Hey guys and welcome to my review for HBO’s House of the Dragon Episode 5 – We Light
the Way.
Well that was another amazing episode, my god, I think this might be my favourite one
yet.
The acting on this show is so damn good, and when that’s added to the great story, setting
and dialogue, nearly every scene struck a chord with me, really enjoyed this one.
But as always, before getting into my top 5 moments, Honorable mentions, and there’s
a lot of them, go to the death of Rhea Royce in the Vale, the great relationship and political
manuevering of Corlys and Rhaenys, Viserys confessing his insecurities to Lyonel Strong,
Laena Velaryon ingratiating herself with Rhaena and Daemon, Joffrey unwisely talking to Criston
Cole at the Welcome Banquet, Harwyn Strong saving Rhaenyra during the attack, Laenor
and Rhanerya’s sad wedding at the end of the episode, and lastly I want to specifically
mention Criston Cole and Alicent Hightowers eyes.
Both those actors did an exceptional job, with their immensely expressive eyes most
standing out to me, as Criston Cole, gave off a feeling of naive sincerity, heartbreak
and seething rage with a worrying hint of madness behind it all, like a man on the edge
of losing control.
Alicent’s eyes meanwhile, told a story of a woman whose done playing nice, bringing
a look of cold fury to the wedding we’ve never seen before.
Incredible job by both of them.
Now moving on to what I felt was the fifth best moment of the episode, I went with Otto’s
final conversation with Alicent before departing, where he made one last attempt to convince
his daughter that Aegon must be king, setting her on a path to war with the Rhaenyra.
Overall, I don’t particularly like Otto, or his family, but I also can’t help but
empathize with them to some degree.
Although I don’t agree with Otto’s assessment of the situation, that Rhaenyra would have
to kill her siblings to secure the throne, and I do think they’re largely motivated
by greedy ambition.
But I also sense a level of genuine sincerity in Otto, that he thinks he’s absolutely
doing the right and necessary thing for his family, including Alicent, who he treats at
times like a chess piece, but always in the name of securing the most prosperous future
possible for her and her children.
And given the medieval setting, this level of commitment and loyalty while still hugging
his daughter and expressing his love, is admirable.
Alicent also did a great job in this scene, as you can see the anguish she’s going through
trying to remain loyal to her father without abandoning her trust in Rhaenyra.
Alicent killed it this entire episode, with her showing up in 4 of my top 5 moments, with
the actress Emily Carey really doing a phenomenal job with the role.
It’s a shame this was her last episode because of the ten year time jump coming in the next
episode, but I look forward to seeing how the new actress fills her shoes.
Now for the fourth best moment of the night, I choose our first real glimpse into the Clubfoot
Larys Strong when he spoke to Alicent in the garden.
A cunning son of House Strong who plays an important role in the events to come, I thought
he snaked his way through this conversation brilliantly, as if auditioning for the role
of the queen’s personal spymaster.
I gotta say the Strongs might be my MVPs for the series so far.
I don’t know if this is all some brilliant coordinated political operation, or if each
of the Strongs are acting independently, but they’ve somehow managed to entrench themselves
with the three most powerful people in the realm, as Lyonel is Hand to the King, Larys
has befriended the Queen, and Harwyn saved the Princess, which serves as a wonderful
audition to become her new champion now that Criston Cole made an ungracious exit from
her service.
And they’ve managed to do all this without pissing off any of the royals, making any
big waves, or creating enemies among the nobility.
Everytime I see a Strong on screen it makes me happy, and for some reason proud, like
I’m watching scrappy underdogs work their way to the top.
Moving on to the third best moment of the night, I went with Rhaenyra breaking the heart
of Criston Cole.
God was this tough to watch.
I don’t like Criston Cole, probably because of how he was portrayed in the books, but
it was also pretty devastating watching his soul crushed before my eyes.
On the other hand, I can’t help but shake my head his behaviour.
He is afterall a grown man whose spent years living in the red keep and should better understand
how insane his suggestion was.
Even if she complained a lot how could he possibly think saying they should run away
together was a good idea.
Unfortunately Criston Cole, up to this point, was just to naive to involve himself in politics,
which he did as soon as he accepted Rhaenrya’s advances.
Rather then learn the game and play it to the best of his ability, he ignored the politics
and put all his emotional energy into the princess, focusing on that now that his honor
as a kingsguard was shattered forever.
Then when he realized Rheanrya wouldn’t commit herself to him in this same way, everything
was lost to him and it was just a matter of time before he snapped.
A very powerful scene.
For the number two spot I chose Queen Alicent stopping Criston Cole from taking his own
life.
This in addition to their earlier scene together was a real pleasure to watch.
As Alicent was coming to the realization Rhaenyra could not be trusted, you can tell the words
of her father are ringing in her head, and if her father was right about this was he
also right about the threat against her children?
And so when she arrived at the end and spoke to Ser Criston, I could really tell they were
a match made in hell, as both burned with pure hatred for the Princess.
Not only can Alicent offer Criston a chance at redeeming his honor by loyally serving
the queen and helping secure the throne for Aegon, this will also give him a chance for
revenge against the women who cost him his honor and rejected his love.
Now finally, for the best moment of the night, I went with Alicent arriving late for the
banquet, and declaring war on Rhaenyra with a green dress.
What a powerful scene, with Alicent finally coming into her own as the political warrior
she was in the books.
Her nod to the hightowers, hearing Larys explain that green means war, all this was incredible,
and I could feel the tension rising with every step she took.
And then that look of poisonous hatred she gave Rheanrya while mouthing words of congratulations,
it was all amazing.
I felt so bad for Viserys, who already had a fairly weak nature and now coupled with
his illness, it felt like he had no authority at all during that banquet, with even his
wife disrespecting him without any fear of reprisal.
The only thing that might have made this better was if Rhaenrya was wearing black, but I guess
white does make sense considering the situation.
What a great way to end her time on HOTD, as the actress playing Alicent absolutely
excelled in this, her last major scene on the show.
So those were my top 5 moments for the night, and as I said earlier, I loved this episode,
my favourite so far.
I don’t even really have any criticism, as I felt they handled every scene well, and
overall I have to say they really are producing a top quality show, that despite cutting out
some things, modifying characters and consolidating storylines, they clearly have a great respect
for the source material which I very much appreciate.
Now, for the best kill of the Episode, I think the choice is pretty obvious, with Criston
Cole bashing in the face of Joffrey Lonmouth at the Green Wedding, placing it firmly in
line with the Red and Purple Weddings as events which quickly turned from joy to tragedy.
This entire sequence was fascinating to watch, as was the inability of Viserys to control
the situation in anyway.
His natural passivity and illness are certainly understandable reasons why he couldn’t do
anything, but this isn’t the first time chaos breaks out in front of him and so I
couldn’t help but recall that scene in GoT season 1, when the clegane brothers start
fighting at a tourney only for Robert Baratheon to yell out “stop this madness in the name
of your king” causing two of the hardest most ruthless killers on the continent to
immediately stop their duel.
I always remember that scene because it really showed Robert as a man of authority.
That despite letting himself go his reputation and history demanded respect and obedience.
Viserys unfortunately can summon none of that warrior’s charisma, and it shows nearly
everytime he’s on screen.
Moving on to the best line of the night, we return to Alicent arriving in her green dress,
when Larys said to his brother,
“The beacon on Hightower, do you know what color it glows when Old Town calls its banners
to war?”
with Hawyn replying, “Green.”
So those are my thoughts for the House of the Dragon Episode 5, We Light the Way.
As this was my favorite episode, and I have no real criticisms, I kind of feel like giving
it a 10 out of 10.
I honestly can’t think of anything they might have done better, so to me it was pretty
much perfect.
But what did you guys think?
Am I being too generous?
Or do you guys feel the same way?
Let me know in the comments below and like always be sure to check out the links to some
of my other recent videos, like the spoiler free Prelude to the House of the Dragon video,
the spoiler filled Dance of the Dragons video and a beginners guide to the entire history
of ASOIAF.
So that’s it for now guys thank you very much for watching and I’ll see you in the next one.