According to our timeline calculations, this episode takes place about 21 years after the events in the pilot episode.

Rhaenys mentions that six years have passed since she last saw Lord Corlys. If he left shortly after Laenor's faked death, that puts our timeline at about 133 A.C. — 21 years after the events of the pilot episode (including Aemma's death and the first time Alicent spoke to Viserys alone).

In HBO's "after the episode" segment, showrunner Ryan Condal said this latest time jump was designed to put all of Rhaenyra, Alicent, and Daemon's children in the 17 to 21 year old range, otherwise known as the start of adulthood in Westeros.

You can read our full timeline here to see how each episode has moved ahead in time.

Here's what Baela's note to Daemon said:

The letter said: "Father, I write with news of Uncle Vaemond, who this moment sails for King's Landing. He plans to appeal to his Grace the King on matters of succession, rights, and the sanctity of blood. He wishes for the Driftwood Throne to pass to him, that is his by rights and that he is the only unattainted choice."

Baela, who is one of the daughters Daemon had with Laena before her death, was warning her father and stepmother Rhaenyra of the coming threat to their family. 

 

The only person who greets Rhaenyra at King's Landing is the same lord who first congratulated her on baby Joffrey.

Though the Red Keep has been redecorated by Queen Alicent, and seems run by mainly people loyal to the Hand of the King, Otto Hightower, this brief exchange let us know that there are still some people in King's Landing who are loyal to Rhaenyra as future Queen. 

Lord Caswell saw firsthand how Rhaenyra walked with her newborn baby up to Queen Alicent's chambers, and now he appears supportive of her return to the Red Keep.

 

The Kingsguard knight who told Alicent about Aegon's assault on a servant girl is one of a pair of twins who have been protecting the royal family.

In "Fire and Blood," George R.R. Martin introduces twin knights Erryk and Arryk Cargyll at the tournament we saw in the pilot episode of "House of the Dragon." But up until this episode, the main knights of Viserys' kingsguard that we've seen were Ser Criston Cole and Lord Commander Harrold Westerling.

Now we've gotten a good look at Arryk, who was one of the few people to learn that Prince Aegon II had sexually assaulted a serving girl. 

 

The maester serving Rhaenyra is likely named after George R.R. Martin's agent and executive producer of "House of the Dragon," Vince Gerardis.

In this episode, we see Jacerys being taught by Maester Gerardys, the man serving Rhaenyra at Dragonstone. Though the spelling has been changed to match Westerosi style, this name is meant as a little Easter egg reference to Vince Gerardis. 

Martin has done this before, with names like Grover and Elmo Tully referencing the "Sesame Street" characters.

When Alicent is expressing "uneasiness" about siding with Vaemond, the camera angle shows us the Queen through the openings in the chair where Lord Corlys once sat.

In the pilot episode, we see Lord Corlys' regular chair at the Small Council was directly opposite the King's seat. 

With so much time now passed and new allegiances and political appointments, Alicent is now speaking on behalf of King Viserys from his old chair while Otto is advising her to deny the wishes of Corlys and Viserys when it comes to the inheritance of Driftmark. 

It was a neat moment of symbolism to see Alicent's actions through the empty seat that reminds people of Corlys' allegiance to his family's names instead of their trueborn blood. 

The spy who reported to Mysaria has been working in the Red Keep for Alicent for more than a decade.

The servant with red hair, named Talya, has appeared in episodes before. Notably, she walked into the room in episode six when Alicent and Larys were talking about Rhaenyra's children being Ser Harwin Strong's bastard sons. Alicent dismissed her, but in retrospect that moment tells us that Talya has likely been craftily cataloguing information about the Queen and her visitors for years and years. 

The mystery of what Mysaria might be doing with that information has yet to entirely unfold.

New episodes of "House of the Dragon" air Sundays on HBO at 9 p.m. ET. For more, read our breakdown of the best details you might have missed in last week's episode.