When Daemon expertly halves the head of Vaemond Velaryon, it was a moment of sheer genius, one of the best executions in Game of Thrones lore. And as far as bisected heads go, that was one of the best you’re likely to see on TV as it sets the tone for the bloodletting that is now in the cards for House Targaryen.

In fact, this House of the Dragon episode, Lord of the Tides, is one of the best of the season so far. After the beheading, all that was left was for the whole family to get together for grotesque dinner with grandpa and his murder-y, incestuous family. Oh, those nutty Targaryens.

Speaking of grandpa, actor Paddy Constantine deserves an Emmy for his portrayal of a dying Viserys who is now a mess of rotting black stumps of teeth, diseased leprous flesh, and shrinking bone; he looks as old as Methuselah himself. Viserys is missing a right eye and big chunks of his skull, dying slowly while the ancient quacks prod and lance him and keep him hopped up on milk-of-the-poppy cocktails (please don’t tell the Broadcasting Commission, they may want to try to ban this show). Paddy pulls out all the stops, going off Anthony Hopkins-like in a monologue for the seasons during the family dinner, even pausing at one point to take off his golden phantom mask to shock the family into hearing his pleas for peace.

The ploy appears to work as they put their own schemes on pause to toast each other. Wonder what Viserys thought when he saw his bastard grandson dancing with his creepy daughter? There were also poignant moments and at one point, it seemed that Alicent and Rhaenyra may be able to rekindle their relationship, even after one-eyed Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) shattered the fragile truce with a toast to his ‘strong’ nephews – referring to their true father Ser Harwin Strong – resulting in a minor tussle. Rhaenyra announces that she will return to Dragonstone and Alicent entreats her to return soon.

At the family dinner, there seems to be some tension between Aemond and Daemon, a bit of foreshadowing for later episodes perhaps. And did you see Aemond’s face earlier in the episode after Daemon’s neat bit of surgery on the Vaemond Velaryon head? Was that admiration? Glee? Maybe he is just sizing him up for a duel? Who do you think would win? But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

Vaemond Velaryon, the brother of the Sea Snake, lost his head (literally), as he went from blind power grab to baffling death wish when he realised he would not be successful in getting his hands on Driftmark. Vaemond inexplicably used the b(astard) word to describe his grandnephews, pushing the King to call for his tongue. You can’t even feel any remorse for Vaemond, one of the few remaining black characters left in the show, as he set the tone for the episode with his petition to subvert his older brother’s wishes and gain control of the seat of Driftmark, the house, the castle and throne.

The game of thrones is truly on as there are also a couple of new heirs to account for, courtesy of Rhaenyra and Daemon: one in her belly, and a new Viserys to replace the King that the show is about to lose. Did you know that Rhaenyra and Daemon’ son is also Rhaenyra’s cousin, Daemon’s grandnephew, and Viserys’s grandson and nephew? It’s a lot to keep track off.

The episode shows the extent to which these people, especially the women, are willing to lie and scheme to advance their own aspirations.

“I swear I was not complicit in Laenor’s death,” Rhaenyra told Rhanys in the garden, the same garden in which she lied to Alicent about the uncomfortable relationship with her uncle Daemon, as she tries to forge an alliance with her.

Alicent is not much better as she has become a cold and calculating woman as she uses a mixture of manipulation and sympathy to defuse a potential rape accusation by a female servant levied against her sister-bedding son, Aegon. The sly Alicent gifts her coin in one hand and plants Plan B tea in the other – a necessary evil before the invention of latex.

One of the best moments of the episode occurs when a weak Viserys busts in on the gathering convened to hear Vaemond’s power-grabbing petition and dodders up the steps to the Iron Throne. His crown clatters to the stone floor and his homicidal brother/son-in-law Daemon retrieves it and puts it on Viserys’s lumpy diseased head. You can see the mutual affection now but the last time they were together in that room, Viserys was kicking him while he was on the floor and accusing him of trying to bed his daughter. Tsk tsk tsk.

The episode ends with Viserys making a reference to Aegon, the Prince that was Promised, perhaps giving Alicent the go-ahead to install her own son as heir once Viserys shuffles off this mortal coil. The King then appears to take his final breath, leaving the way clear for the family to have more in-fighting and dragon-fights with one another in the near future.

We can’t wait for next week’s episode.

Let the dragon-fights begin in earnest.