The Princess and the Queen is the first episode of House of the Dragon. Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen is in the last stages of giving birth. After she gives birth to her third child, an attendant informs her that she wants to see the child. It takes Rhaenyra and her husband, Laenor Velaryon, a long time to make their way through the palace.
The sequence, from Rhaenyra's labor to the moment she and Laenor set foot in Alicent's chambers, lasts over five minutes and is made all the more fascinating by the fact that it's filmed in two long takes. The illusion of continuous tracking shots keep us locked in from the beginning.
The shots take two and a half minutes and are the longest in the show. There are two one and a half minute-long scenes following Arya Stark through a burning King's Landing in Season 8. The Princess and the Queen is one of the episodes that have a long take.
The tracking shots in House of the Dragon have a lot of significance. A long tracking shot is a sign of a fight. The Battle of Castle Black and the Battle of the Bastards are two of the longest one-take shots in the show.
The opening sequence of "The Princess and the Queen" shows a fight, but no swords are drawn. The childbed is the battlefield according to Queen Aemma. That statement is emphasized by the take. Like her mother before her, Rhaenyra is fighting through the pain of giving birth in order to bring new Targaryen children into the world.
Another conflict is playing out here. The battle of wills is taking place between Rhaenyra and Alicent. We have already seen how Alicent tries to undermine Rhaenyra and how Rhaenyra doesn't like seeing her break. Pain is still being inflicted despite the fact that no one is dying in this scene. The Red Keep is covered in a trail of blood. Good luck removing that haunting image from your mind.
There's a lot to love about the opening to "The Princess and the Queen." We are able to see the full expanse of the Red Keep thanks to the continuous takes. We can watch Rhaenyra's pain, anger, and humiliation in real time if the camera is trained on her for the whole sequence. D'Arcy's take on Rhaenyra is already a commanding blend of intense emotion and restraint. The opening of the second half of House of the Dragon's first season was better than any of the others.
The new House of the Dragon episodes can be seen on Sundays.
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