Rats are crawling all over the "House of the Dragon," but are they just a metaphor, or something more?
And where have we seen that mysterious red flower before?
For several weeks in a row, various rodents have scurried in and out of frame on "House
of the Dragon."
In Episode 6, Viserys spots a mouse on a mantle as he's alone in his bedchamber, as viewers
hear Larys tell Queen Alicent about the weakness of children.
But the most overt inclusion of a rat is the one that drinks the recently deceased Ser
Joffrey Lonmouth's blood as Rhaenyra and Laenor exchange their vows in Episode 5.
Many readers of "Fire & Blood" feel like the rats are an indicator of an upcoming plotline
that, if the show follows the book, would be a huge spoiler, so we'll say no more about that here.
But King's Landing's prominent vermin problem might have another explanation.
Though there's no textual evidence for this theory in George R.R.
Martin's writing, Reddit moderator and YouTuber Joe Magician has laid out the possibility
that a character on "House of the Dragon" could be a skinchanger like Bran Stark.
If so, the rats could be being used to spy and gather information.
Ten years on, it seems like every move mortal enemies Princess Rhaenyra and Queen Alicent
make is a power play.
Episode 6 opens with Rhaenyra's delivery of her third child.
Just about the moment the midwife places the baby in the princess' arms, a messenger arrives
to take the newborn to the queen's chambers.
Rhaenyra will not have her son separated from her so quickly.
Before she's even passed the placenta, she dresses to make the long walk through the Red Keep.
Her husband, Laenor Velaryon, accompanies her and holds her upright as she has to stop
each time she has an afterbirth contraction.
During one of these moments on the stairs, Lord Caswell and his lady wife approach Rhaenyra
and Laenor enthusiastically.
"If I may be of any service?"
"The day may yet come, my lord."
This seems like a subtle bit of foreshadowing on the show's part, as prominent families
begin to take sides.
House Caswell appears to be staunchly loyal to Rhaenyra as tension and uncertainty about
the succession mounts, and that loyalty will likely soon be tested in dramatic fashion.
After Rhaenyra wills herself to the queen's private quarters, she presents the newborn
prince to Alicent, who's basically become her evil stepmother, and her father King Viserys,
who's shockingly still alive, though just barely.
Viserys is genuinely happy to meet the child and remarks that he thinks the boy has his
father's nose.
When the queen asks what they'll call him, Rhaenyra begins to say they haven't decided,
but then Laenor bursts out the name "Joffrey" which probably made "Game of Thrones" fans perk up.
But the name is a reference to another murdered Joffrey from nearly two centuries prior, and
Alicent can't hide her feelings about it.
"That's an unusual name for a Velaryon."
With this polite-enough sounding comment, Alicent is actually making two accusations.
Though we only met him briefly, Joffrey was the first name of Laenor's lover — Ser Joffrey
Lonmouth, the Knight of Kisses — who was brutally murdered by Ser Criston Cole at the
welcome feast in Episode 5.
Laenor and Joffrey's relationship was an open secret, at least at Driftmark and probably
even at King's Landing.
Still, for the queen to underscore the fact that the future king consort wants to name
his purported son after his murdered boyfriend is remarkably bold.
Alicent is also implying that she knows this child, like the previous two, isn't really
Laenor's, since she's well aware of his sexual preferences.
"Do keep trying, Ser Laenor.
Sooner or later, you may get one who looks like you."
King Viserys' small council has changed considerably over the years.
Corlys Velaryon has been replaced by Tyland Lannister as Master of Ships.
When Otto Hightower was dismissed as Hand of the King, Lyonel Strong was chosen to fulfill
that most important role.
Only Lyman Beesbury remains in his original position of Master of Coin.
But two of the most noticeable changes to the king's council are the addition of his
daughter, Princess Rhaenyra, and his wife, Queen Alicent.
Rhaenyra was promoted from cupbearer to council member after being named heir and Princess
of Dragonstone.
A decade later, a much more politically active Alicent also has a seat at the table.
Production designers conceived of small spheres to signify a character's presence at the small
council table, each in colors that represent the great houses to which the council members belong.
Queen Alicent sits behind a green ball that's reminiscent of Hightower's colors and her
infamous gown, while Rhaenyra rolls her fingers across a black one for House Targaryen.
These totems demonstrate that both have accumulated immense power in the last decade, regardless
of their opposition to each other.
Earlier in the season, it was frowned upon for the princess to speak at all when she's
with the lords behind the closed doors of the small council room.
Now, she and Alicent are practically running the show, though they seem to disagree about everything.
We met Lyonel Strong's sons, Harwin and Larys, during the hunt in Episode 3.
Larys has since ingratiated himself to Queen Alicent by becoming her unofficial Master
of Whisperers while Harwin has entangled himself in some deadly serious palace drama by fathering
Rhaenyra's three children.
Savvy viewers will have noticed that Harwin was quite taken with Rhaenyra after she killed
the boar, and when she donned boys' clothing on the Streets of Silk.
He's also the one who carries her to safety after the melee at the welcome feast.
Larys doesn't seem to have a very high opinion of his father, the Hand, or his brother.
When Queen Alicent complains that King Viserys wouldn't accept Lyonel's resignation after
Harwin attacks Ser Criston in the training yard, Larys graduates from whispers to actions.
Lyonel takes Harwin to the family seat of Harrenhal, which is said to be cursed, to
avoid persistent rumors of the princes' parentage.
Meanwhile, Larys frees some of King's Landing's most dangerous prisoners, so long as they're
okay with him cutting off their tongues so they can't spill the beans.
He sends his assassins to Harrenhal to murder his father and brother via arson, which he
tells a horrified Alicent that she'll thank him for later, as he holds the foreign flower
to which he previously compared her.
"An outsider, among the natives."
"Lord Larys."
In "Fire & Blood," Larys isn't just Master of Whisperers; he's Lord Confessor.
That title is a euphemism for torturer-in-chief, so it's no surprise to book readers that he's
so eager to break out the tools of his trade.