HEAVY SPOILER WARNING: Please do not read this if you don’t want this episode spoiled for you. Watch “House of the Dragon” episode 1 and come back.
If it wasn’t clear from the trailers, “House of the Dragon” has a lot of commentary about the experience of women in politics. The first episode, “The Heirs of the Dragon,” did not want to take its time delivering that message.
Episode 1 started with the narration by an old Rhaenyra Targaryen about the Great Council called by the old King Jaehaerys to decide on which Targaryen to call his heir to the throne. Over a thousand lords from all over Westeros favored the claim of Viserys Targaryen over The Queen Who Never Was, Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, because of her sex.
Before we start our discussion on the themes tackled in the whole series, let me first give you my list of who the winners and losers are in each episode. Let’s start with the ones from episode 1.
Rhaenyra Targaryen
This show is trying real hard to make us sympathize with Rhaenyra even though we really shouldn’t be taking any sides. We know from the first episode that she’s the central character and we get a lot of insight about her in the first episode alone—we know that she is knowledgeable about history even though she tries hard not to appear so, that she likes riding dragons rather than think of marriage or bearing a child, and that she has a healthy relationship with her mom Aemma Arryn.
Even during that quick scene with her mom, we had a glimpse of what she really wants for herself. When Aemma said,
“We have royal wombs, you and I. The childbed is our battlefield.”
Aemma Arryn, “House of the Dragon” episode 1
the camera focused on Rhaenyra slowly turning her head to the side to think about what she just heard from her mother. Up until this point, she hasn’t really thought about it. We, the viewers, get a feeling that she does not really fully agree with her mom.
Milly Alcock’s acting is superb in this episode. Even in the scenes where she doesn’t have a line, she’s giving it her all. After Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) said, “Heir for a day,” referring to her dead brother, the camera switched to Alcock. That was my favorite. Rhaenyra cares about her uncle, but she doesn’t know how to react to the news about Daemon’s insult.
In the end, however, Viserys sees Rhaenyra as his worthy heir and he even told her a secret prophecy that only true heirs know about!
Because of this, Rhaenyra is both a winner and a loser in this episode. But mostly, she is a winner because it seems her father favors her as the heir over her uncle. More on Uncle Daemon later.
Aemma Arryn
The queen consort is a loser in this episode. While she was having difficulties with her labor, the king was busy entertaining knights and lords with the tournament. He was celebrating his wife’s labor with violence. (Speaking of the tournament: Damn, son. That venue is so much better than the venue for King Robert Baratheon’s in “Game of Thrones.” It makes you think whether #BaratheonCorrupt trended in King’s Landing then.)
Cutting between the tournament and the difficulty Aemma was having in birthing another child was a wise choice from the side of the writers. Aemma said it herself that the birthing bed is her battlefield as a woman. It is unfortunate, however, that most of Westeros are oblivious to her suffering. Everyone is just obsessed with the fake, but still very violent, battlefield.
For this list, Aemma is one of our losers.
Corlys Velaryon
Corlys is the only man in the small council who sees the triarchy as a threat. At first, this news of the triarchy ridding the seas with pirates is dismissed by King Viserys, but this kingdom will soon see that this problem is serious.
The triarchy’s prince admiral, Craghas Drahar or “Crabfeeder,” is a threat to Corlys’ business interests, obviously. His family benefits from the continuous trades in the ports near Stepstones.
But since Otto Hightower wants to discuss the tournament rather than Crabfeeder, Corlys is also one of our losers.
Viserys Targaryen
The king is loved by the people around him (I assume) because he likes jokes more discussing the realm’s security. His obsession with having an heir caused Aemma’s death. He loves Aemma, but he loves his duty to produce an heir more.
Him defending his brother’s overspending for the training of the City Watch is the sort of nepotism you would expect from a weaker brother. Viserys is dragonless unlike other Targaryens. His rogue brother, who we’re sure of he loves because he doesn’t hate anyone it seems, has one of the scariest looking dragons we’ve seen on television. Even a king like Viserys is no match to that.
Viserys is a good brother, but he isn’t a good king. We see that through the wounds he gets from sitting on the throne. The lore says only a worthy ruler can sit on the throne comfortably. (But if you’re watching this show as an anarchist, the point really is that no one is fit to be a sole ruler of a kingdom.)
It is very hard to sympathize with Viserys. He gets excited about having an heir to the throne and talks about it with his daughter Rhaenyra around as his council’s cupbearer. FFS, Viserys. Your wife lost five children in ten years due to birthing problems and you still want a son to be an heir? Just accept that Rhaenyra is your worthy heir, you muppet! She knows her politics well now that she’s been in other council meetings as your cupbearer anyway.
Due to the countless decisions this man has made during his reign and up to this point in the story, Viserys is also one of our losers.
Otto Hightower
The king’s hand is the most ambitious character in this episode. Effing dude sent her daughter to “comfort” the king. And what was the content of that letter? This early in the story and he’s already plotting. Why didn’t he want Corlys to continue airing his concerns about the triarchy?
When Aemma died, Viserys’ council couldn’t wait to talk about the succession until he’s done grieving, but knowing now what we know about Otto Hightower, I wasn’t surprised. He wants to make sure Daemon is not the one who’s next in line to the throne. They hate each other and he knows he’ll lose power if Daemon sits on that chair. Maybe that was the reason why Otto sent his child to the king’s chambers. He knows his best chance would be to give him another son. Oh, the games this dude plays. That line, “You might wanna wear one of your mother’s dresses,” tells us the playa knows WTH he’s doing.
Because he seems to be getting closer and closer to his ambitions, Otto is a winner in this episode.
Alicent Hightower
Rhaenyra’s closest friend (aside from her dragon, maybe) is Alicent Hightower. The poor girl is used by her father Otto for his ambitions. She was perfect for her father’s sinister plans. She had common interests with Viserys and I am pretty sure they talked about Westerosi history for hours on end.
She did nothing much in this episode other than be one of our losers because she is at the moment a pawn. But in future episodes, she is one of the most significant characters in this story.
Rhaenys Targaryen
That scene during the tournament was my favorite that involved Rhaenys. She exudes so much nihilist vibes. Her relationship with Corlys is one of the healthiest we’ve seen so far in Westeros and it’s refreshing.
For losing to Viserys in her claim to be the heir to the previous king, Rhaenys is a loser in this episode. But because she looks like she’s living the life, she is also a winner.
And the last but not the least,
Daemon Targaryen
Daemon is the only person in this episode who sees what Otto’s real color really is.
It’s hard to read Daemon. But he is… a lot. Does he want to be king? I guess we don’t know yet. What we do know is that all the guards will be loyal to him because he’s spent all those money to feed them. He’s just like every dictator you know. King’s Landing residents made #DefundTheCityWatch and #NotMyPrince trend that night.
I listened to Matt Smith’s delivery of his lines maybe ten times.
“You have only ever tried to send me away. To the Vale. To the City Watch. Anywhere but by your side. Ten yeeears you’ve been king and yet not even once have you asked me to be your hand.”
Daemon Targaryen, “House of the Dragon” episode 1
Daemon, the extrajudicial killer, is the representation of law-and-order politicians in the real world. He’s a right-wing son-of-a-gun who thinks crime can be solved by murdering alleged criminals
Because he gets what he wants in this episode, Daemon is a winner.
That scene where Viserys tells Rhaenyra about the Aegon’s dream tells us one important detail: The Targaryens are prone to misinterpreting their dreams. One of the Targaryens’ “powers” is that they hav dreams that tell them about the future. Because the Targaryens think they are the center of the world, they think their bloodline will be the ones to protect Westeros from the Ice King. But we know now that it wasn’t really them. We know that Viserys has another dream. The one in which he places a son upon the iron throne. He also misinterpreted that. He will have another son, but he’s not ready to know what will happen next.
