House of the Dragon Season 2 Recap: Episode 5 - Regent

Ash Walker • 15 Jul 2024 Features

“Someone will have to rule in his stead.”

SPOILERS AHEAD!

After last week’s action-packed blockbuster of an episode, the Greens and the Blacks both retreat to lick their wounds and mourn their losses. And to plan and scheme, of course. This game of thrones is nowhere near done, and there are plenty of moves left to be made.

In King’s Landing, Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) and Cole (Fabian Frankel) return with the severed head of the dragon Meleys in tow - a sight that they are hoping will inspire the people, but instead unsettles and terrifies them. Smooth move, guys. They also have a small, nondescript casket with them, which we soon learn hides the still-smouldering body of King Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney).

Turns out he’s alive - surprise! But just barely. The maesters quickly apply some industrial-strength aftersun and declare that, while he lives, the King may never wake again. Which, in TV terms, means he will almost certainly wake up at the most dramatic moment possible, no doubt with the shocking revelation that his own brother, Aemond, did the treasonous barbecuing.

Said Aemond quickly installs himself as regent, ruling in his charbroiled brother’s place - much to the frustration of Alicent (Olivia Cooke), who is unceremoniously brushed aside in favour of her much younger, more aggressive and, most importantly, male offspring.

Aemond’s first act as sort-of-king is to seal off the gates of King’s Landing which, given the state of the rotting food at the market and the general unhappiness of the peasantry, will no doubt prove to be a dangerous decision in the short term. There’s a revolution brewing! One that Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) and Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno) hope to help along a bit.

Meanwhile, in gloomy Harrenhal, Daemon (Matt Smith) is still having his strange, disturbing dreams - this week with some extra-strength incest mixed in - and is still teetering on the edge of madness. He’s also attempting to force the warring Brackens and Blackwoods to put aside their differences and form something resembling an army.

It goes badly.

And finally, over in Dragonstone, the Blacks are mourning the loss of Princess Rhaenys (Eve Best), one of their best fighters. Their army is depleted, and the Starks are taking their time arriving from the North. Put simply, they need more dragons.

Luckily, there are two right under their feet - including the humongous, ancient Vermithor. The problem is, there’s no one around capable of riding them. Jace (Harry Collett), half-joking, suggests that they don’t necessarily need to find people bearing the Targaryen name, as long as they have Targaryen blood - i.e., any old illegitimate child will do. Rhaenyra thinks this is a mad idea.

So mad, it just might work.

Death Count: None! This was - perhaps unsurprisingly, given last week’s action - a pretty bloodless episode.

Shout-Outs:

• It’s interesting to see Daemon admit his true motivations - he’s out for himself, and believes that he, not Rhaenyra, should be the true ruler of Westeros. We’ve known it all along, of course, but it’s nice of him to finally admit it.
• When Helaena (Phia Saban) asks Aemond if it was all worth it, the look on Aemond’s face is brilliant, and speaks volumes. Hell yes, it was.
• There’s some excellent, borderline unwatchable body horror as the maesters try to salve Aegon’s wounds and remove the armour that’s been fused to his skin. Truly horrific stuff.

Verdict: A quieter, slower-paced episode than last week’s barnstormer, although it still managed to pack in a lot of story. A bit of a breather before we get back to the good stuff.

House of the Dragon airs every Monday at 9pm on Sky Atlantic, and can be streamed from 2am the same day.