House Of The Dragon Review: Season 2, Episode 4

When it comes to the fourth episode of House of the DragonSeason two is truly the best and the worst of times – and by that I mean it’s the best chapter of the series yet. despite the fact that we had to say goodbye to one of my favorite characters.

The events were set in motion by Ser Criston Cole (boo, hiss), who was busily zipping around Westeros, covering himself in glory and having a blast raising armies for Team Green—or rather, murdering anyone who doesn’t immediately renounce the “Whore of Dragonstone.” But when he announces to his troops that they will march on Rook’s Rest, it quickly becomes clear that he has a co-conspirator in King’s Landing: Aemond.

He is fully dressed again and looks more like Legolas than ever. It seems that our one-eyed dragon rider was… well, for lack of a better word, he was Queens behind Aegon’s back. And when his brother confronts him about it before his council, Aemond effortlessly switches to High Valyrian, which Aemond cannot speak, and thereby shames him in front of everyone. It is embarrassing, it is painful and it is obviously retribution for what happened in the brothel in Last week’s episode. It also means that everyone is fully behind Aemond and Criston’s plan to take Rook’s Rest rather than Harrenhal.

Speaking of the ruined castle, it seems that the so-called ghosts of Harrenhal have driven Daemon mad. He is haunted by visions of the women he has disappointed in his life, including the young Rhaenyra, who sneers at her husband and says that his brother (her father) loved her more than he ever loved him. He deals with this in typical Daemon fashion by cutting off her head and marveling at all the (imaginary) blood on his hands. However, when he pursues a ghost of Aemond to do the same to him, he meets Alys Rivers.

Who has read, Fire & Blood will already know that this oh-so-astute healer will play an important role in the events to come. But for now, we’ll take her at her word: she’s a barn owl doomed to live in human form, and she immediately figures out what annoys Daemon. “Are you pleased that the legitimacy (of your wife) is being challenged while you stand here with a castle and a dragon, trying to gather an army of men?” she asks, wondering aloud if he plans to betray Rhaenyra and stake his own claim to the Iron Throne. Hmm.

Speaking of people betraying Rhaenyra, her council members aren’t her biggest fans right now. They’re holed up in Dragonstone and don’t know where their queen has gone, and they’re looking to make some hard and fast decisions in her absence. Thank goodness Rhaenys (dressed like the lead guitarist of a symphonic metal band and a legend through and through) is back to fight by Rhaenyra’s side. “I suspect (our queen is trying to) bring us back from the brink,” she quips dryly, but she doesn’t care about her opinion. Rhaenys may be a princess of Targaryen blood, but she’s not Rhaenyra’s appointed Hand, and so they won’t listen to what she has to say… until Corlys marches in and damn well backs his wife. Finally.

As Rhaenyra does finally walk in, she is 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 says darkly. “That shall be their undoing.” Everyone is on board. However, when she announces her intention to meet Cole on her own dragon at Rook’s Rest, they quickly talk her down. After all, they are all fighting for Rhaenyra’s claim to the Iron Throne. Jace volunteers to go in her place, but she forbids her beloved son to even think about it, so (gulp) Rhaenys declares that she will ride Meleys into battle on behalf of Team Black.

At first it seems as if our warrior has it under control. With a (blinking angrily at the screen) With her battle tiara and her proud seat on her magnificent beast, she not only helps Rook’s Rest, but also burns an incredible 800 soldiers – and all in just a few moments. (Dragons really are the weapons of mass destruction of Westeros.) Of course Fire & Blood Readers will already know some of what will happen, but TV purists will no doubt let out a cry of pain when they realize that Cole and Aemond have successfully lured Rhaenys into a trap, with the latter hiding in the forest with Vhagar, just waiting to ambush them and take them down from the sky.

But before Aemond can go into battle, Aegon shows up at the summit of Sunfire. Aegon is inexperienced in combat, unaware of the true plan, and seemingly hoping to achieve the goal of death by dragon. He is still grieving for his son, still suffering from his humiliation before the King’s Council, still in shock because Alicent told him he doesn’t have the wisdom to rule and to just shut up and let her make the big decisions for him. He gets into trouble almost immediately. Big trouble, because Rhaenys and Meleys are not kidding around. And that trouble gets even bigger when Aemond orders Vhagar to burn both his brother and the MVP of Team Black.

Aegon and Sunfyre fall to the ground, much to Cole’s horror. However, Rhaenys not only survives the attempt on her life; she gathers all her courage and decides not to back down. Instead, she ties herself into her saddle, guides Meleys back to Vhagar, and meets Aemond in battle like the absolute queen we all know. Her inevitable death is not in vain, however; her dragon explodes upon impact with the ground, wiping out nearly all of Criston’s ill-gotten army. Cole has no time to dwell on this fact, however, as he has a far more important task at hand: stop Aemond from cutting his gravely wounded brother to pieces and get Aegon to a healer as soon as possible.

As mentioned, this is a great episode, not least because of this incredible fight sequence. Thanks to Cole’s decision to attack Rook’s Rest in daylight (someone on the lighting team learned from the mistakes of game of Thronesor so it seems), we are privy to every brutal detail: the burning flesh, the charred corpses, the mesmerizing and beautiful dance of the dragons in the sky above, and the nightmarish reality they wreak on the world below. The decision to switch the battle between Rhaenys’ and Cole’s point of view is genius, especially toward the end of the episode. He wakes up in a hellish landscape unlike any he or we have ever seen before, and this is a haunting reminder that no matter what happens, there will be no winners in this civil war. The destruction their dragons will wreak on the world, the horrors the Targaryens have unleashed, will far outweigh anything else.

The seeds of discord are Also carefully sprinkled throughout the episode: Corlys referring to Rhaenyra as “that woman,” suggesting that he won’t prove to be such a strong ally for Team Black now that his wife is out of the picture. Also, Alicent’s cold treatment of Aegon is probably the last straw that causes her son to ride into battle so recklessly (something new that she is guilt-ridden about). And let’s not forget Baela’s growing embarrassment at her father’s silent refusal to answer any ravens from Harrenhal.

Above all, it is remarkable how brilliantly the writers of this series have worked to give us characters who fluctuate between shades of grey. Somehow I felt sorry for both Criston and Aegon this week, not to mention Alicent, despite the heinous things they’ve done in the past. But not Aemond. He’s 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, right?

Scatter observations

• It would be remiss of me not to pay homage to Rhaenys, my one true queen. She has boasted about facts since the moment we first met her, whether it was warning Rhaenyra that “men would rather set the realm on fire than see a woman take the Iron Throne” or telling Alicent that she is nothing more than a puppet of the powerful men around her. She has also proven herself to be Rhaenyra’s wisest advisor and most loyal supporter. I suspect her loss will hurt Team Black tremendously.
• In that sense, Rhaenys’s dying wish was essentially that her husband do the right thing for Alyn. “He should rise and be honored,” she told Corlys. “Not hidden beneath the waves.” Will he grant her request?
• Alicent is really working her way through the Plan B tea, isn’t she? The irony is that she sidelined Rhaenyra for it, exactly the same with exactly the same person (even though she thought it was Daemon), back when they were played by different actors. I wonder if she knows that Cole and Rhaenyra once had their own regrettable night of passion.
• I love that Aegon didn’t burn his father’s books, even if he didn’t want those dusty tomes on his own bookshelves. Say what you will about the boy, but he isn’t the monster everyone thinks he is.
• Did George RR Martin make a bet with someone about how many characters he could name after the Muppets, or is it all just a coincidence?
• I’ve never been more grateful for Cole than I was in tonight’s episode. Gwayne may think it was “fucking insane” to not attack Rook’s Rest under cover of darkness, but I really wasn’t ready to turn my TV brightness back up to 100 (never forget the Battle of Winterfell, folks).
• For those of you who noticed, the Catpaw Dagger is now in Aemond’s clutches.
• I love the symbolism of Cole’s white cape getting dirtier, greyer, and darker as the episode progresses. It’s a little over the top, but it’s excellent nonetheless.

• “Rhaenyra’s followers will believe what they want, and so will Aemond’s. The war will be fought, many will die, and the victor will eventually take the throne. The meaning of Viserys’ intentions died with him.” Truer words were never spoken, Alicent—though, you know, they wouldn’t have died quite so quickly if you’d taken the time to really listen to what he was saying.
• We do need more dragons and dragon riders. I wonder if anyone has a plan for that.