History Recap / HouseOfTheDragonS1E6ThePrincessAndTheQueen

* 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 because she doesn't want to mend things with Rhaenyra at this point. In addition, because the rumors of her children's bastardy have cast a shadow over her reputation, Rhaenyra's proposed arrangement sounds, to Alicent, less like an attempt at genuine reconciliation and more like a desperate play to shore up her position by profiting from the legitimacy her trueborn children offer. Alicent already feels lied to by everyone around her, but now feels like Rhaenyra is trying to swindle her.

** When Harwin leaves, he says to baby Joffrey, "I'll be a stranger when we meet again." In the Faith of the Seven, ''the Stranger'' is a name for the TheGrimReaper, foreshadowing his death.

* ADateWithRosiePalms: Aegon is standing naked in the window of his room masturbating in full view of King's Landing [[CaughtWithYourPantsDown when Alicent interrupts him]] to scold him over his prank on Aemond.

In Pentos, Laena has a difficult birth. The maester offers to cut her open and remove the infant in hopes of it surviving. Before Daemon can make that choice, Laena goes to Vhagar and begs her to burn her alive; her dragon reluctantly obliges.

** In her youth, Rhaenyra was livid about her father using her marriage as a way to "solve his political headache." She's now TurningIntoYourParent and offering to use Jace's marriage as a political pawn without so much as telling him first.

* TurningIntoYourParent: Last episode it was Otto desperately trying to convey to Alicent that there ''is'' no "just not challenging Rhaenyra's claim", that Aegon existing as Viserys's firstborn son ''is inherently'' a challenge to Rhaenyra's claim. Now it's Alicent that has become her father, desperately trying to convey this to Aegon.

** As a highborn lady in Westeros, Rhaenyra is not supposed to nurse her own baby. Joffrey will have a wet nurse. As a result of not nursing, Rhaenyra's breasts ache and she's leaking milk. In addition, as a noble mother so soon out of childbirth, she would usually be sequestered within her chambers to rest and recover. But Rhaenyra's not, since she's a PoliticallyActivePrincess. Therefore she must additionally endure the embarrassment of lactating in the middle of a session of the small council, where no one is particularly sympathetic.
** The true paternity of the sons nominally of Laenor and Rhaenyra dominates the drama of the episode. They are the biological sons of Rhaenyra's lover, Ser Harwin Strong. Whether or not such an arrangement was the only way to have children in a marriage where the husband is homosexual, in Westeros, siring bastards is considered deeply disreputable, especially for a highborn woman. In addition, bastards are not entitled to inherit anything from their legitimate relatives, which would make them ineligible for the throne even though their claim would be through their mother, whose identity isn't in question. Because the consequences for his beloved daughter's reputation are so dire, King Viserys deliberately looks the other way, but to protect her, he also dismisses, gaslights, and implicitly threatens Alicent to shut up about it, even as evidence mounts over a decade that her suspicions are correct. When Rhaenyra later proposes a match with her eldest son Jacaerys to Alicent's daughter Helaena, the Queen is outraged: all three of ''her'' children are legitimate, while ''none'' of Rhaenyra's are, so the match appears less like an attempt at reconciliation, and more like yet another deception/ploy/insult.

** Alicent has been seething about Rhaenyra and her family the entire episode, but 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, kinslaying is a ''big deal''.

* 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.
** DiscussedTrope by Viserys. When Alicent brings up that Rhaenyra's children are likely bastards as they don't have the trademark Valyrian white hair, Viserys tells a story of horses who don't resemble either parent. Whether or not he believes it, Viserys puts his daughter's reputation first. Alicent responds by asking if the horse story is even an example, or if the horse father was also actually someone else.

** 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.

* ImplausibleDeniability: It is obvious to anyone at court who looks that Rhaenyra's sons were not fathered by her husband Laenor. However, for the sake of stability and preserving what remains of his daughter's reputation, Viserys refuses to acknowledge this and forbids anyone, including Alicent, from even raising the matter in his presence.

* MeaningfulEcho: In 1.04, when Rhaenyra was accused of screwing around with Daemon she called it a "vile accusation." Now she refers to the rumors about her sons paternity as "vile, disgusting insinuations." ''Vile'' seems to be Rhaenyra's go-to word for rumors that are inconvenient but true.

* RefugeInAudacity: Rhaenyra ends up having ''three'' sons who clearly weren't fathered by Laenor, but she refuses to acknowledge this or be ashamed, and so no one in the court can openly address it either. It's also ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections because she knows her father will protect her and her kids as far as he can.

* BigBrotherBully: Aegon enjoys tormenting his younger brother, leading Jace and Luke in mocking Aemond for being the only one without a dragon. This is characteristic enough of him that when Viserys hears the story of the Pink Death he asks if it was Aegon's idea, and Alicent likewise knows him well enough that after Viserys's suggestion she confronts their son about it.

* BigBrotherBully: Aegon enjoys tormenting his younger brother, leading Jace and Luke in mocking Aemond for being the only one without a dragon. This is characteristic enough of him that when Viserys hears the story he asks if it was Aegon's idea, and Alicent likewise knows him well enough that after Viserys's suggestion she confronts their son about it.

* BigBrotherBully: Aegon enjoys tormenting his younger brother, mocking Aemond for being the only one without a dragon. This is characteristic enough of him that when Viserys hears the story he asks if it was Aegon's idea, and Alicent likewise knows him well enough that after Viserys's suggestion she confronts their son about it.

** Alicent has been seething about Rhaenyra and her family the entire episode, but is horrified when she learns that OverzealousUnderling Larys killed his father and brother for her benefit. It ''does'' benefit it--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, kinslaying is a ''big deal''.

--->'''Harwin:''' Today you publicly assaulted a Knight of the Kingsguard in the defense of your... ''[breaks off]''

** When Laena's childbirth runs into complications, Daemon is offered the same choice his brother was once forced to make 15 years ago. He doesn't get a chance to make that choice, as Laena orders Vhagar to burn her alive instead.

Meanwhile, in '''Pentos''', Daemon and Laena -- now with 8-year-old twin daughters, Baela and Rhaena, and a third baby on the way -- complete a mercenary job with their dragons for the Prince of Pentos, who wines and dines them. The Prince offers for them to live luxurious lives in Pentos as long as they're on call for the Triarchy, who have a new alliance with Dorne. Daemon is intrigued by the offer, but Laena wishes to return to Westeros.

* MeaningfulEcho: In 1.04, when Rhaenyra was accused of screwing around with Daemon she called it a "vile accusation." Now she refers to the rumors about her sons paternity as "vile, disgusting insinuations." ''Vile'' seems to be Rhaenyra's go to word for rumors that are inconvenient but true.

-->'''Alicent:''' Have I lost my sanity, Ser Criston? Do my senses lead me astray? Or is everyone else asleep, dreaming the same woolly dream?

** Rhaenyra, as a highborn lady in Westeros, is not supposed to nurse her own baby. Joffrey will have a wet nurse. As a result of not nursing, Rhaenyra's breasts ache and she's leaking milk. In addition, as a noble mother so soon out of childbirth, she would be sequestered within her chambers, but as a PoliticallyActivePrincess is not and therefore must additionally endure the embarrassment of the lactation happening in the middle of a session of the small council, where no one is particularly sympathetic.

* 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 and 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.

** Daemon and Laena's daughters Baela and Rhaena are only a quarter black and in our world would likely not look exactly like their mother. Maybe one of them, but probably not both. In Westeros genetics, however, taking fully after one parent and not at all the other is very common. And narratively, they serve as an example of what Targaryen-Velaryon kids ''ought'' to look like (white hair + brown skin) and provide a contrast to what Rhaenyra's sons look like (brown hair + white skin).

** While voicing her objections regarding Rhaenyra's proposal to Viserys, Alicent just barely stops herself from calling Rhaenyra's sons "bastards."

*** '''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 she seem to find it terribly burdensome--she adores her sons.

** When Harwin leaves, he says to baby Joffrey, "I'll be a stranger when we meet again." In the Faith of the Seven, ''the Stanger'' is a name for the TheGrimReaper, foreshadowing his death.

* ShipTease: Criston is now Alicent's closest friend. For all that he accuses Harwin of being dad-like with Rhaenyra's kids, he's being a ParentalSubstitute to Alicent's kids.
-->'''Alicent''': We need to hew to that… and to each other.

* PerspectiveReversal: Last episode it was Otto desperately trying to convey to Alicent that there ''is'' no "just not challenging Rhaenyra's claim", that Aegon existing as Viserys's firstborn son ''is inherently'' a challenge to Rhaenyra's claim. Now it's Alicent that has become her father, desperately trying to convey this to Aegon.

* 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).

-->-- '''Lyonel Hightower'''

* HollywoodGenetics: Genetics in this world have always been a little… unlike those in our world. Kids typically take ''strongly'' after only one parent, occasionally are a blend of both, and recessive traits are basically unheard of.

** Alicent has been seething about Rhaenyra and her family the entire episode, but is horrified when she learns Larys killed his father and brother for her benefit. It ''does'' benefit it--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, kinslaying is a ''big deal''.