WARNING! This article contains SPOILERS for Fire & Blood and House of the Dragon season 1, episode 6!Milly Alcock as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and Olivia Cooke replaces Emily Carey as Queen Alicent Hightower, with House of the Dragon revealing a far more detrimental feud has grown between the two characters and their children over the past decade.
House of the Dragon episode 6 begins with Rhaenyra giving birth to her third son Joffrey, who – alongside his older brothers Jacaerys and Lucerys Velaryon – lacks the Valyrian traits of his parents. Alicent and the rest of King’s Landing are aware that Rhaenyra’s three sons are actually fathered by Ser Harwin Strong, but the ill King Viserys rejects the accusation and forbids that it be discussed. House of the Dragon episode 6 also introduces the young versions of Viserys and Alicent’s children Aegon, Helaena, and Aemond Targaryen. Alicent continues preparing Aegon to rule on the Iron Throne one day, but he’s more preoccupied with teenage explorations and bullying his younger brother. Meanwhile, Daemon Targaryen has been living in Pentos with his wife Laena Velaryon and their two daughters Baela and Rhaena to avoid such political strife.
By the end of House of the Dragon episode 6, Ser Harwin and his father Lyonel Strong are killed in a fire at Harrenhal, which was organized by Harwin’s brother Larys. Following this event, Rhaenyra gathers her children and husband Laenor to leave for Dragonstone, realizing the tensions in King’s Landing have become far too perilous for her family. In yet another fiery tragedy, House of the Dragon episode 6 sees Laena Velaryon suffer fatal complications during childbirth, leading her to command the dragon Vhagar to burn her alive. While the Targaryen civil war has yet to officially begin, the murderous betrayals and dangerous controversies in House of the Dragon season 1, episode 6’s ending set the stage for the more devastating conflicts to come.
Why Did Laena Make Vhagar Kill Her? What Her Death Means For Daemon In HOTD
One of the most shocking deaths in House of the Dragon episode 6 was that of Lady Laena Velaryon, the dragon-riding wife of Prince Daemon Targaryen. After spending years far away in Pentos, Laena was desperate to return home to Driftmark with her family. However, there are no happy endings in the world of High Valyrian command “Dracarys” over and over again. At first refusing to obey the rider, Vhagar eventually relented and burned Laena and her unborn child alive as Daemon looked on. The reason why Laena wanted Vhagar to kill her was laid out earlier in House of the Dragon episode 6, as Laena declared she wanted a “dragon-rider’s death, not that of a fat country lord.” Rather than dying of childbirth in bed at a wealthy manse, Laena sought a death fitting of the blood of Old Valyria, so she decided to go out in flames.
Laena’s death now has massive consequences for the Dance of the Dragons, particularly in of her family and dragon’s future. Just as Laena had wanted, Daemon, Baela, and Rhaena will be heading back to Westeros following her death. Soon after, Rhaenyra's husband Laenor Velaryon will die in a duel, meaning both Daemon and Rhaenyra will be free to marry again. Controversially, Rhaenyra and Daemon will quickly marry and combine their families as they prepare for the Princess to ascend the Iron Throne. However, Laena’s death gives the blacks a major disadvantage due to her dragon, Vhagar. After House of the Dragon episode 6, Vhagar will be without a rider, leading the dragonless Prince Aemond Targaryen to successfully bond with the fire-breathing creature. Since Aemond will be a fierce er of the greens, Laena’s death means Rhaenyra and Daemon will be opposing the largest dragon in the realm during the Dance of the Dragons.
Why Did Larys Strong Kill Harwin & Lyonel?
The biggest twist in House of the Dragon episode 6’s ending is the deaths of Harwin and Lyonel Strong. Because Lyonel’s son Harwin was Rhaenyra’s lover and the father of her three sons, he felt compromised in his ability to be an unbiased Hand of the King. As such, Lyonel escorted Harwin back to Harrenhal where he would finally take his seat, but after the pair reached the castle, a group of tongueless prisoners set it on fire. Harwin and Lyonel both died in the flames, with House of the Dragon soon revealing that it was Lyonel’s son Larys Strong who coordinated their murders. Larys got the idea to kill his family after listening to how upset Queen Alicent Hightower was over her father being fired as Hand of the King, and that Viserys was blind to Rhaenyra’s affair with Harwin. Alicent wanted her father to become Hand of the King again in order to have more partiality toward her, with Larys granting her this wish.
Similar to how conniving Otto Hightower will be reinstated after House of the Dragon episode 6’s ending.
Alicent’s Reaction To Larys’ Murders & Meaning For The Greens
Despite Alicent being prepared to go to war when the time comes to crown King Viserys’ successor, she doesn’t quite have a propensity for unjustified murder. When Larys reveals that he killed Harwin and Lyonel Strong for her, Alicent is mortified and explains that was not her intention whatsoever. Once again, Alicent is somewhat of a pawn in House of the Dragon’s political game, as she’s being manipulated for the power that she now holds in King’s Landing. While she has certainly become much more of a player during House of the Dragon’s 10-year time jump, she still has very few allies in King’s Landing, with those who her also taking drastic measures to ensure their own positions. Alicent’s reaction to Larys’ crimes suggests that much of the brutality in House of the Dragon’s war will not entirely be at her hands or command, but will still be done by others in her name. Even if Alicent didn’t sanction Harwin and Lyonel’s murders, this action proves that the green party will stop at nothing to see Aegon ascend the Iron Throne over Rhaenyra.
Is Harwin The Real Father of Rhaenyra's Sons? Why It Doesn't Really Matter
House of the Dragon episode 6 suggests that everyone in King’s Landing knows that Harwin Strong is the real father of Rhaenyra’s sons, but nobody is allowed to repeat such claims. Since Laenor is gay and the couple agreed to take their own lovers, House of the Dragon had already set up the notion that Rhaenyra’s children would not be fathered by Laenor. As such, when Rhaenyra’s three sons all ended up having the physical features of House Strong rather than the Valyrian traits of the Targaryens or Velaryons, it became clear who their father truly was. Since Lyonel Strong nearly quit his position due to the shame of his son’s actions, it seems everyone except for King Viserys himself was able to see the truth of Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Joffrey’s parentage. Harwin being their father is later made all the more clear in House of the Dragon episode 6’s ending, as he bids a tearful goodbye to the three boys and Rhaenyra. After Harwin walks away, Jacaerys runs into the hallway and asks Rhaenyra if Harwin is truly his father, but Rhaenyra only responds by saying what matters is that he’s a Targaryen.
While House of the Dragon episode 6 confirms that Harwin is the father of Rhaenyra’s children, the specific man who sires them ultimately bears little weight on the story. Just as Rhaenyra says, the only thing that matters is that Jace and the boys are Targaryens. Since Jacaerys is Rhaenyra’s heir, he’ll end up taking the name Targaryen once he ascends the Iron Throne anyway, meaning his father’s name doesn’t truly matter. However, Lucerys and Joffrey will still be Velaryons and have claims to Driftmark, so it’s only important that Laenor continues to dutifully claim them as his own. Ultimately, the identity of their father doesn’t matter in House of the Dragon; the only thing that matters is that they be declared Rhaenyra’s trueborn sons, otherwise they’ll lose their titles and claims.
Why Viserys Refuses To Believe The Rumors About Rhaenyra & Harwin
The willful blindness of a father to his children’s sins is a common theme in House of the Dragon episode 6, particularly for King Viserys. Anyone with eyes can see that Harwin fathered Rhaenyra’s sons, not Laenor. rightful Queen of Westeros. itting that Rhaenyra and Harwin’s affair produced her three sons would severely compromise Rhaenyra’s claim to the Iron Throne, so Viserys must turn a blind eye and keep others from repeating the damaging truth
What Rhaenyra Going To Dragonstone Means For HOTD Season 1
After Harwin leaves for Harrenhal, Rhaenyra brings her family to Dragonstone, where they’ll leave the gossip and green-filled politics of King’s Landing behind. On Dragonstone, Rhaenyra’s isolation will lead her to raise her children in preparation for the Iron Throne without interjections from Alicent and her children, but the reverse is now true for Alicent back in King’s Landing. Without Rhaenyra and her sons in King’s Landing, Alicent can involve her own children more in the operations of the crown and prepare them to usurp the Iron Throne. Since Rhaenyra now has very few ers left in King’s Landing, Queen Alicent Hightower’s allies are able to control the realm’s politics and conspire to make Aegon the king immediately upon Viserys’ death in House of the Dragon season 1.
New episodes of House of the Dragon release Sundays on HBO/HBO Max.