Tag: Tom Glynn Carney

House of the Dragon Season Two, Episode Eight, The Queen Who Ever Was Review: Worst Episode of the Series?

I was excited for the Season Two finale of House of the Dragon. 
The previous episode, “The Red Sowing”, was one of my favorites of the series, so I was anticipating the season would likewise end on a great note.
Unfortunately, House of the Dragon followed up one of its best episodes with easily its worst for me.
Directed by Geeta Vasant Patel, “The Queen Who Ever Was” not only ends Season Two on an anticlimactic note but also has plenty of poorly integrated scenes, scenes that go nowhere and, worst of all, two cases of extreme character assassination.
The episode begins with Tyland Lannister negotiating with the Triarchy.
Over the course of the episode, we see him struggle, having to engage in a mud fight with Admiral Lohar to win the Triarchy’s support.
These scenes all feel very rushed, considering they are just shoved into the season finale.
If this storyline had been stretched out over previous episodes, maybe it would have been better.
A counter point to this is that Tyland and the newly introduced Lohar are just not interesting enough to carry their own storyline.
Sadly, this is not the only story with scenes spread across the episode which lacks intrigue.
Throughout “The Queen Who Ever Was”, we get brief scenes of Rhaena running through the Vale, looking for a wild dragon.
Not only is Rhaena unlikeable here because she abandoned her half-siblings, but the storyline also makes little sense because somehow no one noticed she was gone.
The episode ends with her finding the dragon, which has a cool design, but that is the last we see of Rhaena this season, making all of the buildup she got seem like a waste of time.
The Tyland and Rhaena scenes feel like they could have been removed in favor of focusing on more interesting events, like Aemond burning down a city that is loyal to the Blacks.
We only see the aftermath of this attack, removing a lot of its impact.
If we had seen Aemond actually burn the city, driven by his anger of the Blacks recruiting new dragon riders last episode, it could have been a big moment for his character.
Instead, it feels kind of hollow.
Speaking of those new dragon riders, Ulf is already letting the power get to his head, being disrespectful towards Jace.
This only furthers Jace’s fear that these Dragonseeds could prove to be more of a threat than allies.
Rhaenyra is not likely to listen to his protests, however.
She is, thankfully, finally listening to Corlys.
He was named Hand of the Queen in Episode Five, but he has bizarrely never been seen advising Rhaenyra until now.
It honestly felt like Mysaria was Hand of the Queen rather than him.
Now, we finally get to see him advising Rhaenyra to take the war to the Greens, while also unveiling his new ship, dubbing it “The Queen Who Ever Was” after Rhaenys, which is a nice touch.
Corlys is also in the best scene of the episode, when he tries to offer Alyn help, only for his illegitimate son to confront him with all of the pain he put him and Addam through by neglecting them.
Abubakar Salim gives a powerful performance here, and it makes me more excited to see him in Season Three.
Hopefully, we will see Corlys advising Rhaenyra more next season, as well.
She is certainly going to need all of the advice she can get, given that one of her plans failed so badly this episode.
The Lord she sent to access Daemon ends up betraying her, wanting to support Daemon’s claim instead.
Rhaenyra is just lucky Daemon had a vision about how terrible Season Eight was and now wants to stop it from happening.
That joke brings me to Daemon’s part of the story, as he finally makes his choice regarding his place in the world, deciding to stay loyal to Rhaenyra after his vision of the coming Whiter Walker threat.
While this was a big moment from Daemon, I do feel like House of the Dragon leans way too heavily on the events of Game of Thrones at times.
I wish it could just be its own show, especially how a lot of us do not want to be reminded of Season Eight.
Along with this, Daemon and Rhaenyra reconciling makes me wonder just what the point was of that bizarre make out scene between Rhaenyra and Mysaria in Episode Six?
That scene has never been addressed since and it probably never will now that Rhaenyra and Daemon are back on the same page.
However, Daemon’s storyline has an even worse problem, which is the complete character assassination of Helaena.
Helaena appears in Daemon’s vision, revealing herself to have powers similar to Bran’s in Game of Thrones. 
She then gives him some advice.
“This is all a story. And you’re but one part in it. You know your part. You know what you must do.”
I hated this.
Daemon is responsible for the brutal murder of Helaena’s son, and I am supposed to believe that she is willing to help him after that?
Why?
She should hate his guts.
In episode two, we saw how traumatizing the death of her son was for her and this scene lessens that impact.
This is the first character assassination of the episode but there is still one more and it is far worse.
I am getting ahead of myself, though.
While, yes, the scene with Daemon and Helaena is bad, at least there are a couple of good scenes to balance the episode out a little.
The first of these is the already mentioned Alyn scene, but there is also one of Criston, where Gwayne confronts him over his relationship with Alicent.
The scene is a bit weird since Gwayne confronts Criston out in the open, practically telling everyone who did not already know that the King’s widow is having an affair.
That being said, the scene does have the best dialogue of the episode, as Criston shows how nihilistic he has become.
“Perhaps all men are corrupt and true honor is a mist that melts in the morning.”
Criston may be a complete and utter jerk, but damn did that line feel like something George R.R Martin would write.
Criston is faithful to Alicent… it is just a shame that she is currently willing to sell him and every single person in her family besides Helaena up the river.
After learning Aemond wants to force Helaena to fight, Alicent goes to Rhaenyra in secret to negotiate, being willing to surrender King’s Landing to her once Aemond leaves.
At first, Alicent attempts to claim she can convince Aegon to bend the knee, but Rhaenyra refuses, saying Aegon has to die for her claim to the Iron Throne to succeed.
So, obviously, Alicent says no, right?
I mean, this is the woman who threw herself in front of a dragon to defend her son in Season One, Episode Nine.
She would never sacrifice her children after being so afraid for their safety previously, right?
Nope, she agrees to sacrifice Aegon and, by extension, Aemond, Otto and Daeron, the latter of whom she wanted to know about just a few episodes ago.
This completely destroys Alicent’s character.
She was the one who turned her children against Rhaenyra in the first place and now she is willing to have them executed?
Not that it will happen though, because Aegon flees the city with Larys this episode, which will probably cause yet another misunderstanding between Rhaenyra and Alicent in Season Three.
As for Aegon himself, Tom-Glynn Carney did a fantastic job this season.
I somehow both sympathize with his character and despise him.
This is what the show should have been going for with Alicent.
Instead of the ruthless, power-hungry woman who loved her children from the book, we get the complete opposite, someone who wants peace even if it means her own children have to die.
Seeing what it led to, I now really don’t like the switch in Alicent’s character in “Lord of the Tides.”
If she had crowned Aegon because she wanted to, rather than because she misheard Viserys, it would have made her a lot more interesting.
Honestly, Rhaenyra suffers a lot from these kinds of issues as well.
In the Season One finale, Rhaenyra’s face after she learned of Luke’s death promised vengeance.
In Season Two, however, apart from Episode One, this desire for revenge because of her son’s death has completely disappeared.
She has been so pro-peace this season, even when it is absolutely obvious that the other side is not going to surrender.
I wish the show had just kept at what it was initially building up between Rhaenyra and Alicent, a friendship turned bitter and hateful rivalry.
Their children have literally been killing each other and they are still somehow friends.
Alicent even wants Rhaenyra to come with her which is just bizarre.
Where exactly would you two go where you would not be noticed?
At least the cinematography and Ramin Djawadi’s score are excellent, as this final, awful scene brings the season to an end on an incredibly anticlimactic note.
Overall, “The Queen Who Ever Was” is a bad finale.
Sure, it has some great scenes, like Alyn and Criston’s, but the rest of the scenes either feel shoved in, pointless, or have blatant character assassination.
As for the season as a whole, I have mixed feelings.
There have been amazing episodes, specifically Episodes Two, Four and Seven, but a lot of the other ones have been slow.
This would have been forgivable if they had built up to a good finale but, instead, we got the worst episode of the show.
I sincerely hope the writing quality will improve for Season Three, otherwise this show could be in trouble.
That being said, the writing for “The Queen Who Ever Was” is not as bad as Season Eight of Game of Thrones.
So, at least there is that.

Book Spoilers Section:
You know, it’s funny.
I spent the past few episodes planning a rant for when Rhaena claimed Sheepstealer but the writers cut the scene before it happened.
A part of me wonders if the writers are just waiting to see fan reception for Rhaena before they commit to abandoning Nettles entirely but that is probably not it.
I mean, why would they commit to having Sheepstealer in the Vale if they were not going to have Rhaena claim it?
And if Nettles does show up next season, then her storyline will probably be considerably weaker than the book, since the show spent so much time building up to another character getting her dragon.
At least Sheepstealer’s design looks cool.
Speaking of new dragons, we also got to see Tessarion briefly at the end of the episode.
I hope the show does Daeron justice.
Another interesting thing is Otto being in prison at the end.
This is completely book original, and I wonder where the show is going with it.
Perhaps it will be a way to tie him into Daeron’s storyline, like I speculated in prior reviews.
Along with Daeron, next season we also have the fall of King’s Landing and the Battle of the Gullett to look forward to.
The latter is what was being built up to with those Tyland and Lohar scenes.
However, that really does not justify those scenes’ existence, in my opinion.
All it really would have required is a simple message from Tyland saying he had got the Triarchy’s support, not a weird scene of mud fighting.
Oh, well, hopefully the battle will be good, along with the writing.
As you can see, the poor quality of this episode’s writing has me concerned for Season Three.
I really hope we don’t get Aemond hallucinating at Harrenhal with Alys Rivers when he eventually takes the castle.
Could you imagine?
I, unfortunately, can.
As for Season Two itself, I would still say it is good overall, but the writing is a definite step down from Season One.

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.

House of the Dragon Season Two, Episode Five, Regent Review: What in the Oedipus Complex?

After one of the best episodes of House of the Dragon, the subsequent one, “Regent,” is a much calmer affair.
Despite this, it has, without question, the most cursed moment of the entire series so far.
Directed by Claire Kilner, the episode begins by showing Corlys’ reaction to the death of Rhaenys.
While his tearful moment is tragic, I will admit I was a bit disappointed we did not get the scene from the book, which I feel could have made Corlys’ grief more palpable.
Steve Toussaint’s performance still gets the job done, though.
From here, the episode transitions to King’s Landing where we see the Greens milking Rhaenys and Meleys’ defeat for all it is worth.
Meleys’ head is paraded through the streets to show the Small Folk of the victory at Rooks’ Rest.
If the Greens were hoping for a propaganda win then they definitely underestimated the element of superstition, as much of the Small Folk view the death of a dragon as a bad omen.
Also, it’s probably not a good idea to show the oppressed people that the dragons they fear can be killed.
Hugh spells this out perfectly when he states that the dragons are, “just meat.”
But the parade has another purpose besides propaganda.
It is also being used to smuggle the injured Aegon back into King’s Landing.
I was curious to see how far they would go with Aegon’s injuries.
The book’s description was pretty gnarly, and I wondered if the show would go all the way with it, or just apply a little makeup.
Well, of course House of the Dragon did not cheap out because Aegon’s wounds are gruesome.
Aemond, however, is more concerned with taking power in Aegon’s place, and Cole is willing to stay silent about what really happened, even to Alicent.
Back with the Blacks, the loss of Rhaenys and Meleys is causing Rhaenyra to have trouble with her lords again.
One of them takes the sexist approach again, telling Rhaenyra that the “gentler sex” has no place in planning battles, only for Rhaenyra to correctly point out that he has about as much battle experience as her.
It is good to see these troublesome lords get called out, although Rhaenys’ presence is missed because she was especially good at this.
Meanwhile, in the Riverlands, Daemon is attempting to threaten the Brackens into bending the knee with the help of Caraxes.
Admirably, however, the Brackens are steadfast in the face of being burned alive, and bravely turn their backs on the dragon.
Daemon’s following statement, “I did not think they would be so eager to die” makes him almost seems impressed with them.
This does not stop him from tasking Willem Blackwood (Jack Parry-Jones) with terrorizing their lands to threaten the Brackens into bending the knee.
If you will recall, Willem was the young man who vied for Rhaenyra’s hand back in Season One and killed his Bracken tormentor.
He is just as eager to take on the Brackens now, escalating it to war crimes with Daemon’s encouragement.
As for Daemon’s children, Rhaena has arrived in the Eyrie with the dragon eggs and Rhaenyra’s sons.
Jeyne Arryn is understandably none too pleased with receiving dragon eggs rather than a dragon rider to protect the Eeyrie.
As for Baela, her storyline this episode is more interesting, as we see her interact with Corlys, bringing him Rhaenyra’s offer to make him Hand of the Queen.
Corlys is initially incensed by this offer, probably seeing it as a means to placate him after Rhaenys’ death but Baela delivers an impassioned speech about Rhaenys and how she died as she would have wished.
Before Baela departs, Corlys offers to name her heir to Driftmark but she refuses in the best line of the episode, “I am blood and fire. Driftmark must pass to salt and sea.”
To be honest, I think House of the Dragon did a poor job of establishing Baela and Rhaena as characters in Season One.
With the exception of the fight with Aemond, they were pretty much just background characters, standing around while more important characters talked.
Season Two is attempting to fix this and they are succeeding, at least with Baela.
It remains to be seen if they will do so with Rhaena but I do have concerns about that, due to certain leaks which I will not get into here.
Getting back to their father, Daemon is still experiencing hallucinations at Harrenhal, with his most recent one being incredibly messed up.
Remember how I said at the beginning of this review that this episode had the most cursed moment of the whole series so far?
Well, this hallucination is that scene.
Daemon hallucinates having sex with a Targaryen woman and, for most of the scene, it is a mystery who she is.
That is, until she looks up at Daemon and says, “my favorite son.”
Just like that, all as one, the entire fandom recoiled in collective disgust.
We all know Targaryens love their incest but your own mother?
Really, Daemon?
When Viserys said that mother loved you best this was not what he meant!
Joking aside, I do struggle to see the point of this scene other than sheer shock value.
It just feels like the writers wanted to gross us out here.
Or maybe they saw it as a way to hint that Alys is possibly behind Daemon’s hallucinations, since she brings up his mother in a later scene?
Still, they could have gone about it in a less disturbing way.
To be fair to Daemon, though, this hallucination plays out more like a nightmare, so it is not like he actually wanted to have sex with his mother… at least I hope not.
Well, typing all of this is up has left me feeling pretty dirty so I am going to move on to the Greens again now.
With Aegon in a coma, the Green Council sets about naming the titular “Regent” of the episode.
Alicent nominates herself but, come on, they were never going to elect a woman when their whole justification for making Aegon king is that a woman cannot rule.
With Cole siding against Alicent, Aemond is named regent but, rather than focus on him and his council’s tactics, the shot stays firmly focused on Alicent, who is having a breakdown as she slowly realizes what she has helped unleash.
Olivia Cooke does a fantastic job in this scene.
She really brings Alicent’s horror to life.
This is a horror much of King’s Landing is experiencing, as many are attempting to flee the city because of food shortages and the fear of retribution for Meleys’ death.
Among those who attempt to flee are Hugh and his family, including his sick daughter, but Aemond orders the gates closed.
The last scenes with the Greens see Helaena confronting Aemond over what he did to Aegon without saying it, and a wounded Aegon calling out to his mother in his sleep… let’s just hope is dream of her is more innocent than Daemon’s.
Relax, I’m kidding.
Aemond is not the only prince making moves because, with Baela’s encouragement, Jace begins negotiating with the Freys, who are just as conniving as their descendants in Game of Thrones, hundreds of years later.
The Freys want Harrenhal, and Jace seems more than willing to meet this demand.
Although, since Simon Strong currently holds Harrenhal, I imagine he will have a few problems with this.
Yet, he does not command a strong force so, if he does turn traitor because of it, I do not imagine it will have that big of an impact for the Blacks.
What will have a big impact, however, is Daemon’s encouragement of war crimes.
His story this episode ends with him being confronted by a bunch of lords and ladies about the atrocities committed by the Blackwoods at his direction.
Despite Daemon building himself up as a King the whole episode, the results of his actions really prove how terrible he would be as one.
Unless the lord Rhaenyra sent to access Daemon can help somehow, I really do not see how Daemon can spin this whole mess in a positive way.
Speaking of Rhaenyra, she is enacting plans of her own, as she sends one of her handmaidens into King’s Landing to meet with Dyana for a currently unknown purpose.
The episode then ends with her and Jace deciding to find the descendants of Targaryens and Valyrians, and enlist them to their cause as dragon riders.
This storyline is my favorite part of the entire Dance so I am excited to see it finally being adapted.
I hope the show does it justice.
As for “Regent” it is another good episode.
Some of it is questionable, namely the whole Daemon sleeping with his mother hallucination but, otherwise, it does a decent job of building up to future storylines.


Book Spoilers Section:
Going into this episode, I was excited to see Corlys’ reaction to Rhaenys’ death.
In the book, he blames Rhaenyra, lashing out in his grief.
Unfortunately, we did not get this scene, as we just see him mourning alone.
As I said, Steve Toussaint does a great job portraying this grief, but it was a bit disappointing to not see this scene from the book.
That being said, the show already seems to be building to one of the most impactful moments of Fire and Blood, which is the storming of the Dragon Pit.
The Small Folk realizing that the godlike dragons are “just meat” will undoubtedly lead to this dark event in future seasons.
Another bit from the book which was built up this episode was the meeting between Alys and Aemond.
Daemon tells Alys she should pray she never meets him because he will kill her.
It is kind of funny to know, as a book reader, how wrong Daemon is because Aemond will actually take her as a lover.
In the next few episodes, we will definitely be seeing the Dragon Seed storyline play out.
Addam will claim Seasmoke, as foreshadowed by him seeing the dragon fly overhead a few episodes ago.
I wonder what will motivate to do so, and I am also curious to see if him claiming Sheepstealer will confirm Laenor has died?
As for the other two Dragon Seeds, Hugh and Ulf, I have a pretty good idea of their reasoning for becoming dragon riders.
Ulf has already revealed himself to be a Black loyalist with his boasting in Episode Three.
As for Hugh, his reason for joining is probably going to be way more tragic.
His daughter appears to be on the brink of death when he and his family try to flee King’s Landing.
She will most likely die, and Hugh will want revenge, blaming the Greens for aid not arriving as promised and for locking them in the city.
So that is three out of four Dragon Seeds but, as I have probably repeated ad nauseam in these reviews, Nettles has most likely been cut for Rhaena who will claim Sheepstealer in the next few episodes, to my displeasure.
However, Rhaena claiming Sheepstealer may not be the only issue I have with the next few episodes because there is another weird leak going around.
This leak claims that Rhaenyra and Mysaria will kiss.
If this happens, it will be absolutely bizarre because, while the scenes between the two are good, I have not felt a single hint of romantic or sexual tension.
Although, given that this leak is so bizarre, there is always the possibility that it is a troll.
Or, who knows, maybe the kiss will make sense in context, if it does happen?
In any case, I am still excited to see Addam, Hugh and Ulf claim their dragons so there is that to look forward to.

House of the Dragon Season Two, Episode Four, The Red Dragon and the Gold Review: Rook’s Rest.

In my review for the previous episode of House of the Dragon, I said that Episode Four could be one of the best episodes of the series so far.
Having seen it, I can confidently say that this prediction was absolutely correct.
A slight correction, though.
In that review, I said this episode was called “A Dance with Dragons” but it is actually called “The Red Dragon and the Gold.”
A much better name, in my opinion.
Directed again by Alan Taylor, “The Red Dragon and the Gold” begins at Harrenhal, where Daemon is experiencing more nightmares about his past.
Milly Alcock returns again as the younger Rhaenyra who does a good job calling Daemon out for his past actions.
Daemon responds in typical Daemon fashion by decapitating her, before being awakened with blood on his hands.
I kind of figured Daemon’s nightmare would be a one-time thing last episode, but the show really seems to be running with it.
While Daemon attempts to gain allies through the Tullys and Blackwoods, he loses time and experiences flashbacks to his past, including seeing his dead wife, Laena.
In one bizarre moment, he even sees himself as Aemond.
I am unsure how I feel about this storyline at the moment, but the show seems to be pretty ambiguous on the cause of all this for the time being.
It could be the curse of Harrenhal, Alys Rivers using some kind of magic on Daemon, or simply Daemon’s guilt messing with his mind.
Maybe all three.
In any case, I think it would be a missed opportunity if the show did not have Daemon experience a hallucination of Rhea Royce.
Her murder is definitely Daemon’s worst crime and, even if he does not feel about it, it would be strange if he was not confronted with it.
Overall, I am still interested to see where Daemon’s storyline goes at Harrenhal.
The highlight of the episode, though, is definitely Rhaenys, who begins the episode meeting Alyn to thank him for saving her husband.
Her interaction with him, and Corlys’ subsequent reaction, basically confirm that he is Corlys’ bastard, but Rhaenys proves her morality for not judging Alyn on the basis of his birth.
Rhaenys and Corlys then travel to Dragonstone to help Jace and Baela set their conflicting lords straight.
Corlys’ line, “is there naught to be done in the absence of the Queen but to grouse and claw for power” shows how far he has come from Season One, where he started off as extremely power hungry.
Had the old Corlys been in this room, he would have been just as combative as the other lords.
To be fair to these lords, though, Rhaenyra certainly has not helped matters by disappearing and, when she finally does come back, everyone is shocked to learn she went to King’s Landing to meet with Alicent, especially Jace.
Rhaenyra’s reasoning for meeting Alicent really bothered me in Episode Three, due to how shortsighted it was, but it was made retroactively better in this episode through the other characters calling her out on it.
She is at least ready for war now, although it may be too late because the Greens are already attacking her allies.
We see the sacking of one castle, where Criston kills the lord and assimilates his forces into his own army.
The lord does have some awesome last words though, telling Criston that his death will come in kind.
Despite the war progressing well for the Greens due to Criston’s actions, Aegon is displeased to hear of Daemon taking Harrenhal.
His insecurities only grow when Aemond embarrasses him by showing just how bad his Valyrian is, while Aemond’s is impeccable.
Aegon then does what any insecure son would do when he is feeling inadequate, seek the comfort of his mother.
Unfortunately, his mother is Alicent, who is also reeling from the revelations of her conversation with Rhaenyra.
She deals with Aegon’s insecurities with the subtleness of a brick wall, offering him no comfort, and telling him to do nothing, as if she had no hand in this situation.
She had literal years to train Aegon to be a king, and yet she clearly taught him nothing and now expects him to do nothing.
Did she really expect him to be content with that?
This is not a complaint, though, as I love how complicated Alicent is.
Rhaenyra proves herself to be both much more caring, and to also be better at preparing her son for kingship by telling him about the Song of Ice and Fire.
From here, the episode transitions to a scene I have been waiting to see adapted ever since I first read Fire and Blood: Rook’s Rest.
The battle did not disappoint.
Not only are the effects, both CGI and practical great, but so is the cinematography and the brilliant score by Ramin Djawadi playing throughout.
Cole lays siege to Rook’s Rest, resulting in Rhaenys volunteering to take her dragon Meleys and aid the Blacks.
Meanwhile, Aegon, drunk and eager to prove himself, takes his dragon Sunfyre to the battlefield.
And so, the red dragon and the gold head for conflict.
However, both are unaware of the third, old dragon.
Cole and Aemond planned an ambush and are ready to meet Rhaenys with Vhagar.
They are not ready for Aegon to interfere, however, and he nearly gets himself killed fighting Rhaenys.
Thankfully for him, help is on the way… unfortunately for him, that help is Aemond.
As I predicted, Aemond was not quick to forget Aegon’s humiliation of him in the brothel, along with the years of humiliation he was subjected to as a child.
Aemond orders Vhagar to shoot fire at the two dragons, seemingly not caring if his own brother is killed.
Aegon and Sunfyre plummet into the forest below, leaving Meleys and Vhagar as the only dragons left in the fight.
Rather than flee, Rhaenys valiantly fights against Aemond and Vhagar.
What follows shows exactly why this conflict came to be known as the Dance of the Dragons as, locked together in battle, the two dragons do almost look like they are dancing.
In the end, however, Aemond and Vhagar are able to get a sneak attack on Rhaenys and Meleys, ending the fight.
As Meleys dies, the look on Rhaenys’s face as she falls is tragic, knowing that imminent death is getting closer, until she and her dragon crash into the castle below, resulting in a fireball.
In the aftermath of the battle, Criston finds Aemond standing over Aegon, sword drawn, leaving it implied if he was really going to kill his brother or not.
In the end, Aemond takes the Valyrian Steel dagger and leaves Criston with Aegon, whose fate currently remains unknown.
This whole final scene at Rook’s Rest makes “The Red Dragon and the Gold” one of the best House of the Dragon episodes, but the rest of the episode is nothing to sleep about.
We have Daemon being confronted by his past, Rhaenyra finally accepting that war is inevitable, and the buildup to Rhaenys’ death, with her sharing her last scenes with Corlys.
Speaking of Corlys it will be tragic to see him learn of his wife’s death next episode.
As for Rhaenys herself, Eve Best did a fantastic job with the character.
While I felt like the writing for her could be a little bit iffy at times, like when she killed loads of civilians in the Dragon Pit, when the writing for her was good it was really good.
We see that this episode during her interaction with Alyn, and it is a shame we will not be getting more Rhaenys scenes like this, due to her death.
RIP the Queen Who Never Was.

Book Spoilers Section:
The episode ends keeping Aegon’s fate up in the air, but he does survive his injuries.
I am curious how far the show will go as to the extent of those injuries.
Will his scars be super prominent or more subtle?
As for Aegon himself, I don’t expect we will see much more of him this season, due to his wounds, which is a shame because Tom Glynn-Carney has been doing an excellent job this season.
Speaking of a character’s screen time being reduced, I am unsure if we will see Otto again this season, since he left to meet up with Daeron and he has not been cast yet.
I am, however, now wondering if Otto’s fate will be changed from Fire and Blood.
When Rhaenyra takes King’s Landing in the book, Otto is among those executed.
But if this season ends with the taking of King’s Landing, like I think it will, Otto will not be there to meet that fate.
Instead, Otto will most likely be mentoring Daeron next season.
If that is the case, then he could end up meeting the fate of another book character where, after Daeron’s death, he poisons himself to ensure the death of Ulf the White.
This would be a cooler way for Otto to go out and Rhys Ifans could definitely pull it off.
With Rook’s Rest now concluded, I expect the next few episodes will finally get into my favorite storyline from the Dance, which is the Dragonseeds.
I have mentioned in previous reviews that I am concerned about this storyline in the show, due to the potential cutting of Nettles, however the show has done a good job of setting up the characters of Addam, Hugh and Ulf, so I am excited to see them tame their dragons, at least.
We will see how that storyline turns out in the next few episodes.

House of the Dragon Season Two, Episode Three, The Burning Mill Review: A Tense Meeting.

Episode Three of House of the Dragon‘s Second Season, “The Burning Mill” is the weakest episode of the three so far.
But that is not to say it is bad, far from it.
Directed by Geeta Vasant Patel, the episode begins by showing the oldest rivalry in Westeros, that of the Blackwoods and the Brackens, finding yet another excuse to go at one another’s throats.
We see how a simple dispute between the rival families quickly devolves into an outright slaughter, with hundreds of dead on both sides, with the titular burning mill in the background.
This opening scene made for a striking showcase of how opposing factions will use the conflict brewing between Rhaenyra and Aegon as an excuse to go to war.
From here, the episode cuts to the aftermath of the tragic Erryk and Arryk fight.
The twins are being buried together at Rhaenyra’s behest and it is at this point that Rhaneys says, “Otto Hightower would never have allowed this.”
This seems to be a complete misunderstanding of Otto, since he planned to send Kingsguard to kill Rhaenyra and her family in Episode Nine of Season One.
Yes, Otto did object to the plan to send Arryk on an assassination mission, but this was because he was not consulted about it and, most of all, he did not think the plan was very good.
Saying he would not do it because of morals is just weird.
However, Rhaenys’ following comment that, “Soon they will not even remember what it was that began the war in the first place,” is a much more fitting one because it perfectly represents the opening unseen battle between the Blackwoods and the Brackens.
Much like the Blacks, the Greens are also considering their options after Arryk’s failed attempt on Rhaenyra’s life, along with the fallout of Cole replacing Otto.
Sadly, Cole now has Aegon’s ear, and plans to eventually take Harrenhal.
Unfortunately for him, Daemon is way ahead of him, taking Caraxes to claim one of the most important strongholds in the entire war… which is severely undermanned.
It was quite funny to see Daemon storming in, expecting a fight, only to be met simply by Lord Simon Strong (Simon Russel Beale).
There was surprisingly a lot of good humor in this scene, as Daemon tries to stake claim to some power by demanding to be called “your Grace.”
The scene also ends comedically when Simon is incredulous about taking the throne and Daemon responds, “It’s a big chair made of swords.”
Following this scene, we see Cole beginning his journey to muster forces for Aegon’s cause, unaware that Daemon has already taken Harrenhal.
Before he leaves, however, Alicent saddles him with her brother, Gwayne Hightower (Freddie Fox), who throws quite a bit of shade at Cole for taking his father’s position as Hand of the King.
Cole does leave with Alicent’s favor though, so that is a win for him, I suppose.
Rhaenyra gets even less respect because her lords suggest she goes into hiding while the men lead the war.
Sure, send one of your dragon riders away when every single one is critical to the war effort.
Brilliant!
Rhaenyra and Rhaenys put them in their place for it, at least.
Afterwards, Rhaenyra sends Rhaena to the Vale with her youngest sons and a clutch of dragon eggs for protection.
Rhaena is reluctant to go at first, angry about being sent away because she is pretty much the only one in her family without a dragon.
I hate to be that guy, Rhaena, but there were plenty of dragons on Dragonstone for you to claim in the years you spent there.
They don’t really provide a good reason why Rhaena never attempted to claim any of them, but the moment Rhaena realizes the trust Rhaenyra is placing in her is a moving moment.
A more sinister moment comes when Larys manipulates Aegon into naming him his Master of Whisperers.
We will probably be seeing a battle of wits between Larys and Mysaria at some point in the series, since she also took a place at Rhaneyra’s court this episode.
Not a surprising outcome for Mysaria, considering how she warned Erryk last episode.
What was a surprise for me, though, was to see the character of Ulf (Tom Bennett).
He is someone I thought had been cut from the show, and he claims to be the bastard brother of Daemon and Viserys, appearing loyal to Rhaenyra’s cause.
He is stupid enough to admit this out loud in King’s Landing but, thankfully for him, smart enough to shut his trap when Aegon himself walks in to enjoy the brothel.
Aegon gets an unexpected pleasure out of the brothel, however, as he discovers Aemond inside and teases him relentlessly over always sleeping with the same woman.
I don’t know, Aegon, maybe constantly goading the guy who flies the biggest dragon in the entire world is not the smartest move?
Just a suggestion?
I am interested to see if and how Aemond will get his payback for the years of bullying Aegon put him through.
Along with Aemond’s humiliation, there is another takeaway from this scene, and it is by far its most tragic, as we briefly see Dyana (Maddie Evans) working as a bar maid.
If you recall, Dyana was the maid Aegon assaulted in Episode Eight of the first season, who was then sent away by Alicent.
The poor girl was assaulted, humiliated, stripped of her position, and now has to work at a bar and brothel her abuser frequents.
Once again, the smallfolk really have it the worst in Westeros.
Following the brothel scene, we get our first good bit of dragon action this season, even if it is brief, when Cole and Gwayne are ambushed by Baela atop Moondancer.
It is a tense scene, which does a good job of showing the danger posed by even a small dragon, making you fear the bigger ones even more.
Gwayne, at least, seems to earn a little respect for Cole because of the encounter, so the new Hand should at least find it easier to command him.
Next, we get by far the creepiest scene of the episode, as Daemon has a nightmare of a young Rhaenyra sewing Jaehaerys’ head back on, blaming Daemon.
This nightmare did a great job of highlighting Daemon’s guilt over his role in the murder, because he did very well at hiding it last episode.
Of course, it was also great to see Milly Alcock again, even if it was just for this one brief moment.
Maybe we could get flashbacks of her and Emily Carey as the younger Alicent later in Season Two, or in future seasons?
Daemon’s nightmare ends with him standing in front of a Weirwood Tree with no idea how he got there.
A strange woman named Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin) stands behind him and states, “You will die in this place.”
And so, the creepiest scene of the episode comes to an end, and we then get the final scene, which is its most controversial, when Rhaenyra sneaks into King’s Landing to talk in secret with Alicent, hoping to find a way to prevent the war.
While I feel like Daemon doing this in Episode One made sense because of his connections with the Gold Cloaks, and general arrogance, Rhaenyra doing it was really not the smartest move.
For one thing, if she gets caught then it’s all over for her cause.
She would be executed, and the Lords would mostly turn over to Aegon, likely resulting in the death of her children.
Also, Alicent’s letter pleading for peace was sent before the brutal murder of her grandchild, so it was kind of weird for that not to be taken into consideration.
Logic issues aside, the meeting between Rhaenyra and Alicent went as well as it could have.
Alicent finally learned the truth of Viserys’ last words but, tragically, it is too little too late.
Now her sons are in charge of the war, and they are out for fire and blood.
Rhaenyra seems to realize war is inevitable too by the end, as she stares grimly while Ramin Djawadi’s fantastic score plays in the background, bringing the episode to an end.
Overall, “The Burning Mill” is a good episode of House of the Dragon. 
Its highlight is definitely the creepy Daemon nightmare scene, and its weakest moment is definitely the Rhaenyra and Alicent interaction, due to logic issues in the writing.
Still, a good episode and the next episode “A Dance with Dragons” may very well be one of the best.


Book Spoilers Section:
The big spoiler implication of this episode is absolutely Daemon’s nightmare.
Seeing Alys Rivers predict his death over the God’s Eye was chilling as a book reader, especially since it raised a lot of questions about Alys’ powers.
Did she cause the nightmare Daemon was having?
Did the Weirwood Tree Daemon woke up in front of aid in her magic?
There is a lot of ambiguity here and I love it.
I’m really looking forward to seeing more of Alys because of this scene.
Other new characters I am interested to see more of are Gwayne and Ulf.
For Gwayne, his story already seems pretty different from the book, where he eventually meets his end at Kings’ Landing.
Unless he returns to the city at some point later in the story, his show fate will probably be different.
As for Ulf, he seemed steadfastly loyal to Rhaenyra’s cause this episode, so I am curious to see what will eventually cause him and Hugh Hammer to turn traitor.
I honestly thought Ulf’s character might get merged with Hugh, which is why I was surprised to see him.
Definitely not complaining, though, because now we have all but one of the Dragon Seeds in the story.
Now Nettles is the only one missing.
Again, though, I am very afraid of the leaks about her being replaced with Rhaena.
The building blocks do seem to be there, with Rhaena’s turmoil over not being able to claim a dragon, and the Vale having a lot of sheep, which would be a good excuse to have Sheepstealer show up there.
Much like I said in my Episode One review, though, Rhaena replacing Nettles would miss the entire point of her story, so fingers crossed they don’t do it.
Another strange thing about Rhaena is that it has apparently been said that the dragon eggs she takes with her are the ones Daenerys eventually gets in Game of Thrones. 
In Fire and Blood, it is heavily implied that the eggs were stolen by Elissa Farman.
So, if these are Dany’s eggs, then this is definitely a change and one I am curious to see play out.
How are the eggs going to get from the Vale to Essos?
I will be ending this book spoilers section on a much more positive note, as the next episode “A Dance with Dragons” will almost certainly center around the fight at Rook’s Rest, one of the big dragon fights of the Dance.
Rhaenys’ last stand has the potential to be one of the best moments in the show, if adapted right, and I hope they pull it off.
There is also the possibility of Aemond letting Aegon get injured as vengeance for the humiliation he has been subjected to.
It would not surprise me if Aemond attempted to let Aegon die, only to find he survived his injuries, and then back down and take him back to King’s Landing.
Episode Four airs today and I am very excited to see if my predictions are true.

House of the Dragon Season Two, Episode Two, Rhaenyra the Cruel Review: The Best Acted Episode Yet.

“A Son for a Son” was a really good start to Season Two of House of the Dragon, but Episode Two, “Rhaenyra the Cruel” is even better.
Directed by Claire Kilner, the episode has the best acting across the board out of any episode in the series so far.
Beginning immediately after the horrifying events of “A Son for a Son”, we see the impact the loss of Aegon’s heir has had on the Greens.
Aegon is, of course, distraught over the loss of his son, destroying the model of Valyria Viserys spent all of last season building.
Otto, on the other hand, is already looking for a way to play this tragedy to their advantage, proposing that they have a funeral procession to show the small folk what Rhaenyra has done.
Aegon is spared from having to go through the spectacle, but Helaena gets no such consideration.
She is paraded through the streets, her sorrow used as a political tool, while Aegon takes his revenge on Blood in the cells.
Her situation gets even worse when the cart they are riding gets stuck in the mud.
I’m pretty sure we were all scared that Jaehaerys’ body would fall off the cart in the attempt to get it moving again but thankfully the showrunners were merciful enough to keep that from happening.
Following this gruesome scene, the episode cuts to the Blacks, who are learning of the murder.
Rhaenyra is understandably shocked when she learns she is being blamed for it, and offended when some of her lords suggest it may have been her vengeance for Lucerys.
However, all it takes is one look at Daemon for her to know the truth.
The following scene between the two is expertly acted by both Emma D’Arcy and Matt Smith, as we see the complete breakdown of any trust Rhaenyra could have had in Daemon.
Matt Smith is especially threatening, as we see the Rogue Prince has to physically restrain himself from grabbing Rhaenyra’s throat, like he did in the Season One Finale.
Their argument ends with Daemon leaving on Caraxes, and Rhaenyra deciding sending Baela (Bethany Antonia) on her dragon Moondancer to keep an eye on King’s Landing.
Back with the Greens, we see the impact Jaehaerys’ murder has had on Criston Cole.
He watches the young boy’s room being cleared out and, based on his expression, he seems to feel quite a bit of guilt for what happened.
He was supposed to be on watch, but instead was sleeping with Alicent and, because of that, Jaehaerys died.
Watching this scene made me wonder if it was possible for me to feel some sympathy for Cole… then the next scene happened, and it made me hate him even more.
Rather than decide to change for the better, Cole instead doubles down and projects his guilt onto Arryk Cargyll, someone who holds no blame for the murder.
Watching Cole bully Arryk into going to assassinate Rhanerya at Dragonstone by posing as his own brother made my hatred for him increase tenfold.
One character I definitely do not hate, though, is Addam (Clinton Liberty), the brother of Alyn, who is introduced this episode.
I will not get into his role in the story, I will save that for the book spoilers section, but I will say that he is one of my favorite characters in the Dance of the Dragons, so it is good to see him.
What is also good to see is how much better Sonoya Mizuno’s performance as Mysaria is now that her accent is much more subdued.
It really allowed her acting ability to shine through in her scene with Rhanerya.
But by far the best acting in this episode is hands down done by Rhys Ifans.
The scene where Otto berates Aegon for killing all of the Rat Catchers is excellent.
Otto’s rage and exasperation is both engaging and hilarious.
It is even emotional when he brings up Viserys, and we see that he really did care deeply about the old king, even if he did manipulate him constantly.
Otto ends his beratement of Aegon by revealing to him that Viserys really did not want his son to be king.
This appears to be the final straw for Aegon, who fires Otto as his Hand and gives the job to Cole.
The guy just keeps failing upward, doesn’t he?
To be fair to Cole though, his crazy plan of sending Arryk to kill Rhaenyra would have probably worked had it not been for Mysaria spotting him.
She alerts Erryk just in time for him to intervene and what results is a tragic fight to the death between twin brothers.
Elliot and Luke Tittensor do excellent jobs as Erryk and Arryk, both in their fight choreography and in their grief at having to fight, despite still loving one another.
The brutal duel ends with one twin killing the other, only for the remaining twin to kill themselves out of grief.
As foe which twin was which, it feels kind of ambiguous.
Either Erryk apologizes to Rhanerya before committing suicide, or Arryk acknowledges her as the true queen before killing himself.
Either way, it is one of the most tragic scenes in the show thus far.
Following the duel of the brothers, the episode cuts to the Greens for the final time.
We see Otto talking with Alicent about his firing, and he brings up Daeron, Alicent and Viserys’ youngest child.
Daeron was not seen or mentioned in Season One so many of us book readers were afraid that he had been cut.
It is good to hear that he exists, even if his introduction in this scene comes out of nowhere.
The conversation between Otto and Alicent ends with Alicent trying to admit to her affair with Criston, only for Otto to say he does not wish to hear of it.
This perfectly highlights the generational family neglect going on within the Green side.
Otto neglects Alicent, who then neglects Aegon when she refuses to comfort him.
Instead of mourning with him, Alicent instead chooses to sleep with Cole again, showing that neither of them has learned their lesson.
In my review of Episode One, I said I had mixed feelings about the two of them hooking up because it felt like it went against both characters.
However, I did say that the hypocrisy of it may be the point.
After watching Episode Two, I can say with absolute certainty that it was.
Both characters are very hypocritical, and their hypocrisy will probably only grow as the season progresses.
Overall, “Rhaenyra the Cruel” is a great episode, with the best acting of the series, so far.
Matt Smith, Emma D’Arcy, Rhys Ifans, Elliot and Luke Tittensor, Tom Glynn-Carney, Phia Saban, and Sonoya Mitsuno all give their best this episode, and I cannot wait to see how their performances continue to improve as the season progresses.

Book Spoilers Section:
Once again, the main topic of discussion for the spoilers section is the Dragonseeds.
First there is Addam of Hull.
As I said, he is one of my favorite characters in the Dance of the Dragons.
We get foreshadowing for him eventually claiming the dragon Seasmoke, when he sees him flying overhead.
I am curious to see what the explanation for this will be, since Laenor is not dead in the show, at least as far as we know.
I am also curious to see how Rhaenys will react to Addam and Alyn’s existence.
Does she already know that Corlys fathered bastards, or will it be a shock?
It would be pretty tragic for it to cause a rift between the two, only for them to never reconcile because Rhaenys dies at Rook’s Rest.
Then there is the other Dragonseed, Hugh.
We see this episode that he has a family, which is struggling due to the conditions caused by the coming war.
His story is already very different from the books, where he was pretty much just a scumbag with no family, so I am interested to see how he will get to that point, if at all.
In any case, we should get our first dragon action in the next episode, as Daemon will be capturing Harrenhal, and the trailer makes it look like Baela will run into some trouble while watching Kings’ Landing.
We are getting ever closer to the actual dragon fights, and I could not be more excited for that.

House of the Dragon Season Two, Episode One, A Son for a Son Review: The Dance Continues.

After a long wait, House of the Dragon Season Two is finally upon us with its first episode, “A Son for a Son.”
Directed by Alan Taylor, the episode is a solid start to the season, ending with a gruesome moment that book fans have been waiting to see for a while.
“A Son for a Son” begins in the North, where we finally get to meet Cregan Stark, played by Tom Taylor.
Taylor does a good job in the role, as does Harry Collett as Jacaerys.
The two meet atop the Wall and discuss the Starks bending the knee to Aegon the Conqueror over a hundred years ago, leading into Jace asking Cregan for men to support his mother’s claim to the Iron Throne.
There are a few details that stood out to me in this scene, one of which is that Collett got to show off his actual hair, rather than the horrible wig of Season One.
This is good because now he actually resembles Harwin Strong quite a bit.
As for the second detail, Cregan states that when King Jaehaerys and Queen Alysanne visited the Wall, their dragons refused to fly across it.
This is book accurate and does foreshadow the White Walkers, but it also does not really mesh well with the Game of Thrones show because Dany’s dragons flew across the Wall just fine.
The scene ends with Cregan promising some of his fighting force, and a message arriving with news of Jace’s brother’s death.
From here, the episode transitions to the fallout of Luke’s death, where we learn Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) has flown off on Syrax to find his body, leaving Daemon (Matt Smith) to brood.
The Rogue Prince attempts to convince Rhaenys (Eve Best) to help him take down Vhagar, but she is able to easily take Daemon down a notch.
Although Daemon is still right when he says that Rhaneys could have ended the conflict by wiping out Aegon and the rest of the Greens in Episode Nine of Season One.
As for Rhaenys husband, Corlys (Steve Toussaint) is speaking with one of his men, Alyn (Abubakar Salim), who was the one to save his life during the fighting in the Stepstones.
This scene is actually one of my favorites in the entire episode.
It is tense and has lots of subtlety, but to explain those subtleties would be to spoil future reveals so I will save my deconstruction of this scene for the spoiler section down below.
Following the scene between Corlys and Alyn, we see what the Greens are up to and, unfortunately, do not see Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) revealing that he killed Lucerys.
I was quite looking forward to seeing Alicent’s reaction to learning her son had ruined any chance of peace.
What I was not expecting to see was Alicent (Olivia Cooke) getting it on with Criston Cole (Fabian Frankel).
Yep, those two are a thing and this definitely did not happen in the book.
To be honest, I have mixed feelings about the two of them getting together.
Alicent is a religiously devout person, so I’m not sure how she justifies having sex out of wedlock to herself when she judged Rhaenyra for it so harshly.
She went on and on about “honor and decency” in the first season, yet now she’s seemingly going against this.
As for Cole, his entire reason for turning against Rhaenyra was that sleeping with her made him feel like he had “soiled my white cloak.”
But he is suddenly okay with soiling it again with Alicent?
Maybe this is the point that the writers are trying to make; that these two are hypocrites, but them being together still feels a little out of character to me.
I will have to see how their relationship is portrayed in future episodes to decide if I completely dislike it or not, though.
Alicent may have a thing for Criston, but she definitely does not like Larys (Mathew Needham).
Unfortunately, she feels she has no choice but to work with him, as he reveals to her that he has got rid of staff who could be spying on her.
Don’t worry, he replaced that staff with his own.
It’s totally not creepy!
Well, Alicent is justifiably worried about Larys’ new staff keeping an eye on her, since she decides to bathe alone rather than have her new servants help.
Speaking of creeps, we also get to see how Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) is handling his role as king.
He is pretty much like what if a frat boy became king, with his own fraternity following him around.
Surprisingly, though, he does seem to be a good dad, as he is preparing his son for council meetings.
I say “surprisingly” because Aegon was revealed to watch his own bastard children in fighting rings last season.
I do think it was a bit of a mistake to go so extreme with Aegon’s depravity last season.
The marketing for Season Two has set it up as Blacks vs Greens.
The problem with this is that it is extremely hard to get on board with Team Green when their king is a rapist who watches his own kids fight to the death for his amusement.
At least Tom Glynn-Carney does a great job as the character.
Back with the Blacks, we see Erryk Cargyll (Elliot Tittensor) find Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno), who expectedly survived Larys’ attack on her base of operations last season.
In my reviews for Season One, a common complaint I had was Mysaria’s accent.
It was so bad that it took me out of every scene she was in.
Well, I am happy to say, the accent has been severely toned down this season.
You can still hear it, but it is slight.
Most importantly, it no longer sounds like she is attempting a terrible Jamaican accent while drunk.
Following her capture, Rhanerya returns after retrieving Lucerys’ cape, and speaks her only line of dialogue in the entire episode, “I want Aemond Targaryen.”
Emma D’Arcy is an absolute powerhouse this episode.
They deliver an emotional performance which tugs at the hear strings, all without speaking.
The emotions only heighten when Jace returns and attempts to give his report to his mother, only to break down.
The two embrace as they mourn the loss of Luke in one of the episode’s most tragic scenes.
Not the most tragic, however, because that distinction comes for the one immediately after Lucerys’ funeral.
Daemon arrives in King’s Landing wearing his crime hoodie, and we all know that means nothing good.
He recruits a Gold Cloak named Blood (Sam C. Wilson) and a Rat Catcher named Cheese (Mark Stobbart) to assassinate Aemond Targaryen.
“A son for a son,” Aemond for Luke is the plan.
Or, at least, one of the plans.
The lack of a response from Daemon when Cheese ask what to do if they can’t find Aemond speaks volume.
Daemon is fine with killing any of the Greens’ sons as revenge.
Blood and Cheese then enter the Red Keep, encountering hurdle after hurdle, leading to Cheese eventually kicking his dog in frustration.
It is kind of funny that more people seem upset over the kicked dog than the later murdered child.
In a morbid sort of way, I mean.
The two are unable to find Aemond, which is probably good for them because, let’s face it, Aemond would have wiped the floor with them.
It is less good for Helaena (Phia Saban) and her children, however, because Blood and Cheese find them.
And so, another of Helaena’s prophecies comes true.
She told Aegon earlier in the episode that she was afraid of the rats and now they have found her.
She attempts to placate Blood and Cheese with her necklace, but they take it anyway and still demand “a son for a son.”
In the end, Helaena has to point out which of the twins is her son, Jaehaerys.
The boy is then murdered, thankfully off screen.
We can still hear the sounds of Blood and Cheese taking his head, however, as Helaena takes her surviving daughter and runs to Alicent and Cole, ending the episode with the statement, “they killed the boy.”
I do have to woner if this line is a reference to Aemon telling Jon to “Kill the boy… and let the man be born.”
If it is a deliberate reference, then perhaps this is foreshadowing that this horrific act will cause Aegon to go on a vengeance streak.
He was shown to care a lot about his son this episode, after all.
Back to the Blood and Cheese scene itself, one thing that drew me out of the scene is how there were absolutely no guards defending the royal family.
There may be a combination of reasons for this, however.
For one thing, Larys said he halved the staff earlier in the episode.
For another, Criston Cole could have sent the guards away so no one would know about him sleeping with Alicent.
In this is true then, yeah, Cole is definitely one of the worst Kingsguard to ever Kingsguard.
As for how the Blood and Cheese scene compared to the book, it was actually much tamer in the show.
That is not meant to be a criticism, however, because I think if it had played out exactly as it did in the book much of the audience would be traumatized.
The scene was brutal enough as is, and the writers thankfully did not take it too far.
It is a horrific end to the first episode, which is a solid start to House of the Dragon Season Two.
The fallout will certainly be interesting. 

Book Spoilers Section:
Just like last season, my reviews for every episode will come with a spoilers section at the bottom, where I discuss how scenes compare to the book and what may happen in the future.
For starters, I will talk about how the book handled Blood and Cheese to show you just how brutal it was.
In Fire and Blood, Blood and Cheese kill the guards and Alicent’s handmaiden, before tying her up and holding Helaena and her children at swordpoint.
They then cruelly demand that Helaena choose which one of her sons will die (she has two sons in the book).
A distraught Helaena chooses her youngest son, only for Cheese to tell the boy that his mother wants him dead before Blood decapitates the older boy instead.
As you can see, the scene is much more horrifying in the book, but it is good the show played it safe because we did not need to see a kid decapitated.
Now, I will go back to discussing the Corlys and Alyn scene, one of my favorites of the episode.
The reason the conversation between the two was so tense is because Alyn is actually Corlys’ bastard son, along with his brother Addam.
So, when Alyn offers his condolences for the loss of Lucerys, Corly’s heir, he is actually showing quite a bit of understandable bitterness.
Alyn and his brother are bastards, so are not acknowledged, while a bastard who was not even related to Corlys was elevated as his heir.
I love how subtle this scene is, and it makes me excited to see more of Alyn and Addam, the latter of whom is one of my three favorite characters in the Dance.
One of my other favorites is Daemon, and the other one is a character I will discuss in a bit.
For now, though, I want to talk about another new character, Hugh (Kieran Bew).
He gets a small appearance in this episode, while Aegon is holding court in King’s Landing but, if I am right, he is the Hugh Hammer character from the book.
Him being in King’s Landing is especially interesting because he later joins Rhaenyra’s side as Dragonseed, a bastard with Valyrian blood who tames a dragon, alongside others like Addam.
Hugh eventually betrays Rhaenyra, so him being in King’s Landing makes me think that maybe the Greens will send him to spy on Rhanerya, once they learn she is recruiting Dragonseeds.
This would certainly be an interesting change from the book.
What would definitely be a worse change from the book, however, is the potential removal of one of the Dragonseeds.
This Dragonseed is named Nettles and she is the third of my three favorite characters of the Dance.
There have been leaks going around that Nettles has not only been cut but replaced by Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell).
If these leaks turn out to be true, then I am going to be pretty mad.
Not only would removing Nettles from the story be a big mistake but replacing her with Rhaena would completely miss the point of Nettles’ role in the story.
I just wanted to get this concern out there, in case the leaks turn out to be true.
If they are true, then you can probably expect a rant about it in the review for the episode where it happens.
Just a heads up.
Although, if this were to happen, it would not kill the season for me.
Would it be a big negative?
Sure.
But Episode One was great and, if the quality keeps up, then Season Two will be a more than worthwhile watch.
There is only seven episodes left and I hope the rest are just as good, if not better
  

House of the Dragon Episode Nine, The Green Council Review: Where’s Aegon?

The penultimate episode for House of the Dragon‘s first season, “The Green Council” is an episode full of political intrigue and infighting, as Alicent and Otto fight for control of Aegon during their coup to take the Iron Throne.
Directed by Clare Kilner, the episode begins in the aftermath of Viserys’ death, as a servant quickly relays the news of to Alicent, who is quite distraught.
I think this portrayal of Alicent is great and Olivia Cooke completley sells it.
In the book, I never got the sense that Alicent loved Viserys, since she seemed to fall into the stereotypical evil step-mother character archetype.
The show, however, clearly shows that Alicent did love Viserys, just not in a romantic way.
It makes her much more sympathetic than in the book, along with her reasoning for putting Aegon on the Throne, this being that she misunderstood what Viserys said before he died.
With the possible exception of Otto, clearly no one in the Small Council buys Alicent’s claim that Viserys’ dying wish was for Aegon to be king.
This does not the stop the majority of them from usurping Rhanerya’s throne, as it is revealed that Otto had been spearheading a plan to do this for years.
Alicent is outraged by this but she is not the only one, as the Master of Coin, Lyman Beesbury, is also greatly angered, calling this coup out for the treason that it is.
He is understandably suspicious about the circumstances of Viserys’ death.
Although, his comment that “the king was well last night, by all accounts” is pretty hilarious when you consider that Viserys looked like he was on death’s door constantly.
In any case, Criston does not take kindly to Beesbury suggesting that Alicent poisoned Viserys and murders him by slamming his head into the ball used by Small Council members.
I guess this is why we never saw these things in Game of Thrones.
The members of the Small Council were probably worried about having their heads bashed in with them.
All joking aside, the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, Harrold Westerling, attempts to take Criston into custody but is talked down.
So this is the second time Criston has murdered an innocent man in front of numerous witnesses and got away with the crime.
It does make sense for him to get away with it this time, though, since Beesbury probably would have been executed for supporting Rhanerya later.
With Beesbury dead, the conversation among the Green Council turns darker, as Alicent realizes Otto means to have Rhanerya, Daemon and their children put to death.
She is angered by this idea and so is Ser Harrold, who quits as soon as Otto orders him to go and kill Rhanerya on Dragonstone.
Now realizing they will have to fight to influence Aegon, Alicent and Otto race to his rooms, only to find Helaena with the children.
“It is out fate, I think,” Helaena tells a servant, before Otto and Alicent walk in. “To crave always what is given to another. If one posesses a thing, the other will take it away.”
This is a perfect reflection on the Green coup.
People really should start listening to Helaena.
Unfortunately, Alicent and Otto just want to know where Aegon is, and Otto departs when he learns he is not there.
For the second time, Helaena warns that “there is a beast beneath the boards” but Alicent dimisses this, although in a caring way.
With Aegon missing, the game to find and control him begins, with Otto sending the Kingsguard twin brothers, Ser Erryk and Arryk Cargyll, and Alicent sending Aemond and Criston.
Erryk and Arryk have the advantage, however, as Arryk is more aware of the places Aegon goes.
This includes a child fighting ring, where some of Aegon’s own bastards fight to the death for the amusement of crowds.
So, Aegon is definitley the worst choice to be king.
Not only is he a rapist but he also allows his children to be sold into fighting rings.
While searching for Aegon at the child fighting ring, they are approached by an associate of Mysaria, who has kidnapped Aegon after Alicent’s handmaiden Talia informed her of the king’s death.
Mysaria now wants a meeting with Otto, who is currently dealing with those who swore fealty to Rhanerya, demanding they now renounce these oaths and swear fealty to Aegon instead.
Many do but some are proud enough to keep their honour and are executed.
One of these is Lord Caswell, who acts as though he has switched sides, only to attempt an escape to warn Rhanerya.
He is sadly caught thanks to Larys spies and executed.
Meanwhile, Criston and Aemond are performing their own searches at brothels Aegon frequented, with Aemond venting to Criston about Aegon and the crown going to him.
When Aemond mentions the way Aegon spoke of women, Criston replies that every woman in an image of the Mother and must be spoken of with reverance.
Well, that’s pretty hypocritical coming from the man who called Rhanerya the C word in Episode Six.
Along with Criston’s hypocrisy, we also get a good look at Aemond’s envy, as he wishes to be king and, honestly, would actually be better suited for it than Aegon.
Yet, as the second son, he is doomed for the support role.
Aemond really has a lot of parallels with Daemon.
Even their names are almost identical.
Despite their lack of success in finding Aegon, Criston and Aemond catch a lucky break when they spot Otto secretly meeting with Mysaria.
Maybe it was the Hand of the King badge he stupidly wore under his hood which gave him away?
As for Mysaria, yep, her accent is still terrible.
I like Mysaria as a character, as her motivation to stop the child fighting rings in King’s Landing is noble, yet it is hard to get into her story when the actress’ accent is so bad it distracts me.
I’m still really hoping they remove this accent in Season Two.
While all this is happening, Alicent meets with Rhaenys, who has been locked up in the Red Keep until now.
Informing her of Viserys’ death, Alicent attempts to convince Rhaenys to side with the Greens, admitting that Rhaenys should have been queen but stating that they can still have power through guiding the men above them.
Rhaenys grows newfound respect for Alicent’s conviction, yet correctly states that, “You desire not to be free but to make a window in the wall of your prison. Have you never imagined yourself on the Iron Throne?”
This was an excellent moment for Rhaenys and Eve Best continues to do great work as the character.
Meanwhile, thanks to Otto’s deal with Mysaria to stop the child fighting rings, Erryk and Arryk are able to locate Aegon, only to be ambushed by Aemond and Criston, who followed them.
A fight ensues, during which Criston and Aemond take Aegon captive, as Erryk leaves, disgusted by Aegon, as he now knows he is not fit to be king.
Aegon begs Aemond to let him go, stating that he will find a ship and never return.
Aemond seems to consider this but, before he can do anything, Criston leads Aegon to Alicent.
With Aegon now firmly in Alicent’s clutches, she meets with Otto where he tries to worm his way into Alicent’s good graces.
Alicent is having none of it, however, leaving when Otto says she looks so much like her mother.
Despite his manipulations, I could not help but think that Otto was oddly proud of Alicent in this moment.
Not everything is going well for Alicent, however, as it is revealed that she trades sexual favors to Larys in exchange for information, specifically by presenting her feet to him.
I had heard the leaks for this scene and I was quite concerned about it but, after having seen it, I think it was handled as well as it could have been.
It certainly makes the moment Alicent takes her shoes off when talking with Larys in Episode Six creepier.
The guy with a club foot having a foot fetish is a bit on the nose, though.
Larys informs Alicent of Mysaria’s spy ring, leading to her ordering an attack on Mysaria, pretty much destroying her deal with Otto, which is not exactly a good thing, since Mysaria pointed out to him just how much power the small folk actually have.
Another blow to the Greens is Erryk Cargyll, as he frees Rhaenys, defecting to the Blacks.
He intends to lead her out of the city, leaving Rhaenys’ dragon Meleys behind, only for Rhaenys to be swept up in a crowd that is luckily heading for the Dragon Pit.
It is here that Aegon is crowned as king by Criston and it is also here that I have to mention one of my criticisms, this being Criston’s role in crowning Aegon being reduced.
Sure, he does place the crown on his head but in the book he played a much more important role, since he was actually the one to convince Aegon to take the throne by claiming that Rhanerya would kill him and his entire family if he did not.
This earned him the title of King Maker.
In the show, however, it is Alicent who convinces Aegon and Criston merely crowns him.
I hope they do not downplay any of Criston’s other actions in future seasons.
As for Aegon, we see that he has overcome his reluctance to become king, due to the love he recieves from the crowd in the Dragon Pit.
As messed up as Aegon is, he did want love and affection from his parents and now he is getting that affection from the people of Kings’ Landing.
Or rather, what is left of the people of King’s Landing because Rhaenys chooses this moment to bash through the ground with Meleys killing an untold number of small folk, and fulfilling Helaena’s “beast beneath the boards” prophecy.
She looks ready to kill the Greens until Alicent jumps in the way.
Having gained a newfound respect for Alicent and also sympathising with her as a mother, Rhaenys spares the Greens’ lives and departs in epic fashion to warn Rhanerya of her crown being usurped, bringing an end to the episode.
This moment is entirely show original and has recieved mixed reactions, since some have said it makes no sense for Rhaneys to kill many civilians but then spare Alicent and the rest of the Greens immediately afterwards.
However, I think it works when you take into consideration that the nobles do not really care about the small folk in general.
I mean, there is a literal child fighting ring going on in Kings’ Landing and no noble did anything about that.
So, I think this change does work.
Overall, “The Green Council” is another solid episode of House of the Dragon. 
It is not one of my favourites but it does build nicely into the finale, which I am very excited to see, as a book reader.

Book Spoilers:
I am probably more excited for Episode Ten, “The Black Queen”, than I have been for any previous House of the Dragon episode.
This is because we will get the first dance between the dragons in “The Black Queen”, if you can even call what happens a “dance.”
It’s more of a slaughter, actually, with Lucerys’ Arrax standing no chance against Aemond’s Vhagar.
It will be brutal and, along with the stillbirth of Visenya, will be a tragic way to end the season, with Season Two almost definitley not arriving until 2024.
It will be a long wait but I think it will certainly be worth it to see many of the epic and horrifying events that take place during the Dance of the Dragons.
One of these horrifying moments is the Blood and Cheese incident, where Daemon and Mysaria send hitmen to murder Aegon’s son in retaliation for Lucerys’ death.
Mysaria’s involvement in this act makes a lot of sense after Episode Nine because of how her chance to end the child fighting rings was destroyed by the Greens in this episode.
We also have to take Helaena’s “beast beneath the boards” prophecy into account.
Yes, she was most likely talking about Rhaenys and Meleys but her prophecy could also have a double meaning by referring to Blood and Cheese.
We will have to wait for Season Two to know for sure.
Until then, we can enjoy the final episode of House of the Dragon‘s first season, which airs today.