House of the Dragon’s Crabfeeder offers a hint of the big war to come
The third episode of House of the Dragon certainly puts the “fire” in A Song of Ice and Fire. The episode begins with a tableau that’s equal parts Pirates of the Caribbean and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, as injured foot soldiers loyal to Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) and Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint) lie howling in the mud at low tide. A grotesque figure, masked and lumbering with a hunched gait and long, greasy tufts of thin hair, approaches one of these writhing men.
That masked man’s name is Craghas Drahar (Daniel Scott-Smith), also known as “The Crabfeeder” for his propensity to leave his enemies staked to bloodstained shores so they can suffer a long, painful death being eaten alive by sea creatures. The fallen soldier defies this monstrous shape, telling him to just wait until his prince arrives with a dragon to burn them all to ashes. And Daemon Targaryen does indeed come through in a flaming blaze of glory — but not before his poor, loyal swordsman gets nailed to a piece of driftwood and left to die.
At the risk of stating the obvious, war and military strategy are as essential to A Song of Ice and Fire as palace intrigue and pornographic descriptions of feast tables groaning with delicious food. The battlefield is where legends are born, alliances are tested, and the reputations of kings and queens are made and unmade.Game of Thrones took place during an era of violent upheaval, where everyone was always watching their backs and the power dynamics could be upended at any time.House of the Dragon, on the other hand, takes place in a climate that’s more like our own: The late days of a decaying dynasty, where those in charge have become complacent enough that they feel they can simply ignore any
Read more on polygon.com
