On a beach of one of the islands, Craghas Drahar, prince-admiral of the Triarchy forces, executes shipwrecked Westerosi sailors by nailing them to posts on the beach to either drown or be slowly eaten alive by the crabs drawn by the tide.
In the Crownlands[]
The Small Council discusses Ryam Redwyne's replacement and the Stepstones.
As King Viserys and his Small Council discuss the recent death of Ser Ryam Redwyne, Lord Corlys Velaryon furiously storms into the chamber, raging that the Triarchy forces have now sunk four Westerosi ships, including one from the Velaryon fleet, and demands action, insisting he be allowed to use the royal fleet to clear out the Stepstones. Ser Otto Hightower and Lord Lyman Beesbury argue against starting a war with the Free Cities, who are financing Drahar's occupation, while Viserys explains that he has sent envoys to the Triarchy's enemies in Pentos and Volantis with the prospect of an alliance against their common foe, but Corlys retorts that further inaction will only strengthen the belief in the Free Cities that Viserys is weak, as evidenced by the fact he has done nothing to end Daemon's illegal occupation of Dragonstone for almost half a year. Rhaenyra speaks up, suggesting that the Velaryon fleet, backed by Targaryendragonriders, could easily reclaim the Stepstones (a suggestion that meets with Corlys's approval), but at Otto's urging, Viserys overrides her suggestion and dispatches her with Ser Harrold Westerling to consider the prospective replacements for Ser Ryam.
Rhaenyra judges Kingsguard candidates.
In Maegor's Holdfast, Rhaenyra watches as Ser Harrold presents various knights to take Ser Ryam's place on the Kingsguard. Rhaenyra is dismissive of most of them, asking Harrold if any have seen actual combat, rather than just tourney fighting. The sole candidate who has is Ser Criston Cole, who explains he earned his knighthood battling Dornish raiders in both the Dornish Marches and the Boneway; despite Otto's protests that a more politically valuable candidate should be chosen, Rhaenyra insists that she wants her father defended by a knight with actual combat experience and picks Criston for the vacancy.
Viserys speaks with Alicent.
In his private chambers, Viserys talks with Alicent Hightower, while pondering over a model of Valyria, expressing his hopes to try and match old Valyria's glory. The conversation turns to Rhaenyra, with Viserys admitting his uncertainty of how to speak with Rhaenyra in the wake of her mother Aemma's death. Alicent advises Viserys to reach out to his daughter to bridge the gap (though she admits she hasn't mentioned her dalliances with Viserys to Rhaenyra for fear of the latter's reaction). Alicent offers the same advice back to Rhaenyra when they go to pray at the Grand Sept.
Viserys, Corlys, and Rhaenys discuss a potential marriage alliance.
Later that afternoon, in the Red Keep's gardens, Viserys meets with Corlys and his wife, Princess Rhaenys Targaryen; Viserys and Corlys exchange apologies over their terse words in the Small Council chamber, but Corlys repeats his advice of not allowing the Free Cities to think Viserys weak, firstly by striking back at the Stepstones, and by a marriage between Viserys and their daughter Laena, uniting House Targaryen's dragons and House Velaryon's fleet to prove the strength of his reign. Viserys is wary of a new marriage so soon after Aemma's death, but Rhaenys reminds him it will be expected of him to remarry and produce more heirs to strengthen his line. Rhaenyra reiterates the same advice and Grand MaesterMellos also supports the union, remarking that it would go a long way to healing the rift between Houses Targaryen and Velaryon left by the Great Council at Harrenhal.
Viserys walks with Laena.
The next day, Rhaenyra and Rhaenys watch from a balcony of the Red Keep, as Viserys walks with Laena. Viserys is visibly uncomfortable about potentially marrying a child, while Laena is more interested in hearing about Viserys's experience as the last rider of Balerion, as well as pondering the whereabouts of Vhagar. Rhaenys bluntly tells Rhaenyra that whoever her father takes as a wife, should Viserys have a son, the men of Westeros will expect that son to be his heir, not Rhaenyra. Rhaenys notes that given her own passing over, the men of Westeros will not accept a woman on the Iron Throne.
A Dragonkeeper reports Daemon's theft of a dragon egg to the Small Council.
Later that evening, Viserys dines privately in Alicent's company, where she commiserates with him over his reluctance at wedding a new queen and gifts him a repaired model of a dragon for his miniature of Valyria. Otto interrupts the meal to inform the king that he has called an emergency meeting of the Small Council. One of the Dragonkeepers is present at the meeting, who informs Viserys that an egg has been stolen from the Dragonpit. The culprit is none other than Daemon, who left a missive announcing his intention to take his mistressMysaria as his second wife, flippantly inviting his brother and council to attend, and as Mysaria is now with child, Daemon wishes to place a dragon egg in the infant's cradle in keeping with Targaryen tradition. Viserys, furious at this latest display of insolence by his younger brother, declares his intention to retake Dragonstone from Daemon, but Otto insists the king cannot risk himself, warning that Daemon is unpredictable and has fortified the island and castle with a private army of his gold cloaks, and volunteers himself to lead efforts to expel Daemon from Dragonstone. Rhaenyra is also left angry when she learns the egg Daemon had stolen was the one she had picked out for her little brother Baelon. Before departing for Dragonstone, Otto meets with Alicent in private and urges her to continue her liaisons with the king.
Daemon is confronted by Otto.
Ser Otto Hightower's forces, consisting of himself, Ser Harrold Westerling, Ser Criston Cole, and twenty of his household guard, arrive on Dragonstone. Daemon, accompanied by Mysaria and a detachment of his gold cloaks, intercept them on the bridge leading to the castle. Otto relays Viserys's demands that Daemon is to relinquish the stolen dragon egg and the castle, disband his private army, and banish Mysaria. Daemon refuses, insulting Otto and Criston in the process, insisting he is merely following his house's traditions. When Otto threatens Mysaria, Daemon draws Dark Sister, prompting both sides to draw their own weapons, though Otto orders his men to sheathe their weapons when Caraxes appears to defend his master.
Rhaenyra arrives on Syrax.
Before the tension can spill into open conflict, Rhaenyra arrives unannounced on Syrax. She dismounts and brushes past a protesting Otto to confront Daemon personally. Rhaenyra dares her uncle to kill her if he truly wishes to reclaim his former status as her father's heir, but Daemon cannot bring himself to murder his niece in cold blood, even for his old position, and begrudgingly tosses Rhaenyra the dragon egg before retreating with Mysaria and his retinue back into the castle. Rhaenyra turns the egg over to the care of the Dragonkeepers.
Daemon broods at Dragonstone.
Within the castle, Mysaria, who reveals she was not pregnant, Daemon having concocted the claim to spite his brother, berates Daemon for provoking Viserys, stating that while he enjoys a degree of protection as the king's younger brother, she does not and would likely end up the one who pays the price for Daemon's antics. Daemon assures Mysaria that he will protect her.
Viserys seeks Lyonel's counsel.
In Otto's absence, Viserys meets with Lord Lyonel Strong for an impartial opinion about a prospective marriage to Laena Velaryon. Although Lyonel acknowledges Viserys's discomfort at marrying a child, he adds that strengthening an alliance with House Velaryon could temper Corlys's bitterness over the Great Council's decision, unify the last descendants of Valyria, and ensure the Crown has access to the Velaryon fleet should the situation in the Stepstones deteriorate into open war. The meeting is interrupted by Grand Maester Mellos informing Viserys of Rhaenyra's departure and return from Dragonstone.
Viserys talks with Rhaenyra.
The Kingsguard escort Rhaenyra to her father's chambers, where he angrily chides his daughter for taking off without his leave and risking her life, though he does concede that only she could have recovered the egg and ended the situation with Daemon bloodlessly. They speak about Aemma for a time, Viserys noting that Rhaenyra has inherited a lot from her, before reluctantly broaching the subject of a prospective remarriage. Viserys insists that he cannot replace Aemma, but with only Rhaenyra as his heir, were anything to happen to her, House Targaryen would come to an end, and though Viserys insists he will not replace Rhaenyra as his heir, even were his new wife to give him sons, he must ensure the continuation of their line.
At a Small Council meeting the next morning, Viserys declares his intention to marry Alicent Hightower. Only Otto looks pleased with the King's decision; the rest of the Small Council stand in silent shock, while Alicent averts her eyes from Rhaenyra. Furious at this latest insult to his family, Corlys brands Viserys's decision "an absurdity" and storms out of the chamber. Rhaenyra follows him, disgusted and hurt by her father and friend keeping this from her.
Enraged at the snubbing of his daughter by Viserys, Corlys invites Daemon Targaryen to his castle High Tide. Corlys rages at Viserys's disregard and lack of respect for his family and loyal service, citing Daemon's own fall from Viserys's good graces as proof that they share a common cause, being men of action forced to make their own way in the world who have never received the due respect or appreciation for their efforts. Although Daemon chides Corlys for speaking disrespectfully of his brother, he is intrigued when Corlys proposes a joint expedition between them to eliminate the Crabfeeder, clear out the Triarchy forces from the Stepstones, and simultaneously claim wealth and glory for themselves, while proving their value to the dissenters at Viserys's court.
Corlys: "I fear that the eyes of our enemies are presently fixed on the Red Keep. The Queen has passed. A girl has been named heir to the Iron Throne, the first in its history. The King's brother, so disinherited, has claimed the Targaryen seat on Dragonstone without challenge. And now, a foreign power has established a colony in our most critical shipping lane."
Viserys: "You paint such an aspirant portrait of my reign, Lord Corlys."
— Corlys and Viserys[src]
"To elude a storm, you can either sail into it or around it, but you must never await its coming."
―Corlys Velaryon
"With the Targaryen dragons and the Velaryon fleet bound in blood, you can show the realm that The Crown's strongest days are ahead... not behind."
―Corlys Velaryon
Rhaenys: "Whether it's to my daughter or someone else's, your father will remarry sooner than late. His new wife will produce new heirs, and chances are better than not one of those will be male. And when that boy comes of age and your father has passed, the men of the realm will expect him to be heir, not you. Because that is the order of things."
Rhaenyra: "When I am Queen, I will create a new order."
Rhaenys: "How I wish that could be, Rhaenyra. But the men of the realm already had their opportunity to appoint a ruling Queen at the Great Council and they denied it."
Rhaenyra: "They denied you, Princess Rhaenys. "The Queen Who Never Was." But they bent the knee to me and called me heir to the throne."
Rhaenys: "Do you remind your father's men of that as you carry their cups? Here is the hard truth, which no one else has the heart to tell you. Men would sooner put the realm to the torch than see a woman ascend the Iron Throne."
— Rhaenys and Rhaenyra[src]
Viserys: "Ever since my name was read by the archmaesters at the Great Council, I have felt Corlys Velaryon's envious gaze staring at me from across the Blackwater."
Lyonel: "You sit upon the highest seat in the realm, Your Grace. Proud men don't like having to look up."
— Viserys and Lyonel[src]
Corlys: "House Velaryon's origins reach back to Old Valyria. More ancient even than House Targaryen... according to some texts. But unlike the Targaryens, we were no dragonlords. For centuries, my house had to scratch out an existence from the sea with grit and luck. When I ascended the Driftwood Throne... I knew what I wanted. So I went out and seized it. Unlike every other lord of the realm, I can say that I built my house's high seat with the strength of mine own back. I've always thought of you and I as having been made from the same cloth."
Daemon: "I wasn't aware you had a King for a brother."
Corlys: "We're both men who have had to cut our own way through the world."
— Corlys and Daemon[src]
Corlys: "The Crabfeeder is backed by powerful entities within the Free Cities who wish to see Westeros weakened. And the King's failures have allowed him to accumulate strength. If those shipping lanes fall, my house will be crippled, and I will not have Driftmark beggared while our King idles himself with feasts and balls and tourneys!"
Daemon: "I will speak of my brother as I wish. You will not."
Corlys: "Waiting in the Stepstones is a chance for you to prove your worth to any who might yet doubt it. We are the realm's second sons, Daemon. Our worth is not given. It must be made."
— Corlys and Daemon[src]
Behind the scenes[]
General[]
The title of the episode derives from The Rogue Prince, or, A King's Brother - a slightly abridged version of the "Heirs of the Dragon" chapter in Fire & Blood, released as a stand-alone novelette in an anthology in 2014. The title of the novelette itself refers to Daemon Targaryen.
After the cold open in the premiere episode at the Great Council, this episode introduces the new opening credits: it uses the same theme song as Game of Thrones (Ramin Djawadi has returned as music composer on this prequel), but instead of the camera moving through an animated astrolabe map of the world, it moves through an animated version of the model Viserys was building of Old Valyria's capital city.
Viewership figures for this episode increased over the series premiere, from 9.98 million to 10.2 million in the United States across both HBO and HBO Max in the first 24 hour period (an increase of about 2%).[6]
This is by a wide margin the shortest episode of House of the Dragon: Season 1, at 54 minutes. Seven out of ten Season 1 episodes are over 60 minutes long, and two others are 58 minutes long.
This episode was originally meant to be directed by Miguel Sapochnik, and was viewed as the second half of a paired unit with the first episode (which he also directed). At the last minute, however, there was a scheduling conflict with the exterior locations for this episode, meaning that they had to film the scenes immediately or not at all. Sapochnik was already busy filming a different exterior location, which also could not be rescheduled, therefore he traded directing duties on this episode with Greg Yaitanes. In return, Sapochnik got to direct episode 7 - which Yaitanes mildly lamented, because he greatly looked forward to directing that episode. Somewhat making up for this, Yaitanes in return got to direct the season finale, as up until then they weren't sure if Sapochnik or Yaitanes would direct it. Sapochnik had already made full storyboards for episode 2, and Yaitanes tried to follow his vision for it as closely as possible.[7]
It's possible that these scheduling issues and last minute change in director explain why it's the shortest episode of the season: it's possible more scenes were intended but weren't able to be filmed.
There actually were at least two deleted scenes from this episode, but they might not have been fully completed in time for the final cut. See below.
At the beginning of the episode, Rhaenyra is still wearing the triple-knot Valyrian steel necklace that Daemon gave her in the preceding episode. After she learns that he stole the dragon egg she had picked out for her dead brother Baelon, by the end of the episode she has stopped wearing it.
Deleted scenes[]
At least two scenes were deleted from this episode: photos exist of the cast in full costume for them, but the full scenes and post-production might not have been finished in time to include them in the final cut (due to the last minute switch for directors):
An argument between Alicent and Rhaenyra in the godswood directly after Viserys announces his intention to marry Alicent.[8]
Alicent Hightower was going to appear in an elaborate wedding dress. The wedding ceremony would not have been shown,[9] but a scene was filmed showing Rhaenyra helping Alicent into her dress, paralleling Alicent helping Rhaenyra dress for her ceremony in the previous episode.[10]
Behind the scenes videos include a shot of Rhaenyra putting on Criston Cole's Kingsguard armor after he is appointed to the order, as part of a formal investiture ceremony.[11]
Emily Carey being made up in Alicent's wedding dress
Alicent's wedding dress profile
Rhaenyra invests Criston by putting on his Kingsguard armor
The scenes in the royal gardens were filmed at the Jardines de Santa Clotide in Lloret de Mar, Catalonia, Spain.
The brief scenes at the beginning and end of the episode in the Stepstones, previewing their full appearance next episode, were filmed on the southern coast of Cornwall, England.
The Dragonstone exteriors actually did not return to the real life causeway on the coast of northern Spain which was used to film that location in Game of Thrones Seasons 7 and 8, even though production did return to Spain. As explained in behind the scenes videos, the camerawork they wanted to use in the scene would have been impossible on such a narrow causeway (i.e. overhead crane shots), so the entire sequence was filmed on the "Volume" virtual set at Leavesden Studios. The virtual set has 2,000 LED screens projecting the background and 92 motion capture cameras, and the actors could react in real time to images of the dragons instead of just pretending they were there.
In the behind the scenes video for this episode, director Miguel Sapochnik explained that he wanted a totally new Small Council chamber for the new TV series instead of just recreating the old one (in-universe it's not supposed to be the same room, just a different one in the castle). Sapochnik said that one of his major requirements designing it was to add more space for the camera to move to film from any angle, and also large windows for better lighting.[12]
In King's Landing[]
In the books, Ryam Redwyne died in 105 AC, the same year that Aemma Arryn died, and he was then replaced by Harrold Westerling as Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, and Criston Cole was added to fill the open space as the seventh knight in the order. Harrold later died in the middle of Viserys's reign, in 112 AC. The TV series has expanded Harrold's role so that he lives beyond this (based on shots in the trailers that clearly show him alive at later events than he was in the books). The TV series altered the timeline to age up several younger characters: Queen Aemma died in the second year of Viserys's reign in the books (105 AC) but dies in the ninth year of his reign in the TV series. Viserys's reign apparently began in 103 AC in both versions (see below), meaning that the first episode begins in 112 AC (and this episode is slightly less than half a year later). Thus in the TV show, Harrold Westerling has become Lord Commander the same calendar year that he actually died in the books.
The "Triarchy" is a triple-alliance of Lys, Myr, and Tyrosh. Pentos borders them to the north, Volantis to the east.
Viserys tells Corlys that he has sent overtures to Pentos and Volantis to make common cause against the Triarchy, which is a triple-allaince between the Free Cities of Lys, Myr, and Tyrosh. Their enmity towards the Triarchy was stated in the books as well: Pentos borders them to the north, and Volantis to the east, and they felt threatened by the rise of this new power. The Triarchy was actually founded five years before the Great Council of 101 AC, and their first act was to use their newly combined forces to deal Volantis a crushing defeat at the Battle of the Borderland in 96 AC, allowing them to seize control over all of the Disputed Lands east towards the Rhoyne River.
There may be some parallels between the delayed response to the Triarchy's attacks on the shipping lanes and Cersei Lannister's actions in A Feast for Crows (chapter 32, Cersei VII): as the ironborn, led by their new king, begin their campaign against the Reach, Loras and Margaery Tyrell urge Cersei to send the Redwyne fleet (which at that point is besieging Dragonstone) against the invaders. Cersei refuses, since she secretly gloats over the Tyrells's distress, and fails to see that the ironborn pose a serious threat against the realm; by the time she finally orders Lord Paxter Redwyne to deal with the invaders, it is perhaps too late. Viserys is by no means as foolish and incompetent ruler as Cersei - but he is peaceful and prefers to resolve conflicts non-violently; moreover, he is strongly influenced by his Hand, Otto Hightower, who clearly has a political rivalry with the Velaryons (similarly to Cersei's enmity toward the Tyrells). Therefore it's unclear if Viserys isn't responding to Corlys's protests because he wants to avoid being dragged into a trade war, or perhaps because Otto is secretly in no great rush to stop these attacks on Velaryon ships.
Another parallel to the novels: Corlys offered Viserys to marry his daughter Laena, but Viserys chose to marry Alicent, and by that offended and angered Corlys - which is slightly similar to the Mad King's refusal to Tywin's offer to wed Cersei to Rhaegar, which greatly offended Tywin, and was one of the reasons he resigned from his office as the King's Hand. While the lunatic Aerys's decision was based on envy and distrust, this may not be the case with Viserys, who was definitely not as lunatic and irrational as Aerys, and his decision was rational (House Hightower is a powerful family). Nevertheless, the outcome was similar, since Viserys's decision caused a rift between him and Corlys, even if Viserys did not mean to offend him.
The showrunners and actor have said that they actually see Corlys as a parallel to Tywin: both are the richest man in Westeros in their own lifetimes, but the difference is that Corlys actually has a stable and loving relationship with his family. The Corlys' auditions even used Tywin lines as placeholder dialogue.[13]
A still-shot from the behind-the-scenes video showing the candidate totems with their sigils superimposed on-screen
The assembled candidates for the position on the Kingsguard display the heraldry of, from left to right, House Caron, House Mallister, House Corbray, House Rowan, House Crakehall, then after Criston Cole is a knight from House Tarly. As they say in dialogue, House Cole is only a minor family of stewards in service to House Dondarrion, thus Criston doesn't even have his own squire to hold a banner displaying his heraldry. His shield did display House Cole's heraldry at the tournament in the previous episode.
This marks the live-action debut of House Rowan heraldry: a golden tree on a silver background.
Criston Cole says that he fought for a year in service to House Dondarrion, against a "Dornish incursion". As stated in dialogue in the previous episode, there hasn't been a major war in over sixty years. From the books, the Third and Fourth Dornish Wars happened during these years, but they were both small-scale skirmishes. The Third Dornish War happened almost fifty years ago and was against a minor bandit-lord, while the Fourth Dornish War was over 25 years ago, and lasted a single day - when a Dornish invasion fleet was destroyed from dragon-back (and thus no regular soldiers participated in it). That being said, the Dornish Marches experience constant low-level raids from minor Dornish lords and brigands hiding in the mountain passes, as at this point in time they're a hostile border with the still-independent Dorne.
Viserys states that at its height, Old Valyria possessed over 1,000 dragons. The books never gave an exact count, but the highest number provided so far is that the Valyrians were able to send 300 dragons to crush the Rhoynar (which resulted in Nymeria rallying the survivors to flee, as explained in the preceding episode). Another 600 years or so passed between the end of the Rhoynish Wars and the Doom of Valyria, however, and the number of dragons could indeed have tripled after the Valyrians defeated the Rhoynar and ruled over half the known world.
The detail Viserys provides that the "blood-mages" in Valyria's capital worked in a special building called the "anogrion" is not from the books. Linguist David J. Peterson came up with the term as part of his expansion of the High Valyrian language. In his notes, he said that it means "temple" - though it is "an old word that derives from elder practices", so the literal etymology is "blood tower".[14]
The subplot that the cut on Viserys's pinky finger is becoming badly infected is from the books, but began later in his reign. There is no specific mention of him being treated with maggot therapy, but in modern real-life medicine it is actually a widespread and trusted technique for removing necrotic flesh from a wound.
Rhaenyra and Alicent pray at the statue of the Mother in the Grand Sept (Viserys stated the name in the preceding episode). The Great Sept of Baelor won't be built won't be built for another half-century. The Great Sept replaced an earlier one atop Visenya's Hill.
Viserys light-heartedly tells Rhaenys she is his favorite cousin: he actually only had two first cousins, Rhaenys and his now-deceased wife Aemma. It's unclear if he's referring to more extended cousins or if he's making a joke (i.e. like saying to Daemon "you're my favorite brother" when he's his only brother).
As Viserys explains, he only briefly flew Balerion before he died from old age. In the books, he only flew him exactly once: he circled King's Landing three times, and had intended to fly to Dragonstone, but realized the old dragon didn't have the strength anymore so he turned back. Balerion died only half a year later. This left Vhagar as the last of the original three dragons from Aegon's Conquest.
For the first time the prequel series has made passing mention of the Wall and the Iron Islands, when Viserys sarcastically asks if he should send his own brother to the Night's Watch or just execute him, and when Otto points out that House Mallister of Seagard are their main defenders against unsancioned raiders from the Iron islands.
First mention of the dragon Dreamfyre, when it's said that the egg Daemon stole was the one of her's that was picked out for the dead baby Baelon. The book doesn't mention which dragon's egg it was. Dreamfyre is noted to have laid several clutches of eggs in the books, and it is somewhat implied that she might actually be the mother of Daenerys Targaryen's three dragons: in Fire & Blood, three dragon eggs are stolen and taken to the Free Cities, strongly indicating they eventually passed down to Daenerys, though the vague wording of the text makes it unclear if they specifically came from Dreamfyre. Thus this egg could be the sibling of Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion.
Some of the High Valyrian dialogue by the Dragonkeeper Elder was cut. As scripted, after Viserys reacts, "Daemon?", the Elder goes on to say that "We were loathe to do him harm" and "He entered the Dragonpit under false pretense, then attacked both myself and my Acolyte. It will be some time before the boy recovers" - explaining how Daemon was able to take the egg despite the presence of fifty guards (and he didn't even need to attack two of them, because as a prince of royal blood they were afraid to strike him back).[15]
The Dragonkeeper Elder says that Daemon stole the dragon egg "in the blackness of night...during the Hour of the Bat". In Westeros, each hour of the night has a customary name, and this is the first time this system has been mentioned in the TV series (they don't simply say "1 o'clock A.M." because they don't have clocks). Other than the general term that the "hour of the wolf" is in the darkest time of night, this system of hour names was only introduced in the fifth novel, A Dance With Dragons (2011), nor has a complete listing been given. The Hour of the Bat is followed by the Hour of the Eel, and the Hour of the Eel by the Hour of Ghosts. At some point later in the night is the Hour of the Owl, which is still quite some time before dawn, followed by the Hour of the Wolf, then the Hour of the Nightingale.
Laena Velaryon is 12 years old in both the books and TV series when she's proposed as a new wife for Viserys - she wasn't aged-up like Rhaenyra was because it's a plot point that she was too young for Viserys to be comfortable with marrying her. A detail from the books is that Laena herself wasn't upset about Viserys rejecting the marriage pact, as it was noted that she was "more fond of flying than boys" (by that point she had already claimed a dragon for herself). Perhaps as a nod to this line, throughout her conversation with Viserys in the gardens she's mostly interested in discussing dragons and dragon-flight: asking Viserys what it was like flying Balerion, and excited to talk about sightings of Vhagar around Driftmark. When she has to talk about the actual marriage pact, she flatly recites a speech her parents prepared for her.
Costume designer Jany Temime said that she intentionally "gave Laena the dress of a girl older than her age, to highlight the absurdity of the situation" - that this 12 year old is being put forward as a potential wife to a king who has a daughter older than she is.[16]
Viserys says he intends to marry Alicent before the end of Spring - keeping in mind that seasons can last for years in their world. An exact list of seasons during Viserys's reign was not given in the books. What is known is that it was Summer in 99AC (two years before the Great Council), and later 120 AC was Spring, and that it was Autumn in 129 AC. If this episode indeed takes place in 112 AC (see below) that would mean the Summer of 99 AC ended, followed by an Autumn, Winter, and now Spring. Based on Tyrion Lannister's statement that he's lived through nine Winters, seasons generally average to about three years long, though the extremes can vary drastically (a ten year long Summer, like the one ending when at the start of Game of Thrones, is a once in a century event).
In the books, Corlys Velaryon resigned in protest from the Small Council back in 92 AC, when his wife Rhaenys was first passed over as heir to the throne (about twenty years before this episode). In the TV series, he remains on the Small Council even after the Great Council at Harrenhal passes over Rhaenys's claim to the throne a second time (allowing for face to face dialogue between him and the Small Council). Now it appears that he has resigned as well in the TV version, though this time he leaves the Small Council in protest over his daughter being spurned for a royal marriage pact.
On Dragonstone[]
The Dragonstone sequence is expanded from the book:
In the book, Viserys didn't command Daemon to return to his wife in the Vale after the "heir for a day" incident, when he named Rhaenyra heir instead of him. Daemon was simply so frustrated by this that he retired to Dragonstone on his own, sulking there for half a year with Mysaria. He didn't attempt to fortify the island with his Gold Cloaks and didn't flippantly claim to still be the lawful heir.
Mysaria actually was pregnant in the book, while in the TV show Daemon just claimed this as justification for marrying her (doing so essentially just to taunt his brother). Even though she did carry his child, Daemon never tried to marry her - giving her the dragon egg alone was enough to incur Viserys's wrath. In the book, after this incident Viserys ordered Mysaria to return to Lys, but she miscarried when her ship was caught in a violent storm. Given the narrative conceit that Fire & Blood is an in-universe history book, and Daemon publicly lied about Mysaria being pregnant, the implication is that the histories simply don't know this wasn't true.
Daemon says he intends to take Mysaria as a second wife in Valyrian tradition: polygamy was not common among the Valyrians, but it was not unheard of either. Aegon the Conqueror himself was simultaneously married to both of his sisters. This was a major point of contention during the Faith Militant uprising: the main reason for the revolt was Targaryen incest marriage, but Maegor the Cruel went on to take multiple concurrent wives (he was the second and last of the Targaryen kings who had polygamous marriage). After the revolt ended the Targaryens had secured their privilege to continue with incest marriages, but no official status was secured for polygamy: simply, none of the subsequent Targaryens was ever brazen enough to antagonize the Faith again by testing this boundary. Daemon Blackfyre is rumored to have considered it, and it is implied that Rhaegar Targaryen took Lyanna Stark as a second wife (the "annulment" in the TV version would be impossible in the books, as Rhaegar had already produced children by his first wife, and also in view of the political applications of such deed).
Daemon had another option: since his marriage to Rhea Royce was not consummated (Rhea says that in "We Light the Way"), according to the novels (A Storm of Swords, Tyrion IV) non-consummated marriage can be set aside, namely annulled; then Daemon would be free to wed Mysaria or any other woman. In Fire & Blood, Daemon did request that from Viserys as soon as he became the king (his request was denied) because he did not like Rhea, and that was before he met Mysaria.
There is no mention of a dramatic confrontation like this in the books, between Daemon, Otto, and Rhaenyra. It simply says that Viserys commanded Daemon to stop, on pain of permanent exile from the royal court, and he grudgingly yielded up the dragon egg and sent Mysaria away. It was only at this point in the book version when Viserys outright commanded Daemon to return to his lawful wife Rhea Royce in the Vale, which he briefly does.
All of this combined makes Daemon's actions in the TV version even more scandalous, but the end result is the same: he backs down and leaves the royal court in shame, but then makes common cause with the also-shunned Corlys Velaryon to seek his fortune fighting in the Stepstones.
Timeline[]
It is directly stated that (a little less than) half a year has passed since the events of the preceding episode.
It is directly stated that Rhaenyra Targaryen is 15 years old, and Laena Velaryon is 12 years old.
In post-episode interviews with Insider, Ryan Condal and the two actresses confirmed that both Rhaenyra and Alicent are 14 years old in the first episode. Rhaenyra turned 15 years old during the six month gap between episodes 1 and 2.[17]
Continuing from the first episode, in the books the story begins when Queen Aemma dies in the second year of Viserys's reign, but in the TV version it is the ninth year of his reign - adding seven extra years, much as Game of Thrones increased the amount of time since Robert's Rebellion at the beginning of the story from 15 years to 17 years. Given that only about six months have passed, this episode presumably also takes place in 112 AC.
In the books, Rhaenyra was born in 97 AC - it appears this date was in this case retained in the TV show, as she would turn 15 years old in 112 AC (late 112 or early 113, factoring in the half year time skip by this episode).
Laena and Alicent, meanwhile, were not aged-up relative to the moved start date of the story. In the books there's a nine year age gap between Rhaenyra and Alicent (though Alicent is said to look young for her age, and Rhaenyra old for her age). While an exact age hasn't been mentioned for TV-Alicent, she's apparently of comparable age to TV-Rhaenyra now, perhaps a year or two older - i.e. their nine year age gap was shortened by the seven added years to Rhaenyra's age, but not Alicent's Age.
Laena was also 12 years old in the books when Queen Aemma died, and it was a plot point that she was so young that Viserys was uncomfortable even with a delayed betrothal to her. TV-Laena's birth date is 100 AC, when she was born in 93 AC in the books.
This has wider implications for the changes to the Great Council at Harrenhal: in the books, the final two candidates were actually Viserys and Rhaenys's son Laenor Velaryon, though it was broadly seen as a vote on Rhaenys's bloodline, and whether the inheritance could pass through a woman. Laenor is Laena's younger brother, in the books born a year later in 94 AC, and was only seven years old at the Great Council in the books - thus the explanation for the change in the TV continuity might be that Laenor simply hadn't been born yet at the time of the Great Council, but was born the year after it. In the first episode, when discussing who should be the official heir after Aemma's death, Corlys even stresses that she has a male heir - as in a male heir now, which she didn't have at the time of the Great Council.
