Summary
“Smallfolk” is packed with strong character moments but is light on big developments. Some will (incorrectly) consider it filler, but it’s a great showcase for the cast and the writers.
Episode 6 of House of the Dragon Season 2, “Smallfolk”, lacks spectacle but is stuffed with significant little character moments, which to be fair is a sentence that describes most of the season thus far (with the obvious exception of the wonderfully chaotic Episode 4.)
It’s easy to see why people complain, even if I think they’re totally wrong. This is a patient show that’s in no hurry to get where it’s going; the kind of big-budget prestige drama that has a follow-up season already in its locker, so it can chill for an episode or two ping-ponging between different small councils. Some of this works (deviations like Rhaenyra’s new romantic relationship with Mysaria) and some it doesn’t (Daemon continuing to hang around Harrenhal having dodgy visions), but it’s all of a high enough quality that it’s difficult to mind.
Daemon’s Madness Continues
Matt Smith as Daemon Targaryen, who’s still going bonkers in Harrenhal
Let’s start with Daemon and just get this entire thing out of the way since it does feel like it’s right about to lead somewhere interesting.
This episode’s dream antagonist of choice is Viserys, which is understandable since Daemon has always had a frosty relationship with his brother and never quite forgave him for not naming him heir. It’s just one more traumatic component in the jigsaw of neuroses and issues that is Daemon Targaryen, virtually all of which he has been forced to navigate over the last several weeks.
Daemon’s at his lowest, most disheveled ebb here, which is a good excuse for Matt Smith to really lean into the performance, but plot-wise the most significant development is that Daemon realizes that he’s being poisoned. Or, at least, he suspects he’s being poisoned. But he still doesn’t seem to have considered that he’s at the behest of Alys Rivers.
Daemon has always admired a go-getter type. Alys has a good sense of politics, even the politics that remind Daemon of his worst slights and impulses, so he appreciates her forthrightness instead of finding it rightly suspicious.
Aemond Continues To Be Awful
Aemond shows Aegon some brotherly love
Episode 5 was, you’ll recall, largely about how hard women have it in the Seven Kingdoms, and Alicent continues to have a terrible time of things in “Smallfolk”, largely thanks to her own son.
Still drunk on his newfound power, Aemond boots Alicent right off the small council. Aegon might have threatened that through his attitude and the odd suggestion, but he’s still a mummy’s boy at heart. Aemond, portrayed with increasing ruthlessness by Ewan Mitchell, who’s clearly enjoying every moment, isn’t as easily swayed.
After kicking his mother to the curb, Aemond learns that Aegon has survived his brush with dragonfire and “checks up on him” by leaning his weight into Aegon’s ruined flesh and asking him what he remembers from Rook’s Rest. Needless to say, this isn’t a question – it’s a warning.
Even Larys gets the cold shoulder when he floats the necessity of Aemond selecting a new Hand. He’s clearly angling towards his own appointment, but Aemond rejects that pitch with tremendously brutal relish. Not that anyone feels sorry for Larys, of course.
Rhaenyra Has Had Enough
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Rhaenyra finally remembers she’s a queen — and gets a new love interest while she’s at it
Like Alicent, Rhaenyra has had a tough time lately. Not only has she allowed all the men around her to walk all over her completely, it’s like she totally forgot that she is, in fact, the queen. And that means she can not only make them stop doing that but slap them clean across the face when they don’t listen.
But perhaps most notably in Rhaenyra’s arc, she gets a new love interest – Mysaria. This isn’t in the book, so it’s a totally new swerve, but it’s funny how logical it feels with these interpretations of the characters. Mysaria genuinely respects Rhaenyra, and Rhaenyra feels empowered by that. It’s one step closer to her own emancipation from Daemon, especially since we know – and Rhaenyra suspects – that he’s attempting to usurp her.
Seamoke Gets A New Rider
Dragons just want love too
Rhaenyra’s share of House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 6 is also saddled with developing the Dragonseed subplot, which was the stuff about commoners with Targaryen lineage potentially being able to ride the spare dragons large enough to take on Vhagar.
As it turns out, dragons are quite tetchy and don’t take kindly to having the wrong riders thrust on them. A Darklyn Queensguard finds this out the hard way, despite volunteering and understanding the potential risks, so it seems for a while that the Dragonseed plot has been smothered in its crib.
But not quite! Towards the end of the episode, Seasmoke chases Addam around, seemingly with the intention of eating him. But as it turns out, the dragon has just found its new rider. And if Addam can ride a dragon, surely there’s potential for others.
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