Summary: Rhaenys delivers news of Viserys' death and Aegon's coronation which forces Rhaenyra into premature labour. Daemon immediately prepares for war, though Rhaenyra wishes to take things slow. Daemon doesn't listen. Rhaenyra miscarries and births a monstrous child. At the funeral, Erryk arrives with Viserys' crown and Rhaenyra is crowned with it. Otto arrives with terms for peace. Rhaenyra considers them, angering Daemon who chokes her when she brings up Aegon's prophecy. When Corlys wakes up, Rhaenys convinces him to join Rhaenyra. Rhaenyra opts to send Jace to meet with the Arryns and the Starks and Luke to meet with the Baratheons. Daemon wakes Vermithor in the caves inside the Dragonmont. Luke arrives at Storm's End where Aemond has already met with Borros. Borros refuses Luke's terms, saying that Aemond came proposing a marriage. Aemond demands to cut out Luke's eye and tries to attack, but Borros prevents the conflict. Luke leaves quickly on Arrax but Aemond follows him and torments him with Vhagar. Feeling threatened, Arrax attacks Vhagar and Vhagar acts on her own, killing Luke and Arrax. Rhaenyra receives news of what happened and is enraged.
The Good: I applaud the decision to end this season with a somewhat quieter and focused episode to officially kick off the war. I'm glad that there were no big battles or forced conflicts, instead this episode was fixated around Rhaenyra's decision to go to war, setting the stage for what you can only expect will be a brutal and intense second season. And that's exactly what a finale should do: conclude a season's story and set up the next season. This episode did that perfectly and I can't imagine someone watching this episode and not being excited for the next season. The last episode was all about how the Greens reacted to Viserys' death, and this episode shows us how the Blacks reacted. The episode kicks off with Rhaenys delivering the news to Rhaenyra and Daemon, and the story continues with some rich character scenes as Rhaenyra and Daemon move forwards in contrasting ways. Rhaenyra's stress induces an immediate premature labour, and seeing her get through this horrific experience was intense and brutally effective. This show is sure to paint childbirth and the struggles of women in this world with unfiltered horror. Rhaenyra has become the Queen now, and the show portrays how difficult it is for women, who have to go through the horrors of giving birth, to adjust to leadership positions and I enjoy that added dimension of storytelling. Rhaenyra has gone through hell, but she is still hesitant to war against the Greens because of the prophecy that Viserys shared with her. She has developed into a competent leader after becoming a mother, and just like her father, she sees the value in peace time. Daemon of course is the opposite. With news that his brother was likely murdered, and his wife was denied of her birthright, Daemon logically springs into action, looking to set things right. He's rightly furious, and it almost seems like Daemon has been waiting for this opportunity, the opportunity to do something grandiose and exciting once again. That ultimately sets up some lovely friction between him and Rhaenyra as Daemon is disgusted to see the same annoying traits of Viserys within Rhaenyra, and is frustrated at the reveal that Viserys didn't trust Daemon enough with Aegon's prophecy. Daemon choking out Rhaenyra is horrifying and horrible, but it fits the impulsive character to lash out like that when under such pressure. I enjoyed the sequence of Rhaenyra's crowning. The show has always been building up to this, and the moment was impactful and emotional, aided by a fantastic soundtrack. Though it has been her birthright, we can see some nerves in Rhaenyra now that she has finally become the Queen, which is very human and relatable. Otto's encounter with Daemon and Rhaenyra was another excellent scene, nicely paralleling the confrontation from back in "The Rogue Prince". This show has consistently had well written and well acted scenes that masterfully build suspense, and this is another such example. It's something that "Game of Thrones" also did well, so it's pleasing to see "House of the Dragon" living up to the spirit of its predecessor. A key subplot in this episode is the Velaryons deciding their loyalty. It's nice to see Corlys again, and he fittingly feels guilty for leaving everything behind to cope with the deaths of his children. I like that Corlys has identified that his ambition was his downfall - he pushed too hard to marry his children to important people and they died for it. And on top of that his brother died because of that same ambition, making it clear to Corlys what his mistake was. But right as Corlys has learned to prioritize the well-being of his family, Rhaenys pushes him back into action to back Rhaenyra for the benefit of the realm. This time the Velaryons are more noble in their motives, but it remains to be seen if their decision will ultimately be a good one or a bad one. The climax of the episode sees Luke travel to Storm's End to give terms to Borros Baratheon. This sequence built tension masterfully by expertly creating an uneasy and almost terrifying atmosphere. The stormy atmosphere upon Luke's arrival creates an uneasy mood, and that sense of unease becomes fear and suspense once we see Vhagar parked outside of the walls (what a phenomenal shot that was). These establishing shots immediately got me at the edge of my seat, making the negotiations with Borros really suspenseful, especially with Aemond right there. Borros is played really well with some lovely touches, like Borros being unable to read without a maester and his insistence that Luke not be harmed under his roof, a reminder of the law of guest right which was memorably violated in "Game of Thrones". But outside of these nice details, Borros is an intimidating and hostile leader, and he feels almost larger than life when compared to the fantastically cast Luke, who looks every bit as timid and nervous as the character is intended to be. Luke carries himself like a prince, but that nervousness is there, and it makes his encounters with Borros and Aemond so much more intense. Borros is one thing, but Aemond is on a whole other level of intimidation. Ewan Mitchell looks like a genuine psychopath playing Aemond, and his demands to take one of Luke's eyes carries a sense of weight because we know that Aemond is not someone who messes around and says things without meaning to follow up on it. Luke manages to leave, but what follows is a tremendous sequence in the skies. Luke is quick to get on Arrax and leave, but ominously, Vhagar has moved from where we last saw her, and as Luke flies directly into the storm clouds, that impending sense of fear never goes away. We're then treated to a spectacular shot of Vhagar flying above Luke as Aemond torments him; evidently Aemond has not got over his childhood bullying and is looking to take some revenge by tormenting Luke. But what starts as some harmless scaring goes a step too far. Aemond thinks he is in control, but he has forgotten that dragons are beings of their own and Targaryens do not have full control over them. Arrax is frightened by Vhagar and fights back, and as a consequence of Aegon's stupid thoughtless actions, Vhagar murders Luke and Arrax immediately, in a brilliantly produced scene that perfectly highlights the scope of what just happened. Aemond's face says it all as he realizes the gravity of what he has just done. This final sequence was intense, engaging, and had enormous consequences on the story. This was spectacle done right because it was not spectacle just for the sake of it. The build-up to this moment made sense from a plot perspective and from a character perspective, and it felt like natural progression of the story which will have consequences. This is what was missing in Rhaenys' big scene in the previous episode, which didn't overcome the feeling that is was a needless spectacle. Where that scene failed, Luke and Aemond's encounter thrived and delivered a memorable climax to the first season, creating a lot of excitement to see what happens next in season 2. The Bad: Rhaenys and Corlys forgiving Rhaenyra so easily is the one thing that really bothers me. They still firmly believe that Rhaenyra had Laenor killed, and they should not be so easily forgiving of that. Rhaenys being willing to trust Rhaenyra just because she showed some restraint in this one situation is a reach, and I don't buy into Rhaenys backing her so strongly because of this. I was especially bothered by Rhaenys and Rhaenyra sharing a smile, since there should absolutely still be some bitterness between them. The Unknown: I imagine that the rest of Westeros will become significant now that the war has begun. Which houses will side with which side? It looks like the Baratheons are joining with the Greens. Who will the Starks, Tullys, Arryns, Lannisters, Tyrells, etc. side with? Will Jace's trip to the north yield better results than Luke's? Will Rhaenyra openly declare war following Luke's death? It's hard to imagine her letting that slide. How will the Greens react to Aemond's actions? Will Aemond be changed by the fact that he just unintentionally committed murder courtesy of Vhagar's actions? Interesting scene where Daemon sings to Vermithor, another new dragon. What was the significance of this scene? Will Vermithor become more significant in the next season? Best Moment: Luke's death was a stunning moment that will certainly have enormous ramifications. Character of the Episode: Rhaenyra. Conclusion: This finale was very effective, moving the story forwards while including memorable character moments, suspenseful sequences, and a lot of exciting developments to build excitement for season 2. Overall, this was a great episode that more than delivered a compelling conclusion to the first season. The first season of "House of the Dragon" was an uproarious success. Following what happened with the end of "Game of Thrones", this show needed to show some quality to win the fans over again, and it more than succeeded. This was a worthwhile story that returned to the strengths of "Game of Thrones" with compelling characters, gripping dialogue, engaging political machinations, and some brutal moments which shake up the story. There was so much to like about what this first season offered. From the charismatic unpredictability of Daemon, to the beautiful story arc of King Viserys, to the dramatic rivalry between Rhaenyra and Alicent, every storyline that this show attempted was perfectly handled and I thoroughly enjoyed the season as a whole. But this show was not perfect, and I've identified two flaws that prevent this from being top-tier television. The first big issue was the over-reliance on spectacle at times. "Game of Thrones" season 8 went way overboard on spectacle over storytelling, and occasionally this show fell for that same trapping with moments like Criston's murder at the wedding, Daemon's ridiculous battle sequence in the Stepstones, and Rhaenys' arrival at the Dragonpit being significant offenders of this. It's not a show-ruining problem, but it is frustrating especially when the rest of the show is so well written. The second big issue comes as a result of the constant time-skips in this show. I eventually got used to skipping through time after every episode, and ultimately I don't think that there was a better alternative to these frequent timeskips. However, the time-skips created a huge problem: a lot of stories never felt fully complete because large portions were glossed over. Take Laena's story and her relationship with Daemon, which was an uninspiring part of the season because so much of their relationship happened of screen. Or how about Rhaenyra's relationship with Harwin, which is an important foundation of the story, and yet it felt like we hardly knew who Harwin was because he connected with Rhaenyra off screen. Then we have other examples like the breakdown in Rhaenyra and Alicent's relationship happening in between episodes 2 and 3, Criston growing close to Rhaenyra and choosing to betray her happening in between episodes, and the entirety of the War of the Stepstones happening for 3 years off-screen. These problems hurt the show significantly, and I hope that the time-skips will no longer be present in the show going forwards so that we can get a story that no longer skips important beats. Outside of these two flaws, I thought that the first season was superb, and as a fan of the books, I'm ecstatic to see such a compelling and interesting adaptation of the source material. Bring on season 2! Score: 70
3 Comments
Joe Y
11/6/2022 07:57:14 pm
Seems like we're in complete agreement about this show, which seems to happen a lot. For me, I have significant problems with Game of Thrones even at its best, so House of the Dragon being as good as it was is one of the most pleasant tv surprises of 2022 for me. Along with Andor actually being a good show instead of mindless fanservice. But yeah, those two flaws you mentioned are strange because of how obvious and avoidable they were--if they had more time, that is. Given just 10 episodes and 26 years or so to cover, some of the time jump problems were probably inevitable. The pointless spectacle though, could have been eliminated entirely with some minor re-writes. Despite those flaws, thankfully, there's tons of glaring positives in this show which easily overwhelm them. Paddy Considine's Viserys and Matt Smith's Daemon are truly outstanding characters, and I am also drawn into Rhaenyra and Alicent's schism. They're all richly drawn and expertly written--it's nice to hear some quality dialogue and three dimensional characterization again after those final 4 seasons of Thrones. There's genuine tragedy here, the sense that it didn't have to go this way. But the structure of Westerosi society pushes them towards it whether they want to or not. And of course, the dragons that "Man should never have trifled with".
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Aaronic
11/10/2022 02:09:46 pm
Lovely to read your thoughts as always, and it's tough to dispute any of your episode scores, especially when they are so similar to mine haha. I'm back to having high hopes for this franchise, and the wait for season 2 is going to be brutal.
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Joe Y
11/13/2022 04:10:05 pm
Right? That was a hell of a cliffhanger to wait until 2024 to be resolved.....
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
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