House Of The Dragon drops its greatest episode to date

When it comes to the fourth episode of House Of The Dragon’s sophomore season, it truly is the best of times and the worst of times—by which I mean it’s the greatest chapter in the series so far in spite of the fact that we had to bid goodbye to one of my very favorite characters.

Events were set in motion by Ser Criston Cole (boo, hiss), who’s been busily dashing around Westeros, covering himself in glory, and having an absolute blast raising armies for Team Green—or, rather, straight-up murdering anyone who doesn’t immediately renounce the “Whore of Dragonstone.” When he announces to his troops that they’ll be marching on Rook’s Rest, though, it quickly becomes apparent that he has a co-conspirator back at King’s Landing: Aemond.

Fully dressed once more, and looking more like Legolas than ever, it seems our one-eyed dragon rider has been…well, for want of a better word, he’s been kinging behind Aegon’s back. And, when his brother challenges him over this in front of his council, Aemond slips easily into High Valyrian, something which Aegon cannot do, thus shaming him in front of everyone. It’s awkward, it’s painful, and it’s obviously payback for what happened at the brothel in last week’s episode. It also means that everyone is fully in favor of Aemond and Criston’s plan to take Rook’s Rest rather than, say, Harrenhal.

Speaking of that moldering wreck of a castle, it seems as if the so-called ghosts of Harrenhal might just have driven Daemon mad. He’s haunted by visions of the women he has let down in his life, including a young Rhaenyra, who tauntingly informs her husband that his brother (her father) loved her more than he ever loved him. He deals with it in typical Daemon fashion by cutting her head off and marveling at all of the (imaginary) blood on his hands. When he chases down a spectre of Aemond to do the same to him, though, he runs into Alys Rivers.

Now, anyone who’s read Fire & Blood will already know that this oh-so-astute healer plays an important role in events to come. For now, though, let’s take her at her word: She’s a barn owl cursed to live in human form, and she immediately figures out what’s rankling Daemon. “Does it please you that [your wife’s] legitimacy is contested, as you stand here with a castle and a dragon attempting to call an army of men?” she asks, wondering aloud whether or not he intends to betray Rhaenyra and put forward his own claim for the Iron Throne. Hmm.

Speaking of people betraying Rhaenyra, her council members aren’t her biggest fans at the moment. Ensconced at Dragonstone, they have no idea where their queen has gone to, and they’re keen to make some hard and fast decisions in her absence. Thank goodness, then, that Rhaenys (dressed like the lead guitarist of a symphonic metal band and looking every inch a legend) is there to fight in Rhaenyra’s corner once again. “I suspect [our queen is trying] to draw us back from the abyss,” she quips drily, but they’re uninterested in her opinion. Rhaenys may be a princess of Targaryen blood, but she is not Rhaenyra’s appointed Hand, and thus they will not pay any heed to what she has to say…until Corlys marches in and backs his wife the hell up. Finally.

When Rhaenyra does eventually wander in, she’s finally ready to end the 80 years of peace she inherited from her father. “There are those who have mistaken my caution for weakness,” she utters darkly. “Let that be their undoing.” Everyone’s into it. When she announces her intention to meet Cole at Rook’s Rest atop her own dragon, however, they’re quick to talk her down. Rhaenyra’s claim to the Iron Throne is, after all, what they’re all fighting for. Jace volunteers to go in her stead, but she bans her beloved son from even thinking about it, so (gulp) Rhaenys declares that she will ride Meleys into battle on Team Black’s behalf.

At first, it seems as if our warrior woman has this one in the bag. Wearing a [squints furiously at the screen] battle tiara and sat proudly upon her magnificent beast, she doesn’t so much lend aid to Rook’s Rest as she does burn a whopping 800 or so soldiers to death—and in a matter of moments, no less. (Dragons truly are the WMDs of Westeros.) Of course, Fire & Blood readers will already know some of what’s about to happen, but TV purists will undoubtedly let out a scream of anguish when they realize that Cole and Aemond have successfully lured Rhaenys into a trap. The latter is hiding out with Vhagar in the woods, just waiting to ambush her and rip her from the sky.

Before Aemond can soar into battle, though, who should show up but Aegon atop Sunfyre? Inexperienced in battle, unaware of the true plan, and seemingly hoping to achieve the goal of “death by dragon,” Aegon (still grieving the loss of his son, still smarting from his humiliation in front of the King’s Council, still reeling from Alicent informing him that he lacks the wisdom to rule and should just shut up and let her make the big decisions for him) almost immediately finds himself in trouble. Big trouble, as Rhaenys and Meleys aren’t mucking about. And that trouble only balloons when Aemond orders Vhagar to burn both his brother and Team Black’s MVP.

Aegon and Sunfyre plummet to the ground, much to Cole’s horror down below. Rhaenys, however, doesn’t just survive the attempt on her life; she summons all of her courage and determines that she will not retreat. Instead, she tethers herself to her saddle, steers Meleys back towards Vhagar, and meets Aemond in battle like the absolute queen we all know her to be. Her inevitable death is not in vain, though; her dragon explodes on impact with the ground, wiping out almost the entirety of Criston’s ill gotten army. Cole has no time to dwell on that fact, though, as he has a far more important job to do: stop Aemond from slicing and dicing up his severely wounded brother and get Aegon to a healer as quickly as possible.

As mentioned already, this is a magnificent episode, not least of all for that incredible battle sequence. Thanks to Cole’s decision to attack Rook’s Rest by daylight (someone on the lighting crew learned from the mistakes of Game Of Thrones, it seems), we are privy to every violent detail: the burning flesh, the charred corpses, the mesmerizing and beautiful dance of dragons in the skies above, and the nightmarish reality they wreak on the world below. The decision to switch the battle between Rhaenys’ POV and Cole’s is an inspired one, particularly towards the end of the episode. He wakes up in a hellish landscape unlike anything he or we have ever seen before, and it’s a staunch reminder that there will be no winners in this civil war, no matter what happens. The destruction their dragons will wreak upon the world, the horrors that the Targaryens have unleashed, will vastly outweigh anything else.

The seeds of discord are carefully scattered throughout the episode, too: Corlys refers to Rhaenyra as “that woman,” suggesting he will not prove as strong an ally to Team Black now that his wife is out of the picture. Alicent’s cool treatment of Aegon, too, is likely the final straw that prompted her son to ride so recklessly into battle (something new for her to be racked with guilt over). And let’s not forget Baela’s growing embarrassment over her father’s silent refusal to answer any ravens from Harrenhal, either.

Above all else, it’s worth noting how brilliantly the writers of this series have worked to give us characters that straddle shades of grey. Somehow, I found myself feeling sorry for both Criston and Aegon this week, not to mention Alicent, and that’s in spite of the abhorrent things they have done in the past. Not Aemond, though. He is a monster, and I won’t sleep until he’s brought to justice. I guess I’d best invest in some energy drinks and start counting down the days until the next episode, eh?

Stray observations

• It would be remiss of me not to pay homage to Rhaenys, my one true queen. She’s been spitting facts since the moment we first met her, whether by warning Rhaenyra that “men would sooner put the realm to the torch than see a woman ascend the Iron Throne” or informing Alicent that she’s nothing but a puppet to the powerful men around her. She has proven herself to be, too, Rhaenyra’s wisest counselor and most loyal supporter. Her loss will be felt enormously by Team Black, I suspect.
• On that note, Rhaenys’ last wish was basically that her husband do the right thing by Alyn. “He should be raised up and honored,” she told Corlys. “Not hidden beneath the tides.” Will he honor her request?
• Alicent is really working her way through that Plan B tea, isn’t she? The irony is that she iced Rhaenyra out for doing the exact same thing with the exact same person (even if she thought it was Daemon) back when they were played by different actors. I wonder if she knows that Cole and Rhaenyra had their own regrettable night of passion once upon a time.
• I love that Aegon didn’t burn his father’s books, even if he didn’t want those dusty tomes cluttering up his own bookshelves. Say what you will about the kid, but he’s not the monster everyone makes him out to be.
• Did George R.R. Martin have a bet going with someone as to how many characters he could name after Muppets, or is this all a coincidence?
• Never have I ever been so grateful to Cole as I was in tonight’s episode. Gwayne might think it “fucking madness” not to attack Rook’s Rest under cover of darkness, but I really wasn’t ready to turn the brightness up to 100 on my TV again (never forget the Battle of Winterfell, people).
• The catspaw dagger is now in Aemond’s clutches, for anyone keeping track.
• I love the symbolism of Cole’s white cloak growing dirtier and greyer and darker throughout the course of the episode. It’s a little on the nose, sure, but excellent all the same.
• “Rhaenyra’s supporters will believe what they wish and so will Aemond’s. The war will be fought, many will die, and the victor will eventually ascend the throne. The significance of Viserys’s intentions died with him.” Never have truer words been spoken, Alicent—although, y’know, they wouldn’t have died quite so quickly had you taken a beat to actually listen to what he was saying.
• We need more dragons and dragonriders already. I wonder if anyone has a plan for that.