Warning: This article contains spoilers from episode 4 of The House of the Dragon
Episode 4 was pretty wild… See episodes one, two and three power rankings before digging in.
1. Laenor Velaryon
We didn’t see Laenor Velaryon on screen this week, but he had a great week nonetheless. This section will mainly be about other people, but we promise it’ll tie back to Laenor.
Due to his dad’s betrothal of Laena (Laenor’s sister) to the son of a Braavos sea lord, King Viserys and his Small Council are concerned about losing the Sea Snake and his unparalleled naval fleet as allies.
It was just last episode that King Viserys told his daughter Princess Rhaenyra that she could find her own husband. However, after Princess Rhaenyra cuts off her tour of the Seven Kingdoms two months early and paints the town red with her uncle Prince Daemon, King Viserys decides it’s time for him to set up a marriage for Rhaenyra…and that’s where Laenor Velaryon comes in. King Viserys determines that the best way to strengthen his alliance with the Sea Snake is to marry Princess Rhaenyra off to Laenor Velaryon, and Rhaenyra actually agrees to the proposal. All hail future husband of the heir to the Iron Throne, Ser Laenor Velaryon!
2. Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen
Her uncle used her, and it was pretty sad to see. We won’t get into the details on their night on the town, but shame on Prince Daemon for using Princess Rhaenyra to try to get back at King Viserys. Princess Rhaenyra obviously needed to let loose after all the stress from the past couple years. On the bright side, she’s still the heir, and she seems to be okay with the idea of marrying Laenor. On top of that, she was able to oust the creepy Otto Hightower as Hand of the King as part of the deal.
3. Sea Snake
His power and influence convinced King Viserys to marry Princess Rhaenyra to his son without even proposing the idea himself. We can’t wait to see Lord Corlys Velaryon back on screen (hopefully next episode!).
Familiarize yourself with this fiery cast of characters in our House of the Dragon guide.
4. Queen Alicent Hightower
In the last episode, it seemed like Queen Alicent didn’t really care for her friendship with Princess Rhaenyra anymore. All of the last week’s politicking to try and line up Prince Aegon as King Viserys’s heir (mainly by her dad Otto) led us to believe that the Alicent and Rhaenyra’s BFF relationship was long gone. But this week, we find out that Alicent still actually really cares for Rhaenyra. She doesn’t believe her dad’s accusation that Rhaenyra “coupled” with Prince Daemon. She’s just a lonely person in a loveless relationship who’s looking to connect with her old friend. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out.
5. Ser Criston Cole
When Prince Daemon turns down Princess Rhaenyra, Rhaenyra decides she needs to hook up with someone. Ser Criston Cole is the perfect candidate, as they’ve built up some chemistry together, and he just so happens to be outside of her room. At first, Ser Criston turns her down, but then he can’t refuse taking off his knight’s armor.
Get an exclusive insider look at House of the Dragon from the cast who are living it.
6. King Viserys
It feels like every week, we get a scene with King Viserys that’s going to haunt our dreams. A couple weeks ago, we were grossed out when he got a maggot manicure. Last week, we were unpleasantly surprised to see that his fingers were gone on the hand where he was getting a maggot manicure. This week, we had the displeasure of seeing King Viserys attempt to make another potential heir with Queen Alicent. The look of horror on Alicent’s face was gutting to see, and it’s how we felt after watching the disgusting scene. For the love of the Seven Gods, please don’t show King Viserys bumping uglies ever again.
7. The theater people
It’s always a lot of fun to see actors and actresses in King’s Landing portraying their version of what’s going on in the show.
8. Prince Daemon Targaryen
Well, Prince Daemon sure fell down these rankings fast. The episode opens on a high note for him, as he returns to King’s Landing to a true prince’s welcome following his slaying of the Crabfeeder. It is kind of cool to see him hand the Crabfeeder’s sword to his big bro King Viserys to add to the Iron Throne. After that, he really seems like he’s playing the role of the “cool uncle” as he takes Princess Rhaenyra out for a night on the town…But it was all downhill after a few pints at the tavern. Prince Daemon pretends to hook up with his niece, then asks his older brother if he can marry her? Gross.
9. Otto Hightower
Byeeeee, Otto! It is so satisfying to see King Viserys listen to his daughter and get rid of Otto Hightower as Hand of the King.
Stay tuned for more House of the Dragon power rankings right here.
