House of the Dragon 2×5 Review: Regent

This is a difficult episode to review because, quite frankly, not much happened. People continue to squabble amongst the Greens and Blacks, and Daemon continues to trip balls at Harrenhal. 

Actually, let’s start there. Daemon tripping at Harrenhal. We should definitely be used to Targaryen incest by now, but an extended sex scene involving his mother was perhaps a bit too far for most. Myself included. At first I thought that was Aemma, which would still be his cousin and still gross, but when I realize who she was supposed to be I had a negative visceral reaction to it. It’s ridiculous, really. They’ve been marrying and having children with family members since the beginning, but I couldn’t stomach it. 

His adventure in Harrenhal-land is going on a bit too long at this point, and I hope we move on soon. I find Alys very interesting, but I need some forward momentum with her now. It’s starting to drag. 

I am, however, excited for the Dragonseed. There are people with small amounts of Targaryen blood all over Westeros and any of them are potentially capable of riding a dragon. Though, as Jace implies, Targaryen heritage might not even be a requirement.

In the books there’s a character named Nettles who is assumed by most to not be related to the Targaryens in any way, but she ends up mounting a dragon. George RR Martin has apparently implied outside the books that she’s a Targaryen bastard, but I can’t find that interview anywhere to confirm. Either way, I’m not sure she’s going to be in the show at all, so it’s hard to say which route they’re going to go with this. Can someone mount a dragon through pure determination, or is there something special about the Targaryens?  I assume the former, but with no Nettles, it could be the latter. 

The only other thing the happened this week was Alicent being pushed out of power on account of her gender, which was a huge “duh” moment. It’s truly a “Leopard Ate My Face” moment and I don’t know what she was expecting. But this happens in real life, too. Women get involved with alt right groups and then are surprised when there’s misogyny. That’s part of the whole thing, guys. That’s the patriarchy at work. You aren’t special. They’ll turn on you as soon as you’re no longer useful. 

The only other standout moment was Baela proudly declaring that she’s more closely connected to the Targaryen Fire and Blood dynamic than the Velaryon Salt and Sea. Baela readily does take after her father, so I’m not surprised. But it’s great to see her proudly claiming that.

I worry for Rhaena, though, as she’s been made to feel like an outcast without her own dragon. She hasn’t shown any indication that she’s more “salt and sea” so I’m not sure that’s what Baela was implying, but that would fit in with her seemingly being pushed away from the Targaryens for her inability to ride a dragon. Rhaenyra tried to frame it as her being given an important task – and truly, it is! – but I can understand her resentment about the whole ordeal. Yes, she has responsibility and the future of the house is with her, but it landed on her by default because she doesn’t have a dragon.

This was a tough episode to review due to the lack of events that took place. And I blame Harrenhal, mostly. I would like to move on, please. 

Author: Angel Wilson

Angel is the admin of The Geekiary and a geek culture commentator. They earned a BA in Film & Digital Media from UC Santa Cruz. They have contributed to various podcasts and webcasts including An Englishman in San Diego, Free to Be Radio, and Genre TV for All. They identify as queer.

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