This episode is just perfect in every way.
More and more characters are showing their true colors, people claiming other dragons for themselves, stabbings and backstabbings, seeds of a civil war being sown, relationship dynamics of pretty much everyone changing.
This is the episode where ish really hit the fans and characters stop being coy and show their true intentions to each other, especially Rhaenyra and Alicent.
I really loved that the twists kept coming and multiple times throughout the episode, even till the end, the character we were rooting for just 3 minutes ago does something and becomes a pos immediately, and it shows that none of the characters here, at least the main ones, is that good and all of them are drowning in depravity as Rhaenyra herself said.
Last episode that we were introduced to the children, they were mostly side characters and had a less direct impact on the events of the episode and the show as a whole, but in this episode they're pretty much the main characters as they start a domino effect of a series of unfortunate events that escalates quickly and is gonna change the course of history.
Everything in this episode was pretty much perfect, from the direction and the pacing which got more intense and escalated as the episode went on, to the acting, music, and cinematography, and the great twists and the writing. Though the CGI isn't perfect, it is still acceptable and I'm sure this season definitely doesn't have the budget that GOT had for later seasons. It is still really good, but it's still noticeable in scenes where people are flying a dragon.
All in all, this was a great and enjoyable episode and the starter of a chain reaction that will presumably lead to even more intense episodes and events in the following episodes.