The Burning Mill

"The Burning Mill"
House of the Dragon episode
Episode no.	Season 2 Episode 3
Directed by	Geeta Vasant Patel
Written by	David Hancock
Featured music	Ramin Djawadi
Cinematography by	Catherine Goldschmidt
Editing by	Adam Bosman
Original air date	June 30, 2024 (2024-06-30)
Running time	66 minutes
Guest appearance
Milly Alcock as Young Rhaenyra Targaryen

"The Burning Mill" is the third episode of the second season of the HBO fantasy drama television series House of the Dragon. Written by David Hancock and directed by Geeta Vasant Patel, it first aired on June 30, 2024.

In the episode, a conflict between the Brackens and Blackwoods escalates into the deadly Battle of the Burning Mill. Daemon visits Harrenhal, securing support for Rhaenyra from its castellan Ser Simon Strong. Meanwhile, Rhaenyra, disguised as a septa, sneaks into King's Landing to secretly meet with Alicent.

"The Burning Mill" introduced several new cast members, including Freddie Fox as Ser Gwayne Hightower, Gayle Rankin as Alys Rivers, and Simon Russell Beale as Ser Simon Strong. It received mostly positive reviews, with critics praising the direction, character development, Alicent and Rhaenyra's reunion, Aemond and Aegon's brothel scene, Milly Alcock's return as young Rhaenyra, and the performances of its cast (particularly Emma D'Arcy and Olivia Cooke).

Plot

Battle in the Riverlands

In the Riverlands, a minor territorial dispute quickly escalates into a deadly battle between long-time enemies, the Brackens and Blackwoods, and a mill burns.

In King's Landing

Helaena says she forgives Alicent, and empathizes with smallfolk also losing children. Criston proposes a bold plan to take Harrenhal. He organizes troops which Alicent's brother, Gwayne Hightower, unexpectedly joins. Aegon appoints Larys as his Master of Whispers, after Larys dissuades him from dragonriding and joining Criston. In a brothel, a man claims to be a Dragonseed and bastard half-brother of the late King Viserys and Prince Daemon. When Aegon and his retinue bring a new squire to the brothel to lose his virginity, he encounters a naked Aemond there with Sylvi. He jeers his brother until Aemond angrily leaves.

In Harrenhal

Daemon dragonrides to Harrenhal, reaching it before Ser Criston. Ser Simon Strong, the castellan, pledges his loyalty to Rhaenyra and denounces his grand-nephew, Lord Larys Strong. Ser Simon accuses Larys of having had his own father, Lord Lyonel, and his brother, Ser Harwin, killed in the fire at Harrenhal. Later that night, an unseen force beckons Daemon to an ancient tree. There he experiences a vision of a young Rhaenyra sewing Jaehaerys' head back onto his body. He awakens and a young woman standing nearby predicts his death will occur at Harrenhal.

At Dragonstone

The Cargyll brothers are buried together. Rhaenys suggests to Rhaenyra that Alicent might be persuaded against war. Rhaenyra sends youngest sons Joffrey, Aegon, and Viserys to the Arryns for protection and to continue House Targaryen should the Blacks fall. Rhaena Targaryen, who has no dragon, is to accompany them. She feels demoted having to tend small children, but is mollified when dragon eggs are entrusted to her care. En route to Harrenhal, Gwayne and a few soldiers recklessly head to a small village, seeking amusement. Criston angrily races after them on horseback. Baela, patrolling the area on Moondancer, spots the men, who escape into the trees. She reports it to Rhaenyra's councilors, who propose a war using their dragons. As a reward for her warning about Arryk, Rhaenyra gives Mysaria a place at court. Mysaria advises Rhaenyra on how she can meet with Alicent in King's Landing. Rhaenyra looks over a small parchment Alicent sent her.

In King's Landing

Rhaenyra and a guardsman sneak into King's Landing on a fishing boat. Disguised as a septa, she speaks to Alicent, who claims that nothing can resolve the conflict or avoid war. Rhaenyra realizes that Alicent has misunderstood King Viserys' dying words about the Song of Ice and Fire prophecy; Alicent has mistaken her son Aegon for the prophesied Aegon the Conqueror.

Production

Writing and filming

"The Burning Mill" was written by David Hancock and directed by Geeta Vasant Patel, marking Hancock's first time as writer for the series and Patel's second directorial credit, following "The Lord of the Tides".

Casting

Freddie Fox and Simon Russell Beale made their first appearances as Gwayne Hightower and Simon Strong.

The episode stars Matt Smith, Emma D'Arcy, Olivia Cooke, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Fabien Frankel, Matthew Needham, Sonoya Mizuno, Tom Glynn-Carney, Ewan Mitchell, Phia Saban, Harry Collett, Bethany Antonia, Phoebe Campbell, Jefferson Hall, Freddie Fox, Gayle Rankin, Tom Bennett, and Simon Russell Beale. It marks the first appearance of Fox as Ser Gwayne Hightower, Rankin as Alys Rivers, and Beale as Ser Simon Strong. Their casting was announced in April 2023. Gwayne Hightower previously appeared in the series premiere, portrayed by an uncredited actor.

The episode also marks the final appearance of Elliott and Luke Tittensor as recurring characters Ser Erryk and Arryk Cargyll. Although their characters died in the previous episode, they made a brief appearance in this episode as their corpses. Additionally, Milly Alcock guest-starred to reprise her role as young Rhaenyra Targaryen.

Reception

Critical response

The performances of (top, L to R) Emma D'Arcy, Olivia Cooke, Matt Smith, and Tom Glynn-Carney received praise from critics.

The episode was met with mostly positive critical reviews. On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the episode holds an approval rating of 92% based on 13 reviews, with an average rating of 7.7/10.

The episode received a rating of 4.75 out of 5 stars from Haley Whitmire White of TV Fanatic, and 4 out of 5 stars from Alec Bojalad of Den of Geek and James Hunt of Screen Rant. Bojalad noted that the episode was "narratively chaotic" with a "logistically challenging ending," but praised the Battle of The Burning Mill at the beginning of the episode for keeping a strong thematic track, while Hunt declared it the best episode of the season so far. Carly Lane of Collider and Helen O'Hara of IGN both scored it 8 out of 10, with O'Hara stating that "Episode 3 feels more like the sort of high fantasy drama we came to House of the Dragon for than the two previous episodes – and one that offers far more promise for the future." Katie Doll of CBR gave it 7 out of 10, saying that the episode "experiments with the boundaries of television in good and bad ways, resulting in a perplexing outing." Grading the episode with an "A-", The A.V. Club's Kayleigh Dray wrote in her review, "All in all, it's an excellent installment of House of the Dragon, and it builds incredibly well on the slow-burning tensions that have been exposed in the first two installments of this season."

Critics praised the performances of D'Arcy, Cooke, Smith, Glynn-Carney, Mitchell, and Campbell. Specific scenes singled out by critics included Alicent and Rhaenyra's reunion, Aemond and Aegon's brothel scene (noted for rising tensions between the brothers), the scenes in Harrenhal, and Baela and Moondancer's scene. The chemistry between Cooke and D'Arcy was also regarded one of the episode's highlights. James Hunt commented, "They play off one another brilliantly, and you really get a sense of a wide range of emotions: how much they care for one another, still; their shared hurt, regret, and anger over what's happened since they last saw one another; stubbornness and ego that gets in the way of a true resolution." Additionally, critics also lauded Patel's direction, Alcock's return as young Rhaenyra, and the character development of Daemon and Aegon.

However, some aspects received criticism, specifically the pacing, a frontal sexually explicit scene, the omission of the Battle of the Burning Mill despite it being used as the episode title, and the lack of screentime for Helaena and Rhaena.

External links

• "The Burning Mill" at HBO
• "The Burning Mill" at IMDb