What's your review of "The Queen Who Ever Was," Episode 8 of Season 2 of 'House of the Dragon' (spoilers)?
07.06.2025 15:44
But we’re supposed to forget a few things:
As a matter of fact, I’d wager Aemond (especially given how affected he was by Helaena’s words—though his face couldn’t show much because he has an eyepatch) likely has suspicions about Helaena’s prophetic ability after growing up with her. Why isn’t she used as a resource in that capacity, that would be more interesting. Him trying to force prophecies out of her like a horoscope and her insisting it doesn’t work that way (which could communicate to us what she does and doesn’t see).
And I need one of two things. If you’re gonna tell a good story, you need to consider the logic because a lot of this didn’t make sense. Or, just go crazy with the foolishness. Make Bran king, have Drogon ignore an assassin, burn a surrendering city, just go crazy with it so we can come up with some nice memes. Is that too much to ask?
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That Rhaenyra’s kids took Aemond’s eye without any form of retribution because she decided to weaponize her status to protect them from the consequences. And wanted Aemond to be tortured for mentioning the b-word. Any parent would do the same, but still…
Also, why hasn’t Aemond come up with the idea to burn the strongholds of his enemy’s allies? Why is one singular location the only place he’s unleashed Vhagar? He can fly all over the realm burning down barracks and seats of power…but he doesn’t because he’s…I don’t know.
Also, what did Alicent set in motion? Which actions? Having sons that are in Rhaenyra’s generation? I don’t think she wanted that old man on top of her. Asking Viserys to bring her father back (anti-Anna Nicole logic. If he wanted things to be different, he would’ve made it that way)? Not kissing Rhaenyra’s firebuns? Misinterpreting a dying man’s rambling—which was a cherry on top of an established coup she was excluded from.
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I like how this prophecy can have a negative effect on Aemond the same way the Song of Ice and Fire influenced the start of this war, to an extent. But it doesn’t have much of an impact on the story as a whole.
Also, what was the purpose of his scenes with Helaena? He wants her to burn people and she says no…twice. I was so excited when he came out with that bedroom voice that they’d go the route some fans wonder about and make him the father of her kids. But no. They didn’t really do anything but spoil the future.
That’s his daughter, even Targaryens wouldn’t go far enough to sleep with their kids (to my knowledge). I like the idea of Daemon having an affair and getting out of that haunted house already since those scenes aren’t entertaining (in my opinion). If Rhaena needs extra screentime, I’ve got an idea.
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And I blame the show. They had a great switch because, to my knowledge, she flipped instantly in the books when she found out she’d given birth to a clutch of sons. But, in the show, she’s a beautiful wreck who lives in the mental equivalent of a shaky Jenga tower. She’s never had control in any situation and she’s terrified of being in the situation she was in once before: powerless to get justice after her son’s eye was sliced out and she was unable to save or help him (which contributed to Aemond being such an ass).
His conversation with Baela is annoying. Her consoling him about being insecure because he’s a bastard is strange because it shows that she knows he and his brothers are usurping her and Rhaena and she doesn’t care. To each their own, I guess, but it just goes to angelify the Blacks in a way that scrubs away a lot of the nuance and uncertainty that could be shown here. I do like how they were pressed about expecting strangers to kill innocent people, though.
A big thing in the after-episode summary was that Aemond is truly scared for the first time in this war. But he, as a character, seems to believe the best defense is a good offense. So, why is he just chilling in the palace while people starve and grow dissatisfied with him? I, personally, view him as the type that would feel confined and want to fly.
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The Demonization of Alicent
Alicent had as much control over Aemond and Aegon’s actions as Cersei had when Joffrey took Ned’s head. Cersei admitted she didn’t want him to do that, but he did it anyway and caused trouble. Alicent and Cersei only had culpability in the weakest form: their bad parenting…well Cersei also killed Robert, I guess.
That, logically, Alicent would be made a hostage—though very few people care enough to offer anything for her freedom.
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That Otto is the real mastermind behind all of this and Alicent spent her time “in power” as a puppet for Viserys’s wishes…and putting up crosses, and incense, and bibles, and candles, and pulpits, and offering plates, and usher gloves all around the palace.
I got into a debate about this with my mother. And, with parents, you can’t win even if your logic is sound. She’s under the perspective that Alicent started all of this from the beginning. That Otto is doing all this coup-ing to satisfy his daughter’s ambitions. That Aemond is an ass who deserved the loss of his eye (which is somewhat true). And that Alicent wanted the coup to happen, even if she wasn’t in on it and is only regretful now that she’s not in power. That Alicent’s children were never in danger since the lords swore fealty to Rhaenyra.
I like some elements. We get to see Rhaena and she’s wanted a dragon for as long as we’ve known her. The relationship between Daemon and Nettles can also be put to better use by showing he only cares about her now that she can fly.
I just feel a dragonrider inexperienced in combat is less useful than a way to divine your enemy’s next move. Though, any dragonrider is a massive advantage in combat.
Let’s fast forward. Did Robert need to debate with Ned whether he should have Daenerys killed? Yes. It’s a possible threat. It might not be a problem now, but she needs to die if he wants to rule with any stability.
I know it was always meant to be this length, but there should’ve been more. Season 1 ended with Luke getting eaten and Rhaenyra getting the news…then she turned to the camera with this indescribable badass look. That’s a good ending. I just feel like all the filler could’ve been cut out. Daemon’s Haunted House Hijinx could’ve been consolidated to a B-plot in a single episode to show why he’s yielding to his neice-wife.
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It was a stupid decision to give dragons to non-Targaryens. We saw that with the Hightower marriage and a family of born-schemers getting heirs with dragons. There’s a reason Valyria was ruled by multiple families. Dragons are power and there’s no debating that.
You have 4–5 grandkids on paper (2 in reality). Why are you chumming up with bastards instead of Rhaena? Baela and that “oh no, I don’t want Driftmark, I don’t want power. That may lead to a storyline where we have to consider that Rhaenyra is technically usurping us and doesn’t want any woman other than herself to hold power outside of a dragon that can be sent into war on her command,” situation is a dead-end for some reason.
Rhaena=Nettles
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That Alicent is the one that has been raised to scheme and plot and consider potential future actions. Unless she’s had a mental breakdown or lobotomy, she should know that her kids aren’t going to be able to live in exile peacefully. She’d just take Helaena and run, there’s no outcome where she can surrender her kids over to Rhaenyra that doesn’t result in death for Aegon, Aemond, and Daeron.
That Alicent had no choice when her father told her to seduce the king by becoming his BetterHelp grief counselor. Rhaenyra can tell her father no and it’s allowed, but that’s a rarity in this society. Tywin would’ve forced Cersei into a sept to marry Loras if she didn’t have blackmail material. Alicent didn’t have that.
But what was the reason though? Tyland, Daemon, and Criston have had some extremely weak storylines this season, why don’t they have to be consolidated into a more convenient character? And it does a disservice when we consider there’s an opportunity for Daemon to interact with a non-witch, for once. His relationship with Nettles could’ve been fun to explore because Daemon is toxic and I love his romantic life.
And let’s consider how they were told “you’re gonna have to murder scores of innocent people.” I’d be testy after that, too.
I have so many questions. How are you gonna sneak him out? Do you have a hospital bed with wheels? It looks like getting a squad to carry him wouldn’t be comfortable. I know he’d be in pain the entire time. It makes no sense.
Why didn’t Sansa stop the War of the Five Kings? Or Catelynn? Or Olenna? Or Cersei? Why didn’t they snap their fingers and end it? Those are 4 women born into immense privilege, status, and power but their power is limited based on gender—though a good deal of them fight to gain autonomy. Actually, Olenna may have held the most power until Cersei became queen.
But we see that all of the Black dragonriders were busy. So, flying down under the cover of darkness should still be an option, should it not? Ships aren’t an infinite resource, this isn’t Braavos (Braavos has facilities that can build an entire ship in a single day).
I just find it irresponsible to have a story with the split between progress and traditionalism that isn’t accurate. I like how they can show that dragons offer physical power—an advantage that men have often used throughout history to be dicks…literally. But ignoring the privilege Rhaenyra has as a dragonrider and as royalty who’s lived in the king’s favor is reckless.
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The Entire Episode:
The fashion…I’ve been underwhelmed since Rhaenyra was young and Alicent’s green dress moment. Rhaenyra had a nice dress, though, with dragon shoulderpads. But I’d definitely fire the hairstylists for their work here. Jace’s hairline was pushed back too far to be flattering. In fact, so was Alicent’s—I never knew she had a heart-shaped face. But you’re not here for a hair review.
The writing, though…and the logic. It’s all made to insult everyone who’s been watching and following, in my opinion. Let me get into a few moments:
Anyway, sorry I slut-shamed you. Take the palace and let me live in exile—which I could’ve done without consulting you.
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Viserys, Otto, Aemond, the defenders of Westerosi patriarchy (Hightowers, Lannisters, Baratheons, Tullys, Brackens, Strongs, Reynes, Tarbecks, Redwynes) are people who had more power and culpability.
Just like Aegon’s new sex life, there was no way for me to be pleased or satisfied. This is a finale. This is like ordering a steak for your last meal and getting a Whopper. I’ll say that the acting and cinematography were great, as they’ve been consistently.
They can be as ghetto as they want and, in my opinion, Rhaenyra can’t do much. Her entire advantage is precarious. She needs the dragonriders more than they need her, in some ways. Dragonseeds aren’t an infinite resource so burning another 30 to gain 1 isn’t ideal. And they see that, to an extent. I really loved this scene.
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Aemond Spiralling
That Alicent never pursued rulership. She wanted her sons to be protected and knew Rhaenyra would, logically have to kill them in order to rule with any stability. This is a fact and even sending them to the Wall isn’t a complete solution. Rhaenyra weaponized status to avoid consequences for her son taking Aemond’s eye, so it’s not reasonable to assume she’d care about the wellbeing of Alicent’s sons.
This seems like an acting exercise—a chemistry read. This doesn’t feel like a part of the script in a real episode because the characters would be expected to fact-check one another. And it makes no sense to sneak onto Dragonstone when you’re going to be captured.
Maybe he’s protecting the city and his Iron Chair. But I still don’t see the logic. He sat on the sidelines while his brother’s dragon was mutilated just to get a good shot on both Aegon and Rhaenys. That’s snake-like calculated behavior, so where is that now?
The episode feels like this was supposed to be in a 10-episode season. This isn’t a finale, it’s a buildup episode. Am I wrong for believing we should feel pumped up and shocked in a finale episode? I had to circle back to Daenerys burning King’s Landing after I saw this one.
Getting Aegon Out
This scene is only here to show how Aegon has been hurt and how low he’s been brought. But, unlike Joffrey, we don’t have enough time to see how awful he is. Sure, he’s dismissive of his mother and a known rapist and sexual deviant. But this fall doesn’t really hit the same way the Purple Wedding did because we don’t see him being absolutely terrible for long enough.
None of it makes sense, but I’ll always condone a deadbeat father being dragged by his 613 wig.
But Rhaena has no dragon, her long-term betrothed got eaten, she has no power. Why in hell can’t she inherit? Why is Corlys not interested in her? Why is a noblewoman just wandering around the Vale looking for a dragon by herself? There are bandits and hill tribes there, the world feels small if it’s just empty and no one lives there because the main characters aren’t there. Why have we not gotten any true discussion about the awful things Rhaenyra has done (or is perceived to have done) to his family?
It’s disrespectful to paint it as if Alicent has more power than she really does. It’s like saying every First Lady in history prior to 1919 is to blame for women not having the right to vote. You’re married to the most powerful man in the world, why didn’t you change things? Doesn’t that sound wild? I’d like for the show to acknowledge the privilege Rhaenyra has in terms of her circumstances and dragons and how that gives her the power to fight for her birthright—which no other woman would have, not even Rhaenys.
Jace’s Insecurity and Showboating
Granted, the existence of the other dragons may worry him, but he’s a dragonrider. And dragonriders know that you can’t get a raven with information while flying. You can’t be everywhere at once. A dragon could be anywhere and circling the continent trying to find a way to stop them isn’t ideal. Within a day, he could burn critical locations in several regions before news of him leaving King’s Landing is brought to the other sides, right?
I love how pathetic he looked dealing with Ulf and Hugh, but his anger seemed a bit extreme. Yes, there was disrespect and he should be shown deference. But the threats were almost Joffrey-level and we’ve never seen that side to him. So, even if it’s just to show he’s pufferfishing to look bigger, it just doesn’t seem natural.
That Alicent has already lost her grandchildren and her son has been crippled.
That Alicent resenting Rhaenyra for having the freedom to have bastard children, a father who wanted her to be happy and have the world, and being irresponsible isn’t a bad thing. In a world where you have to be responsible and make sacrifices, most people would be.
And, somehow, caravans from the Reach aren’t allowed…I suppose. And, somehow, those wooden ships can’t be burned the way Daenerys burned the military ships that sieged Meereen. Maybe there was fear that the dragons on Rhaenyra’s side would be defending those ships.
We didn’t see the blockade, I don’t think. I was cooking during the early sections, but I’m 90% sure we didn’t see it. And I could understand why. So, the naval blockade is (I’m guessing) ships under Rhaenyra’s command that act like the TSA. Food products are a water bottle and you’ll be taken down if you try to smuggle one in.