House of the Dragon 2×07 “The Red Sowing” is the penultimate episode of House of the Dragon and the build-up to the finale, which many people expect to be a massive battle, but which others believe will not live up to its promise due to the writers’ strike and other behind-the-scenes machinations. House of the Dragon is currently HBO’s flagship series, but the massive budget cuts make that questionable. Still, if they had made this the season 2 finale, I think most viewers would have been satisfied.

This episode is mainly about Rhaenyra discovering that those with little Targaryen blood can claim dragons. She probably already knew this from her son Jace, but after Steffon Darklyn’s failure, she’s understandably unwilling to take a chance on another noble. Thankfully, Mysaria points out that there are plenty of bastards in King’s Landing who no one would miss and who would do anything to improve their standing.

The first bastard she encounters before this plan is even put into action is Addam of Hull. He is the child of Corlys Velaryon, a man who wishes to serve Rhaenyra and could not be a better choice as a dragon rider. This leads Rhaenyra to believe that other bastards could be legitimate candidates who could be of use to her. Hugh the Hammer and Ulff the White are both bastards who live in King’s Landing and have the potential to lead new lives if they manage to capture a dragon.

What follows is a truly horrific and impressive scene in which Rhaenyra sends a horde of bastards to capture Vermithor, the second greatest of all dragons, only to be slaughtered. in masses. It is one of the best scenes of House of the Dragon. Eventually, Hugh volunteers to save another dragon seed, and this leads to Vermithor being so impressed that he lets him ride. Silverwing seems to take Ulff just because he’s there (or has migrated into her eggs), which is also a lucky break in terms of dragon riding luck.

Also, in one of the better scenes of the episode, Daemon Targaryen lets himself be “taken down” by a teenager. Lord Oscar Tully shows that he knows what it means to rule and to gain the loyalty of the people far better than Daemon. He also forces Daemon to kill one of his own followers in order to “atone” and win the war. We’ll see if this has a bigger impact on the loyalty of House Blackwood.

I really liked the way Daemon was handled in this moment because it’s a nice reminder that even in Westeros, the iron fist can’t always triumph over the velvet glove. Daemon spent so much time thinking he should have been king because he was stronger than Viserys that he never bothered to learn actual social skills as well as diplomacy. He also struggles with basic interactions that don’t involve using his dragon to force things.

The Greens are not faring much better, as Aemond’s coup is made more difficult by the fact that Aegon II is not dead and his attempts to consolidate power only alienate those who might otherwise be his allies. Aemond has admired Daemon greatly all his life, but failed to recognize his idol’s weaknesses. It is one of the more subtle elements of House of the Dragon and I give the show credit for that.

Finally, House of the Dragon The penultimate episode is very strong and feels both dark and dramatic. Unfortunately, I feel like the show wasted a lot of its budget before the finale, and we’ll see what problems that brings next week.