The House of the Dragon – Episode 4 Recap – IGN

This is a strong Considine episode that showcases all of Viserys’ little things and weaknesses.

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Rhaenyra’s brothel excursion is contrasted here with the sight of Alicent’s breakup as she fulfills her marital duties with Viserys (Paddy Considine). She may have played for the crown and got it, but whatever satisfaction Alicent has found in her social status or in fulfilling her duty to her family and country, she’s a pretty sad figure these days: a nanny, a bedfellow on Retrieval and an advisor with the softest soft power and no official role. She and Rhaenyra reconcile, at least temporarily, which is a rare moment of genuine warmth in a show that often feels chilly, but she’s also clearly lonely and isolated.

In any case, Viserys doesn’t think his wife or daughter would deny having an affair with Daemon or he wouldn’t send the Maester to Rhaenyra with contraceptive tea. This is a strong Considine episode that showcases all of Viserys’ little things and weaknesses. He seems cautiously pleased to be reunited with his brother, but of course his idea of ​​male bonding is to ridicule both his wife and daughter. He is now covered in wounds and cuts from his throne, a martyr to his wounds and tends to sway no matter which way the wind blows. Or is he? Rhaenyra convinces him to drop Otto (Rhys Ifans) as his hand, claiming it is the price of her agreeing to marriage. However, when Viserys speaks to Otto, the bitterness and anger he spits at him seems to be his own; We certainly don’t see Rhaenyra feeding him all those lines. He seems to have harbored some kind of resentment since the death of his own father years ago, and there’s anger beneath the nonchalant exterior. It’s worth remembering at moments like these that Viserys was the last man to ride the great dragon Balerion, whose skull now rests beneath the fortress. He has a real dark side here, and Otto is right to fear it. With the position being won by hand and Daemon being exiled again, there will be even more instability.

This isn’t a bad episode, in the sense that there are a lot of good actors here delivering well-written drama; it is well shot and beautifully produced. But this show is starting to feel a little monotonous. There’s little comedy and a real lack of human connection. Perhaps we should blame the fact that so much of his development took place in lockdown; perhaps nobody has noticed that chronic loneliness, everywhere and for everyone, is not a basic human attitude. Every main character here is deeply unhappy in their gilded cage. Viserys wants peace and quiet; Rhaenyra wants freedom; Daemon wants Rhaenyra (it seems); Alicent wants a little respect. Nobody is having fun right now – not even at the sex party. It might have been a good idea to include some funnier supporting characters, people who aren’t mentioned in Fire And Blood, who could add a little lightness to the process. Martin’s source novel is a faux story, more setting than narrative, so there’s room to expand on the basic facts more than we’ve seen so far.

Not to constantly compare the two – although the shared theme tune and Viserys’ repeated invocation of the title of the original book series invite one – but Game Of Thrones gave us a close-knit family of Starks to care for and a fun, cynical one Viewers in Tyrion Lannister, as well as all the serious people fighting for thrones. It’s all royals and no prospects here, and House Of The Dragon is already feeling a bit flattened by this even before you decide to treat women as breeding machines rather than humans. Hopefully the next week can absorb the energy, or at least give us some jaw-dropping drama to distract us.