Episode Grade: (8.7/10)
A three year time jump sees King Viserys celebrate his son Aegon’s second birthday while Queen Alicent is heavily pregnant with their second child. This, of course, serves as a catalyst for the debate over the line of succession. Meanwhile, Daemon and Corlys’ war against the Crabfeeder in the Stepstones has dragged on and caused both men significant losses in the absence of the Crown’s support. The situation has grown so dire that Viserys finally decides to send them aid. Enraged by the suggestion that he needs his brother to help him win the war, Daemon executes a ruthless and dangerous Hail Mary that finally brings him and Corlys the elusive victory they desired when they first set sail for the Stepstones.
Plot (40/50)
The storyline was glacially slow to develop for much of the episode, with questions over the line of succession still lingering but not much happening outside of that. Despite Aegon officially becoming eligible to be named heir at the tender age of two, Viserys seems intent on sticking to his decision to name Rhaenyra heir. However, if this is truly the King’s intention, it’s clear to no one else, not even Rhaenyra. On the other hand, the final quarter of the episode injected much-needed life into the Stepstones subplot. In a matter of 15 minutes, the storyline surrounding the Stepstones crescendoed and was then resolved, with the aftermath of Daemon and Corlys’ victory likely to result in a significant shift in power especially given it happened without the Crown’s support. Of course, Viserys predictably sent aid, but the writers added a clever twist by having Daemon claim victory before the King’s reinforcements had arrived. This is a major development and a worst case scenario for Viserys because he can neither claim the victory nor justify his decision to stay out of the war as he ended up sending reinforcements, even if they never arrived. What’s worse is that he will now be painted as a weak and cowardly king who saw that victory was close and sought to claim it for himself after Daemon and Corlys had honorably done all the dirty work for three years. Moving on, there was a fun bit of consistency with the Lannister pride -the “even his pride has pride” line was funny- and the whole twin situation. With that said, introducing so many characters at once, especially when they only have a handful of lines, complicates things a bit more than they should be. The symbolism of the white hart was an interesting detail that brings that fantasy element into play for those who enjoy that aspect of the show. The time jump as well as the way the battle for the Stepstones concluded presented nice twists, intrigue, and suspense in an episode that was sorely lacking in all three categories. Speaking of which, executing time jumps is a notoriously challenging task so props to the writers for executing them this well and this often. I yawned when Viserys relented and sent Daemon reinforcements, but I was pleasantly surprised when Daemon went full Targaryen and won the battle before the reinforcements could arrive. Rhaenyra’s refusal to marry is uber-repetitive… more yawning. The next episode is perfectly set up for a consolidation of power back in King’s Landing as the major players deal with the aftermath of the Stepstones situation. Expect the battle over the succession to heat up and for Rhaenyra’s potential marriage to become a central issue to that matter.
Character Development (15/15)
Viserys and Rhaenyra’s relationship continues to represent that of a parent and their teenager, at some point their relationship needs to evolve further. To be fair, their conversation about Rhaenyra’s position as heir and her need to marry was great, especially when Rhaenyra calls Viserys out on marrying Alicent instead of making the political match with Leana after he tries to lecture her on why Jason Lannister is a good political match. It’s clear that Viserys genuinely loves Rhaenyra and doesn’t wish to replace her as heir, but the whole situation is just so muddled when you consider how she’s treated. That being said, Viserys did point out that Rhaenyra has neglected her duties and she did come off as a spoiled brat on many occasions, so one has to wonder how much her lack of discipline is hampering her position. As a final note on Viserys, he really needs to exercise his authority with unequivocal dominance soon or he will soon find himself overshadowed by his returning conqueror of a brother. For his part, Daemon’s ruthless and violent explosion when he felt backed into a corner is a brilliant demonstration of a trait that is often associated with strong leaders. And if anyone is going to take full advantage of this momentum, it’s Daemon. Alicent continues to demonstrate wisdom beyond her age. Her dedication to defending Rhaenyra and her refusal to bend to Otto’s insistence that she pressure the King into naming Aegon heir paints her as something of a wild card. Surprisingly, she’s set up to play a key role in the battle over the succession. In other developments -and with the introduction of a handful of new characters, there were many-, Jason effectively demonstrated Lannister arrogance even as Tyland did not, Laenor Velaryon proved himself on the battlefield and beyond despite his young age, Lyonel Strong continued to offer the King good advice and very diplomatically dealt with the King’s drunken dig, and Criston Cole’s “commoner” take was a great reminder to put things into perspective. Finally, there were many interesting juxtapositions between a number of brotherly pairs: Hobert’s brashness vs. Otto’s premeditation, Jason’s sense of pride vs. Tyland’s sense of duty, Vaemond’s hesitation vs. Corlys’ determination, and Daemon’s callousness vs. Viserys’ compassion.
Theme/Messages (5/5)
- We never truly appreciate what we have until we’ve lost it.
- Similarly, people always seem to want what they don’t have; they think the grass is always greener on the other side.
- Perspective is everything.
- Anything can be interpreted as a “sign,” what really matters is whether you believe in what you’re doing or not.
- Since you can’t make everyone happy, why not focus on yourself?
- Family makes you break your rules and do wild things sometimes.
- Practice what you preach.
- Is happiness a factor when it comes to duty?
- Gender roles…
Acting (13/15)
Paddy Considine (King Viserys) continues to put in superb shifts. Matt Smith (Daemon) was excellent despite not having that much screen time this episode. Milly Alcock (Rhaenyra) put in a strong performance as well.
Cinematography (14/15)
Many of the episode’s great shots were focused on nature:
- Cool shot of the camps surrounded by a vast green forest with King’s Landing in the distant background (13:06)
- Great shot of Viserys and Rhaenyra arguing in the middle of the tent as everyone looks on (18:48)
- Awesome details of Viserys’ chair having features of a dragon (28:00)
- Eerie background noise of the crowd’s hysterical laughing while Viserys is seated alone and unhappy (28:00 onwards)
- Powerful shot Viserys from behind as he stands in front of a big fire (33:40)
- Great shot of the horizon as the sun comes up (36:25)
- Nice shot of Rhaenyra on her horse watching the horizon and the camp from afar as her hair is bloodied from the previous night’s attack (39:17)
- Striking shot of Daemon bloodied looking on to close the episode (1:03:29)