House of the Dragon
Sunday night’s episode of House of the Dragon is the penultimate episode of season 2. We only have one episode left to wait for one more long—agonizingly long—until they get Season 3 ready.
They will be cooking with dragonflame at this point. Several dragons came to rest—to fight and fight against each other and eventually die. There’s a reason there were no dragons left when Game of Thrones started and we are watching it unfold. The Dance of Dragons, it was called. What a horrible little Jeep.
If you’ve been following my season 2 recaps, you’ll know that several weeks ago I bonded with my own dragon, Rhaelyx. (Googling “Rhaelyx House of the Dragon” will result in both of my recaps involving our red-and-black winged wyrm, including last week’s). It was a very nice affair. The dragon landed outside my office – a garden shed in my backyard – and I knew exactly why. A rider was needed to keep notes, to record all these Westerosi movements and transactions. Someday, all dragons will die, but Rhaelyx will live on, long after even Drogon has passed from human memory, because Rhaelyx is a chronicler of stories, not a participant. As any good writer knows, this is a safer bet.
Anyway, while my bonding with this dragon went pretty smoothly, the same can’t be said for the Dragonseeds in tonight’s dramatic episode — although both Ulf the White and Hugh Hammer came out on top in the end, well or badly.
Last week, we saw Addam of Hull being spotted by Seasmoke. In the opening of this Sunday’s episode, Rhaenyra confronts Addam and learns that he has no idea what’s going on and just wants a hug. Or something like this. He is more than willing to serve her, and even more excited at the prospect of being recognized by his late father—Corlys Velaryon. So does his brother, Alyn of Hull, who proudly tells his father “I am of salt and sea, I long for nothing else” only to be met with a half-hearted nod. Adam doesn’t get any better than Dad: “Well done,” the Sea Serpent snaps.
Corlys and Alyn
These are “the unborn offspring” of Houses Targaryen and Velaryon, Rhaenyra’s “army of bastards” for whom her son, Jacaerys, is so unfit. You see, he knows very well that he is a bastard too. It’s a matter of skin pigment. His father is a Strongman, not a Velaryon, and his only real claim to legitimacy is being a dragonrider, which the dragonrider bastards threaten. But Rhaenyra, while likable, has no choice.
In the end, thanks to the whispers of Rhaenyra’s underpaid and overqualified servant, the remaining Dragonseeds arrive at Dragonstone, where Vermithor and Silverwing await. And fire. Lots of fire. Many of the would-be riders are killed by Vermithor, until Hugh stands up and makes his bold claim.
I turned this moment into a Dark souls screenshot:
Hugh and Vermithor
Meanwhile, Ulf the White takes a very different approach. Hugh may be brave and tough, but Ulf is a coward – as evidenced by his reluctance to even go to Dragonstone at first, a decision born of peer pressure more than anything else – but as he runs from the cave of Vermithor’s death, he steps straight into his own pile of dragon dung and into Silverwing’s loving arms. Soon, Ulf is in a glade above King’s Landing:
Yes!
The Dragons Of Team Black
Now, Team Black has the following list of dragons and riders, and I’m including Daemon because even though he’s trying to raise his own army, he’s still an asset to Rhaenyra and her cause:
- Rhaenyra / Syrax
- Demon / Caraxes
- Baela / Moondancer
- Jacaerys / Vermax
- Erik Kain / Rhaelyx (yes, I’m on Team Black, despite my crush on Alicent!)
- Hugh Hammer / Vermithor
- Ulf the White / Silverwing
- Addam of Hull / Seasmoke
For more on Dragonseeds, I’ve written this guide.
There is only one more dragon to join Team Black’s fold—a ferocious winged beast in the Vale, where Rhaena currently resides. We only see her briefly this afternoon as she and Rhaenyra and Daemon’s young sons are sent packing from the Eyrie by a stern Lady Jeyne Arryn.
(In summary: Jeyne is played by Amanda Collin and Alyn of Hull by Abubakar Salim, the actors who played the mother and father in the wonderful — and tragically canceled — HBO series Raised By Wolves. This is the kind of trivia you can label as “fun” and “horribly sad”).
If Rhaena actually does mount the wild dragon known as the Sheepstealer (because it steals sheep!) it would be a pretty significant, but very understandable, departure from the book.
A change is about to come
The other main story this week takes place in this sad castle we call Harrenhal. I admit, as much as I’d like to move on to another hallucination nightmare, Rhaelyx is sick of this story and even the prospect of another Viserys I scene isn’t going to change her mind. After all, a dragon’s mind is rarely subject to change, and even Paddy Considine’s wonderful performance isn’t enough to make it budge. I have a feeling he thinks all of this should have been wrapped up last week. I can’t argue with that perspective.
Ser Simon Strong and Daemon Targaryen
We’ll just have to throw it away, then, since Rhaelyx opts for a trip to the nearby hot springs (seriously, Harrenhal is home to the best hot springs in Westeros!)
Daemon’s attempt to unite the Riverlands has been somewhat unsuccessful so far. Luckily, old Grover Tully is dead and his grandson, Oscar Tully is in charge (yes, it’s a Sesame Street joke thanks to George RR Martin that also features an Elmo Tully as well as a twin Bert and Ernie in Fire & Blood).
Oscar seemed kind of meek when we first met him, but now he’s all copper balls, basically telling the Riverlords that while he doesn’t like Daemon, the slob, his grandfather swore and Riverlanders aren’t sworn, even if Daemon is a big jerk with a stupid jerk face.
Well done, young Oscar. You surprised me in a good way. You were so close to being the MVP of this week’s episode.
Oscar Tully
Close but no cigar. This award goes to Ser Simon Strong (again) for his one-cracker line. When Oscar sentences Lord Blackwater to die and tells the Demon that it is his job to deliver justice, the old castellan looks at him and says “Oh dear!” in what might be the funniest moment in this entire show. The Demon, immediately irritated and impressed by young Oscar, obliges. Out with his head!
Oh dear!
Hightower Blues
Meanwhile, Team Green isn’t having the best time. Their defenses in King’s Landing are abysmal, allowing ships carrying Rhaenyra’s spies easy access to Blackwater Bay. Despite Aemond recently ordering the city closed to visitors and visitors, the local Dragonseeds have no problem getting out via ship. Larys Strong, the club-footed, Master of Whisperers, is no Varys — to put it mildly. Aemond is forced to flee the city to find Vhagar in the end when Ulf takes his joy over the city and is forced to retreat when he reaches Dragonstone where many other dragons await, as well as an angry dragon queen:
Rhaenyra and her dragons.
In King’s Landing, nothing is going to plan. Aegon—the poor young king—is up and walking and as happy as Hank was Breaking Bad. It turns out that Larys, despite his pretenses to the contrary, is behind these recovery efforts. I’m not sure what his motivation is yet, but I can’t trust Larys as much as Rhaelyx could throw him, and she could throw him pretty far if she had the inclination. This would be a good time to raid the Red Keep as well, since only Vhagar is defending it and Rhaenyra has over half a dozen dragons.
The only bright spot in Team Green’s cloudy day is Daeron, Alicent’s youngest son who we have yet to meet. He and his dragon, Tessarion, have taken wings. Tessarion could once again tip the balance, although the Greens (despite their stronger armies) are vastly outnumbered in the sky.
Alicent is perhaps the most unhappy of all these characters apart from the mutilated and broken Aegon. She leaves the city and leaves for slow walks in the woods and lovely little dips in the lake, with a single knight as her guard. It’s a strange throwback to Rhaenyra’s own flight during her father’s hunt, when a young Ser Criston Cole became her only companion.
Alicent
I feel for Alicent, who was only a child when her father, Otto Hightower, used her as a pawn in the vile game of Westerosi chess. If you bring your pawn to the other side of the board, it becomes a Queen, and so it was with Alicent. But now she has been sidelined by her son and his advisers. When the knight asks her when she plans to return to the city, she tells him that she is not sure she ever will. And why should it? Her children are there, but her love for them is much like their love for her—or Viserys’ love for any of them: Cold and distant, the way one might love a twinkling star.
Ah, here’s Rhaelyx, bathing in a hot spring in the same forest Alicent roams around with her confused Kingsguard. It is a wonderful place with moss. The kind of place one might go to forget war and bloodshed, old betrayals and broken sons. We will rest here before flying. Soon, the air will shake with the beating of dragons’ wings and the earth will tremble with hosts flying green and black banners. Winter is coming. Or something.
I’ll add a “Scattered Thoughts” section later. For now, Rhaelyx and I will find ourselves in this wonderful hot spring with Alicent—a fate I can handle, I assure you.
Alicent
One episode left, dear readers. What do you think of season 2 so far? Inform me Twitter, Instagram the Facebook. Also be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel and follow me here on this blog. Subscribe to my newsletter for more entertainment and culture reviews and commentary.
Looking for another great fantasy show with dragons? The Dragon Prince on Netflix is a great series to watch with your kids. I highly recommend checking it out.
