Written by Ryan Condal
Directed by Greg Yaitanes
Daemon: "I now proclaim Rhaenyra of the House of Targaryen, First of her Name, Queen of the Andals and the First Men, Lord Protector of the Seven Kingdoms. Long may she reign."
After the shocking events of last week's episode, it was time to move away from the Greens and head back to Dragonstone for the Blacks. Boy, was this quite the episode for that particular team. Both good and bad stuff happened here.
The good stuff being that Ser Erryk actually not only pledged his loyalty to Rhaenyra's claim for the Iron Throne but he even brought her Viserys's crown to show just how serious about being Team Black he really was. Crown wise, it's still a lot nicer than the one currently donning Aegon's head but Rhaenyra has a long, complicated road ahead of her.
She might have the support of the people currently on Dragonstone with her but if Daemon can be so quick to anger over a prophecy that he'll put his hand on Rhaenyra's throat, then that's going to be another obstacle that Rhaenyra will have in her long battle to get the Iron Throne. Not to mention the fact that the Greens are also vying for the same remaining houses the Blacks are.
Worse than that, not only did the Greens managed to swipe House Baratheon from the Blacks with such ease but one final confrontation between Lucerys and Aemond ended in the worst way possible. Aemond had been biding his time for losing an eye and when he couldn't get Luke to give him one willingly, he took to the skies to get his ultimate revenge.
I knew Luke was a goner the moment I spotted Vhagar but the latter dragon ripping apart Arrax was brutal, especially when it was revealed that Aemond was struggling for control over his dragon. Given Rhaenyra's reaction at the end of this one, there's no longer an option for peace. War has been set and next season should be a respective bloodbath.
As well as her own ascension as Queen in this episode, we got to see Rhaenyra having moments with both Jacaerys and Lucerys that proved she's a far better parent than Alicent will ever be. Not to mention the tragedy of her losing her only daughter in a rather brutal birth scene. On the plus side, I did love her ripping Otto to pieces and she managed to get both Corlys and Rhaenys on side, in spite of their earlier claims of staying out of things.
Speaking of Corlys and Rhaenys, they had some interesting scenes here too but no matter how much they express their displeasure towards Rhaenyra and Daemon, even they know that Greens don't deserve the Iron Throne. I'm still hoping at some point they become aware that Laenor isn't dead but for now, at least they're a part of Rhaenyra's list of allies.
- Alicent sat out the events of this episode along with Aegon. Criston is the only character to have appeared in every episode so far.
- Other allies that Rhaenyra sought out were Lady Jeyne Arryn and Lord Cregen Stark, which Jace went to see.
- Daemon sang an ancient song in order to get Vermithor on side. Moondancer was mentioned and Seasmoke currently doesn't have a new rider. We also saw Syrax and Vermax again here.
- Otto tried to manipulate Rhaenyra by trying to play the childhood friend card and even had the piece of paper Rhaenyra tore out of a book with Alicent back in the first episode. In fact this episode had various nods to earlier episodes.
- Both Arrax and Vhagar proved that they can ignore commands and if they can, Daemon better pray that both Caraxes and Vermithor don't do the same to him.
- Chronology: Not long from where the previous episode left off.
The Black Queen proved a strong ending to this season. We started with Rhaenyra becoming an heir and ended with her becoming queen on her own terms, not to mention a shattered friendship, the loss of children and war breaking out. It's going to be a hell of a wait for the second season.
Rating: 8 out of 10
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