Episode 7 of House of the Dragon has just aired. It’s definitely one of the best episodes we’ve seen. The episode has everything from family drama to action to a fake death. We also see great characters return to the screen like Lord Corlys, Otto Hightower and Princess Rhaenys. The episode basically follows the events of Driftmark after Lady Laena Velaryon’s funeral. And as we expected, Aemond claims Vhagar and in return gets his eye cut out by Lucerys, son of Rhaenyra. So here are the good and bad sides of Episode 7 of House of the Dragon.
Good
The scenes of Aemond riding Vhagar
Aemond claims Vhagar in House of the Dragon episode 7
Much like its Game of Thrones predecessor, House of the Dragon is also praised for its brilliant cinematography and VFX shots of dragons flying across the vast sky. Luckily, Episode 7 was no different. The photo of Vhagar opening his eye that was also included in the preview was absolutely chilling. Additionally, there was the scene of Vhagar and Aemond flying through the moonlit sky which was breathtakingly beautiful.
Olivia Cooke and the others were absolutely brilliant
Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower is absolutely brilliant
Olivia Cooke and Emma D’arcy did a brilliant job putting themselves in the shoes of Alicent and Rhaenyra. However, this episode of House of the Dragon specifically saw Olivia Cooke shine. Her emotions, her broken voice and the way she attacked Rhaenyra and her sons was very powerful and raw acting. Even Eve Best was amazing as Princess Rhaenys who mourned the death of her daughter and later her son. Finally, Paddy Considine gave a chilling performance as King Viserys.
Tons of action
Lucerys cuts out Aemond’s eye in House of the Dragon Episode 7
House of the Dragon episode 7 had all the forms of action one would expect without venturing into unnecessary gratuitous violence territory. It was filled with family drama and the age-old blood feud between Alicent and Rhaenyra passed down to their children. The episode sees Aemond is slowly transforming into the slimy man it is destined to become. The infighting between the children crescendos. Moreover, following the mourning of Lady Laena, the Velaryon nevertheless lose another child to the fire. Later we even see that Laenor faked her death and escaped with her lover. Episode 7 is the pinnacle of storytelling and was truly glorious.
The bad
Laenor Velaryon escapes Driftmark with Qarl
The show is definitely moving down a path where Rhaenyra is painted as good while Alicent is bad. This is quite contrary to the books where both characters seem morally gray. However, in this episode of House of the Dragon, Alicent almost attacks a child, cuts off Rhaenyra’s hand, and shows that she is capable of much more depravity. On the other hand, Rhaenyra refused to kill Laenor and simply offered her freedom. It would have been really great to see Rhaenyra embrace a more immoral side of her own. House of the Dragon episode 7 really doesn’t give much else to complain about. Everything from the acting to the dialogue to the pacing was on point. We can’t wait enough for the next episode to come!
