History Recap / HouseOfTheDragonS1E5WeLightTheWay

** While in the book, Daemon wasn't exactly broken up over his wife's death, there's no evidence he personally killed her. And given the narrative was no stranger to offering darker alternative theories for a number of deaths (including theories involving Daemon, no less), it likely would've been mentioned if anyone at the time suspected he was involved.

** While in the book, Daemon wasn't exactly broken up over his wife's death, there's no evidence he personally killed her. And given the narrative was no stranger to offering darker alternative theories for a number of deaths (some involving Daemon, no less), it likely would've been mentioned if anyone at the time suspected he was involved.

* {{Seppuku}}: After killing Joffrey Lonmouth in a rage-fueled frenzy, the thoroughly disgraced Ser Criston goes to the Red Keep's godswood and prepares to commit suicide with this method before Alicent stopped him. While this is not within a Japanese cultural context and it's unclear if this is a ''thing'' in Westeros, all the details are here: a dishonored warrior who wishes to at least preserve some honor in death; garbed in white; a blade to be rammed into the stomach.

* AnswerCut: Joffrey and Laenor's conversation ends with the line: "She has a paramour of her own. I wonder who it is." The next scene is of Rhaenyra and Criston. DownplayedTrope because the audience already knows who Rhaenyra's paramour is.

* CainAndAbel: DiscussedTrope. According to Otto Hightower, while his grandson Aegon lives, Rhaenyra's claim to the throne can never be completely secure, and therefore when she takes the throne, she ''must'' have him killed. He warns Alicent that this is the inherent danger of her son's position and why her choices are to either prepare him to rule or gamble her son's life on Rhaenyra's mercy.

* InformedDeformity: Up until this point Daemon implied that his wife was horribly unattractive, claiming the sheep of the Vale were prettier. When she shows up here played by the lovely Creator/RachelRedford, many a viewer began to wonder just how pretty the sheep are in the Vale. JustifiedTrope, as this is understood to be a way for Daemon to slander her, not an objective assessment of her looks.

* OperationJealousy: When Daemon shows up newly single for Rhaenyra's wedding, it's an ImpliedTrope that he's trying for WeddingDeadline. His flirting with Lady Laena is likewise implied to be an attempt to make Rhaenyra jealous. It certainly works.

* TookALevelInBadass: It comes across like a DownplayedTrope since thanks to trailers and whatnot, we as viewers have had some idea from the beginning of what Alicent's growing into. But really, in the story up until this moment, she's been a complete ShrinkingViolet. She's been her father's chess piece; Rhaenyra's defender; Viserys's wife--never a player in her own right. Her own family doesn't even really believe in her initially--Otto's worried how she'll fare when he leaves, and her uncle later says the same. But at the end of the episode, she comes into her own. She has her ''own'' agenda and her ''own'' allies for the first time ever.

* WeddingDeadline: An ImpliedTrope with Daemon. After ''years'' of hating his UnwantedSpouse and wanting out of that marriage, it's only ''now'' that he finally decides to get himself widowed. Freshly single and eligible, he saunters into Rhaenyra's wedding celebrations, where a full week of events are scheduled before the actual wedding. A week would be plenty of time to cause mayhem and seduce Rhaenyra. However, it's cut short when Joffrey is killed, the celebrations canceled, and the [[AltarTheSpeed wedding moved up to that night]].

* TheLawOfConservationOfDetail: We see Criston ignore Jace and Luke for all of 40 seconds in order to spar with Aegon and Aemond. Realistically, there's nothing wrong with this. If a teacher is ''ever'' to give a student individual attention, this requires ignoring the rest of the class for a minute. So long as all the students get turns, this is fine. Before we can see whether Criston will give Jace and Luke a turn, Harwin objects -- implying that 40-second snippet is part of a larger pattern.
-->'''Harwin:''' It seems the younger boys could do better with a bit of your attention, Ser Criston.\\
'''Criston:''' You question my method of instruction, Ser?\\
'''Harwin:''' I merely suggest that method be applied to all your pupils.

* ForeignFanservice: Subtlety {{implied|Trope}} then {{subverted|Trope}} with Criston. Upon first meeting Criston, Alicent's first words are that he's Dornish. The rest of Westeros thinks of the Dornish as hot and sexually free. This may be part of why she expects him to have no hang-ups about their relationship. But while Criston may ''look'' Dornish or have Dornish blood, he earned his knighthood fighting ''against'' the Dornish incursion, so it doesn't seem like he's ''culturally'' Dornish. And as we find out in this episode, Criston's sexually fairly conservative, and is very much not on board with what Rhaenyra wants of him. He takes his VowOfCelibacy seriously. He's offended by Rhaenyra's offer to keep him as a paramour, saying she's treating him like her whore. He'd only feel comfortable continuing their sexual relationship if they were married.

* JerkassHasAPoint: Otto's warning to Alicent that if Rhaenyra takes the throne, her children will likely be murdered to secure her claim. While such an accusation may seem paranoid and out of character for Rhaenyra, she is currently being pursued by and carrying a torch for Daemon who, as shown in the opening scene, very much ''is'' the kind of person who is willing to commit murder for his own personal power. Moreover, the idea of a more brutal ally doing the child murder for a would-be regnant who doesn't have the stomach for it ''isn't a new one''. There's a strong parallel to the murder of Elia and her children in the main series, of which Tywin says:

* AdaptedOut: In the books, as is standard in the Seven Kingdoms for a royal wedding celebration, the event goes on for seven days before culminating in the actual wedding and includes a tourney. During the tourney, Ser Harwin Strong rides as Rhaenyra's champion and Ser Joffrey Lonmouth as Laenor's, while Criston Cole carries Queen Alicent's favor. Here, the tournaments and other festivities are cut after Criston kills Joffrey.

* QueerEstablishingMoment: Laenor Velaryon is confirmed as gay after a scene with him alone with his lover where they discuss his betrothal and how Rhaenyra's agreement with him to seek pleasure outside of martial duties works to their advantage.

* CruelAndUnusualDeath: Criston immediately confesses to Alicent that he had sex with Rhaenyra, both breaking his vow of chastity and defiling the crown princess. He knows that a heinous execution probably awaits him.[[labelnotes:in the books...]]the last Kingsguard who broke his vow of chastity was indeed gelded and tortured. About forty years prior, Ser Lucamore Strong was found to have not only violated his vow of chastity, but bigamously married three separate women at the same time and collectively fathered 16 children with them. He was gelded and sent to the wall.[[/labelnotes]] He throws himself upon Alicent's mercy by asking for a clean death instead. Criston fully expects her to react by ordering the guards to warm up the gelding tongs, so he's stunned when she doesn't just spare him the torture with a quick death but simply lets him go.

* CruelAndUnusualDeath: Criston immediately confesses to Alicent that he had sex with Rhaenyra, both breaking his vow of chastity and defiling the crown princess, in order to ''avoid'' this fate -- literally begging that in return for his open admission, she grant him the mercy of a quick death rather than geld and torture him. [[note]]This is a nod to the book, in which the last Kingsguard who broke his vow of chastity was indeed gelded and tortured. About forty years before Rhaenyra's wedding here, Ser Lucamore Strong was found to have not only violated his vow of chastity, but bigamously married three separate women at the same time and collectively fathered 16 children with them. In their history the Kingsguard have been known to turn the blind eye to a private love affair now and again, but ''marrying three women simultaneously'' or ''deflowering the crown princess'' merit the harshest punishment. Criston fully expects Alicent to react by ordering the guards to warm up the gelding tongs, so he's stunned when she doesn't just spare him the torture with a quick death but simply lets him go.[[/note]]

* WorstWeddingEver: Viserys proudly announces seven days of feasting and tourneys before the wedding ceremony between Rhaenyra and Laenor will commence, but the first night is violently interrupted when Ser Criston Cole beats Ser Joffrey Lonmouth to death for making veiled threats regarding his affair with the Princess. Instead, the two are wedded in a quiet ceremony that same night, with only their parents in attendance, as a rat starts feeding on the pool of Joffrey's blood behind them.

* QueerEstablishingMoment: Laenor Velaryon is established as gay after a scene with him alone with his lover in a field.

** Viserys's [[WoundThatWillNotHeal condition]] by this point has now reached a point of no return, with numerous worsening cuts on his back as well as a rotting left arm. Fittingly, it's at the point in his reign where Alicent and Rhanerya's relationship has been irreparably broken and a SuccessionCrisis is now on the horizon.

Meanwhile in '''King's Landing''', Alicent tearfully bids goodbye to Otto, who urges her to continue fighting for Aegon's place as Viserys's heir. In the godswood, she meets Larys Strong, who tells her of the abortifacient Grand Maester Mellos delivered to Rhaenyra. When the king and entourage return, she questions Criston about the night Daemon and Rhaenyra snuck out of King's Landing. Criston confesses that he and Rhaenyra had slept together, greatly upsetting Alicent. Viserys prepares for another round of leeching and confides in his new hand, Lyonel Strong, that he fears he was a weak and unimpressive king.

* RuleOfSymbolism: While Laenor and Rhaenyra are hastily wed following the brutal murder of Joffrey, the camera focuses on a rat feeding on Joffrey's still-fresh blood on the floor. This hammers home the theme of rottenness among the Westerosi nobility, and the bloodshed that follows as a result of their actions.

* CruelAndUnusualDeath: Criston immediately confesses to Alicent that he had sex with Rhaenyra, both breaking his vow of chastity and defiling the crown princess, in order to ''avoid'' this fate - literally begging that in return for his open admission, she grant him the mercy of a quick death rather than geld and torture him. [[note]]This is a nod to the book, in which the last Kingsguard who broke his vow of chastity was indeed gelded and tortured. About forty years before Rhaenyra's wedding here, Ser Lucamore Strong was found to have not only violated his vow of chastity, but bigamously married three separate women at the same time and collectively fathered 16 children with them. In their history the Kingsguard have been known to turn the blind eye to a private love affair now and again, but ''marrying three women simultaneously'' or ''deflowering the crown princess'' merit the harshest punishment. Criston fully expects Alicent to react by ordering the guards to warm up the gelding tongs, so he's stunned when she doesn't just spare him the torture with a quick death but simply lets him go.[[/note]]

* CruelAndUnusualDeath: Criston immediately confesses to Alicent that he had sex with Rhaenyra, both breaking his vow of chastity and defiling the crown princess, in order to ''avoid'' this fate - literally begging that in return for his open admission, she grant him the mercy of a quick death rather than geld and torture him. This is a nod to the book, in which the last Kingsguard who broke his vow of chastity was indeed gelded and tortured. About forty years before Rhaenyra's wedding here, Ser Lucamore Strong was found to have not only violated his vow of chastity, but bigamously married three separate women at the same time and collectively fathered 16 children with them. In their history the Kingsguard have been known to turn the blind eye to a private love affair now and again, but ''marrying three women simultaneously'' or ''deflowering the crown princess'' merit the harshest punishment. Criston fully expects Alicent to react by ordering the guards to warm up the gelding tongs, so he's stunned when she doesn't just spare him the torture with a quick death but simply lets him go.

* DefiledForever: Criston's story is a unusually subtle and gender-inverted version. After a very dishonorable and [[QuestionableConsent Questionable Consensual]] sexual experience, Criston is DrivenToSuicide.

* InformedDeformity: Up until this point Daemon implied that his wife was horribly unattractive, claiming the sheep of the Vale were prettier. When she shows up here played by the lovely Rachel Redford, many a viewer began to wonder just how pretty the sheep are in the Vale. JustifiedTrope, as this is understood to be a way for Daemon to slander her, not an objective assessment of her looks.

* AmbiguousSituation: Clare Kilner, the episodes director, stated in a behind the scenes video that is intentionally unclear whether Daemon went to Runestone fully intent on killing Rhea or if it was a decision made on a whim after she insulted his impotence.

* AdaptationalSympathy: In the book we never meet Rhea Royce. Here we do, and she seems great. She's cut from the same cloth as other fan-favorite tomboy ladies from the series like Arya or Lyanna. It always seemed like Daemon was probably an UnreliableExpositor about her, but this confirms it. The creators note in the behind-the-scenes for the episode that they decided to show her as someone who wasn't as Daemon described and just didn't like Daemon.

* BuryYourGays: Joffrey Lonmouth, Laenor's lover, is murdered by a raging Ser Criston.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Ser Criston makes it clear to Rhaenyra that he took his oath of celibacy very seriously, and is driven to despair when Rhaenyra says she won't marry him and instead intends to treat him as merely her paramour while she marries Laenor.