'House of the Dragon' Season 2, Episode 7: “The Red Sowing” Review
As we saw in the previous episode, Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) flew off to find the missing dragon Seasmoke, who was last seen flying about with a new dragonrider on their back. As it was broadly hinted in the last episode, that new dragonrider is none other than Addam of Hull (Clinton Liberty). As one might imagine, he’s only too happy to bend the knee and proclaim his loyalty to Rhaenyra and her cause much to her delight. This is also a pleasant surprise for Lord Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint), since Addam of Hull is his bastard son. With the help of Addam’s brother, Alyn (Abukabar Salim), Rhaenyra smuggles other smallfolk with Targaryen parentage. These include Ulf (Tom Bennett) and Hugh (Kieran Bew). Admittedly, one might wonder why Rhaenyra has to smuggle all these Targaryen bastards from King’s Landing rather than Dragonstone, but that’s a minor nitpick.
Several storylines are brought to, if nothing else, an interesting conclusion in The Red Sowing. After several episodes of building up Hugh, Ulf, Addam, and Alyn as characters, they are all coming into their own, appearing where the book first introduced them. It allows us to better understand the characters who will make such an impact upon the Dance of the Dragons. That, indeed, is the benefit which this series has over the book, whose narrative was often framed as a historical text. This time, it means something when Hugh confronts the massive dragon Vermithor and proves himself worthy of her. Prior to this, Hugh finally admits his Targaryen ancestry, even as he and his wife Kat (Elloria Torchia) are grieving their daughter’s death. When he turns his back on his wife and leaves for Dragonstone, it is the first chilling sign of what this once-humble blacksmith might be willing to endure for power. One could make an argument that Hugh’s storyline is the best one, aside from one abrupt edit which feels like it cut out part of a conversation.
The other three dragonseed (as they’re known in Fire and Blood) don’t quite match up to Hugh’s storyline. Ulf is mostly played for comic relief, framing him as a drunken braggart who’s been coasting on a good story. When he’s told of a chance for him to actually claim a dragon on the strength of his ancestry, he is filled with dread. From there, he spends the rest of the episode stumbling about, narrowly escaping death until a dragon almost literally falls into his lap. It begs the question as to why said dragon would find him worthy in the first place, but then again, the book never really explored that either. Addam has less to do than the others, but he does get that first scene with Rhaenyra, where he happily proclaims his allegiance to her. The weakest link is Addam’s brother, Alyn, who has been given precious little to work with all season. He has kept up the same stoic countenance through nearly all his scenes, and he steadfastly refuses to act, in contrast with his brother.
Speaking of the dragonseed, one of the most interesting parts of this episode is Rhaenyra’s storyline. D’Arcy has been giving us great scene after great scene this season, but this episode was especially generous to them. They do a fantastic job presenting Rhaenyra at a crossroads, whether she’s confronted by the dragon tamers or by her distraught son Jace (Harry Collett). He, too, is given a very interesting stance when he turns his nose up at bastards, only to reveal the deep insecurity from where that prejudice comes. It is not the first time that Rhaenyra has been forced to confront the secret of her eldest sons’ parentage, but it’s the first time that one of her own sons is the one challenging her. It leads to a fascinating climax where Rhaenyra directly reveals her willingness to sacrifice dozens of lives to further her own ends. It destroys any triumph she might feel upon seeing the results of her actions, and it makes for a very interesting conclusion.
Ironically, one of Rhaenyra’s best episodes turns out to be one of Alicent’s worst. That is through no fault of Olivia Cooke, to be clear. One simply cannot help but feel as though her scenes were meant to be filler. Perhaps there is more tension for those who have not read the source material, but it felt as though they were teasing a possible outcome for her which book readers know will surely not happen. Perhaps this development is going somewhere substantial, or perhaps it will be revealed as filler, albeit well-shot and well-acted filler.
Another storyline which was teased to us this episode was that of Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell). As her cousin-stepbrothers (in typical Targaryen fashion) are being sent out of the Vale, Rhaena decides to look into the reports of a dragon which has found itself in the Vale. It will be very interesting to see where this goes, especially since this is a departure from the book, and may lead to hitherto unknown changes which might have vast consequences for certain storylines in future seasons.
Meanwhile, Daemon was given a proper conclusion to a storyline which was stretched out across virtually the entire season. His campaign to unite the Riverlands for Rhaenyra’s cause has resulted in a mixed bag, arguably. However, now that the conclusion has been reached, it was not a disappointing one at all. Throughout the prior episodes, Daemon has been confronted and tormented by haunted visions which bring up his past failings and his dark nature. Moreover, his conduct in the fight against House Bracken resulted in him alienating people from the Blacks’ cause once more. This episode features a remarkable moment for the boy lord Oscar Tully (Archie Barnes) to berate and reprimand a guy who has never stood for such treatment before in the series. Given what happens to a supporting character, it also clears the way for the eventual appearance of a book character which has only been mentioned in passing thus far.
Game of Thrones, for all its faults, maintained an impressive trend where the penultimate episodes lead to either grand spectacles or important plot developments. The first season of House of the Dragon gave us a penultimate episode which tried to do the same, but fumbled badly and became one of the weakest episodes thus far. Season 2’s penultimate is a much more assured entry, tying up loose ends and giving us plenty of dragon scenes which will shock and amaze. This series does a fantastic job showing just how these winged monsters are barely trained, and how even Targaryens are made small in their presence. The episode also sets the stage for the finale, raising the stakes for both sides in this growing conflict.