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House of the Dragon S3 Ep 8 Review

Tumbleton. For a good portion of its third season, House of the Dragon has been building us towards the pivotal battle that’s supposed to take place at this otherwise unimportant town. The Greens need it to retake King’s Landing, while the Blacks want it to deny them that threat. And while it’s final seasons did have its flaws, Game of Thrones was very good at building us up to these turning points in the story. The season opened with one of the coolest fights in the franchise, the Battle of the Gullet. For it’s finale, it gives us an equally stunning climax with the Treasons at Tumbleton. And while the battle itself only takes up a portion of the episode’s 70-minute runtime, the buildup is just as nail-biting…and the aftermath all the more heartbreaking.

Rhaenyra is crashing out

At this point, I think that it’s safe to say that Rhaenyra is in full crash-out mode. She tried to do things the way she thinks her father would have. She wanted to convince everyone that she was the rightful ruler of Westeros and win the hearts and minds of the people. But the events of the season have made her slowly abandon the morals and principles that would have made her a great Queen. And once word gets out that Aegon is alive, and people are proclaiming this a sign of his divine right to rule, Rhaenyra has reached her breaking point.

Honestly, I don’t blame Rhaenyra for getting to this point. We as the audience know that Viserys never wavered on having her as his heir, and that the Greens are usurpers. But there’s only so much adversity one person can take before they snap. The only reason I even consider this episode to be her tipping point is because she at least tried to take the moral high ground, even after she lost Luke. But she’s reached the point where she doesn’t care about making people love her. She is Queen, and she will kill anyone who says otherwise.

Now, I liked the way that Rhaenyra ordered the death of the High Septon for refusing to annoint her as Queen. That’s the equivalent of killing the Pope, and if the Seven are in any way real, then that just earned her a ticket to Hell, though I doubt she’ll care. However, what I don’t like is her speech to the people of King’s Landing. Having her tell everyone about Aegon’s dream and the Prophecy of Ice and Fire might make sense on paper. However, in practice, it just makes her sound crazy. The only reason we even know she isn’t is that we know what will happen almost two hundred years in the future. Otherwise, the whole thing feels incredibly clumsy!

At least there was one supernatural aspect of the episode that got handled better: Alys.

Alys is Immortal, Huh?

The show has made it no secret that Alys Rivers is some kind of witch. The fact that she disguised herself as Alicent last episode pretty much removed any remaining ambiguity. According to the books the show is based on, there are even rumors that she’s an unaging witch. Not only does the show confirm this, but it takes it a step further. She tells a poisoned Aemond a story that is, rather quickly, revealed to be her own. She was the wife of Harren the Black, the builder of Harrenhal, and mother to one of his children. She survived Aegon the Conquerer’s Burning of Harrenhal, and tried to use the power of the Old Gods to save her infant son. It failed, and seemingly cursed her with immortality that ties her directly to Harrenhal, forced to serve whoever claims it.

That is…honestly brilliant. I don’t know much about the Seven, but we’ve seen plenty of instances of how other deities and magic like that of the Old Gods are real. And, at least in this time period, Harrenhal has this era of dark magic around it that I really enjoy. It also explains why Alys wants Harrenhal so badly: she wants to be master of her own destiny once more, hence her attempts to use Daemon and Aemond. With Aemond, she almost succeeds. But it seems that fate has other ideas.

Having recovered his dragon, Aegon has made his way to Harrenhal and a repentant Aemond. He is very tempted to take his revenge on his brother, but ultimately decides against it. He needs him, and more importantly, he need Vhagar, to bring the Greens into line. We don’t actually know Aemond leaves Harrenhal or not, so we will have to wait until the next season. For now, our focus must turn to Tumbleton.

The Tragedy of Tumbleton

The Battle of Tumbleton is the moment that the show has spent half the season building up to. On one side, we have the Greens led by the mad Ormund, determined to make Daeron his puppet king. On the other side, we have Daemon, the Tullys, and the Winter Wolves aiming to take the town. And now Ulf the White has become a wildcard thrown into the mix. All told, Tumbleton is the sight of one of the most important battles of the war, and, in my opinion, the moment that will seal the fate of House Targaryen.

The Battle of the Gullet opened up the season with the most impressive naval battle in Game of Thrones history, and the Battle of Tumbleton ends it with the most impressive set battle since the Battle of the Bastards ten years ago. Whereas Danaerys’ sacking of King’s Landing in the penultimate episode of Game of Thrones had a notable lack of it, the Battle of Tumbleton has a more grounded depiction of an actual sacking of a town. The battle formations look and act pretty accurate to medieval warfare, the choreography is fast-paced and frenetic in the streets. And most importantly, the dragons are used in a strategic fashion. I especially liked the way Daemon used Caraxes to force open one of the gates, then had him kill any of the Green soldiers in range while keeping his body out of harm’s way.

But you know what I liked even more? Seeing Ormund die. I’ve hating that pompous fool from day one, and seeing Roddy the Ruin shove a dagger up his butt is the kind of death that he deserves. It only gets better, though, when Ulf kills them both with Silverwing.

Ulf the Rogue

I knew from the start that Ulf the White was going to go rogue, as that is what happens in the books. What I like about his character in the show, though, is that it gives an explanation for him turning on everyone. He is a drunkard, but Ormund made the mistake of treating him just as badly as Daemon. And that mistake cost him his life.

By the time the dust settles, I can’t say that anyone actually won the fight for Tumbleton. The Blacks are forced to retreat; Hugh finds his wife and her family dead; the only real winner is Ulf, and he’s now going to be labeled an outlaw. And the shots of the carnage were just the icing on the cake. A harsh reminder of the fact that war has no real winners.

And that’s not even the saddest part of the episode.

RIP Helaena. You were too Good for this World!

Poor Helaena. I knew what her fate was ultimately going to be, but that didn’t make it any less painful to watch. All she wanted was to leave the ugliness of King’s Landing behind, but the world would not let her. Rhaenyra wouldn’t even let her die. And the child in her belly would either be used as a hostage or killed outright. She was never going to be free, so she chose to end her own life. Everything that Alicent did has ended up being for naught.

The worst part of it, though? It’s the way that Rhaenyra closes the windows to Helaena’s room afterward. It was symbolic of her closing off the last remaining portal to her heart. The last bit of innocence left in her.

This entire episode was nothing but one great tragedy as the stage is set for the endgame. The next, and likely final, season is going to be nothing but heartbreak as we see the death of the dragons. And I don’t know how I’m going to get through it, but I will try. But at this point, no one is worthy of the Iron Throne.

I Give “Treasons at Tumbleton” a 5/5

House of the Dragon S3 Ep 4 Review

You know, the longer I watch House of the Dragon, the more I’m reminded of why I stopped giving a darn about the end to Game of Thrones. Up until Arya killed the Night King, I wanted to believe that everything that had happened would end up being worth something in the end. Instead, I had to watch as the cruelty of reality led to Westeros continuing to turn on itself even after the war against the dead came to an end. And the further we get into House of the Dragon, the more I see the rot set in that will doom House Targaryen, and it’s so disappointing. But as disappointing as that is, I think my disdain for the Faith of the Seven, or at least its fanatics, is even greater. Case in point, I watched as Ormund Hightower starts to sink his claws into the one decent male Targaryen that’s part of the Greens, and it breaks my heart.

Tumbleton threatens King’s Landing

Rhaenyra is beside herself with problems, both of her own making and created by her enemies. She’s broke, her city is hungry, and she’s still grieving the loss of her eldest son. Needless to say, her mental state is starting to deteriorate, and if this keeps up, she’s going to succumb to the madness that will eventually doom her house. At the moment, though, the biggest thorn in her side goes by one name and one name alone: Tumbleton.

After lying right to Daemon’s face last episode, Ormund Hightower took his army to capture Tumbleton, a town on the road to King’s Landing. Throughout the episode, we see him lording over the place like he’s a king, openly bathing in the hall of the rightful lord and lady while his soldiers force themselves into the homes of the citizens. One of which, I might add, is now home to Hugh Hammer’s wife and her family. And when one of the soldiers tries to assault her, everyone’s lives are put in more danger than they realize.

It should be noted that this episode also our formal introduction to Daeron Targaryen, the youngest of Alicent’s children, and next to Helaena, the only decent one. That was due entirely to Alicent’s decision to have him fostered by her relatives in Oldtown under Ormund, which she thinks was the best decision she ever made as a mother. And you know what? She’s right. I’ve read the wikis and listened to the audiobooks, and by all accounts, Daeron is awesome. He’s kind, caring, and doesn’t want to hurt a fly. Not to mention just how sweet his relationship is with his dragon, Tessarion. Unfortunately for everyone, Ormund Hightower proves to be as rotten as so many of the men in his family.

Ormund Hightower is as bad as the other guys in his family

According to Alicent, Ormund considers himself a scholar, and he certainly appears so. The show does attempt to make him look good at first, as when Kat is almost assaulted by a Hightower soldier, he orders the culprit to be gelded as punishment. Unlike the Starks, who genuinely want to be just and fair, though, Ormund is only doing this to look good. In truth, he’s an insufferable man with a holier-than-thou attitude, with the final part of the episode showing just how corrupt he is. He brings Kat’s brother to Daeron and forces the boy to execute him for hitting one of his soldiers, showing he doesn’t care about what’s right. In that same scene, he also demonstrates that he’s a religious fanatic regarding the Faith of the Seven and a racist, saying that the Targaryen’s are savages and their dragons abominations. And he’s saying that right in front of Daeron, a Targaryen himself. The cherry on top? He tells his charge that he should make his own play for the Iron Throne.

This is why I have no respect for the Hightowers on this show. They act so smug and self-righteous and think they’re smarter than everyone else. But in truth, they’re just selfish, power-hungry fools who can’t stop pissing off the people with dragons. Ormund doesn’t know it, but he just killed Hugh Hammer’s brother-in-law and is basically holding his wife hostage. The moment that Kat dies, which I know she will, he is going to crash out, and him and Ulf are going to burn Tumbleton to the ground!

Which reminds me: Ulf is more upset at the Targaryens than ever. When Rhaenyra finds out he’s been going out to taverns and his old drinking buddy’s are trying to get favors out of him, she bans him from going out. Yet another reason for him to become disloyal to her.

Daemon faces the consequences of his bad parenting

The other big highlight of the episode, though, was Daemon’s trip to the Vale. He was successful in getting Lady Jeyne Arryn to give Rhaenyra money, but then Caraxes senses Sheepstealer nearby and goes to investigate. As a result, Daemon discovers that he was claimed by his own daughter, Rhaena, putting him in an impossible situation. If he spares her, he will be denying his wife justice for her son’s death. But if he brings her in, Rhaenyra will kill her stepdaughter. And it looks like Rhaena is going to spend the rest of her life on the run, thereby making her the Nettles of the show. Which, personally, I’m not a fan of. Nettles was one of my favorite characters from this era in the books, not only because she tamed Sheepstealer through cunning, but at the end of the Dance, she is one of the few people who manages to survive with her dragon. She and Sheepstealer disappear to who knows where, and to the best of our knowledge, they live the rest of their lives freely, however long that may be.

Thankfully, Daemon does have some standards, and he realizes that his neglect of his daughter is what led her to do what she did. Therefore, Jace’s death is on his hands as much it was the Triarchy and Rhaena’s. Though, his decision to kill a random goat-herder and pass him off as Sheepstealer’s rider makes those standards questionable, at best. Rhaenyra buys it for the moment, but I’m convinced that this will not last. When she finds out the truth, this could drive a rift between Rhaenyra and Daemon at the worst possible time, and make her already questionable mental state even worse. But, at least Rhaenyra is doing better than Aegon is.

I Still think Sunfyre is alive

As many of us guessed, Aegon was taking himself and Larys back to Rook’s Rest to find Sunfyre, who was so badly injured that he had to be left there. In the books, Sunfyre does survive the battle, but in the show, everyone keeps saying that he is dead. Sure enough, when Aegon finds the one being in his life that made him happy, Sunfyre isn’t moving. The squatters at Rook’s Rest are all convinced that the dragon’s dead, but Aegon thinks otherwise, and I’m inclined to agree. It’s been months since that fight took place, and it doesn’t look like Sunfyre’s body has started to rot. Then again, we don’t really know how long it takes for a dragon’s corpse to decompose. Case in point, the headless body of Meleys remains where she fell in the castle, and looks largely fine.

This episode continues Aegon’s humiliation, as Larys insists on keeping his identity a secret, especially since Rhaenyra’s declared him dead. He is forced to harvest animal waste for money, and is, understandably, grossed out about it. In addition, when he mouths off about it, the garrison leader forces him to kiss his smelly, stinky boots!

In many other stories, going from being king of an entire nation to being on the run and forced to do work considered beneath him would trigger some character development in Aegon. He would learn humility and other important life lessons that will make him a better person. Sadly, the world of Ice and Fire rarely ever lets this kind of positive development play out. We all know that when this is done, Aegon will have learned nothing!

Tumbleton is gonna Burn!

Tumbleton marks the halfway point of the season, and the war itself. In the weeks to come, it’s likely that we’re going to see the battles of Tumbleton, which go down as one of the worst moments of the Dance of the Dragons. Considering how this war has already seen Aemond manslaughter Luke, the war crimes of Blood and Cheese, and the tragedy of the Gullet, that’s saying something. The worst part for me, though, is knowing that this fight is going to kill some of the few characters on this show that I still consider decent. And I’m going to hate that.

I wonder if there’s a high fantasy series out there that refutes the cynicism of R.R. Martin’s world. Because I am past the point of being fed up with the cynicism.

I Give “Tumbleton” a 3.5/5