House of the Dragon Episode 8, titled “The Lord of the Tides”, is now streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.
Whoa! Yup, this must have been the reaction of many HOTD fans after watching Episode 8. The latest episode serves as one hell of an emotional rollercoaster ride. And undoubtedly the best episode so far.
The series takes another time jump (six years) in the newest episode. House Velaryon finds itself on the brink of a succession crisis as Corlys Velaryon gets wounded in a battle in the Stepstones. His brother, Vaemond, seeks to get his hands on the throne of Driftmark and wants to remove Rhaenyra’s son, Lucerys, as heir on account of illegitimacy. This scenario forces Rhaenyra and Daemon to go to King’s Landing to defend Lucerys’ claim. Upon reaching the capital, they discover that King Viserys has been bedridden due to his dire health. As a result, the daughter-father duo of Queen Alicent and Ser Otto start taking care of all affairs.
One of the knights informs Alicent about Aegon’s terrible misdeed with Dyana, one of the servants. The queen covers up the matter by giving Dyana ‘the tea’. Yes, that damned tea! After this, we see Vaemond asking for Queen’s and Ser Otto’s help to strengthen his claim. On the other hand, we see Rhaenyra requesting Princess Rhaenys to support Lucerys’ claim. She even proposes the marriages of both her sons to their Velaryon cousins.
Rhaenyra visits her father, Viserys, in his room and begs him to support her. She even reveals that the burden of this kingdom is too much for her. Also, she questions the truth about Aegon’s dream (The Song of Ice and Fire).
The next day, Ser Otto Hightower hears Vaemond’s petition. The latter claims that he is the closest kin to his brother, Corlys. After hearing Vaemond’s petition, Rhaenyra gets her chance to speak. However, she gets interrupted by the shocking arrival of Viserys. The King declares Lucerys as the heir of Driftmark. This enrages Vaemond and he calls Rhaenyra a whore and her children bastards in front of all people. Daemon, out of nowhere, slashes half of Vaemond’s face with his sword and kills him.
Later that night, the Targaryens and the Hightowers attend a feast to mend their relations. However, the brief period of peace and happiness gets interrupted by Aemond, who teases Rhaenyra’s children by calling them ‘Strong’ boys.
During the final moments of Episode 8, we see Viserys mistakenly telling Alicent about Aegon’s dream and taking his last breath (hopefully).
The latest episode is the longest but also the best episode coming out of ‘House of the Dragon’. All the actors performed extremely well in this episode. But Wil Johnson (Vaemond) emerged as the best among them. He got proper screen time in this episode to showcase his acting abilities before departing from the series.
And what about Daemon? It looks like he has gained some sort of a moral compass. There were times when we were unsure about his true intentions. And he was a complete menace in the first couple of episodes. The real reason why Viserys chose Rhaenyra as heir over Daemon was the latter’s wildly unpredictable behaviour. But now, it seems like he has found his goal. Or does he have his own ambitions? What if he is just using Rhaenyra to achieve his personal goals? Or are we witnessing the rise of an anti-hero?
We also see new actors portraying the Targaryen and Velaryon children with another time jump. Velaryon kids have turned out just fine. But the Targaryen ones are a menace. Take Aegon as an example. He is creepy and a loser. On the other hand, Aemond possesses all the qualities of a sinister Targaryen. He is pure evil. He may turn out even worse than Joffery Baratheon from GOT. Who knows? He has only one good eye and is Vhagar’s rider.
The final moments of Episode 8 might have planted the seeds of the Civil War. Poor Viserys mistakenly tells Alicent about Aegon’s dream. We are damn sure that Alicent must have thought that the King was referring to her eldest son. This scenario will force Alicent to prepare her son, Aegon, for the Iron Throne no matter how pathetic he is. On the flip side, we have Rhaenyra, who will stop at nothing to fulfil her father’s wish.
The time for war has arrived! Stream all episodes of ‘House of the Dragon’ on Disney+ Hotstar. Stay tuned for more updates.
We’re hiring!
We are hiring two full-time junior to mid-level writers with the option to work remotely. You need to work a 5-hour shift and be available to write. Interested candidates should email their sample articles to [email protected]. Applications without a sample article will not be considered.
