House of the Dragon Ep 6 is heavy with the deaths of several main characters, one of them being the noble Lyonel Strong. (Why is that the good Hands of the King die the quickest?)
After allegations of his son Harwin fathering all of Princess Rhaenyra’s kids makes the rounds, Lyonel decides he must quit being the Hand. However, Viserys refuses and only allows him leave to accompany his son back home to settle matters.
The night they arrive, fire breaks out in Harrenhal, trapping both father and son. Does Lyonel Strong die in the fire? If yes, who will succeed him as Hand?
In House of the Dragon Ep 6, Lyonel Strong is killed in a fire orchestrated by his son (and Master of Whispers) Larys Strong. He will be replaced by Ser Otto Hightower as the next Hand of King Viserys I.
If Larys’ intentions are not yet that clear to you, let me explain this act of patricide in detail:
Why did Larys kill his father, Lyonel Strong?
As someone who was finding it difficult to label even one character as honorable or decent, I am extremely sad to see Lyonel and Harwin Strong go. They were as virtuous as one could get on House of the Dragon.
As if death wasn’t bad enough, it’s the treachery of his own son killing him that stinks more. So, why did Larys do so?
Larys Strong wants to establish himself in a place of power, right next to Queen Alicent, as he believes Aegon II is the rightful heir. Since he knew that his father, Lyonel, would be either impartial in the matter or even champaign for Rhaenyra, he killed him off.
Larys knew that his father would never support Aegon II. Thus, as the Hand, his advice to Viserys would always favor Rhaenyra.
In Larys’ monologue in Ep 6, he makes it clear that affinity of any kind is a weakness and he bears no love for his family. So, sacrificing them for his own gains is a small price to pay.
He hires convicts from Kings Landing to commit arson in Harrenhal, killing his father, brother, and several others from the household. As the Strong name was getting sullied due to Harwin’s alleged relations with Rhaenyra, Larys made sure they were cut off from the picture entirely.
Besides gaining favor from Alicent, killing Lyonel and Harwin would also automatically make Larys the Lord of Harrenhal.
Who will be the next Hand of the King?
After Lyonel Strong’s death, Ser Otto Hightower will once again return as Viserys I’s Hand.
Although it seemed like one of the reasons Larys killed off his own father was to usurp his position at court, he is quite happy continuing as the Master of Whispers and being owed big time by the Queen. Being the Hand also feels like having a big bullseye on your head, so Larys is smart to avoid the position at all costs.
As he is theorized to be a secret Green (that is, a person who believes Aegon II should have the throne), he will campaign to have Otto Hightower reinstated to his previous post. As you may remember, the episode ended with Larys asking Alicent to write to her father.
This letter was not for Alicent to seek comfort in Otto, but to him back into Viserys’ court as his Hand and her not-so-secret ally. For someone complaining about having no one on her side, Alicent is about to find many people fighting for her cause.
About House Of The Dragon
House of the Dragon is the prequel series to HBO’s blockbuster Game of Thrones based on George R. R. Martin’s book Fire & Blood.
Set three hundred years before the events of Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon will show Westeros under the Targaryen family’s rule before the dragons went extinct. It will follow the Dance of the Dragons, the Targaryen civil war between siblings Aegon II and Rhaenyra, who fought for the throne after the death of their father, Viserys I.
Directed by Ryan Condall and Miguel Sapochnik, the show stars Paddy Considine as Viserys I Targaryen, Emma D’Arcy as Rhaenyra Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower, Matt Smith as Daemon Targaryen, Tom Glynn-Craney as Aegon II Targaryen, Rhys Ifans as Otto Hightower, Steve Toussaint as Corlys Velaryon, Eve Best as Rhaenys Velaryon, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, Fabien Frankel as Criston Cole, and Graham McTavish.
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