House of the Dragon is back, and the Dance of the Dragons is underway. The Targaryen war of succession will come down to control—who can control their impulses, their sycophants, and, yes, their dragons. With each passing episode, The Ringer will examine how Westeros’s key players are aligning their pieces on the board. As the saying goes, chaos can be a ladder. Welcome to the House of the Dragon power rankings.
1. Aemond Targaryen
How times have changed. Three episodes ago, Aemond was being publicly mocked by his older brother at a brothel; now, he’s ruling in Aegon’s stead, having played a part in putting the king on the brink of death. This week, Aemond wastes little time asserting his power, ordering Ser Criston Cole to march the greens’ army toward Harrenhal for an inevitable showdown with Daemon Targaryen. And with Aemond’s mother, Alicent Hightower, being one of the only dissenting voices remaining on Team Green’s Small Council, the prince regent relieves her of her duties so that she can focus on more “domestic pursuits.” He also visits a bedridden Aegon, but their time together isn’t exactly full of brotherly love (more on that later).
Aemond isn’t quite Joffrey Baratheon levels of bad, but the (literal) scars from his youth have made him a spiteful figure—one eager to continue proving his worth on the throne and, most of all, in battle. With how things are shaking out in the Riverlands, odds are Aemond will soon get his wish.
2. The Smallfolk
The smallfolk are dealt a cruel hand in King’s Landing, especially when winter rears its ugly head and food runs scarce. The people are hungry, and Mysaria’s underlings are sowing discontent by claiming Aemond is hosting lavish feasts within the walls of the Red Keep. (While it would be very on-brand for the highborns to party while the smallfolk are suffering, we don’t see any of it happen—it’s just as likely that Mysaria is cleverly fanning the flames.) By the time Team Black sends small boats carrying food to the shores of King’s Landing, the smallfolk are protesting on the streets.
Alicent and Helaena Targaryen get caught in the crossfire, having visited the Great Sept at the worst possible time, and they learn firsthand just how dangerous it can be when your own subjects turn on you. After one member of the Kingsguard hacks off the arm of a man who grabs Alicent, the knights are swarmed, and a handful are swallowed up by the crowd as if they’re in a zombie flick. The smallfolk might not boast the riches of the realm’s great houses, but as the High Sparrow once told Olenna Tyrell: “You are the few; we are the many.”
3. Addam of Hull
As a non–book reader, I wondered why House of the Dragon was devoting so much time to Alyn and Addam of Hull: two bastard sons of Corlys Velaryon who’ve spent the majority of the season hanging out in a shipyard. While Alyn looks poised to be Corlys’s successor on Driftmark, there’s barely been any narrative momentum in their scenes together. This week, Alyn is appointed as his father’s first mate, which is cool, I guess. Addam, meanwhile, laments being ignored by Corlys, unable to do anything to get his father’s attention.
Well, not anymore: By the end of the episode, Addam is cornered by the dragon Seasmoke, and it looks like our guy is about to become a crispy snack. Instead, we later learn that Seasmoke has been spotted with a rider; considering Addam’s lineage, it’s safe to surmise he’s bonded with the dragon. Just like that, Team Black has secured a prized dragon from free agency, and Addam is suddenly a major player for the fights to come.
4. Mysaria
Mysaria doesn’t sit on Rhaenyra Targaryen’s council, but I’d argue she’s done more to help Team Black’s cause than anyone else this season. Turning the smallfolk of King’s Landing against Team Green was a PR masterstroke, especially when Corlys’s naval blockade is one of the reasons they’ve been starved in the first place. The supply drop doesn’t just lead more of the smallfolk to pull for Rhaenyra—it creates an unnecessary headache for Team Green. “It is harder to wage war abroad when you must also keep peace at home,” Mysaria tells Rhaenyra.
But perhaps Mysaria’s most important role is being a sounding board for Rhaenyra, who has constantly been belittled by the (male) members of her council. In a quiet moment together, Mysaria lets her guard down and explains to Rhaenyra how she got the scar across her neck. Her father repeatedly raped her, and when Mysaria became pregnant, he had the baby removed and left her for dead. “This world is cold and cruel, and there are few in it who are steadfast,” Mysaria says. “You, I think, are steadfast.” This moment of vulnerability leads Rhaenyra to hug Mysaria before their embrace turns romantic. Their passionate make-out session is soon interrupted by the news that Seasmoke’s got a rider, but going forward, it looks like Mysaria will be more than just Rhaenyra’s closest confidant.
5. Rhaenyra Targaryen
Nobody on House of the Dragon is having a good time, so we’re celebrating minor victories for our characters this week. After Team Black’s council spent the entire season showing little respect for its queen, Rhaenyra emphatically slaps Bartimos Celtigar when he chastises her plan to procure more dragonriders from distant Targaryen relatives. “It is my fault, I think, that you have forgotten to fear me,” she tells Bartimos, which is not something you’d want to hear from someone who possesses a dragon. Of course, the usual headaches remain: Rhaenyra’s forces are smaller than Team Green’s, Daemon can’t be trusted, and the first dude to attempt bonding with a dragon gets burned alive. But with Seasmoke poised to join Team Black, I suspect better times are ahead for Rhaenyra—at least by the standards of this punishingly depressing show.
6. Otto Hightower
Otto doesn’t even show up this week, yet my passive-aggressive king(maker) is on the up. With Ser Criston setting off for Harrenhal, Aemond is in need of a new hand, and while Larys makes a not-so-subtle case for himself, the prince regent decides that Otto is the right man for the job. For those keeping score at home, this would be the fourth time Otto’s served as hand in the series, though it seems like he’s growing tired of being unappreciated by his family. We learn that Alicent has sent ravens throughout the realm to contact her father, but he’s left her on read. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is how Otto announces his return to King’s Landing:
7. Larys Strong
Even when Larys suffers a setback, this sneaky little weasel is never down for the count. Since Aemond became prince regent, Larys has tried appealing to his ego—all in the hopes of becoming hand. Aemond, however, knows exactly what Larys is up to and throws a curveball by informing him that Otto’s got the gig again. “My grandsire may be overcautious, but his devotion to his family has never been in doubt,” Aemond says, an incredible parting shot to a dude who orchestrated the killings of his own father and brother.
To his credit, Larys quickly shifts toward currying favor with another Targaryen. He visits a severely injured Aegon and explains what he can expect from living with physical impairments. “People will pity you, either behind your back or in your presence, … and they will underestimate you, and this will be your advantage,” Larys says. He’s speaking from personal experience, and while this advice appears to come from a place of empathy, make no mistake: Larys is also looking out for himself. He tells Aegon what he already knows: With Aemond as prince regent, the king’s life is in danger. Aegon needs all the allies he can get, and he can do far worse than having Larys in his corner. And assuming Aegon recovers enough to return to the throne, it sure looks like Larys has the inside track to be the new, new hand of the king. Call it a win-win.
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8. Alys Rivers
I still don’t know why, exactly, Alys Rivers is giving Daemon all these hallucinations—To exert influence over him? To scare him away from Harrenhal? For the love of the game?—but it leads to a shocking outcome. Daemon admits to Alys that he needs her help, a statement I doubt this overly proud prince has ever made in his life. Alys, in turn, advises him that House Tully is the most important family in the Riverlands: stable, wise, and influential. The problem is that the current Lord of Riverrun, Grover Tully, is an ineffectual old man. “In three days’ time, the winds will shift,” Alys ominously assures Daemon. Sure enough, that’s when Old Man Grover kicks the bucket, leaving the younger Tullys in charge, and they could be invaluable in getting the other river lords to support Daemon’s cause. How Alys benefits from this situation remains to be seen, but she’s still working her magic from the shadows.
9. Corlys Velaryon
In the span of a week, Corlys lost his wife and was appointed Rhaenyra’s hand, yet the Sea Snake didn’t have any flashy scenes in “Smallfolk.” Corlys informs Alyn that he’ll be appointed first mate on his ship, and that’s … pretty much it. Here’s my problem with all things Corlys: For all the talk of his oceanic exploits, House of the Dragon hasn’t given us any epic scenes on the high seas. (Nor did Game of Thrones, for that matter.) This feels like a huge missed opportunity. I can’t be the only viewer who wants to experience the Westerosi equivalent of Master and Commander and to hear Corlys explain that oceans are now battlefields. I bet Corlys and Alyn would rock a classical instrument duet, too. Make it happen, HBO.
10. Grand Maester Orwyle
This guy is super competent and gives everyone the side-eye. I love him.
11. Jacaerys Velaryon
Jace was riding a serious wave of momentum from the previous episode, successfully meeting with the Freys, who offered the Stark forces free passage through their crossing in exchange for Harrenhal, and helping his mother hatch a plan to find distant Targaryen relatives theoretically capable of mounting dragons. Unfortunately, Jace is on the outside looking in this week. For one, Rhaenyra doesn’t tell him about Mysaria’s ploy to send food to the smallfolk of King’s Landing. Then, Rhaenyra dismisses Jace for suggesting—not inaccurately!—that Team Black needs Daemon for it to stand a chance against Team Green’s forces. Whether or not Rhaenyra heeds her son’s council, Jace is one of the rare characters on House of the Dragon who seems to have a good head on his shoulders. Unfortunately, knowing Thrones, that probably means he’s also marked for death.
12. Daemon Targaryen
I’ll watch Matt Smith do anything, but even I’m close to my limit with Daemon’s constant ayahuasca trips. This week, Daemon has several visions of Viserys, including one in which Daemon is reminded that he called Viserys’s late son, Prince Baelon, the “heir for a day.” While it’s nice to see Paddy Considine back in a Targaryen wig—if only briefly—it feels like House of the Dragon doesn’t know what to do with Daemon at this point other than turning him into medieval Aaron Rodgers. And not to kick a man while he’s down, but I also have to call out Daemon’s accessories. What the hell is up with this satchel?
I refuse to believe that something I could use as a carry-on at LaGuardia exists in Westeros.
13. Ser Simon Strong
Think about how everything in the Riverlands has shaken out this season from Ser Simon Strong’s perspective. This dude was just quietly minding his own business in Harrenhal, and then Daemon shows up in the middle of the night and takes over the dilapidated castle. Then, when Daemon isn’t tripping balls, Daemon demands that Ser Simon refer to him as “my king”—even though both characters have pledged their allegiance to Rhaenyra—and draws the ire of the river lords for his “works of barbarity.” But wait, there’s more: This week, Daemon puts a knife to Ser Simon’s throat and accuses him of being responsible for all the hallucinations he’s experienced. (Who’s the likelier candidate: the genial old man who welcomed you into his castle, or the goth healer who looks like she stumbled in from the set of Wicked?) For Ser Simon’s sake, I hope Daemon’s time in Harrenhal is short-lived.
14. Ser Criston Cole
Ser Criston Cole’s arc this season is the definition of “fuck around and find out.” Once eager to go to battle for his king, Ser Criston is singing a much different tune after witnessing the devastating effects of dragonfire at Rook’s Rest. He’s sullen, barely making eye contact with anyone. His very short reign as hand of the king is over. He’s ordered to march toward Harrenhal, where he’s likely to face off against Daemon and his dragon, Caraxes. Do I … actually sympathize with the most hated man in Westeros? I’m sure these feelings will subside, especially when there’s a 50-50 chance Ser Criston will commit a war crime in the Riverlands.
15. Helaena Targaryen
The last time Helaena left the Red Keep, it was for young Jaehaerys Targaryen’s funeral procession through King’s Landing. (At one point, the wagon carrying Jaehaerys’s body got stuck, and we all feared his sewn-on head would go rolling down the street.) Turning a mother’s grief into a public spectacle was bad enough, but this is House of the Dragon, so the worst was yet to come. While Helaena is admiring her insect collection—we all have our hobbies!—Alicent interrupts so that they can go to the Great Sept and pray for Aegon’s recovery. Naturally, that coincides with the moment when the smallfolk are up in arms over their lack of food, and Alicent and Helaena are caught in a precarious position: surrounded by the people who blame them for their suffering. Alicent and Helaena just manage to escape, but it is far too close for comfort.
Going forward, I have a suggestion for Team Green: LET HELAENA HANG OUT WITH HER BUGS IN PEACE.
16. Aegon Targaryen
The good news: Aegon is slowly but surely recovering from his injuries, a minor miracle given how badly he was burned by dragonfire while falling hundreds of feet from the sky. The bad news: Aegon is entirely defenseless when Aemond comes to visit him. While casually threatening his brother about what he remembers from Rook’s Rest, Aemond presses one of the Small Council’s marble balls—side note: these objects need better branding—against Aegon’s wounds. “I remember nothing,” Aegon pleads, an act of submission more than anything else.
Like Ser Criston, Aegon has done little to earn the audience’s sympathy—raping handmaidens, showing zero affection to his sister-wife, behaving like a spoiled brat—but it’s hard not to feel bad about his current predicament. (Such is the power of Thrones.) Aegon, rest up and keep that milk of the poppy on standby.
17. Alicent Hightower
How the mighty have fallen. After barely receiving any support in her bid to be named queen regent in Aegon’s stead, Alicent is now faced with getting booted off the Small Council altogether. “Have the indignities of your childhood not yet sufficiently been avenged?” Alicent asks Aemond, which we already know the answer to, given her son’s recent behavior. Later, Alicent sees off her brother Gwayne Hightower before he marches to the Riverlands. She wonders how her other son, Daeron Targaryen, has been faring in Oldtown. (Daeron has yet to appear in the series.)
Gwayne assures Alicent that Daeron, now a teenager, is doing well, and most importantly, he’s kind (a trait, uh, certainly not shared by his brothers). Alicent openly questions whether being away from the political shitstorm that is the Red Keep has made Daeron a better person or whether he’s benefited from not having his mother around. That it’s even open for debate speaks volumes about Alicent’s parenting.
18. Ser Steffon Darklyn
So, about Rhaenyra’s plan to find other dragonriders. Ser Steffon Darklyn is the first person she broaches the subject with: As it turns out, his “grandmother’s grandmother” was born a Targaryen princess. Rhaenyra stresses the danger posed to Ser Steffon if he agrees to try to tame a dragon, but he’s undeterred. The chance to ride a dragon, which has been repeatedly likened to a god, is too good to pass up. (Who can blame him, really?) At Dragonstone, Ser Steffon slowly approaches Seasmoke, who initially seems hostile before maneuvering his saddle in the direction of the knight. (In my view, this is the dragon version of a dog rolling over to show its belly.) “I’ve done it,” an astonished Ser Steffon says.
As is tradition on Thrones, whenever a character thinks they’re out of danger, that’s when shit hits the fan. (See also: Oberyn Martell spearing the Mountain before the former’s skull is crushed like a watermelon.) Seasmoke proceeds to roast poor Ser Steffon, who rolls around in agony in the final moments of his life. A tough way to go out. To quote another medieval knight:
