In Review: House of the Dragon (S1 – EP3) Second of His Name

Synopsis: In Second of His Name, Daemon and the Sea Snake battle the Crabfeeder. The realm celebrates Aegon’s second nameday. Rhaenyra faces the prospect of marriage.

The Story

The story picks up roughly two years after the events of last week. Daemon and the Sea Snake have declared war on the Crabfeeder and look to take back the step stones but without the endorsement of the King. Meanwhile, King Viserys Targaryen is preparing for the great hunt while being pressured by The Hand to marry his daughter Princess Rhaenyra off to Lord Jason Lannister. Suffice it to say that Rhaenyra is not impressed and refuses to consider it, which forces Viserys to reconsider. Rhaenyra is worried that should she marry it will take her out of contention as Viserys’s successor, which is the reason that the Hand is trying to force him into marrying her off. 

Later in the episode. Visarys tells Rheanyra to choose her own husband and use the marriage to shore up her position as the successor to his throne. He also promises her that he will not contemplate changing his mind about her being his successor.

Back at the Step Stones. Daemon and the Sea Snake are on the back foot and contemplate a desperate plan to put an end to the Crabfeeder and his army.

Acting

Paddy Considine once again puts in a great performance as King Viserys, who much like myself is getting sick of all the politicking on a day, which is meant to celebrate his 2-year-old son’s birthday. His scenes with Emily Carey’s Alicent Hightower continue to inform Viserys’s decisions. Even though it is pretty apparent that her father The Hand is using her as a means to try and maneuver the King in the political direction that he wants, which includes making the 2-year-old Aegon the next in line to the throne.

Milly Alcock continues to shine as young Rheanyra and also has some really strong scenes.

Overall

Second of His Name continues to build on the storyline that has been established. However, the series is beginning to feel a bit like saw it, done it, brought the T-Shirt. I.E. it is becoming a little predictable. The performances are great. But the storyline is not really helped too much by the fact that we already have a rough idea of what is to come based on what we know from the previous sequel series.

The only thing that is keeping my interest right now is some of the character journeys. Particularly that of Rheanyra. As it is pretty obvious to me that her father Viserys is ultimately going to come to a horrible end. It’s just a matter of when it will happen and who will pull the trigger.