HotD Ep. 5 cordially invites you to The Green Wedding.
Just when I thought they couldn’t go any bigger…
The Short Take:
A wedding worthy of the Game of Thrones tradition. Well-orchestrated character conflicts yield thrilling, shocking results. Emily Carey is MVP.
Dragon Count: 4
(You read that right. We got a new dragon this week!)
Image Credit: IndieWire
[SPOILER WARNING: Keep on flapping your dragon wings past this review if you have not seen the episode. The opening two paragraphs have some pretty big spoilers for Game of Thrones as well, so skip over those if you are just joining the World of Ice and Fire with HotD.]
The Long Take:
Who doesn’t love a wedding? Basically anyone in Westeros.
The Red Wedding was one of the most infamous events in Game of Thrones, if not television history. For those who had not read George R. R. Martin’s A Storm of Swords, the unexpected massacre of several Starks and their banner men, including not one but several major characters, was a complete shock and cemented the “no character is safe on TV” trend that Thrones arguably set in motion in its first episode. This week, House of the Dragon cordially invited viewers to what I would dub The Green Wedding (though I suspect I’m not the only one to come up with that moniker). While the volume of death dwindles in comparison, I was surprised that the tension, suspense, and character beefs rivaled that of its predecessor.
Weddings in Westeros are always perilous, of course. At what some call “The Purple Wedding,” Joffrey dropped dead from poisoning. Ramsay Bolton sexually assaulted Sansa on their wedding night. Jon Snow’s parents, Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, started a war, Robert’s Rebellion, with their nuptials. But The Green Wedding, to me, has so many more plates spinning in the air than most of these. With each new arrival into the banquet hall, layer upon narrative layer crashes into the scene like waves against an already rocky shore.
The direction throughout this sequence isn’t the most subtle, but it is the most salacious, with characters exchanging meaningful glances and balletically weaving in and out of personal conflicts. In some cases this is literal, as dancing often facilitates some of the tête-à-têtes. The show has done an excellent job of planting seeds in past episodes such that this event is a natural pressure cooker. Jason Lannister’s misogynist comment about women never being on time for battle, for example, radiates more tension because we know he’s likely still bitter from Rhaenyra’s rejection in Episode 3. I also loved the editing in this scene, especially as Rhaenyra and Laenor dance. Even though we know they are not romantically interested in one another, they crank up the charm and sell the idea of them as a power couple. Meanwhile, they camera cuts to other parties who may not be super happy about that.
This, I, and many others, I’m sure, would color this wedding green because most of the tête-à-têtes, on and off the dance floor, fan the flames of jealousy surrounding the two members of this strategic union: Rhaenyra Targaryen and Laenor Velaryon. The betrothed couple have come to an understanding that once they have fulfilled their duties to their families and the realm, that they will be free to pursue other romantic partners. Rhaenyra would presumably, in this scenario, continue her dalliance with Ser Criston Cole, and Laenor would be able to continue what appears to be a much more committed, longstanding relationship with Joffrey Lonmouth. While this arrangement seems like a better than expected outcome for the two royals, their non-royal paramours seem to feel differently. This is somewhat understandable when we view these relationships as inter-class; Criston and Joffrey don’t perceive this arrangement as an ideal situation because they do not enjoy the unique privileges and burdens of royals.
That, of course, does not mean that Criston and Joffrey should see eye to eye either. I understand that Joffrey intends his conversation with Criston as a political move, setting up mutual assured destruction in order to keep his and Laenor’s secret safe. But 1.) he can’t help but jeer at Criston because deep down he’s probably still jealous of Rhaenyra and 2.) he has no idea how unstable the person he’s talking to is and how sore a spot he’s needling (more on that in a minute). This miscalculation ultimately leads to the final violent act that cuts the festivities short: Ser Criston Cole bludgeoning Joffrey Lonmouth to death in front of the entire wedding.
Image Credit: The Wrap
I’m not usually one to brag, but I was very proud of myself for predicting that Ser Criston was going to snap very early on. I thought maybe he would go directly after Laenor instead of going off the handle and taking out his rage on Joffrey. But I was pretty sure some kind of violent outburst was on its way because the actor’s eyes were just bulging out of their sockets for the entire episode. I increasingly had a sinking feeling that at some point he was going to mess everything up for Rhaenyra. On the ship, he backdoor proposes to her in the worst way possible by asking her to give up her duties as heir and run away with him to Essos. Rather than professing his love for her, though, he focuses on how this would be much better for him.
Again, the inter-class angle here helps illuminate a proposal that otherwise seems completely out of touch with reality and fairly selfish. Criston alludes to the fact that his King’s Guard cloak is the only thing of value he has as a common born man. And breaking that vow has put his social mobility at risk. So it makes sense that he might view an illicit relationship with Rhaenyra with much higher stakes than she ever would.
If I hadn’t already been on high alert after Criston’s nigh delusional attitude towards his relationship with Rhaenyra, the conversation he has with Alicent in which he freely, quickly, and unnecessarily confesses cemented my ominous suspicions of what was to come. That scene alone establishes him as a liability. Scrolling through Twitter right after I finished watching the episode, I noticed that by far the most memes were making fun of Criston in this scene.
Collectively considering all of Criston’s behavior in this episode, it becomes clear that the problem is that he isn’t playing the game of thrones. (That’s why he’s so meme-able.) He doesn’t even seem to be aware that there is a game to be played. He has risen to his position through hard work and merit — his combat experience that makes him more qualified — and maybe a dash of his good looks. But no one has bothered to tell him that in King’s Landing meritocracy is a foreign currency and he needs to convert some of his coin to political leverage in order to keep up with Rhaenyra. He completely rejects Joffrey’s invitation to the game, and instead of picking up what he’s putting down, he beats him to death. Not realizing she needed to manage Criston, not factoring him into her own political game plan, was a huge error on Rhaenyra’s part, but I think her class privilege blinded her here.
If all that weren’t enough, the series throws Daemon into the mix, with sparks flying as he openly flirts with Rhaenyra on the dance floor. After she once again challenges him to put his dragon eggs where his mouth is, he channels his jealousy into a flirtation with Laenor’s younger sister, Laena, who has grown up considerably since she went on that “can I really marry an 12-year-old?” walk with Viserys in Episode 2. This brief interaction is very meaningful because it adds new data to my “what is Daemon really thinking?” calculus. His interest in Laena, even if it may be settling because he really wants Rhaenyra, indicates that his interest in entrapping Rhaenyra last week was not purely political — to gain access to the throne — nor was it purely personal — because he’s madly in love with his niece. The interaction with Laena here introduces yet another factor that I had not considered before: Daemon’s desire to keep the Targaryen bloodline pure. It will be interesting how much Daemon tries to use Laena to make Rhaenyra jealous.
I can call this The Green Wedding in light of all the jealousy and lovers’ quarrels that froth to a violent end, but the more potent reason to give it that name is Alicent’s declaration of allegiance to House Hightower. She’s literally wearing the color green when she makes her grand, Viserys/Rhaenyra-undercutting entrance. Miles McNutt of Episodic Medium (another great read on Substack that you should subscribe to!) tweeted that Miguel Sapochnik’s comment that the significance of Alicent’s green dress is quite subtle made him laugh out loud, and I totally agree. Characters in the show explain this very thing to us, unambiguously. Larys Strong turns to his brother and says, “Do you know what color the beacon at House Hightower glows when they declare war?” And his brother replies with “Green?” Without this exchange, I can see how some might not pick up on the significance of Alicent’s dress choice, but this explanation leaves little room for excuses. It’s on the nose for our benefit, but also helpful to see that those at court would have noticed as well.
Image Credit: Entertainment Weekly
The Strong brothers are the best gossips, and I generally appreciate their presence. They do complicate my previous impression of their father, Lyonel Strong, just as he becomes Hand to the King. In early episodes, he seemed to be the only one without an ulterior motive, consistently giving Viserys solid advice. But now that we’ve seen his son, Larys Strong, try to manipulate Alicent, I’m left wondering how “in” on it he is.
Even if Larys strong dropped some pivotal knowledge that influenced Alicent, what I unexpectedly loved about this episode was Alicent’s agency; she finds a way, within her means, to rise up and take a stand in response to what’s going on around her. As Alicent makes a grand entrance in the declarative green dress, commanding the attention of an entire banquet hall, she clearly stakes her claim in the game. She’s honoring her recently dismissed father and fighting for the survival of her family. She looks terrified and confused when Otto very directly explains that Rhaenyra might try to kill her and Aegon in order to shore up her claim to the throne, but over the course of the episode her face evolves. When Ser Criston Cole unexpectedly confesses, she looks shocked, betrayed, and angry in a flash. By the time she enters that banquet hall, she looks determined, ready to fight. And her sudden appearance at the end of the episode to stop Criston’s suicide attempt was absolutely chilling because I know she has to be there to recruit him to her side, using their mutual ire towards Rhaenyra to recruit him. Actress Emily Carey has been putting out strong work all season, but this was her time to shine and she rose to the occasion in a big way. I really felt like her character as we’re about to see her going forward was being forged in the fire here.
I wonder, though, in retrospect, will this episode serve as Alicent’s hero or villain origin story? I’ve been on Team Rhaenyra this whole time, so that naturally makes an adversary like Alicent more of a villain. I don’t dislike Alicent, though. This speaks to the master stroke of the show thus far: I never just feel one way about any one character.
Dragon Watch:
You may not think I should have a lot to say on the Dragon front, but this episode actually snuck a brand new dragon in without really telling us! Right before the whole wedding debacle, we see House Velaryon’s ships approaching King’s Landing. But before that — in fact, the first thing we see right after Viserys frets about his legacy (hate to break it to you, but it’s a little late for that, buddy) and passes out — Rhaenys, the Queen Who Never Was, and her son and groom-to-be, Laenor, fly in on their dragons. We had seen Seasmoke and his adorable puffy bird chest fighting the Crab Feeder in Episode 3, but we’ve never had confirmation that Rhaenys also has her own dragon, Meleys or The Red Queen. If you missed this the first go around, don’t worry; I had to rewind and pause several times, and then Zoom in to realize that the long silver hair of the rider was in fact Rhaenys. As soon as I realized it made perfect sense. Rhaenys is the Targaryen who married into the Velaryon family; where else would Laenor get his dragon-riding abilities from? I do wish that Meleys had gotten a grander and more formal introduction, or at the very least a close-up on Rhaenys to make it more obvious to viewers unwilling to play back the tape like me.
And, for the record, my “there can only be two” per episode theory still holds…and considering how estranged Rhaenyra and Laenor are likely to be after this week’s tragedy, I wouldn’t expect a dragon date or dragon moot anytime soon.