The Red Sowing

"The Red Sowing"
House of the Dragon episode
Episode no.	Season 2 Episode 7
Directed by	Loni Peristere
Written by	David Hancock
Featured music	Ramin Djawadi
Cinematography by	Vanja Cernjul
Editing by	Katie Weiland
Original air date	July 28, 2024 (2024-07-28)
Running time	64 minutes
Guest appearance
Paddy Considine as Viserys I Targaryen (uncredited)

"The Red Sowing" is the seventh and penultimate episode of the second season of the fantasy drama television series House of the Dragon, a prequel to Game of Thrones. The title refers to the bloody fate of many "sown" dragonseeds trying to claim dragons. The episode was written by David Hancock and directed by Loni Peristere. It first aired on HBO and Max on July 28, 2024.

The episode received highly positive reviews, with critics praising the claiming of Vermithor and Silverwing, visual effects, cinematography, musical score, and cast performances (especially Emma D'Arcy, Olivia Cooke, and Harry Collett).

Plot

On Driftmark

On a beach, Rhaenyra confronts Addam of Hull, who is Seasmoke's new rider. Addam kneels and pledges his featly to Rhaenyra. When she questions him about his parentage, he withholds that Corlys Velaryon is his father to keep his potential Valyrian bloodline hidden. Rhaenyra asks him to fly with her to Dragonstone.

In King's Landing and the Kingswood

Grand Maester Orwyle treats Alicent's minor arm wound from the recent riot. Despondent after being removed from the Small Council, Alicent seeks solace in the Kingswood, taking one Kingsguard, Ser Rickard Thorne, for protection and assistance. Alicent says she may never return to King's Landing. They make camp, and Alicent spends time floating in a lake.

In the courtyard, Larys observes as Aemond sentences two Kingsguards to the Wall, ostensibly for fomenting the riots. Lord Jasper Wylde approaches and tells Larys that Seasmoke has a new but unknown rider. Considering it third-hand information, Larys suggests that Jasper withhold telling Aemond. Against Orwyle's advice that Aegon needs more rest, Larys pushes him to accelerate the king's recovery, despite the physical exertion causing extreme pain.

In the Vale

Rhaena and Rhaenyra's sons, Aegon and Viserys, depart the Eyrie to travel to Pentos. Rhaena secretly leaves the group to track the wild dragon.

At Harrenhal

Lord Oscar Tully, the new Lord Paramount of the Trident, arrives followed by other Riverlords. He proclaims his intention to honor his late grandfather's oath of loyalty to Rhaenyra as Viserys' heir and offers Daemon his allegiance. The other Riverlords doubt young Oscar's leadership ability and despise Daemon for allowing war atrocities against House Bracken. To placate the lords, Oscar condemns Ser Willem Blackwood's savagery and demands that Daemon prove himself worthy of the Riverlords' banners by showing contrition for his earlier actions and dispensing justice. Daemon agrees and executes Willem. Later, Daemon experiences another vision of Viserys who says he never wanted the crown, saying it always crushes anyone who wears it. He asks Daemon if he still wants it.

At Dragonstone

Rhaenyra returns with Addam and Seasmoke. Dismissing her council's concerns about a low-born dragonrider, she instructs that Addam be trained in dragonriding and tutored in High Valyrian. She is optimistic that other dragonriders can be found. Mysaria says that rather than researching noble houses to find distant Targaryen descendants, to instead search King's Landing for dragonseeds with thicker blood ties. Rhaenyra concurs, but Jacaerys challenges her plan, arguing that bastard dragonriders could threaten Targaryen legitimacy and his own succession, revealing he knows Ser Harwin Strong was his biological father. Rhaenyra says the dragonseed riders deserve respect.

Corlys privately meets with Addam and, praising him, grants his request to be released as his shipwright to become a dragonrider. Later, Corlys tasks Alyn with delivering a message to Elinda in King's Landing and to arrange for boats with reliable captains and crews. Corlys asks if Alyn would want to claim a dragon like his brother, but Alyn defers, saying he is "salt and sea."

In King's Landing, cont.

Elinda receives Mysaria's instructions on where to find Targaryen bastards, and word spreads throughout the city. In a tavern, two men encourage Ulf, who often boasted about his Targaryen ancestry, to join the other dragonseeds heading to Dragonstone. Ulf is reluctant due to a leg injury and doubts regarding his ancestry. Hugh Hammer, grieving his daughter's death, tells his wife of his Targaryen ancestry and his desire to go to Dragonstone.

A few dozen dragonseeds board boats organized by Alyn and set sail for Dragonstone.

At Dragonstone, cont.

As Rhaenyra greets the dragonseeds, the dragonkeepers denounce her decision to entrust smallfolk with dragons, and leave the castle. Rhaenyra summons Vermithor. A dragonseed Silver Denys is the first to step forth to try to claim him, but the dragon fatally burns him, and then unleashes a furious attack, killing dozens more. Initially avoiding the dragonfire, Hugh steps between a woman and directly confronts Vermithor, causing the dragon to accept him. Having evaded Vermithor's attack, Ulf escapes into the caverns and unknowingly enters Silverwing's lair. She awakens but is docile and quickly accepts him as her rider.

In King's Landing and Blackwater Bay

During a council meeting, Lord Jasper Wylde reports to Aemond that Prince Daeron Targaryen and his dragon Tessarion are nearly ready to join the war. They are interrupted as Ulf riding Silverwing flies over King's Landing. Aemond rushes out to mount Vhagar and pursues them to Dragonstone. However, he quickly retreats upon seeing Rhaenyra with Syrax, Vermithor, and Silverwing—adult dragons now all claimed by riders.

Production

Writing and filming

"The Red Sowing" was written by David Hancock and directed by executive producer Loni Peristere. It marks Hancock's second time as writer for the series, following "The Burning Mill", and Peristere's first directorial credit. The title of the episode refers to the event called the Red Sowing during which several lowborn Targaryen bastards (called "dragonseeds") claimed dragons and joined the Blacks.

Speaking of Ulf White and his scenes in the episode, actor Tom Bennett said, as noted by James Hibberd in The Hollywood Reporter, "He's thinking, 'A lot of these people look more Targaryen than I am.' ... My name is Ulf White but it's more salt-and-pepper gray. And panic sets in. There comes a moment where you’ve been spreading this lie for the sake of a free pint of Guinness and now you have to show up and there’s a fucking big dragon there."

Casting

The episode stars Matt Smith, Emma D'Arcy, Olivia Cooke, Steve Toussaint, Sonoya Mizuno, Matthew Needham, Tom Glynn-Carney, Ewan Mitchell, Harry Collett, Bethany Antonia, Phoebe Campbell, Kurt Egyiawan, Abubakar Salim, Clinton Liberty, Kieran Bew, Ellora Torchia, Tom Bennett, and Simon Russell Beale. Paddy Considine once again made an uncredited guest appearance as King Viserys Targaryen, following the previous episode.

It marks the final appearance of recurring character Willem Blackwood (Jack Parry-Jones).

Broadcast and reception

Release

The episode was screened early at San Diego Comic-Con for attendees on July 26, 2024. It was released on HBO and Max on July 28, 2024.

Critical reception

Emma D'Arcy's performance in the episode received critical acclaim.

"The Red Sowing" was met with highly positive critical reviews. On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, it holds an approval rating of 92% based on 13 reviews, with an average rating of 8.2/10.

Helen O'Hara of IGN awarded the episode with an "amazing" score of 9 out of 10, praising it as "an episode with momentum, drama, and consequence [that] sets all the pieces in place for a grand finale." Katie Doll of CBR and Carly Lane of Collider both scored it 8 out of 10, with the former describing it as "a fantastic piece of television". Doll also highlighted Larys' character development and the characterization of Oscar Tully as the episode's standout elements. Moreover, Kayleigh Dray of The A.V. Club graded it with an "A", while Proma Khosla of IndieWire gave it a "B", commending Djawadi's score, Cernjul's cinematography, and the visual effects. Similarly, Santanu Das of Hindustan Times echoed Khosla's sentiment, praising the score and cinematography.

The episode also received a rating of 4 out of 5 stars from David Crow of Den of Geek, James Hunt of Screen Rant, and Haley Whitmire White of TV Fanatic. Hunt considered it "one of the strongest installments of the season, and offers a sense of momentum heading into the end of the season" and praised the payoff of Daemon's story with the Riverlords. Writing for GamesRadar+, Molly Edwards rated the episode 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote in her verdict: "Not quite as explosive as a traditional penultimate episode, but [it] certainly brings the fire and blood with its brutal dragon action – and sets the board for what should be an epic finale."

The performances of the cast received critical praise, particularly those of D'Arcy, Cooke, Collett, and Archie Barnes. Both James Hunt and Kayleigh Dray called D'Arcy's performance "brilliant", with Hunt also noting, "A lot of praise must also go to Collett, who gives his best performance yet as Jace." Molly Edwards said of Cooke that she was "excellent at subtly portraying Alicent's deeply buried distress." The storyline involving the claiming of Vermithor and Silverwing, as well as their scenes with Ulf and Hugh, received significant praise, with Carly Lane calling it "some of the best scenes in the entire series to date." Additionally, the final shot was also a subject of praise from several critics.

External links

• "The Red Sowing" at HBO
• "The Red Sowing" at IMDb