House of the Dragon
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I never EVER skip an opening credit sequence.
The best of them function as an overture, establishing tone, and suggesting where a series will travel.
The newHouse of the Dragonopener is particularly unskippable, as gorgeous as it is evocative.
Watch closely, and youll find the history of House Targaryen woven in tapestry.
But its the medium itself that caught my eye before episode two.
The Targaryens is a story dressed up in brocade, woven into sheets of dried blood.
Blood is spilling again now: Lucerys, followed by little Jaehaerys.
What will the tapestry look like if its ever complete?
Only moments have passed since the end of theseason premiere.
Everyone in the castle is running on fumes and anguish, no one more so than King Aegon.
First, in an early scene, screaming his vengeance into the void: I am the King.
(Thanks for clearing that up, Eggy, but Im pretty sure war just declared you.)
But Aegon the Human Being?
Alicent glimpses her son in that vulnerable pose, and yet she doesnt go to him.
Shes been her childrens champion but rarely much of a mother.
That Alicent is tormented by Christian-style guilt is clear.
Alas, I get ahead of myself.
When gods close a door, they open a parade route.
Aegon fears the crime will signal the weakness of his reign.
Its all Alicents fault for wanting Rhaenyra spared in the first place.
Or its his guards fault for letting her operatives inside his castle walls.
But Otto, the ultimate spin doctor, sees an opportunity to change the narrative.
The smallfolk were there for Aegons sham coronation; they saw Rhaenys defect on dragonback.
In short, they already know his grandson is weak.
Otto recommends a state funeral, with a procession winding from the Red Keep to the Dragonpit.
The funeral is awful.
In the low light of early morning, Kings Landing is even more of a monochrome wasteland than usual.
The sun refuses to shine.
The tawny castle walls read drab and gray.
Behold the works of Rhaenyra … Defiler of the innocent.
What it lacks in solemnity, it also lacks in subtlety.
Except their WHAM campaign hits a literal pothole where does all the tax money Aegons been levying go?
and Helaena struggles to hide her writhing discomfort with the unwashed masses.
The unwashed masses, for their part, mistake her reticence for a mothers mourning.
This is the pageantry of death for political gain.
Later, Alicent will submerge herself in the tub, but theres no absolution for what shes done.
Thanks to Ottos quick dispatching of ravens, all of Westeros is talking about Rhaenyras depraved tactics.
Back on Dragonstone, Rhaenyra obstinately demands that ravens be sent kingdomwide to deny the allegations.
A raven for a raven?
I understand wanting to clear her name, but this isnt a cold war anymore.
Trading ravens isnt just bad TV; its a waste of time when you should be raising an army.
The consequential showdown isnt between Rhaenyra and her council; its between Rhaenyra and her husband.
Daemon, pleased with the chaos hes brewed, cant be bothered to conceal a smirk.
He wanted a war, so he made a mess to help it along.
In private, they dig at old wounds.
Her throne is his stolen inheritance; her hero of a father is his weak older brother.
Honestly, this feels like a conversation they should have had before they got married.
Rhaenyra calls Daemon pathetic, and he wordlessly leaves the room.
And thank ye Gods.
Whats the point of having HBO money if you dont blow it all on extreme wide shots of dragons?
Which leaves Rhaenyra home alone with the kiddos.
She is the good parent, after all.
Even Baela, Daemons daughter by Laena, prefers her stepmom to her father.
And Rhaenyra relies on her, too.
But what does Rhaenyra think about when she plays toy dragons with her own towheaded toddlers in the sunlight?
Does she worry that they wont grow old enough to claim their own dragons?
Does she imagine that they will die in her war, or in some future war she cant foresee?
Otto wants Aegon to be more Viserys, dignified and judicious.
Yet king Aegon is.
It was Otto that plotted hardest to confirm that he would be.
And Aegons getting more comfortable with the mantle and is more interested in flexing his power.
Why listen to moany old grandad when he could just as well replace him?
Either journey will keep him away for some time.
Without dragons of their own, the Hightowers, for all their Machiavellian might, still travel in coach.
But what Aegon does next is sure to plunge the kingdom into ruin.
Ive never seen someone fail so far upward.
Arryk knows its a suicide mission, but its suicide to defy the order, too.
Loyalty and absolution are the big ideas the show is trafficking this week.
But the episode does spare a few minutes to catch up on some subplots.
And on Dragonstone, Rhaenyra meets with Mysaria, both women who know something of being abandoned by Daemon.
Its gracious of her, sure.
Mysaria is headed to board a boat for Myr when she sees Ser Arryk walking up from the docks.
Having just left the queen, attended by Erryk, she immediately understands whats afoot.
Shockingly, if it wasnt for Mysaria, it actually did seem like CristonsParent Trapcaliber scheming could have worked.
Arryk breezes into Dragonstone like he owns the place.
Presumably tipped off by Mysaria, Erryk meets him there to save the queens life.
The brothers draw swords and fight.
And whats there to say, really?
The twins attack each other until Erryk gets the upper hand and kills his own kin.
We were born together, Erryk reminded his brother in battle.
Now, he wont see them parted again.
He makes a quick apology to Rhaenyra before falling on his own sword.
As far as duels go, this one was especially tragic and unremarkable.
Both sides have proved they can penetrate the others castle walls.
Its a draw really.
There are no winners.
But as a proxy skirmish, the Battle of the Cargylls will perhaps prove telling.
She wins, but both sides are destroyed along the way.
But perhaps you cant win a crown in the same way you would wear one.
