Game of Thrones prequel House of The Dragon is a massive storm brewing, with the Targaryens smack in the middle of it. The storyline is going through a period of compromises, the quiet before the storm breaks out. The prequel series showed a Targaryen wedding ceremony for the first time in the Game of Thrones franchise, and even though it ended tragically, it was as grand as one can imagine. Amongst all the chaos that ensued, there is some stuff that’s easy to slip out of view. Let’s have a look at some of these easy-to-miss details from the fifth episode.
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Sea Snake’s 9 Voyages
As soon as King Viserys enters the High Tide, the Velaryon castle at Driftmark, he is treated with a gigantic mural of a Velaryon fleet at sea. This is a direct reference to Lord Corlys Velaryon’s famous sea travels across the world. These are called the nine Voyages. They’re also the subject of another HBO Game of Thrones spinoff currently under development helmed by Bruno Heller. Corlys is really proud of his seafaring abilities, and that’s why has his greatest achievement immortalized on his walls.
Crabfeeder’s mask in Driftmark throne room
Lord Corlys Velaryon loves to display his spoils of war and travel. His throne room is decorated with memorabilia of his achievements. The latest one is the broken mask of Craghas Drahar, the Crabfeeder. The Crabfeeder was a cunning, psychotic, and terrifying adversary. The Lord of Driftmark and Daemon Targaryen teamed up to defeat him at the Stepstones.
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Rhaenyra’s wedding outfit
Pay close attention to Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen’s dress at the Valyrian-customed wedding ceremony. It is made to replicate dragon scales, signifying her growth and assertiveness in the game of thrones she is about to engage in. She is growing up to be a dragon in her own right, trying to bend the rules her own way. We’ve seen her wear dragon-themed things quite often in this series. This includes a dress earlier in the season, which mirrored Daenerys’ fashion from the last couple of seasons of Game of Thrones.
Lady Jeyne
Jeyne Arryn, called the Maiden of the Vale, was the Lady of the Eyrie and the head of House Arryn during the reign of kings Jaehaerys I, Viserys I, Aegon II, and Aegon III Targaryen. She was namedropped during Daemon Targaryen’s conversation with Gerald Royce, cousin of Daemon’s late wife Rhea. As House Royce is sworn to the Arryn’s, it is Lady Jeyne’s job to keep track of Runestone’s inheritance.
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Alicent Hightower’s green outfit
After learning the truth about her former best friend Rhaenyra in an unexpected way, Alicent Hightower is in shock and disbelief. And her transformation after the events that transpire turn her into a full Hightower through and through. We see this reflected in her shiny green dress at Rhaenyra’s wedding. A declaration of war by Alicent, as explained by Ser Larys Strong, gives Rhaenyra the mean ‘step mom’ look as well.
Game of Thrones parallels
House of The Dragon has featured several callbacks to Game of Thrones so far, and episode 5 featured one as well. Remember how Ser Sandor Clegane (The Hound) always came to the rescue of the Stark girls at crucial moments? On one occasion, he saves Sansa from a bunch of rapists during a riot at the capital. We see him carry her to safety, much like Ser Harwin “Breakbones” Strong does by carrying Princess Rhaenyra away from the chaotic mob at the wedding.
Blood and cheese!
The Targaryen wedding ceremony was a bloodied mess. Ser Criston Cole, unable to handle his emotions after being cast aside by Rhaenyra, beats Ser Joffrey Lonmouth, lover of Laenor Velaryon, to a pulp, killing him in the process. The horrified guests first run around like headless chickens. The Kingsguard escorts them out. The ceremony then resumes in a somewhat peaceful and grim setting. We see the camera pan to a shot of a rat licking the pool of blood.
This is a reference to an incredibly violent storyline from Fire & Blood, titled “Blood & Cheese”, a rat catcher known only as Cheese teams up with a butcher using the name Blood. Together, on the orders of Mysaria, who herself is working for Daemon, they sneak into the Red Keep via a secret passageway. This leads them to Alicent Hightower’s bedroom, and what happens next is the stuff of true horror.
Which of these details did you catch during your first viewing of House of The Dragon episode 5? Tell us in the comments below!
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