Dreams and visions haven’t played nearly as big a part in House of the Dragon as they did on Game of Thrones. Other than the late King Viserys’ (Paddy Considine) repeated references to his ancestor, Aegon the Conqueror’s dream, of the future war against the dead, there haven’t been many major instances of characters’ subjective, unconscious thoughts or experiences having much influence on the waking world of the prequel series. But that changes in the latest episode, in which a trippy dream sequence adds to the eerie dread of one of Westeros’ creepiest locations and delivers an exciting cameo from a beloved Season 1 star in the process. After arriving at the bleak castle of Harrenhal, Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) comes face to face with the younger version of his niece and wife, Rhaenyra, played once again by Milly Alcock. The episode highlights the ghosts that haunt the show’s characters and does it through Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy), Alicent (Olivia Cooke), and, very specifically, Daemon.
The reign of House Targaryen begins with this prequel to the popular HBO series Game of Thrones. Based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, House of the Dragon is set nearly 200 years before Game of Thrones, telling the story of the Targaryen civil war with King Viserys.
Fan Favorite Milly Alcock Returns to ‘House of the Dragon’
In the previous episode, the adult Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) chastised Daemon for setting Blood and Cheese, the ruthless plot that resulted in the horrific assassination of toddler prince Jaehaerys, into motion, noting how his doing so without her knowledge shows that he can’t be trusted. With the state of their marriage and Daemon’s loyalty in question, he departed for Harrenhal, as he previously said he would, to claim the strategically valuable castle and begin raising an army. In Season 2, Episode 3, “The Burning Mill,” Daemon arrives, prepared and likely eager to lay siege to Harrenhal, only to be surprised when its castellan, Ser Simon Strong (Sir Simon Russell Beale), immediately surrenders the area and pledges its peoples’ loyalty to Rhaenyra. Ser Simon explains that he wants to oppose his nephew, Larys Strong (Matthew Needham), who technically owns the castle and is on the side of Rhaenyra’s half-brother and rival Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney), because he (correctly) suspects that Larys arranged the murder of his own brother and father.
Instead of a military challenge, Harrenhal seems set to be a mental and emotional one for Daemon. In his dream, after something pounds on the door of his bedroom, he goes out into the hall to investigate, sword drawn. He follows the sound of quiet humming to a nearby room with a fire going, in which he finds Alcock’s Rhaenyra. She says, “Always coming and going, aren’t you?” before continuing, “And I have to clean up afterwards.” Most disturbing of all, she is cradling and humming to the bloody body of Jaehaerys, sewing his throat, which was cut open by Daemon’s assassins.
‘House of the Dragon’ Shows That Daemon Feel Guilt for Blood & Cheese
The scene in general, and particularly the horrified reactions Smith gives Daemon, call attention back to the question of just how much responsibility he bears for Jaehaerys’ death. When he hired the assassins, the one known as Cheese (Mark Stobbart) asked what he and Blood (Sam C. Wilson) should do if they couldn’t find their true target, Rhaenyra and Aegon’s brother Aemond (Ewan Mitchell). Daemon’s response is not shown onscreen, but when they find Jaehaerys, his sister, and their mother Helaena (Phia Saban), Blood remindd Cheese that their instructions included the phrase, “A son for a son,” which at the very least leaves Daemon’s orders open to enough interpretation that Jaehaerys could be a victim if Aemond wasn’t found. Though Daemon states that the death was a mistake to Rhaenyra and that he did not order the death of Jaehaerys directly, Rhaenyra states that Daemon’s intent was to spill Hightower blood at any cost.
Daemon’s feelings of guilt have repeatedly led him to hurt Rhaenyra in the past. When the pair reunited at Laena’s (Nanna Blondell) funeral, Rhaenyra criticized him for abandoning her as a child, which Daemon replies that he was sparing her. However, Daemon’s “sparing,” in Rhaenyra’s mind, only lead her to a life she describes as a “droll tragedy.” This highlights a tragic aspect of Daemon’s character, where his impulses lead him to make harmful choices. He rarely, if ever, openly regrets those actions, but in the case of Rhaenyra, even his subsequent attempts to do the right thing and make amends only made things worse.
The cameo from Alcock and her line about having to clean up after Daemon emphasize how this process has repeated itself with Daemon’s fight with Rhaenyra and departure in the wake of Blood and Cheese. While the dream suggests that Daemon realizes this on at least some level, it’s unclear whether he’s capable of breaking the cycle or making other positive changes. As the Harrenhal storyline is just beginning, this seems to open the door for Alcock’s Rhaenyra to continue appearing in similar sequences if Daemon’s feelings toward her continue to play a role in the arc.
The Ghosts of ‘House of the Dragon’ Hang Over Its Characters
Alcock’s cameo is one of several ways in which “The Burning Mill” brings the series full circle to some of its earliest themes and ideas. This idea of looking back is also shown by the adult Rhaenyra’s attempt to negotiate with former friend Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke), which puts their relationship back at the center of the series. Although the appearance of young Rhaenyra focuses on her relationship with Daemon, it also provokes stronger recollections of her bond with Alicent (formerly played by Emily Carey). Remembering the love these two used to share for each other and seeing them do so as well gives the viewer brief hope that they could genuinely reconcile and make peace, especially given their shared grief for Viserys and desire to honor his legacy.
Indeed, there are several moments throughout in which the two women and Daemon reflect on their respective relationships with Viserys and his desires for them. Alicent clearly feels regret for initially supporting the efforts to supplant Rhaenyra with Aegon when Rhaenyra reveals that Viserys’ last words referred not to his son but to Aegon the Conqueror. And Daemon reminds Ser Simon that, “People should obey their liege lord, whatever his condition,” which is also a subtle callback to Viserys, who was so sick in the later years of his life that Alicent and Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) were essentially ruling in his stead. He likely still believes the Hightowers had a hand in Viserys’ death and disregarded the king’s desire to keep Rhaenyra as his heir in order to crown Aegon II. But while this reflection and the episode’s overall emphasis on returning focus to the main three characters causes the viewer to feel renewed sympathy for them, it also makes it all the more tragic when it becomes clear that, as Alicent says, it’s too late to repair much of the damage that’s been done and prevent war.
