Editor's note: The following contains spoilers for Episode 2 of House of the Dragon.
In the quietly sinister second episode of House of the Dragon, discussions about the "order of things" served as the driving force of the slow-burn narrative. At the core of this is how there is the persistent belief that kings must marry to continue to create heirs. After all, it is tradition and one mustn't question that even if it demands doing horrible acts. In this case, it is King Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine) who is being told over and over again that he must take a new wife following the brutal death of Queen Aemma Arryn (Sian Brooke) in the revealing premiere. Just like what preceded it, both in said premiere and in the main Game of Thrones series, this episode pulled back the curtain on how the true terror of this world comes from the casual way those in charge exercise control over others under the guise of this tradition.
Picking up six months after the death of his wife, we see how Viserys is being pressured to remarry. We are reminded that he is still in ailing health as the cut on his finger he got from the Iron Throne has begun to look like it is rotting. The fear remains that his death could send the realm into chaos, and a marriage must take place to ensure people have trust that the line of succession is being preserved. In a deeply discomforting turn of events, the primary candidate that he is told he ought to marry is the daughter of Lord Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint). We soon learn that this daughter, Laena Velaryon (Nova Foueillis-Mosé), is 12 years old. She is a child who is being used as a pawn in a political game, never once having a chance to decide what her own life will be. The revulsion that arises from this even being considered turns to horror when character after character all express full-throated support for the idea.
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Even the young girl's mother, Princess Rhaenys Velaryon (Eve Best), has signed off on the decision so that she can have another potential play at the throne she desires more than anything. The candid discussion she has about this with Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock) is one where she says it bothers her, but that this is again just the "order of things." The repetition of the phrase continues to demonstrate how all the various players have become so completely caught up in tradition and its rules that they will do anything to use it to their own advantage. It is a rationalization that provides cover for their cruelty as they let themselves off the hook from the horrifying prospect of marrying off a child. House of the Dragon doesn't follow through with this decision, as Viserys decides to marry someone else, but it's one that shows how depraved and brutal this world is as the characters are surprised by his change of course. Even as the changed course itself is sure to spell yet more danger and conflict, the relief that the marriage didn't take place is undeniable. However, intermixed with this feeling is one of trepidation that all of these people were so close to following through with it.
While "The Rogue Prince" also provides glimpses of the horrors that threaten the kingdom from the outside, it is this callousness that originates from within that is even more unnerving. One final conversation that Viserys has with Lord Lyonel Strong (Gavin Spokes) is particularly unsettling. The King has sought out this character for "an unencumbered opinion," as most of the other people around him have their own self-serving motivations that have left him distrustful of their advice. It is clear that Viserys hopes Lyonel will tell him he should not go through with the marriage and that he could know of another way. The discussion they have, while brief, dashes any of these hopes; the Lord is himself also driven by the idea that tradition must come first. He speaks methodically, laying out why he believes that Viserys should indeed marry Laena, yet the manner in which he does so can't overcome the stomach-churning content of what he is saying. He says that the young girl comes from "unimpeachable Velaryon stock," a coldly analytical way to refer to a child that makes one's skin crawl. When Viserys pushes back by reminding Lyonel that she is only twelve, the Lord doesn't miss a beat before saying "she will mature." It is a disgusting statement that is delivered so matter-of-factly that it remains terrifying at just how normal this seems to be. Even as the conversation between the two men gets interrupted by developments that will likely dominate the show in subsequent episodes, it is this moment that is most revealing.
We tend to imagine evil characters as being easily identifiable as villains that stories will then juxtapose against virtuous heroes. House of the Dragon eschews such conventional framing by showing how all the characters are so caught up in the trappings of tradition that they are willing to be cruel all on their own. It is barbarity through the banality of bureaucracy, captured in what is essentially a more restrained drama where conversation after conversation makes it all seem that this is somehow normal. The casual cruelty is baked into the foundation of this world as the discussions they have about duty allow them to seriously contemplate the most dreadful of options. They are all just bureaucrats who are carrying out what they say is their job, regardless of who it hurts or if it involves the abuse of a child. It shows how broken such a system is and how, even when we see glimpses of kindness, it is but a flicker when devotion to power subsumes all else. It makes it so that, in the end, those who cling to this power are the ones who are most likely to harm those around them by any means necessary. They do so under made-up rules that continue the cycles of violence that make them the most direct threats to the moral righteousness they claim to represent.