House of the Dragon Season 1 Finale Review: Emma D’Arcy’s ‘Game of Thrones’ Prequel Ends on a Satisfyingly Tense Note! (LatestLY Exclusive)

House of the Dragon Season 1 Finale Review: After an entire season of backstabbing, murders, political uprisings and a splash of incest – House of the Dragon has finally concluded its first season in an exciting way that will have many looking forward to the beginning of the Dance of the Dragons. While of course the two-year wait for season two is going to be excruciating, it finally feels like Game of Thrones fever is back – and it’s a damn wonderful feeling. PS – Some heavy spoilers will be mentioned in this review. House of the Dragon Review: Matt Smith’s ‘Game of Thrones’ Prequel Series Is An Impressive Return to Westeros! (LatestLY Exclusive).

Titled “The Black Queen” with it being directed by Greg Yaitanes and written by the showrunner himself, Ryan Condal, the episode focuses on Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) doing her best to gather all the allies she can in order to fight the Greens. With Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) usurping her claim and Allicent (Olivia Cooke) sending a letter to Rhaenyra to bend the knee, a war is on the rise and the events that kick of the Dance of the Dragons take place.

Beginning with the arrival of Rhaenys (Eve Best), who tells Rhaenyra about Aegon’s succession, the episode immediately thrusts us into what probably is the most disturbing scene in the show. Showcasing Rhaenyra going through a miscarriage while Daemon (Matt Smith) is busy plotting the war and deducing who our allies are, there were times where I almost just wanted to skip the scene. However, it just highlights the absolute masterclass that Emma D’Arcy has put on since episode six.

Many were skeptical about how Milly Alcock’s version of Rhaenyra would be portrayed by D’Arcy, and so far, they have broken all expectations. Being not only as good as Alcock, but also providing for a new and matured take on the character, D’Arcy’s Rhaenyra was a smash hit that lets her vulnerability through, yet doesn’t let go of that aura which makes her such a compelling queen.

Watch the Trailer:

Matt Smith also finally takes off the curtain from Daemon showcasing the kind of man he is. A scene where Rhaenyra tells him about Aegon’s dream, which is the Song of Ice and Fire, he begins to choke her believing that dreams aren’t what make rulers, but rather dragons. While that character turn can be jarring for some considering HOTD doesn’t really let its moments breathe, it still very much felt in line with how Daemon is supposed to be and created for a tense moment that had me hating him.

The episode is littered with great moments like that as it features the return of Steve Toussaint's Lord Corlys too. With him swearing his allegiance to Rhaenyra, there is a sense of a grand scale here that creates for a heightened sense of viewing that only Game of Thrones can deliver on. While Corlys' return can be felt a bit distracting with him being absent since episode eight, it still made the episode seem more intimate with all the pieces of the puzzle finally falling into place.

Sadly, as mentioned before, it does let into some of the bigger issues of House of the Dragon which often is how the characters can be portrayed and create for a disconnect. Huge time jumps do dampen the flow and impact of the series, for example, a scene in this episode between Jacaerys (Harry Collett) and Lucerys (Elliot Grihault) can be seen as a bit weird considering we have never seen these brothers properly interact with each other, thankfully it doesn’t become that big of an issue as the acting here remains spectacular.

The music and production quality provide for a breathtaking spectacle that are particularly highlighted during the ending of the episode. With Lucerys being sent to Storm’s End to deliver a message and receive the aid of the Baratheons, he quickly finds that Aemond has beaten him to the chase. With the one-eyed prince asking for a blood debt to be paid, a dragon chase takes place that finally delivers us one of the major deaths of this season. The one thing that House of the Dragon was lacking is that there is no urgency of a major threat, and the finale completely delivers on that with Aemon killing Lucerys and giving us the “Ned Stark” death of this season. The Peripheral Review: Chloe Grace Moretz’s Sci-Fi Series Has an Interesting Concept Let-Down by Muddled Execution (LatestLY Exclusive).

Directly following into one of the most heartbreaking frames of this episode with Rhaenyra looking vengeful, the episode ends on a high note that is certainly going to make this two-year wait for season two an absolutely daunting task. While the Dance of the Dragons is definitely going to showcase blood flowing like several barrels of wine being left open, the moral ambiguity that HOTD sets up is a treat.

Yay!

Emma D’Arcy as Rhaenyra

Great Set Up to the Dance of the Dragons

Nay!

Does Lend Itself to Some of the Issues of the Season

Final Thoughts

House of the Dragon has definitely been a huge surprise. Going into the series with absolutely no expectations at all to it becoming one of the best releases of the year, it ends on the high note that promises an exciting future. The Game of Thrones obsession is back, and we can’t wait to see where the series heads next. House of the Dragon season one is streaming on Disney+ Hotstar right now.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 24, 2022 01:41 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).