House of the Dragon – The Red Sowing

By: Kelly Kearney

As Rhaenyra looks to low-born Dragon Riders to help her regain her rightful place on the throne, her King Consort, Daemon, pressures the Riverlords to bend the knee to him. With Sea Smoke claiming Addam of Hull, and two more dragons lying in wait to be claimed, all the long-locked blondes of the realm answer the Black Queen’s call for volunteer riders. Also in the extended episode, Alicent escapes the Red Keep and her son’s coup on his brother’s throne for a bit of R&R in the woods. Whether or not she returns to her life of privilege is unknown but she does inform her guard, Ser Rickon, she has no immediate plans to return to King’s Landing. Assuming she is trying to stay out of sight of that hand-in-marriage deal negotiated by House Greyjoy’s alliance with House Green, her best option is to camp out and wait for the return of her father, Otto Hightower.  It’s fiery auditions and alliances between enemies in this week’s epic dragon-drama, “House of the Dragon.”

Class Warfare and Winning Strategies

After last week’s surprising turn of events with Seasmoke claiming Corlys’s bastard son, a smallfolk named Addam of Hull (Clinton Liberty), this week opens with Syrax and Seasmoke staring each other down on the beach amidst monstrous sounding groans and growls. Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) calls out to Addam, demanding he identify himself. As the new Dragon Rider approaches, she asks, “What do you want?” He responds, “To learn the ways of the Dragon Riders and to serve my queen, your grace,” as he bends the knee and his dragon calms. This puts Rhaenyra at ease, and as she approaches Addam, he tells her that he did not claim the Seasmoke; the dragon chose him.

Confused by his lineage and somewhat insulted by a lowborn commoner claiming the wings of a god, Rhaenyra feels stirred by Targaryen’s destinies in ways she isn’t fully prepared to recognize. He tells her he is a shipwright for House Velaryon, which piqued her interest considering her Hand and former husband. However, it’s when Addam says, “If the gods call me to greater things, who am I to refuse them?” that Rhaenyra can’t get past the idea of a commoner possessing the gift she thought only Targaryens possess. She questions his parentage, to which he replies that his mother was a shipbuilder and his father—he pauses—“is of no consequence.” Feeling comfortable with Addam’s honesty and allegiance to her cause, Rhaenyra accepts the young dragon rider, telling him he has done something impossible and she is happy about it. She invites him back to Dragonstone, and Addam flies Seasmoke to the island, drawing the curiosity of onlookers.

At the Black Council, everyone is simultaneously amazed and disgusted by the news of this new dragon rider. Not only does this commoner challenge the Targaryen’s history, but now he’s in the castle, and their queen is demanding the staff treat him as a guest. Immediately, Lord Corlys (Steve Toussaint) suspects he knows who this shipwright’s parents are. Instead of joining the chorus of naysayers on the council, as the Hand of the Queen, he orders them to calm and wait and wait for their Queen to fill them in. Unfortunately, they will have to wait for those explanations, as she is having a meeting with Mysaria to discuss her next move.

While Rhaenyra is in her chambers questioning Targaryen’s genealogy and how to find two more potential dragon riders, Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno) reminds her of all the bastards discarded by highborns across the realm. Targaryen blood is probably sprinkled throughout Westeros–there is even a likelihood of droplets in Dragonstone. Rhaenyra knows she will defeat Vhagar and win the war if she can find riders for the two dormant dragons, but having been born into privilege, The Queen struggles with who deserves greater consideration when it comes to auditioning for the role. Her instincts say to rank Highborn distant relatives about smallfolk. As her advisor, Mysaria asserts that Addam is a common shipwright who bent her knee to her while her brothers plot to destroy her. “The order of things has changed, your grace. Why not embrace it?” she asks. The problem is that Rhaenyra is preoccupied with her children’s legitimacy—those bearing the Velaryon name but born with the dark hair of her former lover, the late Harwin Strong. She can no longer ignore the truth about other bloodlines summoning dragons, and if she plans on keeping that crown on her head she only has one option:  “Let us raise an army of bastards!”

When Corlys tracks down Addam, it’s like pulling teeth to get any fatherly pride from him. The only praise he offers the young rider  is a simple “well done.” Even learning to soar the skies on a dragon does not impress the man, who seems to feel the opposite about his brother, Alyn (Abubakar Salim), who he proudly made his first mate. Later, when Alyn learns of his brother’s new aerial maneuvers, he assures Corlys he is made of salt and sea, and it’s his brother who always yearned to be more.

The Next Generation

After his last encounter with Daemon (Matt Smith) in Harrenhal, the young Lord Oscar Tully (Archie Barnes) returns with news that his grandfather, Lord Grover, has died, making him the head of his house. Not only that, he intends to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps and swear fealty to Rhaenyra, the queen of the Seven Kingdoms. Daemon has no idea that this doesn’t include bending the knee to her husband, but those are small details he is willing to overlook when he tells Oscar to gather all his bannermen because they are about to win this war. However, Oscar is much wiser than his years suggest. He knows that the Riverlords are loyal to his grandfather and will struggle to take orders from what they will assume is just a boy. Besides, any orders he gives that involve Daemon will likely be refused, as they all harbor a deep hatred for the King Consort who ordered House Bracken’s genocide.

When the Riverlords do arrive, Oscar immediately proves himself as his grandfather’s heir by giving a rousing speech and opening the floor for questions from his vassals. He is open and honest with them, earning their respect, but what secures their allegiance is when Oscar confronts Daemon and his savagery committed on the Brackens by Ser Willem Blackwood (Jack Parry-Jones). To prove he’s sorry for his past transgressions against the people, Daemon will have to pay a price and without it, he can give up his dream of using the Riverlands to defeat his nephew, Daemon.

At that moment, Lord Willem Blackwood steps forward to swear his house to Lord Oscar Tully, but the young man looking to prove himself, isn’t interested. Daemon can make any excuse for that lapse in judgment, but Oscar calls him out and looks at Blackwood, stating he killed the Brackens not just because the king consort ordered him to, but because he wanted to do it. For that, he must be sacrificed if the Riverlords are to fight under the Black Queen’s banner. Oscar’s men seize Lord Blackwood, who cries out for the king’s help, claiming he was only following orders. Daemon, knowing what is at stake, turns his back on Ser Willem. Daemon then draws his sword to prove he is a man of his word and strikes Willem down, all while Ser Simon Strong (Simon Russell Beale)looks on in terror. Earlier that day, he had faced Daemon’s dagger after blaming him for the visions plaguing his mind. He knows Daemon’s stability as a ruler is crumb, king–no matter the deals he cuts with the Young Tully.

After taking the life of Ser Willem Blackwood, Daemon heads back to Harrenhal, where he has another vision of Viserys (Paddy Considine), only this time the king is fading into death on Daemon’s bed. The brothers sit next to each other as Daemon listens to Viserys lament over never wanting to be king; the crown lays so heavy on one’s head that “it crushes whoever wears it.” He turns to Daemon, knowing all he ever wanted was to be his brother’s successor, and with the crowns in his shaky hand, he asks him if he still wants it. Daemon never responds and his silence says more than any words could. He wants the crown but he is not ignorant to the downfalls of ruling a kingdom.

Speaking of ruling kingdoms, after Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) relieved Alicent (Olivia Cooke) of her royal duties, the queen dowager could see the writing on the wall: a man who would kill his own brother to seize power is not beneath killing his mother if she questions him. Following last week’s attack on her and Queen Helaena (Phia Saban) and the discussion about marrying her off to the Greyjoys in hopes of convincing their house to join the Greens in the civil war, Alicent leaves King’s Landing with Ser Rickard Thorne (Vincent Regan) to retreat to a tent and stay out of her son’s line of fire. Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) has been summoned back to the Red Keep, and until he is officially reinstated as Hand, Alicent is not making any plans to return home. The people are trapped by Aemond behind the city walls and they are desperate and hungry. She will not be feasted upon when the commoners start dining on the ruling class.

Calling All Blondes!

At Dragonstone, the highlight of the episode is underway. After an argument between Jace (Harry Collett) and Rhaenyra, where the prince calls Addam and any other potential lowborn dragon riders “mongrels,” he realizes the reason for his anger lies in his parentage and what it means for his place in the line of succession. He knows he and his brother are Harwin Strong’s children—the likeness is undeniable—neither boy is blonde nor particularly resembles their dark-skinned Velaryon father. If this Addam of Hull has a dragon, then his claim to the throne could be seen as equal to the bastard son of the Black Queen. He wonders if Addam is special or if any smallfolk can fly a dragon into the skies. If that is true, then doesn’t that make their claim to her throne equal to her’s? Rhaenyra tries to talk some sense into him, as she is running out of options. The only way to defeat Vhagar is with more dragons. She tells him what he doesn’t want to hear—and perhaps what she doesn’t want to acknowledge—they must win this war first before considering who is in line for the throne.

That’s when Mysaria’s whispers make their way to King’s Landing via Rhaenyra’s handmaiden, Elinda (Jordan Stevens) with the help of Alyn’s ship. Dressed like Little Red Riding Hood,  the woman spreads the word: Dragonstone is recruiting Targaryen bastards with the promise of food and unimaginable wealth. When the news reaches Flea Bottom and hits the pub, Ulf’s (Tom Bennett) friends are excited for him. He, on the other hand, is coming up with excuses not to go knowing that most dragon claims end up in ashes. Besides, he isn’t 100% certain of his lineage. Too bad for him, the cheering crowd starts chanting his name giving him no choice but to face his destiny head-on.

Ulf isn’t the only possible Targaryen heading to Dragonstone. We catch up with Hugh (Kieran Bew), who explains to his wife, Kat (Ellora Torchia), about his secret ties to the Targaryen bloodline and why he needs to leave King’s Landing. He reveals that his mother worked at a pleasure house and earned extra money because all the men wanted to sleep with a woman with silver hair. She told him stories about how he was similar to her brother’s sons: Viserys and Daemon—meaning Hugh is Rhaenyra’s second-cousin. He admits he was ashamed of his mother, which is why he never mentioned his possible ancestry. Now he is racked with guilt after their daughter’s death and doesn’t want to watch his wife die of starvation. She tries reasoning with her husband by stating they could flee King’s Landing and stay with her brother where Hugh could find work. She has no interest in the power given to the families of dragon riders, she would rather live in poverty than become a widow. In the end, Hugh ignores his wife’s concerns and heads to Dragonstone to test the validity of the blood flowing through his veins.

Come on, Vermithor, Light My Fire!

Once the army of hungry and desperate bastards arrives on Dragonstone, Rhaenyra gives them a little pep talk as she prepares them for the task at hand. Two dragons are waiting for riders and there is a room full of recruits hoping to make the cut. She explains that this isn’t your average audition; if you don’t get that callback, Vermithor, the second largest dragon in the Kingdom under Vhagar, will burn you to a crisp or gobble you up like a snack. According to the queen, Vermithor might be the second-largest dragon in the Kingdom, but he is also rumored to be the fiercest of them all. This big beast has an attitude and he won’t bend the neck to just any blonde-haired distant Targaryen.

When she opens the door to the lair and walks in, all the recruits follow behind, and the tension couldn’t be thicker. In the background, we hear the stomping footsteps of a dragon, and then he shows himself, towering over the group of would-be Riders, huffing and snarling. None of the potential recruits are familiar with dragons, and we can assume that not a single one has ever come face-to-face with one. The entire group experiences a mix of fascination and terror. Rhaenyra looks at the group and says, “I have nothing more to tell you. It must be the dragon who speaks.” With that, she turns on her heel and walks to the back of the crowd, ascending the steps to a balcony that overlooks them.

It isn’t long before Vermithor proves his ferocity as the first recruit steps forward and the dragon ignites his flame. The dangerous beast torches the group, snatching a few up in his jaws and gobbling them down while head-butting others and tossing the rest aside. It’s a total fiery mayhem, and Rhaenyra can do nothing but look on in horror. Amid the carnage, Hugh tries to protect a terrified woman by standing in front of the dragon and screaming, “Here! Here I am! I’m ready. Come on!” His bravery catches the dragon’s attention, and Vermithor swallows his fire, tilting his head to accept the distant Targaryen relative in a similar manner to how Addam found Sea Smoke. Hugh has claimed one of the mightiest dragons in Westeros’ history, and the look of pride on his face matches the smile on Vermithor’s.

While Hugh is busy taming his dragon, Ulf grabs a torch and runs for his life away from the deadly scene. He winds up making his way down to Dragonstone’s basement and stumbles into a nest of eggs, accidentally stepping on one and catching the pregnant mother, Silverwing’s, attention. When she comes to life and shows herself, rather than turning Ulf into a chargrilled brisket, she smells him out and seems to like his stench. She, too, bows her head, allowing him to claim her. In celebration, Ulf can’t help but take off into the skies on the back of his new dragon, flitting over King’s Landing and catching Aemond’s (Ewan Mitchell) attention in the Red Keep. The King Regent can hardly believe his eyes, so he races to Vhagar to take to the skies and find out who is riding that dragon.

What he sees in the distance on Dragonstone forces him to turn Vhagar away. He yells in High Valyrian, “No!” and pulls the reins, commanding Vhagar to, “turn around!” That’s when the camera pans to the water’s edge and we see a proud and ready to fight Rhaenyra, dressed in red–her house colors, and surrounded by her new dragons. The screeching animals outnumber the massive yet tattered and exhausted beast he rides. He is no longer a threat to Queen Rhaenyra now that she has Sea Smoke, Silverwing, Vermax, Moondancer, Syrax, and Vermithor. If Daemon and Caraxes make their way home and fall in line behind her leadership, that’s six dragons–Baela (Bethany Antonia) and Jace’s included, to one Vhagar—enough to turn the tides of the civil war and put the Black Queen on the throne where she belongs. There is still one dragon left to ride–the elusive Sheep Stealer, and if Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell) can get over her fears and claim him too, Aegon–now Aemond’s dragon war will be a short one.