"'House of the Dragon' Season 2 Premiere Breaks All the Rules

Welcome back to the Worst Person In Westeros series! Slate writers will meet after each episode of House of the Dragon to answer the question: Who is the most evil person in Westeros. This week, senior editor Sam Adams answered the call. Nadira goffe was an associate writer.

Sam Adams :Hello there. We’re back, just 22 months after we gathered to pick the worst person in the first episode of House of the Dragon. It’s a long time between seasons even in the streaming age. I decided to try an experiment and just watch the Season 2 premiere without catching up. This was a big mistake. Even with the introduction recap, I was confused by the scene in which we return to Winterfell’s courtyard and then go to the Wall for a dialogue between two characters that I could not make out. After spending some time on the Dance of the Dragons page on the A Song of Ice and FireWiki, I was able to understand what’s happening. But it raises a larger question: how can we choose the worst person from Westeros when we have no idea who they are? Before we begin to offer up candidates, let’s ask Nadira how her reintroduction into the world of House of the Dragon went.

Sam Adams :Well hello there. We’re back, just 22 months after we gathered to pick the worst person in the first episode of House of the Dragon. It’s a long time between seasons even in the streaming age. I decided to try an experiment and just watch the Season 2 premiere without catching up. This was a big mistake. Even with the introduction recap, I was confused by the scene in which we return to Winterfell’s courtyard and then go to the Wall for a dialogue between two characters that I could not make out. After spending some time on the Dance of the Dragons page on the A Song of Ice and FireWiki, I was able to understand what was going on. But it raises a larger question: how can we choose the worst person from Westeros when we have no idea who they are? Before we begin to offer up candidates, let’s ask Nadira how her reintroduction into the world of House of the Dragon went.

That is essentially to believe that, is essentially to suggest that judicial decision-making is against progress.

Nadira:I tried to do the same and after about four minutes I realized I had forgotten that Young Penn Badgley, aka Harry Collett, was Rhaenyra’s son, Jacaerys. In these situations, I do what I always try to do and go to YouTube to get a better recap. (Man of Recaps I owe so much for all the years you have served my brain. House of the Dragon is also back, and conveniently picks up where we left off. Aemond has been back in the game for a few days now, having accidentally killed Rhaenyra’s son, Lucerys. This effectively ended any hope of avoiding a full-on war of dragonfire, brimstone, and sand. Rhaenyra, who is in the corner, has been preparing for a war of dragonfire and brimstone while she searches for proof. When she finds it she demands Aemond’s body. What’s another eye (and the rest)? Daemon tries to meet this request, while #TeamRhaenyra bolsters her allegiances. Alicent, in King’s Landing is attempting to reign in her sons, who are occupying the highest positions of power. While also having a little fun with Ser Criston Cole, her sidekick. Alicent’s grandfather, the Hand to King, Otto, who, let us not forget, set Alicent and Rhaenyra against each other when they were children, is now trying to ensure that there are no further missteps before the Hightowers become the undisputed rulers of this realm. Aemond still denies that his mistake was a huge f****** mistake. He has adopted a All is fair in love, and the waryou caused, Mom, mentality. What I am saying is that most of the people in Westeros are a bunch of scumbags. I feel little sympathy for anyone, except Rhaenyra, who is grieving, and Jace, the young man we see learn of his brother’s murder. The good news is that most people are suckers, so there’s plenty of candidates to be the worst person in Westeros. Let’s see who we can think of. What did you think of Daemon’s and Aemond’s behavior in this episode? They are two sides of one coin, and it doesn’t hurt that their names contain the same letters. Both displayed a level callous dismissal of past wrongdoings (Aemond, Rhaenyra’s grief); Daemon, Rhaenyra’s grief.

Adams Let’s begin with Aemond. He is the most evil, almost comically so, of all the House of the Dragon characters. A sneering, one-eyed villain without any redeeming qualities. He didn’t intend to kill his son, but he doesn’t appear to be all that upset about it. While he may be the worst person on Westeros, he is not the Worst of the Week. He’s not the worst person in Westeros, but he isn’t the Worst this week. The worst he can do is to stomp into the council without being invited and declare that he is ready to fight. That’s pretty jerky but nothing like the horrible things he is capable of. We’d be better off keeping him on reserve for a week until his monstrousness is really apparent.

Daemon is also a character I think of in the same light. When someone is evil all the time it can become a bit mundane, even if he has hatched a terrible plot this past week. Before we go there, I’d like to suggest Aemond, Aegon’s brother and the newly crowned king. Aegon, in a sense, is doing his best. Aegon, the son of Aegon, the Conqueror is known as Aegon, the Magnanimous. His generosity, however, is largely a result of his weaknesses. He’s not the most intelligent person in the room; he has no idea what “magnanimous”, or even the word itself, means. He’s not just, but he is more concerned about being liked. Viserys was not the most powerful ruler, but he did have a moral code. Aegon appears to be influenced by the last person he spoke to, and we all know that King’s Landing’s ambitious politicians love a monarch who is easily swayed. He’s a bit more scummy this week than a terror. All he did was invite a toddler to the small council, and humiliate Tyland Lannister after she pointed out that the day before war wasn’t the best time for Bring Your Princeling To Work Day. His behavior may be obnoxious, but it’s more about laying the foundation for worse things to come. Nadira, where do you stand? This week, who’s your least favourite Targaryen?

Goffe :God if incompetence, and the ability to annoy, is enough for someone to be the worst then Aegon will win. Aegon’s role as the most pathetic Targaryen in this episode is amusing, but he is not the worst. He is just the biggest pushover, sitting on the biggest seat. Otto is my choice, though most of his treachery at this point is only residual. Funny enough, Alicent comes across as a tired mother trying her best. Who among us can relate? I’m keeping an eye on some characters who are not in the spotlight. To me, Larys Strong is the most entertaining plotter. He proved to be the most indiscriminately evil by arranging the deaths of both his father and brother in last season. But he barely appears in this episode. This brings me to the real problem with this show: There are plenty of bad characters, but very few of them are bad asses. We should look into Daemon’s horrible plot, which you mentioned. And consider that perhaps this week’s most evil person is not a Targaryen. Daemon plans to kill Aemond in order to satisfy his niece-wife. He hires two randos, the quintessential infiltration duo: the muscleman and navigator. They will sneak into the palace where the prince is and kill him. Things don’t quite go according to plan. What’s your take on the big snafu in this episode?

Adams :I’m going to be honest, I really liked it. Daemon was historically one of the less inbred, more competent Targaryens. He makes a terrible mistake by giving a very sensitive job to two guttersnipes. According to Wiki, in the history they were known as blood and cheese but here, they’re just men. Rhaenyra, who is grieving for the loss of her son, has the wisdom or restraint not to act immediately. She takes a moment to gather her forces and her wits before making a decision. Daemon, however, is determined to get an eye for an ear, or as the title of the episode states, “A Son for a Son”. (I suppose it’s best to avoid eye topics when Aemond Targaryen will be around.) He puts on his most sneaky cloak and grabs some gold and makes his way to King’s Landing. There he assigns Blood, a disgraced former cop, and Cheese, an expert rat-catcher, the seemingly simple task of finding the blond man with the eyepatch and killing him.

As far as revenge goes, it’s pretty straightforward. You get what you pay, and a handful of coins will not be enough to pull off a proper royal assassination. Daemon’s new hires have the skills to enter the palace undetected but they don’t know who to kill. They stumble into Helaena’s room, Aegon’s wife and sister, and find his children. Remembering only the blond man with the gold bag who said something about his son, they proceed to decapitate Jaehaerys, a 6-year-old, as proof of their job well done.

This act is both vicious and random. Game of Thrones is a show that was about plotters, elaborate schemes and counterplots which were revealed only at the last moment before someone’s throat got slit. Or his dead sons were served in a hot pie. House of the Dragon focuses more on the unintended consequences that occur when weapons of mass destruction are placed in the hands of people who have a bottomless entitlement and lack genetic diversity. Daemon’s plan is crude and rash, but it will be enough to rob the king of the male heir he had and bring the kingdom closer to war. The fact that there isn’t a single guard outside the queens bedroom in a kingdom at high alert is just a plot convenience, on the same level as ” I think Dany forgot about the Iron Fleet” but we will let it go. Since Tywin Lannister was crossbowed in the toilet, no royal has suffered such an unjust fate. It’s all very well to have royal blood, but that won’t stop the lowest of low from slitting your throat.

I think we’ve whittled the field down to two. What do you think, Nadira? What’s worse, cheese or blood?