Second of His Name
The plot follows the second birthday celebration of Viserys and Alicent's firstborn son, Prince Aegon Targaryen; as well as Daemon and Corlys battling the Triarchy warriors at Stepstones, which led to the death of Craghas Drahar.
The enemy leader, Craghas "The Crabfeeder" Drahar, and his corsairs have engaged in guerilla tactics, raiding Lord Corlys Velaryon's fleets under the cover of night and retreating into deep caves whenever Prince Daemon launches attacks on his dragon.
Viserys, disinterested in the Stepstones war, leads the court on a hunt to celebrate Aegon's second nameday; he intends to kill a white hart stag, considered a royal good omen.
Believing Viserys intends to replace her with Aegon as heir to the throne, Rhaenyra storms away from camp, with only her Kingsguard, Ser Criston Cole, following.
He feigns surrender to lure the Crabfeeder's army into the open and is quickly wounded and surrounded, at which point the Velaryon infantry, led by Corlys, and his younger brother, Vaemond, launch a counterattack.
The site's critical consensus said, "After viewers acclimate to the jarring time-skip, 'Second of His Name' quickly finds its stride with a focus on infernal politicking, rousing spectacle, and some rather nasty crabs.
[8] IGN's Helen O'Hara gave it a "good" 7 out of 10 and wrote in her verdict: "This episode is a slow burn that introduces new characters and indulges in gossip before unleashing that huge, fiery finale.
"[9] Molly Edwards of GamesRadar+ gave it a four out of five stars and summarized it with "another rock-solid entry in House of the Dragon's first season, shuffling the pieces into place for more epic battles to come" and further praised the performances of Smith and Carey.
He criticized the show for continuing to be a "slow-burner" and expressed his disappointment for killing off the Crabfeeder way too soon, although he praised the battle scene at Stepstones and called it "spectacular".
[12] Vulture's Hillary Kelly also gave it a rating of three out of five and criticized some parts of the writing, however she praised the opening and the battle scene, as well as Smith's performance.
