The Dream of Shadowlands: Episode 2

In this week's House of the Dragon, Rhaenyra’s eyes are fixed on the throne – but her one-track focus may be causing her to miss things.

Review: Pirates! Dragons! Ships! Fire! Betrayal, chaos, death and destruction... House of the Dragon's Season 3 premiere has it all.

Seasoned Westeros watchers will see potential problems arising with each scene of this episode. Everywhere Rhaenyra turns there’s someone looking for a piece of her (rodent bites both literal and figurative). Any one of these requests could be key to her undoing, and it’s very clear that she’s navigating a dangerous path. From the impossibly cool pre-opening credits scene to Rhaenyra ultimately swearing to burn all who stand against her, this episode moves almost too fast to track; no wonder Rhaenyra dissociates as she sits on her uncomfortable throne.

At the three-quarter mark, this season of House of the Dragon is easily the best in the show’s history. It’s nuanced and complex, but doesn’t feel like it’s being artificially complicated all the time for no real reason.

House of the Dragon: Season 3 continues to fire on all cylinders – or dragons, possibly. Even as viewers we can see the forces aligning against Rhaenyra and the pitfalls that surround her, and yet she seems oblivious. A lot of characters are growing increasingly desperate, and that tends to lead to outbreaks of violence in the very near future. It’s also a great performance episode, particularly for Fabien Frankel, Phia Saban and Olivia Cooke.