by Miller C. Lashbrook
This week was the major test of the strength of this show. We follow up an extraordinary episode of television with an episode where four of our main characters are recast as we take a ten-year time jump. The show not only pulls off this feat but sticks the landing with another episode of amazing television. This show comes in for the kill each and every week, and each and every week it amazes me!
SPOILERS AHEAD
This week’s episode is all about children and the way that they symbolize and are impacted by the drama and trauma of their parents. We have one storyline where Rhaenyra has a third child that appears to not be Targaryen or Valeryon, causing scandal. And we have another storyline where Daemon has become stagnant in his ambition, much to the pain of his wife Laena. Meanwhile, while all this Viserys’s health continues to deteriorate.
I could really talk about so many things in this episode, but since we got some new cast members, I think I will focus this review on the amazing acting from our cast. Emma D’Arcy seamlessly takes over as Princess Rhaenyra, as we find her in a time where she has come to a breaking point in dealing with the family drama. Her dynamic with our new Queen Alicent, Olivia Cooke, picks up right where we left off with the characters last week, even getting across that the past decade has eroded away at their relationship even more. I also enjoyed our new Laenor and Laena, specifically, both have wonderful dynamics with their spouses.
The shadow of an up-and-coming antagonist in Larys Strong hands over this episode in a terrifying way. Little Finger in Game of Thrones was willing to go to some really dark places, but a lot of that was off-screen, this episode Larys shows that he is that level of a schemer when he has his own father and brother killed in a fire. I will be intrigued to see how his schemes impact the coming war between the House of the Dragon.
5/5 Dragon Eggs 🥚
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