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The dragons are out and the action is sizzling as we dive into Episode 6 of Season 2 of House of the Dragon, aptly titled Smallfolk.
This episode came packed with new twists with the two principal factions strategizing for power. Seasmoke, the dragon, makes a fiery entrance, needing ice to quell its blazing wrath.
This episode, which is available on Showmax, showcases people striving to get what they want and need in various ways. In King’s Landing, the regent Prince Aemond flexes his power, booting his mother from his small council and rejecting Lord Larys Strong in favour of his cunning grandfather, Otto Hightower.
He dispatches Ser Criston to the contested Riverlands, with Ser Gwayne Hightower in tow. The ash from their previous dragon encounter still lingers on their armour, a stark reminder of the dangers they face.
Aemond saves his harshest cruelties for his brother, King Aegon, whom he torments on his sickbed. The barely conscious Aegon, repeatedly croaking, “I remember nothing,” faces the threat of murder but Larys Strong, the Clubfoot, recognizes the game.
In a raw, emotional moment, Larys reveals the pain and humiliation of a lifetime of being underestimated due to his deformity. Aegon whispers, “Help me,” and Larys’s response is a hard cut to black, leaving the scene emotionally charged and moving.
Meanwhile, the small folk in King’s Landing see a glimmer of hope. Mysaria and Rhaenyra’s plan to win their hearts and minds works wonders. They start a whispering campaign about the royals’ feasting and then launch a flotilla of food across the bay.
However, this act of charity hints at darker times ahead, with desperate people like Hugh, the blacksmith, resorting to mugging for their share, and others like Ulf, swallowing the Blacks’ propaganda.
Across Blackwater Bay, Lord Corlys accepts Rhaenyra’s offer to become her hand, earning her the support of the most impressive man in the Seven Kingdoms and his mighty fleet. Corlys names Alyn of Hull his new first mate, rewarding him for past heroics, though Alyn reluctantly accepts, hiding his true lineage.
An entirely different order of being seems to take interest in Addam, Corlys’s other son. The dragon Seasmoke, once bonded to Laenor Velaryon, flees Dragonstone after a tense attempt to unite him with Ser Steffon Darklyn.
Instead, the dragon repeatedly flies over Addam, suggesting a new bond. The episode ends with Queen Rhaenyra riding out to meet Sea Smoke and his new rider, whose identity is shrouded in mystery.
Lord Jason Lannister, reluctant to fight Daemon and his dragon Caraxes without backup, rides forth with a host and captive lions. Meanwhile, Daemon, plagued by horrible dreams, prepares to flee Harrenhal.
Seeking advice from Alys Rivers, a mysterious sorceress, he endures three more days of torment before receiving two breakthroughs: the death of Lord Grover and the acceptance of his cause by the new ruler.
Daemon’s emotional arc culminates in a dream where he comforts his devastated brother Viserys after the death of Viserys’s wife Aemma.
This poignant moment, a stark contrast to his usual demeanour, leaves Daemon sobbing—not for his newfound power but for having finally done right by his brother, even if only in a dream.
In a moment overflowing with raw emotion, Queen Rhaenyra and her confidante Mysaria share a passionate kiss, holding each other tightly as their feelings pour out in a silent but powerful hug. For three-quarters of a minute, emotions like empathy, respect, gratitude, warmth, heat, curiosity, desire, and ultimately, passion, play out silently between them as episode 6 ends with the dragon.
This kiss, in a world filled with flying dragons, burning men, and teetering reigns, encapsulates the essence of House of the Dragon—where the world momentarily exists between the arms of two women.
This episode of House of the Dragon is a masterful blend of ambition, power struggles, and deep, emotional connections, leaving the audience eagerly anticipating the next instalment.
HBO’s series House of the Dragon Season 2 is available in Nigeria every Monday, express from the US on Showmax.
