History Recap / HouseOfTheDragonS1E6ThePrincessAndTheQueen

* SportsDad: Criston is a ParentalSubstitute to Alicent's boys and Harwin is ostensibly the same to Rhaenyra's. The men egg the boys into a fight that's really an expression of TheMissusAndTheEx situation between them.

* AltarDiplomacy: DefiedTrope. Rhaenyra proposes a match between her son Jacaerys and her half-sister Helaena. Viserys is all for it, while Alicent is vehemently against the idea. As always with Westerosi nobility, AltarDiplomacy is the nice term for something which could also be called PoliticalHostage. Exchanging your daughter as a PoliticalHostage to people you does not trust in exchange for a dragon egg is not a good deal. Rhaenyra's proposed arrangement sounds, to Alicent, less like an attempt at kindhearted reconciliation and more like a desperate play to shore up her position by neutralizing the threat of her half-siblings and profiting from their legitimacy. Alicent already feels lied to by everyone around her, but now feels like Rhaenyra is trying to swindle her.

** DiscussedTrope by Viserys, who basically claims that the kids ''could'' be Rhaenyra and Laenor's because recessive genes. Alicent says that's not a thing. Given that this series has no precedent for recessive traits, she may be right.

** DownplayedTrope when Alicent complains that her husband's inner circle -- namely his Hand, Lyonel Strong -- are not impartial. Viserys and Lyonel are bending over backwards to protect their children and grandchildren. Anyone ''not'' doing that and just meeting the baseline of being honest ''would'' defacto be on Alicent's side. An impartial Hand ''would'' seriously benefit her. But Alicent brings up Otto Hightower as hypothetical impartial Hand, which -- as Larys is quick to point out -- he's not. In a context where everyone else has their exceptionally biased dads protecting them, Alicent wanting the same advantage for herself is not hypocritical, but calling it impartiality is intellectually dishonest.

* HappilyMarried: In contrast to Viserys's decades-long decline with Alicent, and Rhaenyra's tense-plus-scandalous open marriage, Daemon and Laena's marriage in Pentos is, publicly at least, pretty successful--with two beautiful daughters, not to mention the friendship of Pentoshi magnates for their skill as {{Dragon Rider}}s. But {{subverted|trope}} as we come to see the fault lines in their relationship. Laena desires to return to Driftmark. Daemon says he's happy in Pentos, but is clearly haunted by a restlessness and melancholy.

* HappilyMarried: In contrast to Viserys's decades-long decline with Alicent, and Rhaenyra's tense-plus-scandalous open marriage, Daemon and Laena's marriage in Pentos is, publicly at least, pretty successful--with two beautiful daughters, not to mention the friendship of Pentoshi magnates for their skill as {{Dragon Rider}}s. But subverted as we come to see the fault lines in their relationship. Laena desires to return to Driftmark. Daemon says he's happy in Pentous, but is clearly haunted by a restlessness and melancholy.

** DownplayedTrope when Alicent complains that her husband's inner circle -- particularly his Hand Lyonel Strong -- are not impartial. Viserys and Lyonel are bending over backwards to protect their children and grandchildren. Anyone ''not'' doing that -- just meeting the baseline of being honest -- would defacto be on Alicent's side. An impartial Hand ''would'' seriously benefit her. But Alicent brings up Otto Hightower as hypothetical impartial Hand, which, Larys is quick to point out, he's not. In a context where everyone else has their exceptionally biased dads protecting them, wanting the same advantage for herself is not hypocritical, but calling it impartiality is intellectually dishonest. When Larys points this out, Alicent snaps that at least Otto would be partial to ''her''.

* KinslayingIsASpecialKindOfEvil: Alicent is horrified to learn that Larys killed his father and brother for her benefit. It ''does'' benefit her--it takes out two people who supported Rhaenyra over her and leaves the position of Hand open for someone more pro-Alicent such as her own father. But if Larys is willing to turn against his ''own family'' so utterly, he would almost certainly be willing to turn against Alicent too. This proves him a WildCard. Larys may be her ally, but not a trustworthy or safe one.

* LastSecondWordSwap:
** While voicing her objections regarding Rhaenyra's proposal to Viserys, Alicent just barely stops herself from calling Rhaenyra's sons "bastards." Of course, her choice of words is a deliberate call-back to Viserys' story about his mare having a foal sired by a neighboring stallion, so the implication is there.

* ProperlyParanoid: [[DeconstructedTrope Alicent is an example of how personally exhausting even well-founded suspicion can be.]] Alicent is completely correct in her suspicions that the three Velaryon children are bastards, but her struggle to get anyone to openly acknowledge it is wearing her down and colors all her actions in the episode.

* RhetoricalRequestBlunder: During her dinner with Larys, Alicent frustratedly wishes that her father were there to assist her. She is later horrified when she learns that Larys had his own father killed so that her father could be re-appointed as Hand. {{Invoked|Trope}} or {{Zigzagging|Trope}} in that Larys is a smart guy who ''knew'' Alicent was not ''remotely'' suggesting he have anyone killed. When Alicent finds out what Larys did, he's not at all surprised that she's shocked -- he knew she would be. He has the PlausibleDeniability to say he did it at her request, but they both know that interpreting it that way is quite a stretch.

* VillainousCrossdresser: Laenor's new boyfriend has been fighting in the Stepstones and regaled him with stories about the new Corsairs who stepped in to fill the power vaccuum left by the late Crabfeeder, one of them being a massive Tyroshi who dyes his beard purple and wears women's frocks. Apparently, the entire Triarchy navy is made up of eccentric weirdos.

* AdaptationalContextChange: The motivations for the burning of Harrenhal become explicitly different in contrast to the motivations listed upon in ''Literature/FireAndBlood''. While most of it is implied to be about disposing of Harwin for "dishonoring" Rhaenyra (and shaming House Strong itself, if Larys was the culprit) by being the father of her children, here it is explicitly about eliminating Lord Lyonel to enable Otto Hightower's return to service as Hand, as Larys's disturbing favor to the increasingly grasping Queen Alicent. It's made explicit that Larys was the one responsible, whereas the book gives a list of suspects including him, Daemon, Corlys Velaryon, King Viserys or simply the Harrenhal curse.

** Criston, still bitter ten years after Rhaenyra rejected his proposal, calls her a "spoiled cunt" in conversation with Alicent. The queen is slightly taken aback by the vehemence of the statement.

* EstablishingCharacterMoment:
** Between the TimeShiftedActors, and the fact that the characters have changed much in a decade, even some of our familiar characters get these.
*** '''Rhaenyra:''' After initially knowing her as a teenager who was very afraid of childbirth, we're reintroduced to Rhaenyra ''in the midst of giving birth''. She's a mother now, and contrary to her adolescent fears, she doesn't seem to find it terribly burdensome--she adores her sons.
*** '''Alicent:''' In stark contrast to the ShrinkingViolet of her adolescence, Alicent GrewASpine and now is not afraid to make demands (such as making Rhaenyra come to her right after giving birth) or speak her mind (in veiled jabs at baby Joff's appearance).
** We're introduced to many Targaryen kiddos this episode.
*** '''Aegon:''' Bullying his little brother Aemond. And standing naked on a window and masturbating.
*** '''Aemond:''' Being bullied about not having a dragon, and this driving him down into the bowels of the Dragonpit where he hopes to find one.
*** '''Helaena:''' Waxing encyclopedically to her mother about her pet millipede.
*** '''Jacaerys:''' Because he's the eldest of Rhaenyra's sons, he'd old enough to realize he probably is a bastard (even if he's still a Targaryen through his mother), leading to his BastardAngst that drives him to overcompensate by trying really hard to be a model prince.
*** '''Lucerys:''' Younger than Jace, innocently unaware he's a bastard.
*** '''Baela:''' Daemon's tougher older daughter, she already has her own dragon that hatched from a cradle egg and she's clearly her father's favorite, with him taking time to give her High Valyrian lessons.
*** '''Rhaena:''' Daemon's younger daughter, has a whole scene with Laena explaining her angst that she worries her father ignores her because she doesn't have a dragon yet.

** Alicent and Criston perceive Rhaenyra as one, flagrantly cheating on her husband overlooked thanks to ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections.

* IWantMyMommy: As Alicent watches Viserys and Lyonel being flagrantly biased to protect ''their'' children, what she really wants is her ''own'' father to be here and be partial to ''her''.

* AltarDiplomacy: DefiedTrope. Rhaenyra proposes a match between her son Jacaerys and her half-sister Helaena, but while Viserys is all for it, Alicent is vehemently against the idea. As always with Westerosi nobility, AltarDiplomacy is the nice term for something which could also be called PoliticalHostage. If Helaena were married to Jace their fates would be intertwined. Alicent would be compelled to support Jace, lest disaster befall him and Helaena jointly. As Jace is an obvious bastard whom they plan to make king, trouble is inevitably coming for Jace at some point. Rhaenyra's proposed arrangement sounds, to Alicent, less like an attempt at kindhearted reconciliation and more like a desperate play to shore up her position by neutralizing the threat of her half-siblings and profiting from their legitimacy. Alicent already feels lied to by everyone around her, but now feels like Rhaenyra is trying to swindle her.

* RhetoricalRequestBlunder: During her dinner with Larys, Alicent frustratedly wishes that her father were there to assist her. She is later horrified when she learns that Larys had his own father killed so that her father could be re-appointed as Hand.

* KinslayingIsASpecialKindOfEvil: Alicent is horrified to learn that Larys killed his father and brother for her benefit. It ''does'' benefit her--it takes out two people who supported Rhaenyra over her and leaves the position of Hand open for someone more pro-Alicent such as her own father. But if Larys is willing to turn against his ''own family'' so utterly, he would almost certainly be willing to turn against Alicent too. He's her ally, but not a trustworthy or safe one.

** DownplayedTrope when Alicent complains that her husband's inner circle -- particularly his Hand Lyonel Strong -- are not impartial. Viserys and Lyonel are bending over backwards to protect their children and grandchildren. Anyone ''not'' doing that -- just meeting the baseline of being honest -- would defacto be on Alicent's side. An impartial Hand ''would'' seriously benefit her. But Alicent brings up Otto Hightower as hypothetical impartial Hand, which, Larys is quick to point out, he's not. In a context where everyone else has their exceptionally biased dads protecting them, wanting the same advantage for herself is not hypocritical, but calling it impartiality is intellectually dishonest.

* KinslayingIsASpecialKindOfEvil: Alicent is horrified when she learns that OverzealousUnderling Larys killed his father and brother for her benefit. It ''does'' benefit her--it takes out two people who were more inclined to support Rhaenyra over her and leaves the position of Hand open for someone more pro-Alicent such as her own father. But if Larys is willing to turn against his ''own family'' so utterly, he would almost certainly be willing to turn against Alicent too. Even if he's her ally, he's not a trustworthy or safe one.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: During Alicent and Larys's dinner date, Larys goes ahead and start eating without her, and Alicent takes off her shoes. It initially appears they feel free to be less formal with each other because they're relationship is quite familiar. Three episodes later we learn that actually [[spoiler:they have a begrudging SexForServices setup where Larys passes Alicent information in exchange for being allowed to jerk off to the sight of her bare feet.]]

** Alicent and Larys have apparently been having regular dinner dates for years. They're very familiar with each other, with Larys feelings free to go ahead and start eating without her, and her feeling free to take off her shoes.

-->'''Alicent:''' To have one child like that is a mistake, to have three is an insult, to the throne, to you, to House Velaryon and the match you battled so hard to make for her.

* EveryoneHasStandards:
** Alicent does give Ser Cristen an offended look when he calls Rhaenyra a "cunt." Even he seems to realize that's a bit far.
--->'''Criston:''' The Princess Rhaenyra is brazen and relentless. A spider who stings and sucks her prey dry. A spoiled cunt.\\

** Alicent is horrified when she learns that OverzealousUnderling Larys killed his father and brother for her benefit. It ''does'' benefit her--it takes out two people who were more inclined to support Rhaenyra over her and leaves the position of Hand open for someone more pro-Alicent such as her own father--but still, KinslayingIsASpecialKindOfEvil. If Larys isn't safe or trustworthy even to his ''own family'', Alicent certainly can't trust him to be so to her.

* {{Gaslighting}}: Viserys has spent a decade being absolutely insistent that Rhaenyra's children are Laenor's, even as this is obviously untrue. This leaves Alicent asking if she's going crazy.

-->'''Alicent:''' In all of King's Landing, is there no one to take my side?
-->'''Henry II:''' [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_no_one_rid_me_of_this_turbulent_priest%3F What miserable drones and traitors have I nurtured and promoted in my household, who let their lord be treated with such shameful contempt by a low-born cleric!]]

* HappilyMarried: In contrast to Viserys's decades-long decline with Alicent, and Rhaenyra's tense-plus-scandalous open marriage, Daemon and Laena's marriage in Pentos is, publicly at least, pretty successful--with two beautiful daughters, not to mention the friendship of Pentoshi magnates for their skill as {{Dragon Rider}}s. Yet Laena desires to return to Driftmark and seems to sense a restlessness that Daemon keeps on denying--claiming he is happy being a comfortably-obscure hired sword in a foreign land instead of the "Rogue Prince" in Westeros he was (and likely still is).

* HollywoodGenetics: Genetics in this world have always been a little… unlike those in our world. Kids typically take ''strongly'' after only one parent, and occasionally are a blend of both. Phenotypes are strongly associated with family lines. There's no precedent for recessive traits.
** DiscussedTrope by Viserys, who basically claims that the kids ''could'' be Rhaenyra and Laenor's because recessive genes. Alicent says that's not a thing. Given how genetics in this story usually work, she might be right.

** Alicent complains that her husband's inner circle -- particularly his Hand Lyonel Strong -- are not impartial. She says that if her father were still Hand things would be different. Larys is quick to point out that as her father, Otto Hightower wouldn't be impartial either, and Alicent admits that she wants someone to be on her side more than she wants neutrality. To her credit, [[LampshadeHanging her sighing afterward seems to suggest she knows she is being this]].

-->'''Laenor:''' [[AskAStupidQuestion Was it terribly painful?]]
-->'''Rhaenyra:''' ''[gives a DeathGlare]''

* IWantMyMommy: DownplayedTrope, but as Alicent watches Viserys and Lyonel being flagrantly biased to protect their children, what she really wants is her ''own'' father to be here and be partial to ''her''.

-->'''Alicent:''' Does the babe have a name yet?
-->'''Rhaenyra:''' We haven't spoken--
-->'''Laenor:''' Joffrey. He'll be called Joffrey.

* ProperlyParanoid: [[DeconstructedTrope Alicent is an example of how personally exhausting even well-founded suspicion can be.]] Alicent is completely correct in her suspicions that the three Velaryon children are bastards, but her struggle to get anyone to openly acknowledge it is wearing her down and colors all her actions in the episode. Similarly, her desire for courtiers more openly partisan in her favor sounds hypocritical when referred to as a desire for an impartial councilor, but -- as the whispered scenes in the Red Keep show -- the affair between Ser Harwin and Rhaenyra is an OpenSecret. Everyone -- most especially the King and his Hand, Lord Lyonel Strong -- is at least somewhat complicit in keeping it under the table, and thus "partial" to Rhaenyra.
-->'''Alicent:''' [[{{Gaslighting}} Have I lost my sanity, Ser Criston?]] Do my senses lead me astray? Or is everyone else asleep, dreaming the same woolly dream?

** Even if we are given enough grounding for it through the last minutes of Creator/EmilyCarey's Queen Alicent last episode, Creator/OliviaCooke's portrayal shows us just how exactly the years have turned Queen Alicent bitter, domineering and even hypocritical--saying with a straight face that she wants the Hand to be her father so that someone will be [[ItsAllAboutMe "partial to [her]"]], and flat out screaming at Aegon's face to get on the Hightower ambition (even as he doesn't want to).

* AltarDiplomacy: DefiedTrope. Rhaenyra proposes a match between her son Jacaerys and her half-sister Helaena, but while Viserys is all for it, Alicent is vehemently against the idea. As always with Westerosi nobility, AltarDiplomacy is the nice term for something which could also be called PoliticalHostage. If Helaena was married to Jace their fates would be intertwined. Alicent would be compelled to support Jace, lest disaster befall him and Helaena jointly. As Jace is an obvious bastard who they plan to make king, trouble inevitably coming for Jace at some point. Rhaenyra's proposed arrangement sounds, to Alicent, less like an attempt at kindhearted reconciliation and more like a desperate play to shore up her position by neutralizing the threat of her half-sibling and profiting from their legitimacy. Alicent already feels lied to by everyone around her, but now feels like Rhaenyra is trying to swindle her.

** Alicent complains that her husband's inner circle -- particularly his Hand Lyonel Strong -- are not impartial. She says that if her father were still Hand things would be different. Larys is quick to point out that as her father, Otto Hightower wouldn't be impartial either, and Alicent admits that she wants someone to be on her side more than she wants neutrality.