Contains spoilers for this episode and earlier episodes.
Aegon's second birthday brings the royal family to a hunt, where Rhaenyra feels increasingly displaced by her young half-brother. Jason Lannister approaches her as a prospective husband and assumes that Aegon will inherit the throne. Viserys rejects that assumption, but his attempts to discuss marriage with Rhaenyra end in a public argument. She rides away from the camp, with Criston Cole following to keep her safe.
Rhaenyra and Criston survive an attack by a wild boar during their night in the woods. The next morning, she sees the white hart that the royal hunters have been searching for and lets it go. Viserys kills a different stag in a carefully arranged ceremony. He later reassures his daughter that he still means her to succeed him and gives her room to find a husband she can accept.
In the Stepstones, Daemon and Corlys have failed to draw the Crabfeeder out of his caves. Word that Viserys is sending aid enrages Daemon, who chooses a dangerous attack before his brother can claim the rescue. He pretends to surrender, then fights until the enemy troops leave their cover. Corlys's forces and a dragon attack the exposed soldiers, allowing Daemon to enter the caves and kill the Crabfeeder himself.