The battle lines are being drawn when you watch House of the Dragon episode 7 online tonight. In the previous installment, HBO's Game of Thrones prequel jumped ahead in time by a decade and recast several key characters, including Princess Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) and Queen Alicent (Emma Cooke). Now, tensions between the "blacks" and the "greens" are about to explode.
House of the Dragon episode 7 airs tonight (Oct. 2) at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.
House of the Dragon episode 7, titled "Driftmark," takes place at the home of the Velaryons for a funeral honoring the deceased Laena. Her husband, Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith), has brought her home for a sea burial according to her family's tradition.
The entire extended family has gathered together, led by King Viserys (Paddy Considine) and including her parents Corlys (Steve Toussaint) and Rhaenys (Eve Best). Of note, it looks like Alicent's father, Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), has returned to serve as Hand of the King following Lord Lyonel Strong's death.
What is already a sad occasion soon turns rancorous. Something happens that pits Alicent against Rhaenyra — we're guessing it involves their children. The queen becomes so furious that she even pulls the catspaw dagger out against her former friend. We know how red weddings in Westeros get ... maybe funerals are even bloodier.
Here is everything you need to watch House of the Dragon episode 7. Plus, check out a preview video:
How to watch House of the Dragon episode 7 in the U.S.
In the U.S., House of the Dragon episode 7 is set to air Sunday, October 2 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.
Season 1 consists of 10 episodes in total, releasing at a pace of one per week every Sunday.
If you haven't signed up for HBO Max, what are you waiting for? It's our top pick among the best streaming services.
How to watch House of the Dragon episode 7 in Canada
While Canadians don't have access to HBO or HBO Max, they can still watch House of the Dragon episode 7 at the same time as the U.S. airing. Crave, the usual source for HBO shows in Canada, has the rights.
The streaming service has a seven-day free trial. After that, the Movies + HBO package costs $19.98 CAD per month.
If you're an American traveling abroad and want to access all your paid services, you'll need to look into the best VPN services, such as Express VPN.
How to watch House of the Dragon episode 7 online in the UK
Since Brits also don't get HBO or HBO Max, they will watch House of the Dragon episode 7 on Sky Atlantic and NOW. It will air Monday, Oct. 3 concurrently at 2 a.m. BST and again at the more reasonable time of 9 p.m. BST.
Sky TV packages start at just £25 per month.
Every episode will debut the day after its U.S. airing.
How to watch House of the Dragon episode 6 in Australia
Aussies can stream House of the Dragon episode 6 on Binge. It should arrive on Monday, Oct. 3.
House of the Dragon episode schedule
House of the Dragon episode 1: August 21 @ 9 p.m. ETHouse of the Dragon episode 2: August 28 @ 9 p.m. ETHouse of the Dragon episode 3: Sept. 4 @ 9 p.m. ETHouse of the Dragon episode 4: Sept. 11 @ 9 p.m. ETHouse of the Dragon episode 5: Sept. 18 @ 9 p.m. ETHouse of the Dragon episode 6: Sept. 25 @ 9 p.m. ET- House of the Dragon episode 7: Oct. 2 @ 9 p.m. ET
- House of the Dragon episode 8: Oct. 9 @ 9 p.m. ET
- House of the Dragon episode 9: Oct. 16 @ 9 p.m. ET
- House of the Dragon episode 10: Oct. 23 @ 9 p.m. ET
House of the Dragon cast and characters
The House of Dragon cast is a big ensemble, including:
Paddy Considine as King Viserys I: He's described as being "chosen by the lords of Westeros to succeed the Old King, Jaehaerys Targaryen, at the Great Council at Harrenhal. A warm, kind, and decent man, Viserys only wishes to carry forward his grandfather's legacy. But good men do not necessarily make for great kings."
Emma D’Arcy as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, "the king’s first-born child, she is of pure Valyrian blood, and she is a dragonrider. Many would say that Rhaenyra was born with everything… but she was not born a man."
Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, described as "younger brother to King Viserys and heir to the throne. A peerless warrior and a dragonrider, Daemon possesses the true blood of the dragon. But it is said that whenever a Targaryen is born, the gods toss a coin in the air…"
Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower, who is "the daughter of Otto Hightower, the Hand of the King, and the most comely woman in the Seven Kingdoms. She was raised in the Red Keep, close to the king and his innermost circle; she possesses both a courtly grace and a keen political acumen."
Rhys Ifans as Otto Hightower: As Hand of the King, Hightower is protecting the throne loyally, and sees the king's brother Daemon (Matt Smith) as the biggest threat to the monach.
Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon aka "The Sea Snake," who will be the lord of House Velaryon. Their bloodline is old as House Targaryen, and Velaryon earned his nickname for being the most notorious "nautical adventurer in the history of Westeros."
Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Velaryon, a dragonrider who is wife to Lord Corlys Velaryon. She did not get the throne at the Great Council because — hold your surprise — "the realm favored her cousin, Viserys, simply for being male."
Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole, a member of King Viserys I Targaryen's Kingsguard. On his blog, George R.R. Martin wrote Ser Criston is "the common-born son of the steward to the Lord of Blackhaven. He has no claim to lands or titles, all he has is his honor and his skill with sword and lance. He is a challenger, a champion, cheered by the commons, beloved of the ladies. He is a lover (or is he?), a seducer (or is he?), a betrayer (or is he?), a breaker of hearts and a maker of kings … Welcome to Westeros, Fabien. And do keep that sword sharp."
House of the Dragon plot
House of the Dragon is set several hundred years before the events of Game of Thrones. It's based on Martin's novel "Fire & Blood," which chronicles the rule of House Targaryen from the beginning. The story starts with Aegon I Targaryen's conquest of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros.
House of the Dragon will focus on a particular part of the Targaryen history: The Dance of Dragons. It was a bloody and brutal Targaryen civil war that takes place 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. (That's a little more than a century after Aegon I's conquest.)
Star Olivia Cooke has revealed that House of the Dragon won't have the gratuitous graphic violence against women that was commonplace on Thrones. She told The Telegraph that "I wouldn’t feel comfortable in being a part of anything that has just egregious graphic violence towards women for no reason whatsoever, just because they want it to be tantalizing in a way that gets viewers."
King Viserys I's death sets off a struggle for succession between his daughter from his first marriage, Princess Rhaenyra, and his son from his second marriage, Aegon II. Princess Shireen Baratheon recounted this story in a fifth-season episode of Game of Thrones.
"Brothers fought brothers, dragons fought dragons," she reminded her father, Stannis. "By the time it was over, thousands were dead."
As Shireen noted, the conflict took its toll on the Targaryens, as almost all of their dragons died in the war. The beasts remained extinct for a century and a half, until Daenerys Targaryen hatched her three dragons in Game of Thrones.
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