Watch out, spoilers! In episode 6 of “Game Of Thrones: House Of The Dragon” we see how Laena Velaryon is about to die during a birth – and takes her fate into her own hands. She lets herself be burned by Vhagar. But why?
According to the series makers, episode 6 of “House Of The Dragon” is something like the second pilot episode of the series – because after a time jump of ten years, many actors* were exchanged and many new characters were added: As Rhaenyra and Alicent, we now see Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke instead of Milly Alcock and Emily Carey. But episode 6 mirrors the pilot episode in another aspect: As in episode 1 Queen Aemma, this time Laena Velaryon (Nanna Blondell) is in labour – and has no chance of survival.
Laena’s husband Daemon (Matt Smith) is even faced with the same choice as King Viserys (Paddy Considine) back then: Since the child cannot be brought into the world naturally, it could be brought by a kind of “caesarean section” – in which the mother would bleed to death. And whether the child would survive is also uncertain.
But Laena takes her fate into her own hands: instead of dying in bed, she lets her dragon Vhagar burn her. However, she first has to give the dragoness the fire-breathing command “Dracarys” several times before she obeys. The beast is at first visibly reluctant to inflict suffering on its rider – but either the command is so compelling that Vhagar must obey, or else she senses Laena’s approaching, surely painful death and shows mercy.
Rhaenyra’s son Jacaerys Velaryon saying Dracarys in Episode 6 HouseOfTheDragon pic.twitter.com/edyGDxk5So
– out of context house of the dragon (@oochotd) September 19, 2022
Meet the newest Dragon’s from episode 6 HouseOfTheDragon pic.twitter.com/ctsOf8svsT
– House Of The Dragon Source (@HOTDsource) September 26, 2022
“DIE LIKE A DRAGON RIDER “
Laena has very specific ideas about her demise, as she herself told Daemon earlier in the episode: “And when my end comes, I want to die like a dragon rider, not like some fat-ass peasant lord”. This was about the question of whether Daemon and she should continue to be endured by their hosts in Pentos. But the idea can also be applied to the later situation: Laena would rather die self-determined by her dragon than as a defenceless woman in childbed, her body decided by others.
Laena’s intentions were also confirmed by producer and writer Sara Hess in the “Inside The Episode” video for episode 6. “We’ve already had one person die during childbirth, and I think that’s not the way Laena wants to go – she wants to die like a warrior. “
AREN’T TARGARYENS ACTUALLY “FIREPROOF”?
But one very small question remains unanswered – at least that’s what the author of these lines has asked herself: Was Laena perhaps hoping that her baby, as a descendant of her ancient Valyrian bloodline and the Targaryen bloodline, might be quasi “fireproof”? And if she had to die anyway, it would be self-determined, but the baby would survive?
We remember: Daenerys could not be affected by fire in “Game Of Thrones”. However, even then George R.R. Martin confirmed that this was more of an anomaly – Targaryens can also die from fire.
Interestingly, however, at the beginning of episode 6 we saw how, during Daemon and Laena’s dragon ride, Vhagar spat fire and Daemon flew through unscathed on Caraxes. But maybe this just happened fast enough so Daemon didn’t get burned, or Caraxes was able to protect his rider with his body. The fact is: Laena and Daemon’s third child did not survive. They already have daughters Baela (Bethany Antonia) and Rhaena (Eva Ossei-Gerning) together.
MODIFICATION OF THE ORIGINAL BY GEORGE R.R. MARTIN
By the way, Laena’s suicide by dragon fire is not taken from the original “Fire and Blood” by George R.R. Martin: In it, a son is born to Laena, but he dies immediately after birth. Laena falls ill with childbed fever and dies a few days later.
While Daemon has lost the mother of his daughters, after episode 6 Rhaenyra has to mourn the father of her sons Jacaerys (Leo Hart), Lucerys (Harvey Sadler) and baby Joffrey: Ser Harwin Strong (Ryan Corr) has perished in the fire on Harrenhal – which his brother Larys (Matthew Needham) had set. We’ll see how the losses are dealt with on 3 October 2022 in episode 7 of House Of The Dragon on Sky and WOW (formerly Sky Ticket).
