Small Council: What did you think of House of the Dragon Episode 203, "The Burning Mill?"

The third episode of House of the Dragon season 2, "The Burning Mill," is in the books. What did we think of it? Read our takes, tell us yours, and vote in our poll!

CAMILA: What an episode. Personally, it’s my favorite series-wide at the moment.

“The Burning Mill” sets everything up for the carnage that will inevitably follow it. We get to see the exact moment Alicent realizes she screwed up big time, and that she believes it’s far too late to do anything about it. We get to see how the Brackens and the Blackwoods’ hate toward each other ultimately destroys both sides, a sign and an omen for what’s to come. We see Ser Criston Cole put his strategic brain to use, and we see Aegon being a jerk to his brother Aemond during a very vulnerable moment.

But most importantly, we see how Rhaenyra really does take after her father, King Viserys; she attempts all non-violent options before she considers resorting to outright war. Now, we’ll really get to see Rhaenyra the Cruel at her finest and with no apologies.

The gears are turning, the dragons are about to fly, and we’ll all be at their mercy.

Buckle up, readers. The show has just now started to reach its boiling point, and soon we’ll be asking for little breathers.

DAN: Wow, Camila, it's your favorite episode of the series! I liked the episode, although I don't think it has any chance of knocking "The Lord of the Tides" from its spot at the top of my own personal list.

I like that you mention so many of the different incidents that went down during this episode: the Blackwoods vs the Brackens, Criston Cole marching off to war, Aegon and Aemond at odds, Rhaenyra trying to hold back the tide of war, and let's not forget Daemon's trip to Harrenahl. All of these plotlines ran concurrently, which made "The Burning Mill" feel more like Game of Thrones than any episode of House of the Dragon we've seen yet.

And by and large, it was a nice feeling. As usual, Aegon stole the show for me; he and his family are just so messed up and I can't stop watching. I also enjoyed Baela Targaryen's close encounter with Criston Cole and I was intrigued by Daemon's spooky stay in Harrenhal. I've got my eye on that one.

Like several in-the-middle-of-the-season episodes on Game of Thrones, "The Burning Mill" did a lot of setup. I think that's partly why they decided to end with the Alicent-Rhaenyra meetup, so the episode could go out with a bang. I liked the scene itself, particularly if it means that Alicent can stop pretending like she's only following Viserys' last words and that there's no part of her that wants Aegon on the throne just because. It was fun to see these two in the same scene again, and in the same place where they prayed as girls.

Now, getting Rhaenyra to this meeting may have stretched plausibility just a tad, what with her sneaking into King's Landing dressed as a septa. Overall I thought the show played fair, but I wouldn't blame anyone if they rolled their eyes; it did seem like a bit of a harebrained idea. What did you all make of the big ending scene?

JOEL: My favorite scene of the season was when Rhyaenyra slips into the sept to surprise Alicent in a final attempt to avoid war. The scene as a whole was a freight train of emotions that culminated in the realization that it WAS all a misunderstanding. Both Emma D'Arcy and Olivia Cooke were brilliant when they realized the mistake that led to all that followed and what will come. The worst part of it was that Alicent knew it was too late to fix, and her quick exit made Rhyaernyra understand that as well.

One aspect of the episode that I did not like was Daemon's nightmare in Harrenhal. If a show or book has dreams as part of the narrative already established, then it more acceptable. Dreams have never been part of the GOT world, outside of the hallucinations Arya had in the House of Black and White. In this case, it seemed like a crutch and lazy storytelling to show Daemon's guilt. I guess if you are going to have bad dreams, Harrenhal is the place, but it just felt as if there could have been a better way to show what Daemon was dealing with.

DANIEL: I have to gently push back against your take on Daemon’s dreams, Joel, because at least in the Song of Ice and Fire books, dream sequences are frequent and always fraught with meaning. This is something that Game of Thrones made a conscious decision to downplay, but the fantasy nerd in me loves to see House of the Dragon leaning into the fantastical spirit of Martin’s works a bit more than its predecessor.

So yeah, obviously, I was a fan of Harrenhal and Daemon’s dream there. I was genuinely surprised to see Milly Alcock return to the series as young Rhaenyra (especially after she outright lied about not coming back, the scoundrel!), and Daemon is someone with a whole lot of skeletons in his closet. I’m all for House of the Dragon digging into the psyche of one of its most complex characters. Plus, we got to meet Alys Rivers, albeit briefly!

Beyond all the stuff everyone already mentioned, another standout part of the episode for me was Aegon’s big night on the town, where he very nearly crossed paths with Ulf the White. Sonoya Mizuno is also giving a great performance as Mysaria this season. She was a character I really didn’t love during season 1 to whom the show is giving a much richer storyline this time around. I was also a fan of the decision to cut the actual Burning Mill battle and focus instead on a spat between two teenagers and the very sobering, bloody fallout. There are better battles ahead for HBO to spend that budget on, and I think this was a very clever choice to include the Burning Mill but not break the bank on it.

As for that ending scene, I’m very much in agreement with Dan’s sentiments. I really enjoyed the scene itself, both because Alicent was finally confronted with the reality that she misinterpreted Viserys’ dying words, and because it’s just damn fun to see Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke onscreen together. The conceit for the scene did feel like it stretched things right to the edge of being a bit silly, though. My gut impression is that the show wanted to find some way to get Alicent and Rhaenyra onscreen together this season, and this was the only opportunity that the writers felt they could make work. These two characters don’t cross paths at all during this particular leg of the Dance of the Dragons in the book, but do any of us really want a full season without a single conversation between them? Sometimes, a show has to make a wild call in the name of best using its actors, characters, and their very thorny dynamics. So I’m happy to give the borderline absurdity of Rhaenyra giving her best Sister Act impression a pass for how well the scene worked overall. It was a reunion between former best friends…as well as the final chance to avert the Dance of the Dragons. Now, the war can begin in earnest!

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