House of the Dragon's mid-season episode debuts a bloody wedding

HBO Max's House of the Dragon's (HOD) mid-season episode packed on the drama as an impromptu Targaryen wedding ended in a bloody disaster.

House of the Dragon's (HOD) mid-season episode packed on the drama as an impromptu Targaryen wedding ended in a bloody disaster.
House of the Dragon's (HOD) mid-season episode packed on the drama as an impromptu Targaryen wedding ended in a bloody disaster.  © IMAGO/Picturelux

Let's make one thing absolutely clear: no single TV show has yet to outdo HOD's daunting and mildly disturbing fourth episode from last week.

But the fifth episode of the HBO Max series titled We Light the Way managed to create quite memorable moments that were done in true Targaryen fashion.

The episode brings forth Rhaenyra Targaryen's wedding to her cousin – yes, cousin – Ser Laenor Velaryon.

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But things seldom go according to plan in a world ruled by politics and dragons, and the celebration gets overshadowed by wedding crashers, a subtle declaration of war, and a violent brawl.

War, deceit, and death upstage the Targaryen wedding in HOD

Sir Criston Cole shockingly upstages Rhaenyra Targaryen's wedding to Ser Laenor Velaryon.
Sir Criston Cole shockingly upstages Rhaenyra Targaryen's wedding to Ser Laenor Velaryon.  © IMAGO / Picturelux

Spoiler alert!

Sunday's episode for the Game of Thrones prequel gets a solid A+ for the dramatic tension and shocking deaths all the while two powerful families are forcibly brought together through marriage.

Of course, there are many who are against this union for obvious reasons.

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First was Matt Smith's Daemon Targaryen who covets the Iron Throne, and in true bad boy fashion, shows up to crash the royal nuptials.

Then there was Rhaenyra's ex-BFF Alicent Hightower, played by Emily Carey, who declared war against her husband King Viserys in the shadiest of ways.

But the one who upstaged the affair most was Fabien Frankel's slighted character of Sir Criston Cole, who broke his chastity vow when he took Rhaenyra to bed.

After getting rejected by the princess, Sir Cole loses his cool when Joffrey Lonmouth smugly suggests that they use the marriage to their benefit, leading the Knight to beat Laenor's lover to death.

The shocking twist once again led HOD fans to Twitter, where they sounded off about the chaotic event:

Fans react to HOD's fifth episode

The mid-season episode ended the first chapter of House Targaryen's story as previews for episode six tease a significant time jump, indicating The Dance of the Dragons is near! Catch up on all the House of the Dragon action on HBO Max.

Cover photo: IMAGO/Picturelux

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