Driftmark begins not long after the events of episode six, which is a nice change.
The Targaryen & Velaryon families stand together for the funeral of Daemon’s wife Lady Laena. It was sad but beautiful to watch Corlys and Rhaenys comfort their granddaughters. With the death of Lord Lyonel Strong, it cleared the way for the shiny Hand of the King pin to once again belong to Otto Hightower. It will be interesting to see what plots Otto, Alicent and Lord Larys come up with next. With Lord Lyonel and Ser Harwin now dead, Lord Larys is naturally the new Lord of Harrenhal.
Rhaenyra can’t seem to keep her eyes off Daemon. Jace points out they should be at Harrenhal, mourning Lord Lyonel and Ser Harwin. I feel for these young boys. They know they’re bastards, the whole family knows it too – and it’s only going to cause them more trouble as they get older. Corlys shows Luke a great kindness in telling him he will become Lord of Driftmark one day, as is his birthright.
Laena’s death seems to be a big wake up call for Laenor – he stands in the water where Laena’s coffin lays as the family look on. Corlys orders Laenor’s boyfriend to retrieve him while Viserys asks Daemon to come home to Kings Landing. Again, Rhaenyra watches Daemon like a hawk. She orders Luke and Jace to go to bed once she sees Daemon leave the party, desperate to follow him. Viserys has a momentary lapse and refers to Alicent as Aemma in front of everyone, much to Alicent’s embarrassment.
Rhaenys regrets not having Laena give birth at home, as she wanted to. She tells Corlys she wants Driftmark to pass through Laena’s line to Baela, instead of Rhaenyra’s illegitimate sons who do not have Velaryon blood. Corlys has a soft spot for Luke and Jace, despite not sharing blood with them. “History does not remember blood,” Corlys says. Respect.
Rhaenyra finds Daemon on the beach. I’m not sure exactly what happened to the lighting budget for this scene.. but Rhaenyra decides now is the time to make her move. She tells Daemon she tried with Laenor, but there was no joy in it. With both Ser Harwin and Laena dead, the only person standing in their way is.. Laenor. Rhaenyra makes it clear to Daemon that it’s him that she wants, and the two share a kiss on the beach. I feel like I’m watching this whole season at double speed. The two finally sleep together on the sand.
Meanwhile, little Aemond sees his shot at a dragon: Vhagar, which belonged to Laena. I’m not sure if it was incredibly brave or incredibly stupid of the boy to approach and claim the dragon for himself. A mix of both, perhaps. Either way, after a chaotic maiden flight, Aemond’s cousins find out what he has done. Baela and Rhaena are furious, and start fighting Aemond along with Jace and Luke. Aemond’s nasty side comes out as he calls Jace and Luke bastards to their faces and taunts them about the death of Ser Harwin. Jace pulls a dagger, and it ends up in the hands of Luke – who promptly slashes Aemond’s face, causing him to lose an eye. Yikes! These kids do not mess around.
Viserys is furious about the fight. Alicent is horrified and turns her anger on Aegon for not being there to protect his brother (Aegon was too busy getting drunk on wine) while Corlys, Rhaenys, Rhaenyra and Daemon rush into the meeting room. The children all start yelling explanations while Otto and Daemon look on, amused. Aemond broke Luke’s nose, and Jace whispers to Rhaenyra that he called them bastards. With Rhaenyra in full mama bear mode, she defends her sons against Alicent – who demands that Luke lose an eye in exchange for taking Aemond’s.
When Viserys demands to know what insults were said, Aemond quickly throws Aegon under the bus and tells everyone the “bastard” rumor came from him – when it was in fact Alicent he learned the information from. Viserys finds himself caught between Rhaenyra and Alicent, who takes the opportunity to throw Laenor under the bus in front of everyone while she could. Aegon couldn’t care less, and promptly tells the whole room how obvious it is that Jace and Luke do not look like Targaryens. Nice.
Determined to see justice done for her son, Alicent orders Ser Criston to take Luke’s eye. Rhaenyra stands guard in front of her sons. When Ser Criston does not move, Alicent grabs a dagger and charges toward Luke herself. Rhaenyra and Alicent grapple and struggle, trading barbs before Alicent manages to slice open Rhaenyra’s arm. Aemond ends the argument by telling Alicent he may have lost an eye, but he gained a dragon. Fair trade? I guess so, to a child who so desperately wanted his own dragon.
Laenor eventually turns up the next morning once all the drama is over, horrified at Rhaenyra’s arm and Luke’s broken nose. Rhaenyra makes it clear their marriage is over, and Laenor admits he has failed her. The two admit they both have their shortcomings. It’s clear Rhaenyra has a plan.
“I need you,” Rhaenyra tells Daemon, “I cannot face the greens alone.” A reference to the Hightower clan. Rhaenyra proposes marriage to Daemon, who points out that they cannot marry unless Laenor were dead. Naturally, Rhaenyra and Laenor have a plan for that.. Daemon organizes Ser Qual – one of Laenor’s boyfriends – to fake a sword fight in Driftmark and fake Laenor’s death. He does so, and ensures the body is burned beyond recognition. I feel so sorry for Corlys and Rhaenys, who are now under the impression that they’ve lost both of their children in the space of a few days. Laenor is last seen with his signature locks shaved off, heading our to sea with Ser Qual. When I mentioned in last week’s review that I felt it was fairly obvious that Laenor will soon meet his end and Daemon and Rhaenyra will end up together, I didn’t quite expect it to happen this fast. The pacing on this show needs serious work in future episodes and next season.
The wedding of Daemon and Rhaenyra takes place on a misty morning in the presence of a priest, Baela, Rhaena, Luke and Jace. The pair will no doubt be judged harshly for remarrying so fast in next week’s episode – if we don’t have yet another time jump. The two getting together was inevitable, and I can't wait to see how the rest of the family react.
Rhaenyra can’t seem to keep her eyes off Daemon. Jace points out they should be at Harrenhal, mourning Lord Lyonel and Ser Harwin. I feel for these young boys. They know they’re bastards, the whole family knows it too – and it’s only going to cause them more trouble as they get older. Corlys shows Luke a great kindness in telling him he will become Lord of Driftmark one day, as is his birthright.
Laena’s death seems to be a big wake up call for Laenor – he stands in the water where Laena’s coffin lays as the family look on. Corlys orders Laenor’s boyfriend to retrieve him while Viserys asks Daemon to come home to Kings Landing. Again, Rhaenyra watches Daemon like a hawk. She orders Luke and Jace to go to bed once she sees Daemon leave the party, desperate to follow him. Viserys has a momentary lapse and refers to Alicent as Aemma in front of everyone, much to Alicent’s embarrassment.
Rhaenys regrets not having Laena give birth at home, as she wanted to. She tells Corlys she wants Driftmark to pass through Laena’s line to Baela, instead of Rhaenyra’s illegitimate sons who do not have Velaryon blood. Corlys has a soft spot for Luke and Jace, despite not sharing blood with them. “History does not remember blood,” Corlys says. Respect.
Rhaenyra finds Daemon on the beach. I’m not sure exactly what happened to the lighting budget for this scene.. but Rhaenyra decides now is the time to make her move. She tells Daemon she tried with Laenor, but there was no joy in it. With both Ser Harwin and Laena dead, the only person standing in their way is.. Laenor. Rhaenyra makes it clear to Daemon that it’s him that she wants, and the two share a kiss on the beach. I feel like I’m watching this whole season at double speed. The two finally sleep together on the sand.
Meanwhile, little Aemond sees his shot at a dragon: Vhagar, which belonged to Laena. I’m not sure if it was incredibly brave or incredibly stupid of the boy to approach and claim the dragon for himself. A mix of both, perhaps. Either way, after a chaotic maiden flight, Aemond’s cousins find out what he has done. Baela and Rhaena are furious, and start fighting Aemond along with Jace and Luke. Aemond’s nasty side comes out as he calls Jace and Luke bastards to their faces and taunts them about the death of Ser Harwin. Jace pulls a dagger, and it ends up in the hands of Luke – who promptly slashes Aemond’s face, causing him to lose an eye. Yikes! These kids do not mess around.
Viserys is furious about the fight. Alicent is horrified and turns her anger on Aegon for not being there to protect his brother (Aegon was too busy getting drunk on wine) while Corlys, Rhaenys, Rhaenyra and Daemon rush into the meeting room. The children all start yelling explanations while Otto and Daemon look on, amused. Aemond broke Luke’s nose, and Jace whispers to Rhaenyra that he called them bastards. With Rhaenyra in full mama bear mode, she defends her sons against Alicent – who demands that Luke lose an eye in exchange for taking Aemond’s.
When Viserys demands to know what insults were said, Aemond quickly throws Aegon under the bus and tells everyone the “bastard” rumor came from him – when it was in fact Alicent he learned the information from. Viserys finds himself caught between Rhaenyra and Alicent, who takes the opportunity to throw Laenor under the bus in front of everyone while she could. Aegon couldn’t care less, and promptly tells the whole room how obvious it is that Jace and Luke do not look like Targaryens. Nice.
Determined to see justice done for her son, Alicent orders Ser Criston to take Luke’s eye. Rhaenyra stands guard in front of her sons. When Ser Criston does not move, Alicent grabs a dagger and charges toward Luke herself. Rhaenyra and Alicent grapple and struggle, trading barbs before Alicent manages to slice open Rhaenyra’s arm. Aemond ends the argument by telling Alicent he may have lost an eye, but he gained a dragon. Fair trade? I guess so, to a child who so desperately wanted his own dragon.
Laenor eventually turns up the next morning once all the drama is over, horrified at Rhaenyra’s arm and Luke’s broken nose. Rhaenyra makes it clear their marriage is over, and Laenor admits he has failed her. The two admit they both have their shortcomings. It’s clear Rhaenyra has a plan.
“I need you,” Rhaenyra tells Daemon, “I cannot face the greens alone.” A reference to the Hightower clan. Rhaenyra proposes marriage to Daemon, who points out that they cannot marry unless Laenor were dead. Naturally, Rhaenyra and Laenor have a plan for that.. Daemon organizes Ser Qual – one of Laenor’s boyfriends – to fake a sword fight in Driftmark and fake Laenor’s death. He does so, and ensures the body is burned beyond recognition. I feel so sorry for Corlys and Rhaenys, who are now under the impression that they’ve lost both of their children in the space of a few days. Laenor is last seen with his signature locks shaved off, heading our to sea with Ser Qual. When I mentioned in last week’s review that I felt it was fairly obvious that Laenor will soon meet his end and Daemon and Rhaenyra will end up together, I didn’t quite expect it to happen this fast. The pacing on this show needs serious work in future episodes and next season.
The wedding of Daemon and Rhaenyra takes place on a misty morning in the presence of a priest, Baela, Rhaena, Luke and Jace. The pair will no doubt be judged harshly for remarrying so fast in next week’s episode – if we don’t have yet another time jump. The two getting together was inevitable, and I can't wait to see how the rest of the family react.
