House of the Dragon 2×02 “Rhaenyra the Cruel” is another disappointing hour, following the disappointing “A Son for a Son” that speeds through way too much plot, and at the same time, seems to meander in a way that doesn’t actually add depth to the characters that really need it. Pacing-wise, House of the Dragon has been all over the place this season, and with the way things are moving, it’s hard even to conceive this show needing four seasons to get through the plot of Fire & Blood. Everyone we know will be dead by the middle of season 3.
In this episode, the fallout from Blood & Cheese has us spending a lot of time with the Greens, but the big moment in the hour comes near the end, when, in a cruel twist of fate, we end up saying goodbye to Erryk and Arryk, who end up fighting to the death in front of Rhaenyra. That the two of them end up there, can, of course, be traced directly to Criston Cole. He sends Arryk to kill Rhaenyra as a way to try to assuage his own guilt, and in doing so, earns Aegon’s trust and becomes his new Hand. Surely those two dumbasses telling each other “exactly” as they come up with increasingly bad plans is just what the war needs!
But this is where we are, and talk about it we must. So let us discuss House of the Dragon 2×02 “Rhaenyra the Cruel”:
The Truth of Grief
Grief is a bad advisor and yet no one truly realizes, in the middle of grief, how bad the decisions one is making are. Rhaenyra and Daemon don’t see it on one side, and Aegon doesn’t see it on the other either. They can’t. But for Rhaenyra and Daemon, the grief goes further. They are, after all, the only people in this tale truly grieving Viserys, ironically.
That’s at the root of all of this. Daemon and Rhaenyra loved Viserys, and Viserys loved them and in a way, the truth of their conflict is that they both wanted to be loved best by Viserys and they could never be sure if they were. Viserys was always stingy with his love and never knew how to express himself.
But Daemon and Rhaenrya also love one another, and they don’t know how to express that either because they have been stuck in a dynamic where expressing love is a weakness for far too long. You have to withhold your true feelings. You have to hide them, lest they be used against you. That, above all things, is the true cardinal sin of Viserys Targaryen. That is how he failed the House of the Dragon the most. Because now, when they need it most, Daemon and Rhaenyra cannot find the words to communicate with each other, and that, more than anything else, weakens them.
Now, off to Harrenhall Daemon goes. Rhaenyra stays and already she’s had to survive one assassination attempt, a few minutes after he left. And round and round we go.
Grief Doesn’t Change Us
But grief doesn’t change who we are, not really. Tom Glynn-Carney does a tremendous job of showcasing an Aegon who has always been, in many ways, this person, a somewhat lost boy who has never truly wanted to be the things his grandfather wanted of him. And yet, there’s an undercurrent of anger to his performance that belies the truth of what Aegon has always been, despite his best intentions.
Someone willing to break all the rules to get his way. A person who believes he’s owed everything because he’s a Targaryen and a man. Someone willing to burn the kingdom to the ground to get his way. You can be both. He is both. That’s the problem. That’s what’s interesting.
The grief at losing his child is real. The bad decisions that come after, those come from a very real place of pain – one that’s relatable, even. Criston Cole is not going to save anyone, and Aegon is wrong to trust him. We know that. But can we even truly blame him for wanting to do something at that moment? No, we cannot. We should, however, never forget who Aegon is. Why the maids take a step back every time he enters a room. Just as we must not forget Aegon’s face when he, for one moment during “Rhaenyra the Cruel” realizes that he is, indeed, the usurper.
The Problem With Side Characters
Wars are problematic, in that people will inevitably die, and if the narrative is to continue the show has to introduce new people and make them interesting enough for us to follow. House of the Dragon Season 2, however, already has a leg up in that regard, in that we already care about some of the side characters, like Cregan, just because of who they are, so they could be doing a better job at these introductions.
Instead, we spend way too long with Alyn and Adam in an episode that is about as subtle as a heart attack (yes, we know who they are show, you don’t have to hit us over the head with it), and way too little with Baela and Jace – two characters the narrative needs way more than it needs Alyn and Adam right now. Just like introducing Cregan for a couple of minutes at the beginning of Season 2 only to then have him disappear until, presumably, Season 3, it feels like the show has no idea how to manage the storylines of characters who, at some point, will have to carry the narrative forward. And it’s honestly not just baffling, it’s incredibly worrisome.
Things I think I think:
- I lowkey feel like this show is gaslighting me because we went from did Daemon really order the killing, to suggesting Daemon did, to then making it seem like he didn’t once again. I’M CONFUSED. Again, just take a side.
- And please, for the love of God, don’t make Daemon be all like oh noes a child is dead I’m so sad, because that isn’t Daemon.
- No, but seriously, where were the guards? Was anyone on duty that night?
- I’m about 97% sure the timing of Daemon and Rhaenyra’s fight had to do with the fact that there’s no way anyone gets close to Rhaenyra if Daemon is around.
- JACE AND BAELA, MY OTP.
- The show’s attempt at whitewashing Aemond is also another mistake, mainly because Aemond has never actually been the scary version he pretends to be. The one we’re seeing in this hour is all he is, so this isn’t actually a contrast. Hearing that he regrets what happened to Luke isn’t a surprise, because the show made that an accident too. If the show had allowed that to be a decision, then his scene in this hour would have hit harder.
- Why are Corlys and Rhaenys being cute now?
- It’s so annoying that I’m here agreeing with Otto Hightower. I don’t want to agree with Otto Hightower. Why are you making me?
- Rhaenyra literally married Daemon because having him by her side made her stronger and now she’s like oh no you did an act of war during *checks notes* war, let me weaken my cause and send you away. Make this writing make sense.
- Alicent literally walked out of the room where her own son was grieving so she could …go have sex with Cole? Any ounce of sympathy I had has literally vanished.
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of House of the Dragon 2×02 “Rhaenyra the Cruel”? Please share with us in the comments below!
House of the Dragon airs Sundays at 9/8c on HBO.
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