In the final moments of Episode 4 of House of the Dragon, the Grand Maester brings Princess Rhaenyra a specially brewed medicinal tea as per King Viserys’ orders. When Rhaenyra asks him what it was, he revealed that it is to prevent any unwanted pregnancy.
House of the Dragon is a spinoff of the popular fantasy show, Game of Thrones, based on George R. R. Martin’s book series, A Song of Ice and Fire. The series is set 172 years before the events of Game of Thrones and is based on Martin’s novel, Fire and Blood.
The first three episodes received rave reviews from critics and successfully set up the context. The fourth episode premiered on Monday and featured Rhaenyra’s first incestuous sexual encounter with her uncle Daemon Targaryen.
At the end of Episode 4, the Grand Maester brings Princess Rhaenyra a specially brewed tea following the orders of the King. Though the Maester does not clearly specify the purpose of the drink he says that it would prevent Rhaenyra from any “unwanted circumstances”.
The tea is most likely a contraceptive brewed to prevent Rhaenyra from getting pregnant. Since the Maester brought her the tea after the King found out about Rhaenyra’s possible sexual encounter with Daemon, it can only be a measure to prevent pregnancy before her marriage.
Alternatively, the tea could also be the medicine to create an illusion of ‘virginity’, since being a ‘maiden’ is of extreme importance to the royal family. However, the more likely function of the tea seems to be the prevention of pregnancy.
In reality, however, Rhaenyra did not have sex with Daemon, though they were almost about to. After Daemon changes his mind and backs away from her, she returns to the palace and sleeps with Ser Criston Cole. Fortunately, no one found out about it.
Nevertheless, the tea would do its job irrespective of who Rhaenyra slept with. The episode also involved Viserys fixing Rhaenyra’s marriage with Ser Laenor Velaryon. So, Episode 5 will most likely feature Rhaenyra’s wedding.
Things are certainly brewing up and we can surely expect a lot from the upcoming episodes. The fifth episode will also be the last episode before the mid-season time jump.
New episodes of House of the Dragon premiere on HBO Max every Monday.
About House Of The Dragon
House of the Dragon is the prequel series to HBO’s blockbuster Game of Thrones based on George R. R. Martin’s book Fire & Blood.
Set three hundred years before the events of Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon will show Westeros under the Targaryen family’s rule before the dragons went extinct. It will follow the Dance of the Dragons, the Targaryen civil war between siblings Aegon II and Rhaenyra, who fought for the throne after the death of their father, Viserys I.
Directed by Ryan Condall and Miguel Sapochnik, the show stars Paddy Considine as Viserys I Targaryen, Emma D’Arcy as Rhaenyra Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower, Matt Smith as Daemon Targaryen, Tom Glynn-Craney as Aegon II Targaryen, Rhys Ifans as Otto Hightower, Steve Toussaint as Corlys Velaryon, Eve Best as Rhaenys Velaryon, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, Fabien Frankel as Criston Cole, and Graham McTavish.
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