House of the Dragon Season 1 Episode 10 Review: The Black Queen
In a domino effect, ‘Dance of the Dragons” is initiated on House of the Dragon Season 1 Episode 10, “The Black Queen.”
As finales go, “The Black Queen” isn’t the most eventful. Most of the episode is spent in Dragonstone as Rhaenyra prepares her next steps toward reclaiming her throne.
The first half of the episode is met with terrible pacing, despite a lot happening. It isn’t until halfway into the episode that the exciting moments begin to take place.
We see the return of Lord Corlys, alliances formed, battle lines are drawn, and the death of a beloved.
Most importantly, “The Black Queen” provides one of the season’s most suspenseful, bone-chilling moments.
Luke is sent to Storm’s End to garner the support of Lord Baratheon, and Jace is sent to garner Arryn and Stark support. It’s a noble suggestion from Jace in the face of uncertainty and potential war. But Luke is hesitant.
Until now, Luke has never engaged in a political mission on his lonesome. And to make matters worse, he is still a young boy, barely in his teens. But he does as he’s asked and ventures to Storm’s End, where things hit a boiling point between him and Aemond.
Upon his arrival, he quickly notices Vhaghar’s presence outside the courtyard, leading to his stress rising, which Arrax feeds off. Once inside, Aemond seizes the opportunity to enact revenge for Luke’s actions in the past. He attempts to force Luke into hand-to-hand combat. However, he’s shooed out of the castle and into the storm, where he hunts Luke down.
Aemond has an unfair advantage; Vhaghar is one of the oldest and largest dragons alive, and Arrax is one of the smallest and youngest. It’s a brutal scene to watch. Aemond stalks the skies, toying with Luke, and exclaiming his profound enjoyment of the situation.
When the dragons begin to disobey orders, Aemond realizes the tragic mistake he’s made. In a desperate attempt to flee to safety, Arrax fires at Vhaghar, hoping to scare them off. However, it only enrages the creature, leading to the first moment on House of the Dragon, where a dragon disobeys its rider.
Luke and Arryax’s deaths are quick and over in mere moments, but it’s a bone-chilling scenario. The scene with Vhaghar above Arrax and Luke in the storm is horrifying. The sheer size of Vhaghar against the younger dragon is enough to send shivers down my spine.
Plus, the lasting implications of the decision will change everything we know about the series as we advance.
Vhaghar is over 100 years old, has seen war, and has proven to kill at will for its rider. It’s mind-boggling that Aemond thought he could transfer all of that anger into his dragon and nothing destructive would come of it.
Whether he intends to murder his nephew and begin the war or not, Aemond will still have to face the consequences of his actions. How he chooses to approach them will be the real question, though. Will he admit to accidentally killing Luke, or will he create a false narrative and say he accomplished what he set out to do?
Rhaenyra suffers tremendously on “The Black Queen.” Not only does she lose her father and crown, but two of her children as well. We see the stress of Viserys’ death immediately take a toll on Rhaenyra.
The gravity of the situation is too much, and Rhaenyra’s body betrays her. It’s a grueling moment to witness. Just as we endured Aemma’s unfortunate death at the beginning of the series, we are forced to sit through the same situation.
Except, whereas Aemma loses her life and her son, Rhaenyra is forced to live with the outcome. To add salt to the wound, it’s announced that Luke has also died just a few hours later. In the span of forty-eight hours, she loses most of the things she values most in life.
From this moment forward, anything Rhaenyra does is justified. Almost everything she holds near and dear to her has been stripped away; it’s time for her revenge.
It’ll be interesting to see the lengths Season 2 will venture to and the cruelty Rhaenyra will exhibit against the Hightowers.
Stray Thoughts:
- Did we all collectively want to jump through the screen and beat Daemon after choking Rhaenyra? No, just me?
- After seeing the finale, I can see why the showrunners have no plans to venture back to the younger versions of Rhaenyra and Alicent in Season 2. However, Emily Carey and Milly Alcock will forever be significant highlights of Season 1. I hope there are a few flashback scenes next season so we can see them again.
- As Emma D’Arcy was missed from “The Green Council,” Olivia Cooke is missed from this episode.
What did you think of this episode of House of the Dragon? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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House of the Dragon Season 1 is available to stream now on HBO Max.
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Cade Taylor
Cade Taylor is a television and film critic living in St. Louis, Missouri. He is a Senior Writer for Tell-Tale TV. His love for television developed at a young age, with a concentration on queer stories, sitcoms, teen dramas, and science fiction thrillers. In addition, he works full-time as a news producer, telling the stories of Missourians and helming "Produced in the Bi-State," a segment spotlighting actors, musicians, and entertainers from the St. Louis area. He can be reached by email at cade@telltaletv.com.