House of the Dragon Episode 8 review: The Dance is about to begin

House of the Dragon Episode 8 sets the stage for the Dance of the Dragons in nail-biting fashion; if this was a game of chess, both sides would think they just hit checkmate.

House of the Dragon Season 1 has seen King Viserys I preside over a rotting dynasty. Despite his best intentions, those around him seem hellbent on a collision course that’ll break the house in two.

The past few episodes have dispatched characters with frightening ease, whether it’s Harwin Strong or Laenor Velaryon… but not really. Hatreds have been forged and deepened, while Rhaenyra and Alicent seem doomed to spend the rest of their lives at war, rather than as friends.

In Episode 8, Viserys takes his final steps to the Iron Throne, and with his departure imminent, the show moves towards its inevitable civil war. It also features the smoothest decapitation since Sleepy Hollow.

Spoilers for House of the Dragon Episode 8 to follow…

House of the Dragon Episode 8: Succession fever hits Driftmark

“It’s been near six years since I last saw my lord husband, Maester, I must know… will he live?” Rhaenys (Eve Best) asks at the start of the episode. We learn that Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint) was gravely injured during battle, with his neck slashed and him falling overboard into the sea. If this wasn’t enough, he’s been left with a fever that “burns him from within.”

Vaemond (Wil Johnson) warns that he’s seen “blood fever” overcome men far younger than Corlys, but Rhaenys brands it the “talk of crows.” Vaemond says they have to take the prospect of his death seriously, as it begs the question: who will take control of Driftmark?

While Rhaenys insists it will go to Lucerys Velaryon, as discussed in Episode 7, Vaemond believes it should be him as he’s from the same bloodline. As Rhaenys notes, even uttering such a belief could be heard as treason. “I speak the truth, Rhaenys, and you know it,” he tells her, condemning his brother’s calamities and ambition to be remembered in the history books over what’s right.

Even eight episodes into the first season, House of the Dragon is brewing fresh conflicts on the precipice of the Dance, and Best’s compelling performance as Rhaenys is finally being given room to breathe.

House of the Dragon Episode 8: Rhaenyra and Daemon return to King’s Landing

At Dragonstone, Daemon (Matt Smith) treacherously descends a cliff face to dig out Syrax’s fresh dragon eggs; three to be exact, all of which are taken to the warming chamber. He’s then handed a note from Baela (Bethany Antonia) warning him that Vaemond is sailing for King’s Landing to appeal to Viserys on “matters of succession rights and the sanctity of blood.”

As a teenage Jacaerys (Harry Collett) struggles to learn High Valyrian, Daemon brings the note to Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy), who believes Vaemond’s pleas will endanger her ascension to the throne – especially if he teams up with Otto (Rhys Ifans) and Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke), her main contenders. It is odd to hear Rhaenyra refer to Rhaenys as her niece; in the space of two episodes, she’s no longer Auntie Rhaenys – but that’s incest for you.

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“Has the viper’s venom spread so far?” Daemon asks. Considering his decorum at the start of the season, Smith’s performance is noticeably dialed-back. For the first time, we’re seeing Daemon in a state of peace, neither restless from hating his wife nor bored with the inactive contentment of Pentos. Yet, with further political division on the horizon, they decide to go to King’s Landing too.

Evidently, by the procession and dour atmosphere hanging over the Keep, this isn’t just the first time they’ve returned home – Viserys’ (Paddy Considine) condition has worsened rather dramatically. He looks more like a zombie than most zombies; black nails, bandages covering his face, moldy complexion, and speaking in long, coarse breaths. He can barely see, failing to recognize Rhaenyra or Daemon until prompted.

He’s not immune to joy, though, instantly breaking into a smile as he sees Rhaenyra and Daemon’s children: Aegon and Viserys. “Now that’s a name fit for a king,” he quips with a laugh, before scaring the kids with his groans.

House of the Dragon Episode 8: Alicent stoops to her lowest low for Aegon

Meanwhile, Alicent and Otto have been ruling in his absence, discussing matters of importance to the Seven Kingdoms with the small council. In a brief scene, the rifts between the old and new are clear as day, with Lord Beesbury (Bill Paterson) made the subject of many tired faces and curt cut-offs.

After Alicent snapped at Rhaenyra last week, her transformation from put-upon queen to villain is imminent. In her most harrowing scene so far, she pays off a young girl who was raped by Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney).

She tells her she believes her, but warns that others may not be convinced, so gives her a bag of coins and a contraceptive tea. Cooke’s performance in this moment is flawless; there’s pain behind the eyes, but nothing about her expression is comforting – it’s calculated, barebones compassion at best.

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She confronts Aegon about his actions, but the prince doesn’t see the problem, sickeningly describing it as a “bit of fun” and having the cheek to let tears fall from his eyes over his mum’s anger. “I did not ask for this… I try so hard but it’ll never be enough,” he weeps.

Smith equips Daemon’s smarmy arsenal when they finally come face to face with Alicent. “How does [Viserys] rule, in blinks and wheezes?” he asks with a little giggle to himself. The newlyweds also note the stripping of Targaryen paraphernalia around the Keep, replaced with symbols of the Seven.

House of the Dragon Episode 8: Aemond eyeballs the brothers

The new actors playing Lucerys (Elliot Grihault) and Jacaerys have fantastic chemistry; the exact vibe of candid, comforting back-patting that brothers should have. They find Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) and Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) – now wearing an eye patch after Lucerys slashed his eye out in the previous episode – training in the courtyard, with the latter winning the bout.

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Just as he catches sight of them, Vaemond arrives at the Keep to challenge Lucerys’ inheritance of Driftmark. Otto tells Alicent that she needs to consider whether she wants a child in charge of their strongest fleet should war arrive on their shores, and Vaemond assures her she’ll have his full support if he’s chosen to rule the tides.

Rhaenys and Rhaenyra meet under the weirwood tree, where Rhaenys not-so-subtly accuses Rhaenyra of ordering Laenor’s death. She swears she didn’t and makes Rhaenys an offer ahead of meeting the Hightowers: betroth Baela and Rhaena to Jacaerys and Lucerys, and they’ll rule the Seven Kingdoms for decades to come. However, Rhaenys takes one glance at the tree – perhaps suggesting she’s a dreamer herself – and says it’s pointless, as the Hightowers will land their “first blow”, so she must stand alone.

Rhaenyra then goes to Viserys’ bedside under the cover of rain and thunder, asking him to defend her claim if he truly wants her to be his successor. Afterwards, we see the full extent of his gaunt figure, with skin barely dressing his bones and pus-filled scabs blotching his chest and back. Even in his condition, he wants to dine with all of the family, as it may be the last time they’re all together under one roof.

Viserys calls for a tongue, Daemon brings him a head

Otto gathers everyone to decide who’ll inherit Driftmark. Vaemond states his claim, believing it’s right for the next Lord of the Tides to continue the Velaryon bloodline. As Rhaenyra begins her argument for Lucerys, Viserys arrives with a cane. “I will sit the throne today,” he tells Otto, in a moment that made me want to cheer aloud.

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While ghastly and unwell, Viserys still retains some his sharpness as king, observing that this whole meeting is confusing since Corlys already decided Lucerys would be his heir. He calls upon Rhaenys to clarify the details, who reiterates Corlys’ wishes and agrees to Rhaenyra’s proposal for their children and grandchildren.

Vaemond can’t hold his temper. He fumes at Viserys, calls Rhaenyra a whore, and screams that her boys are both bastards. Viserys says, “I’ll have your tongue for that”, but just as he pulls out his blade, Daemon cuts off Vaemond’s head. It’s a clean slice in an unnerving position – rather than by the neck, the sword went right between his lips and through the other side of his skull.

Later, the main family sits down for dinner. Viserys removes his mask, revealing a hollowed-out eye socket and a cheekbone reminiscent of Harvey Dent in The Dark Knight. While expressing his love, he once again asks everyone to put their ill feelings for one another aside for the sake of the house, as he fears he’s approaching his death.

The tragedy of Viserys is deeply felt here. This is a king who aspired to little else but peace, one who hesitated with the ordering of violence because he knew violence begets violence, and one who only ever wanted an heir so he could rest easy with the future of the Targaryen dynasty.

Alicent and Rhaenyra reunite… but Viserys plants a seed

In a shock turn, Rhaenyra raises a glass to Alicent and praises her for standing by her father’s side all these years. “For that, she has my gratitude… and my apology,” she says, and a flicker of their old flame can be seen in both their eyes, with Alicent’s especially mournful of their past together.

“We have more in common than we sometimes allow… you will make a fine queen,” Alicent says in response. Although, even in the sweetness of the moment, it’s hard not to think: have they both become such keen tacticians that they’re able to bluff such graciousness?

Heleana, who’s believed to be a dreamer after seemingly prophecizing Aemond’s loss of his eye, mutters, “Beware of the beast beneath the boards,” before delivering her own toast to Baela and Rhaena.

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Viserys looks on at a moment of pure harmony; the children dance, glasses are raised, laughs are had. This feels genuine, not forced, and you can see him coming to terms with his life as it’s been spent as he falls back into agony.

After he’s taken away, Aemond catches Lucerys sniggering and makes his own tribute to “three Strong boys”, clearly referencing their true parentage. A quick scuffle breaks out between them, which Aegon and Aemond swiftly end, and they’re sent to their chambers. Rhaenyra tells Alicent they’re going to return to Dragonstone but promises to fly back to King’s Landing on Syrax.

The episode ends with the most important conversation in the show so far: as Viserys lies on his death bed, he starts rambling to Alicent about Aegon’s dream and “the prince that was promised.” Obviously, Alicent interprets this to mean their son Aegon, and she leaves Viserys to die and ready to enact what she believes to be his final wish.

After so much tension, this is what will cause the Dance of the Dragons to fully begin. It’s a testament to the show’s strength that this fact brings both excitement and worry; these people are often despicable, but so many travesties often occupy their orbit – and many, many more are coming.

House of the Dragon Episode 9 will be available to watch on October 16 in the US and October 17 in the UK.