Reception
Ratings
An estimated 1.56 million viewers watched "The Green Council" during its first broadcast on HBO. [4] Around 2.2 million viewers watched the episode across its four broadcasts on premiere night. [5]
Critical response
The episode received mostly positive reviews from critics. On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, it holds an approval rating of 85% based on 33 reviews, with an average rating of 7.8/10. The website's critical consensus said, "Beginning with conspiratorial whispers and ending with a roaring declaration of war, 'The Green Council' is a discomfortingly suspenseful kickoff to the long-awaited Dance of Dragons." [6]
It received a rating of five out of five stars from Molly Edwards of GamesRadar+ , who wrote in her verdict: "A season's worth of plotting and planning comes to a head in a stunning episode that's all about the greens, culminating in a dazzling ending that tees up the fire and blood to come, [7] and four out of five stars from Michael Deacon of The Telegraph , Alec Bojalad of Den of Geek , and Jordan Russell Lyon of Ready Steady Cut. [8] [9] [10] Deacon said that "the episode set us up expertly for whatever horrors lie in store during next week's season finale", [8] Bojalad called it "another worthwhile step in an increasingly worthwhile story", [9] while Lyon summarized the episode by saying "[Despite] there isn't much action, the tension between the characters, namely Rhaenys and Alicent, is excellent to see." [10] Helen O'Hara of IGN gave it an "amazing" score of 9 out 10 and wrote in her verdict, "...this is an episode fuelled by fear and uncertainty, and particularly by Alicent's grief, worry and determination to protect her family. But there's plotting aplenty to keep us hooked, and actions that will have huge consequences for the Targaryen clan and Westeros as a whole." [11] Jenna Scherer of The A.V. Club graded it with a "B+" and said, "'The Green Council' is a tense chess game of an episode, kicking off the power vacuum that we knew was coming the moment Viserys breathed his last." [12] Erik Kain of Forbes called it "another brilliant episode of a show that is growing more brilliant with each passing episode," and further wrote in his verdict, "War is coming. Up to this point, House of the Dragon has expertly set the stage of the coming conflict, introducing us not only to the players of the game, but to the myriad fraught relationships, alliances and enmities that have led to the factions we now have arrayed before us." [13]
Several critics highlighted the character developments of Alicent, [14] Otto, [9] Aemond, [8] and Rhaenys. [9] Bojalad wrote about Otto's development: "He receives his supervillain glow up in this hour in superb, satisfying fashion", and about Rhaenys': "She has proven herself to be a logical thinker when it comes to the game of thrones." [9] Deacon wrote about Aemond's "lust for power" and deemed it "an excellent development, as it opens up an exciting new front for future conflict." [8] Particular scenes that were singled out by many critics include the conversation between Alicent and Rhaenys; [9] [12] [15] [16] the coronation of Aegon Targaryen; [7] [9] and the final scene of Rhaenys' intrusion in the middle of the coronation with her dragon Meleys. [7] [12] [16] The opening scene depicting the situation in the Red Keep right after Viserys' death was also praised, [8] [9] particularly for Djawadi's musical score, [9] [17] which was compared to his previous work in the Game of Thrones episode "The Winds of Winter". [9] Critics also praised the performances of Best, [12] [17] [18] Cooke, [7] [12] [14] [16] [17] [18] Glynn-Carney, [7] [12] and Ifans. [9] For Best, Scherer wrote, "Best's performance has been one of the most quietly commanding in the show, and this is another showcase of her talents; the temperament in her delivery is chilling. [12] In addition, other aspects of the episode that received praise from critics are the pacing, [9] [17] [18] tension, [17] shock value, [17] visual effects, [7] and the set-up for the finale. [19]
