Spoiler alert: this recap is for people watching House of the Dragon. Do not read on unless you have watched season two, episode seven.
‘This dragon came to me, not I to him’
According to Google, it takes two years and 1,500 hours of flight time to become a qualified airline pilot. They should train them on Dragonstone, because judging by this week’s House of the Dragon, it takes about 15 minutes to become a certified, battle-ready dragonrider. Yes, my confident prediction that the remainder of this season would be all about getting that mismatched crew of Targaryen bastards dragon-fit and ready for combat was only half right – turns out that, contrary to popular belief, once you’ve found your dragon, it takes no time at all to train it.
But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. The majority of the episode was spent – surprise! – in plotting, planning and generally making chit-chat, as Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) came to terms with the fact that an illegitimate son of old Valyria – namely Addam of Hull (Clinton Liberty) – could make just as good a dragonrider as a trueborn one. It should hardly have been a surprise – one look at her own half-Strong offspring Jacaerys (Harry Collett) should have told her all she needed to know – but it was good to see the Queen immediately embrace the idea, and put the word out for more lost bastards to join the cause.
‘You’ve been taken in, lads’
The ensuing scenes among the smallfolk of King’s Landing were by far the worst in the episode: a tavern-table chat betwen Ulf (Tom Bennett) and his blokey mates appeared to have been written by someone who’s never seen a glass of beer, let alone set foot in an actual drinking establishment, while the farewell between Hugh (Kieran Bew) and his wife, Kat (Ellora Torchia), was so cursory as to be almost comical (the kid’s dead, love, I’m off). Still, it was nice to see Alyn (Abubakar Salim) getting to do something other than scowl at large boats, as he works his way ever higher into the good graces of his father, Lord Corlys (Steve Toussaint).
But if some scenes felt rushed, others seemed to drag on (sorry) for ever. Exactly what Alicent (Olivia Cooke) thinks she’s doing on her impromptu bivouacking holiday remains to be seen – setting up a one-woman protest camp, perhaps? We were clearly being asked to believe she was going to drift off into that lake until the waters claimed her, but surely no one was taken in. If I had to bet, I’d say she’s been removed from King’s Landing because some serious devastation is about to go down there, and the writers want her well away from it.
‘The word of my House stands, even if certain people are unworthy of it’
As to her royal sons, neither of them made much impact this week – Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) is still coming to terms with his injuries, while until the final moments, Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) had little to do except sneer (which he does very well, admittedly). Events were rattling along much more satisfactorily in Harrenhal, where Male Lyanna Mormont – sorry, Ser Oscar Tully (Archie Barnes) – shook off the pubescent awkwardness that marked his earlier appearance and came out swinging, not only putting Daemon (Matt Smith) in his place with a lot of high-handed talk about comportment, but forcing the King Consort to bring him the head of his erstwhile lickspittle Young Van Morrison – sorry, Ser Willem Blackwood (Jack Parry-Jones). Watching Daemon wither in the face of Oscar’s newfound confidence was magnificent, and almost enough to make you forget that young Tully was – like his father Elmo and his great-grandfather, the recently deceased Grover – named after Jim Henson puppets.
Meanwhile, the wannabe dragonlords were delivered to their new digs, there to be greeted, if not welcomed, by Rhaenyra and her court – minus the actual dragon experts, who flat-out refused to have any part in this crackpot scheme. As with Ser Steffon last week, it was no surprise that the first to volunteer would also be the first to die. What was startling was how many others went up in flames with him, as Vermithor torched pretty much the entire recruiting class plus a fair few guardsmen for good measure.
‘The low born cannot go around seizing dragons’
What followed was suitably ferocious and explosive, as Vermithor tried to pick off the stragglers only to be confronted with a furious Hugh Hammer. He may sport the luscious locks of a 90s stage magician, but beneath that broad chest beats the heart of a dragon tamer. And the same goes for Ulf, whose headlong escape into the catacombs led to an encounter with the long-lost Silverwing, who was apparently so thrilled to see someone – anyone, even a Flea Bottom drunk – that she immediately let him hop on her back and go soaring over the rooftops of King’s Landing.
All of which left Rhaenyra in a stronger position at the episode’s end than she could possibly have hoped for. Not only does she now have enough dragons to confidently see off an exploratory flight by Aemond on Vhagar, but Daemon now has sufficient men to repel any attack by Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel, absent this week), provided those Rivermen – plus, presumably, the army of ageing Starks promised at the very top of the series – can get there in time. Either way, it feels like all those slow-grinding plot wheels are finally spinning into high gear.
Additional notes
• The episode’s title is The Red Sowing – a reference in part to the process of “sowing” new riders, referred to as “dragonseeds”, but also clearly to the Red Wedding. Yes, this was an enjoyable episode, but that particular comparison doesn’t do it any favours.
• Tedious as Daemon’s dreams have become, it’s always nice to welcome Paddy Considine back. And his question was a pertinent one: does Daemon still harbour designs on the throne, and what exactly will that mean for Rhaenyra?
• Jace’s realisation of what the elevation of bastards to dragonriders would mean for his claim was nicely handled. The balance may be shifting, but this dance is far from over.
• So Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell) still hasn’t had her chance to ride the wild dragon (not a euphemism). Next week, surely?
Nudity count
Absolutely zip. Not only was last week’s tryst between Rhaenyra and Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno) not repeated, it wasn’t even referred to. Back to just colleagues, at least for now.
Violence count
Fiery deaths all round! One shot in particular, as a blast of dragonfire engulfed not just the dragonseeds but the guards trying to keep them from fleeing, was genuinely throat-grabbing.
Random Brit of the Week
Unsurprisingly, the post-episode fan-chat has been all about Oscar Tully and his spectacular cojones. The actor in question – and owner of the single most London name in existence – is young Archie Barnes, who cut his teeth on the likes of Netflix show The Dig and brooding superhero slog The Batman, and was clearly having a whale of a time putting Matt Smith in his place this week. Go on, son.
• This article was amended on 30 July 2024. A previous version stated that Archie Barnes was American; he is British.
