Child gladiators. The queen trading her feet for information. Another creepy
prophecy fulfilled. The second-to-last episode of
"House of the Dragon" was as shocking as ever. Here's what you might have missed.
One of the ways in which Rhaenyra and the Blacks underestimated their foes, the Greens,
was by vacating so many Small Council seats to the Hightowers and their allies.
Otto Hightower returned to replace the murdered Lyonel Strong as Hand. Tyland
Lannister (no friend of Rhaenyra's) took over for Lord Corlys as Master of Ships and Jasper
Wylde was installed as Master of Laws. Maester Orwyle was promoted after Grand
Maester Mellos died, and Criston Cole has been loyal to Alicent ever since
Rhaenyra declined his marriage proposal. That left only Master of Coin Lyman Beesbury
to defend Rhaenyra's claim. As he mentions in his exasperated speech, he's the council's
longest-serving member, at age 76. His age is made a joke of in previous episodes when he fails to
keep up with the pace of the conversation and bores the group with his detailed accounting.
However, in Episode 9 it's clear he's been left out of the loop for a more explicit purpose.
The rest of the council has been planning to install Aegon regardless of Alicent's
misinterpretation of her husband's dying words. "House of the Dragon" likes to foreshadow plot
points with fashion choices, as does "Fire & Blood." In this case, Beesbury is the only
person in attendance wearing red and black -- Targaryen colors, and, more specifically,
Rhaenyra's colors. When he refuses to back down, Ser Criston crushes his face against
his ceremonial Small Council ball — the first casualty in the post-Viserys civil war era.
The new Queen Helaena is the easiest member of the Greens to root for. Unfortunately, rooting for her
rarely does any good. Sweet, eccentric Helaena appears to be cursed; she can see what's coming,
but she has no way of preventing it. "You will have a dragon one day."
"He'll have to close an eye."
So far, her prophecies have been communicated in seemingly random hushed phrases, but in "The
Green Council," we see her embroidering a spider while spending time with her young
children. Helaena famously loves bugs, but there's more to her cross-stitching than meets the eye.
"One of the little spiders is your lady-in-waiting."
Larys learns that Otto has been using "a web of spies" to glean sensitive information. In
exchange for letting him look at her feet, he tells the Queen that her handmaiden, Talya,
is one of them. For Alicent to have the upper hand, that whisper network must be silenced.
"There is one way to destroy his advantage.
It must be taken out at the head." Helaena also repeats a phrase she said
last episode at the dinner, only this time, she says it with much more anger and urgency.
"There is a beast beneath the boards!" The episode ends, of course, with that
beast breaking through the boards, with Princess Rhaenys on its back.
In an Episode 8 exchange that was almost too quick and too quiet for audiences to catch, Queen
Alicent mistook one Cargyll twin for the other. "Your Grace, a matter has arisen
that requires your attention." "Whatever it is, Ser Arryk, it'll need to wait."
"I'm Erryk, Your Grace." "Of course."
In "Fire & Blood," that's the point of the maddeningly named Ser Arryk (with an "A")
and Ser Erryk (with an "E"). They're said to be so precisely identical that even the other
members of the Kingsguard can't tell them apart. Like Alicent, viewers may have struggled to keep
track of which twin was which. Ser Erryk with an "E" is Prince Aegon's sworn protector and is
thus exposed to his debauchery. In the fighting pits, Erryk with an "E" hopes that his brother
will finally understand who Aegon really is and how unsuited he is for leadership.
This makes Erryk with an "E" more sympathetic to Rhaenyra's claim, which we see when he attempts
to rescue Princess Rhaenys. "With me, Princess. I
cannot let this treachery stand." But Erryk with an "E" loses her in the
crowds forcibly assembling at the Dragonpit for Aegon's coronation. Thankfully, Rhaenys
is more than capable of taking care of herself. While we don't know what happened to Arryk with
an "A" after losing his sword fight to Criston, we can be sure that this isn't the last we've seen
of the Cargyll twins, who now seemingly find themselves on opposite sides of a civil war.
Lord Caswell was the gentleman who attended Rhaenyra on the stairs after
the birth of her third son. "If I may be of any service?"
"The day may yet come, my lord." And, conspicuously, Caswell was the only person
who came out to greet the Princess and her party when they arrived at King's Landing in Episode 8.
After the Greens conspire to usurp the Iron Throne, Otto gathers the nobles in
the Throne Room and asks them to bend the knee under the guise of freedom. Many do,
reading the writing on the wall, but the Lady of House Fell from Storm's End does not,
and another Lord says he'll have to consult with his people before declining to back Aegon as King.
We can assume that both are carried off to the dungeons. The audience knows Lord Caswell to be
loyal to Rhaenyra, but he wavers and bends the knee after all, seemingly to save his own skin.
Not so. Caswell attempts to flee shortly after but is caught. He insists he's no
friend of Rhaenyra's. However, observant Larys has kept his eye
on the Lord of Bitterbridge and knows he's exceedingly fond of the Princess.
Otto orders the King's Justice, and that night Rhaenys and Erryk with an "E" pass
by his hanging, lifeless body as they try their own daring escape from the Red Keep.
As soon as the Greens outmaneuver the Blacks, the Hightowers turn on each other. Alicent and
Otto both position themselves to become the true ruler as a sort of unofficial regent
to Aegon, who is not interested in ruling. When Ser Criston and Aemond defeat the twins
for possession of Aegon, Alicent declares herself the winner and begins arranging the
ceremony during which he'll be anointed the next sovereign. She tells Otto that he'll be sworn in
with his namesake Aegon's crown and sword. The namesake to whom she's referring is
obviously Aegon the Conqueror, as her son will become King Aegon II. As it's depicted in "House
of the Dragon," Aegon wore a less ornate crown of Valyrian steel encrusted with large rubies.
He also wielded Blackfyre, the ancestral Valyrian steel blade. The other ancestral
Targaryen sword is Daemon's weapon, Dark Sister. Alicent hopes these totems will inspire renewed
reverence for Targaryen rule among the people. However, we know from the book that Aegon's
crown was also worn by his son, Maegor the Cruel, who ultimately came to possess both
Dark Sister and Blackfyre. When Aegon II is crowned and thrusts the sword in the air,
he's more the image of Maegor than Aegon, and Alicent seems to fear she may have made a mistake.
She made a second mistake in getting the Conqueror's crown out of storage. The one
worn by Jaehaerys and Viserys is up for grabs now, and now there's a scorned Princess in the
market for one -- with plenty of people still loyal to her in King's Landing.