“Driftmark” picks up all the pieces from the previous episode of House of the Dragon. Otto Hightower is back as the Hand of the King, after Alicent’s complaint about Lyonel’s position in the role. The entire episode takes place on Driftmark during and after Lady Laena’s funeral. Prince Aemond manage to bond with Leana’s dragon Vhagar. This leads to a brawl with Rhaena, Beala, Lucerys, and Jacaerys fighting Aemond. The fight ends after Aemond is slashed across the face by Jacaerys after Aemond tries to bludgeon multiple people with a rock. Rhaenyra and Alicent have a confrontation with each other after the brawl with it ending after Alicent tries to injure Jacaerys the same way that Aemond was injured. The episode ends with Laenor faking his death and Rhaenyra and Daemon marrying.
I found this episode far less frustrating than the previous episode, even if both Alicent and Ser Criston were just as annoying. I still marvel at how terrible Viserys looks and how he is still somehow alive, in spite of his wounds and his age. I find myself more frustrated by how the political stuff in this series is portrayed as opposed to how it was in Game of Thrones. It could be that I’ve been expecting a war rather than not knowing exactly what was going to happen. I’ll be able to give this episode a rating unlike last week. I give “Driftwood” 7 cups of wine out of 10.