'House Of The Dragon' Season 3 Episode 2 Recap & Review: Will Alys Kill Aemond?

The second episode of House Of The Dragon season 3, has a lot going on, so you should sit back and enjoy the show and then watch it again to see what you missed. But to me, the best part of this episode is, hands down, the first couple of scenes, and then the bit where Vhagar reaches Harrenhal. Oops, spoiler, I guess. Anyway, there’s a lot left to yap about, so let’s get straight into the recap of episode 2.

How Does Rhaenyra Take Jace’s Death?  

Episode 2 opens right at the end of the Battle of the Gullet. While the Blacks technically won, Rhaenyra is really at a loss, because she lost the one person she cared about with her whole heart. Yes, she technically has more children, but Jace was her firstborn, and he was also her confidant. That was a relationship that Alicent would’ve been jealous of if things hadn’t turned sour between them. The episode starts with Baela returning home with the body of her betrothed. Jace was a man, an impulsive one, but Baela could’ve stopped him and told him to listen to his mother. Instead, she followed him because she thought they were doing good. Really, this is a reminder that half of the people in this war are still just children. They’re children who believe they can win wars, which is a crazy thing to think about. 

When she gets to Rhaenyra, the mother is at a loss for words. She keeps asking her son why he did something like this. She was betrayed by him in more ways than one. Ser Lorent, who often feels so inconsequential to me that I keep forgetting his name, then tries to pull Rhaenyra away from her son’s body while she’s grieving him. She tells him he has no right to put his hands on her, considering he’s the reason any of this happened in the first place. Had he not listened to Jace, things would’ve turned out way differently at this battle. Lorent offers up his own life to Rhaenyra, as if this makes any kind of difference to her. As if it’ll bring Jace back to her. What’s the point of any of this? All Baela can tell Rhaenyra about is the other dragon, the one that seemingly fought on the side of the Greens. Despite the protests from all her advisors, Rhaenyra gets ready to fly to King’s Landing with Daemon. Before they leave, Mysaria tells her that she’ll be waiting for her to call for her. It doesn’t look like a goodbye, but when Daemon brings up the fact that Rhaenyra has a new advisor, she tells him that she doesn’t need him to approve of her choices. He claims it’s just an observation, but it certainly feels like a jab of some sort. 

Does Alyn Get What He Wants From His Father? 

While a mother mourns the loss of her son, a son searches desperately for his father. Alyn looks in the water while Addam and Baela show up to help him up in the sky. At the Vale, Baela’s sister asks for asylum. Lady Jeyne doesn’t have room for Rhaena anymore. But wasn’t she literally the person who implied Rhaena could tame a wild dragon and show them her worth by protecting them? Am I wrong for thinking that? Because that’s how that conversation read to me and Rhaena clearly. Again, she’s merely a child trying to prove herself in a family full of dragon riders. Surely Jeyne knew what she was doing? She tells the girl there’s no room for her, but Rhaena pleads, saying she wanted a dragon and now she has one. All she needs is for her to turn a blind eye so that they can remain there quietly. The poor girl thinks she can’t go back to her family. Of course, she kinda caused the death of Jace, but there is room for forgiveness somewhere, I am sure. 

Baela and Alyn discuss Corlys as if to feel better about losing him. Alyn does believe he’s dead at this point, but both Addam and Baela believe he’s just fine. Alyn wants to know what his father would’ve been like if he’d spent his childhood with him. Baela tells him that the only reason he tried to forget about the boys is because of his love for her grandmother, the princess. She doesn’t mean to offend the man; she’s simply trying to defend her grandfather, who thought he was doing his best. “If this be victory, I hope I never see another,” are the words we hear from Corlys when they find him. It’s quite a hard-hitting line, considering everything that has been lost in this war. He tells his son, Alyn, that he might not be able to give him anything more than just a name now that Driftmark has burned down. Alyn, of course, never cared about material things; all he wanted was the love of his dad, and probably his name too, which he now has. 

Where is Aegon headed? 

In the meantime, Aegon and Larys’ captures are stopped midway when the Triarchy attack them. Aegon, desperate to feel strong, decides to pick on the youngest boy he can find there and stab him with an arrow in his stomach a hundred times. Why are men like this? Now, Aegon’s decided to go to Rook’s Rest, much to Larys’ dismay, where Cole is, because he’s been loyal to him. But Cole sees Aemond and Vhagar flying to Harrenhal, so he moves all of his troops there. Now, Aegon thinks Cole is loyal to him, but with all his beast talk, I don’t think he cares who sits on the throne; he’s still just on his personal vendetta against Rhaenyra and Daemon. Sigh. I do think he’s going to side with Aemond not too long from now. 

What Does Daemon Decide To Do? 

Daemon celebrates with the Starks after their victory over the Lannisters. Alysanne Blackwood lies dormant for the moment, simply singing a song with the men, but word has it she’s a brutal killer who is going to be very important in the Dance of the Dragons. Anyway, they’re celebrating while waiting to take on Aemond, only for the sad news of Jace’s passing to reach them at that moment. It appears Daemon is genuinely sad about the news. It’s Ser Oscar Tully who notices the strangeness in his demeanor after reading the note sent by the queen. It appears Daemon has found a son of sorts in Oscar, because when he tells the men their next steps, he’s looking him straight in the eye, telling him that they’re going to be the queen’s fist. There’s a sense of doom in this moment, but also, everyone has their blood boiling, ready to fight, thanks to Daemon’s leadership as he tells them he’s going to march to King’s Landing to take the throne for Rhaenyra. But before he leaves, he meets with Alys one last time, and she asks him if she can have Harrenhal, because it’s been passed on from man to man and nobody cares about it. Now, if Rhaenyra were in Daemon’s place, she would’ve likely considered Alys’ wishes at least. But Daemon has the pride of a man, and he doesn’t think the crown will hand over an entire castle, even if it’s considered cursed, to someone who seems like  a “midwife.” Just because she’s a woman. Daemon loses points every few hours, sigh. She literally showed you why you need to listen to women!! 

When Daemon gets to Dragonstone, he finds Ulf and Hugh there, meaning Harrenhal is left with no dragons to defend it. We’ve got to remember, no matter how annoying Ulf is, he used to be a drunk telling stories about his lineage until like 5 minutes ago, so he doesn’t know anything about etiquette or rules. Especially in times of war. So he gets slapped by Daemon for disobeying him and then talking about hearing voices of ghosts and talking to a witch. The witch being Alys, who is clearly going to be changing sides now. Also, they waited only two days for Aemond to come, so really, they’ve straight-up disobeyed the queen in this case. Daemon finally shows up for Rhaenyra, reminding her that she needs to take that throne, even though she’s just lost her child and doesn’t even have the time to mourn him. Daemon thinks telling a woman that her children’s death will be in vain if she doesn’t take the throne is somewhat funny, if not absolutely horrendous. Nothing can make up for this loss, but Daemon is pressed for time. He tells her about the visions in Harrenhal. In the end, when they’re about to leave for King’s Landing, he tells Ulf and Hugh that they have to stay vigilant and fly on the flanks as protection. After they’ve taken the throne, they’ll go after Vhagar. But I wonder if it’s going to be a bit too late.  

How Does Mysaria Feel Right Now? 

Mysaria starts off this episode being shocked by the death of Jace. She can’t be of comfort to Rhaenyra, and that’s fine; she knows where her limits lie. But she still believes the queen trusts her judgment. I don’t see any sort of negativity in this character, unlike Daemon, who feels like she’s doing this as some sort of revenge on him. No, really, her telling him that not everything is about him made my day. But there is one thing they have in common, and that is the fact that they don’t trust Alicent and think Rhaenyra is walking straight into a trap. But while they sit by each other in a quiet corner, word about Aemond and Vhagar being sighted leaving King’s Landing comes through, meaning the plan really might be happening. 

Why Doesn’t Alys Kill Aemond? 

Aemond arrives at Harrenhal ready to destroy everything that stands in his path. He kills Simon Strong and his son, even though they don’t plan on fighting with him at all. But he gets stabbed in the back before he kills the 3rd person, falling to the floor in front of Alys, begging her for help. Alys doesn’t kill Aemond, because she’s been betrayed by Daemon. She wanted something in return for everything she did for him in season 2. She showed him the glory of the Targaryens, but ultimately, he called her a mere midwife and left her with nothing. With Aemond, Alys can take what she thinks is hers. Now, if you don’t want spoilers from the book, I’d recommend skipping this part. For those who have read the book, I have not, but since I’ve been watching the show, I’ve been looking up things about it and have learned that Alys and Aemond are going to end up romantically entwined later on in the story. 

What Happens To Alicent? 

Back at King’s Landing, Alicent prepares her escape, but it does feel a little bit too late already. Alicent heads to the Gold Cloaks’ commander, Ser Luthor Largent, and essentially tells him about her treason, knowing he’s loyal to Daemon. Obviously, he thinks Rhaenyra is the true heir to the throne. But it is Ser Rickard Thorne who betrays Alicent and lets it be known to Lord Jasper, Master of Laws, that she’s trying to escape and has betrayed the King. For some reason, Jasper thinks this gives him free rein to try to assault the queen dowager, nearly getting what he wants from her, despite her trying her best to save herself. Fortunately, it’s Grand Maester Orwyle who shows up in time with guards to have him arrested. Orwyle will always choose not to be violent. 

Alicent finally finds Helaena, ready to leave the city so that they’re long gone before Rhaenyra arrives. Helaena tells her mother that she’d always wanted chickens when Alicent tells her that she’s trying to redeem herself with Helaena, because she couldn’t do so with her two sons. Someone get this girl her chickens, please. Helaena and Alicent make sure that the Kingsguard doesn’t harm the dragons coming to King’s Landing. She’s genuinely keeping her promise. But while she can’t escape the city, Rhaenyra ends up all the way in the throne room with Daemon, fighting off all the men coming in to attack her, considering Aegon the true heir to the throne. How could they have a woman up there, eh? Rhaenyra is ready to take the throne before the Kingsguard shows up to stop her. They’re heavily outnumbered at this point, Daemon and Rhaenyra, so she pulls out her sword, though we all know she doesn’t have it in her to kill people. But, they hear loud noises from outside, only for them to be joined by Largent and the Gold Cloaks, who will always remain loyal to Daemon, for he made them who they are. But now the problem is that Aegon has left the city, and someone needs to be beheaded before Rhaenyra takes the throne. They find Orwyle, but he’s hardly going to set an example, plus Orwyle pledges himself to Rhaenyra immediately. However, he does offer up Jasper in his stead. Now, Jasper is in the dungeons, and he calls Alicent a conniving witch (well, the B-word), but Daemon thinks he’s referring to Rhaenyra, of course. However, before he can do anything about it, an old man shows up saying he has a gift from Larys. So that’s what happened to Otto, apparently. It was Larys who took him hostage, to make it seem like he’s got Daemon’s back? I feel like he’s playing both sides, but that’s fair enough because he’s not the kind of guy who’ll ever be king, but he can give advice to whoever rules. 

Who Does Rhaenyra Kill To Take The Throne? 

In the ending of episode 2, Daemon presents Rhaenyra with Otto. He tells her to behead him to take the throne. Otto completely deserves this treatment, considering he’s the guy who started this whole thing. Had he not sent his daughter to marry the king, none of this would’ve ever happened. But as expected, killing someone is not something Rhaenyra can do so easily. Sure, she said a son for a son, but she probably thought she wouldn’t be the one doing it right? She’s a mother; she’d never do that to anybody. But here she is, standing in front of all these people, all these men, egging her on to kill a man just so she can sit on a throne of swords. Yes, there’s women in her audience, but they’re all blinded by the men around them, too. All she needs to do is take what is hers in this moment, but she’s so fragile, she’s so scared that this will change her completely, so she tries her best to back out of it. She’s literally crying, because this is not what was discussed with Alicent; this is not how she wanted to start her reign, but here we are. Ultimately, Daemon basically forces her to do it, giving her his own sword as retribution; at least it won’t be a hack job. 

But when she’s meant to be aiming at his neck, he bends over for her so the blow is a merciful one, she keeps her eyes closed, not being able to handle any of this. She goes at him with her eyes closed and misses, going into his back. Before he can start talking, she then takes the sword out of his back and goes straight for his neck, fully crying with snot and all, giving in to her monstrous ambition. Maybe she thinks it’s for Jace and Luke. That’s the only way she can be okay with this. Though Daemon doesn’t have the throne himself now, he’s basically ruling too, no? But this is not where the episode ends. Rhaenyra takes slow steps to the throne that she’s been made to believe is hers since she was a child. I still think she’s an incredible candidate. She will be a great queen, but we have to see how much of it will be her. She’s stepped out of Otto’s blood while walking, but to make it worse, Alicent and Helaena are brought in front of her, as she sits tearfully on the throne. The duo lock eyes after Alicent realises what Rhaenyra has done. Whatever is coming next isn’t going to be good. 

Season 3, episode 2 Review

Before all else, I must praise Emma D’arcy’s acting in this role. They are absolutely incredible, especially in the tender moments where they need to show the emotions of a mother. Rhaenyra is likely the hardest character to play in this show. She’s got so many layers to her, and so many emotions in one moment. This is why, without Emma’s high-caliber performance, she would’ve been unworthy of our love. I remain invested in this story with the cliffhangers. They make me want to know what’s coming next. As someone who hasn’t read the books, I’m thoroughly enjoying the show so far. But most importantly, I can’t get over how beautiful the dragons are. I’m sorry, but I genuinely feel for the magnificent creatures in this show. I can’t remember if I felt the same way when I watched Game Of Thrones. Truth be told, I might’ve been too shocked by everything else going on, so maybe I didn’t. Here I feel like they’re characters too, and I want to look at them more. I just wait with bated breath for what’s to come next. 

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