House of the Dragon Power Rankings - Ep. 7 "Driftmark"
It’s all fun and games until somebody loses an eye! George R. R. Martin wrote that!
Spoilers!
“Where is duty? Where is sacrifice? It’s trampled under your pretty foot again.” -Alicent
“Exhausting, wasn’t it, hiding beneath the cloak of your own righteousness? But now they see you as you are.” -Rhaenyra
Class is in 👏🏼 session 👏🏼 !!!!!
Was that the best episode of Game of Thrones since Season 6 of GoT?! Sure, everyone on Twitter [+me] complained about how you couldn’t see a damn thing, but maybe that was God frowning upon incest, did you ever think about THAT, Mr. Twitter??
In Game of Thrones, we rarely/never had scenes with all the characters together. Here we got an entire episode of the richest interactions with these actors just cooking together. I will say the pacing was a little off for me. The opening — about which I wrote, “lots of eyes no talking” — felt to me a little bit like a scene that on paper the producers were like, “This is gonna blow their minds!!!” but in execution was a little too The Californians.
But that scene with Alicent going postal in the Great Hall and that twist ending!!! Yes. Yes. Yes!
So: Are you Team Green or Team Black? And even more interesting: Who do you relate to the most, Alicent or Rhaenyra?
On to the rankings! We’ve got 12 this week.
#1 Rhaenyra Targaryen
Despite what Alicent says, Rhaenyra does understand suffering, duty, and sacrifice. But while Alicent seems single-mindedly focused on ensuring Rhaenyra doesn’t get what she wants, Rhaenyra is actually focused on the big picture and the big moves.
We saw SIDES of Rhaenyra in this episode. I love how gentle she is with her boys; how we know she’s grieving Harwin; how she told Daemon about her sense of abandonment, which seems to be both of their original wounds; how she is so generous to Laenor, saying, “You are an honorable man with a good heart. It’s a rare thing.”
But ALSO the way this woman did not flinch when Alicent came at her! She dares Alicent, she goads her, “Now they see you as you are.” What a lance to the heart of her childhood friend. And her final decisive move, marrying Daemon, sealing their gross bloodline, and tricking the whole world into thinking Laenor is dead…she won my [icked-out] respect.
With the final reveal that they helped Laenor escape: Did anyone else think of the hunting episode when she killed the boar but let the innocent White Hart — the “rare thing” — escape? Rhaenyra ends both episodes with her face bloodied from conquest. And freeing the rare, lovely White Hart. ???
#2 Draco Malfoy Aemund Targaryen
Watch out for this one, folks! He is a little piece of sh*t, but we have to respect his game! The way this kid sat through everything in the Great Hall with a freshly stitched-up eye, bleeding freely, and then gave the only decisive statement of the night: “I may have lost an eye. But I gained a dragon.” WATCH. OUT!!!!
[It felt really good when he got his eye sliced out, though.]
A note about THAT CHEATING HO, VAGHAR! 🐉 This gal clearly didn’t get enough time off/beach therapy to learn to love herself and is just hopping back in bed with the next human that comes along???? Vaghar, have some self-respect!!
#3 Queen Alicent Hightower
“We play an ugly game, but now for the first time, I see that you have the determination to win it.”
The fury unleashed!
I said that Alicent is single-minded about keeping Rhaenyra from getting what she wants. I don’t mean that in a shallow sense. If Rhaenyra wins, it threatens everything about how Alicent has chosen to live her life: Do what you’re supposed to, be a good girl, sacrifice your childhood to an old man, bear his children when you’re a child yourself, play your role, and the gods must reward you! Even when it seems like the selfish people are winning — people like Rhaenyra who didn’t play their proper role, who lie and cheat and steal — the gods will punish them in the end.
Alicent can’t live in a world where Rhaenyra gets what she wants because that’s not fair. Not after Rhaenyra betrayed her like that. Not when Alicent has suffered abuse and is bursting with jealousy at how everything is so easy for Rhaenyra, who takes it all for granted. Sure, she’s convinced herself she wants one of her kids on the throne, but honestly, she doesn’t even like those kids very much? They’re a constant reminder of her life of dreadful “duty.”
Also, even motherhood comes naturally to Rhaenyra. How annoying is that!? [Interesting that Rhaenyra seems like a “better mother,” but in Alicent’s defense, Rhaenyra wasn’t a child when she had her kids, and she had actual affection for their dad.]
We got to see all of THAT explode on screen—what a joy to watch. We also see her disgust with Larys, which is really disgust with herself. She knows her hands are dirty now—what won’t she do from here??
#4 Daemon Targaryen
The more everyone else loses control, the more Daemon’s power grows.
Matt Smith said in the post: “He’s a leaner, Daemon. I always felt like he was happy to watch everyone implode.” Daemon thrives in chaos, but it’s because chaos gives him control as the only person keeping a sociopathically clear head. He’s happy to watch everyone implode, but when it really matters, he acts.
Interesting that he took a back seat to Rhaenyra [not a sexual innuendo!!] and seems willing to do her bidding. Pit Daemon against Alicent’s errand boys, Larys and Criston, and I pick Daemon and his Murder Hoodie every time.
#5 Otto Hightower
The b*tch is back! Perhaps the “hand turns loom” of Helaena’s spider prophecy? [More on that next.] Like a spider himself, Otto bided his time, and his return shows how strong Alicent’s influence on the king has become — despite her momentary setbacks in this episode.
#6 Helaena Targaryen
Last episode, Helaena said that her brother would get a dragon, but “he’ll have to close an eye.” Professor Trelawney, is that you!??! This episode, her new prophecy was, “Hand turns loom, spool of green, spool of black, dragons of flesh, weaving dragons of thread.”
[Otto=Hand? Spool of green, spool of black=Coming war between the Greens and the Blacks? Dragons of flesh weaving dragons of thread=History making? Everyone getting stitched up? Something else?]
Guess we’ll be paying attention to everything she says from here on out.
#7 Rhaenyra’s Definitely Legitimate, Nothing Amiss, All Good Here, Boys
Rhaenyra’s boys are sweet angels. It’s obvious she’s a loving mother and that she and Real Dad Harwin and Fake Dad Laenor all modeled affectionate relationships for the kids. Thus far, these boys are empathetic, warm, and kind, even if one of them DID stab his cousin’s eye out. Could happen to anyone!
“If I’m the Lord of Driftmark, it means everyone’s dead.” -Baby Jon Snow angel
#8 Corlys and Rhaenys Velaryon
“History does not remember blood, it remembers names.” This couple knows how to have a healthy fight, and I love that about them. They’ve now lost both of their children, which is absolutely heartbreaking, but they seem aligned with the correct side?
#9 Ser Criston Cole
He didn’t help Alicent by stabbing a literal child in the eye THIS TIME — but it felt like, in another context, he definitely would’ve done it. He’s gonna do bad shit for her. Again, can’t get over being Friendzoned. He’s the worst.
#10 Larys Strong
This week, Larys was the Queen’s emotional scapegoat, but he’s just biding his oily time. He isn’t calling in his favors yet, which has me wondering what his end game is. Hand of the Queen? He seems like nothing but a throne would slake his ambition, right? Is he angling to marry her after the king dies? Is that even allowed?
#11 King Viserys
This man is still just begging the children to go to bed! Literally!
Viserys’s list of failures this week is LONG and mostly involves yelling a lot but not following through on any discipline whatsoever and also bringing Otto back.
But Viserys isn’t our loser this week, because he’s still the guy everyone is centering their lives around. Succession is ostensibly about four siblings warring over the family business. But really, it’s about four siblings fighting for their father’s love and attention. Kind of true here, too?
[Not to bring up Succession again, but this episode was sooooo reminiscent of the Seasons 1 and 3 finales when the family all gathers overseas for a wedding/funeral and all hell breaks loose!]
#12 Aegon Targaryen
Aegon is a despicable prick, yes, but I think it’s fair to NOT want to marry your sister! Also, his mom and grandpa slap him around quite a lot.
Off the Boards
Laenor Velaryon - A Free Man!
Wow, what a twist! Did you see it coming???
When Rhaenyra and Daemon started talking about the plan, I thought, “It’s a trick!” But then Daemon showed up in his murder cloak and got me STRESSED! I forgot everything and thought they killed him!
So when we saw Laenor rowing his boat off into the sunset—Reader, the scream I scrumpt! I am SORRY, Rhaenyra, for not believing in who I know you to be! Married to your uncle, sure, but not a murderer of kind men!
Apparently, in the books, all history knows is that Laenor and Carl had a fight, and Carl killed him. Salute to the plan that worked. Salute to Rhaenyra and Laenor.