In the most recent episode of the Game of Thrones prequel series, House of the Dragon, viewers were reminded of a familiar face.
The story advanced rapidly in the Sunday, September 25 episode of the spin-off series, which took place ten years later.
The episode revealed that in the span of a decade, the friendship between Princess Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) and Queen Alicent (Olivia Cooke), who had previously been played by Milly Alcock and Emily Carey, respectively, had entirely deteriorated.
If there was any hope of a ceasefire between them, Larys Strong (Matthew Needham) extinguished it with a frightening efficacy.
The episode revealed that despite Rhaenyra’s marriage to Laenor, her children were actually fathered by Lary’s brother Harwin (Ryan Corr) (John Macmillan). While at King’s Landing, Harwin and Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel), who has since grown to despise Rhaenyra and serve Alicent, got into a fight about the truth about their father’s identity.
Viserys (Paddy Considine) opposes Lyonel’s (Gavin Spokes) request to resign as Hand of the King, but he does allow Harwin’s (Gavin Spokes) departure from King’s Landing to safeguard his seat at Harrenhal. This effectively takes Harwin to presumed safety.
Larys recruits a small army of guilty criminals to do his bidding after learning this from a furious Alicent, and soon after, both Harwin and Lyonel are slain in a fire at Harrenhal.
In a threatening final statement, Larys reveals to Alicent that he was the mastermind behind the events. Larys says to Alicent, “I feel positive you will repay me when the time is perfect” as Alicent shows signs of distress.
Larry has been likened by fans of the program to Aidan Gillen’s Petyr Baelish, better known as Littlefinger, from Game of Thrones. Littlefinger was the most cunning and crafty of all the characters, and he was always up to something.
As a result, he was elevated to the status of one of the show’s most dangerous antagonists and was ultimately responsible for the deaths of several major players.
And another said, “Episode 6 of House of the Dragon is the most Game of Thrones episode so far.” “Now comes the Petyr Baelish of House of the Dragon,” a viewer commented. Like Petyr Baelish, Larys Strong has a role that is nothing short of badass.
Someone summed it up as follows: “We all believed Otto Hightower was going to be the Littlefinger on House of the Dragon, but Larys Strong always was the one to look out for…”
Carey, a former cast member, gave her opinion of Cooke’s Alicent in the wake of the most recent episode, and writer Ryan Condal apologized for the episode’s devastating death sequence.
Every week at 9 o’clock p.m. on HBO in the United States, you can see more of House of the Dragon. At the same time it airs on NOW at 9 a.m. GMT on Mondays in the UK, Sky Atlantic airs the same episode again at 9 p.m.