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- September 12, 2022
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The night is dark and full of wonders, as Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock) and Daemon (Matt Smith) stroll through King’s Landing, their Targaryen titles taking the evening off. Street performers dance with fire, some walking tightropes overhead, strangers making love just barely out of sight. For Daemon, it’s old hat. For Rhaenyra, it’s glorious. For one long night only, the Princess of Westeros isn’t “the realm’s delight.” She’s not the controversial heir to the Iron Throne. She is “Boy,” over and over, undercover and unrecognizable, barely even Rhaenyra—right until daylight comes calling.
Directed by Claire Kilner, House of the Dragon’s fourth episode, “King of the Narrow Sea,” refocuses the story on two royals bound by blood, their eyes on the throne—and on each other. We’re once again vaulted further along the timeline, a year or so on from Aegon’s second name day. In this time, Rhaenyra has weathered several would-be husbands seeking her hand in marriage, finally landing at Storm’s End, the seat of House Baratheon. But none of these men are up to her High Valyrian standards, certainly not the boys fighting to the literal death for her favor.
As Rhaenyra returns to the Seven Kingdoms’ capital city, an unlikely suitor flies into the mix: Prince Daemon, back at long last after victory over the Crabfeeder, unannounced and unofficially self-appointed as the titular King of the Narrow Sea. But the crown comes off in no time at all, as the prince who breaks promises bends the knee to his brother, King Viserys (Paddy Considine), in a very public display of affection, followed by a celebration held in Daemon’s honor.
The brothers Targaryen are not the only ones casting their enmity aside, either. Four years following the collapse of their friendship, Rhaenyra and her once-closest companion, Queen Alicent (Emily Carey), manage to find their way back into each other’s hearts, even if somewhat tepidly. As Rhaenyra bemoans the proposal process, Alicent points out that not everyone in Westeros has the luxury of choosing their own spouse. For the first time since her father announced his betrothal to her best friend, Rhaenyra sees much of her own plight reflected in Alicent. It’s not enough to heal all the hurt, but perhaps it’s a sturdy enough foundation for rebuilt trust. Let’s hope nothing shakes it.
Beyond repairing relations with the queen, the princess has the prince to consider. Many moons have passed since Rhaenyra confronted Daemon on Dragonstone, and the times have changed them both, even if some bonds never broke at all: their Valyrian language, for one, not to mention the Valyrian jewelry Daemon once placed around his niece’s neck. There’s also their shared disdain for marital responsibilities, even if Daemon’s lax attitude about marriage as a political arrangement rings hollow for a woman who feels her life is on the line.
“My mother was made to produce heirs until it killed her,” she says. “I won’t subject myself to the same fate.”
Daemon acknowledges the tragedy, but couches his condolences: “This is a tragic world. You cannot live your life in fear, or you will forsake the best parts of it.” When those words fall flat, the so-called Rogue Prince does what he does best: he takes action.
That evening, when Rhaenyra returns to her chambers, she finds a satchel packed with common clothes, as well as a parchment that points her toward a secret passage within her own room. Rhaenyra follows the map out of the Red Keep and right up to a hooded Daemon’s doorstep. Together, passing drinks back and forth, they go out for a night on the town, free from “the burdens of [their] inheritance,” if only temporarily.
Alas, even now, the heir of it all hangs heavy in the air, as Rhaenyra and Daemon wind up watching a street performance that crudely conveys the King’s perceived dilemma of who will succeed him on the Iron Throne, his public and private promises regarding Rhaenyra’s ascension notwithstanding. Here, hiding in plain sight within a rowdy crowd, the heir apparent learns she’s apparently only “the realm’s delight” to a point—and that point stops just short of the throne.
But the night doesn’t stop there. It continues, as Daemon brings Rhaenyra to one final stop on his tour through King’s Landing: a pleasure house on the Street of Silk, “where people come to take what they want.” Surrounded by dozens of individuals in varying stages of undress (not to mention varying positions and permutations while undressed), Daemon and Rhaenyra take what they want: each other. It’s one thing to hear about the Targaryen tradition of coupling within the family, but another to see it in action, as uncle and niece begin by kissing, reluctantly at first, before disrobing, and then… disappearing. At least, Daemon vanishes, drunkenly wandering off into the night, with a mystified Rhaenyra left alone to find her way back to the Red Keep—a plight she manages, albeit not unseen.
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