House Of The Dragon Episode Four Review - 8 Ups & 2 Downs

That was a lot to process in one short hour of television.

House of the Dragon's latest episode, The King of the Narrow Sea, returns exclusively to King's Landing, bringing the usual levels of mayhem and deception that abound within the city walls. Daemon has returned from his campaign to bend the knee to his brother, while much to the King's ire, Rhaenyra has returned from a tour designed to find her a new suitor with no husband in tow.

Both of these momentous events set up the rest of the episode; it's another blink-and-you'll-miss-it installment as the show races from one glorious scene to the next. The exemplary cast somehow turn in even better performances than their previous appearances, with Smith, Considine and Alcock in particular adding nuanced new wrinkles to their character development and providing even further insight into their enigmatic, fiery personalities.

As we approach the midway point of the new season, it is hard to recall a show that has managed to cram this much quality into the first four episodes. The wave of critical acclaim for House of the Dragon seems set to continue amidst sprays of blood and spurts of dragon fire and if the first four episodes were this good, the finale is pretty much guaranteed to blow our collective minds.

The references to the ancient conflict (and the one to come!) between humanity and the White Walkers have played a prominent part in the introduction to House of the Dragon. Viserys first recounts the secret to Rhaenyra upon naming her heir to the throne, before revealing this week that when heated, his Valyrian steel dagger bears an inscription once again referring to the infamous Song of Ice and Fire.

Is this all really necessary though?

While the constant mention of the legend constitutes an affectionate homage to Game of Thrones, it could be argued that the war to come bears no relevance or significance within the context of House of the Dragon's story. The show is based on Fire and Blood, the history of the civil war between the Targaryens that came to be known as the Dance of the Dragons. Ancient evil to the North, White Walkers and the Prince That Was Promised do not feature whatsoever within the story unless recounted as a story or song, which begs the question as to why HBO continues to give this narrative oxygen in an apparently unconnected story.

One shudders to think that those responsible for the disastrous final season of Game of Thrones at HBO may try and cram the White Walkers into House of the Dragon for nothing more than shock value and a few gasps. Indeed, unless a White Walker suddenly pops up unannounced in King's Landing, all the references to the conflict to come do little more than remind viewers of the dismal ending to the original show.

And nobody needs to be reminded of that.