Everyone's strategizing. And if they're not strategizing, they're restrategizing.
And if they're not doing either of those things, you can bet on your life they're miserably staring off into space like tired farm animals.
Black
Rhaenyra's new strategy of seeking out Targaryen-related nobles to claim the riderless dragons gets off to a bad start, resulting in the fiery deaths of her Queensguard's Lord Commander, Steffon Darklyn, and a member of the dragon keepers.
Which leads us back to where we've been, with Rhaenyra's mounting frustration over her lack of control and the criticism of her followers. Except for Mysaria. She's proven the most proactive in hindering the queen's enemies, using agents within King's Landing to rouse the starving rabble and then setting them off with a small fleet of food-bearing boats. Feeding the people Rhaenyra had been starving to incite chaos in the capital.
Mysaria's also the only one to consistently show Rhaenyra respect and empathy. Things she is apparently so starved for that it leads her to embrace the lowborn spymaster, resulting in a hot and heavy kiss. I suppose I should have seen it coming, given the way their interactions have been going so far, but it was still a nice surprise. Mysaria's obviously been around, but Rhaenyra's always been pretty accepting of non-hetero people and her first experience with Daemon was in the middle of a brothel orgy; not to mention her love-hate relationship with Alicent.
It doesn't go any further, because the episode ends with Rhaenyra going to confront a new dragonrider.
Her attempt to have Ser Steffon tame Seasmoke failed miserably, but it did apparently motivate the dragon to seek out his own rider. And he chooses the bright and ambitious Addam of Hull; fitting, since Addam is half-brother to Seasmoke's previous rider, Laenor Velaryon.
Green
Meanwhile, Aemond begins removing his checks and balances, kicking Alicent off of the small council and sending Criston Cole to march on Harrenhal with a depleted army. He also fires Cole as Hand of the King once he's gone and reinstates Otto Hightower; though Aemond will probably be off fighting battles by the time Otto gets back to the capital, with no real position to influence him.
Not much progression on this end, either. Aemond's just refining his mirthless tyrant schtick, Alicent continues her self-righteous hand-wringing and Cole has devolved from an embittered thug to a pathetic lackey. There is a pretty harrowing scene when Alicent takes Helaena to pray at the sept, only to get caught in the riot that erupts due to the fighting over Rhaenyra's food deliveries, with both queen and queen mother getting pelted with raw fish and nearly overtaken by the mob of smallfolk.
The most compelling part of the greens' bit is the sudden awakening of Aegon II. Of course, this improvement only means that he's now aware and conscious of his horrifically mangled disposition. He now lives in fear not only of his grasping younger brother, but of the tremendously sad future of recovery and disfigurement he'll have to endure. Larys "Clubfoot" Strong presents himself as a kindred spirit, staying loyal to the king; whether this is because he's genuinely loyal to Aegon or because he's been thoroughly disrespected by Aemond is unclear. I do think Larys wants to help Aegon, though I doubt that his harsh tough-love style of helping is going to do a lot to improve the king's already not-great personality.
Either way, the way the relationships between the monarchs and spymasters of each faction is funny to me. Rhaenyra and Aegon both enlisted Mysaria and Larys in the same episode previously. And in this same episode, both of those dynamics go from business to personal. Intriguing.
Daemon
This time around, Daemon's being haunted by visions/dreams of his brother, the late King Viserys. This plague of nightmares still seems to be purposefully drudging up Daemon's feelings of guilt and shame. This episode suggests that a lot of what happens in the series could have been avoided if Daemon simply comforted Viserys after his wife's death in the first episode, instead of being an edgy jerk like usual. His dream of actually being there for his brother reduces Daemon to a sobbing mess.
In the waking world, when he's not terrorizing poor Simon Strong, Daemon's discombobulated and pissed off over his mishandling of the River lords. He nearly flees the castle before having another cryptic chat with Alys Rivers. Her two main interests appear to be either trolling the rogue prince or offering him bits of wisdom to aid him in his quest; she's a real trickster, this one.
This is where it gets a bit ambiguous. She lets Daemon know that he can win the Riverlands if he wins the support of their Lord Paramount, Grover Tully. She tells him that "in three days time, the winds will shift." Later on, Ser Simon informs Daemon that Grover Tully has finally died and mentions that Alys was one of the last healers who saw to the old lord. Did Alys speed along Tully's natural death through her unnatural means? Probably, but we may never know. We do know that Alys can also be counted as another spymaster whose relationship with a would-be monarch is getting deeper.
Anyway, it appears Daemon may get his army now that House Tully and (ostensibly) the Riverlands will be in the hands of a young and capable new ruler.
It still amazes me that a bunch of mostly interchangeable scenes of Daemon losing his mind in a gloomy castle has been the most interesting part of this season full of political maneuvering, roaring dragons and horrific deaths. And none of this was in the books. I guess I should commend the writers for coming up with a subplot that's more engaging and interesting than the back-and-forth between the blacks and the greens. Introducing a storyline like this keeps things fresh, because the show would be downright tedious if it was just war and politics.
Blacks and greens:
* It was cool to see the Lannister army at the start. That fancy armor took me back to the Game of Thrones days, where we were seeing those guys in pretty much every episode.
* Speaking of which, Ser Tyland Lannister is ordered by Aemond to make an alliance with the Triarchy in order to quickly break Corlys's naval blockade. Tyland and most of the small council are alarmed by this, since a lot of hard fighting was done over the years to keep the Triarchy out of Westerosi waters.
* Though I wish there had been a bit more to his scenes, it was nice to see Paddy Considine on the show again. His performance was one of my favorite parts of the first season.
* I like the detail of Alyn of Hull's platinum blonde roots as he shaves his head to hide his Valyrian lineage.
* Members of the small council suggest marrying Alicent to Dalton “The Red Kraken” Greyjoy to add Ironborn ships to their ranks. Alicent shoots that down. Probably a good idea.
* We hear more about Daeron, the unseen third son of Alicent and Viserys. Gwayne Hightower lets Alicent know that her youngest boy is a pretty well-adjusted person... due in no small part to the fact that he hasn't spent much time around his mother or his siblings at court. Sadly, it doesn't look like we're gonna get to see much of this kid.
* On the point of Rhaenyra's resentment at not being trained as a warrior, I will say it's a strange cognitive dissonance for anyone to think it's improper for a girl to be trained with sword and shield... but then have no problem with a girl riding a dragon, a single one of which can grow large enough to burn cities and wipe out armies.
Quotes:
Aemond Targaryen: “My uncle is a challenge I welcome… if he dares to face me.”
Alicent: “You have the impetuousness of youth… and its arrogance, neither of which is to be desired in a king.”
Aemond: “I release you of your seat, such as it was. I’m sure you’ll be much pleased to return to more… domestic pursuits.”
Ser Steffon Darklyn: “I well understand the risk and I accept it with gladness. I swore to ward my queen with all my strength, and to give my blood for hers. That is my oath, Your Grace.”
Poor man.
Daemon: “I assure you… your king is on his guard.”
Alys Rivers: “There are older things in this world than you or I, or living memory. You are not the player, but a piece on the board. As am I, for that matter.”
Mysaria: “They are hungry, and they need someone to blame.”
Aemond: “Why is this anger directed at us? It is Rhaenyra the Pretender who ordered the Gullet closed and left them all to starve.”
Larys Strong: “They still look to you to ensure their well-being. That is the burden of authority.”
Jace: “We need Daemon and his dragon.”
Rhaenyra: “May I be free for even one hour of the constant refrain of Daemon, Daemon, Daemon?”
You’re the one who wanted to marry him.
Gwayne Hightower: (on Daeron) “He’s kind.”
Alicent Hightower: “That’s good. Kindness is a quality I’ve found lacking in his brothers.”
Gwayne: “Mm. You did well to send him to ward. Yes, it seems the Red Keep, for all its privileges, may, in fact, be a less than salubrious environment for the forming of young men.”
More scenes of Gwayne Hightower's sassy eloquence, please.
Larys: (to Aegon II) “People will pity you, either behind your back or in your presence. And they will stare… at you… or turn away. And they will underestimate you. And this will be your advantage.”
A lot of good scenes, but so much of this season feels like set up for stuff coming further down the road. Three out of five barn owls.
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