Alerted to Otto’s schemes and the coronation of her half-brother, Rhaenyra must seek to navigate the best path for herself and the kingdom, while dealing with other, more personal issues.

The King is dead. The new, younger and frankly entirely terrifying king is on the throne, and things are about to get very interesting very quickly. How will Rhaenyra react to news of her father’s dearth and her half-brother’s usurpation of the throne meant for her? Well, carefully…

It doesn’t help that this impending constitutional crisis is far from the only thing the princess has to deal with. Daemon, convinced his brother has been murdered, is full of the sort of fire and fury you’d expect, demanding nothing less than war. Rhaenyra, with something of her father’s gift for diplomacy and conscious of wanting to preserve the kingdom as well as rule it, is a little more circumspect. As if that tension wasn’t enough, she’s also dealing with a deeply personal tragedy which doesn’t exactly help.

Still, regardless of any of the finalities, what’s clear is that Rhaenyra needs to establish exactly what resources she is able to marshal to her side in the wake of Otto’s treachery. Unexpected aid comes from the return of an old face, but many more houses will need to be sounded out. Electing to send her sons to do this duty on dragonback, that they might be faster than sending a crow, Rhaenyra bids them farewell with a final instruction – that though they ride dragons, they go as messengers, not warriors.

Of course, as good an idea as the use of dragonback may be to ensure expediency, what might not have been considered in this plan was that others may have thought similarly. When Lucerys meets with Lord Borros Baratheon to remind him of his oaths, he’s not the first to have got there, nor is he necessarily making the most attractive offer. Suddenly a simple mission of peace becomes something else entirely, as old debts are cast aside and old grudges reignited.

Back at Dragonstone, Daemon continues to make preparations of his own, enraged at the idea that his wife might simply acquiesce to her throne being taken from her. The two come to serious confrontation about their differing views on the matter, and the darker side of Daemon is there to remind us that for all he genuinely loves Rhaenyra and his brother, Daemon is a man of passions which are not lightly to be dismissed.

As finales go, it feels familiar. Game of Thrones would often have a massively exciting penultimate episode to a season and end on a quieter note, and this mostly feels broadly similar after the drama of Rhaenys’s fiery exit from the coronation last time out. That said, there is much drama here too, and the final shot leaves us in no doubt whatsoever that for all her diplomatic instincts, Rhaenerys remains a Targaryen at heart, with all the fiery temperament that brings. As finales go, it may be on the quieter side, but it promises a truly exciting opener to the next season indeed.

Verdict: A barnstorming finale to what has been a surprisingly strong season. 9/10

Greg D. Smith