House of the Dragon Season 3, Episode 2 might just be the best episode of this show so far. And it’s not just because satisfaction finally comes for Team Black, though the scene of Rhaenyra and Daemon cutting through foes on their way to the throne got a standing ovation in my living room, but because the episode provides a sense of fulfillment that this show isn’t really known for. And sure, we understand it’ll probably be short-lived. But that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy it.
Above all, House of the Dragon is a show about messy families, and we know very well that there are no winners or losers in these types of wars. But after what feels like two seasons of the rightful heir to the throne being denied, there’s gratification in seeing Rhaenyra sit in the silly sword throne. Oh, and in getting to bid farewell to Otto Hightower, too.
But before the highs come the lows. And this show has rarely delivered on the lows as well as this hour does. Can we start the campaign for Emma D’Arcy to get all the awards? Because their performance as Rhaenyra is faced with the body of her son Jace isn’t just gut-wrenching, it’s the kind that takes you out of a particular fictional narrative and brings out all the real pain. If you’ve ever lost someone, that moment hits hard. And if you hadn’t, that moment makes you feel a fraction of what that pain is.
How can we not understand her, as she asks Jace what he’s done? Indeed, how can we not be on her side as she yells at everyone in the room that they’ve betrayed their queen? How can we not feel the same desire to lay down and to hell with the world that she does? And, when faced with Daemon’s words of encouragement, or with his reminder of what’s at stake, how can we not believe that she’d get up and keep moving forward?
This hour of House of the Dragon doesn’t just work—it really, really works, in a way the show has rarely known how to tap consistently. And a great part of it is because it focuses on the one person we really, really care about, Rhaenyra Targaryen. And if we also get to see Daemon cause some chaos in the name of his wife and niece, all the better.
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Me and My Lord Husband
This episode gives us the best Daemon Targaryen, who we should all understand as the one character who gets things done in this universe, and not necessarily a “good guy.” Daemon is all ego, and he cares only about a select group of people, and of those, about Rhaenyra above all, but if there was any doubt that he does care, this episode should put that to rest.
His reaction to the news of Jacaerys is one of actual sorrow, not just for Rhaenyra—because she’s not there to see his reaction, but for himself. And even the way he talks about him later proves that, even though Daemon might not have been the best at showing that he actually loved his stepson, he actually did. Whether for Rhaenyra’s sake or his own, it doesn’t matter. Only the clarity of feeling does.
And then there’s every second of support he gives Rhaenyra in this hour. We’ve known from Episode 1 that Daemon loves Rhaenyra, and we have always suspected he loves her more than he loved the idea of being on the throne himself. What Daemon wants, what he needs, above all things, is to be wanted. To be needed. To be useful to the people he holds in high regard. Viserys never gave him that. Rhaenyra has. And right now, Rhaenyra needs him more than she ever has.
So for her, he will threaten Ulf and Hugh, he will put up with Mysaria, and he will ride Caraxes to King’s Landing and cut down anyone who might stand before her. It’s not a chore for Daemon. If anything, it’s a joy to be her warrior, her biggest supporter, and her husband. He’s already seen what the world looks like without them united, and he’ll do whatever to make sure that doesn’t come to pass. It just so happens that this is something he wants to do.
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“In this moment, you will become queen”
Rhaenyra cutting off Otto’s head always had to happen because Otto Hightower is the reason we’re here. He’s the reason Viserys never trusted Daemon, even this episode proves Daemon was a damn good Commander of the City Watch, the reason Rhaenyra was named heir, and the reason there were even more heirs to fight her for the throne to begin with. And Otto didn’t just set the stage, he started the machinations, with Viserys, with Alicent, with Aegon II himself.
So yes, there’s no other end possible for Otto Hightower. The interesting part is how his death comes to be. Because Larys Strong is always playing both sides, no matter what. Because Daemon’s relish at seeing Otto on his knees is only superseded by his desire to see Rhaenyra prove herself a worthy queen. And because even as he recognizes his fate, Otto Hightower is still trying to play his games by asking Daemon to be the one who kills him.
What is it that Ned Stark said? “The man who passes the sentence should swing the sword.” Rhaneyra isn’t a man, but she is the rightful ruler of the Seven Kingdoms, and though I, like her, very much doubt I could cut someone’s head off in one swing, she and Daemon both understood it was she who should do it. It was she who needed to do it.
Rhaenyra struggles, yes. But she does it. There’s even some poetic justice in the fact that she can’t kill Otto with her first strike. Death should not come easily to the man who started this whole mess. And after she does so, Rhaenyra can walk to the Iron Throne, leaving her bloody footprints behind. That’s pretty much the norm for every ruler.
Of course, as Rhaenyra finally sits upon the throne she’s fought for years, the one that has cost her two sons, the one she herself wondered if she actually wanted, this is just the beginning. Winning wars is easy. Governing, that’s hard.
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Those Who Follow
As Rhaenyra and Daemon provide us with a show of strength, it is the people around them who are proven to be anything but good at this game of thrones. Ulf, Hugh, and Addam are very quick to abandon Harrenhal, even though if they’d stayed, they would have indeed caught Vaghar. Baela listens to Jace instead of Rhaenyra, and Jace ends up dead. And Corlys is and has always been more concerned about Corlys than anything else.
“It will not at any point be necessary for you to engage in thinking or making decisions or having ideas,” Daemon tells Ulf and Hugh before they head to King’s Landing, and it’s both funny and also very on point. Their job is not to come up with a strategy; their job is to follow orders. And no one’s orders should come above the Queen’s.
But of course, this also showcases the danger of bringing random people who owe you no loyalty into your inner circle and letting them claim a weapon of mass destruction like a dragon. Addam has more of a reason—and desire—to be loyal, but Ulf and Hugh both have a list of things that come before Rhaenyra Targaryen. And at some point, something’s gonna give.
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“I made a mistake”
Perhaps the biggest irony of the show so far is that no one’s more successful at paving the way for Rhaenyra to retake the throne than Alicent, her former best friend, the one whose betrayal cut her deepest. And the thing is, war has changed Alicent. A war she brought upon herself, yes, but one that has been dictated at every point by the men around her, from her father to her sons.
Why should a woman not rule the Seven Kingdoms? Alicent basically did for years as Viserys lay sick. And why should a mother not decide that, in the end, the one thing that matters most to her is protecting those she can still protect: Helaena and Jaehaera. It’s indeed a little too late to be putting her daughter’s happiness first, but better late than never, right?
The problem, of course, is that Alicent, in this episode, runs into the same problems Rhaneyra had before. Even as queens, the power they hold is in so many ways dependent on the goodwill of the men around them. Perhaps, if they’d joined forces to change that, the Seven Kingdoms Daenerys wanted to rule would have been different. As it stands, there’s little they can do but stand there, horrified, both looking at the corpse of Otto Hightower, from different sides of a war that should have had them both on the same side.
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Things I think I think:
- The first few minutes of this episode are rough, and I say that with awe. Emma D’Arcy is outstanding at portraying Rhaenyra’s grief and anger. Truly, award-worthy.
- That beat after Daemon gets the news? Come on, that’s a man who cares.
- Rhaenyra’s grief is so, so relatable.
- Look, I laughed at Daemon talking to Ulf and Hugh.
- Daemon hates having Mysaria around, but he still more or less understands her usefulness. He just thinks, probably rightly, she’ll work against him at every turn.
- His “would that pain you?” about Alicent and Rhaenyra’s bond, though? He might be seeing things more clearly than we give him credit for.
- “A wild dragon cannot ever be tamed.”
- “Will you let them die in vain?”
- Look, to be fair, he has a point.
- Also, when Rhaneyra comes down and is like “this is what I’ll do,” he’s basically like “contradict her and die.” It’s very funny.
- “I heard no ambiguity in the queen’s statement.”
- Can we talk about how their plan was just…no plan? Daemon cut down everyone is the plan.
- “She has me” is not a plan!
- Has Rhaenyra had any training with a sword?
- “Remember which one of us has been faithful” is a double-edged sword because I think Mysaria is very much like Larys Strong; she will do what she needs to do to survive. Daemon, meanwhile, will die for Rhaenyra.
- No one’s having as much fun as Matt Smith.
- I guess we can say that Daemon and Rhaenyra know each other so well that they can communicate without words. We will avoid the why they do, lol.
- Aemond should be scarier than he is.
- I’m just gonna say it: Rhaenyra seemed to kinda love that little display of Daemon’s as soon as they walked into the Red Keep.
- The focus on Rhaenyra holding Daemon’s hand as she moves towards the throne is important. This is the most in sync they’ve been. We know what will probably cause a rift.
- “I suppose that depends on whether I win or lose,” and he was literally counting.
- He’s also the only one not to discount Rhaenyra drawing her sword, so he might have taught her a little at least.
- “Stay close, Rhaenyra.”
- The Gold Cloaks really came in clutch, not that we doubted them.
- Daemon’s face when he realizes they’re on his side is poetry.
- And look, Alicent held up her end of the bargain.
- No, but Larys Strong is a hilarious man. A cockroach who will outlive everyone.
- Daemon surely thought Jasper Wylde was talking about Rhaenyra, not Alicent. Not that Wylde was gonna survive either way.
- Otto, you should have known this was coming.
- “I assume everyone else is dead.” Not really! You’re first.
- Daemon is so happy to give the sword to Rhaenyra. I think part of it is he knows it’s gotta be her, part of it is he assumes (correctly) this will make it more painful for Otto.
- His satisfaction after Otto’s done and it’s his turn is so amusing.
- The reflection in the blood is an A+ touch.
- Emma D’Arcy, again, says so much with no words in that throne room scene.
- Particularly as Alicent and Helaena come in.
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of House of the Dragon Season 3, Episode 2? Share with us in the comments below!
House of the Dragon Season 3 airs Sundays at 9/8c on HBO and is available to stream on HBO Max.
