It was probably too much to hope that the battles of “The Red Dragon and the Gold” would clear the way for a new era of action-packed Westerosi drama. This week, with what feels like budgetary inevitability, House of the Dragon sees all sides process the losses they incurred during the siege of Rook’s Rest and talk things out at great length. The good news is that they take some time out of their busy fretting schedule to plot some future moves, and to clarify some character motivations moving forward. It’s not all thrilling, but it at least still feels like momentum.
We open with the most heartbroken character of the lot, Corlys Velaryon (Steven Toussaint), who has lost his wife Rhaenys. Did he spend years of their marriage at sea? Yes. Was he 100% faithful? No. But does that mean he didn’t care? Also no. His granddaughter Baela (Bethany Antonia) suggests later that Corlys only sailed his many voyages and brought back so much plunder to impress his wife, and he does not demur. He’s clearly pondering death now, after the loss of his wife and twin children, and offers Baela the chance to be his heir. She says however that she is “blood and fire; Driftmark must pass to salt and sea.” Cute way to nearly mention the name of the source material, Baela – and a decision that leaves the way open to Alyn (Abubakar Salim), who we’re nearly certain is Corlys’ illegitimate son after last episode. Corlys, meanwhile, must decide whether to take the position he’s offered as Rhaenyra’s (Emma D’Arcy) Hand. He’s the obvious choice, and about her best chance of getting her squabbling council in order.
In fact, squabbling councils are a feature this episode, with Rhaenyra’s lords more-or-less ignoring her to bicker among themselves and Alicent (Olivia Cooke) out-maneuvered among her own side. In both cases, the lords are concerned that a woman can’t be a strong leader in wartime. Rhaenyra even points out that they have all lived their lives in a time of peace, so that the men have no more experience than her, but in private she bemoans her lack of fight training. Still, two capable women are left sidelined and fuming. The show has finally remembered some of the commentary on gender roles from Season 1.
How they each respond is instructive. Rhaenyra, who has been dealing with this for a while now, works around her council by enlisting Mysaria’s (Sonoya Mizuno) help to undermine her rival Greens, and then sends troublemaker Ser Alfred Broome (Jamie Kenna) to Harrenhal to find out exactly what her errant husband Daemon (Matt Smith) is planning. She is worried – and finally admitting openly – that Daemon might be raising an army for himself rather than her. Judging by Daemon’s own conversations this episode, she’s spot on.
Meanwhile Alicent welcomes her son, King Aegon II (Tom Glynn Carney) home. He’s on the verge of death and insensible, so at least a regent if not a successor must be appointed. Alicent senses that his younger brother Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) had some involvement in Aegon’s plight based on the latter’s air of self-satisfaction, which is at least partly why she fights for the regency. But her council are half terrified of the younger man and half reluctant to trust her, so now we have a psycho just half a step from the Iron Throne. Same as it ever was, perhaps. Even Ser Criston (Fabian Frankel), who has a pretty solid hunch that Aemond was at least thinking about killing Aegon, can’t resist the allure of putting Vhagar’s rider in the hot seat. But it’s fine, there’s surely no way that will come back and bite anyone in the rear – figuratively or literally.
Elsewhere, things are getting messy. Jacaerys (Harry Collett), looking more Paul Atreides by the day, flies to the Twins to parlay with the Freys, who are as venal as ever. They will support Rhaenyra if she promises them Harrenhal, which she and Jacaerys are happy with. The current holder of Harrenhal, Daemon, may not be quite so keen. He’s trying to conjure up that promised army, threatening the Brackens with draconic destruction if they don’t bend the knee; when that fails, he suggests that their old enemies the Blackwoods persuade them. “There are things the Crown cannot be seen to do. Show them your worst.”
Once again, Daemon is suggesting the murder of children to achieve his ends, and once again it backfires. The whole Riverland is appalled by the resulting slaughter and the very lords he wanted to win over refuse to negotiate with him. “Dragon or no, we shall not raise our banners for a tyrant.” It’s strange that he can be so clear-eyed one minute – refusing to punish the Brackens for their defiance because he wants that strength of will – and so utterly blind to consequence the next.
He also tells Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin) outright that he's working for himself now, and wants to be addressed as “My king”. “She cannot succeed, Alys,” he says, referring to Rhaenyra. “Even if I willed it to be so, the people who support her will not be led by her; they look to a man for strength.” Meanwhile he’s having dreams not only of his late first wife, Laena (Nanna Blondell), but also of literal motherfucking. So his state of mind seems entirely healthy.
Back in King’s Landing, there is almost no edible food thanks to Corlys’ blockade, and the new regent has closed the gates to stop word from getting out. This also stops our old friend Hugh the smith (Kieran Bew) fleeing the city with his seriously ill daughter and concerned wife. That’s a recipe for civil unrest. Even the triumphal procession back into the city at the beginning of the episode, with Meleys’ head the centrepiece, was met with general horror. Some saw it as a bad omen that a dragon died; others took note that a dragon could be slain, which might undermine the very basis of Targaryen rule. It was far from the triumph that Ser Criston and Ser Gwayne (Freddie Fox) hoped for.
So: shifting allegiances, redrawn battle lines and a few new appointments. It’s also a good episode for lighting, with the show more-or-less having defeated Game of Thrones’ tendency to spend an entire hour in the dark. Look at the firelight in Rhaenyra’s chambers as she takes Jac’s report, or the scenes where Alicent (briefly) holds her injured son’s hand. It’s a very bad episode for Daemon, whose position looks more precarious than ever, even as he shores up Harrenhal’s walls. Poor castellan Ser Simon Strong (Simon Russell Beale) remains diffident, but he’s increasingly appalled by Daemon’s unreliability.
There’s little to no comedy to this episode, but it does end on a positive note. Rhaenyra and Jac realize that there might be people with Targaryen blood who had never attempted to ride a dragon: people outside the royal line. If so, that would allow them to put into play riderless dragons like Silverwing and Vermithor (both large enough to challenge Vhagar) and perhaps Seasmoke, abandoned by Laenor Velaryon (John MacMillan) last season. So maybe there will be more dragon fun next time, and this reset will have proved worthwhile.
