There is no volume setting loud enough in the world to do justice to Ramin Djawadi's epic Game of Thrones main title. Truly one of the greatest orchestral themes of our time, Djawadi’s piece evokes great castles, even greater battles, petty rich men who believe they are gods, and poor men deceived by the empty promises of war. It is somewhat odd, then, that House of the Dragon chooses to bring the song back in its full glory in an episode about what a level-headed statesman King Viserys (Paddy Considine) is.

Throughout "The Rogue Prince," the grief-stricken king does everything in his power to avoid direct conflict with his would-be enemies. But, by the end of the episode, his efforts prove to be in vain. His undoing comes from a decision that those not schooled in the political game of monarchies may consider inconsequential: his choice of a wife.

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Image via HBO

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"The Rogue Prince" takes place about six months after the death of Queen Aemma (Sian Brooke) and Prince Baelon. Pressure on the capital of Westeros continues to rise, and there's no sign of calm in the horizon. Things have taken a turn for the worse since King Viserys decided to banish his brother to the Vale following reports that Daemon (Matt Smith) had celebrated the baby prince’s death in one of the many brothels of King’s Landing. Instead of doing as he is told, however, Daemon set his course to Dragonstone, the very seat of House Targaryen, and fortifies it with his men from the City Watch. Meanwhile, in the Stepstones, the Free Cities’ militia led by Prince Craghas Drahar (Daniel Scott-Smith), the Crabfeeder, has taken a fleet of Lord Corlys’ (Steve Toussaint) ships and fed his men to, well, the crabs.

Nerves at the small council are on edge: Lord Corlys wants to take down the Crabfeeder by force — and finds some unexpected support in Princess Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock), and Lord Otto (Rhys Ifans) insists that the king take immediate action against his brother. Viserys, however, believes he can talk it all out. And, perhaps for a split second, he might've been right. Unfortunately, the key to the future of House Targaryen lies not in the battlefield nor in council meetings, but at the altar.

With Queen Aemma dead, the lords of King’s Landing are pressuring Viserys to take a new wife and finally father a son. Sure, the king may have already named an heir, but, as Princess Rhaenys (Eve Best) reminds her young cousin Rhaenyra, the lords would sooner let the realm burn to the ground than allow a woman to sit on the Iron Throne. The matter of Viserys’ succession becomes even more pressing when we take into account the king’s declining health: the wound he had on his back in Episode 1 has now spread to his hand, and the maesters still don’t know how to cure whatever is afflicting His Majesty.

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Image via HBO

It’s a new season of The Bachelor, King’s Landing Edition, King Viserys has to choose a bride to take home his rose. Trying to make their way to the Iron Throne indirectly, Lord Corlys and Princess Rhaenys offer the king the hand of their daughter, Lady Laena (Nova Foueillis-Mosé), of only 12 years of age. Perhaps sensing that marrying the young lady would be too creepy even for Game of Thrones’ standards — Laena’s line about not having to bed the king until she turns 14 is a big yikes — Viserys decides to give his rose to someone else, and that someone is none other than Lady Alicent Hightower (Emily Carey), much to Lord Otto’s rejoice and Princess Rhaenyra’s surprise.

Poor Alicent does seem to be a sweet and kind young woman. Her concern about Rhaenyra’s well-being and her effort to help the king reconnect with his daughter are nothing if not sincere. Even when she has King Viserys’ broken stone dragon fixed for him — a very on-the-nose moment of twisted foreshadowing — it doesn't look like she has any ulterior motives. Alas, Lord Otto has his own plans for his daughter, and is using her as a means to gain more power for House Hightower. Enraged by the king’s choice of bride, Lord Corlys ends the episode far from the small council, opening his castle of Driftmark to Prince Daemon. His goal is to persuade the scorned heir to take military action against the Crabfeeder on the Stepstones, virtually declaring war against King Viserys. Considering how confrontational the prince has been, it’s quite possible that he will take the opportunity.

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Image via HBO

After all, Daemon’s tantrum doesn't end with the taking of Dragonstone. The episode’s titular rogue prince also sends word to his brother that he shall take a second wife, as was traditional in Old Valyria. His betrothed is a former prostitute by the name of Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno), who doesn’t seem to be all that on board with her lover’s shenanigans as well. More than that, he has falsely claimed that his lady-to-be is with child and stolen a dragon’s egg from King’s Landing to place on his baby’s crib, as per the customs of House Targaryen. To add insult to injury, Daemon doesn’t take just any old egg: he handpicks the one that had been chosen to lay beside Prince Baelon. Once again, it is the mockery of his dead son’s memory that finally makes King Viserys lose his temper. If in the episode’s initial scenes the king was shown trying to avoid war at all costs, now he wants nothing more than to personally fly to Dragonstone and bash his brother’s head in. Sensing danger to His Majesty, Lord Otto convinces him to stay put and takes a small force led by Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel), the recently appointed head of the King’s Guard, to have a chat with Prince Daemon.

A war almost breaks out when the prince refuses to give the dragon egg back to Lord Otto. Swords are drawn, and Daemon’s dragon flies to the aid of its master, its screeches enough to send chills through anyone’s spine. Thankfully, Princess Rhaenyra arrives on her own dragon just in time to stop her uncle’s and her father’s forces from having a go at each other. As was shown in last week’s "The Heirs of the Dragon," Prince Daemon has a soft spot for his niece: he gifts her a necklace of Valyrian steel, and the two seem to have an almost complicit relationship, with Rhaenyra laughing upon finding her uncle sitting on the Iron Throne. Thus, when the princess tells him that he would have to kill her in order to become king, Daemon concedes and gives up the egg.

Rhaenyra takes off to Dragonstone without her father’s consent, in a scene that parallels her suggestion at the small council to send dragon riders to deal with the Crabfeeder and his men. Both moments say a lot about her personality, telling us of her nearly rogue-like independence and of her typical Targaryen overreliance on dragons. So far, her heat-of-the-moment plans have been working well enough to avoid bloodshed, but with Lord Corlys and Prince Daemon joining forces, an impending marriage between her father and Lady Alicent, and a final shot that gives viewers a good look at the Crabfeeder’s face, it’s hard to say how long the princess’ success will last.

House of the Dragon airs on Sundays on HBO. Episodes are available to stream on HBO Max.