Oh my Gods! That was an EPISODE, Superfans! Not enough for me to take back everything I said in my last House of the Dragon review but still, a certified banger.
Here’s what you missed:
Impressions:
Traditionally, episode 9 of every season of parent series Game of Thrones was the BIG one and I am so happy to report that HOTD continues that tradition with this outing. For most of the episode, it felt like much of the same but boy, those last 20 minutes? Pure dragon fire, Baby!
D’Arcy steps FULLY into her element as the Gods-chosen, OG Mother of Dragons, complete with making even the most fearsome dragon Vermithor (who barbecued Ser Steffon last episode) bow down to her, accepting Seasmoke’s claiming of Aadam, speaking Valyrian fluently, and not standing for disrespect from her dragon keepers nor her heir.
Watching her give that rousing speech to her motley crew of family (bastards with Targaryen or Velaryon blood, recruited by her handmaid in Flea Bottom), before letting them test their mettle against Vermithor, is a great foreshadowing of what is to come. If Rhaenyra is to win this war, it will come at a great cost, a price she now knows she has to pay.
I loved how the show makes each dragon and rider bonding a unique experience and showcases each dragon’s personality. Seasmoke is a stalker who didn’t give Aadam of Hull (Clinton Liberty) or Rhaenyra much choice in the matter of acceptance. Bro was like “he’s cute and he reminds me of Laenor, Mother. May I keep him?”.
Silverwing, former trusted stead of Good Queen Alysanne, Rhaenyra’s great-grandma, toyed with Ulf White (Tom Bennett) like a cat with a mouse when he was trying to run from the barbeque Vermithor was having, and she decided he’ll do. I think we all breathed a sigh of relief when she didn’t go full Dracarys on him.
My best boy this episode is Vermithor, y’all. The way he purred under Rhaenyra’s touch and threw a full-on tantrum before eating and burning all of the tasty snacks she brought for him? Vermithor is just a big ol’ pussycat, Guys! Rhaenyra was the only great-grandchild of his former rider King JJaehaerysΒ that he and Vermithor ever met and it is said that both rider and dragon were immensely fond of her in the source novel Fire and Blood. That familiarity, along with the recognition of her as a both a Queen and a dragonlord, is powerful. It also gives us the first of the most epic shots in this episode:
I loved how the dragon pit shot is filmed. It felt like I was watching the Battle of the Bastards and the Battle of Winterfell all over again. The cinematic value, the emotional beats as Hugh first runs from, screams, and then tames Vermithor, is breathtaking. Now revealed to be the bastard son of the banished Princess Saera Targaryen, who gave old JaehaerysΒ every single one of his grey hairs with her wild ways, Hugh makes for a fine dragon lord:
The Greens had some mildly interesting scenes this week. Seeing Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) shit his breeches upon Vhagar’s back when he sees Rhaenyra with three of her mighty dragons (how could he even see that far with just one eye?! My two eyes saw jacks***!) was ridiculously satisfying. The fact that he barely has control over dragon granny Vhagar is also a wonderful thing because the other dragons have yielded to Rhaenyra nearly effortlessly. Who is the true Blood of the Dragon now, huh?
I never thought I’d be the one to say this but I actually felt sorry for poor Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) who is being painfully rushed through his recovery by Grand Maester Orwyle (Kurt Egyiawan) on Lord Larys Strong (Matthew Needham)’s instructions. Larys wants to be Hand of the King and Aegon is a lot easier to manipulate than Aemond who hates Littletoe (see what I did there? π). Will he succeed? With just one episode of this season left, who knows?
Was I the only one who thought Alicent (Olivia Cooke) was going to jump off of a cliff when she started unbuttoning her coat and walking to the ledge? Instead, she was having some kind of empty nester, discarded grandmother experience that felt very much like a shot in a period horror movie.
We already have enough of that with Daemon (Matt Smith) at Harrenhal, thank you very f***ing much. Oh, and it’s not done yet! Between his last (please, Lord of Light, PLEASE!) hallucination where Viserys gives him the crown and being read for filth by Catleyn Stark’s 7 times great-grandfather, the now 12 year old Lord Oscar Tully (Archie Barnes), our Rogue Prince is having a hell of a day.
The Velaryon-Targaryen youngsters are dealing with some heavy shit this episode and their young actors’ portrayals make for compelling viewing. From Harry Collett really giving us and Rhaenyra all of the feels as Jace finally speaks the unspeakable truth and questions his mother about why she would willingly take Harwin Strong into her bed, knowing that the chances of his genes overpowering hers and causing their children’s legitimacy as heirs to come into question to Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell) abandoning her baby brothers in search of the wild dragon, Sheepstealer, it is heavy!
Baela (Bethany Antonia) seems to have accepted her new found uncle Aadam much faster than her grandsire and his dad Corlys (Steven Toussaint) does. The man can’t even bring himself to say well done without some difficulty to his new dragon rider bastard. Instead, he beams with pride when his other son Alyn (Abubakar Salim) declares that he would never dream of claiming a dragon too for he is “of salt and sea”. Just the words unfaithful Daddio wants to hear from his next heir.
In closing with that epic shot of Rhaenyra flanked by her dragons, we see the first Mother of Dragons stepping into her power and now know that the Dance of the Dragons and subsequently, the true Game of Thrones is HERE. Bring on the finale!
House of the Dragon airs on MAX on Sundays, on Mnet 101 on Mondays at 9pm and is available for streaming on Showmax.