House of the Dragon (2×03) The Burning Mill Review

For our review of the last episode of House of the Dragon, click here.

This week’s episode of House of the Dragon saw Team Green and Team Black continue to drag their heels they geared up towards an inevitable war though at this point, Rhaenyra and Alicent were nowhere near the head of their respective efforts, each succumbing to the egoes of the male characters in their lives as they looked to undermine them at every turn. To that point, the war effort and the dynamic between both characters have slowly become two different things. As they’ve grown apart (at least for now), it is clear which one has been the best part of the season thus far and as far as the episode was concerned, it remains the case. Another long episode, the story outside of Rhaenyra and Alicent has lagged behind. In spite of its issues, the season is still gearing up to something big but with the temperament of those aforementioned men, it may not necessarily end up the way many would expect. In the end, for those still with doubts, a surprising reunion should put things in perspective and shatter any remaining doubts.

As the focus of the Team Green and Team Black inner circles was about the next move, little did Rhaenyra and Alicent realize, they found themselves in the same virtually powerless positions. Starting things off, Cole, seemingly way over his head and overwhelmed on top of taking another hit after the failed attempt on Rhaenyra’s life, as the Lord Commander and now the King’s Hand, he arguably had no choice other than to move forward with war despite Alicent’s steadfast dissent. Keeping an eye on Cole, she installed her brother, Ser Gwayne Hightower (Freddie Fox), in Cole’s regiment. Aegon also wanted to join, until he was convinced otherwise. Instead, his night out on the town to help a young new recruit to the Kingsguard, that journey lead to him finding Aemond at the local brothel, which appeared to be his refuge as of late, where he once again embarrassed his brother.

Setting their sights on the Riverlands and Harrenhal, Team Green considered it to be a vital piece in suring up their position, Daemon beat Cole and his team to it, showing up with Caraxes under false pretenses. The biggest castle in Westeros, at that time, it was left in ruins by a previous dragon attack. Once he arrived, Ser Simon Strong (Simon Russell Beale) was surprisingly receptive to who he thought was a Prince working on the behalf of Rhaenyra but Daemon claimed to be the King. Meanwhile, not wanting to take any chances, Rhaenyra whisked her children and Dragonstone’s youngest dragons away to protect them from whatever was coming. At the same time, her inner circle were pressing her about their next move or lack thereof. Waiting for Daemon and keeping an eye on Cole, Rhaenyra was hesitant to take action.

One of the only voices of reasons in all of this has been Princess Rhaenys. Convincing Rhaenyra there was still good in Alicent, she used Mysaria’s resources to try and set up a face-to-face meeting between herself and Alicent. Sneaking her way into King’s Landing with a disguise, that reunion was easily the best part of the episode (thanks to Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke). Believing the two to be the same, Rhaenyra tried to relate on that level to negotiate some sort of peace deal. However, she was no longer negotiating from a position of power. Alicent repudiated that position even further by claiming that Viserys Targaryen changed his mind about Rhaenyra being his heir and that it may have been a part of some incoherent plan. Pleading with her to stop before it was too late, Alicent made it clear that it was too late (which would be a fair assessment).

While it is clear that something is going to happen soon, as the season is approaching its halfway point, it has to be more than Rhaenyra and Alicent and everything else. The pieces are coming to help fill those gaps but that lack of focus is keeping it from reaching its true potential. Though strong moments shine through here and there, things will have to pick up. That being said, the acting has kept their part of the bargain. Above all else, something is going to happen at Harrenhal very soon.

still courtesy of HBO

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.