Ryan Kirksey
The following recap contains spoilers for House of the Dragon S2E7, “The Red Sowing” (written by David Hancock and directed by Loni Peristere)
A brief conversation between Queen Rhaenyra and Mysaria in House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 7 “The Red Sowing” harkens all the way back to the second episode of the first season when a young Rhaenyra is questioned by Rhaenys, the Queen Who Never Was, about her father’s potential remarriage after Queen Aemma died.
Frustrated by the potential of her father marrying again for political gain, Rhaenyra asks Rhaenys:
“Does it bother you?”
Princess Rhaenyra asks her aunt this pivotal question as they both intensely watch King Viserys court her aunt’s young daughter to potentially be his next wife after his first bride perished tragically in childbirth.
“Of course it does,” Princess Rhaenys answers. “But I understand the order of things.”
In this scene from “The Rogue Prince,” Rhaenys goes on to explain what the order of things actually is in Westerosi society and really the entirety of the mythical realm created by George R.R. Martin.
“Whether it’s to my daughter
or to someone else’s,
your father will remarry sooner than late.
His new wife will produce new heirs,
and chances are better than not
that one of those will be male.
And when that boy comes of age
and your father has passed,
the men of the realm
will expect him to be heir, not you.
Because that is the order of things.”
The order of things they discuss has to do with establishing heirs, strategic alliances, and gender politics, but it really can be broadly applied to much of the traditions, laws, hierarchies, and history of Westeros.
Fast forward to “The Red Sowing” when Rhaenyra and Mysaria are having a conversation about Addam of Hull bonding to the dragon Seasmoke that we saw at the end of Episode 6 and whether a) Rhaenyra can trust him, and b) whether it is more appropriate for them to “look under the sheets and the woodpiles” for potential dragon-riders to support her army. Mysaria believes the many Targaryen bastards born out their decades-long visits to the brothel houses might be the next logical place for dragon-riders.
Rhaenyra is reluctant to try this idea with the “lowborn,” because of the honor that the high houses should receive by being named dragon-riders. But Mysaria disagrees. She knows now what is at stake.
“A common shipwright vows to serve you while your brothers seek to destroy you. The order of things has changed, Your Grace.”
Indeed, the order of things has changed by the time this penultimate Season 2 episode ends, but it’s not just with smallfolk bonding to dragons. Much of the order of Team Black and Team Green has been disrupted and it now looks as though the first to understand and harness the new order will come out victorious in the Civil War, perhaps as soon as the finale in Episode 8.
A War Between Dragons
(This weekly section will break down the most crucial part of the episode that impacts the Targaryen civil war.)
Clearly the decision for Mysaria to send whisperers into King’s Landing to recruit Targaryen bastards to ride dragons has the potential to be a massive, war-shifting event moving forward. After the surprise reverse recruitment of Addam of Hull by Seasmoke, Rhaenyra now has two other dragon-riders bonded with vicious and battle-ready dragons. Hugh Hammer now rides Vermithor and Ulf the White rides Silverwing (and we got to see some of this as he harrowingly flew over King’s Landing).
This sudden shift in who can bond with dragons upends centuries of beliefs that the royal Targaryens, because they are more like gods then men, have special power in their blood and are therefore the only ones who can bond and ride a dragon. A commoner being able to ride a dragon was utterly hogwash to the people of this time and it is why Rhaenyra has such a hard time being convinced of it, and why others on the Small Council think it is madness. Again, the order of things.
After Ser Steffon was burnt to a crisp in Episode 6, Rhaenyra thought his blood might not be pure enough. It turns out, perhaps his motivations and his intentions were the things that weren’t pure enough. When Hugh Hammer makes the journey to Dragonstone, he tells his wife he has to do this if there is any chance of saving his family. And when Vermithor is having a grand time cooking the commonfolk, it’s Hugh who pushes a lady out of the way of the flames, saving her life. Hammer then confronts Vermithor and the old beast decides he does want some of the smoke Hugh Hammer is dishing out.
In the “Inside the Episode” segment after the episode ended, Tom Bennett—who plays Ulf the White—and showrunner Ryan Condal had some great lines about how Ulf showed deference and respect to Silverwing, which might explain why he was chosen to ride the lightning-fast dragon. These three men, including Addam, represent the lowborn who would never have possessed the ability to ride dragons before.
But with the order of things changed, dragon-riders are now more common. Prince Jacaerys feels threatened as a dragon-rider heir but also the bastard of Harwin Strong, and the scales are now firmly tipped in Rhaenyra’s favor in the dragon math ledger. We also can’t forget about the few scenes we see of Rhaena leaving Jeyne Arryn with the young children and the clutch of eggs under her watch. In the last episode she discovered, and Jeyne confirmed, that there is a wild dragon living near them and Rhaena wants to claim it. If Rhaena can tip the order even more in favor of Rhaenyra, how can Aemond and his beast of a dragon, Vhagar, truly stand in their way?
This disruption has been hinted at before, particularly in the Fire & Blood text. In one famous passage, George R.R. Martin describes the method by which Aemond came to bond with Vhagar. He writes:
“Even for a son of House Targaryen, there are always dangers in approaching a dragon, particularly an old, bad-tempered dragon who has recently lost her rider. […] Call it boldness, call it madness, call it fortune or the will of the gods or the caprice of dragons. Who can know the mind of such a beast?”
If we truly can not know what drives a dragon to bond with a rider, the Targaryens have more trouble ahead than who comes out ahead during the Civil War.
Who Danced Best with Dragons?
(This weekly section will look at who played the game of war the best within the episode.)
While a lot of dominoes would have to fall his way for him to be anywhere close to the Iron Throne, I thought the conversation and debate between young Lord Oscar Tully, Daemon Targaryen, and the Lords of the Riverlands was fascinating. Newly appointed Lord Oscar had no problem standing up to Daemon, knowing he had the support of his people behind him and also Daemon’s desperation for needing their men to join his army.
Daemon is not the same man he was when he arrived at Dragonstone. Be it the curse of Alys Rivers, his hallucinogenic “rendezvous” with his mother, of the increasingly decrepit King Viserys who keeps showing up in his visions, Daemon is beginning to understand he can’t win a way all by himself. He needs armies, he needs bannerman, he needs allegiance, and he even needs Rhaenyra and her new air patrol of dragons, he just doesn’t know it yet.
Oscar Tully recognizes all of this, even as a teenager, and uses it to reinforce the fealty from his fellow Riverland houses, but also to gain the respect from Daemon. It was, in fact, Oscar who claimed Daemon must dish out the justice against Willem Blackwood and his violent actions if Daemon is to have any hope of the Riverlands bending the knee.
Oscar delivers a wonderful line in this episode. “I hope to begin well and go on from there.” If this entrée of Lord Oscar Tully was anything like what is to come in the future, the young Lord is setting himself up to be a powerful man in the realm.
What is Within the Dragon’s Egg?
(This weekly section will identify some of the plot points or surprises that hatched during the episode.)
- Speaking of Daemon, I thought he had his satchel packed and ready to leave on the back of Ceraxes at the end of the last episode, but I guess the Riverlands alliance is an important reason to stay. One of the most dynamic actors and characters in this story being relegated and sidelined to the Harrenhal House of Horrors this season has been one of the more disappointing aspects of the seven episodes. Here’s hoping he can make up for it with some intense sequences in the finale.
- While I’m on the subject of complaints, does House of the Dragon even know what to do with Olivia Cooke/Queen Alicent on this show? Now that she has been banished from the Small Council and has no brother or father around to appeal to, she decides to…go camping? Tying her so closely to Criston Cole and Larys Strong might have proven to be a bad move in Season 1. She has no real purpose in this show now and it seems they are just making up scenes for her to give her screen time.
Photograph by Ollie Upton/HBO - I’ve seen mixed reactions to Corlys Velaryon’s “Well done” line to Addam of Hull when he discovers his bastard son is now a dragon-rider. Clinton Liberty (who plays Addam) said himself that he sees that phrase more as an “I see you” comment from his father, and that Addam might finally be discovering the purpose and glory has has wanted his whole life.
- Rhaenyra’s strategy to find dragon-riders mirrors that of a really bad dude in pop culture: Mr. Glass. If you recall from Unbreakable, Mr. Glass caused massive accidents and death in search of the one person who was his opposite. A hero. Rhaenyra’s open casting call for bastards leaves a lot of unanswered questions, but then having her guards block them from leaving the dragon pit once the flames start shooting is not a great look. It got the desired result, but she took the wrong route to get there.
- I, for one, think maybe they will all have better luck with the cultish dragon tamers on strike now. Them refusing to train the new recruits means perhaps a different approach to bonding with a dragon instead of the usual “Serve!” or “Stop!” or “Calm!” commands they often give to dragons. Have you tried starting a conversation with them?
- Go back and watch the glance that Lord Larys and Lord Jasper give to each other when Aemond hears Silverwing flying around King’s Landing. They know neither one of them told Aemond about the new rider despite having the information, so this is a moment they choose to sit on their hands and hope Aemond doesn’t come back from his Vhagar ride asking questions.
- Considering Rhaenyra’s triumphant, confident, and brash stare towards Aemond at the end of the episode, I think I can get behind this suggestion considering recent news this weekend:<
I’ve seen enough, put Rhaenyra in the next two Avengers movies @MarvelStudios #HouseOfTheDragon pic.twitter.com/czMQvR0q4j
— Oluwajomiloju (@JomiAdeniran) July 29, 2024
