House of the Dragon
Sunday night episode House of the Dragon It’s the penultimate episode of Season 2, with just one more episode left before another long (very long) wait until Season 3 is ready.
At this point they will be cooking over dragon fire, for enough dragons have come to the lair – to fight each other, to make war, and ultimately to die. game of thrones It begins, and we watch it unfold. It’s called “The Dance of the Dragons,” a tragic little jig.
If you were reading my recap of season 2 a few weeks ago I bonded with my dragon, Raelix.(If you Google “Rhaelyx House of the Dragon” you’ll see two of my summaries about the red-and-black winged dragon. Including last week’s). It was a wonderful thing. The dragon landed outside my office, outside the shed in my backyard, and I knew exactly why: it needed a rider to record and jot down all the dealings and trades of Westeros. One day, all dragons would die, but Rairix would live on, long after Drogon had faded from mortal memory. Because Rairix is a recorder of the story, not a participant. And as any good writer knows, that’s a safer bet.
Either way, my bond with the female dragon went smoothly; Dragon Seed Tonight’s dramatic episode saw both Wolf the White and Hugh Hammer emerge victorious in the end, for better or worse.
Last week, we saw Adam of Hal cornered by Seasmoke. At the beginning of this Sunday’s episode, Rhaenyra confronts Adam and finds out that Adam has no idea what’s going on and just wants a hug. Or something like that. Adam is very keen to serve Rhaenyra and even more excited at the prospect of his slacker father, Corlys Velaryon, approving him. His brother, Arryn of Hal, agrees, proudly telling his father, “I’m made of sea and salt, and I want nothing more,” but his father only half-heartedly nods. Adam doesn’t get much more from his father. “Well done,” Seasnake tells Adam curtly.
Corliss and Allyn
These are the “illegitimate children” of House Targaryen and House Velaryon, Rhaenyra’s “bastard army,” and her son Jacaerys resents them. He knows full well that he is bastard too. It’s about skin color. His father is Strong, not Velaryon, and his only claim to legitimacy is that he is a dragonrider, and a bastard dragonrider threatens that. But Rhaenyra, though she sympathizes, has no other choice.
Eventually, thanks to the whispers of Rhaenyra’s underpaid, overqualified handmaidens, the remaining dragonseeds make their way to Dragonstone, where Vermithor and Silverwing are waiting. And fire. Lots of fire. Many potential riders are slain by Vermithor, until Hugh stands up and makes a bold claim.
I miss this moment Dark Souls screenshot:
Hugh and Vermithor
The White Wolf, on the other hand, takes a totally different approach. Hugh may be brave and tough, but the Wolf is a coward, as evidenced by his reluctance to go to Dragonstone in the first place, a decision born out of peer pressure more than anything else. But while fleeing Vermithor’s cavern of death, he steps into a pile of his own dragon dung and throws himself into Silverwing’s loving embrace. Soon, the Wolf is driving merrily through the skies above King’s Landing.
Yeah!
Team Black’s Dragon
Currently, the Black Team has the following list of dragons and riders: I’ve included Daemon because even though he’s trying to raise his own army, he’s still valuable to Rhaenyra and her cause.
- Rhaenyra / Syrax
- Demon / Karakuses
- Baela / Moondancer
- Jacaelis / Vermax
- Erik Kain/Rhaelyx (Yes, I’m crazy about Alicent, but I’m team black!)
- Hugh Hammer / Vermitho
- White Wolf / Silver Wing
- Adam of Hull / Seasmoke
For more information about Dragon Seed, I wrote this guide.
There’s only one more dragon left to join the Black Team – a wild, winged beast that lives in the valley Rayna is currently in. We only see Rayna briefly this evening, when she, Rhaenyra, and Daemon’s young sons are chased from their nest by the strict Lady Jeyne Arryn.
(Just to make a long story short, Jane is played by Amanda Collin and Hal’s Arin is played by Abubakar Salim, the same actors who played her mother and father in the fantastic (and sadly cancelled) HBO series.) The wolf raised. It’s the kind of trivia that can be described as both “fun” and “deeply sad” at the same time.
If Reyna were to possess a wild dragon called a Sheepstealer (because he steals sheep!) that would be a pretty big deal, but it makes sense. Deviations from the Book.
Change is Coming
The other main story this week is set in that gloomy castle we call Harrenhal. I’d love to have another hallucinatory nightmare, but Rayrix is sick of this storyline, and not even one more scene with Viserys I will change her mind. After all, dragons rarely change their minds, and even Paddy Considine’s brilliant acting isn’t enough to sway her. I get the feeling she thinks it should all have ended last week. I don’t disagree.
Ser Simon Strong and Daemon Targaryen
Well, we’ll just have to walk there, because Rayrix decided to go to a nearby hot spring (seriously, Harrenhal has the best hot springs in Westeros!).
Demon’s attempts to unite the Riverlands have been a bit of a failure so far, but thankfully, old Grover Tully has passed away and his grandson Oscar Tully is in charge. (Yes, this is a George R.R. Martin Sesame Street joke that also features Elmo Tully and the Bert and Ernie duo.) Fire and Blood).
Oscar had been a bit quiet when we first met him, but now he’s become all brazen and basically tells the Riverlords that he doesn’t like mean-spirited demons, but his grandfather took an oath and Riverlanders are not oath-breakers, even if the demons are big jerk-faced assholes.
Bravo young Oscar, you surprised me in a good way, and you were pretty close to being the MVP of this week’s episode.
Oscar Tully
I wanted it, but sadly, no. This award goes to Sir Simon Strong (again) for one firecracker line: When Oscar sentences Lord Blackwater to death and tells Damon it’s his job to exact justice, the old castellan looks at him and says, “Oh dear!” This may be the funniest moment in the entire show. Damon, annoyed but impressed by young Oscar, complies: Behead him!
oh dear!
Hightower Blues
Meanwhile, the Green Team is struggling. King’s Landing’s defenses are poor, allowing ships carrying Rhaenyra’s spies to easily enter Blackwater Bay. Despite Aemond’s recent ban on the city, the local dragonseeds easily escape by boat. Clubfoot’s Rarith Strong, Master of the Whisperers, is no Varys to say the least. Aemond is eventually forced to leave the city to search for Vhagar as the Wolf drives around the city, and when he reaches Dragonstone, he is forced to retreat where many other dragons and one angry Dragon Queen await him.
Rhaenyra and her dragons.
Nothing goes according to plan in King’s Landing. Aegon (the poor young king) gets up and starts pacing, as pleased as Hank is. Breaking Bad. It turns out that Rarith is behind this recovery attempt, even though he pretends not to be. His motives are still unknown, but we can’t trust Rarith to throw him far enough – and he could throw him pretty far if he wanted to. Now would be a good time to invade the Red Keep, as it is only Vhagar guarding it and Rhaenyra has no fewer than six dragons.
The only bright spot in Team Green’s cloudy skies is Alicent’s youngest son, Daeron, who we’ve yet to meet. He and his dragon, Thessarion, have taken to the skies. Tessarion may tip the balance again, but the Green (though their army is strong) are vastly outnumbered in the skies.
Alicent is perhaps the most unfortunate of the characters, aside from the maimed and mangled Aegon. She leaves the city, accompanied by a single knight as her escort, for leisurely walks in the forest and lovely dips in the lake – a strange callback to Rhaenyra’s own flight during her father’s hunt, when the young Ser Criston Cole became her only companion.
Aricent
I really feel sorry for Alicent. When she was just a child, her father, Otto Hightower, used her as a pawn in his vile game of Westeros chess. Get your pawn to the other side of the board and you become queen. So did Alicent. But now she’s abandoned by her son and his advisors. When the knight asks when she plans to return to the city, she says she doesn’t know when she will. Why should she? Her children are there, too, and her love for them is a lot like the love they have for her, or the love Viserys has for one of his children. Cold and distant, like loving a twinkling star.
Ah, here is Rayrix, bathing in a hot spring in the very forest where Alicent roams with the King’s confused guard. It’s a mossy and beautiful place. The kind of place you go to forget about war and bloodshed, old betrayals and wounded sons. I will rest here for a while before I fly away. Soon the air will rumble with the flapping of dragon wings and the earth will tremble with marching armies bearing green and black banners. Winter will be coming. Or something.
I’ll add a “scattered thoughts” section later, but for now, Rhaelyx and I are soaking in this lovely hot spring with Alicent, convinced that this is a destiny I can understand.
Aricent
Dear readers, there is only one episode left. Let us know what you think of season 2. twitter, Instagram or FacebookPlease subscribe My YouTube Channel And follow me In this blog. Sign up for our newsletter Read more entertainment and culture reviews and commentary.
Looking for another great fantasy show featuring dragons? Dragon Prince On Netflix Great series It’s a film you can watch with your kids, and I highly recommend you check it out.
