‘House of the Dragon’ – ‘Regent’ – Review
Through the carnage of battle and the heat of dragon fire, the Greens saw a Pyrrhic victory in their war with the Blacks for the Iron Throne, and all were devastated in the bloody war that is starting to consume all of Westeros in House of the Dragon. Now, in Episode Five, ‘Regent’, we see the fallout of this ‘victory,’ and things are about to get worse for all.
The Greens consider how to fill a void on Aegon’s council. Jacaerys sets out on a rogue mission to strike a deal. Daemon tries to persuade the Brackens to bend the knee.
The monumental scale and force of ‘The Red Dragon and the Gold’ made for television of epic proportions. Now we have arrived at the fallout following the decisive but brutal ‘victory’ at the Battle of Rook’s Rest, and none are spared its horrors. Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) has lost one of her most capable supporters in Princess Rhaenys Targaryen (Eve Best) and her dragon Meleys, and with her husband, Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith), still sulking about Harrenhal, she finds herself backed into an even tighter corner than before. Rhaenyra’s position is mirrored by Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke), who, in light of her son King Aegon’s II (Tom Glynn-Carney) idiotic charge, has now been pushed to the side in favour of her bloodthirsty son Prince Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell), who has now been installed as regent, and who will bring a far darker hand to bare in the war for power.
Episode Five of Season Two of House of the Dragon, ‘Regent’, focuses on the power dynamics and the shifting loyalties and divisions of a war that is starting to tear Westeros at the seems, and both our lead female protagonists find themselves in a dangerous and perilous condition. While Rhaenyra sees her forces splinter, the column of relief not due for some time, and her leadership again questioned, the calculating Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno) hatches upon a new angle that may bring her the edge she needs in her fight. Dowager Queen Alicent, on the other hand, is forced into her own tight corner as she is passed aside by the men who surround her, and her concern is split between her three children. A whirlwind of emotion is present in Olivia Cooke’s performance in ‘Regent’, and the danger she now feels shows through.
While Rhaenyra seeks to consolidate her position on Dragonstone, Prince Daemon is mustering his in the ruins of Harrenhal, and his dreams and visions are growing darker by the moment. Through two seasons, Matt Smith has found a balance between the heroic and the villainous when applied to Damien, but episode by episode in Season Two, we have seen him grow darker, and his actions and intent reveal his burning desire for the crown. Still marred by resentment that he was never given his stature as King Viserys I’s first heir, Daemon reveals to Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin) his true motivations for his presence in the Riverlands. And his actions have disastrous results for the Black’s claim to power.
‘Regent’ is an episode of revelations and character development, and shifts the direction of House of the Dragon’s narrative following a very full on season of fire and blood. It also sets up an intriguing question posed by Queen Rhaenyra that will shape the events of this dynamic narrative in a possibly radical new way.
Season Two of House of the Dragon is now streaming on Neon and SKY TV.
Image: SKY TV
