Now thatHouse of the Dragonis officially past the halfway point of the first season, it’s time to introduce viewers to the people who will play the “adult” versions of Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower (otherwise known as the queen of Westeros.) to have these older versions of the characters, the show had to have what is technically its second time jump, though this one is apparently supposed to be a bigger time jump than the show did previously. The 10-year jump is supposed to be long enough that Rhaenyra and Alicent have changed their appearance enough that they are nowplayed by Emma D’arcy and Olivia Cooke.
While this kind of trick can be hit or miss when a show does it,House of the Dragonmostly gets it right, though there are some oddities every now and then. Right at the top of the list is that most of the characters have been aged in a way that makes sense. Paddy Considine looks like he’s aged a bit more than most of the rest of the main characters, though that can be waved away by the fact that he’s had a host of different illnesses over the course of his life.
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However, it’s more than a little jarring to see Ser Criston Cole look exactly as he did “10 years ago.” It seems like the show could have used a little aging makeup or even just put a few streaks in his hair in order to show that time had passed for him as well. While it’s not something that absolutely kills this episode ofHouse of the Dragonby any means, it does take the viewers out of what is an otherwise well-carried out jump forward in time. The same can be said forMatt Smith as Daemon, though he at least seems to carry himself as someone who is a bit older.
Speaking of things that tend to interfere with the audience getting totally immersed inHouse of the Dragon, it still feels like the budget for this show isn’t quitewhat it was forGame of Thrones. Perhaps it’s as simple as the fact that the show is having to feature giant CGI dragons more than the previous series had to do. Maybe it’s simply not getting the same level of funding because when these scenes were shot, it wasn’t the sure thing that its predecessor was by the time the dragons were front and center. Whatever the reason, there is more than a few scenes where the green screen is just way too obvious. There is one particular scene where a dragon is supposed to be zooming over the head of some villagers and viewers can almost certainly pinpoint the exact moment the director is yelling “and now look over here and a bit into the distance.”
All of this might make someone think that this episode ofHouse of the Dragonwas a bad one and that honestly couldn’t be further from the truth. Thetime jump benefits both Darcy and Cookebecause it allows the series to show that these two women, who were once the best of friends are barely acquaintances anymore. In fact, Cooke makes it clear that her character fully believes that Alicent and Rhaenyra are now just a step or two away from being enemies. In turns out that step was actually taken in this episode, should the heir to the throne find out exactly what Alicent’s agents did.
TheHBO Max serieshas taken great steps in making it very clear that at some point, there is going to be a showdown over the throne. While the series keeps promising that the showdown is going to come at some point, it’s been a very slow burn, but this episode more than any of the others seems to indicate that the war for the throne could erupt at any time and the entirety of Westeros is hanging in the balance. There are scenes, especially when Alicent’s and Rhaenyra’s children are sparring in the courtyard where the tension is actually palpable. Viewers likely want to scream “oh, you don’t want to do that” to the characters.
The show is also putting people at the edge of their seats with this particular trick because there’s just no telling when things are really going to be set off. Of course all the hinting about who knows what and how willing they are to talk about it adds to the tension about when things are going to really come to a head. There’s the “rumors” about Rhaenyra andSer Harwin Strongthat are of course, not actually rumors since none of her kids actually look like her husband. There’s the worry of Alicent that her kids could be put to the sword at any minute should Rhaenyra decide that’s the way to do things. And then there’s the fact that Viserys doesn’t want to get involved in any of it.
In part because the show takes it time with its story telling, even the slower parts that don’t seem to fit are still quite interesting. This episode basically sidelined Daemon entirely, as he seems happy to be living with his family and enjoying the life of someone who is both rich and famous. Of course, Daemon is basically “Eurotrash” at this point as he and his family are just a group of people crashing on everyone’s couches, even if their hosts are being quite a bit more generous than one might expect. Of course, it doesn’t appear thatHouse of the Dragonis going to keep Daemon sidelinedfor long. Will the tragedy that beset his family in this episode end up making him get back into the battle for the Iron Throne?
One of the thingsHouse of the Dragonhas done quite well, and does well especially in this episode is to build up the tension and keep the audience glued to the screen without using a ton of sex and/or violence. The show allows the actors to show what they can do and it appears the cast were well chosen.
House of the Dragonairs Sundays at 9 PM EST on HBO.
