This review contains spoilers for House of the Dragon season 3 episode 2.
Like many “A Song of Ice and Fire” die-hards watching House of the Dragon season 3, I’ve been trying to figure out what has made me grow colder on the Game of Thrones spinoff since its thrilling first season, especially in the wake of its more creatively successful sibling A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.
The most obvious explanation (at least for a Thrones sicko like me) is the lack of George R.R. Martin’s enthusiastic consent in the show’s adaptation choices. While that’s as good a theory as any, it doesn’t do much to actually diagnose how the creator’s waning influence manifests onscreen. George, GOATed as he may be, isn’t the only writer capable of crafting a satisfying fantasy yarn. Indeed every Game of Thrones property has added elements that have even improved upon their source material. Thrones season 1’s intimate conversation between Robert and Cersei, AKOTSK‘s Lyonel Baratheon glow up, and countless new scenes in House of the Dragon itself – all are welcome, well-written additions to the Westerosi canon.
It wasn’t until House of the Dragon season 3 episode 2 that I realized what was really bothering me. It’s not the loss of George R.R. Martin’s canon-keeping authority, it’s the loss of his dialogue. For evidence of this claim, here is a sampling of some sentences uttered in this season’s second episode:
“Well, well, well.” – Daemon Targaryen
“I was mistaken, I am surprised!” – Larys Strong
“He was stern but gentle.” – Baela Targaryen
“I confess I underestimated your slipperiness.” – Daemon Targaryen
“I have business with him.” – Rhaenyra Targaryen
None of these lines from Sara Hess’ script are outright disasters. But they also aren’t particularly novel or clever. And they’re a hell of a long ways away from something like “A lion does not concern himself with the opinions of sheep.” The language is overly simple (“stern but gentle”), touches on cliche (“I have business with him”), or is just outright silly (“I underestimated your slipperiness”). Add in Larys Strong’s Whedon-era Avengers “Well, that just happened” energy and you have a whole bunch of characters speaking more like writers than Westerosi.
In most cases, some uninspired dialogue wouldn’t be enough to sink a TV show – especially one as visually ambitious as this one. But House of the Dragon isn’t just any show. Not only is this saga part of a larger IP in which characters have proven themselves to be demonstrably more articulate, it also belongs to a fictional historical universe that relies on verisimilitude. As has been noted time and time again, Martin’s Fire & Blood is a history book, first and foremost. While the show obviously can’t present that history as a black-and-white Ken Burns documentary, it can at least deploy language that reads as more authentic.
Simply put: when the dialogue breaks, other stuff begins to break as well. And we see that play out in season 3 episode 2. This is one of the most consequential hours of House of the Dragon yet. Jace (Harry Collett) gets a proper goodbye, Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) conquers Harrenhal, and Ser Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) is beheaded. And oh yeah: Rhaenyra conquers King’s Landing and sits the Iron Throne. Roll credits.
All of this feels like it should have the import of a season, if not series finale (again lending credence to the theory that the first two episodes of this season were intended to be the final two of last season). But more often than not weak dialogue or generally poor execution (not just referring to Otto) lets a scene down.
Rhaena’s (Phoebe Campbell) pursuit of political asylum in the Vale should feel desperate. Her involvement, albeit accidental, in Jace’s death is undoubtedly the most terrifying thing to ever happen in her life and her unwelcome presence outside the Eyrie is equally horrifying for Lady Jeyne Arryn (Amanda Collin). And yet the scene, while tense, hardly reads as pressing. The pair stand a football field’s length apart and shout negotiation terms. It all culminates in a line that I’m shocked didn’t make it into my “bad dialogue catalog” above: “Do you want a dragon or not?” That’s supposed to be implied, Rhaena! First you kill Jace and now you kill subtext?
Over on the shores of Driftmark, things are similarly bleak for Corlys’ clan. Baela (Bethany Antonia) and Alyn of Hull (Abubakar Salim) wander around, not finding their Lord-father/grandfather… until suddenly they do. Corlys (Steve Toussaint) is fine. He was always going to be fine. The show’s only purpose in even bothering to muster up a search for him was so Baela and Alyn could bleat about their family ties, suggesting there’s something in the Velaryon bloodline that makes them inherently expository.
But when it comes to questionable adaptation choices, poor Alicent (Olivia Cooke) still can’t be beat. The Hightower queen once again bears the narrative brunt of synthesizing Fire & Blood‘s historical context into actual text and spends much of the episode running from contrivance to contrivance because of it. With Aemond now safely out of the way and en route to the Riverlands, Alicent’s plan for getting the rest of King’s Landing ready for Rhaenyra’s pending arrival seems to be… telling everyone in King’s Landing about Rhaenyra’s pending arrival.
This manifests as a trip to the City Watch locker room a.k.a. the flaccid penis factory so Commander Largent (Tom Cullen) can be made aware that King’s Landing will soon have new guests. When that goes well enough, Alicent doubles down and becomes even blunter with the Hightower troops manning the scorpions on the battlements. Through it all, the only person at court who seems skeptical of Alicent’s machinations is Lord Jasper “Ironrod” Wylde (Paul Kennedy). Even that shrewdness, however, is undercut by Ironrod responding to the treason with attempted sexual violence, seemingly the only language that Westerosi nobles are able to speak.
The fact that Alicent’s efforts culminate with her and Helaena (Phia Saban) trapped in an occupied King’s Landing and bearing witness to Ser Otto’s beheading is certainly logically satisfying. It’s just not emotionally satisfying.
Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) and Daemon’s (Matt Smith) half of the King’s Landing invasion is similarly lacking in emotional heft. While the whole operation was designed to be easy by Alicent, it still reads are a bit too easy. The guilty party this time isn’t so much dialogue as it is the choreography. Seasoned Hightower soldiers are reduced to “one-at-a-time” henchmen archetypes as Daemon and Rhaenyra make their way to the throne room. When they finally encounter meaningful opposition in the form of the Kingsguard, there’s little tension. Like Jeyne and Rhaena before them, the two parties stand rooted on their marks and have a chat, the outcome of which is never in doubt thanks to Daemon’s influence over the City Watch.
The religious awe that D’Arcy imbues upon Rhaenyra’s first ascendance onto the throne is affecting enough to retroactively make the whole journey worth it. But it shouldn’t have to have been rescued in the first place.
Truthfully, there are several examples of sheer acting talent making up for questionable script decisions through this episode. One comes from an earlier D’Arcy scene in which a heartbroken Rhaenyra chastises Jace’s body as though he were still alive. The queen balling her fists and waving them over her dead son as if he wants to strike him but can’t bring herself to make the connection, is truly brilliant.
Meanwhile Aemond’s arrival in Harrenhal is just spectacular all around. From terrifying guardsmen screaming “Dragon!!!” as their final words before a fiery death to Aemond challenging the elderly Lord Strong to a duel, just about every element works in perfect concert.
Moments like that go a long way towards bringing Martin’s vision of a continent at war to vibrant life. It’s just a shame they have to go through so many “well, well, wells” on the way.
New episodes of House of the Dragon season 3 premiere Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max, culminating with a finale on August 9.
The post House of the Dragon Season 3 Episode 2 Review: Slouching Towards King’s Landing appeared first on Den of Geek.
0 Commentaires