House of the Dragon Episode 10 Review: A Resounding Ending Announces War
Cast: Olivia Cooke, Rhys Ifans, Fabien Frankel
Director: Greg Yaitanes
Streaming Platform: HBO Max
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 4.5/5 (four and a half stars) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
After weeks of growing anticipation for a constantly feared conflict, House of the Dragon Episode 10 landed on HBO Max and officially opens the war with an incredibly tense and direct episode. The season finale of George RR Martin’s series inspired by Fire and Blood closes the first, fundamental steps of a journey that goes far beyond the purely narrative one: Ryan Condal’s show has brought together an innumerable number of professionals under its aegis, managing to win the broken hearts of viewers from week to week with a story that has been able to make the most of the material (literary and human) at its disposal.
The network’s ambitions appeared very clear from the beginning and have renewed the producer’s confidence, now eager to bring to the screen other works set in the world of Game of Thrones. Given the wide success of both audiences and critics, such a result is surprising when you consider the exquisitely preparatory nature of this first cycle of episodes. The idea of telling with a wealth of particular ties and intrigues between the protagonists of the Dance of the Dragons has aroused an interest similar to that of the heyday of the mother series, to the point of leading to the leak of the House of the Dragon finale. Putting aside HBO’s wrath for issues that are very difficult to avoid, the first season of a sensational opera finds its worthy conclusion in a fascinating and tense last hour. Let’s analyze the final season together.
House of the Dragon Episode 10 Review: The Story
It was only a matter of time before the news of the new king’s coronation reached the ears of Rhaenyra and Daemon Targaryen. The true heir to the Iron Throne, the favorite daughter of Viserys, the woman whose path has always been hindered by the male system, can now only accept the course of events. But the Targaryen blood is boiling. Rhaenyra prefers moderation, a strategy to anger a Daemon ready to get on a war footing, even if not everything will go as planned. The first conflicts will arise, internal to the family but also made explicit through messengers and limp diplomacy, thus starting a macabre dance that will be remembered as the Dance of the Dragons.
The characters of House of the Dragon do not create their destiny. It is fate itself that chooses them: misinterpreted prophecies and dreams change the course of history; the timing with which the news is told can leave deep scars on the listener; the chaos of nature, unable to follow the order established by men, emerges in all its power. Chaos from which no one can escape (not even those who seem the most aware and authoritarian of their actions) and which seems to be the only true ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. It can be seen from the details, such as the presence of a king who needs the elderly Master to read a simple message, an illiterate seated on the throne who knows only the language of the sword and arranged marriages. House of the Dragon lives on these details.
A few hours away from the chaotic final sequences of the last episode (here is our review of House of the Dragon Episode 9), Princess Rhaenys (Eve Best) arrives in Dragonstone on the back of her dragon, Meleys. When the sad news of the King’s death is communicated to Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) and Daemon (Matt Smith), the coronation of Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney) comes as a further stab with the consequent ascent of the Greens to the Throne of Spade. At this juncture, the two points of view around which the entire episode revolves are revealed, with Rhaenyra’s arguments, aimed mainly at measuring every move before the situation degenerates into a clash in which he is clearly at a disadvantage, as opposed to anger vehement of Daemon, who instead is much more restless and decidedly ready to act to eradicate the usurper from the Throne.
While Dragonstone thinks about what to do, Princess Rhaenys is also forced to answer for her actions and take a clear stand in the dispute. With news of Corlys Velaryon’s (Steve Toussaint) condition arriving and several Westeros houses still far from taking sides, to guarantee your faction adequate protection and loyal allies. In a strenuous attempt to keep the realm steady even in the face of betrayal, the Queen of Blacks will be able to assert her word and firmly oppose any risk. Yet, as in most of the most famous clashes, excesses and fatalities far from being random will also bring Rhaenyra’s balance to break, closing the scene at the dawn of the war.
House of the Dragon Episode 10 Review: And Analysis
Under the direction of Greg Yaitanes and with Condal himself in charge of the script of the episode, each element presented on the screen is studied in detail to offer the viewer useful answers and increase the tension given the final sequences. In a Dragonstone never so crowded, lights and shadows are opposed in the second half of this finale: bringing on stage doubts and implications similar to those shown in the last episode, but with a completely different pathos and execution, the last episode looks like a long game of glances that is a prelude to chaos. Supported by the power of the masterful interpretations of Emma D’Arcy and Matt Smith, the perspective of the Blacks lingers on the dualism between two completely different points of view, subjugated by their respective penalties but indissoluble in their enveloping dynamics.
Realistically speaking, the continuous repetition of this reference linked to sight becomes so preponderant as to distinguish the entire development both in aesthetics and in narrative developments. The two protagonists of the series act with their eyes, giving life to scenes of the highest impact and contributing in the first person to raise the tension to levels perhaps never reached by the show so far. The sensations aroused by their constant confrontation would alone be worth the entire episode, but also the staging is no less: net of computer graphics not always on the piece, but of a simply perfect musical accompaniment, some sequences take your breath away for care in aesthetics and study of the shots.
The winged creatures of this episode thus stand out in all their magnificence, with the final scenes serving as the ideal closure for the series waiting for a second season in which much more spectacular fights will be on the agenda. Pursuing fate while Dragonstone ignites the embers of war, the apotheosis of the conflict could however be rendered even more epic by condensing the events of the last two episodes or by constantly alternating the two perspectives to obtain a more unified result. Completing a path of ascent and revaluation, House of the Dragon proceeds swiftly towards epochal events. Condal and associates have shown that they are perfectly at ease in intrigues, managing and poetically extolling pain and pathos, but it is still too early to judge their surrender of the war.
Certainly, the writing stands out as the real strength of a show that has not ceased to amaze for a single moment, and it is even more interesting the idea that it has provided a much more real ethos than a story based singularly on conflicting perspectives. The final rendition gives fans a show that tells not only events, but people, and bases its thick plots on ideologies. Bold ideas and perspectives dominated the scene in a product destined for great things, able to stand alone on its legs (and on its strengths) even in the (few) moments of fragility. Between the shadows of two opposing sides, with Alicent and Rhaenyra hesitating at the idea of a kingdom of ashes, the house of the Dragon finally collapses before the Storm in.
Leave a bit of a bad taste in your mouth, therefore, to notice how visual aesthetics are not always properly supported, thanks to a fluctuating CGI that makes the television dimension explicit, despite the desire to undermine the boundaries of the small screen. On certain occasions, digital uncertainties jump to the eye, breaking a cohesive and convincing balance. Paradoxically, in the same sequences, however, you can find visual moments of beauty that leaves you amazed: powerful, masterful, and surprising. The last ten minutes of the episode challenge and win the coldest and most distant spectator, involving him properly thanks to directing choices that deserve only open-stage applause and that inflame an already tense and explosive narrative.
At this point, just a last close-up of one of the protagonists is enough to give the strongest emotion of the season, to make people perceive that nothing will be the same again, to justify what is to come and that we can’t wait to see. Despite its smaller series size that until now seemed to confirm, House of the Dragon took the final flight at the very end, with a linear narrative, free of time jumps and new status quo. The complex structure of the season has managed to give the simplicity now necessary and satisfying. Let the dances begin, we cannot help but dance now.
House of the Dragon Episode 10 Review: The Last Words
With a thunderous final of the season, House of the Dragon completes its preparation path for the Dance of the Dragons keeping glued to the screen thanks to the spectacular interpretations of the protagonists and the technical sector, especially in the writing room, of the highest level. Having shone with a story that places utmost importance on key elements of the world of Ice and Fire, the Dragons are now ready to bring Fire and Blood across Westeros in the most momentous war ever. The tenth episode of House of the Dragon reaps the rewards of the entire season, engaging the viewer with an emotionally strong ending. The cast makes a difference by contributing to the creation of a living and true world. Too bad that the CGI is quite fluctuating: at times disconnected from the visual quality of the series, at times capable of giving majestic and unforgettable scenes. A season finale that will not leave you indifferent and that makes waiting for the next cycle of episodes tiring.
