In Game of Thrones Season 1, Ned Stark’s cruel and unjustified death was a turning point in the show, and set the events in the series in motion. House of the Dragon has taken the plunge—and we’re not talking about King Viserys’ death. We knew he was going to die, anyway. The Dance of the Dragons is here.
- Advertisement -
It’s war, and we can be assured that it’s going to be the bloodiest war yet, well at least before the events of the Game of Thrones set in. The crown has been usurped by Alicient Hightower’s miserable wretch of a son, and Daemon wants all the enemies’ heads on a spike. That’s just typical Daemon behaviour, but Rhaenyra won’t have any of it. She does not wish to rule over ‘ashes’ as she says, leading to a temporary rift between her and Daemon. However, as the events of the finale spiral like the dragons out of control, she might just channel Daenrys. Do we already see the hint of the famous Targaryen madness settling in?
A lot of things happened in the finale, including yet another gory childbirth scene (This is getting exhausting now), a coronation, and a sudden heart-stopping death that really no one saw coming. The finale begins with the news of Viserys’ (Paddy Considine) death, setting in motion the events for the rest of the episode as Daemon and Rhaenyra learn of the coup. It’s time to gather allies—and we hear familiar names like the Baratheons, Starks, and the untrustworthy Lannisters (clearly no one’s had anything good to say about the Lannisters for centuries). But of course, allies cannot be rallied easily, least of all in the name of peace. And, there’s no peace when it comes to the game of thrones. To tweak Cersei Lannister’s words a little, in the game of thrones, some just die.
After struggling to find its feet for several clunky episodes, HOTD has finally found a voice of its own. It’s strongest and most powerful moments are not like anguished blazes of fire like Game of Thrones. It’s a brutally cold inrush of shock that has the potential to leave the audience rather numb at times, as the finale showed. There is now a trademark darkness and grey in every episode, possibly resembling each character—who are now far more nuanced than they were at the beginning of the show.
- Advertisement -
There were several powerful poignant moments littered across the episode, including Rhaenyra and Daemon grieving in different ways over their stillborn child, Rhaenyra being crowned queen, Aemond chasing Lucerys through the storm on a mad dragon, and the final moments of the episode, when Rhaenyra learns that she has paid a bloody price for diplomacy, losing someone too dear to her. Emma D’Arcy’s expression is reminiscent of a silent and cold scream. The dance of the dragons is going to begin, as she is going to probably have the turn that Daenrys’ did, when Missandei died. The fury in her face is impeccable and what heightens the chills of the scene is that her conversation with Daemon is not audible. This is also the Ned Stark-like moment that fans were waiting for, as it has the same gut-wrenching sensation.
House of the Dragon Season 1 has come to an end, and Season 2 will delve fully into war with a higher body count than expected, and hopefully less troubling misogynistic tendencies.
