House Of The Dragon recap: There will be blood

Before we dive into the events of House Of The Dragon season two’s sophomore episode, I just want to flag that a lot of people—and I mean a lot of people—have taken to social media to complain about the season premiere. Why? Not because the books actually saw Helaena forced to choose between her two sons rather than her son and daughter, but because the murder of a six-year-old boy [checks notes] wasn’t graphic enough, apparently. The sound of metal sawing through flesh and bone, the sight of his mother’s horror, the mere concept of a sleeping child being snatched from their bed and butchered by strangers—none of this was apparently enough for some viewers. These people want their child murder to be more…well, more murdery, I suppose. Which is a very strange thing to admit publicly online, but hey, who am I to judge?

It’s a staunch reminder of how this prequel series differs from the OG Game Of Thrones—and for the better, in this writer’s opinion. It doesn’t rely wholly on crude shock factor to drive its points home, which means less nudity, less gratuitous violence, less gore. Instead, showrunners spend their budget on dragons and ask us to use our imaginations a little more for the story’s NSFW scenes, instead focusing their attention on the quieter moments…something which this week’s episode does with even greater aplomb than the last,

Naturally, we spend a lot of time over in King’s Landing, where Team Green’s players struggle to deal with the grisly death of Prince Jahaerys. A vengeful Aegon—who truly did love his little boy, it seems—rounds up every rat catcher in the Red Keep’s employ, executes them, and has their bodies displayed in the Citadel for all to see. (Keep an eye out for a familiar furry face, animal lovers!) When his grandfather reprimands him for his recklessness, Aegon lashes out and fires Otto from his position as the King’s Hand, ordering him to pass the badge over to…no, not Sir Larys Strong (although we suspect the creepy foot fetishist won’t be happy about that). Rather, he decides to bestow the honor upon Sir Criston Cole and swap his gloved hand for an “iron fist”.

Criston, meanwhile, is picking fights all over the place and concocting truly terrible revenge plans of his own—plans such as, say, sending Erryk Cargyll to Dragonstone in the hope that people might mistake him for his twin brother, Arryk, and thus allow him to get close enough to Rhaenyra to kill the “bitch queen.” Much like Ryan Gosling in The Notebook, it seems Criston will never be over Rhaenyra, no matter how many oh-so-steamy moments he might enjoy with Alicent—and, oh my, are there a fair few of those in this week’s episode.

Aemond, of course, is doing what Westerosi men do best and using his local brothel as a therapist’s lounge. Curled up in the fetal position, head in the lap of the woman he was with on the night of Jahaerys’s death, he coolly admits that he regrets the fact that his dragon killed Rhaenyra’s son, Lucerys. “I lost my temper,” he says simply. Don’t be fooled, though, fellow HOTD fans: Aemond is far more excited about the fact that his nephew’s killers were actually hired to kill him, because it means Daemon sees him as a threat. Ugh.

Over at Dragonstone, meanwhile, Rhaenyra is shaken to learn people believe that she arranged for Jahaerys—a tiny boy, an innocent—to be killed. Even a good portion of her own council pull disbelieving faces when she protests her innocence, politely informing her that a grieving mother like herself could easily make a bad choice (such as, say, murdering a child) when seeking vengeance for her own son’s murder. Rhaenyra, though, is not to be deterred: Team Green are wrong; she would never do something so horrific to poor sweet Helaena and neither would any of her fellow Team Black memb…

But then her eye lands upon her shifty-looking husband and she realizes that of course Daemon had everything to do with the Blood and Cheese plot. Of course he did. And, just like that, our queen knows she cannot trust Daemon one little bit. They excuse themselves from the meeting, have at each other in private, and basically determine that there’s no love lost between them—that Daemon loves the crown, has always loved the crown, more than any person in his life, Rhaenyra included. Cue everyone’s favorite bad guy armoring up, mounting his dragon, Caraxes, and flying off to lead an assault on Harrenhal alone. However, as Rhaenys privately observes to her own husband, Corlys, there is still hope for a rapprochement between Daemon and Rhaenyra. If his military tactics prove successful, all may be forgiven.

Of course, Daemon’s absence sets into motion an unexpected chain of events. Mysaria comes before Rhaenyra to ask for the reward that Daemon promised in return for her help with the Blood and Cheese plot: her freedom, something which our queen eventually grants. As the White Worm is led to the ship which will spirit her overseas, though, she spots Erryk in disguise as his twin brother and quickly alerts one of Rhaenyra’s guards to the deception.

Of course, this is a George R. R. Martin story, which means it’s still Erryk and Arryk who wind up violently clashing swords in Rhaenyra’s bedchamber, much to the queen’s horror. As brother fights brother, it’s a brilliant metaphor for the Dance of Dragons itself: There are no winners when family turns on family, and there is no honor—only violence, heartbreak, and mutually-assured destruction. Could this be enough to prompt Rhaenyra to reach out to Alicent in a last-ditch attempt to avoid all-out war? Or might it merely strengthen the resolve of Viserys’s heir to do everything she possibly can in order to secure her claim to the Iron Throne?

This episode cleverly builds upon the tensions of the season premiere, weaving in subplots and drama and dragon-sized Easter eggs (we see you, Alyn) aplenty. It revels, too, in serving emotionally-charged conversations aplenty: Our characters all have oceanic depths, and we truly believe in everyone’s grief and rage, particularly Aegon’s. Honestly, Tom Glynn-Carney is this week’s MVP as he serves all of the nuance we need and deserve from a king who’s lost more than just his heir, but a beloved son, too (think fiery outbursts, icy-cold detachment, and heaving, guttering sobs as he struggles to reconcile himself to his heartbreak).

Personally, this episode loses points for me because it a.) spends such a short period of time on the breakdown of Daemon and Rhaenyra’s relationship (honestly, their conversation lasts mere minutes, and then they’re seemingly separated forevermore), and b.) drip-feeds us certain details without ever reaching an all important crescendo: Baela and Jace’s all too brief conversation, for example, or Addam glancing the shadow of a dragon soaring overhead. Tantalizing crumbs, sure, but crumbs all the same…especially considering we spend so much time on Otto moaning about his being fired to Alicent.

All in all, though, it’s another beautifully subtle episode, laden with suspense and quiet melancholy. I suspect it’s laying the groundwork for something big, too, so roll on episode three already!

Stray observations

• Look, fellow book readers won’t need me to tell them that there’s more to Alyn and Addam than meets the eye. Perhaps that fleeting dragon shadow overhead might be a clue to their true identities, eh?
• I hope Rhaenyra and Daemon aren’t separated for too long, not because I think their marriage has what it takes to survive, but because Emma D’arcy and Matt Smith are such excellent scene partners. Reconcile, damn it!
• Where was Helaena this episode? We got one teeny glimpse at her as she passed Aegon on the stairs, and it’s made all too clear he blames his sister-wife for the death of his nephew-son.
• The dog lives! Which, considering many viewers were more upset about his treatment than all of the child murder, should hopefully please some.
• How will the general public react to Aegon wiping out all of the rat catchers? After they’ve finished crying, that is? They were very much on his side of this civil war when they learned of his son’s death, but we suspect that might change now…
• I realize this is not the episode for hijinks and merriment, but here’s hoping that the show (much like the earlier seasons of Game Of Thrones) finds a sense of humor before too long. They can dig out their Lannisters with all their spiky wit and park them front and center whenever we need a moment’s levity (because there has been zero levity this week. Zero. My nerves are shot to ribbons).
• Based on everyone’s couplings this week, it seems incest does not make for happy marriages (who knew?). Rhaenys and Corlys are the only husband and wife duo who seem stronger than ever, although the latter seems oddly distant. As if he might be harboring a secret of some kind…? Hmm.
• I sense Mysaria and Rhaenyra’s grudging respect for one another could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Or, at the very least, a blossoming alliance. Anyone else?
• How much havoc do we think Daemon can wreak in Harrenhal? On a scale of 1-100? Somewhere in the thousands, right?