"King of the Narrow Sea" is the fourth episode of the first season of the fantasy drama television series House of the Dragon, a prequel to Game of Thrones.
It received mostly positive reviews from critics, with praise going towards Parker's screenplay, Kilner's direction, and performances of the cast, especially those of Paddy Considine, Matt Smith, and Milly Alcock.
As her ship approaches King's Landing, her uncle, Prince Daemon, flies past on his dragon, Caraxes, victoriously returning from his three-year military campaign in the Stepstones.
In exchange, she demands her father dismiss Otto as his Hand for spying on her, pointing out that he should not rely on the advice of a man who puts his own ambitions above his duty to the king.
Viserys then dismisses Otto as his Hand and later sends Grand Maester Mellos to give Rhaenyra an abortifacient drink to prevent any "unwanted consequences."
"King of the Narrow Sea" was written by Ira Parker and directed by Clare Kilner, marking their first time in the Game of Thrones franchise.
The site's critical consensus said, "Making for deeply uncomfortable family viewing, 'King of the Narrow Sea' trades dragonflame for dangerous liaisons and goes a long way towards deepening House of the Dragon's web of intrigue.
"[4] Writing for GamesRadar+, Molly Edwards gave it a rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars and said, "After the dazzling, gruesome spectacle of last week, 'King of the Narrow Sea' is a return to what this series does so well: twisty game playing with shrouded motivations.
"[5] Den of Geek's Alec Bojalad rated it 4 out of 5 stars and wrote, "The show's approach to time remains a double-edged Valyrian sword.
"[8] IGN's Helen O'Hara gave it a "good" 7 out of 10 and wrote in her verdict: "This quieter, almost action-free episode is once again focused on dynastic matters and sexposition after the action of last week.