House of the Dragon is officially in its back half, meaning the Dance of Dragons is heating up even more, with dragon fights and tense conversations in every episode. But where does each character stand after tonight’s episode, “Queen’s Landing?” Rhaenyra may have won the Battle of the Gullet, but it cost her a horrendous price. Meanwhile, Alicent is trying to scrape together a happy ending for the only child (and grandchild) still in her care. Here’s how each character stacks up after that action-packed episode.
Warning! Spoilers ahead for House of the Dragon Season 3 Episode 2.
1. Rhaenyra Targaryen
Rhaenyra’s been on quite the emotional rollercoaster this episode. She begins at the lowest she’s been in a while, mourning the loss of Jace and wondering if two sons is a worthy price to “sit on a throne of swords.” Nevertheless, she has a deal to follow through on, and decides to ride her dragon into King’s Landing with the knowledge that she’ll be able to take the Iron Throne with no problem. That doesn’t quite go according to plan, but at the end of the day, it’s she who wields the sword to (clumsily) execute the man who started this entire conflict. Now, she’s got the throne; she’s got the most dragons, but she’s sadder than she’s been in a while. Still, she’s got the power.
2. Alicent Hightower
From the beginning, Alicent’s story has been about fighting to find the best — or maybe even a scrap of agency — in a bad situation where she is endlessly manipulated by men. In Season 3 of House of the Dragon, she finally is making some major moves, but even in that, she’s constantly having to put up with men being gross. In Episode 1, Aemond decided to kiss her out of nowhere, and she couldn’t react because she needed to send him to Harrenhal. In this episode, Lord Jasper Wylde tries to assault her just as she’s trying to plot her final escape. She may not have made it out of King’s Landing entirely, but this is the episode that cemented this fight as a fight between two mothers fighting for their children.
3. Aemond Targaryen
Aemond has always been the mirror image of his anagrammatically-named uncle Daemon, and Episode 2 only underlined that by bringing him to Harrenhal only moments after Daemon left it to take King’s Landing. He barges in, in typical Aemond fashion, slaying everyone in his path, but just like Daemon, he underestimates one imposing figure in his path: Alys Rivers, the Witch of Harrenhal. There’s no telling what these two will get up to together, but Alys is just the kind of alt girl who would ruin the life of an emo boy like Aemond.
4. Daemon Targaryen
Daemon is fully in Supportive Husband mode this episode, coaching his wife/niece out of bed with a monologue about the Song of Ice and Fire whispered in Valyrian. He describes seeing a vision of Daenerys and her three dragons, and that’s just the pep talk she needed. He also gets to sing a little song with his friends after winning the Battle of the Gullet and fight some knights, so all-round a good showing for him.
5. Alys Rivers
The Witch of Harrenhal barely appears in this episode, but that’s more than enough to leave an impression. The Dragonseeds discuss her with fear in their voices, but it’s the dynamic between her and Aemond that guarantees she’s only going to become more powerful with each passing episode.
6. Aegon Targaryen and Larys Strong
The buddy road trip movie of Aegon and Larys continues as they run into a bit of a scrape and Aegon, like his brother, murders an unlucky unarmed person whose biggest crime is being “in the way.” They may be back on the run, but they’ve still got some power in the promise of Aegon’s lost dragon Sunfyre.
7. Alyn and Addam of Hull (and Corlys Velaryon)
The Hull boys are starting to come into their own after the Battle of the Gullet, with Alyn even having a conversation with Baela about what it was like growing up with Corlys in her life. When he discovers Corlys alive and well after his scuffle with Sharako Lohar, he only has more appreciation for his standing as a newly-named Velaryon, and Corlys only sees him and his brother more and more like sons.
8. Hugh Hammer and Ulf the White
The Dragonseeds continue to be the comic relief of House of the Dragon, and they truly are only ranking so high on this list because they have dragons and therefore an undeniable amount of power. Ulf gets a hefty slap from Daemon for abandoning his post (even if it was spooky), and Hugh actually gets a quick shoutout through the appearance of his wife in the chaos as dragons descend over King’s Landing.
9. Mysaria
Daemon is, understandably, a bit taken aback to realize Mysaria is now a trusted advisor to Rhaenyra, but she doesn’t let him make any false assumptions. Of all the characters on this list, she’s probably the only one who could get away with reminding Daemon that “not everything’s about you.”
10. Baela Targaryen
Rhaenyra may have lost a son, but Baela lost a marriage match, cousin, and close friend, and she almost lost her grandfather along the way. She does find a little bit of relief in her fellow Battle of the Gullet veterans, but she has some serious processing to do about essentially everyone in her family, especially her sister.
11. Rhaena Targaryen
Rhaena has gone through it. Her impulsive plan to ride Sheepstealer into battle only mere moments after claiming it did not go as planned, leaving her the most likely person to be responsible for the loss of Jace and Vermax. Still scarred from battle, she pleads for asylum at the Vale, but only gets a cold shoulder, because who can really control where a dragon goes? If she’s going to re-enter the fray again, she’ll have to step carefully. But she’s still a Velaryon with a dragon, and that counts for a lot in this conflict.
12. Ser Lorent Marbrand
Ser Lorent, the knight who followed Jace’s orders to lock Rhaenyra in her chambers during the Battle of the Gullet, is the first one to offer his own life to assuage Rhaenyra’s guilt. But as she rightly points out, that’s not going to bring Jace back to life. He would be at the bottom of this list, but he’s still the head of the Queensguard, and Rhaenyra decided to give him the option of how he would like to be executed. Very nice of her.
13. Ser Rickard Thorne
Ser Rickard is the last gasp of defense left in the Red Keep, and he tries to put up a fight against Daemon and Rhaenyra as they take the city. However, he and his soldiers are easily defeated by Daemon, and once he realizes the City Watch has bent the knee, he knows any defense is pointless.
14. Helaena Targaryen
Helaena is perhaps one of the most important people still left in King’s Landing at the start of this episode, but she needs reminding of that fact. Still, that doesn’t stop her from demanding that no beasts be harmed to ensure the Blacks’ dragons can enter unchallenged. One of these days, she’ll be able to keep those chickens. Hopefully.
15. Simon Strong
Simon Strong has always operated on the philosophy of “I’m playing both sides, so I always come out on top.” As the castellan of Harrenhal, he was happy to work with whoever decided to claim the castle, but he didn’t account for Aemond, who is always looking for someone powerful to overtake. Rest in power, Simon Strong. At least you got to bring wine to the party before you left.
16. Grand Maester Orwyle
If there’s one person you can trust to be the moral center of a Game of Thrones show, it’s a Maester. Grand Maester Orwyle begins by defending Alicent after Ser Jasper’s advances, but in the final moments of the episode, he shows a little bit of a scheming nature by suggesting that Daemon look in the dungeon for proxies to serve in the place of Aegon. Maybe this guy has a manipulative streak in him after all.
17. Ser Jasper Wylde
Alicent is already dealing with enough this episode without having to deal with pervy men, but Ser Jasper, aka Ironrod, has to make things worse with a frankly uncomfortable-to-watch assault scene. Thankfully, we see the end of him not long after, but it couldn’t come quickly enough.
18. Otto Hightower
Otto Hightower, the onetime Hand of the King, may have only appeared in this episode for a few seconds, but those were some of the most satisfying seconds of the season so far. Rhaenyra decides to execute him herself after everything he did to tear the Targaryen family in two, and while she may not be the most skilled executioner, it’s the perfect moment of catharsis after two episodes of putting her through the wringer.
