Boy, those were some eventful 20 minutes! Yes, you read that right. For most of its near-hour of runtime, "We Light the Way," the fifth episode of House of the Dragon, concerns itself with some pretty regular Westerosi drama. But when the drums of House Velaryon announce the arrival of Lord Corlys (Steven Toussaint) to Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock) and Laenor’s (Theo Nate) pre-wedding feast, everyone instantly knows that shit is about to go down. And down it goes at a party that has Targaryens, Velaryons, Coles, Hightowers, and whatnot throwing fists and accusations around, committing murder, declaring war, and even dancing a little. King Viserys (Paddy Considine) did, indeed, manage to give his daughter a wedding for the history books. It’s an appropriate, exciting conclusion for the first half of the series' inaugural season, which follows Rhaenyra’s days as a young princess. Next week, Emma D’Arcy will pick up the torch as the woman who would be queen, and her best friend-turned-queen Alicent Hightower will go from being played by Emilia Carey to Olivia Cooke. Alcock and Carey’s amazing performances will certainly be missed, but at least the two actresses got to say goodbye to the show in style.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Before all that action and imminent change, there was a lot of build-up going on, even if the story was erring more on the side of relationship drama and palatial politics. To be fair, “We Light the Way” begins with a pretty shocking, though not exactly surprising scene: the murder of Lady Rhea Royce (Rachel Redford). Prince Daemon (Matt Smith) never showed any kind of affection for his wife, and it was pretty clear that the thought of offing her crossed his mind when Viserys denied him Rhaenyra’s hand due to the fact that he was already married. Still, viewers were hardly expecting him to show up to the Vale right away to throw his wife off her horse and bash her head in with a rock, framing the whole thing as a gruesome hunting accident. Poor Lady Rhea didn’t even have time to defend herself.
Lady Rhea also died for nothing. Because, while Daemon was taking a trip to end his marriage, his beloved niece was boarding a boat with her dad and her royal entourage to find herself a husband. As Rhaenyra and Viserys agreed at the end of Episode 4, the princess will marry Lord Corlys’ eldest son, Laenor, to assure stability for the realm. As a bonus, the marriage will unite two houses from Old Valyria, ushering in a new Age of Dragons — at least, according to King Viserys.
Rhaenyra and Laenor seem to be a good match. The in-laws have some concerns, of course, but nothing that can’t be assuaged. Lady Rhaenys (Eve Best) worries that Rhaenyra’s claim to the throne will be disputed, throwing both families and the entire realm into war. This unease is quickly put to rest by her husband, who reminds her of House Velaryon’s military strength. Lord Corlys, on the other hand, wants his grandchildren to carry his family name, to which the king agrees as long as they change their last name to Targaryen once they rise to the throne. But these small preoccupations aside, the princess and her future husband understand each other quite well: fully aware that her cousin and betrothed prefers the company of other men — or, ahem, roast duck — Rhaenyra proposes that they fulfill their duties to their families and then “dine” as they see fit. It’s a win-win-win scenario for the young couple, their parents, and their respective paramours. Well, kind of. Laenor’s lover, Joffrey (Solly McLeod), is more than okay with the plan, but Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) isn’t happy about being Rhaenyra’s lover. As a matter of fact, the knight is heartbroken when the princess refuses to elope with him to Essos. And hell hath no fury like a kingsguard scorned…
Back at King’s Landing, Queen Alicent doesn’t have much to do apart from cradling babies and walking around the Red Keep as she waits for her husband and stepdaughter to come back from their trip. The queen has a lot of free time in her hands to think about her father’s last words to her before leaving the city for good: the king will die, and it won’t take long, and Rhaenyra won’t be able to hold onto the Iron Throne unless she puts a sword to the heads of Alicent’s children. The warning still echoes in her ears when a wild Larys Strong (Matthew Needham) appears to spill the tea on Rhaenyra’s special Plan B tea, undermining the queen’s trust in the princess. When the royal ships return from Driftmark, Alicent takes it upon herself to learn the truth about Rhaenyra’s night out — except what she ends up discovering isn't exactly what she expected. Alicent calls Ser Criston over for a chat, hoping the knight will offer her some insight into what happened between the princess and Daemon. Believing the queen’s subtle remarks to be about himself, Criston confesses to breaking the Kingsguard’s vow of chastity with Rhaenyra. He owns up to his crimes and accepts that he must be punished, but still asks Alicent for a bit of mercy — which she most definitely will have, at least for him.
Now certain that Rhaenyra has already lied to her once and might do it again, Alicent sees part of her father’s prophecy coming true as the king’s health declines even further. Early on in the episode, His Majesty seemed to be suffering from a severe case of seasickness, but it soon turned out that being on dry land did nothing to make him feel better. The sores that have been popping all over Viserys’ body since Episode 1 seem to have developed into something more severe, and there’s little the Maesters can do besides easing his pain. However, King Viserys still has enough strength to host a welcoming feast for all of his daughter’s wedding guests and plan a seven-day celebration for the royal union. Sadly for him, things don’t go quite as planned.
Though the drums of House Velaryon are what gets viewers’ blood pumping for the upcoming hostilities, it is not until Daemon shows his recently widowed face at the feast that things start to go awry for Viserys, Rhaenyra, and Laenor. When one of Lady Rhea’s cousins accuses Daemon of murder, the king and his new Hand, Lord Lyonel Strong (Gavin Spokes), get suspicious of the prince — a suspicion that grows later on when they see Daemon and Rhaenyra dancing dangerously close to one another. Then, Queen Alicent shows up late for the feast, entering the great hall right in the middle of the king’s speech in a green dress — House Hightower’s war color. But what truly gets the party started is a small detail that none of the banquet’s main guests bothered to notice: Joffrey’s brief conversation with Ser Criston about being paramours to the future queen and king consort.
Ser Criston is a true knight. A noble man. A man of his word. And that’s precisely what makes him so dangerous. He doesn’t take light to Joffrey’s talk of keeping each other’s secret, guilty as he is for having broken his vow, not to mention the sheer rage Rhaenyra’s refusal awoke in him. And so, while Daemon and Rhaenyra fantasize about killing Laenor, a scream cuts through the Red Keep’s hall and the crowd starts to get agitated. Everything points to a fight, but, in reality, it is a murder that King Viserys’ guests are witnessing. With his own fists, Ser Criston smashes Joffrey’s head to a pulp right in the middle of the dance floor, putting an end to the celebrations and leaving behind a young Laenor Valeryon in tears. Ser Criston then tries to take his own life, but is stopped by the merciful Queen Alicent.
Ser Criston’s attempted suicide is interspersed between shots of Rhaenyra and Laenor’s small, somber wedding ceremony. The teary-eyed bride and groom say “I do” to one another mere seconds before King Viserys collapses to the ground. So far, there’s no way of knowing whether he’s dead or just passed out. But with Alicent putting together her army, and Rhaenyra and Daemon getting closer and closer with every passing day, it’s pretty certain that the king won’t rest in peace in the years that separate this week’s episode from the next, no matter if his above or below the ground.
House of the Dragon airs on Sundays on HBO. Episodes are also available to stream on HBO Max.