‘House of the Dragon’ Episode 4 Review: Finally, the Dragons Dance

Dueling Targaryens and their dragons take to the sky in battle in "The Red Dragon and the Gold," directed by Alan Taylor.

If you’re watching “House of the Dragon” for the dragons, congratulations — and also, sorry for your loss. The HBO drama showed off its majestic CGI creatures extensively in Season 2, Episode 4, “The Red Dragon and the Gold,” a beastly battle with devastating human cost.

The realm is as divided as ever, but at the top of this episode directed by Alan Taylor, one side is quite literally divided; Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) is on her way home from King’s Landing while her council unravels at Dragonstone and prince consort Daemon (Matt Smith) attempts to win over more allies in the riverlands. The queen’s absence incenses the council and irks her family; Jacaerys (Harry Collett) grows particularly restless because Rhaenyra’s secrecy and the council’s insolence both indicate disrespect for the young heir, as does his mother’s refusal to send him to battle. Jace might be old enough to join in the war, but he’s still one of its youngest players, and after already losing a son to her vicious opponents, Rhaenyra can’t be blamed for keeping him safe and close.

The Harrenhal Horrors™ continue with Daemon’s daily nightmares and visions, which aren’t particularly subtle. He again encounters young Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock), who criticizes him for resenting her rule “all because your brother loved me more than he loved you.” He beheads the apparition in an equally blunt metaphor for the liability he poses as her husband and ally — if he wants to, he’s always one swing away from turning the whole tide of the war. He also glimpses the late Laena (Nanna Blondell) — welcome back queen — drawing a connection between his two wives, one of whom died in front of him and the other living with a target on her back that he made more prominent. And the long-haired blonde with the eye patch who turns out to be Daemon himself? Guess which opponent he sees himself in — and hates it!

The storyline’s saving grace is that when Daemon isn’t napping or bullying the river lords, he gets a proper introduction Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin), the mysterious woman who told him in a dream that he’d die there, but in the waking world offers a sleep draught (maybe with some drugs, as a treat?), some calm conversation, and maybe a dash of flirting. “Fire & Blood” readers know Alys has a part to play in this war, even if it may change on the show, but Rankin makes one of the strongest debuts of the season, squeezing a lot of energy from a short scene.

The Greens present a more united front in this episode, even if it’s led mostly by Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) and Criston (Fabien Frankel), the latter leading a host toward Rook’s Rest and the former acting with impunity because he knows his mother and brother won’t stop him. Said mother Alicent (Olivia Cooke) is busy aborting Criston Cole’s baby (fueled perhaps equally by her growing disgust for the man and fear of what may happen to another baby brought into the warring realm) while brother Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) pouts at the head of the table because he wants to have more say in his rule but realizes he has little to offer. After Aegon humiliated him in the brothel in Episode 203, Aemond exacts revenge by playing to his own strengths: battle, strategy, his closeness to Cole, the fear he commands on the council, and his proficiency as a dragon rider.

Even speaking High Valyrian during the meeting is a cruel and calculated attack on Aegon; the other men can’t understand them, but they can still detect Aegon struggling to form and articulate his thoughts — and Aegon himself can’t hide the ineptitude, sharing the private layer of disgrace solely with his tormentor. Mitchell and Glynn-Carney play the psychological sibling warfare with all the intensity of sports or combat, resulting in a scene on par with the eventual dragon fight for emotional stakes.

Now, about that fight. The Targaryen civil war is known as the Dance of Dragons because of how it looks when the animals fight each other in the air (a different battle inspires the name in “Fire & Blood,” but this episode earns it with the visuals). It’s worth noting how little of the human warfare has been shown this season; the last episode was called “The Burning Mill,” after a battle that took place offscreen, and barely any of the fighting at Rook’s Rest is depicted, with cameras directed instead toward the sky. The main human combat was between the Cargyll twins (Luke and Elliot Tittensor) in Episode 2, with equal emphasis on their heartbreaking arc and brutal confrontation. This could also contribute to episodes feeling slow, but it is ultimately going to put a lot of weight on the dragons (it’s the titular role)!

Rhaenys (Eve Best) and dragon Meleys fly to meet Cole’s host, just as he and Aemond knew someone would (okay, probably just Aemond). The Blacks expect Vhagar to stay in King’s Landing as its protector, and that any other dragon would be bested by Meleys, just as Aegon’s Sunfyre is for the first part of their fight — though he does get in a few nasty bites. Vhagar’s body bristling in the forest has to be one of the best shots in this episode, a testament to her size and a fittingly ominous teaser (she also drops her head down so dramatically when Aemond says they have to wait). Another distinct visual is the ground shot of Vhagar and Meleys flying toward each other, their size discrepancy laid bare and the outcome obvious, but unavoidable.

As excellent as the dragons look, the same can’t be said of the shots of their riders. “House of the Dragon” hasn’t fully figured out how to integrate the key live-action details that help us believe Aemond and Rhaenys are actually in flight. Hair blowing in the wind, the way light hits skin and fabric of the costumes all struggle to mesh with the optimized digital environments of swirling sky and the ground underneath — not to mention the literal fire and blood, and smoke. Like the dragons themselves, no one watching can say they’ve seen an actual dragon rider up close to know what it looks like, but it’s one of those visual elements that still feels slightly off, but can keep improving episode-to-episode, season-to-season.

There are still great choices and CGI moments throughout, with clear attention given to the relationship between Rhaenys and Meleys and how they communicate. Rhaenys speaks in High Valyrian and her dragon responds with its body, or by craning her neck to look back at the rider. There’s real emotion in Meleys eyes while Vhagar literally bites her head off, succumbing to the attack and to her previous injuries, and some potent performance work from Best with minimal dialogue and lots of action. Rhaenys has been a fan favorite since Episode 1 and was one of the few voices of reason left in Westeros — without her, peace will be even more elusive, if there is peace at all.

Whispers on the Street

• When Daemon is in bed looking at the door he is SO SCARED, just reduced to being a child — great acting and directing and one of the many moments in which this show is secretly a comedy
• Corlys standing next to Alyn (Abubakar Salim) to confirm Rhaenys’ suspicions of infidelity? COMEDY.
• Shoutout to everyone in this episode who criticizes Criston Cole to his face, he really could have used more of that in his first 20 years of life
• Loved seeing Laena again in a big Vhagar episode <3
• What is the purpose of the small council ball if not to entertain oneself during meetings? (rhetorical, I don’t care)
• “I can have to… make a… war?” Outstanding Comedy Series 2024
• Not a lot of Alicent this week but notably she still seeks validation for putting Aegon on the throne, even if she knows the damage is done.
• Keeping the focus on Rhaenys above, but we can’t ignore the fact that Aemond knowingly dracarys-ed his brother as further retaliation for what happened at the brothel…

Grade: B-

“House of the Dragon” airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on HBO.