House of the Dragon - Episode 1.02 - The Rogue Prince - Review

 

Daemon Targaryen, our titular "Rogue Prince," does not feature as centrally in this episode as I had expected. Instead, he lurks at the edges of the plot, informing (explicitly and implicitly) the actions of others - actions meant to secure power, lineage, and dragon eggs. We only actually see Daemon in three scenes, in which he is confronted by A) Otto and Rhaenyra over a stolen egg (as the potential war of succession heats up); B) his mistress, Mysaria (and interesting decisions about performed accents); and C) Corlys Valeryon, with promises of alliances, battles, and boats. Daemon has made decisions that drive the episode's action - decisions like claiming Dragonstone, knowing that the realm may not accept a female heir - but he is only shown to us as he reacts to the consequences of his off-screen antics, ultimately losing the egg he stole so as to avoid dragon-on-dragon warfare (and for the sake of his affection for his niece, a nice reminder that he isn't a simple or straightforward villain).

In the final scene, as Corlys invites Daemon to resolve a problem King Viserys (deemed weak by his brother) seems ill-equipped to handle, we see the wheels turning. The moment plays on related themes seeded throughout the episode - specifically, Rhaenyra's choice of Ser Criston Cole (the only actual veteran of real battle) for the Kingsguard and her successful direct actions on Dragonstone. Daemon wants this battle experience, at least in part, so that he might be seen as an even more legitimate contender for the throne (or at least a popular one inspiring loyalty). Corlys is giving him that opportunity - win-win. 

In a time of peace, leaders are making decisions that fail to consider the possibility of war. What did Otto and Viserys think was going to happen when they demanded something of a dragonrider without their own dragon? Only through the quick [brash?] actions of Rhaenyra do the characters reach a standoff based on mutually assured destruction. It's not as if the King and his Hand are unaware of these possibilities, as the line of succession remains in question (hence the need for the King to remarry and have more heirs), but in considering only how best to preserve the peace, they fail to account for the power-hungry decisions of others that direct intervention may prevent. Or that's what I am reading into the writing, despite perhaps not totally agreeing with this 'lesson.' The episode is even bookended by the horrors inflicted upon Westerosi victims of a sadistic pirate known only as the "Crabfeeder," while Viserys is framed as dithering in his keep as he tries to avoid suffering by failing to address suffering. 

That, to me, seems to be the core of this episode: What Makes a Good Ruler?

In Viserys, we find a leader who, uncomfortable potential betrothals to 12-year-olds - and slightly-less-but-still-deeply-uncomfortable-actual betrothals to 14-year-olds - aside, appears to model the kind of behaviour many of us would want in a leader in his context: conciliatory, open to advice, diplomatic, cautious in the face of demands to use force, etc. And yet, he has been cut by the iron throne, an omen that he may not be worthy of the crown. Of course, he does have several major flaws we should not gloss over, i.e., too much fondness for and indulgence of his chaotic brother (at least until very recently), and (the big one) he didn't actually check in with his wife about the whole forced birth situation. So we have a sense that he has a number of ways of engaging in leadership, especially as it relates to men, that might be considered progressive for his (fantasyland) medieval time. We also see him caring about his daughter and trying his best to do his duties (though note the echoes of Robb Stark's decisions 200 years later, a would-be king whose marriage for love was ultimately his end). The folks involved with the show have suggested that Viserys' problem is that he is a "good man, bad king," a bit of an oversimplification, but it suggests that his apparent democratic approach (within the context of his small council) is actually weak indecisiveness. He is a people pleaser (kind of, sorry Corlys) and he bristles at the possibility that he has to take sides, or make decisions addressing conflict.*

And that leaves room for a man like Daemon, who desperately wants to be by his brother's side as his Hand/Protector, to make power plays - our Rogue Prince is about to spring into action and perhaps drag everyone into a more direct and explicit war of succession.**

On a final note, I found myself somewhat confused by the closing shots. Why was Daemon's face, in profile, contrasted with this pirate's? One friend thought perhaps Daemon would be revealed to be the man in the mask. I thought we were going to see Daemon swoop down on dragonback, burning everyone away (Westerosi and pirate alike). Instead, we were left with a shot of a person we do not know (presumably the crabfeeder), representing a threat we do not yet truly understand - a weird choice for a cliffhanger or hook, and an even weirder choice for editing. I understand that it likely exists simply to set up a conflict between Daemon and the pirates, but this is not the first time that I found myself a bit lost by the editing choices and the reflected themes and story beats. This suggests to me that there is perhaps a lack of authorial clarity running through these first few episodes - not ideal. 

I remain cautiously optimistic about where the series might go - the intimate one-on-one discussions that GoT was so good at being one of HotD's strengths as well - but I do have some reservations about how effectively the writers are communicating themes, motivations, and Big Ideas.

*I haven't even talked about Allicent, a fascinating character stuck in a awful position, and Rhaenyra's sense of betrayal (she seems to understand her father's duties, but the queer subtext of her relationship with Allicent suggests she may not be able to forgive her friend for agreeing to marry her father). Or possibly my favourite scene - the wonderful (if a bit on the nose) war of words between Rhaenys and Rhaenyra. The one where Rhaenys says the show's thesis statement out loud: "Men would sooner put the realm to the torch than see a woman ascend to the Iron Throne."

**As it turns out, the opening credits (reusing the GoT theme song, which is not my favourite decision), represents the lineage of the House of the Dragon. We see the blood of House Targaryen move through the line of succession, from Aegon I to Princess Rhaenyra, overflowing when someone has died. It also contains some nice Easter Eggs for fans of Fire & Blood (e.g., Jaehaerys and Alysanne are positioned as equals with many branches for all their many children). At the same time... it's unclear that this is the story being told (presumably) by the model of Valyria that Viserys has been playing with. It looks cool, but, whereas the Game of Thrones credits helped us to understand the scope of the story and where people were located, this opening sequence is less immediately clear or helpful. Maybe that's fine?