“The Burning Mill” is at first glance a ludicrous title as the titular scene occupies a mere fraction of the episode’s hour-plus running time. But zoom out a little bit and it makes all the sense in the world. The Battle of the Burning Mill conjures up an image of an idyllic landscape set aflame – and that we see the transition from idyllic grasslands to fields drenched in bodies is appropriately jarring.
When Daemon (Matt Smith) asks Ser Simon Strong (Sir Simon Russell Beale) why the Brackens and Blackwoods hate each other, Ser Simon can’t remember why – in fact, no one really can. Members of each family have just been raised for centuries to hate each other and the foolhardy nature of it all becomes instantly idiotic and fragile in equal measure. It’s an astounding waste of life. So many dreams and loves and futures decimated for absolutely nothing.
It casts a further note on the general reluctance to go fully to war. In a sense, the pathway of violence is in full view of everyone but the schism between those gung ho for war and those who are trying to avoid it takes on an even deeper, more maddening, meaning. Preparations are made for what everyone has been calling the inevitable war for quite some time, preparations that are tinged with the juxtaposition between understanding the very worst and desires to blunt the very worst as quickly as humanly possible.
There is a feeling in the air, aside from Seasmoke’s screeching, of a slowly morphing acceptance that the main players of the story are trying far, far too hard to control things that spun out of control far, far long ago. As Rhaenys (Eve Best) wisely notes to Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy), did this war start when Blood (Sam C. Wilson) and Cheese (Mark Stobbart) happened? Or when Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) chomped Luke (Elliot Grihault)? Or when Luke (Harvey Sadler) took Aemond’s (Leo Ashton) eye? Or when Viserys (Paddy Considine) married Alicent (Emily Carey)? Or when Viserys named Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock) his heir? She tells Rhaenyra that there is one last bit of effort she can make to ward off the looming catastrophe of war: talk to Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke).
In terms of logistics and mechanics, it is a little ridiculous to see Rhaenyra disguised as a Septa and make her way into King’s Landing. But if we move past the slight absurdity of that logic, we get to the scene we’ve needed for quite some time and that is a reunion between two women who were inseparable in youth until the men around them took it upon themselves to destroy that bond through the cruelty of callousness, indifference, thoughtlessness.
There is a part of Rhaenyra that can’t help but wonder whether her father truly did change his mind about her being his heir. She doesn’t believe it wholeheartedly but it does impact the way she is thinking about her claim to the throne, about Aegon’s (Tom Glynn-Carney) ascension, about whether she has a right to potentially lead the realm into catastrophic war. If the tiny part of her that harbors some doubt was in fact true, then she can’t bring herself to justify pressing her claim and contributing to carnage. She can feel it, as the audience can as well, that the time to press her advantage with her dragons has come and this is one last effort to see if there truly is no turning back.
And there isn’t. It’s Alicent whose faith is shaken when she tells Rhaenyra what Viserys told her right before his death. It’s Alicent who sees the renewed faith and determination in Rhaenyra’s face and realizes that she had been in the wrong. But it’s also Alicent who knows that it’s simply too late – not only does she not have the power Rhaenyra thinks she does, she’s also not someone who has ever been comfortable with truly wielding that power because society has pressed upon her that she does not have any right to such power.
But also, while this conversation was important for these two characters, in the grand scheme of things Alicent isn’t wrong to say that it’s too late. It’s always a point of contention that Alicent misunderstood Viserys and therefore caused this entire catastrophe to unspool. But as it’s made quite clear in the penultimate episode of season one, Otto (Rhys Ifans) and the rest of the Small Council was going to install Aegon as King one way or another. But Alicent is going to feel an intense guilt nevertheless for the role she played in that coup and how she processes her actions will be fascinating to watch unfold.
Notes:
- It struck me just how prudent Rhaenyra was in securing the dragon eggs along with her two youngest boys in Rhaena’s (Phoebe Campbell) care. It is an act of securing the future of House Targaryen (and in the show’s canon, these are the dragon eggs Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) will be receiving in a hundred and fifty or so years) and that act is a sign that at least in this instance, Rhaenyra is prioritizing her long-term responsibilities over centering herself in the short-term. If only more leaders were capable of doing this.
- It is notable, however, that the love and care Rhaenyra bestows upon her true born children is not quite extended to her stepchildren. It has happened one too many times to be purely coincidental but I do appreciate the show being honest in not making her too much of a saint.
- The dialogue on this show just continues to crackle. Excellent, excellent stuff.
- More to come on Harrenhal in future weeks, but 1) incredible design and atmosphere and 2) it is incredibly notable that Daemon sees a young Rhaenyra (welcome back Milly Alcock!!!) sewing Jaehaerys’s (Jude Rock) head back onto his body. It’s notable for him to see the direct consequence of his actions in front of his face like this but also that he sees a young Rhaenyra and not the adult says a lot about his attractions and how he continues to see their relationship (derogatory).
- Baela (Bethany Antonia) almost roasting Criston and Gwayne? Fab shit.
- So Aegon hiring his drinking buddies as Kingsguard can’t end well, right? Nor can it help Criston, who is going to be faced with a handful of knights under his command who will not respect his command in the first place.
- Aegon taking away Aemond’s safe space at that brothel was such an invasive act and another one of those moments that seems to be clearly telegraphing “this won’t end well”.
- Hello to Freddie Fox as Gwayne Hightower. An excellent character who has the resulting effect of causing the audience to feel some sympathy towards Criston (Fabien Frankel) as he unleashes in quick succession both classist and racist notes about Criston being both lowborn and Dornish.
- Speaking of bigotry, the way Sir Simon talks about Larys (Matthew Needham) and marks him first and foremost on the basis of his disability gives us a tiny and much-needed window into how the Strongs potentially treated their disabled family member. Maybe that’s why he doesn’t feel much towards them? Or that’s at least potentially a strong part of the equation, no pun intended.
- Bonus appreciation for Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno) crushing her job interview by creating it out of thin air. Get it girl!!!
- The Blood and Cheese additions to the intro are fantastic.
- Music Appreciation: the Harrenhal score, when the Green army is departing King’s Landing for the rest of the Crownlands, and the final scene in the Sept.
Catch up on previous House of the Dragon recaps and reviews now.