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House of the Dragon S3 Ep 7 Review

You know, in a perfect world, Rhaenyra Targaryen would have been able to become Queen and stay as such without problems. That is what her dad wanted, and that is the oath that all the lords and ladies of Westeros swore to uphold. But while she now rules from King’s Landing, everyone is out to get her! She is surrounded by liars and people taking advantage of her, and this week, she has the biggest shock of her life as she learns the truth about Sheepstealer’s rider. And to be honest, I’m surprised that she shows as much restraint as she does with Rhaena in this episode. And meanwhile, Ormund continues to be the biggest d**** in Westeros since his relative, Otto, died.

Oh, and some racy scenes take place.

Why, Rhaena. WHY?!?

So, Rhaena once again proves how bad a decision-maker she is. Rather than accept living in hiding forever in the foothills of the Vale or flying into exile somewhere, she gets it in her head that if she hunts down and kills Vhagar, Rhaenyra will forgive her. I could only chalk this up to her guilt and lack of sleep, because any rational person would tell her that this was a stupid idea. Even if she tracked down Vhagar, there was no way Sheepstealer could kill her. That’s not even counting the fact that Sheepstealer refuses to listen to Rhaena! And she was still responsible for Jace’s death, so Rhaenyra won’t forget that.

Seeing how Rhaena’s storyline has played out in the show, it really makes me wish we had gotten Nettles. In the books, Nettles was a peasant girl who cleverly earned Sheepstealer’s loyalty by feeding him sheep every day. Not only that, but she was the only one of the major dragon riders of the war to walk away with her life and her dragon, fleeing to parts unknown. Unfortunately, Rhaena has proven neither clever nor as fortunate, and her luck ends up running out. After her sister and Addam spot Sheepstealer, Rhaenyra realizes Daemon lied and goes out to deal with the problem herself.

Once again, the characters on the show keep making the wrong decisions! Baela probably didn’t even realize that she had damned her sister. And Daemon is in full panic mode as he knows that his daughter’s life is in danger. When you hear him say “please” to Lady Jeyne Arryn, then you know that he’s desperate. He’s only able to get to his daughter for a brief moment, but in that moment, he shows off a vulnerable side to himself as he admits that he didn’t have a dragon of his own for a long time. It’s clear that he’s fully aware of how bad a father he’s been, and he is trying his damnedest to make things right. But it’s already too late: Rhaenyra and Addam soon come upon them.

The look on Rhaenyra’s face when she realizes that Rhaena was the one responsible for Jace’s death was absolutely superb. Emma D’arcy has really grown into playing the role of the dragon queen, showing just how more and more unhinged she’s become as time passes. But their acting in this episode was some of the best they’ve given all show. And to top it off, we get to see Syrax, Caraxes, and Seasmoke all fight Sheepstealer as the dragon goes berserk! We’ve already seen what dragon fights look like in the sky, but when they’re confined to the ground, they’re even more vicious. Seeing the maiming that Sheepstealer gets is just absolutely brutal; it’s a miracle that the dragon was even able to limp away intact. But it takes a lot more to kill a dragon.

What were the Show writers thinking?

Speaking of trying to kill a dragon, Alicent manages to make it to Harrenhal as part of Rhaenyra’s suicidal plan to kill Aemond. But before that happens, we apparently get yet another example of disturbing incest in the Targaryen family. We are led to believe that Alicent has come to find her son, and then we are treated to a scene of her and Aemond almost having s*x. It was even more disturbing than the kissing scene from earlier in the season. The only saving grace is that it was really Alys disguising herself as Alicent. Still, that’s messed up, even by Targaryen standards.

And then, when the real Alicent does meet her son, things don’t go well. Firstly, Aemond kills her escort out of fear that Alys is messing with him. Secondly, when Alicent tries to poison her son, he’s able to make it to Alys, which means he’ll likely survive. As for Alicent, she’s had to flee Harrenhal, and if she knows what’s good for her, she’ll head back Oldtown and stay there. But she won’t.

At least her one good son considers doing just that.

Ormund Has to Go!

Where do I even begin with Ormund? Even though the Winter Wolves are about to storm Tumbleton, he’s still acting like he’s going to have the last laugh. He arrogantly tells Gwayne that he’s got a secret trump card to use, but leaves everyone in the lurch about what it is. It isn’t until the end of the episode that we find out that it’s Ulf the White. He’s convinced him to turn on Rhaenyra in exchange for rule over Driftmark.

Full disclosure: I knew that Ulf was going to do this thanks to the wiki and the books. What I appreciate the show doing was giving some justification for why Ulf turned on his Queen. He thought he was going to become a Lord and someone important, only to instead be denied that and even the right to go drinking with his friends. The sad thing is, I think that if he had stayed loyal, she would have given him both after the war ended.

The crowning moment of this entire episode, though, has to go to Aegon. His plans to flee to Essos are dashed thanks to an army of Riverlanders bearing down on him, Larys, and Tyland. And while Larys opts to flee, Aegon decides that if he’s going to die, he’ll die fighting. It’s probably the first genuinely badass thing that he’s done in his life. At least, he tries to make it badass with that speech of his. But it turns out that the enemy was really just scared of the dragon behind him.

I KNEW Sunfyre was still alive!

Yes, against all odds, the show keeps with the book canon. Sunfyre is still alive, and arrives just in time to save his rider. And he looks absolutely hideous now! It’s hard to see from the darkness, but you can tell that Sunfyre has been just as maimed and scarred as his rider, to the point where I don’t even know how he’s still alive at all. But then he and Aegon get the last laugh as they set fire to their foes, symbolizing the return of the king. The fake king, at least!

What a crazy episode this was. Dragon-on-dragon violence abounds, Sunfyre rises from the dead, and Rhaenyra has no clue what to do with Rhaena. And next episode is supposed to be the last one of the entire season! With so much left to cover before the break as we await what is almost certainly the final season, I’m guessing as to who’s going to die. And I hope that it’s Ormund!

I Give “The Dragons in Winter” a 3/5

House of the Dragon S3 Ep 1 Review

Remember back when Game of Thrones was in its heyday, and every episode was enough to make the Internet shake? The battles were epic, the betrayals and drama had us on the edge of our seats, and we cared when the characters we liked bit the dust? So many of us were hoping that House of the Dragon would recapture that feeling, but outside of a few key moments, last season was a snooze-fest. For all this talk about a civil war between the Targaryens, there was barely any war involved. But that has now changed. The fight at Rook’s Rest was a good warm-up, but Season Three opened up by giving us the best battle the franchise has seen since the original series! Smoke and salt, fire and blood, the gullet runs red!

So Much to Keep Up With!

It’s been two years or so since we last saw House of the Dragon, so I was a little disappointed to see the new season not open with a recap. Plus, I still don’t know if I like the tapestry intro. It was hard for me to keep track of things on this new tapestry, but that’s just one small gripe.

Given how massive the show’s cast is, there’s a lot of jumping around, with some moments proving to be more important than others. However, the most important aspects of the episode center around a few key plot points. Firstly, Alicent has now decided to sell out the Greens to stop the war that she partially started, offering Rhaenyra King’s Landing in exchange for sparing her and her daughter. Her plans are almost derailed, though, by Aegon’s flight (the irony that he’s captured by Rhaenyra’s supporters is not lost on me), and Aemond now declaring himself King like he always wanted.

Which reminds me. Remember how I said that I respected Aemond more than his older brother, and thought that he at least had the potential to be a king? What respect I did have for him is largely gone now, and it all has to do with that one scene with him and his mother. I know that incest is common in the Targaryens, but kissing your own mother? Somehow, that feels even worse than kissing your sister! What the heck were the writers thinking with that? Furthermore, it feels like Alicent’s attempts to trick her son out of King’s Landing were way too telegraphed! Aemond should be smart enough to realize his mom was up to something, but no! He falls for it hook, line, and sinker.

I know the show is trying to follow the established history, but come on. The writers can do better!

Speaking of doing better, we have one of the moments that I wanted to see only for it to get rushed: Rhaena and Sheepstealer.

Sheepstealer Didn’t Disappoint…but his Rider did

I was excited when the season two finale gave us a look at Sheepstealer, the wild dragon that will come to have a role to play in the Dance of the Dragons, and while I’m sad that his rider from the books was written out, I’m happy to see another dragon. Though I have to admit, Sheepstealer is one ugly-looking SOB! His scales are jagged, his teeth are crooked, and it’s obvious that he’s had a hard life. I guess the dragons the Valyrians raise tend to look much healthier, given how they’re probably well-fed and groomed. Beyond that, though, I didn’t like how quickly Rhaena was able to gain Sheepstealer’s trust onscreen. It should have taken her more than a single episode to win him over, but she does so by eating some of the sheep he cooked? That doesn’t make much sense! In all honesty, it feels like the show was rushing things just so it could get to the real highlight of the episode, the Battle of the Gullet.

Why didn’t we get the Battle of the Gullet in Season Two?!?

This was the kind of battle that we expected to take place in season two. The Battle of the Gullet is the biggest naval battle that we’ve ever seen in the franchise, and HBO clearly went all out on it. The sight of ships being set aflame, the brutal melee combat on the decks, and the sight of dragons flying overhead all made for spectacle that we haven’t seen since the heyday of Game of Thrones. I think that the franchise has improved its combat scenes since then, if this is any indication. I especially appreciated the one on one between Corlys Velaryon’s crew and Admiral Lohar of the Triarchy. That chase between the shallows was nail-biting! And then seeing Corlys lose the will to fight as Driftmark was sacked! Watching his legacy be tarnished while his own ship, the Sea Snake (I’m assuming), died under him is just incredible! Even if he survives the war, House Velayron may never recover what it has lost.

Speaking of which, this battle sees Rhaenyra suffer another devastating loss: her son, Jaceaerys. And the worst part is that it was his decisions that got him killed.

RIP, Jace

I think we all saw the red flags waving when Jace ordered his Mom be kept in her room so she couldn’t join the battle. I know he was trying to keep her safe, but he was depriving himself of another dragon rider in a situation where that was desperately needed. Maybe if she and Syrax had been there, Jace wouldn’t have had to die. Of course, it wasn’t just Jace’s desire to prove himself that did him in. Why Rhaena thought it was a good idea to take Sheepstealer into battle right after she got him to let her ride on his back is beyond me. She wanted a dragon so badly, she forgot the training that goes with it. And now, her cousin’s death is on her hands.

The Battle of the Gullet is nothing short of a bloodbath that neither side can say they won. The only real winners were us, the viewers, who got to see the bodies hit the floor, and it’s only going to get worse. By the time the show’s done, almost everyone on the cast will likely be dead, and the show knows it. Steel yourselves for what’s to come, guys.

I Give “Salt and Sea, Fire and Blood” a 5/5