Episode Grade: (8.7/10)
In the immediate aftermath of Viserys’ death, the Hightowers and members of the Small Council act swiftly to crown Aegon king. Through the search for the missing Aegon, divides begin to form among the royal family, most notably between Otto and Alicent. Meanwhile, Rhaenyra and her family are in Dragonstone, completely oblivious to what’s transpiring in King’s Landing. That will soon change with the escape of Rhaenys.
Plot (44/50)
Viserys’ death brings about an immediate grasp for power in King’s Landing. Otto and members of the Small Council had been plotting behind Alicent’s back to install Aegon as king upon Viserys’ death, so they were more than prepared. The cut throat nature of the process was accurately depicted with dissidents such as Lord Beesbury and Lord Caswell ruthlessly disposed of. The search for Aegon was an original way to showcase the power grab and was very effective in establishing the growing rift among the Hightowers. This episode was effectively a skirmish between Alicent vs. Otto whereas one would expect the Aegon vs. Rhaenyra rivalry to take center stage. Instead, Rhaenyra was far away in Dragonstone completely oblivious to the fact that she’d just been completely undermined. This was the right call given Otto had spent decades preparing for this moment in King’s Landing while Rhaenyra had isolated herself in Dragonstone for the last six years. Still, it’s telling that Rhaenyra doesn’t have any network of allies that could’ve slipped this information to her in a timely manner. Lord Caswell tried, but that was his own initiative, not Rhaenyra’s networking. In any case, the approach here did well to add significant intrigue to the pieces in play while building anticipation for what will surely be an eventful finale. Rhaenys’ involvement added a further layer of interest and served as an engaging subplot until the stupid ending. And herein lies the show’s biggest challenge: dragons. The writers have managed to tiptoe their way around the dragons whilst appropriately keeping them relevant, but the ending of the episode painfully exposes the issue at hand. Bluntly put, one Dracarys and the show’s over. One Dracarys and there will be no one left for Rhaenyra to fight, simple as that. To their credit, they made an effort to make it make sense, but it’s a case of far too little. Alicent and Rhaenys were given plenty of screen time, and in their discussion, Alicent makes it clear that she intends to offer Rhaenyra peace terms. Rhaenys knows that everyone else is plotting to murder Rhaenyra and her family -which, in case anyone forgot, includes Rhaenys’ grandchildren and only remaining continuation of her line- to eliminate the threat to Aegon’s claim, so she sympathizes with and admires Alicent for her efforts to maintain peace. This was all done to establish a connection between the two so that when the time came for Rhaenys to burn them all, the audience would find it justifiable that she didn’t. Alicent showed Rhaenyra mercy, so Rhaenys showed Alicent mercy. Was the scene epic? Absolutely! Does it make sense? Not really… At best, it’s far from convincing. I’ll be keeping a close eye on what happens next now that Rhaenys has flown off to Dragonstone to warn Rhaenyra. To maintain the consistency of this fragile logic, Rhaenys’ message to Rhaenyra must now unequivocally be that she bend the knee. Anything other than that and her decision not to burn the Hightowers will be rendered ridiculously inconsistent. If Rhaenys didn’t eliminate the usurpers when she had a chance then proceeded to tell Rhaenyra to fight for her right, then we have a problem. Either she believes Rhaenyra is the rightful heir or not, there can be no in-between. This is the second episode in a row where the ending felt like a cheap ploy that was wrote up purely to serve the plot. Hopefully this doesn’t become a trend. At the least the behavior of the lords was consistent with this sort of transfer of power. The manner of Beesbury’s death was surprising, even if his death was expected. GoT has expertly mastered the delivery of expected events in a surprising manner. It’s a truly delicate balance, so kudos to the writers for being able to execute time and time again. The simplicity of the plot allowed us to focus on the intriguing dynamics in play. Again, Rhaenys’ involvement was a plus if you ignore the final minute. Larys’ position as the wild card was significantly enhanced in this episode, and that is a major plus for the show. Hints of Aegon’s extracurricular activities present a few interesting questions: What is this “beast beneath the boards” that Helaena keeps talking about? Is it Aegon’s cruelty? How much of Aegon’s activities does Alicent know about? Does she know about the bastards? One thing is certain, these questions suggest that Aegon will sit on the throne for some time. As always, there was great suspense and drama. There was even a bit of nice action/fantasy at the end. Direction clearly points towards Rhaenyra rallying support for her claim and the beginning of the show’s major conflict. In conclusion, the silliness at the end left a sour taste despite a fresh approach to the succession plot with Rhaenyra kept away for the entirety of the episode.
Character Development (13/15)
In the post-Viserys era, the focus is more evenly spread across the other characters of the show. Excluding Rhaenyra’s side from this episode gave the writers enough time to explore the relationship between Alicent and Otto in greater detail. Alicent was taken aback when she learned that Otto and other members of the Small Council had been scheming for years to install Aegon as King upon Viserys’ death. Of course, this is hardly surprising, and anyone with half a brain could see it coming from a mile away, so either Alicent is playing dumb as a coping mechanism to make herself feel better, or she’s actually dumb. To her credit, she managed to quickly readjust, consolidate her allies, and gain an early victory in what will likely be a long and arduous battle with Otto for influence over Aegon. Her dealings with Criston and Larys suggest that she has the flexibility needed to survive in this dangerous game they play. Much of what we saw from Alicent was just reaffirming traits that have been established already, it’s during her conversation with Rhaenys that we get a bit more insight into the nuances of her character. Rhaenys pushes Alicent to think beyond the confines of what is expected of her, and that leads to a bit of an “ah-ha” moment for her. Essentially, Rhaenys tells Alicent to stop playing the game as a pawn when she can play it as a queen (no pun intended). That’s very rich coming from ” the Queen that never was.” I already made my point in the previous section, but the inconsistency in Rhaenys’ character motivations is just too much to ignore. This is the same woman that told Rhaenyra earlier in the season that she would never be queen because that’s how the system is. Now we’re supposed to believe that she thinks Alicent, who doesn’t have a claim to the throne nor is she even a Targaryen, can somehow be queen? What exactly is she playing at here? And then there’s the business with the dragon at the end… For someone as seasoned as Rhaenys, she should know better than to think there might be a peaceful transfer of power. Never mind Rhaenyra and her children, she knows that the Hightowers will come after Baela and Rhaena by association, so where are her priorities? I understand, it’s tough to pull the trigger when you’re standing face to face with the people you should eviscerate, but when the alternative puts the lives of your remaining family members in serious jeopardy, you just have to do it. Again, the only way this somewhat works out is if Rhaenys insists that Rhaenyra bend the knee to ensure peace. We’ll see how that goes in the next episode, but I’m not optimistic. Back to Otto, the way the episode played out tells of a man that is very well-versed in the political machinations of Westeros. He’s been scheming and garnering support for his cause just as he should. He still hides behind this idea that they must do what’s “best” for the realm, but in reality it’s his disillusionment to the cutthroat nature of the game that gives him an edge. That and the fact that he’s literally playing against beginners. Otto would be nowhere near the throne in GoT where there was real competition. When you really think about it, Otto ought to be easily winning every single battle. Nothing about what he’s done so far has been impressive. Larys, on the other hand, continues to be a wild card. Aside from his personal feelings towards Alicent -or Alicent’s feet I should say- he genuinely seems to be on her side. With that said, it’s clear that his loyalty to Alicent will only last as long it he sees it as the best way to advance his interests. His presence significantly enhances the dynamic in King’s Landing. We got insight into other characters as well: Aegon is basically Joffrey from GoT, Aemond is basically Daemon, Helaena must be going through some serious trauma, most members of the Small Council were overwhelmingly in favor of installing Aegon, and Mysaria is way out of her depth. I don’t think she’s dead, hopefully she’s learned her lesson. The mini-rivalries between Erryk and Arryk as well as that between Criston and Harrold are something to watch out for heading into next season.
Theme/Messages (5/5)
- It’s strange how much wrong people are willing to tolerate in support of a friend or a family member.
- “It is our fate, I think, to crave always what is given to another… if one possesses a thing, the other will take it away.”
- “A true queen counts the cost to her people.”
- “You desire not to be free but to make a window in the wall of your prison.”
- “There is no power but what the people allow you to take.”
- “No King has ever lived that hasn’t had to forfeit the lives of a few to protect the many.”
Acting (15/15)
Olivia Cooke (Alicent) continues to impress, as does Ewan Mitchell (Aemond). Rhys Ifans (Otto) and Eve Best (Rhaenys) were both excellent in this episode as well.
Cinematography (14/15)
There were a number of scenes that were great at setting the tone:
- Haunting shot of the Iron Throne in the dark hall with light shining down on it from the window above followed by an equally haunting series of shots around an empty and eerily quiet Red keep (4:27 onwards)
- Incredibly representative shot of people falling over each other trying to climb the fence in order to escape the wrath of Rhaenys’ dragon (57:28)
- Impressive shots of the masses in general
- Epic shots of the Meleys, Rhaenys’ dragon