In its earliest episodes, Home of the Dragon typically stumbled and infrequently felt like a undertaking that owed its existence to HBO’s starvation for a brand new hit reasonably than an understanding of what made Recreation of Thrones compelling within the first place. However in its season 1 finale, Home of the Dragon proved itself to be a worthy Recreation of Thrones successor and one thing type of like a dragon egg — a shocking reward that wanted time, warmth, and simply the correct of depth to turn into actually unbelievable.

Recreation of Thrones had the luxuries of time, area, and novelty working in its favor when it first premiered again in 2011 and launched a brand new viewers to the Track of Ice and Fireplace that’s been enjoying in George R.R. Martin’s thoughts for the previous three many years. Although it took some time for its impression to turn into clear, Recreation of Thrones targeted on progressively revealing an increasing number of of its characters’ inside selves with a measured slowness that made it straightforward to empathize with them — particularly as the form of Westeros’ politics turned clear. By doing that, Recreation of Thrones cultivated its forged of incestuous, murderous, treasonous little one defenestrators into a bunch of individuals audiences cherished and wished to see survive within the nice battle towards the frozen lifeless, despite the fact that the collection had misplaced a lot of its luster by that time.

In need of merely copying Recreation of Thrones’ narrative construction and teasing its story out over the course of eight seasons, there was no method Home of the Dragon may have developed its heroes and villains in the very same method. And so, as an alternative of burning slowly, Home of the Dragon got here in scorching and explosive by condensing its story with time jumps. It used its time to focus solely on essentially the most pivotal moments in Westeros’ historical past, just like the one “The Black Queen” from director Greg Yaitanes — the season 1 finale — revolves round.

“The Black Queen” is an episode of reckoning for a lot of of Home of the Dragon’s gamers, Princess Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) particularly. But it surely’s additionally a vital inflection level that brings a type of readability to the present’s story up to now and to the trail it would head down in season 2.

Sickly as King Viserys I (Paddy Considine) was as leprosy ravaged his physique within the years main as much as his loss of life, his single-minded willpower to maintain his household united forward of the nice prophesied winter was additionally what stored his family members from plunging Westeros into battle. Of their youths, Rhaenyra and her uncle-husband Prince Daemon (Matt Smith) couldn’t see Viserys’ relative mildness because the boon to Westeros that it was. Neither of them may respect how their very own ambitions for the Iron Throne may someday imperil Home Targaryen as a complete or how Viserys’ rule as king — imperfect and monstrous because it typically was — was genuinely outlined by his deep and abiding love for his total household.

Whereas Daemon and Rhaenyra’s relationships with Viserys had been difficult, “The Black Queen” lays naked simply how a lot his love meant to them each despite the fact that he stood instantly in the best way of their potential to say the Iron Throne at totally different factors earlier this season.

It was troublesome to really feel a lot of something in Home of the Dragon’s premiere as previous King Jaehaerys I (Michael Carter) first convened a Nice Council to pick an inheritor as a result of Home of the Dragon hadn’t but given us the prospect to correctly get to know who any of those folks had been. It wasn’t clear then simply how soiled Jaehaerys I did Princess Rhaenys (Eve Finest) or how attuned Rhaenyra was to the risks that she and Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) would someday face as ladies born into royal households. However as a really pregnant Rhaenyra stalks round a battle room in Dragonstone along with her very illegitimate sons Jacaerys (Harry Collett) and Lucerys (Elliot Grihault), you possibly can see plainly how studying to play the sport of thrones has formed the trajectory of the princess’s life.

“The Black Queen” doesn’t make something about the best way Home of the Dragon has appeared fixated on the thought of girls enduring painful, traumatic births any much less discomfiting. However the best way Rhaenyra enters labor prematurely upon listening to information of her father’s loss of life from Rhaenys is likely one of the episode’s strongest scenes, a significant little bit of gut-wrenching awfulness that’s grounded by the potent vitality D’Arcy pours into their efficiency.

As Rhaenyra refuses assist from her handmaidens, “The Black Queen” calls for that you just witness the bodily ache that she’s in a position to bear and the emotional agony that almost breaks her in her final second of vulnerability. Slightly than focusing solely on the tragedy of Rhaenyra’s child being stillborn, the episode locks in on how straightforward it’s for Daemon to depart Rhaenyra’s aspect throughout labor regardless of the newborn being his and the way the newborn’s loss of life was no less than partially associated to the deep toxicity of their relationship.

“The Black Queen” leaves little doubt that some a part of Daemon actually believes that he’s performing in Rhaenyra’s finest curiosity when he begins advocating for battle with the Greens in King’s Touchdown. That mentioned, the episode additionally highlights how a lot of Daemon’s pulling again from Rhaenyra whereas she’s actually calling out for him additionally comes from a spot of disdain that’s simpler to faucet into along with his brother Viserys I lastly out of the image for good. Daemon’s frustration with Rhaenyra when she refuses to kill Ser Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) after he exhibits up on Dragonstone with phrases from King Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney) is comprehensible up to some extent.

As Daemon’s choking his new queen for daring to say the precise Track of Ice and Fireplace to him, although, “The Black Queen” casts him in as sincere and unsympathetic a light-weight because it presumably can to hammer house how his aspirations make him a harmful man.

By chronicling the numerous ways in which Westeros’ nobles may harm each other with out utilizing dragons, Home of the Dragon did a surprisingly efficient job of illustrating why anybody with widespread sense who had them at their disposal may be inclined to train restraint. The true stage of chaos and destruction that the Targaryen dragons may unleash was an idea that Recreation of Thrones spent years alluding to and finally constructing towards because the magical creatures returned to Westeros from the brink of extinction. However the place Recreation of Thrones shrouded its dragons in a sure diploma of thriller, “The Black Queen” is sort of matter-of-fact in regards to the hazard they pose due to their uncooked energy and the way troublesome it’s to rein that energy in after it’s been unleashed.

Rhaenys’ understanding of that actuality is what would have made her a very nice queen and what made her determination to not homicide everybody at Aegon’s coronation such a swish and sudden energy transfer. And it’s Home of the Dragon’s dedication to digging deeper into that idea that finally makes “The Black Queen” really feel harking back to Recreation of Thrones when it was at its peak.

Home of the Dragon greater than earned its proper to punctuate its story with moments of pure sword and sorcery spectacle. Past simply constructing to a dragon combat, although, “The Black Queen” gave us a preview of the approaching Dance of the Dragons by giving Prince Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) the chance to lastly actual some revenge on his nephew Lucerys, who (by accident) took considered one of his eyes after they had been youngsters.

For all of Rhaenyra’s wartime savviness, it doesn’t even happen to her that sending her two teenage sons out into the world with their comparatively immature dragons may not be the neatest concept given how many individuals need all of them lifeless. However the brilliance of “The Black Queen” is how the episode reminds you that it’s optimism reasonably than straight-up foolishness that motivates Rhaenyra and the way very like her father that optimism makes her.

Rhaenyra doesn’t ship Lucerys down Storm’s Finish as a result of she desires Lord Borros Baratheon (Roger Evans) to humiliate him earlier than Aemond chases him into the sky and murders him on dragonback. She does it as a result of she thinks that Westeros’ leaders can err on the aspect of warning out of an overabundance of concern about what may turn into of their kingdoms if and when an all-out battle that includes dragons had been to ever escape. Technically talking, she’s proper, as Lord Borros makes clear that he desires no involvement in no matter private beef the 2 Targaryen boys have with each other. However in basic Recreation of Thrones style, “The Black Queen” got here to an in depth with a shocking twist that deviated from George R.R. Martin’s Fireplace & Blood whereas additionally completely capturing the spirit of the supply materials.

Aemond killing Lucerys by accident reasonably than on objective the best way he does in Fireplace & Blood provides a scrumptious prime be aware of tragedy to Home of the Dragon’s season 1 finale that feels indicative of how way more private and ugly the collection’ subsequent chapters will probably be. Rhaenyra happening the warpath to destroy her one-time finest pal was at all times going to be fascinating, however now, it’s going to be messy in the best way that each one Recreation of Thrones conflicts, born out of ache and misunderstanding, are typically. Home of the Dragon wouldn’t have been in a position to get to this sort of snug cruising altitude had been it not for all of the world constructing and cautious character growth that went into the remainder of the season. However now that the present’s gotten this overwrought and primed for bombast, there’s no turning again, which looks like a greater than promising be aware for Home of the Dragon to finish on.