Second His Name – As the third episode of House of the Dragon begins, a Velaryon Knight warns Crabfeeder (Daniel Scott-Smith) that the House Velaryon is coming for him. He continues cursing Crabfeeder as he is tortured. When Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) arrives on a dragon, the soldier screams for help only to be crushed. The dragon continues burning people alive while Daemon yells for Crabfeeder to come out and face him. Archers begin shooting at Daemon and Caraxes. King Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine) and Alicent celebrate their two-year-old boy. Lord Hobert Hightower (Steffan Rhodri) tells Otto (Rhys Ifans) they should have more to celebrate after the hunt since it is Aegon’s second name day. It only remains for Viserys to name him heir to the throne. Otto isn’t sure the King sees it so clearly. He is told it is up to him to make them see it. Tyland Lannister (Jefferson Hall) interrupts to bring the King urgent news from the Stepstones.
Tyland tells him how the Crabfeeder has dug in, but Viserys wants to put it off for another day. The King asks Lord Lyonel Strong (Gavin Spokes) if the baggage train is ready. He learns it is massing at the River Gate and Lord Jason expects them in the Kingswood before midday. Neither has seen Rhaenyra. Tyland tells the King that the Triarchy is now sheltering in Bloodstone’s caves so the threat from the dragons has been blunted. He goes on to say the Velaryon forces have suffered heavy attrition. The seeds of dissent are sown against the rank and file. If the Crown is going to intervene, now would be the time. Otto reminds them that Daemon started the war without his Grace’s leave and it would make the Crown look weak to intervene now. Alicent (Emily Carey) walks outside where she finds Princess Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock) making a bard play the same song over and over. Alicent tells her that her presence is wanted in the outer courtyard. The Princess isn’t interested in going on the royal hunt.
Alicent asks Samwell to go, but Rhaenyra tells him to stay. After a brief argument, the Princess eventually agrees to go with her father. When she asks Alicent if she should be traveling while pregnant, Viserys suggests she’ll be pregnant soon too. He asks her to ride out with him today although Rhaenyra isn’t interested in doing that. She finds it discomforting when the boars scream like children during the slaughter. The King tells her that she has duties. They arrive moments later. Ceira Lannister says Lady Johanna has been reported to have been abducted when one of Lord Swann’s ships sailed through the Stepstones. Larys Strong (Matthew Needham) sits with the women because God didn’t build him for hunting. When the Princess enters, they ask her to give them insight into the Stepstones. She doesn’t know and she hasn’t talked to Daemon in years. Joselyn Redwyne says Daemon has made a mess so the King must put an end to it.
They believe the Crown is at war because they’ve been dragged into it by Daemon and the Sea Snake. Jason Lannister approaches the Princess outside and they begin talking about Tyland. Jason says he is frightfully dull so the Gods love him. They also discuss his home. While he doesn’t have a dragon pit, he has the resources to build one. When asked why he’d need one, he says he’d do anything for his queen or lady wife. She quickly leaves. The Princess approaches her father to ask if she is a price to proffer about to the great houses. The King reminds her that she is the right age and Jason is a great match. He has received numerous marriage proposals and tried to discuss them with her, but she has refused at every turn. He gets angry when she admits she doesn’t want to get married until Otto interrupts to say there has been a sighting of a white hart. Rhaenyra rides away on a horse with Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) following her.
Once he finally stops her, she complains about her father trying to sell her off to Jason Lannister. Cole jokingly offers to kill him before saying they should return to camp. She suggests taking in Kingswood since it is a beautiful day. As they walk, they talk about Cole’s adventurous youth. He admits he could’ve married any common-born girl he wished. She calls him lucky for having a say in his life, but he says many would change positions with her. The Princess claims that is because they’ve never held her position and she is toothless. Cole reminds her that she helped him join the Kingsguard which was the highest honor any Cole has ever known. The King goes on the hunt. Later, Jason gives the King a spear that he had forged in the Golden Gallery in honor of Prince Aegon.
He hopes it’ll provide the killing stroke against the white hart. Jason goes on to say he’d be honored to take Princess Rhaenyra as a wife. He claims he offers them strength. Jason says Casterly Rock is a splendid seat. The princess can take a place there without shame and feel well compensated for her loss in station if Aegon is named heir. The King wants to know if anyone has questioned his choice of heir since it is his duty to report rebellion. He insists he didn’t name Rhaenyra his heir on a whim. Otto tells the King that the huntsmen have the trail and they’ve sent out the hounds. They discuss Jason’s proposal as Otto tells him that Rhaenyra will do as he commands. Viserys doesn’t want to command her and would prefer her to be happy. Otto says there is another choice beyond Casterly Rock. He says Prince Aegon since it would cease the endless proposals for the Princess’s hand. After Viserys complains about all the politicking, Otto agrees to drop it. Later, Lyonel Strong tells the King they’ve sent out riders to find Rhaenyra.
The King thinks he is powerless over his own daughter. Lyonel reminds him that King Jaehaerys ruled over half a century of peace while his children drove him to the edge of madness. Lyonel asks if he wants his opinion. The King thinks he is going to say his son Harwin ‘Breakbones’ Strong (Ryan Corr), but Lyonel says the Son of the Sea Snake Ser Laenor. It would help smooth things over with Lord Corlys. However, Laenor would have to survive the fighting in the Stepstones. Cole tries to get the Princess to go back to the camp. She doesn’t care if the King worries himself to death. Rhaenyra wonders if the realm will ever accept her as the Queen. Cole says they won’t have a choice before they hear something nearby. They’re soon attacked by a boar. It holds Rhaenyra down until Cole kills it and she finishes it off. Alicent checks on Viserys who explains why he picked Rhaenyra to be his heir. He admits very few of the dragonriders have been dreamers.
He saw it in a dream a male babe born to him wearing the Conqueror’s crown. He wanted it to be true and sought the dream night after night, but it never came again. He blames his obsession for killing Rhaenyra’s mother. He thought making her heir would set things right and never imagined he would remarry or have a son. The next day, they go hunt the hart even though it isn’t white. The King kills it using Jason’s weapon. Rhaenyra and Cole are approached by a white hart. Cole reaches for his sword only for Rhaenyra to tell him no. The hart flees. She returns to the camp before they return to the palace. Otto talks to Alicent about the hunt and his grandson. He is convinced Aegon is going to be the future of the realm. If Viserys would name him heir, the realm would fete him for her. Otto believes the realm would tear itself apart if Rhaenyra stepped over Aegon to take the throne. Alicent doesn’t like the idea and doesn’t want to raise a son who will steal the throne, but Otto says Aegon is being robbed.
He thinks Aegon will be king and encourages her to guide Viserys to see reason. Alicent returns to her husband moments later. They begin talking about Rhaenyra. The King says she’ll need someone to honor and serve her. Alicent thinks she should believe it is her choice to marry. He gives her a letter from Vaemond Velaryon who is the Sea Snake’s brother. She checks the letter and learns that Lord Corlys and Prince Daemon are losing the war. The King isn’t eager to send aid because it is a war started by two malcontents who are unhappy with the decisions he made. He believes he is doomed to anger one person while pleasing another.
Alicent asks if it is better for the Crabfeeder to thrive or vanquished. Ser Addam is given a letter to deliver to Daemon. The King tells Rhaenyra that he is sending word to Daemon that aid is sailing to the Stepstones. He’d rather die than ask for help, but the King doesn’t want that. That leads to an argument between the King and his daughter. Viserys claims he was trying to help her by marrying her off to Jason Lannister. She thinks he wants to replace with her Alicent’s son. Since he has no use for her, he might as well peddle her for what he can. Viserys confesses that the rulers must marry for advantage. He was promised to her mother. He says he loved her and she made a man of him. King Viserys does not wish to replace her and instead wants her to be content. He thinks a family might do it. She is told she must marry to strengthen her own claim, but she can make her own match. Before she goes, he says he wavered at one time. He swears that she will not be supplanted.
The war continues in the Stepstones. Lord Corlys (Steve Toussaint) and others talk about their current supplies and conditions. Although he wants to continue pressing and sending the dragons, Laenor tells his father it is pointless. They discuss the fact that the Crabfeeder has no reason to leave the cave. They suggest sending bait to get them out of the caves. Laenor (Theo Nate) and Vaemond argue about supporting Daemon. When Daemon joins them, he receives word from Viserys. After reading the letter, he attacks the messenger. Viserys tells him that he is sending ships and he doesn’t want him to fail in his cause. Daemon rows to land and makes a white flag. Once Prince Craghas ‘Crabfeeder’ Drahar sees him, he sends men out to get him. Archers get into place above them. Daemon ends up attacking them and avoiding the arrows. Crabfeeder sends more men out to fight Daemon only for them to be killed too.
Daemon is eventually hit by arrows so he hides under an old boat. More men come out to get Daemon who gets back to his feet. A dragon takes care of those men as well as the archers on the ledge above. The Velaryon soldiers rush in to take care of the rest. Daemon runs into the cave to get Crabfeeder. He comes out with part of him moments later.
House Of The Dragon Review
Through three episodes of House of the Dragon, it is hard to get excited about the future of the season because it has been monotonous so far. While there was a good battle scene near the end, even that wasn’t enough to change anything. Some of the scenes feel like a young adult drama with Princess Rhaenyra constantly throwing a fit about something or another which just happened to be the prospect of marriage in this episode. The dialogue doesn’t always fit a historical period drama like this and that can really shatter the perception that is intended.
The acting seems to be fine for most of the characters, but the pacing is painfully tedious. The entire royal hunt scenes could’ve been condensed to five or ten minutes without losing anything and more time could’ve been dedicated to making viewers care about these characters. The battle against Crabfeeder likely would’ve been more intense if there was any real connection between the viewers and the characters. It was nice seeing the dragon in action and those scenes actually looked good.
The way it made Crabfeeder’s body look so light wasn’t great because it looked cheap and unpolished. You could pretty much tell it was fake. Too many things are being skipped so the show can jump ahead years at a time leaving a gap in the character development, yet too much time is being dedicated to other things that may seem pointless at times. This truly isn’t anything memorable at this point. It could be a soap opera on the Lifetime network without the hype surrounding the Game of Thrones series.
The episode scores a 5 out of 10 because it is going nowhere, the characters are hollow, and it feels like there is no incentive to continue watching. Recaps of House of the Dragon can be found on Reel Mockery here. Learn how to support our work at this link.
Jay Skelton is a fan of all television shows and movies. He tries his best to keep up with the latest foreign television shows and movies. Jay loves skinny dipping in the dark too.
Indeed this episode was tedious, frustrating and painful to sit through. My mind kept wandering while watching then I would snap back and be be like Oh… whats happening? The princess is pissed off about something else? The king is getting upset again? Some vassel is trying to position himself to rise up higher in the kings favor? It was just so much yuck, until the last 8 minutes.
Now hear me out. It wasn’t enough to save the series or even the episode and yes it was a little anticlimactic when the Crab King was finally killed but you have to admit that Matt Smith was something else. And I don’t mean so much the sword action but the way he deleiverd so much without even speaking a word from the moment he rode in on the dragon. That’s talent!
If the series could be more like that it would be really quite a thing to see.
Can’t argue with anything you said. Rhys, Paddy, and even Milly are good too but the script just isn’t giving them any room to run. Paddy Considine can have such a powerful on screen presence like Dead Man’s Shoes and Milly is usually more fun in Les Norton and Upright. Rhys has had some good performances mostly comedic stuff, but any of these people could shine with a great script. Smitt carried the episode in those last eight minutes though so it gives me some hope for the future.
Just imagine how good that could’ve been with more build up and an actual Crabfeeder vs Daemon fight scene instead of spending 45 minutes arguing at the royal camp. At the very least, we should’ve been given more scenes to show how desperate the situation was in the Stepstones. Rings of Power is more enjoyable at the moment though. Anything could change so HOTD might have a few tricks up its sleeve.