House of the Dragon Recap: The King Has a Son, Daemon Proves His Mettle and Rhaenyra Is Ready to Wed

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Warning: This post contains spoilers for season 1, episode 3 of House of the Dragon.

Goodness. Gracious. Great balls of fire!

House of the Dragon opened episode 3 — titled "Second of His Name" — with some heavy dragon action when Daemon (Matt Smith) atop his dragon, Caraxes, set ablaze an area of the Stepstones being terrorized by Craghas Drahar, aka the "Crabfeeder."

Last week's episode of the Game of Thrones prequel series concluded with Lord Corlys Velaryon, aka the "Sea Snake" (Steve Toussaint) asking Daemon for help after King Viserys I (Paddy Considine) showed little concern over the damage being done by Crabfeeder. Now, approximately two and a half years later, Daemon attacks with zero help aside from Caraxes, and while some damage is done, most of the Crabfeeder's men scurried into the nearby caves while archers rained down fiery arrows. Daemon retreated after being hit.

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Meanwhile, Viserys and Alicent Hightower (Emily Carey) have married and have a 2-year-old son, with another baby on the way. While a large party and a hunting trip in the Kingswood to celebrate the prince's second birthday played out, schemes were put in motion — namely by the King's Hand, Ser Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans). Otto was among those in the king's ear pushing Viserys to name his firstborn son heir to the throne, thereby betraying his promise to Princess Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock).

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Viserys and Otto seemed equally eager to have Rhaenyra find a suitor and be wed. Viserys generally wanted her happiness and to strengthen her position, while Otto just wanted her out of the way. One would-be suitor was an annoying, pompous Lannister, whom neither Viserys nor Rhaenyra could stand. So, in other words, a typical Lannister.

Otto also had a suggestion that would make any hardened GoT fan recoil: betroth Rhaenyra to the king's baby son. Viserys was a hard pass on that one.

After a heated argument with her father about finding a husband sooner than later, Rhaenyra rode off into the forest where the great hunt was to take place. Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel), now a veteran of the Kingsguard, rode after her. She had been smitten with him since the first episode, and their bond grew while spending time together in the woods. That is, until they were attacked by a large boar, which nearly killed Rhaenyra before the knight stabbed the wild animal. Channeling all her frustration over the marriage pressure and her reasonable fear of being stepped over for her baby brother, Rhaenyra went full-on Norman Bates Psycho, stabbing the boar several times, thereby getting soaked in blood.

Ollie Upton/HBO

Back at the party among his royal retinue, a depressed Viserys got drunk and realized the vast divide between what he wants and what is expected. Namely, Viserys truly wanted to see Rhaenyra on the throne. He later admitted to his new wife that yearning for a son above all else to replace him previously brought nothing but pain and sadness. It is around that same time the king's men inform him of a giant white hart stag spotted in the Kingswood. Believed to be magical, Otto told the king it was an omen for his son's birthday. By Viserys slaying the great beast (with most of the heavy lifting done by his royal retinue) the boy's birthright to the throne would be sealed. The king actually went along with this idea.

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Viserys (sloppily) killed a large stag captured by his men — but not the white hart that had been promised. Killing the animal did nothing for the king, and he was back in his funk. But, the giant white hart did appear, just not for Viserys. Before Rhaenyra and Criston Cole returned to the royal retinue, they were approached by the animal in the woods. The impressive stag looked at them for a moment and walked away, signaling to the princess that she was the rightful heir to the throne. She did not mention the moment to her father, even when he again assured her later on that she would not be stepped over for a male heir. The white hart bait and switch by Otto clearly hardened Viserys' resolve on that matter.

The episode concluded with an enormous battle scene that could give most GoT episodes a run for their money. Essentially, Daemon and Corlys were losing their war against the Crabfeeder. Viserys refused for two years to intervene until Queen Alicent told him it was best for the realm if he finally swallowed his pride and helped his brother and Corlys. So the king sent ships and men to turn the tide of the war. News of the forthcoming aid sent Daemon into a rage, as he did not want to be saved, thereby looking even weaker. So in a ruse to draw out the Crabfeeder and his men, Daemon pretended to surrender, so his dragon could decrement almost everyone while Corlys' troops engaged in hand-to-hand combat. Daemon went into a cave after the Crabfeeder and emerged, covered in blood, dragging the Crabfeeder's torso.

House of the Dragon airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.