We can say that House of the Dragon has gotten to a much better point with each new episode. When the eighth episode was opened with a 10 out of 10 on IMDB before it was published, I thought, what could they have done now. And yet I came across a better episode than I thought. This episode will probably be engraved in the history of television with golden letters. The biggest reason will, of course, be Paddy Considine. I hope his acting will earn him an Emmy. Even if he doesn’t win, it is evident that he exhibited acting that we, the audience, will not forget for many years.
I will explain this episode in 4 subjects. All the actions taken by the characters are the manifestation of their motivations throughout the 7 episodes. Each character moves in a way that suits them. Let me tell you who did what and why.
First Episode’s Review
Second Episode’s Review
Third Episode’s Review
Fourth Episode’s Review
Fifth Episode’s Review
Sixth Episode’s Review
Seventh Episode’s Review
Rhaenyra
It’s been 6 years since Alicent cut off Rhaenyra’s hand at Driftmark, and they’ve never met. Rhaenyra and Daemon, who did not leave Dragonstone during this time, had 2 children named Aegon and Viserys, and the third is on the way. While all is well for Rhaenyra, the fact that Corlys Velaryon has fallen ill creates a mess. If he dies, Driftmark needs a new heir. Since he is thought to die, the family needs to be reunited.
Rhaenyra thinks her son Lucaerys should be the new heir, but Vaemond and Rhaenys do not. Because they know that Luc is a bastard, they favor giving the throne to someone of the original blood. Rhaenys remains neutral while Vaemond claims the throne for himself. Until Rhaenyra approaches him and proposes a deal. Rhaenyra has always been against fighting and has never hesitated to suggest her children or dragons to avoid fighting. She does the same this time, offering her children to Daemon’s children. I always say that Rhaenys is a politician. Such an offer could never be refused. But the only thing that changed Rhaenys’ decision was Vaemond’s claim to the throne. Vaemond’s accession to the throne would mean the merger of Driftmark with Hightower. Rhaenys couldn’t let that happen, either.
Viserys
King Jaehaerys kept the kingdom in peace for 50 years. Of course, some houses always fought with each other, but there were no problems that would turn all the lands against each other. His grandson Viserys established a peaceful environment just like him. Although he kept Westeros out of the fight, he couldn’t see the storms breaking within his own family. When he realized it, he was not in the health to prevent them.
Rhaenyra and Daemon saw Viserys for the first time in 6 years. It was quite emotional when Viserys said, “my only child,” when he heard his daughter’s name. As the years progressed, it became clear that Alicent was just a political marriage. This has already caused the seeds of hatred to be planted. Viserys is in such a bad condition that he can no longer move due to leprosy. But despite this, he stood up for his daughter. Although many see Viserys as a bad king, I don’t think anyone can talk about his paternity. He promised his daughter a throne, and he never broke it. He did not stop supporting her in sickness and in health. The episode in which he took the throne when he was not strong enough to walk will be remembered as one of the best sequences in the history of television. He got up from his bed for the last time for his daughter and came to save her again. Maybe a big civil war will start tomorrow, yes, and the reason may be Viserys, but we now know very well that he loves his daughter very much. More importantly, we now know that he regretted causing his wife’s death too.
“Then Viserys of House Targaryen closed his eyes and went to sleep. He never woke. He was 52, and had reigned over most of Westeros for 26 years.”
They turned these 3 simple sentences into such a beautiful drama that tears came to my eyes. Paddy Considine’s choice to see his wife before he died expressed Viserys’ regret. For 52 years, he tried to be a good man, a good king, and a good father. He hasn’t been a good husband, but he will settle this with Aemma on the other side. Because the king is no more. Dragons will soon dance too.
Daemon
Rhaenyra made the right decision for safety by marrying her uncle. We do not doubt her love, but the fact that Daemon is her husband also guarantees that she will not be harmed. Daemon is sensational with every move he makes. Each episode completely changes the story’s course with small details.
He did his show again in this episode. He hatched 3 dragon eggs for his 3 children, did not hesitate to humiliate Alicent, beheaded the man who criticizes his wife and children’s legitimacy, and gave a solid show of strength to Aemond, who is his copy. The thing to note in the scene where Daemon cuts off Vaemond’s head is that whenever someone insults Rhaenyra, both her father and husband immediately grab their swords. Rhaenyra is in such a position that no one is allowed to speak wrong to her. This is a luxury Alicent has never had.
Daemon has 2 crucial details that stand out in this episode. The first is that he settled with Rhaenyra. All he wanted was to be with the woman he loved. Then, when he got it, he withdrew to his corner. The second and most important thing was that he helped his brother. The fact that he lifted his crown from the ground, accompanied him to the throne, and put it back proves that he never actually had a claim to the throne. In the fourth episode, when his brother accused him of having an eye on his throne, I wrote you’ll see later that he is wrong. The fact that he returns the crown to his brother and supports Rhaenyra in her claim to the throne shows that he wants to be happy with her family.
I’ll close the Daemon thread with Aemond. When Daemon cut off Vaemond’s head, Aemond’s admiring glance did not go unnoticed. He found himself a serious rival. But he does not dare to face that serious opponent. Or let’s say he is smart. Daemon’s intervention and the way he looks at Aemond go down in history. It was a short but potent scene. I’m sorry to say this was the last meeting of the two if the scriptwriters didn’t make a difference in the script. But their next encounter will be legendary.
Alicent
The series handled Alicent’s motivation perfectly. Like embroidery. She was manipulated by his father, then Larys, respectively. Every time she saw that, she was not loved. Even her children are not decent. While Rhaenyra’s children, whom she calls the barbarian, sit quietly, her children seek to rape someone. She is living a much worse life than she imagined.
When Viserys made his final speech to reconcile them all at the table, I said to myself, “She will betray nonetheless.” Yes, even though she would get up and say to Rhaenyra that you will be a good queen, she would start her plot as soon as the king died. But I think the series has made a very unnecessary decision here, and I hope we misunderstood. Alicent’s whole motivation was that “Rhaenyra would kill my children if she took the throne.” But the series has turned the fight for the throne into a misunderstanding of a sentence that came out of Viserys’ mouth.
If Alicent says in the council next chapter that the king wanted Aegon on the throne instead of saying Rhaenyra will kill my children, that’s what I would criticize because it would be a very wrong decision. A very, very wrong decision. It destroys all of Alicent’s motivation. I think the purpose here is, not to make one of the two sides pure evil, but considering the fact that Alicent will “steal the throne,” it is not possible to attribute it to any goodwill. This is absolutely evil. The undisputed greens are the villains of this story. I hope they fix this mistake in the next episode.
Bazı Güzel Detaylar
Besides Jason and Tyland Lannister, another twin brother exists in Westeros: Arryk and Erryk. In the middle of the episode, one of the brothers comes to Alicent, and Alicent confuses them. In fact, at the last supper, the guards are Arryk and Erryk. Unfortunately, the brothers we meet in this episode will also be separated in the civil war. One will support Rhaenyra, while the other will support Alicent. And their deaths will go down in the history books.
At the beginning of the episode, we see that Jacaerys is working on the Velaryon language. But he says something more important than working on the language: To continue the tradition. In chapter six, we saw the Daemon buried in the books. We understand that when Daemon became their father, the children, like their fathers, gave themselves to books and traditions.
There is a war rising again in Stepstones. Laenor told us about this in chapter six. It is highly unlikely that we will hear anything more about the war this season. But the reason it’s mentioned in this episode is because it will be part of the story next season. The new general Laenor spoke of, Rycallio Ryndoon, is obviously started to his reign. I hope we get the chance to see this exciting character next season.
When Rhaenyra and Daemon encounter Alicent, Daemon says that the kingdom is adorned with Hightower symbols and is disturbed by this. Remember, when Cersei took the throne, all of King’s Landing was decorated with Lannister flags. Alicent and the Hightowers have a severe belief in god. So much so that when the Andals invaded Westeros, they never fought with them but became partners and immediately accepted the god of the 7 they brought to Westeros. On top of that, they built a vast Sept in Oldtown. The 7-pointed star that Alicent carries around her neck shows that they still adhere to this belief.
In the original story, Rhaenyra was the cause of Vaemond’s death. When Vaemond questioned the legitimacy of Rhaenyra’s children, he sent her to die. In the series, we see that it was Daemon who killed Vaemond, but when we look carefully at the background, we can see that Daemon was looking at Rhaenyra before his action, and waited for her approval to take action. Although the moment of giving consent occurs in Vaemond’s first speech, as soon as Vaemond starts talking about legitimacy, Daemon turns to Rhaenyra, and Rhaenyra nods in agreement.
I will close my post with another background talk. In a scene that cannot be heard without headphones, we hear Aemond in the back scolding Aegon for his behavior towards Helaena. Aemond, who defended his sister in the seventh episode, is still in the same position and does not let anyone talk shit about his sweet sister.