REVIEW: House of the Dragon – Season 2, Episode 7, “The Red Sowing”

“Let us raise an army of bastards.”

Television Reviews

***SPOILERS***

“The Red Sowing” picks up with Rhaenyra confronting Addam of Hull about claiming Seasmoke. He pledges to the rightful Queen, and she accepts his aid, bringing him back to Dragonstone. Alicent sneaks out of the Red Keep for some self-care. Larys learns Seasmoke has a rider but suppresses the information from Aemond. Mysaria recommends Rhaenyra try more lowborn commoners as Dragon Lords, an idea Jace rails against. Daemon comes face-to-face with Oscar Tully, now liege lord of the Riverlands. He is cornered and forced to either kill Willem Blackwood or take ownership of his crimes. Daemon chooses the former. Lord Larys pushes Maester Orwylle and King Aegon to hasten the latter’s recovery. Rhaenyra’s boys leave The Vale, and Rhaena goes her own way. Mysaria sends word to King’s Landing, summoning Targaryen bastards to claim a dragon. Most of the candidates die in dragon fire, but Ulf, the boastful bar patron, and Hugh, the blacksmith, successfully claim Silverwing and Vermithor, respectively. Ulf rides above King’s Landing, luring Aemond back to Dragonstone, where he observes a host of dragons now with riders. 

I’ve always liked Daemon for the most part; he’s my second favorite character after Rhaenyra and definitely one of the most interesting. But I’m a little upset with him for the whole Willem Blackwood situation. The whole raping and pillaging encouraged by Daemon was heinous, and now he not only shirks accountability for it but beheads the man to whom he gave the order. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, but this is all just so nasty. The whole way Daemon has dealt with the Riverlands has been messy and unintelligent, and we see the consequences of that here. Lord Oscar keeps to his grandfather’s word, but he isn’t exactly happy to do so. Demeaning this kid and especially asking him to kill Grover was not the wisest step, and that’s not even getting into angering the other Lords. I like Oscar a lot because he doesn’t let Daemon walk all over him, but he isn’t dominated by his fellow River Lords, either. Seeing a child hold his ground and mediate between the two parties is quite impressive. Between his natural impulsiveness and Alys’ interference, Daemon has been totally reckless this season. Storming off of Dragonstone was silly, especially without answering Rhaenyra’s messages once he arrived. I’m just really disappointed in Daemon this season, both as a character and in the writing of his storyline. For weeks, he’s been spinning his wheels at Harrenhal, which started out really cool but got repetitive quickly. I also don’t know why we needed to sit through all these visions if Daemon’s behavior indicates he isn’t/hasn’t learned anything. “Sure, I goofed up all these integral relationships with my behavior, but let me just continue to do so.” Lame. 

The stuff with Corlys’ sons is excellent, even if they don’t interact much in “The Red Sowing.” When he dismisses Addam from seafaring to serve Rhaenyra, I get the hint of more than appreciation for a good worker. I think Corlys is getting ready to acknowledge his sons and regain some of the family he’s lost. They can’t replace Rhaenys and their kids together, but he’ll have someone. And since Baela rejected Corlys’ offer to inherit Driftmark, and Allyn says he’s “salt and sea,” he’s perfectly teed up to become the heir. He says he doesn’t want it, but Addam already has a dragon; it’s only fair for Allyn to get something. Speaking of Corlys’ family and dragons, we can all see the dotted line leading to Rhaena claiming the wild dragon in The Vale. I’m curious how she’ll catch back up with the baby brigade, if she even intends to. By the way, Lady Jeyne is a witch, and I hate her. She has been nothing but cold to Rhaena, and I hope she dies. 

Alicent does one thing in “The Red Sowing,” which is to lay in the water and hide from her self-inflicted problems. Thanks, I hate it. At least Daemon has to deal with the trouble his foolishness has wrought; Alicent running and hiding and forcing a guard to escort her, wasting his time, is shameful. It’s like she finally realizes a lot of the war and the way her sons behave is her fault, but even in the face of that recognition, she won’t reevaluate and take accountability. I like how the cut on her arm matches the one she gave Rhaenyra, which is another thing she’s probably remembering and regretting. I’m just really tired of the denial and false piety from Alicent. Sleeping with Criston after chastizing Rhaenyra for doing the same thing perfectly embodies her character. 

We also learn in “The Red Sowing” that Alicent’s youngest son, Daeron, is almost ready to join the Greens with his dragon Tessarion. Of course, this won’t matter much in the face of Rhaenyra’s three new rider/dragon combos: Addam of Hull on Seasmoke, Ulf on Silverwing, and Hugh the Blacksmith on Vermithor. Vermithor is the second largest living dragon after Vhagar. I like how the dragon keepers refuse to help Rhaenyra test the bastards as dragon riders, echoing her own earlier prejudice. Jace fully opposes this, albeit for selfish reasons. I get the perceived difference between legitimate Targaryen descendants in other houses vs. full bastards; I really do. But it’s kind of crazy to me that he proposed one idea and fully hates the other. This is the logical conclusion of Darklyn being rejected in “Smallfolk.” But I like her belief that the gods ordained this, the gods brought her Addam, etc. I don’t believe in any specific higher power, but I find it interesting when people/characters do. The creators even mention this being similar to a ritual sacrifice in the little behind-the-scenes snippet behind the episode, like the bastards are Rhaenyra’s cult. I like that, and I want to point out that these people all agreed to potentially die in trying to claim a dragon. This is important because they were willing participants, not forced or hoodwinked into it. But it also illustrates how bad their lives were that they’d rather die trying this than to continue as is. In Hugh’s case, we have seen precisely how bad things are.

“The Red Sowing” is the best episode in weeks simply because it is not filler. However, it’s also genuinely great for the content it has with Rhaenyra, Corlys, and his sons. I wish Rhaenyra hadn’t shown Aemond her cards so early; a stealth attack on the Red Keep would have been awesome. I think the Greens will make her regret this bold display. I also didn’t like Alicent’s part of “The Red Sowing,” or Daemon’s, besides getting schooled by Oscar. But overall, it was a solid episode.