House of the Dragon Regent Review: Prepping the next phase of the war games

House of the Dragon follows up on the carnage and tragedy of the last episode, with both sides taking stock of their losses in Regent.

Rhaenyra and Alicent battle their patriarchal small council with very different levels of success. Daemond’s descent into madness continues. Aemond vies for his brother’s throne with support of the council. Ser Criston Cole is haunted over the dragons torching his soldiers and realizes dragons will win this war. He also continues to make mistakes like dragging Rhaenys’s dragon through the streets of King’s Landing.

Rhaenyra’s children, Jace, Rhaena, and Baela, work to forge critical allegiances. Jace disobeys Rhaenyra’s initial order and obtains fielty from the Freys in exchange for Harrenhal. Rhaena meets with the Arryns. Baela stays in Dragonstone but convinces her grandfather Corlys to become Rhaenyra’s hand of the queen. Steve Toussaint is excellent as Corlys at showing grief over his fallen wife, Rhaenys.

Regent doesn’t quite match the heights of last week’s climactic finale, but the writing and performances continue to shine. Rhaenyra’s relationship with her children is the highlight of the episode. I resonated with Rhaenyra as queen and Jace as the heir to her throne, feeling stuck because they could not join the war effort physically.

In addition to the lack of action, the other negative is the Daemon story. Matt Smith is great at portraying Daemon’s loosening grip on reality. However, there’s not much progress with that story.

Regent may be the weakest episode of season 2 so far, but a necessary one in preparation for the next salvo.

After the overview and ranking of Regent 8 out of 10 (Great), let’s dive deeper into the patriarchal spats on both sides, Rhaenyra’s irritability, and how both sides are trying to move forward. House of the Dragon is streaming on Max.

Alicent, Rhaenyra battle patriarchy

Rhaenyra and Alicent are both facing down patriarchal-minded small councils in Regent.

Raenyra is trying to move forward following the tragic death of Rhaenys. Once again she butts heads with her small council. The council is ok with Rhaenyra sitting on the throne. However, they’re doing everything to control the war planning. One of them challenges her ability to lead during wartime. Rhaenyra points out that none of the men in the room possess battle experience. She seemingly wins the verbal exchange, but the words of the council member lead to Rhaenyra’s irritability later.

Meanwhile, in King’s Landing, the kingdom is also searching for someone to lead with Aegon out of commission. Alicent volunteers herself to the council. After all, she ruled in her husband’s stead. However, the council turns down Alicent and appoints Aemond as the leader of King’s Landing—every council member, including Cole and Lary Strong, supports Aemond. Cole believes dragons will be the key to winning the war. Therefore, a dragon rider should lead the war effort. Strong’s reasoning is different. King’s Landing can’t appoint a queen when they oppose Rhaenyra as the regent.

Restless Regent

Rhaenyra’s confrontation with the council strikes a nerve. Her son, Jace, is also similarly restless. They’re both stuck behind the walls of Dragonstone. Even though they want to fight for the kingdom as queen and heir, they simply can’t.

Despite their frustrations, both take steps to strengthen their position. Rhaenyra sends one of the councilors who voiced the most substantial opposition to meet with Daemon. She also sends her daughters to garner support. Rhaena meets with Jeyne Arryn who wants better protection than two small dragons can provide. Rhaenyra sends Baela to talk with Corlys about being Rhaenyra’s Hand of the Queen. Corlys initially refuses out of grief for his wife and feeling Rhaenyra’s offer is her way of asking for forgiveness. Baela pushes back. She reminds Corlys that Rhaenys died a warrior’s death in a fire. Corlys accepts Rhaenyra’s offer by the end of the episode.

Jace disobeys Rhaenyra, but his plan seems to be working. He meets with his sister Baela. She reminds him of his role, but her research sparks Jace’s idea. He flies to the Twins and obtains the Freys’ allegiance in exchange for Harrenhal. When he returns to Dragonstone, Rhaenyra already knows where Jace went and what he promised the Freys. She’s frustrated by the men continuing to disobey her but seems to approve of the strategy.

The episode ends with Rhaenyra and Jace realizing they may have more potential riders for two of their most powerful dragons.

Despite Rhaenys’s death in the previous episode, Dragonstone appears to be building momentum while King’s Landing is finding itself in familiar trappings.

Follies in King’s Landing

Aemonc’s victory over Raenys should be a momentum builder for Team Green. However, a couple of mistakes by Cole and Aemond could lead to the Hightowers losing people’s respect.

Before Aemond wears the proverbial crown, Cole drags Raenys’s dragon Meleys through the streets of King’s Landing. As Mysaria points out to Rhaenyra, Cole’s decision is an error. Common folk view the death of a dragon as a bad omen.

Aemond possesses many strengths. He’s a skilled fighter, a good flyer and possesses a strong military mind. In many ways, these qualities make him a better ruler than Aegon. However, there is one area where Aemond is the lesser. Aegon at least showed support for the common folk. Aemond appears to make an intelligent decision by cutting down the ratcatcher but he also decides to close ranks and prevent anyone from leaving King’s Landing.

Regent Final Thoughts

House of the Dragon delivers a compelling picking-up-the-pieces episode following the explosive climax of the last episode. Regent shows how the Targaryens are mostly banding together in the face of tragedy. On the other hand, the supposedly victorious King’s Landing contingent appears to lose itself in the individual desires for control.

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