“House of the Dragon” Season 3, Episode 2, “Queen’s Landing,” opens on a somber note. Baela flies home to Dragonstone with Jace’s body, and the war has finally come to Rhaenyra’s door. She was locked in her room while her son flew into the Battle of the Gullet, and now she has to receive what is left of him. Over on the beaches near High Tide, Alyn is still searching for Lord Corlys, who has not been seen since he went into the sea.
Then the mood changes completely. In the Riverlands, Daemon and the Winter Wolves are drinking and singing over their victory, with Jason Lannister’s head on display. Ser Simon Strong arrives with wine and a message from Rhaenyra: Jace is dead. Daemon orders Lord Roderick Dustin to march south to King’s Landing and says he will meet him there to put Rhaenyra on the Iron Throne. Before he leaves, Alys asks Daemon to convince Rhaenyra to grant her Harrenhal. She reminds him she put 40,000 Rivermen at the queen’s call, and she cherishes the castle like no one else. Daemon demurs, pointing out that she is not noble and has no title. He promises to ask Rhaenyra for some other reward instead. Why does it seem that everyone wants that castle?
War is finally all around the Seven Kingdoms, and “House of the Dragon” Season 3, Episode 2 is about the fallout from those battles. Rhaenyra’s grief is the first and hardest of it. She seems irrational and keeps asking Jace’s body what he has done, as if he could answer her. She is hysterical, and she strikes his body. Ser Lorent Marbrand of the Kingsguard pulls her away, and she tells him not to dare touch her. He admits he failed her and hands her his sword so she can take his life. It will not change anything, and she knows it.
The Fallout From the Battle
A major story in the first half of the episode is the fallout from the Battle of the Gullet. Not only do we have the opening scene of Rhaenyra’s grief, we have multiple people, including Daemon, who are told of the death of the crown prince. His death will have far-reaching consequences. Daemon heads to Dragonstone, where he finds Rhaenyra in bed, deep in grief. She thinks Jace defied her. Daemon tells her Jace was serving her. When she says she no longer cares about the Iron Throne, Daemon insists they cannot let her boys die in vain. He also confesses the vision he had at Harrenhal, a woman with dragons at her breast, and says he now believes the Song of Ice and Fire is real.
Back at the Gullet, Alyn and Addam search high and low for Lord Corlys among the carnage. Alyn and Baela comb the beach, and Addam even rides his dragon over the battlefield looking. It is Addam who finally spots him. Lord Corlys is alive, and his first reaction is, “If this be victory, I pray I never win another.” High Tide has burned and his fleet is gone. All he has left to give his sons is his name, and he offers it. Alyn tells him that is worth more. This was the biggest battle in the show so far, and it cost Team Black dearly.
The Coup of Rhaenyra
In King’s Landing, Alicent sees Aemond off and then puts her plan in motion. She goes to the City Watch and asks to speak with their commander, Ser Luthor Largent. She tells him Rhaenyra is returning, Queen Helaena will let her take the Red Keep and the throne, and she needs to know whether his Gold Cloaks will let it happen. It is a dangerous thing to ask. It is treason against King Aegon. However, as we will see, the Gold Cloaks remember who gave them their cloaks.
Amid the coup, Lord Jasper Wylde enters Alicent’s chambers and antagonizes her. He knows about her affair with Ser Criston Cole, and he demands to know why she met secretly with the City Watch. Then he tries to force himself on her. Grand Maester Orwyle walks in and stumbles upon them. Jasper tries to deflect, bringing up Alicent’s betrayal and demanding her arrest. However, it is Jasper who is arrested, for laying hands on the Queen Mother.
Meanwhile, Rhaenyra decides it is time. With Aemond and Vhagar away in the Riverlands, the window is open. She and Daemon fly to King’s Landing, and Hugh and Ulf follow on their dragons to watch the skies. Alicent tells Helaena that Rhaenyra is coming, and Helaena backs her mother’s order for the Kingsguard to stand down. Then Alicent, Helaena and Helaena’s son try to slip out of the city.
They arrive in King’s Landing and receive little resistance. There are a few who remain loyal to King Aegon; Daemon cuts down the guards who attack inside the Red Keep, and the Kingsguard tries to stop Rhaenyra in the throne room. However, the Gold Cloaks surround them, and Ser Luthor reminds everyone that Prince Daemon gave him his gold cloak 20 years ago. Aegon and Larys are long gone, but the dungeons hold a prize. Daemon finds Otto Hightower in a cell and suggests Rhaenyra behead him in Aegon’s place. It takes her two swings. Daemon then beheads Jasper. Rhaenyra, leaving bloody footprints behind her, climbs the Iron Throne. It is a defining moment for her.
Conclusion: Aemond Destroys Harrenhal
Aemond rides Vhagar to Harrenhal and burns the garrison Daemon left behind. Daemon’s army has already marched south, and Ser Simon tells Aemond there is nothing left to stop him. Aemond kills Ser Simon Strong and his sons, but one of them stabs him in the back in the process. Bleeding badly, he crawls toward Alys and asks her for help before he passes out. She likely sees the scene she stumbled upon as an opportunity.
The episode ends back in the throne room. Alicent and Helaena did not make it out of the city. Alicent stands behind her father’s body and stares up at Rhaenyra on the Iron Throne. With King’s Landing lost and Aemond bleeding at Alys’ feet, it seems at the time to be the downfall of the Greens.
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