House of the Dragon was back for another fiery episode on Sunday, with fans of HBO Max's new favorite family gearing up for what appears to be a very Game of Thrones-esque incestuous relationship.
Fans of the House of the Dragon series should continue reading at their own risk... this piece will contain SPOILERSSo far, viewers of the show have been introduced to the champagne-haired clan of dragonlords - including King Viserys, Queen Aemma, Princess Rhaenyra and series bad boy Prince Daemon.
Those who have been keeping up with this medieval mayhem will remember that episode one consisted of an heir-seeking Viserys, an excitingly-gory jousting tournament, and a botched Caesarean-section which left Queen Aemma and her baby son dead. It showed Viserys revealing the Targaryen prophecy of a "terrible winter" to his only child, Princess Rhaenyra.
The explosive episode ended with Viserys removing his brother, Daemon, from the line of succession after the apparent sex fiend called his dead baby nephew the "Heir for a Day" at a lively brothel party. This left Princess Rhaenyra to be the heir to the Iron Throne.
What followed in episode two was a series of scheming and plotting between members of the Small Council, who were all clambering to find ways to sit on the Iron Throne in efforts even Julius Caesar's back-stabbing conspirators would admire. Because, obviously, any man would suffice in lieu of Princess Rhaenyra.
Members of the Small Council begin pressuring King Viserys to remarry and propagate his royal line, with Lord Corlys Velaryon making the patriarchal move to offer up his 12-year-old daughter, Laena, for marriage to the King. The young child even told her would-be spouse that they wouldn't need to bed until she turned 14 which, considering the time period, was seemingly rather reasonable.
Unbeknownst to the council, however, a crafty Ser Otto Hightower manages to wrangle his way into the Targaryen family through encouraging his daughter, Alicent, to entertain the recently-widowed King Viserys in his bed chambers. Which evidently seems to involve her talking to him while he plays with an impressively large stone replica of his kingdom. Eventually this leads to a marriage proposal from King Viserys to young Alicent, who just happens to be Princess Rhaenyra's BFF. What ensues is a few seconds of awkward eye-contact, before the Princess storms off. Yikes.
Of course, this means Lord Corlys Velaryon's 12-year-old daughter is no longer in King Viserys' peripherals which, understandably, makes the naval commander see red. The second episode concludes with him holding a candlelit nighttime meeting with Prince Daemon, and the two seem to form an alliance. Ah, who doesn't love to see a testosterone-fueled bond formed between two bitter men hellbent on seeking revenge?
It's the type of drama even the Real Housewives of New York would envy - and those women know drama.
However, let us not forget the insane subplot which hints at the series' major new incest storyline. Because, interwoven throughout these two dramatic episodes, is the weird and incredibly creepy chemistry between Princess Rhaenyra and her uncle, Prince Daemon.
It's the 'creepy uncle' stuff of nightmares but, given the flirty vibes between the pair, an uncle-and-niece incest plot doesn't seem completely out of left field - especially for a show written by the same man who created the incestuous twin-on-twin relationship between Cersei and Jaime in Game of Thrones.
In the book, which the show is based on, the doe-eyed teen and the Legolas lookalike (who seems to be one more dramatic revelation away from a full-blown temper tantrum) do end up together romantically. And the actors who depict the uncle and niece hoped to portray this, with Rhaenyra actress, Milly Alcock, telling the New York Post: "It's almost like they're having two conversations in every scene. It's like what they're actually saying, and what they're saying in their body language, and in their eyes and in their tone. It was really fun to play with."
Fans of the ostentatious dragonlords will have to wait until September 4 to see whether incest is on the cards for the rest of the series. So, get ready to place your bets.
