House of the Dragon Season 1 finale review: The Dance begins

Episode 10 contained two epic and heart-breaking sequences in particular. One of them was another agonising birthing scene as mother of five sons Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) gave birth to a stillborn daughter on receiving word of a double blow: Her father King Viserys is dead and her scheming stepfamily have stolen her inheritance and placed her younger half-brother Aegon on the throne.

The second tragedy in the finale involved another of Queen Rhaenyra’s children, this time her second son Lucerys. Volunteering with his brother to fly on dragonback to sure up support from the great houses of Westeros before the ‘blacks’ challenge the ‘greens’, 14-year-old Lucerys takes his little dragon Arrax to Storm’s End. The two houses are bound by blood but this new Lord Baratheon proves a treacherous weathervane, and on arrival Luke and Arrax are spooked to see a lightning storm expose the massive ancient mount of Aemond One Eye Targaryen, Vhagar. The closing scenes are as mesmerising as they are shocking. This is TV at its finest.

In all, the finale proved itself a worthy closer to what has been a phenomenally successful opening season.

Anyone who has read George R. R. Martin's 2018 ‘Fire and Blood’, on which HotD is based, cannot fail to be impressed by a series that is so faithful to its source material, but which has filled in plenty of the blanks. The book material on which Season 1 is based is only a very small part of the text so it is incredible that the showrunners, cast and crew on House of the Dragon have managed to make it such a riveting and essential viewing experience. Even more so when you consider the many time jumps and cast changes needed, the smarting of fans still bitter over the ending of Game of Thrones, and the fact that this entire first season, except the final 20 minutes of the finale ‘The Black Queen’, was essentially build up and scene setting before the real war begins.

Showrunners Ryan Condel, Miguel Sapochnik, George R.R. Martin and the principal actors, writers, costume department, casting and special effects teams should all take a bow. In my view, episodes 3, 7, 8 and 10 were the best, but there was not a single dud in this decade. The only two scenes I felt let the show down were the swift demise of Rhea Royce and in episode 9, when Princess Rhaenys and Meleys bursting through the floor at the coronation. The most epic scene? There are plenty of contenders, most of which relied solely on great acting and many of them involving young Alicent and Rhaenyra as their friendship is torn asunder. But the crown must go to the epic arrival of Viserys to defend his eldest daughter in the throne room in episode 8. We all felt it.

One thing the show has done is ensure there is representation. It also has not held back on exposing the exploitation and maltreatment of women and impoverished children, homophobia and anyone deemed ‘other’. I always thought of GoT as a heat-warped mirror of our own world. Its depictions of war, the brutality and the human cost, were stark and unflinching. To me there is a seminal anti-war message in these books and shows that is little discussed. With such a huge global audience that feels important.

The entire cast were exceptional, from the one scene wonders to the main players. The four stand out performances for me were: Emily Carey as young Alicent, Emma D'Arcy and Millie Alcock as Princess / Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, and Paddy Constantine as her father King Viserys. They deserve all the awards. Rhys Ifans as Otto Hightower (aka Big Finger), Matthew Needham as sadistic kinslayer Larys Strong (aka Little Toes, sorry I had to...), Steve Toussand as the Willie Fogg of Westeros Lord Corlys Velaryon, and Phia Saban as the future glimpsing Princess Haelena were all great. So too were all the young actors who carry much of the action. Casting can make or break any show and it is one of the HoT D’s biggest strengths. So much so that when many of the good guys who looked destined to become fan favourites were killed off within an episode or two, we felt their loss but we still watched on (R.I.P. Aemma, Leana, Harwin and Lionel you legends).

I’m glad too that the writers have again stayed away from creating flawless heroes. There are none here, which makes it interesting. People are all shades of complex. I didn’t pick a side reading the books but after watching this season, I'm probably ‘team black’ (though truth be told if if i was locked in a room with that serial killer weirdo Criston Cole and Aemond One Eye I’d be searching for my finest green St Paddy’s Day regalia and dancing a medieval jig ala Mushroom to keep my head).

And as for the dragons? Just wow. One of the criticisms levelled at GoT was that Drogon, Rhaegal and Viserion were often difficult to tell apart. No such problem this time round. From little Arrax and Vermax to that old green-eyed atomic bomb Vhagar, the keening, serpentine menace Caraxes and the placid, pretty Syrax, each was faithfully represented in vivid technicolour.

Looking to season 2, well if that book is anything to go by then get strapped in to your dragon saddle because there will be plenty of new interesting characters and dragons, and it is going to be shocking from the get go.

And if you can’t wait till then to find out what happens next, you could always just read the book…