House of the Dragon Season 1 Episode 5 Review: We Light the Way

Rhaenyra weds Laenor Velaryon on House of the Dragon Season 1 Episode 5, “We Light the Way.”

“We Light the Way” follows Rhaenyra and her journey towards marriage with Laenor Velaryon, where, arguably, the most tedious parts of the episode are interesting in their own aspects.

As the episode unfolds, we learn that Laenor and Rhaenyra are alike in more ways than first perceived. During a quant stroll along the beach, both parties reveal their intentions to pursue relationships outside the marriage, making a pact to uphold their sworn duties to the crown.

It’s not a moment that is supposed to stand out and could easily be construed as boring. However, it’s anything but because it provides ample opportunity for the audience to witness the strategic planning in Rhaenyra’s overall quest for the throne.

Laenor and Rhaenyra don’t share immeasurable chemistry that forces the viewer to fall head over heels for the two, but their situation causes intrigue. With the unsettling outcome of Laenor’s secret partner, Joffrey, and Rhaenyra’s antagonization of Daemon, their marriage and what’s to come of it is very intriguing.

Sir Criston Cole’s Snap

Ser Criston Cole’s murder of Joffrey is upsetting, but most of all, it’s downright confusing. It makes sense for Cole to feel a sense of dread and to have no purpose after his interaction with Rhaenyra.

As a King’s Guard, he acted upon a grave sin by bedding Rhaenyra, even at her advances. So, the guilt and shame of his actions begin to eat him alive, causing his last-minute plan to run away with the princess. It’s a noble thought and one that would be appreciated had he not slept with someone in the royal family.

Cole gets caught up in a tragic situation that would naturally push anyone over the edge, but where the confusion comes into play is his attack on Joffrey. There is no heated exchange of words between the two, and no threats are made. Joffrey also has no connection with Rhaenyra whatsoever, causing further confusion.

A simple conversation acknowledging preferences and setting guidelines turns into a bloody mishap. And there’s no explanation for it. The real question needing to be asked: why are there no actions taken toward Cole? Why is he allowed to walk away after murdering the prince’s boyfriend in cold blood?

It’s a moment more than likely engineered to cause the audience to ask questions, especially with Cole’s last few scenes. In the final moments, before the episode ends, we see Alicent stopping Cole before ending his own life, which is bound to hold significant meaning.

With Cole now despising Rhaenyra and wanting nothing to do with her, it doesn’t feel too outside of the box to say that he and Alicent will work toward Rhaenyra’s downfall together.

Lady Rhea Murdered

Daemon is strategic in how he plans Lady Rhea’s murder. Upon the impression that Rhaenyra will never be his, he takes his next steps toward securing his own legacy; Runestone. With Lady Rhea and he having no children as heir to her name, Daemon rightfully is set to inherit everything she had a claim to.

However, Lady Rhea’s nearly instantaneous murder is a missed attempt to add more depth to Daemon and provide some understanding of the character. We know that he loathes Lady Rhea and claims that the sheep are prettier, but after meeting Rhea, we know that is not true.

Allowing the audience to get a sense of Daemon’s world while in Runestone would help better understand his intentions. Does he only wish to be with Rhaenyra as a way to the throne, or is it because the two have pure Targaryen blood? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

At this point, any form of additional information added to Daemon’s arc would help provide crucial developments to his backstory. Daemon is supposed to be the series’ main villain, but right now, the showrunners aren’t doing an exceptional job at providing layers to Daemon’s character.

Leaving Daemon’s true intentions as a mystery is intentional and understandable, but that doesn’t mean the scope in which we continuously see Daemon must stay the same. The character has multiple different layers we aren’t getting on screen.

Emily Carey and Milly Alcock have been absolutely killing it on House of the Dragon. Their portrayals of Alicent Hightower and Rhaenyra Targaryen will be sorely missed!

Stray Thoughts:

• Now that Alicent knows of Rhaenyra’s lies, it’ll be interesting to see what their dynamic is like as adults.
• Lord Joffrey deserved better.
• Ser Criston Cole’s snap happens entirely too quickly for my tastes. I wish we’d seen him slowly start losing his mind rather than snapping all at once.

What did you think of this episode of House of the Dragon? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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House of the Dragon airs Sundays at 9/8c on HBO.

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