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

To quote Daenerys Targaryen, "a dragon is no slave".

Aemond Targaryen discovers this fact much to his chagrin in The Black Queen. He may have claimed the legendary Vhagar, but when a blast of flame from a terrified Arrax enrages her, the desperate pleas of the Prince for his dragon to serve him fall on deaf ears. Vhagar emerges from the clouds like a winged great white shark, tearing Lucerys and Arrax into bloody shreds before viewers even have time to gasp.

Audiences expected this to be the moment where Aemond emerged as House of the Dragon's true villain. What they were left with was a boy, in pure shell-shock at the horrific ramifications of his actions. Aemond’s motives become exceedingly clear as he watches the mutilated remains of the unfortunate duo tumble to the earth; the dismayed Prince’s expression is frozen between disbelief, fear and undiluted horror. Despite his dastardly threats and cackles of maniacal laughter, Aemond's stunned visage indicates that he was only trying to scare his nephew.

This take on Martin's version of events also has the added benefit of protecting the complex character that Ewan Mitchell is steadily building. In Fire and Blood, it seemed bizarrely out of keeping with Aemond’s aura of enigmatic cunning to do something so recklessly impulsive - starting a war by sadistically murdering a vastly younger and overmatched opponent - motivated by nothing more than revenge. An incredible twist in the show's complex storyline and a stunningly dark way to cap off an exemplary first season.