Geeta Vasant Patel directed this episode of House of the Dragon. She is an Emmy-nominated Sundance filmmaker known for her emotional, form-pushing and nontraditional style in comedy and drama. Her fingerprints are all over the episode; she midwifed a moving masterpiece that allowed Paddy Considine to deliver a compelling performance that had me thinking of Dylan Thomas’ poem, Do not go gentle into that good night.
The eighth episode, titled “The Lord of the Tides,” kicks off at Driftmark just like the seventh episode. Princess Rhaenys is on the Driftwood Throne with her granddaughter Lady Baela at her side, whom she had taken to foster and raise as her ward. The time jump is six years, and the Sea Snake, over that period, launched another campaign to rid the Stepstones of the Triarchy that had reared its head again due to Dornish support. Like Rhaenys, Vaemond, and Baela, the Maester of Driftmark gives us an account of the happenings at the Stepstones. Princess Rhaenys had inquired whether her Lord husband was alive owing to the fighting. We learn that the Sea Snake led his sailors into an ambush, and a fight broke out, during which he got his neck slashed by a pirate’s dagger before falling overboard. According to the Maester, the wound was severe, and he lost a lot of blood. But the more significant concern was the fever that followed. A raven had flown in from Evenfall, the seat of House Tarth in the stormlands, not only bearing the news of Corly’s state but that he was on a ship bound for Driftmark set to dock in three days. After the briefing, princess Rhaenys commands maester Kelvyn to make the necessary arrangements to receive the Sea Snake. The maester leaves, setting the stage for the portion of the opening scene that affords the episode its title.
Though the Sea Snake is renowned for being strong, his brother, Vaemond, fears that in three days, when they greet his ship, they may find him to be dead. According to Vaemond, the matter of Lord Corlys’ succession is paramount and needs revisiting. “I am the Sea Snake’s blood, the closest kin he has left. My brother cares only for history books. But what of the Velaryon line? Is it to be snuffed out, supplanted by the pups of House Strong? Driftmark is mine by all rights. And while I should like your support, I do not need it. The winds have shifted. The crown has good reason to take my side.” Vaemond’s sentiments came hot on the heels of Rhaenys’ caution against questioning the legitimacy of Rhaenyra’s children and, by extension, the validity of Driftmark’s settled succession as set out by the Sea Snake.
That opening scene was, in my opinion, essential to elaborate on because it set the tone and laid the foundation for the rest of the episode. Everything set to happen would revolve around it.
Cut to Dragonstone, and Daemon is climbing down the crevices of Dragonmont to collect dragon eggs for the cradles of his children with Rhaenyra. As he hands the eggs over to the Dragonkeepers, they, in turn, hand him a scroll with Baela’s message from Driftmark informing him that Vaemond has sailed to King’s Landing to petition the crown to rule in his favor in the matter of succession to the Driftwood Throne. Later in the episode, we learn that he was brazen in his actions because he had assurances from Otto and Queen Alicent, with whom he had planned to align Driftmark should they rule in his favor. Princess Rhaenys has also flown to the capital to make a petition of her own. Daemon goes to inform Rhaenyra, but before he does, we meet Jace, who is now a young adult and has the makings of a future king learning high Valyrian. Daemon and Rhaenyra discuss Baela’s letter, and they decide to go to the Capital to petition the King and ask for his protection on the matter.
The Capital
Daemon, Rhaenyra, and their children get to the Red Keep and find that there is no welcome party which we later learn was by design as instructed by Ser Otto Hightower. The Blacks are not without support in the capital; Lord Allun Caswell comes out to welcome them. The Hightowers rule in all but name and have embraced the Faith of Seven. In the throne room, the seven-pointed star has replaced the Targaryen heraldry, and the Queen wears one for a necklace.
The King’s health has slowly deteriorated and worsened over the six years. He is bedridden and addled on milk of the poppy though he comes to his senses when Rhaenyra and Daemon enter his chambers to lobby for his support on the Driftmark matter. At this point, as they introduce their children to the king, we learn that other than being pregnant, Rhaenyra has given birth to two children by Daemon, Aegon III, and Viserys II.
Aegon’s sexual urges are getting out of hand – he has been forcing himself on chamber maids, and his mother has been cleaning up after him, offering bribes and serving moon tea to his victims to prevent or abort undesired pregnancies. Despite his sexual impulses, Aegon is married to his sister, princess Helaena and they have children, who Helaena alludes to when she comes into Aegon’s chambers during his confrontation scene with the queen regarding his recent victim.
As Jace and Luke go down memory lane during their visit to the sparring yard, they come across Aemond in a sparring session with Ser Criston. The boys saw each other six years ago when Luke took out Aemond’s eye. Aemond has grown, his fighting has improved, and he looks terrifying.
Princess Rhaenys is still salty at Rhaenyra, and with good reason. She blames her for Laenor’s death and will not back Luke’s claim despite Rhaenyra swearing her innocence in Laenor’s “death” and offering to have her sons betrothed to Laena’s daughters. “The Queen who never was” is in the capital to advocate for herself. “You can bargain with me all you like. Bring my granddaughter with you to soften my resolve. But tomorrow, the Hightowers land their first blow. They force you to your knees, and I must stand alone.”
The Rumbling Storm
Rhaenys’ stand has shaken Rhaenyra to the core. She must pick the one card from her deck – her father. As she pleads with him to come to her aid, it is raining outside, and the storm is rumbling louder and louder as if to signify the brewing storm that is the following day’s hearing. “‘The song of Ice and Fire.’ Do you believe it to be true? You told me it was our duty to hold the realm united against a common foe. By naming me heir, you divided the realm. I thought I wanted it. But the burden is a heavy one. It’s too heavy. If you wish me to bear it, then defend me. And my children.” As the king struggles to master a response, we hear bells tolling and cut to the next scene, where Viserys is very much aware of what is happening. As the Maesters tend to his wounds, he tells Ser Otto that he wants to dine with his whole family for supper that night now that they are all gathered at the Red Keep. Though he is frail and in much pain, he refuses to take milk of the poppy to numb his pain.
The Hearing
“Though it is the great hope of this court that Lord Corlys Velaryon survive his wounds, we gather here with a grim task of dealing with the succession of Driftmark. As Hand, I speak with the King’s voice on this and all other matters. The crown will now hear the petitions.”
Ser Otto spoke those words as he sat on the Iron Throne. Vaemond presented his case first, and the objective part of me that agreed with him tangled with my love for Rhaenyra’s children and the Sea Snake’s wishes. Vaemond lodged a strong petition which gave the Hightowers the impetus they needed to land their blow. As Rhaenyra struggled to master a response, the doors of the throne room swung open, and the King’s score fiddled my emotions as the Kingsguard announced the King’s titles. Viserys had gotten out of bed, and in full regalia, he came to his daughter’s aid. Geeta Vasant Patel must have been at the peak of her powers as she directed this scene. Frail and bowed, the King walked through the court to his throne, and as he went past Ser Otto, who had climbed down the throne, he said, “I will sit the throne today.” How satisfying was that? The flight of stairs up the throne broke the King as they broke me. As he stooped over to avoid falling, his crown fell to the ground, and a stranger’s hand picked it up even as he propped him. It was Daemon who had come to his brother’s aid. He helped him up the throne and put the crown on his head. Despite their differences, I have always maintained that Daemon loves Viserys, and that was all the proof I needed.
Moved by her cousin’s love and devotion toward his daughter, Princess Rhaenys changed her position and affirmed Luke’s claim even as she publicly accepted Rhaenyra’s offer. With that, Rhaenys snuffed out any possible alliance between the Velaryons and the Hightowers. The King’s judgment on the matter irked Vaemond;
“You break law and centuries of tradition to install your daughter as heir. Yet you dare tell me who deserves to inherit the name Velaryon. No. I will not allow it.”
Despite Viserys’ caution to Ser Vaemond, the Sea Snake’s brother took center stage in his undoing, alleging that Jace and Luke are bastards and that their mother, Princess Rhaenyra was a whore. In Game of Thrones fashion, House of the Dragon served blood in this scene. With one swing, Daemon cut through Vaemond’s head with his Valyrian steel sword, Dark Sister, leaving Vaemond’s tongue intact for Viserys, who had sought to remove it. “He can keep his tongue,” said Daemon as he stood over Vaemond’s body.
The Grieving Princess Rhaenys
“The body will be ready for its return to Driftmark on the morrow, my lady. You may wish to leave the Silent Sisters to their work. It is ill luck to look upon the face of death.” Grand Maester Orwyle spoke those words to princess Rhaenys when she watched the Silent Sisters prepare Vaemond’s body for burial. To the maester, the princess retorted, “The Stranger has visited me more times than I can count. I assure you, he cares little whether my eyes are open or closed.”
The Stranger is one of the Seven aspects of the god of the faith of the Seven, and he represents death. For the Princess, what the Grand Maester said made little sense and with good reason. Both her children are dead, her husband’s life hangs in the balance, and her brother-by-law lies before her, his head split open. The Stranger has taken from her more than she deserves. During her encounter with Rhaenyra at the Weirwood tree, when she accused Rhaenyra of complicity in her son’s “death,” a part of me wanted Rhaenyra to tell her the truth. I thought knowing that Laenor was alive and well in Essos would bring her some comfort in her moment of grief. At this point of the show, princess Rhaenys is the character that has lost the most. She was spurned by the Great Council on account of her sex, only for Viserys to break that legal precedent years later by naming Rhaenyra heir when she had made peace with the Council’s decision. Add to that the death in her family.
The Last Supper
“It both gladdens my heart and fills me with sorrow to see these faces around the table. The faces most dear to me in all the world. Yet grown so distant from each other in the years past.” As Viserys made this speech at the dinner table with his family, he paused for a moment and took off the mask covering the right side of his face. Beneath it was a gaping hole where his right eye used to be, and below the empty eye socket, a torn cheek. “My own face is no longer a handsome one if indeed it ever was. But tonight, I wish you to see me as I am. Not just a king but your father. Your brother. Your husband. And your grandsire, who may not, it seems, walk for much longer among you. Let us no longer hold ill feelings in our hearts. The crown cannot stand strong if the House of the Dragon remains divided. But set aside your grievances. If not for the sake of the crown, then for the sake of this old man who loves you all so dearly.”
To me, that was no ordinary speech; it was a dying declaration, the wishes of an honorable man exiting the stage. Moved by Viserys’ words, Rhaenyra and Alicent raised glasses to each other and made peace, and for a brief moment, there was harmony in the House of the Dragon. Although Jace and Helaena’s dance was Jace being passive-aggressive to Aegon, who had been a thorn in his side throughout the dinner, it afforded the king a moment of happiness and pride; he saw his family as he had envisioned. However, the dinner was not without drama. The children goaded each other, and a fight broke out after the king had retired to his chambers. The tiff ends when Daemon steps in, and we get a staredown between Aemond and Daemon, which, in my opinion, is a foreshadowing of the two duking it out in the coming war of succession as depicted in Fire and Blood.
Aegon’s Dream
Rhaenyra and Alicent part ways begrudgingly, having softened their disdain for each other. Like any good wife, the queen goes to tuck in her ailing husband. She finds him writhing in pain and gives him milk of the poppy to ease his suffering, which, as we all know, dulls his mind. Cut back to the rumbling storm when Rhaenyra asked for her father’s protection in Vaemond’s petition; the Princess had asked the King if he believed Aegon’s dream to be true – the scene transitioned before he answered her. Now, due to delirium, the King thinks he is with Rhaenyra at that moment, and he begins to answer her question, “I’m sorry. But you wanted to know if I believe it to be true.” Alicent, who is now confused, asks him, “Believe what to be true, my King?”
To that, Viserys responded, “Don’t you remember? Aegon. His Dream. The Song of Ice and Fire. It is true what he saw in the North. ‘The Prince That Was Promised’ to unite the realm against the cold and the dark; it is you. You are the one. You must do this.” As the King spoke those words, Alicent thought he was referring to Aegon, their son. Her mind must have recalled Aegon’s second name day when Viserys told her of his vivid dream when Rhaenyra was a child. In that dream, Viserys saw a male babe born to him wearing the conqueror’s crown. “I understand, my King.” The queen said before walking out of the room. The king’s words are his dying declaration to her, and she has to see them through. Her son will be king come hell or high water.
If it was not clear, Viserys died at the end of that scene. He had suffered for nearly twenty years, and with his last breath, as tears trickled down his face, he muttered, “No more. No more.”
Theories And Speculation
There is only one prediction this week, which is obvious. The greens will declare Aegon king after Viserys, which will precipitate the civil war alluded to ever since Rhaenyra was named heir. Knives will come out, and the House of the Dragon will bleed.
Rating
The showrunners are yet to deliver a weak episode. Episode 8 tops my ranking; when writing this review, Rotten Tomatoes had it at 96% and IMDB at 9.5/10. I will give it a perfect 10. Geeta Vasant Patel did an excellent job directing the episode, and Paddy Considine outdid himself. He delivered an Emmy-worthy performance in the throne room and the last supper scenes.
For more content on House of the Dragon, head to our in-depth article on Everything You Need to Know Before Watching House of the Dragon and my review of episode 7. You can also check out works by George R. R. Martin in case you want to learn more about the source material that influenced House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones.