House of the Dragon vs The Rings of Power: Episode 3
The third episode of any series can often be a decision point for viewers deciding if they want to continue with it or not. If the show stinks, three hours of one’s life is about as much as most of us are willing to waste on it.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and The House of the Dragon step up to the plate with “Adar” and “Second of his Name” respectively. Both shows prove themselves worth watching, but one makes a big, and necessary, dramatic step forward.
House of the Dragon, Episode 3: “Second of his Name”
The third episode of House of the Dragon is more about characters development than fire and blood. Relationships twist and fracture as King Viserys’ struggles to keep what’s left of his family together.
Although it opens with the bloody war in the Stepstones, “Second of his Name” is mainly about an elaborate hunt in celebration of Aegon II’s second nameday. With many of nobles pushing for Viserys to name his new son his heir, Viserys and Rheanyra are both frustrated.
As usual in the Game of Thrones universe, motivations in House of the Dragon are complex. Viserys loves Rhaenyra dearly but instinct tells him his legacy is more secure with a male heir. Though encouraged by her father to push Aegon’s succession, Alicent subtly supports Rhaenyra in discussions with her husband.
“Second of his Name” takes place a couple years after Viserys marries Alicent. The character dynamics have shifted, but the Daemon/Corlys storyline seems awkwardly frozen in time. The situation with the Crabfeeders looks and feels the same, as if days passed rather than years.
Though slower moving than the first two episodes, “Second of his Name” effectively highlights how Viserys and Rheanyra are struggling making their way through a political landscape that’s shifting so subtly that few have yet to realize the profundity of the coming change, like a powerful current moving under the surface of a gentle river.
This doesn’t mean that the episode lacks action, of course. Daemon’s charge up the beach at low tide, hacking his way through waves of the Crabfeeder’s warriors, is a thing of blood-spattered beauty. The charging Velaryon army and the fire-blasting Caraxes and Seasmoke are no wallflowers, either.
“Second of his Name” keeps the narrative chugging along, though it was disappointing not to get to see Daemon fight it out with the Crabfeeder. In a sense, the Crabfeeder’s unseen demise, along with his undeveloped character, underlined that the Stepstones conflict against the Triarchy is more a sideshow than anything meaningful to the power struggle in King’s Landing.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Episode 3: “Adar”
Having taken its time with exposition and introductions in Episodes 1 and 2, The Rings of Power uses episode 3, “Adar,” to dig into its multiple characters and their storylines. From the magnificence of Numenor to the wretched Orc tunnels beneath the Southlands, “Adar” takes the narrative bull by the horns and yanks the drama center stage. With Arondir a prisoner of the Orc horde led by the mysterious Adar, Galadriel and Halbrand rescued by the suspicious Numenoreans and Nori’s Harfoot family becoming more attached to the Stranger, the story goes places.
All three major storylines pop. Under the care of the craggily handsome (and secretly pro-Elf) Numenorean Captain Elendil (Lloyd Owen), Galadriel and Halbrand are presented to Queen Regent Miriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) and her advisor Pharazon (Trystan Gravelle). We learn a lot about Numenorean history and watch the developing relationship between Galadriel and Halbrand, whose true identity is revealed.
Meanwhile, Arondir is part of an orc chain gang; he and the other captured Elves plan an escape. The attempt serves as the action set piece of the episode. Arondir almost makes it but is recaptured and taken before the mysterious orc leader, named “Adar.”
Nori’s story line takes a darker turn; with her father injured, Nori’s family cannot keep up with the Harfoot migration, which means being left behind, probably to die. The Stranger volunteers to help the Brandywines with their cart, becoming more helpful but no less mysterious.
With surprising deftness, “Adar” gets into an engaging dramatic flow without losing any of the show’s colorful grandeur. Interesting characters are introduced, including the honorable Captain Elendil and the wary royals Pharazon and Miriel. Nori’s family faces abandonment and death while Galadriel discovers the meaning of Sauron’s symbol.
The identity and purpose of the Stranger remains. The intensions of the Numenoreans are veiled. Galadriel thinks she knows her companion Halbrand, but is he really who and what she thinks he is? Arondir is left on a cliffhanger.
Who Wins Week 3?
While both “Adar” and “Second of his Name” perform admirably, the win goes to The Rings of Power for effortlessly deepening its engaging narratives.
House of the Dragon vs The Rings of Power: Which had the better start?. dark. Next
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