Written by Ti Mikkel
Directed by Clare Kilner
Helaena (to Aemond): "Was the price worth it?"
From Aemond's standpoint, so far it appears that the price very much has been worth it. Criston might have stopped him in killing Aegon II at the end of the last episode but that was only a minor setback. Aegon II might be alive but he's in no condition to rule.
I mean, the guy got burned to a crisp and now will be bedridden until the plot needs him to get better but for now, it's a dose of milk of the poppy and none of his family bothering to comfort him in the slightest. In fact both Alicent and Aemond were desperate to rule in his stead. Guess which one of them actually succeeded in that regard?
Well, it certainly wasn't Alicent, who got called out on her hypocrisy by everyone in the Green Council before unanimously handing the job to Aemond. Yup, even Criston and Larys had no problem with picking Aemond over Alicent and given the crap she's pulled, this was just desserts for Alicent.
Of course things aren't very rosy for the Greens. Criston's great idea of parading Meleys's head to the smallfolk had the opposite reaction of what the idiotic Hand intended and with Aemond's great plan to basically trap everyone in King's Landing, there's going to be a riot on their hands. These turns of events have also presented an opportunity for Team Black.
Rhaenyra's council might be made up of idiotic and reckless men (not you, Jace) but it's women are far smarter. Rhaenys might not longer be with us but thanks to Baela, Jace went from being resentful of being held back to coming up with a good strategy by the end of the episode. Oh and Baela managed to also get Corlys back on side with Rhaenyra making the latter her new Hand. Baela certainly inherited Rhaenys's savvy.
Then there was Mysaria too. She's certainly proved to be an asset to the Blacks and here she managed to enlist serving Elinda to take a trip to King's Landing to sow some further dissent. At this point, the Greens really are going to get undone before we get to the finale.
As for Daemon, if Baela, Jace and Mysaria were doing their best to help Rhaenyra, he was doing the exact opposite. In fact, his delusional behaviour of wanting to be King grated throughout the episode and his recklessness with the Brackens and Blackwoods caused more damage for Rhaenyra's cause. Can we just get him out of Harrenhal before he fucks up even more? I'm still enjoying the likes of Simon Strong and Alys Rivers and their scenes with Daemon.
Last but not least, Jace really did come up with a great plan. It was about time someone decided to be assertive in finding riders for the unclaimed dragons and while Rhaenyra didn't seem sure to begin with, she did come around to the idea. Between this and getting the North, the Vale and and the Twins to bend the knee, Jace really stepped up for the Blacks this week.
- Rhaena and Lady Jeyne Arryn (Amanda Collin) seem to have a bit of tension with each other. Jeyne basically got baby dragons.
- Rhaenyra has spent the last few episodes being at odds with Alfred Broome (Jamie Kenna). Instead of getting rid of him, she gave him a mission. She was also reading up on Visenya.
- Aemond had the sense to get the ratcatchers cut down and we got to see that dog again. Elinda should bring him back to Dragonstone if she gets out of King's Landing alive.
- Daemon imagined having sex with his mother, Alyssa (Emeline Lambert). He also saw Laena again. It does seem like Alys is intentionally driving him mad.
- Showing Meleys's head like that seemed to be indicative of a curse. The smallfolk sensed that and so did Rhaenyra. Even Gwayne wasn't fond of the idea.
- Chronology: Not long from where the previous episode left off.
I'll admit that I didn't enjoy Regent as much as the last two episodes but mulling over it again, there was a fair amount in it's favour. Saying that though, Daemon has certainly lost his mojo this season while everyone else has started to step up in the Blacks.
Rating: 7 out of 10
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