House of the Dragon – Regent Review

After last week’s explosive episode, this week’s House of the Dragon was far more concerned with setting the stage for the back half of the season. We checked in with every major player, took stock of where they were and what they were doing  and what their next hurdle would be – and laid out the path for where things might be headed by the finale (my guess – something big is going to go down before we’re through*). So, not a great episode, but a necessary one.

The biggest piece of information the show saved until the final moments. Between last week’s pub boasting that there are bastard Targaryens out in the wild and this week’s decision to search through past writings to find a host of possible dragon riders to help with the Blacks’ cause, I think it’s safe to say we’re about to see some trials and tribulations to get riders for Silverwing and Vermithor. Whether they succeed or not is something we’ll have to wait and see about. There’s also Seasmoke, hanging around Dragonstone and crying for Laenor (perhaps he is due a new rider, as well – maybe a bastard of Corlys?). Anyway, I think we’re about to see some new riders – and have to learn some new names. Which, hey, why not? Should be fun.

The other major game changing piece of news was the naming of Aemond as the Prince Regent for Aegon, as he attempts to recover from his horrific injuries following the battle at Rook’s Rest. Cut-throat and hardened by the abuse he took at the hands of his family, Aemond is the general the Greens need – even if his mother would much rather he sit quietly on the sidelines and not rush headlong into conflict with his disturbing lack of outward emotions and penchant for destruction. After all, he’s taken out two dragons (and severely injured both his brother and Sunfyre). Vhagar is the dragon all others fear, and Aemond is now the one with the power in King’s Landing. Helaena asked him if it was worth it – and I suspect she knew just as we did that it absolutely was to him. He wanted power, he wanted to best his brother, and he has it all. Now, the question will be, how will he wield it? He’s smarter than Aegon, he’s more focused than him as well. He’s also wholly willing now to kill any and all who get in his way on the field of battle. Even Ser Criston appears wary of him. And that’s saying something.

Speaking of everyone’s least favorite Hand of the King, if there’s one thing I didn’t buy this episode it’s that Criston has grown fearful of dragons and their power. Sure, it was jarring and frightening for him to witness the sheer destruction they bring in their wake, but I don’t really believe a single battle was enough to shake this pompous ass from his power hungry wants. Now, seeing how eager Aemond was to use his dragon to try to kill Aegon? I’d buy that fear – and I can understand him wanting to remain an ally and not an impediment, so it doesn’t serve Criston to tell Alicent he agrees with her assessment of her son. But his conversation with Alicent didn’t read as if he was worried about Aemond – it read that he was worried about the power of dragons. Then again, the character development with Criston has been such a mess thus far, I’m not surprised this scene didn’t work at all.

And then there’s Daemon, another man absolutely stuffing it up trying to grasp at any shred of power he can get. Destroying his potential influence in the Riverlands by continuing to be a petulant child was on point for a character who has proven, time and again, that he wants what he wants and he doesn’t care who falls to get it for him. His driving desire to wear the crown is something that I’m certain will end up getting him killed. Perhaps this latest failure on his part will help him to see the error of his ways and send him back to Dragonstone? But I’m certainly not going to hold my breath on that. One thing that consistently annoys me in shows is when a character repeatedly makes the same mistakes over and over again. Now, that can be a character device, showing us an inability to change which undoubtedly leads to said character’s downfall in some form. And I trust that will be the case with Daemon, ultimately. But it’s frustrating as a viewer to see that same character beat hit over and over like is happening with Daemon. We know he thinks he should be king. We also know he really has no idea how to go about rallying others for his cause – the whole life of privilege, even when ransacking minor islands and fighting minor battles with an army that was provided for you doesn’t lend itself to learning about the needs of the realm as a whole – so again, not a shock he’s awful at it. But it’s getting tiring to see the same story beats each week with Daemon. There needs to be some sort of movement in his story shortly – and with a clear character-driven reason for his eventual action.

So, not a bad episode, just an installment designed to check-in with our various characters and reset the game board for what is to come. We know where our players are, we’ve learned what they are hoping to achieve in the immediate future, and we can start to piece together where things might end up by season’s end. There are only three episodes left this season. Let’s see how many of our characters make it out alive.