Alyn Gets Fingered
What Happens
Aegon's on the run after King's Landing falls apart, and he finally stops running. He plants his feet in front of an approaching Riverlander force and does the whole self-anointing speech, "Behold me now! I am Aegon Targaryen! Dreadful in vengeance, righteous and glorious!" Then Sunfyre, who we all assumed was dead since Rook's Rest, comes out of the treeline and torches the entire detachment. He's alive. Half his face is gone but he's alive. Larys gets offered the chance to stand with him and just leaves for Essos instead. Tyland stays.
At Harrenhal, Alys Rivers tricks Aemond by making herself look like his mother. Then the actual Alicent shows up a few minutes later with Ser Adrian Redfort as an escort, and Aemond kills Redfort on the spot so nobody finds out what's going on at that castle. There's an incredibly awkward three-way dinner, and it ends with Alicent grabbing nightshade out of the godswood and poisoning Aemond's wine after he tells her, completely casually, that he tried to kill Aegon on purpose. He'd be dead if Alys hadn't stepped in.
Rhaena is revealed to Rhaenyra to be Sheepstealer's rider. That kicks off a four-dragon standoff with Caraxes, Syrax, Seasmoke and Sheepstealer all in the same place. Rhaena gets placed under house arrest. Sheepstealer is wounded and left to "die" by Daemon. Addam nearly proposes to Baela while she's still figuring out her thing with Alyn. And over in Tumbleton, Corlys won't turn on Rhaenyra, so Ormund cuts off his finger. Except it turns out capturing Corlys was never the actual play. Ormund's real target the whole time was Ulf the White, who gets bought off with Driftmark and a lordship.
Oh and Helaena dreams of riding Dreamfyre through the snow, telling her dragon to Dracarys.
Our Takes
Behold Me
This is the biggest swing of the episode and we're not totally sold on it. Aegon spent the whole season getting humbled, and then he gets his dragon back and all of that just goes away.
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
This is the third time the show has invented a mother-son incest beat that isn't in the books, and we actually try to say something real about it instead of just making jokes. But we fail. The poisoning scene is the better part of this whole storyline. Aemond confesses and Alicent just says "I know." Real Han Solo moment.
Reservoir Dragons
This was the segment we were most excited to get to. Rhaena and Sheepstealer, the standoff, Daemon actually opening up about his own childhood for once, and then the real twist: Ormund was never after Corlys. It was Ulf the entire time.
The Fool's Ledger
We're closing out predictions this week. Sunfyre alive or dead: closed, he's alive and he just burned a small army to prove it. Corlys turning traitor: closed(?), and Tim was wrong, he stays loyal. Rhaena and the Sheepstealer secret: closed. Daemon still hasn't gone back to Harrenhal and it's been four episodes now. Heading into the finale we've got new questions: does Ulf actually go through with it, does Hugh end up in the same boat, and does Alicent make it back from Harrenhal in one piece.
Next Episode
The season finale hits HBO this Sunday, August 9. Ulf's betrayal might be about to blow up the Battle of Tumbleton, Ormund's plan is finally in motion, Alicent's making her way back from Harrenhal alone, and Rhaenyra's walking into the finale as a not well liked person at the moment. Yikes!