House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 3 Review: Chemistry of Olivia Cooke and Emma D’Arcy’s Characters?
Cast: Emma D’Arcy, Olivia Cooke, Ewan Mitchell, Eve Best, Matt Smith, Matthew Needham and Fabien Frankel
Created By: Ryan Condal, George RR Martin
Streaming Platform: Max
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 4/5 (four stars)
An immense field in the countryside of Westeros and young knights who fight and provoke each other, ending in blood. Thus begins the third episode of the second season of House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 3, just as the premiere did, making us believe we are moving away from the fulcrum of the action, namely King’s Landing and Dragonstone, while in reality, it is precisely there that the story (re)takes us, as only Americans can do, starting from the showrunner Ryan Condal. This time we are near the Tullys and Riverrun, where the feud between the Brackens and the Blackwoods is fueled, divided between loyalty to the Greens and the Blacks, to the two legitimate (or illegitimate) heirs to the Throne. We are shown the people telling us about the royal families, or rather the family, the Targaryens divided between their internal struggles which in this episode, available exclusively on Sky Atlantic and streaming only on Max from 1st July at the same time as the United States, they take a step further towards blood.
We remind you that the article is a non-spoiler, but we still invite you to read it after watching the episode. At this point, The Dance of the Dragons becomes increasingly strategic. We are almost at the halfway point of this second season of House of the Dragon and, even if the action and the bloodiest part of the battle have not yet arrived, this sweet and delicate movement, the dance, is so pleasant to watch that makes you forget everything else. On a strategic level, The Burning Mill is truly one of the most important episodes seen so far because it exposes all the characters in their most surprising weaknesses: Alicent, Rhaenyra, Daemon, Aegon, and Aegon.
House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 3 Review: The Story Plot
There are three significant moments in this third episode. The first concerns the meeting between two fundamental women in the series, which begins with one “couple” and ends with another. After what happened to the respective parts of the family with the two infanticides, and what is happening between the various Houses and the subjects who swear loyalty to one or the other part, Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) takes matters into her own hands and sends Daemon to garrison Harrenhal because it could give her the control needed to attack the other faction. But here comes the sacrifice, which she asks not only of herself: she will let Joffrey, Jaecerys, and Viserys go to the shelter of her cousin, Lady Jeyne Arryn, who in exchange will receive one of their dragons to protect Eyrie. After losing a child, to protect them you have to let the others go far away, perhaps to Pentos, in the Eastern Continent, right where Rhaena’s mother (Phoebe Campbell) died, betrothed to the late Luke, who is asked to guard the eggs of the dragon.
The latter, in addition to a clear reference to Daenerys in the original series that many years later will bring these legendary creatures back to life, represents the future of the House of the Dragon to maintain its dynasty: “Be their mother, the one I cannot be”. The Queen refers not only to the cubs but also to her children. Her sister Baela (Bethany Antonia), on the other hand, with her Moondancer becomes a useful asset flying over the road that leads to Dragonstone, and for this reason, she must remain at the side of her fiancé, Jaeherys: “because you have a dragon”, as Rhaena will reproach her. Let us remember, the dragon that would have been hers, that of her mother Laena, was “usurped” by Aemond who claimed it, with the consequences we know.
Let’s start from the end only because in terms of hype the meeting between Rhaenyra and Alicent is certainly the most awaited and hoped-for by fans for this new season of House of the Dragon. Their past as characters and the chemistry between the two actresses made the meeting the most important for the series especially as they both came to terms with what happened the night of Viserys’ death. “The King who was promised”, is the prophecy that is repeated even more than a hundred years before the story of Game of Thrones, where it will return and will also be crucial to the plot (up to a certain point).
The prophecy of Aegon the Conqueror is central to the Dance of the Dragons. Viserys told Alicent on his deathbed that he in turn created the pretext for this war to begin. Once Rhaenyra tells the truth Alicent can no longer appeal what she believed was her husband’s decision and this not only gives her more power but at the same time makes her even more vulnerable, in a court full of men trying to dominate each other. affair. Rhaenyra’s desperate attempt to avoid war was risky and mostly futile. She will not prevent the civil war from taking place but she has given her greater awareness of the fact that her father Viserys would have wanted her on the throne of swords, she has never changed her mind. Armed with this, the kingdom will now burn under the fire of the Targaryen dragons.
House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 3 Review and Analysis
After two episodes in which some complained about his lack of focus, Daemon (Matt Smith, wonderful in this episode) returns to the center of the plot of House of the Dragon. Of course, we wonder how these words are possible given that he was practically the (second) proponent of the Dance of the Dragons after Aemond – his counterpart in a certain sense, like the anagram in their name – with what he accomplished in the premiere. His bellicose and impulsive temperament now suffers a downside: once he finds himself in Harrenhal, home of Lord Simon Strong who immediately swears loyalty to Rhaenyra rather than be killed and hosts him in the fortress, he becomes a victim for the first time in guilt and his demons. Within the castle walls, which become sinister corners and dark alleys, from which some presence can emerge at any moment, where strange noises can be heard in the distance with frightening and disturbing echoes – the direction and photography do an excellent job in this sense – he sees some ghosts of his past again (we won’t wake you up who, but fans will be pleasantly surprised). Presences make him question his actions and his tormented and guerrilla soul, which is the main reason why Viserys had never considered him as a possible heir to the Iron Throne.
While another Targaryen brother is introduced, this time a bastard i.e. an illegitimate son, amidst the alcohol and the buzz at a tavern table, it is once again in these pleasant places that the great designs of George RR Martin’s world are revealed. The brothel returns almost to close a circle from the previous episode, where we were introduced to the fetishisms of Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) and the impulsive and short-sighted character of Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney), currently on the Throne. The disagreements between the two brothers reach their peak in this episode in a brothel; after the worthy heir of Littlefinger, namely Larys ‘Bigfoot’ Strong, puts the flea in his ear about some rumors at Court, namely about the fact that he is controlled by his mother and brother, which is the truth as we well know. We need to find a world to take revenge for the humiliation suffered. Meanwhile, the Select Councils do nothing but repeat it to both factions: it is time to act and no longer talk.
This very concept will be clear at the end of the episode thanks to the most electrifying meeting that we have been waiting for practically since the end of last season: the one between the two Queens. A significant event that mirrors the first one analyzed in this review of ours. A meeting filmed with great skill, with candles, an almost mystical religious atmosphere, and tributes to the Septa of the main series and that famous walk of shame, thanks to which the disguise and the subterfuge allow two old best friends now on opposite sides to finally meet and talk to each other openly, as mothers as well as adult women. The two actresses are truly wonderful and priceless, making everything they are fighting against in that world of men shine through in their voices body, and face movements, both inside and outside their hearts. It will also be clear, after the cards are finally put on the table by both, the meaning of the last words of King Viserys I but at the same time it will be equally clear that it is too late to go back. Because we are still in Martin’s bloody world and not in a fairy tale. Unless it is the tale of Dragons.
Unintended pun but it effectively reflects what happened to the character of Daemon in The Mill in Flames, the third episode of House of the Dragon. As we said, this episode does some work on the characters. They thought they would see very little of Daemon after he clashes with Rhaenyra in the previous episode, Rhaenyra the cruel but The Mill in Flames puts an end to any doubts. As expected, Daemon goes to Harrenhal, a place so fascinating and disturbing, perfect for him. The rain, the soft lights, the shots at the edge of the camera, everything completes the characterization of the character so extremely tormented. So tormented that Milly Alcock is brought back on the scene in the role of Rhaenyra, that child Rhaenyra who admires him, who also desires him, who looks at him with different eyes from the adult Queen who has unmasked him for what he is. Not only does Matt Smith continue to demonstrate his innate acting talent, but Tom Glynn-Carney’s performance as King Aegon – including the brothel scenes with Aemond – adds further value to his character. The contrast between cold sadness of Ewan Mitchell’s character contrasted with the real fire of Glynn-Carney. It will be interesting to see more interactions between the two Targaryen brothers.
House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 3 Review: The Last Words
Why is the episode title named after a battle that we haven’t seen on screen? This is a big question mark that brings us to the beginning of this third episode, The Mill on Fire. Here too two factions, as well as the Greens and the Blacks, also the Brackens and the Blackwoods, fight over old disagreements and old wounds. In the books, this conflict will be the first in a series of wars leading to the true Dance of the Dragons. This is the clash in the Riverlands which causes an initial weakening for both factions. Even though we don’t see the action, the epilogue of this battle is a mass of deaths, a first glimpse of what lies ahead in this war.
