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Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →“Smallfolk” makes the people outside the royal councils part of the war’s political equation. Hunger in King’s Landing gives Rhaenyra a chance to act with compassion and gain leverage, while Aemond concentrates on military plans and control of the Green Council. The episode’s character work is thoughtful, but its many separate threads make it feel more like a carefully prepared handoff than a complete dramatic payoff.
Spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 6, “Smallfolk.”
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Written for television by Eileen Shim and directed by Andrij Parekh, the episode debuted July 21, 2024. HBO’s official synopsis frames its two central moves: Rhaenyra takes a risky step as her options narrow, while Aemond reshapes the Green Council.
Why the smallfolk matter to this episode
The blockade is not just a military tactic in “Smallfolk”; its consequences are visible in the hunger and anger building in King’s Landing. The title points to the people who usually remain outside the rooms where the war is planned, but whose hardship can still alter the balance of power.
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Rhaenyra and Mysaria respond by arranging for food to reach the city. It is a humane answer to a real crisis, and also a political wager: relief may strengthen the residents’ view of Rhaenyra while sharpening their resentment toward the rulers who have let them go hungry. The episode is strongest when it allows those motives to coexist rather than treating compassion and strategy as opposites.
That calculation matters because legitimacy cannot be secured by bloodline or council votes alone. The residents’ response to the war is consequential, even if they do not command armies. Aemond, meanwhile, is absorbed by military and council business. His priorities are intelligible for a regent, but the contrast leaves him less attuned to the crisis that Rhaenyra is trying to address.
Aemond takes control of the Green Council
With Aegon injured, Aemond exercises power as Prince Regent. Jason Lannister presses him to join the campaign against Harrenhal, but Aemond’s actions reach beyond the battlefield: he directs Tyland to pursue an alliance with the Triarchy, sends Criston Cole toward Harrenhal, removes Alicent from the Small Council, dismisses Larys’s bid to become Hand, and seeks Otto’s return.
The sequence makes his regency style plain. He is not simply filling a temporary vacancy; he is deciding who gets influence and which priorities the council will pursue. Alicent’s removal is particularly stark after her years of authority. The episode gives her loss of standing weight without turning it into a separate spectacle: the machinery of power moves on, and she is no longer at its center.
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Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Director Andrij Parekh described Aemond as driven by “a very cold rationality,” contrasting his approach with Aegon’s fear or anger. That interview perspective fits the episode’s portrayal: Aemond’s decisions are deliberate, but cold calculation does not necessarily make them wise. His focus on command and alliances also leaves little room for the ordinary people bearing the cost of the conflict.
Rhaenyra and Mysaria build trust
Rhaenyra’s own advisers leave her feeling constrained. Her turn toward Mysaria is therefore both practical and personal: Mysaria helps her pursue the food plan, and the two women’s uneasy relationship shifts into intimacy when they kiss.
The scene works because the episode has established suspicion and dependence before asking for closeness. Emma D’Arcy described the dynamic as “two people who are deeply suspicious of one another develop a form of trust.” The kiss is a significant change, though not a resolution of every uncertainty between them. Their alliance offers Rhaenyra a different kind of counsel from the formal advice she has been receiving—and puts more weight on whether they can trust each other when their interests diverge.
Daemon remains trapped in Harrenhal
At Harrenhal, Daemon’s visions continue, including one involving Viserys. The supernatural episodes keep him emotionally unsettled, while his volatility strains his relationship with Simon Strong. Alys urges him to face his problems and reckon with the political reality of the Riverlands rather than treating the region as a stage for his ambitions.
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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchThis thread adds atmosphere and character detail, but it is also the episode’s clearest drag on momentum. Daemon’s visions extend an existing mystery without bringing it to a decisive turn here. The scenes are more revealing about his isolation than they are advancing the larger conflict.
Rank #4
Seasmoke’s choice changes the stakes
Rhaenyra asks Steffon Darklyn to try to claim Seasmoke, relying on his distant Targaryen ancestry. The attempt ends in disaster: Seasmoke kills Steffon and leaves Dragonstone. The failure makes the danger of treating a dragon as a resource impossible to ignore.
Then the episode turns that failure into a new possibility. Away from Dragonstone, Seasmoke encounters Addam and takes an unexpected interest in him. The moment lands as the strongest forward-moving beat in “Smallfolk”: it opens a consequential question about who might ride the dragon and what that could mean for the war. It is also plainly setup for what comes next, rather than a full payoff within this installment.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What Rhaena finds in the Vale
Rhaena discovers evidence that a wild dragon may be nearby. The brief thread gives the Vale a potential connection to the wider struggle and adds another possible dragon-related development, though the episode offers little resolution. As with Addam’s encounter, its main function is to point toward future events.
Best Value
Does “Smallfolk” feel like a detour?
The episode’s strength is its thematic reach: it connects a food crisis to political legitimacy, shows Aemond consolidating authority, and gives Rhaenyra and Mysaria’s alliance both strategic and emotional consequence. Its attention to characters outside the central royal contest makes the conflict feel broader than a sequence of council decisions and battlefield orders.
The trade-off is dispersion. Daemon’s visions, Alicent’s diminished role, Rhaenyra’s new reliance on Mysaria, Rhaena’s discovery, and Addam’s encounter with Seasmoke each develop a different strand. Some viewers will find that breadth rewarding; others may feel the episode is assembling pieces more than delivering a self-contained turn. Rotten Tomatoes’ critics consensus captured that tension, praising how the episode fleshes out characters on the margins while describing it as “a bit like a detour.” Omar L. Gallaga of The Washington Post, by contrast, called it “a surprisingly tender ‘Dragon’ episode,” emphasizing the emotional dimension of the character work.
For this reviewer, the detour quality is real but purposeful. The title’s focus on people beyond the throne room gives the episode a coherent lens, even when its plot threads do not converge. The Seasmoke ending supplies a strong hook; it does not erase the slower pace, but it gives the episode a clear reason to keep watching.
Quick Recap
Episode details
- Episode: Season 2, Episode 6
- Title: “Smallfolk”
- Writer: Eileen Shim
- Director: Andrij Parekh
- Debut: July 21, 2024
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