House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 6 Breakdown: The Tapestry Propaganda, Seasmoke's Choice and Every Detail You Missed

House of the Dragon season 2 episode 6 hides its biggest ideas in the details: a tapestry that rewrites the Battle of Rook's Rest as green propaganda, a Valyrian lullaby packed with the history of the Doom, and a dragon that burns a noble knight before choosing Addam of Hull. I am going through the deeper layers of meaning and the changes from the book, and I have saved the plot details from Fire and Blood for the end of this piece.

The Opening Tapestry Rewrites Rook's Rest as King Aegon's Victory

The opening tapestry changes again. After Vhagar eating Arrax and Luke above Shipbreaker Bay, the death of young Prince Jaehaerys and the hanging of the rat catchers, we arrive at the aftermath of Rook's Rest. First come two figures, bloody and on fire beside a dragon's tail, who could be soldiers from any side. Then two more bloody, dismembered bodies, one from each side, and a wide shot with Sunfyre on the left, Meleys on the right, Vhagar flying above and someone in the middle raising a sword. Sunfyre is woven closer to his book description, with golden scales and bright pink membranes, a pink that did not really come through in the show's CGI.

At first I thought the figure in the middle might be Aemond standing over his charred brother, raising his sword as Ser Criston witnessed. But these tapestries do not show history exactly as it happened. They show the legend that gets entered into the record by whatever biased source weaves them. The greens spread the story that Aegon was the hero, that the clash was between Sunfyre and Meleys, that he walked away through the grace of the Gods and that Vhagar kept her distance. So I think this is King Aegon raising Blackfyre over the corpse of Rhaenys beside her fallen dragon, while Vhagar patrols from afar, even cut off by the frame, as if the weavers were told to downplay her.

Meleys's head oozes black fluid through the broken bodies toward the Iron Throne. That could be the hot oil the dragons use to produce their flames, which we saw bleeding from Meleys's neck when Vhagar bit it. But the way the blackness spreads toward the throne reminds me of the spreading influence of the black faction in this episode, as outsiders like Addam of Hull bond with dragons, proving a stronger path to power than official ancestry. These spilling black stains, while messier, are a more accurate reflection of how history really unfolds.

The Lannisters Stall at the Golden Tooth to the Rains of Castamere

We open on House Lannister galloping up to the Golden Tooth, the seat of House Lefford, whose sigil is a yellow triangle in a golden sun against a blue sky. They are sworn to the Lannisters, and in season 1 episode 9 we learned they swore allegiance to Aegon II. The Golden Tooth overlooks the passage between the Westerlands and the Riverlands, so strategically it is a bit like the Twins were to Jace in episode 5. The Golden Tooth is really more of a watchtower over the road, though, far less of a practical bottleneck than the Twins, where you literally have to walk through the castles and over the bridge.

Listen closely and the music is the melody of The Rains of Castamere. That song would not be composed for about 130 years, not until Tywin Lannister, yes, the Tywin from the Game of Thrones era, obliterated House Reyne. The green Kingsguard knight from House Reyne comes from this family, so maybe the music is playing for him. Jefferson Hall, who plays the cautious master of coin Tyland Lannister, also plays his more assertive twin Jason, whom we saw last season at the hunt and at Rhaenyra's wedding to Laenor. The gate is marked by two boulders carved like teeth and painted gold, but the paint is chipping because this castle is not that rich.

Lord Humfrey Lefford rides out promising 500 of his own knights to join Jason's 1,000, plus 7,000 more archers and men at arms. He notices the caged lions, something the Lannisters love to do, a bit like LSU bringing tigers to football games. Here it is like the Lannisters pretending to be Targaryens with their own hulking family beasts. But dragons have been drains on resources this season, and Lord Humfrey worries the same about these lions and 8,000 men, suggesting they move on to Harrenhal. Jason refuses to go anywhere until Aemond and Vhagar arrive. Like Lady Jeyne in the Vale and the Twins, no one wants to commit to anything since Rook's Rest.

Aemond Takes Command of the Small Council and Sidelines Alicent

The message was meant for Tyland, but Prince Regent Aemond is reading it, meaning Tyland reported it verbally and Aemond demanded to see the letter himself, taking particular umbrage at the words with haste. Tyland avoids eye contact from the master of coin seat formerly held by Lyman Beesbury, killed with an attendance ball, a decision that comes back to haunt the greens this episode. Aemond ignores his mother and calls Tyland Ser Tyland, since he is a knight rather than lord of his family. That puts Tyland in his place as a knight to be deployed on tasks, not a department head reporting updates.

Aemond wants to bypass the blockade in the Gullet with an alliance with the Triarchy, the pirate fleet formed by the free cities of Myr, Lys and Tyrosh, led in season 1 by Craghas the Crabfeeder until Daemon, Laenor on Seasmoke and Corlys's fleet defeated them in the Stepstones. Alicent asks about the Greyjoys instead, and Ironrod suggests offering Alicent to the Red Kraken in marriage. That is Dalton Greyjoy, referenced by Orwyle in the first episode of the season: a 16 year old killer with a Valyrian steel sword he calls Nightfall, ripped off the corpse of a corsair, who tires of women quickly. Alicent shoots it down, and Ironrod's eyes dart to Criston as the idea circles the table in a game of duck duck goose where no one wants to be called on.

When Criston agrees with Alicent about keeping the Triarchy out of their waters, Aemond sits on the table beside him in a Bill Lumbergh kind of way, turns his back on the rest and quietly orders him to march back through the Riverlands to Harrenhal. Criston gives him a cutting look that says I saw how far you went with your brother the king. But Aemond's softer, almost apologetic tone, like their scene placing coins on the map in episode 1, says look, I know I overstepped and forced us to retreat, but let's finish what we started. The plan: Jason from the west, Criston from the east, joined by Vhagar when the time is ripe, what a word in an episode where everyone is starving.

Whereas Aegon would scream and shout, Ewan Mitchell reduces Aemond's lines to an icy whisper, especially with his mother. That contrasts Alicent's description of him as bold, reckless and immature, so she knows her dismissal is calculated, not a tantrum. When he tells her to focus on domestic concerns, he pauses, and I think it is not just a sexist thing to say but a reference to what is going on with her and Ser Criston. She holds his face to look at his scar, still seeing the boy mocked with the pink dread pig. But while her first son will always be a mama's boy, Aemond sees temperance as weakness and this as a battle of Gods. I'm not saying he's right, and I love these quiet Alicent moments, because in Fire and Blood she is really sidelined at this point.

Rhaenyra's Mistake With Ser Steffon Darklyn's Ancestry

Corlys joins the painted table, pausing beside Rhaenys's old place, then fastens the Hand of the Queen pin. Rhaenyra just nods, relief washing over her face, but says nothing. In Fire and Blood they have it out over Rhaenys's death, and he actually screams that it should have been her. They bring in Ser Steffon Darklyn, whose home was just sacked in episode 4; in the book it is Ser Steffon, not Ser Erryk, who brings Viserys's crown to Dragonstone. Rhaenyra says they need riders for Vermithor, Silverwing and Seasmoke and mentions no other dragons, which makes it seem these are the only three unclaimed dragons on Dragonstone we will see this season, though there is a hint at a fourth in the Vale.

Seasmoke was Laenor's dragon. Vermithor was the bronze dragon of Jaehaerys the Conciliator, and Silverwing belonged to his wife Alysanne, both seen in the opening tapestry. Ser Steffon brings up Rhaena, still without a dragon in the Vale, but Rhaenyra suggests he be the rider, and my favorite named character, Bartimos Celtigar, looks up suspiciously, priming that face for a slap later. She produces a genealogical scroll showing Ser Steffon's grandmother's grandmother Arianna was born a Targaryen princess. That ancestry is not in the book; it seems added to justify this disastrous attempt with Seasmoke.

We are talking at least six generations back, about as many as the Targaryen dynasty has lasted in Westeros; Aegon the Conqueror was Daemon's grandfather's grandfather. That is further back than Ned Stark reached researching the Baratheon and Lannister lines to prove Joffrey illegitimate, leaving Steffon at most something like one sixty fourth Valyrian, not enough for any Valyrian scholarships. The smarter move would be to track down more recently born illegitimate children. Rhaenyra assumes dragons care about noble lineage because Viserys raised her to care about legal heirs, but she missed his lesson that dragon power is an illusion. Steffon also believes dragons are Gods, like the smallfolk who saw beheaded Meleys as a bad omen, while Hugh Hammer saw her as meat. "I think everyone is better off seeing these creatures as they are."

Daemon's Visions of Viserys Turn Harrenhal Into His Christmas Carol

Daemon's next vision puts Paddy Considine back on the throne as Viserys, asking whether he said heir for a day. This recreates their fight from the first episode after Aemma died in childbirth with baby Baelon. The show cut away before we saw whether Daemon said it; Otto reported the rumor, Daemon never fully denied it, and that fight led Viserys to name Rhaenyra his heir. So that fateful choice, to say it or even just not deny it, led to this conflict. The earlier scene was warm and torchlit with a mourning Viserys; now it is colder and bluer, and he leans forward in accusatory rage. Before, he cut his finger on the throne, the first of a thousand cuts; now he just takes off his crown in anger, because this ghost can never die.

Viserys holding Blackfyre makes it look like the judgment of the whole family is weighing on Daemon, locked in a throne room he can never ascend, a hell torturing him with sins he never owned up to because the editing conveniently cut away. This is Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol, with ghosts of Daemon's past and present; Ser Simon, with his jolly stature and constant feasting, reminds me of the Ghost of Christmas Present, making Alys Rivers the Ghost of Christmas Future. Some pointed out Alys seeming to vanish behind Ser Simon in episode 5. I think that was just a trick of blocking, and though some thought she might be imaginary, Ser Simon mentions their healer this episode and Larys references her too.

Daemon's reaction also recalls Shakespeare's Macbeth, haunted by Banquo's ghost and floating daggers while seeking counsel from witch figures who lead him down paths of poetic justice. He snarls at Ser Simon about tampering with his peace, and when they first met he did think the Strongs had poisoned his peas. He hurries past the Harrenhal godswood, where Caraxes faces the weirwood, two crimson supernatural representations of gods trying to figure each other out all night. Alys stands in the garden with head raised and eyes closed, and I wonder if she is using warging abilities to see through an animal, maybe the owl, or sensing news from the wind through the weirwood.

Alys Rivers Tells Daemon the Crown Is a Burden and to Do Nothing

Daemon finally realizes he has been drugged, but Alys offers alternatives, down to the ghost of Harren the Black moaning curses from Kingspyre Tower. Caraxes cries at that last one, as if agreeing after a night gossiping with that magic tree. If Alys is 400 years old, was she there when Balerion torched the tower? Have all Harrenhal's ghost stories come from her drugging occupants and keeping the weirwoods growing? She says "there are older things in this world than you or I or living memory," and this might be my favorite line of the series so far. It refers to the godly forces controlling Westeros's nature, the old gods using Alys as a mouthpiece to steer Daemon back to conscience, just as dragons answer to instincts beyond our laws and politics.

Think of it as chess. Erryk and Arryk were knights, Rhaenys a rook. Daemon wants a queen's power but has a king's limited movement, and Alys, a bishop with a glimpse into the divine, offers a long range diagonal view, since only bishops and the queen see diagonally. She suggests Viserys gave Rhaenyra the crown because those who strive for it are least suited to wear it, and Viserys never wanted it himself, as we saw at the Great Council of 101 at Harrenhal. It is not a prize but a burden. Caraxes hooting in the background for all of this is a clue that it also applies to the right to ride a dragon: those who pursue it thirstily like Ser Steffon get burned, while those who do not expect it, like Addam, are saddled with the burden.

The owl flaps up and Alys feeds it rodent guts from her pocket, probably the owl she mentioned in episode 4 when she said she was a barn owl cursed to live in human form. She promises the winds will shift in three days, and all Daemon must do is nothing, similar to Alicent telling Aegon that is what a good king does, and Aemond telling Alicent that is what she must do now.

The Dragon Keepers' Lullaby Carries the Doom of Valyria

At the Dragonmont, the keepers sing the Valyrian lullaby Daemon sang to Vermithor in the season 1 finale. Language expert David J. Peterson said it is called Hāros Bōsi, with words by Ti Mikkel, George R.R. Martin's assistant and a consultant on the show, translated into Valyrian by Peterson. It translates to lines about a fire breather and winged leader, the fires having spoken, the price paid with blood magic, words of flame, clear eyes binding three, and flying with three heads as destined, beautifully, freely.

Three heads refers to the Targaryen sigil, the dragons ridden by Aegon, Visenya and Rhaenys, Balerion, Vhagar and Meraxes, and to Daenerys's prophecy that the dragon has three heads. The fires having spoken are the fourteen flames that destroyed Valyria; blood magic refers to the blood mages who first used human sacrifice to bind dragons, the very first image of the opening tapestry. Clear eyes refers to Coach Eric Taylor, but also to Daenys the Dreamer, who foresaw the Doom so this family could escape to Dragonstone. Now Rhaenyra is trying to keep those clear eyes with Aegon's dream, her whole motivation for expanding their dragon power.

We were still waiting to know what happened when Daemon sang to Vermithor, whether he was secretly bonding with him or it just showed the blacks had bigger dragons than we had seen. Either way, the song now calms Seasmoke, circling Dragonstone and flying over Addam on Driftmark ever since the Stepstones.

Seasmoke Burns Ser Steffon After What I Think Were Two Mistakes

Waiting, Ser Steffon whispers the Valyrian commands he has been taught, including the word for obey, sounding like Indiana Jones before the first test in The Last Crusade repeating that the penitent man will pass. Wind blows a keeper's torch, the winds shifting as Alys said, and Seasmoke appears from the smoke. A keeper uses the Valyrian word for calm, the same one Aemond said to Vhagar on Driftmark in episode 7 last season. Steffon exclaims Gods, which works as a Faith of the Seven expression, like seven hells, but also describes how he sees this dragon.

A keeper tells him not to show fear, and he repeats a listen form of obey, as in listen to me and obey. Seasmoke lowers his head, but then Steffon turns to look at the keeper while Seasmoke flips open his eyelids. I think that was the first mistake. The second was relaxing his posture and speaking in the common tongue, saying he had done it, which to the dragon makes him sound like a pest, and Seasmoke gives him a big Dracarys. It is awful for someone who has only been a good and loyal knight, and it underlines the mistake of overvaluing legal ancestry instead of understanding dragons in their state of nature. The other keeper goes straight for a knife to end his pain; I assume they all carry these, and I am fascinated by their robes, their knives and what I assume are their choir rehearsals, all singing on key with no one flat.

Addam of Hull, Alyn and the Greens' Starving City

We transition to Addam of Hull tying knots on Driftmark as Corlys approaches his brother Alyn, who says the blockade will be challenged by lions or krakens, meaning the Lannisters or Greyjoys from the west coast. The Velaryons assume the greens will pursue western naval support, so Aemond was right to consider the Triarchy. Alyn covers his head because, as we see later, he shaves it to hide silver Valyrian hair, not wanting people to know he is Corlys's son and think his achievements come from special treatment.

In a pub, Ulf the White sits near Dyana, the former Red Keep maid Aegon assaulted and Alicent gave moon tea, and Sylvi, the madam from the brothel Aemond visits. Mysaria sent someone to meet Dyana, and the plan was to get people talking and angry at the greens over food, maybe with Ulf within earshot, since he has surely told plenty he is the illegitimate son of Baelon. Dyana's response sounds scripted, as if rehearsed. Sylvi claims her girls were brought to Red Keep feasts for Aemond with lamb, mince pies, honey cakes and beef, but we know that is untrue; Aemond likes only her and is not a big party royal. Calling Rhaenyra the rightful heir aloud would be dangerous, so Dyana must have heard Ulf say it before.

On Dragonstone, Rhaenyra puts Bartimos in his place, saying she thinks he has forgotten to fear her. She was still listening; she later tells Jace she sent word to Lord Wallace Mooton to retake Rook's Rest. She just disliked him calling her dragon plans a spectacle, when he had begged her to deploy dragons, a practical strategy that did not work out. Her sword's pommel has dragon wings like Dark Sister's hilt. Mysaria reports the gossip train has left the station, and Syrax seems to cry excitedly. Hugh Hammer's wife Kat is among the last in line before the food runs out, and as Hightower men cart sheep past, Hugh complains about enough sheep for dragons but none for them, since the cart heads for the Dragonpit, not an Aemond party.

Aemond Silences the Waking King With an Attendance Ball

The small council is now just Aemond, Larys and Ironrod. Larys thinks he is being offered Hand of the King, but Aemond cruelly just orders him to fetch Otto. Then Orwyle announces Aegon has regained consciousness, and Aemond looks nervously at Larys, then eyes the attendance ball he has been squeezing all meeting like a stress ball. Alone, Aegon says he remembers nothing, but Aemond presses the ball into his wound anyway. A marble ball rather than an iron chisel is one item he can be seen holding, even with a Kingsguard by the door not batting an eye. Aegon's scar tissue seems to glue over one eye, which could set up a parallel with his one eyed brother.

Later Orwyle tells Alicent Aegon sleeps most of the day, but I think he might be sleeping because Aemond scared him and Orwyle, who may be quietly pushing more milk of the poppy to keep him from recovering too fast. Orwyle reports House Beesbury has raised arms against the Hightower host in retribution for their lord's demise, glancing at Aegon before the word. Gwayne and Alicent have not heard from Otto; in Fire and Blood, Otto never left King's Landing, while his brother Ormund, whom we met in season 1 episode 3, runs into the alliance of Alan Beesbury and Alan Tarly and writes to Otto asking for dragons.

Alicent asks about Daeron, boarding in Oldtown. Gwayne calls him a stalwart with lute and sword and popular with the ladies, then senses her real question: he's kind. Having raised her boys to be everything else, she forgot to teach them kindness, but I also think she was not capable of it. In my opinion she has never shown true kindness, just ambition and obedience to her father; Viserys was the kinder of the two. Helaena says a caged cricket stopped singing, another possibly prophetic bug moment. In Westeros a song can mean how history is recounted, so it might be someone who would pass history on, a silenced dragon in a cage, or a silent person like Aegon or Jaehaerys.

The Riot Traps Alicent and Helaena While Larys Tells Aegon Hard Truths

Alicent wants to light a candle for Aegon and all their lost souls, unable to say Jaehaerys's name. Hugh Hammer finds a dog, and didn't I pray in episode 2 they could become best friends? Then again, Hugh probably wanted to eat it. Rhaenyra's food boats, unmanned and flying her banners, peaceful vessels from below instead of fire from above, cause a Black Friday rush that spreads to the sept. The candles flicker as the door flies open, another shifting wind. The senior Kingsguard, who I think is Ser Rickard Thorne, tells the others to mind their corners, since they are Aegon's lickspittle drinking buddies.

The mob chants queen of fishes and long live Queen Rhaenyra. Alicent trips, and Helaena covers her ears, a mannerism we saw in season 1. A man says my queen and seems to be helping Alicent, but one of Aegon's knight friends chops his arm off. Alicent orders swords sheathed, and the three knights stooge into each other while Alicent and Helaena are pressed into a scary trellis with pointed knobs, so remember this. The royals reach the wheelhouse, but the arm chopper is tackled, and all three knights are left behind, including the one from House Reyne, making that opening Rains of Castamere even more appropriate. I'm impressed the mob knew which identically armored knight did it.

Larys visits Aegon and denies the prescribed milk of the poppy, because he needs the king sharp. He tells hard truths: Aegon will never run again or be whole, echoing Tyrion's kindness to Bran and his soft spot for broken things. Larys says his father named his birth sorcery, accusing a member of the household. That must be Alys Rivers, in Fire and Blood Lyonel's illegitimate daughter and a wet nurse to Larys, and so also to Harwin Breakbones, father of Jace and Joffrey. For Alys to be over 400 on the show she cannot be Lyonel's illegitimate daughter, but she may still have wet nursed the Strongs. I don't think sorcery caused Larys's condition, and I think he resents his father's judgment more than Alys, maybe growing to appreciate her ways.

Daemon Is Rewarded, Seasmoke Chooses Addam, and Rhaenyra Kisses Mysaria

Daemon's next dream is not a memory, since he was not there: Viserys sobbing over Aemma with the silent sisters waiting, and it seems they might have brought back Sian Brooke. He kisses his brother's head, haunted now by what he should have been there for, and wakes gently in morning light to Ser Simon's news that Lord Grover Tully is dead and young Oscar is Lord Paramount. A tipped goblet suggests more drugging, but it looks like he finally listened to Alys and did nothing but reflect on his sins, and by doing so he was rewarded. Ser Simon hints at foul play, mentioning Alys volunteered her healing skills. We are left assuming she made it happen, maybe with an attendance ball. Daemon's sob of relief feels like Scrooge at the end of A Christmas Carol.

Seasmoke swoops down on Addam in a single moving shot, choreographed for a dragon added later in VFX. A flapping bird in the sun distracts us from the impossible dragon jump scare, and I wonder if it is one of Alys's spies. When the dragon does not torch him, Addam senses a bond. In the book Addam and Alyn are implied to be Laenor's sons, which could explain it, but on the show they seem related only to Corlys, not a rider. Only Targaryens are riders, at least in the book, so perhaps the show is saying Targaryen or Velaryon, that is Valyrian enough.

In the chamber where she and Daemon fought, Rhaenyra wishes she was born a man; with Emma D'Arcy identifying as nonbinary, I feel that might have factored into the writing. Mysaria reveals her neck scar came from an abusive father who impregnated her and left her unable to bear children, and says Rhaenyra deserves to be queen. Rhaenyra, validated for the first time in ages, hugs and then kisses her. This romance is new to the show, and I remember reading that Milly Alcock and Emily Carey hinted they played their godswood scene with flirty energy. I like the show exploring this side of Rhaenyra, but G, who helps write these breakdowns, and I have mixed thoughts; we would also have loved a true female friendship, since on HBO it sometimes feels like sex is the only part of adult relationships.

I have issues with how Mysaria is written, from agency in season 1 back to bondage in season 2, her best ideas a gossip train and floating fruit baskets, and now a tool for Rhaenyra's desires. Scars as character development worked for Heath Ledger's Joker mainly because he refused to explain them, but it has become an overdone trope, so much so that the British Film Institute in 2018 stopped funding films in which villains' faces are scarred. Finally, Rhaenyra learns Seasmoke has a new rider and takes Syrax out, and as she marches down the walkway you can see ashes billowing, all that is left of Ser Steffon.

What Fire and Blood Says About the Red Kraken, Harrenhal and the Gay Abandon

It is ironic that Alicent and Orwyle find Dalton Greyjoy more trustworthy than the Triarchy. In Fire and Blood the greens offer him master of ships, and the blacks tell him to attack their enemies. He agrees, then raids the nearby Westerlands while Jason Lannister is away in the Riverlands, and burns Lannisport. The free cities are vicious too: in the book the Triarchy attacks High Tide after the Battle of the Gullet, making Alyn's line about Corlys rather seeing High Tide claimed by the sea resonate. In the book, Criston's campaign ends with Aemond finding Harrenhal empty, and with Vhagar gone from King's Landing, the undefended city is taken by Rhaenyra and Syrax.

The episode's seeding of dragons is going down differently from the book, where they throw body after body at the dragons. The mystery wild dragon in the Vale that steals sheep had me thinking of Sheepstealer, a wild brown dragon on Dragonstone in the book who refuses all kinds of folks, including Alyn of Hull, before bonding with a young woman named Nettles, a true fan favorite character. Rhaena was given four dragon eggs, three of which will become Daenerys's eggs, and I had assumed the fourth would hatch into her pink dragon Morning.

In Fire and Blood, the Gay Abandon is attacked by the Triarchy; Aegon the Younger escapes clinging to Stormcloud while Viserys is kidnapped, and both survive to become kings. But here Stormcloud was far too small to fly or carry a boy bigger than him. In the book, Lord Mooton's attempt on Rook's Rest fails because Sunfyre, grounded but still deadly, takes out his small force. And the silent cricket could be Helaena herself: in the book she breaks down after Jaehaerys's death, the Battle Above the Gods Eye and Aemond's death, then leaps from her window onto the spikes below. That spiky trellis outside the sept felt close, even if coat hooks I have leaned on too hard have scared me more.

Did the Rhaenyra and Mysaria kiss work for you, or would you rather the show had built a true friendship between them?