After two high-velocity episodes of death and mourning, the third episode of House of the Dragon’s second season slows down the energy, though not before giving a taste of the famed Bracken and Blackwood feud. The opposing families find themselves on opposite sides of the civil war and go to blows over it.
Rhaenys tries to persuade Rhaenyra to get in contact with Alicent as they watch the Twin Knights get burned in Dragonstone. It’s impressive that Rhaenys sees the tragic twin plot and immediately knows that Otto has lost power on Team Green.
Criston has his first day of doing double duty as the Hand and the Commander. The Team Green Council feels like a repeat of all the councils in episodes before it. They acknowledge that the Riverlands are key to securing soldiers and butt heads over the use of dragons. Alicent, the lone female voice, is drowned in the council.
Team Black is taking this period of inaction from Team Green as a chance to get their own ducks (or dragon eggs) in a row. Rhaena, the oft-forgotten second daughter of Daemon, is sent to Pentos to guard the three boy kings. The White Worm, Mysaria, is still in Dragonstone after saving Rhaenyra from the Twin plot and wants a place on Team Black. Daemon arrives at a nearly decimated Harrenhal with absolutely nobody to fight. Ser Strong pledges his allegiance to Rhaenyra and offers Daemon dinner (a shame, no red currant). Team Black’s council meetings go over similarly to those of their Green foes; everyone argues over using dragons and ignores the woman urging peace.
Alicent sets Criston off to Harrenhal with her cocky brother, Gwayne, a hanky, and some prayers. Helaena gives her mother what she desperately wants—forgiveness.
Larys may have lost the Hand position to Criston but he’s not done planting ideas in the insecure Aegon’s head about the “streets” saying he’s a weak puppet, there only for his mother to claim power. This obviously works and convinces Aegon to give Larys the previously dead position of Master of Whispers. We have an official gossip queen in the Red Keep!
Aegon, after suffering from Larys’ reverse psychology, stays in King’s Landing and goes out with the boys. We learn that Daemon and Viserys have a bastard brother in King’s Landing who is quietly Team Black. Could there be other Team Black allies among the smallfolk? Aegon’s boys’ night gets interesting when he catches Aemond doing his weekly naked cuddle session with the brothel madame. Having learned nothing from childhood, Aegon embarrasses his psycho brother in public. Yeah, King’s Landing is in danger.
While on dragon patrol, Baela catches Criston and the other knights on their way to the Riverlands and gives them a scare.
In Harrenhal, Daemon has a hallucination by a mythical tree and sees a young Rhaenyra stitching Jaehaerys’ neck by a fire. Daemon snaps out of the guilty nightmare to a strange woman proclaiming that he “will die in this place.”
Rhaenyra, at odds with her council, seeks Mysaria out for help getting in contact with Alicent. But there is only one place to find Alicent outside of the Red Keep and it’s in the house of the gods. Rhaenyra gets into Septa drag and finds Alicent praying. The Sept Peace Talks turn sour when Alicent learns that “the prince that was promised” was a different Aegon and she’s been championing an old man’s prophecy as grounds for usurping the throne. Olivia Cooke masterfully conveys the rollercoaster of emotions Alicent goes through before coming to the conclusion that there is nothing to be done. She has no reach in council and her father had this mutiny planned years in advance, with or without Viserys’ misappropriated words.
The grounds for war have been laid and there is nothing these two childhood friends can do to stop the chaos ahead. As Ser Strong put it earlier, referring to the Bracken and Blackwood feud: “Sin begets sin begets sin.”
House of Dragon is streaming now on Max.
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