By Ben Wright (@iamzavagno | www.xgeeks.co.uk)
This review contains spoilers.
We start this week’s episode of House of the Dragon with the funeral of Lady Laena, and everyone is invited – including Ser Otto Hightower, who returns as the Hand of the King! The funeral ritual was fascinating and the tension between all the different factions was palpable. The music was also simply outstanding and really added an extra layer to the emotional drama on display.
With so many characters positioning themselves to make their next move, it is Princess Rhaenyra and Prince Daemon who have the most intriguing conversation. Daemon suspects the Hightowers of having a hand (no pun intended) in the death of the Strongs. Rhaenyra also presses on with her own feelings and the pair share a very intimate moment, hidden away on the beach. They are not the only ones playing a dangerous game on the beach, as Prince Aemond is on a dragon hunt, and finds a sleeping Vhagar – who somehow manages to not only stop her from killing him but actually let him sit in the saddle. Vhagar decides to take off into the sky and we get a fantastic sequence of Aemond riding Vhagar through the sky – again the music was outstanding.
Aemond is confronted by his cousins, who state that Vhagar was not his to claim, and what followed was a pure cluster fudge of childhood trauma – both physically and mentally. In the altercation, Aemond loses his eye and causes a mass gathering of the families. King Viserys I is determined to stop all of the in-fighting and commands that everyone finds a way to make peace. Between all the ‘he said, she said’ it was funny to have Daemon lurking in the background smirking as he watched everything unfold. Paddy Considine was simply phenomenal in this scene and you really felt the strain this is having on his mental well-being as well as his physical health.
Despite the King’s command, Queen Alicent literally demands an ‘eye for an eye’ and even orders Ser Criston to take it! This action sends a shockwave through the room and after Daemon stops Cole from advancing, it is Alicent who takes charge of the situation and runs towards Rhaenyra and the children, with the dagger drawn! Aemond brings an end to proceedings as he claims the loss of his eye was a fair trade for a dragon. Man, this entire sequence was incredibly tense and packed full of drama and outstanding performances from the entire cast.
Despite the Queen feeling a bit of guilt for the situation, Ser Otto has never been prouder and was longing to see this fight in his daughter. He also praises his grandson for taking claim to the world’s largest living dragon. After encouraging Alicent to keep the peace with the king, at least while he still draws breath. Another who is finding another side to them is Ser Laenor, who finally wants to step up as a father and a husband. Ironically this is one thing Rhaenyra has wanted, but now with the situation with Daemon – she no longer wants this. She wants to marry Daemon, but he makes it clear to her that this cannot be done while Laenor lives. Hiring his former lover was a poetic stroke from Daemon and Rhaenyra, but the plan worked. Ser Laenor is ‘murdered’ – in the sense, he has gone into hiding across the sea and they fake his death – which leaves the firstborns of House Velaryon now both ‘dead’, allowing Daemon and Rhaenyra to marry. As for what happens next? Only the gods, new and old, know the answer…
Despite being set in one location, this episode had a lot going on both in terms of story and character progression. The drama was on another level and the pacing was so good that the episode flew by. With so much politicking happening, the final few episodes of this first series are shaping up to be something truly special indeed!
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