This post was updated on 08/03/26. See updates below.
Sunday night’s episode of House of the Dragon, “The Dragon in Winter,” was shockingly good. It was excellent in a way that this show hasn’t been since Viserys I was still alive, lo these many years ago. It was excellent for many reasons, but mostly for the dragons. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anything quite like what we just witnessed in TV or movies. The violence and madness and pure terror of it all. You almost sympathize with Lord Ormund and his deep, madness-tinged disdain for all things Targaryen and their foul, beautiful, dangerous beasts.
Spoilers ahead.
A Dance Of Dragons
We’ve had some pretty great dragon scenes before tonight’s episode, but this one was something special. Aemond and Vhagar going after poor young Lucerys and Arrax. The dragons in the Battle of the Gullet. Rook’s Rest, or Rhaenys on Meleys, bursting through the Dragonpit and killing scores of smallfolk.
But nothing has quite captured the pure animalistic terror of the moment in this episode when Rhaena, Daemon, Rhaenyra and Addam all come face-to-face, dragon-to-dragon. Daemon, on Caraxes, tracks down his daughter on Sheepstealer and pleads with her again to remain hidden or avail herself of Rhaenyra’s mercy. Rhaena says she can’t live the way she has been, secluded and sundered from all who love her and whom she loves.
But sightings have already been reported of Sheepstealer and a rider and those tidings have made their way to the queen. She, riding on Syrax, and Addam of Hull on Seasmoke arrive, and Daemon tells Rhaena to run on foot. “They’ll tear you from the sky,” he warns her. So she runs.
Perhaps, he should have simply told her to stand with him instead, though in the end nothing would have mattered. Sheepstealer very nearly already burned Daemon to a crisp before two new dragons and their riders arrived. This is a wild dragon, and it does not listen or obey (a point Rhaena and Daemon need to make Rhaenyra understand, though I fear it will fall on deaf ears – such is the weight of her grief).
In any case, four dragons and their riders are a surprise all around. Rhaena has run off and Addam runs after, dragging her bag. Rhaenyra is confused and dismayed when she sees who it is, but there’s little time for much of anything but survival as Sheepstealer attacks. For a moment, it looks as though the larger dragon will kill Syrax outright, but then Seasmoke and Ceraxes are in the fight, and Sheepstealer is badly outnumbered. Rhaenyra and Rhaena flee on Syrax as Rhaena watches in horror as the other dragons bite and claw at her own.
As horrifying as Sheepstealer is, there’s nothing satisfying about watching him take these wounds, and I think Daemon senses that if Ceraxes and Seasmoke press the attack much longer, Sheepstealer will surely die. He sends Addam to guard the queen’s retreat to King’s Landing where he and Ceraxes fight the wild dragon alone. Daemon is knocked to the ground and then watches as Sheepstealer, ripped and torn and bloody, drags itself away. The Targaryen prince does not order his own dragon to pursue. Whether that will come back to haunt him, as so many of his choices already have, remains to be seen.
Aegon The Defiant
Of course, this gripping and chaotic confrontation of beasts and Targaryens and bastard Velaryons, daughters, nieces, husbands, wives, cousins – all related, some in more ways than one – is not the only draconic moment in the episode. Oh no. There’s a reason that I put Larys, Aegon and Tyland Lannister in the top image (okay, two reasons, the first being the lack of any images of the dragon fight). That reason is because all three of these men have become my favorite characters in the show this season, much to my great surprise.
They have fled Rook’s Rest and its vagabonds and are making for a ship to take them across the Narrow Sea to the free cities and sanctuary, though Tyland still argues for the road to Casterly Rock – the most impenetrable fortress in all the realms.
Along the road, however, they are suddenly met with a trickle, and then a flood of refugees. Smallfolk carrying whatever they can as they escape an army out of Maidenpool.
But how could Aegon have been discovered? They wondered. Only, it turns out that the queen is after Tyland. Tyland and wherever he hid all that gold from the treasury.
Both Larys and Tyland urge Aegon to flee, whichever way he can, but the crippled king refuses. He will not die in ignominy, having the lie that his brother murdered him live on. He’ll die on both feet, blade in hand, like a man. For once, it seems as though Aegon might actually do the right thing, or at least the brave thing.
Perhaps just as remarkably, Tyland Lannister vows to die beside him. It’s very brave and noble, and I think it must be noted that the Lannisters were not always such bad seeds. Larys, on the other hand, decides it’s time for him to bow out. As a cripple, he cannot imagine what use he’d be, though this is an excuse and nothing more. It isn’t as if Tyland can hold off a thousand armed men, cripple or no. You can hardly blame the man for running and yet… Perhaps Larys should have stayed, given what comes next.
Rhaenyra’s men come later that night and demand Aegon and Tyland declare their fealty. Aegon will have none of it and begins his rousing, defiant speech. He declares himself the rightful king and dares them to strike him down, and slowly they begin to back away, then scramble back. It’s not because of Aegon, however, it’s the dragon emerging from behind in the trees.
The whole thing reminded me so much of Willow, when Kael’s forces arrive at Tir Asleen and Madmartigan tries to act tough and intimidating despite being badly outnumbered. The enemies spot the two-headed monster behind Madmartigan and flee, and at first he seems very pleased with himself and then runs out of the castle as well, directly into the midst of the enemies.
Aegon has no such concern. “Sunfyre,” he says. “Dracarys!” Aegon cackles with glee as Tyland ducks to the ground and his enemies snap, crackle, pop in the night.
Now, some may wonder how it is that Sunfyre – previously rather dead – is now very much alive. Did the dragon scale that Aegon took and later killed a man with use some kind of blood magic to resurrect the dragon? I think not. I think, like Miracle Max once said, that Sunfyre was only mostly dead.
There are two pieces of evidence for this. First, Aegon said so earlier this season when he first came across his dragon. We, and presumably those around him including Larys, thought him touched in the head. But he was the one most closely bonded to the beast.
Second, and perhaps more scientific (as far as these things go), is the fact that Sunfyre had not begun to rot in any way. Compare that with Meleys, whose corpse we see in Rook’s Rest proper, very much in a state of decay. It seems more likely to me that Sunfyre was merely very badly wounded and had gone into some dragon-specific type of hibernation in order to heal. When he sensed his rider nearby, in danger, perhaps Aegon’s very defiance and courage woke and drew Sunfyre to him. Either way, dracarys.
Lord Ormund’s Gambit
Lord Ormund has many, many tricks up his green sleeves. If he wasn’t a semi-fanatical high lord, he’d likely be a gambler. He’d be very good at it, too, except that one day he’d lose and stab the bastard and find himself hanging from a gibbet by his neck.
He’s captured Corlys (in what I thought was a very silly, unearned scene last week) and rather than hold him hostage for Rhaenyra, who he knows won’t parley over the old man, sends his finger to his bastard son, Alyn. Whether this will truly halt the Velaryon involvement in the war remains to be seen.
He does not reveal any of his plans to Daeron or Gwayne, both of whom remain flustered and frustrated with the man. Daeron, we can see, is increasingly dismayed by Ormund’s actions and behavior. But what they don’t know is just how wily and savvy this man truly is.
You see, he’s wooed at least one of Rhaenyra’s dragon-riders to his cause, and we learn that this meeting isn’t the first they have together. Ormund promises Ulf the White many things if he turns coat: Respect, first and foremost, the kind of respect he never got from Rhaenyra and Daemon – which is true – and no humiliation or beatings, and certainly Ormund would never keep a man bound inside,unable to pursue manly things like drink and women.
But he also promises him Driftmark, a gift he has no power to give and no intention of giving, but what does it matter? Ulf is a buffoon and Rhaenyra is so arrogant she never once considered that abusing and disregarding and generally mistreating your buffoons might lead to them turning coat when the other side flatters and makes big, outrageous promises. And let’s you go drink and whore and all the other stuff Ulf cares about.
So now Ormund has turned Ulf and his dragon to Team Green. Will the threat on Corlys’s life stop Alyn and his Velaryon forces? And what of Addam and his own loyalties? He was clearly very fond of Baela and has now learned that she and Alyn have been…courting. There are so many little frays and tears in this rich tapestry of betrayal and alliance and . . . incest fantasies. But we’ll get to those momentarily.
The third wildcard is Hugh the Hammer and he was not present this episode, but we know he’s in Tumbleton where his wife is and she’s in danger and stubbornly won’t leave with him because, well, that’s not particularly clear. It seems that this will play directly into Ormund’s hand, in which case he would have Daeron and Tessarion, Ulf and Silverwing and possibly Hugh and Vermithor. I don’t think Addam would go against Rhaenyra and Baela, but he could sit the fight out go off sulking, leaving the two sides fairly evenly matched so long as one last dragon doesn’t make her terrible return.
Aemond, Alys And Alicent Sitting In A Harrenhal
We’ll just skip over some of the Aemond / Alicent – oh wait, it’s actually Alys – stuff. They were practically trolling us with the Oedipus complex stuff this episode, though I loved Alys’s line: “You Targaryen boys all want the same thing.”
Sick burn (perhaps second only to Sunfyre’s).
I’m rather grouchy about this entire plotline. For one thing, we now have Aemond wasting his time away in Harrenhal all season just like Daemon did in Season 2. I think Alys is a super interesting character, but an entire season of this is just not working at all. Again. Two of the most interesting anti-hero (anti-villain?) characters in the series just languishing in Harrenhal with a witch? If you’re already changing source material left and right at least have her send him on some kind of quest to find a magic sword or something.
I also very much dislike Alicent poisoning her own son. I hate this whole stupid storyline, actually. I hate that she would agree to it, or that Rhaenyra would even consider trying to pressure her into doing it, and that she apparently followed through with the assassination attempt once free of King’s Landing. I am baffled at her ability to fast travel all the way from King’s Landing to Harrenhal in the blink of an eye.
(But you know I am very peevish when it comes to this sort of thing, especially when we have grounded travel elsewhere like Ser Criston Cole’s march, or Aegon’s travels). It’s easily the worst plot currently running and that should come as no surprise.
Basically everything centered on Rhaenyra and Alicent becomes insufferable in this show, though I’m finding the Mysaria stuff just as irksome. What is the point of her current character arc? Why does she act so clever one moment and then seem so off balance the next? Why does Rhaenyra rightfully call out her manipulations and then just let her seduce her so easily the next minute? Every thing about Mysaria has also been insufferable this season.
I quite like Helaena, however, and her fascinating visions, and I’ve almost never disliked Rhaenyra so intensely as I did in this episode when she treated the poor young woman – her pregnant half sister – so poorly. I only want a few things to happen in this show, if I could change the story (since I at least know where it goes in the book).
I want Helaena and her children to live happily ever after in some bucolic far-off safe little valley far from strife and fear and bad men and evil queens.
I want Aegon to forget the crown and hop onto Sunfyre with Tyland and Larys and the three of them can go fly across the world exploring and having a merry old time.
I want Rhaenyra to visit her young son Joffrey and comfort him or just acknowledge his existence and then I want her to remember she has two more boys whose whereabouts she has not once even asked about this entire season.
I’m torn, however, because I want Daeron to become king (for reasons already discussed) but I very much want the line of succession to lead us to the events of A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms and for that to happen, well, you’ll just have to wait and see what happens in the rest of this show I guess!
This was a terrific episode. Well-written, action-packed, filled with betrayal and some incredibly tense stand-offs, and the only things I didn’t like about it are really the little annoying things that have been going on for all season (or longer) and I think much of that is about to end. We have one episode left and I suspect it will be blood and fire. Or fire and blood, whichever comes first.
I’m sure I missed something. So much has been happening each episode. I’ll add it in an update if so, but please let me know if you think of anything I missed, disagree with any of my assessments or have any other stray observations. What did you think, dearest readers? Let me know on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.
Scattered Thoughts
- A reader made this point in a comment and I was already thinking along similar lines, but notice how some of the dragon-riders and their dragons are beginning to resemble one another. Aegon and Sunfyre, both crippled. Rhaena and Sheepstealer, both sort of bedraggled and beaten down. Tall, thin Daemon and his long-necked Caraxes. I actually thought of that bit in 101 Dalmations, but this reader pointed out that perhaps this bond between dragon and rider is more insidious. Perhaps the dragons are part of the madness that affects the Targaryen line, though the Mad King Aerys did not have a dragon. Curious.
- A phrase occurred to me as I was thinking about the horrific beating Sheepstealer took from the other three dragons (though he gave as good as he got, he was sorely outnumbered). That phrase is: “Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.” Truly, with just a little more care and a little less…emotional reaction to everything, Rhaenyra could have won this war by now. Blindly going after Sheepstealer, not even questioning whether this *known wild dragon* might have acted without someone ordering him to, treating Ulf and Hugh so poorly, just everything about Rhaenyra’s management style is awful. And that scene, with so many snapping jaws, beckoned that phrase to mind quite vividly.
Tonight’s episode, “The Dragon in Winter” (a play on “The Lion in Winter,” a classic about King Henry II’s attempt to establish a line of succession during a Christmas gathering in 1183, the very sort of history that inspired George R.R. Martin’s books) was directed by Nina Lopez-Corrado and written by Philippa Goslett and Zenzele Price. Goslett has now written or co-written two of my favorite episodes of the season.
Read my past reviews of Season 3 below:
‘House of the Dragon’ Cast
House of the Dragon stars:
- Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen
- Emma D’Arcy as Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen
- Olivia Cooke as Queen Dowager Alicent Hightower
- Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower
- Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon
- Ewan Mitchell as Prince Aemond Targaryen
- Tom Glynn-Carney as King Aegon II Targaryen
- Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole
- Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria
- Harry Collett as Prince Jacaerys Velaryon
- Bethany Antonia as Baela Targaryen
- Phoebe Campbell as Rhaena Targaryen
- Phia Saban as Queen Helaena Targaryen
- Matthew Needham as Larys Strong
- Freddie Fox as Ser Gwayne Hightower
- Abubakar Salim as Alyn of Hull
- Gayle Rankin as Alys Rivers
- Tom Bennett as Ulf the White
- Kieran Bew as Hugh Hammer
Newcomers include:
- James Norton as Ormund Hightower
- Tommy Flanagan as Roderick Dustin
- Dan Fogler as Torrhen Manderly
- Tom Cullen as Luthor Largent
- Joplin Sibtain as Jon Roxton
- Barry Sloane as Adrian Redfort
- Annie Shapero as Alysanne Blackwood
