Directed by: Greg Yaitanes While the entire first season of House of The Dragon basically felt like a set-up for the story to come, this was perhaps the settiest-uppiest episode of the lot, aside from the pilot. And look, some interesting things did happen here — most notably, Rhaenyra swooping in to Dragonstone on Syrax and making Otto look like a fool and Daemon bend to her will — but ultimately as an audience, we were just waiting around for what came next. Directed by: Clare Kilner Perhaps unfairly, there were extremely high expectations for this episode, primarily because Episode 9 in each season of Game of Thrones was always the biggest and often the best. Unfortunately, “The Green Council” ultimately didn’t deliver. While the council scene itself was tense, and spending a whole episode with the Greens did add much-needed layers to some of the characters, especially Alicent, the race to find Aegon didn’t quite bring the suspense it was clearly aiming for. And while seeing Rhaenys on Meleys, at last, was cool, her bursting through the Dragonpit and killing a bunch of smallfolk felt like a stunt that didn’t add much to the story or characterization.
Directed by: Greg Yaitanes The strongest part of this episode was watching Rhaenyra’s struggle with her new family, her changing role, and the expectation that she herself soon marry. Her teenage anger and rebellion are palpable throughout, thanks to a particularly great performance from Milly Alcock. And while it was cool to see the battle in the Stepstones, it didn’t add enough to the wider story to warrant its screentime — especially at the cost of, say, developing Harwin Strong’s character.
Directed by: Greg Yaitanes As the title suggests, this is Rhaenyra’s episode, and while Emma D’Arcy’s performance is stellar, “The Black Queen” is often pretty brutal viewing. Which, yes, is the nature of the show, but there is such a thing as too much — especially when it comes to depictions of birth trauma, for instance. After multiple graphic, traumatic birth scenes this season, another one just felt exhausting, especially with the limited space given to Rhaenyra’s grief. Still, the showdown between Aemond and Vhagar and Luke and Arrax is both heartbreaking and terrifying, and the quiet scene that follows where Rhaenyra finds out what has happened is one of the most memorable of the season. Ultimately, though, the overwhelming feeling we’re left with at the end of the episode is “finally, the story is kicking off” — except we now have two years to wait for more. Directed by: Clare Kilner This episode provides some crucial character and relationship development. In particular, it’s a huge turning point for Rhaenyra and it informs so much of what’s to come for her, especially in two of her major relationships, with Alicent and Daemon. We also see Otto’s machinations, Alicent’s pain, and Viserys’ wilful ignorance where Rhaenyra is concerned, all of which are important for the rest of the season. Plus it was just really fun to watch Rhaenyra set loose on the streets of King’s Landing — and in the sheets with Ser Criston Cole (the last time any of us ever thought well of him). Directed by: Clare Kilner A wedding is always a huge — and bloody — affair in Westeros, and this one was no different. Effectively serving as a mid-season finale, the production and costuming of “We Light the Way” is lush, the pacing is satisfying, and the performances are as strong as always. We farewelled much of the younger cast in this episode, including Milly Alcock and Emily Carey, who had both done so much to establish the most crucial characters and relationships in the show. They each shine here, with Emily especially earning a standout moment when Alicent emerges in that Hightower Green gown, no longer the innocent and naive girl she was at the start of the season. Directed by: Miguel Sapochnik Functioning as a second pilot, “The Princess and the Queen” resets the show after a 10-year time jump, with a bunch of new cast members, including new faces in the two lead roles, as Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke take the reins as Rhaenyra and Alicent respectively. They have a tough job coming after the much-beloved Milly Alcock and Emily Carey, but they are immediately convincing — not to mention compelling — as the adult versions of their characters. While the episode is somewhat jarring as a result of the time jump, it works better than might have been expected. It also features one of the most iconic sequences of the season — the tracking shot of Rhaenyra struggling through the Red Keep immediately after giving birth to Joffrey. Directed by: Miguel Sapochnik There was a lot of skepticism in the lead-up to the House of the Dragon premiere, thanks in large part to the trainwreck that was the last season of Game of Thrones. It was impressive, then, that the first episode connected so well and instantly hooked thousands of burned-out fans right back into the world of Westeros. With the politics, the tourney, and even the early death of a sympathetic character, it was like a twisted welcome home, helped along by such an impressive new cast.
Directed by: Miguel Sapochnik In “Driftmark” we finally saw what so much of the season had been building to — an actual violent confrontation between the Greens and the Blacks. The clash of Alicent and Rhaenyra was particularly effective, but the tension between all of the characters unfolded beautifully. There was just the right balance of action and character development. The main downside was how damn dark and hard to see half of the episode was. Directed by: Geeta Vasant Patel “The Lord of the Tides” was full of political intrigue, but most significantly it cut to the core of the House of the Dragon as a family drama, with heart-wrenching results. The decline of Viserys is harrowing to witness, but his last walk to the Iron Throne in order to defend his daughter makes for the most powerful scene of the show to date. The family dinner later in the episode offers an important glimpse of hope that things might get better, only to pull the rug out from under us. While all the performances are effective, it’s Paddy Considine’s final turn as Viserys that is truly the highlight of the episode — and the entire season.
