House of the Dragon: The Princess and the Queen - Episode 6 review

Created: 09/26/2022, 18:00

This marriage is only on paper: Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) and Laenor (John Macmillan) cozy up in the Princess and Queen parlor of House of the Dragon © HBO

The second half of the season of the HBO fantasy series "House of the Dragon" begins with an extra-long episode and a ten-year time jump that involves several cast changes.

We also get to see more kite action than ever...

The new House of the Dragon episode The Princess and the Queen, which kicks off the second half of the ten-part season premiere, feels like a second pilot.

The "Game of Thrones" prequel jumps almost a decade into the future, which is why some of the younger leading roles have been recast.

Emma D'Arcy ("Truth Seekers") and Olivia Cooke ("Bates Motel") take over as Princess Rhaenyra and Queen Alicent, to whom the episode name alludes.

In addition, there are a lot of new Targaryen offspring who have seen the light of day in the fantasy world of Westeros in the meantime.

"House of the Dragon": That's how you know the cast

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With a running time of around 68 minutes, it is one of the longest issues of the season.

Co-showrunner Miguel Sapochnik has taken over the direction again, which underlines the special significance of the episode.

The screenplay, which features some of George RR Martin's strongest original lines, is penned by Sara Hess ("Orange Is the New Black").

While the author lets off steam with the language, Sapochnik provides visual highlights with the staging (starting with an amazingly ambitious opening scene through to a lot of dragon action).

All in all, this is one of the best episodes the new HBO format has come up with.

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