@jessjess23brooks89 He's muthafuking S(e/i)r Simon, you can't dislike the guy. He knows good food is important. He keeps a black goat of death. He don't give an f about the King Dot Dot Dot Consort or his dragon and walks in on his highs to remind him he was going to talk to muppets. Simon just doesn't give any fs.
@@manaash4316 It's sad because he's still a "kid" by our standards. He's a king that's married and has children but he's only about 18 (which yes would make him legally an adult but barely) and looks even younger. Funny because in real life Tom Glynn-Carney is 29 haha. EDIT: In the scene when Aegon and Alicent are in the carriage on their way to the coronation, he says to her "My father had 20 years to name me his heir and never did." So Aegon is 20 so not a kid at all. But he still looks and acts young.
Daemon: *Tells willlem Blackwood to do some menace shit* Blackwoods: *Terrorizes the brackens and riverlords* Daemon: How could you do this?……With my banner!
I absolutely loved seeing Jace come into his own. He’s really showing his capabilities as a diplomat and a future leader after struggling with feelings of inadequacy as a kid. Great character arc.
I absolutely love that Simon Strong is using the war as an excuse to basically reconstruct Harrenhal's economy. His best case scenario is that the war fizzles out with no battles near Harrenhal, but during the war he managed to renovate his house and give the entire county a job.
@@BurgermanForever-nh2vp When your mummy gives the choice between McDonalds or Burger King that's what it means to be making big boy decisions for yourself
7:47 I was always under the impression that Dany controlling 3 dragons was an extremely special case. Since she hatched them all and was the only Targ around to bond to. She is “The Mother of Dragons” something that has never been seen before
She's also the prince that was promised, without her dragons humanity wouldn't have survived so it's understandable that she was fire resistant and had great control of her dragons
@@johansmallberries9874 not even lmao remember Viserys´ last meal with his "entire family save Rhaenys" haha however, Daeron wasn´t even mentioned.. suggesting he has never been part of his family - i.e., only been in Oldtown haha
I feel like he could get along with Helaena, it seems to me like she just experiences the world differently than everyone else but is otherwise a nice normal girl tbf. Certainly she has no love for Aegon and I imagine she wouldn't for Aemond, so maybe they'd agree that those two are mad and entirely too violent.
It's also a great call back to her conversation with Rhaenys. "You have a window into power." And now the walls are closing in and that window has shut.
I actually really liked that bc people often doesn't know panic attacks can be as quiet as for someone to not move or make a sound the way you can be next to them and not notice they're having one, and that's also thanks to great majority of its representation being about the "loud" ones, like Helaena's with the small folk, so it was nice for once to see one of the quiet ones.
and the fact her character was helping Jaehaerys 1 and Viserys 1 before they deaths is insane she dont care from her own son, she is not more the good person by far
Really enjoyed the scene with Alicent as she begins to panic and settle into the bed she had made. The slow push in with the camera and the fading of sounds and people around her was like someone silently drowning. Very powerful.
I feel that it was also her fully coming to terms that Aemond tried to kill Aegon at Rook's Rest. Her realising how much Aemond, with little experience, was so prepared to be regent probably led her to the conclusion that he was always planning to usurpe Aegon right under her nose.
@@rahuldhargalkar yes! The labored, inconsistent breathes. Spot on. This cast is just an ocean of talent. And props to the director for that shot, the sound crew, everyone. Phenomenal job by all involved.
I found it ironic but lovely writing that although Jace is mocking the idea of purebred Targaryens having a monopoly on dragon riding, he's unintentionally possibly risking status in in the eyes of commoners. If "anyone" can ride a dragon, what will people think?
@@jackwalker4957Him questioning the supremacy of particular bloodlines, ones carefully guarded and cultivated, also challenges the perceived illegitimacy of bastards, two topics in conflict within himself.
@@hillbillypowpow that’s so wonderful - I hadn’t considered that angle. I wonder then if his need to emulate the action of Daemon comes partly from the need to prove his own legitimacy as a Targ to the “legitimate” Targs? He’s just seen Rheanys sacrifice herself in literal Fire & Blood - maybe he feels as if joining in on the action will “prove” himself.
@@DatBoiTag It's around 43 minutes in the episode when Simon Strong brings Daemon a message, she walks behind Simon. I don't think she disappears, it looks like she just stands directly behind Simon. And Simon sees her, so doesn't make much sense she'd be a hallucination.
Well, even Targs seem to consider child-parent marriages inappropriate. Otherwise there was no reason to not marry Viserys to Rhaenyra after Aemma died.
@@iliaponomarev1624I mean the Targaryens didn’t usually marry uncles to nieces either, the only person who tried to do that before Daemon was Maegor the Cruel, and he wasn’t exactly a regular Targaryen king. The point is that in general the Targaryens shied away from certain kinds of marriage but tended to place their notions of blood purity before morality (the rest of the seven kingdoms already reviled sibling marriages as an abomination and there was at various points a great deal of tension over it) and especially power hungry Targs like Maegor and Daemon were willing to bend and break what rules were in place to suit them
@@laurenbastin8849 I tend to think Targaryens just marry their closest single female relative that isn't their mother or daughter. It's just likely a sister or a cousin and rarely a niece.
@@blaubeer8039 It's not even about morality. Obviously they don't care about that. What they will care about is an overwhelming majority of disfigured, diseased, and unviable babies being born. Big difference between two random sets of DNA from the same sources trying to make babies, and and two sets of DNA where half of it matches 1 to 1.
It shocks me how many people I’ve seen complaining about this season being slow. I think it’s been phenomenal. I love how granular it’s been in each plot and character development. Who needs battles when the scene-by-scene writing is this good, when so much care is being put into character setup and arc structure? Hot take, I suppose, but I’m more engaged with Daemon’s haunted Harrenhal hijinks than I’ve been with his character in the entire rest of the show. It’s so much more fun seeing this character presented with a challenge like this, something that is so persistently humbling him, and the visions themselves are giving appreciated insights into what’s going on in his head. I love it when arrogant characters bite off more than they can chew and have to deal with the consequences.
Didn't Alyssa take her babies Viserys and Daemon flying on Melyse? The death of that dragon might trigger something subconscious and maternal in Daemon. I bet the dragons think they're all weird.
I like the idea that Daemon is both Rhaenerya's greatest strength and biggest weakness. As a warrior, he's best of the best and the only potential threat to Aemond. But politically, he's ruining her
I like when the episode is showing Rhaenyra being a polítician but sucking in armies/tactics Meanwhile Daemon is raising an army and sucks at polítics all by showing BOTH in council and with the chimney thinking about the fire 👍👍👍
@@carlosoramasramos8911 gee almost like it's a poltiical war and not a political wine tasting contest. FFS they are the only ones recognizing the gravity of the situation. The Greens need political legitimacy. That's why Otto pursues it. It's not because he's a fucking empath, or womanly, or a nice guy. It's because he's pursuing war by other means, while Rhaenyra allows it. And every second that Rhaenyra refuses to pursue violent victory is another second that the Greens spend putting birds in hand that would otherwise be in the bush.
Also if you watch one of the scenes with Alice and daemon, where Simon interrupts them, Alice stares at daemon, and walks like she will leave the room, then disappears behind Simon in the shot, and never exits the other side of Simon. There's nowhere else for her to go. To reach the exit she would have to emerge on the other side of Simon, but she never does. Super subtle, and I loved it
Jaime Lannister managed to maneuver the Brackens and Blackwoods far more effectively than Daemon managed. He's not exactly known for his patience or wits.
@@alantyndall85 the funny thing is, Jaime gives I think his Blackwood hostage basically the same advice as Daemon - do war crimes to win, like my dad would
@@niraisatsana It is in the books. It is part of the aftermath of the Seige of Riverrun. Jaime Lannister in books and show was sent to the Riverlands to get Blackfish to surrender Riverrun. The Frey have been incompetently unable to take it. Jaime threatened and released Edmure Tully and he ordered his men to surrender. Jaime Lannister after that was sent to deal with the Blackwoods. After the Red Wedding, most of the Riverlands had sworn to Kingslanding. But the Blackwoods wouldn’t. Tywin Lannister empowered the Brackens to fight against them and it developed into what was called in the books The Siege of Ravenhall, with the Brackens surrounding the Blackwoods who were being starved out. Jaime Lannister shows up and just negotiated an end to it. The Brackens wanted a bunch of land and concessions. Jaime cut it down to what the Blackwoods would agree to. He arranged that the Blackwoods surrender was directly to Tommen, because they would die before surrendering to the Brackens . He demanded a hostage from each House to live in Kingslanding as page and lady in waiting in order to ensure both houses good behavior. Jaime learns a bunch about the history of this region and show’s talent in political maneuvering. There is a theory that these two hostages may one day marry and end the Bracken Blackwood feud.
At that pt, Jaime had lost his hand, was bitter abt his Dad's passing and his Brother's part in it. And most of all, hating Cersei and his own legacy. So, he focused on his peace of mind and promise to Catelyn in the remaining war effort - to bring the Brackens and Blackwoods under the throne. He had to rely on his wit and others bravery as his own was limited by his right stump.
If this season has taught me one thing it´s that this fan base have zero patience and apparently dont appreciate their hot baddie having an inner conflict
@@Anvil35yes because it’s rushed and boring at the same time. The only action comes from battles, while we got hours of empty and shallow and poorly written dialogue. Did you guys even watch the first seasons of got? Or the first 2? Nearly zero battles but you couldn’t keep your eyes away from the screen.
@@belablanck The term "Character assasination" along with "Bad writing" and "Team black bias" have become annoying substitutes for "Thing in dragon show I dont like"
GRRM needs to stop writing blog posts and start writing pages. It's frankly ridiculous for him to have a rant about sticking to canon that will be explained in THREE unreleased books, none of which have release dates 😂
I like the way Rhaenyra is shown. She knows she has a shot against Vhagar. She knows she really shouldn't do that because it's like 70% chance of dying. She also knows she kinda has to do it because 30% success is a bit better than 0% success.
@@leebarbs7176 Its such a clown show of a choice. Lets give randoms nuclear weapons, because I dont want to risk the lives of my relatives to claim dragons. BUT i am 100% willing to risk everyones life by trying to fight for my claim anyway. Its just brain rot lmao these writers. Also about Vhagar, its like Daenerys and Euron's fleet, they kinda forgot about Vhagar until mid season 2 even though she one shot a small dragon with his rider, Episode 5 comes, "we have no answer for Vhagar".
@@ragetemplar5104Vhagar was defending King's Landing.. it wasn't obvious it would be at Rook's Rest. If it was obvious then Aemond and Chisten wouldn't have laid that trap in the first place. Calm down
she's not just a "random mysterious woman", my first thought on seeing her was that she was a "generic targ woman" which i think fits into how Daemon views his heritage and then the identity twist was v perfect in that context
I think that perhaps the reason that Corlys doesn't talk about going to Asshai is because it's actually just a relatively normal place. The reason that there is so much mystique about it is because it's so far. It's like how people talked about the Far East or India before they had regular contact. Mysaria is actually from Yi Ti too and she doesn't doesn't talk about that part of the world either, and one would think she would if it harboured all this untapped magical potential.
Asshai is exactly like people say it is, no sunlight and eerily quiet. People like Melisandre and Quaithe definitely speak seriously about it. Corlys likely didn't even step foot in Stygiai itself, having sighted what he said was Alyssa Farman's ship.
I love these 2-3 hour breakdowns of the episodes. Makes me enjoy the same episodes I just finished watching all over again because you show things I missed or forgot about. Keep up the great work.
@@iliaponomarev1624I don't think he ever cheated on her. But she did die very young. Lots of time for Balon to find physical comfort. He never even remarried.
@@jessjess23brooks89 isn't his bastard literally older than Daemon? Wouldn't he, in any case, have him before of his marriage? Bc after her death looks impossible
I was watching this with my brother and at that scene I said, "oh no, she didn't know? :(" and my brother was like, "well, yeah? she doesn't get texts. 🙄"
@@mischr13 My heart really hurt for her in that moment. It reminded me of Sansa learning of her mother and brother's death in relative isolation in King's Landing.
the Criston moment of this episode was actually intriguing for his character development, turning him from a cartoonish unlikable person to someone with relatable vulnerability... He seems to have given up on any chance of salvation after witnessing the horror of a nuclear (dragon) war and truly realizing how horrifying this whole conflict can be with himself in the center of all. He might even be somewhat genuine in thinking he is sparing Alicent from the horror -- sparing, not protecting, a passive and helpless act. But the truth is even he himself does not seem to have the courage to face the horror, and he is dealing with it only with passivity and escapism. He is just letting himself slipping into the role of a kingmaker now, after all what is the point even trying not to be?
its pretty clear that the show's creators had no intention of the dragon pit scene being interpreted as "Rhaenys kills hundreds of common people" so i don't think interpreting the show through the lense of "the small folk are angry at Melys" is useful
It's very clear the showrunners want to show "woman good, man bad" rather than any nuanced take on the (many, many, many) downsides of patriarchy. They already did nuance in the first half of GoT, why paint a mural with a brush when it's so much easier to just dump it on straight from the bucket?
They're clearly dropping an easter egg that it's NOT necessary to have Targ or Valyrian blood to ride a dragon. Jace basically says sarcastically "well we/Valyrians would say that wouldn't we"
@@leebarbs7176 Disagree, his wording is specific in its scepticism of Targ exceptionalism Also in the lore it's speculated that there were dragonriders before Valyria so it can't be a Valyrian specific thing if that's the case
@@Red1Green2Blue3Well, counterpoint, there's no direct example in the books of a non-Targ riding a dragon... Possible? Sure, anythings possible, but it's certainly not a theory with much evidence lore-wise.
@@leebarbs7176 There's not, which is why I said it was an Easter Egg that was implying that. Also Nettles in the books has no confirmed Targ ancestor and she's a dragonrider
The common folk shouting and talking about the dragon head being a black omen was a cool angle. If I’m a regular person and see a *fucking dragons head* going through the streets when the basically never die I’m freaking out
I don't think Rhaenyra is trying to get rid of Alfred at all. Rather I think after her reflection she believes that she needs to be able to trust her advisors, and for that to be possible they need to trust her. So what she's doing is trying to show them that she trusts them, by trusting the most outspoken critic with such an important mission and that she trusts his loyalty. She also is showing here, that she is not resentful over being criticised and she is willing to listen, and let her counsil actually counsil her. She is showing that despite her frustration with him at times, she appreciates him. All while trying to gather incredibly valuable information and showing that she's ready to act, she's not gonna be passive and put them in danger anymore, she really is planning to rally the men necessary to win this war.
2:23:24 that white streak is actually called white-forelock poliosis (or a “Mallen streak”). It’s a form of localized demelanization (no color) similar to vitiligo that takes place on areas where hair is growing. Unlike vitiligo it doesn’t move, and typically stays the same size from birth to death, with the hair and skin in the affected area being entirely white in color. Good video 10/10, i just like giving facts (but actually this is the perfect thing to listen to at work as I’m doing boring data entry, pls keep making these)
it’s interesting the respect with which Mysaria is given by the goldcloak in this episode even after her believed death, alluding to the wider held respect of her in Kings Landing. It seems she is far more respected generally than many of the royal women in the show so far.
I don't know what Alisant was expecting tbh. The whole of Eagons claim comes from the fact he's a man - if they appointed her queen regent it would undermine Aegon's claim. Not to mention everyone in that council was against a woman ruling in the first place
I think we’re supposed to believe that when Meleys burst through the floor, the common people who were standing there were just kinda safely yeeted away…
1:15:05 I get the impression the show runners are avoiding mentioning that 'Beast Beneath the Boards' scene. Its the one very obvious mistep the show has taken. Didnt make sense for the character, ruined what I think was a very important moment for Aegon's character and introduction to Sunfyre, forced them to use tortured logic as an explanation for why Meleys didnt just end the war immediately etc. Nothing worked and it undercuts all the talk of needless casualties from the Blacks. Always had the sense some exec demanded it early on because 'we need a badass scene' and the writers didnt get enough passes to make it fit in.
I wonder if higher ups in HBO pressured them into adding more 'action' into the episode... I know the showrunners said they did it to 'look cool', but they're hardly going to say 'yeah, we were forced to add that scene, we didn't want it' on tv.
it makes sense to me that dany can control all without riding them because they like hatched and bonded to her at their birth. all the available dragons on dragonstone aren't bonded to anyone who could control them and it doesn't seem like anyone has been in the position to bond with more than one dragon at the same time.
She specifically rides Drogon as hers, but Rheagal and Viserion also obeying her is very unusual- they could be obeying Drogon, who is essentially "big brother:"
17:08 Vhagar and Meleys were the dragons of Viserys and Daemon's parents, who were said to be very much in love, and it sure didn't stop Vhagar from killing Meleys. I feel like Vermithor and Silverwing have a tighter bond though, since their riders were married for such a long time.
I think the dragons are very much like lizards where they dont care about their family much at all. Keep in mind these are the same creatures that you can just go up to and dig their eggs out of that hot mass they lay them in and walk away with them.
@@MindAndMyth Nah, they're definitely shown to have emotion and care - at least about their riders. Examples: Vhagar didn't want to kill Laena, Sunfyre was happy to see aegon, sunfyre prioritized saving aegon during their fall, Meleys had an apologetic look towards Rhaenys as she was dying - etc. Definitely not emotionless beasts.
@cantfindaname123421 no one here said they're emotionless beasts. He's talking about them being lizard- like with respect to their apathy towards removal of their progeny, and not the magical partnership with dragonlords Great examples but you're totally off topic
Thanks Shift for all the content over the years. I've always been a huge fan. My question is do you read superchats after streams? I sent a few and it didn't get read which is not a problem. Its a great thing to put limits up and boundaries for your own sanity. I imagine all of us fans can be very overwhelming. I hope you get all the support you need. You have been a pillar of this fan base!
The stream is “no spoilers” - so if there are obvious spoilers he won’t cover them. maybe just unlucky this time otherwise? are you superchatting non-spoiler super chats?
Yeah you know people can open up superchats for a few minutes then close them so they can make sure they dont get overwhelmed, if not and your chat isn't read that's just taking your money, why I personally would never ever pay for a RUclips comment to be read out
@@rileyjoh19 No spoilers, he just doesn't get to them all. Theres so many people and chats its just not possible. Streaming for hours takes alot out of you. I'm not worried about him reading chats
@@ciarandodrill3562 I really enjoy Shifts work. He has given alot of time and content to the fans. I know it is alot of work. He deserves to get paid for his time and energy just like anyone else.
I actually liked that this episode focused on ‘mommy issues.’ It emphasizes that validation + nurturance are extremely powerful-much more powerful than patriarchy would have you believe. We’re all human, so you can’t out-run or deny your need for care; it forms the bedrock of a secure sense of self, and THAT is a weapon unto itself. Idk…to me, if you try to deny that you need love, terrible things happen (Aegon + Aemond). It’s a blind spot of patriarchy that leads to a ton of vi0lence, + HoTD is *nailing* that it affects men and women equally. We often talk about Nyra + Allicent being casualties of patriarchy, but imo, so is Daemon. Maybe cheesy to say, but expecting men like Daemon to be one-dimensional characters who only crave power (like Viserys + Nyra do) + never giving him the benefit of the doubt is kinda f’d + short-sighted. The man has feelingssss. We all do. Anyways, loved that part.
Alicent reminds me of those conservative women who vote against women's rights and get pikachu faces when they realize those restrictions apply to them as well, was sad to see her at the council
Usurping the throne, starting a war that will cause thousands of horrifying deaths by dragonfire, starvation and pestilence: I sleep. Experiencing a microaggression: I am literally having a panic attack right now.
I mean she ended her friendship with Rhaenyra because she was having good sex and Allicent wasn’t, and instead of thinking “I deserve that too” she thought “She should be just as miserable as I am.”
@@rikzz0r I'm not sure if Aemond really "loves" Helaena. It's a nice little fan theory but I don't think that they are romantically involved (neither in the show nor in the books). I mean, yes, he defends her when Aegon complains about having to marry her, but in fact, he simply states, the she is their (true born) sister and he would perform his "duty".That doesn't really sound like love to me. Aemonds is simply 1000% Team Green, I'm afraid :D
Daemon is going through a midlife crisis. I think he only really wants to be king because of what he perceives the title to be. He thinks he needs to sit on the iron throne to have the glory and respect but he really already has a lot of respect and fear of the people of Westeros.
@@zuvaseven For real he was better suited for battle and Viserys better for ruling even though he hated the pressure, too. They had a good thing going but Daemon messed it up because he felt like nobody respected him.
Like Aegon, he really just wants approval and adoration. All his life Daemon was a rebel, rogue, being told that his way of life was not what was approved of.
Aegon and Aemond are mirror versions of Viserys and Daemon only they didn't have solid upbringings because Viserys got sick and Alicent was a deadbeat mother
also i've really enjoyed the aspect of knowing whats reported in the book as historical fact and seeing how they do things. the idea of history being written by the victors and very much the patriarchy as a whole writing things. of course they take every opportunity to disparage alicent and rhaenyra. thats how patriarchy be.
as someone who hasnt read the books but has watched enough youtube content on ASOIAF that I like to think I have a nice understanding of the world, I'm finding all this Harrenhal/Weirwood dream stuff so interesting :D they're really not holding back on how weird that shit can get
Respectfully - how would you know? 😂😂 In the last video he mentioned how sleeping on a weirwood stump gave Jaime crazy dreams but if I asked you what he dreamt about you’d have no idea, surely? I’m not trying to be a snob but honestly you really should read the books. I promise they’re better than watching people summarise them on RUclips.
@@infinitesquarezyou're totally right and I've had the books on my bedside table for some time but I've never got round to it 😅 but you totally have a valid point. I should probably stop commenting and start reading 🤣
@@infinitesquarez You can understand the world of ASOIAF without remembering/knowing everything that happened in the books. That’s also what the vids are for 😭
I thought the reason why Targaryens ride dragons is because they are the power of their house and they can’t risk rivals gaining control. I thought the reason Laena and Laenor got dragons was because they were seen as Targaryen enough. Isn’t that why the Targaryens were mad at Elissa Farman because if those eggs hatched and bonded to non Targaryen riders they would have rivals? Idk I just thought that dragon blood wasn’t actually a thing that mattered just something the Targaryens said to consolidate the giant nuclear lizards
Yeah it's why the Targs are so incestuous for exactly that reason - the Velaryons are one of very few other Valyrian houses though who are also the richest by far - the partnership made sense as its between the two most powerful & also Valyrian houses.
Leana and Leanor have a Targaryen mother so they are part of a family tree. The dragonseeds are proof one needs Targaryen blood to ride a dragon. Even Brown Benn Plumm of the Second Sons seems to be liked by Dany's dragons, which he attributes to a distant Targaryen ancestor. Quentyn Martell fatally tries to control Rheagal because he has Daenerys Targaryen (the earlier princess) ancestry.
There are subtle hints in Fire and Blood that Targaryen or even Valyrian blood may not be needed to ride a dragon. But house Targaryen definitely believes that it's needed.
I think it’s also interesting to note how Daemon made that comment to Alys about how “you don’t want Aemond one-eye to rule you b/c he’s a monster” and she points out that she’s heard the SAME THING about him, then we find out he’s committing war crimes against the innocent civilians…its shows how similar Daemon and Aemond are-even to the point where their names have the SAME letters…(note the “pig Latin” like similarity of their names). He’s more like Aemond than he wants to believe…
I love how Alicent wants to rule but her being a women and that actually pisses her off 😂 she keeps getting a taste of her medicine and kristen cole starting to have a reality check the throne has so much power like it calls ppl lure them to it even Alicent has trouble resisting it
and why she wants to rule LOL is dumb ? she is not even half of the wits of OTTO she wants to be Rhaenyra 2 by doing nothing and making bad actions ? xD
Nooooo. Poor Cheese dog. I think he is just a loyal dog grieving his master. But he is a trained rat catcher and has been surviving I think eating rats. I am just hoping he gets adopted before this season ends.
Larys does make a great point that it would not be a good look to elevate a woman to queen regent while they fight a war over a woman's claim to the throne.
I think it's possible that Laena's vision isn't controlled by Alys. Her appearance seems to push Daemon to legitimately self-check himself. Her mentioning him to look at their daughter is poignant if the rumours that Rhae will be Nettles in the show since Daemon relationship with Nettles is one of his (very few) redeeming qualities in the book. Also, I think the season will end with The Seeds riding their dragons, especially Rhae with Sheep stealer. Season one ended with Vermithor tease, this season will probably wants to end on another Dragons tease.
@@DibsEquipped You say that, as if everyone is cool with Daemon and Rhaenyra's relationship. I always thought that was creepy. So the line was crossed miles ago.
@thegreatpage5912 I thought that they were "yes and"-ing you and meant how Daemon himself wasn't disturbed by the first one, but that the dream of all things was what crossed his own comfort line lol (Obviously I don't know what tone they meant, but it works)
Sec with your mom is still gross. Just because Daemon is married to his niece doesn’t excuse how messed up a dream where he’s screwing his mom is suddenly cool. It’s pure shock value and doesn’t improve the plot and is disgusting. Nothing gained
Way I saw it is as, Deamon has mommy issues inside his head, and has some memory of a woman that he considers beautiful, but cant exactly remember as his mom. So she always reaffirms him, and he thinks as ideal Wifu for him. But yeah in the end she spills the beans.
I took that comment from Alicent (“What Aemond has somehow become”) to be more directed at how Criston trained him.. I think we got some slight emphasis on this in S1 as well, showing that Criston was training Aemond a bit ..harshly. But Alicent was definitely not a great parent to him, either.
58:40 I think, metaphorically, Criston is the dog in this scene. We think "Oh that poor dog. He's so loyal, even after he's been kicked and the owner was a terrible person." Criston has been constantly used and abused. He didn't start out being a horrible murderer. These people influenced him and helped him become this by not giving him much choice in the matter.
Can we stop with the dog kicking thing? Its very clear that cheese kicked the dog so it runs away. If they get caught, the dog would have been killed with them. The same reason why Arya had to throw rocks at Nymeria otherwise the wolf wouldnt have left her.
@Cruelrevolter If it happens it will be at the end of the series lol it's after the war is over and the last major 'event' before Fire & Blood finishes
There's a film by ingmar bergman called hour of the wolf. It's about an artist who lives on an isolated island and goes mad with insomnia and visions of indescript horrors and pathological sexuality. In the film the hour of the wolf is described as the hour before dawn, when the most people die and the most children are born
Slight correction; the doctrine of exceptionalism was a propagandistic effort to make people accept Targaryen incest but not specifically to maintain the bloodline, Jahaerys and his sister went rogue as tweens and got married very strongly in spite of his family’s and council’s wishes Keep in mind that jahaerys’ father caught insane heat for his own incest, is mother remembers and did not want to repeat. It was barely tolerated when Aegon I rolled up with sister wives and sibling marriage was also reminiscent of Maegor
They'd have to be discreet with that so that the greens don't start killing the seeds to prevent more dragonriders on black side. But yea, the girl working at the pub should know a lot of people and rumors to find the seeds. Maybe the rumors to spread will be about the royals gorging on expensive foods every evening, or something similar to piss off the hangry smallfolk and point their anger at the nobles.
I can't really keep focus when Daemon & Rivers are talking to each other, not sure why. I love the spooky castle & Old God's stuff, but.... It's the only part that took me out of it.
Imagine being the Tullys or Starks getting swindled at the Twins river crossing for hundreds of years and not finding an alternative route, or building another bridge ahead of time before you desperately need to get somewhere.
Man, they are really making Simon Strong so dang likable.
@jessjess23brooks89 He's muthafuking S(e/i)r Simon, you can't dislike the guy. He knows good food is important. He keeps a black goat of death. He don't give an f about the King Dot Dot Dot Consort or his dragon and walks in on his highs to remind him he was going to talk to muppets. Simon just doesn't give any fs.
@@gleann_cuilinndude this is not good enough of a spoiler warning by the time I read the word I'd read enough of the sentence to put it together 😢
Just an old fart
@@gleann_cuilinnput more spaces before your spoilers dude
Dont trust him...... he should have explained what was up with this witch bastard running around. Can he see her?...
aegon calling out for his mum was so sad i wasn't prepared
Did not expect to turn around & feel crazy bad for Aegon now lol
Especially "mummy" like a child. I hate that they made me feel feelings for him two episodes in a row.
i was already crying, seeing Alicent touch him for the first time with affection, then the “mummy” absolutely destroyed me
@@manaash4316 It's sad because he's still a "kid" by our standards. He's a king that's married and has children but he's only about 18 (which yes would make him legally an adult but barely) and looks even younger. Funny because in real life Tom Glynn-Carney is 29 haha.
EDIT: In the scene when Aegon and Alicent are in the carriage on their way to the coronation, he says to her "My father had 20 years to name me his heir and never did." So Aegon is 20 so not a kid at all. But he still looks and acts young.
He didn't want to be king. He only embraced it when he was shown acceptance by the commons, acceptance he felt he didn't receive from Viserys.
I really like the phrase "The traitor dragon Meleys!"
How dare that dragon not declare for the right monarch!
The gods put Aegon on the throne, and the wicked beast didn't heed their divine words
@@Warriorten10but… I thought dragons were gods
This scene was funny to me.
Definitely implies dragons have free will and decision making abilities
but also the dragon is just meat
Daemon: *Tells willlem Blackwood to do some menace shit*
Blackwoods: *Terrorizes the brackens and riverlords*
Daemon: How could you do this?……With my banner!
He probably didn’t think they’d parade his banners around
That's the thing from "The Prince", Daemon read it apparently...
Daemon specifically told them that the crown can’t be seen carrying out atrocities, etc.
The Blackwoods ignored his instructions.
@@LeftJoysticklol 1000% they did NOT understand the assignment
@@LeftJoystick “that’s not going to stop me I can’t read”
I absolutely loved seeing Jace come into his own. He’s really showing his capabilities as a diplomat and a future leader after struggling with feelings of inadequacy as a kid. Great character arc.
Then he gets drowned
@@jefftaylor8644 Why the fuck would you comment spoilers
@@j4ouurrlol
Jace out here serving face!
@@jefftaylor8644 I knew someone would say it. lol, the first comment.
War: literally happening
Daemon: "Sure, I'll help you build the house, I guess I have time. Does the face above my bed has to cry blood btw?"
Like Mr. Incredible... "Sure, I've got time."
He's doing that to pass the time.
I swear everytime I see Daemon doing side quests id be like bruh for real?😂
that last bit was written and translated by aegon
you can't declare a war for a kingdom teir title without enough prestige, the harrenhall event will help as well as level up his stewardship.
I absolutely love that Simon Strong is using the war as an excuse to basically reconstruct Harrenhal's economy. His best case scenario is that the war fizzles out with no battles near Harrenhal, but during the war he managed to renovate his house and give the entire county a job.
“In democracy you can vote out the government…. I’ve heard” 😂😂😂 nicely put😂😂😂
The less we vote the less power it has
@@BurgermanForever-nh2vp your votes are chosen for you
@@BurgermanForever-nh2vp When your mummy gives the choice between McDonalds or Burger King that's what it means to be making big boy decisions for yourself
He's heard wrong.
Well it’s not like we would know
7:47 I was always under the impression that Dany controlling 3 dragons was an extremely special case. Since she hatched them all and was the only Targ around to bond to. She is “The Mother of Dragons” something that has never been seen before
Also triplets
Those 3 dragons should've been ridden by Dany, Jon and crazy Viserys ;(
She's also the prince that was promised, without her dragons humanity wouldn't have survived so it's understandable that she was fire resistant and had great control of her dragons
Given the first three children, a can't wait to see Daeron being just a semi-normal teenager who avoids the rest of his family.
Wanna see him come in and look at his family and just say “holy shit, these guys are crazy”
Yeah, he’s the “boarding school kid” that only comes around at Christmas
@@johansmallberries9874 not even lmao remember Viserys´ last meal with his "entire family save Rhaenys" haha however, Daeron wasn´t even mentioned.. suggesting he has never been part of his family - i.e., only been in Oldtown haha
I feel like he could get along with Helaena, it seems to me like she just experiences the world differently than everyone else but is otherwise a nice normal girl tbf. Certainly she has no love for Aegon and I imagine she wouldn't for Aemond, so maybe they'd agree that those two are mad and entirely too violent.
Imagine if he’s upset he wasn’t close to his family growing up before being exposed to them and realizing he dodged the metaphorical arrow
Aegon: Mommy... :(
Daemon: Mommy!! ;)
I like how they made Aegon so unlikeable and yet you cant help but feel sorry for the way things happened
Alicent was having a straight up panic attack at the council. It was tough to watch but it was a great depiction of how it can feel.
It's also a great call back to her conversation with Rhaenys. "You have a window into power." And now the walls are closing in and that window has shut.
I was absolutely waiting for her to lose her gd mind & start yelling in that scene lol
@@leebarbs7176 Same! I was damn sure that she was about to have a full-on meltdown
Is that what an actual panic attack is like? I’m asking seriously not being sarcastic
I actually really liked that bc people often doesn't know panic attacks can be as quiet as for someone to not move or make a sound the way you can be next to them and not notice they're having one, and that's also thanks to great majority of its representation being about the "loud" ones, like Helaena's with the small folk, so it was nice for once to see one of the quiet ones.
Aegon sitting in the same bed as his father was when he was dying is a perfect visual lesson for Allicent
and the fact her character was helping Jaehaerys 1 and Viserys 1 before they deaths is insane
she dont care from her own son, she is not more the good person by far
Otto was the real hero. He tried to save the realm from Daemon. Now it is known after Ep5.
He even has similar bandages like old Vizzy on his last years
It’s interesting that men are mostly inconsequential to Daemon, his subconscious is dominated by women.
@@johansmallberries9874 Good observation !!!
Love this observation, great point. Although I do hope secretly that we get the final boss of harrenhal visions, in a scene with Viserys and Daemon
Definitely mummy issues!
Really enjoyed the scene with Alicent as she begins to panic and settle into the bed she had made. The slow push in with the camera and the fading of sounds and people around her was like someone silently drowning. Very powerful.
It felt so real and relatable. Heard her breathing? 😶🌫️
I feel that it was also her fully coming to terms that Aemond tried to kill Aegon at Rook's Rest.
Her realising how much Aemond, with little experience, was so prepared to be regent probably led her to the conclusion that he was always planning to usurpe Aegon right under her nose.
@@rahuldhargalkar yes! The labored, inconsistent breathes. Spot on. This cast is just an ocean of talent. And props to the director for that shot, the sound crew, everyone. Phenomenal job by all involved.
Love how Jace is calling out Targaryen dragonlord supremacy propaganda lol
I found it ironic but lovely writing that although Jace is mocking the idea of purebred Targaryens having a monopoly on dragon riding, he's unintentionally possibly risking status in in the eyes of commoners. If "anyone" can ride a dragon, what will people think?
@@jackwalker4957Him questioning the supremacy of particular bloodlines, ones carefully guarded and cultivated, also challenges the perceived illegitimacy of bastards, two topics in conflict within himself.
@@hillbillypowpow that’s so wonderful - I hadn’t considered that angle. I wonder then if his need to emulate the action of Daemon comes partly from the need to prove his own legitimacy as a Targ to the “legitimate” Targs? He’s just seen Rheanys sacrifice herself in literal Fire & Blood - maybe he feels as if joining in on the action will “prove” himself.
Yo when Alys walks past Simon, he sort of double takes and glances at her and then when she walks behind him she completely disappears into thin air.
Timestamp?
@@DatBoiTag It's around 43 minutes in the episode when Simon Strong brings Daemon a message, she walks behind Simon. I don't think she disappears, it looks like she just stands directly behind Simon. And Simon sees her, so doesn't make much sense she'd be a hallucination.
Alys is a skinwalker confirmed.
-28.25 in the timeline of the show.
@@DanteHellDrivestill would
If I were Daemon, I'd just ask for a different bed at this point
Nah that bed rocks.
I love the shocked reactions to Daemon having sex with his mother as if he isn't already married to his niece 😂
Well, even Targs seem to consider child-parent marriages inappropriate.
Otherwise there was no reason to not marry Viserys to Rhaenyra after Aemma died.
@@iliaponomarev1624I mean the Targaryens didn’t usually marry uncles to nieces either, the only person who tried to do that before Daemon was Maegor the Cruel, and he wasn’t exactly a regular Targaryen king. The point is that in general the Targaryens shied away from certain kinds of marriage but tended to place their notions of blood purity before morality (the rest of the seven kingdoms already reviled sibling marriages as an abomination and there was at various points a great deal of tension over it) and especially power hungry Targs like Maegor and Daemon were willing to bend and break what rules were in place to suit them
@@laurenbastin8849 I tend to think Targaryens just marry their closest single female relative that isn't their mother or daughter.
It's just likely a sister or a cousin and rarely a niece.
Too much, even for a Targaryen *gags*
@@blaubeer8039 It's not even about morality. Obviously they don't care about that. What they will care about is an overwhelming majority of disfigured, diseased, and unviable babies being born. Big difference between two random sets of DNA from the same sources trying to make babies, and and two sets of DNA where half of it matches 1 to 1.
“Was the duck not to your liking, your grace?” ngl, was really afraid we were gonna see that Daemon was actually screwing his dinner 😬
It shocks me how many people I’ve seen complaining about this season being slow. I think it’s been phenomenal. I love how granular it’s been in each plot and character development. Who needs battles when the scene-by-scene writing is this good, when so much care is being put into character setup and arc structure?
Hot take, I suppose, but I’m more engaged with Daemon’s haunted Harrenhal hijinks than I’ve been with his character in the entire rest of the show. It’s so much more fun seeing this character presented with a challenge like this, something that is so persistently humbling him, and the visions themselves are giving appreciated insights into what’s going on in his head. I love it when arrogant characters bite off more than they can chew and have to deal with the consequences.
I would say the only slow episode was this one, but I feel it was just a tool to set up future episodes
Didn't Alyssa take her babies Viserys and Daemon flying on Melyse? The death of that dragon might trigger something subconscious and maternal in Daemon. I bet the dragons think they're all weird.
I think Viserys and Daemon have a convo on who was moms favorite in S1 as well
Yeah, she died giving birth to her 3rd child who also died. But yes, she rode both of them on her dragon Meleyse
@@catchacollapsingstarI thought she was the one that got drunk and broke her neck horse racing.
@@alanfulcher460 Different sister. Alyssa was like the third wildest sister.
@@alanfulcher460 That was Vissera , who tried to seduce Baelon after Alyssa died.
I like the idea that Daemon is both Rhaenerya's greatest strength and biggest weakness.
As a warrior, he's best of the best and the only potential threat to Aemond. But politically, he's ruining her
Kinda like Christon Cole
These two should be very away from political power, but are pretty good militarily speaking
I like when the episode is showing Rhaenyra being a polítician but sucking in armies/tactics
Meanwhile Daemon is raising an army and sucks at polítics all by showing BOTH in council and with the chimney thinking about the fire
👍👍👍
@@carlosoramasramos8911 gee almost like it's a poltiical war and not a political wine tasting contest. FFS they are the only ones recognizing the gravity of the situation. The Greens need political legitimacy. That's why Otto pursues it. It's not because he's a fucking empath, or womanly, or a nice guy. It's because he's pursuing war by other means, while Rhaenyra allows it. And every second that Rhaenyra refuses to pursue violent victory is another second that the Greens spend putting birds in hand that would otherwise be in the bush.
@@gezenews I think your rant went a little bit off the rails there for a sec, no need to take it that seriously
@@gezenewswe see this episode that the Blacks are going to spread propaganda in Kings Landing
Also if you watch one of the scenes with Alice and daemon, where Simon interrupts them, Alice stares at daemon, and walks like she will leave the room, then disappears behind Simon in the shot, and never exits the other side of Simon. There's nowhere else for her to go. To reach the exit she would have to emerge on the other side of Simon, but she never does. Super subtle, and I loved it
Ah, someone mentioned it, glad someone else caught it :0
I didn't quite register this amount of detail, but definitely noticed strange movements there and her disappearance. Sooo subtle and great
somebody need to drag daemon out of harrenhal cause wtf was that
and him being unintentionally funny with the brackens was gold
Jaime Lannister managed to maneuver the Brackens and Blackwoods far more effectively than Daemon managed. He's not exactly known for his patience or wits.
don’t wanna bother anyone but can anyone remind me what did jaime do? i don’t remember brackens and blackwoods in got at all
@@niraisatsana It’s in In A Feast for Crows, I think the show just kept the siege of Riverrun.
@@alantyndall85 the funny thing is, Jaime gives I think his Blackwood hostage basically the same advice as Daemon - do war crimes to win, like my dad would
@@niraisatsana It is in the books. It is part of the aftermath of the Seige of Riverrun. Jaime Lannister in books and show was sent to the Riverlands to get Blackfish to surrender Riverrun. The Frey have been incompetently unable to take it. Jaime threatened and released Edmure Tully and he ordered his men to surrender. Jaime Lannister after that was sent to deal with the Blackwoods.
After the Red Wedding, most of the Riverlands had sworn to Kingslanding. But the Blackwoods wouldn’t. Tywin Lannister empowered the Brackens to fight against them and it developed into what was called in the books The Siege of Ravenhall, with the Brackens surrounding the Blackwoods who were being starved out. Jaime Lannister shows up and just negotiated an end to it. The Brackens wanted a bunch of land and concessions. Jaime cut it down to what the Blackwoods would agree to. He arranged that the Blackwoods surrender was directly to Tommen, because they would die before surrendering to the Brackens . He demanded a hostage from each House to live in Kingslanding as page and lady in waiting in order to ensure both houses good behavior. Jaime learns a bunch about the history of this region and show’s talent in political maneuvering.
There is a theory that these two hostages may one day marry and end the Bracken Blackwood feud.
At that pt, Jaime had lost his hand, was bitter abt his Dad's passing and his Brother's part in it. And most of all, hating Cersei and his own legacy. So, he focused on his peace of mind and promise to Catelyn in the remaining war effort - to bring the Brackens and Blackwoods under the throne. He had to rely on his wit and others bravery as his own was limited by his right stump.
If this season has taught me one thing it´s that this fan base have zero patience and apparently dont appreciate their hot baddie having an inner conflict
If they wrapped up HOTD this season the EXACT same crowd will complain that they rushed it.
Complaining just for the sake of it either way
@@Anvil35yes because it’s rushed and boring at the same time. The only action comes from battles, while we got hours of empty and shallow and poorly written dialogue. Did you guys even watch the first seasons of got? Or the first 2? Nearly zero battles but you couldn’t keep your eyes away from the screen.
It is also not ''character assassination'', it is not his fault that the weirwood gives him weird visions
@@belablanck The term "Character assasination" along with "Bad writing" and "Team black bias" have become annoying substitutes for "Thing in dragon show I dont like"
@@Alexander-kc8oqpretty much
Ser Simon walking in on Daemon tripping balls, having to deliver a message, is a 90‘s sitcom moment at this point.
GRRM needs to stop writing blog posts and start writing pages. It's frankly ridiculous for him to have a rant about sticking to canon that will be explained in THREE unreleased books, none of which have release dates 😂
THIS. santa needs to stop sitting with his thumb up his bum and FINISH YOUR FUCKING STORY!!!!!
What part was he complaining about exactly?
I think he would earn alot if he released just one book during all this hype for his franchise.
@@ikram-258 blood and cheese, Maelor's absence, dragons having 4 feet, and then some
@@sorasorisora i agree with him when it comes to blood and cheese, i also didn't like mealor's absence
I like the way Rhaenyra is shown. She knows she has a shot against Vhagar. She knows she really shouldn't do that because it's like 70% chance of dying. She also knows she kinda has to do it because 30% success is a bit better than 0% success.
Once again Rhaenys shoulda bounced with Daemon to go cancel Vhagar earlier this season lol throw in Syrax for good measure as backup...
@@leebarbs7176that really wasn't a great time to do it, Rhaenys and Meleys really needed to rest and eat something. Next morning maybe.
@@leebarbs7176A scorpion bolt in daemon's arse
@@leebarbs7176 Its such a clown show of a choice. Lets give randoms nuclear weapons, because I dont want to risk the lives of my relatives to claim dragons. BUT i am 100% willing to risk everyones life by trying to fight for my claim anyway. Its just brain rot lmao these writers. Also about Vhagar, its like Daenerys and Euron's fleet, they kinda forgot about Vhagar until mid season 2 even though she one shot a small dragon with his rider, Episode 5 comes, "we have no answer for Vhagar".
@@ragetemplar5104Vhagar was defending King's Landing.. it wasn't obvious it would be at Rook's Rest. If it was obvious then Aemond and Chisten wouldn't have laid that trap in the first place. Calm down
she's not just a "random mysterious woman", my first thought on seeing her was that she was a "generic targ woman" which i think fits into how Daemon views his heritage and then the identity twist was v perfect in that context
When I saw clearly she's definitely not Aemma, I kinda got who she was...
@@iliaponomarev1624yeh I've watched too much GOT to fall for that one anymore
@@iliaponomarev1624 I thought Aemma first too and was like "Oh dear"... XD
At first I thought it was Daenys the Dreamer
I actually immediately thought it was his mother but then I went to think it was Aemma because I didn't want it too be true
They are never gonna address the dragonpit coronation girlboss massacre.
Its the Holdo Maneuver of HoTD
Better to pretend it never happened. Rhaenys functions better as a character that way.
@@abudgie6909 Agreed my headcanon is that Rhaenys and Meleys just escape from the back entrance of the dragonpit.
The juxtaposition of Daemon having a feast handed to him at Harrenhall vs. the people of Kings Landing starving and eating rotten food
WE WANT MEAT
Meanwhile the fat Strongs are eating like 3 or 4 different animals
Lmao i didnt see it
They mentioned Rhaena was trying to claim a dragon. Apparently quite repeatedly.
I think that perhaps the reason that Corlys doesn't talk about going to Asshai is because it's actually just a relatively normal place. The reason that there is so much mystique about it is because it's so far. It's like how people talked about the Far East or India before they had regular contact. Mysaria is actually from Yi Ti too and she doesn't doesn't talk about that part of the world either, and one would think she would if it harboured all this untapped magical potential.
Asshai does seem strange but it's deff Stygai that's the place on another level.
Asshai is exactly like people say it is, no sunlight and eerily quiet. People like Melisandre and Quaithe definitely speak seriously about it. Corlys likely didn't even step foot in Stygiai itself, having sighted what he said was Alyssa Farman's ship.
@@SantomPh That's just your head canon
@@Red1Green2Blue3lol if he had been to Stygia we would know. Would literally be the first human we know of.
@@dummbobqqqqq Who said he went to Stygia?
I love these 2-3 hour breakdowns of the episodes. Makes me enjoy the same episodes I just finished watching all over again because you show things I missed or forgot about. Keep up the great work.
Man Daemon and Viserys mom was hot as hell
Agreed, totally smash
And Balon cheated on her!
@@iliaponomarev1624I don't think he ever cheated on her. But she did die very young. Lots of time for Balon to find physical comfort. He never even remarried.
@@iliaponomarev1624 lol you have to make assumptions about Ulf’s age and the likelihood he’s telling the truth to believe that
@@jessjess23brooks89 isn't his bastard literally older than Daemon? Wouldn't he, in any case, have him before of his marriage? Bc after her death looks impossible
"Theyre just meat..."
*Spirit Bonds with The Cannibal*
Is that true?does hugh tame the cannibal?
@@LynxxMan Nah i wont spoil too much but Cannibal never has a rider. Hugh gets another dragon
@@brandonl7759 that's so badass
@@brandonl7759I can’t wait to see cannibal!
I got the strong impression that Rhaena was learning about the death of her grandmother for the first time. She looked SHOCKED.
I was watching this with my brother and at that scene I said, "oh no, she didn't know? :(" and my brother was like, "well, yeah? she doesn't get texts. 🙄"
@@mischr13 My heart really hurt for her in that moment. It reminded me of Sansa learning of her mother and brother's death in relative isolation in King's Landing.
@@peppermint23 same. the acting in this show has been so phenomenal, across the board.
the Criston moment of this episode was actually intriguing for his character development, turning him from a cartoonish unlikable person to someone with relatable vulnerability... He seems to have given up on any chance of salvation after witnessing the horror of a nuclear (dragon) war and truly realizing how horrifying this whole conflict can be with himself in the center of all. He might even be somewhat genuine in thinking he is sparing Alicent from the horror -- sparing, not protecting, a passive and helpless act. But the truth is even he himself does not seem to have the courage to face the horror, and he is dealing with it only with passivity and escapism. He is just letting himself slipping into the role of a kingmaker now, after all what is the point even trying not to be?
its pretty clear that the show's creators had no intention of the dragon pit scene being interpreted as "Rhaenys kills hundreds of common people" so i don't think interpreting the show through the lense of "the small folk are angry at Melys" is useful
It's very clear the showrunners want to show "woman good, man bad" rather than any nuanced take on the (many, many, many) downsides of patriarchy.
They already did nuance in the first half of GoT, why paint a mural with a brush when it's so much easier to just dump it on straight from the bucket?
Well thats stupid then because that's exactly what they showed in that scene
They're clearly dropping an easter egg that it's NOT necessary to have Targ or Valyrian blood to ride a dragon. Jace basically says sarcastically "well we/Valyrians would say that wouldn't we"
I think it's more that you don't need totally pure Targ blood
@@leebarbs7176 Disagree, his wording is specific in its scepticism of Targ exceptionalism
Also in the lore it's speculated that there were dragonriders before Valyria so it can't be a Valyrian specific thing if that's the case
@@Red1Green2Blue3Well, counterpoint, there's no direct example in the books of a non-Targ riding a dragon...
Possible? Sure, anythings possible, but it's certainly not a theory with much evidence lore-wise.
@@leebarbs7176 There's not, which is why I said it was an Easter Egg that was implying that.
Also Nettles in the books has no confirmed Targ ancestor and she's a dragonrider
@Red1Green2Blue3 but Nettles comes from a place where a chance of randomly having a "dragon gene" is kinda high.
The common folk shouting and talking about the dragon head being a black omen was a cool angle. If I’m a regular person and see a *fucking dragons head* going through the streets when the basically never die I’m freaking out
I don't think Rhaenyra is trying to get rid of Alfred at all. Rather I think after her reflection she believes that she needs to be able to trust her advisors, and for that to be possible they need to trust her.
So what she's doing is trying to show them that she trusts them, by trusting the most outspoken critic with such an important mission and that she trusts his loyalty. She also is showing here, that she is not resentful over being criticised and she is willing to listen, and let her counsil actually counsil her. She is showing that despite her frustration with him at times, she appreciates him.
All while trying to gather incredibly valuable information and showing that she's ready to act, she's not gonna be passive and put them in danger anymore, she really is planning to rally the men necessary to win this war.
"the logistics of long-term dragon parking...."
Sir, you are a nerdy treasure.
😁
Lady Arryn should only contribute 15.000 swords without men wielding them in response to only getting tiny dragons. That's all she promised
2:23:24 that white streak is actually called white-forelock poliosis (or a “Mallen streak”). It’s a form of localized demelanization (no color) similar to vitiligo that takes place on areas where hair is growing. Unlike vitiligo it doesn’t move, and typically stays the same size from birth to death, with the hair and skin in the affected area being entirely white in color. Good video 10/10, i just like giving facts (but actually this is the perfect thing to listen to at work as I’m doing boring data entry, pls keep making these)
This episode was very much focused on mothers/relationships with mothers & mother figures.
it’s interesting the respect with which Mysaria is given by the goldcloak in this episode even after her believed death, alluding to the wider held respect of her in Kings Landing. It seems she is far more respected generally than many of the royal women in the show so far.
GODS BE GOOD! We need the Alt Shift X HotD soundboard.
Cheese’s dog is my favorite character in the show
Yes and I’m always worried about him… poor pup.
I heard he got drunk & slapped another actor & got fired 😢😮 lol
No but seriously, I don't think we will see him again 😢
This ep was really one for the long term fans, can't imagine it exciting too many casual watchers
I don't know what Alisant was expecting tbh. The whole of Eagons claim comes from the fact he's a man - if they appointed her queen regent it would undermine Aegon's claim. Not to mention everyone in that council was against a woman ruling in the first place
Watching Alicent get "Rhaenys-ed/Rhaenyra-d" during the counsel was amazing 😂.
Get a taste of your own medicine.
Smooth brain comment. Because she wasn't aware of how unfair life is for women when she was married to a dying man as a teenager?
I think we’re supposed to believe that when Meleys burst through the floor, the common people who were standing there were just kinda safely yeeted away…
1:15:05 I get the impression the show runners are avoiding mentioning that 'Beast Beneath the Boards' scene. Its the one very obvious mistep the show has taken. Didnt make sense for the character, ruined what I think was a very important moment for Aegon's character and introduction to Sunfyre, forced them to use tortured logic as an explanation for why Meleys didnt just end the war immediately etc.
Nothing worked and it undercuts all the talk of needless casualties from the Blacks.
Always had the sense some exec demanded it early on because 'we need a badass scene' and the writers didnt get enough passes to make it fit in.
I think you may be right. It seemed out of place at the time but especially now we're hours of runtime on and it's barely been talked about
I wonder if higher ups in HBO pressured them into adding more 'action' into the episode... I know the showrunners said they did it to 'look cool', but they're hardly going to say 'yeah, we were forced to add that scene, we didn't want it' on tv.
The actors are really firing on all cylinders, bravo
it makes sense to me that dany can control all without riding them because they like hatched and bonded to her at their birth. all the available dragons on dragonstone aren't bonded to anyone who could control them and it doesn't seem like anyone has been in the position to bond with more than one dragon at the same time.
She specifically rides Drogon as hers, but Rheagal and Viserion also obeying her is very unusual- they could be obeying Drogon, who is essentially "big brother:"
@@SantomPh i mean before she's riding *any* of them she is still instructing and commanding all three.
Also, Dany breastfed her dragons. Must be something special about it.
she doesnt control all 3 of them. she barely controls drogon
They were also born using blood magic so they might be different
17:08 Vhagar and Meleys were the dragons of Viserys and Daemon's parents, who were said to be very much in love, and it sure didn't stop Vhagar from killing Meleys. I feel like Vermithor and Silverwing have a tighter bond though, since their riders were married for such a long time.
That is an interesting yet depressing factoid.
I think the dragons are very much like lizards where they dont care about their family much at all.
Keep in mind these are the same creatures that you can just go up to and dig their eggs out of that hot mass they lay them in and walk away with them.
@@MindAndMyth Nah, they're definitely shown to have emotion and care - at least about their riders. Examples: Vhagar didn't want to kill Laena, Sunfyre was happy to see aegon, sunfyre prioritized saving aegon during their fall, Meleys had an apologetic look towards Rhaenys as she was dying - etc. Definitely not emotionless beasts.
@cantfindaname123421 no one here said they're emotionless beasts.
He's talking about them being lizard- like with respect to their apathy towards removal of their progeny, and not the magical partnership with dragonlords
Great examples but you're totally off topic
That Alicent look... It was intense as hell. I really loved this one.
Thanks Shift for all the content over the years. I've always been a huge fan. My question is do you read superchats after streams? I sent a few and it didn't get read which is not a problem. Its a great thing to put limits up and boundaries for your own sanity. I imagine all of us fans can be very overwhelming. I hope you get all the support you need. You have been a pillar of this fan base!
The stream is “no spoilers” - so if there are obvious spoilers he won’t cover them. maybe just unlucky this time otherwise? are you superchatting non-spoiler super chats?
If you are, then yeah maybe he just doesn’t get to covering them
Yeah you know people can open up superchats for a few minutes then close them so they can make sure they dont get overwhelmed, if not and your chat isn't read that's just taking your money, why I personally would never ever pay for a RUclips comment to be read out
@@rileyjoh19 No spoilers, he just doesn't get to them all. Theres so many people and chats its just not possible. Streaming for hours takes alot out of you. I'm not worried about him reading chats
@@ciarandodrill3562 I really enjoy Shifts work. He has given alot of time and content to the fans. I know it is alot of work. He deserves to get paid for his time and energy just like anyone else.
I actually liked that this episode focused on ‘mommy issues.’ It emphasizes that validation + nurturance are extremely powerful-much more powerful than patriarchy would have you believe. We’re all human, so you can’t out-run or deny your need for care; it forms the bedrock of a secure sense of self, and THAT is a weapon unto itself. Idk…to me, if you try to deny that you need love, terrible things happen (Aegon + Aemond). It’s a blind spot of patriarchy that leads to a ton of vi0lence, + HoTD is *nailing* that it affects men and women equally. We often talk about Nyra + Allicent being casualties of patriarchy, but imo, so is Daemon. Maybe cheesy to say, but expecting men like Daemon to be one-dimensional characters who only crave power (like Viserys + Nyra do) + never giving him the benefit of the doubt is kinda f’d + short-sighted. The man has feelingssss. We all do. Anyways, loved that part.
Daemon obviously didnt watch Alt Shift X's step by step guide for how Dany should takeover Westeros. Shoudnt really start with warcrimes
Alicent reminds me of those conservative women who vote against women's rights and get pikachu faces when they realize those restrictions apply to them as well, was sad to see her at the council
Yeah, it was devastating when Larys went "The whole point of the succession war is that women can't rule. What are you doing?"
The "i voted for leopards eating my face party but i didn't know they were gonna eat MY face" people 😂
Judas goat
Usurping the throne, starting a war that will cause thousands of horrifying deaths by dragonfire, starvation and pestilence: I sleep.
Experiencing a microaggression: I am literally having a panic attack right now.
I mean she ended her friendship with Rhaenyra because she was having good sex and Allicent wasn’t, and instead of thinking “I deserve that too” she thought “She should be just as miserable as I am.”
My new theory: Aemond kills Helena, pushes her out of a window because she keeps saying uncomfortable things.
I agree.
He loves her, doesn't he?
That is not a new theory!
@@rikzz0r I'm not sure if Aemond really "loves" Helaena. It's a nice little fan theory but I don't think that they are romantically involved (neither in the show nor in the books). I mean, yes, he defends her when Aegon complains about having to marry her, but in fact, he simply states, the she is their (true born) sister and he would perform his "duty".That doesn't really sound like love to me. Aemonds is simply 1000% Team Green, I'm afraid :D
Daemon is going through a midlife crisis. I think he only really wants to be king because of what he perceives the title to be. He thinks he needs to sit on the iron throne to have the glory and respect but he really already has a lot of respect and fear of the people of Westeros.
Totally agree! As we’ve seen, he’d actually hate being king. He can’t even handle the smallest amount of diplomatic tasks 😂
@@zuvaseven For real he was better suited for battle and Viserys better for ruling even though he hated the pressure, too. They had a good thing going but Daemon messed it up because he felt like nobody respected him.
Like Aegon, he really just wants approval and adoration. All his life Daemon was a rebel, rogue, being told that his way of life was not what was approved of.
Aegon and Aemond are mirror versions of Viserys and Daemon only they didn't have solid upbringings because Viserys got sick and Alicent was a deadbeat mother
also i've really enjoyed the aspect of knowing whats reported in the book as historical fact and seeing how they do things. the idea of history being written by the victors and very much the patriarchy as a whole writing things.
of course they take every opportunity to disparage alicent and rhaenyra. thats how patriarchy be.
My very first thought of seeing Aegon and his burns were "Anakin" .. 😢
Don’t insult the best Jedi ever.
If only he'd had a reason to yell "LIAR!"
Aemond had the high ground
as someone who hasnt read the books but has watched enough youtube content on ASOIAF that I like to think I have a nice understanding of the world, I'm finding all this Harrenhal/Weirwood dream stuff so interesting :D they're really not holding back on how weird that shit can get
Respectfully - how would you know? 😂😂 In the last video he mentioned how sleeping on a weirwood stump gave Jaime crazy dreams but if I asked you what he dreamt about you’d have no idea, surely?
I’m not trying to be a snob but honestly you really should read the books. I promise they’re better than watching people summarise them on RUclips.
@@infinitesquarezyou're totally right and I've had the books on my bedside table for some time but I've never got round to it 😅 but you totally have a valid point. I should probably stop commenting and start reading 🤣
@@infinitesquarez You can understand the world of ASOIAF without remembering/knowing everything that happened in the books. That’s also what the vids are for 😭
I thought the reason why Targaryens ride dragons is because they are the power of their house and they can’t risk rivals gaining control. I thought the reason Laena and Laenor got dragons was because they were seen as Targaryen enough. Isn’t that why the Targaryens were mad at Elissa Farman because if those eggs hatched and bonded to non Targaryen riders they would have rivals? Idk I just thought that dragon blood wasn’t actually a thing that mattered just something the Targaryens said to consolidate the giant nuclear lizards
Yeah it's why the Targs are so incestuous for exactly that reason - the Velaryons are one of very few other Valyrian houses though who are also the richest by far - the partnership made sense as its between the two most powerful & also Valyrian houses.
I assume dragon blood is a thing, but warg blood can work as well.
Leana and Leanor have a Targaryen mother so they are part of a family tree. The dragonseeds are proof one needs Targaryen blood to ride a dragon. Even Brown Benn Plumm of the Second Sons seems to be liked by Dany's dragons, which he attributes to a distant Targaryen ancestor. Quentyn Martell fatally tries to control Rheagal because he has Daenerys Targaryen (the earlier princess) ancestry.
@@SantomPhDoes Addam of Hull have Targaryen ancestry?
There are subtle hints in Fire and Blood that Targaryen or even Valyrian blood may not be needed to ride a dragon. But house Targaryen definitely believes that it's needed.
You’re the best. I love your voice. You have the best takes on game of thrones/ HOTD content.
Thanks for being you and sticking with it
Welcome to this week’s exciting episode of “Tripping Balls in Harrenhall”!
I think it’s also interesting to note how Daemon made that comment to Alys about how “you don’t want Aemond one-eye to rule you b/c he’s a monster” and she points out that she’s heard the SAME THING about him, then we find out he’s committing war crimes against the innocent civilians…its shows how similar Daemon and Aemond are-even to the point where their names have the SAME letters…(note the “pig Latin” like similarity of their names). He’s more like Aemond than he wants to believe…
"in a democracy you can vote out the government.... i've head" 10/10 Shifty line
You’ve head correctly
Technically Aemma Arryn is half Targaryen, so still a very narrow family tree before Rhaenyra, who narrows it even further with her second husband 😅
I love how Alicent wants to rule but her being a women and that actually pisses her off 😂 she keeps getting a taste of her medicine and kristen cole starting to have a reality check the throne has so much power like it calls ppl lure them to it even Alicent has trouble resisting it
and why she wants to rule LOL is dumb ? she is not even half of the wits of OTTO
she wants to be Rhaenyra 2 by doing nothing and making bad actions ? xD
57:49 counterpoint, the dog wants to chew on those bones
Nooooo. Poor Cheese dog. I think he is just a loyal dog grieving his master. But he is a trained rat catcher and has been surviving I think eating rats. I am just hoping he gets adopted before this season ends.
😂
Lol the Freys 😂are new money. I’m dead.
Larys does make a great point that it would not be a good look to elevate a woman to queen regent while they fight a war over a woman's claim to the throne.
There's a war going on and Daemon's just chopping wood in Luigi's Mansion
Seems like the Freys didn't end up with Harenhall, which could be a foreshadowing of them being tired of being screwed over in the GOT 😅
I like how Freys are suicidal.
Harrenhal? Seriously? You really want your house gone?
Greed is more tempting than caution
@@danielbroome5690 Greed part is also questionable. Harrenhal is a financial black hole.
@@iliaponomarev1624they think its worth something.
@@iliaponomarev1624free land is free
They've never been the brightest of houses lol
Mommy issues was a big theme this episode.
I think it's possible that Laena's vision isn't controlled by Alys. Her appearance seems to push Daemon to legitimately self-check himself. Her mentioning him to look at their daughter is poignant if the rumours that Rhae will be Nettles in the show since Daemon relationship with Nettles is one of his (very few) redeeming qualities in the book.
Also, I think the season will end with The Seeds riding their dragons, especially Rhae with Sheep stealer. Season one ended with Vermithor tease, this season will probably wants to end on another Dragons tease.
Otto is the typical employee that was secretly holding the workplace together, and once they leave shit hits the fan 😂😅
At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if Daemon tried shooting his shot with Baela. What the hell was that...
He's married to his niece who he held as a baby. Little mother sex DREAM is what crosses the line?
@@DibsEquipped You say that, as if everyone is cool with Daemon and Rhaenyra's relationship. I always thought that was creepy. So the line was crossed miles ago.
She's cute, why not?
@thegreatpage5912 I thought that they were "yes and"-ing you and meant how Daemon himself wasn't disturbed by the first one, but that the dream of all things was what crossed his own comfort line lol
(Obviously I don't know what tone they meant, but it works)
Sec with your mom is still gross. Just because Daemon is married to his niece doesn’t excuse how messed up a dream where he’s screwing his mom is suddenly cool.
It’s pure shock value and doesn’t improve the plot and is disgusting. Nothing gained
Way I saw it is as, Deamon has mommy issues inside his head, and has some memory of a woman that he considers beautiful, but cant exactly remember as his mom. So she always reaffirms him, and he thinks as ideal Wifu for him. But yeah in the end she spills the beans.
I took that comment from Alicent (“What Aemond has somehow become”) to be more directed at how Criston trained him.. I think we got some slight emphasis on this in S1 as well, showing that Criston was training Aemond a bit ..harshly. But Alicent was definitely not a great parent to him, either.
58:40 I think, metaphorically, Criston is the dog in this scene. We think "Oh that poor dog. He's so loyal, even after he's been kicked and the owner was a terrible person." Criston has been constantly used and abused. He didn't start out being a horrible murderer. These people influenced him and helped him become this by not giving him much choice in the matter.
Can we stop with the dog kicking thing? Its very clear that cheese kicked the dog so it runs away. If they get caught, the dog would have been killed with them. The same reason why Arya had to throw rocks at Nymeria otherwise the wolf wouldnt have left her.
I am surprised no one mentioned that the hour of the wolf was Quoted when simon woke Daemon when he was sleeping
I can't wait for it to happen in the show. Cregan Stark is a badass.
@@LiamPowelluuu2 but probably gonna happen after s3
@Cruelrevolter If it happens it will be at the end of the series lol it's after the war is over and the last major 'event' before Fire & Blood finishes
@@LiamPowelluuu2 that's just what I said HBO is only planning 4 seasons
Grrm said aswell
There's a film by ingmar bergman called hour of the wolf. It's about an artist who lives on an isolated island and goes mad with insomnia and visions of indescript horrors and pathological sexuality. In the film the hour of the wolf is described as the hour before dawn, when the most people die and the most children are born
I knew that was reminding me of something! I remember liking the movie and still can picture some scenes tho I haven't seen it in some 20+ yrs
Slight correction; the doctrine of exceptionalism was a propagandistic effort to make people accept Targaryen incest but not specifically to maintain the bloodline, Jahaerys and his sister went rogue as tweens and got married very strongly in spite of his family’s and council’s wishes
Keep in mind that jahaerys’ father caught insane heat for his own incest, is mother remembers and did not want to repeat. It was barely tolerated when Aegon I rolled up with sister wives and sibling marriage was also reminiscent of Maegor
He used “snookered” just like Alt Schwift X wanted to. Im so proud.
“His wife niece queen”
28:29 “in democracy you can vote out the government…….I’ve heard” i literally laughed out loud.
I think Diana will assist in spreading word about the Dragon Seeds
They'd have to be discreet with that so that the greens don't start killing the seeds to prevent more dragonriders on black side. But yea, the girl working at the pub should know a lot of people and rumors to find the seeds.
Maybe the rumors to spread will be about the royals gorging on expensive foods every evening, or something similar to piss off the hangry smallfolk and point their anger at the nobles.
I like how the Crusader Kings mods for ASoIAF/GOT calls looking for Dragonriders “calling for Dragonseed” and I hope the term makes it way to the show
Three episodes of Daemon tripping is quite enough. Let’s move on.
I can't really keep focus when Daemon & Rivers are talking to each other, not sure why.
I love the spooky castle & Old God's stuff, but.... It's the only part that took me out of it.
Imagine being the Tullys or Starks getting swindled at the Twins river crossing for hundreds of years and not finding an alternative route, or building another bridge ahead of time before you desperately need to get somewhere.
Armies are very difficult things to transit. This is completely borne out by real history.