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.

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.

'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.

Each week, Paste editor Josh Jackson and writer Shane Ryan will recap the latest episode of House of the Dragon.

She had to give it up, of course, but I did like that they included this scene; a chance to give us a glimpse, albeit brief, of a world in which Rhaenyra wasn’t chained to her family and her fate. I think that’s a bigger advantage than it is disadvantage of the show, and one of the reasons I’ve mostly enjoyed it so far. And this was also the week where Alicent came into her own in a stunningly dramatic fashion. And when we see Alicent stop the king in his tracks as she walks in with her green dress and hear that green calls Hightower banners to war, we know that Oldtown, the most ancient and biggest city in the Seven Kingdoms, stands with her. After I wrote the first email above, I went to a few different Reddit pages to see how the hardcore fans were liking it, and was surprised to see that what criticism existed was mostly mild, and they were pretty much all in on new episodes. One thing Game of Thrones had going for it is that the story took place in such a limited time span that the aging of the actors was just fine; HotD doesn’t have this luxury at the start, though it likely will going forward, when the action starts to get compressed into shorter stretches. You’ve mentioned a few differences between the book and the show—all of which have made it seem like the book would be more enjoyable. Not only that, but there’s a near-suicide scene with Criston Cole by the Weirwood that is played for all the world like it’s happening simultaneously, and then Alicent is in both scenes. Did she just get scared and spook the horse herself when she realized that Daemon’s alternative to killing Rhaenyra was to marry her, and that in order to marry her, she had to die first? But who knew that Ser Criston was suffering from debilitating guilt for breaking his vow of celibacy that could only be fixed by breaking all the rest of his vows? But I will say, on the positive side, I still kind of enjoyed watching this episode despite the plot and good sense seeming to fall apart at times. I say all this not to be a nitpicker, or to make the argument that every plot point in the show must follow the text exactly, but…doesn’t GRRM’s version just feel more real?

As the dance continues, the camera cuts back again to Rhaenyra's bodyguard and lover, Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) — a bit of foreshadowing of his final ...

But as personal grudges continue to escalate, the “Dance of the Dragons” will transform from a literal dance into a symbolic one: The dance of swords and knights on the battlefield. Martin’s world, and the [Game of Thrones](https://www.polygon.com/game-of-thrones) prequel series [House of the Dragon](https://www.polygon.com/house-of-the-dragon) is no exception. The view of the action is obscured from the high table — a potent visual metaphor for the Targaryens’ myopia — and Rhaenyra gets shoved aside amid the jockeying of the crowd. As soon as the body is dragged away, someone (presumably Viserys) decides that it would be best to get this wedding out of the way as soon as possible, before anyone else dies. This is Viserys’ fatal flaw: He only has eyes for Rhaenyra and his dream of keeping Targaryens on the throne for the next hundred years, failing to see the rats scurrying around the edges of his grand plan. The secret ceremony that follows is held amid the scraps of an abandoned feast, decaying and nibbled on by rats. The happy (or at least content, with an understanding that their marriage is a political arrangement) couple stays at the center of the frame as the assembled lords and ladies get up to join the dance. (Look up “Blood and Cheese, Dance of the Dragons” if you’re curious.) These hints point toward where the story is going. The first season of [House of the Dragon](https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516586&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hbomax.com%2Fseries%2Fhouse-of-the-dragon%3Foffer_id%3D5%26transaction_id%3D102c87c7%255B%25E2%2580%25A6%255D4ed39326beedc6012ca%26utm_source%3DVox%2BMedia%26utm_medium%3Daffiliate&referrer=polygon.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.polygon.com%2F23361934%2Fhouse-dragon-episode-5-review-recap) moves much more quickly than Game of Thrones: Five episodes in, and we’ve already covered a half a decade in the lives of [King Viserys Targaryen](https://www.polygon.com/23328660/house-dragon-viserys-iron-throne-cut) (Paddy Considine) and [his backstabbing royal family](https://www.polygon.com/23344676/house-dragon-episode-4-review-targaryen). [Queen Alicent’s (Emily Carey) green dress](https://www.polygon.com/23356938/house-dragon-green-dress-alicent-wedding) in this week’s episode is a great example of this visual storytelling, as are the rats slurping up the blood on the dance floor at the end of the episode. But then he looks back out over the dance, concentrating on his daughter at the center of the swirling fabrics and outstretched limbs. [Alliances are shifting, factions are forming](https://www.polygon.com/23322393/house-dragon-houses-characters-explained), and animosities are deepening.

A spoiler-free deep dive into "We Light the Way," featuring info on the connections between the Targaryens and Velaryons; Criston Cole's predicament; ...

With the end of Episode 5, House of the Dragon is jumping a decade into the future, swapping out the actors for Alicent and Rhaenyra as the series progresses toward the Dance of the Dragons. So is a gelding, and so is a lifelong exile with the Night’s Watch. Meleys is described as the swiftest dragon in the Seven Kingdoms—the perfect dragon to match the independent personalities of both Alyssa and Rhaenys. But Orwyle has a preference for potions and tinctures, and before leaving he gives one to Larys to administer to the king. Many of the old kings of Westeros had a champion to defend them, and since Aegon was the king of the Seven Kingdoms, Visenya reasoned that he should have seven champions. House Velaryon is already the wealthiest house in the Seven Kingdoms, and is second to only the Targaryens in power. The colors of House Targaryen are traditionally black and red, and while Rhaenyra wore white to the wedding, she does have a pitch-black shawl on for the ceremony itself. No other members of House Lonmouth are named in Fire & Blood, though there is a Lonmouth who serves as a squire to Rhaegar Targaryen before Robert’s Rebellion, so this isn’t the end of the Lonmouth line. The thing to know about House Royce is that it’s a proud and ancient one. But now, some 15 years after the Great Council, House Velaryon has found a new path to the Iron Throne through the marriage of Laenor and Rhaenyra. During this time Corlys used the riches he’d acquired as a younger man to construct High Tide, the castle seen in this episode, as a replacement for the grim, wet, and crowded Castle Driftmark. It wouldn’t be a wedding in Westeros without at least one death (though with only one guest dying violently at the nuptials of Rhaenyra and Laenor, the Dothraki would have considered this wedding a dull affair).

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 ...

Milly Alcock and Emily Carey officially had their last episodes as Rhaenyra and Alicent, and Episode 5 of House of the Dragon was the best goodbye.

When Rhaenyra [is the subject of an incest-based scandal](https://collider.com/house-of-the-dragon-episode-4-rhaenyra-alicent/) (one which is mostly true), Alicent goes to her for the truth. Though pushed around on her journey toward adulthood, Alicent is no longer [the innocent child she once was](https://collider.com/house-of-the-dragon-video-emily-carey-alicent-rebellion-hbo/). Early in the episode, Otto is exiled from King’s Landing, and she is separated from her father. Otto tells her to wear one of her mother’s dresses, indicating that this is the moment in which she leaves her youth behind on the path to adulthood. Unlike Rhaenyra’s more tactful maneuvering of her circumstances, Alicent’s approach is far more innocent—she simply does what she thinks is right by her family, while remaining loyal to the Targaryen family. Like Rhaenyra, Alicent is introduced in the scene in which Rhaenyra flies in on the back of Syrax. [announced as the new queen by Viserys](https://collider.com/house-of-the-dragon-episode-2-viserys-alicent-barbaric-tradition/), a man she is not necessarily interested in. When Rhaenyra is first introduced in House of the Dragon’s premiere, she flies in on the back of her dragon, Syrax. Like Rhaenyra, Alicent is thrust into the game of thrones in the first episode by the politicking of her father, [In Episode 2](https://collider.com/house-of-the-dragon-season-1-episode-2-recap-the-rogue-prince/), she diffuses a conflict between her father and Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) through careful rhetoric. Throughout the episode, she is costumed in unadorned garments, expressing the simplicity of her current life. Many of the scenes in the first episode emphasize her youthfulness, perhaps none so explicitly as when she is being read to under a Weirwood tree, like a child.