House of the Dragon – Driftmark

By: Kelly Kearney

Tensions rise in House Targaryen when the royal family heads to Driftmark for the funeral of Laena Velaryon. In the previous episodes we’ve watched as frenemies Rhaenyra and Alicent headed towards some sort of climactic end to their feud and in “Driftmark” their resentments finally boil over thanks to that little DNA rumor making its way around the royal court. As if questionable paternities aren’t exciting enough, Daemon reunites with his Princess niece, and their longing to unite in passion and blood has disastrous consequences for one that could come back and scorch the two later. With only a few left, this a twisty-turny episode that starts with a funeral and ends with a wedding that’s sure to flip the entire series–and certainly King Viserys legacy, on its head.

A BURIAL AT SEA

We begin on a seaside cliff on the island of Driftmark where the Targaryens and extended royal family are giving their respects to Daemon’s (Matt Smith) dragon rider wife, Lady Laena. Everyone showed up for the goodbye–Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) and her recent sort of orphaned children made the trip, as did her father, Queen Alicent (Olivia Cooke), and their sons. We see Daemon’s daughters finding sympathy not from their father but from their devastated grandmother, Rhaenys (Eve Best), who we later learn holds some serious resentment towards her son-in-law for her daughter’s untimely death. Speaking of grudges, Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) is also in attendance and sporting the Hand of the King brooch now that the former Hand was burnt to a crisp thanks to his daughter and her weasley friend, Larys (Matthew Needham). When Corlys’ brother, Vaemond (Wil Johnson) eulogizes his cousin with a very pointed comment about Velaryon blood never being diluted, Daemon can’t help but chuckle as he glances at Rhaenyra’s children. With that awkward bon voyage, Lady Laena’s decorative coffin is pushed into the water where it sinks to the bottom of the ocean with a thud.

At the post-funeral get-together, everyone is on edge, and the first to crack is young Jace (Leo Hart) who is reeling over the fact he lost someone recently too–his biological father, Ser Harwin Strong. His mother quickly puts a cork in her yappy son’s mouth–there will be no talk of bastards at this funeral, or within earshot of her constantly plotting step-mommy, Alicent. Speaking of the Queen, she’s busy keeping a watchful eye on Rhaenyra and an angry Jace, while Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) is paying similar attention to her. Larys Strong–the new Lord of Harrenhal, points this out to Alicent, who tries downplaying the Knight’s affections but Larys is too smart to fall for that. He notices everything and it’s really starting to make the Queen nervous. And while all these multi-layers of hate and lust are swirling around the party, the hottest tension in the room comes from Daemon and Rhaenyra, who can’t keep their eyes off of each other. The two have unfinished business and now that Viserys invited his brother back to the realm to grieve at home, they could have ample time to figure out what they want. Too bad Daemon tosses his brother’s offer back in his face and storms off toward the beach.

As the day turns to night, everyone retreats to their quarters and that’s when we find out why Rhaenys blamed Daemon and now her husband for Laena’s death. First, she blames the doctors in Pentos for not being on the same level as that of their High Tide’s maesters, but Corlys (Steve Toussaint) assures her the doctors aren’t at fault. She goes on to remind her husband that their daughter wanted to return home but it was Daemon who wanted to stay in Pentos and now she’s gone. Then she calls Corlys out, blaming his quest to capture the Iron Throne as she married into that family in the first place. Corlys tries and fails to remind her that he just wants to return the throne to its rightful heir–her, but she knows that’s just an excuse. The Sea Snake has a hunger for power combined with an addiction to ensure his family’s royal legacy but his wife Rhaenys isn’t about that life. In fact, in a crushing blow to her husband’s ego, she tells him she wants Laena’s children to inherit Driftmark, not Laenor’s. Why? Because Lane’s daughters are blood. “Rhaenyra’s children are not of your blood’ she boldly tells Corlys, but their recently deceased daughter’s children are. No matter how hard he tries to ignore the truth about his oldest son’s offspring and taste in romantic partners, blood is blood. Like Vaemond said at the funeral, it should never be diluted.

FORBIDDEN LUSTS

Picking up right where they left off, Rhaenyra catches up with an angry Daemon, and the two walk along the beaches of Driftmark and catch up on life since last they saw each other. She confesses that Harwin Strong fathered her children after a few failed attempts with Laenor (John Macmillan) – who, by the way, is pretty much overplaying pretend husband just to make both families happy. She admits she regrets not ordering Harwin to stay at King’s Landing and blames his fiery death on the curse that inhabited his family’s homeland. Daemon disagrees and says he thinks Alicent and Otto Hightower were the ones who lit that murderous match. Even thousands of miles away, Daemon still understands the rules of the game when fighting for ownership of his brother’s throne. After their brief catch-up on their doomed love lives, they finally circle back to the real issue they both have been avoiding the entire episode: that night in the brothel. Rhaenyra accuses Daemon of abandoning her but he sees it differently and says he was protecting her– a child, from the fallout of what was about to happen. Her gay husband and dead baby-daddy seem proof enough to her that everything fell apart the moment he left to marry Laena–who he fully admits he loved. We were happy enough” he says, and with that, his niece offers him her sympathies in the form of a very sensual kiss. She isn’t little Rhaenyra anymore and her Uncle Daemon notices, So much so, he passionately returns her affections, and the two fall into the sand and make love.

While incestuous funeral hookups are happening on the beach, young Aemond (Leo Ashton) is also seaside and making his way toward the newly orphaned dragon, Vhagar. The sleeping giant is the biggest flying menace in the world and this dragonless boy wants her for himself. As he slowly approaches the sleeping fire-breathing giant, she comes to with grunts and growls. She tests his bravery but Aemond never flinches and commands her to calm down. Vhagar listens, making it possible for him to climb on her back and take off into the clouds. The boy who never thought he would have a dragon just claimed the beast promised for Daemon’s dragonless daughter, Rhaena (Eva Ossi-Gerning). Almost from the take-off, Aemond is a pro. When he eventually lands Vhagar the angry Rhaena calls him a thief and accuses him of stealing her mother’s dragon that was meant for her. Aemond fires back cruelly, “your mother is dead and Vhagar has a new rider now.” One flight and it’s all gone to this kid’s head. In fact, he tells the crying Rhaena to get herself a pig to ride, just like his brothers got for him earlier in the season. His ego is out of control and it leads to a fight between all the cousins with Luce (Harvey Sadler) and Jace taking the brunt of his abuse when the blonde calls his brunette cousins bastards. On top of losing the man, he just learned was his father is too much for Jace and Luce, and a full-on fight breaks out. The younger Luce takes a serious beating until he pulls out a dagger and slices through Aemond’s eye. One eye was gone and two furious mothers later lead to the next dramatic moments in the Hall of Nine, when Alicent points the blame on Rhaenyra’s aggressive children. The Princess counters her accusations with an excuse that they were defending themselves from slanderous rumors about their parentage. To claim they are not legitimate heirs to Viserys’ throne is treason, and Rhaenyra ensures everyone hears that. Viserys (Paddy Considine) asks his son who told him such vicious lies and while the camera pans over to a very nervous-looking Alicent, the young Prince protects his mother and throws his older brother, Aegon, under his father’s bus and blames him for the rumors! Viserys then goes to Aegon who says the exact thing Viserys never wanted to hear, “we know, father. Everyone knows. Just look at them.” Viserys refuses to entertain these rumors of genetic blasphemy and orders his family to stop their infighting and apologize but that’s where his orders end and it is not enough for his still-fuming wife, Alicent. She all but orders her husband to punish Luce by taking his eye for the one he plucked out of Aemond, but her husband makes it clear he will do nothing of the sort. This doesn’t sit right with her because the King’s son was permanently disfigured! She wants justice and if her husband won’t give it to her then maybe her pet knight Criston Cole will. Nope, the King ends that before Cole can even pull his blade and he announces a new rule: anyone who slanders his daughter’s children will lose their tongue, and with that, he calls an end to this not-so-happy gathering. Only Alicent isn’t ready to drop this and she grabs her husband’s dagger and attempts to carve the young Luce’s eye out herself! Rhaenyra stands in the way and winds up getting a serious gash on her arm in the process. As the blood droplets hit the floor we hear Aemond tell his mother everything worked out ok. Sure, he lost an eye but he gained a dragon. Nobody in the room, even Alicent, can believe what just happened.

BONDED IN BLOOD

After her homicidal meltdown in front of the family, Otto gives Alicent a visit to congratulate her on finally growing a backbone. What she did in the Halls of Nine was “ugly” but it was the first time she showed him she has what it takes to play this game and the “determination to win it.” Now that Aemond is flying the most dangerous dragon in all the realms, the plotting Hightowers cannot lose.

Back to Rhaenyra, who is paid a visit by her often missing-in-action husband. While off gallivanting around with his new “friend” Qarl (Arty Froushan), he missed the entire ordeal with his wife and kids, and for that, he offers her his apologies. He says she deserves a real marriage and a husband by her side; from now on he will give up life outside the castle to be committed to her and their family. The Princess forces out a smile because he is a good man and right about one thing; she does need a husband just not him!

When we next see her she is with Daemon begging him in High Valyrian to help her fight Alicent. She needs backup and a husband who will fight alongside her in equal ranking and power. She wants Daemon and that means Laenor has to die. Daemon knows just the person to bribe for the job. He goes to Qarl and offers him a sack of gold for “a quick death. One with witnesses.”

In the end, someone does die but it isn’t  Laenor and that was Rhaenyra’s plan all along! When her husband returns to the castle to find Qarl waiting for him, the two put on a performance of a lifetime. Qarl goes on the attack and it all goes down in front of a servant boy A.K.A. the one witness Daemon asked for. And instead of Laenor dying in the fight, Daemon knocks out a stranger, and Qarl tosses the man’s body into the fireplace leaving his corpse unrecognizable. Everyone, including his already grieving parents, thinks the man who exhibited suicidal ideations right after his sister’s death followed through with his threats.

Once Laenor’s death is announced Rhaenyra is free to marry her uncle in a High Valyrian ceremony of bindings in blood. As the two recite their vows we see a rowboat manned by Qarl and a shaved-headed Laenor on their way to board a ship no doubt heading to the war he was so desperate to fight. In the end, Princess Rhaenyra gave Leanor his freedom and herself a husband who can both rule by her side and excite her in the bedroom. Long live the Queen indeed!