‘House of the Dragon’ Season 1, Episode 9 Recap: A Convenient Mistake - The New York Times

Season 1, Episode 9: ‘The Green Council’

Before we get started this week, fto america person a infinitesimal of soundlessness for Lord Beesbury.

The past maestro of coin and his meandering fiscal reports had mostly been a root of airy wit connected the Small Council until Sunday, erstwhile helium stood successful defiance arsenic 1 of the fewer radical successful the Red Keep with immoderate consciousness of grant oregon loyalty. Then Ser Criston killed him for it.

Adding insult to injury, the assembly near his corpse lying connected the array portion they plotted. But each successful all, Lord Beesbury (Bill Paterson) was 1 of the fortunate ones. His aboriginal exit meant that helium didn’t person to instrumentality astir for an occurrence that, portion it had its bully points, was mostly a mess.

As expected, the hr focused connected the contiguous aftermath of Viserys’s death, specifically the scramble undertaken by Otto and Alicent to instal Aegon arsenic king successful defiance of Viserys’s stated privation that Rhaenyra win him. The occurrence title, “The Green Council,” signaled that we would beryllium getting the Hightower amusement this week, and that was much oregon little however it turned out. (The play finale is called “The Black Queen,” suggesting that we’ll get the different broadside adjacent Sunday.)

The rubric besides referred specifically to the non-Beesbury faction of the Small Council that, unbeknown to Queen Alicent, america oregon anyone else, has been moving with Otto connected a succession strategy for immoderate time. The conspirators kicked these “long-laid plans,” arsenic Tyland Lannister described them, into question earlier the king’s assemblage was adjacent covered up.

The plot, which amounted to a benignant of palace coup, received serendipitous assistance successful the signifier of Alicent’s bogus assertion astir the king’s deathbed reversal. (More connected that successful a minute.) It each led to a huffy dash to instrumentality Operation Usurp and Awe, which included securing the treasury, locking Rhaenys successful her room, compelling bent knees from erstwhile Rhaenyra supporters (and seizing dissenters), searching retired Aegon from his presumed whereabouts wrong the dicier precincts of King’s Landing and then, finally, crowning him successful beforehand of everybody to marque it official. (I accidental Lord Beesbury’s decease counts arsenic the archetypal casualty successful the coming struggle to beryllium known arsenic the Dance of the Dragons.)

However, a much fitting occurrence rubric would person been “Wait, What?” Because that’s what I kept muttering implicit and implicit successful effect to each the confusing details and jarring detours on the way.

As in, wait, what? The White Worm recovered and “tucked away” Aegon beneath the altar successful the sept, of each places? And she was motivated to bash truthful partially due to the fact that she wants to extremity the underground urchin combat club? Which we recovered retired astir lone 40 seconds ago? And are Aegon’s bastards participating successful it? Or conscionable languishing extracurricular the octagon?

And wait, what? Larys does the bidding of the queen due to the fact that she indulges his ft fetish? And the coronation is successful the Dragonpit? And the Cargyll twins, those conflicted Kingsguard brothers who recovered Aegon earlier losing him to Criston and Aemond, are really named Arryk and Erryk? (I conjecture that explains wherefore I ne'er knew which 1 was which. And wherefore I inactive don’t.)

I ID’d the Cargylls by consulting assorted online resources aft I watched the occurrence screener. That was besides however I confirmed that the Dragonpit was wherever Aegon was crowned, aft cross-referencing its imposing exterior with HBO’s King’s Landing map. Were we expected to recognize that was the Dragonpit from the jump? Or was that portion of the astonishment of Rhaenys crashing up done the level connected her dragon? And wherefore person a coronation successful a Dragonpit anyway? Was that the lone venue disposable connected specified abbreviated notice?

The upshot of each of the supra was that I recovered myself perpetually trying to benignant retired what I was seeing, astatine the disbursal of enjoying the story, oregon adjacent pursuing it astatine times. You shouldn’t person to bash online probe oregon retrieve details from the caller oregon ticker after-show segments successful bid to recognize an occurrence of television. I uncertainty I was the lone confused spectator retired there, but successful lawsuit I was, consciousness escaped to fto maine cognize each the evident cues I missed. (For the record, occurrence screeners don’t person a subtitles option, but those shouldn’t beryllium required to recognize the communicative either.)

And each of this is earlier we adjacent get to the happening that happened that was besides the happening that I was astir acrophobic would happen.

Last week, I held retired anticipation that Viserys’s addled prophecy sharing with Alicent would not magnitude to a large misunderstanding, à la Criston’s admittance to the queen that helium had slept with Rhaenyra. But nary specified luck.

My main objection — too the information that, again, they already utilized this gimmick conscionable a fewer weeks agone — is that the brainsick misunderstanding is 1 of the lowest forms of sitcom writing, the benignant of transparent crippled contrivance you mightiness forgive wrong a half-hour of yuk-yuks but don’t expect to spot connected a Sunday nighttime connected HBO.

Then determination is the abundance of Aegons successful this story, which is somewhat ridiculous connected its ain and consequently feels adjacent much truthful erstwhile it is the root of a “Who’s connected first?” deathbed routine. George R.R. Martin has explained that helium patterned each his saga’s name-repeating aft real-life royal dynasties — see however galore times England has had a King George oregon Charles.

But specified parallels are much legible wrong the discourse of a caller than erstwhile coming retired of the mouths of characters successful a TV show. (See also: Arryk and Erryk, the second of which my spell-checker keeps changing to “Erik,” which is what they some dependable like.) It is wrong the producers’ powerfulness to alteration the occasional sanction from the book.

The astir meaningful question posed by Alicent’s misunderstanding, from a quality standpoint: Did she really judge that aft backing Rhaenyra for decades, Viserys changed his caput astatine the past minute? Or did she perceive what she wanted to hear? Or conscionable lie?

For what it’s worth, successful an interrogation with The New York Times, Olivia Cooke said she thought Alicent’s mishearing of Viserys happened successful bully religion and was not the merchandise of the queen’s having created her ain preferred reality. (“I genuinely deliberation she thinks he’s talking astir Aegon, her son,” Cooke said.) Conversely, erstwhile I clung to anticipation past week that they wouldn’t instrumentality this silly path, I deliberation I knew they astir apt would but was projecting my ain tendency that they not. So possibly I’m taking it harder than astir radical volition — it decidedly contributed to my wide annoyance with this disjointed episode.

Ultimately, due to the fact that Otto’s strategy was already successful place, the Greens’ powerfulness drawback didn’t hinge connected Alicent’s misunderstanding. But it surely helped to merchantability the plan, and also, perhaps, to person Alicent to spell on with it. (I deliberation she astir apt would person anyway, contempt the enactment she expressed for Rhaenyra past week.) I conjecture we’ll spot if Rhaenyra ever gets a accidental to wide things up for her.

As I said successful the beginning, determination were immoderate bully moments this week. The dynamic betwixt Aemond and Criston felt lived-in and affectionate, a reminder that, with the wide deficiency of involvement Viserys had successful his 2nd batch of children — Paddy Considine discussed this past week successful an interrogation with The Times — Criston the sword-trainer apt functioned arsenic a benignant of mentor figure.

I besides enjoyed the committedness of a increasing rivalry betwixt Alicent and Otto, based partially connected their differing sympathies for Rhaenyra. It could complicate the Hightowers’ effort to consolidate and clasp onto their power.

But wide … not my favourite episode. Here’s hoping adjacent week’s play finale brings much enjoying and little Googling.

A fewer thoughts portion we renew our licence to kill

• Apparently Ser Criston tin conscionable execution anyone without consequences, including the longstanding lord of a noble house? I conjecture we’ll spot adjacent week oregon adjacent play if sidesplitting Lord Beesbury comes backmost connected him.

• In “Fire & Blood,” the Martin novel, Larys is besides known arsenic Larys Clubfoot. While the quality has limped passim the show, I judge this is the archetypal clip it has been explicit astir some his twisted ft and his twisted ft obsession. His and Alicent’s statement was intelligibly well-established. You mightiness callback that aft Larys had his begetter burned up to marque country for Otto’s instrumentality arsenic Hand, helium told Alicent, “I consciousness definite you volition reward maine erstwhile the clip is right.” I conjecture this is what helium was talking about?

• And present Otto thought helium had the precocious manus erstwhile what helium truly needed was a bully brace of feet. Mysaria, the White Worm, has been a reliable root of intel for him — adjacent helium was shocked that she knew the king was dead. (I presume Alicent’s handmaiden, portion of the Red Keep spy web Larys mentioned, notified her erstwhile she lit those candles successful the window.) But it looks arsenic if Mysaria volition request to find a caller wormhole, if she survived the fire. (She astir apt did.)

• “You look truthful overmuch similar your parent successful definite lights,” Otto told Alicent, dusting disconnected his aged manipulation standby. Her rolled-eyes effect suggests that it doesn’t enactment anymore.

• Aegon was concisely 1 of the clearest thinkers successful the episode. The king could person made maine heir anytime successful the past 20 years, helium told his mother, but helium didn’t due to the fact that helium didn’t similar me, truthful wherefore would helium now? But past the magical dagger someway convinced him it was each real, and by the extremity Aegon — whom cipher likes, for bully crushed — was basking successful the crowd’s adulation.

• I conjecture either Arryk (Luke Tittensor) oregon Erryk (Elliott Tittensor), whichever 1 we saw letting his member combat Ser Cristen and past walking away, did truthful due to the fact that helium someway sold retired to Alicent? (This was astir apt what Otto was referring to aboriginal with his enactment astir Alicent’s reward of “a pouch of silver.”) Presumably it was the different member who past freed Rhaenys earlier losing her successful the streets of King’s Landing.

• With 1 puff, Rhaenys and Meleys could person ended the Dance of Dragons earlier it began. Rhaenys’s restraint called backmost to Alicent’s comments astir the women’s inclinations toward peace, adjacent arsenic Meleys foreshadowed the symptom the realm is astir to endure, by wiping retired a fewer twelve civilians with its arrival.

• What did you think? Will Rhaenys articulation Rhaenyra’s cause? Am I making excessively overmuch of the Dragonpit? Which different sitcom cliché would you similar to spot “House of the Dragon” incorporate? A Very Special Comments Section awaits your input.