House of the Dragon’s penultimate episode has landed on Sky, 

and viewers are besides themselves with the events of the episode which many have heralded as the best of the season so far.

The HBO series continues to centre on the war that is raging between Rhaenyra Targaryen’s (Emma D’Arcy) camp, the Blacks, and her relatives on the other, the Greens, 

who currently sit on the Iron Throne after Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) usurped her. 

In the new episode, Rhaenyra sought to find new dragon riders for her unclaimed dragons after learning Addam of Hull (Clinton Liberty) had been chosen by Seasmoke.

Before we elaborate any further on why viewers felt the episode is one of the season’s best, be warned that this article contains spoilers for episode 7.

What, how and why?

Rhaenyra took to Addam’s ascension to dragon rider surprisingly well, coming to realise that she can rely on the bastard children of the Targaryen family in the war against the Greens. To see if anyone else might be able to claim Vermithor and Silverwing, Rhaenyra secretly called for any smallfolk in King’s Landing with Targaryen lineage to travel to Dragonstone.

The queen presented those who came to Vermithor who attacked and killed most of them but stopped at Hugh the Hammer (Kieran Bew). The character was not the only one to connect with a dragon either, as Ulf the White (Tom Bennett) came across Silverwing whilst trying to escape from Vermithor and was, unexpectedly, accepted by the dragon.

House of the Dragon’s new episode ended on a deeply satisfying note for many fans, with Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) flying to Dragonstone to attack Ulf and Silverwing only to turn back when he realised that his half-sister had new riders for her dragons. The episode closes with a short of Rhaenyra surrounded by Vermithor, Silverwing and Syrax as she watches Aemond flee.

Viewers were delighted by what they saw, and several people shared their thoughts on it on social media platforms like X.

One person said: “This is the best episode yet. Can’t wait for the last episode”. Another viewer wrote in delight: “No Criston Cole for a whole episode. Hugh and Ulf are now dragon riders for the good guys. Daemon talked to people. New Lord Tully. Ended with this scene. Quality episode.”

Others were blown away by the final moments of the episode, with one writing: “this is truly one of the best shots in the series”, and another fan said: “OMG THIS SCENE!! THE DRAGON QUEEN!!”.

Another wrote of how they were going to miss the series when the new season ended, writing: “There’s only one episode left of #HouseOfTheDragon and then we have to wait another two years…”

What else happened on House of the Dragon?

Elsewhere in the episode, Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) had a reckoning with the River Lords after Ser Oscar Tully (Archie Barnes) became the lord of Riverrun and challenged his actions in their lands to date.

Daemon was pushed to exact justice against Lord Blackwood (Jack Parry-Jones) for waging war on innocents —on Daemon’s command— and he ultimately concedes. His actions mean that the River Lords will fight on his side in the war to come, but it likely weighs heavy on his mind as he later sees a vision of his brother Viserys (Paddy Considine) with the crown.

Other key moments from the episode include Rhaenyra’s son Jacaerys (Harry Collett) confronting her over his parentage, revealing that he knows he is a bastard and that the only reason his legitimacy as her heir was never questioned was because he was a dragon rider. He argues that by allowing others like him to ride dragons it could mean his succession is threatened.

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Source: New York Post