Elsewhere in the realm, Rhaenyra’s husband, Daemon, has other matters on his mind. (His daughter Rhaena, coincidentally, is off in the Vale on a dragon hunt of her own.) Oscar Tully (a commanding Archie Barnes), the teenage lord paramount of the pivotal Riverlands region, has come to Harrenhal with all his vassals for an audience with the self-appointed king. Daemon thinks this will be a simple matter of cowing a kid, then getting him to cow all the lords and ladies sworn to follow him.
But Lord Oscar is made of sterner stuff. Risking death by dragonfire, the kid dog-walks Daemon in front of all the Riverlords — proclaiming openly his dislike of the man, calling his conduct reprehensible and generally declaring him an unfit representative for a just cause. Finally, Oscar forces Daemon to execute one of his own loyal lords for war crimes if he wants the others’ help at all. Daemon glowers and fumes and … then does what he is told.
On the very day that he is brought to heel by a green boy who better understands politics than he does, Daemon is visited in a vision once again by his brother, King Viserys, maimed and deformed as he was in his dying days. Viserys holds his golden crown in his hands, telling his brother of its crushing weight, of the endless pain it causes.
“You always wanted it, Daemon,” the dream-king says. “Do you want it still?” For the first time since the show began, it feels as if the answer may be no.
I reviewed this week’s episode of House of the Dragon for the New York Times.
Tags: A Song of Ice and Fire, Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin, house of the dragon, TV, TV reviews