*Since the season is already halfway out, there’s no danger of the latest spoilers in these reviews, but I will be talking about major events from previous episodes that inform subsequent ones. So this post includes spoilers for episode 1.*
After the premiere, which features some strong jumping-off points amid all the first-episode expositiony stuff, this episode gets into a bit of a lull at times. It feels kind of like an in-between episode, like it’s moving some pieces around the board while holding others in place as it readies for bigger things to come. We get to know the characters a bit better, and there are some interesting developments, but I get the feeling it’s more about gearing up for what’s going to come next.
It's been six months since Queen Aemma was killed in childbirth, quickly followed by the death of her baby, King Viserys’s long-awaited son. After that, he made the bold and controversial move of officially naming Rhaenyra his heir. The ousted Daemon hasn’t openly moved against his brother, but he’s seized the family seat at Dragonstone and surrounded himself with Gold Cloaks from the City Watch. Meanwhile, Rhaenyra and her father have been distant since her mother and brother died; he’s named her his heir but isn’t really treating her like one, and all the while people at court are pushing for the king to remarry and try for another go at a son.
I knew that the series would involve a good stretch of time, since actresses of two different ages have been cast for both Rhaenyra and Alicent, but I was a little surprised to realize we’d be taking big jumps forward even within the confines of this “early” period. When Rhaenyra mentions that six months have passed since episode 1, the first thing that came to mind was Downton Abbey. But so far, at least, this show seems to be handling the time jumps better. Important things that happened in episode 1 continue to shape the characters and their actions here, but it doesn’t feel like everyone’s just been spinning their wheels for half a year. It makes for an interesting dynamic, to see that Viserys still has Rhaenyra acting as a cup-bearer at the small council meetings or to watch the vultures trying to swoop in to get Viserys remarried again.
Rhaenyra manages to get her father to give her a tiny shred of responsibility, though not the kind she wants. She wishes to be hands-on and dragon-riding, meeting their problems with force, but Viserys instead sends her on a more pragmatic task of choosing a new Kingsguard from a number of eligible knights. But even though this isn’t where she wants to be, it’s still an opportunity for her to demonstrate what sort of queen she might make. While she’s counseled to consider which knights are from important families, friends of the crown, she’s more concerned with who has the experience necessary to actually protect them when called on.
Viserys remains a really intriguing character for me. I’m fully aware that part of it is simply Paddy Considine’s engaging performance, but I’m very interested to see where the show is taking him. He comes across as someone who wants to be a good king/father/man, someone who wants to rule wisely and give his daughter the love she needs. But he continually disappoints in his choices because he’s not strong enough to rise above the world in which he lives. I can’t tell if I’d be getting all that with a different actor in the role, so props to Considine.
A smaller showing for Matt Smith/Daemon today. For much of the episode, Daemon is a specter hanging over the proceedings as the small council worries about what he may do next. It seems he’s largely been nursing his grudge since losing his position at the end of the last episode, burning with anger at Viserys but not quite ready to actually go to war with his brother. It’s hard to tell what his specific plan is, but at long last, he makes his next move, something calculated to provoke a response.
This leads to a strong standoff scene, where Smith gives us a Daemon who just barely stays under control. He strikes me as a reckless character, and he certainly taunts the powerful just because he can, but he’s not stupid, either. He doesn’t force a fight he can’t win, and his pride isn’t such an overriding force that it keeps him from making the strategic choice when he really needs to.
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