5 best moments from House of the Dragon season 1 (and 5 worst)

Third Best Moment: Alicent comes at Rhaenyra with a knife

After Alicent Hightower’s son Aemond rides the dragon Vhagar, Rhaenya’s kids and Daemon’s kids confront him. The children get into an ugly scuffle that might have just ended with some scuffed knees and hurt feelings were these kids not armed. Instead, Aemond threatens young Jaecerys with a rock and Jace’s brother Lucerys slashes out Aemond’s eye with a knife.

In the scene that follows, the adults try to sort out what happened and who’s to blame. It’s electric. In the climax, Alicent — frustrated that her husband the king seems unwilling to punish neither Luke nor Rhaenyra for what happened — comes at Rhaenyra with a knife. It’s probably the most nail-biting scene of the entire season, built on episodes worth of tension and acted to the hilt by Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke.

At one point Alicent actually says to Criston Cole, “Bring me the eye of Lucerys Velaryon.” This is high drama stuff! And the show has the conviction and know-how to pull it off.

Third Worst Moment: Episode 9 is just…pretty bad all around

Episode 9, “The Green Council,” opens with Alicent Hightower discovering that her husband, King Viserys I Targaryen, has died in his sleep. This should be where the story kicks into high gear, but a series of wrongheaded writing choices bring the energy level way down.

The problems start with the titular Green Council, as Alicent, her father Otto, and other members of Viserys’ small council meet to decide what to do in the aftermath of the king’s death. Viserys wanted his throne to pass to his daughter Rhaenyra, but the people in this room want to crown Alicent’s son Aegon instead. It’s a situation rife with dramatic potential, but the focus is way off. Instead of a roomful of people convincing themselves to do the wrong thing, the script forces a conflict between Otto, who wants to kill Rhaenyra in order to secure Aegon’s claim (despite the fact that this would almost certainly start a war everyone ostensibly wants to avoid); and Alicent, who…doesn’t.

No one brings up any reason why Aegon should be crowned beyond Alicent misinterpreting her husband’s final words. The death of Lyman Beesbury, a banner moment from George R.R. Martin’s book Fire & Blood, passes without impact. Otto must act like a moron so the script can justify a fight with his daughter, and instead of getting Aegon’s perspective on all of this, which is definitely something we need to have, we waste time following characters who are looking for him, since he’s gone AWOL.

These choices gut the episode of tension and do a real disservice to the characters, who are smarter and more complicated than this. And there’s still a capper to come…