We recall and discuss what we saw in the eighth and ninth episodes of 'House of the Dragon': Viserys' final actions, Alicent's unexpected moves, and the new ruler of the Seven Kingdoms.
Praise the old gods and the new! 'House of the Dragon', closer to the end of the season, has become the series we were all waiting for. Unexpected and ambiguous actions of the characters, outstanding acting performances, dynamic shifts in events, brutal deaths. In these episodes, almost everything was good except for the season's tradition of killing off no-names, so we are combining episodes 8 and 9 into a single recap.
Previous recaps:
Warning: spoilers for episodes 8 and 9 of 'House of the Dragon' follow
Episode 8 — Viserys' Decline and a Family Dinner
This episode was a showcase for Paddy Considine in the role of King Viserys. He was magnificent in portraying a fading man in power.
The way he dragged himself to the throne with his last strength to make, perhaps, the last important decision of his life. The way he managed, even if for a moment, to reconcile his long-estranged family. These moments will be highlights of the debut season.
But let's go in order about the most important things we saw.
From the prologue, we learn that the Sea Snake, aka Corlys Velaryon, is near death after being wounded in one of the unscheduled battles (the old man can't sit still, what can you say). And before the Lord of Driftmark could pass into the next world, his throne began to be contested by his wife Rhaenys, his brother Vaemond, and the rightful heir, Lucerys Velaryon-Targaryen.
Just when it seemed Vaemond had the upper hand, having secured the support of Queen Alicent (Olivia Cooke) and her father Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), who were acting on behalf of the king, Viserys himself entered the scene. Right before this, Rhaenyra had managed to introduce her father to her new children (yes, more children for the god of children, so we are utterly confused about who is who) and asked him to take care of her. And he did — he officially recognized Lucerys as the heir to Driftmark.
Vaemond was not pleased with this decision and started his old song about Rhaenyra's bastards, and then publicly called the future queen a whore. For this, he lost his head. But with his tongue still attached, because it's funnier that way.
And, as is customary in Westeros during the time of 'House of the Dragon', an epic death is immediately followed by a perfectly planned event. In this case, it's a family dinner of the Targaryens. Viserys removes his luxurious mask (the symbolism is overwhelming) and asks his children and grandchildren to forget all their feuds and just please an old man.
For a moment, it seems he even succeeds — Rhaenyra offers her apologies to Alicent and thanks her for her devotion to Viserys; the queen, in turn, raises a toast to Rhaenyra. The younger ones, who had already fallen out completely back when Aemond lost his eye, support the initiative, but only in appearance. Each subsequent toast holds more venom and bile than the last. It's quite obvious that Alicent's and Rhaenyra's children will eventually kill each other.
And at the end of the episode, we see Viserys, whether conscious or delirious, telling Alicent that he would like his son Aegon to be the future king, after which he breathes his last breath. The struggle for the throne is declared open!
Episode 9 — Usurpation
Alicent shares Viserys' 'last will' with her father, and he convenes the small council to decide what to do next. Overall, the council members react positively to the news of the late king's desire to pass the throne to his son rather than Rhaenyra. This fact (surprisingly) enrages the queen — how can they plot treason behind the king's back?
The council (not Alicent) decides that the best course of action is to kill Rhaenyra, Daemon, and their entire family to prevent a war for the throne. Only the queen, one of the council members (instantly killed by the ever-untouchable Criston Cole), and the Lord Commander, who answers only to the king and no one else, oppose this.
For once, Alicent finds her own voice and begins to contradict her own father, whose orders she has followed practically her entire life. If Paddy Considine shone in the previous episode, here Olivia Cooke took center stage.
First, the queen seeks support from Rhaenys, promising to give her Driftmark without any claims, but Rhaenys, as usual, plays her cards close to her chest and does not reveal whose side she will take on this matter.
Then Alicent tries to be the first to reach the suddenly missing Aegon, who needs to be crowned urgently. The queen sends Criston and her second son Aemond (who, symbolically, wouldn't mind if his brother disappeared and he himself ascended the throne) to find him. Not without difficulty (the Hand also sent mercenaries to find Aegon), but this pair finds the reluctant heir. Alicent asks her son to take the throne but to avoid bloodshed and negotiate with Rhaenyra without starting a war.
Next, we witness a colorful, albeit hasty, coronation ceremony for Aegon II. And the most important thing here is not even that half of King's Landing gathers for it and greets the event with joy (we remember the crowd's mood towards Rhaenyra), but the fact that Aegon himself, from a reluctant hostage of fate, transforms into a blatant scoundrel the moment he receives the crown. It's amusing that everyone sees this except Alicent, who is blinded by maternal feelings.
The main surprise of the episode is Rhaenys. She escapes her confinement in the Red Keep, but instead of heading to Driftmark, she shows her power — she bursts into the coronation on dragonback and comes face to face with Aegon, Alicent, and all that entourage, which in an instant turns from the powerful of this world into a pathetic band of usurpers. She doesn't say a word. But words are not needed here. This is an important gesture. A gesture indicating that one wrong step can lead to the collapse of even the most well-thought-out plan. And, of course, that you shouldn't mess with a woman with a dragon.
We await the season's resolution. Episodes 8 and 9 raised the bar, so the finale must at least not lower it, and at most, make us eagerly await new seasons.
Trailer for Episode 10:
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