House Of The Dragon Episode Nine Review - 9 Ups & 1 Down

The Green Council played out against the backdrop of the hunt for the prospective new King in hiding, shedding more light on his brother Aemond’s character while additionally ramping up the revulsion levels for the latest Lord of the Seven Kingdoms.

House of the Dragon's story has felt fairly contained within certain areas to this point. The Red Keep, the halls of Driftmark, the battlefields of Bloodstone; essentially anywhere the Westerosi ruling elite gather. However, Aemond and Criston's foray into the human tapestry that is Flea Bottom provided a welcome new landscape for viewers to take in as well as further insight into the enigmatic Prince and his loathsome brother. Enjoying feral children fighting does not a good ruler make.

Aemond essentially admits to Criston that he would make a better King than Aegon while revealing stories of trips to brothels with his elder sibling as a younger boy. After Aegon is eventually found and dragged kicking, screaming and spitting off to his coronation, would anybody argue with Aemond's assessment? The search also featured a thrilling sword fight between Criston and Arryk Cargyll as they battle over possession of the newly discovered and pouting King-to-be as well a poignant moment when a disillusioned Erryk decides not to come to his brother's aid.

With that being said, the sequences did have a few downsides. It was extremely confusing trying to keep track of which Cargyll was which during the fight scenes, in addition to a fairly blatant plot-hole: in what world would a one eyed Targaryen Prince be an inconspicuous choice to search the city?