Regent (House of the Dragon)

"Regent" is the fifth episode of the second season of the fantasy drama television series House of the Dragon, a prequel to Game of Thrones. The episode was written by Ti Mikkel and directed by Clare Kilner. It first aired on HBO and Max on July 14, 2024.

"Regent"
House of the Dragon episode
Episode no.	Season 2 Episode 5
Directed by	Clare Kilner
Written by	Ti Mikkel
Featured music	Ramin Djawadi
Cinematography by	Alejandro Martínez
Editing by	Frances Parker
Original air date	July 14, 2024 (2024-07-14)
Running time	63 minutes

The episode received mostly positive reviews, with critics praising the direction, writing, character development, performances of its cast (particularly those of Olivia Cooke, Emma D'Arcy, Matt Smith and Ewan Mitchell), Daemon's scenes in Harrenhal, the smallfolk scenes in King's Landing and the conversation between Rhaenyra and her son Jacaerys in the final scene.

Production

Writing

"Regent" was written by Ti Mikkel, marking her first time as writer for the series. The title of the episode refers to the regent position discussed by the Green Council to fill the vacancy on the Iron Throne resulting from King Aegon Targaryen's inability to rule due to his severe injury in the battle at Rook's Rest.

Filming

The episode was directed by Clare Kilner. It marks her fifth directorial credit for the series, following "King of the Narrow Sea", "We Light the Way", "The Green Council", and "Rhaenyra the Cruel".

Casting

The episode stars Matt Smith, Emma D'Arcy, Olivia Cooke, Steve Toussaint, Fabien Frankel, Matthew Needham, Sonoya Mizuno, Tom Glynn-Carney, Ewan Mitchell, Phia Saban, Harry Collett, Bethany Antonia, Phoebe Campbell, Jefferson Hall, Freddie Fox, Gayle Rankin, Kurt Egyiawan, Kieran Bew, Ellora Torchia, and Simon Russell Beale. Nanna Blondell once again made a brief appearance, following the previous episode, to reprise her role as Daemon's second wife Laena Velaryon.

Reception

Critical response

The performances of Olivia Cooke, Emma D'Arcy, and Matt Smith were met with critical praise.

The episode was met with mostly positive critical reviews. On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, it holds an approval rating of 100% based on three review, with an average rating of 7.5/10.

Alec Bojalad of Den of Geek awarded the episode with a perfect 5 out of 5 stars rating, commenting that the episode "proves that House of the Dragon's quieter moments are often every bit as powerful as the draconic destruction. [...] While [it] doesn't feature anything on the same kinetic level of [the battle at Rook's Rest], it's still among the most narratively tight and thematically consistent hours of the series thus far." It received a 4 out of 5 stars from Amanda Whiting of Vulture, 3.5 out of 5 stars from James Hunt of Screen Rant, 3.15 out of 5 stars from Haley Whitmire White of TV Fanatic, and 3 out of 5 stars from Fay Watson of GamesRadar+. Hunt remarked, "This was another intriguing installment of [the series], with plenty of strong character work within." Watson wrote, "All in all, [the episode] has its moments, but it is too often repetitive and slow to live up to the lofty heights of battles and dragon fire we've had so far."

Helen O'Hara of IGN scored it 8 out of 10, stating "It's yet another plotting and waiting episode of House of the Dragon. [...] Still, there is some forward momentum and a sense that it's reckoning with events. Kayleigh Dray of The A.V. Club graded it with a "B-" and said "All in all, [the episode] is solid but somewhat anticlimactic in the wake of last week's big battle sequence." Proma Khosla of IndieWire gave it a "C", saying that the episode "reeks of requisite yet plain table-setting after last week's major battle sequence." Reviewing the episode for Forbes, Erik Kain wrote in his verdict: "What House of the Dragon does very, very well is somehow stuff this insane amount of story into a single episode, hopping from one character or group of characters to the next, so effortlessly. It's a lot to take in, but it's never hard to understand or follow. This wasn't an action-packed episode like last week's, but a ton of really important things took place as the Greens and Blacks left Rook's Rest licking their wounds and preparing for whatever comes next."

The performances of the cast received wide praise from critics, particularly those of Cooke, D'Arcy, Smith and Mitchell. James Hunt called Smith's performance "superb", while Haley Whitmire White described D'Arcy's performance as "stellar", adding, "They proved once again that they can flawlessly portray a wide range of emotions and concepts. In the span of an hour, they covered grief, anger, frustration, and grace." Fay Watson praised Cooke for masterfully handling the frustration, despair, and rage of her character, while Erik Kain lauded the presence that Mitchell brings to the role of Aemond.

Several critics singled out the final scene, the parallel between Rhaenyra and Alicent in fighting to maintain their voice in their respective small councils, the smallfolk scenes in King's Landing, and the character development of Aemond and Jacaerys as the episode's highlights. Other aspects lauded by critics included Kilner's direction, Mikkel's writing, prosthetic makeup and special effects, as well as the Harrenhal scenes, which one reviewer regarded as the standout storyline. However, the lack of screentime for Corlys to portray his grief over losing Rhaenys received criticism.

External links

• "Regent" at HBO
• "Regent" at IMDb