After watching the second episode of season three of House of the Dragon, it’s very obvious that this was meant to be the second season finale. Everything about this episode screams that it was meant to be a season finale, not the second episode. However, who cares? It was a great episode! And the fact that we don’t have to wait two years for the story to continue is great. Already season three has proven itself to be more entertaining than its previous season and while there are many moments that deviate from the source material, it’s become a compelling story nonetheless.
SPOILERS
We see Rhaenyra dealing with the aftermath of Prince Jacaerys’ death and Emma D’Arcy needs an Emmy after that phenomenal performance. Lucerys’ death hit Rhaenyra hard, but Jacaerys’ death pushed her. We see her no longer content with sitting on the sidelines, it’s time to saddle up and get shit done. Seeing Rhaenyra and Daemon circling King’s Landing on dragonback was worth the wait. While Alicent’s part in giving the city to her former friend strays far away from George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, we got Rhaenyra and Daemon there. For now, that’s good enough. This power couple was on full display in this episode, with Daemon completely showing up for his Queen in a way that he may not have in season two. As soon as Daemon found out Jacaerys had died and Rhaenyra intended on finally making a move, he was there. On top of D’Arcy’s performance, Matt Smith was on fire in episode two. From him verbally spanking Ulf to his absolute joy in finding Otto Hightower imprisoned, this was great. We got full “beast mode” Daemon on display and I couldn’t be happier about it.
While the episode belonged very much to Rhaenyra finally taking the throne, we have to speak briefly about the Velaryon reunion here. Alyn of Hull has been such a strong character these past two episodes and he and Addam have quickly become fan favorites. It was so satisfying seeing Corlys finally recognize his bastards as legit sons of his and we can only hope that these two will have more screen time moving forward. It was also nice to see Baela interact with her uncles (?) and let’s take a small moment to cry over Baela bringing Jace’s body back to Dragonstone.
The end of the episode was absolutely cinematic and dragging Alicent and Helaena in to witness the aftermath of Otto’s execution is perfectly timed. The trailer for next week’s episode promises to be just as rich as the previous episodes, so season three is shaping up nicely. Did Ormund Hightower really give Daeron the Daring to Daemon? Or is this a fake? So exciting!
Also, RIP Simon Strong!
A girl with too many fandoms to count.
