As remarkable as I found the previous episode, I totally get a lot of the criticism this one has received.
Aside from Rhaenyra and Daemon’s reunion and the elaborate montage at the end, there’s not a whole lot here that feels season finale worthy.
A lot of things are padded out, as they have in a few previous episodes. Many scenes of the blacks waffling over the same problems and the greens being oh so dysfunctional. Daemon confronting his demons at Harrenhal was also repetitive; though I do love that particular storyline.
What else? Aemond has his dragon burn a city aligned with Rhaenyra to soothe his ego after being forced to retreat in the last episode. The new dragonriders, Addam, Hugh and Ulf, are getting used to their new elevated status; though Ulf is already getting on Team Black's nerves with his now overinflated ego. Tyland Lannister works out a deal with the Triarchy in Essos, gaining a pirate armada for the greens and a night with the eccentric pirate commander's wives. While entertaining, I do agree that this Tyland subplot seems like an odd fit; feels more like something we'd see in episode eight of a ten episode season, not a season finale.
Probably the most unique thing this episode does, as usual, is found in Daemon's arc. We receive a smidgen of clarity regarding his storyline when Alys Rivers brings him to the weirwood at night. Touching the bleeding tree, Daemon receives a prophetic vision of the future that's clearly meant to stimulate Game of Thrones fans; or else, goad those who've only seen House of the Dragon into giving the aforementioned show a chance. We are given a glimpse of Daenerys Targaryen and her three dragons, the red comet, the three-eyed raven, the White Walkers, etc.
It gets really muddy when it appears that Daemon is sharing this vision with (or receiving it from) his niece, Helaena. I think this is meaningful in two ways. One, it makes it clear that Helaena is even more of a seer than we had been led to believe. Two, I think a big part of Daemon's inner conflict this season comes from the Blood and Cheese incident and his indirect murder of Helaena's son. I believe Helaena confronting him at the end of his vision, right after seeing his own death and Rhaenyra on the Iron Throne, is what prompted Daemon's decision to put his ego aside and bow down to Rhaenyra later.
While it does kind of work in that sense, I still feel like this vision and the thing with Helaena was piling on a little more than was necessary. I maintain that this show works best when it's doing its own thing and not leaning so heavily on Game of Thrones. I also think having Helaena be this all-seeing mystic and basically letting the audience know how the story's going to turn out was not the best move. That said, I am glad Helaena had some more scenes, and that she got to rattle Aemond's cage.
To top off everything else, we have this finale in which the stage is set for many momentous events, none of which receive any real resolution. This episode shows every major character on the move, marching with great armies or ready to do something major. The whole thing feels like it’s getting the audience hyped for something big to leave off on. But all that we get is another situationally questionable encounter between Rhaenyra and Alicent; this time, Alicent sneaks onto Rhaenyra’s turf.
After my initial annoyance, I was kind of surprised by Alicent essentially offering Rhaenyra an end to the conflict in exchange for allowing her and Helaena to escape into obscurity. And Rhaenyra not letting her off easy, forcing her to condemn her firstborn Aegon, was good drama. I also really enjoy the fact that they've essentially switched roles. In the beginning, Alicent was the one who resigned herself to a life of duty and Rhaenyra was the one who wanted to fly away from her responsibilities, but now Rhaenyra's the one resigned to duty and Alicent just wants to escape it all. And this scene is pretty solid evidence that the two have feelings for each other; Alicent asks Rhaenyra to run away with her and Rhaenyra's dialogue suggests that part of her wants to do so.
Still, there's also a weightlessness to this scene. Alicent agrees to give up the city to Rhaenyra and surrender Aegon to be killed, but a minute later we see that Larys has already spirited Aegon out of King's Landing, which means this plea from Alicent was ultimately pointless. Rhaenyra's gonna show up in King's Landing and assume Alicent helped Aegon get away, putting an end to their deal and keeping Alicent trapped in her role. And as good as the acting and dialogue is here, this second secret meeting feels a lot more contrived than the first one did; Rhaenyra at least went in disguise, Alicent shows up to Dragonstone wearing her house colors.
There’s a lot I like about this show, on its own and as a fan of this fictional world. But I feel like it’s starting to diverge from drama to melodrama in its need to keep up the suspense.
* Definitely the show’s weakest episode title so far.
* The pirate admiral Sharako Lohar is played by Abigail Thorn, more widely known for the YouTube channel Philosophy Tube.
* While it’s entirely conditional, Aegon telling Orwyle he’s a good man might be the one genuinely nice thing he’s done so far.
* Larys Strong has a secret offshore account in the Iron Bank of Braavos. That’s just perfect.
* The confrontation between Criston Cole and Gwayne Hightower in the woods was my favorite scene. They're a fun pair, an idealist and a realist, both quite disillusioned.
* The antlered figure Daemon saw near Harrenhal’s weirwood is probably one of the green men said to live on an island in the middle of the castle’s surrounding lake, the God’s Eye.
* Alyn calling out absentee father, Corlys, was a fine dramatic scene. Looking forward to Corlys and his natural-born sons having more to do next time.
* Rhaena manages to find the dragon in the Vale, leaving us on a cliffhanger in that subplot. Honestly, after all the talk about her inability to even bond with domesticated dragons that have been in the family for years, I think it'll be a little lame if the one she does claim is a wild, unruly, homeless dragon. I know it's a fantasy and they can technically do whatever they want, but I'm just saying.
* Daemon saying "Winter is coming" in High Valyrian was pretty cool.
* We finally see Prince Daeron Targaryen. Or rather, we see him high in the air on his blue dragon Tessarion. I'm guessing they still hadn't cast anyone as Daeron at the time of this episode.
* We get our first glimpse of Otto Hightower since the second episode. He's trapped in a dungeon cell by... someone. Larys Strong is an obvious culprit, but I suppose it could be someone else.
* I feel as though the narrative flow of time is really screwed up by the end of this season. The first season had the benefit of jumping ahead months or years every episode, but now it’s hard to tell if events are supposed to be happening in the same day, week or month. Addam, Hugh and Ulf just became dragon lords, but only have two days to train before riding off to do battle with massive armies. Alicent thinks she’ll be able to order the surrender of King’s Landing in three days. While the overall quality of the show is holding up, the muddiness of the timeline is reminiscent of Game of Thrones’ incoherent final seasons.
* They are bending themselves into pretzels trying to make Rhaenyra and Alicent both look like respectable, sympathetic characters. Even when they’ve already done truly abhorrent things.
* Overall, I like the time they're taking to build everything up: the political/family drama, the army gathering, the battle strategies, even the individual character development. Game of Thrones quickly started losing touch with all that nuance in its second half. And since that second half is pretty much all most people care to remember about that show, I think it has colored the way they view this fictional world. Despite hating what GoT became, they’ve been conditioned to expect and want the exact same thing from HotD: a fast-paced plot and lots of action.
Quotes:
Ser Tyland Lannister: “Very well… The Prince Regent may have me hanged for this.”
Pirate Captain: “With the armada we send, you can topple the Prince Regent and sit the Iron Throne yourself.”
King Aegon II: “You want to take me to Essos to live with the goat-fuckers?”
Larys Strong: “It’s best to live, I think. However you do it.”
Aegon: “Is it? My dragon is dead. I am burnt… and disgusting… and alone. And I’m a cripple.”
Larys: “You are not alone.”
Aegon: “My cock is destroyed, did they tell you that? It burst into flames like a sausage on a spit.”
Larys: “Do not despair, Your Grace. There are better days ahead.”
Queen Rhaenyra I: “The new riders are a boon to us, but now the deed is done, I cannot erase my doubts. We know little of who they are, and what is the strength of their character.”
Ghostly Whisper: “Traitor…”
Ser Alfred Broome: “Did you hear something?”
Daemon Targaryen: “This place will have you howling at the moon.”
Criston Cole: “Desire for women has brought me grief after grief.”
Gwayne Hightower: “Then resist it.”
Criston: “Oh, would that it were so simple.”
Gwayne: “Your brothers in the Kingsguard find a way.”
Criston: “Do they? Mm, perhaps they do. Or perhaps all men are corrupt… and true honor is a mist that melts in the morning.”
Gwayne: “That is a bleak philosophy.”
Rhaenyra: “A knight will comport himself with grace at the queen’s table.”
Ulf the White: “Best make me a knight, then.”
Helaena Targaryen: “It’s all a story… and you are but one part in it. You know your part. You know what you must do.”
Daemon: “I am meant to serve you, and all of these with me, until death or the end of our story.”
Rhaenyra: “Choose. Will you shrink from what you set out to do? Or will you see it through… and make your sacrifice? A son for a son.”
While definitely not as enthralling as last season, I do think House of the Dragon is still worth sticking with. Three out of five armies en route to battles yet to be seen.
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