Sunday’s House of the Dragon was a standout episode for HBO’s new Thrones present, turning the dial of courtroom intrigue all the way in which to 11. There was the same old succession drama, outdated rivals dealing with off for the primary time in years, and an unexpectedly humorous decapitation.

You know, the same old.

[Ed. note: Major spoilers follow for episode 8 of House of the Dragon.]

In the episode a petition has been referred to as for who will inherit Driftmark from Corlys Velaryon, who apparently suffered a nasty wound within the Stepstones. This petition was organized by Queen Alicent and her father, Hand of the King Ser Otto Hightower, and fairly a couple of potential heirs have been able to have their case made.

One of these heirs was Corlys’ youthful brother, Vaemond. Vaemond, performed with scene-stealing depth by Wil Johnson, has a very inflammatory case, because it depends upon the illegitimacy of Princess Rhaenyra’s youngsters, a hot-button subject for the present and the courtroom.

Vaemond, like others, was anticipating to make his case earlier than Queen Alicent and Ser Otto. He did, however shortly after, King Viserys, sporting a sick gold face masks, makes a shock look on the Iron Throne. When he immediately shuts down the proceedings, declaring that it is a determined situation and he has already decreed Rhaenyra his inheritor (and her youngsters the inheritor to Driftmark), this enrages Vaemond.

Vaemond not solely challenges the king’s proper to make such selections, he out-and-out calls Rhaenyra’s youngsters bastards and the princess herself a “whore.” Viserys responds, “I will have his tongue for that!” and, certain sufficient, his brother Daemon (now Rhaenyra’s consort, who had virtually begged Vaemond for the chance to kill him) lops off Vaemond’s head from behind.

Vaemond’s physique collapses on the bottom, and the digital camera is angled in such a means that we see the open prime of his now uncovered neck gap — exhibiting his still-wagging tongue and never a lot else. Daemon, in typical wisecracking vogue, retorts, “He can keep his tongue.”

It’s a brutally hilarious motion beat that effectively breaks the edge-of-your-seat stress of the scene with a visible punchline sandwiched by jokes within the dialogue. And the truth that the present was daring sufficient to pair the decapitation with a punchline shot from the digital camera took it from vicious to transcendently humorous. The man is wagging his tongue on the king and is diminished to easily a wagging tongue. That’s gold, people.

The humor of the second can be considerably aided by Daemon’s entire deal. Matt Smith is at his finest as an imp. We’ve seen it in House of the Dragon, and we even noticed it in Morbius when he dances in his condominium. Here, he’s in a position to deliver that power to the darker world of Thrones, goading a possible enemy into saying simply the appropriate factor to permit him to commit homicide with none blowback, all with a depraved smile on his face as he virtually begs Vaemond to Go There. Thank the gods he did, as a result of it delivered one of the vital memorable moments of the present’s run up to now.