Last week, we experienced a bit of a House of the Dragon bottle episode, where we spent almost the entire 56 minutes following Rhaenyra as she fumbled through her first few days on the Iron Throne. In episode four, we’re untethered, back to spanning the map of Westeros (or at least a small corner of it), as the Dance of the Dragons continues despite Team Black’s insistence that it has ended. All the major players (aside from Aemond, but more on him in a second) get screen time this week, as both sides of the war navigate the ongoing conflict and contend with all their mutual paternal problems.
We begin the episode in Tumbleton, the city just outside King’s Landing, which Ormund Hightower and his host took over at the end of “Rhaenyra Triumphant.” Hugh the Hammer’s wife, Kat, makes another appearance following her escape from King’s Landing to stay in safety with her brother. Unfortunately, the war has followed her, and she now must share a living space with Hightower bannermen who are less than respectful. It seems the Westerosi Constitution does not have its own version of the Third Amendment.
Also in Tumbleton is the real Daeron Targaryen, free from the enemy’s grasp and sporting a head of auburn hair. Episode four provides more context into the relationship between Daeron and Ormund, who basically raised Alicent’s youngest son after he was sent to Oldtown at a young age. We learn more about Ormund, his anger issues, delusions of grandeur, aversion to odors, and impressively perky butt throughout the hour. We also see Daeron dutifully serve Ormund and follow his lead. While Daeron had a more mellow, pacifist father in Viserys, Ormund seems to make it his goal to weed out any hint of feebleness in the boy, and he appears to be mostly succeeding. Yes, Daeron may have benefited from escaping the environment that produced Aegon and Aemond, but whatever is happening here doesn’t seem much better.
Ormund’s anger is specifically set off when Aemond fails to contact the host in Tumbleton. They need Vhagar to keep control over the city, but the second son is still MIA. Ormund isn’t the only one who’s wondering about Aemond’s whereabouts and current status. I, too, am anxious to know his fate, as are Ser Criston Cole and Gwayne Hightower, who have arrived in Harrenhal to find all the Strongs dead and no one to greet them but Alys Rivers. Alys has seemingly made herself very comfortable at Harrenhal, and she looks to relish in messing with Criston and Gwayne. She says Aemond stopped by, but left after Rhaenyra took King’s Landing, information that is news to the men of Team Green. She has also done a good job of hiding not only Aemond but also the biggest dragon in the land, as scouts have been unable to find either in their search.
Back at King’s Landing, Rhaenyra is still building out her small council, allowing Grand Maester Orwyle to stay on for as long as he remains “loyal and useful,” and electing Torrhen Manderly as the Master of Coin, if for no other reason than to blame him for the empty coffers. Together, they decide to send their troops in the Riverlands to Tumbleton to root out Ormund, and to send Hugh the Hammer and Ulf White to look after the city on their dragons in the meantime.
After the small council meeting, Rhaenyra hosts her more unofficial, but often more productive, roundtable with Alicent. It’s starting to feel like Rhaenyra isn’t setting Alicent free just to keep her close friend and confidante nearby. Perhaps she misses their old relationship and tête-à-tête. Once again, Alicent proves useful, providing information on Ormund, including his dislike of “the ignorant and uncouth.”
While Rhaenyra’s small council is slowly expanding, it’s still missing Corlys, who abandons his post in anger over the Queen’s inability to legitimize his sons, claiming he is off to find and eliminate the rest of the Triarchy still plaguing Westeros’s trade routes. The Seasnake sends Alyn to talk to Rhaenyra in his stead. (How far Corlys has come—from not even recognizing Alyn as his son, to making him the ersatz Hand of the King.) The promotion does allow Rhaenyra and Alyn to bond a bit as they compare daddy issues. Corlys distracts himself with battles while Viserys preferred models. Neither seemed to face their issues head-on, so how can their children be expected to break these patterns?
To be fair, Rhaenyra is trying, though her efforts may be poorly aimed. She seems to be dead set against being perceived as a tyrant, yet the actions she takes on her own, without seeking advice, continue to slip into the despotic category. When Ulf mentions his indulgences in taverns, Rhaenyra forbids him from imbibing or leaving the Red Keep at all. She’s not instilling much loyalty in Ulf despite the immense power he holds as a dragon rider. Through Ulf, Rhaenyra also learns of insurgency within King’s Landing and the “Queen of Bastards” graffiti on the city walls. Perhaps the culprit was a rebellious Corlys, releasing his anger through art before fleeing the city. Rhaenyra orders her Gold Cloaks to remove the markings and find those responsible, leading to chaos and violence in the streets. Guess Westeros doesn’t have the First Amendment, either.
Outside Rook’s Rest, we return to Larys and Aegon, who continue their ill-fated journey together, including a visit to his dragon, Sunfyre, who was presumed dead after the Battle of Rook’s Rest in season two. After paying a wily man to let him touch Sunfyre, Aegon declares that the dragon is still alive. He doesn’t look to be, but it’s not far-fetched. Game of Thrones watchers know Joffrey technically spoils HOTD in episode four of season three of the original series when he tells his betrothed, Margaery Tyrell, that Rhaenyra was “murdered by her brother, or rather, his dragon,” referring to Aegon and Sunfyre. For Sunfyre to fulfill that story, Aegon has to be right.
They continue on a bit of a dragon tour as they next come across the rotting corpse of Rhaenys Targaryen’s dragon, Meleys, at Rook’s Rest. Larys hopes to find a ship to Bravos leaving from there, and tells Aegon to lie low and embrace a Trading Places storyline in the castle until they can escape. Unfortunately, blending in isn’t really Aegon’s strong suit. He’s tasked with obeying the orders of lowerborn lords and cleaning the latrines, two actions that don’t befit an arrogant King. When a delayed lunch leaves Aegon without food, he forgets himself and throws a bit of a fit, which leads to him kissing the feces-covered boot of an especially pompous lord, like he’s in the middle of some medieval Love Island challenge. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
Daemon heads off on a business trip to Vale for a visit to the best-dressed woman in Westeros, Jeyne Arryn. She assumes he’s there for more soldiers, so his actual request for money comes as a relief, and she sends him off with 10,000 gold dragons. It is en route home that Daemon stumbles upon the hiding place of his daughter, Rhaena, and Sheepstealer, who have been suffering in silence since the accidental death of Jace. Now, we’ve witnessed a lot of disappointing fathers and father figures this episode (and throughout the series), but it is in this scene that Daemon actually steps up to the paternal plate. He attempts to problem-solve and suggests Rhaena either go to Pentos as she was supposed to, so no one knows about her deadly sojourn, or accompany him to King’s Landing and beg Rhaenyra for forgiveness. Rhaena declines both options, choosing instead to live out her days in the cave as penance for her actions. She claims that she has never been of use, especially in Daemon’s eyes, and seems determined to make the self-imposed “Rhaena the Unfortunate” title a fitting one.
Forced to leave Rhaena behind, a dejected Daemon spies a herder upon disembarking from the Vale for King’s Landing. This guy really was in the wrong place at the wrong time, as it is he who Daemon decides will take the fall for Jace’s death. Rhaena may be a lost cause, but Daemon won’t let her shoulder the blame. He brings the herder’s head to the small council and presents it to Rhaenyra, as if the Queen won’t ask any questions, like, ” Who is that? How did he claim a wild dragon? And why did he kill my son?” Rhaenyra, of course, does ask these questions, but in her shock and grief, fails to follow up on Daemon’s non-answers. Mysaria, meanwhile, is less convinced by Daemon’s tricks.
We end the episode on some Hightower revelations, starting with the reveal that Helaena is pregnant, a fact that she has been hiding even from her mother. It’s a smart move from the considered-to-be-dull Queen. Rhaenyra has been sparing Helaena’s life, likely against her better judgment. This pregnancy, however, could further complicate Rhaenyra’s claim, something she may not want to risk.
Meanwhile, over in Tumbleton, Ormund continues to reveal his true colors. While a spat between one of his bannermen and a local blacksmith leads to a fair resolution on Ormund’s part earlier in the episode, he’s now done a complete 180. Ormund admits he’s been raising Daeron to one day become King—a godly, Hightower King, not marred by Targaryen poison like his brothers. Of course, the impressionable Daeron on the Iron Throne would likely grant most of the power to his probable Hand of the King, Ormund. How convenient! Anyway, to prove he will be a righteous King, Ormund has decided Daeron must kill the innocent man who “laid hands on a Hightower” when the soldier was attempting to rape his sister. Mercy is not one of the virtues important to Ormund, it seems. Daeron, ever the obedient one, does as his protector asks, much to Ormund’s delight. It now seems Ormund has officially solidified his spot as the villain of the season, and, as he says, just as Tessarion burns the remains of the poor blacksmith, and right before the credits begin to roll, “Now, we begin.”
