Welcome back to the blog readers. If there was any doubt that House of the Dragon was the best show on television right now, those fears hopefully were dashed with last week's brilliant episode. This show is firing on all cylinders, and I fear I am having the problem I had with The Last of Us (2023-): that I am running out of good things to say about this show (albeit that is a good problem to have). Going forward with what we know in the show, what kind of carnage are we about to get? Hopefully it's some good carnage, and hopefully this episode titled "The Red Dragon and the Gold," written by Ryan Condal, and directed by Alan Taylor, will get us what we crave.
NOTE: I will be using spoilers for my thoughts, so DO NOT read ahead if you have not seen the episode.
I think with shows like this, there is almost a certain expectation we have with the quality of them. But it is always a surprise when these shows exceed those expectations and deliver quality episode after quality episode, and this week's offering is no different. This is an episode unlike any other in the series, in that it is a slow burn with a powder-keg climax that left my jaw on the floor more times than one.
I did not spend a lot of time, if any, on Daemon's escapades in Harrenhal in last week's episode, but I feel it is important that we talk about it now because we are finally getting some juicy stuff here. Daemon has been experiencing visions since he arrived at Harrenhal, and this week he sees a vision of young Rhaenyra (played again by Milly Alcock) and visions of his former wife Laena. I think these are meant to help Daemon come to terms with his past aspirations for the throne and his jealousy over his now niece-wife Rhaenyra for being chosen as heir over him. If I can take a minute to predict what will happen in the back-half of the season, I think that he will accept that she is the true queen of Westeros and will decide to fight for her and alongside her. It is the right thing to do in this situation, anyway. Based on what happens later in the episode, the Blacks are going to need him badly. And Matt Smith does give a believable and raw performance in this episode that matches Daemon's stoicness. Also I am interested in learning more about that woman he comes in contact with. Is she a friend? Is she a foe? And will that Oscar Tully kid actually kill his grandfather?
I want to once again praise the performance of Tom Glynn-Carney as Aegon. His performance in the premiere episode was one of my favorite in the series thus far, but the last two episodes has kind of been a bit of a character shift. He kind of has become like a petulant child in some regards. Whether it is being too brash with making "Unhappy Feet" his "Master of Whisperers" or removing Otto Hightower as Hand of the King and giving the title to that piece of human trash Criston Cole. But now I think we have seen a new side to Aegon that we have not seen before. We have seen a more vulnerable side to him, a more honest side. And Glynn-Carney gives us that vulnerability and honesty in spades. I have been on the fence about this character for the entire duration of the series, but I think he is done very well in this episode, and I hope this is not the last we see of him (more on that tidbit later).
Next, I want to talk about how Aegon was basically humiliated by his brother Aemond. While in the council meeting, Aegon expressed unhappiness in the fact that Aemond and Criston Cole were talking war strategy without him, but Aemond ripped his big brother a new one by telling him he would rather get drunk and fool around over actually being a king. And to add insult to injury, this insult was given in Valyrian, the Targaryen language. Aegon then proves Aemond's point by not understanding proper Valyrian and making himself look like an absolute dumbass. He later laments to his mother that he wants to be respected as king but she implores him to do nothing while the rest of the small council acts on his behalf. I think doing this to Aegon and knocking him down a few pegs is really going to tell us a lot about what kind of person Aegon is.
Speaking of Aegon's mother I want to talk about Alicent for a minute. After the revelation she got at the end of the last episode, she seems very sluggish and not like herself. And I think it is because her entire worldview has changed on a swivel. She spent this whole time believing that her late husband Viserys changed his mind and wanted their son to ascend the throne in his absence, but she was mistaken and misinterpreted his prophecy of Ice and Fire (something that will come back up later). Another reason she is not like herself is because THAT FUCKER CRISTON COLE KNOCKED HER UP!!! Once I saw her eyeballing that drink she requested "fOr SoMeOnE eLsE" I knew it was for her and I knew she was with child when she rubbed her bump. Criston Cole does not deserve to have children and I hope she aborts the shit out of that baby (coming from someone who is against random abortions myself).
Now I want to talk about that jaw-dropping climax. But first, some background. Last episode, Rhaenyra's small council was urging her to start sending troops and dragons to counter Aegon's forces. She was coy to the idea because she believed there was still a path to peace. But after her conversation with Alicent at the end of last week's episode, she knows now that war is inevitable. As Criston's forces are marching on Rook's Rest, she volunteers herself, as does her son Jacaerys, but Rhaenys wins out and is the one to fly on her dragon to Rook's Rest. While this is happening, she has a heartfelt moment with Meleys before they ride off, Aegon decides to be a hero (or and idiot) and fly out on his dragon Sunfyre, and Rhaenyra tells Jacaerys about the prophecy. It seems that Criston Cole knew that this plan would result in dragons showing up so he recruited Aemond and his dragon Vhagar (the same one that ate Lucerys and his dragon in the season 1 finale) as backup.
The battle commences and Meleys and Rhaenys show up to put fire to the Green forces, but Aegon and Sunfyre show up to get involved, which leads to a halting of action on the ground. Then Aemond and Vhagar get involved and burn the two dragons, leading Aegon and Sunfyre to crash to the ground. Vhagar also goes to the ground after another tussle with Meleys and then surprise attacks the dragon, biting on her neck and sending both her and Rhaenys to their deaths as Criston Cole gets knocked out. When he comes to, he stumbles onto Aemond attempting to kill his brother but Criston stops him from doing so as we end the episode. Holy shit guys, what a climax to an episode. This honestly might be the best of the four so far. The battle and the dragon fight was exhilarating with so much depth to characters and a courageous performance by Eve Best (who will be dearly missed in this series). I cannot see how an episode climax could be topped this season, and I do not expect it to.
The halfway mark of House of the Dragon's second season has been filled with som much intrigue, so much great writing, so much great character development, and fantastic dragon action. Thank you all for reading, and I will see you for the next post.
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