The Red Sowing

The extensive trial of dragon riders proves that HBO's visual effects are fruitful outside of the usual battle sequences. Any “Game of Thrones” fan knows the significance of a penultimate episode. From “Baelor” to “The Rains of Castamere” to “Hardhome” and more, the world of Westeros holds nothing back ahead of its finale, and “House of the Dragon” Season 2 joins that noble tradition. Episode 7, written by David Hancock and directed by Loni Peristere, spends half of its runtime on exposition — and the other half auditioning dragon riders for Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) to win back the high ground in her family’s civil war. The hour contains some stunning score work from Ramin Djawadi and shots by cinematographer Vanja Cernjul, and an A story anchored by D’Arcy’s performance and Rhaenyra’s drive. This episode felt very long, and it’s not because of the extended sowing sequence toward the end, but because of everything that comes before it. There has been too much talking and strategy this season for my liking; it’s not necessary to lay out Rhaenyra’s plan beat-by-beat, scene-to-scene, and additionally catch up with both Ulf (Tom Bennett) and Hugh (Kieran Bew) as they justify their reasons to go to Dragonstone and attempt what they’re about to do. It makes sense now that we skipped the actual moment of Addam (Clinton Liberty) claiming Seasmoke in Episode 6 (we basically got there) in favor of this episode’s Sowing, but this once again presumes a miscalculated investment from the average viewer in two brand-new characters otherwise disconnected from the main story. Now they’ve joined the war in a much bigger capacity and justified their screen time, but it was disproportionately high up until now. The other thing hampering the pacing particularly in this episode is that it doesn’t switch between characters and locations quite enough. There are three back-to-back scenes with Daemon (Matt Smith) at Harrenhal, going from his conversation with Oscar Tully (Archie Barnes) to the public execution of Willem Blackwood, to another Viserys hallucination (Paddy Considine, welcome back king) for ten minutes straight. There are a smattering of scenes interspersed in King’s Landing which are either too brief or too expository (sometimes both). There’s no right or wrong way to structure a television show, but toggling between plot lines and scene styles keeps the viewer engaged in a way that the first half of this episode did not. But things shift halfway through, to the tune of a striking new piece by Djawadi and a montage of the Targaryen bastards in King’s Landing receiving their summons to Dragonstone. Drinking buddies convince a reluctant Ulf to take his chances in the hope of gaining a new life. Hugh heeds the call without prompting, instead appealing to wife Kat (Ellora Torchia) and revealing that their daughter died of her illness in previous episodes. Both men are driven by desperation but in contrasting ways, which will likely impact their relationship to dragon riding and to the blacks as they’re thrown together on this wild new ride. Having Alyn (Abubakar Salim) be instrumental in gathering the possible riders is also a nice touch, the beginnings of Corlys (Steve Toussaint) lifting up and celebrating his heir as his late wife Rhaenys (Eve Best) recommended. The silver-haired hopefuls arrive on Dragonstone, where the dragon keepers proclaim their opposition to the entire process (a brief but massive performance by Kieron Jecchinis as the lead dragon keeper). It’s a perfect choice of scene to do in High Valyrian as a testament to how the dragon keepers revere their ancestry and office, but it also makes it even more intimidating to the potential riders. This is what they are entering into; the ceremony, the esteem, the history — and even if they survive, they might not be cut out for it. And I’ll hand it to Episode 7 — this hour could have ended on Rhaenyra smiling at Hugh and Vermithor in the pit. It somewhat forgives the lethargic