House of the Dragon Episode 5

'House of the Dragon': Rhea Royce, Daemon's wife, is introduced before her death in Episode 3. Read our appreciation of her.

In a post-show featurette HBO released after the episode aired, executive producer Ryan Condal pointed out that the vagueness of that line seemed the perfect place to introduce a little Daemon deviance; later in the Dragon episode, Rhaenys reports that Rhea’s neck and head were “crushed,” leaving little question regarding what Daemon did with the rock he picked up just after his wife’s… * Hmm, after that dancefloor beat-down-turned-murder, perhaps Ser Criston is not the tenderhearted young lad I’ve been led to believe? (For what it’s worth, in Fire & Blood, Rhea “lingered for nine days before finally feeling well enough to leave her bed, only to collapse and die within an hour of rising.”) “…There came a tragic mishap, of the sort that shapes the destiny of kingdoms: the “bronze bitch” of Runestone, Lady Rhea Royce, fell from her horse whilst hawking and cracked her skull upon a stone,” George R.R. (Read [a full recap](https://tvline.com/2022/09/18/house-of-the-dragon-recap-season-1-episode-5/).) Admittedly, though, that was more about goading the Hand of the King over his own wife’s recent death and less about Daemon divesting himself of a life partner he sorely loathed.

As the dance continues, the camera cuts back again to Rhaenyra's bodyguard and lover, Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) — a bit of foreshadowing of his final ...

But as personal grudges continue to escalate, the “Dance of the Dragons” will transform from a literal dance into a symbolic one: The dance of swords and knights on the battlefield. Martin’s world, and the [Game of Thrones](https://www.polygon.com/game-of-thrones) prequel series [House of the Dragon](https://www.polygon.com/house-of-the-dragon) is no exception. The view of the action is obscured from the high table — a potent visual metaphor for the Targaryens’ myopia — and Rhaenyra gets shoved aside amid the jockeying of the crowd. As soon as the body is dragged away, someone (presumably Viserys) decides that it would be best to get this wedding out of the way as soon as possible, before anyone else dies. This is Viserys’ fatal flaw: He only has eyes for Rhaenyra and his dream of keeping Targaryens on the throne for the next hundred years, failing to see the rats scurrying around the edges of his grand plan. The secret ceremony that follows is held amid the scraps of an abandoned feast, decaying and nibbled on by rats. The happy (or at least content, with an understanding that their marriage is a political arrangement) couple stays at the center of the frame as the assembled lords and ladies get up to join the dance. (Look up “Blood and Cheese, Dance of the Dragons” if you’re curious.) These hints point toward where the story is going. The first season of [House of the Dragon](https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516586&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hbomax.com%2Fseries%2Fhouse-of-the-dragon%3Foffer_id%3D5%26transaction_id%3D102c87c7%255B%25E2%2580%25A6%255D4ed39326beedc6012ca%26utm_source%3DVox%2BMedia%26utm_medium%3Daffiliate&referrer=polygon.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.polygon.com%2F23361934%2Fhouse-dragon-episode-5-review-recap) moves much more quickly than Game of Thrones: Five episodes in, and we’ve already covered a half a decade in the lives of [King Viserys Targaryen](https://www.polygon.com/23328660/house-dragon-viserys-iron-throne-cut) (Paddy Considine) and [his backstabbing royal family](https://www.polygon.com/23344676/house-dragon-episode-4-review-targaryen). [Queen Alicent’s (Emily Carey) green dress](https://www.polygon.com/23356938/house-dragon-green-dress-alicent-wedding) in this week’s episode is a great example of this visual storytelling, as are the rats slurping up the blood on the dance floor at the end of the episode. But then he looks back out over the dance, concentrating on his daughter at the center of the swirling fabrics and outstretched limbs. [Alliances are shifting, factions are forming](https://www.polygon.com/23322393/house-dragon-houses-characters-explained), and animosities are deepening.

In the episode, Criston Cole asks Rhaenyra to run away with him on the ship returning to King's Landing from Driftmark. In the book, he proposes to her before ...

We never get to the tourney in the show, as Criston attacks and kills Laenor’s lover with his bare hands during the feast in a much more gruesome and unhinged way. In the book, she actually regains consciousness before she passes; if her husband had tried to murder her, she would’ve told somebody. Criston Cole’s confession to Alicent about his affair with Rhaenyra wasn’t in the book, but it’s one of those events that might have happened and shaped history; it just wasn’t recorded as it took place behind closed doors. For the sake of show-only fans, I appreciate the way her silent statement is verbalized by Larys Strong: green is the color of “the flame of the High Tower [when it] calls its banners to prepare for war.” We’ve seen Alicent wear a lot of red and black so far, but we can now officially say goodbye to Targaryen colors. As the last episode before a significant time jump, we might expect the writers to cram lots of events into this one, but the full hour is mainly dedicated to the betrothal of Rhaenyra Targaryen and Laenor Velaryon. In the book, he proposes to her before she sets sail.

The bride and doom of Valyria: (L-R) Matt Smith, Gavin Spokes, Emily Carey, Paddy Considine, Milly Alcock, Theo Nate, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, ...

He says he'll be flying to the Eyrie, the seat of House Arryn in the Vale, and petitioning Lady Jeyne to give it to him. If the point of that is to show how people get ground up in the gears of the Targaryen Dynasty, box checked. On a show called House of the Dragon! In the Driftmark dunes, Laenor and his horseplay pal Ser Joffrey demonstrate how Joffrey got the nickname "Knight of Kisses." The hall of the Iron Throne has been turned into the welcome reception for the royal wedding. Corlys suggests that Laenor's "true nature" is just a phase, and that the realm will welcome Rhaenyra's succession, which is a real one-two punch of pure wrongness there, my guy. "It is the only thing I have to my f***ing name!" Back in the godswood at the Red Keep, Queen Alicent runs into the prodigiously creepy Larys Strong (son of Lord Lyonel, brother to Harwyn Strong, who's turned up a couple times on the show, and who's gonna be hopping a few rungs up the call sheet next week). says Laenor, which only serves to make us imagine the endless string of disappointed and frustrated geese that have had to put up with Laenor's yeomanlike ministrations. The show takes this as the first of several opportunities to direct our attention to the king's less-than-robust health (drink!). A coughing, wheezing king (drink!) is greeted by Corlys, who steps off the Driftwood Throne to bend the knee. This recap of House of the Dragon's fifth episode contains spoilers for ...

Relationships are getting sticking in King's Landing, but Queen Alicent seems to be the only one able to maneuver them in her favor.

By the end of the episode, Alicent makes her decision and comes into her own. She moved where her father told her to move, she produced the male heir expected of her, she played the role she thought she had to play as the subservient, caring wife and queen. Alicent has to choose between her children and her former friend who has already proven she has no allegiance to Alicent. Suddenly, Alicent is stuck in a crossroads of her own, pulled between her conscience and her royal duty to care for her King and his desires, and her loyalty to her family name and home of Oldtown. Otto makes it clear to Alicent that, while she may trust her husband and her best friend/stepdaughter, which is all well and good and so sweet, in the end, Rhaenyra will have no choice but to betray Alicent. Hey, the only way to truly spice up an uncle and niece relationship is to throw a good ol’ cousin in there. The only way for Rhaenyra to stake her claim to the throne is to get rid of her father’s sons. Unfortunately, the Knight of Kisses finds himself on the other end of Cole’s rage, and before the end of the evening, this love square becomes a triangle. Take me to Dragonstone and make me your wife,” Rhaenyra says in a way that sounds vaguely like a threat, but also somehow a plea. We got this season’s wedding-gone-awry— a Thrones staple—some nice symbolism in the form of color, and enough love triangles and squares to require a refresher course in geometry. In fact, she basically begs him to marry her during her wedding festivities. Just because Rhaenyra is set to be wed doesn’t mean she’s over her little crush on her uncle.

Then there's the prickly Ser Criston Cole, who savagely killed Ser Joffrey Lonmouth at the end of the episode. He was behind Rhaenyra before, but now appears to ...

"It was the Knight of Kisses who felt the fullest measure of his wroth," it's written in Fire and blood. Mushroom was put in the show at the behest of Paddy Considine, who plays King Viserys. In the Fire and Blood book, however, it's said that Ser Criston actually killed Lonmouth in a jousting contest. In the show, that never happened because of Cole and Lonmouth's brawl. In King Viserys' speech, the one interrupted by Alicent Hightower's entrance, he made note of the seven days of feasting and jousting planned before the wedding. We saw Ser Criston Cole brutally beat Laenor's lover, Ser Joffrey Lonmouth to death, at the climax of episode 5. "Save your lies for the court, you're going to need a lot of them," Margaery told Renly when the former acted indignant at her insinuation that he was gay. In the Fire and Blood book, it's noted that Rhaenys had been riding her dragon, Meleys, since she was 13. Following the death of King Robert, Renly made a claim for the Iron Throne, and wed Margaery of the wealthy Tyrell house to strengthen his backing. As for Runestone, the castle Daemon Targaryen intends to inherit, it was briefly seen in season 5 of Game of Thrones, when Robin Arryn was (unsuccessfully) being trained to fight with a sword and shield. Daemon killed her in the opening scene of the episode. This is a callback to something Daemon said all the way back in episode 1, when the Small Council was haranguing him over the excessive force he commanded the City Watch use.

This blows up in their faces when Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) — who wants something more than being Rhaenyra's secret "whore" — causes a brawl at the couple's ...

At a celebration before the wedding, Joffrey Lonmouth (Solly McLeod), Laenor's lover, exposed the Rhaenyra's plan to keep Criston as her secret whore. At this point, audiences are quick to pick up on the behaviors that several members of the Targaryen family routinely engage in. This blows up in their faces when Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) — who wants something more than being Rhaenyra's secret "whore" — causes a brawl at the couple's wedding.

The latest episode of House of the Dragon, “We Light The Way,” was a doozy. Political marriages! Heartfelt confessions! Murders at weddings! Perhaps that last ...

The latest episode of House of the Dragon hit us HARD. [Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels](“https://www.amazon.com/b/?rh=i:instant-video,n:2858778011&ie=UTF8&filterId=OFFER_FILTER=SUBSCRIPTIONS&node=2858778011&ref_=assoc_tag_ph_1465430649312&_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=pf4&tag=fs-livedrops1-20&linkId=90b2815fb79ba0e403137c68e139db16”) [House of the Dragon](https://winteriscoming.net/game-of-thrones/house-of-the-dragon/), [“We Light The Way,”](https://winteriscoming.net/2022/09/18/house-of-the-dragon-review-we-light-the-way/) was a doozy. We break it all down on a new episode of Take the Black. CST in the same places. We also talk about other things in the worlds of movies, TV, sci-fi and fantasy every Wednesday at 4:00 p.m.

A spoiler-free deep dive into "We Light the Way," featuring info on the connections between the Targaryens and Velaryons; Criston Cole's predicament; ...

With the end of Episode 5, House of the Dragon is jumping a decade into the future, swapping out the actors for Alicent and Rhaenyra as the series progresses toward the Dance of the Dragons. So is a gelding, and so is a lifelong exile with the Night’s Watch. Meleys is described as the swiftest dragon in the Seven Kingdoms—the perfect dragon to match the independent personalities of both Alyssa and Rhaenys. But Orwyle has a preference for potions and tinctures, and before leaving he gives one to Larys to administer to the king. Many of the old kings of Westeros had a champion to defend them, and since Aegon was the king of the Seven Kingdoms, Visenya reasoned that he should have seven champions. House Velaryon is already the wealthiest house in the Seven Kingdoms, and is second to only the Targaryens in power. The colors of House Targaryen are traditionally black and red, and while Rhaenyra wore white to the wedding, she does have a pitch-black shawl on for the ceremony itself. No other members of House Lonmouth are named in Fire & Blood, though there is a Lonmouth who serves as a squire to Rhaegar Targaryen before Robert’s Rebellion, so this isn’t the end of the Lonmouth line. The thing to know about House Royce is that it’s a proud and ancient one. But now, some 15 years after the Great Council, House Velaryon has found a new path to the Iron Throne through the marriage of Laenor and Rhaenyra. During this time Corlys used the riches he’d acquired as a younger man to construct High Tide, the castle seen in this episode, as a replacement for the grim, wet, and crowded Castle Driftmark. It wouldn’t be a wedding in Westeros without at least one death (though with only one guest dying violently at the nuptials of Rhaenyra and Laenor, the Dothraki would have considered this wedding a dull affair).