House of the Dragon Season 3, Episode 7 Recap and Review

Full spoilers travel for House of the Dragon Season 3, Episode 7.

There’s a large cardinal contented astatine the bosom of House Targaryen that has excessively often gone unexamined and underexplained successful House of the Dragon, contempt its name, and that’s however the dragons work. This amusement has followed its predecessor’s illustration successful leaning into the quality play of Westeros and distant from its much fantastical aspects, but there’s a bounds to however good that works, and successful this engaging and mostly amusive occurrence (unless you’re Emma D’Arcy’s Rhaenyra), they yet get their teeth, and claws, into it.

Son and mother, reunited...

The question is what, exactly, is the narration betwixt rider and dragon for House Targaryen and their allies? What are the obligations betwixt rider and beast, if any? How (or however much) bash they communicate? Do their feelings impact 1 another? There person been suggestions, occasionally, that having a dragon whitethorn impact one’s temperament (or that one’s temperament whitethorn impact one’s accidental of bonding with a dragon); there’s a wide accusation that losing your dragon is simply a signifier of emasculation for Tom Glynn-Carney’s Aegon II and the precocious Viserys (Paddy Considine). But it’s ne'er been wide if it matters, and however much, beyond prestige successful the interior Targaryen pecking order.

This time, however, we get immoderate cardinal hints that there’s much of a nexus than possibly we were shown before. The scenes of dragon conflict, arsenic erstwhile Rhaenyra yet discovers that her hubby Daemon (Matt Smith) has been lying to her to support his girl Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell) and flies to face some on with Addam (Clinton Liberty), suggest an affectional closeness. As the humans outcry astatine 1 another, their dragons roar and bellow and, occasionally, endanger to flame, and it’s perfectly wide that they’re reflecting thing quality and vice versa. Later successful the occurrence we spot Aegon screaming successful sync with his steed Sunfyre, some disfigured and defiant and seemingly connected the verge of madness, and the content is confirmed.

The occurrence besides begins with a imagination of Helaena (Phia Saban) and successful information heavy features her dreams - oregon possibly Dreams, of the prophetic kind. So what does it mean that she sees herself connected her dragon, Dreamfyre, shouting “Dracarys!” arsenic an aggravated mob rushes astatine them successful the Dragonpit? What does it mean that she imagines a quiescent beingness connected the workplace with her children (it looks similar some Jaehaera and a younger boy, presumably the 1 she’s presently expecting) erstwhile an eclipse occurs? Rhaenyra is putting her younger half-sister nether unit to stock her Dreams, hopeless for reassurance that she is connected the close path, but it’s not wide that Helaena has immoderate specified comfortableness to offer.

The question is what, exactly, is the narration betwixt rider and dragon for House Targaryen and their allies? “

Of course, that’s acold from the astir screwed-up imagination this episode. That prize goes to Aemond (Ewan Mitchell), who sees his parent Alicent (Olivia Cooke) arriving astatine Harrenhal and the 2 of them tumbling into furniture unneurotic earlier realising it was each a dream. And past helium wakes up and she has so arrived. Awkward! This whitethorn not beryllium the dictionary explanation of “headfuck” but it should be. Alicent babbles, Aemond is much taciturn, Alys (Gayle Rankin) is rightly suspicious of the newcomer. Aemond shares her wariness to a degree, capable to execution Alicent’s travelling companion (who, to beryllium fair, is determination to assistance assassinate him), but not capable to garbage the poisoned nightcap she offers aft the world’s astir awkward meet-the-mother-in-law dinner. Alicent creeps retired of the castle and into the wind, figuring that the occupation is done and stricken by it, but Aemond stumbles to Alys astatine the archetypal tummy pangs truthful he’ll astir apt recover.

Meanwhile Rhaenyra is inactive pulled successful each absorption and failing to woody with immoderate of her problems, and it creates a vacuum astatine the spot of her power. Torrhen Manderly (Dan Fogler) is furious that he’s been near to clasp the container for everyone’s wealth woes – thing that is virtually his occupation -- and Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno) is trying to marque herself a conduit to the radical and being rejected connected each sides. She manages to, ahem, reconnect with Rhaenyra herself by the extremity of the occurrence (is that what the kids are calling it these days?), but she’s inactive caught in-between a regal stone and a communal hard place, and that’s a pugnacious concern to beryllium in.

Daemon, too, is looking much woebegone than we person seen him before. He has belatedly realised that his girl whitethorn desperately request him, which by Westeros standards makes him begetter of the twelvemonth against astir zero competition, but successful trying to support her helium has breached his wife’s heart. And also, he’s astir wholly failed to support her; he’s conscionable separated her from her dragon and gone home. He’s besides progressively floundering successful council, suffering the aforesaid myopia arsenic Rhaenyra and failing to look past his idiosyncratic passions to the large picture.

Daeron (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth)

It’s a mess. The lone idiosyncratic laughing – and laughing a batch this clip -- is Ormund (James Norton), who’s riding precocious contempt the imminent accomplishment of the Rivermen extracurricular his hastily built walls and the information that he’s astir apt successful past spot successful that aforementioned begetter of the twelvemonth competition. He holds Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint) captive, and cuts disconnected his digit arsenic impervious of beingness to effort to support the Velaryon men from plugging the policing spread successful King’s Landing (an businesslike and speedy postal strategy inactive appears to beryllium operating betwixt Tumbleton and King’s Landing). He’s besides keeping his ward Daeron (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) and relative Gwayne (Freddie Fox) successful the acheronian astir his plans, to their expanding frustration. And, successful the episode’s last large reveal, he’s courting the dragon rider Ulf (Tom Bennett), trying to crook him from Rhaenyra’s work with the committedness that he’ll go Lord of (Corlys’) Driftmark fortress, and besides that he’ll beryllium escaped to portion whenever helium wants. It’s not wide which is the bigger inducement to the large ol’ lush but it could spell large occupation for Rhaenyra if helium turns.

So the tally was six dragons for Rhaenyra (Syrax, Caraxes, Vermithor, Silverwing, Moondancer, Seasmoke) positive 1 unreliable wannabe state (Sheepstealer). Then determination was 1 MIA for the Greens (Vhagar) and 1 retired of combat (Dreamfyre). Now determination are 5 for Rhaenyra, 2 of them possibly injured; 2 for the Greens (it looks similar Ulf’s Silverwing and the resurgent Sunfyre) and perchance 2 MIA dragons (Sheepstealer and Vhagar, still) to perchance alteration that calculus further. It’s each astatine play going into the Season 3 finale, and it’s inactive not wide however acold these flames could spread.