RJ Writing Ink

House of the Dragon S3 Ep 6 Review

You feel that, you guys? It’s like this four-year-long headache that I’ve had has finally ended? By that, I mean that Ser Criston “The Kingmaker” Cole, the jerk who helped start this civil war, is dead. And yet, I feel no sense of satisfaction from it. Because at this point, I know that the majority of the cast of House of the Dragon is going to be dead before the show ends. It’s how history is supposed to play out to set the stage for Game of Thrones, but it’s no less frustrating to see everyone acting like this. Especially since in the end, these players will just be faceless men, destined to be forgotten.

The episode opens up on a very important note as we see one of the most important events of the Dance take place: the Butcher’s Ball. This battle is where Ser Criston Cole meets his end at the hands of the Blacks. Calling it a battle, though, would be too generous. It was a slaughter that Ser Criston walked right into. The Riverlanders placed the most obvious of traps by having their men play dead, and the Greens still walked into it. Then, to add insult to injury, Oscar Tully and the Winter Wolves marched in and surrounded Ser Criston. Knowing that he was about to die, he tries to go out on his terms in a valiant last stand that will immortalize him. Instead, he dies by arrows shot by Alysanne Blackwood, never even getting the chance to fight.

This feels like the perfect ending for Ser Criston, and the show lifts it so perfectly from the books. All Ser Criston wanted was to make a name for himself as a knight. But thanks to the people he served, he lost sight of who he wanted to be and became a terrible, spiteful man. If you ask me, he didn’t dishonor himself when he slept with Rhaenyra. He did it when he let his hatred for her consume him. And in the end, he doesn’t even get the dignity of going out on his terms.

And neither will Ormund Hightower, hopefully.

I have only known Ormund Hightower for a few episodes on this show, but I already have a solid opinion about who he is: a jerk. He thinks he’s so smart and has got it all figured out. What with his plan to make Daeron king and using spies to mess with Rhaenyra in King’s Landing. And his plan is working: after what happened to Ser Luthor, most of the Gold Cloaks have resigned. But that doesn’t change the fact that he’s a pretentious d*****. Even Daeron doesn’t like him; he even tells Gwayne that he’s only doing what he says because he’s afraid of him! If I were the boy, I would’ve take Tesarrion and just flown all the way to Essos.

This episode perhaps gives us the most blatant example of how Ormund isn’t as smart as he thinks when he’s nearly assassinated by Baratheons pretending to related to Lord Boros. If it wasn’t for Ser Gwayne, Ormund and Daeron would have died. And Ormund pukes in response to what happened. Imagine that?

Meanwhile, things are spiraling out of control with everyone else. After catching Alicent and Helaena trying to flee, Rhaenyra puts them under even stricter house arrest. As a result, Helaena’s refusing to eat, threatening to kill herself and her unborn child. It’s the only way she can protest her lack of agency in her life and stick it to her mom. Meanwhile, Alicent tries to make another bargain with Rhaenyra by saying how Aemond is at Harrenhal. Her response? She wants her to go there and kill him. She wants her to kill her own son in exchange for her and her daughter’s freedom. We know Aemond’s a monster right now, but that’s still messed up.

Meanwhile, Aemond continues to be wrapped around Alys’ finger as she offers him sanctuary at Harrenhal and the chance to build his own power base with a clutch of Dragon Eggs. But we know that nothing’s going to come of it!

This entire episode feels like a lesson in the futility of this entire civil war. Which is the whole point, really. We all know that this is what leads to the eventual downfall of House Targaryen and the events of Game of Thrones. I would say it reminds me of the Star Wars Prequels, but at least I can watch those knowing that the next two generations will eventually make things right. That barely happens in Westeros.

I swear, if I ever try my hand at this kind of high fantasy storytelling, I want to make it a point to avoid this kind of ending!

I Give “Faceless Men” a 4/5