Episode Grade: (9.3/10)
The second half of the season kicks off with a 10-year time jump with Rhaenyra, Alicent, and Daemon all parents now. Viserys’ health has seemingly stabilized but his frailty has allowed Alicent to assert herself with more dominance. She’s particularly aggrieved by Viserys’ refusal to hold Rhaenyra accountable for mothering what is obviously 3 bastard children. Her frustration leads her to Larys who orchestrates a shocking murder plot in what is a clear signal that the game of thrones is well and truly on.
Plot (46/50)
This was a really well-executed episode that set the tone for the remained of the season. The significant time jump was necessary to raise the stakes and get the game of thrones officially started. There were a plethora of intricate callbacks that highlighted the near-unrivaled attention to detail of GoT, but there a couple of annoying inconsistencies that have to be mentioned in a bit. The main storyline remains the succession battle and there were several interesting developments with that regards. First of all, as I expected, Viserys is still alive. Again, I highly doubt he’ll make it to season two, but for plot purposes, he’s still needed to hold the Iron Throne until the sides fully form out. Now that they’re starting to form out, the question becomes will he die or will he be killed? We’ve seen Larys’ scheming to devastating effect, might he or someone else make a move to expedite the succession? One thing is for certain, Viserys is as weak as he’s ever been, he’s practically a sitting duck. And I don’t just mean physically, with Lyonel presumably dead and Rhaenyra no longer in King’s Landing, Viserys suddenly finds himself without any true allies at court. Couple that with the fact that Alicent has taken full control of their relationship, and it would almost be surprising at this point if someone doesn’t try to end his life. Moving on, Rhaenyra mothering three bastard children has put a cloud over her head, so much so that she leaves King’s Landing for Dragonstone. Meanwhile, Daemon has been wandering in Essos looking like a shadow of his former self. The subplot with House Strong was impressively given a full-ish arc while effectively adding intrigue to the main plot. The Stepstones have crept back into the background, albeit the threat is more legitimate this time as a result of Lys and Dorne’s involvement. As annoying as they may be (we feel you Viserys), it’s only logical that someone has decided to have another go at them after they were left undefended for years. As mentioned earlier, there were some nice callbacks that demonstrated a high level of consistency: Laena mastering Vhagar after Viserys had told her during their garden stroll back in episode two that the dragon was missing, Harrenhal being cursed, Daemon being faced with the same choice Viserys was faced with in the first episode, Laenor naming his newborn “son” Joffrey, older members of the small council subtly replaced, Harwin eventually hooking up with Rhaenyra after Viserys had pretty much spoken it into existence during the hunt episode, Criston Cole serving Alicent, and Larys smelling the same rare flower that he pointed out in his first meeting with Alicent. GoT’s subtle attention to detail is second to none, and this episode was a reminder of that. Unfortunately, there were a couple of things that didn’t make sense. How did Laena manage walk out in her condition and plead with Vhagar to burn her in the time it took Daemon to follow her outside? Why was she left unattended to begin with? The way this played out was inexcusable. Her decision to commit suicide is questionable as well, but more on that in the next section. The second issue I had is with Larys’ sigil. Here’s a man who’s so careful that he cuts his recruits’ tongues off so they can’t identify him, yet he brazenly marks them with his personal sigil? The only possible explanation is that its his hubris, but if I’m having to justify a detail to myself then there’s a deficiency in the writing. Hopefully I’m wrong and there’s a good explanation for this. Everything else about the episode was great. The deaths were shocking. The shifting dynamics added intrigue. The episode was fairly simple to follow. There was some suspense with Laena’s death scene. The drama was excellent. The deaths will always have a touch of originality about them, even if we’ve come to somewhat expect them. Focus on the mother’s perspective isn’t really something you normally see, but it was definitely a theme in this episode. Finally, the direction seems to point towards the Stepstones once again.
Character Development (14/15)
Viserys’ frailty was hammered home mainly through his interactions with Alicent. His grief for Aemma after all this time tells of a man ridden by guilt, and seeing him cry in the night as he holds her ring was quite sad. What’s possibly even more sad is the situation he finds himself in with Rhaenyra. He knows her children are bastards, he knows everyone can see it, and he must know that upon his death, her and her children’s lives will be in danger. The only thing keeping the wolves at bay is his dwindling lifeforce. The way his face lights up with joy after Rhaenyra proposes a marriage between her son and Alicent’s daughter is just adds to his sad state (I say Alicent’s daughter because otherwise it gets weird). If you go back to the contemplation about his legacy from the previous episode, it just keeps getting sadder and sadder. Anyways, point made, enough about Viserys… Alicent has grown unapologetically cold-hearted, and she has absolutely no problem exercising her power as queen. The nonsense she pulled with Rhaenyra at the beginning of the episode was cruel. There’s no love lost between those two and there’s no sign of any sort of reconciliation that’s for sure. As much as Alicent likes to whine about not having any allies at Court, she has two solid supporters in Ser Criston Cole and Larys Strong. Larys has proven especially valuable as his scheming will likely lead to Otto’s reinstatement as Hand; however, everything comes with a price, and Alicent will have to learn that the hard way now that she has given Larys leverage over her. Larys provides a much-needed level of scheming and ruthlessness, but he will fall well, well short of Littlefinger in GoT if that’s what the writers are going for. Still, his increased involvement is a welcome development, even if his motivations are a bit confusing. He has a grudge against his father because he was mistreated by him, that’s understandable, but from the interactions we’ve seen between him and Harwin, they seemed to be on friendly terms. He only needed his father dead to create a vacancy that Otto would fill, thus giving him leverage over Alicent, but why kill Harwin? I suppose it’s to become the new Lord of Harrenhal, but is that really worth burning alive a brother you don’t seem to hate? It could be that Larys is completely heartless, but they hadn’t done enough to establish that at this point. At least that’s clear now… Harwin, for his part, seemed like a decent man. It’s interesting that he was presented as honorable while Criston was presented as not because first impressions would’ve led you to think the opposite. Harwin’s relationship with Rhaenyra seemed genuine, so was his interest in his children. On the other hand, Rhaenyra and Laenor’s relationship is anything but intimate. They have an understanding that keeps them somewhat functional, even if it leaves both sides thoroughly unsatisfied. Laenor longs for the sea and for the battlefield, that’s where he derives his self-worth. He’s actually a decent man and does his best to care for Rhaenyra’s children, but he simply can’t be expected to care for them in the same way you would expect their real father to. I think Laenor’s days are numbered. I doubt he’ll make it to season two. Back to Rhaenyra, she’s evolved her stubbornness into pragmatic resilience, so when she senses the walls closing in, she retreats to Dragonstone. Another character who’s retreated from the political machinations of King’s Landing is Daemon, who’s had his family in Pentos for some time it seems. His relationship with Laena isn’t what he wanted, but he clearly cares for her and their daughters, even if he’s playing favorites. His refusal to sacrifice Laena to try and save his unborn child is in direct contrast to what Viserys did with Aemma in the pilot, which is incredible considering Viserys is supposed to be the “good” brother while Daemon is supposed to be the “bad” one. Ultimately, his decision didn’t matter and he had to tragically watch his wife burn herself alive. Laena’s decision is a bit baffling here considering she now leaves Daemon with her two daughters even though she knows he lacks the skills to raise them on his own. It’s even more baffling when you consider how much faith she had in Daemon returning to his senses and fulfilling his destiny. Perhaps she thought she wouldn’t survive or that Daemon would sacrifice her for the baby, so she decided to die on her own terms. It comes off as forced, and to be frank, it seems like a ploy to develop Daemon’s character further. Finally, we were given a mix of personalities with regards to the children. Most notably, Aegon is giving off GoT Viserys vibes. One of Aemond and Rhaena will end up with Vhagar, with the other getting Laenor’s dragon when/if he dies. I suppose we’ll find out soon enough.
Theme/Messages (5/5)
- “When steel is drawn, a fair match isn’t something anyone should expect” is just a cool way of saying that honor has no place in this cutthroat world where lives are at risk. This was a common theme in GoT as well.
- “What are children but a weakness? A folly? A futility?… For them you surrender what you should not. You may know what is the right thing to be done but love stands the hand. Love is a downfall. Best to make your way through life unencumbered if you ask me.”
- It is unwise to give people leverage over you, no matter how close you think they are. Loyalties can shift in an instant even for the people closest to you.
- “Truth has many flavors.”
- There’s always more than one path to get to where you want to be. If one path fails you, move on to the next.
Acting (15/15)
Emma D’Arcy (Rhaenyra) had a phenomenal debut and Olivia Cooke (Alicent) was close behind. Not to take anything away from the younger actresses as they were working with less complex material, but these two instantly managed to elevate the quality of the show. Paddy Considine (King Viserys) and Matt Smith (Daemon) put in their usual strong shifts. The likes of Ryan Corr (Harwin) and Nanna Blondell (Laena) signed off with impressive performances as well.
Cinematography (13/15)
There were some visually impressive shots in this episode:
- Cool shot of the dragon pit (14:36)
- Awesome shots of the dragons (25:35 onwards)
- The aesthetic in Pentos is markedly different than that of King’s Landing in general
- Cool shot of the castle overlooking the city below in the night (44:26)
- Great shot of everyone seated except for Rhaenyra and Alicent who are facing eachother across the table (47:51)
- Poignant shot of Daemon and his two girls dressed in white standing on the roof of the castle with the sun rising in the background (1:07:02)