Rhaenys reaches Dragonstone with new of King Viserys' death, and of the rapid installation of Aegon as his successor. As the news comes, Rhaenyra goes into labor -- only to deliver a stillborn child. She is crowned Queen soon after, but is determined to cool the tempers of the men around her who are ready to declare war. Yet the decision to dispatch her two oldest sons as messengers to would-be allies will have fateful consequences.
Many criticisms are leveled against the final season of Game of Thrones, but one of the most consistent is the "heel turn" of Daenerys right near the end of the story. I've always maintained that people who claim her violent rage at King's Landing "came out of nowhere" weren't paying attention to all the signs of her hot and violent disposition all throughout the series -- though I can't deny that the series had done nothing to remind us that near the end of the story, when it was about to matter most.
So by contrast, this entire season of House of the Dragon -- and this final episode most keenly -- has been carefully crafted to make us understand, when Rhaenyra succumbs to rage, exactly why she has done it. The stillbirth, though perhaps overly graphic in depiction, was an important moment. The day Rhaenyra's throne was usurped was the very day she lost her child. It magnified the importance of family at that critical moment, setting the stage for a magnified reaction to what was in store at the end of the episode.
And that long sequence was extremely well executed. "Executed" might be a play on words there, as the episode was not trying to hide from the audience that something awful was going to happen to young Luke. But hiding it was not the point. This was suspense by degrees; maybe he'll be taken prisoner? Maybe he'll only be maimed? Maybe he'll bring about his own demise in his hasty retreat? The tension was teased out well, with the pinnacle coming in the lightning strike that revealed Aemond's massive dragon high above. (And notably: the music did not start at that moment; it kicked in later.)
The season seemed clearly written to save on CG earlier in earlier episodes so that the budget was available here and now for this all-important sequence. And it was probably a good trade. As terrible as the "dark episode you couldn't see" a few weeks ago looked, this chase in a rainstorm looked as oppositely great and more.
One issue, however, that I hope the show is able to address when season two comes around? Daemon. He feels like the odd man out in the stable of characters -- with the possible exception of the devious Larys Strong (who is clearly a more secondary character). Every other major character on the show has their flaws, to be sure. They make good decisions and bad decisions. They've been shown to be capable of evil or benevolence. But Daemon is a fairly detestable figure at all times, just able to wear a thin mask of civility for short stretches. Sure, a show needs its villains, but it feels to me like every other character as central to the story as he is has been sketched in shades of grey. Daemon is as dark as night, and to my mind, not particularly fun to watch in that role. This episode was no exception.
But in all, I enjoyed this season finale, and I'll be looking forward to season two, whenever it comes. I give "The Black Queen" a B+.
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