House of the Dragon Finds a New Way to Be Shocking

It’s fairly evident who was the most powerful baddie in Season 2’s premiere.

By Sam Adams, Nadira Goffe

Jun 17, 2024 02:00 AM

Welcome back to Worst Person in Westeros! After each episode of House of the Dragon , Slate writers will gather to answer a crucial question: Who is the worst person in Westeros ? This week: senior editor Sam Adams and associate writer Nadira Goffe answer the call.

Sam Adams:Well we’re here. Only 22 months have passed since we gathered to select the person who was the worst on the very first episode of House of the Dragon and here we are. In the age of streaming this is a significant amount of time to pass between seasons. So I decided to try an experiment and watch the Season 2 premiere without having to catch up. It was an enormous mistake. I was instantly lost in the first scene, which leads our back into the courtyard that we know from Winterfell castle, and later to the Wall to have a conversation that I could not figure out the meaning of two characters that I was unable to identify even with the aid of the introduction review. I spent the time on the Dance of the Dragons article on the A Song of Ice and FireWiki to find out what’s happening here however, it raises the question of how do we choose the most deserving person in Westeros even if we do not know who these characters are? Before we begin proposing possible candidates: Nadira, how was your reintroduction of the House of the Dragon?

Nadira GoffeI tried to accomplish the same thing, but I was around four minutes into it when I realized I was unable to remember that Young Penn Badgley (aka Harry Collett) was actually Rhaenyra’s son Jacaerys. So I took the approach I normally do in such situations and went to YouTube to get a more comprehensive review ( Man of Recaps I am owed much, somuch for all your many years of assistance in my head). Then, I’m back and that’s also the case with House of the Dragon, which, conveniently begins exactly where we ended. It’s only been a few days when Aemond killed Rhaenyra’s son who was her youngest, Lucerys and effectively shattered the chances of avoiding a full-on conflict of brimstone and fire. The situation is now Rhaenyra is on the lookout for evidence of her son’s death, while her friends prepare for the battle and, when she comes across it, she insists on take Aemond’s head. They’ve removed one eye What’s the next ( … as well as the remainder)? Daemon will try to fulfill the request, while #TeamRhaenyra bolsters up her loyalty to. At King’s Landing, Alicent is trying to control her sons, who are not able to hold the top positions on the power scale (great!) as well as having fun with her sidekick Ser Criston Cole. Her father, Otto did not forget began this whole squabble by putting Alicent and Rhaenyra in conflict in their youth–as Hand of the King grandson of his is working to ensure there’s no further missteps until the Hightowers will be the supreme rulers of the kingdom. Aemond has been denial about his mistake as being in fact, an major error, but instead of taking a all-fair love, waryou started the Mom attitude. What I’m trying to say is the majority of people in Westeros has a bad time. I’m not sure I feel any compassion for anyone other than mourning Rhaenyra and, in particular young Jace who we learn about the murder of his brother. The good thing about the majority of people taking a drink is that it gives plenty of potential candidates for most savage individual in Westeros. I’m sure I’m thinking of someone But let’s look at all our top suspects this week. What do you think about Daemon as well as Aemond this week? I think they’re two aspects of the same coin. It isn’t helping that their names are made up of the same letters, and both showed a degree of dismissiveness (Daemon and Rhaenyra, in the wake of her grief; Aemond, of his previous wrongdoings) that was a bit icky to me.

AdamsLet’s begin with Aemond Let’s start with Aemond, shall we? He’s the most utterly at times comically, wicked of the House of the Dragon‘s characters. He’s a sneering, uninterested baddie with no positive quality. He wasn’t aiming to murder his nephew, and thus bring all of the realm to the brink of an incredibly dangerous conflict, but he isn’t all that over the incident. Although he could be the most unsavory person in Westeros but I don’t believe that he’s the worst this week. One of the worst things he does is enter the small council in secret and announce that he’s ready to fight. This is somewhat jerky but nowhere far from the terrible things he’s evidently capable of. If we’re thinking strategically, we’d be wise to put him on reserve until a time when his awe-inspiring power really shines through.

I think of Daemon in the same way. When one is so bad every day and it becomes monotonous, but Daemon is able to plot a horrible scheme this week. Before we go on to him, I’ll suggest a different option from their bloodline: the brother of Aemond, the newly-crowned King Aegon. In a sense, Aegon is trying his best. Aegon is the name of Aegon the Conqueror Aegon the second comes with the less intimidating nickname Aegon the Magnanimous however, his kindness is mainly due to his weaknesses. (He’s certainly not the most shrewd tool at the workshop and doesn’t know exactly what “magnanimous” means.) If the people who are commoners come to with their requests and requests, his instinct is to provide them with whatever they want However, that’s because he’s more interested in being loved than being a good person. His father Viserys might not have been the most powerful of the rulers, but he was a man with an ethical compass. Aegon is said to take inspiration from the person has spoken to him last and we’re certain that King’s Landing’s aspiring climbers like more than a changed monarch. At this point, at the very the very least, he’s more the scummy weasel, rather than a complete terror. The only thing he does is invite an infant into the council and smack Tyland Lannister when the latter states that the day before of war isn’t the most appropriate time for bringing Your Prince for Work Day. The worst of it however, I believe the behavior of his is more just laying the foundation for his future badness. What do you think of it, Nadira? Which is your least-favorite Targaryen in the last week?

GoffeGod If incompetence, and the irritation of the sniveling kind are enough to turn someone into appear most sniveling, Aegon would truly win the title. While watching Tyland Lannister be progressively afflicted by a child wearing an 6-13 18-inch lace-front long wig is fun as well as Aegon isn’t my top Targaryen the past week. just being the biggest fan in the world’s largest seat won’t be enough for him to qualify as the “worst.” So that means we’re looking for a new Westerosi baddie to take the crown. I’m inclined to go with Otto however, the majority of his scheming to this point is a residual. Alicent, which is hilariously funny is portrayed as a tired mother who is trying her best. Who is of us? I’m focusing at a handful of characters on the background: The most engaging plotter is Larys Strong who proved to be the most vicious and indiscriminate through the murders of his father and brother in the last season, yet he’s only present in this episode. That is my main problem with this show: A lot of villains are evil and all the villains is a bad for their actions! It’s better to be entangled in Daemon’s horrendous plot that you described and to consider that the worst character this week isn’t actually a Targaryen in any way. To please his wife and niece, Daemon plots to kill Aemond by forming two randos – the most infamous duo of infiltration muscles and navigator to sneak into the palace to murder the prince. Then, of course, things don’t go according to plan. What do you think of the episode’s major mistake?

AdamsGotta to be real: actually enjoyed it. If I recall correctly, Daemon has historically been one of the more skilled more logical, less clearly inbred Targaryens. However, he commits a terrible mistake in his judgement by confiding a highly sensitive job to two guttersnipes who aren’t even related. (According according to Wiki they’re known in the historical accounts in the works as blood and Cheese, but here, they’re simply guys.) Even though she’s grieving the loss of her father, Rhaenyra has the wisdom and/or discipline to stand back for a moment, recollecting her thoughts and forces before deciding the next action. However, Daemon is determined to obtain an eye for his eyes or in the case of the episode, as its title suggests, “A Son for a Son.” (I think when the Aemond Targaryens are around it’s best to avoid eyeballs altogether.) Therefore, he dons his most hideous cloak, pulls out an ounce of gold and then slithers to King’s Landing, where he offers Blood an essentially ex-cop in disrepute and Cheese, an experienced rat catcher an easy enough job: sneak in to the royal palace. locate the blonde man sporting an eyepatch and take him down.

Simple, and in terms of vengeance, simple and straightforward. However, you pay for what you get, and a handful of dollars isn’t enough to carry out a royal assassination correctly. Daemon’s new employees are smart enough to enter the palace without being noticed however, they’re not able to know the person they’re supposed to kill. When they stumble into the room used by Helaena Aegon’s wife (and to not forget that he also has a sister) The two stumble across his children. They not realizing the blond man with the gold-colored bag had made a comment about his son, they proceed to slay 6-year-old Jaehaerys to prove the job well done.

I am awed by both the ferocity and the frenziedness of this show. Game of Thrones was a show about scheming intricate plots and counterplots which revealed their true nature only right before an unfortunate was cut in the throat or his dead sons were served with piping hot pie. However, House of the Dragon is more about unintended outcomes which are the awful events that can occur when you place weapon of mass destruction into the hands of those with an unending belief in entitlement and a lack of genetic diversity. Daemon’s plan is a crude and reckless one, but it’s enough to strip the King of his son, and cause the kingdom to move closer to conflict. (The reality that a kingdom that is on high alert doesn’t have one guard stationed in the queen’s bedroom an interesting plot detail in the sense of ” Dany kind of forgot about the Iron Fleet,” however we’ll just let it go.) Since Tywin Lannister was hit on the toilet have royals suffered the same fate. The blood of a royal is good and all however it will not protect you from having your throat cut by the very lowest.

I’m sure we’ve narrowed the field to a two-way competition. So, what do you think, Nadira? Is it the most bloody or is it cheese?

GoffeI’m in the same boat as you Sam. I thought the last few minutes of the episode to be so absurd, but after thinking about it for a while I realised how narratively enjoyable a scene it really is. The most painful aspect of the finale aside from the grisly nature of the actions and the fact that it locked me in to watch the show, which I’ve been debating since it first began. In the scene where Daemon is hired by the two thieves to murder Aemond, Cheese asks him to the point of no return: “Well, what if we can’t find him?” Daemon is able to give a pointed glance that’s up to the interpretation of us however, it reads to me, “Find him or else.” With that little bit of foreshadowing it was hilarious to watch these two argue about who they’re supposed murder (until it was clearly not hilarious). But, Daemon could have committed an error off-screen (well far from trusting this pair) in which he utters”a boy for a child. “a son for a son.” If Daemon did mention that to Cheese and Blood — which are hilarious names when you compare them to the chaos they create–then Daemon is disqualified because he didn’t make it clear that the contract is only for a specific son and only that son.

I like how you differentiate between these two series. A one which can be seen for House of the Dragon‘s instance, is substantiated by the reality that the show appears to have a new level of success with the show’s “d’oh!” moments. Also intriguing for me about this particular violence is that it reveals the main reason for the entirety characters in House‘s actors: their childish nature. The conflict that exists between Rhaenyra and Alicent was triggered and continued due to grudges between children, Daemon and Aemond cannot help but act in a reckless manner on impulse, Aegon has all of the traits of a childish brat, and the rest of the youngsters vying for a their place on the throne are engaged in disputes that began with their own version of the playground in their school. But they have since have turned deadly. Every move they try to achieve is thwarted by their naivety or the person they rely on to do the work for them and their aversion to obligation itself doesn’t indicate maturation. In time’s end, they are an entire group of people who are unable to at all times them, put their heads together, yet they desire to do so much more and more ferociously than anyone else in Game of Thrones players in the beginning. Therefore, of course, the ball will be knocked down at the most crucial moment. It’s not an act of duty and loyalty or rules, predictions and wishes however, it is one of revenge. This is worse than it sounds, since the vengeance of generations has no definitive conclusion. You asked a valid question which of the two attackers who murdered a child is the more evil one? I would suggest that we choose Blood as the only one who actually committed the shocking action.

AdamsNow take a look at me: Cheese is giving his adorable pet a hefty kick in the ribs. And that is not something I can forget. However, Blood literally hits the jugular and even though the show does not reveal his shady deeds The sound design ensures that we hear the blood spray as well as the sounds of a blade cutting through the tendons of children’s heads are separated from the body. (They might have got their goal incorrectly however, they made sure that the “bring me the head” aspect was clearly heard.) On the other side, he’s playing a role, and the way these dopes allowed the queen to walk out of the room to warn the guards, while at work beheading her son, is a sure sign that they’re about to witness the cruel aspect of the justice of the king. However, his recklessness and the utterly depraved determination that he executes his mission, is greater that Daemon’s bloodlust. Be sure to disagree with the Westerosi nobles’ thirst for revenge and revenge, but it’s an ethical ethos.

Thanks, Nadira, and congratulations, Blood. As long as The dragon that is King Aegon’s eats you alive, you’re the most unpopular individual in Westeros.