House of the Dragon S2 Ep 3 Review
Oh, Alicent Hightower; how I pity you. Used as a political tool by your father, forced into a marriage you didn’t want as your best friend turned on you. Driven by your envy and misguided morals to name your son king, thinking it’s what your husband wanted. Only now, with your grandson dead and your family divided, does your former friend make you realize how ignorant you were.
That poetic prose is my way of describing how Alicent made a mistake that has ignited the Dance of Dragons…except it hasn’t. Even though most people would consider Prince Luke’s death by Vhagar the point of no return, Rhaenyra remains reluctant to admit war has started. However, as she tries to make one last attempt (I hope it is) at extending an olive branch, the show demonstrates it’s for naught. War has already been unleashed upon Westeros, and there’s nothing Alicent and Rhaenyra can do to stop it.
Seriously, HBO, can we just start the war? Stop dragging things out and torturing us like this!
No one Wins in War
The episode starts on a solid note with a very poignant example of what may occur House Targaryen if war is allowed to escalate. Two Riverlands Houses, the Brackens and Blackwoods, who are on opposing sides get into a dispute over land for their farm animals. Soon, words give way to weapons being drawn, and while we don’t see who strikes first, the aftermath tells us all we need to know.
The aftermath of the Battle of the Burning Mill, as this comes to be called, is extremely unsettling. Game of Thrones did not shirk from the fact that, in war, even the victor can come out losing more than they win. In this case, though, no one seems to have won anything. And the sad truth of it all? The Brackens and Blackwoods have been feuding for so long, they don’t even remember why it started. They’re just fighting for fighting’s sake!
Rhaenyra Risks Losing her Humanity
It’s this grim prologue that the rest of the episode is set against as Rhaenyra continues to be reluctant about going to war or use her dragons in battle. She knows that dragons are the Westerosi equivalent to nuclear weapons, and once they are unleashed, both sides stand a good chance of being destroyed. In addition, Rhaenyra also knows that by doing so, she will forfeitting that which keeps her connected with the rest of humanity. Nowhere is this better shown than when she chooses to bury Ser Arryk and Ser Erryk together. She holds no ill will against the one who tried to kill her, but if this conflict were to continue, she’ll begin to lose that empathy. And one of her decisions in this episode, while understandable, may also serve to further cut her off from her humanity.
I don’t know if anyone else noticed it, but I think a big theme of the episode is how people can solate themselves from their loved ones in the face of danger and conflict. In this case, Rhaenyra decides to send her youngest children, Aegon the younger, Viserys, and Joffrey to the Vale where they’ll be safe.
In addition to sending four dragon eggs (which are confirmed to hatch into Danaerys’ dragons one day!), she also sends Daemon’s daughter Rhaena to look after her half-brothers.
It’s a smart move on Rhaenyra’s part. If things go south, the Vale can protect her sons for a while. But there is the very real possibilty that she might have to send them eastward to Essos to wait out the conflict, which could put a lot of strain on both parties. And by doing this, Rhaenyra starts to isolate herself from her humanity. At the same time, though, Rhaenys also manages to reach out to her and offers what might be the last chance at stopping the war from escalating. More on that in a moment, though.
Daemon is Starting to Feel Guilty
Perhaps an even bigger example of that sense of isolation comes from the episode’s best part: Daemon in Harrenhal. After leaving Dragonstone, he flew Caraxes to the massive castle, capturing it without a fight. The guards flee from him and his dragon, while the steward bends the knee because he knows Larys Strong killed his father and brother. After that, Daemon has control of the castle. The gigantic, ruinous, water-logged castle.
I don’t know if Harrenhal is haunted or cursed, but this episode makes a very strong case for it. Seeing Daemon walk through the massive hallways when he arrives, trying to find someone to fight, is pretty unsettling. It’s like being in a medieval horror film; it only gets creepier. Later in the episode, Daemon has what might be a lucid dream where he sees a younger Rhaenyra (played once again by Milly Alcock) stitching the head of little Jaehaerys back onto his body. The vision of Rhaenyra then coldly tells him how she’s always having to clean up after him before abruptly ending. Instead of being in his room, he’s standing in front of a weirwood tree in the courtyard.
I don’t know if that was an actual vision or dream, but it clearly got to Daemon. The guilt he feels for his kinslaying and making things worse for Rhaenyra is starting to get to him, and Matt Smith does a terrific job of showing how rattled the Prince is. Maybe Harrenhal is haunted. Or it could be the work of the woman who tells Daemon he’ll die at that place. Hard to tell.
One Last Attempt at Peace With Alicent
At the end of the episode, Rhaenyra decides to take Rhaenys advice and try to reach out one last time for peace. With Mysaria now joining her court as her Master of Whispers, she smuggles her into King’s Landing in disguise and gets her to the Sept that Alicent frequently prays in. This is a notable departure from the books, as neither meet again until much later, but it’s also welcome. While the two women try to find some understanding, it quickly devolves into an argument over who started the matter. Was it killing Jaehaerys or killing Luke? Or when Luke cut out Aemond’s eye? Or when Rhaenyra lied to Alicent about losing her virginity? It’s just like the Brackens and Blackwoods conflict: the two don’t even remember why they’re fighting anymore. All that matters is that they are.
Alicent Realizes That She Messed Up
What makes this scene even more important is that Alicent reveals what Viserys said on his deathbed. She thought he was talking about their son when he called him “The Prince who was promised.” But we, and Rhaenyra, know better. And while Rhaenyra misses out on the chance to explain why the Targaryens think they need to be in charge of Westeros, she can tell Alicent that she misunderstood the whole thing.
And the look on Alicent’s face is freaking priceless. She’s probably thinking “So you’re telling me that Viserys wasn’t talking about our son and was just saying something about a dream that Aegon the Conquerer had? Do you mean to tell me that Viserys didn’t change his mind and wanted Rhaenyra as his heir at the very end? Oh my gods, I crowned the wrong person.”
*It was at this moment that Alicent knew…she f*cked up.*
And with that, just like her father in the previous episode, Alicent realizes that she made the biggest mistake of her life by helping to put Aegon II on the throne. Tragically, though, Alicent tells Rhaenyra that not even knowing the truth can stop the war.
And you know what? Alicent is right.
There’s No Stopping the War. Just Start it, HBO!
As much as both women want to end the war without further bloodshed, Alicent can’t stop even if she wanted to. Her father and his conspirators planned to make Aegon king beforehand; even if Alicent hadn’t given their cause a false sense of legitimacy, they would’ve made something up! And now that Aegon’s king, he doesn’t want to give up that power. And thanks to that, Rhaenyra’s son and her grandson are both dead. But in the end, who started the fight doesn’t matter now that war has begun.
This moment does do one thing for Rhaenyra, though. Until this moment, she’s been struggling with a lot of self-doubt. She thinks that her father had changed his mind about her before he died, and that’s kept her from fully committing to this conflict. However, now that she knows that Viserys decision was a mistake on Alicent’s, she realizes that her father kept faith in her until the very end. He saw her as the rightful ruler of Westeros. Thus, now that her last chance at peace is gone, she’s steeled her resolve for the war to come.
And thank heavens for that! It’s been almost three episodes into the second season, and so far, we’ve gotten very little in the way of an actual war. I know Game of Thrones is a drama before an action show, but fans want to see more fighting! We want to see dragons fighting! We saw a great moment where Baela rides atop Moondancer (small but fast) and almost kills Ser Gwayne Hightower and Criston Cole (who now has a terrible new haircut), but that’s it!
At least the previews for next week’s episode look promising. There’s no stopping the war now. Seriously, though! Criston’s new haircut sucks!
