HEAVY SPOILER WARNING: Please do not read this if you don’t want this episode spoiled for you. Watch “House of the Dragon” episode 2 and come back.
Politics is fast-paced in Westeros and we get a taste of that in “The Rogue Prince.” From Otto’s subtle scrambling to the Velaryons’ dark propositions, King’s Landing does not run out of drama.
Here are the winners and losers in the second episode of “House of the Dragon.”
Craghas Drahar / The Crabfeeder
We finally see Craghas Drahar aka “The Crabfeeder.” He was mentioned briefly in the first episode, but only Corlys Velaryon realizes that he was something worth the headache of the small council. In the opening scene of the episode, the gore was not chill.
The Crabfeeder’s men were chill, though. From a distance, we can see them casually walking by as Westerosi sailors scream in anguish while small, red crabs feed on their flesh.
The episode opens and closes with Craghas Drahar because the writers wants us to remember that as all the balderdash happening in King’s Landing take place, someone is making the crabs in Stepstones fat.
While far away from the decision-makers at King’s Landing, The Crabfeeder is getting on some people’s nerves. Because of this, he’s a winner in this episode.
Rhaenyra Targaryen
The lord commander of the Kingsguard, Ser Ryam Redwyne has died after being ill for some time. This leaves the Kingsguard needing one more member. It is up for Rhaenyra Targaryen to choose a replacement for Ser Ryam.
While men discuss politics, Rhaenyra listens. When she couldn’t contain it, she recommends using dragons against the triarchy. The king and his small council underestimate Rhaenyra because they don’t think she’s capable of making wise decisions. So what does Otto Hightower think she should do instead? Pick Ser Ryam’s replacement.
And off she does. While on it, we see her use a stepping stool. The writers won’t put that scene there if they don’t want us to think she really isn’t old enough to understand important matters such as this. She was so clueless about all the proceedings that when a candidate’s resumé is presented, she doesn’t know what to say to him. She picked what to her was the right choice anyway—Ser Criston Cole, who in the previous episode won against Daemon Targaryen in jousting and close combat. But we’ll know in time whether or not it really was the right choice. For now, what we know is that Ser Criston Cole is a good fighter and he’s the only one among the applicants who has a real experience in battle.
Because she doesn’t get the respect she deserves as a knowledgeable politician despite slowly learning, Rhaenyra is a loser in this episode.
Corlys Velaryon and Rhaenys Targaryen
Corlys wants a long-term solution rather than compensation for losing ships and men. Unlucky for him, Viserys Targaryen will not wage a war against the triarchy at the Stepstones in fear of retaliation from the Free Cities of Essos. Although they have no hard evidence, the king suspects Essos cities are funding the triarchy’s campaign. Corlys is the only one in the small council, at least for now, who’s interested in discussing important matters concerning the protection of the realm.
Outside the council, his wife Rhaenys likes spending her afternoon observing from a distance how Rhaenyra rates the zero-experience-tourney-bois. She does this while emitting her cool nihilist vibes of course.
These two were my favorite duo until they decided to propose to Viserys Targaryen that he marries their 12-year-old daughter Laena Velaryon. Corlys’ ambition that a Velaryon would someday become a monarch isn’t entirely unexpected. Rhaenys, his wife, has been denied the crown twice in her life. Having someone with the Velaryon blood someday sit on the Iron Throne will feel like repayment. But the Velaryons’ proposition was so twisted that even Grand Maester Mellos was like, “Wait, dafuq?” in one scene after hearing about it.
Rhaenys says she understands that women should relinquish all ambitions to be seated at the throne. She delivers the best line of the episode so far: “Men would sooner put the realm to the torch than see a woman ascend the Iron Throne.” This encapsulates just how backwards Westerosi lords are.
Since there’s no FBI in Westeros to make sure they pay for suggesting to the king that he resorts to pedophilia, these two are winners in this episode. The Velaryons, however, did not get what they want despite the support of some. Back to the loser circle.
More on the Velaryons later because they haven’t run out out of moves just yet.
Ser Criston Cole
Okay. Real quick thing about Criston. He gets the respect of Daemon Targaryen for trash-talking. Dude’s a winner for that and for getting Rhaenyra’s trust.
Viserys Targaryen
The king’s relationship with his daughter is becoming more and more distant. He tells Alicent Hightower, who he’s developed a stronger bond almost half a year after the events of episode 1, that him and Rhaenyra don’t speak much anymore.
To make things worse for him, slowly but surely, Viserys is losing a finger due to some form of leprosy.
Viserys has not made any good decision so far and the Iron Throne is killing him, so he’s a loser.
Alicent Hightower
Alicent is already making his daddy proud. No one’s closer to the king than she is at this point. She also makes sure he’s happy by talking to Rhaenyra to try to convince her to talk to him.
She does this by convincing the princess to kneel and pray to the “The New Gods” at the Sept. The Targaryens, as old-school Valyrians, do not pray to the new gods in the religion called “The Faith of the Seven.” The Valyrians in Old Valyria prayed to many gods and even named their dragons after their deities.
The talk proved fruitful. After the a visit at the Sept, Rhaenyra tried talking to his father. Whether or not the talk ended positively was neither here nor there because Alicent is a winner in this episode.
And then there’s Viserys’ announcement that he will marry Alicent. Winner winner, chicken dinner. But not so fast.
Throughout all of that, Alicent has never stopped picking her fingers, suggesting that she’s uncomfortable with everything or at least some of the things she is doing. Because of that, she is also a loser in this episode.
Otto Hightower
Otto Hightower scrambled upon hearing the Velaryons’ wedding proposal to Viserys. On the surface he did not look like it, though. Dude was like a calm duck, but deep down, he was paddling hard.
When Viserys wanted to go to Dragonstone after Daemon’s provocation, Otto Hightower stopped him. That was a calculated move, too. If Daemon ends up killing Viserys, then Rhaenyra becomes queen. That makes all of Otto’s efforts making his daughter get close to the king for naught.
Since he’s a good playa, Otto is a winner in this episode.
Daemon Targaryen
The former Prince of Dragonstone, who is now the Squatter of Dragonstone (since Rhaenyra was named Princess of Dragonstone in the previous episode) is trolling.
He invites Viserys to his wedding, which is happening two days after he steals a dragon egg for Lady Mysaria, his mistress. It wasn’t even just a dragon egg, it was the dragon egg that was supposed to be for Baelon, Viserys’ child who died just after Aemma Arryn in the first episode.
He gets the attention of his beloved brother and he gets to make Otto’s blood boil every now and then. So in this episode, Daemon is a winner.
Near the end of the episode, Daemon has found another ally with Corlys Velaryon. Daemon is on a roll while the Velaryons are somehow seeing light again.
Lord Lyonel Strong
Lyonel is someone you don’t want to be with in an island when you’re on Survivor. His mind works like a computer. But when he gives Viserys his opinion about the matters the king must decide on real quickly, it was really just the writers’ way of giving us a summary of the choices making politics real complex in Westeros.
He’s neither a winner nor a loser here.
Before I end this, let me just mention really quickly two other losers. Lady Mysaria who by now realizes she’s being used by Daemon for his political ambitions as well is one. The other losers are the ones we didn’t see take part in anything in this episode—the common people of King’s Landing. The City Watch, or the Gold Cloaks, were supposed to enforce law at the Westerosi capital, and yet they left their stations to show to Daemon their loyalty and be with him at the Dragonstone. All Gold Cloaks Are Bastards. #AGCAB should trend in Westeros Twitter.
There’s one winner, too. So far away from all these Westerosi schemers, Vhagar is resting somewhere being the old dragon that she is.
