House of the Dragon' Episode 4

In episode 4 of HBO's 'Game of Thrones' spinoff, Daemon surrenders his crown and spends a night on the town; Rhaenyra's rumspringa doesn't sit well with the ...

He shows her a dagger that once belonged to Aegon the Conqueror, which ties in to the prophecy he mentioned to her back in episode 1. The king refuses to believe it, and accuses Otto of scheming for the throne. This is offered in contrast to the presumptively more erotic goings-on between Daemon and Rhaenyra, who show up to a brothel, ditch their disguises and then proceed to ditch other items of clothing as well. ... and confronts Rhaenyra in the godswood. Otto stammers out the news that Rhaenrya was seen coupling with Daemon "in the bowels of a pleasure den" (Reader, I chuckled). She is then summoned to his bedchamber to lie back and think of Oldtown, as the king makes assiduous, dutiful, yeomanlike love to her. After much to-ing and fro-ing, Daemon can't seem to coax his Caraxes out of the ol' Dragonpit, and abandons Rhaenyra, who makes her way back to the Red Keep. She outfits herself in pageboy drag, skulks through the catacombs and finds her way to Daemon, waiting for her in an inconspicuous hood and cloak that's hilariously conspicuous. Rhaenyra and Alicent get a moment together to admit how much they've missed each other, but not before Rheanyra also suggests that the queen's life of "squeezing out heirs" doesn't interest her. Now that he's conquered the Stepstones, they call him King of the Narrow Sea — but he promptly kneels before Viserys and gives up his crown. But before that, we drop in on what will turn out to be the final date of Rhaenyra: The White-Blonde Ambition Tour. Which is a nice touch, as in the books, Blackwoods and Brackens have hated each other for generations.

Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock) has just returned from a woefully unsuccessful “tour” arranged by her father in which she listens to and rejects an increasingly absurd ...

Whether she realizes it or not, she’ll soon have an even bigger target on her back as heir — and the offense she’s just learned to play, using sex as a pathway to real power, is about to get much more serious. Viserys orders her to marry Laenor Velaryon, who we learned last episode is both an ideal political match, as the son of the Sea Snake Corlys, and a really hot dragon-rider. The former sex worker, now Daemon’s on-again, off-again lover, has gained the nickname of “the white worm” because of her tendency to dress in white and burrow her way into possession of secrets. When she snarks that he’s using her as a prize to assuage his political headaches, he snaps, “You are my political headache!” The revelation that Viserys isn’t as easily manipulated as he’s appeared to be loses its heft, however, given that in this case, Otto is telling the truth: The princess has been dallying with her uncle and has risked tarnishing her reputation. The king, when he’s not using her for sex and childbearing, openly undermines Alicent — a casual slight that becomes much greater when you’re essentially a sexual prisoner who has to behave as though you aren’t. Rhaenyra, self-interested above all else, has a difficult time seeing outside of herself to recognize the way other people are compromised by the political and sexual games they have to play. From the opening moments, where our poor shrimp of a lad has to ask Rhaenyra for her hand despite being far too young for marriage and having never laid eyes on her before, we see sex as a game of politics over desire. Ser Criston (Fabien Frankel) clearly sees her as the annoying brat he has to babysit, and he’s at first extremely reluctant to take what she’s offering. She’s far too young to fully understand how Daemon has manipulated her emotionally, to grasp that he’s spent years grooming her as a pawn for exactly this purpose. Rhaenyra, just as she has done from the start, dismisses their opinions, but Daemon has another lesson to teach her about the way the world works. Daemon has several purposes in introducing her to the dusty peasants of King’s Landing.

Daemon Targaryen is riding high off of sweet victory in the Stepstones, and Princess Rhaenyra has to figure out who she wants to marry.

I'll take her as she is and wed her in the tradition of our house," Daemon says, adding that he and Rhaenyra can return the House of the Dragon to its proper glory. Viserys breezes in, explaining that it was Aegon "The Conquerer" Targaryen's, and that the last of the Valyrion pyromancers inscribed Aegon's song in the steel. King Viserys thanks Hightower for being a valuable servant to the realm as he plucks the Hand badge off of Hightower's tunic. To save you a Google: Rhaenyra is 18 in the story, and the actress who plays her, Milly Alcock, is 22. Rhaenyra swears on the memory of Queen Aemma that Daemon never touched her, and Alicent buys it. Before the night is over, Otto Hightower receives a report that Rhaenyra and Daemon were seen together at the White Worm pleasure house. A rejected Rhaenyra goes to sit on a bench in the corner of the party. Cloaked in a commoner's garb, the secret path leads her to Daemon, who escorts Rhaenyra out into the streets of King's Landing. Aegon the babe prince might long proclaim, he has two things Rhaenyra cannot: A conqueror's name and a cock." This is apparently a big deal -- big enough to get Hand of the King Otto Hightower sweating. She then realizes the poor taste of saying this to the queen, and winces in embarrassment. "My crown and the Stepstones are yours," he says as he bends the knee.