House of the Dragon Episode 5

This week's episode of House of the Dragon focuses on the nuptials of Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock) and Laenor Velaryon (Theo Nate) – but the episode builds ...

Rhaenys and Corlys are now bound to Rhaenyra, and her wildcard Uncle Daemon is still irresistibly drawn to her but has romantic friction with Laena Velaryon (Savannah Steyn). Laenor is already in love with another, Joffrey Lonmouth (Solly McLeod), while Rhaenyra is in the midst of a fling with her Kingsguard protector Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel). It pushes Alicent to breaking point, especially after her father Otto blames his disgrace on Alicent believing Rhaenyra over him, then warns his daughter her children will never be safe with Rhaenyra on the throne. There's Corlys and Rhaenys watching Laenor and Joffrey, the heartbroken Ser Criston Cole, the outrageously audacious return of Matt Smith's Prince Daemon, and even Alicent Hightower (Emily Carey) walking with scorched-earth purpose into the middle of Viserys' speech. King Viserys (Paddy Considine), Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint), and the lively Rhaenys (Eve Best) have less romantic matters needing their attention. 'We Light the Way' starts with a shock death and Otto Hightower's (Rhys Ifans) abrupt exit from court, but slows considerably for the politics of Laenor and Rhaenyra's betrothal.

HBO's 'House of the Dragon' featured a royal wedding in Episode 5, which meant death. Here's what happened and who died.

Daemon moves in to dance with Laena Velaryon, and the two seem to flirt. (He walks with a cane, as all meddlers and power leaches do in literature for some ableist reason.) Larys asks the Queen if Rhaenyra is well, after he heard a rumor that the maester delivered her a potion the night after the Daemon incident. He tells her his sacking was her fault—because she believed Rhaenyra’s account of the night with Daemon, the King also believed Rhaenyra, making Otto’s claim appear as a rumor and a sly attempt to discredit Rhaenyra and bolster his grandson’s throne claim. (In the first episodes Corlys sat across from the King, almost in opposition; he is now allied with the crown). Now certain of her father’s wisdom—that the King will soon die and incite civil war—she meets with Cole, interrogating him about the Daemon incident. Otto tells Alicent that she will have to choose sides; the King is dying and Rhaenyra’s throne claim will cause war, putting Alicent's son and first-born male offspring of the King in danger. Later the two of them talk privately, agreeing that the King has come to them out of weakness, and they may have an upper hand in the arrangement. Rhaenyra laughs this off—she cannot leave the crown because she is the crown, she says—and tells Cole they can still see each other even if she marries Laenor. Laenor will continue to see his boyfriend and Rhaenyra will continue to see her Kingsguard, Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel). The belief that both of these courses are possible is later shown to be violently incorrect. House of the Dragon also features a royal hunt, where the aging and ailing From one healthy prince to one dying king, we go: King Viserys is seen depositing his lunch over the bow of his ship.

Then Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) went berserk on the Knight of Kisses, Ser Joffrey Lonmouth (Solly McLeod), beating the man to death for no apparent ...

As Rhaenyra pledges her life to Laenor, Ser Criston takes a dagger to his belly and prepares to end his life. One mystery in Fire & Blood is how and why Ser Criston switched sides and now we understand why. The most shocking moment of House of the Dragon Episode 5 is undoubtedly when Ser Criston Cole beats Ser Joffrey Lonmouth to death in front of everyone in court. While we’ll never know what was said next, what’s clear is that Ser Criston Cole is switching sides. But what sets him off is the fact that Ser Joffrey Lonmouth figures out his secret and throws it in his face. Ser Criston loses control at a tourney melée and kills Ser Joffrey there. He explains that all he has in life to his name is his Kingsguard appointment and the only way he could morally redeem his own name is by marrying Rhaenyra. Ser Criston is assuming that is how he will be punished.) While we don’t know exactly what was said or done that led to the altercation between Ser Criston and Ser Joffrey, Laenor is initially caught up in it. She explains that she is the crown and her duty is more important to her than any sort of love match. After puking his way to Driftmark and collapsing in the courtyard, his health only got worse at the welcoming ceremony for Rhaenyra’s wedding to Laenor. Did House of the Dragon just kill off the king?

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 ...

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. [Episode 1](https://collider.com/house-of-the-dragon-season-1-episode-1-recap-the-heirs-of-the-dragon/) seem to have [developed into something more severe](https://collider.com/house-of-the-dragon-meaning-of-scars-viserys/), and there’s little the Maesters can do besides easing his pain. 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. 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. As a matter of fact, the knight is heartbroken when the princess refuses to elope with him to Essos. 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. [Matt Smith](https://collider.com/tag/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](https://collider.com/house-of-the-dragon-season-1-episode-4-recap-king-of-the-narrow-sea/). 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. 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. 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. King Viserys ( [Paddy Considine](https://collider.com/tag/paddy-considine/)) did, indeed, manage to give his daughter a wedding for the history books. 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.

Rebecca Onion: Last week, Laura Miller and I considered, and then dismissed, the idea that Daemon Targaryen, the niece-seducer, might finally become the Worst ...

Ser Criston picks this fight with Joffrey Lonmouth because Lonmouth sidles up to Ser Criston during the engagement party and lets him know that he has clocked the secret romance between Ser Criston and Rhaenyra from a mile away. I hate to add insult to injury, because the guy lost so much this episode (his lover, his job, the intact nature of the skin on his knuckles), but Ser Criston: You are the Worst Person in Westeros! She is a princess: she already has the world’s best produce, and access to the world’s men if she so wishes. He seems to have convinced himself that the whole thing was so dramatic, and so bad, that it had to mean something, but he can’t have had that much knowledge of her actual personality, if he thought that. Meanwhile, Rhaenyra is caught in the crush, and the King’s Hand has to send in one of his own warriors to grab her out. Alicent is also dismayed when she finds out that Rhaenyra lied to her (due to Ser Criston’s loose lips) not only because of the betrayal, but also because Rhaenyra’s misdeeds led to the ousting of her father as the Hand to the King. But back to the Westerosi baddies (and not in the good way): I hate to say it, but I don’t think I can give it to Daemon this week either! He should not have, but talk about a setup: he is her sworn protector, who promised to be celibate, and then he threw that vow in the trash for her. In the course of this encounter, she figures out that he has an incentive to get rid of her so he can try to marry Rhaenyra, and the look that crosses her face when she realizes it is pretty well-done on Rachel Redford’s part—she gets scared. I might have given it to him last week, if I had been on duty for WPiW, but I don’t think what he did this week is as bad as last (though it was horrible). Lady Rhea harangues Daemon from horseback when she runs into him in a remote ravine, and she clearly has no respect for him and never wanted to be married to him in the first place. Lady Rhea Royce (Rachel Redford) has been estranged from Daemon from the start of the series, and he’s called her all kinds of mean things, but we only find out in this episode, when we see her riding a horse on her way to hunt some deer, that they haven’t even consummated their marriage.

It's Episode Five and our three hopeful suitors—Prince Daemon, Ser Criston Cole, and Laenor Velaryon—are agitated and restless. Despite being her uncle, Daemon ...

Ser Criston later goes out to the Weirwood tree in the garden to put a knife in his belly and end his life out of embarrassment (?!?!?!). [Lord of the Rings](https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a40982398/lord-of-the-rings-rings-of-power-what-to-know/)—the creepy man who whispers evils into the king of Rohan's ears. Some of the Royces are suspicious, since Daemon is supposed to inherit some land following her death. [Bachelorette-like journey](https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a41132598/house-of-the-dragon-episode-4-recap/) for the hand of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen. Daemon's estranged wife, whom he slandered by calling her a "bronze bitch" in front of the king's council back in [Episode One](https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a40902402/house-of-the-dragon-episode-1-recap/)? Lady Rhea continues to chide a silent Daemon for being "cast aside in the favor of a little girl"—when she realizes that her husband is actually here to kill her. Riding her horse in the Vale, a hooded Daemon appears before her, like Anakin Skywalker in [Star Wars](https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a34941839/new-star-wars-shows-on-disney-plus-2021-2022/) right before he kills all the younglings. He's also the son of Lionel Strong, the former Master of Laws and newly appointed Hand of the King. And still, there have only been a couple of transition scenes with dragons since the Crabfeeder was killed in [Episode Three](https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a40911484/house-of-the-dragon-episode-3-recap/). Daemon scares the horse, Rhea takes a brutal fall to the ground, and she's crushed by the large animal. Martin](https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a40966786/george-rr-martin-star-wars/)'s massive historical tome on the history of Westeros. [Fire & Blood](https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a40956954/house-of-the-dragon-got-prequel-vs-book/), the novel that [House of the Dragon](https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a40897130/house-of-the-dragon-hbo-release-schedule/) is based on, may recall that everything that's happened over these past five episodes so far has only covered around 30 pages of [George R.R.

As a visual document, the TV series must depict certain moments onscreen almost by definition. It must show something rather than leaving it to the annals of ...

Even the betrothed’s respective families get in on the deal-making spirit as Viserys (Paddy Considine) and Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint) come to a successional compromise that makes sense to them. Laenor is similarly acting as a rational actor and behaving in his best interests in the realm’s. Ultimately, House of the Dragon opts to pick a side in two events that could have been left up to interpretation. The middle portion of “We Light the Way” features many moments that choose a storytelling lane and ultimately enrich it by doing so. Not to harp on the books once again (though harping is kind of my default state) but in Martin’s continuity, Ser Criston kills Ser Joffrey Lonmouth at a tourney to celebrate Ser Laenor and Princess Rhaenyra’s wedding. The scenes in which Rhaenyra and Laenor come to an understanding are immensely satisfying – not only because Rhaenyra breaks down the complexities of human sexuality to preferring roast duck over goose – but because they feature two characters properly playing the game of thrones. Speaking of myths, the other disappointing aspect of “We Light the Way” is its treatment of Ser Criston Cole (Fabian Frankel) and how it clarifies the myth of his role in these historical events. That’s not to say the episode is a disaster, far from it really. “We Light the Way” puts events onscreen that were “offscreen” in Martin’s world and the way it chooses to depict them ends up putting its viewers’ imagination to waste. This marks our first trip to the Vale in quite some time within the Game of Thrones universe. That’s what makes House of the Dragon such a challenging proposition as an adaptation. That’s by design as the book is written as a historical document from the perspective of multiple conflicting sources.

The feast to open Rhaenyra's wedding to Laenor Velaryon almost avoids this ending. There's a string of near conflagrations between guests with inflamed tempers, ...

Two hundred years from now, Littlefinger will try the same trick — offing the lady of the house to take her might for himself. Rhaenyra has a new ally in the Velaryons, but betrayal may bind Alicent and Cristan in ways no one can foresee. The progression from tentative chats on the beaches of Driftmark to formal dancing in the Great Hall is so quick that some of the weight falls out. But hours later, Rhaenyra’s hair still tousled, the septon unites her in marriage with Laenor, who is certainly in a state of shock. This is all very grown up and reasonable, but as the frame of a marriage, woooo boy, what a bummer. First, a number of opportunities for trouble arose and then snuffed themselves out before the mid-banquet tussle. In a moment straight out of The Crown (complete with a castle that bears an uncanny resemblance to St. Dragging himself to Driftmark to ask for Laenor and Rhaenyra’s betrothal is beneath the dignity of a king. If Viserys’s weakness is to blame, that could explain his sudden urge to recast his legacy and usher in “a second age of dragons in Westeros.” For House of the Dragon’s first four episodes, Daemon was the biggest threat to the stability of Viserys’s reign. But now a pack of new menaces has arrived just in time to broaden the show’s reach. and usually a pool of guts on the floor.

The fifth episode of the Game of Thrones prequel ends with a cliffhanger and a misdirect.

At this point Rhaenyra is 32-years-old, her half-brother Aegon II 22, and her step-mother Alicent 41, although these ages have been tweaked for the show. Queen Alicent Hightower conceals Viserys’ death from the public and summons the small council to discuss the accession of their son, Aegon II Targaryen. Meanwhile, overwhelmed by his difficult journey to Driftmark and all the chaos that followed, Viserys is seen bleeding and passing out in the final moments of the episode. That would put Viserys’ death at age 52, which was elderly for a Targaryen (the bloodline’s inbreeding created a slew of health issues). Unlike in the show, which seems to be setting up a more painful death for Viserys, he dies during a nap in the Red Keep, although there are rumors that Queen Alicent Hightower may have put something in his drink to make that afternoon snooze his last. As the small council negotiates the messy political situation, Alicent forbids anyone from treating Viserys’ body, which causes it to rot. Back at King’s Landing, Aegon and his mother Alicent have accrued a faction of supporters known as the Greens. This act ignores her late husband’s wishes, who wanted Rhaenyra to assume the Iron Throne. Criston is further enraged after a conversation with Queen Alicent Hightower (Emily Carey), where he reveals to the queen that he’s tarnished his honor for the princess. Criston, meanwhile, is pushed over the edge at the wedding banquet, when Laenor’s boyfriend tells him that he knows he’s Rhaenyra’s lover. The knight is frustrated that Rhaenyra won’t give up her title and run away with him after he betrayed his Kingsguard vows for her. Rhaenyra and Laenor agree they can bed whomever they please, so long as they keep their romances tight-lipped and present a united front at court.

It's finally time for Rhaenyra Targaryen to say I do. Meanwhile, Queen Alicent continues to deal with the fallout of Otto Hightower's dismissal.

"Ser Laenor is quite dear to me, as I know the princess is to you. Next up to congratulate the royals is a lord from House Royce. Daemon calls it a tragic accident, but Ser Royce accuses Daemon of being the culprit. "I've always feared the day you'd have to marry a woman, and now it comes," the chap says. Queen Alicent is watching the commotion from the balcony of her chambers. Strong keeps rambling sycophantically about being glad that Rhaenyra is well enough to sail to Driftmark, but the implication of his revelation was clearly grasped by the Queen. Viserys and the new Hand of the King exchange concerned glances. "The time is coming, Alicent. "The King will die. With a backdrop of pouring rain, as with all good farewells, she tells her father that she regrets the King's decision to expel him. We've heard a few references to Daemon Targaryen's wife – Rhea Royce, or "the bronze bitch" as Daemon calls her – but we've never actually met her. After being dismissed as Hand of the King in the final moments of episode 4, Otto Hightower is on the way out of King's Landing.

It's wedding time in Westeros on another talky episode of House Of The Dragon that further exposes the cracks in the Targaryen armor.

It’s been a talky episode to this point, with some good heart to hearts between Alicent and Otto (Rhys Ifans), for instance, and between Rhaenyra and Laenor. Her green gown should be a major moment – but House Of The Dragon has to tell us that instead of showing it because it hasn’t established any of the necessary background. But it’s a bad idea to tie the knot while rats nearby feed on the congealing blood of your husband’s recently deceased lover. It’s also not a super great sign if your own lover is considering seppuku at the same time, only to be stopped by your hostile stepmother. The week-long festivities planned for the royal wedding are derailed almost instantly when Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel), in all his heavy armor, gets into an altercation with the velvet-clad Joffrey Lonmouth (Solly McLeod), aka the Knight of Kisses, aka Laenor’s boyfriend. After that chat, when Alicent enters the engagement party in green, she’s supposed to be making a major statement of independence from the Targaryens. Alicent (Emily Carey) finally decides to strike back this week, infuriated that Rhaenyra lied to her (she didn’t exactly, but it’s a question of degree), and acts out against both husband and heir. The shadowy sets and general darkness of the show cause a few problems this week, and there’s one aspect of costuming that should be shocking and just… It’s worth noting that she’s egged on in that by Ser Larys Strong (Matthew Needham), who seems to be a little bit of a Littlefinger here. But you can’t keep a good(?) man down for long, and sure enough he’s back on his feet in no time, quietly murdering his wife to leave the way open to marry his niece. Driftmark makes for a pretty cool location: it’s a combination of St Michael’s Mount in Cornwall and dimly lit studio sets filled with the riches of the sea, brought back from the Sea Snake’s many voyages. Warning: The below contains full spoilers for Episode 5 of House Of The Dragon, which aired on HBO on Sept.

Last week's episode of House of the Dragon ended with King Viserys Targaryen ordering Rhaenyra, her daughter and heir-to-be, to wed Laenor Velaryon, ...

She congratulates the princess as the king goes back to his speech about the upcoming wedding and the celebrations that come with it. The knight, in his anger, kills Joffrey, leading Laenor to grieve in the middle of everyone. After several episodes of resolving the princess’ marriage, Viserys finally finds a match in Laenor Velaryon, son of Corlys and Rhaenys. While the wedding is being held, Viserys collapses and the episode ends. The prince walks up to the king and instantly causes tension. The knight then admits that the lapse of morals happened between him and the princess. Back on the ship, Ser Criston Cole speaks to the princess and wonders if Rhaenyra would want to escape with him to Essos. He asks Lyonel about his legacy as a king as the new Hand assures him that he has done well. They also speak about the succession and the danger Rhaenyra faces. She proposes that they do their duties to the realm and after which, they would prefer to do so as they please. Doing so has set the wheels in motion for the Dance of the Dragons to unfold in this series. Over in the open seas, Viserys is seen sailing to the Driftmark, home of House Velaryon, along with Rhaenyra.

Milly Alcock, Fabien Frankel in 'House of the Dragon.' Ollie Upton/HBO. Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers about the fifth episode of “House ...

How that story unfolds could potentially offset or soften this latest turn of events in the eyes of those who would criticize it. When the event chaotically erupts in violence a short while later, Criston is on top of Joffrey, brutally pounding him to death during the melee. Still, introducing the relationship between Laenor and Joffrey only to dispatch the latter so quickly and horribly almost immediately prompted questions on Twitter on Sunday night about whether the “Bury Your Gays” trope applies here. Rhaenyra, meanwhile, had been dallying with a knight of her own, Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel). (The series plays on HBO, which, like CNN, is a unit of Warner Bros. Given that, the “Game of Thrones” prequel potentially waded into controversy with its most recent episode, subtitled “We Light the Way,” which again demonstrated, among other things, that in Westeros not much good ever happens at weddings.

It's not a real Westeros wedding until somebody starts screaming. Actually the wedding of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and Ser Laenor Velaryon hadn't even ...

Criston’s shock and shame reminds us about all the times we’ve unthinkingly watched women be used in similar fashion on “Game of Thrones” and a hundred other shows. (“We are placing our son in danger,” she told the Sea Snake.) But come on, a castle full of servants couldn’t tidy up a little for the princess’s sad pop-up wedding? But from a narrative standpoint, the bludgeoning foreshadowed future bloodshed as it illustrated the unintended consequences of the royals’ actions and heedlessness. The only solution, apparently, was to beat the man to death on the dance floor. We also saw his frustrations in the brothel in the premiere. Otto also terrified her on his way out of town, with his warnings about the near future and the safety of her children, should Rhaenyra remain heir. I guess we’re supposed to believe that Criston had been pushed past his limit: His dalliance with Rhaenyra, in breaking his Kingsguard chastity oath, shattered his self-image, and the princess compounded matters by rejecting his marriage plan and dismissing his dreams of Essos as little more than “a bushel of oranges.” The queen already knows all about his soiled cloak, thanks to his sitcom-level misunderstanding of her query about the Silk Street night. Her strut through the ballroom, in the middle of the king’s speech, doubled as a statement of allegiance in the Iron Throne derby at the heart of this story. Similarly, the current throne battle was set up by Viserys’s stubborn, perhaps misguided loyalty to his daughter, borne of his grief over his wife. But “he’s got a strange moral compass of his own,” the actor said. Meanwhile, the slithery Larys Strong (Matthew Needham), who might as well have been wearing a sign around his neck that said “Sinister Schemer,” was igniting the embers of Alicent’s suspicion in the royal garden. And relatives.) Those losses, in turn, upended the lives of Laenor, the grieving groom, and Rhea’s cousin, Ser Gerold Royce.

The episode revolves around the wedding of Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock) and Leanor Velaryon (Theo Nate), and it's also the last time we'll see Carey and ...

The division begins at a tournament to celebrate Viserys and Alicent's fifth anniversary in the book, in a change from the show – Alicent shows up to the tournament in green, while Rhaenyra wears House Targaryen's colors of red and black. In the book, a succession crisis begins when Viserys dies, and both Rhaenyra and Alicent's son Aegon lay claim to the throne. House of the Dragon episode 5 features a huge moment for Emily Carey's Alicent Hightower – and it's a lot more important than it might seem.

The tensions within House Targaryen escalated in Sunday's episode. Queen Alicent is now dealing with the political implications of Rhaenyra scheming to get Otto ...

"Ser Laenor is quite dear to me, as I know the princess is to you. Next up to congratulate the royals is a lord from House Royce. "I've always feared the day you'd have to marry a woman, and now it comes," the chap says. Daemon calls it a tragic accident, but Ser Royce accuses Daemon of being the culprit. Queen Alicent is watching the commotion from the balcony of her chambers. Strong keeps rambling sycophantically about being glad that Rhaenyra is well enough to sail to Driftmark, but the implication of his revelation was clearly grasped by the Queen. Viserys and the new Hand of the King exchange concerned glances. "The time is coming, Alicent. "The King will die. We've heard a few references to Daemon Targaryen's wife – Rhea Royce, or "the bronze bitch" as Daemon calls her – but we've never actually met her. With a backdrop of pouring rain, as with all good farewells, she tells her father that she regrets the King's decision to expel him. After being dismissed as Hand of the King in the final moments of episode 4, Otto Hightower is on the way out of King's Landing.

The nuptials of Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock) and Laenor Velaryon (Theo Nate) take a sharp, bloody turn.

It’s a shame because Laenor and Rhaenyra’s arrangement was as promising and progressive as things get in Westeros, even centuries later; she accepts his sexuality and he accepts her colorful history, and they agree to live and let live while performing the requisite duties of the crown and their houses. Indeed, one could argue that “House of the Dragon” shows its more primitive society’s values in this scene; Joffrey is barely wiped off the floor before the marriage proceeds and everyone acts like a knight didn’t commit murder while people were barely done with dinner. The events in “House of the Dragon” took place long before any of this, evidencing Westeros’ long history of savage marriage festivities. Martin’s “Fire & Blood](https://www.indiewire.com/2022/08/house-of-the-dragon-fire-and-blood-book-what-happens-1234749701/),” but almost all of them are between direct siblings. But the citizens of Westeros are no better; over the course of “Thrones” and now “Dragon,” it looks like weddings are the top chosen occasion for violent, vengeful murder. The young and decidedly not in love couple are barely even related, a victory in all seven kingdoms, but their nuptials were far from uneventful, and not in a good way.

This blows up in their faces when Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) — who wants something more than being Rhaenyra's secret "whore" — causes a brawl at the couple's ...

At a celebration before the wedding, Joffrey Lonmouth (Solly McLeod), Laenor's lover, exposed the Rhaenyra's plan to keep Criston as her secret whore. At this point, audiences are quick to pick up on the behaviors that several members of the Targaryen family routinely engage in. This blows up in their faces when Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) — who wants something more than being Rhaenyra's secret "whore" — causes a brawl at the couple's wedding.

2. Before her death, Rhea Royce gets in some wicked insults towards her estranged husband Daemon. Her quip about the Vale sheep being "prettier" is a reference ...

Let's dive into the interesting details and moments from this week's episode... What a HUGE episode it was — officially the mid-point of the season, with all the bubbling tensions culminating in what fans have dubbed the Green Wedding.

When Criston Cole, a noble knight, decided to cross his own moral boundaries, he expected that it would be worth it. He viewed his relationship with Rhaenyra to ...

Rhaenyra told her uncle upfront that she was ready to get married to him if he had the courage to take her with him, in front of everybody. Alicent had worn the color green to the dinner. Joffrey Lonmouth was observing Criston Cole very keenly, and he realized that he was the one with whom Rhaenyra had a secret affair. He revealed to her that the Grandmaester had given Rhaenyra Moon tea on the orders of the king. He told her that he was the kind of man who would bore her out of her wits. So he stood up and accepted that he had indulged with the Princess and told Alicent that he was ready for any kind of punishment. He called Alicent an outsider amidst the natives and told her that in order to thrive, she had to be very tactical in her approach. She valued the presence of Rhaenyra in her life and always thought of her as a very good friend and confidant. Rhaenyra had indulged with Ser Criston Cole, and she wanted to keep doing it even after her marriage. There were a few who thought about the well-being of the kingdom, and there were a few who were driven by personal desires and aspirations. Rhaenyra told him that he didn’t have to sever ties with his love interest, and neither would she. He was skeptical as his relationship with Lord Corlys had taken a downside after he refused to marry his daughter, Laena Velaryon.

“The beacon on the Hightower,” says Larys Strong (Matthew Needham), observing Alicent's ascent, speaking with his brother Breakbones (Ryan Corr). “Do you know ...

With that on his mind, Criston confesses to sleeping with Rhaenyra, despite never being asked that question, and asks only for a merciful death over a gelding. Where he stands, Rhaenys should be queen of Westeros, and he won’t rest until he gets the chance to right that wrong, consequences be damned. For their part, the cousins Rhaenyra and Laenor are able to make peace with the arrangement. Taking its name from the Hightower family’s house motto, “We Light the Way” closes the book on House of the Dragon’s first era, and begins its dark dance toward the bloody heart of the tale. It’s a taxing journey for the sickly king, but ultimately, a fruitful one. It’s a transformative moment not just for the young queen, long a pawn in the so-called game of thrones, but for the Game of Thrones prequel writ large.

The conclusion of Mork & Mindy was confusing, to say the least. During the season finale, Mork (Robin Williams) is revealed as an alien, so he and Mindy (Pam ...

(You want House of the Dragon Easter eggs, we’ve got them.) Plus, there’s tons more over at [Game of Thrones](https://screencrush.com/tags/game-of-thrones/) is one of the many details we explore in our latest video on the series. We explore Daemon’s sexual issues, and how they relate to his overarching storyline, how Viserys’ puke is the perfect symbol for his role on this episode, the importance of Rhaenyra’s necklace, and why the Crabfeeder’s Mask is so key to what’s happening this week.

In We Light the Way, it's time for Rhaenyra Targaryen to finally say "I do."

"Ser Laenor is quite dear to me, as I know the princess is to you. Next up to congratulate the royals is a lord from House Royce. "I've always feared the day you'd have to marry a woman, and now it comes," the chap says. Daemon calls it a tragic accident, but Ser Royce accuses Daemon of being the culprit. Queen Alicent is watching the commotion from the balcony of her chambers. "Ser Laenor is a good and decent man, but you did not choose him. Viserys and the new Hand of the King exchange concerned glances. "The time is coming, Alicent. "The king will die. We've heard a few references to Daemon Targaryen's wife -- Rhea Royce, or "the bronze bitch" as Daemon calls her -- but we've never actually met her. With a backdrop of pouring rain, as with all good farewells, she tells her father she regrets the king's decision to expel him. After being dismissed as Hand of the King in the final moments of episode 4, Otto Hightower is on the way out of King's Landing.