After an explosive episode like The Red Dragon and the Gold, episode five of House of the Dragon, titled Regent, is a much slow-paced affair as the Greens and the Blacks reel from the effects of the battle of Rook’s Rest. It doesn’t mean, however, that it is any less densely packed in terms of storylines as certain characters take prominence for the first time.

As with most episodes in Season 2, the actors drive the story whether it is Alicent’s (Olivia Cooke) fear or Rhaenyra’s (Emma D’Arcy) self-doubt.

Ewan Mitchell embodies Aemond’s otherness and cold villainy with perfection and Matt Smith shines as Daemon who is in turns charming, arrogant, cajoling, rude, menacing and vulnerable. It is also great that characters like Jacaerys (Harry Collett) and Baela (Bethany Antonia) get more screen time, though in the world of Westeros that doesn’t bode too well. But we would have liked to see a little more of Corlys (Steve Toussaint) and spent a little more time on the death of a strong character like Rhaenys (Eve Best).

The Aftermath

Corlys Velaryon’s grief at the death of Rhaenys Targaryen isn’t the only outcome of the brutal battle at Rook’s Nest. At King’s Landing, a grotesque parade of Meleys’s head is met with revulsion and fear from the Small Folk who believe killing a dragon is a ‘bad omen’. A nondescript long crate carrying Aegon’s body is also part of the parade, which doesn’t feel much like the victory parade Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) thought it would be.

Once within the walls of the Red Keep, the crate is revealed to be carrying the badly charred and mangled but still alive (even if barely) body of Aegon Targaryen. The maesters who are separating armor from Aegon’s body with squelching noises can’t vouch that Aegon will survive when the Dowager Queen, Alicent, asks the question.

At Dragonstone Rhaenyra mourns the loss of her strongest support and adviser as the small council questions her ability to wage a war because of her being of the “fairer sex”. Even as she reminds them that they too haven’t seen battle, having come up during a time of peace, she exposes her feeling of inadequacy to Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno) who steps in as her unofficial advisor.

Games for the throne

Aemond Targaryen does not wait a moment to claim a stake on the Iron Throne, commenting that someone would need to rule in his stead even as he looks on at Aegon’s body being tended to by the maesters.

While Alicent, who is eager to avoid sending dragons to the war, wants to rule in her son’s stead, Aemond claims he should be the one to rule given that he is the heir. The Green Council sides with Aemond saying that while the experience that Alicent will bring is all well and good, what is needed in the hour of war is a strategist.

As Alicent realises that she has lost control and has been set aside, Aemond immediately takes Aegon’s place and orders the doors of King’s Landing shut so that no one can go in or out without permission. An order that adds to the distress of the Small Folk, who are already on the verge of starving, including Hugh Hammer. Yes, he is still in the picture and yes, he will be crucial to the plot. At some point.

Daemon’s delirium

Daemon’s visions at Harrenhal continue to get weirder as he dreams of coupling with his mother Alyssa, who calls him her favourite son and how she wished he was his first born. This is a bit much, even by Targaryen standards, but shows Daemon’s need for female adulation and support.

In fact, he outright tells the resident witch Alys Rivers that he should be King given that he is Viserys’s true heir and because Rhaenyra’s supporters would not want a woman to lead.

He is, of course, fine with having Rhaenyra by his side once he takes King’s Landing, but his efforts at raising himself an army is not going swimmingly. Once the Brackens refuse to bend the knee, he tells the Blackwoods to use “persuasion” to get the job done while keeping the Targaryen name away from the act. This results in a late-night visit from the Riverland folks who are outraged by the burning, pillaging, killing and raping carried out by the Blackwoods under the Targaryen banner.

Developments at Dragonstone

Strained relationship between mother and son is a theme at Dragonstone as well, as Jace chaffs against the restraints imposed on him by Rhaenyra. Jace flies to The Twins to meet the Freys and win them over to their side despite Rhaenyra telling him not to, which angers his mother. But unlike the wide chasm between Alicent and her sons, there is warmth between the two and an understanding that both are straining against necessary restraints as Queen and heir.

Baela has also become a key person in Rhaenyra’s team and her conversation with her grandfather Corlys, when Rhaenyra sends her to ask him to be her Hand, is one of the best moments of the episode.

Rhaenyra and Jace also come up with “a mad thought” that might sway the war in their favour — finding descendants of Targaryens who were married into other Houses before the inbreeding started and seeing if any of them are accepted by Vermithor and Silverwing, the two riderless dragons at Dragonstone.

‘Regent’ is a meaty episode that packs in a lot in its 67-minute runtime. And as per the preview of Episode 6, things are going to heat up even further as Rhaenyra follows through on their idea of finding dragonseeds to find riders, and Aemond lights up at the chance of meeting Daemon in battle. Pleas are falling on deaf ears whether it is Alicent appealing to Aemond’s sense of justice or Jace telling Rhaenyra that they need Daemon by her side. A lot of the action will also move to King’s Landing if shots of Daemon in the Throne Room and Alicent running through the streets are anything to go by.