*Episode premise spoilers, and spoilers for episode 2.*
This is a great episode. It’s very contained, mostly taking place in one location and focusing heavily on a few characters within a large party, and it really digs in. I’m excited for where things are going, even as it makes me nervous too. Pretty sure I’m officially all in on House of the Dragon!
At the end of the second episode, Viserys announced his intention to remarry. However, his new wife wasn’t one of the approved advantageous matches being pushed on him. It was Alicent Hightower, Rhaenyra’s best friend and the daughter of his Hand, who’d sent Alicent to “comfort” Viserys immediately following Aemma’s funeral. Now, we’ve jumped forward again: Viserys’s long-awaited son is turning two years old, and everyone has set off to a hunting party in the Kingswood for his Name Day. Rhaenyra feels betrayed by her closest friend and thrown over by her father, convinced he’s going to name her little brother his new heir and farm her out to the noble lord who makes the richest offer in exchange for her hand.
I really feel for Rhaenyra here, even as it appears she’s been handling the insecurity of her position more like a sulky teenager than a would-be queen. As young lords come along and waste no time proposing marriage—the Lannisters have entered the chat, and their scenes are pitched to perfection—she comes in hot against her father, accusing him of “peddling” her now that he doesn’t need her as heir anymore. She takes Viserys’s desire to see her married as a betrayal, despite him pointing out that even him, as the effing king, was obligated to marry again. She refuses Alicent’s attempted olive branches, even though Alicent obviously didn’t have a realistic option to turn down marrying the king. But all the same, it’s clear that many lords don’t actually respect her place as heir to the throne, and nearly everyone around her seems to have the attitude of, “All right, princess, you had your moment. Now be a good girl, step down, and start popping out sons.”
I know this is Other Doctor Lives, and Matt Smith is honestly excellent, but these posts have quickly started doubling as Paddy Considine reviews. Because my god, Considine is fascinating as Viserys. Much of the episode revolves around him, which plays a big role in my appreciation for it. I just love Considine’s portrayal of this basically decent man who just doesn’t have it in him to be king in a place like Westeros. Here, his feelings are warring between his pride and joy in his son, his hurt and frustration at Rhaenyra’s hostility, and his disgust at the lords and courtiers not-so-subtly hinting that 2-year-old Aegon would be a better heir than Rhaenyra. It’s so interesting to watch how he recognizes all the bullshit of court but mostly just feels trapped in it—again, he is sitting on the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms, but he often feels like he just has to smile and make nice as he puts up with all the two-faced politicking. Meanwhile, even as he takes Rhaenyra to task for openly flouting his wishes, he capes for her against anyone who questions her position.
Considine is just eating this role up, but in such an understated way. I love it so much!
Again, this episode is light on Matt Smith/Daemon, but he’s still incredibly well-used. Daemon has joined hands with Corlys Velaryon, the Master of Ships, to wage war against the Crabfeeder, an admiral from the Free City of Myr who’s been terrorizing Westerosi ships. They undertook this conflict without Viserys’s blessing and now threaten to drag the country into a war the king has been trying to avoid.
Daemon appears briefly but memorably in the opening scene and then takes a larger role in a battle sequence near the end of the episode. I’m pretty sure Smith doesn’t have a single line throughout, but his strong presence is felt regardless. I like how the series demonstrates all the ways that Daemon is clearly A Problem while still showing us why people might be drawn to them. Smith’s Doctor was often an ADHD puppy of constant motion, but his quieter scenes were some of his most powerful, and Smith uses that stillness to great effect here.
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