Episode 6, called Small Folk, begins with an expected change
to the opening credits. We're going to do a full
breakdown of the intro after the season, pointing out all the
changes and what they mean, but for now, it's worth pointing out
that Rook's Rest has been added, and the red blood trail has
turned black, the color of dragon blood.
Amon's recent stoicism is replaced by rage, and as his
mother tells him he's becoming arrogant, he doesn't listen to
his counsellors and appears to view disagreement as disloyalty.
Leading the Greens with a green dragon and red flags and red
banners, the Lannisters arrive at the Golden Tooth with 8000
men and lions in cages. Yep, and we hear a variation on
the reigns of Castamere. The actual reigns of Castamere
are probably present as well, since Tywin hasn't been yet born
to wipe them out. Aymond is glad to have them all
as allies, but mad when they ask him for an escort.
His plan is to hit Harrenhal from the east and West
simultaneously and take on Damon personally.
Meanwhile, we know the North Northern army is on the March
and has been granted passage at the Twins as they head towards
River Run, which the Western army will have to pass if they
want to get to Harrenhal. So a showdown between the
Lannister host and the hosts of the Riverlands in the North
could be imminent, but the Riverlands is still in disarray.
Elsewhere, Orwell mentions that the Hightower armies have been
delayed thanks to their own bannerman attacking them.
House Beesberry, who are High tower vassals, blame the Greens
for the death of Lord Lyman, the old Master of Coin Kristen Cole,
killed back in episode 9. Fairpoint Beesberry's Amon's
calm demeanor returns in time for him to fire his mother and
recall his grandfather Otto. Because as he says, every king
needs a hand, but Amon does not. The king and no one actually
seems to know where Otto is. Hearing that Aegon is awake and
improving, Amond goes to visit him aggressively.
He interrogates him about Rook's Rest, mostly to see if he
remembers Vergar nearly incinerating him.
Aegon painfully claims he doesn't recall, but that is
almost certainly a lie to save his badly burned skin, as Laris
himself will suggest. Later in episode 5, Eamon
claimed Aegon's council orb when he became Regent, but he gives
the orb back to Aegon here while keeping the sword Blackfire, a
sign that he's ruling in his own name, his own way.
Didn't take long. Laura's attempts to get in good
with Aamon, but is rudely shut down.
He just doesn't like Strong's. The King, however, sleeps 9
hours out of 10, is in horrible pain, fears for his life, and is
heavily drugged up. The perfect opportunity for
Laurice to sink his hooks in deep.
Laurice tells Aegon how the world will view him now that
he's disabled. It's a heart rending scene with
brilliant acting. Laurice tells the King that
people will underestimate him like we saw Amon do moments
before when reducing Lars to a messenger.
It's easy to be fooled in this moment like Aegon probably was,
but make no mistake, while Laurice's life experience is
100% real, he's got a bigger goal here, which is to break
Aegon down emotionally as someone who understands in a way
no one else can. Someone he can trust, not just
an advisor, a friend. Lars is probably right that
Aegon needs him because his brother might want him dead.
But Lars has no place in Eamon's regime either, so he might need
the king just as much as the king needs him.
Never forget this line from Renly when he was trying to
convince Ned to take Joffrey away from Cersei in the wake of
Robert's death. He said protect her or no, the
man who holds the king holds the Kingdom.
Allison speaks with her brother while frequently shooting, looks
at Sir Christian, who looks back at her.
Gwaine notices but is too downcast to care.
There's no sign of his former humor now that this war has been
given to the Dragons. He feels powerless even at the
head of an army resigned to whatever his fate may be.
Now she feels powerless now too. It's strange to see two people
of such high birth and station with such little agency.
Sir Kristen doesn't seem to feel much better about any of this
either. Quaint and Allison talk about
her now 16 year old son, Daron. Dragon Rider, stalwart, kind and
good with the loot. They talk about duty, ruled
their lives even as children. Gwen says their father Otto
favored her, which is why she came to court and he stayed in
Old Town, but he doesn't blame her for it and doesn't think the
Red Keep is a good place to raise kids or to be 1.
Helena would probably agree. Child rearing at the Red Keep is
gone poorly for her, though. It's the only home she's ever
known, and she wonders why one of her crickets has stopped
singing. So do we.
A riot breaks out while the green Queens are lighting
candles to the seven above for Aegon's health.
The small folk throw fish while praising Rainier as the tension
grows, but the inexperience of Aegon's drinking's guard makes
it worse. This is a call back to the bread
ride in season 2 of Game of Thrones, based on the same scene
in The Clash of Kings, Joffrey orders the Hound to attack
people who threw dung at him, leading an angry crowd to turn
violent, and one of the kings guard is killed.
There's a long theory that Virus either knew the riot was likely
or even encouraged it. Here in House the Dragon, we
know for sure that another master of Whisperers, who claims
to come from extremely humble origins, encourage this riot.
Lady Bizzari. First, she spread rumors at the
Red Keep with throwing lavish feasts and dances to celebrate
Prince Amon's ascent. Two women wronged by the Greens
are at the forefront of this propaganda.
Sylvie, the Madame whom Amon used to visit frequently, speaks
loudly to Diana, who was raped by Aegon.
This comes with vivid food descriptions worthy of George RR
Martin himself. Often other patrons hear the two
talking and shake their heads, pointing out that Viserys love
to feast and drink, but he never did.
So while the City star Viserys knew how to keep the peace, and
isn't it a shame that the heir he chose to continue that peace
was denied her seat? Just saying.
Now, party vibe is the exact opposite of what Eamond is
bringing to the table, but the lie works because I guess it
sounds so tasty. We later see ulf outdoors before
the riot, complaining about the sheep being LED past for the
Dragons. But it's Hugh who punches
another man to take his food. Sending shipments of food to
King's Landing was the second part of Nazari's plan.
The blame went to the Greens, the acclaim to the Blacks and
the annoyance to Aymond. Mazari's esteem in the eyes of
Queen Raniera has risen significantly.
Not only has she proved a useful advisor, but she's been
providing emotional support. And in this episode it
progresses. Not just an advisor, a lover.
Raniera is lonely, estranged from her husband and others, and
is worried she can't win the war.
It's a lot different than being laid up in bed with broken bones
and painkillers, but it leaves her vulnerable all the same.
Mazaria tells her origin story to Raniera, complete with
paternal abuse and arise from nothing.
It's impressive and wins her sympathy.
It's probably true too, or mostly true, and she seems to
genuinely believe in Raniera as a queen.
When Raniera tests out the feel of a sword in her hand, though,
the White Worm tells her that the blade quote becomes her.
This is symbolic of Raniera turning more to fear and
violence. It's tools and Nazaria enables
this, encourages this. Rainier barely needs
encouragement, however. Her son, her husband, the men of
her council have done things behind her back, talk down to
her, and in general showed various forms of disrespect.
This comes to a head a bit when she slaps Lord Seltegar and
tells him it's her fault, that he doesn't fear her.
Which means she intends to be more intimidating and that will
require action more than words. A slap could seem like nothing
in comparison. Later, the Queen has decided she
she needs to inspire fear, and the queen we keep catching her
reading about is Visenya, who absolutely inspired fear.
Visenya had Vegar, something Rainier does not, but she does
have the White Worm, whom Visenya did not.
And Mazaria encourages Rainier to try again after failing in
her first attempt to find new dragon riders.
Because it's not that she lacks for Dragons big enough to take
on Vegar. She lacks for riders.
Rainier understandably, isn't eager to repeat anything like
what she saw when the Lord Commander of her Queens Guard
attempted to mount Sea Smoke, only to be burned to death.
It was an amazing scene featuring the return of the song
with three heads, which Damon sang to Verbathor last season.
The failure hits Rainier hard. Sir Stefan Darkland had been
perhaps her most trusted night and this trust and his
grandmothers grandmother being Targaryen is why he was picked
first. Now, in order to find dragon
riders, she'll have to widen her search, which means people she
might not know, let alone trust, as she does on her Queen's
Guard. This is a good example of one of
the major themes of the episode, the burden of authority, where
rulers have to make difficult choices that sometimes get
people killed. So Lauris is not the only master
of Whisperers getting personal with their sovereign, but
there's another character manipulating a person of royal
power while being useful. The enigmatic Alice Rivers Damon
has gotten worse as the lack of sleep piles up, but this series
of waking dreams culminates in what so many of us were
clamoring for. Patty.
It's great to see King Viserys again.
Damon relives the moment where his brother exiled him from
court in House of the Dragon's very first episode.
He knows what his brother is about to say, but the memory is
so painful for him that he says don't just before Viserys
delivers the sentence. After so many dreams of his
family, this one finally breaks him.
He loved his brother and has regrets over his own disloyalty.
He tries to leave the throne room but cannot and panics,
demanding, begging that the door be opened.
Now we can't hear anyone yelling about opening or closing doors
and not think of Hodor, who had Bran in his head, and Damon
thinks someone is inside his head, and he's probably right.
The powers Bran had command of our older than living memory, as
Alice Rivers says, and she hints that those powers are in play
here, in a game where he is but a piece on the board.
And so is she, with Karaxi singing in the background, the
heart tree Even nearer and defeated by his dreams, Damon
finally sets his pride and anger aside and asks for counsel and
then help. Notice that she closes her eyes
when he does this and soon after an owl lands on her arm, since
she has already referred to herself as a barn owl.
The skin changer vibes are really off the charts here.
Alice tells him to do nothing and wait three days.
Unlike Allison telling Aegon to do nothing, it seems Damon takes
her advice. The next we see he's back in the
dream with Viserys, but it's a very different vibe.
He comforts his brother and tells him he should have been
there for him. It's a turning point.
He's not fighting his ghosts anymore, he's accepting them,
maybe even joining them for the first time.
He owns his guilt rather than denying it.
While this change is taking place within him, change is
taking place in the Riverlands. Sir Simon informs him that Alice
Rivers herself tried to heal Lord Grover Tully but failed and
he passed. He has just the barest of smirks
when he says this. I think this means that young
Lord Oscar is now in charge and according to Alice, if he raises
his banners it will actually unite the Riverlands.
Damon is pleased at the news, but hearing that an old sick man
was helped to his death reminds him of the brother he was just
dreaming of, the brother who he failed and he weeps.
Was this the final stage in his dream arc, or will he still feel
the effects of the so-called curse?
Over at the Vale, Reyna gives her stepbrother Prince Joffrey a
speech about doing their part, even if it seems small and
unimportant, only to stumble on a huge patch of scorched earth
and burned sheep holding a dragon figurine while sitting in
a classic Princess pose near her half brothers Aegon and Viserys
and Aegon's hatchling Storm Cloud, Reyna inquires about this
dragon. Lady Jane says it's large,
formidable, and wild. She also says Prince Reggio of
Pentas is ready to accept them upon the merchant cog Gay
abandoned, but Reyna is not eager to embark.
Over on Driftmark. Allen is promoted to 1st Mate on
Corliss's flagship, but like his niece Reyna, he is not eager to
embark either. Like another famous bastard, he
doesn't want it, but it's an order.
He expects to be fighting Lannisters and or Greyjoys
eventually. And that may be true, but it's
their old enemies, the Triarchy, that might be coming sooner if
Eamon has his way and if Sir Thailand, whom Eamon sends, can
win them over. This could backfire as the
Triarchy are not trustworthy, but this was one of several
warnings from his counsel and family that Aymond ignored.
The Sea Snake is first seen standing alone at the painted
table, representing how he feels.
He puts on the hand of the Queen pin because he's ready to carry
on the mission his wife died for.
And though he's lost his son and daughter as well, he has
grandchildren and two bastard sons.
Alan wants to keep his distance, though.
Not only does he not want his father's attention, he doesn't
even want his hair. And maybe that will never
change, but Adam does want his father's attention.
Alan tells Adam not to hold out hope, waiting for something that
will never come. But he didn't consider sea smoke
Choo Choo choosing his brother. I think maybe riding your half
brother's dragon is a sufficient attention grabber.
Dad might notice you now, Adam. It certainly got Rainiera to fly
off on Cyrax to learn who this new rider is.
She may soon discover it's her ex husband's bastard brother who
she didn't even know existed. But as she takes flight, the
episode ends and so does our breakdown.
Make sure to catch History of Westeros full podcast episode
where everything here and much more is discussed in greater
detail. And check out our preview
episodes filled with predictions and guesses and theories but
never leaks. Valar re read us.