Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 6.

The Big Picture

Aemond Targaryen poses a significant threat and remains chillingly indecipherable, in large part due to Ewan Mitchell’s performance.
Seasmoke claiming Addam as a rider marks a crucial advancement for the Blacks, despite the loss of Ser Steffon.
The captivating duo of Emma D’Arcy and Sonoya Mizuno is still surrounded by uncertainty pertaining to Rhaenyra and Mysaria’s evolving relationship.

While House of the Dragon Season 2 hasn’t all been incredible sky battles and devastating losses, that doesn’t mean danger still doesn’t lurk around practically every corner — particularly if you happen to be King Aegon II Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney) or Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy). For Aegon, the aftermath of Rook’s Rest has left him essentially bedridden as he heals from the worst of his dragonfire-caused injuries, courtesy of his brother Aemond (Ewan Mitchell), who now rules as prince regent in his absence. On the other side of the war, Rhaenyra might have one very important ally in the former of King Landing’s former White Worm, Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno), but struggles to demand a healthy level of respect — maybe even fear — from the rest of her small council. Neither ruler’s position has been more precarious, but as Episode 6 reveals, sometimes the best way to seize power is by providing an open hand to the powerless instead of a closed fist.

House of the Dragon The reign of House Targaryen begins with this prequel to the popular HBO series Game of Thrones. Based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, House of the Dragon is set nearly 200 years before Game of Thrones, telling the story of the Targaryen civil war with King Viserys.Release Date August 21, 2022 Creator Ryan J. Condal, George R.R. Martin Main Genre Drama Seasons 4 Distributor HBO Expand

The Greens Face Unrest From Within in ‘House of the Dragon’ Season 2, Episode 6

While Aemond initially seems to have taken to his new position as prince regent as if he were born to it, some early frustrations are already rearing their heads — chief among them Ser Jason Lannister (Jefferson Hall) and his army, who refuse to continue their march to Harrenhal without Aemond and his dragon, Vhagar, serving as escort. It’s not an unfounded request, given that the Blacks currently have more dragons at their disposal overall, and Daemon (Matt Smith) and Caraxes are already set up at Harrenhal, but Aemond is less than thrilled about being called to heel like a dog. His mood barely improves through the small council meeting, as he makes suggestions that seem particularly bold — with the more surprising being a potential alliance with the Triarchy of the Free Cities. As Master of Ships Tyland Lannister (Hall) points out, the Triarchy is made up of little more than mercenaries, pirates at best, and certainly aren’t to be trusted, but Aemond won’t be swayed easily. The blockade created by Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint) and his ships is taking its toll, cutting off trade routes and restricting the flow of important goods into King’s Landing.

Yet Aemond does appear to have a few strong plans of his own — including sending Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel), Gwayne Hightower (Freddie Fox), and a small contingent of men to march on Harrenhal within a fortnight. With the Lannister army descending as well, Daemon will be forced to fight a war on two fronts, although Aemond intends to join in the fray with Vhagar “when the time is ripe,” since he clearly can’t pass up the possibility of confronting his uncle head-on. He’s also cunning enough to only dangle the newly opened-up Hand of the King position in front of Ser Larys Strong (Matthew Needham) before quickly snatching it away and ordering the Master of Whisperers to contact Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), summoning his grandfather back to King’s Landing instead.

Image via HBO

If we weren’t already aware that Aemond would turn out to be a much different ruler than his brother, the fact that he knows which minds to surround himself with — and who to nudge out of the frame — makes that beyond obvious. In his view, Alicent (Olivia Cooke), as the dowager queen, really serves no purpose on the small council beyond being an added voice. Yet Alicent doesn’t allow her son to remove her from her seat without delivering a parting shot of her own in private: “Have the indignities of your childhood not yet sufficiently been avenged?” Apparently not, given that Aemond’s visit to his now-conscious older brother is fraught with intimidation. As Aegon lies shaking in pain, large portions of his body healing from burns, Aemond all but threatens him to remember the events of Rook’s Rest — but Aegon denies any kind of recollection, either because his memory truly is hazy or because he’s feigning ignorance for his own survival. Playing helpless may be the best course of action for the king, as Larys later instructs him; if people begin to underestimate Aegon, he can wield that to his own advantage.

Down in King’s Landing, the smallfolk have been stretched thin in terms of resources, and everyone is feeling it, from former Red Keep servant Dyana (Maddie Evans) to rumored Targaryen bastard Ulf the White (Tom Bennett). When word starts to spread of the nobility dining richly every night, with racks of lamb, mince pies, honey cakes, you name it, the grumbling grows louder — especially as Ulf himself notes that King Viserys never would have engaged in nightly revelry while his own people were starving. Such discontent brews hotter still when Alicent and Helaena (Phia Saban) go to the Great Sept to light candles for the departed and suffering. Chaos has broken out as the smallfolk scramble for precious resources, and both the queen and the dowager are forced to make a run for it to their wheelhouse. The Whitecloaks, still primarily made up of Aegon’s ill-equipped friends and lackeys, have no idea how to deal with rioting citizens — at least one man loses his hand after grabbing onto Alicent’s arm, while one member of the Kingsguard is quickly swarmed and presumably beaten to death. As Alicent and Helaena find shelter in the wheelhouse, and Alicent finally notes a wound on her own arm, shouts of “Long live Queen Rhaenyra!” begin to fill the streets.

The Blacks Struggle to Enlist New Dragonriders in ‘House of the Dragon’ Season 2, Episode 6

Aemond isn’t the only one moving to secure a new Hand this week, now that Corlys has officially accepted Rhaenyra’s job offer. As one of the only presences at the Painted Table that can command the whole room, he’s an ally that the queen will need as she seeks to enact one of her riskiest plans yet: finding some new dragonriders. While the blood of Old Valyria doesn’t necessarily run as strong in some veins, it’s still present in a small group of people, which makes them potential candidates to ride the unclaimed dragons that currently sleep beneath everyone’s feet — Vermithor, Silverwing, and Seasmoke, the latter of whom used to be Laenor’s (John Macmillan).

In terms of the possibilities in Dragonstone, it turns out that Rhaenyra’s own Lord Commander, Ser Steffon Darklyn (Anthony Flanagan), has Targaryen heritage (admittedly, through his grandmother’s grandmother, which isn’t the closest of blood ties). Rhaenyra is hopeful that Steffon will be able to win over Seasmoke — perhaps a little too hopeful, given that the show has already made a point of telling us how dangerous it can be for someone to try to claim a dragon for themselves. In the past, storied dragons like Meleys have rejected Daemon, while poor Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell) has yet to find a dragon of her own at all. (Then again, surely my ears weren’t the only ones that pricked up when Amanda Collin’s Lady Jeyne Arryn made passing mention of a sheep-burning dragon flying wild around the Vale?) The only other options are Rhaenyra’s own children, but they’re too young — plus they each have rather adorable baby dragons of their own that are barely the size of small dogs, one of which we get a glimpse of in this episode.

Ser Steffon seems to harbor the proper amount of fear and awe for dragons, given what Rhaenyra is asking him to do — in fact, he views it as an honor and proof of his queen’s respect for him. Yet as Rhaenyra reminds him, and all of us watching, something like this has never been attempted. You either bond with a dragon, or you die trying, and there’s no in-between. Unfortunately for the Queen’s Lord Commander, no amount of singing, proper reverence, or efforts to command Seasmoke in High Valyrian managed to soothe the magnificent beast. There comes a moment when it appears as if the dragon might be willing to be mounted, but it’s also possible that Seasmoke could smell the Lord Commander’s fear as he approaches. Whatever the reason, Ser Steffon ends up engulfed in dragonfire, and Seasmoke flies away from Dragonstone to places unknown.

Image via HBO

Meanwhile, in Harrenhal, Daemon is confronted by the latest person from his past, someone the season has been building up to: King Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine). The two visions that haunt Daemon this week are particularly telling: One is essentially a mirror of the exact same scene from Season 1, in which Viserys confronts Daemon about his rumored “heir for a day” toast before naming Rhaenyra his heir, while the other finds Daemon comforting his mourning brother over the body of the king’s dead wife, Aemma (Siân Brooke). No wonder, then, that Daemon is teetering on the edge of sanity even more drastically than before, desperate to discover who’s truly responsible for playing these tricks on his mind.

At one point, Daemon even goes so far as to try to fly away from Harrenhal altogether before he’s stilled by Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin), who calls him out on his habit of running away instead of facing his problems. “You are not the player, but a piece on the board,” she sagely points out. Even as Daemon yells at Alys for lecturing him, he still takes in everything she says — about how those who want the crown the least might be the most qualified to wear it, or how the crown itself is a burden to bear rather than a prize to be won. He even asks her for advice on how to handle the whole Riverlords situation, to which she ominously references their liege lord, Riverrun’s ailing Lord Grover Tully, as a problem that will handle itself in three days’ time. (All while holding a barn owl and looking particularly witchy, it should be added.) Sure enough, three days later, Ser Simon Strong (Simon Russell Beale) brings word that Grover Tully has finally died — despite efforts to heal him from Harrenhal’s own Alys Rivers. Hmmm.

Rhaenyra, already mourning the loss of a respected member of her Queensguard, is even less willing to put up with scolding from Ser Bartimos Celtigar (Nicholas Jones), resulting in her slapping him with an open hand. “It is my fault, I think, that you have forgotten to fear me,” Rhaenyra declares — and later, in private, when she’s discovered wielding a sword by Mysaria, seems to be wrestling over whether she can remain a benevolent ruler or if she needs to command with a more iron will. Fortunately, Mysaria has already moved to carry out the next step of their plan in fanning the flames of dissent among the smallfolk, and it starts with delivering a gift that they’re in desperate need of: food. Under cover of night, small boats flying Rhaenyra’s banner slowly drift to the shores of King’s Landing, bearing essential refreshments.

As Mysaria notes, if Aemond were to try and quell these efforts, resistance in that city would burn even hotter — but what this plan also hints is that benevolence may still be possible amid the more violent clashes of fire and blood. Meanwhile, now that Rhaenyra and Mysaria are apparently getting much closer, what does that mean for any possibility of reconciliation with Daemon? The two women don’t earn any opportunity to really discuss the embrace they share — one that eventually turns into a deep kiss — after they’re interrupted with news that Seasmoke has been spotted flying around… with a new rider on his back. But in that brief, intimate moment between them, Mysaria is saying everything that Rhaenyra has longed to hear from someone, anyone, but particularly her own husband. Whether this is the beginning of a very different type of alliance or another form of manipulation, however, remains to be seen.

House of the Dragon In House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 6, the Blacks struggle to enlist new dragonriders while the Greens face dissent from within.ProsAemond has never been more dangerous than he is right now, and Ewan Mitchell is chillingly good at being indecipherable.While it was sad to lose Ser Steffon this week, Seasmoke claiming Addam as his rider was an important moment (and also kind of hilarious).It’s unclear whether Rhaenyra and Mysaria’s kiss will turn into something more, but Emma D’Arcy and Sonoya Mizuno are captivating to watch together. Cons(Admittedly, Rhaenyra and Mysaria’s potential romance could have been built up with more hints along the way.)

New episodes of House of the Dragon Season 2 premiere Sundays on HBO and Max.

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