On back of the last episode, I went on record as saying that although Milly Alcock has brought
Rhaenyra to life better than I could have ever imagined, and although I wished that
she could be here for a nice long ride, no pun intended, a part of me was excited for
her character to be aged up because I had fallen in love with her, and I felt like a
creep saying that.
Daemon Targaryen was like, oh yeah?
Hold me beer.
Prince Daemon returned from the Stepstones with a crown on his head, but he knelt and
took off that crown, swearing loyalty to his older brother, King Viserys.
And he meant it.
Daemon truly loves his older brother.
But, a lot had happened over the last four years.
Daemon’s brother had gotten remarried to none other than the daughter of his biggest
rival at court – Otto Hightower.
Alicent pumped out a child named Aegon, and recently, she pumped out a second child.
A baby girl named Helaena.
Since Viserys had remarried, and since Alicent had given birth to a baby boy, Daemon had
been pushed further down the line of succession.
So Daemon had lost power at court while his rival, Otto, had gained power.
That is why Daemon came up a plan of his own.
Daemon’s plan was to marry his niece Rhaenyra and form a power couple.
Before we go any further, it is important to note that Daemon and Viserys’s grandparents
were brother and sister.
On top of that, Daemon and Viserys’s own parents were brother and sister.
Rhaenys’s parents were cousins, and Viserys himself married his cousin Aemma.
So Daemon marrying Rhaenyra was not that crazy of an idea in terms of incest.
However, Daemon suspected that his brother wouldn’t allow him to marry Rhaenyra due
to a different reason.
Rhaenyra was the prime bachelorette in the entire kingdom.
She could choose just about anyone and, in doing so, she could strengthen her family’s
position.
So that was the main obstacle that Daemon attempted to circumvent.
So, to be clear, the incest thing was not that big of a deal, and Daemon knew that.
But Daemon also knew that Viserys would not let him marry Rhaenyra.
Not unless things changed.
Daemon thought that Viserys might let him marry her if he spoiled her before she got
married.
Let that sink in.
Daemon’s goal was to claim Rhaenyra’s maidenhead so that Rhaenyra would become less
appealing to other suitors.
It was a dumb idea, especially since there were other reasons why Viserys would not allow
Daemon to marry Rhaenyra.
First off, Daemon was already married.
So, if he married Rhaenyra as his second wife, that would offend his wife’s family up in
the Vale.
It might even offend the Lords of the Vale.
The second problem was that Viserys had declared Rhaenyra as his heir as a way of keeping Daemon
from the throne.
Granted, Daemon did not know that for sure.
But still, Daemon’s plan was doomed from the start.
But that’s why he did it.
That is why he removed his hood at the brothel.
He wanted people to know who he was.
That is always why Daemon took off Rhaenyra’s hat.
He wanted people to know who she was.
In other words, Daemon wanted the word to get back to his brother.
At the end of the day, Daemon didn’t sleep with Rhaenyra.
Why didn’t he?
Was he unable to or did he change his mind?
In the past, Daemon had issues with Mysaria since he was stressed out about his relationship
with his brother.
So that might have been the reason.
Daemon might have begun to worry about what his brother would think about him.
Maybe Daemon couldn’t perform.
That is an option.
Another option is that Daemon began to feel guilty towards Rhaenyra since she was naïve
to his larger plan, which was to sabotage her reputation.
As a Daemon fan, I’d like to believe that that is why he stopped, but it is open to
interpretation, at least, for now.
For whatever reason or reasons, he didn’t do it, but word got back to Viserys anyway.
When Viserys asked him about it, Daemon didn’t deny it.
He pretended as if they had.
He claimed that Rhaenyra had been spoiled and asked for her hand in marriage.
He asked this from the floor after being kicked.
So it wasn’t really the best time and place, but in Daemon’s defense, you miss every
shot that you don’t take, right?
Unfortunately for him, Viserys had a better idea.
Viserys banished Daemon from the city for a second time, telling Daemon to go back up
his wife up at the Vale.
Or anywhere.
Viserys just wanted him to go.
So, the episode began with Daemon returning to the city and reuniting with his brother.
And they shared some laughs in the Godswood.
But the episode ended with them parting on bad terms for the second time due to Daemon’s
interactions with Rhaenyra.
The silver lining was that Daemon’s biggest rival, Otto, was fired in the process.
In the very first shot of the entire episode, Lord Dondarrion tried to pitch himself as
a good match, but his voice was muffled, suggesting that Rhaenyra’s mind was elsewhere.
Since Rhaenyra was holding a neckless that her uncle had given to her, Rhaenyra might
have been thinking about her uncle at the time.
Prince Daemon had been gone for four years, but on her way back to the city, Daemon flew
down dangerously close to her ship.
The force of Caraxes’s wind threw the ship and the people aside.
Although Rhaenyra hit her head, she almost smirked when she saw that it was Daemon and
Caraxes.
Not long after, when Daemon threw down the Crabfeeder’s hammer down and told Viserys
to add it to the throne, Rhaenyra smirked again.
So Rhaenyra was clearly happy that her uncle had finally returned.
When she first caught up with him outside, she complimented him for his victory, and
when she walked away, Daemon checked her out.
Later on, they got some alone time, and he acknowledged that she had grown up over the
last four years.
He also noticed that she had chosen to wear the necklace that he had given her.
Then, he enacted his plan.
In the first episode, Daemon had somehow snuck into the Great Hall without anyone noticing
him.
He was able to do this since he knows about secret tunnels and passageways that Maegor
the Cruel had built into the Red Keep back in the day.
Daemon left Rhaenyra some smelly clothes and a map, and she snuck out of the Red Keep through
some of those tunnels.
He took her to a mummer’s show where she was shocked to learn the truth.
The truth was that the smallfolk, including women, thought of her younger half-brother
as the heir.
Not her.
The point of this scene might have just been to show Rhaenyra the sad reality, which is
that support for the patriarchy extends into the smallfolk.
However, I would not be surprised to learn that Otto Hightower had paid off those mummers
to spread propaganda in support of his grandson Aegon.
After the mummer’s show, Daemon took Rhaenyra to a brothel, and he eventually began to undress
her.
In order to understand this scene, it might be useful to revisit a prior scene.
Earlier, Rhaenyra and Alicent discussed the failed courting tour.
During that conversation, Alicent implied that she envied Rhaenyra since so many men
wanted her.
Rhaenyra then pointed out that the men and boys weren’t fawning over her.
Rhaenyra claimed that those men and boys only wanted her name and her Valyrian blood for
their offspring.
And she was right.
There was some truth to that.
Those men had an agenda.
Fast forward to the brothel scene.
Unlike others, Prince Daemon didn’t seem to have an agenda.
Of course, he did.
But she didn’t know that.
To her, it seemed as if he had wanted her simply for being her.
And that might have factored into why she had gotten so excited.
It’s worth noting that Rhaenyra ran into a man named Ser Harwin Strong on her way to
the brothel.
Harwin Strong is one of the sons of Lord Lyonel Strong from the Small Council.
Harwin is the guy who was turned on by a bloody Rhaenyra.
So, for what it’s worth, there are people out there who are genuinely interested in
her, and he is proof of that.
Nevertheless, Rhaenyra didn’t spend the night with him.
Instead, she went home and coerced Ser Criston Cole into sleeping with her.
This was a very complicated scene, and it is one of the main reasons why this video
is a day later than I had hoped.
Instead of just churning out content, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about these characters,
and my opinion on them and their choices has flip flopped a couple of times.
And it may change again.
Here’s where I stand for now.
So, Daemon turned her down.
But, when she got home, she was still excited.
And there he was.
Her sworn sword.
Her own personal shield and protector.
When Rhaenyra kissed him, she put him in a very precarious situation since there is a
major power discrepancy between the two of them.
Ser Criston did what many lesser men could not have done.
He tried to nip it in the bud.
But then, Rhaenyra pressed the issue.
She walked him into the room and began to slowly remove his armor.
Ser Criston was very conflicted evidenced by the way in which he reverently placed his
white cloak over the couch.
Moreover, Ser Criston Cole stood there, hunched over, hands on his thighs.
The film cut away from that clip, so who knows how long he was hunched over like that.
Either way, it should have been pretty clear to Rhaenyra that Ser Criston Cole felt uncomfortable.
That is where I stood for most of yesterday.
But eventually, I began to see things differently.
Princess Rhaenyra had chosen Ser Criston to fill the empty spot on the kingsguard.
Ever since then, Ser Criston has been her sworn sword.
Her shield and protector.
They have presumably grown close over the years, and they have spent a lot of time together.
Odds are, they have both entertained fantasies from time to time.
Moreover, the way in which she flirted was hot, and then there was that look that they
shared.
That moment when they both realized what was about to happen.
Those moments are special.
They only come once.
Long story short, my opinion changed partially because the scene was hot and partially because
I’m a hopeless romantic and want to believe that this night was special for them.
But the main reason that my opinion changed was this shot here.
Ser Criston Cole had a moment where it appeared that he made a choice.
So, the big question is: will he come to regret that choice?
The next morning, Ser Criston Cole entered her room awkwardly, suggesting that he has
already begun to regret it.
On the flipside, Rhaenyra happily invited him in.
She seems to really like him.
There is actually an in-world term for this.
Ser Criston Cole feels as if he has become a Soiled Knight.
Now, let’s talk about a different type of soiled knight.
The type of night without the letter k.
Alicent and Rhaenyra had a long overdue heart to heart on the bench by the heart tree.
During this conversation, Alicent told Rhaenyra that she felt very alone.
To make matters worse, Rhaenyra joked about being imprisoned in a castle and made to squeeze
out heirs.
She apologized once she realized that it hit close to home for Alicent.
Sadly, when Rhaenyra went to her chambers that night, Alicent was over in her room,
alone, with her crying newborn baby girl.
Although Alicent is the Queen, she does not spend her nights with the king.
At least, not all of them.
Alicent has her own bedchambers.
However, sometimes the king sends a servant to request Alicent’s presence, which is
a way of saying that the king wants to lay his seed in her.
I chose that disgusting wording intentionally.
The Alicent and Viserys scene was disgusting.
First of all, the king was too lazy to even get off his own ass and go to her.
Instead, he sent a servant to request her presence.
Then, he pumped away without any rhythm or passion like the virgin that he is.
This is such a tragic storyline, and it’s not her fault.
As a reminder, Alicent was just fourteen years old when her father pressured her to move
in on Viserys.
During the courting phase, the king told her to keep their meetings a secret from Rhaenyra.
So, she was just a child when her father and Viserys abused her.
Now, she is a few years older, and she feels all alone since Rhaenyra rarely reciprocates
the love that they once had.
The show chose to jump back and forth between Alicent and Rhaenyra so as to highlight the
differences and similarity.
Whereas Daemon summoned Rhaenyra for a night of freedom, fun, and pleasure, Viserys summoned
Alicent for a night of duty.
Whereas Daemon began to remove Rhaenyra’s clothes, Viserys left Alicent’s clothes
on.
Rhaenyra enjoyed it and Daemon did not go all the way, whereas Alicent did not enjoy
it and Viserys did go all the way.
The one similarity was the rat.
Afterwards, Alicent looked up and saw a rat on her bed.
Almost like a little spy.
When Rhaenyra left the brothel, a boy saw her.
That boy ratted her out to the White Worm since he is an informant.
So who is the White Worm?
The White Worm is Daemon’s former paramour, Mysaria.
Mysaria told Daemon that she is no longer in the skin trade, implying that she does
something different.
Then, the boy showed up, implying that Mysaria has become the leader of an informant network.
Fun fact: this is what Varys did over in Pentos before Mad King Aerys recruited him to be
his master of spies.
It’s also worth noting that the boy who went up to Mysaria was the same boy that ratted
out Daemon and Rhaenyra to Otto Hightower.
That raises the question.
Did Mysaria do this behind Daemon’s back?
Maybe.
But maybe not.
Think about it.
Daemon wanted his brother to find out about him and Rhaenyra.
So, Daemon might have been in on it.
To play devil’s advocate, Daemon might not have wanted Mysaria to know about him and
Rhaenyra.
It will be interesting to find out whether or not Mysaria informed on him with or without
his consent.
When Mysaria’s informant told Otto about Rhaenyra and Daemon, Otto didn’t run to
Viserys and tell him what he had heard.
Instead, Otto went to his room and he thought about it for a while because he was very torn
on what to do.
In the end, Otto chose to tell Viserys, and it backfired.
Viserys was not happy with the idea of Otto spying on his daughter.
Since Viserys had summoned Alicent to his room the night before to do her duty, she
overheard that conversation.
As a result, she summoned Rhaenyra to a private conversation in the Godswood, and Rhaenyra
lied by denying having done anything with Daemon.
Alicent passed on that information to Viserys, and he took it with a grain of salt.
Viserys came to the conclusion that Rhaenyra was not entirely innocent even if she still
had her maidenhead.
So, King Viserys has a lot of problems.
First off, his health.
Viserys has cut himself on the Iron Throne many times.
They even had to cut off two fingers on his now rotting hand.
A second problem is Otto Hightower.
A figurative rotting hand whom Daemon had tried to warn him about.
His brother Daemon is a problem, and there is also the problem of Corlys Velaryon.
Lord Corlys Velaryon has agreed to wed his daughter Laena to the son of the Sealord of
Braavos.
That type of alliance could become a big problem for Viserys because they could be very powerful.
Meanwhile, his own daughter failed to find someone of her own choosing, and now, there
are rumors about her and his brother.
Viserys summoned Rhaenyra to his room, and he showed her the dagger.
He reminded her about the Song of Ice and Fire and how he had already placed his trust
in her.
He then told her that she must marry Corlys Velaryon’s son.
As a reminder, Corlys had already agreed to wed his daughter to the Son of the Sealord
of Braavos.
So, if Rhaenyra married Corlys’s son, that would be a decent counter move.
Rhaenyra agreed under one condition.
Rhaenyra said that she would marry Laenor if Viserys fired his hand, and he did just
so.
Viserys finally fired Otto Hightower.
That raises the question: who will be the next Hand?
The longest serving members of the Small Council are Lord Lyonel Strong, Grand Maester Mellos,
and Lord Lyman Beesbury.
Since Daemon and Corlys had abdicated their seats, King Viserys had invited Tyland Lannister
and Rhaenyra to the Small Council.
So these are the five main candidates for now.
And now, the ending.
At the very end of the episode, Grand Maester Mellos gave Rhaenyra some tea.
In the world of ice and fire, it is often referred to as moon tea or tansy tea.
It is a form of birth control.
That raises a few questions: who sent her that tea, will she drink it, and if she does,
what will people think?
It would be very interesting if someone sent Rhaenyra the tea after spying on Rhaenyra
and Criston, but this is unlikely.
Since Grand Maester Mellos delivered the tea, it is reasonable to assume that the order
came from King Viserys himself.
But here’s where it might get interesting.
Why did he send the tea?
Rhaenyra had told Alicent that Daemon hadn’t touched her at all, and Alicent had told Viserys
that she believed that Rhaenyra still had maidenhead.
Viserys had appeared to believe that as well.
Still, Viserys might have sent the tea just in case the rumors of Rhaenyra and Daemon
were true.
Another option is that Ser Criston Cole felt guilty, and he came clean.
This is why I didn’t just churn out the video yesterday.
There was a lot to think about with this episode, and we haven’t even addressed the elephant
in the room.
Is Rhaenyra going to drink the tea?
Let’s think about this.
Both of Rhaenyra’s grandmothers died due to complications with childbirth, and her
own mother died during childbirth.
Rhaenyra told Daemon that marriage could be a death sentence for a woman.
So Rhaenyra definitely does not want to get pregnant.
But, if Rhaenyra drinks the tea, then people are going to assume that she did do it with
Daemon.
So that’s the major takeaway.
If Rhaenyra drinks the tea, it will support the alleged rumors about Daemon even though
she actually did it with Ser Criston Cole.
Last, but not least, how is Ser Criston going to feel if or when he finds out that he was
just a rebound?
Before we go, it is important to acknowledge the hidden message in the very first scene.
The episode began with Rhaenyra down at Storm’s End where Boremund Baratheon introduced her
to bachelors from around the realm.
Lord Dondarrion of Blackhaven was an old man and the boy from House Blackwood was just
a child.
Fun fact: the three-eyed raven in the show, otherwise, known as the three-eyed crow in
the books is a man nicknamed Bloodraven.
Bloodraven’s real name is Brynden Rivers since he is a Targaryen bastard whose mother
was from the Riverlands.
Bloodraven’s mother was Melissa Blackwood who was not yet born.
House Blackwood is a very, very old house.
It has been around for thousands of years.
When the Andals first arrived to Westeros, the North continued to worship the Old Gods,
but almost everyone in the South converted to the New Gods otherwise known as the Faith
of the Seven.
One of the few houses in the South that continued to worship the Old Gods is House Blackwood.
House Blackwood has an ancient and colossal weirwood tree.
According to Jaime Lannister, the Blackwood’s weirwood tree is ten times the size of the
one in the Stone Garden at Casterly Rock.
At dusk, hundreds of ravens return to that tree and roost there for the night, which
is why House Blackwood’s castle is known as Raventree Hall.
Unfortunately, the Blackwood’s weirwood tree doesn’t have any leaves.
Some claim that a nearby house known as House Bracken poisoned the tree thousands of years
ago.
That may or may not be true.
But we do know one thing for sure.
House Blackwood and House Bracken have been neighbors for thousands of years, and they
have feuded with each other for thousands of years.
In this episode, we saw some of that.
The older boy from House Bracken mocked the younger boy from House Blackwood, and the
younger boy gutted him with his sword.
So that was a nice nod to some history and lore.
But that was not the point of this scene.
There was actually a hidden meaning.
Although House Blackwood and House Bracken have supposedly hated each other for thousands
of years, it’s not entire true.
They are neighbors, and neighbors sometimes fight.
Neighbors also sometimes marry each other.
So House Blackwood and House Bracken claim to be rivals, and they often are.
But they also share the same blood.
In other words, even though they don’t share the same name, they are still family.
Therefore, this silly little fight over Rhaenyra is a nod of what’s to come.
The storm that is brewing.
A Targaryen family civil war.