House of the Dragon - Episode 4 Season 1 | a Review
originally published on 22/09/2022;
Hello everyone, I am the scarily rash and uncommunicative, G.E.M.Simov, a visitor of pleasure houses, here to tell you all about the Fourth Episode of the First Season of the serial film: “House of the Dragon”.
Simple review details - I try to rank films on an out of 10 basis, granting up to 3 points in 3 categories, as well as a last, single point from my own self, depending on my experience with it. Due to the fact that this is a fundamentally unfinished work, both from a perspective of a beginning and an ending, I will have to slightly change up my criteria, and follow up the collection of episodic reviews with a review for the season, collectively, in which I will be able to present everything that needs to be said in as complete a manner as possible.
In addition, as a disclaimer, I might refer to this episode as ‘the movie’ or ‘the film’ (used interchangeably), by merit of the fact that it is an hour long. As a secondary disclaimer, I will abstract myself wholly from the idea of having read “A Song of Ice and Fire”, as well as the idea of having watched “Game of Thrones”, and will attempt to view and judge this based on its own merits, as its own thing.
Presentation
Again, the same things as with previous episodes. The intro - I don’t like; the SFX - I quite like; the music - so so. Nothing particularly new, nothing particularly impressive. This is just another one, frankly, in relation to the show’s track record, at least in those fields.
With that being breezed past, with the complaints I’ve previously leveled at the music being the same - Rhaenyra’s track is very invasive, especially whenever it winds up being played, and the GOT track is bothersome. The SFX are good, but their goodness comes out of them being what one would consider plausible and even normal, so there’s not much to be spoken of.
What I can talk about, ladies and gentlemen, without treading old and well traveled paths, is the bread and butter of presentation. The visuals, of course. This episode had a very distinct lack of things that really stuck out to me, though. Maybe I am growing used to the style of House of the Dragon, or maybe this really was an unimpressive episode (from that point of view), but unimpressive does not mean bad.
Everything up until the more visually loud or interesting parts was competently done. Now, when one has a big budget on their disposal, the viewer would assume there’d be some more daring things, some more interesting stuff. Even if A scene is experimental or weird, it wouldn’t ruin the film, nor would it ruin the show - as we know from the previous episodes.
Why, then, is it that there are no such scenes? Perhaps there is an absence owed up to the fact that the screenplay does not allow for such moments? After all, an interesting scene requires a specific situation that will leave the movie prone for a new type of shot, due to the fact that the show has already established how it handles the visuals in a multitude of situations…
In any case, I have a few things I’d like to point out. Thing number one, which is simultaneously a conceptually sound idea, and then thing number one, which is a factually mixed bag. It’s centered around the scene out-on-the-town, and the interesting thing, conceptually, are the short shots of a flamethrower spitting fire.
These are interspersed haphazardly in between the proper establishing shots (that show SOMETHING) as a means of conveying the state of the character. The town is a very wild place, very busy and very engaging. A billion different things are happening all at once, and it is very disorientating for non-frequent visitors. Even yours truly, when wobbling through big crowds in an amusement park or down a pier, finds himself charged in a certain manner.
Is it stress? Worry? There is something that washes over the person who is not well acquainted, something that changes their approach. I suppose the addition of these short shots of the flamethrower billowing fire was done with just that goal - to emphasize the befuddlement and confusion, whilst also keeping the transitions from one scene to another more… More energetic? More interesting?
I’m trying to think of them as such. They’re meant to convey the emotional, or mental, state of the character to the audience by forcing the audience to wind up in that same state - mostly confusion. Conceptually, that’s not bad. When it comes to its execution, it’s just not fun. The look on the actor’s face, the way things happen in the proper scenes, the reactions of the character - that’s more than enough to convey the important parts.
These shots only tear up the sequence and make it almost annoying to go through it. That isn’t helped by the fact they’re very loud, comparatively, to the rest of the sounds the audience is treated to.
Well, the funk doesn’t really stop there, but it gets better. There are two things going on at once, two scenes, if we may so call them, with one being a spectacular juxtaposition for the other. While the out-on-the-town scene features discovery and a lot of positive feelings (I interpret it so), the other scene features a lot of conflicted feelings. There are good feelings in there, but they are mixed in with a resounding, unnerving darkness.
That theme keeps going for a decently long time, too, as things escalate. There’s adrenaline and great merriment, abundant mirth - that’s out-on-the-town - and then there’s a moment of well needed rest interrupted by the clanking of the chains, or the whistling of a puppeteer’s strings (strings don’t whistle, especially those of a puppet, but I desired a word). The measure of positivity gets thrown off balance, as the scene out-on-the-town features the characters shaking off the bewilderment and embracing the carnage, whereas the other scene removes the positivity by sucking it out, as though the good vibes were blood and the scene was a leech.
It doesn’t stop there, though. Out-on-the-town features trepidation showing up, but it is well-meaning trepidation, one that gets the heart pumping, the adrenaline flowing and excitement building. The other scene features something that’s… The only way it can be described is totally unnerving.
Even if the things shown are visually similar, contextually there’s a very, VERY big difference. In addition to that, I must admit that the music really helps in improving this… This sequence. The track is the same, but whenever the PoV switches and the audience is moved away from the out-on-the-town to the other scene, the feeling changes.
The low tones, the murmur, or rather the rumble - it’s almost unnerving, even oppressive. But in the context of the out-on-the-town scene, it is exciting, exhilarating, adventurous, filled with potential for discovery and curiosity…
And yet the scene does not really leave me that impressed. It’s quite well done, but I think this is the most conventional way that kind of scene could have been shot. The most ‘by the book’ approach, if there was a description of it in a book. There definitely is, as we’ve had sex in film for a very, very long time.
One thing I quite liked was the fact that there was no emphasis on showing the audience ‘the forbidden fruits’, even if we did get to see those things… Well, for all the naked bodies that were shown, there was only one phallus and only a pair of nipples of the no-no variety, so I’m willing to say this was better than the scenes in the first episode, wherein the load really did get blown.
In addition to that, there’s a bit of a mystery to things. Did IT happen, or did it not happen? From what I could see, it’s almost as if it did start happening, but it failed to truly take place. It is left quite ambiguous, though, so the audience can’t really tell if it is so or otherwise, which then goes on to make things challenging with regards to figuring out if the narrator is reliable.
Following that, there’s an IT happening, and it is very lengthy, but also retains a semblance of tastefulness, whilst that tastefulness implies that there’s…There’s proper emotion to it. Not bad for such a scene, as it is perceivable as vulgar, but I would’ve definitely shortened it by a lot, as it doesn’t truly show much of anything… Anything too new.
I’d say the important part here would have been the gingerness and the feeling behind the activities, as well as the fact that they happened, and also what led up to them, rather than the fact it happened itself. We can’t really blame the screenwriters for being perverts, as one of them is credited with being G.R.R.Martin himself, but… It lasted far too long. Elaborations may be found in the Story part of this review.
Following those tidbits, however… There are no unusual scenes after that, nothing that stood out. Everything else is competent. So, we have a very wonky choice, followed by a wonkily good choice. I suppose that leaves us with competent directing, does it not? Competent directing… Good presentation, is it? No, it’s only decent. 2/3
Acting
There was a lot of acting in this one. Comparatively, episode 4 had the most acting out of all the episodes (only because of the lengthy battle sequences in episode 3, frankly). I say this, because the conflicts really started ramping up in this one, and the situations that presented themselves were very juicy and provocative.
As a result of that, the actors had a lot of work to do, and I’d be willing to say that they did a very good job. One exception, with the exception being the wobbly delivery of a number of lines by Emily Carey. It is wobbly, because a few of the aforementioned lines were off - wooden, I will say - but then other lines - directly before or after the wooden ones - were superbly presented.
However, with that being said, I’ve no real complaints to present. In fact, I feel as though this dig on Emily Carey is a bit cruel, considering the fact that Alicent seemed to be far more in focus this episode than the previous few… So it felt to yours truly. She did a lot of good work in regards to her face, when it came to conveying emotion with expression. There were, of course, wobbly moments, but they may be such because I can’t really put myself in her position (in said moments).
Overall, though? Stellar. 3/3
Story
Story. I have this funny feeling that I’ve already discussed a few of the things that occur in this episode’s story through my work on the Presentation part of this review. Indeed, there is a decent amount of things that happen here, but it feels as though a large number of those things require some… Well, spoiling as a means of being uncovered.
In any case, there is stuff that can be spoken of without spoiling. One of those things would be the concept of duty, and the fact that the crooked form of duty - which is based on social perception and norms, as is known - is a very big problem. The main issue here is that duty is forced onto a person, rather than accepted, rather than being taken on by that person.
I am interpreting it this way, of course, so there may be room for work. The most important thing I’d like to posit is that this episode, and the show in general, really does something in relation to the discussion of the concept of duty. There’s the duty of the King, which is special, as Viserys has unveiled to Rhaenyra, then there’s the duty of a lord, which is different from that of a King, then there’s the duty of a woman relative to the King, then there’s the duty of a woman relative to a lord.
The King’s duty is to the realm. His main goal is to make the realm stable and lead to its prosperity. To keep the realm stable, a King must navigate the many troublesome flows of desire and want, which desires and wants are cloaked as duty - the duty of the Lords. There might be this belief that one’s duty is to the Realm, first, and then to their House, but in reality one’s duty - that of the Lord - is to their House. The house, that’s the family.
Funnily enough, that duty to one’s family is exclusively the animal instinct talking. You (the person in that family, in that noble House) have a duty of protecting the house - so that it may survive - and propagating its genetic material so that it may continue surviving. Those ARE your duties as a Lord of a noble House.
As a lady of that noble House, your duty is different. Naturally, due to the fact that this is all based on mindless, animal instinct, reason is totally out of the equation, and as a result of that the ladies of the noble Houses can not have the duty of protecting these houses through the means of the Lords, nor do they really get to propagate the genetic material so that it may continue surviving, because people like taking ownership based on the man’s contribution, rather than that of the woman.
That leaves the lady of the noble House with no real duties, aside from being a tool or an object of desire for other noble Houses. See, here comes the duty of a lady of a noble House - marry the representative of another noble House as a means of forging an alliance between the noble Houses. When there’s an alliance, there are fewer enemies for that noble House to worry about, thus that makes their survival easier.
Of course, after that marriage the lady transforms from a bargaining chip into a factory for children, but that doesn’t really mean much. The lady of the noble House already had no humanity in relation to her duty, and so she has none, still.
Thing is, the humanity of the lord of the noble House is also quite disregarded, as his duties extend exclusively to animalistic aspects of existence, but there is a bit of a wider array of choices in regards to being the lord of the noble House, or a lord of a noble House. An example would be obtaining a special position that is very honorable, which position requires one’s avoidance of reproduction, but brings with it great advances in the realm of protection… Or that could be a different position - one that is very profitable - providing the lord in question with great wealth, which wealth can be used as protection of the physical variety, but also as protection of a different variety.
People might be more inclined to marry into that rich lord’s family, and that would lead into alliances, and that would lead into protection.
Unfortunately for the ladies, there is only one career path - learn how to be a lady at court, which entails becoming good at gossip and grasping the etiquette of the court - and get ready to hide your emotions, especially disgust and disdain, as your husband will, likely, be older than you and is more prone to being overweight than not.
The duties of a lady born into the King’s family are the same as those of a lady born into any noble family, though there’s no wiggle-room. Or, perhaps, there’s more wiggle-room… Who knows.
Questioning how these duties are assigned leaves us with nothing, really. They’re assigned by another, not by the one who is meant to fulfill them - even the duties of the King. However, there’s one more problem - the duties of the King do require that he focuses on making the Realm better… But then those are added ON TOP of the duties of a Lord. Not only that, but the need to protect one’s House, if that one is king, grows exponentially, because every other Lord wants to be King - due to the fact that position awards most power and appears to be the best in regards to protection and propagation of the genetic material of the Lord.
Overall? It’s fucked, because it barely employs reason. And the characters in the show, those of them who are negatively affected by the system, are noticing it and trying to find a way of dealing with that. Maybe they want to change the system, or they rebel against it, or they try to cope through whatever means they may.
In the meantime, those who benefit from the system are more than content to operate within its boundaries, whilst also viciously assailing those who are not so content and step out of bounds. But what would one expect when they are presented with human beings forced to operate within conditions devised by and fit for animals? No humanity, no reasoning, nothing of the sort - in fact, these are detrimental to one’s well being and success within the system.
This episode focuses on the characters, which characters are human beings, struggling to navigate this inhuman system, and it is quite interesting. Now, is what they do reasonable? 10 points for the guy who said no, that’s the correct answer, and that’s all you get before I start spoiling this mess.
So yes, spoilers from now on to the end of this.
The film opens up with Rhaenyra examining suitors. They’re telling her how cool their houses are and how cool it would be if she would marry them. After a most unfortunate half-a-century old goon asking, and then a lil’ boy asking, Rhaenyra abruptly ends the experience when a fight breaks out.
Coincidentally, Daemon is returning to King’s Landing on the day of Rhaenyra’s own return, and his appearance overshadows hers. In the Throne Room, he presents the Crab Feeder’s hammer, asks that it be added to the pile (the Iron Throne is made out of the weapons of conquered rulers, right?), after which he hands the crown he was awarded with by the Free Cities (who named him King of the Narrow Sea) to his brother, stating that there is only one King.
That’s taken very well, and Viserys seems quite pleased by that turn of events. He even gives Daemon a hug. They hold a bit of a celebration and the King is, indeed, looking incredibly merry. This sequence, and especially the way Viserys talks and interacts with Daemon, seems to indicate that he believes that his relationship with his brother has been mended. Unfortunately, the same can not be said for his relationship with his daughter.
Rhaenyra has a conversation with Alicent, in which conversation (about the countless suitors before her) she strikes a nerve (unintentionally) when she accurately describes Alicent’s situation. Locked in a castle and forced to produce heirs. The two seem to be on the route to reconciliation.
I must admit that the way things go with the chat between them surprised me, slightly. I was under the impression that Alicent really did care for the King, yet when the expression on her face took on that appearance, I could not stop myself from recognizing, and maybe remembering, that it was all orchestrated by Otto Hightower.
The Hand of the King did his thing, as one would expect. He feigned interest in the matters of the realm by pretending to be understanding of Viserys’ plight, whilst also presenting him with an out. Of course, an out that was going to be incredibly beneficial for Otto Hightower. And in all this, what was Alicent? A pawn in Otto’s game of chess. An object for the King’s grief and for his desires… A factory for heirs, a band-aid for the Realm’s stability. Not a human being.
She, herself, complains about the fact that she is no longer ‘the Lady Alicent’, she is the Queen. She no longer has a name, she is no longer a human being, even in address. Rhaenyra does not want that, and Alicent definitely understands it, but for her, and for Viserys, it seems, duty is weighing heavily. In fact, I feel as though we’ve got another problem with Alicent.
She has the mindset. “I PAID MY STUDENT LOANS, HOW COME THEY AREN’T GOING TO HAVE TO PAY THEIRS?” The petty, the jealous mindset. If I struggled, you’ll struggle, too. It’s not about making things better, it’s about making things better for me. If things are better for you, but they were not that good for me, then I will feel bad, and that would actually make things worse for me. Nevermind the fact that it would also benefit my children, be it via the fact they wouldn’t be saddled with infinite student debt or via the precedent set by the recognition of a woman’s humanity - I’ve been conditioned to think and behave like an animal, unable to consider time and think long-term, as a result of which…
I suppose you get the point, dear reader. It’s an interesting conflict, definitely, that rages within Alicent - even at that point of the episode, but the conflict grows more and more severe the further the film goes.
Next, there’s a scene between Daemon and Rhaenyra. The princess is inquisitive, curious to find out why it was that Daemon has returned - after all, he was not a fan of being in King’s Landing. Daemon doesn’t give her a real answer, instead performing a riposte and going into the topic of the day - the suitors. He expresses his views on marriage, presenting them as unequivocal fact.
This is the moment when the audience is given the task of writing the story for the movie. It is presented as homework - because the schoolday is not yet done, for the scene with Daemon and the princess is followed by a scene of the small council convening (with Rhaenyra present, of course), which scene boils down to: “get Rhaeyna married to sum-body (read sum-body as Corlys Velaryon’s son)”
Fortunately, we don’t dwell on that for too long. It’s been getting built up for an episode and a half now, so it is evident that we’re probably going to see Rhaenyra get married to the fellow in question. We do, however, get to the event of the film.
This really left me pleased. This episode features, more or less, one event, and it is very consecutive and precise in the passage of time. Whereas the previous episode featured the battle and the hunt, which featured ambiguity and a lack of knowledge in relation to how much time had passed, this one is incredibly concise with that. The events begin at point X, then some time passes as Rhaenyra sails back to King’s Landing, which is when Daemon also returns.
That same day there’s the ‘tiny celebration’, and then there’s the council meeting, then there’s the main, juicy point of the plot. As mentioned, there are two things that are being shown to us - the way Alicent deals with the system and then the way Rhaenyra deals with the system.
As night falls, the Queen remains in the castle, attending to her queenly duties. The writing that the viewer has to do finally has its time, as the princess finds a sack of ragged clothes in her room, along with a letter/note. It directs her to a hidden exit out of her room, upon the discovery of which exit she puts on the ragged clothes - those of a page (paige) - and goes out.
The writing the viewer has to do, then, is related to the events between the small council meeting and Daemon’s chat with Rhaenyra. During the conversation, Daemon evidently offered her a taste of freedom, or an experience, or something of that sort in his own way. He has done that as a means of emphasizing his point, or maybe even seeking a means of continuing his explanation of these delicate things.
It is possible that the invitation was written on the letter, but most of the letter was a rough blueprint of Rhaenyra’s room, as well as probable directions on how to reach the meeting spot. I also find it a bit implausible that Rhaenyra would just decide to go along with this if it was not previously discussed.
Either way, she sneaks out of the keep with Daemon and they have a night on the town - merriment, exploration, mostly good vibes. Meanwhile, the King is having a bath, but his ravaged by the ‘being king’ disease - the rotten flesh and those extras - are being troublesome, and the handmaiden scrubbing his limbs is causing him pain. So it sounds, at least, and thus Alicent sends them away and starts doing it herself.
This… This is the most interesting part of it all, when combined with what happens later. Either way, even without the knowledge of that, this scene is very touching. She truly does care for him, and I’d like to say that she loves him, but her love is not a romantic one. I would like to describe it as the affection a daughter shows her father, or maybe a niece shows her uncle, because it’s probable she grew alongside Rhaenyra, and as a result of that the King was a present, tangible presence in her life.
I’m interpreting, trying to paint it into words, though it is difficult. I suppose the best way to describe it would be akin to the care that an adult child has for their old parent… But, alas, that’s not the role she’s supposed to fulfill.
Meanwhile, Rhaenyra is having a swell old time. She’s watching a show - conveniently a very political one, pertaining to who shall be heir, and Daemon has some choice words for her, mainly by involving the commoners into the equation. She assumes their role is like hers when it comes to the decision (being of no consequence), but the prince assures her it is otherwise.
Then they do a bit of trolling and pretend to steal from a street salesman - the princess does, and then runs off, and Daemon does a mock pursuit. Whilst running, she runs into a gold-cloak - city watch - but she recognizes her and after that she recognizes him, after which Daemon shows up and things are smoothed over, with the guard pretending she’s a boy and letting her off.
The merriment of this event is juxtaposed with Alicent being called, in the middle of the night, to the King’s chambers. Duty calls.
Daemon takes Rhaenyra to a brothel and they evidently spend a bit of time there. He then leads her deeper in, and they start getting intimate following a monologue pertaining to what’s going on in the brothel’s depths and what ‘fucking’ is. This is the funky part - do they actually do some fucking, or is it just foreplay?
From what the viewers get to see, it seems to be mainly that, though there are a few moments that raise a couple of questions. The most telling thing, which makes me think that no, they didn’t do the thing, is Daemon’s exit. He is not shown pulling his pants up, he is not shown doing anything indicative of the fact that he just reached a conclusion.
In fact, he… He maybe smacks her? Or, rather, he smacks the wall by her head, after which he just leaves. Her pants are halfway down, but from what we got to see it seems as though there was no bingling. Headcanon (and thus canon) - he finger blasted her to show her its fun, and when she got too into it he fucked off.
Now, while Rhaenyra is discovering sex’ pleasures, Alicent is being fucked by the king. She’s laying on her back, dead look in her eyes as he’s grunting and thrusting, the reality of her situation sinking in with each passing moment. He shows affection, checks up on her, and she gives him a smile, but as soon as he looks away, the smile is gone.
After being left by Daemon, Rhaenyra leaves the brothel and returns home, but an urchin has spotted her. She goes back to her room, and sir Cole who’s guarding her chambers is, naturally, frazzled by her appearance. So she gets him in her room and then seduces him (he was probably head over heels for her, judging by how easy it was for her to do that) and then they do the deed.
The Hand of the King, in this early hour, is called to the gate by the King’s Guard and meets the urchin, receiving the tip. The urchin ‘works’ under the White Worm, which turns out to be Mysaria (Daemon’s now ex-concubine). I suppose she’s starting the tradition which loveable bald Varys would inherit, of making use of little birds to see and hear things.
Mysaria has collected Daemon from wherever he had passed out and they… They almost have a conversation, but she’s mostly monologuing while he’s drunk, or hungover, out of his mind.
Otto reports to the Viserys, though there is a scene prior to that showing him standing in solitude, with a very wary expression on his face. This is what I find very bothersome here. Otto simultaneously passes for someone who’s doing things out of a selfish desire for power, or out of a desire to continue his line, yet he also passes for someone who’s doing things for the good of the realm.
That moment of evident contemplation, of internal conflict - his furrowed brows, the pensive look on his face - Rhys Ifnas does a good job of conveying this, but what is this? Is it a calculation of how this will affect him, whether it will be good or bad, or is it a decision on whether this is something the King should know about, and whether the King would be able to handle this.
That scene really, really messes with me. I’ve already said I like the character, and I do, but… I think I like the character even more now. He is very human, definitely, and I quite like that about people. Their humanity.
Viserys, of course, does not want to believe it, but Otto’s words are backed by more than just one urchin, as others have reported seeing Rhaenyra dressed as a page and sneaking into the keep. The King turns this around on Otto, spitting on his designs and claiming that they are obvious, and he expresses his amazement at how greedy Otto is being with his wants to have Aegon on the throne - his blood, rather than that of Viserys, according to the King’s words.
Alicent overhears this whole thing and, afterwards, calls for Rhaenyra so they can discuss it. The princess is very guilty - she did the deed with sir Cole - but she is not as guilty as she is said to be in relation to the event she was caught in the middle of. So she has a conversation with Alicent, and there’s some good acting here… I think.
I especially enjoyed the incredible value that was placed on the virginity of the woman. Actually, no, I did not enjoy the concept, I enjoyed the presentation of it. The way Alicent said the word ‘sullied’ bore with it impressive weight. It’s so silly to me, yet to these people this is the most valuable thing imaginable, it defines the worth of a dame more-so than the content of their character - and we expect people to not be X or Y, for this was true in real life as well. Correction - it is true in real life as well, even if the scale is lessened substantially.
Rhaenyra doing damage control was quite interesting, too, because of the fact that there’s no clear indication of whether or not she actually did THE THING with Daemon, or if she only did the thing with sir Cole. The vehemence of her denials is in character for her fiery spirit, and I feel as though she was either being a very good liar, or she was telling the truth, so far as it extended to the encounter with Daemon… Though the awkwardness and sluggishness through which she explains it leads me to be a bit suspicious.
Then again, talking about that kind of thing with a person who believes virginity should be preserved till marriage is not a very comfortable topic.
Following that, Daemon returns and is dragged to the throne room. Finally, we come to words! Or, well, lack there-of. I can’t tell what Daemon is actually doing. What is his goal? What is his endgame, why is he doing the things he does? There was a part of me that thought he was truly in love with Mysaria and was going to do anything in his power to keep her safe, but then they separated.
So the fiasco at Dragonstone was not part of his grand designs and it could be that he’s just experiencing a fate similar to that of Rhaenyra - he’s oppressed by the system and, thus, he rebels against it. But, even so, it seems as though he desires something - something that’s associated with duty, or a semblance of duty that he perceives to be such.
Going on about restoring the glory of house Targaryen and doing things in the tradition of his great House… Interesting, to say the least.
Viserys’ own inner conflicts, exasperated greatly by the conflicts his brother and sister ignite every now and then, are also very interesting. He’s incredibly merciful and kind, so much so that he still spares both his brother and his daughter - his brother’s life, his daughter’s inheritance. Maybe Daemon is doing what he does out of love for Viserys, though in an attempt to harden him, to make him rougher and stricter, more callous? I can’t tell.
In any case, the lack of a denial on Daemon’s part leaves me worried that something DID happen, though after that the King and Queen have a short chat and her assurance that Daemon tends to lie or avoids telling the whole truth is enough for me. There’s also the fact that she considers his deeds performed with the goal of undermining the King’s authority, or rather of reducing Viserys, which is a very reasonable explanation.
It is important to remind oneself, if they are the viewer, that the characters in this show one one another far better than we, the audience, may know them… Just yet, that is. So Alicent being able to suggest that this is Daemon’s driving force, and for Viserys to seemingly accept it… It’s not unbelievable.
Then there’s a scene featuring the King and the princess. He starts off very delicately and politically, as I’ve started noticing he does when he has a serious conversation to lead with his daughter. In the previous episode, there was the matter of her marriage, in this episode, there’s the matter of her ‘desires’, as he so dubs them.
He agrees with her that if she were a man things would have been different, but reminds her that it is not so, and informs her that she will be marrying sir… Son of the Sea Snake. THEN, almost as if in passing, we get a clarification. House Velaryon HAS dragons, so now it makes sense that Corlys’ son was riding a dragon. Sense? Mostly made.
Viserys also informs her of one other thing. The truth is of no consequence - it does not matter. What matters is perception, and that’s an incredibly important thing that, unfortunately, is very, VERY actual in our time, too. You and I both know it quite well, and it is a great shame… But it is so.
To her credit, Rhaenyra does not complain about the choice of suitor. She’s deep enough in the doodoo to know that she’s gonna have to deal with that. HOWEVER, she sows another bit of dissent, echoing what Daemon told Viserys at the end of the first episode - Otto is bad news.
That’s… That’s very interesting. It almost comes out of left field, though there’s one thing that supports it totally - that being the fact Alicent told Rhaenyra that Otto reported to the King and she overheard. So the princess has made her conclusions - those being that Lord Hightower is spying on her as a means of finding any slip-up that can be used as a means of getting Aegon on the throne.
It’s a bargain, I suppose. Rhaenyra now perceives Otto as a threat, and, thus, wants to get rid of him. If she’s going to deal with marrying the Sea Snake’s son (name not yet important, top-kek), she’d evidently like to have less to worry about.
What Viserys says in relation to it being a well-known and inescapable truth that everyone is self-interested had me clutching my pearls, because that is the case. Everyone who wants power, and thus gains power, is self-interested. And anyone coming to the King for an audience wants something for himself, they’re not coming to the King just because.
Rhaenyra’s retort to that is really good. I can see the innocence of youth, the uncorrupted belief that there can be something more than the permanently gray mess that the world is, of people so beaten down by the system they can not or will not fight against it. I’m going to enjoy watching the future episodes, to see if her enthusiasm, or faith, in humanity remains the same, or if it, like that of every other person, gets hammered into a faint distaste.
Viserys does meet with Otto. He meets with Otto and has a conversation with him, a conversation which contains an ass-pull. Apparently, Viserys’ father - Baelon - was hand of the King and heir to the throne. Baelon, who was in his prime, as healthy as a horse, then dies 5 days after becoming hand of the King of a burst stomach, and Otto is made hand of the King.
That is, indeed, awfully convenient… But why does it crop up now? Or, perhaps, Viserys knew all along and was keeping it up his sleeve, as the good ruler/politician that he was, so that he could get rid of Otto at any point in time without having to worry about getting a justification?
Either way, the fact that this shows up out of nowhere is somewhat disconcerting. The way the scene goes is very intriguing. Again, Lord Hightower is really intriguing as a character, because there is, indeed, the knowledge that he acted in a very nasty way. He used his daughter to generate heirs for Viserys, but those heirs had his blood. Not only that, but one of them is also a boy - far better suited to be an heir, far more likely to be accepted.
Then, ever since that moment, he has been working to convince the King to deal with Rhaenyra through a marriage, whilst trying to pull as many strings as he could - mainly by telling his daughter what to tell the King, as he has his ear - as a means of getting Aegon to be named heir.
When Otto says that Alicent loves Viserys as Viserys loves her, I almost chuckled. Viserys is very sagacious, so I’m certain he can tell that Alicent does not love him the same way he loves her. Still, there is no actual reaction on his part to that, not one that acknowledges the possibility that they don’t love one another the same way - if at all.
Lord Hightower loses the rank of Hand of the King. He, himself, is frazzled, but from what we have seen so far, I can almost tell that Viserys, too, is quite fazed by it. The show so far has shown us that the two are… Maybe not friends, but close enough to speak to one another on a first name basis - at least Viserys does so when he addresses the Lord Hightower, whereas Otto always turns towards Viserys with the ‘your Grace’ that’s expected out of etiquette.
Perhaps Viserys is so torn by duty and tradition because of Otto’s presence, he who has served as hand of the King under both Viserys’ entire Kingship and some of Jaehaerys’ own Kingship. The hand of the King, for as long as he was hand, knew quite a lot about the rules of court, and was definitely more experienced than Viserys.
Maybe with Otto now gone, things will change? Maybe. Maybe they’ll remain the same.
The episode ends with the grand maester bringing a tea to Rhaenyra. One that will rid her of any… Unwanted consequences. This is important, though. Important, because it conveys that the King (who has ordered the tea be brought to the princess) does not believe her claim she did nothing with Daemon. That’s a bit of a strike against her, but she can, probably, squeak through, as it could be helpful in dealing with any unwanted consequences of her tryst with sir Cole.
This brews (haha, pun) more conflict, or at least it allows more conflict to be set up, though the conflict between Rhaenyra and her father is one that has already been established. Perhaps this is just a means of throwing kindling onto said fire, or maybe it is a means of re-igniting it… Either way, it is very compelling.
With that, the film is done. This was an enjoyable watch from the perspective of yours truly, in relation to the story told. It was very engaging, though the fact that I can’t understand why Daemon does anything is bothersome. I think I’m content with it being a mystery, for the moment. After all, there’s bound to be a moment when the code of the King’s brother is cracked. 3/3
Legendary Point
Does this episode get the legendary point, so craved and wanted by all and none at the same time? NO, it does not. It does not get the legendary point because of the fact it did not truly impress me. The episode was engaging, providing interesting things for the viewer, but then it also did some things that I really would’ve gone without.
It just failed to tickle me right. 0/1
Conclusion
7/10. A fine watch. It’s what I’ve come to expect of House of the Dragon. As usual, recommended to those who are fans of GOT and Dark Fantasy, as well as drama queens. After all, this is turning out to be more of a drama, or something more focused on intrigue, than what Game of Thrones was… But then GOT also had this, so I can’t tell.
This episode was very squeamish-friendly, with the exception being that blind old lady in the town. There were also some cocks, balls and tits, so, as usual, not for kids. Teenagers can watch with permission - do get it, please. Talk to your parents, communicate. It’s healthy.
I tuck it under my belt, another shi– Oh, the light broke. Well, it’s an achievement. At certain angles it shines.