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House of the Dragon: The Burning Mill

“Sin begets sin begets sin.”

The show continues to slowly build its pieces, even as everything continues to unravel in the plot. Not much happened in this episode — and not all that happened was entirely satisfying — but it is a juicy bit of setup.

The scene is set with the battle that the episode is titled after, where the blood feud within House Targaryen spurs on the generational blood feud between the Houses Blackwood and Bracken in the Riverlands, leading to the first real battle in the war between those who support Rhaenyra’s claim and those who chose Aegon II.

Criston Cole, newly made Hand of the King, decides to use his power to lead with action and embarks on a reckless mission to check the Riverlands’ loyalties and take Harrenhal, the region’s most powerful stronghold. It goes wrong almost immediately thanks to Alicent’s fancy brother getting them spotted (and scared shitless) by Baela Targaryen and her dragon Moondancer.

On top of that, Daemon Targaryen is already ahead of him, seizing the spooky castle with his dragon. Daemon’s segments at Harrenhal were definitely my favorite. At one point, he states the fact that Harrenhal is the largest castle in Westeros, adding “or perhaps you’ve forgotten that.” That was a great line for me as a fan of the books, because I'd previously felt that the size and mystique of this castle had been poorly represented in Game of Thrones and in this series.

Until now that is.

This episode alone gives the viewer the sense of how big and eerie it is, with Daemon showing up on his dragon and expecting a fight, only to find himself stalking through its blackened halls for a good few minutes before he runs into anyone. And I love the fact that they use Harrenhal as a device to explore Daemon’s personal demons. He’s starting to experience strange sleepwalking nightmares that hint at his hidden guilty conscience. Though it might be an even stronger hint that the great ruined fortress really is cursed like the legends say.

The real meat of the episode — and probably the most discussed part of it — was Rhaenyra’s plan to sneak into King’s Landing and meet with Alicent in secret. This is one of the show’s additions to the story. Because of that, some have questioned the logic behind this meeting.

I don’t think it’s unreasonable to imagine a meeting like this could have occurred, but why it’s occurring now seems strange. The point is obviously to let us know that Rhaenyra is determined to live up to her father’s legacy by seeking peace — and also to let Alicent know that Viserys’s last words were about Aegon the Conqueror, not their son. But to me it just seemed kind of foolish of Rhaenyra or Rhaenys to think Alicent had any real control over her sons or the royal court, at this point. After Rhaenyra and Aegon have both had sons and followers murdered over this, and armies are marching to war. Like, even if she were to listen, what could Alicent really do to stop Aegon, Aemond or Criston Cole, at this point? And if Otto were still Hand, he’d be undermining her influence to destroy Team Black too. For that matter, do we think Rhaenyra would be able to call off Daemon?

That final confrontation just felt lacking. Felt like the only reason it was happening was to give Rhaenyra and Alicent a scene together; granted, if they were going strictly by the histories, it’d be a minute before that would happen. I kind of get it. Rhaenyra and Alicent butting heads accounted for most of the screen time last season, and I’m sure Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke have fun working together. It just didn’t feel all that necessary or sensible plot-wise, and it sort of made both characters look more toothless than I think was intended.

The most salient point of that scene and the episode as a whole is that what's in motion now can’t be stopped. This story’s only getting more and more chaotic. Which is something to look forward to. And dread.
Blacks and greens:

* During his walk through Harrenhal, Daemon looks in on what I assume to be the castle's throne room. This is where the first scene of the show took place, when Jaehaerys the Conciliator made Daemon's brother king.

* Criston Cole asks for Alicent’s favor as he marches to war. It’s cute and a little sad how they both cling to the romanticism of chivalry in spite of being such terrible people. I think this shared fantasy that he's the proper knight and she's the proper lady is the only thing helping these two sleep at night, even if they both know it's a delusion.

* Another new character, seen briefly in the last episode, is Ulf the White. He’s lowborn, an alcoholic and claims to be the bastard half brother of Daemon and King Viserys. He boasts his status as a “dragonseed” in exchange for drinks.

* I believe the barmaid who serves Ulf the White and his drinking buddies was Dyana, the former Red Keep servant whom Aegon II assaulted in the first season. Hope she made herself scarce when His Grace dropped in for a nightcap.

* To replace Harrold Westerling and the now deceased Cargyll brothers, Aegon has named his high-born drinking buddies to the Kingsguard. They all seem to realize in the same moment what a bad idea that was.

* We revisit Aemond’s ritualistic intimacy with Madam Sylvi quicker than I imagined, with Aegon drunkenly interrupting it with his Kingsguard bros. It’s a weird dance of power in that scene, with Aegon relentlessly humiliating Aemond over his fixation on his first lover before Aemond reasserts his power — while going full-frontal — by dismissing any attachment to Sylvi and striding away like a naked gangster. Aemond has clearly harbored a lot of resentment for Aegon his whole life, but he projects that vengeful anger onto his nephews and Rhaenyra’s faction. I guess out of a sense of familial duty.

* The blacks and the greens both acquire spymasters at around the same time, with Mysaria willingly joining Rhaenyra's court and Aegon making Larys Strong an official member of the small council as his master of whisperers.

* Love that Daemon's daughters are getting more focus. Despite her temperate and graceful bearing, Baela lets us know she is her father's daughter when we see how she bends Rhaenyra's rules about not engaging with the enemy. And Rhaena is given an honorable but unenviable task of traveling to the Vale and then across the sea to Pentos to secure the safety of Rhaenyra's youngest sons, Joffrey, Aegon the Younger and Viserys; she's also given a clutch of dragon eggs to guard, in case things go really badly for Team Black. Maybe we'll see her again in the Vale, where she must secure the loyalty of House Arryn.

* One thing I do like about the Rhaenyra vs. Alicent scene was that it doesn’t explicitly cast Rhaenyra as the more noble one. She claims to be there to discuss peace, but her offer of peace seems to be no different from Alicent’s: just expecting the other side will surrender and trust the winner to be merciful. And the clarity brought to Alicent’s misinterpretation paints both women and their families as victims of the ancient prophecy, like several characters in Game of Thrones.

Quotes:

Aeron Bracken: “Your false queen Rhaenyra is a kinslayer.”
Davos Blackwood: “Your uncle declared for Aegon, did he? Well then, let me tell you, Aegon Targaryen is no true king! Just as you are no true knight. You’re both craven. Little. Cunts!”

Rhaenys Targaryen: “Soon they will not even remember what it was that began the war in the first place.”
Rhaenyra I: “That is easy enough. They usurped my throne.”
Rhaenys: “That is one answer. Or was it when the child was beheaded? Or when Aemond killed Luke? Or when Luke took Aemond’s eye? We teeter now at the point where none of it will matter. And the desire to kill and burn takes hold and reason is forgotten.”

Alicent Hightower: “So impatient to ride with so few men. So like to be destroyed by the first stronghold you meet. A bold scheme, indeed.”
Criston Cole: “Well, the gods favor the bold.”
Alicent: “They did not favor Ser Arryk.”

Aegon II: “… I’m as fearsome as any of them.”

Daemon: “People should obey their liege lord… whatever his condition. Perhaps the presence of the crown and a dragon will sharpen minds around these parts.”

Ser Simon Strong: “If you are successful, w-well, when you are successful… what then?”
Daemon: “We march on King’s Landing and take the throne.”
Ser Simon: “The throne.”
Daemon: “It’s a big chair made of swords.”

Ser Gwayne Hightower: (to Criston Cole) “What a giddying ascent the gods have bestowed on you.”

Rhaenyra: “If dragons begin fighting dragons, we invite our own destruction. Fear of it is in itself a weapon. The greens will make the same calculation.”
Ser Alfred Broome: “The value of a sword is not within its scabbard.”

Ulf the White: “The blood of the dragon runs through these veins. And yes, men would take my head for it. A dragonseed must watch his own neck.”

Alys Rivers: (to Daemon) “You will die in this place.”

Alicent: “I swear this to you on the memory of my mother. I have been, at times, unkind, but never untrue.”

Rhaenyra: “Please. You can prevent this, Alicent. A terrible war is looming, and even victory may be so bloody as to be counted a loss. Do not let your pride blind—”
Alicent: “There’s been no mistake. My father is gone from court. Cole is on the march. Aemond… you know what Aemond is. It’s too late, Rhaenyra.”

Three and a half out of five haunted castles.

2 comments:

  1. The Harrenhal segment was the highlight of the episode, I agree!

    I wish they'd give Aemond more characterization. I get that he likes smirking and dislikes being bullied by his shitty brother, but that's pretty much all we've got from him.

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    Replies
    1. Aemond is a bit of a one-note bad guy in the histories too. The show does give him... some new characterization. But it's mostly still in service to portraying him as a really messed-up individual.

      He's an arrogant young edgelord using his bond with the world's most dangerous creature -- and his warrior training -- to strongly compensate for being bullied and dismissed as a kid.

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