Sunday house of the dragon was a standout episode for HBO’s new Thrones show, turning the scale of court intrigue to 11. There was the usual follow-up drama, old rivals facing each other for the first time in years, and an unexpectedly hilarious beheading.
You know, the usual.
[Ed. note: Major spoilers follow for episode 8 of House of the Dragon.]
As a result, a petition was called for who will inherit Driftmark from Corlys Velaryon, who appears to have suffered a nasty wound in the Stepstones. This petition was organized by Queen Alicent and her father, Hand of King Ser Otto Hightower, and some potential heirs were willing to have their case pleaded.
One of these heirs was Corlys’ younger brother, Vaemond. Vaemond, played with scene-stealing intensity by Wil Johnson, has a particularly inflammatory case as it relies on the illegitimacy of Princess Rhaenyra’s children, a hot topic for the show and the court.
Vaemond, like others, expected to plead his case before Queen Alicent and Ser Otto. He did, but shortly after, King Viserys makes a surprise appearance on the Iron Throne wearing a stark gold face mask. When he immediately ends the proceedings, pointing out that this is a done deal and he has already declared Rhaenyra his heir (and her children heirs to Driftmark), Vaemond is infuriated.
Not only does Vaemond question the king’s right to make such decisions, he wholeheartedly calls Rhaenyra’s children bastards and the princess herself a “whore”. Viserys replies, “I’ll have his tongue for that!” and indeed, his brother Daemon (now Rhaenyra’s mate, who had practically begged Vaemond for the opportunity to kill him) beheads Vaemond from behind.
Vaemond’s body collapses on the floor and the camera is angled so we see the open top of his now-exposed throat – showing his still wiggling tongue and not much else. Daemon replies in typically witty fashion, “He can keep his mouth shut.”
It’s a brutally hilarious action beat that efficiently breaks the tension of the scene, with a visual punchline wedged by jokes in the dialogue. And the fact that the show was brave enough to pair the decapitation with an on-camera punchline took it from vicious to hilariously funny. The guy wags his tongue at the king and is reduced to a simple tongue tongue. This is gold folks.
The humor of the moment is also greatly aided by Daemon’s whole thing. Matt Smith is at his best as a leprechaun. We saw it house of the dragonand we even saw it disease when he dances in his apartment. Here he is able to bring that energy into the darker world of Thrones and get a potential enemy to say something just right allowing him to commit murder without a hitch, all with a wicked smile on his face while practically begging Vaemond to go there. Thank the gods because it delivered one of the most memorable moments of the show’s run so far.
