House of the Dragon' Episode 5

Yup, Laena Velaryon is 100% trying to get with the newly single Daemon. Sure, he still has eyes for Rhaenyra, but the princess is marrying Laenor. But both ...

In House of the Dragon Episode 5 that all changes as she carefully times her arrival to the wedding party for maximum impact. Going forward, Alicent and Aegon’s supporters in the court will be known as the Greens. You’ll note that Alicent specially seeks out her father’s older brother at the party and he assures her he has her back. As Larys Strong (Matthew Needham) explains to his brother, House Hightower changes the color of the lighthouse lamp at Oldtown to green as a signal to their bannerman that they are being called to war. Maester Orwyle is most definitely a key figure during the events of the Dance of the Dragons, but he’s not technically supposed to be bouncing around King’s Landing at this time. But both Laena and Daemon are single and it seems they had a little bit of a mingle at the party. Well, spoilers, but the next woman Daemon is going to marry is none other than Laena Velaryon. Laena makes sexy eye contact with Daemon and a moment later he joins her on the dance floor. That means the tiny twelve year old girl the court was trying to set up with Viserys is now a teenager. [House of the Dragon](https://decider.com/show/house-of-the-dragon/) Episode 5 “We Light the Way” ends with Princess Rhaenyra’s ( [Milly Alcock](https://decider.com/tag/milly-alcock/)) muted marriage to Ser Laenor Velaryon ( [Theo Nate](https://decider.com/tag/theo-nate/)). The other dragon is red, but doesn’t have the long, lanky body of Caraxes. House of the Dragon stealthily introduced another dragon this week.

With his first wife out of the picture, who will become Prince Daemon Targaryen's second spouse? The answer might surprise you.

In Episodes 1 and 2 of House of the Dragon, little Laena Velaryon (Nova Foueillis-Mosé) is the cause of significant tension among House Targaryen and House Velaryon, as the 12-year-old was presented as a potential match to the king upon the death of Queen Aemma Arryn (Sian Brooke). Surrounded by the bloodshed and chaos that breaks out as a result of a grotesque fight between [Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel)](https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/house-of-the-dragon-criston-cole-dornish-family-tree) and Joffrey Lonmouth (Solly McLeod), Daemon appears to only have eyes for one young woman, and this time it isn’t his niece. When Daemon and Laena meet, she’s 23 and betrothed to a spoiled son of the Sealord of Braavos. This will probably happen in Episode 6, when the show’s risky time jump of over a decade occurs. In The Rogue Prince and [The Princess and the Queen](https://www.inverse.com/culture/rhaenyra-alicent-queerbaiting-house-of-the-dragon), Rhea’s death is untimely, but natural. [grooming his niece](https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/house-of-the-dragon-episode-4-play-game-of-thrones) and almost “ [stealing her maidenhood](https://www.inverse.com/culture/house-of-the-dragon-episode-4-sex-scenes-game-of-thrones),” he’s invited to return to attend Rhaenyra and Laenor Velaryon’s wedding banquet. The Inverse Analysis — Considering House of the Dragon has stayed close to its prequel roots for the majority of its run, and that Nanna Blondell has been confirmed to portray an adult Laena Velaryon, we’re pretty certain we’ll see Daemon and Laena tie the knot. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire prequels](https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/winds-of-winter-game-of-thrones-book-update) — go against the source material. Later, Laena and Daemon’s twin daughters were betrothed to Rhaenyra’s two eldest sons. Rhea (Rachel Redford) catches him amid a tantrum he’s throwing over [King Viserys I Targaryen’s](https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/house-of-the-dragon-king-viserys-targaryen-death-explained-book-canon) (Paddy Considine) treatment of him and, within minutes of viewers meeting her, Daemon murders her. Laena and Daemon were a power couple, and their marriage was celebrated by nearly all of Westeros and Essos — except for King Viserys and his court, who considered it another sign of Daemon’s disrespect. [Lady Rhea Royce](https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/lady-rhea-who-is-daemon-targaryen-wife-house-of-the-dragon?utm_campaign=inverse&utm_content=1661415840&utm_medium=owned&utm_source=facebook), we hardly knew ye.

The nuptials of Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock) and Laenor Velaryon (Theo Nate) take a sharp, bloody turn.

It’s a shame because Laenor and Rhaenyra’s arrangement was as promising and progressive as things get in Westeros, even centuries later; she accepts his sexuality and he accepts her colorful history, and they agree to live and let live while performing the requisite duties of the crown and their houses. Indeed, one could argue that “House of the Dragon” shows its more primitive society’s values in this scene; Joffrey is barely wiped off the floor before the marriage proceeds and everyone acts like a knight didn’t commit murder while people were barely done with dinner. The events in “House of the Dragon” took place long before any of this, evidencing Westeros’ long history of savage marriage festivities. Martin’s “Fire & Blood](https://www.indiewire.com/2022/08/house-of-the-dragon-fire-and-blood-book-what-happens-1234749701/),” but almost all of them are between direct siblings. But the citizens of Westeros are no better; over the course of “Thrones” and now “Dragon,” it looks like weddings are the top chosen occasion for violent, vengeful murder. The young and decidedly not in love couple are barely even related, a victory in all seven kingdoms, but their nuptials were far from uneventful, and not in a good way.

After Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) tells King Viserys (Paddy Considine) about Rhaenyra and Daemon Targaryen's (Matt Smith) “coupling,” his source is presumed a ...

Shortly thereafter, he attacks Joffrey in a fit of rage and ultimately bashes his skull in. He tells he’s aware of his tryst with the princess. Before the violence ensues in “We Light the Way,” Alicen’t uncle reminds her: “Oldtown stands with you.” The king is going to die really soon as her dad told her. After believing Rhaenyra’s lie about not “coupling” with Daemon, Alicent learns Rhaenyra slept with Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel). He leaves King’s Landing and his daughter Alicent behind in episode 5.

Set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, this epic series tells the Milly Alcock as Rhaenyra Targaryen and Theo Nate as Laenor Velaryon (Photo: HBO).

In his speech, Viserys spoke about how the joining of the Targaryen and Velaryon houses would usher in the second age of the dragons. Allowing Rhaenyra to take her place as Queen and then trying to usurp her will be a lot more difficult than putting a stop to her ascension in the first place. If he is dead, of course, Alicent will have to put her plan into action if she wants to upset the line of succession and place Aegon on the Iron Throne. He’s been battling oozing sores and rotting fingers since the beginning of the series, but it seems that it all came to a head at the wedding. And so, episode five was somewhat of a turning point in House of the Dragon. Now, it seems to have done it again as Princess Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock) and her betrothed, Laenor Velaryon (Theo Nate), had the week-long plans for their own nuptials reduced to a rushed, depressingly private ceremony.

The bride and doom of Valyria: (L-R) Matt Smith, Gavin Spokes, Emily Carey, Paddy Considine, Milly Alcock, Theo Nate, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, ...

He says he'll be flying to the Eyrie, the seat of House Arryn in the Vale, and petitioning Lady Jeyne to give it to him. If the point of that is to show how people get ground up in the gears of the Targaryen Dynasty, box checked. On a show called House of the Dragon! In the Driftmark dunes, Laenor and his horseplay pal Ser Joffrey demonstrate how Joffrey got the nickname "Knight of Kisses." The hall of the Iron Throne has been turned into the welcome reception for the royal wedding. Corlys suggests that Laenor's "true nature" is just a phase, and that the realm will welcome Rhaenyra's succession, which is a real one-two punch of pure wrongness there, my guy. "It is the only thing I have to my f***ing name!" Back in the godswood at the Red Keep, Queen Alicent runs into the prodigiously creepy Larys Strong (son of Lord Lyonel, brother to Harwyn Strong, who's turned up a couple times on the show, and who's gonna be hopping a few rungs up the call sheet next week). says Laenor, which only serves to make us imagine the endless string of disappointed and frustrated geese that have had to put up with Laenor's yeomanlike ministrations. The show takes this as the first of several opportunities to direct our attention to the king's less-than-robust health (drink!). A coughing, wheezing king (drink!) is greeted by Corlys, who steps off the Driftwood Throne to bend the knee. This recap of House of the Dragon's fifth episode contains spoilers for ...

This blows up in their faces when Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) — who wants something more than being Rhaenyra's secret "whore" — causes a brawl at the couple's ...

At a celebration before the wedding, Joffrey Lonmouth (Solly McLeod), Laenor's lover, exposed the Rhaenyra's plan to keep Criston as her secret whore. At this point, audiences are quick to pick up on the behaviors that several members of the Targaryen family routinely engage in. This blows up in their faces when Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) — who wants something more than being Rhaenyra's secret "whore" — causes a brawl at the couple's wedding.

Game of Thrones fans are terrified of weddings and House of the Dragon episode 5 proves nothing good comes of marriage in Westeros.

[TV series](https://www.thedigitalfix.com/best-tv-series) began, I presumed that Rhaenyra was the main character and the moral centre of the show. All of this is brilliant, I love the people of Westeros, yet it does make me wish the series was more thoughtfully paced. As Viserys watches on, he collapses – having grown sick through the episode – and his plans for a hundred years of Targaryen rule after his death have never looked less certain. All of this leads to the wedding feast. Unfortunately, while House Velaryon is happy to wed into the royal family and finally get a chance on the Iron Throne, they have a skeleton in the closet. Speaking of the younger cast, though, Emily Carey’s Lady Alicent has spent the time her husband and step-daughter spent in Dritmark investigating the claims that Poor Criston seems very lost in this episode, he asked Rhaenyra to run away with him, but she shot the idea down in dragon fire, refusing to be a sellsword’s wife. In his confrontation with Corlys, we get a glimpse of the dragon he could have been. While the royal trip to their closest allies lacks the pomp and ceremony that Viserys may have preferred, it turns out to be a fruitful meeting. It’s a shame because the Game of Thrones characters who went on to become fan favourites (Lyanna Mormont springs to mind) were often introduced as tertiary players in the story. [Game of Thrones](https://www.thedigitalfix.com/game-of-thrones/) fans. We’re constantly zipping weeks and years ahead in the timeline, so don’t get to meet some of the fascinating ancillary

Murder in the Vale · Rhaenyra and Laenor: Marriage of politics · Alicent's doubts · Ser Criston Cole's great expectations · The big wedding.

She is supposed to become the Queen of Westeros, she has been having sex with him for what, a week, two weeks, a month and she is supposed to be in love with him?! Daemon is looking at Rhaenyra, Rhaenyra is looking at Criston, Criston is not looking at anyone, Ser Joffrey is looking at Criston not looking, Laenor is looking at Joffrey… As the name should have suggested, Joffrey likes drama, so he is not satisfied with letting Laenor know that he has figured out that Rhaenyra’s secret lover is Criston. A grand wedding festival has been organised at the Red Keep and everyone who’s anyone from anywhere in Westeros is invited (shout out to the Red Queen aka Meleys, Lady Rhaenys’ dragon and we are up to four dragons this season). Not sure about how much of a time jump we are seeing since last week’s episode, but given that Daemon just arrived at the Vale after being banished and Otto is just leaving King’s Landing after being dismissed, it can’t have been long enough for Criston to suggest that Rhaenyra run away to Essos with him to marry for love and not duty. The first is her father Otto Hightower, former Hand of the King, who warns her not to be a good girl and back the wrong horse because the horse wouldn’t hesitate to trample her and her children to strengthen her claim to the throne. And when he is hurt by her insistence on having him as her paramour, we are forced to wonder if a woman in the same position (as it happens so very often) would ever be allowed to ask that question? Then there is Larys Strong, son of Lyonel Strong, the present Hand of the King, who is so obviously slimy and evil that one doesn’t have to wait for him to drop large hints about Rhaenyra being brought medicinal tea by the Grand Maester himself on the night the King dismissed Otto to understand his intentions. But it is exceedingly theatrical of Daemon Targaryen to wear such a large hooded robe to go murdering in the Vale. Laenor’s lover Ser Joffrey Lonmouth is grudgingly accepting of the situation as the best possible outcome, Rhaenyra’s lover Ser Criston Cole not so much. We meet the ‘bronze bitch’, Lady Rhea Royce, for the first time and she is badass, well, at least in the minute-and-a-half or so that she had before Daemon killed her. We know that Daemon is capable of murder, clearly, but he also had a delicious streak of mysteriousness that made him intriguing.

In We Light the Way, it's time for Rhaenyra Targaryen to finally say "I do."

"Ser Laenor is quite dear to me, as I know the princess is to you. Next up to congratulate the royals is a lord from House Royce. "I've always feared the day you'd have to marry a woman, and now it comes," the chap says. Daemon calls it a tragic accident, but Ser Royce accuses Daemon of being the culprit. Queen Alicent is watching the commotion from the balcony of her chambers. "Ser Laenor is a good and decent man, but you did not choose him. Viserys and the new Hand of the King exchange concerned glances. "The time is coming, Alicent. "The king will die. We've heard a few references to Daemon Targaryen's wife -- Rhea Royce, or "the bronze bitch" as Daemon calls her -- but we've never actually met her. With a backdrop of pouring rain, as with all good farewells, she tells her father she regrets the king's decision to expel him. After being dismissed as Hand of the King in the final moments of episode 4, Otto Hightower is on the way out of King's Landing.

The conclusion of Mork & Mindy was confusing, to say the least. During the season finale, Mork (Robin Williams) is revealed as an alien, so he and Mindy (Pam ...

(You want House of the Dragon Easter eggs, we’ve got them.) Plus, there’s tons more over at [Game of Thrones](https://screencrush.com/tags/game-of-thrones/) is one of the many details we explore in our latest video on the series. We explore Daemon’s sexual issues, and how they relate to his overarching storyline, how Viserys’ puke is the perfect symbol for his role on this episode, the importance of Rhaenyra’s necklace, and why the Crabfeeder’s Mask is so key to what’s happening this week.

'House of the Dragon': Rhea Royce, Daemon's wife, is introduced before her death in Episode 3. Read our appreciation of her.

In a post-show featurette HBO released after the episode aired, executive producer Ryan Condal pointed out that the vagueness of that line seemed the perfect place to introduce a little Daemon deviance; later in the Dragon episode, Rhaenys reports that Rhea’s neck and head were “crushed,” leaving little question regarding what Daemon did with the rock he picked up just after his wife’s… * Hmm, after that dancefloor beat-down-turned-murder, perhaps Ser Criston is not the tenderhearted young lad I’ve been led to believe? (For what it’s worth, in Fire & Blood, Rhea “lingered for nine days before finally feeling well enough to leave her bed, only to collapse and die within an hour of rising.”) “…There came a tragic mishap, of the sort that shapes the destiny of kingdoms: the “bronze bitch” of Runestone, Lady Rhea Royce, fell from her horse whilst hawking and cracked her skull upon a stone,” George R.R. (Read [a full recap](https://tvline.com/2022/09/18/house-of-the-dragon-recap-season-1-episode-5/).) Admittedly, though, that was more about goading the Hand of the King over his own wife’s recent death and less about Daemon divesting himself of a life partner he sorely loathed.