House of the Dragon The Black Queen review: Peace is off the table

The Black Queen is a fitting season finale for House of the Dragon. A brutal hour of television featuring two of the best performances of the year by Emma D’Arcy and Matt Smith.

The Black Queen unleashes a heavy toll on Rhaenyra. Within one episode, she discovers her father’s death, realizes her claim to the throne has been stolen and miscarries a child. All of these events take place in the first half of the episode, which doesn’t take in another personal tragedy involving Rhaenyra later in the episode.

The Black Queen also focuses on war preparation. Rhaenyra, Daemon and her version of a small council begin plotting out their allies. However, before she mounts a war machine, she receives some visitors.

First, Ser Erryk Cargyll arrives and pledges loyalty to Rhaenyra as queen. Then, Otto shows up with peace terms from Alicent. Rhaenyra is reluctant to jump headlong into battle. Dragons are presented in this context as a nuclear option. Daemon is all for it. Rhaenyra less so.

The Black Queen is a masterful finale with one exception. I’m not sure I needed to see another miscarriage this season. Rhaenyra literally pulling a stillborn child out of herself was unnecessary. Rhaenyra’s screams echoing throughout the halls of Dragonstone were brutal enough.

The climax of the episode is sensational and sets up the brutal civil war coming up next season.

With the overview out of the way, let’s dive deeper into the elements that stood in The Black Queen. There may be some minor spoilers. House of the Dragon is available to stream on HBO Max.

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Rise of The Black Queen

Rhaenyra is put through the wringer in this episode. From processing the news of her father’s death to a difficult pregnancy, she consistently does the right thing for the kingdom.

Rhaenyra showcases her leadership skills in several ways. First, she shows wisdom while remembering her youth. Her son Lucerys is heir to Drifitmark. He doesn’t want to rule and doesn’t believe he’s like his mother. Rhaenyra reminds him and the audience that she remembers not feeling capable herself.

Later, Rhaenyra makes a choice her mother was not allowed to make back in the pilot episode. She chooses to give birth by ripping the stillborn baby from her womb. Rhaenyra choosing herself over the baby is the best thing for the realm.

After the miscarriage, Otto arrives. He offers terms for peace by Alicent. She can rule over Dragonstone and her heirs will have high-ranking positions in the capital. Rhaenyra agrees to consider the terms instead of outright refusing him. Delaying a decision until the next day provides Rhaenys time to gauge her steadfast allies and determine relationships that need to be strengthened before plunging into war.

D’Arcy is tremendous in every scene. D’Arcy excels at showing wisdom while conveying significant emotional and physical pain. Rhaenyra doesn’t make hasty decisions. She considers her options then proceeds forward with the right information at hand. Her steady hand is what earns her a nod of approval from Rhaenys.

Marriage Woes

There are two husband and wife conversations in The Black Queen. One involving Rhaenys and Corlys. The other involved Rhaenyra and Daemon. Rhaenys and Corlys find unity. Rhaenys and Daemon are never on the same page.

Before tending to her husband, Rhaenys delivers her message to Rhaenyra and Daemon. She explains why she didn’t kill the Hightowers. War is inevitable, but that war isn’t up to her to start.

Corlys is alive but still on the mend. Rhaenys catches him up on current events. Corlys still belives Rhaenyra killed his son. Whether Rhaenys thinks Laenor is alive is unknown. She does compliment Rhaenyra for holding the realm together while Daemon and others want to rush into war. Corlys wants to retire but is persuaded by Rhaenys to offer counsel to Rhaenyra.

He heads to the council meeting. Rhaenyra handles the situation with grace and intelligence. She softens her tone of voice and adds a note of uncertainty when speaking with Corlys in full view of the council. As the conversation continues, Corlys seems to respect Rhaenyra more and Rhaenyra’s confidence returns as well. Corlys pledges full support for Rhaenyra and reveals he has control over the narrow sea.

The moment Daemon finds out Viserys is dead he’s chomping at the bit to go to war. Everything Rhaenyra does is about uniting the realm. If war is the only way to do that, then she will commit to military action. Her goal in identifying current allies and new ones is to create a swell of support, which will force Alicent and Aegon to heed their claim to the throne without having to resort to using dragons as a nuclear deterrent.

Adding to Rhaenyra’s anger is Daemon’s absence during her labor. He’s more concerned with fortifying an army than with his wife.

The marriage between the writer and certain actors is crucial. Ryan J. Condal‘s colorful dialogue is perfectly conveyed through Smith’s delivery.

Intro to Dance of the Dragons

Rhaenyra needs to get a message delivered to two potential allies to see if they will support her claim. Rhaenyra sends one of her sons, Lucerys, to the Baratheons.

However, Lucerys isn’t the only member with Targaryen blood in attendance. Aemond is there and he’s agreed to marry one of the Baratheon daughters. Lucerys can’t extend the same offer.

Before leaving Dragonstone, Rhaenyra forbids Lucerys from fighting. He simply needs to deliver the message. Aemond wants to fight and takes the term eye for an eye in a literal sense. Lord Borros Baratheon forbids fighting and orders Lucerys escorted back to his dragon.

Aemond decides to chase after Lucerys on dragon back. A fantastic chase sequence ensues. Aemond’s dragon, Vhagar, is much larger than Lucerys’s, Arrax. The whole sequence is tense and the dragons aren’t listening.

Arrax spews fire at Vhagar over Lucerys’s objections. Vhagar doesn’t listen to Aemond. Vhagar kills Arrax and Lucerys. The look on Aemond’s face says it all. There’s no satisfaction. The Dance of Dragons has begun.

The Black Queen Final Thoughts

The dialogue, performances and thrilling climax make The Black Queen a terrific season finale. I also like how the penultimate episode and the season finale played off of each other. The penultimate episode was all about the Hightowers. While the season finale kept its focus mostly on Rhaenyra.

D’Arcy is mesmerizing to watch and should receive award consideration alongside Paddy Considine, Olivia Cooke and perhaps Matt Smith. With the exception of Amazon’s The Rings of Power, the cinematography and score in this episode shine above all other shows.

I’m excited to see where season 2 goes. Here’s hoping the time jumps slow down, which will allow these terrific characters to develop more onscreen.