It’s time for House of the Dragon Episode 6 review, and we have our largest time to jump to date. Since we last saw our lead characters there have been marriages and the episode itself provides the births and deaths

This will be as where possible a SPOILER FREE review. I might have to mention one or two details, but for the most part I feel like I can express my thoughts without getting into the weeds. So here we go.

Births, Deaths and Marriages

Last week saw the end of the hopes and dreams of youth, as we take a 10 year time jump into Episode 6. That means Rhaenyra is now played by Emma D’Arcy and Allicent by Olivia Cooke. The stage was already set for the conflict between the pair. However we begin with the birth of Rhaenyra’s third child, named Joffrey by his ‘father’.

The first thing Queen Allicent wants is a look at this child to see if he looks anything like official father Laenor. Alternatively, does he once again resemble Harwin Strong, son and heir to Harrenhall? Given how things ended last week, even if these kids were the spit of Laenor, Allicent would be causing strife. The words of her father, Otto have clearly resonated with Allicent. Though it’s worth noting that this is not the meek little girl queen we saw previously. Allicent is on the small council and seems to have a firm grip on the reigns of her ailing husband King Viserys.

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There have been marriages, and many births in the last 10 years. Meanwhile Allicent’s own children have grown, her eldest Aegon even has a Homelander moment… Yep. Ultimately this is the cast of characters we will be focusing on going forward, the adult Rhaenyra and Allicent, their children, and their families and hangers on.

After making his creepy debut last week, Larys Strong sets himself up as House of the Dragon‘s Littlefinger and Varys combined. Unsurprising, given the character’s name is an amalgamation of both and that feels very deliberate on author GRRM’s part. However when it comes to deaths, then I’m afraid you’ll have to find out for yourself. There are a few meaningful deaths in this episode which will all contribute towards the path this show will forge. We also got a mystery from Fire and Blood answered, which I’ll guess most fans had imagined working out similarly in their heads.

Any Good?

You didn’t think the show was going to suddenly take a nose dive did you? I’ll miss the young actors we have lost from the show, but the quality remains very high. Performances are all on point here and I found it really easy to suspend disbelief that a decade had passed between episodes. It’s not easy too pull that off, but they did. King Viserys for example now looks like Filch the caretaker from the Harry Potter movies.

Who are the good guys here and who the bad? Is Allicent right be be so critical of Rhaenyra, I mean in Westeros standards, not our own. Is Rhaenyra the one who is trying to play nice, trying to build bonds and prevent the inevitable. Or instead should we be looking at the mistakes both have made, or just blaming Viserys for trying to do what he thinks is the right thing.

There are some great moments in Episode 6, one or two of them I won’t mention being really powerful. To quote from the series I mentioned above, ‘dark times lie ahead Harry’. Who am I kidding, by the end of Season 1 everyone makes up and they all live happily ever after, joking about all this sill tension that’s been building. Right?

Parenthood

I was actually surprised by how much I cared for the Daemon part of the storyline this week. Like everyone else he has a new wife and several children. In some ways, Daemon even seems to actually care for his wife, even if he struggles to be much of a father to his daughters. Parenthood sucks says Larys, and he’s right. Birthing children a perilous task in this world as we already found out earlier in this season. However the rest of the process of being a parent is not exactly easy either. Thus we see the perils that the parents all face in their unconditional love and ambitions for their children.

And yet the children themselves, what do they want? Well, that all depends on what age they are, Daemon’s daughter wants her fathers attention. Whereas Allicent’s eldest Aegon is a teenager, and probably wants to see a little less of his mother and more of the rest of the female population. No matter their age, your children will still cause you worries and anguish. The only thing keeping this family together for now is King Viserys, however he does not look to have long left. Once he does die, things are really going to erupt. However it does seem like the Dreamer gene has passed along the Targaryen blood line once again

Final Thoughts

Drama, interesting characters, intrigue, plotting. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, it’s almost soap opera, but soap opera for people with brains in a perfectly realized world. I am having fun, and there has been no drop in quality this far in Season 1.

Overall, I’m still enjoying House of the Dragon Season 1. Episode 6 was a glimpse at the real cast that will carry this series forward from here. So far so good.

GRADE: A-

What did you think of my House of the Dragon Episode 6 review? What did you think of the episode itself? Leave your own review below if you can and let us know what you think. There’s space below if you can.

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