“Well, well, well.” – Daemon Targaryen
“I was mistaken, I am surprised!” – Larys Strong
“He was stern but gentle.” – Baela Targaryen
“I confess I underestimated your slipperiness.” – Daemon Targaryen
“I have business with him.” – Rhaenyra Targaryen
None of these lines from Sara Hess’ script are outright disasters. But they also aren’t particularly novel or clever. And they’re a hell of a long ways away from something like “A lion does not concern himself with the opinions of sheep.” The language is overly simple (“stern but gentle”), touches on cliche (“I have business with him”), or is just outright silly (“I underestimated your slipperiness”). Add in Larys Strong’s Whedon-era Avengers “Well, that just happened” energy and you have a whole bunch of characters speaking more like writers than Westerosi.
In most cases, some uninspired dialogue wouldn’t be enough to sink a TV show – especially one as visually ambitious as this one. But House of the Dragon isn’t just any show. Not only is this saga part of a larger IP in which characters have proven themselves to be demonstrably more articulate, it also belongs to a fictional historical universe that relies on verisimilitude. As has been noted time and time again, Martin’s Fire & Blood is a history book, first and foremost. While the show obviously can’t present that history as a black-and-white Ken Burns documentary, it can at least deploy language that reads as more authentic.
Simply put: when the dialogue breaks, other stuff begins to break as well. And we see that play out in season 3 episode 2. This is one of the most consequential hours of House of the Dragon yet. Jace (Harry Collett) gets a proper goodbye, Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) conquers Harrenhal, and Ser Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) is beheaded. And oh yeah: Rhaenyra conquers King’s Landing and sits the Iron Throne. Roll credits.
All of this feels like it should have the import of a season, if not series finale (again lending credence to the theory that the first two episodes of this season were intended to be the final two of last season). But more often than not weak dialogue or generally poor execution (not just referring to Otto) lets a scene down.
Rhaena’s (Phoebe Campbell) pursuit of political asylum in the Vale should feel desperate. Her involvement, albeit accidental, in Jace’s death is undoubtedly the most terrifying thing to ever happen in her life and her unwelcome presence outside the Eyrie is equally horrifying for Lady Jeyne Arryn (Amanda Collin). And yet the scene, while tense, hardly reads as pressing. The pair stand a football field’s length apart and shout negotiation terms. It all culminates in a line that I’m shocked didn’t make it into my “bad dialogue catalog” above: “Do you want a dragon or not?” That’s supposed to be implied, Rhaena! First you kill Jace and now you kill subtext?
