House Of The Dragon's Haunting Funeral Scene Echoes A Legendary Game Of Thrones Moment
Warning: This article contains spoilers for the latest episode of "House of the Dragon."
Everyone knows that when you play the game of thrones, you win or you die, but there's also a secret third option, as well — you have your most personal tragedies and failings paraded in front of the commoners for political gain. When Queen Alicent (Olivia Cooke) and Team Green made the fateful decision to press her son Aegon's (Tom Glynn-Carney) claim to the Iron Throne following the death of King Viserys (Paddy Considine) back in season 1, not even she could've anticipated the series of dominoes that would fall and eventually lead to the brazen murder of her grandson at the hands of "Blood" and "Cheese." After the shocking premiere last week, fans likely anticipated that episode 2 would escalate the plot towards full-scale war against Queen Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) and her loyal Team Black. Instead, creator and showrunner Ryan Condal and his writing team have maintained their deliberate pace, leaving room for sequences dealing with the unpleasant aftermath ... such as a funeral procession through the heart of King's Landing, which can't help but conjure memories of a very famous moment in the original "Game of Thrones."
Despite their vastly different circumstances, the funeral procession of the late Prince Jaehaerys Targaryen (Jude Rock) and the infamous "Walk of Shame" involving Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) in "Game of Thrones" feel like neat parallels to one another. Powerless Queens have been forced by the men around them to participate in public proceedings that they want absolutely no part of, airing out their most private and intimate moments against their will and purely as a spectacle for the masses. And, in both cases, it raises the question of whether their power-grabs were worthwhile in the first place.
The downsides to power in House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones
The world of Westeros has always been a dangerous place for royals and smallfolk alike, but again and again we've seen that all the power and authority in the world are nothing more than the thinnest of shields for women in an overwhelmingly patriarchal society — even queens. That's been painfully on display ever since the opening prologue of "House of the Dragon" season 1, when Princess Rhaenys (Eve Best) was passed over by the various lords of the realm during the Great Council to decide the matter of succession all those years ago.
But historical lessons are doomed to be learned multiple times, apparently, and so even the Queen Dowager Alicent and her daughter Queen Helaena (Phia Saban) can't escape one of the more unexpectedly harrowing moments of the young season so far. Otto Hightower's (Rhys Ifans) plan to carry Jaehaerys' body before the people of King's Landing isn't entirely without merit, as it's meant to drum up public outrage against Rhaenyra and cast further aspersions on her claim to the Throne. But unfairly subjecting both Alicent and the grieving Helaena to even more trauma crosses several lines, suggesting Otto will stop at nothing to ensure his political goals. (His removal as Hand, as undignified and ill-advised as it is, feels like justice.) In "Game of Thrones" season 5, Cersei's ambition and lust for power similarly prove to be her downfall, culminating in a prolonged act of violence committed against her very body and identity. Cersei's predicament feels less like a deserved comeuppance, though she's undeniably guilty of several crimes, and more like another instance of women fighting on an uneven playing field.
"House of the Dragon" airs new episodes every Sunday on HBO and Max.