House of the Dragon episode 6 review: "Impatiently devours its source material"

Warning: Major spoilers ahead for House of the Dragon episode 6! Turn back now if you haven't seen the latest episode! 

Things are very different in Westeros. Ten years have passed and Rhaneyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower have changed – indeed, Emma D'Arcy and Olivia Cooke have taken over the roles. 'The Princess and the Queen' is all about bringing us up to speed and barreling into the future, but its haste means emotional impact is seriously diminished. 

The episode opens with Rhaenyra straining to deliver her third son. It's a vivid, grisly scene, with squelching, screaming, and sweating. A summons from Alicent arrives, and Rhaenyra, literally seconds after giving birth, staggers from bed and makes her painful way to see the queen, her husband Laenor Velaryon (John Macmillan, taking over from Theo Nate) helping her along in a sweeping one shot that follows them through the Red Keep. Rhaenyra doesn't want to give Alicent the "satisfaction" of Laenor holding the baby, and Alicent cattily tells Laenor that perhaps he'll one day get a child that looks like him – all of Rhaenyra's sons are dark haired. In one sequence, we quickly see the state of play between the two women: petty power plays abound, but Alicent is on to Rhaenyra's most dangerous secret, and the queen makes no attempt to hide her knowledge. In another development, Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) guards Alicent's room: his allegiance is clear following the gruesome heartbreak of last week's episode.

Ser Harwin Strong (Ryan Corr) is actually the father of Rhaenyra's sons, which is something of an open secret at court – even Harwin's father, Hand of the King Lyonel (Gavin Spokes), is aware of the truth. This does add some intrigue, but we've only just met these children and already we're dealing with an entire episode focused on their parentage. The relentless pace means we can't really grapple with why this revelation matters beyond its political weight. When Rhaenyra's son Jacaerys (Leo Hart) asks his mother if Harwin is his father, there's no weight behind it because we have almost no idea what the family dynamic between Rhaenyra, Harwin, Laenor, and the boys is like. 

The pacing problems are especially evident with the episode's two major deaths. Harwin is killed in an arson attack planned by his own brother, Larys Strong (Matthew Needham), who is allied with Alicent. Harwin spoke his first ever lines of dialogue in the show last week and he's dead already. He's the father to Rhaenyra's three children, but as we don't know if any of them love him, there's no genuine sorrow over his death. The only thing the fire really succeeds in doing is establishing how creepy Larys is when even Alicent is horrified by what he's done – and it clears the way for the return of Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans).

Then there's the death of Laena Velaryon (Nanna Blondell, taking over from Savannah Steyn). She's also had a small presence in the show and is now married to Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith). They have children and Laena is pregnant with another. A fun scene of the duo riding their dragons – Laena astride the magnificent Vhagar, the oldest and largest of the dragons – shades in their relationship a little, as does their disagreement over staying in Pentos. Before we know it, Laena is dying in childbirth. In a sinister echo of the first episode, Daemon is informed a caesarean procedure could save the child, but, as we know, this comes at the expense of the mother. Very suddenly, Laena vanishes, staggers to Vhagar, and commands her "dracarys". 

The dragon is reluctant: in a stunning display of the VFX magic that brings the great creatures to life, we see a closeup of Vhagar looking at Laena, a sad gentle giant rather than a fearsome beast. But Vhagar does as ordered and sets her rider alight. This would have been searingly effective if we had gotten to know Laena as an adult before her death. As it stands, she comes and goes just like Harwin Strong. Even more frustratingly, Blondell's performance here is powerful, but the lack of history means the scene doesn't hurt the way it should. We barely even get to see Daemon's reaction. One thing Game of Thrones did fantastically well was take the time to develop its huge cast of characters before those infamously shocking deaths – imagining only knowing the Starks properly for one episode prior to the Red Wedding and you'll see why Laena and Harwin's abrupt exit does House of the Dragon a disservice. 

Rhaenyra's sudden decision to flee the gossip by heading to Dragonstone is similarly hobbled by the quick pace. It's a move that doesn't make much sense anyway, because, as Laenor reminds her, leaving gives Alicent free reign over poisoning the sickly and ageing King Viserys (Paddy Considine) against his daughter. It all feels very much like chess pieces being arranged on the board for the next phase of the show rather than an organic story. Still, there is some resonance in this scene. Rhaenyra, looking sombre, remarks that she "should have left years ago," bringing to mind the princess tauntingly urging Daemon last episode (but 10 years ago in the show) to take her to Dragonstone and marry her. In a flash, we see a decade's worth of regret. 

The episode really shines when it delves into how toxic the rift between Alicent and Rhaenyra has become. Cooke plays an older, wiser, and tougher Alicent, one without the wounded betrayal of Emily Carey's version, while D'Arcy's Rhaenyra is steelier and harsher than Milly Alcock's free-spirited young princess. Both actors prove themselves as worthy of their roles, fully owning their evolved characters from the jump and putting to rest any fears that they couldn't stack up to Alcock and Carey. They're the only characters who aren't hurt by the decade fast-forward and it's because the show took the time to develop them and their relationship properly. 

House of the Dragon has been steadily skipping years since the beginning, but this is the first time it has truly felt like the show is impatiently devouring its source material. This episode has some juicy dynamics and plot developments to explore, but it rushes straight through them. As long as House of the Dragon returns to a heavy focus on character-driven conflict, the shortcomings of 'The Princess and the Queen' shouldn't be repeated. 

See our House of the Dragon release schedule to find out exactly when the next episode arrives in your time zone, or fill out your watchlist with our guide to the best Netflix shows streaming now.