House of the Dragon Season 3 Episode 5 Review and Ratings
Cast: Matt Smith, Emma D’Arcy, Sonoya Mizuno, Bethany Antonia, Harry Collett, Abubakar Salim, Clinton Liberty, Olivia Cooke, Tom Glynn-Carney, Phia Saban, Fabien Frankel, Matthew Needham, James Norton, Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, Freddie Fox, Kurt Egyiawan
Director: Nina Lopez-Corrado
Streaming Platform: HBO
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 4/5 (four stars)
House of the Dragon comes at the halfway point of this third season, and after the initial, cinematic Battle of the Gullet, showrunner Ryan Condal’s series begins a natural settling-in phase. It was our concern (as we wrote in the review of the first four episodes of House of the Dragon), but it’s also a natural consequence for a story that’s preparing to explode in the finale and beyond, towards the upcoming fourth and final season. We’re now approaching the most important events of the Dance of the Dragons, ready to change the tide of the war. All the characters are divided: each lives their own personal war, but reunion is ever closer. Meanwhile, an almost supernatural veil seems to hover over the destinies of some of them…
After a season-long start filled with emotion and sword fights, and two episodes characterized by a slower pace, necessary to give the narrative a breather, this fifth episode brings us back to the center of the action. With numerous adrenaline-filled scenes, and thanks to a masterful use of plot twists. A necessary and well-researched boost, useful for keeping viewers’ attention. Because yes, in the Game of Thrones universe, surprises are always just around the corner. And the last word is never said. An episode as beautiful as it is concrete awaits you, with old acquaintances returning to the scene. A key piece in the mosaic expertly engineered by George R. R. Martin and the executive producers of this increasingly popular series.
House of the Dragon Season 3 Episode 5 Review: The Story Plot
The fourth episode focused mainly on political intrigue and diplomatic games, which are always very present in Martin’s stories. A revealing episode because it allowed us to meet Ormund Hightower (James Norton) and Daeron Targaryen (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth), his godson and protégé. Revealing the secret plans of Otto’s nephew, intent on restoring the right blood lineage to the leadership of the Seven Kingdoms (and therefore determined to make Daeron the next King, so he can manipulate and manage the realm himself).
We saw the intrepid Ser Criston (Fabien Frankel) arrive in Harrenhall with his men, searching for the missing Aemond (Ewan Mitchell). We followed the adventures of Lord Larys Strong (Matthew Needham) and Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney), forced to hide their true identities to save their lives. And, no less importantly, we witnessed the long-awaited meeting between Daemon (Matt Smith) and his daughter Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell). She is the mysterious knight who possesses Sheep Thief, the dragon accused of being the real culprit in Jacaerys’ death. Discovering him, the father lies to his own queen. Rhaenyra(Emma D’Arcy) doesn’t know whether to believe him or not anymore.
In this fifth episode, Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) continues his journey to Harrenhal amidst a thousand hardships, reminding us once again how he earned the title of “House of the Dragon‘s most hated character.” Not a note of demerit, but rather, a round of applause to highlight Fabien Frankel’s skill and his set, stoic acting, which, particularly in this episode, also reveals a glimmer of vulnerability for a character we never thought we’d empathize with. Rest assured that this feeling is still a long way off, but the path taken is interesting.
The same goes for Aemond (Ewan Mitchell), who found refuge in Harrenhal thanks to the mysterious healer Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin). It is with Alys that one begins to glimpse the esoteric veil that hovers not only over the gloomy abode of Harrenhal, but over all of Westeros. It’s fascinating how this supernatural note finds its perfect ally in Aemond, who collapses in the face of pain, trauma, and Alys, as if searching for a mother figure to continue clinging to. Will the “dark side” completely take over Aemond soon? It’s hard to imagine a better face to lead this path in House of the Dragon.
The episode opens with Ser Criston Cole’s men ambushing Rhaenyra’s allied forces. The former Hand’s soldiers are burning tents and killing the men of House Tully and House Stark in the dark. After failing to meet Aemond, Cole is, in fact, determined to carry out his war alone in the name of Allicent (Olivia Cooke). Pushing his men towards a suicide mission that will, however, restore him to glory and honor. But his plan proves a failure. Forcing him to decide, as difficult as it is necessary. In the Riverlands, meanwhile, Lord Larys and Aegon find an old acquaintance of their own. In Harrenhall, we finally find our own Aemond Targaryen, still under the care of the mysterious witch and new castellan after the wound she sustained in the second episode. An Aemond profoundly different from the cynical and ruthless warrior we have known throughout the series. He must regain his lost strength and courage.
House of the Dragon Season 3 Episode 5 Review and Analysis
Things are still going badly at King’s Landing. Someone is taking out the golden hoods: perhaps an infiltrator from Tumbleton? From there, Ormund Hightower (James Norton) continues to dictate his strategy, increasingly revealing himself as a multifaceted and ironic character, even unintentionally. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms has accustomed us to a “funnier” Westeros, and the fact that Ormund takes up this legacy, which, however, clashes with HOTD, makes James Norton’s performance even more comical. And strangely disturbing too.
The Council of Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) continues to falter, but this time the cracks are precisely in her relationship with Daemon (Matt Smith). We’ve already mentioned how Daemon is a drier character with a less dispersive narrative arc than in the previous season, and here, in fact, he almost seems to want to avoid the conflict with Rhaenyra despite always continuing to hide a deeper anger (or plan). Matt Smith is good at subtraction here, while Emma D’Arcy continues to confirm her position as the star of House of the Dragon season three: does it smell like Emmy?
From Harrenhal to King’s Landing, there’s a certain uneasiness that can be found in a couple of key moments of the episode: more than horror undertones (although it would be nice if this universe finally pushed the accelerator from the perspective of this aesthetic), it gives the feeling of an increasing pace that is consequently anxious. There is therefore no danger of boredom and settling.
And while some events seem to suggest that Alicent (Olivia Cooke) and her daughter Helaena are facing a bad end, Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) spits out the bitter pill he swallowed in recent episodes to assert himself, but for him too (as well as Criston and his brother) there is a moment of “vulnerability” faced with a Larys Strong (Matthew Needham) who corners him and forces him to come to terms with reality. You can feel all the anger in Tom Glynn-Carney’s acting, and who knows what will happen if-and when-he clashes with Aemond again. Week after week, the showdown is getting closer and closer. The choral tale of House of the Dragon is getting to its breaking point, but it does a great job of holding the reins of all the various storylines while now seeming further and further from the source material.
If the action is lacking, it is the psychological comparisons that support the scaffolding of the episode. The long-distance duel between Aemond and Aegon is beautiful in its underlying tension. The two brothers openly detest each other, yearning for each other’s demise, and spending their time blaming each other for the traumas of their lives. They report a lack of affection and attention they never received, but they are completely incapable of looking inside themselves, of looking back to analyze their own faults. Making up for this total lack of self-awareness is Larys Strong, the absolute protagonist of what is the highest and qualitatively excellent moment of the episode. With disarming harshness and disconcerting sincerity, Larys tears through the veil of hypocrisy around the fleeing king.
He slams all his failures, his wickedness, his inherent pettiness in Aegon’s face. It does not destroy him only as a ruler, but annihilates him as a man, in a dialogue masterfully written and recited. On the women’s front, Alicent and Helaena provide us with an intimate and deeply moving moment, outlining two opposed ways of surviving chaos. Alicent sees the world crumble and, with cold, calculating clarity, desperately tries to save what can be saved. Helaena, on the other hand, confirms itself as the purest splinter of light in Westeros. Faced with an unexpected pregnancy at the historically worst possible time, she does not give in to calculation or despair, choosing with leonine courage to protect life and its future, accepting any consequences head-on.
Meanwhile, far from the capital, Ormund Hightower is guilty of a very dangerous hubris. He proclaims himself spiritual heir to Meria Martell, the indomitable princess of Dorne who never bowed to the conquest of Aegon I. Convinced that he is a fine and unattainable strategist, Ormund is certain that he can repel Rhaenyra and fulfill his dark purposes for the Iron Throne. The arrogance of those who believe they can control chaos is always the first step towards ruin. If the entire episode traveled in an almost dreamlike and verbal dimension, the final sequence brutally presses the accelerator of visual and psychological horror. The closing scene is macabre, raw, and sends an unmistakable message: the time for hesitation is over.
Finding the massacred members of the City Guard, their entrails exposed and arranged around the table in a grotesque ritual, is a punch in the stomach for the viewer and a cold warning to the rulers. We are not witnessing the isolated action of a single assassin or a random skirmish, but the show of force of a cohesive, ruthless movement acting in unison in the shadows. It is the equivalent of a declaration of all-out war, written in the blood of those who believed they were untouchable.
If the third and fourth episodes were used to give breathing space to the narrative and give us a better understanding of the characters destined to become the great protagonists of this third season, the fifth episode is quite a shock. Finally getting us back to the center of the action. And confirming something that, deep down, we had already understood in recent weeks. If Rhaenyra has managed to conquer the Iron Throne, the same cannot be said of the city she rules.
On the one hand, the large number of subplots we see unraveled might be a bit confusing, but the HBO team is still good at bringing uniformity and substance to the story. Also, thanks to the masterful use of twists and turns and the numerous sequences of duels and bloodshed, which once again play a central role. Seeing Aemond once again wield his sword against bounty hunters who covet the reward promised by Rhaenyra is as powerful as it is spectacular. Just as spectacular will be Ser Criston Cole’s final speech before his demoralized men.
House of the Dragon Season 3 Episode 5 Review: The Last Words
All things considered, this fifth appointment is configured as a testament of intent. All the characters in the game have finally discovered their cards, laid bare their frailties, and confessed their fears. The long phase of psychological preparation has petered out. The time has come for action and consequences. Will Rhaenyra, faced with yet another devastation, understand that a storm cannot be stopped with scrolls? Will she finally listen to her husband’s advice, challenging the situation with the only language her enemies seem to understand, the fire of her dragons?
