Welcome back to the blog readers. The second season of House of the Dragon has been firing on all cylinders. Both of the first two episodes have done almost everything right in my opinion. The performances are Emmy-worthy, the story has been completely engrossing and compelling, and I am astounded over the stellar writing in this series. Now I can only hope that we can continue the trend. With that being said, would this week's episode, titled "The Burning Mill," written by David Hancock, and directed by Geeta Vasant Patel? Stick around to find out.
NOTE: I will be using spoilers for my thoughts, so DO NOT read ahead if you have not seen the episode.
At this rate, this series is going to become like The Last of Us (2023-) where I come on here every week and tell you guys that I am running out of good things to say about this series. Luckily, that is a good problem to have; even though we are not there yet, this show is getting better and better every fucking week. The performances are absolutely next level (especially from Emma D'Arcy and Olivia Cooke), the writing is insanely good, and the story is fucking awesome.
I keep calling for the cowards who run the Emmys to give some recognition to Emma D'Arcy for their brutal and honest performance in the season 1 finale. Their performance in this season has been nothing short of magnificent. Every episode they get better and better, and I cannot fathom how we are witnessing the rise of a star here. Last week, they had to express the innate fear for their character Rhaenyra's fate, and this week, Rhaenyra may have been the standout of this offering. I loved her scene with Rhaena where she was telling her to take the young children away to hide and be trained for when they are older. It was so fucking heartbreaking for both her and the audience. The scene when she thanks Mysaria for basically saving her life (she spotted Ser Arryk and alerted the guards, leading to the big fight at the end of last episode) was so gratifying for both ladies. Her reading the letter that Alicent sent her after her son was killed was emotional and thought-provoking. And the climax of the episode (which I will talk about later) was nothing short of addicting.
I also want to praise the performance of Olivia Cooke in this episode. I think she has been kind of overlooked the last two episodes, at least by me, but I believe that she absolutely shined in this week's episode. I think that she has shown real restraint in these last few episodes. but we finally saw a different side to Alicent this week. First off, her scene with Helaena was nothing short of enticing and remorseful, and I believe that she truly does care about her, even though she has decided to have this fling with asshole number 1 Criston Cole. And her scene with Rhaenyra in the climax was fucking incredible in my opinion. One of the best scenes of television I have seen all year in the way it was handled, but more on that matter later. There is so much more story to get into.
The first aspect of the story that I want to talk about is the war getting started. In the intro to this episode, we see a conflict between two feuding houses: the Brackens and the Blackwoods. It is left ambiguous as to what happened that got us to the point of thousands of dead bodies in a burning mill, but the fact that a few foot soldiers got in one guy's face and it leading to that was absolutely jarring in my opinion (especially seeing the "pleasuring of the wonder muscle" later on in the episode). I think this scene tells a lot about how people have already taken sides and are willing to fall on their swords to defend Rhaenyra and Aegon's claims to the throne. I think we may see more Houses do the same and this will be more than just a war between the Greens and Blacks; I think that every House in Westeros will somehow be affected by this war. This sounds like a continent-wide fight and one that will end in the loss of millions of lives.
Next I want to talk about Daemon and his shenanigans on the Isle of Harrenhal. I do find it interesting that the leader of House Strong, Ser Simon Strong (played by Simon Russell Beale), immediately pledged fealty to Rhaenyra and welcomed him for dinner. He also denounced his nephew Ser Larys Strong (or as I like to call him, "Unhappy Feet"), someone who I have not liked at all, same as Criston Cole. Do I think that Simon Strong will inevitably betray Daemon and the Blacks? Possibly, but only time will tell in that regard. Next, I want to talk about Daemon's vision/dream/nightmare. Clearly Daemon feels remorse for what he did, which led to the death of the king's young son. In that dream, he stumbles upon a vision of young Rhaenyra (played by Milly Alcock in a surprising guest appearance) sewing the young boy's head back on. Not only is this disturbing, this has got to be a revelation for Daemon because if you remember from last season, he is not a proponent of the "Song of Ice and Fire" prophecy. So I think this journey is going to make him realize he is more loyal to Rhaenyra and her cause.
Finally, I want to talk about the climax of this episode. We have really had some explosive episode climaxes this season, huh? The murder of a baby in episode 1 and a battle of brothers in episode 2. In this episode, we get a conversation between Rhaenyra and Alicent that was absolutely mind-blowing. This conversation starts with Rhaenyra begging Alicent to reconsider her stance on the war to come and Alicent reiterates to her that the war will happen and that her father Viserys did in fact chose their son to be the next king of Westeros. The line "I may have been unkind but never untrue" was the most heartbreaking of all. Rhaenyra actually felt doubt to her claim to the throne until she found out what her father said to Alicent. Rhaenyra tells Alicent of her mistake and now she starts to feel doubt about her son being the heir. However, Alicent reiterates that everything that has transpired since the death of Lucerys has resulted in this conversation not mattering and that the war is inevitable, leading Rhaenyra to feel justified in her claim to the throne and her real feelings to the war. But now I think she (and the rest of Westeros) understand now that the war is closer than ever, and all that is left to do is prepare for the carnage that is to come.
House of the Dragon continues to be a showstopper series in its monumental second season, and all we have to do is prepare for the war ahead. Thank you all for reading, and I will see you for the next post.
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