor after having a miscarriage, so it would not do to have Princess Rhaenyra helped by someone else in this key moment. The Stairs, like in J. R. R. Tolkien‘s The Two Towers, is a character-building moment. Character moments (i.e. the bringing forth or hardening of a trait – or traits – in a character) are placed into a narrative for a reason. This one shows the viewer that Rhaenyra has a high-pain threshold and when pushed, can push back.

The Cersei Mistake

Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen makes the same egregious child birth mistake that Cersie Lannister made in Game of Thrones – having three children by a man that is not her husband, with the evidence being visible to a discerning, unbiased eye.

Here is a question left unanswered – why didn’t Ser Laenor do his duty and bed his wife? Princess Rhaenyra and Laenor discussed this ten years ago in We Light The Way – (to paraphrase: “we both do our duty and then we can live our separate, married lives with lovers”). Laenor didn’t hold up, literally, his end of the bargain and impregnate his wife. Why? Why didn’t he use a man to get….then at the moment of….’finish’ within his wife? Margaery Tyrell thought of this solution in Game of Thrones. Why didn’t Rhaenyra or Laenor over a ten year time-span?

And the dubious icing on the stupid cake, Ser Harwin Strong (Ryan Corr) visits with Princess Rhaenyra and her children constantly. His presence in her chambers a common occurrence, instead of being a rarity like Jamie Lannister played it (was forced to play it by Cersei) with his three bastards.

For someone whose eyes are on the throne, having children out of wedlock is idiotic – it does not bolster Rhaenyra’s claim to the throne or the longevity of the Targaryen line. In point-of-fact, it undermines both of them.

The Fussing

Queen Alicent Hightower fussing over King Viserys I Targaryen (Paddy Considine) is wonderful to see. It is love and affection manifest, a wordless and tireless declaration. It is also attention-to-emotional-detail on writer Sarah Hess‘ part and shows what the King and Queen’s once sexual relationship has progressed into – one of caregiver and caregivee.

Willful Blindness

Episodes back, King Viserys lamented never being tested with war, having reigned over a peaceful time-period, and wondered how he would have fared during a time of turbulence.

The king, in The Princess and the Queen, does not realize that he is in a time of turbulence. Avoiding uncomfortable questions because you are afraid of the answers you will receive is not leadership, its is willful blindness and an abrogation of your responsibilities.

As king, first and foremost, Viserys Targaryen’s duty is to the realm.

If King Viserys asked Princess Rhaenyra for the truth about her children and she told him, that may have disqualified her for the Iron Throne. It would certainly disqualify her three children, thus the succession of the throne and the lineage of House Targaryen would be thrown into turmoil.

The King doesn’t want to face that situation, give birth to it, have to deal with it. He would rather the rumor exist that he doesn’t have to deal with than a truth that requires a reckoning.

Prince Daemon Targaryen is right –  the king is weak…when it comes to certain matters. Namely, his family.

Daemon Finally Gets What He Wants…Sort of

Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) finally gets what he wants in The Princess and the Queen – a subservient wife.

When he dismisses Lady Laena Velaryon (Nanna Blondell) with a look in the episode, the viewer knows that Lady Rhea Royce would never have left his presence until her point had been made, she had been fully heard, and some resolution had been reached.

When Lady Laena decides to kill herself rather than be cut open and murdered for the child in her womb, Daemon is dealt a blow that can be summed up thusly – “you reap what you sow” or in this case, what you consider too loudly within earshot of your supposed loved one.

Clubfoot the Unscrupulous

In the history of unscrupulous fictional characters, outside of a William Shakespeare play,  Larys Strong (Matthew Needham) may be near the top of the list. Killing his father and his older brother coterminous is absolutely ruthless. Doing so for mere self-aggrandizement, though purposeful (cleverly under the guise of aiding the Queen), may be even worse.

Was the opportunity so great and his hatred for his family so deep that he could casually commit such a heinous act? Did the opportunity, that only he saw, beg grasping so profoundly? Evidently so.

And Larys shows not a pang of regret for his murderous duplicity, which now makes him a fascinating character to watch, and the de-facto ‘Littlefinger’ of the series as well.

If Larys inherits Harrenhal, with its accompanying lands and income, and becomes Lord Strong, all of which would have gone to his older brother, will it be worth it to him? No. If it had been, he would have killed his father and brother years ago.

The incentive to act now is the Queen.

The Queen, and her heirs, if successful, will owe him their Iron Throne. At that point, he will be able to ask for anything within reason and receive it.

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