That's actually a hugely valid point.Considering how many drunk drivers survive their accidents because of the alcohol loosens their bodies instead of tightening up so that could have actually saved his life when he fell.You're a genius my friend
Sunfyre felt so innocent, like he doesn't have a mean bone in his body and just wanted to have fun with his rider. Watching him yelp in agony getting absolutely destroyed was heartbreaking.
@@Bigglesman96 Also, it must be Sunfyre's first time on battlefield as Vhagar and Meleys have more experiences. But, the fact he covered his body to protect BBQ Aegon really shows his best effort. Poor guy, but at least he didn't end up like Arrax.
I feel so bad whe dragons die and find It really hard to handle compared to other carachters...the last episode of the first season was the worst though. Lucery's dragon was so scared like a little puppy:(
YES! I was soo happy that we actually got to see well what was going on...I watched s 8 only once and I never wanted to see that again but I watched Dany fighting army of the dead again after this episode and my god...I didnt remember how bad it was...I couldnt see anything and it seemed like writers didnt even have an idea how to write a dragon battle
Rhaenys wasn’t testing her luck, she had to turn back because if you don’t kill Vhagar there really is no win. She wanted to make sure she ended Vhagar. She knew the moment she mounted Meleys, it was a suicide mission.
Aemond's reaction to Lucery's death despite taking his eye, compared to his reaction after downing Aegon just shows how much resentment he has for Aegon
Partially true…strategically killing Lucerys at the time didn’t make sense as the war hadn’t escalated to violence yet. It was still the war of ravens. Aemond is no fool and realized what he did but I doubt he regretted killing his nephew. But, by this time, it is a war and all bets are off. He wants power and wants to win. Notice he had a detached/satisfied look after defeating the Red Queen/Rhaenys. Anyone in his way of possibly being the true king are free game.
It genuinely surprised me how much this episode made me feel bad for Aegon. Yeah he's an asshole, but he never wanted to be king. Then he was manipulated by Alicent into believing Viserys named him his heir, and then his son was murdered for something Aemond did. And now Alicent has basically disowned him for being a failure, yet he was always set up to fail.
I've always been kinda sympathetic for Aegon. He's got a lot going for him, and alot going against him. But a point that is DEFINETELY not in his favour is how he has been antagonizing Aemond his whole life. There's a difference between playful banter between brothers, and downright bullying, and Aegon is for sure leaning more towards that end. So no, I'm not too sympathetic for Aegon when it comes to Aemond. But I am sympathetic towards him when it comes to most of the clowns in king's landing, and the two biggest clowns: Alicent and Otto who forced him to become king even when he clearly wasn't suited for it, nor wanted it. Then Alicent had the audacity to scold Aegon for how much was "sacrificed to get him on the throne".
With his own mother abandoning him when he was grieving his son and needed her the most, then this episode where she basically calls him worthless, it's hard not to feel for the guy. He really is trying in his own way. I particularly loved when Sunfyre was brought out of the dragonpit and just head-butted Aegon like a cat and he gets this big smile. It's very humanizing in such a short, silent shot.
I absolutely f*cking hate Alicent in this episode. She failed to raise Aegon, essentially wanted him to be a puppet of Otto's and hers, never taught him a dime and now is blaming him for everything? B¡tch, you had a job to do as his mum and you never passed down any of your knowledge to him because you wanted a malleable doormat to control and shape. Now Aegon ends up as a drunken failure and Alicent thinks she can wash her hands and play victim? She told Rhaenyra last episode "You know what Aemond is" and ??? He's the son you raised or neglected. She told them Rhaenyra would kill them if she ever ascended The Iron Throne. She didn't have any issue looking down with disgust towards the Strong boys. But then, she's offended that Aemond murders Luke. She told Rhaenyra the Targaryens did have queer costumes when she found out she had gone to visit brothels with Daemon, yet forces Helaena and Aegon to marry unhappily. Any time Daeron is mentioned, she dons this constipated look in her face that makes me suppose she's not close or appreciative of him, either. Alicent lovers and apologists are the worst, because they claimed she loved her children is season 1 and I was like... did we even watch the same show? Alicent is there with Cersei when it comes to failed, awful mothers.
I felt bad for him in the book too…he’s just a product of his environment. If his father, Alicent or Otto bothered to actually interact with him, or teach him how to be king he wouldn’t be this way. Instead everyone around him ignored him, used him as a pawn and now tell him what a piece of crap he is because he doesn’t know what he’s doing. His son was just murdered and his mom wouldn’t even comfort him. It’s like Alicent is punishing him for existing, she was quite cruel to him this episode.
yes , big respect for the actor...he made me feel bad for drunk rapist who likes to watch children fight to death , I really felt bad for him, nobody ever prepared him for this role, he was dragged and forced into it and now hes constantly reminded that he is not good enough , his mother literally telling him "youre good for nothing" ...that must be soo crushing
@@HK-gm8pe Considering Condal mentioned he wanted to keep both teams balanced and sympathetic ( he wanted the audience split 50 - 50 between Blacks and Greens ) it is safe to say they don`t consider the ra** or the child fighting as bad or noteworthy, same as how they don`t consider Rhaenys murdering atleast dozens in the Dragonpit as not noteworthy or how they don`t consider Daemon and Rhaenyra killing an innocent guard ( to pass off as Laenor`s corpse ) as noteworthy ( Smallfolk don`t count, applies to onlookers, guards, aswell as servant girls and child gladiators ). Naturally just because the showwriters seem to think like that ( and some weird fans ), the audience doesn`t need to subscribe to that very stupid view. I think they realized they monumentally fucked up with Aegon in the first season ( literally making him joffrey-like ) so they make him far more sympathetic now ( which in some circumstances makes other characters worse... His mother turns into a complete asshole who basically said he needs to be puppet ( and how she treated the death of her grandson ), his brother accidentally killed luke, the guy who took his eye, less than one week ago and now he intentionally tries to kill his brother ). The only way they can somehow fix how they characterized Aegon is by making other characters bash him.. That`s just bad writing. Even if it works, and it does, in making Aegon more sympathetic, he is still a sadistic ra**ist. There is no fixing that. I genuinely wonder what the fuck they were thinking when they wrote that AND then claimed they wanted the audience split 50-50. It`s split 90-10 at best. Just as an example : In season 2 Otto, Alicent, Aemond and a few others just degrade him, in some cases it makes no sense.. Both Otto and Alicent mentioned how good Viserys was.. He wasn`t. We have seen season 1. He was the very reason why the Realm split apart ( Otto even mentioned that very early on in season 1 ). Viserys was indecivise and allowed multiple different characters to take advantage of him ( Otto, Daemon, Corlys and Rhaenyra for example ). He didn`t do anything to achieve peace, he just continued the peace of his predecessor and created a mess. We are seeing the consequences of Viserys mess in this very season 2 and future seasons. Also the reasons given as to why Aegon is king is more bullshittery. The Greens legitimacy comes from the laws of Westeros ( legalism ), while the Blacks legitimacy comes from Viserys naming Rhaenyra heir ( absolutism ) and the war should be about what is considered legitimate. ( and naturally both sides have characters who abuse the legitimate claims. I.e. Otto used the marriage of Alicent with Viserys to produce an heir and scheme, while Daemon married Rhaenyra to gain power afterall ). However this barely gets mentioned and instead we constantly talk about how Alicent misunderstood Viserys last words, so she tries to argue in the same absolutist manner, except with no witnesses ( and as the audience knows, she misheard, so by that virtue Alicent`s reasoning for why Aegon is legitimate is just false.. Whereas in actuality there is a real legitimate issue about who and what decides the successor, is it the word of the King/Queen or is it the law. ) But jeah, no matter what the showrunners try, they can`t undo ra** and child gladiators. Aegon is Joffrey, even if the showrunners didn`t intend this, the only exception is that they make this Joffrey not a coward who runs away from a fight, but someone who tries to prove himself, still a ra**st though and yeah sorry but by extension it becomes impossible to support the Greens. Not only a ra**ist king, but all his supporters are tainted by that association aswell, this isn`t a problem with the Blacks, as Daemon while evil, isn`t the figurehead of the Blacks, so he can be the villain, while not taining Rhaenyra or her supporters. The showrunners dropped the ball so hard it`s unbelievable.
yep his performance is proving to be the star of the season so far...Last season it was easily Paddy as Viserys. Though i'd also say Emma is really killing it as Rhaenyra overall too.
@@david3551 I would put 6 in that category since the last two episodes of that season are the best 2 of the series imo (and highest IMDb rating). It’s not that BUT it’s close to seasons 1-6. We will see how the rest of the season shakes out but this is fantastic television
@@david3551 Agreed but the source material isn't set up in the same way. I think some of the changes in HOTD are a bit unnecessary but I'm liking the adaptation overall. This was the best episode since S5E10 of GOT.
@@david3551it’s essentially down to the source material. HotD is a slow burner because it’s way harder to adapt due to the way the book is written. Pound for pound the show runners for HotD are definitely doing the better job
I loved the initial conflict between Rhaenyra and Jacaerys where he is openly hostile and she just gives a look of pure confusion because she has been missing all the frustration he has had from her inaction and its just at the boiling point
It also shows that although Jace is kind he's not necessarily very smart. Nrya is already fighting a losing battle being a woman in a position of power. Undermining her in front of the council who already doubt her was a poor decision
@RobertSawney I wouldn't call that undermining. Besides wanting to go himself, most of what he said was valid. I'm sure the others at the table were going to say it anyways, and I think she took it better since it came from him.
@@Lambothe1st yeah I just think that the council have already tried talking over. She needs to be seen as strong and supported. She wasn't then but I totally get his frustration because her plan to meet Alicent was pretty dumb
@@RobertSawney I agree. And getting into it with her right there with that tone might not have been the best timing. But from his POV, he's been trying to keep these people under control since her absence, so I'm sure that's taking a toll on him too.
@@johndo2761 Also, remember that Sunfyre is still a newbie on that battle as Vhagar is a grandma since she was rode by Visenya while Meleys has more experience on battlefield. So, it's more like a shock therapy to Sunfyre.
D&D would "analyse" this battle like, "While Rhaenys kinda forgot about Aemond and the largest living dragon, Vhagar, they certainly haven't forgotten about her!" 😅
@@christo4you70 D&D are the type of writers who could read and copy the most meaningful and thematically rich text and their takeaway is "we don't know what this means, but it looks cool!"
ah they not so bad. I got a laugh out of this but i do find it odd that people are so quick to dismiss what they did achieve in GoT. Sure they had source material early on, but translating such an unfilmable story to the screen like they did was impressive. Plus there were plenty of amazing scenes in early GoT that never happened in the books at all. They just got fatigued, complacent and rushed it so they could do something else, which is where their real sin lies.
the dragon "death spiral" is one of my favourite things i have ever seen in GOT/HOTD. it just perfectly shows why it is called the dance of the dragons
It's been a long time since we've seen some true dragon vs dragon battles since most dragons in media tend to just fight with their fire or maybe their tails. Here, they fight like actual animals, locking their talons together so they can bite and use fire upclose without missing, unlocking the talons when they see they can claw their opponent, trying to go for kill shots by trying to bite the neck, it FEELS like how dragons would fight each other.
Couldn't agree more. The claws dragging and digging into the chest cavities, the biting and ripping, it was so visceral and violent that it felt like real animals fighting
If you haven’t already you should watch the behind the scenes video that HBO dropped on their youtube channel. The CGI and VFX teams based the dragons fighting on how birds of prey fight, with the whole locking talons and biting/scraping each other. I really have a new respect for the episode after watching that video!
It also successfully shows just how experienced Meleys and Vhagar are in combat. Sunfyre went straight to fire where Meleys displayed a whole dragon strategy. Vhagar is also very cunning and sneaky even with her size she’s able to surprise attack, it left me feeling like I understood the dragons more.
Aegon is my favourite character, Tom added so much nuance to this role. Also, that little smile Aegon gave when Sunfyre boops him is precious, our golden boy just wants to have some fun and fly with his favourite human. He didn`t deserve all of it. btw, I think it is believable to assume Aegon could survive that fall. Sunfyre was injured but he managed to turn to his belly in midair so Aegon wouldn`t be crushed by his dragon. Though I simply know what happened next so ...
at first I was worried that Sunfyre is just another Syrax but god ....the dragon looks soo damn cute, you just want to cuddle him, not to take him into battle :( hes sounds even are like a little puppy
I think a part of the reason WHY Rhaenys refused to escape might correlate with her guilt over what Daemon said to her first episode about Luke. She may have escaped the first time last season but this time she wants to make it right, even by just causing a little bit of damage to the Green side. Plus she fully accepted her fate even while preparing for battle. But honestly this could just be me as a Rhaenys defender 😭
The attacking army charge was interrupted by a dragon breathing fire on em. The usurper king just 'died' in a spectacular fashion. The other dragon fell on em. Their commander, Sir Cole, was knocked off his horse and got knocked out cold. Soon after the remaining two dragons fought, Vhager vanished. He was not supporting the grunts with the siege. It was only a matter of time before their morale broke. Rhaenys was winning. There was no reason for her to return to the battlefield, especially since she couldnt see the giant dragon that was a massive threat to her. All she had to do was wait, let Vhagar do the next move, she was making things right until she turned back and got herself killed. I mean... cmon... she had the faster dragon. The weather was perfect. We saw the soldier see her come from miles away. We know the skies where clear, meaning Vhagar had nowhere to hide there. She had every advantage. There was no reason for her to be this reckless. Even if her goal was to take down or injure Vhagar at whatever the cost. She simply died like a complete moron. And in doing so, not only she solved the morale problem for the greens infantry, but breached the walls as well. Truly, a great job from her.
Honestly, she also saw Vhaegar crash and probably thought he was injured on the ground which is why she turned back and kept surveying/looking for him for a chance to either finish him off or kill the dragonrider (Aemond) off. You don't get these many chances at getting at him in a vulnerable position and taking out either Vhaegar or Aemond (or both) pretty much ends the war then and there. Aemond dead would mean Vhaegar is riderless and could not be controlled - and the Greens don't have any more spare, dragon-less Targaryens in their camp. Heleana isn't really a warrior so that pretty much just leaves Daeron (their still unrevealed sibling in Oldtown) and his dragon.
Rhaenys' story is rather tragic. When she was wrongfully spurned her crown early in her life, she found new purpose in raising her family with Corlys. While they were alive, she treasured her children and grandchildren greatly. To her knowledge, both of her children have died, as well as one of her grandchildren. We see her in mourning many times in season 1, and each time she goes to her husband to grieve, the only person who could have given her the emotional support to carry on. And, after her remaining grandchildren were either sent away or made busy fighting a war, she really only has him left in her family. Early on in this episode, she talks with a dockhand/sailor(?) and examines his face. She calls him "comely" and notes that he saved her husband during a battle at some point. It's a strong possibility that this person is one of her husband's bastards, and she clocks this immediately when she recognizes her husband in this person's face. She learns that her husband, the only person left in her life, was unfaithful to her. At this point, the only purpose she has left in this life is to fight Rhaenyra's war, a war that she probably doesn't even care about anymore. She's lost her crown and her family, the two things she really ever cared about. She has nothing left to lose, the only thing left is for her to die a memorable death on her own terms. Her decision to volunteer for this mission was a logical one, and her staying to the end was an emotional one. She understood that going back to fight Vhagar was suicide, but when she could have left the battlefield, she didn't. Instead, she readies herself and straps in for the fight ahead. She did her best against Vhagar, the dragon that killed her daughter and her grandson Lucerys. And when Vhagar killed her dragon, Melys, she again closed her eyes and embraced death. In the end, Rhaenys Targaryen didn't die crying or screaming or in pain. She went out fighting a sick fight. She died a glorious, fiery death, one fit for a Targaryen.
She has been one of my favorite characters from this show. I disagree about her motivation for turning back on Vhagar however. I think she knew it would be tough but not suicide necessarily. I think she probably felt this would be the best chance to take down Aemond that she would get, and she could end the war right there. And hey it almost worked, Aemond could've broken his neck in that fall lol
I would say it was a bit of a payback from Aemond for the brothel scene in previous episode, as was showing the whole Council that Aegon knows nothing about war or strategy.
But whose fault is that other than his own? Considering we see Aemond speaking fluently it's safe to assume Aegon wasn't forbidden from learning High Valyrian, he just didn't want to do it. And Aemond putting him on the spot wasn't unprovoked as the other commenter pointed out, it was payback for Aegon making fun if him at the brothel.
Aemond was owning him subtly. I'm better than you, brother. Smarter, handsomer, clever, intelligent. You are useless and you are a mumbling buffoon. Aegon was utterly lost.
I think they wanted to hammer home that Aegon is utterly crippled for the rest of his life. His ancestor's armour and the love of Sunfyre were the only things to protect him from certain death.
I think Rhaenys' perspective is believeable. Consider this: she was convinced that both her children were dead, that her grandkids had been taken far away from her and also she started to grow apart from her husband. I see it as if she was kind of depressed. So she decided to sacrifice herself (also making up for her mistake of not saying dracarys in the Dragon's Pitt).
That and not heeding Daemon in fighting Vhagar together. If they killed Granny and Aemond they're essentially taking away the greens biggest advantage against the blacks. We see how Sunfyre fares against Meleys. Helaena ain't gonna ride Dreamfyre because homegirl is grieving and depressed. And Tessarion, Daerons dragon is smaller in comparison to almost every dragon the Blacks have. I think Rhaenys felt personally responsible for not ending this war when she had so many chances to do so. Her children's death and learning about Corlys infidelity (Alyn looks like him) doesn't help either. She was ready to die, but not without a fight. And she went down valiantly in battle with her dragon. What a way to go. If she's gonna die at least it's in the hands of a legendary beast like Vhagar, rather than passing away while sitting on a piss pot.
@@Melodia-ge8ib Is Alyn Corlys son he looks way to old like mid 40s perhaps Corlys little brother or nephew but Addam definitely is Corlys boy maybe Alyn one of Corlys bastards before he got married to Rhaenys during his world tour but Addam is definitely from a bit before Laenors birth and a bit after Laenas birth.
The guilt of not ending the war before it started was the main driving force imo. She regretted not dracarys Aegon and the whole team Green during the coronation and now the war started and thousands will die because she didn't end it earlier. That guilt drove her back for a suicide mission to take down Aemond and Vhagar.
@@melkormorgothbauglir.4848no it makes sense lol, Corlys is a burly dude, it just may not seem like it with their style of clothing. Alyn may seem a bit older but he definitely has the right physique, and does look like him when they stood side by side as they talked to Rhaenys at the port.
@@_Tristen_ It's an actor thing Steve looks to young to be an old Corlys makes sense 10-20 year jump and all also Abubakr Salim is about the same age as Steve to so its more just visuals.
Aemond, the brother of the king, will now act as his heir in place of the King's daughter. Aemond has become what Daemon always wanted to be. Incredible.
Aemond is Darmon is Daemon had no soul. For all his darkness he would never betray his brother. Aemond? Oh dear, I unfortunately burned Aegon too. What a shame 🤷
@@Crisopeia He did spend half of the first season speaking of Valyrian-Targaryen supremacy, speaking High Valyrian, wearing a FULL VALYRIAN STEEL ARMOR for a tourney, reading Valyrian history in Pentos, spending most of his time tending to dragon eggs instead of his pregnant wife. Dude’s a full weeb. Even married his niece in true Valyrian fashion. Aemond IS Daemon. Even Daemon sees that in his dream.
I feel disappointed the show hasn't mentioned this. Aegon finds himself in his father's shoes now. Either he names his daughter heiress or Aemond takes the crown. I don't think Aegon or Helaena will now be on the position to breed another child.
A giant dragon going for a stealth build makes tons of sense though. *That's just literally how....... **_every single big predator we have on Earth has to spec into in order for it to hunt and sustain itself._* Smaller dragons are faster and have better mobility but Vhagar is the oldest and the one with the most combat experience. She can't do anything about her mass but has to know how to use it efficiently. She is like a flying great white shark.
Yall be forgetting that Rhaenys and her dragon had the high ground. You’re talking about land animals. Birds of prey are fast so they don’t use stealth usually. Vaghar is way too big to hide behind anything, it was under Maelys and her dragon when it jumped out and it should be way slower than the smaller dragon which, it is, most of the time. Takes 3 business days to just leave the ground lol
it is pretty surprising though, she's a massive dragon... how does rhaenys, who's the more experienced rider, AND meleys who has her fair share of experience, lose vhagar? doesn't really make sense to me
@@nickcouture6406 The battlefield was field with smoke that time, thus giving Vhagar a chance to hide behind the walls of the castle, and it is clear that Rhaenys was a bit disoriented after the battle with both Sunfyre and Vhagar so she failed to take into account the clear disadvantage that flying over possible hideouts presents. I'm still surprised that Vhagar with her massive wings was a silent flyer, that's the part that kinda doesn't make sense to me.
@@PrincipalSkinner3190the mountain won because oberlyn got cocky and underestimated the mountain’s strength. Vhagar could be stealthy in season 1 hiding in the clouds at night, but her jumpscaring off a cliff side makes little sense when the earlier shots showed how long it takes vhagar to build momentum getting into the air. It makes her look more threatening, but is kinda playing fast and loose with consistency
@@l3R0K3N8BIT Rhanys also clearly got cocky flying back into battle before confirming Vhagar's whereabouts... you have the right to nitpick its realism, but it's a stretch to act like the scene was outlandish within the context of the show.
It’s a teleporting dragon. GoT has a habit of adding teleporting powers randomly. Did it for Arya when she teleported past a zombie army for a death blow and now the biggest dragon being able to teleport.
@@edsp666 Lol no it wasn't. The Septa scene was one of the stupidest moments in the entire Show being rivalled by the Episode in Season 1 where a bunch of innocents were killed at random for no reason by the "Queen who never was". Easily the worst part of Season 2 by far, then in that same episode you had the whole pointless dragon chase scene, time that could have been spent towards oh yknow *the Bracken vs Blackwood Fight???*
The thing with Vhagar; she wasn’t always the biggest. She was the smallest of the 3 conqueror dragons, and I can totally see Visenya training her to “sneak attack” Balerion and Meraxes in order to win bouts of play or to spook their riders for fun. Additionally, she is a one-hit kill now given her size(if she can get her jaws on the opposing dragons), so Aemond recognizing that and setting her up for an easy catch doesn’t surprise me either.
Thats a lot of lore you had to create for an explanation though. The show just did not do a good job of making this scenario believable. The ambush was unnecessary anyway its not like vhagar could not have won a straight 1v 1 battle anyway.
@@Userkiller3814 I’m not going to argue with you about whether the show did a good job, frankly, because I don’t care how you feel about that in particular. However, Vhagar was canonically the smallest of the conqueror’s dragons, and so I gave my opinion on the show’s portrayal of Rook’s Rest using that as a basis. I did not “create lore,” I merely gave my opinion on the lore George created and gave my thoughts on how that might relate to the show’s portrayal of Vhagar. Many dragons could win a fair fight against Vhagar, regardless of her size, and in fact due the very size that makes her such a threat. If you haven’t read the source material, I won’t spoil it for you, but it’s made pretty obvious by George that 1v1 duels between dragons don’t necessarily favor the largest one by some large margin, so using stealth and ambush to ensure a single, fatal blow is simply the smarter way to win.
@@IzzyAndAndyI 100% agree with you. They’re George R R Martin’s creation, so he decides what’s what. He said in an interview that the 2 most powerful dragons are Vhagar (size / strength / experience) and Caraxes (intelligence / ferocity / experience). He also points out that Meleys can comfortably out pace both of them. It was totally believable that she would hurl Vhagar to the floor, because you can see her using speed to evade Vhagar’s clutches as they’re tumbling down. It’s also believable that Vhagar would’ve perfected a stealth attack as she’s 181 years old, and a battle hardened dragon with unmatched experience who has been specifically bred for war.
Rhaenys was not 'testing her luck' going back. She knew rightly she wasn't going to survive against Vhagar. But it is out of a sense of duty to carry on fighting in the hopes of forcing a complete victory even against all odds and is aware that she would die doing it. It has already been mentioned to her multiple times about how she didn't torch the whole Green Team in King's Landing to end the war right there, so you can read it as some kind of way to get redemption.
When Aemond spoke that “Dracarys” you can just feel all the years of pent up rage, resentment and abuse just burst out of him. That was the moment he snapped.
This coud honesty be one of the best in the franchise. Although I hate seeing dragons get hurt or die, thar being said, this is the Dance of Dragons. Like everyone has said, I really like how they showed the fallout from dragons battling.
yeah... this reminded my of that time when Daenerys got one of her dragons killed by a surprised balista in the face from a hidden ship in the open seas in broad daylight.
The reason Rhaenys turns back to fight Vhagar is because she feels partly responsible for what is about to unfold, having heard Rhaenyra say that she has exhausted all possibilities to avoid the war and failed. She is devastated to realize what lies ahead and for the first time she doubts her choice to not end the Greens last season. So she feels personally obliged to take the shot at ending the war even at a disadvantage. That being said, the way they incorporated the close-ups of the actors and allowed for such intense emotional performances within an otherwise completely CG action scene without breaking its pacing is the best. Also the fact that Aemond almost deliberately attacks his brother was another great payoff to a dynamic that had been carefully established since season one and another great improvement on the source material in my opinion. There is no greater praising for the writing of a fantasy show. The series isn't even halfway through and it's already worthy of peak Game of Thrones.
I didn’t think about the fact that Rhaenys could have stopped the war in the first place, but I do think you’re right about that playing a part in her turning around to fight when odds weren’t in her favir
I also think that her whole life has been a behind character, from not getting the crown, trying to avoid a war when she could have finished it there and then at the dragon pit, finding out her husband had bastards, her house not having an official heir due to her husband being stubborn and having little to no respect from the blacks small council aswell as just getting on a bit with age, she’s probaly had enough and doesn’t want to continue with the war
@@JaxonFarquhar-fg4gz the odds was in her favor. it was now a 1v1 with aemond. rhaenys was the most experience dragon rider and meleys and vhaegar use to fly together. She rhaenys would have won if she knew where they were hiding.
Rhaenys let the Greens getaway once before she truly chose a side. This time she's all in for Rhaenyra, and she wasn't going to bow out. It was all or nothing.
One thing this show has done that’s absolutely brilliant is show the bonds between dragons and their riders. I never felt a bond between Daenerys and hers despite everyone telling us it would there. It may be that Emilia Clarke just isn’t a good actress but I think it’s more the writers wanted to emphasise this.i love that all the Targaryen’s are only ever really themselves, or happy at all, when they are around their dragons.
They were family and the fact that Vhagar was ridden by Baelon the Brave and Meleys was ridden by his wife Alyssa, as some point they flew together back then 😢
where did you get THAT idea? :D:D Vhagar is probably the only dragon that doesnt give a s*it.... also dragons basically become their riders trough the magic bond....so Vhagar is basically Aemond in a dragons body, if you look Vhagars history aswell then you see hat this dragon has a certain type when choosing her riders... she has always been a battle hungry dragon , only dragon that I would literally call an evil b*tch :D
7:50 She wasnt going back for another. She thought she had more or less won and got Aemond to retrat and was therefor returning home. Remember the direction (towards the sea) is where she came from and the direction of dragonstone. Alternativly she was just scouting but the reason she was killed was because she didnt relize Vhagar was even in that direction and thus was ambushed. Her saying "fight" was after Aegon was downed and she flew back towards the castle from the sea. But after Vhagar was downed she didnt not call for another attack.
@@BobbyFlay14 Seriously, they should've just had Vhagar run Meleys down when she tried to return to Dragonstone. Would've been more believable and could've shown the terror in Rhaenys's face as she realized her fate.
@@damatar No that would have been much less believable, Vhagar’s size and age makes her quite slow, while Meleys is one of the fastest dragons currently alive right now. An ambush was the only way Vhagar was going to outpace Meleys.
Honestly they haven’t missed the mark with any episodes. People were disappointed with last episode when it was abundantly clear they were building to something. First 4 seasons of GoT had very sparse action and was mainly dialogue, but when there was action it was big. This show feels like the first 4 seasons of GoT. Simply brilliant
I think it's worth to mention how Criston Cole was named the Kingmaker in this episode. It instantly brought me a spark of resemblance to Kingslayer - another kingsguard who's given name comes from his infamous reputation. I am saying infamous because in Coles case, even though it "doesn't sound as evil", Kingmaker is firstly said as an insult - a man who fiddles with the rightful sucession, the kind of kingsguard without honor.
In terms of the time jumps, I will say it kinda does makes sense. It takes time to get from Dragonstone to KL, but the writers cut to when Rhaenyra gets there so we can watch the scene between her and Alicent. This isn't breaking anything because it could be said that the first council scene happens while Rhaenyra isn't even in KL or at the same time while she was there. Scenes aren't always one after the other when it comes to the timeline, especially if these scenes happen in two seperate locations with differenct characters. What I mean by this is we can't know which scene in the episode comes before which other scene, you can only connect the scenes of every character to a timeline of their own during the episode
@@skoolboydes6680 being stoic is being dull i'd say. She might have "hella emotion" but since her first appearance she's been too wrapped up in duty and knowing her place, which yes make her effectively kinda dull. I wish they had just one scene of her letting loose a bit but overall none of that means her character was less likeable though. I'll defo miss her.
They are watching the same show yes. But through a combination of having poor media literacy and more importantly not finding the actress who plays Rhaenys sexually attractive, they think she’s dull.
My only issue with this masterpiece episode is how they are able to miss the biggest Dragon around. It is practically bigger than the Rooks rest castle, they could have still killed Rhaenys in a less contrived way
I like the emotional swings of the soldiers in the castle cuz they were definitely like “oh fuck thats a huge army” then “heck yeah we got a dragon” then “oh fuck they got a dragon” then “heck yeah our dragon won” then “oh fuck they have that huge dragon”
I think Rhaenys had the right idea with trying to go back. She could not only take out the King, but the next in line to take the Throne after him and the most dangerous threat to the Black counsel all at one go. For a potentialy 2-for-1 in the same battle, I think in the adrenaline filled moment she made a rash decision but one that I think most would've done.
With Vhagar being so big, I thought she was like a T-Rex, a giant animal who is an ambush hunter. Vhagar will lose against speed but uses her power to advance in a quick blast.
As a book reader, what really caught me off guard was the change where Vhagar roasted Sunfyre - I did a double take like "Wait, did Aemond do that? Did he mean to do that?" In hindsight it makes sense since Aemond doesn't let go of grudges and of course he would want the glory of taking down Meleys himself instead of in a 2v1
I think my favorite part abkut this show is just how well it fleshes out characters that were pretty one-note in the book and even previously in the show. Obviously with King Viserys in season 1, but in season 2 Otto Hightower, Aemond, Daemon, and now Aegon II are given so much more depth to the point where they can go from sympathetic anti-hero to outright psycho and back again in a single episode and be completely believable, and whats written off as a total accident in the book is now shown to be a regicide attempt with 2 ful episodes of buildup to make it totally believable and also show why none of the Greens focus on it moving forward
one last little negative / weird thing was how Cole woke up among soldiers who where either burned to ash or alive with significant burns while he was just out of breath from the fall
@@alexman378 I don't have a problem with him being knocked out, it is possible that the burned people were there already when he was knocked out, I'llhave to watch it again
checked it again, there are people alive and not burning running around him right before he is knocked out, there are no trees around him when he wakes up
I think Rhaenys stuck around because she wanted to gamble and end this war before it really starts to take off. She saw Vhagar crash amidst the smoke on the battlefield, and I think she was looking to finish the job. She probably knew it was stupid, but took the chance anyways. Kinda fits with her character this season as she's been the one pleading with Rhaenyra to sue for peace until the last option is exhausted.
Thank you!!!!!! 😂 I said the exact same thing. It requires a vast suspension of disbelief to accept that Vagar was able to time its attack perfectly without even seeing the other dragon. It’s akin to trying to attack surprising someone around a corner at full speed, you may know they are around the corner but you can’t know when they will come around the corner.
It baffles me how Game of Thrones constantly puts out amazing battles to the point where I have to remind myself that THIS IS A TELEVISION SHOW! Comparing this to the battles in Vikings, The Witcher or Rings of Power makes it clear how much talent HBO puts into Game of Thrones/HotD
Aegon's got more balls than Joffrey ever had. He's not a heroic character, but he tried to do the right thing. He wanted to prove himself worthy of being a King. Respect.
I think she went back to fight Vaghar knowing she couldn’t win BUT she could injure him enough that the next person could beat him. That is what I think she was doing
I'm surprised you weren't expecting Vhagar to come up from behind the castle. I was audibly saying here he comes as she approached the castle. Something about the scenes just prior of her flying around and not seeing him stood out like a sore thumb that she was going down right when she thinks they're home free.
@@artursakis8668 agree. They could've came to the same ending without the cheesy sneak attack from the cliffs. I'm gonna venture a guess and say budget for the individual episode brought us to that ending, perhaps 🤷
Rhaenys could have escaped but one of the reasons that she tried her best is (besides Lucerys and everything leading up to that) the fact that she did not burn them all and be done with it as Daemon pointed out to her at the start of this season. Finally, they did something good in the end with that plotline.
Poor Sunfyre. His first true episode was just to be nearly killed, and his relationship with Aegon is one of the the only humanizing moments for that goon. Also rip to Meleys, a real one 🐲
Rhaenys chose to go back in battle because Rhaenyra ordered her to stop Cole and abandoning Rooks Rest would set a bad image for Rhaenyra's allies. She also got a lot of shit from people when they told her she could've stopped the war during Aegon's coronation. Vhagar was shown crawling so as not to let the smoke and dust blow away. That allowed her to sneak up behind the castle on the cliff.
@@baron6588 Exactly, I mean there was literally a scene of her rising beneath the forest floor. It looks like she can blend right in with the boulders and foliage of the surrounding area. Some big predators are not as fast as their prey, so they resort to using the element of surprise and Vhagar really reminds me of a crocodile.
@@Melodia-ge8ib she’s actually kind of the perfect shade of green to blend into a smoky field/forest. Also fun fact, crocodiles aren’t green. They’re a variety of blacks, whites, browns, greys and yellows. The green look comes from a mix of the light, the murky water and the algae that gets between their scales.
I had been super stressed and nervous with how they would handle the dragons fighting because a lot rides on that, and some of the earlier CGI and effects left me underwhelmed, but I was blown away. It was fantastic. The battle above the Gods Eye and the second battle of Tumbleton is going to be freaking intense!
I think with Rhaenys, they set up her motivation in the episode where she and Meleys confront Aegon at his coronation ceremony. She didn't act then, and she gets chastized for it repeatedly by members of the Blacks. She rightfully didn't have Meleys open fire on the Greens, because "it's not my war". She was told, point blank, "YOU could have ended this, but you didn't." and I think that stuck with her. So now she's got a chance to end the war. And by god, does she give it her all here to try and take out the King and Aemond, or at least their dragons.
It's strange how Rhaenyra's council has been proven right about practically everything at this point and the blacks suffered a major disaster because Rhaenys and Rhaenyra repeatedly refused to heed their advice, yet people are still talking about them as if they are incompetent, disrespectful and unreasonable. The fandom of this show is weird sometimes.
People are weird. They identify with some aspect of a person/group and then use that person/group for self actualization. It turns criticism into personal attacks and blinds people to nuance of the story being told cause they fill in any blanks with their own thoughts and experiences. People can't just watch a show anymore. Very sad.
@LiamPowelluuu2 I thought it's been made clear since 2011 that there is not a single good person in the Game of Thrones universe but apparently people still make heroes out of these clearly nuanced multilayered characters.
I blame the show for this narrative of passivism equals wisdom, inaction and being indecisive is just as bad as being reckless and too rash , not wanting to fight is perfectly responsible but when it's time to throw down you have to throw down this is something the book version of the blacks understood, the moment Luke died the time for talking was over .
7:48 She went back in order to defend Rook's Rest from Vhagar. She went there for that purpose, and even after downing those boys, for her to leave would have been to forfeit her mission and leave the keep to her Queen's enemies. She went back not as a noble sacrifice, but to finish what she started with Aemond and Vhagar, torch Cole and his army, and prevent Rook's Rest from falling. She failed, but she did her duty like a warrior
That's what I was thinking too, out of anyone there he's the most likely to understand. It would also make sense since we see a Maester teaching Jace Valyrian at one point. It stands to reason Orwyle might've had to do the same for the Black's children before he was Grand Maester.
daemon has always been my favourite character and i knew going into season 2 that aegon would probably make top 3, but i think aemond may have also made top 3 now that otto is gone again for a while
I disagree that Vhagar was disappointed at first when she put her head down. I took it as an old dog just going back to sleep when you don’t need them.
So are you and the others that felt the same way gonna admit you were wrong about last week being a bad/problematic episode? Episode 3 did exactly what it was meant to do, which was be a narrative calm before the hellstorm that was this weeks episode, episode 4. When will the masses realise, not every episode of every tv show has to be balls to the wall insano style action and plot beats, nor does every episode have to be a perfect 10. That shit just isn’t sustainable in a tv production.
We can see Sunfyre turn itself just enough right befor he crash lands, which is the only reason Aegon wasnt crushed into minced meat. And i also like the touch they added where even as sunfyre is on its last legs it has curled itself around its rider to try and keep him as safe as he can in his current state.
I find it interesting that you found Aegon's entrance to be kind of a plot hole. To me, it fits his character so well, because he's never been one to obey the rules or advice given to him. He acts, he doesn't think. It's perfectly in line with his character to go where he is not wanted or needed. On the flip side, this episode gave a lot of perspective on Aemond's character. When Aegon flies over when Aemond is supposed to come out, at first he thinks his brother is just an idiot, but then he purposefully tells Vhagar to wait because he recognizes the opportunity Aegon's recklessness creates. He knew that if he didn't follow Aegon immediately, the consequences for Aegon would be dire. He knows next to nothing about combat and strategy, and Sunfyre knows nothing about war. Aemond has always wanted the throne and he saw an opportunity for him to take it. If Aegon died in battle, no one would really question Aemond's claim to the throne since he's next in line and is significantly more competent than Aegon (which is emphasized several times in this episode). The shot of Aegon's smile dying when he realizes Aemond fully intends to attack both him and Rhaenys gutted me, but it also felt somewhat deserved. Aegon has bullied Aemond his entire life, but he never thought Aemond would turn on him. That moment felt like Aemond finally getting his revenge on those who hurt him.
I agree with the Vaghar outta nowhere. Last time it was flawless, this time it was way too forced. I haven’t read the books so I wasn’t sure how this ended. But while I did jump off my seat, it didn’t feel earned.
Vhagar is a 150+ year old dragon with loads of battle experience I find it perfect shes able to out manouvre and catch other dragons by surprise using the surroundings
Thanks to you, every Sunday night when I watch a new episode and my jaw drops, I think to myself “is GreatClips Delight gonna like this scene? Or is it devoid of logic?”
I know I should’ve expected dragon fights and death, but Seven Hells. Sunfyre and Meleys were precious. Maybe it’s cause I just watched the episode, but I can’t help but think that I haven’t been this upset since the Red Wedding.
7:50 yeah but maybe she was flying back to Dragonstone and didn't expect Vhagar to be there. She flew into the battle from behind the castle, so i would say that's where Dragonstone is and maybe she was trying to go back. Maybe
she Was trying to go back, you’re correct, i don’t see how that wasn’t clear to some people? she was looking down over the land she just burned and was obviously done doing damage at that point, but her escape was cut off by vhagar. if she wanted to continue attacking i feel like she would’ve just kept burning the land to make sure as many men (and especially criston) was dead, but instead of doing that she was fleeing towards the sea
...she didnt expect him to be there? Really? In the place where she saw him last? You really dont see how moronic that is of her? Lets think for a moment, we know how ruthless the court is with its intrigues. She made a play for the throne and lost. She ruled the trident. She should be competent. She should by now have years of expecting the unexpected. Especially in a life and death situation.
@@mac19999x i am not going to argue the logic behind it. I can see several flaws in HOTD so far and this may be one of them. Vhagar is a fucking giant and she just hid behind a castle and Meyles didn't see her ? I agree with you, it is moronic but oh well ..... I am looking forward to THE dragon battle which is coming next. Not going to spoil just in case but it should be epic
After vhagar slams down on the battlefield meyles flys away, then after you see rheanys turn around and re-enter the fray looking for them so its implied their back was turned and aemond hid in that time.
As great as the battle was, my favourite part was post-battle. Seeing the scarred remains of the battle field and the destruction was gut wretching similar to scenes from WWI movies. Really showed that dragons are destructive and brutal weapons of war.
Interesting how they decided to make Aemond intentionally maim his brother. They could take that in an interesting direction. Generally I haven't loved the changes they've made from the sources material for the TV show, but I think they could make this work well if they do it right.
I mean is it a change? In the book Aemond uses Aegon as bait for the blacks. Aemond is happy to use Aegon as a chew toy for Meleys. Then Vhagar descends on Meleys and Sunfyre. Causing Sunfyre to crash in a ball of flame. He might not have purposely done it but he was fine if Aegon was collateral damage. Aemond knew the best thing for team green was if he was in charge.
@@J_ads2000 It was more ambiguous as you described. He didn't just outright order the dragon to open fire on his brother, they almost made it seem like he wanted to take his brother out as much as he did Rhaenys in the show.
Aegon was very smart to get drunk, that woulda hurt a LOT more sober. That’s the kind of foresight you’d want to see in a king
Hahaha you have my vote for president
😂😂😂😂😂😂
Made me laugh like fucking Muggsy 😂😂😂
Lmao
That's actually a hugely valid point.Considering how many drunk drivers survive their accidents because of the alcohol loosens their bodies instead of tightening up so that could have actually saved his life when he fell.You're a genius my friend
Sunfyre felt so innocent, like he doesn't have a mean bone in his body and just wanted to have fun with his rider. Watching him yelp in agony getting absolutely destroyed was heartbreaking.
you could also see him begging meleys to let him go if you pay close attention to his skirmish with meleys.
Felt like a show Labrador being sent to fight a vicious military pitbull.
@@Bigglesman96 Also, it must be Sunfyre's first time on battlefield as Vhagar and Meleys have more experiences. But, the fact he covered his body to protect BBQ Aegon really shows his best effort. Poor guy, but at least he didn't end up like Arrax.
I feel so bad whe dragons die and find It really hard to handle compared to other carachters...the last episode of the first season was the worst though. Lucery's dragon was so scared like a little puppy:(
Aegon brought a Lamborghini to a Monster Truck battle...
Lmao
And the Lamborghini boops you when it sees you.
lambo driven smart can actually beat monster truck
It sucks more when one of the monster truck is actually faster than the lambo😊
@@srdshukla4 dont drink and dragon
That's how you Fking do a dragon vs dragon battle. Not that one in s8 where you can't even see
YES! I was soo happy that we actually got to see well what was going on...I watched s 8 only once and I never wanted to see that again but I watched Dany fighting army of the dead again after this episode and my god...I didnt remember how bad it was...I couldnt see anything and it seemed like writers didnt even have an idea how to write a dragon battle
Actually, Drogon and Rhaegal vs Viserion was more accurate.
@@jlljs what makes a dragon fight accurate?
@@nickram5061 it didn't happen
What accurate? This is fiction. Got s8 had triple the budget of HOTD
@@jlljs
The Targaryens : Have a war and battling with their dragons (and also flexing their dragons)
Daemon: Playing Silent Hill in Harenhall
oh he ain't done yet just wait lol
I think this is the 5th time I've seen this comment...
Rhaenys wasn’t testing her luck, she had to turn back because if you don’t kill Vhagar there really is no win. She wanted to make sure she ended Vhagar. She knew the moment she mounted Meleys, it was a suicide mission.
You mean playing Daemon's Souls?
I want him in action, like seriously
Aemond's reaction to Lucery's death despite taking his eye, compared to his reaction after downing Aegon just shows how much resentment he has for Aegon
Partially true…strategically killing Lucerys at the time didn’t make sense as the war hadn’t escalated to violence yet. It was still the war of ravens. Aemond is no fool and realized what he did but I doubt he regretted killing his nephew. But, by this time, it is a war and all bets are off. He wants power and wants to win. Notice he had a detached/satisfied look after defeating the Red Queen/Rhaenys. Anyone in his way of possibly being the true king are free game.
@@royaltyblessed2454He admits he feels bad about killing Luke to the whore.
no that was because he wasnt in control and he knew about the consequenses
@@royaltyblessed2454doesn’t he tell the prostitute he was with that he regrets killing his nephew?
No it shows the stupidity of showrunners. In the books aegon and aemond fight alongside at rooks nest.
It genuinely surprised me how much this episode made me feel bad for Aegon. Yeah he's an asshole, but he never wanted to be king. Then he was manipulated by Alicent into believing Viserys named him his heir, and then his son was murdered for something Aemond did. And now Alicent has basically disowned him for being a failure, yet he was always set up to fail.
I've always been kinda sympathetic for Aegon. He's got a lot going for him, and alot going against him. But a point that is DEFINETELY not in his favour is how he has been antagonizing Aemond his whole life. There's a difference between playful banter between brothers, and downright bullying, and Aegon is for sure leaning more towards that end. So no, I'm not too sympathetic for Aegon when it comes to Aemond.
But I am sympathetic towards him when it comes to most of the clowns in king's landing, and the two biggest clowns: Alicent and Otto who forced him to become king even when he clearly wasn't suited for it, nor wanted it. Then Alicent had the audacity to scold Aegon for how much was "sacrificed to get him on the throne".
@@bosspoke I totally agree.
With his own mother abandoning him when he was grieving his son and needed her the most, then this episode where she basically calls him worthless, it's hard not to feel for the guy. He really is trying in his own way.
I particularly loved when Sunfyre was brought out of the dragonpit and just head-butted Aegon like a cat and he gets this big smile. It's very humanizing in such a short, silent shot.
I absolutely f*cking hate Alicent in this episode.
She failed to raise Aegon, essentially wanted him to be a puppet of Otto's and hers, never taught him a dime and now is blaming him for everything? B¡tch, you had a job to do as his mum and you never passed down any of your knowledge to him because you wanted a malleable doormat to control and shape.
Now Aegon ends up as a drunken failure and Alicent thinks she can wash her hands and play victim?
She told Rhaenyra last episode "You know what Aemond is" and ??? He's the son you raised or neglected. She told them Rhaenyra would kill them if she ever ascended The Iron Throne. She didn't have any issue looking down with disgust towards the Strong boys. But then, she's offended that Aemond murders Luke.
She told Rhaenyra the Targaryens did have queer costumes when she found out she had gone to visit brothels with Daemon, yet forces Helaena and Aegon to marry unhappily.
Any time Daeron is mentioned, she dons this constipated look in her face that makes me suppose she's not close or appreciative of him, either.
Alicent lovers and apologists are the worst, because they claimed she loved her children is season 1 and I was like... did we even watch the same show? Alicent is there with Cersei when it comes to failed, awful mothers.
I felt bad for him in the book too…he’s just a product of his environment. If his father, Alicent or Otto bothered to actually interact with him, or teach him how to be king he wouldn’t be this way. Instead everyone around him ignored him, used him as a pawn and now tell him what a piece of crap he is because he doesn’t know what he’s doing. His son was just murdered and his mom wouldn’t even comfort him. It’s like Alicent is punishing him for existing, she was quite cruel to him this episode.
Aegon is one of the best this season Tom Glynn Carney you are amazing
yes , big respect for the actor...he made me feel bad for drunk rapist who likes to watch children fight to death , I really felt bad for him, nobody ever prepared him for this role, he was dragged and forced into it and now hes constantly reminded that he is not good enough , his mother literally telling him "youre good for nothing" ...that must be soo crushing
@@HK-gm8pe This! ❤
@@HK-gm8penot only kids fighting, HIS kids fighting
@@HK-gm8pe Considering Condal mentioned he wanted to keep both teams balanced and sympathetic ( he wanted the audience split 50 - 50 between Blacks and Greens ) it is safe to say they don`t consider the ra** or the child fighting as bad or noteworthy, same as how they don`t consider Rhaenys murdering atleast dozens in the Dragonpit as not noteworthy or how they don`t consider Daemon and Rhaenyra killing an innocent guard ( to pass off as Laenor`s corpse ) as noteworthy ( Smallfolk don`t count, applies to onlookers, guards, aswell as servant girls and child gladiators ). Naturally just because the showwriters seem to think like that ( and some weird fans ), the audience doesn`t need to subscribe to that very stupid view.
I think they realized they monumentally fucked up with Aegon in the first season ( literally making him joffrey-like ) so they make him far more sympathetic now ( which in some circumstances makes other characters worse... His mother turns into a complete asshole who basically said he needs to be puppet ( and how she treated the death of her grandson ), his brother accidentally killed luke, the guy who took his eye, less than one week ago and now he intentionally tries to kill his brother ). The only way they can somehow fix how they characterized Aegon is by making other characters bash him.. That`s just bad writing. Even if it works, and it does, in making Aegon more sympathetic, he is still a sadistic ra**ist. There is no fixing that. I genuinely wonder what the fuck they were thinking when they wrote that AND then claimed they wanted the audience split 50-50. It`s split 90-10 at best.
Just as an example : In season 2 Otto, Alicent, Aemond and a few others just degrade him, in some cases it makes no sense.. Both Otto and Alicent mentioned how good Viserys was.. He wasn`t. We have seen season 1. He was the very reason why the Realm split apart ( Otto even mentioned that very early on in season 1 ). Viserys was indecivise and allowed multiple different characters to take advantage of him ( Otto, Daemon, Corlys and Rhaenyra for example ). He didn`t do anything to achieve peace, he just continued the peace of his predecessor and created a mess. We are seeing the consequences of Viserys mess in this very season 2 and future seasons. Also the reasons given as to why Aegon is king is more bullshittery. The Greens legitimacy comes from the laws of Westeros ( legalism ), while the Blacks legitimacy comes from Viserys naming Rhaenyra heir ( absolutism ) and the war should be about what is considered legitimate. ( and naturally both sides have characters who abuse the legitimate claims. I.e. Otto used the marriage of Alicent with Viserys to produce an heir and scheme, while Daemon married Rhaenyra to gain power afterall ).
However this barely gets mentioned and instead we constantly talk about how Alicent misunderstood Viserys last words, so she tries to argue in the same absolutist manner, except with no witnesses ( and as the audience knows, she misheard, so by that virtue Alicent`s reasoning for why Aegon is legitimate is just false.. Whereas in actuality there is a real legitimate issue about who and what decides the successor, is it the word of the King/Queen or is it the law. )
But jeah, no matter what the showrunners try, they can`t undo ra** and child gladiators. Aegon is Joffrey, even if the showrunners didn`t intend this, the only exception is that they make this Joffrey not a coward who runs away from a fight, but someone who tries to prove himself, still a ra**st though and yeah sorry but by extension it becomes impossible to support the Greens. Not only a ra**ist king, but all his supporters are tainted by that association aswell, this isn`t a problem with the Blacks, as Daemon while evil, isn`t the figurehead of the Blacks, so he can be the villain, while not taining Rhaenyra or her supporters. The showrunners dropped the ball so hard it`s unbelievable.
yep his performance is proving to be the star of the season so far...Last season it was easily Paddy as Viserys. Though i'd also say Emma is really killing it as Rhaenyra overall too.
This show is carving out its own legacy and not just a GOT spinoff. Incredible stuff
Definitely not as good as 1 - 5 GoT.
@@david3551 I would put 6 in that category since the last two episodes of that season are the best 2 of the series imo (and highest IMDb rating). It’s not that BUT it’s close to seasons 1-6. We will see how the rest of the season shakes out but this is fantastic television
Got S5 is mid bro Hotd S1-S2>Got 5-8@@david3551
@@david3551 Agreed but the source material isn't set up in the same way. I think some of the changes in HOTD are a bit unnecessary but I'm liking the adaptation overall. This was the best episode since S5E10 of GOT.
@@david3551it’s essentially down to the source material. HotD is a slow burner because it’s way harder to adapt due to the way the book is written. Pound for pound the show runners for HotD are definitely doing the better job
I loved the initial conflict between Rhaenyra and Jacaerys where he is openly hostile and she just gives a look of pure confusion because she has been missing all the frustration he has had from her inaction and its just at the boiling point
Lol reminded me of me and my mother when I was a kid
It also shows that although Jace is kind he's not necessarily very smart. Nrya is already fighting a losing battle being a woman in a position of power. Undermining her in front of the council who already doubt her was a poor decision
@RobertSawney I wouldn't call that undermining. Besides wanting to go himself, most of what he said was valid. I'm sure the others at the table were going to say it anyways, and I think she took it better since it came from him.
@@Lambothe1st yeah I just think that the council have already tried talking over. She needs to be seen as strong and supported. She wasn't then but I totally get his frustration because her plan to meet Alicent was pretty dumb
@@RobertSawney I agree. And getting into it with her right there with that tone might not have been the best timing. But from his POV, he's been trying to keep these people under control since her absence, so I'm sure that's taking a toll on him too.
Sun fyre was so innocent buddy didn’t know what was gonna happen! I bet he was shackled up at the pits for a hot minute waiting to just go outside!
I saw someone comparing him to a poodle, a dragon bred to be beautiful for show, went into a battle with rottweilers D:
I felt so bad for beautiful Sunfyre!!! Those squeals hit me in the heart
@@johndo2761 Also, remember that Sunfyre is still a newbie on that battle as Vhagar is a grandma since she was rode by Visenya while Meleys has more experience on battlefield. So, it's more like a shock therapy to Sunfyre.
@@margarethmichelina5146 true true
bro thought he was going for a walk in the park 😭
D&D would "analyse" this battle like,
"While Rhaenys kinda forgot about Aemond and the largest living dragon, Vhagar, they certainly haven't forgotten about her!" 😅
😂😂😂😂
this comment is GOAT
@@christo4you70 D&D are the type of writers who could read and copy the most meaningful and thematically rich text and their takeaway is "we don't know what this means, but it looks cool!"
ah they not so bad. I got a laugh out of this but i do find it odd that people are so quick to dismiss what they did achieve in GoT. Sure they had source material early on, but translating such an unfilmable story to the screen like they did was impressive. Plus there were plenty of amazing scenes in early GoT that never happened in the books at all. They just got fatigued, complacent and rushed it so they could do something else, which is where their real sin lies.
At least D&D did not have the complete book to get details, house of dragon has no excuse to do this amount of bad writing, book is literally done.
the dragon "death spiral" is one of my favourite things i have ever seen in GOT/HOTD. it just perfectly shows why it is called the dance of the dragons
Love how rhaenyra saying “either I win my claim or die” acts as a callback to cersei saying “when you play the game of thrones, you win or you die”
It's been a long time since we've seen some true dragon vs dragon battles since most dragons in media tend to just fight with their fire or maybe their tails.
Here, they fight like actual animals, locking their talons together so they can bite and use fire upclose without missing, unlocking the talons when they see they can claw their opponent, trying to go for kill shots by trying to bite the neck, it FEELS like how dragons would fight each other.
Couldn't agree more. The claws dragging and digging into the chest cavities, the biting and ripping, it was so visceral and violent that it felt like real animals fighting
If you haven’t already you should watch the behind the scenes video that HBO dropped on their youtube channel. The CGI and VFX teams based the dragons fighting on how birds of prey fight, with the whole locking talons and biting/scraping each other. I really have a new respect for the episode after watching that video!
@@hannahhudson9335 hell yeah thank you!
fantasy realism ftw
that's why lotr is overrated and cannot ever compete
It also successfully shows just how experienced Meleys and Vhagar are in combat. Sunfyre went straight to fire where Meleys displayed a whole dragon strategy. Vhagar is also very cunning and sneaky even with her size she’s able to surprise attack, it left me feeling like I understood the dragons more.
Vhagar isn't disappointed. Vhagar is too old for this shit!
granny Vhaegar just want to nap and bbq dornishmen.
yeah, i thought of it as a sigh of relief.
And not kill her daughter was a plus, she hoped.
@@christianpetersen163 Grandma Vhagar is basically Godzilla on Game of Thrones universe, they wake up, choose violence and too old for their shits.
Aegon is my favourite character, Tom added so much nuance to this role. Also, that little smile Aegon gave when Sunfyre boops him is precious, our golden boy just wants to have some fun and fly with his favourite human. He didn`t deserve all of it.
btw, I think it is believable to assume Aegon could survive that fall. Sunfyre was injured but he managed to turn to his belly in midair so Aegon wouldn`t be crushed by his dragon. Though I simply know what happened next so ...
He was also wearing Valyrian steel armour. Which could have played a part in his survival.
at first I was worried that Sunfyre is just another Syrax but god ....the dragon looks soo damn cute, you just want to cuddle him, not to take him into battle :( hes sounds even are like a little puppy
TGC as Aegon has become my precious baby boy and I don't want anyone to hurt him... and I'm staunchly team black.
Aeg probably my fav too ngl. The actor has grown on me. When he snapped on Larys in this episode I was dying😂
@@DarkWRLDGmzI'm actually really surprised how much they've made me care about Aegon. At this point he's probably the best written character
I think a part of the reason WHY Rhaenys refused to escape might correlate with her guilt over what Daemon said to her first episode about Luke. She may have escaped the first time last season but this time she wants to make it right, even by just causing a little bit of damage to the Green side. Plus she fully accepted her fate even while preparing for battle.
But honestly this could just be me as a Rhaenys defender 😭
For real, Rhaenys was my favorite character in the show. RIP to MY queen 😔
You are right
The attacking army charge was interrupted by a dragon breathing fire on em.
The usurper king just 'died' in a spectacular fashion.
The other dragon fell on em.
Their commander, Sir Cole, was knocked off his horse and got knocked out cold.
Soon after the remaining two dragons fought, Vhager vanished. He was not supporting the grunts with the siege. It was only a matter of time before their morale broke. Rhaenys was winning. There was no reason for her to return to the battlefield, especially since she couldnt see the giant dragon that was a massive threat to her. All she had to do was wait, let Vhagar do the next move, she was making things right until she turned back and got herself killed.
I mean... cmon... she had the faster dragon. The weather was perfect. We saw the soldier see her come from miles away. We know the skies where clear, meaning Vhagar had nowhere to hide there. She had every advantage. There was no reason for her to be this reckless. Even if her goal was to take down or injure Vhagar at whatever the cost. She simply died like a complete moron. And in doing so, not only she solved the morale problem for the greens infantry, but breached the walls as well. Truly, a great job from her.
Honestly, she also saw Vhaegar crash and probably thought he was injured on the ground which is why she turned back and kept surveying/looking for him for a chance to either finish him off or kill the dragonrider (Aemond) off. You don't get these many chances at getting at him in a vulnerable position and taking out either Vhaegar or Aemond (or both) pretty much ends the war then and there. Aemond dead would mean Vhaegar is riderless and could not be controlled - and the Greens don't have any more spare, dragon-less Targaryens in their camp. Heleana isn't really a warrior so that pretty much just leaves Daeron (their still unrevealed sibling in Oldtown) and his dragon.
Yeah just u. She should have killed everyone during aegon crowing but didnt. Shes the reason the war is lost
Everyone else: fighting a war
Daemon: renovating
I'm so happy the battle was done during the day and not at night
all done in the wise way of Sir Crist-on of Cole
the fact this show didn’t have a dragon battle until a season & a half in but was still awesome throughout speaks volume
.......because there was no need for it until now... ?
We did sorta get a dragon battle in the end of season 1. It was brutally one sided, but I guess a battle all the same?
I mean season 1 was basically all backstory into how this war was started
@@raymaxxTV is it not clear that I’m praising the show because of that ??
which volume? the first or the second
Rhaenys' story is rather tragic. When she was wrongfully spurned her crown early in her life, she found new purpose in raising her family with Corlys. While they were alive, she treasured her children and grandchildren greatly. To her knowledge, both of her children have died, as well as one of her grandchildren. We see her in mourning many times in season 1, and each time she goes to her husband to grieve, the only person who could have given her the emotional support to carry on. And, after her remaining grandchildren were either sent away or made busy fighting a war, she really only has him left in her family.
Early on in this episode, she talks with a dockhand/sailor(?) and examines his face. She calls him "comely" and notes that he saved her husband during a battle at some point. It's a strong possibility that this person is one of her husband's bastards, and she clocks this immediately when she recognizes her husband in this person's face. She learns that her husband, the only person left in her life, was unfaithful to her. At this point, the only purpose she has left in this life is to fight Rhaenyra's war, a war that she probably doesn't even care about anymore.
She's lost her crown and her family, the two things she really ever cared about. She has nothing left to lose, the only thing left is for her to die a memorable death on her own terms. Her decision to volunteer for this mission was a logical one, and her staying to the end was an emotional one. She understood that going back to fight Vhagar was suicide, but when she could have left the battlefield, she didn't. Instead, she readies herself and straps in for the fight ahead. She did her best against Vhagar, the dragon that killed her daughter and her grandson Lucerys. And when Vhagar killed her dragon, Melys, she again closed her eyes and embraced death. In the end, Rhaenys Targaryen didn't die crying or screaming or in pain. She went out fighting a sick fight. She died a glorious, fiery death, one fit for a Targaryen.
She has been one of my favorite characters from this show. I disagree about her motivation for turning back on Vhagar however. I think she knew it would be tough but not suicide necessarily. I think she probably felt this would be the best chance to take down Aemond that she would get, and she could end the war right there. And hey it almost worked, Aemond could've broken his neck in that fall lol
Watching Aegon struggle to speak Valerian while Aemond spoke fluently made me feel actually so bad for him
I would say it was a bit of a payback from Aemond for the brothel scene in previous episode, as was showing the whole Council that Aegon knows nothing about war or strategy.
But whose fault is that other than his own? Considering we see Aemond speaking fluently it's safe to assume Aegon wasn't forbidden from learning High Valyrian, he just didn't want to do it. And Aemond putting him on the spot wasn't unprovoked as the other commenter pointed out, it was payback for Aegon making fun if him at the brothel.
Aemond was owning him subtly. I'm better than you, brother. Smarter, handsomer, clever, intelligent. You are useless and you are a mumbling buffoon.
Aegon was utterly lost.
“I can….has….cheeseburger?”
Poor Aegon is so out of his element. It’s hard not to relate to Aegon in that scene especially if you have brothers
He’s reaping what he sow
Tom Glynn-Carney is doing such a fantastic job with his portrayal as Aegon II. A very tragic character.
I liked Jace taking a leadership role.
If you had a brother that was killed by the enemy and you learned your mother was trying to sue for peace you'd be mad too
The bastard is getting cocky
The writing makes him a pure contrarian.
No? @@zedzed5
Very Strong showing
I think they wanted to hammer home that Aegon is utterly crippled for the rest of his life. His ancestor's armour and the love of Sunfyre were the only things to protect him from certain death.
I think Rhaenys' perspective is believeable. Consider this: she was convinced that both her children were dead, that her grandkids had been taken far away from her and also she started to grow apart from her husband. I see it as if she was kind of depressed. So she decided to sacrifice herself (also making up for her mistake of not saying dracarys in the Dragon's Pitt).
That and not heeding Daemon in fighting Vhagar together.
If they killed Granny and Aemond they're essentially taking away the greens biggest advantage against the blacks.
We see how Sunfyre fares against Meleys.
Helaena ain't gonna ride Dreamfyre because homegirl is grieving and depressed.
And Tessarion, Daerons dragon is smaller in comparison to almost every dragon the Blacks have.
I think Rhaenys felt personally responsible for not ending this war when she had so many chances to do so. Her children's death and learning about Corlys infidelity (Alyn looks like him) doesn't help either. She was ready to die, but not without a fight. And she went down valiantly in battle with her dragon. What a way to go. If she's gonna die at least it's in the hands of a legendary beast like Vhagar, rather than passing away while sitting on a piss pot.
@@Melodia-ge8ib Is Alyn Corlys son he looks way to old like mid 40s perhaps Corlys little brother or nephew but Addam definitely is Corlys boy maybe Alyn one of Corlys bastards before he got married to Rhaenys during his world tour but Addam is definitely from a bit before Laenors birth and a bit after Laenas birth.
The guilt of not ending the war before it started was the main driving force imo. She regretted not dracarys Aegon and the whole team Green during the coronation and now the war started and thousands will die because she didn't end it earlier. That guilt drove her back for a suicide mission to take down Aemond and Vhagar.
@@melkormorgothbauglir.4848no it makes sense lol, Corlys is a burly dude, it just may not seem like it with their style of clothing. Alyn may seem a bit older but he definitely has the right physique, and does look like him when they stood side by side as they talked to Rhaenys at the port.
@@_Tristen_ It's an actor thing Steve looks to young to be an old Corlys makes sense 10-20 year jump and all also Abubakr Salim is about the same age as Steve to so its more just visuals.
Aemond, the brother of the king, will now act as his heir in place of the King's daughter. Aemond has become what Daemon always wanted to be. Incredible.
Aemond is Darmon is Daemon had no soul. For all his darkness he would never betray his brother.
Aemond? Oh dear, I unfortunately burned Aegon too. What a shame 🤷
Didn't know that Daemon wanted to be a Valyrian Weeb
@@Crisopeia He did spend half of the first season speaking of Valyrian-Targaryen supremacy, speaking High Valyrian, wearing a FULL VALYRIAN STEEL ARMOR for a tourney, reading Valyrian history in Pentos, spending most of his time tending to dragon eggs instead of his pregnant wife. Dude’s a full weeb. Even married his niece in true Valyrian fashion. Aemond IS Daemon. Even Daemon sees that in his dream.
I feel disappointed the show hasn't mentioned this.
Aegon finds himself in his father's shoes now. Either he names his daughter heiress or Aemond takes the crown.
I don't think Aegon or Helaena will now be on the position to breed another child.
@@Δ-Δ-Δ-Δperhaps thats were maelor comes in .
A giant dragon going for a stealth build makes tons of sense though. *That's just literally how....... **_every single big predator we have on Earth has to spec into in order for it to hunt and sustain itself._*
Smaller dragons are faster and have better mobility but Vhagar is the oldest and the one with the most combat experience. She can't do anything about her mass but has to know how to use it efficiently. She is like a flying great white shark.
But vaghar is the size of a 747 hard to miss that @nicolasmartinez795
Yall be forgetting that Rhaenys and her dragon had the high ground. You’re talking about land animals. Birds of prey are fast so they don’t use stealth usually. Vaghar is way too big to hide behind anything, it was under Maelys and her dragon when it jumped out and it should be way slower than the smaller dragon which, it is, most of the time. Takes 3 business days to just leave the ground lol
@@LadyIronHeart fr fr
0:05 We were robbed of "Otto Full Frontal" this episode.
I wouldn't even be mad if Tywin just appeared with absolutely no explanation.
When did Alt Shift X make a cameo?
@@Francis...HE WAS THE HORSE
@sentientmustache8360 I don't get it, I'm sorry. I only watched a couple of videos of him recently. That's how I know him.
After this episode, I can’t wait to see the battle above the gods eye.
yup
Sad how no one rlly cared for Aegon except for Cole, his friends were all fake and his own brother played a part in his death.
Maybe Cole was loyal because he made him hand
He’s not dead
yup, Aegon is a really tragic character.
@@Trashpanda887y I hope not because that'll ruin one of the best moments yet to come
And I’m pretty sure Cole only cares because it’s part of his hate boner for Rhaenyra.
She's not just the "biggest dragon" she was also the most experienced. So it wasn't surprising that she was able to do a perfect ambush attack.
It’s fucking stupid.
You can’t hide something that big.
They were just trying to shock people, even when it was obvious what was about to happen.
it is pretty surprising though, she's a massive dragon... how does rhaenys, who's the more experienced rider, AND meleys who has her fair share of experience, lose vhagar? doesn't really make sense to me
@@nickcouture6406 well she rhaenys was the one that kept going on the offensive.
@@nickcouture6406 The battlefield was field with smoke that time, thus giving Vhagar a chance to hide behind the walls of the castle, and it is clear that Rhaenys was a bit disoriented after the battle with both Sunfyre and Vhagar so she failed to take into account the clear disadvantage that flying over possible hideouts presents. I'm still surprised that Vhagar with her massive wings was a silent flyer, that's the part that kinda doesn't make sense to me.
Yeah but in an open field on a clear day, there is only one obvious place she could be.
Vhagar has proven to be a stealth/ambush predator throughout the show. I was fully expecting Meleys to die that way.
youre right, but it just makes absolutely no sense for vhagar to be a stealthy ambush predator. shes the biggest dragon alive by a mile.
@@Jackerco That's fair enough, but there's precedent for it, even in GRRM's writing, The Mountain defeating Oberyn being a great example.
@@PrincipalSkinner3190the mountain won because oberlyn got cocky and underestimated the mountain’s strength. Vhagar could be stealthy in season 1 hiding in the clouds at night, but her jumpscaring off a cliff side makes little sense when the earlier shots showed how long it takes vhagar to build momentum getting into the air. It makes her look more threatening, but is kinda playing fast and loose with consistency
@@l3R0K3N8BIT Rhanys also clearly got cocky flying back into battle before confirming Vhagar's whereabouts... you have the right to nitpick its realism, but it's a stretch to act like the scene was outlandish within the context of the show.
It’s a teleporting dragon. GoT has a habit of adding teleporting powers randomly. Did it for Arya when she teleported past a zombie army for a death blow and now the biggest dragon being able to teleport.
HOTD DON'T DISSAPOINT
Aside from the 3rd Episode lol
@@carsonmiller4982 honeymoon phase
@@maylabrown4584 third episode was fine, it set up a lot of things for the strory to come
@@edsp666 Lol no it wasn't.
The Septa scene was one of the stupidest moments in the entire Show being rivalled by the Episode in Season 1 where a bunch of innocents were killed at random for no reason by the "Queen who never was".
Easily the worst part of Season 2 by far, then in that same episode you had the whole pointless dragon chase scene, time that could have been spent towards oh yknow *the Bracken vs Blackwood Fight???*
@@maylabrown4584”I didn’t see what I wanted to see so the episode sucked”
The thing with Vhagar; she wasn’t always the biggest. She was the smallest of the 3 conqueror dragons, and I can totally see Visenya training her to “sneak attack” Balerion and Meraxes in order to win bouts of play or to spook their riders for fun. Additionally, she is a one-hit kill now given her size(if she can get her jaws on the opposing dragons), so Aemond recognizing that and setting her up for an easy catch doesn’t surprise me either.
okay that's some deep dragon-riding lore right here
Thats a lot of lore you had to create for an explanation though. The show just did not do a good job of making this scenario believable. The ambush was unnecessary anyway its not like vhagar could not have won a straight 1v 1 battle anyway.
@@Userkiller3814 Vhagar probably would've lost that ngl, Meraxes, despite being tired was definitely going to win there.
@@Userkiller3814 I’m not going to argue with you about whether the show did a good job, frankly, because I don’t care how you feel about that in particular. However, Vhagar was canonically the smallest of the conqueror’s dragons, and so I gave my opinion on the show’s portrayal of Rook’s Rest using that as a basis. I did not “create lore,” I merely gave my opinion on the lore George created and gave my thoughts on how that might relate to the show’s portrayal of Vhagar. Many dragons could win a fair fight against Vhagar, regardless of her size, and in fact due the very size that makes her such a threat. If you haven’t read the source material, I won’t spoil it for you, but it’s made pretty obvious by George that 1v1 duels between dragons don’t necessarily favor the largest one by some large margin, so using stealth and ambush to ensure a single, fatal blow is simply the smarter way to win.
@@IzzyAndAndyI 100% agree with you. They’re George R R Martin’s creation, so he decides what’s what. He said in an interview that the 2 most powerful dragons are Vhagar (size / strength / experience) and Caraxes (intelligence / ferocity / experience).
He also points out that Meleys can comfortably out pace both of them. It was totally believable that she would hurl Vhagar to the floor, because you can see her using speed to evade Vhagar’s clutches as they’re tumbling down. It’s also believable that Vhagar would’ve perfected a stealth attack as she’s 181 years old, and a battle hardened dragon with unmatched experience who has been specifically bred for war.
Rhaenys was not 'testing her luck' going back. She knew rightly she wasn't going to survive against Vhagar. But it is out of a sense of duty to carry on fighting in the hopes of forcing a complete victory even against all odds and is aware that she would die doing it. It has already been mentioned to her multiple times about how she didn't torch the whole Green Team in King's Landing to end the war right there, so you can read it as some kind of way to get redemption.
Glad you mentioned the dragon blood splatter kill! That was insane to see and something I just hadn't considered happening until now. Horrific.
When Aemond spoke that “Dracarys” you can just feel all the years of pent up rage, resentment and abuse just burst out of him. That was the moment he snapped.
This coud honesty be one of the best in the franchise. Although I hate seeing dragons get hurt or die, thar being said, this is the Dance of Dragons. Like everyone has said, I really like how they showed the fallout from dragons battling.
This was the first episode of HOTD that I truly felt was on the same level as peak Game of Thrones. Just incredible to watch
yeah... this reminded my of that time when Daenerys got one of her dragons killed by a surprised balista in the face from a hidden ship in the open seas in broad daylight.
Nah that was episode 2
The cinematography was top tier, really made the dragon’s fighting look like an epic and terrifying spectacle.
The reason Rhaenys turns back to fight Vhagar is because she feels partly responsible for what is about to unfold, having heard Rhaenyra say that she has exhausted all possibilities to avoid the war and failed. She is devastated to realize what lies ahead and for the first time she doubts her choice to not end the Greens last season. So she feels personally obliged to take the shot at ending the war even at a disadvantage.
That being said, the way they incorporated the close-ups of the actors and allowed for such intense emotional performances within an otherwise completely CG action scene without breaking its pacing is the best. Also the fact that Aemond almost deliberately attacks his brother was another great payoff to a dynamic that had been carefully established since season one and another great improvement on the source material in my opinion. There is no greater praising for the writing of a fantasy show. The series isn't even halfway through and it's already worthy of peak Game of Thrones.
I didn’t think about the fact that Rhaenys could have stopped the war in the first place, but I do think you’re right about that playing a part in her turning around to fight when odds weren’t in her favir
I also think that her whole life has been a behind character, from not getting the crown, trying to avoid a war when she could have finished it there and then at the dragon pit, finding out her husband had bastards, her house not having an official heir due to her husband being stubborn and having little to no respect from the blacks small council aswell as just getting on a bit with age, she’s probaly had enough and doesn’t want to continue with the war
@@AemondOneEye but why is Aegon building a statue for Aemond later, after all that?
@@JaxonFarquhar-fg4gz the odds was in her favor. it was now a 1v1 with aemond. rhaenys was the most experience dragon rider and meleys and vhaegar use to fly together. She rhaenys would have won if she knew where they were hiding.
Rhaenys let the Greens getaway once before she truly chose a side. This time she's all in for Rhaenyra, and she wasn't going to bow out. It was all or nothing.
One thing this show has done that’s absolutely brilliant is show the bonds between dragons and their riders. I never felt a bond between Daenerys and hers despite everyone telling us it would there. It may be that Emilia Clarke just isn’t a good actress but I think it’s more the writers wanted to emphasise this.i love that all the Targaryen’s are only ever really themselves, or happy at all, when they are around their dragons.
It really seemed like vhagar was hesitant to kill Meleys. They were family before the war started... 😢
Trust me , she wasn't
Nah grandma Vhagar wanted smoke
They were family and the fact that Vhagar was ridden by Baelon the Brave and Meleys was ridden by his wife Alyssa, as some point they flew together back then 😢
where did you get THAT idea? :D:D Vhagar is probably the only dragon that doesnt give a s*it.... also dragons basically become their riders trough the magic bond....so Vhagar is basically Aemond in a dragons body, if you look Vhagars history aswell then you see hat this dragon has a certain type when choosing her riders... she has always been a battle hungry dragon , only dragon that I would literally call an evil b*tch :D
When Grandma vhagar sleeps, she dreams only of war.
He didn't want the Crown. Those who pushed him to take the crown are now calling him a failure. Rough!!
because he is naive.
7:50 She wasnt going back for another. She thought she had more or less won and got Aemond to retrat and was therefor returning home. Remember the direction (towards the sea) is where she came from and the direction of dragonstone. Alternativly she was just scouting but the reason she was killed was because she didnt relize Vhagar was even in that direction and thus was ambushed. Her saying "fight" was after Aegon was downed and she flew back towards the castle from the sea. But after Vhagar was downed she didnt not call for another attack.
They gotta stop doing the vhagar jump scares how hard Isit to see a leviathan lol
@@BobbyFlay14 Seriously, they should've just had Vhagar run Meleys down when she tried to return to Dragonstone. Would've been more believable and could've shown the terror in Rhaenys's face as she realized her fate.
@@damatar
No that would have been much less believable, Vhagar’s size and age makes her quite slow, while Meleys is one of the fastest dragons currently alive right now. An ambush was the only way Vhagar was going to outpace Meleys.
@@BobbyFlay14
You’d be surprised how a leviathan could hide itself.
@@damatarexcept Meleys only has 2 defining traits.
1: Red
2: FASTEST DRAGON
Honestly they haven’t missed the mark with any episodes. People were disappointed with last episode when it was abundantly clear they were building to something. First 4 seasons of GoT had very sparse action and was mainly dialogue, but when there was action it was big. This show feels like the first 4 seasons of GoT. Simply brilliant
This is there review I was waiting the most
What about Glimby&Schrifty?
I think it's worth to mention how Criston Cole was named the Kingmaker in this episode. It instantly brought me a spark of resemblance to Kingslayer - another kingsguard who's given name comes from his infamous reputation. I am saying infamous because in Coles case, even though it "doesn't sound as evil", Kingmaker is firstly said as an insult - a man who fiddles with the rightful sucession, the kind of kingsguard without honor.
In terms of the time jumps, I will say it kinda does makes sense. It takes time to get from Dragonstone to KL, but the writers cut to when Rhaenyra gets there so we can watch the scene between her and Alicent. This isn't breaking anything because it could be said that the first council scene happens while Rhaenyra isn't even in KL or at the same time while she was there. Scenes aren't always one after the other when it comes to the timeline, especially if these scenes happen in two seperate locations with differenct characters. What I mean by this is we can't know which scene in the episode comes before which other scene, you can only connect the scenes of every character to a timeline of their own during the episode
11:20 probably the classiest "fk me sideways" I've ever heard. 😂
Do we have context on that line? :D
I love how everyone talks to their dragons in Valyrian except for aegon 😂😂
The troops getting drenched with dragon blood kinda reminded me of soldiers getting covered in shell casings from passing helicopters. Great detail.
Rhaenys is dull? Are we even watching the same show😂😂
so dull. Even her face when she was falling to her death was bland
Yes. She is dull.
@@sanna8300Dont mistake stoic for dull. Its hella emotion behind all the words she says and glares she gives. And her story is hella sad as well.
@@skoolboydes6680 being stoic is being dull i'd say. She might have "hella emotion" but since her first appearance she's been too wrapped up in duty and knowing her place, which yes make her effectively kinda dull. I wish they had just one scene of her letting loose a bit but overall none of that means her character was less likeable though. I'll defo miss her.
They are watching the same show yes.
But through a combination of having poor media literacy and more importantly not finding the actress who plays Rhaenys sexually attractive, they think she’s dull.
My only issue with this masterpiece episode is how they are able to miss the biggest Dragon around. It is practically bigger than the Rooks rest castle, they could have still killed Rhaenys in a less contrived way
I like the emotional swings of the soldiers in the castle cuz they were definitely like “oh fuck thats a huge army” then “heck yeah we got a dragon” then “oh fuck they got a dragon” then “heck yeah our dragon won” then “oh fuck they have that huge dragon”
Yes it was so great to see it from common folk perspective. And that fearless castle lord who had cajones of steel.
I think Rhaenys had the right idea with trying to go back. She could not only take out the King, but the next in line to take the Throne after him and the most dangerous threat to the Black counsel all at one go. For a potentialy 2-for-1 in the same battle, I think in the adrenaline filled moment she made a rash decision but one that I think most would've done.
Aemond isn't unhinged, he is just sick of his weak brother Aegon.
but aegon is misunderstood, naive even.
I agree with this take, when aegon showed up he seemed disappointed when he said “idiot”
With Vhagar being so big, I thought she was like a T-Rex, a giant animal who is an ambush hunter. Vhagar will lose against speed but uses her power to advance in a quick blast.
As a book reader, what really caught me off guard was the change where Vhagar roasted Sunfyre - I did a double take like "Wait, did Aemond do that? Did he mean to do that?" In hindsight it makes sense since Aemond doesn't let go of grudges and of course he would want the glory of taking down Meleys himself instead of in a 2v1
IIRC it was kinda vague. like the people on the ground couldn't tell what was happening
I think my favorite part abkut this show is just how well it fleshes out characters that were pretty one-note in the book and even previously in the show.
Obviously with King Viserys in season 1, but in season 2 Otto Hightower, Aemond, Daemon, and now Aegon II are given so much more depth to the point where they can go from sympathetic anti-hero to outright psycho and back again in a single episode and be completely believable, and whats written off as a total accident in the book is now shown to be a regicide attempt with 2 ful episodes of buildup to make it totally believable and also show why none of the Greens focus on it moving forward
Im team black but godamn Aegon is such an interesting character. Tom really embodies that role and everytime he's on screen I love it.
one last little negative / weird thing was how Cole woke up among soldiers who where either burned to ash or alive with significant burns while he was just out of breath from the fall
To me, he looked like he fell close to the tree line, which may have offered some protection
I gathered he got knocked out after the bulk of the burning occurred.
He was knocked off his horse (which died). The ground impact combined with the weight of his armor knocked him out temporarily.
@@alexman378 I don't have a problem with him being knocked out, it is possible that the burned people were there already when he was knocked out, I'llhave to watch it again
checked it again, there are people alive and not burning running around him right before he is knocked out, there are no trees around him when he wakes up
Tom Glynn Carney as Aegon is my precious baby boy and I shall not tolerate any threats or insults to his grace the king.
I think Rhaenys stuck around because she wanted to gamble and end this war before it really starts to take off.
She saw Vhagar crash amidst the smoke on the battlefield, and I think she was looking to finish the job. She probably knew it was stupid, but took the chance anyways.
Kinda fits with her character this season as she's been the one pleading with Rhaenyra to sue for peace until the last option is exhausted.
Dragonstone and Kingslanding are pretty close by boat and dragon, so the travel time is okay. The episode was fantastic, best one so far.
Thank you!!!!!! 😂 I said the exact same thing. It requires a vast suspension of disbelief to accept that Vagar was able to time its attack perfectly without even seeing the other dragon. It’s akin to trying to attack surprising someone around a corner at full speed, you may know they are around the corner but you can’t know when they will come around the corner.
It baffles me how Game of Thrones constantly puts out amazing battles to the point where I have to remind myself that THIS IS A TELEVISION SHOW! Comparing this to the battles in Vikings, The Witcher or Rings of Power makes it clear how much talent HBO puts into Game of Thrones/HotD
Aegon's got more balls than Joffrey ever had. He's not a heroic character, but he tried to do the right thing. He wanted to prove himself worthy of being a King. Respect.
I think Vhagar managing to be stealthy despite her massive size speaks volumes about her battle experience...
I think she went back to fight Vaghar knowing she couldn’t win BUT she could injure him enough that the next person could beat him. That is what I think she was doing
I'm surprised you weren't expecting Vhagar to come up from behind the castle. I was audibly saying here he comes as she approached the castle. Something about the scenes just prior of her flying around and not seeing him stood out like a sore thumb that she was going down right when she thinks they're home free.
yeah me too it felt kinda dumb not gonna lie
@@artursakis8668 agree. They could've came to the same ending without the cheesy sneak attack from the cliffs. I'm gonna venture a guess and say budget for the individual episode brought us to that ending, perhaps 🤷
Rhaenys could have escaped but one of the reasons that she tried her best is (besides Lucerys and everything leading up to that) the fact that she did not burn them all and be done with it as Daemon pointed out to her at the start of this season. Finally, they did something good in the end with that plotline.
Poor Sunfyre. His first true episode was just to be nearly killed, and his relationship with Aegon is one of the the only humanizing moments for that goon.
Also rip to Meleys, a real one 🐲
2:23 you can see Sunfyre turn to land on his stomach at the last second to protect Aegon, the loyal golden boi saved the King :')
Rhaenys chose to go back in battle because Rhaenyra ordered her to stop Cole and abandoning Rooks Rest would set a bad image for Rhaenyra's allies. She also got a lot of shit from people when they told her she could've stopped the war during Aegon's coronation.
Vhagar was shown crawling so as not to let the smoke and dust blow away. That allowed her to sneak up behind the castle on the cliff.
That sounds so obvious now that you say it!! Not to mention, Vhagar’s knack for camouflage is established before the battle. Makes sense to me!
@@thatkidwiththehoodie
Vhagar is also color green, so yeah she can blend in easily with the greenery.
@@baron6588 Exactly, I mean there was literally a scene of her rising beneath the forest floor. It looks like she can blend right in with the boulders and foliage of the surrounding area. Some big predators are not as fast as their prey, so they resort to using the element of surprise and Vhagar really reminds me of a crocodile.
Who was winning when she decided to turn back? The dudes whose kings just fell from the sky?
@@Melodia-ge8ib she’s actually kind of the perfect shade of green to blend into a smoky field/forest.
Also fun fact, crocodiles aren’t green. They’re a variety of blacks, whites, browns, greys and yellows. The green look comes from a mix of the light, the murky water and the algae that gets between their scales.
I had been super stressed and nervous with how they would handle the dragons fighting because a lot rides on that, and some of the earlier CGI and effects left me underwhelmed, but I was blown away. It was fantastic. The battle above the Gods Eye and the second battle of Tumbleton is going to be freaking intense!
Can we appreciate Tom’s acting with Aegon?? Like every scene it’s always amazing acting.
I think with Rhaenys, they set up her motivation in the episode where she and Meleys confront Aegon at his coronation ceremony. She didn't act then, and she gets chastized for it repeatedly by members of the Blacks. She rightfully didn't have Meleys open fire on the Greens, because "it's not my war". She was told, point blank, "YOU could have ended this, but you didn't." and I think that stuck with her.
So now she's got a chance to end the war. And by god, does she give it her all here to try and take out the King and Aemond, or at least their dragons.
It's strange how Rhaenyra's council has been proven right about practically everything at this point and the blacks suffered a major disaster because Rhaenys and Rhaenyra repeatedly refused to heed their advice, yet people are still talking about them as if they are incompetent, disrespectful and unreasonable. The fandom of this show is weird sometimes.
People are weird. They identify with some aspect of a person/group and then use that person/group for self actualization.
It turns criticism into personal attacks and blinds people to nuance of the story being told cause they fill in any blanks with their own thoughts and experiences.
People can't just watch a show anymore. Very sad.
People are dumb. Nothing new there. Same groups of people probably think Daemon is a good person just because he's hot.
@LiamPowelluuu2 I thought it's been made clear since 2011 that there is not a single good person in the Game of Thrones universe but apparently people still make heroes out of these clearly nuanced multilayered characters.
I blame the show for this narrative of passivism equals wisdom, inaction and being indecisive is just as bad as being reckless and too rash , not wanting to fight is perfectly responsible but when it's time to throw down you have to throw down this is something the book version of the blacks understood, the moment Luke died the time for talking was over .
@theguardian2428 Well that's obvious bullshit, you'll have a hard time explaining why Shireen isn't a good person.
7:48 She went back in order to defend Rook's Rest from Vhagar. She went there for that purpose, and even after downing those boys, for her to leave would have been to forfeit her mission and leave the keep to her Queen's enemies. She went back not as a noble sacrifice, but to finish what she started with Aemond and Vhagar, torch Cole and his army, and prevent Rook's Rest from falling. She failed, but she did her duty like a warrior
The Grandmeister in Aegon's council understood the high valyrian argument right??
That's what I was thinking too, out of anyone there he's the most likely to understand. It would also make sense since we see a Maester teaching Jace Valyrian at one point. It stands to reason Orwyle might've had to do the same for the Black's children before he was Grand Maester.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Larys understood it
Some maesters can understand high valyrian, but not all of them. So, we can't know for sure.
@@Horacio_Poggi One would assume the King's Grand Maester would, but Orwyle has the good sense to keep his head down
@@Horacio_Poggi Grandmeister is pretty likely to speak it in this time. Would be kind of wild for them not to
daemon has always been my favourite character and i knew going into season 2 that aegon would probably make top 3, but i think aemond may have also made top 3 now that otto is gone again for a while
I disagree that Vhagar was disappointed at first when she put her head down. I took it as an old dog just going back to sleep when you don’t need them.
That is what we call a masterclass
So are you and the others that felt the same way gonna admit you were wrong about last week being a bad/problematic episode?
Episode 3 did exactly what it was meant to do, which was be a narrative calm before the hellstorm that was this weeks episode, episode 4.
When will the masses realise, not every episode of every tv show has to be balls to the wall insano style action and plot beats, nor does every episode have to be a perfect 10. That shit just isn’t sustainable in a tv production.
We can see Sunfyre turn itself just enough right befor he crash lands, which is the only reason Aegon wasnt crushed into minced meat. And i also like the touch they added where even as sunfyre is on its last legs it has curled itself around its rider to try and keep him as safe as he can in his current state.
I find it interesting that you found Aegon's entrance to be kind of a plot hole. To me, it fits his character so well, because he's never been one to obey the rules or advice given to him. He acts, he doesn't think. It's perfectly in line with his character to go where he is not wanted or needed. On the flip side, this episode gave a lot of perspective on Aemond's character. When Aegon flies over when Aemond is supposed to come out, at first he thinks his brother is just an idiot, but then he purposefully tells Vhagar to wait because he recognizes the opportunity Aegon's recklessness creates. He knew that if he didn't follow Aegon immediately, the consequences for Aegon would be dire. He knows next to nothing about combat and strategy, and Sunfyre knows nothing about war. Aemond has always wanted the throne and he saw an opportunity for him to take it. If Aegon died in battle, no one would really question Aemond's claim to the throne since he's next in line and is significantly more competent than Aegon (which is emphasized several times in this episode). The shot of Aegon's smile dying when he realizes Aemond fully intends to attack both him and Rhaenys gutted me, but it also felt somewhat deserved. Aegon has bullied Aemond his entire life, but he never thought Aemond would turn on him. That moment felt like Aemond finally getting his revenge on those who hurt him.
I agree with the Vaghar outta nowhere. Last time it was flawless, this time it was way too forced. I haven’t read the books so I wasn’t sure how this ended. But while I did jump off my seat, it didn’t feel earned.
Vhagar is a 150+ year old dragon with loads of battle experience I find it perfect shes able to out manouvre and catch other dragons by surprise using the surroundings
Thanks to you, every Sunday night when I watch a new episode and my jaw drops, I think to myself “is GreatClips Delight gonna like this scene? Or is it devoid of logic?”
I know I should’ve expected dragon fights and death, but Seven Hells. Sunfyre and Meleys were precious. Maybe it’s cause I just watched the episode, but I can’t help but think that I haven’t been this upset since the Red Wedding.
7:50 yeah but maybe she was flying back to Dragonstone and didn't expect Vhagar to be there. She flew into the battle from behind the castle, so i would say that's where Dragonstone is and maybe she was trying to go back. Maybe
she Was trying to go back, you’re correct, i don’t see how that wasn’t clear to some people? she was looking down over the land she just burned and was obviously done doing damage at that point, but her escape was cut off by vhagar. if she wanted to continue attacking i feel like she would’ve just kept burning the land to make sure as many men (and especially criston) was dead, but instead of doing that she was fleeing towards the sea
...she didnt expect him to be there? Really? In the place where she saw him last? You really dont see how moronic that is of her?
Lets think for a moment, we know how ruthless the court is with its intrigues. She made a play for the throne and lost. She ruled the trident. She should be competent. She should by now have years of expecting the unexpected. Especially in a life and death situation.
@@mac19999x i am not going to argue the logic behind it. I can see several flaws in HOTD so far and this may be one of them. Vhagar is a fucking giant and she just hid behind a castle and Meyles didn't see her ? I agree with you, it is moronic but oh well ..... I am looking forward to THE dragon battle which is coming next. Not going to spoil just in case but it should be epic
After vhagar slams down on the battlefield meyles flys away, then after you see rheanys turn around and re-enter the fray looking for them so its implied their back was turned and aemond hid in that time.
6:40 “drunk dragon riding” is the funniest shit ever
As great as the battle was, my favourite part was post-battle. Seeing the scarred remains of the battle field and the destruction was gut wretching similar to scenes from WWI movies. Really showed that dragons are destructive and brutal weapons of war.
Interesting how they decided to make Aemond intentionally maim his brother. They could take that in an interesting direction. Generally I haven't loved the changes they've made from the sources material for the TV show, but I think they could make this work well if they do it right.
I mean is it a change? In the book Aemond uses Aegon as bait for the blacks. Aemond is happy to use Aegon as a chew toy for Meleys. Then Vhagar descends on Meleys and Sunfyre. Causing Sunfyre to crash in a ball of flame. He might not have purposely done it but he was fine if Aegon was collateral damage. Aemond knew the best thing for team green was if he was in charge.
@@J_ads2000 It was more ambiguous as you described. He didn't just outright order the dragon to open fire on his brother, they almost made it seem like he wanted to take his brother out as much as he did Rhaenys in the show.
Woow that's dragon to dragon scene was absolutely what I signed up for