House of the Dragon 3x03 Reaction

In my opinion, the best episode since season 1. Making the episode a Rhaenyra Point of view one was a brilliant choice, the unrelenting nature of the scenes through the editing along with the uneasy music, reminding me of There will be blood makes me feel like I am drowning along with Rhaenyra (Amazing work by Emma D’Arcy). It makes you realize how ruling is not only extremely hard, but also unfulfilling, just a never-ending stream of problems and people asking for things, trying to balance different interests and managing a coalition. This felt like the premiere of season 3. P.S it’s funny that we get point of view from material (Fire & Blood) that don’t have any Point of view chapters while we didn’t have an episode like this in GoT when asoiaf is full of PoVs (Sansa, Bran, Tyrion, Theon etc)

Rhaenyra is walking in her father’s footsteps (derogatory). She inflicts suffering (blockade, the dragonseeds etc) for her rule but at the same time shies away from doing what needs to be done to further maintain it. At this point in the war cutting off Daeron’s head should be the first thing she thinks of, it’s certainly something her book counterpart would’ve done if she got her hands on him. What I appreciate about GRRM’s writing is that he’s willing to have his characters commit acts the modern audience would be horrified by, not because he wants to present these characters as evil, but because he understands human nature. At least with Rhaenyra we can say this is consistent characterization, and perhaps intentionally showing us that she inherited her father’s, wishy washy, reluctant mode of ruling. I also don’t understand why she doesn’t declare Aegon dead and present a burned-beyond-recognition corpse as proof. That’s what she did with her husband in s1! Even Alicent would play along and say that’s her son.

Rhaenyra denying Corlys' request to legitimize his sons doesn't really make sense considering that she's already allowed bastards to become dragon riders, which are considered akin to gods. She basically committed one of the ultimate acts of sacrilege with that decision. I understand that this episode wanted to focus on Rhaenyra being overwhelmed by palace responsibility & therefore acting a bit recklesssly, but I wish the showrunners' would've done that without writing an annoying & pointless conflict between Rhaenyra & Corlys that directly contradicts GRRM's book (she grants his request in Fire & Blood)

Carol Sturka is a HUGE Buffy fan.

I think this is one of the best episodes in the show.

This is probably my favorite episode of the season as of writing this with the first five out. Also the first time in a while I've watched the full analysis at the end so I got a lot to say. No major complaints as a book reader though there are some changes. Also it's Ormund Hightower, Lord of Oldtown. My main complaint would be the fake Daeron switcheroo (an original invention) was a little weakly written since they never address what the plan was with his dragon Tessarion. The best you can assume is that the dragonkeeper at the end was escorting the dragon back to King's Landing when the Hightower host ambushed them, but that isn't clearly outlined. Good analysis on the situation Rhaenyra is going through. She isn't a particularly competent ruler, but also has been screwed by the circumstances that she took the throne. Most of her problems could be solved if she just had money, and an empty treasury is something Viserys never had to deal with. Despite that, she still makes shortsighted decisions like punishing the nobility in order to feed the smallfolk, something that only provides temporary relief in exchange for creating long lasting resentment. She also refuses Corlys' request largely due to her own insecurities about her sons legitimacy, alienating her strongest supporter. Also in regards to Rhaenyra needing to be more harsh, it should be noted that a ruler does need to walk a fine line between being stern and just cruel. A needlessly brutal monarch will just brew resentment. Sparing Daeron isn't just the humane option but also prevents Rhaenyra from being labeled a kinslayer, which is one of the worst crimes you can commit in the universe. Also more on Daeron, I am disappointed that it took 3 seasons for him to finally "show up." They also cut a major battle in the Reach where Daeron helped turn the tide in the favor of House Hightower which could have served as a good moment to introduce him this late. I also wish Alicent lied about recognizing the fake Daeron, if nothing else than because it seemed like a waste to have the reveal in the same episode he gets introduced. Also I agree with Lola that Alicent betraying her entire family continues to haunt the character, she wasn't just selling out Aegon and Aemond when she made that choice, but Daeron, Cole, and her own father. Though at this point Milena is right that you just have to accept that's how the story has gone and roll with it.

OK it's really funny that Ryan Condal claimed this was an experimental, "conceptual" episode, like it was some groundbreaking idea... No, they just wrote an actual episode of television -- with a contained story, a POV, and thematic spine -- instead of the usual one-hour chunks of the larger story they roll out every week. Anyway I loved this one. They should probably get conceptual more often.