The Realm's Delights
House of the Dragon is poised to jump forward but its bittersweet to part with the younger versions of Rhaenyra and Alicent
Ever since its announcement, I’ve had high hopes for House of the Dragon. Of all the potential Westeros-related successors to Game of Thrones, this specific show has always had the most built in advantages — a completed source text, palace intrigue, a relative lack of inscrutable supernatural foes, and lots of dragons1. The biggest question in my mind was where exactly the television adaptation of the “Dance of Dragons” would start.
Ryan Condal and Miguel Saponchik could have begun with Rhaenyra and Alicent as adults, opting to fill in backstory via dialogue in much the same way that Game of Thrones did with Robert’s Rebellion2. The showrunners instead chose not only to cast younger versions of several characters, but to spend the first half of the show’s initial season with young Rhaenyra and Alicent.
The adult versions of those characters will ultimately be the driving force of the expected 3-4 season run of House of the Dragon. Milly Alcock and Emily Carey were cast after Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke had been selected as their older counterparts. Having read Fire and Blood, I knew that the first half of this season would contain many exciting moments, but I expected the adult actors portraying Daemon, Viserys, Corlys, Otto, and Rhaenys to put the show on its back while young Alicent and Rhaenyra merely played their part.
Instead the performances turned in by Alcock and Carey have been the most compelling aspect of House of the Dragon — perhaps aside from the unremitting chaos energy emitted by Matt Smith’s Daemon every time he’s on screen. Alcock’s Rhaenyra commands empathy as she stakes her claim as heir amidst the unyeilding patriarchy of Westeros while also flashing impulsiveness, naivety, and even entitlement. Carey’s Alicent makes an even more impressive transformation from pawn to player in the game of thrones, punctuated by her show stopping entrance to Rhaenyra’s wedding festivities adorned in the green of House Hightower.
Considering the acclaim both actresses have garnered for their performances, one could justifiably wonder if House of the Dragon perhaps should have extended its prologue to the “Dance” to a full ten episodes. Placing the time jump between the first and second seasons may very well have made for a more natural transition between the younger and older versions of Rhaenyra and Alicent3. The mere suggestion of delaying the true start of the show’s central conflict to season two would have seemed ludicrous six weeks ago, but now part of me is truly torn as to whether it would have been the right move.
Ultimately, considering what is coming in the final five episodes I believe the structure of House of the Dragon’s first season will ultimately prove to be the right course of action. Yet the fact that the show has pulled off what essentially amounts to a half-season prologue in such compelling fashion is a major testament to the phenomenal performances turned in by Alcock and Carey.
Dragon of the Week: Meleys
This week we briefly glimpse Meleys, the mount of the queen who never was. Princess Rhaenys’ dragon was also known the Red Queen thanks to her scarlet and pink coloration and copper horns. Born sometime after Aegon’s conquest, Meleys was initially claimed by Princess Alyssa Targaryen, wife of prince Baelon and mother of Viserys and Daemon. Alyssa and Baelon shared a passion for two things —each other and for flying. She took an infant Viserys for a flight Meleys when he was only 9 days old, then did the same for her younger son Daemon.
Alyssa died due to complications of the birth of her third son Aegon — who also perished before he reached a year of age. A couple years later her dragon would be claimed by her niece, princess Rhaenys, who shared her aunt’s love of flying. Upon the occasion of her marriage to Corlys Velaryon Rhaenys insisted upon flying to the wedding atop Meleys.
Meleys was famously one of the swiftest among all of the Targeryen dragons4. Though having grown lazy in her older age, the Red Queen was still known to be remarkably quick in the air and fearsome when roused.
I was much more skeptical of the Bloodmoon spinoff set in the Age of Heroes which ultimately filmed a pilot that didn’t get picked up. Likewise while I enjoyed Kit Harrington’s performance as Jon Snow I’m dubious of the pitched Snow spinoff.
Robert’s rebellion took place 15 years before the beginning of Game of Thrones. For perspective, Rhaenyra’s coronation occurs 24 years before the “Dance” starts in earnest.
One interesting implication of the mid-season switch: could two different actresses be nominated for portraying Rhaenyra and/or Alicent in next year’s Emmys? Would Alcock be nominated in the supporting or lead actress role considering she only appeared in 5 episodes?
The sound editing in her brief appearance in the clip below drives home Meleys speed by making her sound like an F-18 flying over Blackwater Bay.