The much-awaited show, House of the Dragon has finally released its first episode. The episode set up many major characters and the tone for future episodes. So let’s get into some of the best moments in the first episode.

1. Princess Rhaenyra opens and closes the first episode with ferocity 

The episode starts off with Princess Rhaenyra riding her majestic dragon Syrax back to the Kingdom. She immediately establishes herself as a fierce and fearless Targaryen with Valyrian blood running through her veins. She is a dragon rider and professes her desire to wield swords on the battlefield. Throughout the course of the episode, she is overlooked multiple times, especially by her father King Viserys. However, by the end of it, Rhaenyra Targaryen, Princess of Dragonstone is named the heir to King Viserys and the Iron Throne and the members of the court pledge their allegiance to her.

2. The King chooses between his wife and the unborn heir

King Viserys was shown to be a gentle, kind-hearted King who ruled with compassion. However, his desire for a male heir led him to make a brutal and heartbreaking decision that hinted at the inhumanity in him as well. To save his unborn child, he decides to cut open Aemma and retrieve the babe. This scene was chilling, with Aemma’s screams and the horror in her eyes. What made it even better was the jousting at the King’s Tournament to celebrate his air. The scene kept building up as the jousting got more violent and reached a crescendo.

3. Otto Hightower sends his daughter to the grieving King

While the episode initially establishes Alicent Hightower as a dear friend of Rhaenyra, not all is as it seems. The King having just lost both his wife Aemma and son Baelon is inconsolable. Otto Hightower, the Hand of the King, sends his daughter to comfort him in his private chambers. She dressed up, wearing her mother’s gown and her intentions seem pretty clear by then. In other words, no one can be trusted.

4. We get our big bad wolf in Prince Daemon

Prince Daemon is King Viserys’ ambitious and power-hungry brother. Lacking ethics, morality and any regard for human life he is easy to hate. With Matt Smith playing it to perfection, Daemon was established as a villain. This was especially after he, along with the City Watch, slaughtered criminals in The King’s Landing and made a public show of it.

5. The council full of vultures

After the death of both Aemma and Baelon, King Viserys was naturally shaken up. Nonetheless, he held a council meeting to address an urgent matter, naming the heir to the Iron Throne. Several names are thrown around including Prince Daemon, Princess Rhaenyra and even Princess Rhaenys or The Queen who never was. However, the situation soon gets nasty as everyone shows their true colors. King Viserys finally snaps and lets go of the anger and grief within him.

6. A mother’s funeral, a daughter’s cry

A funeral was held for both Aemma and Baelon, the newborn heir who passed away within hours of being born. The funeral sees Princess Rhaenyra being comforted and supported by Prince Daemon as they talk to one another in High Valyrian. A broken King Visery’s had not spoken even a word to her after her mother’s death. Nonetheless, Princess Rhaenyra showed great courage and steadfastness. She gave the order “Dracarys” which in High Valyrian meant Dragonfire, essentially ordering the dragon to immolate the dead.

7. The impeccable jousting scenes

These scenes take a lot of time and effort to create and to do it this magically is commendable. The stuntmen sure did a brilliant job and one of them even got injured. It shows the level of commitment required to carry out such scenes. Right from the jousting itself to when the camera panned to the audience watching the Tourney, it created the perfect ambience.

There was a lot more that the first episode of House of the Dragon did right. The dragons were as beautiful as we hoped them to be. The first scene of Syrax flying through the clouds and the low-cast sky is enough to know that the cinematography will be mesmerizing. Milly Alcock as Princess Rhaenyra and Matt Smith as Prince Daemon stole the show and shined throughout. I’m already excited to see where House of the Dragon goes next.