Episode Grade: (9.5/10)
Six years on from the events of the previous episode, news of Corlys’ grave injury at sea leads everyone to flock towards King’s Landing to petition their claims to the Driftmark throne. Just as it seems as if the Hightowers will place Vaemond on the throne and undermine Rhaenyra in the process, Viserys makes a stunning appearance to rule in Rhaenyra’s favor. What follows is an impassioned plea for peace from Viserys during a family dinner filled with tensions that certainly moves some but is ultimately in vain.
Plot (45/50)
The six-year time jump of this episode follows a string of well-executed time jumps throughout the season. It’s given many of the children time to grow into young adults with distinct personalities. Daemon and Rhaenyra has been peacefully living in Dragonstone, they now have two boys together with one more on the way. I have a feeling that the child Rhaenyra is pregnant with won’t live. Perhaps in the chaos that ensues she gets pushed and miscarries or maybe the child dies in childbirth. I just can’t imagine one more child plot-wise. They were barely able to fit in a minute of screen time for her three youngest children, so I just can’t see them adding one more to the fold. Anyways, while Daemon and Rhaenyra have been growing their family in Dragonstone, the Hightowers’ influence in King’s Landing has grown exponentially. They’ve been effectively ruling in Viserys’ stead as his health has declined exponentially. Everything comes to a head following the news that Corlys has suffered fatal wounds that he almost certainly won’t survive. This leads Vaemond, Rhaenys, and Rhaenyra, accompanied by Daemon and her children, to King’s Landing to stake their claims to the Driftmark throne. This was an appropriate subplot that feeds into the main plot really well. Rhaenyra and Daemon plead with a bedridden and drugged up Viserys to intervene in the hearing to name Lucerys as heir to the Driftmark throne. The hearing itself is controlled by the Hightowers, who predictably side with Vaemond. Just as it seems like Rhaenyra will lose the hearing, Viserys, barely alive at this point, makes a stunning entrance. He’s somehow managed to muster enough strength to get to the base of the throne, but he struggles to get up the stairs and physically ascend the throne. He refuses the guards’ help, but as he starts up the stairs, his crown falls off his head. The physical burden is just too much for his fragile body. And then in a truly moving gesture, Daemon picks up his brother’s crown, helps him up the stairs, and puts the crown back on his head. This was a perfectly executed scene that carried considerable weight. The fact that Viserys, who was never given enough respect when he was in his prime, managed to sway the fight back in Rhaenyra’s favor when he was literally on the edge of death is a brilliant way to give him a level of respect befitting of his position as King, even if it’s just once. Viserys gives the floor to Rhaenys, who had previously indicated an unwillingness to side with Rhaenyra. Clearly moved by Viserys’ arrival, Rhaenys backs Lucerys and announces her acceptance of Rhaenyra’s proposal to marry Baela and Rhaena to Jacaerys and Lucerys, respectively. Vaemond is outraged by Viserys’ decision to solidify Lucerys as heir and refuses to respect it. He’s goaded, by Daemon, into making vile accusations towards Rhaenyra , and as a result, he gets his head sliced off by Daemon, of course. With that matter resolved – for now- Viserys sets up a family dinner during which he makes an impassioned plea for peace. Once again, his efforts are moving, so much so that it appears Alicent and Rhaenyra have reconciled. Otto and Daemon are no doubt unfazed, and the children are still going at each other’s necks, but Alicent seems genuinely moved. That is, until Viserys, drugged up on milk of the poppy, mistakes Alicent for Rhaenyra later that night. He mumbles about Aegon’s dream, and Alicent takes that as a dying request to her to ensure Aegon ascends the throne. Viserys then dies along with a tear falling down his cheek as he’s seemingly greeted by his beloved wife, Aemma, in the afterlife. This was absolutely awful writing. The season had been ramping up so well up until this point, and it’ll be fine going into the last two episodes, but this was just disappointing for a number of reasons. I understand the desire to protect the integrity of Viserys’ colossal actions this episode whilst also ensuring that the conflict over the succession remains red-hot, but there was a much better way to do this. They could’ve had peace during the funeral processions before something happens that sparks the full-on battle everyone is anticipating. Aegon is clearly a placeholder, whether he gets killed by someone on Rhaenyra’s side or by his own brother, I don’t see him holding the throne for long. Have a tussle break out between him and Jace during which he gets pushed, lands his head on a rock, and is accidentally killed. This is more than enough motivation to reignite Alicent’s rage and finally get her to the mental space where she’s willing to do whatever it takes to eliminate Rhaenyra and her children. If they really want to keep Aegon alive, there’s a hundred other ways to accomplish the same outcome without having him killed. Basing the chaos that will ensue on this stupid bit of miscommunication feels cheap. Furthermore, it robs us of what would’ve been an epic conversation between Viserys and Daemon. The entire episode was subtly building towards the brothers finding closure. They could’ve discussed their childhood, parents, regrets, Rhaenyra, and so much more. Instead, Viserys’ final conversation is wasted over a nonsensical bit of plot development. Why was he left alone to begin with? Rhaenyra must know that he’s drawing his final breathes, so why isn’t she by his side? It’s perfectly appropriate for him to die alone, in fact, that’s the tragedy of his character. Not gaining closure from having his closest family even visit him on his death bed adds a level tragedy that simply isn’t worth that epic scenes that were sacrificed. I really didn’t like how this played out… Ultimately, what matters is that Viserys’ death will now spark the civil war among within family that he tried so hard to prevent. Aside from the final five minutes, this was actually a really good episode. We saw consistency with Rhaenyra’s scar and Vaemond’s hatred towards Rhaenyra and her kids. The scope of Viserys’ intervention was not shocking, per se, but it was not exactly expectable either. Similarly, Daemon killing Vaemond is not a surprising development, but the way it happened carried a bit of shock. There was plenty of intrigue specifically with regards to Rhaenys’ intentions and the lengths Vaemond would take to stop Luke from ascending the Driftmark throne. The interactions between the children as well as the reactions to Viserys’ pleas were also interesting. There were a few somewhat “mysteries” that haven’t been entirely answered. Do the rats mean anything? We’ve seen them so much that it really feels intentional. Are Aegon and Helaena married? Do they already have children? I might be reading too much into this, but the more I think about the subtle bits we were given, the more I’m convinced this is the case. The really big question though is will Corlys live? I have a feeling he will live because imagine all the complications that would introduce to the plot… There was plenty of suspense and high quality drama. The death of a King to spark a war is a tried and tested blueprint, I suppose the fact that he wasn’t poisoned gives Viserys’ death a bit of originality. The direction now definitely points towards an immediate struggle for power in King’s Landing.
Character Development (15/15)
Much can be said about how Viserys’ problems are as of his own making, but given how the episode played out, let’s focus on the positive qualities that were on display. Viserys’ unrelenting commitment to Rhaenyra is commendable. He was literally holding onto life just so that he might be able to set Rhaenyra up better after his death. For better or for worse, Viserys prioritized peace during his reign up until his very last breath. He took his responsibility as King very seriously and never seemed to abuse his power to the extent that those in power normally do. With that said, it’s clear that he never got over the grief from his beloved wife’s death all those years ago. He was also never able to properly reconcile with his brother, Daemon, no matter how hard he tried. His relationships with both Rhaenyra and Alicent weren’t as bad, but they never quite reached the level one would expect with an eldest child or a wife. While painfully tragic, his death was an accurate representation of the loneliness he suffered for years. I’m glad his final actions gave him a sense of integrity and respect that was lacking for much of the season. Moving on, Rhaenyra’s desperation was on full display throughout the episode. She practically begged her half-dead father to step in a save her once again. She’s been able to fall back on his support all this time, but now that he’s dead, she really has to step up because right now, she seems constantly outplayed and perpetually out of her depth. She even says as much to Viserys as she pleads for his intervention. This feels like the right time for me to say that my concerns at the beginning of the season about Rhaenyra being a Daenerys 2.0 have been alleviated. They’ve managed to build her up as a strong female character without having her completely shun certain female responsibilities such as motherhood. In a sense, she’s more Cersei than Dany, and that’s great for the character’s originality. Rhaenyra’s short-lived reconciliation with Alicent proves that both characters aren’t devious at their cores; nonetheless, they find themselves caught up in this brutal political zero-sum game where it’s kill or be killed. This is a great callback to the beginning of the season when they were two teenage best friends being used as pawns by their fathers. For all her hypocrisy, Alicent is not an inherently bad person. As Rhaenyra points out, she’s cared for Viserys all this time even when his own blood abandoned him. Her horror at Aegon’s disgusting actions are a further indication of her sense of morality. On the other hand, her insistence on claiming that her actions are “for the good of the realm” even though they’re clearly for her own selfish benefit is just pathetic. She’s following in Otto’s footsteps, of course, but that’s no excuse. Moving onto Daemon, he struggles to even approach Viserys at first, and I think a large part of that is regret at how their relationship turned out. It took decades of maturity and Viserys’ impending death, but Daemon finally acknowledges his brother’s authority and acts as his support, even if it’s just once. I’ve already expressed my disappointment at how they didn’t have full closure, so I’ll let it be. On a separate note, he’s certainly taking his role as Rhaenyra’s protector seriously. Vaemond is mischievously dared to go after Rhaenyra, and when he foolishly does, Daemon happily slices his head off. When things get heated between the children, Daemon calmly steps in and without even saying a word, Aemond is forced to back off. Speaking of Aemond, he’s practically Daemon 2.0… Whereas Luke and Jace have spent their years getting a somewhat formal education and Aegon has seemingly wasted his, Aemond has gotten really good at combat. At the moment, he’s leagues above the rest of the children thanks to his dedication and Criston Cole’s training. Finally, I want to briefly mention how tragic Rhaenys’ character has been. As she watches over the preparation of Vaemond’s dead body, she essentially calls her life meaningless. She feels this way because every time there’s an opportunity for her to seize some sort of power for herself, she’s quickly put in a position where she has to give it up for the sake of peace. The parallels between her and Viserys’ characters is something to think about.
Theme/Messages (5/5)
- Life always goes on.
- People are almost always concerned with what happens next instead of focusing on what’s happening before their eyes.
- Time does not heal all wounds. In fact, sometimes petty differences pull even the closest people apart, and if enough time passes, they might feel it’s too late to reconcile.
- And on that note, reconcile with the people you love before it’s too late…
- Ruling is a crippling burden not understood by the vast majority of people.
- Desperation makes people do things they wouldn’t normally even dream of doing.
Acting (15/15)
Paddy Considine (King Viserys) put in a show-stopping, poignant performance that is worthy of an award. He’s been excellent all season, but he just took it to another level here. His performance during the Driftmark succession hearing was beyond gritty, and his performance during the family dinner was absolutely heartbreaking. What a way for Paddy to sign off. The other actors put in predictably great shifts as well. I’m particularly excited about the addition of The Last Kingdom alumni Ewan Mitchell (Aemond) and Phia Saban (Helaena). Major props to the directors for the casting decisions thus far.
Cinematography (15/15)
There were plenty of powerful, symbolic scenes in this episode:
- Cool shot of the Red Keep with crows circling above against a cloudy backdrop (12:36)
- Lighting and thunder roaring outside as Rhaenyra visits Viserys at night (34:32 onwards)
- Nice detail with the cobwebs on Viserys’ sculpture of Old Valyria and a rat running around it (37:11)
- Epic shot of the Iron Throne from above (38:54) and then again from the front with all the new swords (39:15)
- Powerful shot of Daemon helping Viserys up the steps and placing the crown on his head after he gets to the throne (43:43 onwards)
- Interesting shot of Vaemond’s body with his head sliced off but his tongue still in place (48:25)
- Fantastic shot of Rhaenyra looking up at Viserys and the throne with all the blades covering the screen and the light shining in behind her from the right side of the screen (48:52)
- Great shot of Alicent and Rhaenyra sat on the dining table facing forwards on either edge of the screen (50:57)