House of the Dragon Episode Review - The Heirs of the Dragon
by Chelsea House, GGR Chief Media Correspondent
The long-awaited House of Dragon has finally arrived with its first episode “The Heirs of the Dragon.” For those of us still reeling from the end of Game of Thrones (and justifiably) this has been an opportunity for HBO to at the very least put some salve on those wounds by reminding us of why so many of us sat each week, popcorn in hand, waiting for those incredible opening credits to roll. I’d say I don’t envy the seats that the creators, Ryan Condal and George R. R. Martin, are sitting in. Especially when one needs to freaking finish a book. But that’s a rant for another time. Here’s your official warning – Spoilers are ahead.
Complete disclosure – I have not read the book Fire and Blood (2018). However, I may have nerded out during the Game of Thrones series and watched some videos based on it. So, I do have a rough idea of what’s going to be happening in the series – but not enough to be dangerous. Daenarys Targaryen was by far my favorite character in the books and show, which naturally produced a curiosity of what her ancestors reign must have looked and been like. We get these stories of a supposedly powerful house named Targaryen, that was audacious enough to control dragons and yet had been reduced to a mad King Aerys and his last living descendant – Daenarys. What did it look like when dragons ruled the skies? It gave us goosebumps watching our silver haired queen shout out “dracarys” causing Drogon to rain fire down on Jaimie’s army – but that was because no live dragon had been seen in one hundred and fifty years. Your mind must wonder, what did it look like when there was not one – but many more dark wings filling the skies? What did it look like when the name Targaryen stood for something more than just a mad king? What did their reign entail – were they loved or hated? What happened to completely derail an unstoppable force?
House of Dragon begins to answer those questions for us at the pinnacle of Targaryen reign. Set 172 years before Daenarys’s birth, The Heirs of the Dragon, true to Game of Thrones fashion, allows us to watch in awe at the splendor and beauty of the Red Keep painted in Targaryen banners while reminding us that there is an ever-looming inevitability of destruction. At the very beginning of the episode, it sets the ground for what’s to come. A wise King Jaeharys I Targaryen (Michael Carter - Return of the Jedi) making the decision to leave it up to a vote as to which of his late son’s children will be his successor – Prince Viserys (Paddy Considine - Peaky Blinders) or Princess Rhaenys (Eve Best - The King’s Speech). King Jaeharys had ruled for 55 years of peace and prosperity, and the narrator leaves us with this important quote
“He knew the cold truth. The only thing that could tear down the House of the Dragon was itself.”
In this scene, the narrator also puts a lot of foreshadowing emphasis on the fact that Viserys – a man – was chosen over his older cousin Rhaenys – a woman. We do love a good foreshadow.
Fast forward nine years into Viserys’s reign and history is beginning to unfold to repeat itself. This episode honestly was a true setting the groundwork sort of episode. We have a pregnant Queen Aemma (Sian Brooke - Sherlock) with a hopeful King Viserys. His hope - that she is carrying a son and heir. Their only living child at present is Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock- Upright). Aemma has suffered multiple losses up to this point, and this pregnancy is causing her great discomfort. For those of us that have had any experience of childbearing whatsoever, we know this is not a great omen for Aemma in this time period. The council, made up of The Hand - Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans - The Amazing Spider-Man), Lord Corlys Valeryon (Steve Toussaint), Lord Beesbury (Bill Paterson - Miss Potter), Grand Maester Mellos (David Horovitch - Mr. Turner), and Lord Lyonel Strong (Gavin Spokes - The Icpress Files) are all also hoping that the Queen has a son. The reason has to do with our missing member of the council – Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith - The Crown) and his current title as heir to the throne.
King Viserys has just appointed Daemon as the Commander of the City Watch and is holding a tournament in honor of his future son. Apparently, Daemon has been M.I.A for quite some time and they are betting on him not being able to resist a good tourney. Their assumptions appear to be correct. Rhaenyra greets her uncle in the throne room, completely unphased that he is sitting on the throne. They have a conversation in High Valyrian, a little banter, and then he presents the Princess with a Valyrian steel necklace. In this moment we see there is a true affection between them. Daemon, in some pretty freaking sick armor, takes immediate action in his new role by rounding up all kinds of criminals and passing judgment through the act of body mutilation. Two carts full to be exact. The Prince’s act leads us to a council meeting where they discuss their distaste in his choice of actions, with the exception of Lord Corlys. Viserys gives him a warning and off he goes to whine about it to his mistress Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno) in a true Game of Thrones universe way – butts and boobs. Another take away from this meeting is that The Prince has no particular affection for his wife – Lady Rhea Royce of the Vale.
To the Tourney! A mystery knight – Ser Criston Cole, a Dorne, as we later learn, is making quite the impression. There’s some royal tea spilt by Alicent Hightower (Emily Carey - Get Even) to Rhaenyra that Lady Elinor is possibly pregnant and is betrothed to a Tarly Squire. Prince Daemon comes thundering in on his black steed to pick out Gwayne Hightower to tilt with – much to Otto’s annoyance. The Prince – to further annoy Otto- asks for Alicent’s favor after he wins. Rhaenys is called “The Queen Who Never Was” - ouch – by Lord Boremund Baratheon (Julian Lewis Jones - Zack Snyder’s Justice League), and the King decides to let it be. During the joust, King Viserys is summoned. It appears Aemma is having a hard time with labor.
In what I can only describe as a beautifully and incredibly well thought out stitched together montage, Daemon tilts with Criston Cole and Aemma fights for her own and her baby’s life in the birthing bed. Viserys is asked to make an important choice by the Grand Maester. Aemma is not going to live one way or the other- so save the baby through cesarean or lose them both. With the clanking of swords there is an accompanying scream from a mother as she’s being held down and cut open. Armor and shields thudding, a heart-broken husband’s hand squeezing his wife’s - fully aware that it will be the last time he feels her clenching, shining black steel clashing with glinting light steel, blood-soaked sheets and a face filled with agony, a victorious Criston Cole and finally the whimper and cry of a babe. It is a boy, and Aemma is no more. In a scene much earlier in the episode, Rhaenyra visits her mother who complains about her flying while she is “in this condition.” Rhaenyra makes a statement that she would much rather be in battle than in a child birthing bed and Aemma says, “We have royal wombs you and I. The childbed is our battlefield.” Oh, to be a woman with a royal womb. The baby makes a gurgling sound, the Maester appears concerned, and Prince Baelon’s fate is sealed. Criston asks for Rhaenyra’s favor.
The funeral is held by the ocean and a pyre holds the bodies of Aemma and Prince Baelon wrapped in cloth. Syrax, Rhaenyra’s dragon, stands on a mountain awaiting command. King Viserys is a complete mess and unable to do much of anything other than stare at the consequences of his decisions. It’s hard to watch because there was true love between the King and Queen. Prince Daemon reminds the audience he’s not just a blood thirsty rebel in a very touching exchange between him and the Princess. He encourages her to be there for her father, and she shares her bitterness at not being a boy for her father. She steps closer to the pyre, struggles to utter the words with a simple stuttered “Dr -”. She glances at the King, her father, for some sort of support. After not even a glance back – she steels herself and confidently shouts “Dracarys”. Syrax, confused and reluctant, climbs down the mountain and sets the pyre on fire.
The council – being totally cold hearted – holds a meeting proclaiming that the King needs to name a new heir and do so immediately. He is fine with Daemon being his heir – the council wants Rhaenrys. Daemon will be a second Maegon they explain. The King has enough and shouts “My wife and son are dead! I will not suffer crows that come to feast on their corpses!” and retreats to his room. Otto Hightower meets with his daughter Alicent and suggests that she reads the King a bedtime story – in one of her mother’s gowns. Gross. She shows empathy to Viserys by being the first to actually care and say she’s sorry for his loss. This touches him greatly amid his grief.
The council meets again, I’m assuming the following morning, to tattle on Daemon because he dubbed Prince Baelon “the heir for a day” and was seen to be obviously celebrating his death. King Viserys ushers him into the throne room and they have an argument that ends in Daemon being banished back to his wife on Runestone. Instead, the Prince meets Mysaria and they fly off on his dragon Caraxes. The kings knicks his pinky on the Iron Throne which brings us back to an earlier episode where the Maesters were concerned about a wound that would not heal on his back from the Iron Throne.
The King meets Rhaenyra down by the skull of Balerian. He shares about old Valyria and asks what she sees when she looks at the dragon. She says she sees “us”. He asks her to further explain, it’s important. “Everyone says Targaryens are closer to gods than to men, but they say that because of our dragons. Without them, we’re just like everyone else.” He is pleased with this answer and explains the story about Aegon’s dream - “The Song of Ice and Fire”. He says that Aegon dreamed that a cold and darkness would flow from the North and destroy them all unless all of Westeros was united. He emphasizes the only way they can win this upcoming war is if a Targaryen sits the throne. He tells the Princess that this is the secret that Kings must bare – and now – as his new heir – she will as well. The following scene shows the Lord’s pledging their fealty to her in the throne room before a crowd. The only one that hesitates is Lord Baratheon – just enough for us to notice. The look on Rhaenyra’s face is hard to read. She looks relieved to finally be good enough for her father, but also terrified at what this means. She is now the very first woman heir to the throne which sets the scene for the rest of the season, especially as the episode fades out to the sound of dragon screeches.
House of Dragon was an absolute pleasure to watch. HBO, Ryan J. Condel, and George R. R. Martin gave us a wonderful reintroduction to the world of Westeros and its story telling. The writing was incredible with so many poignant moments and quotes. Watching multiple dragons fly the skies, their different appearances and personalities finds me at the edge of my seat waiting to see what’s in store. The music gave a nice nod to the original series with its undertone of the main theme while still being its own creation. I will sit anxiously on my couch popcorn in hand, to be launched back into the Targaryen’s Red Keep this Sunday. Until Next Time!