This week, House of the Dragon brought back a teeny, tiny cameo from who fans are calling “the only loyal character in the entire show.” Yep, it’s the dog.
In Season 2, episode 5, “Regent,” the HBO series took at least one shot to champion the mistreated canine from episode 1. The dog was kicked by his owner, the ratcatcher (Mark Stobbart), during the abhorrent assassination on the child heir to the Iron Throne, Jaehaerys Targaryen. The moment had viewers irate, spewing vitriol against the doomed ratter for abusing his loyal pooch.
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‘House of the Dragon’ Season 2, episode 4: Pay attention to the dogs at Harrenhal
In episode 2, we saw the dog nobly sitting at the foot of his now-dead master, hung by his neck on the walls of King’s Landing among the city’s other ratcatchers by order of King Aegon II Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney). It’s a grisly scene, and terrible PR for the Red Keep.
So, in episode 5, when the newly appointed Prince Regent Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) takes his spot at the head of the small council, one of his first orders is to “cut down the fucking ratcatchers.” While the King’s Hand Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) sees the job done, you can see the same dog sitting under a cart, presumably having been sitting there for the last four episodes.
How long has the dog been there, really? Between then and now there’s been the attempted assassination at Dragonstone, the Battle of the Burning Mill, the Battle at Rook’s Rest, and more, so it’s been a while. This dog is basically the Hachiko of King’s Landing.
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As the bodies drop into a wagon, pulled away by the Kingsguard, the dog gets up, whines, and follows the cart. This level of loyalty in the snake-filled House of the Dragon is rare, and didn’t escape fans.
Even George R.R. Martin himself has praised the dog, a character not in Fire and Blood the author said he wished he’d thought of:
“I am… ahem… not usually a fan of screenwriters adding characters to the source material when adapting a story. Especially not when the source material is mine. But that dog was brilliant,” Martin wrote on his blog after episode 2.
“I was prepared to hate Cheese, but I hated him even more when he kicked that dog. And later, when the dog say at his feet, gazing up… that damn near broke my heart. Such a little thing… such a little dog… but his presence, the few short moments he was on screen, gave the ratcatcher so much humanity. Human beings are such complex creatures. The silent presence of that dog reminded us that even the worst of men, the vile and the venal, can love and be loved.
“I wish I’d thought of that dog. I didn’t, but someone else did. I am glad of that.”
Westerosi dogs forever.
New episodes of House of the Dragon air Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and Max.
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House of the Dragon