"Then the storm broke, and the dragons danced."
Hello everyone!
But not today.
NOT TODAY!
Because I made it a point and a priority to get ALL of these episodes under my belt, catching up during my vacation so that I wouldn't be too far behind by the time I returned, and now it's time to have a look at what this last season had to offer us.
I mean, it's definitely losing its strength, I'll give it that unfortunately.
For some inexplicable reason, despite having ALL the information, it's going down the weaker path, possibly because the writers are coming up with what they consider to be cool moment, and then bump the characters there without really paying attention to the how.
But ANYWAY: House of the Dragon!
So the story so far is, of course, that Viserys Targaryen was an ineffectual king who didn't know how to ensure his own succession, which immediately led his family into civil war right after his passing, and now we have Rhaenyra and Aegon vying for the Iron Throne.
Season 3 opens right with the Battle of the Gullet, with House Velaryon taking heavy hits and the dragonriders from Dragonstone knowing they have to aid them, but Jace, being a teenager and fed up with his mother telling him what to do, locks her in her rooms so she doesn't go fight herself, and takes off with his fiancée Baela.
This would have been all good and dandy if Rhaena, Baela's sister, didn't show up unannounced on a wild dragon who has no idea what the squeak on his back is shrieking at him, but only knows he's in pain and in total chaos, so he fries everything and anyone in between.
This accidentally causes Jace's death, and of course Rhaenyra is appropriately horrified by her newest loss, considering season 1 ended with the death of her son Lucerys.
But the pieces are still moving and, as Alicent Hightower convinces her second son Aemond to fly to Harrenhal, she thus leaves King's Landing open for Rhaenyra and her riders to descend into the Red Keep, taking the throne and killing Otto Hightower who, if you recall, was missing by the end of season 2.
Turns out he's been sitting in the castle dungeons all along, and Daemon Targaryen got a right good laugh seeing him in there.
Rhaenyra proclaims herself queen and declares Aegon dead - Aegon, by the way, spends this season on the road with Larys Strong and Tyland Lannister, pretending to be a nobody while seeking passage to Essos; the plan changes dramatically when his dragon Sunfyre suddenly respawns from the dead and he decides to go pick up his brother for a school run so they can find Vhagar and teach Rhaenyra a lesson.
But this all happens through the season, and meanwhile Rhaenyra realizes ruling a kingdom isn't quite the same as wishing to, because geeeeeez the demands from all over the place! Not to mention her treasury is empty, her people are starving, and she needs to figure out how to do something, stat.
She chooses to listen to her spymaster, Mysaria, who urges to feed the people, as opposed to Daemon, who advocates to pay the soldiers keeping the city safe first.
Considering he spends the middle part of the season in a subplot called CSI: King's Landing, where Hightower infiltrators are killing off Gold Cloaks, the watch loyal personally to Daemon alone because he created them, I suppose he has a point.
Rhaenyra wants to be anointed, and of course the High Septon doesn't want to do it, but she also has bigger fish to fry.
Whereas Ormund Hightower, current head of house (Otto's brother? Cousin?) pretends to surrender to Daemon and supposedly sends his nephew Daeron with him as hostage, he's really taking over the town of Tumbleton, loyal to Rhaenyra, and proclaiming Daeron king of Westeros.
By the time the city-slickers figure out the ruse, shit is basically already stirring, and ain't nothing they can do about it since they won't burn the city like Daemon initially suggests.
When he's done with that, mind, he has a run-in with his daughter Rhaena and figures out the deal with Jace's death, so he's got an added headache there to ensure she stays hidden and out of the way. He's got to keep busy down south, after all, because they're anticipating the Tully army at Tumbleton.
Only, the Tullys are waylaid by STUPID CRISPIN COLE and his men, but thank all the seven gods because he FINALLY gets what's been coming for him since season 1, and is killed and quietly erased from history.
So while Rhaenyra keeps Alicent and Helaena hostage, Daemon's busy being the voice of reason in this family (which tells you ALL you need to know about the show, really), and Aemond is on his own little Harrenhal shroom-trip.
He, however, is basically seduced by Alys Rivers, who reveals she's the infamous wife and former queen of Harren Hoare, you know, the guy who built the ginormous castle, and is now cursed for trying to save her only surviving son through the old magic. She's immortal and bored to tears and wants a little baby army around her with baby dragons from the eggs that have been sitting chilling in Harrenhal for ages now, and Aemond has just enough mommy issues to fall for it.
Speaking of mommy, Rhaenyra sends Alicent to kill Aemond because, of course she does. She doesn't succeed, but it is what it is. It's not like her assassins were successful with the Hightowers and Daeron either, though Gwayne is to be thanked for that quick thinking.
With discontent among the Blacks growing (even among her dragon riders, newly knighted from their peasant positions), it's inevitable things will go to hell in a handbasket sooner rather than later, and this doesn't even include Rhaena getting hauled back to King's Landing when the dragons duke it out and Rhaenyra finds her.
Tumbleton is where it happens.
The battle goes as planned, until treachery turns the place into a pile of ash. At least Ormund kicks it, because as much as he was amusing to watch he was also a pain in the butt. The Winter Wolves, however, are a delight from start to finish, including but not limited to Daemon having to remind their leader Roddy the Ruin that he's NOT supposed to die BEFORE he gets the city gate open (the fact our Rogue Prince uses Caraxes for a battering ram latter doesn't mean squat).
Unfortunately, there's no clear winner given EVERYTHING is burning, but back in the capital, Rhaenyra - having gotten rid of the High Septon - reveals Aegon's dream to the small folk (who have no clue what she's talking about and just think she's mad), and learns that Helaena threw herself out a window to her death.
She left behind a tapestry, however, depicting the end of the dragons because of this war, but suffice to say Rhaenyra PROBABLY only sees herself on that throne and doesn't care for much else. By the time the season comes to its conclusion, she is DONE with her father's way of ruling, dismisses Mysaria, and is ready to channel her inner Visenya to get rid of the Hightowers once and for all.
And I mean, she did remember that she has her husband to rely on, the fabled and feared battle-hardened commander that he is. Should have listened to him sooner! Then again I could watch a hundred episodes of Daemon and Caraxes bopping around together and not get bored (him yelling at the dragon that he's going the wrong way, or said dragon coming to check on him after he falls off are just two precious moments out of many).
I'll admit that this season wasn't as enticing for me as the previous ones were, though it WAS still entertaining. However, for all the action that's yet to come, and all that was left out of this one, there was so much talking instead of actual action I'm worried how they'll merge everything together into a cohesive season 3.
The effects and the big moments are all on point, though, the key moments ARE there, but like I said earlier, it's the way to those big moments that often times leave you scratching your head.
We also just don't even mention travel in this show anymore, ever. Everyone owns portals they can step through and appear wherever they have to be. It was probably done to show passage of time but, well, it didn't go over too well with the audience lol.
2028 is when it ends, though, and here's to hoping the end will be good.
Stick around and find out!
xx
*images and video not mine
No comments:
Post a Comment