5 burning questions for House Of The Dragon episode 8

Is there another succession battle brewing? Is Rhaenyra losing valuable allies? Will any of it matter if the next episode is as dimly lit as the last one?

By Cindy White | October 7, 2022 | 2:00pm

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5 burning questions for House Of The Dragon episode 8

Paddy Considine, Graham McTavish Image: Ollie Upton/HBO

We’re back with more questions about the next episode of House Of The Dragon. After “Driftmark” put the “fun” in “funeral” we’re jumping forward in time once again for the next chapter in the saga of who will win the right to cut themselves to pieces on the Iron Throne. Of course, it’s not going to be anyone as long as Viserys stubbornly refuses to die. We’re getting tired of asking, “Is he done for real this time?” so we’re skipping that question, though it’s safe to assume we’re always wondering.

Based on the previews it looks like we’re getting another time jump this week. After just two episodes with these feisty Targaryen and Velaryon kids, the next generation is going to be replaced with older actors. Bye, kids! We hardly knew you. So what shape will the kingdom be in when we return to it again? Who will fill in the cracks that are starting to form as the power structure crumbles? Who is the real power behind the Iron Throne? Let’s dive in, shall we?

1. Who is really ruling the Seven Kingdoms?

It’s not King Viserys, that’s for sure. He’s becoming weaker—physically and politically—by the day, and there are plenty of people ready to step into the power vacuum created by his incapacitation. The Hightowers have settled into the Red Keep and made themselves pretty comfortable there. Or as comfortable as anyone can be on the Iron Throne. Otto’s back on the job as Hand of the King, and Alicent is already making decisions on the small council in Viserys’ name. She’s no longer a dutiful wife or passive pawn in her father’s game but a player in her own right, with agency and an agenda.None of this has gone unnoticed by Princess Rhaenyra, who knows the game just as well. She was born into it and has been preparing to defend her position since she became heir all those years ago. She has other interests now, though. Will she be content to make a home with her new husband on Dragonstone and stay out of politics until it’s time to take the crown? Will Daemon, who clearly loves her but is not without ambition, be content to let her step away while his old adversary Otto whispers in his brother’s ear and claims to speak for the king in all matters?

2. Who will inherit High Tide and the Driftwood Throne?

There are seats in the kingdom that hold almost as much power as the Iron Throne. One of them is the Driftwood Throne of Driftmark. It belongs to House Velaryon, one of the oldest and richest families in Westeros, and comes with the lofty title of Lord of the Tides. Right now it is held by the Sea Snake, Lord Corlys Velaryon. Who will take over after him was a subject of debate in episode seven, and the matter is hardly settled. The battle over this succession is almost as significant as the one in King’s Landing, and its implications could very well spill over into that conflict in a major way.Like every great house of Westeros, the lordship of High Tide is handed down through the male line. That would normally be Laenor, except once he married Rhaenyra his role as Prince Consort supersedes his claim, so it passes to the next in line. As the crown prince, Laenor’s son (at least in name) Jace is also out for the same reason, so then it should fall to Luke. Except there’s one small problem. Although no one has had the nerve to say it publicly, everyone knows that Luke isn’t truly a Velaryon but the bastard son of Ser Harwin Strong. This doesn’t bother Lord Corlys, who tells his wife that “history does not remember blood, it remembers names.” She’d rather see it pass to her granddaughter Baela, the oldest of Laena and Damon’s twin girls. If that were to happen, though, it would be an open admission of Luke’s illegitimacy, and by extension Jace’s too. Disinheriting Luke would only add more ammunition for Rhaenyra’s enemies to use against her when the time comes.

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3. Will Rhaenyra and Daemon lose the support of House Velaryon, who believe they are responsible for Laenor’s death?

With that fake-out at the end of episode six, Rhaenyra and Daemon proved they were both cunning and merciful. That didn’t matter for that random servant who had the bad fortune of looking enough like Laenor to pass as his burnt corpse, but he died for a good cause. Laenor got his freedom, Rhaenyra got to marry her uncle and bolster her claim to the throne, and Ser Qarl got a nice payoff to start a new life in Essos with his boyfriend. Rhaenyra and Daemon knew everyone would suspect them, and they were cool with that. But what of his parents, poor Corlys and Rhaenys, who barely had time to mourn their daughter before losing their son, too? How will they take the news that their former son-in-law and former daughter-in-law not only remarried before the bodies of their dead spouses were cold, but are now wed to each other? Another weird and twisty branch on the Targaryen family tree.With their vast wealth, ships, and dragons, House Velaryon are the last people you want to alienate if you’re preparing to go to war. As Rhaenyra told Daemon, she can’t stand alone against “the greens.” They were powerful enough already before Aemond claimed the oldest and largest dragon in Westeros. Now they’ve got even more firepower. Literally. Fortunately, Rhaenyra and Daemon have two very important things going for them—Daemon’s children Baela and Rhaena. They might be the only thing tying them directly to the Velaryons right now. That, and Lord Corlys’ ambition to be in close proximity to the throne. A marriage contract between them and Rhaenyra’s two older princes wouldn’t hurt, either.

4. How will the next generation carry on the legacy of their parents?

Speaking of the kids, they’ll be aging up again in the next episode, so we’re getting a new set of older actors to play them. What won’t change is the familial animosity that’s been stewing since the beginning. Rhaenyra and Alicent passed down more than their genes to their children; they’ve also inherited their mothers’ bitterness and resentments. These kids grew up together in an environment poisoned by long-standing grudges that had nothing to do with them, yet history colors their every interaction. Their toxic upbringing has turned Aegon and Aemond into entitled bullies, while their sister Helaena retreats into her own world. Meanwhile, Jace and Luke have had to live with the shadow of illegitimacy constantly hanging over them. If the kingdom splinters into factions and these boys find themselves on opposite sides, will their shared experience of growing up side-by-side in the Red Keep make any difference on the battlefield? Or will they escalate the tensions and carry on the fight started by their parents before they were even born?