Warning! Spoilers ahead for House of the Dragon season 2, episode 5.
Summary
House of the Dragonseason 2, episode 5, director Claire Kilner explains the dragon head procession. After the intense events of season 2, episode 4, and the shocking deaths of Rhaenys (Eve Best) and her dragon, Meleys, episode 5 sees both the Greens and the Blacks dealing with the fallout from the conflict at Rook’s Rest.House of the Dragonseason 2 episode 5, sees Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) return to King’s Landing with the critically-injured King Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney), and he makes quite the entrance by parading Meleys' severed head through the streets.
In a recent interview withTheWrap, Kilner explains the Meleys head parade inHouse of the Dragonseason 2, episode 5, detailing the effect it had on the King’s Landing commoners. As the director explains, Cole severely miscalculated how such a move would be received. Check out her comments below:
“I really wanted Cole and Ser Gwayne to come into town – the knights saying ‘look what we’ve done, we’ve slain the dragon – and then smallfolk are already going through a lot at the moment because there’s a lack of food, things are getting a bit dodgy in their world.
“We had a ton of extras in Spain. They turn around and start to gradually swarm and surround and hear the clarion call of return and then see the head. It’s like a religious experience because it’s like their god has been slain. They really fall to their feet, and it takes a minute for Cole and Ser Gwayne that they’re falling to their feet in disgust and horror and fear.”
What Consequences Will Meleys' Death Have In House Of The Dragon Season 2?
How Episode 4 Affected Team Green & Team Black
AsHouse of the Dragonseason 2, episode 5, makes clear, Cole’s plan with Meleys' head backfires. Cole clearly expects his return with Meleys to play out like a victory parade, with the slain beast reinforcing his prowess in battle and his status as a strong military leader. Instead, it instills fear in the hearts of the King’s Landing commoners; they take it as a bad omen of what’s to come at a time when their lives are already filled with hardship.
The Meleys head parade serves as the second leadership blunder in King’s Landing after King Aegon’s decision to hang all the rat-catchers for the public to see after theBlood and Cheese storyline.
This growing discontent among the common people of King’s Landing could become a fairly major problem in the episodes ahead as the acting King Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) struggles to maintain control of the city. With the Greens already engaged in a bloody war with Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) and the Blacks,escalating unrest on the home front could be enough to hurt the war effort. As theHouse of the Dragonseason 2 episode 5 endingmakes clear, Meleys' death will have even more major repercussions for Rhaenyra.
Why Parading Meleys The Dragon’s Head In King’s Landing Is So Bad For The Targaryens
Meleys' head is carted through King’s Landing in House of the Dragon season 2, episode 5, but rather than a sign of victory, it’s a big mistake.
With Rhaenys' death,Rhaenya is now down one of her strongest fighters and closest allies. Meleys was also the Blacks' most experienced dragon. The ending to the most recent episode sees Rhaenyra hatch a plan to bolster her dragon-riding forces and fill the hole left by the loss of Rhaenys and Meleys, suggesting her newfound disadvantage may not last for long. The true consequences of Meleys' death will surely continue to show themselves as the remainingHouse of the Dragonseason 2 episodes air.
New episodes ofHouse of the Dragonseason 2 air on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.
