We Light the Way

"We Light the Way" was written by Charmaine DeGraté, marking her first time in the Game of Thrones franchise.

The title of the episode refers to the motto of House Hightower, one of the fictional noble families featured in the series.[1]

The episode was directed by Clare Kilner, making it her second directorial credit for the series, following the previous episode "King of the Narrow Sea".

Castleton, a village located in Derbyshire, England, served as the location for the opening scene in the Vale, while the scenes at Driftmark were filmed on St. Michael's Mount island, in Mount's Bay, Cornwall, England.[2]

The episode stars Paddy Considine, Matt Smith, Rhys Ifans, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Fabien Frankel, Milly Alcock, Emily Carey, Graham McTavish, Matthew Needham, and Jefferson Hall. It marks the final appearance of Alcock as young Rhaenyra Targaryen, Carey as young Alicent Hightower, and Theo Nate as young Laenor Velaryon, due to the 10-year time jump between this and the succeeding episode, in which Rhaenyra, Alicent, and Laenor are portrayed as adults by Emma D'Arcy, Olivia Cooke, and John Macmillan, respectively. It also marks the first and only appearance of Savannah Steyn as the teenage Laena Velaryon, who was portrayed as a younger child by Nova Foueillis-Mose in the first and second episodes, in which the adult version will be subsequently portrayed by Nanna Blondell;[3] and the final appearance of David Horovitch as Grand Maester Mellos who is later confirmed to have died sometime in between the time jump.[4]

An estimated 1.83 million viewers watched "We Light the Way" during its first broadcast on HBO.[5] 2.58 million viewers watched the episode across its four broadcasts on HBO, an increase of around 4% from the previous episode. The viewership of the episode on all platforms in the US was 3% more than the fourth episode.[6]

The episode received generally positive reviews. On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, it holds an approval rating of 85% based on 107 reviews, with an average rating of 7.5/10. The website's critical consensus said, "Holding true to the Westerosi rule that no wedding goes according to plan, 'We Light the Way' is a disturbing midpoint for House of the Dragon, punctuated by shocking brutality and Queen Alicent coming into her own."[7]

The episode received a rating of 5 out of 5 stars from Michael Deacon of The Telegraph, 4 out of 5 stars from Molly Edwards of GamesRadar+ and 3 out of 5 stars from Alec Bojalad of Den of Geek, a "B-" grade from Jenna Scherer of The A.V. Club, and a "good" score of 7 out of 10 from Helen O'Hara of IGN.[8][9][10][11][12] In his review, Deacon called the episode "the most action-packed, and best, installment to date" and praised Rhaenyra's character development.[8] Edwards said, "We've crossed the halfway point of House of the Dragon’s first season, and, as we head into that final stretch of episodes, the battle lines have been drawn. [...] The board is set for the wars to come – and that legendary Targaryen dynasty is more fragile than ever," and further praised Carey's performance."[9] Bojalad criticized the characterization of Ser Criston Cole in the episode, but praised the conversation between Rhaenyra and Laenor at Driftmark, and summarized his review by saying, "House of the Dragon is at its best when viewers can feel the weight of history pressing down upon every moment. It’s why most of the various conversations and negotiations in the episode work. It’s also why the more literal, kinetic moments don’t. When the mere sight of a young woman wearing a green dress is enough to bring an entire wedding to a grinding halt, we don't need Ser Criston Cole to crush some other guy's face in for good measure. As House of the Dragon continues on, hopefully it will pick up on that lesson and let our imaginations run free."[10] O'Hara wrote in her verdict, "This week has another talky episode, but one that further exposes the schisms in the Targaryen clan. [...] But excellent performances keep it interesting, especially from Milly Alcock and Emily Carey as they wind up their run before the big time jump."[12]

However, the episode drew criticism from critics and fans alike for its portrayal of the death of Joffrey and its supposed use of the "bury your gays" trope, a pattern by which LGBT characters in film and TV are killed off at a much higher rate than heterosexual characters because they are deemed more expendable.[13][11][14][15]