House of the Dragon – The Green Council

By: Kelly Kearney

The king is dead! Long live the…king? After his deathbed chat with Alicent about Aegon’s dream, the Queen misunderstood her husband–conveniently, and thought he had changed his mind about Rhaenyra’s succession and wanted his eldest son to take the Iron Throne. Suspicion surrounds his last words as well as the agendas of his wife and her father, the Hand, as the two plot to lead the realm through the useless Aegon who would rather be trolling brothels than standing in for his father and half-sister.

AEGON II

Viserys (Paddy Considine) is dead and his dying words left Alicent (Olivia Cooke) with the impression that he changed his mind about his successor. He was rambling on about Aegon’s dream and the “Prince who was promised” leaving his Queen with the assumption that he was talking about their oldest son. The Small Council couldn’t be more thrilled with the news since they were planning their own coup on the throne the second the King expired. They didn’t even inform Queen Alicent about it and now she’s a tinge offended they left her in the dark. Lord Beesbury (Bill Patterson), the Master of the Coin and man who has known the king longer than anyone, thinks this idea of stealing the crown from Rhaenyra is treason. He knows Viserys to be a man of his word and questions whether or not this is a concerted effort by the Hightowers to steal what’s rightfully the princess’. His accusations do not leave the room since Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) jumps in to defend his queen and accidently kills the elderly man right at the Council’s table. Apparently, murder is on everyone mind because Otto (Rhys Ifans) thinks the challenges to Aegon’s succession should be dealt with quickly, and as painlessly as his High Lord Commander Westerling (Graham McTavish) can handle. Westerling chooses not to handle the killing of the Princess and Prince Daemon at all, and instead quits his post, with Alicent almost right behind him. She lashes out at the Council and says the murder of his daughter and brother was not what the king wished for. She is vehemently against hurting Rhaenyra, especially after they made peace the night before; but first things first, they need to find Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney). The King-to-be isn’t in his chambers; he snuck past his guards for a night on the town. Otto orders Ser Erryk (Elliott Tittensor) to find him and bring the prince only to him. Likewise, the queen orders her lapdog, Ser Criston Cole, to find her son and only bring him to her. Alicent and Otto seem to be in a race for who gets to influence the new King. Aemond (Ewan Mitchell), who overhears his mother asking Cole for help, offers to go along since he knows all his brother’s favorite haunts in King’s Landing. The Queen is wary of her middle son’s eagerness to find his brother, and rightfully so, Aegon now has a target on his back and his brother and that massive dragon of his could be a threat to his survival. After all, if one brother dies the middle is next in line to sit in the Iron Throne. Criston and Aemond dress as commoners and head out into the streets, knocking door to door. Apparently, Aegon’s tastes aren’t found in your average upscale sex worker, accroding to a brothel owner, he likes to get down and dirty.

THE WHITE WORM

Not everyone agrees to bend the knee to Aegon after Otto gathers all the Houses of Westeros to tell them the news. “House Fell keeps its sworn oath to the princess” he’s told when gauging their reactions to the change of plans.  When House Fell is escorted away by force, the other naysayers in the Throne room bend the knee to Aegon the Aess. None are willing to die for Rhaenyra, and with Otto looming over the Throne demanding fealty to his grandson, anyone who objects probably won’t live very long. As all the houses kneel and chant “long live the King!” We see Larys Strong (Matthew Needham) watching it all unfold from a perch above the room.

While still looking for Aegon, Erryk Cargyll and his twin brother, Arryk (Luke Tittensor), wander into a seedy back alley room where grown men make bets on feral kid fights. Think dog fighting rings but with pointy toothed child warriors used as entertainment for the masses. These formidable pint- sized fighters are a form of entertainment for not only the commoners with a coin or two to bet, but also the favorite pastime of the gold cloaks and royals like Aegon Targaryen. It’s a good place to start looking for a Prince who would rather be doing anything other than serving the realms. Even Aemond can’t keep his disappointment over his brother to himself; he’s the one who studies history and battles and is prepared to lead in his Father’s Footsteps, not the clownish Aegon. The lines are drawn between the brothers but only one rides the biggest dragon in all the realms, and because of it, he has grown a chip on his shoulder twice the size of Westeros.

Back at the kid fights, Erryk and Arryk are arguing over their crown loyalties and to whom. Erryk reminds his brother of the oath they took to defend the throne and right now that throne is supposed to go to Aegon; if only they could find him, but Arryk still leans towards trusting Viserys at his word. That’s when a young servant girl interrupts their quarreling to say she can take them to Aegon for the right price. She was sent by her mistress to reveal the Prince’s whereabouts but only to Otto Hightower because she doesn’t make deals with servants. When Erryk tells her that’s impossible, she fires back “I think he will wish to hear what the White Worm can tell him.”

Back at the Red Keep and Lord Allun Caswell (Paul Hickey), who seemed pro-Rhaenyra when he casually objected to Aegon’s succession but quickly changed his mind when the other objectors were taken to jail, is caught trying to flee the Keep. He is brought to Otto, who accuses him of trying to warn the Princess. Lord Caswell lies and says he has no love for Rhaenyra but he’s dragged away anyway. Otto thanks Larys Strong for setting all of this in motion with that fiery end to his brother and father. He mentions that he’s noticed Larys spending a lot of time with the queen and whether he takes that as a threat or not, Layrs responds with “there’s no reason that time can’t benefit the Hand.” It sounds like the creepy Strong is playing both Hightowers from the middle, and neither of them realize it.

Speaking of Queen Alicent, we see her in her husband’s chambers as the Maesters and the maids prepare his body for burial. She’s visibly upset and smoking something to take the edge off before picking up his crown and placing it on his chest. She loses her resolve and breaks down over her husband’s body; whether or not they’re tears of exhaustion, tears of relief, Alicent is overwhelmed with grief. The only thing that is clear is her agenda and she takes it to Rhaenys’ (Eve Best) room to ask her for Aegon’s support. The backing of House Velaryon would seal Aegon’s fate, but all Rhaenys can think about is how impressed she is with Alicent’s determination to serve the throne but not take it. Her observation strikes a nerve but never responds and instead offers the Queen-who-Never-Was, the throne at Driftmark if she backs Aegon. Of course this is an uncomfortable offer when the woman’s grandchildren are betrothed to Rhaenyra’s son and new leader of Driftmark- Luke. Going against him and his mother would be suicide, but considering the fact she’s currently in lockdown at the Keep–as is all the staff and servants with knowledge of the king’s passing, she is running out of options. Alicent pushes her harder when she admits she always thought Rhaenys should have been queen and Viserys should’ve been perfectly fine living a life in the country. Unfortunately, that’s not the world they live in; the one that asks them not to lead but to guide the leaders. It’s a fact that makes Rhaenys laugh because Alicent, in all her conniving ways, is more than capable of leading but instead she chooses to cut a out a window in her prison rather than free herself from the bars. Alicent says this lockdown is all to keep the peace but is it peaceful that she’s also holding her dragon hostage? Apparently, the dragon Meyles is on standby in case of Rhaenyra attacks. Rhaenys is almost impressed with how clever Alicent is and whispers in her ear “have you ever imagined yourself on the iron throne?” Now who’s manipulating whom? The idea strikes a chord with Alicent who might have pondered it but never truly saw the possibilities until maybe now. With tears in her eyes she leaves the woman to think about her decision.

Back to the search for Aegon, and Erryk and Arryk bring Otto to the White Worm while Larys spies on the meeting. Otto can’t help but laugh with delight when he realizes the mysterious woman is actually Damon’s ex, Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno). She offers her condolences for the passing of the king and immediately Otto knows she has inside knowledge. He made sure the word did not leak from the castle; everyone who knows is locked up and the objectors are dead. There is no way word got out unless the White Worm wiggled her way into the Red Keep through a mole like castle maid Talya (Alexis Raben) who we saw get the news from a young servant boy in the opening minutes. Otto has no other choice but to hand the blackmailer a sack of money for whatever information she has on Aegon. Mysaria promises Otto the Prince is safe with her but she won’t be giving him back until someone addresses the children being used in the fights in Flea Bottom. This is blackmail and kidnapping of the King; a treason punishable by death, but in her mind she could’ve killed the prince instead of sending him home to the throne. The power of the gold cloaks and royals only exists because the people allow it, she reminds him, and Otto promises he won’t forget this fact. We all know what that means!

LONG LIVE THE KING!

After giving him the location, Erryk and his brother find Aegon drunk and hiding from his responsibilities. Mysaria wasn’t holding him captive, he was happy to go missing if it meant avoiding the throne! Aemond was right, he isn’t fit to be their father’s heir and tells him as much when he and Criston Cole see the two brothers dragging a kicking and screaming Aegon back to the Keep. Both the brothers and Cole want to take the credit for bringing the prince to the throne and a fight ensues. Cole and Erryk draw their swords and duel over who gets the glory for returning Aegon. Meanwhile, the prince takes off running and his brother is right behind him. The two wrestle each other to the ground, with Aegon practically begging Aemond to let him go so he can sail away from a life he never wanted. The thought must cross his younger brother’s mind because Aemond desperately wants to be king. In the end, the choice is up to Ser Christian Cole, who wins the duel and takes Aegon back to his mother.

Back at the Keep, Alicent fights with her father about his plans to kill Rhaenyra. He finds her “reluctance to murder” foolish but it’s his inhumanity that has his daughter pulling rank on him. With a biting tone, she tells him she and Aegon will decide what’s best from now on. A son, reluctant to lead and backed by a mother– shackled to tradition, yet smart enough to lead from behind, and a grandfather hungry for power and willing to destroy anyone who gets in his way. What could go wrong? Alicent knows Aegon would gladly hand her the reins and that thought must be dawning on Otto. The offer from Larys should be swirling around his mind as he listens to his plucky daughter cement her place next to the new King. She avoids her father’s attempts at manipulation when he accuses her of protecting her childhood friend, and instead, tells him the plan for the following day; one that he has no say in. Aegon will ascend the throne with all of King’s Landing as his witness. Ser Criston Cole will be appointed Lord Commander of the King’s Guard. Once Aegon assumes his authority, the people will not question it. Especially when the new king will honor his namesake by taking the name Conqueror. He will also carry blackfyre as his sword, and bring a love of tradition back to Westeros. Alicent has it all planned out. Sure, her bizarre daughter, Helaena (Phia Saban)– wife of Aegon, is muttering about beasts below the floorboards, but it should be a glorious day!

LARYS DE-FEETS THE QUEEN’S ENEMIES

When Alicent returns to her chambers after giving her father a what for, Larys is waiting for her with news about her maid Talya– the spy, and her mistress of chaos, the White Worm. Obviously this puts a kink in Alicent’s quest to keep the news of Viserys death a secret until her son can take the throne, but no worries, the arsonist in training will  handle it. After all, he killed his father and brother for her so why wouldn’t Larys take out Mysaria? Especially after we see the type of power he holds over the Queen. The entire time Alicent is pumping him for details on Talia and her boss, she’s flashing him her naked feet for some quid pro quo. This foot fetish toes the line on blackmail but Alicent willingly goes along with it. This can’t be the first time the queen has stepped into the kinky side of things when looking for Larys’ help. She is willing to do what it takes to get the upper hand, whether it’s the teen-queen suffering through sex with her elderly husband, or it’s wiggling her toes for Larys’ allegiance to her cause, Alicent is up for all of it.  Later, we Strong fulfills his promise when he leaves the White Worm’s lair on fire! No word on if Mysaria died in those flames but my money is on the woman looking out for those kids in Flea Bottom.

With everyone in the Keep distracted with their own plots for Aegon’s ascension, we see another divide happening between the Cargyll brothers. Erryk is firmly team Hightower, but his brother, Arryk has loyalty to Rhaenyra, and apparently the lady of Driftmark too. He enters into Rhaenys’ locked chambers and sneaks her out of the castle in disguise. She wants to go to her dragon but after the gold cloaks start herding the townspeople back to the Keep to witness Aegon’s the Aess’ ceremony, Rhaenys has no choice but to hide in plain sight. For a guy who had to be dragged to the throne kicking and screaming, Aegon certainly loves the applause–which is prompted by Ser Christian Cole who starts chanting “Aegon the King ” as the newly crowned manchild raises blackfyre into the air. That’s when Rhaenys, slips out of the Keep and makes her way to her imprisoned dragon, Meyles. When we next see her she and Meyles are bursting through the floorboards of the dragon pit and into the hall interrupting the new King’s speech. Maybe Helaena isn’t as crazy as everyone thinks she is? The dragon tosses attendees out of her way and crushes others as she walks Rhaenys to the newly crowned Aegon and his family. The Hightower/Targaryen clan all cowers in fear as they wait for the woman to yell, “Dracarys!” but she never does. Meyles unleashes an earth shaking roar and then the angry beast flies Rhaenys out of King’s Landing to where we can only assume is to Dragonstone to warn Rhaenyra.