House of the Dragon Season 1, Episode 7: "Driftmark"

[Primal Slayer]

I loved Aemond claiming Vhagar. They really nailed that scene and the kid playing Young Aemond was amazing. This episode would have definitely worked more if we'd gotten one more week spent in this timeslot, because the emotional payoff of Harwyn and Laena's deaths + Laenor's fate just isn't what it should be when we barely knew them. Same with the dynamic between the princes.

I can't get over how many people are still blanket defending the Greens and demonizing Alicent this week. Like, Rhaenyra's kids STARTED the fight, ESCALATED the fight and caused the only serious injury, yet they face no consequences, not even a condemnation from the king, who is more concerned with maintaining the security of Rhaenyra's lies. How do people seriously expect Alicent to take all this and just roll over, never fighting back?

He stole they their mothers dragon from their family when her own daughter dont even got a dragon yet. What you expect them to do? Rhae Rhaes kids were being good friends and defending them.

 

[Roose Bolton]

I don’t care how much the show tries to spin Aemond as a bullied, misunderstood kid, I’ve got no sympathy for him. Aegon’s not great either.

 

[Mjolnir Reborn]

High on what? The show still plays his relationship with his niece as true love, destiny. They spent 2 episodes repairing his image through him being a good husband to his second wife, and finding a way to spare Rhaenyra's. What is most important to his character is his relationship to Rhaenyra, and it is what is used most to color his character.

Each side is mostly represented by their leaders. Just because there were terrible people in the Night's Watch or among the Free Folk, didn't make them villains. Because they were lead by "heroes". Rhaenyra is seen as a hero, Alicent the villain. They made a big song and dance of revealing Ailcent to have had her "true nature" displayed to the world. As if Rhaenyra isn't the one in a glass house of lies. Then Alicent goes full heel turn by taking up the kinslayer.

I fully agree both sides are terrible. I just don't think the showrunners see Rhaenyra as anything but the hero here, while Alicent is her opposite. I mean the first 5 minutes of the show emphasized, and it has not wavered. When Alicent was lied to by Rhaenyra leading us to where we are, it has not reflected badly on Rhaenyra. Because we are suppose to be behind the idea of that it's her right to sit on the Iron Throne.

The show, for all it's attempts at grays (I just find most of the people unlikable), I do think it's setup is pretty simple. It's Starks vs. Lannisters again. It's honor vs. ambition.

High on the scale of terrible deeds. Seeing how he didn't stick around with his heritage its not even as ambitious as Larys, it's just a vile deed for petty reasons. I don't agree with you that being nicer to the wife he liked makes up for that murder.

Overall we just have a very different view on these characters. I don't get your view of honor vs ambition at all. Rhaenyra is just not an embodiment of honor. That's someone like Ned, where even his big misstep was just him being sacrificing his own honor for his sister's and nephew's sake. Rhaenyra is spoiled, risks the stability of the realm by having bastards, etc.

 

[Deck Rickard]

Kudos to Aemond for waking up the dragon and riding it. But he could have just stabbed it in the tail a few hundred times and collected his 50,000 runes and five dragon hearts. It’s a great way to level up this early in the game.

 

[Kane52630]

 

[#root]

I agree that the showrunners seem to be favouring the Targaryens a little too much. At least they have more interesting characters on their side. The greens need more likeable characters because at this point Alicent is the only one I have sympathy for. Otto, Cristen Cole, Larys Strong, Aegon, and Aemond are unlikable *****ebags. Oh and I guess I like Helaena too. Very curious to see more of her. They seem to be hinting at something that wasn’t mentioned in the books, at least to my knowledge.

 

[Snow Queen]

The best scene:

 

[CaptainWagner]

Aemond was talking **** to a grieving kid. Cry me a river.

He made an insensitive comment. That doesn't justify getting jumped 4-on-1, having a knife pulled on you when you fight back and then losing an eye.

He stole they their mothers dragon from their family when her own daughter dont even got a dragon yet. What you expect them to do? Rhae Rhaes kids were being good friends and defending them.

You can't steal a dragon. Vhagar did not belong to anyone. Vhagar almost certainly never would have accepted Rhaena anyway, given her mild-mannered personality.

I agree that the showrunners seem to be favouring the Targaryens a little too much. At least they have more interesting characters on their side. The greens need more likeable characters because at this point Alicent is the only one I have sympathy for. Otto, Cristen Cole, Larys Strong, Aegon, and Aemond are unlikable *****ebags. Oh and I guess I like Helaena too. Very curious to see more of her. They seem to be hinting at something that wasn’t mentioned in the books, at least to my knowledge.

Yeah, Heleana having dragon dreams is a cool development. Wish we could get a scene of her bonding with Viserys over their shared gift/curse.

 

[TheFuture]

I agree that the showrunners seem to be favouring the Targaryens a little too much. At least they have more interesting characters on their side. The greens need more likeable characters because at this point Alicent is the only one I have sympathy for. Otto, Cristen Cole, Larys Strong, Aegon, and Aemond are unlikable *****ebags. Oh and I guess I like Helaena too. Very curious to see more of her. They seem to be hinting at something that wasn’t mentioned in the books, at least to my knowledge.

I thought things were reasonably balanced until the time jump, where Cole became full on pantomime villain and Allicent not far behind him. That twist at the end of this episode did them no favours either.

I guess I understand why they're doing it, but I still have faith they'll pull the Greens back. I find Otto honestly fascinating as he jumps from clear scheming in one ep to a nuanced portrayal in another. Helena and Aegon seem harmless and I think the latter might have potential as an abused son and brother.

 

[chamber-music]

I agree that the showrunners seem to be favouring the Targaryens a little too much. At least they have more interesting characters on their side. The greens need more likeable characters because at this point Alicent is the only one I have sympathy for. Otto, Cristen Cole, Larys Strong, Aegon, and Aemond are unlikable *****ebags. Oh and I guess I like Helaena too. Very curious to see more of her. They seem to be hinting at something that wasn’t mentioned in the books, at least to my knowledge.

Yep. Alicent was in favour of mending bridges with Rhaenyra until Rhaenyra lied to her. I get why Alicent didn't trust her after that.

Yeah for me it was seeing her in The Quiet Ones, The Signal, Ouija all in the same year when it came out, but it wasn't until the year after with Me and Earl and the Dying Girl that I knew she's gonna be really great.

I remember her from Bates Motel. I also remember Cooke being on light entertainment show Sunday Brunch in the UK saying she was DM'ing dudes for some 'D' during the pandemic which made me like her.

 

[Broseph44]

Excellent episode might be the best so far. Definitely ramping up now as we get get closer to the last few episodes. Also I am curious, who else is with me on team black?

 

[blackdragon6]

He made an insensitive comment. That doesn't justify getting jumped 4-on-1, having a knife pulled on you when you fight back and then losing an eye.

He got jumped cause he hit a girl, you're lying if you wouldn't have done the same if you were in their position lol.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

He made an insensitive comment. That doesn't justify getting jumped 4-on-1, having a knife pulled on you when you fight back and then losing an eye.

Uh, no.

1. He didn't get jumped. He started beating up little kids, far smaller then him.

2. He did this after insulting children who had just lost their mother and others he was accusing of not having their father. It wasn't insenstive, it was proper entitled sociopath behavior.

3. He got the knife to the face, because he was threatening to murder a small child with a rock.

I honestly have no idea how you got what you got out of that encounter.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

High on the scale of terrible deeds. Seeing how he didn't stick around with his heritage its not even as ambitious as Larys, it's just a vile deed for petty reasons. I don't agree with you that being nicer to the wife he liked makes up for that murder.

Overall we just have a very different view on these characters. I don't get your view of honor vs ambition at all. Rhaenyra is just not an embodiment of honor. That's someone like Ned, where even his big misstep was just him being sacrificing his own honor for his sister's and nephew's sake. Rhaenyra is spoiled, risks the stability of the realm by having bastards, etc.

I'm not talking about my view of the characters. I'm talking about what the show is doing with the characters. I think the Targs are gross outside of the little kids. But my point is, that's not how how the showrunners see them, and they've made that clear multiple times. They are the ones who said it's, "Punk Rock vs. a Trump Supporter". That isn't ambiguous.

Honor in this context is about doing what is "right". Rhaenyra believes herself entitled to the throne, because she's the appointed heir. You bring up her having "bastards" as if that makes her a bad person. Maybe by Westeros standards, but that's of course not how we are suppose to be judging the show, because it's an extremely sexist premise. Robert had bastards. It was not a judgement against him. Nor was Jon against Ned. Because while the children were frowned upon, their leadership was not questioned do to their ****ing out of wedlock. Those "bastards" are her own blood. She's to be queen. Why does it matter who the father is? Because she's a woman.

The very first scene of the show makes it clear the premise here and who you should be rooting for. The realm is sexist and women are being kept from ruling because of it. Rhaenyra is the rightful first born heir, there should be no challenge to her rule, but there is because she's a woman. This has been made clear pretty much every single episode. Unless you think the showrunners agree with that general philosophy of sexism, which I do not, the dichotomy is pretty obvious. Especially with how the Blacks and Greens are being portrayed. The Greens having crappy Littlefinger and Tywin isn't by accident. What Cole does isn't by accident (dude might as well twirl his facial hair constantly). Rhaenyra attempts to reject costume and the game playing, while Alicent and the Greens embrace it, to try and claim the throne. The one that rightfully belongs to Rhaenyra.

My personal sympathies are with Alicent. That is not the direction the show is pushing imo.

 

[blackdragon6]

I honestly have no idea how you got what you got out of that encounter.

Right!!..lol

 

[DarthSkywalker]

How I'm feeling about the characters so far:

Rhaenyra: When she was a kid, a lot of her general issues made sense. I don't blame her for wanting what she's been told she's entitled to, nor do I blame her for searching for companionship. But she's clearly placed her kids in a terrible situation, and for that she deserves all the blame.

Alicent: She's spent the entire show being lied to by everyone, including Rhaenyra. I get her bitterness, but she's the one deciding to involve herself in the game.

Otto: Fakest human being on the show, and responsible for the majority of this mess.

Viserys: I get it. He was vulnerable after his wife's passing. But he knows where this is going, has for decades, and he still seems determined to do nothing.

Daemon: A romanticized pedo and murderer. Feels straight out of True Blood.

Aegon: They've made him Tommen, with a mean streak. Taught to fear by his mother. Can't blame him too much, but still a dick.

Aemond: 100% psychopath. Bullying doesn't make you that.

Cole: 50% bully, 50% chicken.

******* Strong: lol, Littlefinger is embarrassed by the comparisons, between him and this moustache twirler. And Littlefinger twirled his moustache.

 

[CaptainWagner]

Uh, no.

1. He didn't get jumped. He started beating up little kids, far smaller then him.

2. He did this after insulting children who had just lost their mother and others he was accusing of not having their father. It wasn't insenstive, it was proper entitled sociopath behavior.

3. He got the knife to the face, because he was threatening to murder a small child with a rock.

I honestly have no idea how you got what you got out of that encounter.

They attacked him first. The kid's been bullied for some time now for not having a dragon. Now he finally claims one and his cousins roll up on him accusing him of "stealing" it. And yeah, he was a **** in return, I'm not denying that. But then they attack him, he fights back, they're beating him 4-to-1, Jace pulls a knife and he finally thinks he's ended things by picking up the rock. And they very clearly show him moving to put the rock down before Luce slashes him.

 

[Roose Bolton]

I’ll be very curious to see where everyone stands with the Blacks and the Greens after this next (final?) time jump.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

They attacked him first. The kid's been bullied for some time now for not having a dragon. Now he finally claims one and his cousins roll up on him accusing him of "stealing" it. And yeah, he was a **** in return, I'm not denying that. But then they attack him, he fights back, they're beating him 4-to-1, Jace pulls a knife and he finally thinks he's ended things by picking up the rock. And they very clearly show him moving to put the rock down before Luce slashes him.

First. You said he was jumped. He wasn't. The small pack of children started giving him the business after he had assaulted 3 of them.

Second. You want to argued he was "bullied". Let's consider the actual circumstance. He went to the funeral of a mourning family, and stole their dragon. Yes, he stole it. The idea that he didn't is callus to me. I just lost my mother a week ago. I can barely do anything. The idea those kids should've tried to claim the dragon is heartless. The only bully in this situation was the little sliver hair monster.

Third. If a small child attacks you, especially one in grief, after you just insulted them days after their mother died, you don't fight them. He threw a tiny girl to the ground. Damn right the others fought him. How do you think this goes if you strike a small child in the family? You think everyone else just sits there? That's not how I was raised.

Fourth, he picked up the rock first, and was talking mad **** about people's parents, dead parents, while threatening to kill a child. Then the knife got pulled. He wasn't putting it down. He didn't drop it. He was ****ing with the head of a small child while threatening him with a rock. I mean, come on.

You want to cape for this gen's Joffrey, that's cool. But that's who you're caping for. Talking about how "beautiful" his stealing of the dragon is... you know where this story is going, right?

 

[DarthSkywalker]

You know what's getting me about this "argument" over the Aemond scene. It literally played out just like the Aryra/Joffrey situation, down to Alicent playing Cersei, looking for revenge. They were not subtle with the parallels or who was in the right, and who is the "mad" person in this situation. It's the kid who will be,

Spoiler

a kinslayer and murderer even Otto and his own mother are ashamed of.

 

[Roose Bolton]

Rule of thumb in Westeros…never trust a guy with an eyepatch.

 

[Mjolnir Reborn]

I'm not talking about my view of the characters. I'm talking about what the show is doing with the characters. I think the Targs are gross outside of the little kids. But my point is, that's not how how the showrunners see them, and they've made that clear multiple times. They are the ones who said it's, "Punk Rock vs. a Trump Supporter". That isn't ambiguous.

Honor in this context is about doing what is "right". Rhaenyra believes herself entitled to the throne, because she's the appointed heir. You bring up her having "bastards" as if that makes her a bad person. Maybe by Westeros standards, but that's of course not how we are suppose to be judging the show, because it's an extremely sexist premise. Robert had bastards. It was not a judgement against him. Nor was Jon against Ned. Because while the children were frowned upon, their leadership was not questioned do to their ****ing out of wedlock. Those "bastards" are her own blood. She's to be queen. Why does it matter who the father is? Because she's a woman.

The very first scene of the show makes it clear the premise here and who you should be rooting for. The realm is sexist and women are being kept from ruling because of it. Rhaenyra is the rightful first born heir, there should be no challenge to her rule, but there is because she's a woman. This has been made clear pretty much every single episode. Unless you think the showrunners agree with that general philosophy of sexism, which I do not, the dichotomy is pretty obvious. Especially with how the Blacks and Greens are being portrayed. The Greens having crappy Littlefinger and Tywin isn't by accident. What Cole does isn't by accident (dude might as well twirl his facial hair constantly). Rhaenyra attempts to reject costume and the game playing, while Alicent and the Greens embrace it, to try and claim the throne. The one that rightfully belongs to Rhaenyra.

My personal sympathies are with Alicent. That is not the direction the show is pushing imo.

I don't care the least about what I'm "supposed" to think or what the showrunners may say outside the show (which I don't pay any attention to), I judge what I'm seeing on screen and make up my own opinion. The work stands in its own and I as a viewer have my personal experience with it.

Furthermore I don't think it makes much sense to judge characters in a medieval setting and a fictional culture by modern standards and our culture (or cultures, as the forum user base is international). Especially when it's done inconsistently regarding the bastards and the incest, for example.

 

[CaptainWagner]

First. You said he was jumped. He wasn't. The small pack of children started giving him the business after he had assaulted 3 of them.

Second. You want to argued he was "bullied". Let's consider the actual circumstance. He went to the funeral of a mourning family, and stole their dragon. Yes, he stole it. The idea that he didn't is callus to me. I just lost my mother a week ago. I can barely do anything. The idea those kids should've tried to claim the dragon is heartless. The only bully in this situation was the little sliver hair monster.

Third. If a small child attacks you, especially one in grief, after you just insulted them days after their mother died, you don't fight them. He threw a tiny girl to the ground. Damn right the others fought him. How do you think this goes if you strike a small child in the family? You think everyone else just sits there? That's not how I was raised.

Fourth, he picked up the rock first, and was talking mad **** about people's parents, dead parents, while threatening to kill a child. Then the knife got pulled. He wasn't putting it down. He didn't drop it. He was ****ing with the head of a small child while threatening him with a rock. I mean, come on.

You want to cape for this gen's Joffrey, that's cool. But that's who you're caping for. Talking about how "beautiful" his stealing of the dragon is... you know where this story is going, right?

Maybe I need to watch the scene again, because it came off completely differently to me the first time I watched it and my opinions were definitely skewed by the ****** way so many on the internet have been talking about Alicent's character. For me, the scene was all about the poor choices of Rhaenyra's family creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. No one was in the right, but what started as petty bickering and a tragic injury turned into a realization that Rhaenyra gives ZERO ***** about what happens to them and their own father will overlook anything to protect her. Alicent has been filling her kids' heads with paranoia that their cousins will kill them for the throne - neither Aemond nor Aegon bought into that until this night - but now they will.

I think the other sticking point for me is that you can't steal a dragon. Aemond is in the same position as Rhaena - their eggs didn't hatch, and they've both been treated poorly for not having dragons. And they both have equal rights to claim Vhagar - dragons aren't inherited. The difference is that all the unclaimed dragons are on Dragonstone - Rhaena has MULTIPLE options if she wants to lay claim. This is Aemond's one chance, because he knows Rhaenyra isn't going to let him come back to take another shot at Vhagar, Vermithor, etc...

 

[P Supreme]

Excellent episode might be the best so far. Definitely ramping up now as we get get closer to the last few episodes. Also I am curious, who else is with me on team black?

Team Black

 

[Deck Rickard]

One thing I don’t get about the characters in this show is, why does no one ever step in and make any real effort to break up a fight? This episode was the third time a character tried to kill another one in a room full of people and everyone just stood around watching. A few episodes ago, I saw Daemon take out an entire ARMY by himself, but he can’t step in and wrestle a knife away from Alicent when she’s trying to kill his little incest crush? It was the same with Criston beating Joffrey to death at the wedding or those two knights trying to murder each other during the tournament. Laenor at least tried to help Joffrey but why didn’t anyone else?

Maybe the message is that people at this time in Westeros were so bored with their lives that they enjoy watching violence whenever it happens, I don’t know. But it’s still weird to watch so many non-reactions when this kind of stuff happens.