Rhaenyra’s First Day As Queen

To invoke Lord Jerry of Seinfeld: Anybody can take energy, however holding energy is a distinct story. And that is the lesson a drained, grieving, everyone-dancing-on-her-last-nerve Rhaenyra learns the onerous manner on this week’s “Home of the Dragon.”

The Black queen’s first days on the Iron Throne contain smarmy nobles, robust decisions, and rampant rats — and that is earlier than a misleading blonde enters the fray. 

Learn on for the highlights of Episode 3.

Daemon and all three dragons meet with Ormund Hightower within the discipline to inform him that the battle is over and Rhaenyra is queen; she’s providing clemency if he and his troops will bend the knee. “Within the curiosity of peace, I’ll submit,” Ormund says reluctantly, kneeling to make his vow. All the pieces appears settled, however then a smug Daemon provides that he’ll be taking Ormund’s dragon-riding ward, Daeron Targaryen, again with him — on condition that he is an inheritor to the throne and a possible menace to Rhaenyra’s reign. Daemon guarantees to deal with the boy kindly, and Ormund turns Daeron over to his uncle.

“The air is thick with ghosts,” Rhaenyra says, standing in her father’s quarters, tearful as she reminisces about when Viserys and Aemma had been alive and issues had been easier. However all Daemon, who’s along with her, desires to do is grouse about how he ought to’ve incinerated Ormund, Daeron, and all the troopers. However Rhaenyra desires to show she’s the measured chief her father thought she could possibly be… and it is time to get began.

First order of enterprise: Meet and query Daeron, who appears mightily afraid of his half-sister and who says nothing when she asks him about #TeamGreen’s plans to thwart her. Aggravated, she orders guards to carry him in his room. After he is gone, Daemon casually reminds her that she’ll need to kill the youth to make sure he does not attempt to unseat her.

Second order of enterprise: Study that there is principally no cash for something, due to Tyland’s maneuverings (and the truth that they imagine him useless after the Battle of the Gullet). However Rhaenyra is irked, primarily as a result of she desires an enormous, public coronation to legitimize her rule, and there aren’t funds to pay for it. Mysaria — now the official Mistress of Whispers, a lot to Daemon’s dismay — factors out that the persons are on the verge of ravenous, and the optics of an costly to-do aren’t nice. Rhaenyra orders her adviseres to ship ravens to the key homes and demand tribute.

Subsequent up: The place’s Aemond and/or Sheepstealer? Nobody is aware of. So Rhaenyra provides a bounty (she does not have) for the seize of the lacking factions. And the one who kills Aemond can have Harrenhal, as a result of “I’ve no want of it now — all of the Riverlands are mine.” Her decisive exit from the assembly, nonetheless, is interrupted by a rat underfoot; they’re operating rampant within the wake of Aegon’s killing all of King’s Touchdown’s exterminators.

Rhaenyra beats a path to the rooms the place Alicent and Helaena are being held. “The place is my gold?” she calls for, however Alicent says even her personal father stored her out of the loop on that one. “I might refer you to the person himself, however you slew him with out ceremony,” the Inexperienced queen quips. They get right into a shouting match when Alicent does not have any of the solutions Rhaenyra wants. “I’ve executed all I may!” Alicent cries. “Will you blame me, solely, for what males have executed?”

After everybody takes a breath, Rhaenyra says she’ll free the ladies after Aemond has been discovered and eradicated. Till then, they’re going to be handled as prisoners at a white-collar-crime penitentiary. “So my place is such that I have to hope for the seize and demise of my son,” Alicent observes.

From there, Rhaenyra does a walk-and-talk with Mysaria that might make Josh Lyman proud. She’s hesitant to kill Daeron, who in spite of everything is her half-brother and an harmless, however then she sees Jace strolling by the fort — it is simply somebody who vaguely resembles him, however the visible brings the queen up quick — and the reminder of her useless sons steels her resolve. However there are such a lot of issues nonetheless on her to-do checklist! “There are mountains to be handled, and I’ve none but to belief with them,” she complains.

And when Rhaenyra walks into the throne room, an Everest-sized subject pops up earlier than her within the type of the excessive septon. She asks about being anointed ruler, and he says that may’t occur as a result of he has no proof of Aegon’s demise. He is additionally unmoved by her declare that the gods should’ve wished her to rule, as a result of why else would she have a dragon to assist her? The person of the material is angered by her insinuation — he thinks dragons are darkish magic and don’t have anything to do with The Seven — and he warns her that not enjoying by the religion’s guidelines won’t go nicely for her.

At dinner that night time with Rhaenyra, Alyn, and Addam, Corlys is like, “Hey guess what? These two are my sons, and I wish to title Alyn my inheritor. Wanna legitimize them?” He factors out that, with out the younger males as official Velaryons, Corlys will not have an inheritor. She hesitates, although, and the previous man is aggravated.

All in all, it has been a DAY. And when Rhaenyra goes to mattress that night time, she seeks out the consolation of sleeping subsequent to Daemon in his quarters moderately than mendacity alone in her dad and mom’ previous mattress.

The subsequent morning, Rhaenyra clothes in preparation for listening to petitions from the general public for the primary time. Elinda helps her select equipment that can ship the fitting message — crown, chain, and so forth. — after which attends to Rhaenyra when the queen realizes that she’s gotten her interval. Say it with me now, all girls: OF COURSE SHE HAS.

So the Black queen is irritated, uncomfortable, and kinda out of her depth as she hears the small people’s complaints — together with the accusation that the nobles have hoarded what present meals there’s, leaving the poor with an pointless scarcity. Daemon later scoffs, calling the issue not an actual concern. Mysaria says the precise reverse. Corlys is not any assist in any respect. So Rhaenyra decides to do what her father would have, and throw a banquet.

Subsequent, she and Daemon formally knight Ulf, Hugh, and Addam. Afterward, Hugh approaches her about the place he’ll dwell and the way he ought to cope with the absence of his spouse, who has relocated to be along with her brother. “I’m awash in dilemmas and deficiencies. Let me discover my footing and I’ll attend to your requests,” she says, inadvertently giving me a brand new auto-reply for my work electronic mail.

Rhaenyra is taking a quiet second in her room when Alicent comes by to request that Otto’s stays be buried close to her mom in Hightown; Rhaenyra says sure. Then she asks Alicent how she dealt with the enterprise of petitions when she was basically ruling Westeros as Viserys lay dying. Alicent is like, “It sucks, and also you’re gonna turn into somebody you will not acknowledge.” Rhaenyra balks, saying that did not occur to her father. Alicent counters that Viserys lived in a world that was not actuality, they usually haven’t got that privilege.

That night, Rhaenyra welcomes the nobles to the banquet she envisioned, thanking them for (finally) pledging their loyalty to her trigger. The wealthy toadies journey over themselves to claim how they by no means actually backed the Hightowers, yadda yadda, and Rhaenyra smiles serenely, as a result of she is aware of what’s coming subsequent.

When dinner is served, every noble receives a plate of roast rat. “That is what the frequent people of my metropolis ate, this and worse, when you and people such as you hid provisions away in your storehouses,” the queen tells her horrified visitors. They sputter their defenses, however she does not wish to hear it. As an alternative, she informs them that her Gold Cloaks are at that very second raiding their storerooms and bringing again provides to feed the poor within the metropolis. Then Rhaenyra principally tells them that Mama has spoken, and bids them good night as they stew.

On her manner out, she’s introduced up quick by the smug smirk of Torrhen Manderly, who factors out that Rhaenyra’s transfer does not get at the true reality: Her blockade of the town precipitated the shortages within the first place. Later, Daemon says Rhaenyra’s edict is kinda futile — it will solely assist a number of folks for a short while — and Rhaenyra agrees: He is received to go to The Vale and demand that Girl Arryn, who by no means despatched the swords she promised, rectify that in coin.

“You’ve got come up to now, and but you continue to do not know who you’re,” he says patronizingly, declaring that they’ve six dragons and near-unlimited energy to take no matter they need, so why is she involved with all this small-ball nonsense? “They are saying there’s a metropolis on the fringe of the world the place males have wings… these males will serve us. They are going to serve you,” he says. He provides that he and he or she could possibly be gods, breaking into Excessive Valyrian as he invokes the prophecy. She counters that Viserys knew there was such a factor as an excessive amount of energy, and the dream of Outdated Valyria ended within the Doom. How about we glance to the longer term, hmm? she provides. Like a recalcitrant teenager whose request for pizza dinner has been turned down, Daemon stomps away, shouting “You continue to need to kill Daeron!” on his manner out of the scene.

The subsequent day, Rhaenyra goes into the town and arms out meals to her residents. Her presents and guarantees of simply rule are met with cheers and normal goodwill. Much less grateful, although, is Corlys when she acknowledges that she’s not going to legitimize his two sons. He instantly lights into her. “You’ll insult my home so that you could be be seen to be one thing you aren’t,” he sneers, getting angrier as he point-blank calls out her sons Joffrery, Lucerys, and Jacaerys as b*stards themselves. “Say aloud to me the explanation your youngsters deserve what mine are denied,” he yells. She has no reply.

Rhaenyra’s subsequent cease is Alicent’s quarters, the place she tells the Inexperienced queen that Daeron is within the fort and she is going to spare his life… however he’ll be despatched to The Wall. It is merciful, but it surely’s terrible — Alicent factors out that the boy was despatched to be a ward as an toddler, and he or she’s solely seen him as soon as prior to now 5 years. Rhaenyra organizes a gathering… and when Alicent does not acknowledge Daeron, Rhaenyra realizes she’s been had. “Who’re you then?!” she calls for of the imposter, who tearfully says that Ormund “compelled” him to fake to be the prince. The true Daeron continues to be with Hightower. “What sport does he play?” Rhaenyra wonders.

Fairly quickly, she will get a touch. A person, soiled with soot, stumbles to the gates of the Purple Preserve to let #TeamBlack know that Ormund and his males have taken Tumbleton and are holding its folks hostage. Daeron’s dragon is with them contained in the gates. “I alone escaped,” he tells her. And when she declares she’ll burn all of them, the survivor factors out that she’d be killing innocents together with the Hightowers.

“My arm is lengthy. He can’t win,” she says, proper as a pile of #TeamGreen tapestries and the like is about ablaze within the courtyard behind her.

Now it is your flip. What did you consider the episode? Hold forth within the feedback!