This week’s episode of Dragon House makes one thing very clear: women do the work. Or they would be They couldn’t have gotten the job if they weren’t surrounded by men hell-bent on revenge. “Hotter blood prevailed,” Rhaenys notes wisely, when Rhaenyra suggests that Otto Hightower Never They sent an assassin to his room. “They want to punish… Soon they will no longer remember what started the war. »
It’s lucky that Rhaenyra has Rhaenys there to guide and support her, frankly, especially since the Y chromosomes on her council want her to hide somewhere and let them rule in her stead (betrayal!). And, as we’ve come to expect from Rhaenys, she has nothing but excellent ideas up her sleeve, including that Rhaenyra needs to let go of her grudge against Alicent Hightower and reach out to her if she wants to avoid a bloody civil war.
At first, it seems like Rhaenyra isn’t going to listen: she’s far too busy asking Rhaena to take the youngest children (and a clutch of unhatched dragon eggs) to Pentos in an effort to ensure the Team Black’s future if things don’t go well. in their favor. Eventually, however, she meets her new Master of Whispers (hello, Mysaria) and asks the White Worm to help smuggle her into King’s Landing so she can speak with her best friend/stepmother/archnemesis in person.
Meanwhile, at the Red Keep, Alicent Also finds herself surrounded by deeply useless men, which forces her to point out that the King’s Council “lacks discipline and patience.” He also lacks any sense of loyalty: Ser Criston Cole is determined to do his own thing, Ser Larys Strong effortlessly manipulates Aegon into believing that his mother and brother are (checks notes) She’s out to get him, and don’t even get me started on the rest. Add to that the arrival of her brother, Ser Gwayne, and you’ve got more egos bristling than you can shake a dragon’s tail at. That’s almost literally what happens when Baela spots her riding with Ser Criston and decides to lead her own fire-breathing companion down so she can scare them off.
The upshot of all this? A very welcome on-screen reunion for Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke, as the former’s character wears a gray wimple (you’d think they’d have beefed up security at the Citadel after the Blood and Cheese incident) so she can safely approach Alicent during her quiet time at the Sept. Honestly, the chemistry between these two continues to sizzle like wildfire, and it becomes all too clear that they miss each other’s friendship as they trade barbs by candlelight. However, when Rhaenyra demands to know what her father said in his final moments, things get almost awkward as Alicent realizes that a civil war is almost entirely being played out because she misinterpreted her husband’s last words.
So, are they going to cancel the Dance of the Dragons? Sadly no, as Alicent quietly admits that she has no real power in King’s Landing and that it’s “too late” to stop the wheels that have already been set in motion. Thank goodness for Rhaenyra, then, that her ex-uncle-husband has taken Harrenhal with ridiculously incredible ease (only Daemon could storm a castle solo, right?) and is working on building an army of 4,000. Although, given that everyone there calls him “Your Grace,” it remains unclear whether or not Daemon truly has his niece-wife’s best interests at heart, despite what his trippy dreams of young Rhaenyra might have you believe.
Overall, this is a great episode of The Dragon Houseand it builds incredibly well on the slow-burning tensions that have been on display over the course of this season’s first two installments. The opening scenes nicely demonstrate how a long-running argument can escalate into a bloody battle (the Ferns and Blackfoot were so easily goaded into annihilating each other, weren’t they?), while the show treats its eponymous mythical beasts as a terrifying metaphor for nuclear war: “If dragons begin to fight dragons, we invite our own destruction,” Rhaenyra warns. “Fear is itself a weapon.”
The series also helps address the OG’s nudity imbalance Game Of Thrones, with an unexpected frontal moment from Aemond. And, after my whiny complaints last week, he’s also upped his humor game, from Daemon bluntly explaining that the Iron Throne is a “big chair made of swords,” to his suspicions about “poison peas” or Simon Strong’s offering. preparing a delicious meal while pledging his loyalty to Rhaenyra’s cause. (“Dinner is venison with black cabbage and peas – no gooseberries. Sorry about that.”)
Add to that the duels between Helaena and Alicent, Alicent and Rhaenyra, and Rhaenyra and Rhaenys, and you have an episode that wholeheartedly proves that it understands how Game Of Thrones“The initial success lay in its whispered conversations and impassioned debates. The dialogue is, quite frankly, to the point, worthy of a chef’s kiss.
Better yet? Now that all the pieces of this chessboard are properly set up, we can finally get down to business. I expect a lot of action in the fourth episode of the series. Go for it.
Wandering observations
- How did Criston and Gwayne outrun that dragon? It was the Westerosian equivalent of Han Solo who managed to deflect Greedo’s shot. Plus, wood is known to be flammable, so why the hell didn’t Baela just throw dragonfire at them?
- Everyone seems to enjoy commuting between Dragonstone and King’s Landing by boat, even though the two places are supposed to be a few hundred miles apart. Maybe there’s a time portal or two in the mix, huh?
- Helaena’s complete detachment from what’s happened to her is… well, it’s incredibly disturbing. “Sadness is a condition of motherhood,” Alicent tells her daughter, before learning that she herself is forgiven for her sins. Poor, sweet Helaena doesn’t deserve what inevitably happens to her, quite frankly.
- A moment for Harwin Strong, whose murder by arson clearly remains a sore point for his uncle, especially since it’s almost impossible to start a fire in Harrenhal at the best of times. This is also a sore point for this viewer, because I’m still angry that we didn’t get more episodes dedicated to Rhaenyra and Harwin. (The fleeting glances they exchanged made it clear that they were very much in love.)
- Daemon gave me pure Geralt of Rivia vibes as he snuck through the dark, soggy ruins of Harrenhal. And then it all got a little Monty Python when he ruined Simon Strong’s party and won the battle for the fortress without even trying.
- Rhaenyra by Millie Alcock! In the flesh ! Caring for little Jahaerys’ ruined corpse and scolding her uncle for letting her clean up his mess! Ah, Daemon’s mind is really troubled, isn’t it? Also, does the fact that he imagines his niece-wife as the child he once looked after bother anyone else, or…?
- Jason Lannister’s name sounds suspiciously like his distant relative Tyrion’s, doesn’t it? Maybe the actors used the same voice coach to work on their medieval fantasy accents.
- It’s surely getting harder and harder for Team Green viewers to fight their bad fight; Rhaenyra has shown herself to be both merciful and measured, which is no small feat considering the alternative option for the Iron Throne. (Aegon, you’re just not this author’s. Sorry, not sorry.)
- Ulf the White may not look much like Daemon or his late brother, but that doesn’t mean he’s not a Targaryen (or dragonseed, if you prefer). I suspect this bastard will be back on our screens before long. And, based on Rhaenys and Corlys’ conversation about their own successors, he may not be the only unexpected relative to secure a place in this story.
- Please don’t let this be the last scene between Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke. Please.