House of the Dragon – King of the Narrow Sea Review

Well, it took three and a half episodes, but House of the Dragon finally decided to do some work in crafting characters and relationships beyond simply putting one dimensional characters in a room, refusing to let them actually have a conversation, and then jumping two years into the future and ignoring any and all questions raised by the previous episode. Yes, we had another two-year time jump prior to the start of “King of the Narrow Sea,” but this time, the series opted to do the work – giving us several key interactions that went a hell of a long way toward giving us a set of almost three dimensional characters to watch as we move into the halfway point of the season – and presumably the final episode featuring the show’s younger actors.

The major stumbling block for House of the Dragon thus far has been its insistence that the series churn through time at a ridiculous pace, rather than actually letting the series set-up its various relationships to pay-off key story beats down the line. This has meant that we haven’t been privy to key conversations and interactions that sometimes get an off-hand mention episodes later – in the case of Viserys telling Otto this week that Alicent was instrumental in helping him work through his grief over Aemma death, which was something we could infer, but my god would it have been nice to actually see their relationship develop – and other times, the story just resets its characters and we have to make our best guess as to why two characters who were definitely not on good terms have suddenly mended things – that would be Rhaenyra and Alicent, whose relationship seemed irreparably severed last week only for them to be close once more this week, an explanation of which would have helped in navigating just who is playing whom in this relationship (there’s no way Alicent was gullible enough to fall for that awful performance of Rhaenyra’s in the godswood, right?).

Taking the time now, at the start of this story, to let us watch relationships develop and change – and characters to develop and change with them – would go a long way to giving us the foundation we need to keep following these characters as they move forward. Jumping years into the future each week and only providing the occasional commentary regarding how alliances may have shifted or why someone is acting the way they are is simply bad writing. The cardinal rule of good storytelling, which I have harped on time and again in various reviews, is show, don’t tell. While I appreciated the series finally letting Viserys have it out with both Otto and Rhaenyra this episode, you know what would have made those conversations all the more powerful? If we had seen how his relationship with both changed over the course of the five years of storytelling thus far. We know he’s a suspect king largely through his inability to make decisive decisions and his blind spot regarding Daemon. But why did he trust Otto so much? Solely because he was loyal to his grandfather? Why did he run so hot and cold with Rhaenyra once he named her heir? Solely because he doubted his choice – and the pressure of those around him? I don’t buy that since he never once allowed them to cow him without his pushing back. But with the storytelling letting us sit and listen – and watch – as he dealt with these questions – and the question of how to best handle his brother – in real time, well, I suspect we’d have a much better picture of who Viserys truly is, both as a king and as a man.

And here’s the thing that really drives me nuts: When the series wants to spend the time on character development, it is pretty darn great at it and guess what – it also manages to make for compelling television! See – taking the time to let your characters live without fast-forwarding through their lives to the next crisis isn’t a bad thing. The scenes with Daemon and Rhaenyra were, for my money, the most complex and interesting writing the series has managed up until this point. We’ve seen how their relationship is deeper than the one Rhaenyra has with her father – whether that’s due to Daemon’s own machinations angling for the throne in whatever way he can or if he truly cares for his niece (either platonically and/or romantically) is yet to be seen, but we’ve had the chance to see that relationship develop more than any other in the series thus far. The choice of Daemon to escape prior to actually going through with hooking up with his niece was particularly interesting – he certainly seems disappointed with himself for even attempting it (if his hungover state at Mysaria’s house* is anything to go by – that’s not the look of someone who is thrilled with how his night went) – as everything we’ve been led to believe about him thus far says that he would have relished the chance to sully his brother in the hopes of supplanting him. But perhaps the possibility of destroying his niece – who he clearly cares for on some level – was a bridge too far, even for him. Either way, this was the most we’ve gotten to see into Daemon – and Rhaenyra, as she seems a million times more free after her night out and her tryst with Ser Criston – and it’s about damn time.

*Another great touch – throwing in the information that Mysaria has a new operation within King’s Landing as The White Worm. A precursor to something like Varys’s little birds, this network sells information to folks like Otto Hightower as a means to secure their place in the game of thrones.

But the most overdue conversation – and the best written sequence of the series thus far from both a character and dialogue perspective for our King Viserys – was the scene between Viserys and Rhaenyra near the close of the episode. Finally, the duo put all their cards on the table and did the one thing they should have done from the get-go and teamed up. In order to succeed, they have always needed to have each other’s backs and be on the same page. To that end, the marriage pact had to happen and Viserys needed to recognize that he cannot simply make orders without concessions when it comes to securing his legacy. He’s spent the entire series thus far refusing to see that his future is secured by his heir and not the other way around. He also finally recognized that he must first trust himself before he can begin making proclamations for the future. And trusting himself means trusting the choices he makes – namely that he must actively consult with Rhaenyra and not cast her to the side until such time as she’s useful to him (this also plays into the Targaryen belief that they can and will trust each other above all others – something Viserys and Rhaenyra clearly forgot over the years and something that is crucially important for the coming story arcs to be fully realized). Similarly, Rhaenyra needed to learn that she must trust her father and take an active role in his reign, not simply sit and sulk in the gardens and whine and complain. If she wants to rule, she needs to recognize that doing so requires some sacrifice, and accept it as a part of her life. Now that they have both taken the necessary steps toward securing the throne for their future, well, they can start playing the real game as a team. It’s about damn time – I was starting to wonder why Viserys wanted to keep her as his heir since he clearly didn’t have time to interact with her and teach her what it means to rule.

So, all-in-all, this was a much stronger episode than we’ve had in the past. The story is finally starting to focus on a character first approach, rather than simply presenting plot and jumping forward without any real time spent detailing how characters felt about what happened. If the series can slow the churning plot down (which, I know, isn’t super likely as we have a major time jump on the horizon), perhaps we will actually get a series that has the depth this one has so lacked thus far. But, again, that’s a big ask for a series that has shown it cares far less about building character than it does about building CGI beasts for those characters to ride. I thankfully feel like I have a handle on Viserys, Rhaenyra, and Daemon after this installment, though, so that’s something.