House of the Dragon Season Two, Episode Seven, The Red Sowing Review: Best Episode of the Season?

My favorite part of Fire and Blood was the sowing of the seeds.
I just loved the concept of having Targaryen and Valyrian bastards from the smallfolk claim dragons.
So, obviously, this was the part of the story I was most excited to see in House of the Dragon.
Well, this storyline finally got adapted in Episode Seven of Season Two, “The Red Sowing”, and it did not disappoint.
In fact, I would say that in some ways the show actually did better than the book.
Directed by Loni Peristere, the episode begins with the first of many cinematic shots, as we get a brilliant extreme wide shot of Syrax and Seasmoke facing off, Rhanerya having chased Addam down.
She confronts him about claiming Seasmoke, understandably suspicious, but Addam asserts Seasmoke claimed him, voicing his wish to learn the way of dragon riders and serve her.
Noticeably, he does not admit to Corlys being his father.
Word of Addam claiming Seasmoke soon gets back to Larys through Iron Rod.
Larys, however, chooses not to bring this to Aemond, which is unusual, even if the information is currently unreliable.
That is unless you consider the fact that Aemond clearly despises Larys, who is now trying to get on Aegon’s good side.
He may have deliberately withheld the information to weaken Aemond’s position.
We see later on in the episode that he is continuing to aid Aegon, although through indelicate means, as he has Orwyle helping the king walk, despite the agonizing pain.
Meanwhile, back with the Blacks, Mysaria convinces Rhanerya to use the Smallfolk to fill her ranks of dragon riders, while Corlys meets with Addam.
The conversation between the two is understandably awkward, given that they both know their relation but refuse to acknowledge it.
Corlys ends the conversation by telling Addam “Well done,” probably the first bit or praise he has ever given his son, based on the emotional look upon Addam’s face.
Following this, we get one of the best scenes of the episode, as the Harrenhal plot finally goes somewhere.
Oscar Tully (Archie Barnes) arrives to meet with Daemon after his grandfather’s death.
He swears his allegiance to the Blacks but maintains it will be difficult to control the riverlords because of how much they hate Daemon, due to him encouraging Willem Blackwood’s war crimes.
All of the lords and ladies meet outside before the Weirwood Tree to discuss the matter, and it is here that it becomes perfectly clear just how good of a lord Oscar Tully will be.
Although young, he manages to expertly play Daemon, forcing him to execute Willem to make amends, ensuring the riverlords’ loyalty.
Archie Barnes is absolutely fantastic in this scene.
I honestly did not pay that much attention to him when we first met his character in Episode Four, but now I really want to see more of him.
Daemon’s storyline this episode ends with him having yet another vision about Viserys, who confronts Daemon over whether he really wants the crown.
Viserys is disfigured and, apparently, it was Paddy Considine who decided he should look that way for the scene.
It was a good thing he was listened to because his disfigured state perfectly shows Daemon the effect the crown can have on someone.
It took a while but Daemon’s storyline this season finally seems to be taking off.
Better late than never.
Daemon’s storyline is the second best of the episode, but my absolute favorite is, as I already stated, the sowing of the seeds.
This story continues with Jace confronting Rhaenyra over allowing Targaryen bastards to claim dragons.
I will admit, I was a bit disappointed to see that Jace did not have as big of a role in the sowing as he did in the book, where it was his entire idea.
That being said, the show did a great job of explaining why this makes Jace so scared.
He himself is a bastard, and the whole world knows it, so what is to stop another Targaryen bastard, this one with more Targaryen features, from asserting their claim to the throne over his?
In the end, though, Rhaenyra is not to be deterred and has her handmaiden spread word throughout King’s Landing that she is looking for bastards to claim dragons.
When Ulf hears of this, he acts as though he has an injured leg, not wanting to go until his friends peer pressure him into it in a humorous scene.
Hugh’s scene is much more emotional, as it is revealed that his daughter tragically died.
He reveals his past to his wife and states his intent to claim a dragon, despite her pleas.
That night, Hugh, Ulf and dozens of other Targaryen bastards are snuck out of King’s Landing for Dragonstone, where Rhaenyra is waiting.
However, it is not only Jace she is receiving resistance from.
The dragon keepers are also incensed with her decision, believing it desecrates the ways of old Valyria.
They force Rhaenyra to do her task alone, and she introduces the potential Dragonseeds to the dragon Vermithor.
Called the “Bronze Fury”, he is the largest dragon besides Vhagar, and the shot of him appearing behind Rhaenyra is especially threatening.
Just imagine how the Smallfolk felt when Rhaenyra left them all alone with him.
The potential dragon claiming quickly turns into a massacre, as Vermithor roasts Dragonseed after Dragonseed.
Although I do wonder why Rhaenyra did not just send the candidates in one at a time, it makes for quite the horrifying spectacle.
The CGI for the dragon is stunning, especially in an excellent one-take shot in which we see Hugh attempting to flee Vermithor, before standing up to him to save a woman.
I wonder if he was reminded of his daughter in this moment and this is what motivated him to make his move.
Hugh standing his ground against one of the mightiest dragons in the world and screaming “Come on!” is now one of my favorite moments in the series.
It bumped Hugh up to my top five characters of the show in a single moment.
His taming of Vermithor is also incredibly ironic because it is heavily implied that he is the son of Princess Saera Targaryen, who was disowned by her father Jaehaerys, Vermithor’s previous rider.
As for Ulf, his taming of a dragon is far easier than Hugh’s.
He just happens to stumble into Silverwing’s resting place, and she accepts him.
It is left vague why she claims him.
Ulf does step in one of her egg sacks before she sees him, so maybe she smelled him and thought he was one of her children?
Either that or she is just lonely.
Also, I have got to say that Silverwing is by far the most beautiful dragon of the series so far.
Her horns give her a really unique look, as does the color of her scales.
It is kind of funny that Rhaenyra sent the Dragonseeds to tame one of the most violent dragons first instead of the most chill one.
After the taming scenes, we get the final scene of the episode, as Aemond’s Small Council is interrupted by the arrival of Silverwing, Ulf on her back, cheering and laughing as he flies over the city.
I absolutely love the way the show has handled Hugh and Ulf.
To be honest, in the book they were fairly generic characters.
But in the show they have fleshed out personalities and motivations that make them all the more compelling and relatable.
There is something about seeing Ulf laughing with joy as he flies over the city that brings a smile to my face.
It definitely does not bring a smile to Aemond’s though, as he rides out to reach Vhagar.
They chase Ulf and Silverwing all the way back to Dragonstone, where Aemond realizes it is a trap and has just enough time to turn a reluctant Vhagar around before the two of them can be swarmed by the combined might of Syrax, Vermithor and Silverwing.
The episode then ends on yet another fantastic shot of Rhaenyra watching Aemond flee, a determined glare on her face, as the dragons roar behind her.
“The Red Sowing” is a fantastic episode.
There is not a bad scene in it.
The weakest is definitely the Alicent stuff, where she pretty much just goes on vacation, but that was not bad, and it could be building to something she will do in the finale for all I know.
Speaking of which, the next episode is the last of the season, and I hope they can end it on a banger.
As for “The Red Sowing” it is currently my favorite episode of the season.
Is that bias because of how much I loved this storyline in the book?
Maybe, but I personally do not care.

Book Spoilers Section:
I loved the show’s portrayal of the Dragonseeds this episode.
The only thing that would have made it better for me is if we also got to see Nettles claiming Sheepstealer.
However, as I have constantly mentioned, they have almost definitely given that role to Rhaena.
It is a shame we probably will not see Nettles because, as I said earlier, I loved the portrayal of Ulf and Hugh this episode.
If the writers had Nettles in the show, I know they could do her justice.
Well, at least we will see Sheepstealer next episode, so I have that to look forward to.
As for what the season will end on, I would have to guess the Blacks taking King’s Landing.
The show has not built up enough to the Battle of the Gullett yet.
So, Rhaenyra will probably take King’s Landing in the finale, and then go on a darker path next season.
The writers seem to be alluding to this based on Rhaenyra having her guards prevent the Dragonseeds from leaving the sowing, resulting in many of their deaths and the deaths of some of her guards.
She is becoming increasingly willing to sacrifice others for her aims.
Even the Dragonseeds will not be safe from this darker path, as some will most likely go power hungry.
This could cause a lot of tragedy as, before he leaves, Hugh’s wife suggests going to Tumbleton where her brother is.
Tumbleton is the sight of a massacre in the books, caused when Hugh and Ulf switch sides to the Greens.
I can see a tragic end for Hugh’s wife where she dies because of his actions, driving him over the edge.
But that is at least another season away.
For now, we will have to see how Episode Eight chooses to end the season.
Will it be the fall of King’s Landing, or something else?
We shall see.

House of the Dragon Season Two, Episode Six, Smallfolk Review: An Odd Pairing.

Episode Six of House of the Dragon may focus on the plights of the titular “Smallfolk”, but it begins with the nobility.
Directed by Andrij Parekh, the episode begins by showing Jason Lannister, who we have not seen since Season One.
He is marching to war, bringing a lion of all things with him, but delaying because he wants Aemond to protect them with Vhagar.
Naturally, this does not please Aemond, who has taken to his new job as Prince Regent with a vindictive stride.
He begins making some bold moves by attempting to set up an alliance with the Triarchy, and even dismisses his mother, Alicent.
“Have the indignities of your childhood not yet sufficiently been avenged?” Alicent asks, showing that, no matter how strong he may act, there is still a part of that scared bullied child inside Aemond.
Unfortunately, the dangerous and vindictive side of him is winning out.
Meanwhile, with the Blacks, Corlys takes his new role as Hand of the Queen, but unfortunately we do not see him really do anything with it this episode.
Maybe he will in the next one, considering what later happens to a certain bastard of his?
As for Rhaenyra, she begins enacting her and Jace’s plan to find those with Valyrian ancestry to ride dragons.
It turns out that one of her Queensguard, Ser Steffon Darklyn, is one of these people, so she asks him to attempt taming Seasmoke, Laenor’s dragon.
Steffon accepts the task but it ends poorly, to say the least.
At first, it seems as if he has succeeded, but he then gets overconfident and Seasmoke burns him and a dragon keeper alive.
The dragon keeper pulls out a knife and slits his own throat, showing just how bad of a job it is.
They have to constantly be ready to kill themselves because that is better than burning to death.
The ending to this scene was horrifying, and it leads to Rhaenyra slapping one of her lords when he questions her.
“It is my fault, I think, that you have forgotten to fear me,” she says.
To be honest, though, I do not know if the lords ever feared Rhaenyra.
She has not really done anything in the show that would make anyone scared of her, unlike in the book.
Daemon, however, has given plenty of reasons for people to be scared of him.
Simon Strong knows this better than anyone after this episode, as a paranoid Daemon accuses him of poisoning him, holding him at knifepoint the whole time.
Although, it is kind of weird that Daemon would think Simon is the one influencing him instead of, you know, Alys, the creepy witch lady.
Speaking of which, we get even more Daemon hallucinations this episode.
Yay.
Yeah, not going to lie, the constant hallucinations have become a bit tiresome, at this point.
Don’t get me wrong, it was great to see Paddy Considine back as Viserys.
His first scene is meh since he is just repeating lines from the first season, but his second one is great because it shows Daemon comforting Viserys for Aemma’s death like he should have done.
I do at least like how these hallucinations are being used to show Daemon feels guilt for some of his prior actions.
And to be fair to the writers, Daemon spent a long time doing very little at Harrenhal in the book too, so they had to find some way to make his storyline interesting, hence the constant hallucinations.
But Daemon’s story at Harrenhal is definitely about to pick up because he learns that the old Tully lord has died, most likely poisoned by Alys.
I am pretty curious about what Alys’ motives are.
She might be poisoning Daemon or setting a spell on him, and yet she helps him by convincing him to stay at Harrenhal and then likely poisoning the old Tully.
What is her end goal?
While Daemon will soon be making moves at Harrenhal, Rhaenyra and Mysaria put their plan into action this episode.
We see Mysaria’s agents spread tales of the high life those in the Red Keep experience, while the smallfolk suffer.
Rhaenyra then sends loads of supplies to these smallfolk.
It is a brilliant piece of propaganda to turn them to her side and it works wonders.
It honestly works a little too well because it almost ends with Alicent and Helaena being murdered by an angry mob.
In the end, they are saved but the same cannot be said for the frat boy friends of Aegon’s who he let into the Kingsguard.
Aegon really is lucky that he did not have those guys defending him when things went bad.
Unfortunately for him, he is stuck with a vindictive man like Aemond for a brother.
When Aegon awakens, Aemond pays him a visit.
Aegon claims to remember nothing, while Aemond pretty much tortures him by pressing into his burn wounds.
It is clear that he is lying to save himself, though, but who could blame him?
In the end, Aegon’s only friend here might be Larys, of all people.
After being hilariously shot down for Hand of the King by Aemond, Larys turns to Aegon and, in the best scene of the episode, relates to him by explaining the circumstances of his birth.
Through comparing his club foot with Aegon’s horrible wounds, it seems like Larys is able to bring himself to actually sympathize with Aegon’s situation, giving him some advice.
That being said, he is still definitely manipulating him, and his withholding of Milk of the Poppy was cruel, even if it was to keep Aegon level-headed.
As for my second favorite scene of the episode, this sees Alicent saying her goodbye to Gwayne.
They discuss Daeron and Gwayne begins a series of flatteries to describe him, before ending simply with, “He’s kind.”
I really liked the delivery of this line, and it made me even more excited for when Daeron eventually shows up.
This scene also did a great job of highlighting Alicent and Gwayne’s relationship, and the tension that exists between them due to their father’s attention.
What is way more intense than that, though, is what Seasmoke does after roasting Ser Steffon.
The dragon chases down and corners Addam in a moment that had the man understandably scared for his life.
However, while this scene was undoubtedly terrifying for Addam, it was hilarious for me.
Seasmoke really wanted Addam to be his rider and he was not taking no for an answer.
As for why he chose Addam, I wonder if it was because he reminded him of Laenor?
News of Addam riding Seasmoke eventually reaches Rhaenyra but, before that, we get the most controversial scene of the episode.
It begins with Mysaria reporting to Rhaenyra about the success of their plan, but Rhaenyra is still unsure, having doubts.
Mysaria then pays off the question about the scar on her neck, which Rhaenyra asked about a few episodes ago.
She reveals a horrifying story about the abuse she suffered from her father, and how she survived it, before relating it to meeting Rhaenyra, who is the first person to treat her like an equal.
Rhaenyra embraces her, and the two end up kissing.
I heard leaks about this scene and, when I did, I wondered if it was a troll because it sounded out of nowhere.
No prior scene in any episode seemed to hint at a Rhaenyra and Mysaria pairing.
Having seen the scene now, I still hold true to that belief.
I get the reason for it happening, but it still feels a little fast.
Not only that, but it feels pretty tone death, as well.
The scene goes from Mysaria telling the horrifying truth of the abuse she suffered to the two of them making out.
Maybe future episodes will improve my opinion of this pairing but, for now, this is one I don’t really like.
In the end, the two are interrupted with the news of someone being seen riding Seasmoke, and Rhaenyra goes to confront them, ending the episode.
Overall, “Smallfolk” is a good House of the Dragon episode.
It has plenty of great scenes, like Larys giving Aegon advice, Gwayne talking about Daeron, and Seasmoke claiming Addam.
On the other hand, there are some things which hold it back, most notably the odd pairing between Rhaenyra and Mysaria.
Only two episodes left before the season ends now.

Book Spoilers Section:
Going into this episode, I was excited to see the Dragonseeds plotline play out, but they seem to be saving that for next episode.
Addam has now claimed Seasmoke, and this will serve as motivation for Rhaenyra to call for more Dragonseeds, eventually resulting in Hugh and Ulf joining the Blacks.
Rhaenyra may also slowly become more like her book counterpart, if her telling the lord “It is my fault, I think, that you have forgotten to fear me,” is accurate.
As for Rhaenyra and Mysaria’s make out session, I was wondering why the writers decided to pair them up from a story perspective.
Their sudden make out feels like something Mushroom would write about, rather than something that actually happened.
So, what purpose will this serve in the plot?
Well, I think it could be used to drive a further wedge between Daemon and Rhaenyra.
We know Nettles has been cut, so instead of Rhaenyra being jealous of her, Daemon might be jealous of Mysaria?
Speaking of, this episode officially killed any hope I may have had of Nettles not being replaced by Rhaena.
Rhaena finds a bunch of burned sheep in the Vale and Jeyne Arryn confirms there is a wild dragon there.
I said in an earlier review that I thought it made sense for a sheep eating dragon to turn up in the Vale.
While I stand by this claim, it still kills me that one of my favorite characters from Fire and Blood is going to be replaced by a character who is so at odds with what her entire story was about.
I mean, not including Nettles felt like a major missed opportunity this episode.
The episode is literally called “Smallfolk.”
It focuses on their plight, and it would have been perfect to see Nettles begin the difficult process of claiming Sheepstealer this episode.
Instead, we get Rhaena who is a noble and thus completely ignorant to the struggles of the smallfolk.
Again, though, I am going to save the rest of my complaints for the episode where Rhaena actually claims Sheepstealer.
So, if you like rants, you have that to look forward to.
I want to end this review on a more positive note, so I will end it by talking about more positive directions for future storylines.
One such direction is that of the Shepard.
We see a man get his hand cut off by the incompetent Kingsguard this episode, and that man could be the Shepard, the one who leads the smallfolk to kill all the dragons.
Otto is also hinted to be returning.
Aemond sends for him this episode, and it would be great to see him again.
That being said, I hope he does not return to King’s Landing because, if he does, that means he will most likely meet his book fate and die in the season finale.
Rhys Ifans is one of the best actors in this show and I would like him to stick around longer than his book counterpart.
I theorized in an earlier review that he could take part in Daeron’s storyline next season, so I hope that is the case.
We will just have to wait and see what Otto’s fate will be in the final two episodes of the season.