Hey guys and welcome to my review for House of the Dragon Episode 8, The Lord of Driftmark.
Ok so let me just start by saying this episode was absolutely amazing, to me this was an
utter masterpiece that had me on the edge of my seat, at various times delighted and
horrified, with a deep tension all throughout.
It’s rare that a tv show can invoke this level of emotion from me so I’m really happy
to see that HotD is proudly continuing the legacy began in those early season of GoT.
But before getting into my top 5 moments of the night, I want to list the many honorable
mentions in the episode, starting with the acting of Paddy Considine as King Viserys.
I’m gonna talk about him a lot but I specifically want to mention the sheer brilliance of his
performance as a man suffering horribly and on the verge of death.
I was so uncomfortably watching him writhe in pain, moaning in agony every few seconds,
seeming on the verge of collapse after the briefest of exertions.
I was both captivated by everything I saw and disturbed to the point I wanted to turn
away.
What an incredible job he did, really ending his characters storyline with what I felt
was the best performance of any character all season.
Other honorable mentions go to Daemon harvesting dragon eggs, our brief glimpse at the Cargyll
Twins duelling in the yard, the green supporting small council scene with loyal Lord Beesbury
objecting to their obvious bias, Jacaerys behaving like an honorable, dutiful, good
natured young man, which was the impression I got from the books as well.
And ion top of that what really made me like him was when he saw how horrible Helaena’s
husband was and asked her to dance, giving her a little bit fun she so richly deserves.
Speaking of Helaena, in one episode she managed to become one of my favorite characters, as
she just seems so aloof, and separate from everything going on, like she’s just trying
to make the best out of any situation, and it was all very endearing.
I was so happy Jace was nice to her and gave her a little break from her awful family.
I general I also really enjoyed that Jace, Luke, Baela and Rhaena all seemed happy about
their betrothals, which was very nice to see.
Lastly I want to mention the performances of Rhaenys which has been excellent all season
and Aemond, who really played his role to perfection this episode, seeming incredibly
fearsome with a cunning madness in his eye.
Now, for the fifth best moment of the episode, I went with the conversation between Rhaenys
and Rhaenyra where they negotiated the marriage pact.
This was another great scene with Rhaenys who killed it all episode, and I felt so bad
for her thinking that her son was killed.
I don’t know if she believed Rhaenyra, but I was at least happy to see her outright deny
it, and made it clear she was not involved in his death.
I was also glad to see Rhaenys refusing her offer and standing up for herself, making
it clear she will do what is in her own best interest.
Which she then proved when she accepted the alliance later on after the situation changed
and was more favorable towards the Blacks.
For the number four spot I went with the opening scene, where Rhaenys listened to her brother
in law Vaemond plead his case for the throne of Driftmark, now that Corlys was wounded
and possibly on death’s door.
I really enjoyed this scene, especially as I felt immediately absorbed into the episode.
Throughout this season I’ve felt most episodes start off slow and get far more interesting
during the second half, but this time my attention was grabbed right away, and they didn’t
let me go for the entirety of the episode.
But it all started here with the excellent scene between Vaemond and Rhaenys.
This entire situation is so unfortunate that Corlys, Rhaenys and Vaemond all have legitimate
arguments, at least in this moment.
Corlys wants to choose children not of his blood, but who carry his name and are ultimately
innocent of any wrongdoing, while his wife wants to go with their true born granddaughters,
thus exposing the boys as illegitimate.
Then there is Vaemond, who is obviously blinded to a large degree by ambition, but who also
has a point, if from his perspective their not considering the girls as possible heirs,
In that case then he as the eldest male relative to Corlys has a right to throne of Driftmark.
But the balance swung wildly from legitimate grievance to pure ambition as the episode
went on, especially since wedding the twins to Jace and Luke solves the problem of bloodline,
as their children would both have the blood and name of House Velaryon.
But of course in the end, that was not his primary concern, he both wanted the throne
for himself and was disgusted by the thought of someone without his blood in a position
of prominence within his own house.
And ultimately this unwillingness to adapt cost him his life.
3 alicent rape scene/alicent aegon rape scene For the number three spot, I chose a scene
that was really uncomfortable to watch, and that was Alicent consoling/intimidating the
girl raped by Aegon.
That actress playing the servant girl really did a great job here because her emotional
sobs and trembling terror really disturbed me and for a brief moment I panicked fearing
Alicent was going to be harsh.
But thankfully she went about her corrupt intimidation as gently as possible.
Other women in her position might have simply killed the girl or sent her far away under
direct threat of death, but Alicent at least gave some small measure of comfort and paid
the girl what I hope was enough to start a new life elsewhere.
Then I was again momentarily happy with Alicent when she tore into Aegon, and uttered those
dreaded words no boy wants to hear, “you are no son of mine.”
However this brief happiness with Alicent soon dissipated when I remembered all her
bluster is meaningless since ultimately she is still advocating for Aegon to be king even
at the cost of a bloody civil war, despite knowing he is a drunkard rapist with absolutely
no ability or desire to rule, and who was specifically passed over by the ruling king.
Especially since what Aegon has done is far worse then anything Rhaenyra did at his age,
which is what started their rivalry in the first place.
So my goodwill towards Alicent didn’t last long, but even so it was nice seeing her handle
this situation with at least some degree of humanity and seriousness.
Moving on to the second best moment of the night, I chose the wonderfully delightful
yet exceedingly tense dinner and reconciliation scene.
For the most part this was a happy occasion as it appeared Viserys actually had an effect,
with both Rhaenyra and Alicent seeming ready to make amends.
At first I though Alicent was faking it, but by the end of the scene she really did seem
sincere.
It was nice seeing them actually have some fun for a change, and although Aegon, Aemond
and Luke to some extent could not stop themselves from being jerks, everyone else seemed to
put forth some effort, especially Jacaerys who thoroughly impressed me throughout this
episode, just as he thoroughly impressed me in the books as well.
As I mentioned earlier I also liked that he asked Helaena to dance, which had the double
effect of giving her some fun and making Aegon look even worse than he already did, getting
revenge in the most upstanding way possible.
Yet as all this occurred and I tried to enjoy them getting along, the tension just kept
building and building because I knew what was coming, and just kept waiting for Aemond
to make his speech.
Once the king left, I knew it was time and was on the edge of my seat in anticipation.
Making it even better was that the actor playing Aemond is doing such a good, so I felt every
ounce of poison in his words to Rhaenyra’s children.
I also really enjoyed that the last memory Viserys had of his family was of them getting
along and at peace.
Absolutely amazing scene.
Then finally, for the best moment of the night, we go the long petition scene, where Vaemond
makes his case before Otto and Alicent, only for the King to finally show his strength,
creating one of the most powerful, captivating, emotional, inspiring moments of the entire
show by simply walking to the Iron Throne.
My disappointment and resentment of Viserys flew out the window in that moment, as I watched
him struggle for every breath, and groan in pain with every movement.
All I could think about was his courage, and the internal strength of will one must possess
to perform such a heroic feat.
But what really cemented this as a truly remarkable scene for me was that when he fell, and refused
help getting up I immediately started thinking about how Viserys was never a warrior, but
this illness was his battlefield, and how he was actually proving to be a worthy soldier.
It was right after I had this thought that Daemon appeared at his side, helping him move
forward, displaying what I felt was a new found respect for his older brother.
To me it felt like Daemon was thinking the same thing as me, and finally appreciated
that his brother had Strength of a different kind, and that under circumstances like these
his deeds could prove just as honorable and impressive as glory found on a battlefield.
But the best part of all, was that this incredible moment was just one part of a long, thrilling
and bloody scene, where all the characters, both those involved and the ones remaining
silent in background, put on exceptional performances, which was then coupled with excellent writing
to create one of the best scenes of the entire season.
So those were my top 5 moments of the night, and as I said at the beginning, for the most
part I thought this episode was a masterpiece.
There were really only two things I wasn’t completely sold on.
One is a very minor complaint, and that is that the actor playing Aemond looks far older
then he should.
Maybe it’s just me but he looks like he’s 30.
But again this is minor and doesn’t really matter because the actor himself is doing
a phenomenal job with the role.
The other issue, which I think is more impactful was the very last scene, where Alicent hears
her husband’s final words about the prophecy and seemed to once again jump on the path
towards war.
To me this felt like a copout, and poor way to end an excellent episode.
It just felt like they took a cheap shortcut here which to be honest didn’t really make
sense to me anyway.
Viserys just used up all his strength and will to spend the day healing their family
and reaffirming his daughter as heir, but then later on when he is babbling incoherently
and mumbling vague words about prophecy and Aegon, things no reasonable person could possibly
interpret as clear, direct instruction, Alicent seemed to suddenly be back on board with usurping
Rhaenrya.
This really felt like an unsatisfying way to end their reconciliation.
Personally I think it would have been better if Alicent simply left the room before Viserys
spoke his final words and died.
That way it would be Otto who has to convince Alicent to continue with their original plans,
reminding her of the threat against her children and how last night’s dinner proved the bad
blood is too far gone for reconciliation.
This argument, coupled with the pressure of having to make a decision immediately because
the king is dead, would have made Alicent’s decision to crown Aegon more understandable
and satisfying, at least for me.
But with all that being said, it’s not like this one moment ruined my enjoyment of this
episode to any serious degree, and I was able to get passed it almost immediately in order
to enjoy our last few moment with Viserys.
Now I think the best kill of the episode is pretty obvious this week, and that’s Daemon
cutting most of Vaemond Valaryon’s head off.
This was absolutely insane and I loved every second of it.
This all happens slightly different in the books, where Daemon actually captures Vaemond
after he makes his claims and brings him to Rhaenyra where he is beheaded and his body
fed to her dragon.
Vaemond’s children then go to the capital to demand justice, and in front of Viserys
repeat their father’s words that Rheanrya’s children are bastards, and so the king order’s
their tongues removed.
As Vaemond was speaking before the king, I thought they were just going to have Viserys
order his tongue removed, and didn’t at all expect that they would instead go with
the beheading, so seeing Daemon just chop his head off with no regard for anything was
shocking and awesome.
As for the best quote, I chose the dreaded speech I was waiting for throughout the entire
dinner scene, when Aemond said, “Final tribute.
To the health of my nephews.
Jace, Luke and Joffrey, each of them handsome, wise, strong.
Come, let us drain our cups to these three strong boys.”
So that’s it for my review of House of the Dragon Episode 8, The Lord of Driftmark.
This was an amazing episode, I think possibly the best all season.
And although I wasn’t completely satisfied with the ending, it didn’t harm my enjoyment
and didn’t dampen my enthusiasm for this episode, so I’m giving it the highest rating
possible with a 10 out of 10.
The second episode this season to score that high from me and I can’t help but feel things
are going to get even better in these last two episodes.
But what did you all think, do you agree with my praise for this one and this series as
a whole?
Be sure to let me know in the comments and if you haven’t already, be sure to check
out my spoiler free Prelude to the House of the Dragon video the spoiler filled Dance
of the Dragons video, my world of thrones geography video, and a beginners guide to
the entire history of ASOIAF.
So that’s it for now guys thank you very much for watching and I’ll see you in the next one.