House of the Dragon The Lord of The Tides review: The Dance of Dragons nears

The best cast on television delivers another round of sensational performances in The Lord of The Tides.

The entire adult cast is together for the first time in the series. The Lord of the Tides begins as a reunion to choose an heir for Driftmark, then turns into an emotional sendoff for Viserys surrounded by everyone he cares about.

Paddy Considine delivers an award-winning performance as Viserys. The king is primarily bedridden and on death’s doors. Yet in the best scene of the series, Viserys can summon incredible strength despite unfathomable pain in support of his daughter. Emma D’Arcy as Rhaenyra and Olivia Cooke as Alicent do an outstanding job of recognizing each other’s accomplishments, without compromising their ideals. Matt Smith adds a new characteristic to Daemon. He’s unfailingly loyal to Rhaenyra.

Meanwhile, Alicent handles a troubling situation involving her son in a horrific, yet less demonstrably evil way than Cersei Lannister. Rhaenyra must also convince Rhaenys to back her son’s claim to the throne at Driftmark. Rhaenys believes Rhaenyra ordered her son’s death. Add in a gruesome beheading and you have a flawless episode of a Game of Thrones show.

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

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A Fight over The Lord of The Tides

The Lord of The Tides begins in Driftmark. Corlys Velaryon is seriously injured and on death’s door. Due to his injuries and the presumed death of Laenor, there’s a battle over who should inherit the throne.

Rhaenys wants to advocate for herself. Ser Vaemond Velaryon, Corlys’s brother believes the succession should go through his family since Rhaenys has no male heirs. Rhaenyra wants Lucerys her 2nd son to sit on the throne at Driftmark, which bolsters her claim to the Iron Throne.

Rhaenyra denies killing Laenor to Rhaenys. However, Rhaenyra’s urgent plea for Rhaenys to support Lucerys seems to fall on deaf ears.

A debate is held with Otto Hightower and Alicent presiding over the event in place of the king. The situation doesn’t seem to be going in Rhaenyra’s favor. She interrupts Vaemond during his speech which makes her look more desperate at first. However, she does regain her composure when it is her turn to speak. Before she can make much headway, King Viserys enter the chamber.

D’Arcy is terrific at demonstrating signs of panic without being demonstrative. The look in Rhaenyra’s eyes when she has to talk to Rhaenys is phenomenal.

All Hail King Viserys

Prior to the hearing, Rhaenyra, her children and Daemon arrive at King’s Landing. While Alicent presides over a boring small council meeting, Rhaenyra and Daemon introduce Viserys to his newest grandson. Rhaenyra and Daemon do their best to hide their shock at Viserys’s deterioration. Smith does a great job of portraying Daemon’s unease with the whole situation.

Alicent meets with Rhaenyra and Daemon. They question Alicent’s handling of the situation. Viserys is basically surviving on milk of the poppy. She’s essentially ruling the kingdom with Otto. Daemon and Rhaenyra aren’t happy about Alicent ruling but do seem to acknowledge the tricky situation. Before the conversation can shift, Alicent is summoned to deal with her son Aegon.

He sexually assaulted a woman. Alicent meets with the woman to silence her. Alicent is sympathetic but offers her tea to make sure there are no lasting consequences from Aegond’s evil.

Later, Rhaenyra has a private visit with her father. She pleads with Viserys to fight for her. D’Arcy’s incredible once again. In the throne room, King Viserys makes a stunning, painful entrance. He can barely walk. Each passing step is more painful.

Then an honest goodness sweet scene happens. Viserys’s crown falls off his head. He insists he’s fine, then a hand comes down to pick it up. He begs off again only to look up and see his brother Daemon with the crow. Daemon adorns the crown on top of Visery’s head. This is the only scene in the series that has produced a lump in my throat. It wasn’t overdone and the performances by Considine and Smith in that moment were masterful.

When he finally sits on the throne, Viserys speaks with power. He wastes little time. The only person who can speak to Corlys’s intentions is Rhaenys. Surprisingly, she supports Rhaenyra. The matter is decided. Lucerys will inherit the throne of Driftmark.

Vaemond is furious. He calls Raenyra’s children bastards and Rhaenyra a whore. Viserys orders his tongue cut out, but Daemon beats the king’s guard to it and relieves Vaemond of his head. Vaemond does keep his tongue though.

Considine is remarkable and should win an Emmy for this scene. For a king that seemed to waver from right to wrong, Viserys sure picked the right time to show strength.

A Last Supper

The king requests a dinner with the entire family. He knows he has little time left, but wants to prevent a fight from starting over the throne.

Surprisingly, Rhaenyra and Alicent each give toasts to the other. Rhaenyra’s apology is more heartfelt on the surface. She compliments Alicent’s unyielding devotion to her father. Alicent says Rhaenyra will make for a great queen, but before that compliments Rhaenyra on the love for her children and says they have more in common than they give credence to at times. Alicent complimenting Rhaenyra’s parenting is huge given the fact Alicent believe Rhaenyra could kill her son.

The dinner ends when Rhaenyra and Alicent’s children start fighting. Rhaenyra departs for Dragonstone, but promises to return to King’s Landing as soon as possible. Alicent visits with Viserys in their chambers. He mistakes Alicent for Rhaenyra and mentions Aegon’s dream in which he’s the key to saving the realm. Alicent believes the dream refers to her son. Alicent leaves and with that Viserys takes his final breaths.

The Lord of the Tides Final Thoughts

A tremendous hour of television featuring the customary great performances. What makes The Lord of The Tides the best episode of the season was Daemon’s touching moment with his brother.