Written by Sara Hess
Directed by Geeta Vasant Patel
Daemon (to Rhaenyra): "Winter is coming."
For those of you expecting the Gullett battle in this finale, heads up but you are going to be very disappointed. There's certainly plenty of build up to the event but perhaps the consequences of the episode reduction meant having it not make it into the finale.
Instead it should be the start of next season in 2026 but does the lack of battle means that the finale itself lacked? I'm not convinced it does but a lot do seem annoyed by this one not being the dragon fest they were hoping for. A bit of action aside from one particular might not have been a bad thing. Saying that, don't write off the episode just yet.
Daemon's antics in Harrenhal have certainly eaten up too much screen time for the character but it's also allowed returns for a younger Rhaenyra as well as Laena and Viserys. Alys however clearly saved the best stuff for last as Daemon shared a trippy sequence with Helaena and even got to see future events such as the Night King and descendant, Daenerys Targaryen. I'll give the show it's due, it's certainly been able to keep it's spoilers intact even when their finales leak.
Anyways the upshot being that Daemon now believed in the Song Of Ice And Fire and swore his allegiance to Rhaenyra very publicly when she ended up in Harrenhal herself. That reunion certainly was tense to watch, especially given that Daemon had been tempted to get the throne himself this season but at least Rhaenyra has gained momentum these last few episodes.
Between getting Daemon back on side, more Houses swearing fealty to her, getting new dragonriders, there was still the dilemma of the actual war itself and the casualties that would come with it. In another move, deviating from the source material, Alicent might have offered Rhaenyra a solution that even I never thought the latter would do. Saying that, she might have offered up the wrong son.
I genuinely didn't think this season would actually make Aegon II into a more sympathetic but between an initial desire to be a good ruler, grief over losing Jaehaerys and being burned to bits by Aemond's action, he's become the lesser of two brother evils. He was also smart enough to follow Larys's advice and get the hell out of King's Landing.
Then there's Aemond. The guy's become mad with power to the point where both Alicent and Helaena turned on him. Not only that but the latter even told him of his impending doom, which Aemond didn't take particularly well. I'm surprised he didn't even try to kill Helaena during that scene.
Last but not least, did Criston have his own epiphany about the futility of this war? His scenes with Gwayne certainly pointed that way but it's definitely a case of too little and too late, as it was with Alicent's moment of clarity. Either way, war has properly kicked off for both sides.
- Tyland not only managed to win the Triarchy onto Team Green but Sharako Lohar (Abigail Thorn) wanted him to have children with her wives.
- Rhaena finally met Sheepstealer at the end of the episode while Tessarion and Daeron flew for the Greens. Otto's locked up somewhere.
- While Jace's sulking over other bastards being dragonriders does make him look hypocritical, his mistrust of Ulf White's definitely justified.
- Addam does seem to be Rhaenyra's preferred dragonrider, Alyn rejected Corlys and the latter named his boat after Rhaenys.
- Clips from this episode leaked online while HBO released a trailer of upcoming shows, including sequel series, A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms. The show will air on Max and HBO in 2025.
- Chronology: From where the last episode left off.
I thought The Queen Who Ever Was was a good ending for the season. Yes, I would've liked the battle of the Gullett but all the character bits and links to Game Of Thrones were great to watch. Saying that, a bit more action next season wouldn't go amiss. Other than that, a great second season for this prequel series.
Rating: 8 out of 10
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