Monday brings another fresh episode of HBO’s House of the Dragon season 3, a season that is progressively proving to be far more than just blood and gore, as one would have suspected. Especially considering the Targaryen civil war has reached a point where everyone is out there with vengeance as the sole thing on their mind, and swords lusting for their enemy’s blood. By this time, heads should be rolling every two seconds, with constant wailing and anguish filling the silences in between.

Instead, the show has decided to cut back on the pace a little and let the viewers revel in the elaborate running commentary embedded cleverly between the dialogues and the heart-to-hearts in the episode. We get a deep dive into the motivations of some of the characters, like Ser Criston Cole, who was arguably the highlight of episode 5. However, he was not the sole attraction of the episode, as the viewers were treated to very interesting character developments of the Targaryen brothers, Aemond and Aegon.

If one were to look at this episode through a magnifying glass, one would find a treasure trove of subtexts that give more meaning to this conflict between kith and kin. Let us analyze everything that happened on screen and beyond that in House of the Dragon season 3, Episode 5.

In the story so far, Ser Criston Cole has been a staunch supporter of the Greens and displayed an undying devotion to the cause of Alicent and her sons. Now, the motivation behind this loyalty can be attributed to his never-ending hatred for Rhaenyra and his affections, and somewhat of a fancy for Alicent. But episode 5 of House of the Dragon Season 3 changes everything as far as Cole’s reason for relentlessly fighting a losing battle is concerned.

The episode starts with Daemon’s host of Riverland men, led by the young Lord Oscar Tully, being ambushed by Ser Criston Cole and his men in the dead of the night. He has been vehemently destroying river crossings to delay the Rivermen’s march to King’s Landing. But young Lord Tully decides to play his game his way. 

He anticipates Cole’s next target and plants Crow’s Feet along their way so they would have to lose their horses and be forced to march forward on foot. His little trick works, and now they have the upper hand. On the other hand, the harsh terrain ridden with swamps and marred by bad weather deals great damage to the number and morale of Cole’s troops. 

Ser Gwayne acts as the voice of reason here and advises him to abandon his pursuit of the Rivermen now that his men have grown far weaker, and they lag. Cole, however, does not pay heed to his concerns and continues on his mission to cut their enemies off on their path to the Stoney Septs. 

The pursuit ultimately proves futile when they arrive at a dead end. It appears that the only bridge to the Stoney Septs has been destroyed by the Rivermen, and they are now closer to King’s Landing than ever. Ser Gwayne is distraught, yet he tries to console Cole and convince him to join Ormun Hightower and his men in Tumbleton.  

While Cole is grateful for Gwayne’s friendly advice, he certainly makes it clear, but he is still adamant about continuing his mission of stopping the Rivermen in their path. Gwayne is almost certain that Cole is driven by a death wish, hoping for a morbid outcome at the end.

Ser Criston, however, argues to the contrary. He contends that they have always been doomed, ever since they set out on this mission. Death was waiting for them at every step of the way, and yet he chose to march forward, not to embrace it but to fulfill his own desire to die a warrior’s death- “clear-eyed, unbent, and glorious in battle.” 

He makes it clear that most of his life has been defined by his unyielding devotion to the duty of the highborn lords, but not anymore. He is now breaking free of their service and entering a new one - one that takes care of his own stature as the greatest warrior of the realm. If death is out there with its arms stretched out for him, he will go out, but not before putting up a blood-curdling display of valor.

This single episode has given so much about Cole’s character that the entire show has so far. Cole’s words and his actions really convey what kind of man he is and what he actually stands for in the series. Initially, when the show started and he chose sides, everyone thought that he was solely driven by his hatred of Rhaenyra, and it was true to some extent. But now, his character arc has transcended that understanding of his rationale and given layers to a man who appeared to be mostly one-dimensional throughout the series until now.

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However, he is not the only character whose psyche is put through a tough examination in the episode.

While providing a deep understanding of Ser Criston Cole’s character, the episode goes ahead and picks two more characters to shed light on. We get to see the anguish of two brothers who have been on their own tough journeys, which have now forced them to confront their own realities and come to terms with their current situations. But the thing that makes these scenes of rare vulnerability from the brothers more meaningful and adds more gravitas is the unraveling of the hostility between them and the reason behind their differences. 

And the episode provides both perspectives, so that there remains no doubt or room for any misunderstanding of what exactly led the siblings to grow apart. We first have Aemond’s version and then Aegon’s, and while they have different reasons to hate each other, there appears to be one main reason that might just be the key reason why the brothers grew to hate each other.

Aemond, who is finally revealed to be recovering from his fatal injuries and cared for by Alys Rivers somewhere safe in the Ruins of Harrenhall. All this while she was the one hiding Aemond while also fending off attempts on his life by wandering bounty hunters. He finally regains consciousness, and the first thing he asks for is Vhagar.

But to his utmost shock, he learns that Vhagar has abandoned him, which leaves him devastated. It was in this moment of weakness that he revealed how Aegon tormented him all his childhood while he worshipped him. And the thing that broke him the most was his mother’s indifference to what was happening to him. 

On the other hand, there is Aegon, who has left the camp at Rook’s Rest due to the transgressions against him by the establishment’s lord leader. Even though Lord Varys tries to stop him from pursuing Aemond to exact revenge, stating every possible reason why he should not do so in his current state, he does not listen to his reasons. 

However, just a little further on his way, he is suddenly taken over by all the things Varys said to him and decides to start a pity party for himself. Varys is exhausted and just wants him to return to the camp, from where they can arrange for a ship to Essos. But Aegon starts whining about how all his miseries are the making of his stupid younger brother, Aemond. 

He lists all the qualities of his brother that he has been jealous of all his life and asserts that with the advantages he was endowed with, he could have been a great King. In the end, he mentions how their mother was always more affectionate towards Aemond because of his eye disability. However, Varys is in no mood to buy into Aegon’s bellyaching about how life has been unfair to him.

Straying away from his typical fashion of explaining the harsh truths to the stubborn former King with a touch of subtlety and politeness, Varys calls him out on his whining. He bluntly puts every possible advantage he has had in life that would have been enough to give him everything he ever wanted from his life. Instead, he decided to piss it all away with his lazy, ungrateful attitude to everything given to him on a silver platter.

Shifting the focus from the reality check to the list of reasons Aegon mentions for hating on Aemond, we will get a similar reason why Aemond also hates his older brother. It appears that both brothers have been competing for their mother’s affection all their lives, always feeling that the other one is the mother’s favorite. 

The revelation does not really deepen the narrative, but also connects the audience a bit more to these characters who have shown little to no vulnerability or much care for anything besides their own personal agenda during the course of the entire show. As the brothers get ready for their next move, it will be interesting to see how their progressive character arcs affect their journey ahead.

Speaking of two conflicting characters, we have Rhaenyra and Daemon, who are having some difficulties seeing eye to eye on their way forward.

Rhaenyra, much like the previous episodes, is fixated on revenge, losing sight of what is actually happening in her capital city. In a small council meeting, when everyone is discussing important matters of the city, Rhaenyra is adamantly demanding that all efforts be placed in finding Aemond and Vhagar. On the other hand, Daemon is much concerned about Gold Cloaks being attacked and killed in a grotesque manner in the city. 

Both of them lock horns regarding which concern takes precedence - increasing lawlessness in the city or a distant threat that does not really require immediate attention. Daemon tries to make Rhaenyra see how her judgments are being clouded by her burning desire for revenge throughout the episode. And this time, Daemon appears to be right in his stance. 

He investigates what is happening to his Gold Cloaks, much against Rhaenyra’s wishes, and finds out that Ormund Hightower has been behind all the killings. And on top of that, he has declared Daeron the King. This makes Daemon regret not burning him while he had the chance. 

This episode surprisingly brings out a rare contrast in Rhaenyra and Daemon’s characters. While for most of the story, Daemon remains the reckless one, driven by a single agenda of war and bloodlust, Rhaenyra stands as the calm-headed strategist who plans all her moves, considering all the possibilities and carefully measuring what is right and what is wrong.

But House of the Dragon season 3 episode 5 flips the script, and now the roles are reversed. Now, Daemon is the one applying caution to his every move, boosting the morale of the soldiers and rooting out the enemy inside the capital. Rhaenyra, on the contrary, could not care less about everything but revenge and keeping her throne. 

To add to her paranoia, there is another Targaryen on the way who might challenge her claim to the Iron Throne. 

House of the Dragon Season 3 Episode 4 hinted towards the possibility that Halaena might be pregnant, and episode 5 just confirmed it. Now, Alicent is trying her best to deal with the situation, starting with convincing Halaena to abort the child. But Halaena is adamant about keeping it, even if it means the child might pose a challenge to Rhaenyra’s claim if it turned out to be a boy. 

Alicent then tries to arrange for her and Halaena to escape the Red Keep with the help of one of her maids, but Lady Mysaria was already wary of her intentions and apprehends them on their way. Alicent, however, somehow convinces Mysaria of keeping what happened to herself and not letting Rhaenyra find out about the incident, in return for winning the favor of the Hightowers if, in the future, she ever requires to cash in on it.

When all the hope seemed lost for the mother-daughter duo, Halaena discovered a secret passage behind the wall of her chambers. They both tried to escape through the route, not knowing that the passage was already sealed off. To make matters worse, the doors were already shut on the other end, and they accidentally dropped the lantern, making it absolutely dark. 

Their fate remains in the dark, much like they are right now. But it is the end scene of the episode that has more shock value than anything else in the episode. The show ends with a disturbing imagery of Gold Cloak dead bodies sitting around a table with their guts out and eyes slashed, and behind the wall, it was written - “A Feast For Traitors.”

It is quite a way to end an already emotionally packed episode. Ormund Hightower is proving to be a much bigger threat than Rhaenyra and Daemon have anticipated as the story progresses. And how Daeron fits into all this is still a mystery. One other thing to note here is the relationship they both share, which mostly seems to be built on fear, indicated by the way Daeron reacts to even the slightest changes in Ormund’s expression. 

It sure makes the audience want some more context on their dynamics, especially Ormund’s end goal in this Targaryen conflict. The upcoming episodes will definitely see more action as Aemond and Aegon are ready to make their next move, along with Cole and Ormund already moving forward in their respective missions.

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How do you think Rhaenyra will react to the combined threat of the Greens? Share your thoughts.