WARNING! This article contains major SPOILERS for House of the Dragon season 1, episode 5 AND George R.R. Martin's Fire & Blood!Rhaenyra and Laenor’s wedding in Game of Thrones’ timeline. While the first few episodes of House of the Dragon set up the context for the major characters’ motivations as they try to peacefully solve the issue of King Viserys’ succession, episode 5 confirms that war is the only way to decide whether Rhaenyra or Aegon sits the Iron Throne.
With House of the Dragon season 1’s midpoint ending on the early establishment of both Targaryen factions, the season is expected to conclude with Rhaenyra and Aegon separately being crowned. Despite House of the Dragon episode 5 essentially marking the beginning of the Dance of the Dragons, the civil war won’t actually start for at least another decade. Following House of the Dragon episode 5, a 10-year time jump will occur that reveals the tensions between the “blacks” and “greens” has become even worse in the next generation of Targaryens. Such developments are all set up during Rhaenyra and Laenor’s wedding, which is when the knives come out and true alliances are formed.
House of the Dragon episode 5 sees Rhaenyra and Laenor officially marry while emphasizing House Velaryon's eagerness to see their own blood on the Iron Throne. Meanwhile, Otto convinces Alicent that she must place Aegon on the Iron Throne or risk the deaths of herself and her children, with the Queen finally coming around once realizing Rhaenyra lied to her about sleeping with Criston Cole. Alicent then makes a grand entrance at the wedding celebration wearing a green dress that represents the war call of House Hightower, thus forsaking the black, red, and gold colors of her husband Viserys. Chaos finally erupts as Criston Cole murders Joffrey Lonmouth, which is followed by the knight of the Kingsguard teasing a shift in his loyalties. Perhaps the most important set-up in House of the Dragon episode 5 is the worsening health of King Viserys, whose eventual death marks the arrival of the inevitable war.
House Of The Dragon Episode 5 Makes Viserys’ Death Imminent
House of the Dragon has been building toward Viserys’ death since episode 1, with his illness becoming more aggressive as the years go by. In House of the Dragon episode 5, Viserys has a frequent cough at Driftmark, collapses upon returning to King’s Landing, has more sores growing on his body, his nose suddenly bleeds during the feast, and he collapses a second time after Rhaenyra and Laenor’s wedding vows are said. With House of the Dragon episode 5 ending on a shot of the small wedding party rushing to the collapsed King’s aid, it almost seemed as if Viserys had died. However, Viserys Targaryen’s death won’t arrive until sometime after House of the Dragon season 1’s 10-year time jump. Despite his quickly declining health begging the question of how he survives at least another decade, Viserys clinging to life allows the wounds within House Targaryen to fester as the civil war is delayed. Nonetheless, Viserys isn't expected to survive past House of the Dragon season 1.
How Alicent’s Green Dress Sets Up The War’s Factions
Alicent’s green dress marking the official division within House Targaryen is pulled from George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood book, although the occasion in which this happened was a tourney rather than Rhaenyra and Laenor’s wedding. Just as Larys Strong mentions in House of the Dragon, Alicent’s green dress symbolizes the green flame that lights the beacon of Hightower when Oldtown calls its banners to war. By forsaking her husband’s black and red for the historic House Hightower's green, Alicent is calling her family and their bannermen to war as she attempts to place Aegon on the Iron Throne instead of Rhaenyra.
Following this shocking moment in House of the Dragon episode 5, the realm will be preemptively split between two Targaryen factions: The greens and the blacks. The greens, of course, represent those loyal to Alicent Hightower and her son Aegon Targaryen, while the blacks signify the ers of Rhaenyra Targaryen. The wedding has already teased some of the major houses that will be allied with Aegon or Rhaenyra in the Dance of the Dragons, such as the Hightowers leading the greens’ while the Velaryons lead the blacks’ cause. Considering how annoyed Viserys and Rhaenyra are by Lord Jason Lannister at the wedding, it shouldn’t be a surprise that Tyrion, Jaime, and Cersei’s ancestors declare for the greens.
Corlys & Rhaenys Tease House Velaryon’s Loyalty To Rhaenyra’s Claim
Upon agreeing to the marriage between Laenor and Rhaenyra, Corlys Velaryon and his wife Rhaenys Targaryen privately discuss how Rhaenyra’s claim will be contested. Corlys is desperate to put his own blood on the Iron Throne, partially because Rhaenys was originally ed over as heir in favor of Viserys. With Rhaenyra and Laenor’s marriage now offering the best chance for a Velaryon to become heir to the Iron Throne, Corlys and Rhaenys will be the fiercest ers of Rhaenyra’s claim. House Velaryon is the richest family in Westeros, controls the largest fleet, and possesses half of the realm’s dragons, so Corlys and the dragonrider Rhaenys are well aware of the incredible power they bring to Rhaenyra’s cause. Once the inevitable war breaks out in House of the Dragon, Corlys is established as the greatest lord pledged to Rhaenyra’s side, and even becomes the Hand of the Queen.
What Criston Cole Changing Sides Means For The Dance Of The Dragons
After Alicent revealed that she wouldn’t expose Criston for breaking his Kingsguard vows and later stopped him from taking his own life, the knight of the Kingsguard seemingly shifted his loyalties. Alicent was the only person who came to his aid in House of the Dragon episode 5, with Criston still being plagued by guilt and shame for sleeping with Rhaenyra, especially after she rejected his plan to run away together. The episode teases that Criston is switching sides from being Rhaenyra’s fiercest er to Alicent’s sworn protector, which means Rhaenyra’s former lover and ex-best friend are leading the cause against her. Criston and Alicent’s path to usurp the throne from Rhaenyra is also becoming increasingly personal, indicating the Targaryen feud will grow far deeper over the next decade in King’s Landing. With Criston training Alicent’s children and leading Aegon's army in the Dance of the Dragons, Rhaenyra’s opposition is much stronger than it would have been with just the Hightowers heading Aegon’s cause.
Otto Hightower Tells You The Dance Of The Dragons’ Story
The beginning of House of the Dragon episode 5 sees Otto Hightower warn his daughter about what will happen if Rhaenyra ascends the Iron Throne, with his prediction being quite accurate to how the Dance of the Dragons unfolds. First revealing what House of the Dragon’s characters are already well aware of, Otto tells Alicent that the King will die – and soon. The former Hand of the King explains that the realm will not accept Rhaenyra as Queen despite Viserys maintaining her as his heir, and that many powerful houses will reject her claim in favor of the King’s firstborn son. In order to remove this inevitable opposition to her claim, Rhaenyra will need to have Alicent’s children killed. Otto then tells Alicent that she has two choices: Prepare Aegon to rule... or pray for Rhaenyra’s mercy.
Otto’s assessment of the situation is close to what happens when the Targaryen civil war begins, but a major difference is that Alicent and Criston end up taking matters into their own hands. The Dance of the Dragons kicks off shortly after Viserys dies, with Alicent, Criston, and those on the green council making a pact to place Aegon on the Iron Throne. Since Rhaenyra was pregnant on Dragonstone, the Targaryen green party hid the King’s death for a week until they completed their preparations for Aegon’s coronation. Criston successfully convinces Aegon that he’ll be killed by Rhaenyra unless he takes the crown, with the Princess soon having a coronation of her own once the news reaches Dragonstone. As Otto predicted in House of the Dragon episode 5, a significant number of houses choose to declare for Aegon over Rhaenyra, with neither side showing any mercy to the other.
Viserys Sets Up Way More Dragon Battles To Come
One of the biggest differences between Valyria before the Doom. While Viserys had intended for this to mean that all dragons possessed by the Targaryens and Velaryons would be ruling on the same side, it goes to show just how much more devastating the war will be with dragons fighting one another and terrorizing battlefields.
Game of Thrones teased such destruction when the Night King resurrected Viserion and later when Daenerys took King’s Landing with Drogon, but House of the Dragon’s powerful fights will be far more of a spectacle. Alicent’s children and Rhaenyra’s children will all claim dragons ahead of the war, with Rhaenyra, Daemon, and Rhaenys having already been skilled riders long before the Dance begins. As such, the most shocking Targaryen battles in House of the Dragon are expected to take place in the sky.
New episodes of House of the Dragon release Sundays on HBO/HBO Max.