Discussing S1 E2 of House of the Dragon
As always, spoilers ahead, if you have not watched this episode, you probably should stop now.
A very strong second set-up episode, let’s dig in
“The Stonemasons build the structures” — King Viserys Targaryen
The first scene of the second episode of House of the Dragon shows several ships of the realm destroyed and all of the men surviving the initial battle being executed by a man known as “the Crabfeeder.”
There is a storm coming, will King Viserys be up to the task?
When I used to write about the Game of Thrones series I would often say that the books and the television series often have at the root a form of realist politics. No matter how much you like a character, their strength and ability to act strategically are critical to remaining alive in Westeros. People who fail tests of strength die. As Lord Corlys says near the end of this episode, “our worth is not given, it must be made.”
I am not suggesting that I agree with realism or neo-realism here, I am saying that in this created universe, strength is critical to success (and often survival).
King Viserys is not well suited to keeping the people of his realm safe and is not invested in making himself worthy.
