5 burning questions for House Of The Dragon episode 7

We've cruised through 10-plus years now on House Of The Dragon, so where do the characters go from here?

PublishedSeptember 30, 2022

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House Of The Dragon has sure been keeping the audience on our toes. Just when you feel like you have a handle on these characters and their situations, everything changes. Everything except the deadly collision course the characters have been on since the premiere. If episodes one through five were prologue, and episode six launched us head first into the real meat of the story, where will episode seven take us? In order to move forward, it might be best to look back, catch our breath, and take a look at how the previous episode opened up some interesting possibilities for the future.

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1. Who are all these new kids and dragons?

A whole new generation of Targaryen kids has sprung up over the past decade and it can be hard to keep track of them all. But here’s a quick overview.

Rhaenyra has three sons by her lover, Ser Harwin Strong—Jacaerys “Jace,” Lucerys “Luke,” and newborn Joffrey. All three boys received dragon eggs at birth, in the Targaryen tradition. In the episode, Jace trains with his dragon, called Vermax. Luke’s egg has hatched, but he’s not old enough to be a dragonrider yet. We also see baby Joffrey’s egg, which was chosen by his older brothers.

Alicent and Viserys have three children, Aegon, Helaena, and Aemond. In the book, they actually had a fourth child, Daeron, who was around the same age as Joffrey. They were raised together, and even shared a wet nurse, but their family ties pulled them in opposite directions. It’s highly unlikely we’ll see Alicent bear Viserys another child at this point, though. Aegon’s dragon is called Sunfyre the Golden. We don’t see Helaena’s dragon, but in the book she claimed Dreamfyre. Aemond, the youngest, does not have a dragon, thus subjecting him to teasing by his family. It’s a sore point.

Across the Narrow Sea in Pentos, Prince Daemon and Laena have twins, Baela and Rhaena (yes, we now have characters named Rhaenys, Rhaenyra, and Rhaena on the show). Both of them received eggs as well, but only Baela’s hatched. Her dragon is called Moondancer. Laena claimed Vhagar, the largest and oldest living dragon, at some point since the last time we saw her, but now Vhagar is without a rider. No dragon of her status is riderless for long with so many Targaryens around, but who will claim her?

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2. Why is Alicent still so angry with Rhaenyra, after all this time?

It can be hard to have sympathy for Alicent sometimes. She’s cold, haughty, and holds a grudge like it’s her job. That hasn’t made her very popular with fans, and her continuing animosity toward Rhaenyra, who is popular with the audience, doesn’t help. If you look at it from the perspective of what she’s been through, her behavior makes a lot more sense. As a teenager, her father pushed her into a marriage with an old man. Even as he rotted away next to her, she did her duty, remained faithful, and gave him three children. She didn’t choose it, but she made the best of her situation. All the while, she had to stand by and watch her best friend flout the rules and do whatever she pleased. That’s why Alicent is still pissy with Rhaenyra 10 years later. It was never about that one indiscretion, it’s about what she views as a double standard.

That’s not going to change as long as Viserys is on the throne. The real question is, what is Alicent going to do about it? She hasn’t gone back to wearing Targaryen red and black after debuting that symbolic green dress at the wedding banquet. She has been gathering supporters and training her children for the day when they’ll either have to challenge the succession or become victims of it. She’s prepared for a fight when the time comes. As much as she likes to believe she has the moral high ground, she keeps scoundrels like Criston Cole and Larys Strong in her circle and pretends to be shocked when they carry out acts that ultimately help her cause.

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3. Who will take over as Hand of the King?

Perhaps Alicent didn’t mean for Larys to have the current Hand of the King, his father Lord Lyonel Strong, burned to death by prisoners with their tongues cut out, but she didn’t tell him not to do that. It works out great for Alicent, though. Lord Strong is conveniently out of the way and Rhaenyra’s supporters in King’s Landing have just been reduced by two. All without having to get her hands dirty. If only there were someone out there with recent experience in the job who could be counted on to take her side when the time comes. It’s not like there are a lot of great candidates in King’s Landing. Alicent still has some sway with the king, so perhaps she can convince him to widen the search. Perhaps all the way to Oldtown? It’s been a while since Viserys dismissed Otto, but he’s known to be a forgive-and-forget sort of king. Look at how many times he’s welcomed Daemon back into the fold after banishing him. Plus, we’ve missed having Rhys Ifans on the show.

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4. Will Daemon shift his attention back to Rhaenyra now that he’s single again?

Shani Smethurst, Eva Ossei-Gerning, Matt Smith

Daemon seemed like he’d finally found peace—or the closest to it he could get—in Pentos with Laena Velaryon and their daughters. But the gods had other plans. Now that he’s a widower twice over, will he finally claim the prize he’s wanted all along? Is it Rhaenyra he wants or a chance to rule the kingdom? That didn’t matter before, when she was single, since the princess and power came together as a package deal. Now that she’s married to Laenor, it’s a bit more complicated. If Daemon just wants to be with Rhaenyra he’ll have to settle for filling the position now vacated by the late Harwin Strong. If he wants the crown legitimately, though, there’s a certain royal consort in the way.

Matt Smith’s best scenes in the series so far (with the exception of that big Crabfeeder battle) have been in King’s Landing, so it would be nice to get him back there somehow. As previously mentioned, Viserys has a history of going back on his orders of exile when it comes to Daemon once their tempers have cooled. Now that they’ve had 10 years to cool off, will things be better between the estranged brothers? Will Daemon’s intentions toward Rhaenyra heat them up again?

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5. Are we in for another time jump in the next episode?

Olivia Cooke, Paddy Considine, Evie Allen, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Shani Smethurst

The show has been moving so quickly through time it’s a little disorienting. Every time we find ourselves in the future we have to learn where the characters are in their lives all over again, and there’s a lot we’ve missed. It would be nice to stop for a bit and take a look around. Based on cast changes and some promotional images from future episodes, it sure looks like we haven’t seen the last of the time jumps, though maybe not in episode seven. In the trailer, it appears that everyone will be making the journey to Pentos for Laena’s funeral. So enough time for a sea voyage, but probably not any longer than that. At some point before the end of the season, we’ll be getting older actors portraying the next-generation kids we just met. So let’s appreciate this brief stopover while we can, and brace ourselves before the story flings us forward a few more years.

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