How House of the Dragon clarifies a lingering mystery from Fire and Blood
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Ever since George R.R. Martin published the first part of his Targaryen family history, Fire and Blood, in 2018, readers have wondered about the true nature of Princess Rhaenyra's (Milly Alcock) relationship with her sworn shield, Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel). Were they lovers? Did Ser Criston spurn her advances since he was a loyal member of the Kingsguard? Did her Uncle Daemon (Matt Smith) teach her how to seduce the knight through sexual lessons of his own? Were all of these questions just baseless rumors aimed at destroying her reputation? The latest episode of House of the Dragon finally revealed that the truth was a little more complicated than the rumors suggested.
Let's start with what happened once Prince Daemon returns home to a hero's welcome after his defeat of the Crabfeeder. Noticing a coolness between King Viserys (Paddy Considine) and his daughter, Prince Daemon recognizes his niece as a grown woman, taking a keen interest in her refusal to take a husband. During their conversation in High Valyrian, Rhaenyra confesses that she has no desire to meet the same horrific fate as her mother, who died in childbirth. Daemon realizes her fears are preventing her from experiencing many of life's pleasures. In a fateful decision that sows the seeds of much of the chaos to come, he takes Rhaenyra's sexual education into his own hands and sneaks her out of the Red Keep to the Street of Silk.
Ollie Upton/HBO Milly Alcock and Matt Smith as Rhaenyra and Daemon Targaryen
In traditional Targaryen fashion, some incestual intimacy unfolds between them. Daemon stops himself from taking her virginity, though, fleeing the scene conflicted while leaving Rhaenyra to make her way home alone. Unfortunately, their tryst was witnessed by some little birds employed by Daemon's former paramour and current Mistress of Whisperers, Mysaria of the Bonkers Accent (Sonoya Mizuno). It isn't long before Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) catches wind of what the princess had been up to with her uncle.
Back in her chambers, Rhaenyra's gaze lands on the handsome Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel). After some initial reluctance by Criston, who has much more on the line as a lowborn member of the Kingsguard, Rhaenyra playfully seduces her long-standing crush and they have sex. Rhaenyra and Criston's private entanglement remains a secret, but her public dalliance with Daemon lands her uncle in hot water with Viserys.
What Daemon's exact intentions are with this chaotic behavior isn't exactly clear, but when confronted he suggests that he marry Rhaenyra himself. This would eradicate the scandal threatening to taint her future, he says, and, in his estimation, restore House Targaryen to the true power it's lacked under Viserys' weak rule. While Viserys suggests Daemon is just using Rhaenyra to get to the Iron Throne, Matt Smith's portrayal is deliciously complicated, teasing that there may be true feelings for his niece wrapped up in his wild machinations. No matter his true intent, he finds himself exiled again for his behavior.
Rhaenyra, for her part, realizes her survival as heir to the throne is at stake. She lies to her horrified and dutiful stepmother Alicent (Emily Carey) and her enraged father about what she did with Daemon. She claims she was only a "spectator" at the brothel and posits that this was all just a plot of Otto's to help get his grandson on the throne. Alicent believes her former bestie's protests but Viserys has his doubts, knowing both his brother and his daughter were cut from the same blood-laced cloth.
Killing two ravens with one stone, Viserys orders Rhaenyra to marry Ser Corlys' son Laenor Velaryon, thus uniting the two most powerful houses in Westeros for once and all. And, despite his daughter's protestations, he tasks the Grand Maester Mellos (David Horovitch) with delivering a cup of moon tea to Rhaenyra's chambers that night, ensuring there are no "consequences" for her night on the town.
Though the episode provides answers for the questions Fire and Blood poses about these relationships, the truth won't soften the chaos of what's to come.
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