Includes SPOILERS for House of the Dragon season 2, episode 4.

House of the Dragon season 2, episode 4, offered redemption to the Game of Thrones franchise for one of the original show’s silliest episodes. Game of Thrones season 8 was widely criticized, leaving any future spinoffs with a daunting responsibility. House of the Dragon has constant pressure to maintain a certain level of quality for the franchise to move forward after audiences nearly lost interest after the Game of Thrones ending. The series has been a tremendous success so far, with the recent “The Red Dragon and the Gold” receiving the prequel’s highest reviews yet.

Following the Blacks and Greens split and the start of the Dance of the Dragons, the recent episode sees Criston Cole leading his troops through the Crownlands, taking castles loyal to Rhaenyra. His goal is to lure the Blacks into sending out a dragonrider to combat him, where he can match them with the Greens’ larger Vhagar, hoping to take out an enemy dragon. What ensues is the first proper dragon clash of the war, with Vhagar, Sunfyre, and Meleys all contending in a sequence packed with drama and riveting plot twists.

Alan Taylor’s Last Dragon-Centric Episode Was Game Of Thrones’ “Beyond The Wall”

“Beyond The Wall” Was Widely Divisive For Its Plot Holes

Alan Taylor has directed some phenomenal episodes in the Game of Thrones franchise, but the last one that featured a significant dragon battle was season 7’s “Beyond the Wall.” It has one of the best dragon scenes in Game of Thrones, but the overall episode was widely divisive and an early sign of season 8’s decline. The concept of sending Jon Snow with a Suicide Squad-like team of characters beyond the Wall to retrieve a wight to show Cersei was ridiculous, to begin with, but what ensued continued to push the show’s boundaries.

Arguments could be made about the episode’s many supposed plot holes and inconsistencies, but the bottom line is that Game of Thrones earned its reputation as being a fantasy grounded in realism. In Westeros, any beloved character could die, and no one was ever truly safe. Therefore, an episode where the main heroes continuously ward off herds of wights while the unnamed background characters get killed was quite ridiculous and tonally disparate from the elements that made the show successful. “Beyond the Wall” was packed with the cliches Game of Thrones was known for subverting.

Alan Taylor’s Work On “The Red Dragon And The Gold” Is Stunning

The Battle Of Rook’s Rest Is One Of The Best Battles In Either Series

House of the Dragon was right to bring Alan Taylor back to the franchise in season 2, as he’s proven capable of directing outstanding episodes when offered the right material. “The Red Dragon and the Gold” holds the series’ top-rated score on IMDb with a 9.6/10, with critics and audiences praising far more than just the beautiful dragon action. It’s one thing to make dragons fighting dragons look stunning, but to fuel the action with meaningful storytelling is an entirely different achievement.

Not only does season 2, episode 4, have one of the best battles in the Game of Thrones franchise, but it’s arguably one of the most emotional episodes in the series. There’s so much at stake between the thematic depth of dragons going to war, the relationship between Aemond and Aegon, and the eventual death of Rhaenys Targaryen. Splicing Rhaenyra’s conversation with Jacaerys into the release of the dragons was awe-inspiring and perfectly encapsulates the profound impact of the episode. Alan Taylor absolutely nails every decision.

Alan Taylor Has Directed Some Of Game Of Thrones’ Best Episodes

His Credits Include “Baelor,” The Ned Stark Execution Episode

Alan Taylor has directed seven episodes of Game of Thrones and now two episodes of House of the Dragon. Before “The Red Dragon and the Gold,” his most outstanding episodes were “Baelor,” the penultimate episode of Game of Thrones where Ned Stark is executed, and “Fire & Blood,” the Game of Thrones season 1 finale. The Ned Stark beheading scene is iconic, and the delivery of such a challenging scene could only be trusted to the most worthy hands. Alan Taylor carefully directed one of the most pivotal moments in television history.

He continued his work with some excellent episodes in Game of Thrones season 2, including the season finale, before returning in season 7 for “Beyond the Wall.” He then made his House of the Dragon debut with the season 2 premiere, transforming another of the book series’ most challenging moments into engaging television. After all that, House of the Dragon’s Rook’s Rest episode may be his most outstanding work yet.