House Of The Dragon Review: Season 2, Episode 2

Before we look at the events of House of the Dragon I just want to point out that many people – and I mean a much of people – have spoken out on social media about the Season premiere. Why? Not because in the books Helaena was actually forced to choose between her two sons instead of between her son and her daughter, but because the murder of a six-year-old boy (checks his notes) was apparently not graphic enough. The sound of metal sawing through flesh and bone, the sight of his mother’s horror, the mere thought of a sleeping child being dragged from bed and slaughtered by strangers – none of it was apparently enough for some viewers. These people want their child murder to be more… well, more murderousI think. This is a very it’s weird to admit something like that publicly online, but hey, who am I to judge?

It’s a stark reminder of how different this prequel series is from the original. game of Thrones— and that’s for the best, in this writer’s opinion. The series doesn’t rely entirely on heavy-handed shock effects to get its messages across, which means less nudity, less gratuitous violence, and less gore. Instead, the showrunners spend their budget on dragons, asking us to use our imaginations a little more for the story’s unsuitable scenes, rather than focusing our attention on the quieter moments… something this week’s episode does with even greater aplomb than the last.

Naturally, we spend a lot of time in King’s Landing, where Team Green’s players are dealing with the grisly death of Prince Jahaerys. A vengeful Aegon – who apparently really did love his little boy – rounds up all the rat catchers in the Red Keep’s employ, executes them, and has their bodies displayed in the Citadel for all to see. (Animal lovers, look out for a familiar furry face!) When his grandfather reprimands him for his recklessness, Aegon lashes out and removes Otto from his position as Hand of the King. He orders him to give the badge to… no, not Sir Larys Strong (though we suspect the creepy foot fetishist won’t be happy about that). Instead, he decides to award the honor to Sir Criston Cole, trading his gloved hand for an “iron fist.”

Meanwhile, Criston is looking for trouble everywhere and hatching his own truly terrible plans for revenge – plans like sending Erryk Cargyll to Dragonstone in the hope that people will mistake him for his twin brother Arryk and that he could get close enough to Rhaenyra to kill the “Bitch Queen”. Similar to Ryan Gosling in The notebookit seems Criston will never be over Rhaenyra, no matter how many oh-so-hot moments he may enjoy with Alicent – and my goodness, there are a lot of them in this week’s episode.

Aemond, of course, does what Westerosi men do best and uses his local brothel as a therapy room. Curled up in the fetal position, his head on the lap of the woman he was with the night Jahaerys died, he coolly admits that he regrets his dragon killing Rhaenyra’s son Lucerys. “I lost it,” he says simply. But don’t be fooled, mate. HOT Fans: Aemond is much more excited about the fact that his nephew’s killers Strictly speaking hired to kill him because that means Daemon sees him as a threat. Ugh.

Meanwhile, on Dragonstone, Rhaenyra is shocked to learn that people believe she has arranged for Jahaerys – a young boy, an innocent – to be killed. Even much of her own council pulls incredulous faces when she protests her innocence, politely informing them that a grieving mother such as herself could easily make a poor decision (such as murdering a child) when seeking vengeance for the murder of her own son. Rhaenyra is undeterred, however: Team Green is wrong; she would never do something so cruel to poor, sweet Helaena, and none of her Team Black colleagues would…

But then she looks at her shady husband and realizes that Naturally Daemon had everything to do with the Blood and Cheese plot. Of course he did. And just like that, our queen knows she can’t trust Daemon at all. They excuse themselves from the meeting, argue in private, and basically come to the conclusion that there is no love lost between them—that Daemon loves the crown, has always loved the crown, more than anyone else in his life, including Rhaenyra. Cue everyone’s favorite villain gearing up, mounting his dragon Caraxes, and flying off to lead a single attack on Harrenhal. But as Rhaenys privately notes to her own husband Corlys, there is still hope for a rapprochement between Daemon and Rhaenyra. If his military tactics prove successful, all can be forgiven.

Naturally, Daemon’s absence sets off an unexpected chain of events. Mysaria steps before Rhaenyra to demand the reward Daemon promised her in exchange for her help in the Blood and Cheese plot: her freedom, which our queen eventually grants her. However, as the White Worm is led to the ship that will take her overseas, she spots Erryk disguised as his twin brother and quickly alerts one of Rhaenyra’s guards to the deception.

Of course, that Is a story by George RR Martin, meaning it’s still Erryk and Arryk violently clashing swords in Rhaenyra’s bedchamber, much to the queen’s dismay. With brother fighting brother, it’s a brilliant metaphor for the Dance of Dragons itself: there are no winners when family turns against family, and there is no honor – only violence, heartbreak, and mutual destruction. Could this be enough to make Rhaenyra contact Alicent in a last-ditch effort to avoid all-out war? Or could it merely strengthen Viserys’ heir’s resolve to do whatever she can to secure her claim to the Iron Throne?

This episode cleverly builds on the tensions of the season premiere, weaving in plenty of subplots and drama and dragon-sized Easter eggs (we see you, Alyn). It also features plenty of emotionally charged conversations: Our characters all have oceanic depths, and we really believe in everyone’s grief and anger, especially Aegon’s. Frankly, Tom Glynn-Carney is this week’s MVP, providing all the nuance we need and deserve from a king who has lost not only his heir, but a beloved son (think fiery outbursts, stone-cold detachment, and heavy, gasping sobs as he tries to come to terms with his grief).

Personally, this episode loses points for me because it a.) spends so little time on the failure of Daemon and Rhaenyra’s relationship (honestly, their conversation only lasts a few minutes and then they seem to be separated forever) and b.) drops certain details on us bit by bit without ever reaching a major climax: Baela and Jace’s all-too-brief conversation, for example, or Addams’s glimpse of the shadow of a dragon hovering over them. Tantalizing crumbs, sure, but crumbs nonetheless… especially considering that we so much time about Otto’s complaints to Alicent about his dismissal.

All in all, though, it’s another wonderfully subtle episode full of tension and quiet melancholy. I suspect it also lays the groundwork for something bigger, so here we go with episode three!

Scatter observations

• Look, I don’t need other book readers to tell me that there’s more to Alyn and Addam than meets the eye. Maybe the fleeting dragon shadow in the sky is a clue to their true identity, right?
• I hope Rhaenyra and Daemon don’t stay apart 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. Make up, dammit!
• Where was Helaena in this episode? We caught a tiny glimpse of her when she met Aegon on the stairs, and it’s all too clear that he blames his sister-wife for the death of his nephew’s son.
• The dog lives! Considering that many viewers were more upset about his treatment than the whole child murder, hopefully some will like this.
• How will the public react to Aegon wiping out all the Pied Pipers? After they’re done crying, that is? When they heard of his son’s death, they were still completely on his side in this civil war, but we suspect that might change now…
• I realize that this is not the episode for jokes and hilarity, but I hope that the show (similar to the previous seasons of game of Thrones) soon finds a sense of humor. They can dig out their Lannisters with all their sharp wit and park them front and center whenever we need a moment of hilarity (because there was zero hilarity this week. Zero. My nerves are at their limit Ribbons).
• Based on this week’s pairings, incest doesn’t seem to promote a happy marriage (who knew?). Rhaenys and Corlys are the only married couple who seem stronger than ever, although the latter seems oddly distant. As if he might be harboring some secret…? Hmm.

• I have a feeling that Mysaria and Rhaenyra’s begrudging respect for each other could be the start of a beautiful friendship. Or at least a blossoming alliance. Anyone else?
• How much chaos can Daemon cause in Harrenhal? On a scale of 1-100? Somewhere in the thousands, right?