"He'll have to close an eye"...isn't it amazing? Aemond making legit power moves while Aegon is just getting drunk at the wake. Aemond
has arrived, he's gonna be very important during the Dance. What sets the two brothers apart is Aemond's apparent respect for ancient Valyrian customs, while Aegon does not seem to care very much. I'll also say, as much as Aegon is a brat, it was kind of unfair to single him out with regard to
and the way he reacted was kind of funny but mainly because we know the kid doesn't have a clue. What's interesting is that Aemond is the younger son, who paradoxically seems much more serious and angrier than his older brother and who displays fearlessness in a way that Aegon currently does not....I mean
Olivia Cooke is giving an amazing performance here and there are a bunch of things at work here simultaneously: Alicent is right that it is obvious to everyone that Rhaenyra's children are not Laenor's. She is right to be angry at the fact that her own husband looks the other way when it comes to Rhaenyra's transgressions of the norms of their society and she is right that what she has been asked to do is to sacrifice her freedom and angecy to be Queen and mother to various children and wife to an old man who seems to be falling apart before our very eyes. Yet, her anger is misplaced, as she blames Rhaenyra for her lot in life when she should be directing her ire at her father and her husband, both of which have a very strict idea of what a woman's role in their society should be. Rhaenyra comes across as more sympathetic but only if one ognores how reckless her affair with Ser Harwin is and how dangerous it is for her and her children and ultimately for the stability of the realm should the succession question ever be seriously repoened for debate. Also I wonder whether anyone picked up on the fact that when she says that Aemond should be "questioned sharply" that sounds like a euphemism for intimidating him and potentially torturing him for information. Rhaenyra's problem is ultimately that she flaunts conventions without thinking deeply about the repercussions because as a princess she is used to getting what she wants and doing what she likes (even though, of course, as a woman she is forced to fit into a certain role).
A bunch of things are starting to fall into place, especially in terms of the conflcit between Alicent and Rhaenyra and where Daemon's and Rhaenyra's relationship are concerned.
The conversations all these characters (like Corlys and Rhaenys, Daemon and Rhaenyra, Alicent and Otto) have are wonderful and very revealing about each of them without having the dialogue feel like exposition.
A bunch of nice examples of visual shorthand accomplishing a lot here also (Daemon snickering at the not so subtle shade being thrown at Rhaenyra's kids, Otto adjusting the pin of the Hand of the King, the different factions being represented visually on different sides).
The role Vhagar plays will also be interesting going forward because there's a notable shift in terms of how she behaves and that says something about her and who she considers worthy of being her riders. for context, Balerion was both Aegon I's, Maegor's and Viserys I's dragon and those 3 people could not be more different from each other.
Next episode is likely the final time jump and then we enter the time of the Dance.