HOTD
Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower in House of the Dragon

House Of The Dragon's Season 1, Episode 7 Promo Begins With A Funeral

And somehow it's the least dramatic part of the whole teaser.

by Ani Bundel
Ollie Upton/HBO

House of the Dragon has reached the second half of Season 1 — and jumped forward in time 10 years. During that time, Rhaenyra and Alicent had children, Viserys’ health worsened, and Daemon took off for Pentos with his new wife to avoid all the political drama. And in the most significant change, Rhaenyra and Alicent have gone from teenagers to women, with whole new actors playing the roles. But in the House of the Dragon’s Season 1, Episode 7 promo, all that takes a back seat to the massive drama to come.

Warning: Spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 1, Episode 6 follow. Viserys’ health may be failing, but it’s not the only thing that’s turned sour. Since Rhaenyra’s wedding, she and Alicent have fallen out completely, and time has only deepened the wounds instead of healing them. The two snipe at each other constantly and are slowly forging alliances for the fight they know is coming. When Viserys dies, there will be a battle for the throne, and each intends for their side to win.

Meanwhile, Daemon married Laena and took off from all the toxic games of King’s Landing to have two children with her. But after her third childbirth went sideways, Laena decided to take her own life via dragon fire. Daemon is now a two-time widower with two kids to raise and nowhere to go but home.

House of the Dragon Season 1, Episode 7 is titled “Driftmark,” aka the place where Daemon supposedly was in charge of this whole time. There is no official synopsis, but it’s obvious the time has finally come: Viserys will probs pass away, and the resulting fight between Alicent and Rhaenyra is at hand.

This should be a relief for those who have bemoaned all the time jumps this season. After skimming over the timeline like a stone on the water, the series has finally arrived in 129 AC. From here on out, House of the Dragon will start to follow a more familiar day-to-day timeline like Game of Thrones. The rest of the season covers whether or not Rhaenyra will come to the throne as her father wished, or if Otto Hightower and Larys Strong will step up to make sure Alicent’s son Aegon inherits instead.

House of the Dragon Season 1 continues with new episodes every Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.