Burns (literal and figurative) abound on House Of The Dragon

Visions of Viserys! Riots in the streets of the Citadel! Rhaena’s revelation! Brotherly threats! Oh yes, there is a lot to unpack in this week’s episode of House Of The Dragon, not least of all that kiss. But let’s start with the sad tale of Ser Steffon Darklyn (violins at the ready, everyone). 

Keen to make good on Jace’s suggestion that they widen their nets (this is a good pun, actually, but it won’t make sense until later) in the hunt for new dragonriders, Rhaenyra has been poring through the history books in a bid to find someone, anyone, with a smidge of Targaryen blood in their veins. Ser Steffon, she decides, has that smidge, even if it’s incredibly diluted. Her Lord Commander is sweetly abashed at her suggestion he attempt to mount a fire breathing beast, dropping to his knees and thanking her for the terrifying honor. And that’s even after she reminds him he could die horribly in the attempt (so cute, so noble, so understanding of his peril). 

All of this results in a cinematic scene in the pits, as the monastic Dragonkeepers get their chant on and summon Seasmoke up from the depths. It’s a bit touch and go for a minute, but eventually the dragon lowers its head and basically gives Ser Steffon a coquettish wink. Climb aboard, our scaly pal seems to be saying. I’ll obey you, I swear…. 

Of course, Before Ser Steffon can get on that saddle, Seasmoke decides it’ll be much more fun to burn everyone, which means a.) Rhaenyra is forced to watch helplessly as one of her most loyal soldiers writhes in agonizing death throes, and b.) we finally find out why the Dragonkeepers carry dragonglass daggers (to slit their throats so they might escape those melt-everything-it-touches flames all the quicker).

It’s a crushing blow to Team Black and one that sends Rhaenyra tumbling into a black hole of self doubt. Thank goodness, then, that Mysaria is there to listen when our queen determines that there is no way she can take back the Iron Throne (because I’m just not ready for the Greens to win the war). 

Recalling how she was—trigger warning—raped and impregnated by her own father when she was still a child, Mysaria shows her scars to Rhaenyra. “I cannot bear children. He left me for dead, but I lived. I swore to myself I would never trust another… [but] I believe you are meant to be queen,” she says. And they hug. It’s a long hug. It’s a long hug that becomes much more than a hug, in fact, as all of the simmering chemistry I thought I’d imagined between these two turns out to be legit. The result is the kind of passionate embrace that ought to end in the bedroom. Instead, it ends with them leaping apart and all but whistling innocently as one of Rhaenyra’s guards bursts into the room with news: Seasmoke has been spotted cruising around Spicetown. 

“He does that,” says Rhaenyra shortly (and I almost laugh aloud when she does, because Emma D’arcy delivers the line with a perfect blend of exasperation, embarrassment, and sexual frustration). This time is different, though, she discovers, because Seasmoke has only gone and found himself a new rider. But who is it? Rhaenyra mounts her own dragon and flies off to find out, but everyone at home has likely gathered that the answer is Addam, the bastard son of Lord Corlys and thus half-brother of Seasmoke’s former bond, Laenor, whom the dragon himself sought out earlier. And this means the dragonseed plan will be back up and running in no time, if only Team Black can find a few more brave bastards to mount their remaining dragons. 

Which brings us neatly to the events in King’s Landing, as Ulf White gnaws unhappily on a plate of thin fish broth at a local tavern. Next to him, someone starts talking—very loudly and in suspiciously well-enunciated tones—about the luxurious meats that gluttonous Team Green have been feasting upon over at the Red Keep. “Viserys never would’ve while his people went without,” grunts Ulf unhappily. It’s the perfect moment for a woman to remind everyone in the building that things might be different if Viserys’ true successor, Rhaenyra, had taken the Iron Throne as planned. 

Cue a gift from Dragonstone: small boats, laden with food and bearing Rhaenyra’s sigil. The smallfolk begin to squabble over the food, with Hugh Hammer violently giving someone a shakedown to get his family the wholesome nourishment they need. And—not to get all Kaiser Chiefs about it—I predict a riot, especially when it becomes clear that Alicent and Helaena are lighting candles in the Sept nearby. Food is thrown, insults are hurled (Alicent is now to be known as the Queen Of Fishes, okay?), and so, when someone dares lay a hand on the Dowager Queen’s expensive emerald sleeve, her guard’s instinct is to…well, cut it off. “Sheathe your swords,” roars Alicent, who knows all too well what’s about to happen, but it’s too late: She and Helaena are now the targets of a violent, hungry mob. Thank goodness they’re able to escape in the nick of time, eh?

Tom Glynn-Carney, Ewan Mitchell (Photo: Ollie Upton/HBO)

To be honest, it’s the icing on the cake of a terrible day/week/month/year for Alicent. Her eldest son is still hanging somewhere between life and death (not least of all because Aemond wants him gone), her father is pointedly ignoring her ravens, and she’s been rudely dismissed from her position on the King’s Council. 

“I release you of your seat, such as it was,” Aemond informs her silkily. “I’m sure you’ll be much pleased to return to more…domestic pursuits.” (Which hammers home my point from last week about men—all men—being the Big Bad of Westeros). Still, Alicent might take some comfort from the fact it’s not just her that Aemond is intent on making a mockery of. In fact, he somehow burns Ser Larys Strong even worse than he did Aegon (figuratively speaking, that is) when he essentially dubs him [checks notes] a flattering, lickspittling, and self-important toad. Who will never be Hand. Ever. 

It’s enough to drive Larys back to Aegon’s side, where he prevents his ruined king from taking any milk of the poppy and instead urges him to keep his wits about him. “Your mind is all that remains to you,” says Larys, eyes fixated on a distant and deeply personal trauma from his past. “People will pity you, either behind your back or in your presence. And they will stare at you or turn away. And they will underestimate you. This will be your advantage. Your brother rules in your place now which means that your life is in danger, and I think you know that.” “Help me,” gasps Aegon in agreement. And is that a…slight nod from Larys? Excellent.

It’s hard to segue neatly to Daemon’s storyline, as it is still so absolutely, so wildly removed from everyone else’s. This week, the Harrenhal ghosts have served him up some painful visions and ultra-realistic memories of his late brother, Viserys: his hurt over Daemon celebrating the death of Viserys’s son, his anguish over the loss of Aemma, his insistence that Rhaenyra wear the crown and Daemon return to his lady wife (the one he killed with a rock back in season one).

“You are not the player, but a piece on the board,” says Alys, when Daemon asks the witch about the trippy nightmares he can’t seem to escape in this big of a castle. “Perhaps those who strive for [the crown] are the least suited to wear it… Viserys never wanted it himself, as you recall. It came to him; he did his best. It is not a prize to be won, but a burden to bear.” Her pep talk seems to do the trick (as does the long-awaited death of Lord Grover Tully), as Daemon stops trying to run from his visions of Viserys and instead reaches out to comfort his brother.  “I’m sorry,” he says uncharacteristically. “You needed me. I’m here now. I’m here now.”

Hmm. Could it be that Daemon is finally confronting the anger he’s been carrying with him for years and setting his past demons to rest? Only time will tell, although it seems unlikely he’ll take kindly to learning his wife has embarked upon an emotional affair with his ex.

One person he might fancy dropping in on, of course, is his daughter, Rhaena. She’s wandering around the Vale with Baby Joffrey (who is, incidentally, a Westerosian style icon) and using him as a dummy therapist of sorts. “Not all of us, I suppose, are called to great deeds,” she tells the small child, who is utterly disinterested. “Some of us must serve in smaller ways, even if they are not what we would choose for ourselves.”

Exposition? Sure. Foreshadowing? Absolutely, especially when the pair go round the corner to find the charred and blackened remains of dead (stolen?) sheep, not to mention an enormous circle of scorched earth. There’s a wild dragon in the area, Rhaena quickly surmises. One in desperate need of a rider. If only there were a person of Targaryen blood in need of a dragon to ride, too. If only…well, we can all see where this is going, yes? 

All in all, it’s another excellent episode of House Of The Dragon. There are a lot of big dialogue-heavy scenes, which the series is fast becoming known for, and just enough action to keep anyone craving an adrenaline hit happy. Even though we’re still wading through visions aplenty with Daemon, it finally feels like he’s pushing forward to something bigger. And there are some tantalizing crumbs scattered for next week’s episode, not to mention more than a few potential dragon riders lurking about the place, too. I’m genuinely champing at the bit to see what Larys has in store for Aemond, especially considering how he treated his own father and brother when they got in the way of his scheming. And I’m desperate for more Rhaenyra and Mysaria scenes (our girls deserve to be loved, damnit!) and very curious to see what Rhaena has planned for that aforementioned dragon. (I have a theory, and I sense some book devotees aren’t going to like it.) 

Onwards, then, to next week! 

Stray observations

• • Lions? In cages? On wheels? Oh my! If only Cersei Lannister could see her ancestors in this episode; it might quench her desire for elephants.
• • The MVP of the episode? It’s Seasmoke, surely. Every scene belongs to him somehow.He’s psyching people out, he’s burning them to a crisp, he’s chasing Corlys’ bastard son all over town like something out of Tom And Jerry, he’s ruining Rhaenyra and Mysaria’s big kiss, he’s laying the groundwork for next week’s episode. The devil works hard, but Seasmoke works harder, quite frankly. 
• • “Have the indignities of your childhood not yet sufficiently been avenged?” is such a tender line from Alicent, and I’m actually heartbroken for her when Aemond isn’t as moved by it as I am.
• • Simon Strong sometimes feels like a Blackadder character who got caught up in the wrong show, what with his venison and mild queries as to whether or not a raving Daemon is getting enough sleep. Gods love him.
• • I spat water when that owl just flew in and landed on Alys’ arm so casually. Witch? Hogwarts witch? 
• • I love that Rhaenyra thinks slapping Lord Bartimos in the face will make him fear her. Like, she has a dragon…would that not have made a bigger statement than a Dynasty-style slap?
• • Mysaria’s accent reminds me of Dragon Age’s Leliana. And, while we’re on the subject of accents, Jeyne Arryn’s “your let-ter” instantly made me think she must be a distant relative of Schitt’s Creek’s Moira Rose. 
• • All the fan theories were right: Alyn is shaving his head so people don’t spot it’s covered in white hair. Presumably because he believes “the Sea Snake would sooner have High Tide claimed by the seas than call us his sons.” Hmm. I’m not so sure about that, especially after the aforementioned Seasmoke incident. 
• • Alicent having to bluster her way through a conversation with her brother after she accidentally catches his eye is incredibly relatable.
• • Helaena is back at her visions! “This one stopped singing. Isn’t that strange?” she asks. There are three of them, which likely means they’re representative of herself, Aegon, and Aemond…and how one of them is doomed to be silenced before much longer. 
• • “He wished to possess me, but not to be possessed,” says Rhaenyra of Daemon. If I had a penny for every time Matt Smith played a discontented King Consort, I’d…well, I’d have two pennies, but it’s still more than you’d expect, right?
• • Love that Rhaenyra—buoyed up by her kiss and pep talk from Mysaria—summons her dragon and heads out to see what’s what with Seasmoke without ever sitting down with her misogynistic council. Our queen needs more women around her, quite clearly.