At the end of the strong opening episode of this Game Of Thrones spin-off, everything seemed to be unusually crazy for Westeros. Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock) has been anointed heir to her father Viserys’ (Paddy Considine) throne, while troublemaker Uncle Daemon (Matt Smith) has gone into exile in turmoil. Alas, this second episode, set six months later, sets up the potentially titanic conflicts that will drive this series and could destroy them all. The most obvious threat closes the episode: the Crab Feeder, aka Craghas Drahar, haunts the kingdom’s shores. A mysterious figure, he fires at Westerosi ships and stakes his victims ashore at low tide to be devoured by Westeros’ seemingly vicious crustacean inhabitants (I suppose it stands to reason that even crabs are cursed with an insatiable bloodlust). It’s a strikingly shot scene, the low golden sun playing beautifully off the black smoke of the burning ships and the gruesome gaze at ground level, but also grotesque. For Craghas himself, however, the series reverts to biased old tropes that equate disfigurement with violence, hiding his scarred face behind a Phantom Of The Opera-esque metal mask. This seaside carnage is the first sign we’ve seen of the large-scale carnage we’ve become accustomed to in Westeros. if last week was about the athlete’s carefully contained violence and the very real dangers of childbirth, here the field widens to entire battlefields of casualties at once. And it’s still only the second week. At this point in Game Of Thrones he was still on the Kingsroad, throwing stones at a puppy. No wonder Steven Toussaint’s Lord Corlys supports the war against this outlaw. As usual, Viserys is reluctant to act, creating a rift between them. This rift is widened by the main plot of the episode: the issue of the king’s remarriage. Corlys and his Targaryen wife Rhaenys (Eve Best) propose their daughter Laena (young Nova Foueillis-Mosé at the moment). She is the king’s first cousin once removed, so she continues the Targaryen tradition of intermarriage. she is also the daughter of his oldest ally, House Velaryon, and her marriage would show that the two old Valyrian houses are as tight as ever. If she’s around 10 and he’s around 50, what happens? Apparently crude medieval rules apply. Ick factor aside, the proposal makes sense for the entire king’s small council, even Rhaenyra. But all these planners have calculated without Viserys himself. On the one hand, Considine’s character shows a commendable reluctance to marry a literal child. On the other hand, his growing affection for Alicent (Emily Carey) leads him to a decision that alienates the Corlys, shocks the rest of the council, and may jeopardize his relationship with Rhaenyra forever. The problem isn’t just that he’s marrying Alicent – although marrying your daughter’s best man just isn’t good. The theme that runs throughout this episode is that Rhaenyra’s position is still not secure. She is the heir, but still not in the king’s trust. Attends (some) small council meetings, but still serves drinks. She feels them trying to maneuver around her, but she seems to have no supporters of her own to turn to. It’s an untenable position, made worse by her father’s decision not to warn anyone, even Rhaenyra, of the announcement he’s about to make. So much for working together to protect Westeros from the apocalypse predicted in Targaryen dreams. The confrontation between Daemon and Rhaenyra is the best moment of the series so far. “ Rhys Ifans’ Otto Hightower, meanwhile, works hard to suppress his smugness that his manipulations have paid off. Ifans does a lot with very little in this episode, showing a wariness of Rhaenyra, an iron fist with Alicent, and a fine sense of what will affect the king. Watch the early scene where he talks about the wisdom of a match between Viserys and Laena, but laments the “pain” of marriage for duty that the king must suffer. Otto knows that Viserys never chose pain in his life where there was an easier path, and he certainly won’t be here either. It’s a great piece of writing by Ryan J. Condal and acting by Ifans. The most important event this week is probably this wedding and Rhaenyra’s immediate terror. The show’s stance on sexism is odd, so far. On the one hand, this is yet another fantasy series that has freely chosen to reproduce a patriarchy, as opposed to Wheel of Time for example, because it’s one thing to capture dragons but another to capture sexual equality. The only good reason for that will be if it can give the female characters enough authority and character to actually say something about the wrongs that create such discrimination in our world and the pointless waste of talent it causes. It’s not entirely clear, yet, whether this show will do that or just stick to the killing. Game of Thrones: All Eight Seasons Ranked But enough speculation: Daemon might die if we don’t talk about him already. After sulking in Dragonstone for half a year, he’s clearly bored, so he decides to get his brother’s attention by claiming a dragon egg for his own, announcing his plans to marry his girlfriend Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno) and promising the egg to the child . may one day have Since marriage seems to be news to Mysaria, and that she’s not pregnant, this plays out on a royal scale. Otto, showing a measure of bravery we didn’t expect from him, leads the mission to retrieve the egg despite the distinct possibility that Daemon will just put the dragon on him. But it’s Rhaenyra who saves the day. Their showdown is the best moment of the series so far. Daemon and Otto square off on the long path to Dragonstone (recreated in the studio rather than on the Spanish location, San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, where it was apparently first shot), their mutual hatred almost crystallized in the air around them. Then Daemon’s dragon, ‘Red Worm’ Caraxes, crawls from the top of the cliffs and there’s a palpable sense that shit just got real. These dragons, with their long necks, are closer to Tolkien than Dragonheart, more Smaug than Toothless, and are deeply terrifying weapons. Just before Otto is mildly freaked out, however, Rhaenyra arrives at her dragon Syrax and tells her uncle to deliver the egg to him. Their relationship, established even in the first episode as they flirted in front of the Iron Throne, is good, but he was disappointed that she replaced him as heir. Rhaenyra looks especially like Daenerys in her riding gear and proves to be just as effective. Smith, meanwhile, is wonderful in the sudden turn Daemon takes, arguing about his rights one minute and flipping the disputed egg the next, apparently on a whim. Sure, he’s offended his brother, his niece, and his girlfriend, but Daemon knows when to cut his losses and wait for the next opportunity for mischief. This opportunity comes, as luck would have it, very quickly. After walking out of the council when the king announces his plans to marry Alissen, Lord Corliss retreats to his home in Driftmark and invites the Daemon to visit. He proposes an alliance: they will both go and take down the Crab Feeder, thus increasing their standing in the Seven Kingdoms until Viserys has to take them both seriously. What can go wrong? No doubt we’ll find out next week. Every IGN Game of Thrones review
