House of the Dragon (S03E04)

“Tumbleton”

Though it takes a little while to get to, Ormund's plan eventually becomes clear in this episode. And it's actually a pretty damn good one. Especially since it involves a potential heir to the throne. Or, should I say, manipulating and controlling a potential heir to the throne. Meaning that, while he only appeared on the board quite recently, Ormund has been playing the game of thrones for quite some time now. 

Speaking of which, it's nice to finally (and properly) get introduced to Prince Daeron here. He has a fascinating dynamic with Ormund. Though, much to Alicent's disappointment, I wouldn't say that their relationship is a particularly healthy one. But I think you would be hard-pressed to find a healthy dynamic between any of these characters. So, as Ormund begins to instill his own twisted values into Daeron, it will be interesting to see what kind of character Daeron will turn out to be. And how he’ll compare to both of his brothers.

Unfortunately, Aemond is absent in this episode. And, while he’s likely recovering from his injuries in the previous episode, I can’t confirm that he hasn’t been kidnapped by the witch of Harenhaal, Alys Rivers. Her motivations are still a mystery to me. She wants Harenhaal too? Why? I barely understand why everyone else wants the godforsaken place, so what is she going to do with it? 

We do get to follow up with Aegon, however, and we see that he’s not doing too well either. Forced to work shitty jobs in Rook’s Rest, the former king has definitely fallen from grace. He does get to see Sunfyre again, though, which makes for a nice little moment. Because, while the dragon definitely looks dead to me, Aegon believes that he is actually still alive. And I’m inclined to believe him! No one knows his dragon better than he does, after all. The bond between a dragon and its rider is a special one. 

But seeing Sunfyre and Meleys begs the question: what do people do with deteriorating dragon carcasses? Do they eat the meat? Do they leave them out of some sense of respect? Do they chop them up and sell them? I don’t know, and I’m not sure if I even want to find out. 

Speaking of dragons, though, Caraxes leads Daemon to Sheepstealer’s hiding place during their visit to The Eyrie. And this, of course, allows Daemon to learn that Rhaena is Sheepstealer’s rider. Which brings Daemon to an interesting conundrum. Because, despite knowing that Rhaena’s involvement with Jace’s death was accidental, that may not change Rhaenyra’s decision to kill Sheepstealer’s rider. So what is Daemon to do? 

He barely had any kind of relationship with his daughter before this, and now it's more complicated than it ever has been before! And it's about to come in between his relationship with Rhaenyra! Which is undeniably interesting. Especially since Daemon decides to cover for Rhaena by claiming that he killed the “real” rider. Something that will surely come to bite him in the ass later on. 

But before I move on from this plot point, I’d like to say that I LOVE that we get to see The Vale again. The Moon Door and the High Hall sets are recreated so faithfully here! They look exactly like how I remember from Game of Thrones. Which is awesome! I really appreciate when the show connects to the original series. And that’s exactly why I like the little detail of Rhaenyra ditching the marbles from the council meetings, for example.

On that note, Rhaenyra is slowly but surely filling out her Small Council. She’s names Ser Torrhen Manderly her Master of Coin (mainly so he can take the fall for the Kingdom’s lack of money). Grand Maester Orwyle proves that he can be loyal to Rhaenyra (despite constantly having his life threatened). And, while Corlys left King’s Landing to return to the sea, Rhaenyra does build up a nice rapport with his son, Alyn. 

But things aren’t looking too great for Rhaenyra, as she seems to be losing the good graces of the common folk. Which is unfortunate for her. Especially since she seems to be losing her grip on reality as well. Something that probably won’t be helped by the fact that Helaena is revealed to be pregnant. Scandalous! 

So, despite being on somewhat good grounds with Rhaenyra again, Alicent is going to have to come up with another one of her classic schemes. Because, unless she wants Helaena or her future child to be killed, Alicent has to figure out how to get them all out of King’s Landing! Which should be fun to see. 

And, since the next episode seems to be an action-packed one, I can't wait to see what happens next!