House of the Dragon – We Light the Way Review

We’ve come to the end of an age within House of the Dragon – with Rhaenyra wed to Ser Laenor Velaryon, Queen Alicent all but raising her Hightower bannermen up against Rhaenyra’s claim to the throne (and at her wedding rehearsal dinner, no less), Daemon killing his wife and freeing himself to make a claim for Rhaenyra’s hand (or perhaps another family member if that doesn’t pan out), and Viserys finally appearing to succumb to the various wounds and maladies that plague his body. While “We Light the Way” didn’t see a major time jump like all previous episodes, it was certainly the episode where the most storytelling occurred – and where we finally got a solid lay of the land when it comes to how things might shake-out with Viserys’ impending death.

While I understand that for the Dance of Dragons to occur, Viserys must die, I must say I’m thoroughly disappointed that our time with Paddy Considine has grown so short (if it hasn’t already expired at the close of the episode). One of the finest actors in Britain, House of the Dragon never seemed to know what to do with Viserys. After all, how much story should one devote to a character who’s been marked for death from the moment you tell the audience that the story they are about to see is centered around the fight to succeed that character on the Iron Throne? Sure, we were supposed to see Viserys as an ineffective ruler, who couldn’t control his own brother much less the massive machine one must be master of should one be a successful rules of Westeros. But by giving us that single defining piece of character development (outside of that, all we really had was that he was jealous of Daemon’s freedoms and charm, ignored his daughter for years in hopes of a son, and had awful taste in selecting advisors), we never got much more in terms of character developments. We were shown all his failings, but never shown any real strengths. And we were left to watch him wither and whine, all while the series wasted having Considine there, able to give us a hell of a performance, if only the writing were to ask for it.

But, as a tool for setting up our impending time jump (and the introduction of a host of new actors), “We Light the Way” was a perfectly fine episode. The introduction of Laenor was handled about as well as one could hope from a story like this – his sexuality was not turned into a spectacle and his relationship with Ser Joffrey Lonmouth was shown to be really lovely. Unfortunately, Ser Joffrey made the grave error of thinking that Ser Criston was willing and able to play the game of thrones. And that’s one of two places where the episode lost me a bit. To be fair, we’ve been presented next to no development in the relationship between Criston and Rhaenyra outside of their hook up last week and clear signs that the pair liked each other prior to that moment. But that Criston decided – after a single night together – that Rhaenyra was ready and willing to throw away her claim to the throne and travel the world with him . . . was an odd narrative choice. Never once did we see any indication that he was so besotted with her that he was longing for a marriage. Several smoldering glances, one killed boar, and one night together do not a relationship make. And I’m not suggesting that we weren’t – like Rhaenyra – meant to be shocked at his suggestion. What I’m saying is that, at some point, the series should have SHOWN us that his feelings were deeper. Yes, he broke his vows, but they also hadn’t shown us that he was so chivalrous that he wouldn’t do so. I actually found myself hoping he would kill himself at the close of the episode, if only so that we could wipe the slate clean with this bland and underdeveloped character and move forward.

But, alas, Ser Criston was saved by the hand of the Queen – who is certainly planning some key use for him in her quest to see that her son, Aegon II, sits upon the Iron Throne. And that brings me to the other moment that didn’t ring true for me: Alicent’s sudden ability to scheme and play the game after being wholly unable and clueless up until this point. I don’t buy that her father’s dismissal and the realization that Rhaenyra lied to her* were enough to buy her a clue and teach her how to scheme in the course of a week or so. Again, here’s where it would have been helpful to have actually spent time on developing her character outside of the bright-eyed young woman who only wanted to please her father and spend time with her friend. Had we see Alicent slowly becoming more and more savvy as the episodes went on, well, that might have made this revelation about her character hit with less of a thud.

*And as Alicent learned from Criston, Rhaenyra didn’t actually lie to her. Or, at least she has no evidence that Rhaenyra slept with Daemon. Perhaps she assumes that if Rhaenyra could sleep with Criston, what’s to say she didn’t also with Daemon? But that’s still a pretty large leap. Maybe she was just hurt that Rhaenyra didn’t confide her feelings for Criston? I’m honestly not sure at this point what all Alicent thinks or knows, thanks to the series’ refusal to let us spent time with her at this stage of things to get a better understand of who she is.

As we approach the major time jump, I can’t help but wish the series had opted to draw out this initial world building phase into a full season. With that added time, we would have had the chance to get to know these crucial characters and gain foundational knowledge that would have allowed for a greater impact with their future choices, battles, and eventual deaths. Watching Viserys struggle and slowly fall apart in all facets – physically and mentally – over the course of ten episodes instead of five would have made it clear just how weak his rule was and highlight the chaos he would leave in his wake. Getting to watch Rhaenyra come into her own and Alicent learn from her scheming father before he was sent home would have been so helpful in watching their own war begin. And getting a stronger foundation in their friendship prior to Alicent’s marriage would have helped underscore the pain of that particular break.

And getting to watch Daemon plot – see how and why he made the moves he did throughout this portion of his life – would have given so much more impact to the choices he will make down the line. Hell, while we can deduce that he’s going to marry Laena Velaryon (now that Rhaenyra is off the market), it would have been nice to see if he had designs on her as a second choice before the banquet or if it was a spur of the moment thing. While Daemon can be impulsive, he is also crafty. The series has done that character a particular disservice thus far in providing little to no development of his character – we get next to no time with him on his own. We can’t understand who he is and who he wants to be when he’s playacting in front of other characters.

While the series has shown some signs of strong writing – mostly in the relationship between Rhaenyra and Laenor (as I was worried the series would keep his sexuality a secret from his wife and set it up as a minor scandal behind closed doors before it inevitably becomes a massive one for the realm – and now that Alicent has this information thanks to Criston, she can discredit both of them and make her claim for Aegon) and finally allowing Rhaenyra to come into her own and show her unique strength and power – there’s still a lot to be desired when it comes to its handling of character and crafting of complex narratives. Thus far, the writing nearly always opts for the shortcut in storytelling – flat out telling (and not showing) us a character trait or skipping over plot to get to the next point on the historical map. In racing to tell this foundational part of the story, the writers have failed to build any sort of actual, character-based foundation on which to rest the meat of the tale it is telling. Time will tell if they can right this major error or if it’s too late to make these character complex enough to carry this story across the finish line.