It is not a bad thing to say that weddings in the game of thrones franchise don't always end well. The Red Wedding was the location of the murders of Robb and Catelyn Stark. The terrible King Joffrey was poisoned at his wedding to Margaery. You shouldn't be surprised to learn that Rhaenyra Targaryen and Laenor Velaryon didn't get married.
Although to be fair, even established marriages have a hard time in "We Light the Way," as the episode begins with Daemon Targaryen bashing his wife to death with a rock and then faking her fall from his horse. Daemon caused her horse to rear up and fall on her but he finished the job himself. Since she was the Lady of Runestone, he can marry a new wife and inherit her wealth.
The overture to Rhaenyra and Laenor begins ominously as Viserys and his daughter travel to Driftmark. Viserys is not looking good. He vomits on the sea voyage, he coughs up a lot of blood, and is getting weaker by the day. After Viserys snubbed his daughter Laena for Alicent, Corlys felt the right to throw his weight around. He asks if Rhaenyra and Laenor's children will have the father's last name, as per custom, and the Viserys agrees to it, but with the caveat that whichever offspring inherit the throne will change their name to Targaryen. Viserys had backed himself into a corner.
Rhaenyra proposed to Laenor in a different way as they walked on the beach. She explains how this marriage can work for them. She wants to continue her dalliances with Ser Criston Cole because she knows he is gay. She thinks that if they make an heir, they can eachdine as we see fit on other sexual partners as per a belabored metaphor.
Criston Cole doesn't like to be eaten on. During the voyage back to King's Landing, the princess' Kingsguard asks Rhaenyra to run away with him to Essos and marry him, something he feels somewhat confident she will choose given her lack of freedom. Rhaenyra told him she had to prioritize her duties as an incipient queen. Milly Alcock shows she doesn't want to give up the throne for a life of obscurity and powerlessness for a guy she's hooking up with. Cole is hurt, angry, and upset that he broke his oath of chastity to the Kingsguard, and Rhaenyra doesn't know she's just lit a fire.
Larys Strong is the son of the newly-minted Hand of the King Lyonel Strong. He asked Alicent if Rhaenyra was unwell so he could slip the queen the news of the tea. Alicent has doubts about whether Rhaenyra had sex with Daemon, so she summoned Ser Criston Cole to question him. Criston assumed she was asking about himself, who had sex with Rhaenyra, since she was too delicate to mention the king's brother. Alicent learned that Rhaenyra lied to her when he confessed. There is another fire.
When the Velaryon family arrives for the wedding and Viserys starts holding a seven-day celebration of feasts and jousting tournaments, Alicent is absent from the king's side. Guess who's showing up? Why did Daemon Targaryen get exiled from King's Landing? Viserys forgives his brother again, and invites him to the royal table.
On the first day of the wedding party, there are many dramas happening. Daemon is accused of killing his wife. The Lord of Casterly Rock made a joke to the king. Alicent made a grand entrance timed to interrupt Viserys's big speech. She greets Rhaenyra coldly as a "step-daughter" and then ignores her.
"We Light the Way" is similar to the royal hunt seen in "Second of His Name" a couple of weeks ago. Everyone wears the best costumes the cepartment could make, there is a ludicrous amount of food and wine, and there are ornate decorations. There is a full dance floor of extras getting down after Rhaenyra and Laenor perform in front of the crowd. Before it all comes crashing down, it is a wonder to behold.
Ser Joffrey Lonmouth, Laenor's lover, realized that Criston Cole was Rhaenyra's lover when he stared at her while she danced with Laenor. Joffrey commiserates with his sidepiece about their soon-to-be fulfilling lives as lovers to a married couple. After breaking his oath and marrying Rhaenyra, Criston beats Joffrey to death with his bare hands.
Last week's extremely horny episode was directed byClare Kilner and she did a great job. Viserys smiles at his daughter, happy she is finally doing her duty, and Daemon looks at her with a smirk. Daemon told Rhaenyra to marry him, but Rhaenyra only said to carry her away if he wanted. Everything else is tense but it is upsetting. When a fight breaks out and no one is watching, Kilner uses quick, tight shots to intensify the anxiety in the viewer and the characters. It takes what seems to be a very long time to reveal Criston and Joffrey as the combatant, although that is being rather magnanimous to Joffrey, who has the side of his face caved in. It is disgusting.
Viserys seems to end not just the party but the whole week of planned festivities. He married Rhaenyra and Laenor in a small, private ceremony in the throne room to make sure there was no more disasters. The director keeps Rhaenyra and Laenor out of each other's footage, except for an establishing shot of the "happy" couple's backs and a quick mid-ceremony kiss on the cheek. As the High Septon talks about the unity being formed, Kilner shows it is anything but, as she struggles with Criston's anger, Daemon's advances, Laenor's grief, and Alicent's fury. There is a close up of a pool of Joffrey's blood and viscera on the floor of the throne room as a rat prepares to eat.
The fight that will erupt the minute Viserys kicks it is all about people picking sides. The Velaryons want to sit on the Iron Throne with Rhaenyra. Alicent, angry at Rhaenyra and likely jealous of the princess, is ready to take the throne for her son Aegon against her husband's wishes. Criston Cole, who is about to commit suicide when Alicent stops him, will likely be recruited by her to her side. Rhaenyra made two enemies tonight that she will regret when she tries to take the throne.
It would have been beneficial for the show to focus on Rhaenyra's friendship with Alicent and her relationship with Criston in order to make their rejection of the princess more powerful and poignant. The conflict can have more resonance because the show has already explored the characters and the events leading up to it. There is a lot. We haven't seen the main actors who will play Rhaenyra and Alicent yet, so we're halfway done with the show.
The death of Viserys is the only thing that will allow the war over the throne to start. At which point this violent, tragic party can get started, he won't make it past episode six, according to tonight's episode. Everyone in the show will attend regardless of whether they want to or not.
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