One of Game of Thrones’ key innovations was to strip most of the fantasy elements from its storyline. In this first season in particular, magic was sidelined in favor of sex exposition and ultra-violence, lulling cold-blooded viewers into a false sense of security before hitting them with baby dragons in the finale. But this non-nerd audience has had time to get used to the scaly creatures by now, so it’s a pleasure to report that the end of this House of the Dragon episode finally sinks its teeth fully into the possibilities of a warring clan all riding dragons, as the Targaryen Cold War heats up. Really hot.
The results are glorious, according to viewers. Dragons are no longer confined to a three-headed symbol on a banner in the background while a guy debates whether to marry a cousin or a niece. They are living, fire-breathing monsters with big claws and sharp teeth, ready to tear each other apart. The sight of three dragons battling over a small, besieged castle while soldiers below try to figure out which way to go to safety is juicyThey are dragons red in tooth and claw, finally delivering the kind of epic fantasy some of us have been dreaming of since the day we first saw the poster for Reign of Fire.
It’s impossible not to start by talking about this finale, because the human stakes make it captivating and the storytelling is truly impressive. The horrific Prince Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) rides Vhagar into battle without any trace of the remorse he felt after Lucerys’ death last season. Now, he’s eager to prove himself in battle and happy to take out a family member or two in the process. That’s why he holds off the greatest dragon in Westeros long enough to ensure his brother engages in a fight he can’t win. Rhaenys (Eve Best), meanwhile, knows the stakes far better than either of the younger fighters, and yet she still sends her Meleys (whom she affectionately calls “old maid”) back into battle when she could safely flee. Then Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney) on Sunfyre, is pushed into battle and suffers terribly – perhaps fatally – to his ego. What a final act. Even Ser Criston (Fabien Frankel) is shaken.
That’s not to say the rest of the episode is disappointing, as it’s easily the best so far this season. Daemon (Matt Smith) at Harrenhal is slowly losing touch with reality after further encounters with Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin) and an ill-advised decision to accept a sleeping pill from her. He’s also apparently sleeping in a bed made from the heartwood that was sacrilegiously felled to build the cursed castle, which could explain all his visions. He sees young Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock) again, who taunts him in High Valyrian just as she did when they trained together. He’s also offered the allegiance of the Blackwoods if he uses his dragon Caraxes to attack the Brackens, their enemies in the Battle of Moulin Ardent last week. We then see the Targaryen civil war begin to spread along other fault lines in Westeros, and the family’s fire-breathing weapons of mass destruction threaten a larger population than ever before.
Still, it’s amusing that the show remembers this episode where the Targaryens all speak the language of Freehold, and it’s instructive to learn that Aegon never studied it properly while Aemond speaks it fluently. We learn this last fact in Aegon’s council scenes, where the immature king is bored to death running a country. After being humiliated once again by Aemond’s superior knowledge and planning work with his advisors, he gets into a fight with his mother. But Alicent (Olivia Cooke) is going through the pain of a medical abortion and has absolutely no time for self-importance. “You should humbly seek our advice and counsel. You have no idea what sacrifices have been made to put you on this throne,” she tells him. “Just do what is expected of you: nothing.” » In the end, she does at least as much as Aemond in getting him on the back of his dragon and sending him into battle; there’s also a nice moment where Aegon slowly pushes a probably priceless jug of water off the table, like a cat, which beautifully expresses his utter nihilism.
Ser Larys (Matthew Needham) still walks ominously, well aware of Alicent’s condition and unconcerned by the loss of the family seat at Harrenhal. There’s an interesting moment where he questions her sudden plunge into historical research: Does she now doubt her son’s right to rule? “Rhaenyra’s followers will believe what they want, and so will Aegon… the importance of Viserys’ intentions died with him,” she replies – suggesting that she did indeed take Rhaenyra’s (Emma D’Arcy) pleas from last week seriously, but will do nothing to change the disposition of her forces as a result.
Meanwhile, Rhaenyra has left her council fighting in her absence and almost completely dysfunctional. Rhaenys tries to restore order, but only her husband, Corlys (Steven Toussaint), succeeds; an ominous sign for Rhaenyra’s own efforts to exert a strong hand on the throne. When she finally returns, she manages to quell the infighting and agrees to send Rhaenys to defend her Tower’s Rest, both the seat of her ally and a key land link to her base at Dragonstone. Even now, the show emphasizes that she does so reluctantly. “To unite the realm, I had to send the dragons to war. The horrors I have unleashed cannot be for a crown alone. » For Rhaenyra, it’s still all about the prophecy of the Song of Ice and Fire and the Prince Who Was Promised (though there’s no way of knowing what family line he or she will come from, of course).
This is a good episode overall. We get one more scene of affection between Rhaenys and Corlys before she goes into battle, with the remarkably sane Rhaenys correctly figuring out that Rhaenyra has disappeared on some sort of peacekeeping mission, and encouraging her husband – reading between the lines – to acknowledge his bastard sons now that he has no surviving legitimate male heir. There’s an even more poignant moment at the end, when she and Meleys exchange a look as Vhagar’s teeth sink into his dragon’s neck and they both know they’re finished.
It’s all directed by Alan “Thor: The Dark World” Taylor, a Game of Thrones alum who also directed the Season 2 premiere. He finds the grace notes to play here, and does a good job of moving from political machinations to outright war. He also taps into the malevolent sides of Daemon, Larys, and especially Aemond. The latter stands over his brother with a sword when Criston arrives to help him, eliminating the possibility of a finishing blow. But somehow, even from behind, he looks smug. The day has seen him destroy a Black leader and a rival dragon, take over an enemy stronghold, and possibly cause the death of his underachieving older brother. It’s no surprise that he looks pleased with himself. He and his family have finally unleashed the beasts on each other. If the rest of the season follows this episode’s pattern, we’re in for a treat.