Courtesy of HBO
After last week's episode of House of the Dragon, fans were excited to see Daemon being a badass. Fans have seen a different side of Daemon that they seem to like. But in this episode, a cunning Daemon returns with his sights set on his niece Princess Rhaenyra. House of the Dragon episode 4 is a slow burn but story-lines continue to develop. Describing episode 4 is pretty easy. The two words I would use is sex and politics. The lack of action in this episode is made up with the classic Thrones trope of nudity and political maneuvering. Does it make episode 4 a great one? Let's break it down.
The episode starts with Rhaenyra looking at potential candidates to be married to. She laughs at all of them. The first one is an old man and the second one is a kid. The kid gets chirped by a fellow candidate and decides to duel with this candidate. He kills the other candidate in a badass moment. I have to say I need this kid in the show more. On the way back to King's Landing, Rhaenyra's boat gets rocked by a dragon flying there. Daemon is on the dragon and is arriving to King's Landing. Daemon arrives in the King's room with a sweet new haircut and declares his loyalty to the king by bending the knee. Viscerys and Daemon embrace in a nice moment.
Daemon and Viscerys are bonding again at an event. Rhaenyra and Daemon talk and wants to know Daemon's real intentions. Daemon plays coy and says he just wants to be here with his family. Rhaenyra walks back to her room and sees a box with clothes in it and a note. Rhaenyra puts on these clothes and meets Daemon. They go outside of the castle and take in a show. The show is about the Targaryen's life. She sees the people's reaction to her becoming Queen eventually and the people are not happy about it. After that Daemon takes Rhaenyra to a brothel. They share an intimate moment and start making out. I saw this coming from the first episode. From that first episode, I can tell they both had feelings for each other. Daemon is about to have sex with her but walks away. Rhaenyra's confuses as to what happened and walks back to the castle.
Rhaenyra sees Sir Criston outside of her room. She invites him in and starts to be playful with him. Criston tries to resist but gives in and they have sex. This can be dangerous for Criston if anyone finds out. Apparently a spy saw Daemon and Rhaenyra together in the brothel. They spy lets Otto know about this. Otto tells Viscerys about what Rhaenyra and Daemon did. It is an awkward conversation. Viscerys doesn't believe Otto and kicks him out of the room. Alicent overhears the conversation and confronts Rhaenyra. Rhaenyra lies to Alicent and says nothing happened between her and Daemon. Alicent believes her friend and tells Viscerys that Daemon is a liar and try to manipulate his way to the throne.
Viscerys calls Daemon to the throne room. Daemon is hung over and is lying on the floor. Viscerys kicks him a couple of times before Daemon suggests that he should be the one to marry Rhaenyra. Viscerys scoffs at the idea and kicks Daemon out of King's Landing. Viscerys calls Otto to his office. He says his judgment has been clouded and realizes he wants his grandson on the throne. Viscerys fires Otto as Hand of the King. Viscerys calls Rhaenyra into his room and talks with her. Viscerys is mad at Rhaenyra and demands her to marry the Sea Snake's son Laenor. Rhaenyra walks back to the room and receives a mysterious drink from a maester. The drink seems to be a Plan B type of drink so that Rhaenyra doesn't get pregnant.
This episode had everything from good ol incest to political maneuvering. Rhaenyra fulfilled her fantasies of almost sex with her uncle and actually sex with her boy toy knight. Viscerys finally realized he can't trust Otto. It may be 5 years late but he finally came to his senses. Next week's episode should be a great one with a wedding on the horizon. The teaser for next week's episode shows a wedding and bloodshed. Can this be the episode where King Viscerys finally dies? We'll find out next week.
Grade: B
What did you think of House of the Dragon episode 4? Leave it in the comments below.
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