Embedded Files
The last episode of the first season of House of the Dragon is finally here! And what an episode it was! After last week's unexpected turn of events, culminating with Aegon's coronation, this episode offers the point of view of the black side of the story, full of emotion, drama, and some shocking events that leave an open ending, making clear that the Dance of Dragons has begun, and things are about to go crazy in the upcoming seasons, which cannot come soon enough! SPOILERS AHEAD!
SHORT DISCLAIMER: The transcriptions are not always in the same key as the pieces I put as example, and sometimes they are simplified to make it clearer and more concise
The episode opens with a beautiful statement of the Heir Theme, as Luke observes the map of Westeros. This offers a brief measure of peace, before all things start to go wrong. Rhaenyra and Daemon learn of Viserys' death, and the music here turns tense, sorrowful, and for a big part of the episode, Djawadi develops dissonant orchestral passages, as they both mourn and reflect on what has happened, and realize what that means for them and their family.
Through this sequences, Djawadi introduces some hints of thematic development, but always underneath the dissonant ambiences that support the uneasiness of this scenes, leading to Rhaenyra's miscarriage and the funeral of his stillborn son.
We can hear hints of Viserys' Theme, Daemon's sound motif, the House Targaryen Theme, Rhaenyra's Chanting Motif (this two can be heard in the track "Death and Rebirth"), before culminating in a gorgeous and emotional rendition of the Funeral Theme, dating back to the very first episode, with Aemma's death.
Viserys' Theme
House Targaryen Theme
Rhaenyra's Rebellious Theme
After the funeral, Ser Erryk arrives with "The Crown of Jaeharys", ready to serve the rightful Queen to the Seven Kingdoms, vowing loyalty to her. All the attendants kneel before her, as she is crowned as the Black Queen. This sequences has one of the most beautiful pieces of music Djawadi has created for the show so far. We open with the Heir Theme on strings, that leads into Rhaenyra's Rebellious Theme at 0:52, a lovely chant slowly building in strength and power, intermingling with the B phrase of the Heir Theme as everyone swears loyalty to her.
When she is finally crowned, we hear a lovely rendition of Rhaenyra's Princess Theme, the theme that represents her noble side playing in full, here used to represent her becoming the Queen she was meant to be. The orcehstra soars with emotion and Djawadi supports this whole sequence beautifully, in what is, for me, one of the highlights of the season.
Rhaenyra's Princess Theme
Heir Theme (A Section)
Heir Theme (B Section)
We have an standoff at the steps of Dragonstone, with a lot of similarities to the one that happened in episode 2. The difference is that here Djawadi leaves it unscored for the most part, only allowing the music to come forth the moment Rhaenyra recieves Alicent's letter. Here, he brings back a nebulous idea, that at first seemed to be related to Rhaenyra and the relationship with her father, but in other episodes, played in scenes between her and Alicent. I think this scene supports the idea that is a melody intended to represent the bond between Rhaenyra and Alicent. Perhaps it will be expanded in further seasons, but for now, what I called the Father-Daughter Theme becomes a theme for Rhaenyra and Alicent.
Rhaenyra & Alicent's Theme
Solitude Theme
Corlys is back, and his conversation with Rhaenys about what are they will do about Rhaenyra is scored with an idea I called the Solitude Theme. It was introduced in the first conversation between Rhaenyra and Rhaenys about the "order of things" in episode 2, and has since played to represent Rhaenyra and her most lonely. Here, it's used to reinforce the idea that she feels misunderstood as all the men surrounding her are the encouraging her to go to war against the greens, and she is the only one that is trying to achieve peace before turning the realm into ashes with their wars.
Corly enters Dragonstone and he reveals that House Velaryon and their allies intend to support Rhaenyra as the rightful Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. In "True Meaning of Loyalty", we open with Rhaenyra's Princess Theme, and when Corlys reveals his allegiance to Rhaenyra, we get a complete statement of the noble melody that has been used to represent him and his house during the season, the House Velaryon Theme (listen to it at 1:12 of that track), joined by hints of the Game of Thrones Ostinato
As Rhaenyra sends her sons to deliver messages to the great houses of Westeros, Djawadi brings back the Dragon Flight Motif used to represent this gorgeous beasts soaring through the skies. He joins that motif first with Rhaenyra's Theme, and latter as the dragons depart Dragonstone with the House Targaryen Theme, playing in all of its mighty glory.
House Velaryon Theme
Dragon Flight Motif
This apparent peace is soon shattered, when Luke arrives at Storm's End, to discover that Aemond and Vhagar are already there, and have made a better offer to Lord Borros Baratheon, in exchange of allegiance to King Aegon. The sequences inside the castle are scored with sound ambiences, sometimes referencing the Dance of Dragons motif. This is a motif that was introduced right in the title card in the first episode, and has since been used in scenes relating to the conflicts between the members of the House Targaryen, which leads into the Dance of Dragons. It's a sort of dark opposite of the Dragons Flight Motif. One represents the beauty and majesty of this creatures, while the other represents their power, strength, and the horrors they can unleash when uncontrolled.
This motif becomes is present in the shocking final sequence, and it's here that it achieves its meaning. "Bloodlines Will Burn" opens with percussion and sound effects, and numerous references to this Dance of Dragons motif playing alongside the percussion, as Aemond and Vhagar chase Luke and Arrax through the stormy skies of Storm's End. The tension grows, and the fear is palpable as Luke tries to escape Aemond's enormous dragon. We can hear a lonely statement of the Dance of Dragons motif at 1:17 of that cue, before all hell breaks loose. Arrax disobeys Luke and attacks Vhagar, which becomes angry and furious. Djwadi supports this horryfing moment with clusters of orchestral dissonance that crescendo until Luke's tragic demise is revealed, as he and Arrax persih in Vhagar's jaws.
These tragic and shocking news arrive at Dragonstone, and with pain, Daemon approaches Rhaenyra to inform her of her child's death. At 2:52, Djawadi introduces a sorrowful rendition of Rhaenyra's Theme on cello. Her chanting motif starts to emerge from underneath the orchestra, which is slowly turning darker and more dissonant, and Rhaenyra slowly accepts the fate of his son. The dissonance grows and the House Targaryen Theme slowly enters the scene, but not with the beauty or strength that represents the dragons at their mightiest, but with a twisted variation that supports Rhaenyra's anger and thirst for revenge. She is no longer searching for a peaceful solution to the conflict, she wants to avenger her son and make those responsible for his death pay for it.
And thus begins the Dance of Dragons!
And just like that, we're done with the first season! It's been quite a ride, and I enjoyed it a lot. This season delivered with a great narrative, exceptional character development, some great set-pieces, shocking twist and turns of events and served as a fantastic introduction the main conflict that is the Dance of the Dragons that will inform upcoming seasons, which as I said, cannot come soon enough! And Djawadi's music also delivered with a vast array of themes and motifs, some great references to previously established themes, and a great musical tapestry from where he can build and expand in further seasons, hopefully in interesting and emotional ways.
I hope you enjoyed this analysis as much as I enjoyed writing them! Feel free to share them with anyone you think might enjoy them, and be sure to check out my analysis of previous episodes, as well as my Rings of Power analysis.
But that is not all! I'm planning on doing a complete breakdown of the soundtrack album with analysis of the different themes and ideas that pop around through the season, so we can have some sort of thematic catalogue we can refer to. And I might even do a YouTube video of the different themes through the season in my YouTube channel, so be sure to stay tuned for that!
And with that, I say goodbye! There are more projects that I'm planning to tackle sometime down the line, and that I will be posting in here, but until then, take care, and see you soon!
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse