IR TV Review: HOUSE OF THE DRAGON - EPISODE 8 [HBO]
The aspect of family despite all of its heartache and infighting comes down to livability and legacy. With Episode 8 of "House Of The Dragon", the perspective of the King and his ability to give sanctity of perception to his subjects calls the entire power of the kingdom into question since everyone is jockeying for position. The poison begets on all sides. Rhaenyera is mostly to blame because of her impulsive nature and not wanting to own up to mistakes or actions that she thought might not have consequences overall (or maybe she was willfully ignorant in her stubbornness). Because there is another time jump in this episode, the narrative forces the viewer to perhaps fill in the blanks on the characters who may have had a lot of time to ruminate on their own issues, misdeeds or steps they thought necessary but were perhaps not the best rule of thumb.
The most specific element is the lead candidate for succession of House Valyron when its patriarch is lost. The pull for power by a family member makes complete sense but with those others in play, one knows it is just a matter of time. Daemon as always is true to form even though in his later age he has become more sleathly as the Prince Consort to Rhaenyera but he is still decisive. It is a tangled web to be woven. But through it all in this episode, Paddy Considine is riveting to the end as a now weak and feeble king, not in control and yet sentimental when he knows that it is the last thing that will save him.
Both a court appearance with all the pulls of tragedy (and Hamlet for that matter) and a dinner confrontation are key to this. An act of possible empathy by Daemon really gives the scene in the court depth with the failing of one royal custom really bringing it to bear. The dinner scene with both Queen Consort Alicent and Princess Rhaenyera on either side and the bridging in a way is fairly riveting before an unmasking, both emotional and physical begets the darkness of the occasion but also the hope it hides in its chest. As the episode concludes the idea is whether to engage in destruction or take in the possibility that a compromise of sorts could be possible. A-
By Tim Wassberg
