House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 5 recap: Mothers, ghosts & dragon heads
HBOIn House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 5, ‘Regent’, the fallout of dragon battle becomes clear, while Rhaenyra makes a new plan to go forward.
After the events of Season 2 Episode 4, everyone’s in disarray. Rhaenyra and Corlys grieve for Rhaenys, while Daemon’s still off living in the nightmare that is Harrenhal. Jace, as frustrated as ever, is desperately searching for a reason to be useful.
It’s not much better for Team Green, either. Aemond is being the slippery snake he’s been destined to become, and Cole’s still rattled from watching his king almost die. Oh, and Aegon’s just there, burnt to a crisp.
On the comedown from an explosive Episode 4, ‘Regent’ is an exercise in patience and power. Here’s all the key moments from the new episode. (Warning: major spoilers ahead!)
Meleys’ head is paraded through King’s Landing
It’s the moment everyone has been dreading from the previews. In true Green fashion, the Hightower side makes their worst move to date, parading Meleys’ head through King’s Landing as a sign of triumph.
The people, however, are now confused. Aren’t dragons invincible? Are they not Gods? Clearly, their illusions have now been shattered, with Hugh Hammer aptly declaring, “It’s just meat.” Way to make everyone know that you can be easily defeated, Greens.
Meanwhile, Aegon is being transported back to King’s Landing in a box. Upon delivery, Alicent watches as the Grand Maester and his team work on Aegon’s broken and burned body. His injuries are so terrible that she wonders aloud if he’ll live at all. (If you don’t like the sight of limbs being snapped back together, this might be one scene worth skipping.)
As they attend to the king, Aemond comes in and not so subtly suggests that someone will need to rule in Aegon’s stead.
When Alicent confronts Criston Cole about what happened at Rook’s Rest, he’s reluctant to tell her anything other than the fact that Aegon fought valiantly. Clearly, Alicent knows Aemond had some malicious intent.
Rhaenyra struggles with her Small Council
It’s not an easy episode for the women of Westeros. At Dragonstone, Rhaenyra is getting grief from her Small Council yet again. When she tries to lead them towards a course of action, she’s told that because she’s a woman, she has little experience in planning battles.
They also have opposing ideas over what to do next. One Lord wants them to attend to Rook’s Rest, while the other suggests that now is the time to attack Vhagar, while she’s weak. Rhaenyra wants to be the one to do it. The meeting goes unresolved.
Meanwhile, Jace remains frustrated that he’s not being allowed to assist in the war efforts. He tells Baela that he’ll go to The Twins and convince the Freys to allow Cregan Stark’s army to cross. If they have a route, they won’t need to wait for Daemon to raise an army.
Daemon teams up with the Blackwoods for the Riverlands
Speaking of Daemon, he’s now teamed up with Willem Blackwood. With a group of House Bracken men and their lord before him, he tells them to submit and bend the knee to him. (Interesting choice of words there, Daemon!)
But the men call his bluff and deny him, which works very well for them since Daemon needs them too much to burn them there and then.
Willem Blackwood, ever the anti-Bracken man, comes up with an arrangement with Daemon wherein he can hassle the Brackens into bending the knee, so the crown isn’t seen as doing it.
HBORhaenyra devises a plan to move forward
Rhaenyra is still reeling from her unsuccessful Small Council meeting, discussing matters with Lady Mysaria. Mysaria tells her that the people of King’s Landing are growing tired of the Green’s rule, since they have no food or supplies. They’re also starting to doubt their power after flaunting Meleys’ head around.
When she reminds Rhaenyra that there’s more than one way to win a war, it seems a plot is starting to form between the two.
After her meeting with Mysaria, Rhaenyra speaks with Baela and comforts her after the death of her grandmother. She also gives her a task; to find Corlys and offer him the position of Hand of the Queen.
Daemon’s Harrenhal nightmare continues
This is where House of the Dragon truly ups the ante on its questionable content, since viewers are treated to a disturbing montage in which Daemon is seen getting it on with his mother. While they’re together, she praises him and assures him that he was always suited for the crown more than his brother. Someone get Freud on the phone, stat!
But alas, it’s all a dream. Daemon is actually sitting at dinner with Simon Strong and the other Lords. When Strong asks him to approach the Queen for money to fix up Harrenhal to its rightful state, Daemon quickly insists on paying himself, unwilling to write to Rhaenyra.
He also instructs Strong to call him “my king”, although this is technically not the correct term. For anyone who predicted that Daemon might attempt to usurp Rhaenyra’s claim, this is the strongest evidence to date.
Aemond takes control of King’s Landing
At the Small Council meeting, the Grand Maester warns the others that it’s not looking good for Aegon. He’s burned, has broken bones, and might have more internal injuries. He’s not awake, and may never wake again. As such, they need to pick out a prince regent to take his place for the time being.
Alicent offers up her own services, considering she did so for King Viserys when he was sick. However, the Council doesn’t like the idea of that at all, pointing out that it would look bad to dispute Rhaenyra’s claim and then appoint a woman of their own. As such, Aemond will step up to the task, as he is the current heir.
Aemond wastes no time in laying down some new ground rules. First order of business is to cut off the entrance and exit of anyone into King’s Landing. With so many residents wanting to leave and spread the word of the crown’s disintegration, they cannot risk letting anyone leave.
HBOThis is very bad news for Hugh Hammer, who shortly after makes an attempt to leave with his wife and sick daughter. They’re quickly met with the Gold Cloaks, who shut everyone inside. Soon, a riot begins.
Team Black make some moves
Jace is successful in his mission to get Stark passage through The Twins when he meets with the Lord and Lady Frey in House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 5. In exchange for their permission (and their new allegiance to Rhaenyra), he offers his and Daemon’s protection.
But Daemon is busy fixing up Harrenhal, hoping that a few new windows will somehow erase the curse that follows him. Alys Rivers is on his tail too, making eerie comments that suggest she knows what he’s seeing. When she criticizes the war, he points out that Aemond would be a bad king and that she should pray she never meets him. (Foreshadowing!)
But the real shock comes when Daemon outright tells her that Rhaenyra wouldn’t make a good queen, either. His theory is that those who supported her wouldn’t be ruled by her on account of her being a woman. His plan is to take King’s Landing for himself and offer Rhaenyra a place by his side as his Queen.
HBOAt High Tide, Baela finds her grandfather, who’s mourning the loss of Rhaenys. When she tells him of Rhaenyra’s request, he hates the idea of it at first. But Baela reminds him that Rhaenys wasn’t just his wife, she was a Targaryen princess, too. She made her own choice to go to Rook’s Rest. Now, he can stand by Rhaenyra’s side as Rhaenys would have done, or continue to mourn.
Bad times at Harrenhal and King’s Landing
Rhaenyra sends Ser Alfred to go to Harrenhal and see what’s going on with Daemon in person. It’s clear she’s having doubts about Daemon’s intentions. She’s pretty much bang on the money, since it’s not going well for Daemon at all.
In Harrenhal, he’s in the middle of another nightmare when Simon Strong comes in. The Lords of the Riverlands have turned up in the middle of the night, and they’re not happy. Lord Blackwood successfully convinced Lord Bracken to bend the knee, but at what cost? They pillaged and destroyed much of their land and murdered many innocents. Even worse, they did it while carrying Daemon’s banner.
As a result, the Lords of the Riverlands vow never to raise their banners for Daemon, nor the Targaryens.
In King’s Landing, Rhaenyra’s handmaid is attempting to sneak in. She tells a Gold Cloak that she’s been sent by Lady Mysaria and he manages to grant her entry. When she gets in, she heads to the home of another woman, who recognizes her.
In the Red Keep, Aemond stares at the Iron Throne, interrupted when Helaena appears and asks him, “Was it worth the price?” Alicent, meanwhile, is watching over Aegon as he sleeps. Eventually she leaves, only to miss a brief gasp of air when Aegon asks, “Mummy?”
Rhaenyra and Jace decide to enlist the dragonseeds
Jace finds Rhaenyra later that night, reading about Visenya Targaryen. The two briefly argue, with both parties equally disappointed at being sidelined during the war. Ultimately, she doesn’t want him flying around exposed, where he could be attacked by Aemond. He’d never stand a chance.
She insists that if it comes down to it, then she will be the one to fight. However, they need more dragons (Vermathor and Silverwing get a mention), and more riders. Jace comes up with the idea that will come to form a huge part of the Targaryen Civil War: enlist the numerous bastards with dragon-riding blood around Westeros to aid them.
It’s a mad idea, but could just work. As the two decide to trace the lineage of all the bastards who might be able to ride for them, there’s hope in the air for Team Black’s new strategy.
For more, check out our recaps of House of the Dragon Episode 4 and Episode 3. You can also check out our feature on the 5 creepy Westeros mysteries too dark for House of the Dragon, and keep tabs on when the new episode is out. Don’t miss our breakdown of the House of the Dragon filming locations, either!