Game of Thrones (TV Program)

There may be time yet to avoid mass burning and bloodshed, but it is running out very quick.Season 2, Episode 8: ‘The Queen Who Ever Was’Chekhov warned writers against placing just one gun on the mantel without firing it by the end, let alone a dozen. In its second season finale, “House of the Dragon” calls Chekhov’s bluff 11 times over.Vhagar, Dreamfyre, Syrax, Vermax, Vermithor, Caraxes, Seasmoke, Silverwing, Moondancer and the newcomers Sheepstealer and Tessarion: These are the living dragons introduced thus far, all available — theoretically, anyway — to take part in hostilities when the episode begins. (Aegon pronounces his dragon, Sunfyre, dead, so that takes him out of the action; more on Sheepstealer and Tessarion later.) Eleven beasts locked and loaded, and not a single one fired when the closing credits roll.True, Vhagar torches a town off-camera at Aemond’s command, a horrific crime that shocks both the Black and Green camps. Still, the entire episode — the entire season — builds to a conflagration that never arrives. Even the abundance of dragons soaring together in the opening credits’ tapestry feels like a bait and switch.That final cut to black knocked the wind out of my sails. Unfortunately, the episode is so good at building tension and anticipation for the three-front war on the horizon that it becomes a victim of its own success when the action doesn’t arrive.In the Narrow Sea, Ser Tyland Lannister, the Greens’ master of ships, forges an unlikely alliance with a bawdy pirate queen, Lohar (Abigail Thorn), after beating her in mud wrestling. (Her demand that he impregnate her apparently many wives is either a caveat or a bonus, depending on your perspective.)Their combined fleets will be arrayed against that of Lord Corlys, with his son and first mate, Alyn, by his side. But only reluctantly: The younger man angrily rejects his father’s overtures as too little, too late. Alyn grew up poor and hungry, watching Corlys and his heir, Laenor, strut around in their finery. Since Laenor is gone, now Corlys wants Alyn for a son? The sailor gives the offer a hard pass.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

The dragons are amassing, and just like their humans, they have histories and personalities, too. Here’s a rundown of who’s riding whom.“House of the Dragon” has finally lived up to its name; it’s all about the dragons ahead of the Season 2 finale, airing Sunday on HBO.The Targaryen civil war between the Blacks (supporters of Queen Rhaenyra’s claim to the Iron Throne) and the Greens (those who support her half brother Aegon) has had its share of palace intrigue, betrayals and populist tactics. But ultimately, the side with the greatest number of dragons has the edge.As Daemon Targaryen, Rhaenyra’s errant king consort, once said: “Dreams didn’t make us kings. Dragons did.”Here’s a look at all of the dragons and their riders from the show so far.Team BlackSyraxRhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) and her dragon, Syrax, who is fearsome but young.Theo Whiteman/HBORider: Rhaenyra Targaryen (played by Emma D’Arcy)Status: AliveThe queen’s dragon with yellow scales is on the younger side and has been a presence in the show since Season 1. She is named after a goddess of Valyria, the doomed city in Essos that was also the ancestral home of House Targaryen.VermaxRider: Jacaerys Velaryon (Harry Collett)Status: AliveRhaenyra’s firstborn son bonded with his dragon, who on the show has olive scales with pale orange wing membranes.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

A lot has happened since we published a who’s who list before Season 2 began. Heading into the finale, here’s at look at where the characters stand now.This roundup has been updated to reflect events through Episode 7 of Season 2 of HBO’s “House of the Dragon.”Before Season 2 of “House of the Dragon” began in mid-June, HBO hadn’t released a new episode for about two years; so with the premiere days away, we published a guide to the show’s sprawling cast.Seven episodes later, much has changed. Westeros is divided by a civil war between the Blacks, who support Rhaenyra Targaryen’s claim to the throne, and the Greens, who support her half brother Aegon’s. Characters have died, been maimed or disappeared. Meanwhile, the common people — known in the show’s parlance as smallfolk — have played an increasingly large role, adding several new faces to the show. It seemed like time for an update.Whether you’ve picked sides or simply want to catch up in time for the Sunday season finale, here is a look at the major players now.Team BlackQueen Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy)STATUS: Stacked with dragons. Long the only child of the late King Viserys Targaryen, Rhaenyra was proclaimed heir by the king in defiance of centuries of tradition that held that only males could rule. But traditions die hard, and her younger half brother Aegon was crowned king by his supporters in Rhaenyra’s absence from the capital of King’s Landing.Throughout the season, Rhaenyra has worked to keep violence to a minimum, even though her son Lucerys was one of the war’s first casualties. At the encouragement of her common-born adviser — and romantic interest — Mysaria, Rhaenyra has repeatedly relied on Westeros’s everyday people. By turning the public against Aegon through deft propaganda, and by recruiting descendants of House Targaryen born out of wedlock to become dragon riders, she hopes to tip the balance of power in her favor. Heading into the finale, she is looking pretty stacked on the dragon front again, having lost three from her team (Arrax and Meleys are dead; Caraxes is AWOL) but then effectively gained three back (Seasmoke, Silverwing and Vermithor all have Team Black riders now). She herself rides a bright yellow dragon called Syrax.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

Not everyone gets to have a dragon. But maybe more people get to have dragons than everyone thought?Season 2, Episode 7: ‘The Red Sowing’Sometimes, in politics, a bold gamble in unprecedented times pays off. This is as true for the world of Westeros as it is for our own. The woman who wants to rule the realm staked it all on a long-odds play, and her odds came in.For several episodes, Queen Rhaenyra has been down one dragon. The formidable beast Meleys and her equally impressive rider, Princess Rhaenys, are dead. Prince Daemon’s war-hardened “Blood Wyrm,” Caraxes, is mired in his master’s endless quest to subdue the Riverlands. None of the mounts available to Team Black can possibly match Prince-Regent Aemond and his colossal creature, Vhagar, in battle, even when combined.On the advice of her counselor (with benefits?) Mysaria, Rhaenyra expands her search for potential dragon riders to the unrecognized descendants of her sprawling royal family — those born as commoners, outside of marriage. In a face-to-face meeting with the young shipwright Addam of Hull, revealed to be the new rider of the dragon Seasmoke, Rhaenyra has already learned that even those not of fully noble birth can ride a dragon. She doesn’t know that Addam is the son of Lord Corlys Velaryon, whose house has frequently intermarried with the Targaryens — and neither Addam nor Corlys tells her so — but since the young man’s mother was a commoner regardless, the point stands.When word of the search gets to King’s Landing through the usual back channels, Ulf and Hugh, two of the commoners we’ve been following all season, take the fateful trip to Dragonstone to test their mettle against monsters widely considered more god than animal. There, they learn the hard way that gambling is easier when you’re betting with someone else’s money.True, Rhaenyra talks about needing dragon riders to avoid bloodshed, not cause it. And she pushes back against her son Prince Jacaerys’s furious tirade against elevating lowborn part-Targaryen “mongrels” to the level of dragon rider. (In fairness to Jace, his shame about his own parentage, and his fear of becoming just another Targaryen-blooded bastard with a dragon and thus no more a claim to the throne than any other, play as much of a role as snobbery does here.)What Rhaenyra does not do is ask her potential dragon riders to proceed onto the barbecue grill — I’m sorry, the viewing platform — beneath Dragonstone to approach the mighty dragon Vermithor one at time. So what if the dragon keepers have gone on strike in protest of this “blasphemous” move? Surely the Black Queen is aware of best practices when it comes to large groups and hungry fire-breathing dinosaurs by this point in her life. I would call this a flaw in the writing, but the reckless disregard of even “good” Targaryens like Rhaenyra and Rhaenys for civilians caught in the crossfire of their boldness has been a through line of the series.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

Rhaenyra sends a gift to the common people of King’s Landing. There may be some strings attached.Season 2, Episode 6The hug lasts 45 seconds before they kiss. Yes, I counted. In the terms of that episode of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” where Larry hugs Auntie Rae for a little too long, it’s nine “five Mississippi”s. And like any long, drawn-out take on this densely packed show, it stops everything in its tracks.For three quarters of a minute, we watch empathy, respect, gratitude, warmth, heat, curiosity, desire and, finally, passion all play out in the silent embrace between Queen Rhaenyra and her friend and counselor Mysaria. For the first time in their lives, each of these two very different people has found somebody she sees as an equal, and who sees her as an equal in turn, and the thought quickly goes from comforting to intoxicating. Dragons are flying, men are burning, reigns are teetering, but for as long as that embrace lasts, the world of “House of the Dragon” exists between these two women’s arms.But this week’s episode of “Dragon” specialized in all kinds of people getting the things they want and need — or trying to, anyway — in all kinds of ways. Rhaenyra and Mysaria’s interrupted clinch was just one example.In King’s Landing, the acting regent prince, Aemond, is throwing his weight around. He boots his mother from his small council, and rejects Lord Larys Strong for the position of hand in favor of his cunning but loyal grandfather, Otto Hightower. He then sends Ser Criston — the man who knows he tried to murder his brother, King Aegon — off to root Daemon out of the hotly contested Riverlands, with his uncle Ser Gwayne Hightower in tow. The two men look as if they still haven’t washed off all the ash from their previous encounter with a hostile dragon, and this time Aemond is playing coy about when, or even if, he’ll fly out to protect them.Aemond saves his harshest cruelties for his big brother the king, whom he torments in his sickbed, the threat of murder hanging thick in the air. “I remember nothing,” the barely conscious Aegon repeatedly croaks, clearly scared for his life. Fortunately for Aegon, though, someone else recognizes what’s going on: the Clubfoot, Larys Strong.In his most emotionally unguarded moment to date, the cagey Master of Whisperers lays bare the pain and humiliation of a lifetime of being looked down upon because of his physical deformity and disability. This, he says with a tear falling from his eye, is the life Aegon now has to look forward to. But it comes with an upside: He will now be underestimated, and he can use that to his advantage.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

Prince Aemond makes a move — another move, that is, after the one where he blasted his own brother with dragonfire.In his series of epic fantasy novels A Song of Ice and Fire, the author George R.R. Martin has based a trio of men-at-arms on Curly, Moe and Larry, the Three Stooges. He has used the superheroes Blue Beetle and Green Arrow as the basis for noble houses’ emblematic sigils. During the events depicted in “House of the Dragon,” the important House Tully is variously ruled over by Lords Grover, Elmo, and Kermit, with a Ser Oscar thrown in for good measure, as if “Sesame Street” had come to the Seven Kingdoms.So do I think it’s possible that in his book “Fire and Blood,” the basis of “House of the Dragon,” Martin put Prince Aemond Targaryen in control of Westeros just as a cheeky way to illustrate the maxim “In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king”? I wouldn’t put it past him.Compared to the all-out dragon warfare of last week’s outing, this week’s episode was a low-key affair, though not an inconsequential one. Aemond One-Eye’s ascension to the regency as his comatose brother, Aegon, clings to life in a burned and battered body is an alarming development in several respects. Already in possession of the Targaryen civil war’s deadliest weapon, the ancient dragon Vhagar, Aemond now has the political power to match his firepower. That sort of consolidation of control can’t bode well for any of the other prominent voices on the small council, particularly that of Aemond and Aegon’s increasingly marginalized mother, the dowager Queen Alicent.Even his nominal supporters visibly chafe at their choice of regent, though they feel that choice is limited at best. Ser Criston Cole saw firsthand how Aemond tried to kill his brother, first with Vhagar and then up close and personal, but he tells none of this to Alicent. He goes along with Aemond’s rise not despite the horror he witnessed but because of it. This is now a war of dragons, he tells Alicent, and as such they must be led by a dragon rider.The logic of Ser Larys Strong is more political than martial. How would it look, he asks, if they rejected the claim of Rhaenyra on the grounds of her sex, only to raise up another woman, Alicent, as Queen Regent? The legal and sociopolitical waters would be muddied considerably, and support put at risk. With the exception of Grandmaester Orwyle (Kurt Egyiawan), a habitual voice of reason, the men of the council all back the male candidate over the female.The episode’s director, Clare Kilner, lets the camera linger on the face of the actor who plays Alicent, Olivia Cooke, at this point. As the music of the composer Ramin Djawadi strikes an ominously modern tone, the camera draws ever closer, as Queen Alicent struggles to contain her … anger? Embarrassment? Fear? Pain, especially over her abandonment by both her lover and her son? All of the above are visible in Cooke’s extraordinarily communicative eyes.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

Rhaenyra acts on a risky hope that cooler heads might prevail. But are there really any cool heads left?Season 2, Episode 3:“We read fantasy to find the colors again, I think,” George R.R. Martin wrote in his short 1996 essay “On Fantasy.” “To taste strong spices and hear the songs the sirens sang.” By that standard, this week’s episode of “House of the Dragon,” a series based on Martin’s book “Fire and Blood,” is spicy fantasy indeed.I don’t just mean the sex and nudity, though what there was of both blew my hair back on my head. For Martin, fantasy is about more than ribaldry. Describing it as a genre of “silver and scarlet, indigo and azure, obsidian veined with gold and lapis lazuli,” he goes on to write of how its very largeness, the unbounded scope of its imagination, “speaks to something deep within us.” This episode certainly spoke to something deep within this critic.Crumbling gothic castles and grotesque charnel-house battlefields, nightmares of murder and desperate pleas for peace, breakneck dragon chases and it-was-all-a-big-misunderstandings — this week offered the kind of maximalist storytelling that felt both over-the-top and vital. (Indeed it’s hard to have great TV without at least a smidgen of the outlandish.) From a story perspective, the episode’s biggest moment arrived right near the end. The brewing war between the Blacks and the Greens over the Iron Throne comes down to the wishes of one dead man, King Viserys. For years, he proclaimed his daughter, Rhaenyra, to be his heir to all and sundry. But on the night it most counted, the night of his death, he told his wife, Queen Alicent, that his eldest son, Aegon, must be the one to unite the realm — “The Prince That Was Promised,” as Viserys called the callow lad.Or so it seemed to Alicent. We in the audience knew that when he mentioned the name Aegon, he was referring to his prophetic ancestor, Aegon the Conqueror, and to Aegon’s vision of an apocalyptic battle against the darkness, as depicted in the final season of “Game of Thrones.”Did Alicent truly believe that Viserys was talking about their son? Or was that merely what she wished to believe? (As important, should a drama hinge its central conflict on the kind of verbal mix-up better suited to a sitcom? Answering that is, at this advanced stage, perhaps beyond the scope of this recap.)The daring stealth mission in which Rhaenyra sneaks back into King’s Landing (with Mysaria’s help) to force a one-on-one meeting with her frenemy of frenemies clears all this up. Alicent really believes Viserys wanted Aegon. For her part, Rhaenyra really believes Alicent really believes it. But once the dowager queen mentions the Conqueror’s “Song of Ice and Fire,” Rhaenyra figures out what went wrong and offers a clarification … which Alicent refuses to heed, although she seems to knows in her heart that it is true.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More