The second chapter of The House of the Dragon, in hbo max, makes it clear how cruel the fight for total power in Westeros will be. At the same time, he partially reveals who will be called to the throne. The series, which shows in its unpublished introduction a thread of blood that runs through places and halls, points in one direction. Targaryen blood is woven into the violence of his story. A point that the new episode carefully emphasizes.
The threat of greed is closer to the throne than might be assumed. What is even more worrying: King Viserys I will have to deal with the possibility of life and death decisions. The hitherto unbeatable power of his house is faltering due to the flimsy elements that support it.
Around the widowed King and with a female heiress, nothing seems very clear and much less stable. Particularly, once the argument shows the manipulation threads. Otto Hightower, who was the Hand of King Jaehaerys I, is cunning enough to understand the weaknesses of the new occupant of the Iron Throne. Especially as it becomes more apparent that the regent needs to strengthen his position against a distrustful and hostile kingdom.
The House of the Dragon is the new series of the Game of Thrones universe
Appointing Rhaenyra as her rightful successor was perhaps an inevitable move to remove Daemon from the throne. However, the cost was high. So much so, as to shake the precarious balance of the Seven Kingdoms in the age of The House of the Dragon.
A silent danger that emerges from the most unexpected places
Ser Otto knows this. He not only maneuvered carefully, decisively, and efficiently to get Daemon Targaryen removed from court. A strategy that allowed him to conjure up the risk of the loyalty of the golden-cloaked army for the prince. After all, there were thousands of armed and trained men who could defend Daemon’s position. Otto knew how to find a way to stop the advance in the domain of the supposed heir. Furthermore, he was effective enough to veto any further attempts to show power as part of the royal family.
He also managed to get Viserys I to appoint an heiress who would force a rethink of the very marked and traditional political limits in Westeros. Ones that were shown with Rhaenys Targaryen, the so-called “queen that never was” removed from the throne due to her gender. Now the test is harder. Which puts the monarch in the difficult situation of deciding his future as quickly as he can. Will the great lords of Westeros accept a woman on the Iron Throne? There is an oath involved, but the second episode of The House of the Dragon shows that it is not so simple to change history in favor of a surprising situation.
Viserys I is certain that, sooner or later, he will have to face a schism between the controlling factions. Much of the second chapter of The House of the Dragon it shows that the King understands the complexity of the scenario he faces. At the same time, the few pieces that he can move in his favor. All possibilities seem unfavourable. Some might even involve him getting sick and dying. Something that both the first episode and the second subtly announce.
An unknown disease advances in the regent’s body. For now, there is no explanation about the consequences of it or if it will take his life. But his weakness is evident. His physical disappearance is not, then, a possibility in the medium term. The responsibility that the king must fulfill with the future of a dynasty, which now spans five full reigns, demands determination.
The second episode makes a notorious emphasis on the fact that the succession is assured, but this does not show stability. On the contrary, a leader of a territory as vast and coveted as the Seven Kingdoms must display his strength in such a circumstance. Viserys I, burdened with maintaining unity, needs to make it clear that House Targaryens are not losing influence.
The King in search of a thread that binds him to the future
How to achieve it? A marriage would be the concrete, immediate and well seen solution. An advantageous one, if possible with a woman of the Targaryen house. But there are hardly any candidates who meet the specific requirements. The closest is Princess Laena Velaryon, daughter of Corlys and Rhaenys. She is a girl, small enough to provoke the king’s discomfort. “I should not go to bed with you, but at the age of fourteen”explains the very young relative to an embarrassed Viserys. However, the bond between the two would close ranks around the Iron Throne and again open up the hope of a male heir.
However, the link has a major drawback. It would put the Lord of the Tides, who has ambitions of his own, very close to power. Much more to Rhaenys, whose resentment towards the lords of Westeros is becoming more noticeable. “Men would rather see the realm burn than see a woman on the Iron Throne,” he announces to Rhaenyra. Which sums up the fact that no matter the solemn oath that closed the first chapter of The House of the Dragonn: the situation for the widowed monarch hangs in the balance.
Perhaps that is why charming and sensitive maiden Alicent Hightower is suddenly more than just kind company to a man in pain. In the end, she is the answer to the regent’s dilemma. The second chapter of the series makes it clear that the young, isolated Rhaenyra confidant is not as harmless as she seemed until now. Each of her steps, decisions and kind listening to her were aimed at becoming the king’s only marriage option. One that also ensures an alliance perhaps not so beneficial, but within the sphere of influence of a house like the Hightower, considered honorable.
It is clear, then, that his father’s advice about his constant company to Viserys was not just the work of good intentions. The new episode of The House of the Dragon describes a game of veiled intentions that are built piece by piece. Much more disturbingly, they are heading in the direction of the possibility of a decision that will make Otto Hightower the most powerful man in the kingdom.
Nothing is what it seems in The House of the Dragon
Is the Hand of the King a threat? Do you want to keep her place at court at all costs? These are the questions posed by the second chapter of The House of the Dragon. In particular, as the tension between Viserys and the men closest to him is more apparent than ever. A woman with the investiture of heiress calls into question not the regent as a figure and the Iron Throne as an institution. In what position does that eventuality leave your adviser?
For the moment, the man behind the power works quietly on the most pressing issues of Viserys’s unstable reign. But Otto Hightower makes no attempt to maneuver to maintain his influence. Not at all. This is what reveals a chapter full of hints that links the possibility of a greater plan of the most unexpected man.
At first glance, Ser Hightower’s every decision seems to lead to Jaehaerys I’s peaceful legacy being upheld. But it’s not all that simple with a character who creeps forward. One of the main points of interest in the second chapter is to discover a careful, well-planned and long-term stratagem. The argument suggested that the director’s behavior is much more ambiguous than just the commitment to maintain stability.
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With Daemon on Dragonstone becoming a symbol of a possible latent rebellion, the King’s marriage is now a priority. Much more when the marriage decision of the crown impacts the interests of Corlys Velaryon. Ser Hightower knows this and has all the patience a man can have to wait for absolute power.
“Not all wisdom comes from what the book says, but what is seen,” says the Hand of the King to his daughter, the most important link in a chain of intrigues. The most urgent message — almost a threat — that leaves the impeccable script of the second episode of The House of the Dragon.