House Of The Dragon Season 1 Finale Review: Emma D'Arcy's Moment Of Glory

Cast: Paddy Considine, Olivia Cooke, Emma D'Arcy, Matt Smith, Rhys Ifans, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Fabien Frankel, Graham Mactavish, Mathew Needham, Jefferson Hall

Director: Greg Yaitanes

The world of ancient Tagaryen is slowly coming unstuck. Alicent and Otto Hightower have already installed Aegon on the throne and Rhaenyra, who has returned to Dragonstone, is the last to know.

But once she does, the wheels begin to turn. She delivers a stillborn infant, consigns her to the flames and then gets onboard to sort out her many challenges. Maintaining peace and showing loyalty to anointed heir or usurper - appears to be the buzz word here. Grudges and precedents become two cogs in the mediaeval cycle.

The Westeros great houses are under considerable threat. Dragons and Dragonseeds become the most important players in this episode. Blacks have more of them while The Greens are relying on a larger contingent of men.

The season finale is stirring up a fiery war and despite all efforts to keep the damage to the minimum, the first savage hit is made and Rhaenyra's ( Emma D'Arcy) second born is the casualty. This engaging but fake historical drama draws us into its boiling hot cauldron of volatility as unbanked fires rush to the fore.

The series continues to depict grim realities of the mediaeval era in absolutely raw painful detail. It's really tough to sit through the birthing scene in this episode. The mid-air dragon fight lacked clarity but the effect was still staggering. The whole sequence in which Lucerys arrives at Storm's End, parlays with Lord Boros Baratheon and is then chased through stormy skies and heavy rain is executed quite well. For once the technical aspects of the dragon chase are impressive. The contrasting size of the two dragons, their wing span, and the cascading rain present a turmoil in the skies that is just unforgettable.

The camerawork continues to be dark, somber, heavily saturated, and rather hazy. It's a tone that lends deep meaning to 'ancient.'

Rhaenyra banks on history while dealing with Westeros's great houses. Rhaenys (Eve Best) and a considerably recovered Corlys (Steve Toussaint) are quick to ally with Rhaenyra. Rhaenyra's consideration of the realm's well-being and her hesitance to go to war is influenced by the promise she made to her father to save the world. And it's all about The Song of Ice and Fire. She knows it's real.

Daemon Targaryen's trauma when he realises he was never privy to this knowledge, is quite vivid. Westerosi men have not known true war for half a century. Daemon and Corlys are veterans of war because they sought it out, while Aemond is still playing around with Vhagar's powers. His one mistake could prove costly for the Greens.

The fires of war have been stoked and The Black Queen's grief-stricken, stoic and vengeful look at the end of the episode signifies that the war is on! The season 1 finale episode of House of the Dragon is clearly Emma D'Arcy's moment of glory. The way she holds herself, her great restraint, and her classic expressionism deliver a strong punch to her performance. She shows us she has the talent to kick-start the next season of episodes of House of the Dragon.