House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 5 Review: Salt and Sea

Critic’s Rating: 3.15 / 5.0

3.15

If there’s a show on the air right now that knows how to portray grief, it’s this one.

It’s not the first time we’ve seen major characters deal with huge losses. On House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 5, the fallout from last week was felt in King’s Landing and in Dragonstone.

Princess Rhaenys Targaryen is dead. Her loved ones are loathe to say goodbye.

Goodbye to the Queen Who Never Was

We’ve already talked about the incredible marriage Rhaenys shared with Corlys.

Just last week, the princess found herself face-to-face with Alyn of Hull, a man she immediately recognized as her husband’s son.

If you didn’t catch that, don’t worry; you’re not alone.

Alyn and his brother Addam are the Sea Snake’s bastard sons, a fact that shocked many fans.

But what was most striking about that interaction was Rhaenys’s gracious reaction.

She showed kindness to Alyn, and then sternly advised Corlys to treat his sons as heirs and not outcasts. Catelyn Stark could never.

Anyway, RIP Rhaenys.

Widespread Consequences

The battle that took place at the end of House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 4 left its mark in more ways than one.

While the Blacks grieve Rhaenys and Meleys, the Greens face uncertainty as Aegon II comes home in a crate with potentially fatal injuries.

Criston Cole and Gawain Hightower’s decision to parade Meleys’s head through King’s Landing like a trophy backfired.

It’s almost understandable that they thought it would be a show of strength and victory.

But the barbaric display did not impress the people. It scared them.

This means Mysaria’s advice to Rhaenyra — to take advantage of that fear to gain the support for her cause — will probably turn out to be successful.

Side note: as they dragged Meleys’s head through the streets, Criston and Gawain shouted about the victory and credited Aegon for the dragon’s death.

If I know anything about Aemond Targaryen, who was, of course, the actual person responsible for felling Rhaenys and Meleys, he’s not going to like that.

He’s been subjected to severe bullying by Aegon his entire life, and we have to recognize the impact that has had on him. House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 5 highlights that fact.

That’s why the question of who would act as a regent in Aegon’s absence was so stressful.

Who Will Sit in Aegon’s Place?

There were two obvious choices: Alicent, the dowager queen who has direct experience in the role, or Aemond, the natural successor to the Iron Throne (according to the Greens, anyway).

I doubt anyone was surprised when the council voted in Aemond’s favor, but there was a bit of brow-raising when it was revealed which council members supported which candidate.

I expected that, at minimum, Larys and Criston would support Alicent’s bid.

But they both backed Aemond’s claim, much to Alicent’s chagrin.

Now, look — Larys is a creepy little dude, okay — but he had a point, did he not?

Keep in mind, I’m Team Black.

But for the Greens to loudly oppose Rhaenyra’s claim to the Iron Throne, going so far as to start a war over it, and then appoint a woman to rule in Aegon’s stead while he heals?

That would have looked pretty hypocritical, no?

So, with only the Maester on Alicent’s side, the Greens vote in Aemond to take the throne.

He takes his place quickly and comfortably.

It was interesting that his first official order as King Regent was to “cut down the fucking rat catchers” since that public display of revenge was one of many impulsive moves by Aegon.

Aemond is so similar to his uncle Daemon in that he craves power and deeply resents anyone who implies that he shouldn’t have it.

That’s probably a good sign that he shouldn’t have it.

A Prince, a King, a Consort

Daemon is still tripping in Harrenhal, and we’re still not sure exactly why, though we suspect Alys Rivers is involved.

Who was the mysterious blonde woman he was getting hot and heavy with? She certainly looked like a Targaryen, but I didn’t recognize her.

Daemon is not doing great mentally. He ordered the Blackwoods to get creative when overpowering the Breckens, thoroughly pissing off the River Lords.

Most importantly, he confessed to Alys that he intends to take the throne.

I shouldn’t be surprised. We’ve known all along that Daemon is hungry for power.

From House of the Dragon Season 1 Episode 1, his eyes were on the Iron Throne.

But still, somewhere deep down, I was hoping his loyalty to Rhaenyra was true.

Rhaenyra’s Strengths on Display

The good news is, Rhaenyra knows something is up with her husbuncle, and she intends to find out exactly what it is.

I appreciated her honesty about her annoyance with Ser Alfred Broome. She doesn’t beat around the bush, and she’s a brilliant queen because of it.

Remember in the last episode, when Aegon complained to Alicent about how his council overlooked him?

Rhaenyra has the same concerns with her council, but boy, does she display more emotional intelligence about it all.

And to her credit as a mother, Jace turned out to be a star player on House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 5.

His negotiations at the Vail served Rhaenyra well, and even better, his idea to find dragon riders by searching for people with any Targaryen blood at all could be a game-changer for the Blacks.

Between that and the advice from the White Worm about poaching supporters from King’s Landing, Rhaenyra could be setting up for success in the coming weeks.

At the gates of the castle, starving and sick subjects begged for entry. They were denied help. That happened on Game of Thrones, too, and it didn’t end well.

The mysterious peasant family from House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 2 came back, and I’m willing to bet that they’re going to be instrumental in leading the charge of defectors to the Blacks.

As always, Emma D’Arcy’s performance this week was absolutely stellar. They proved once again that they can flawlessly portray a wide range of emotions and concepts. In the span of an hour, they covered grief, anger, frustration, and grace.