the BIG parallel in House of the Dragon S2 EP4
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- Опубликовано: 23 июл 2024
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House of the Dragon season 2 episode 4 is a great episode featuring the battle of Rook's Rest and the conclusion to Rhaenys. This videoessay provide analysis for the episode, its strengths and flaws, as well as the deeper theme and big parallel at its heart.
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TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Intro
00:50 The Blacks
03:14 The Greens
09:51 Daemond
11:16 Rook's Rest
MUSIC
Chill Astronaut - Game of Thrones but its lofi hiphop
Merlyn - The Night King Lofi
Chill Astronaut - Light of the Seven
Alan Ellis - Sea Terms
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#houseofthedragon #review #analysis 
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People say they are afraid to show women in a bad light because when they went through with danys ending in game of thrones the nerds had a biblical freakout
I love almond and his chin. That chin is gonna play some amazing villains after this
@@suzukisixk7 Because it didn't make sense. Not because she's a woman.
yes this era of entertainment is about painting women in a perfect light. no need to pretend otherwise
"We're off to battle again, old girl." 😢 I litteraly choked up even when you said it.
I really don't get why she went all in. With her returning, the Blacks would have had a strategic dragon advantage.
I guess it was a case of : because the plot needed it to happen.
@@scratchy996 It was more of, in my mind, This is my chance, I'm not running, I Am A Dragon!
@@PacificEgg It would have been a tactical move, not running away.
Just going kamikaze with no chance to win was not very smart.
@@scratchy996 agree - but tbf, that exact same criticism tracks back to George and how this situation is described in f&b. The source material we got here doesn't have the best character-driven plot ever (to put it mildly).
I really feel for the writers on the show having to navigate between faithfulness and having the story make sense for the characters...
btw. the rationalization would be a) there's a 10% chance she might take Vhagar down -so she's is going for it. b) the PR of not abandoning house Staunton (that's the whole deal in feudalism, the queen is supposed to protect her vassals).
I'm not saying those hold up measured against the tactical reality, but we can find character reasons if we want to.
@@scratchy996She wanted revenge for her grandson and she could have ended the war, had she won. The characters are not perfect. Mistakes were made and she died for it.
Aegon has quickly become my favourite character. Terrible bloke, but he's so interesting, and dare I say likable - or at the very least, pitiable. Very conflicted on how I feel about him, given the stuff he's done in the past.
Nah, Aegon is just a spoiled little shit. Had the world handed to him and has done nothing with it. Aemond is the superior brother.
If they were not at war he seems like a chill king.. and the scene with sunfyre he treats his dragon as friend and not a weapon..
Agree 100%
Moralizing everything as good/evil bad or good is reductive. He has done awful things and in his own right is a danger to people and women. But we can still sympathize that he is a product of his environment. He is still a victim of his family's games. The actor does a great job I think, of portraying this conflicting guy who just wants to be liked or looked up to and was given no preparation.
PS I hate Vicerys, this is all his fault
@@sebastianluna4608 Halaena is my ride or die fam she is wholesome and the only one to be so innocent in all this. I only like Otto for his trifling moment and the memes that followed lol
The big suprise of this season is Aegon II becoming a very compelling character, I thought the show would.make him another Joffery but he's so detestable yet sympathetic, a strange mix of hating his horrible treatment of his family and servants but trying to be a genuine ruler. He's like a foil to his father in that respect.
Right?! Compared to Cristan Cole, Aegon is way more likable!
Aegon II's actor has absolutely nailed his dude's inner landscape. I am genuinely so impressed.
G.R.R. Martin writes his antagonists many times in this way - in their minds they're the heroes. Adds depth and realism.
Totally agree! Also huge props to his actor for getting his complicated feelings out with his facial expressions. So much of what makes him compelling is not even in the dialogue
Hes a product of his upbringing and it shows heavily, which is why so many are conflicted with how they feel about him. He wasnt necessarily a nice person, but when you see how hes treated constantly by his family, its no wonder he wasnt a great person, which instills that pitty.
S2's ability to make me pity Aegon is impressive given how awful he was in s1
Tom is a wonderful actor
Absolutely @@alliesheldon9
He's absolutely killed it this season.
He's a sympathetic character. He's no sadist like King Joffrey.
@@bonbonvegabon I think you forgot about the SA from season 1, and the child fighting pits
I feel like those who believe Rhaenyra isn't brutal enough are missing the point. Out of all of his children, she is the most like Viserys, and the one who understood him. Even before her brothers were born, she was his cup barrier, so she learned how to hold counsel meetings and how ruling is about taking care of your people.
Viserys was an awful king. He let a war go on for years and let thousands die because he was scared to lose dragons to war. Corlys kept asking him to do something about it but he always refused. It's well known that the entire civil war is entirely Viserys' fault. Cool dude tho
@@hawks7111 Viserys viewed the war in the Step Stones as a side show, no real threat, basically something to keep Daemon occupied and out of trouble. And as far as Westeros was concerned he was mostly right. It was Corlys who had skin in that game, understandably. Viserys the Peaceful did not like war. It wasn't about losing dragons.
no spoilers but wait until later in the series lol
@@Ron_Mcdon U sure they wont just change whats to come for her? I assumed we would get a Rheanyra that plain out ordered the death of Vaemond and feeds him to her dragon, the Rheanyra that killed Laenor because he became a burden. Both of those were removed. I do not think they are stopping.
She’s not most like viserys, she’s bland, passive and usure of herself. Her reluctance to go to war after her son was killed, her throne was taken, her reputation was destroyed and they sent someone to kill her makes no sense at all
People complaining about this battle taking too long to get to is a little odd when, in GoT, we didn't get a full battle until S2 Ep9
It isn't odd at all when you think about it
GoT only really penetrated the mainstream around season 5. I think a lot of people binge watched through s1-4 that’s why they’re not used to the pacing. Plus Blood and fire is a difficult book to adapt smoothly
I was just going to say something like this. GoT was all political intrigue for the first four seasons. Sure we got a battle here and there, but it was mostly quiet.
And most fans saw the decline starting somewhere in season five or six.
And then in the later seasons, big flashy battles became a crutch.
Totally. The good seasons of GoT were mostly good dialogue and the same is true here. I have enjoyed many dialogue scenes like... A lot... I have had like a lot of fun with the characters.
But he is right, it's a matter of taste.
The shot of Aegon after his mother essentially told him he was good for nothing was heartbreaking, his reaction was like "how can you say something like this to your son?". He was of course far from a great person, but Alicent is in no small part to blame for that. Aegon was born into this world as a pawn, and never became much more than that in the eyes of his family.
(7:56 it's quite subtle but you notice the expression of disbelief paired with sadness, or maybe some other negative emotion related to being unloved or neglected.)
I think Tom Glynn Carney is giving my favourite performance as Aegon this season. I even love watching how effectively he makes use of props, like tilting that chair in front of him back and forth, or jabbing his finger against the map
@@mylittlethoughttree The way he nudged that pitcher off the table like a bored cat was perfection! I'm adoring him this season, and enjoying every time he's on screen. He's making such a complicated, unlikable, troubled character feel real and understandable, if not completely sympathetic, and you can tell that he's enjoying doing it, too!
It's funny because Alicent isn't wrong--Aegon was never groomed for rule, and he has been crowned during an incredibly volatile time for the kingdom so the best move for him is to let learn from more experienced people. But instead of admitting she failed him, she treats him like a puppet king
That's exactly the point too. Allicent makes it very clear that he was only ever supposed to be a pawn for his mother and grandfather. They never intended for him to be the real king capable of making his own decisions. He's a tragic character who honestly seems like he would have just been happy enough flying around with his favorite dragon in battle.
He wasn't raised to be a king BECAUSE HE WASN'T SUPPOSED TO BE THE KING!!! Rhynares was!! What pisses me off is she KNEW what a loser Aegon is. How could she even begin to think Vicyres would want that idiot to sit the throne and rule his kingdom??? Otto ! That's how!! Alicent is as bad at being a Queen as her son is at being a king!
The thing that has got me the most is seeing how young a dragon Sunfyre is. Merely a puppy compared to Meleys and Vhaegar. His sheer love to see Aegon, and probably only thought they were going out for an innocent flight, only to be thrown into battle with such battle-hardened dragons is so cruel. It reminds me of what this story is about: politicking and war-mongering that resulted in the near extinction of a glorious beast. I'm really, really not ready at all to see what happens to the rest of the dragons on screen, not at all.
I felt so bad for Sunfyre 💔😭🐉
Small folk & dragons don’t mix 😂
This is why the Black queen is very cautious about sending the young dragons who never been at war.
Aegon just flew off w Sunfyre like it was any other drunken flight. Seeing him butt his nose to A luke a puppy Ripped my heart out 😢 compared to Rhaenys preparing Meyl3s forbwhat was coming.
@@JohnnyCatFitz do you think there might be a lesson in that they ultimately shared the same fate? With honor, or wisdom or just common sense, or with none of those things, in war everyone can get killed. Death's the great equalizer. The writers show this.
I know Meleys is just a CGI but when she looked back at Rhaenys. It broke my heart.
😭😭😭😭😭
Do you also get shocked by your investment in stories when actors .. act?
@@rexibhazoboa7097 If you don't know English I suggest don't comment.
Meleys is a dragon, made in a 3D software. Not a fxcking actor 😒😒Meleys ain't real. Still the 3D artists made her real.
@@rihadalif so are animated characters. My point still fucking stands.
@@rexibhazoboa7097 🤦♂🤦♂
Sadly if they did groom Aegon to be a good king, Rhaenyra or Viserys would've known the Greens' intent to put him on the throne. But yeah, his issues are their doing. He didn't believe he'd ever be king, didn't want to be, and thus didn't even try to learn to be one.
They would also have a harder time controlling Aegon if he was trained properly. Alicent and Otto wanted a convenient puppet more interested in the benefits of being king and leaving all the rest to them. Him being a wastril was beneficent to them overall, which is why no one really curbed his bad behavior.
Which is... Ducking disgusting and highly manipulative honestly. They purposely stunted his development as a person so they could leech off his power with little complaint while he causes innumerable amount of damage to the people around him. Who TF could look at a little boy and not want to help him for this terrifying thing you are eventually going to do to him?
Well then how did Aemond get away with being a pro at learning High Valyrian and being good at the sword?! These are things either princes should know or shouldn’t - Aegon II & Aemond are opposites.
@@nikkydalby7126 All the kids were taught high Valyrian and swordplay. Aemond just took it more seriously.
They did though, they knew years before this when Otto was fired or the Dance broke out. The point was that they didn't care about Aegon being king or the realm. They just wanted to be in power.
Aegon honestly was so sympathetic, even if he’s a jerkoff. He never wanted his position, and in attempts to finally grasp responsibility, he is terribly flawed at it. And his allies throw it in his face, that he really is just a puppet to them. Alicent is sympathetic but she was truly cruel, she spoke truth but wow.
Right when I thought Aegon had no options, his dragon moment really surprised me. It was what added the emotion to that scene, not so much Rhaenys saddling up. He was taking back initiative. Attempting to remind of both his importance, and power
My heart sunk when I saw sunfyre get scratched, what a kingly dragon seriously. Never fell in love so quick
I’m still team Black though
I honestly was kind of behind him when I saw him saddle up with his dragon in an attempt to take back his own agency. Of course in typical fashion he ends up being the one who gets screwed over by it, and Aemond gets to advance himself even further.
💯. Excellent comment. "Never fell in love so quick" hit me like a golf cart 🖤
You read my mind
@@derek96720 Yeah it's a little bit funny honestly he can't get anything right
Something I haven't heard enough of is how Aegon's failure and downfall is rooted in his immature ways & being woefully unprepared.
- never learned high valeryion
- never learned how to fight/defend
- never learned history or wise ways
None of this was withheld from him. He wasted his days drinking and SA'ing maids in the red keep and flea bottom
I’m surprised at how much I like Aegon II… his dragon is the only person who loved him…and she’s not even a person.
I think it’s the actor but I like him too. What he did was terrible in raping a servant girl but he’s past growing up to be loved so much has made him do dumb shit
Vagar is not a dragon... She is freaking Godzilla with wings😢
Vhagar is Godzilla's flying granny!
@@thing_under_the_stairs yes... Can't disagree 🤣🤣
Big old Murder-Grandma
@@GabagoolGang And I love her for it. I love that the most dangerous murder-machine of a dragon is an old lady, it's so much fun.
Christian Cole having your favorite arc and claiming he's becoming a rock is not what I saw. In the last scene, he has ZERO honor left and has failed at EVERY job he was tasked to do. He failed at keeping his honor, slept with both the princess and the queen, then suggested to Ranerys that they should run away, abandon his post... , he failed at protecting the heir, he failed at leading as he projects his shortcomings on to his subordinates and demands loyalty, or death.
In our last scene, his cloak is dirty and the king is... dead?
He has failed at everything.
He succeeded at drawing out the black's biggest dragon and had it killed
@@zehsackett6132but not the fiercest dragon… Caraxes still lives!!!
You mean he was victimized by the princess. If a woman had said no that many times we'd consider it the r word.
@@joshuabryant9845 She was 14 wtf???
I would just add that I didn't mean "rock" as a positive. He is hardened, bitter shell of a man
I think Rhaenys’ resolve may come from the fact that she had a chance to stop the war and didn’t, and now she is facing the same people as well as seeing the start of the war firsthand.
Rhaenys's death symbolizes the inevitability of war... She was the last person to believe in peace.
so Rhaenys, who in season one mvrdered at least a hundred poor innocent oppressed small folk wanted peace?..the character who so far in show, has personally committed the worse war crime, wanted peace?..lol
@@matthunter983what show are you watching???
@@SubbedInKanji You forgot season 1 episode 9? Lol
@thefalconflame no, she literally had to make it a show of power. Do you think anyone in Kings Landing is innocent????
The lowborns for example are the rat catcher. Cole. Etc... no in fact they are just as bad as all the main characters and it was shown in episode 2 season 1. Did you forget???
@@SubbedInKanji but there is a trend were many people are displaying an odd sort of intellectual dishonesty and moral inconsistency...for example when female members of the elite oppressor class perform a "show of power" its for some reason celebrated as a positive for that character yet when male members of the elite oppressor class do the same its meant to portray them as evil...no viewer cheered when Joffrey cut off Net Starks head in an ultimate show of power..and remember for all Joffrey knew Ned was a traitor in fact Ned admitted to it yet viewers saw Joffreys display as power as evil and stain on his character..also Joffrey in his display of power harmed not a single member of the oppressed class, only a member of the oppressor class...yet Rainy in her display of power mvrders hundreds of members of the oppressed class and not a single member of the elite class and her display of power was meant to be a positive a strength for her character and viewers celebrated her display of power..another example would be Walder Frey and the Red Wedding and the killing of the King of the North another display of power and veiwers were meant to see Frey as the bad guy vs in season 6 when Cercei blows up the Red Keep mvrdering hundreds may thousands of innocent people yet that display of power was meant to be a "boss move"...
I can’t help to think Aegon flying up there drunk off wine DUI (Dragon under influence) 😂 🤪
The goat in Harrenhal, as well as the three dogs that appear, are a reference to Vargo Hoat and Gregor Clegane (the Mountain), who take the castle for Tywin in the main novels. Vargo Hoat is from Qohor, where they worship a deity called the Black Goat (and due to his appearance, people also call him a goat). The sigil of House Clegane is three black hounds on yellow, hence the dogs representing the Mountain :)
In the show, Vargo Hoat is replaced with Locke, Roose Bolton's dude that captures Jaime and cuts off his hand. In the books, Vargo is the one that does this.
I didn't even notice the dogs, that's great! This is why I love just sometimes asking questions in videos. There's always someone in the comments with the answer
If you're right, it is strange that they're referencing him when he's not in the show canon, especially in such an overt way. Perhaps we should be on the lookout for other symbols of people who have fallen afoul of the curse, since Alice has already talked about a future death of Daemon here.
We also see bats in an earlier episode, don't we?
@blaubeer8039 I just think it's a fun nod, I don't even consider it that deep. Just a "hey guys, look! book thing!" sorta deal.
When Rhaenys chooses to take on Vhagar, I had to wonder if she was thinking, “Daemon would never let me hear the end of it if I flee” 😂 seriously though, I watched the episode twice and it was even more emotional the second time knowing how it would all play out. And I cringed so much for Sunfyre, that poor good boy!
I knew (more or less) what was going to happen from F&B, and it still hurt. Sunfyre is a Very Good Boy indeed, and Rhaenys and Meleys truly went out like the dragons they were, fighting to the death.
I'm pretty sure daemon would tell her she was a fool for turning back against vhagar 1v1. Daemonds position was that they should use their two biggest dragons together to fight vhagar. Now they don't have one of those anymore....
I know the whole story but for the characters in the moment... The only way they can lose is to allow vhagar 1v1s, and they seem determined to do just that.
To be clear not mad about anybody dying. They should have just done it like in the books where meleys and sunfyre hit the ground together.
They wanted to change it up so it wasn't obvious, but her story still ended there so they had no choice but to have her just turn back. I'd have rather seen predictable than illogical
She did enough damage to flee with honor, Daemon would have greeted her with pride. She should flee.
@@suzukisixk7This Daemon you keep idolizing does some of the most foolish and despicable things himself, I find it ridiculous that Daemon is the person being used as a benchmark for wisdom here
An experienced dragonrider, like Rhaenys, should know or sense to avoid a blind spot, which is what the castle was. It's disappointing to see Rhaenys fall for such a ploy to a rival whose only experience in war was to kill Lucerys accidentally.
My immediate thought was of Mushu in Mulan where she aims the cannon for the mountain and he is on the Cannon screaming "How could you miss it?! It was right in front of you?!" Seriously! How do you manage to have the largest creature in the world get a jump scare on you?? 🫠🫠🫠🫠
I could be wrong but I THINK one of M's eyes might have been scratched out by then, so that would account for that. That is what it looked like to me at least but I would have to rewatch to be sure
Rhaenys isn't experienced, that's something the writers added for some reason. Stuff like this can be excused by the fact that the books are written from two different character perspectives. But in this case it literally doesn't make sense because there were no wars for her to even fight in, she'd have to be as old as Jaehaerys to have fought in a war other than Daemon's war...
@@hawks7111It’s more than likely she could have fought in the Stepstones with her husband and son. There were also minor conflicts during Jaeherys’ reign that she could have participated in that we don’t have enough information about.
Even if she isn’t experienced, you can’t allow a blind spot against vhagar and it’s just anticlimactic the reason she died. As soon as you saw her riding over the castle, I’m like yeah vhagar bout to pop up and eat and guess what?? That what fucking happened. 2 straight sneak attacks by vhagar and the writers. The death was impactful but the how she died was just meh
People complaining about HotD having too much Political Intrigue haven't been in the ASOIAF universe longer than 5 minutes.
The entire Universe is The War of The Roses with Dragons. It's D&D meets Succession, Yellowstone, and Bridgerton.
Take the greens to the train station 😂
Bridgerton is barely better than a soft core porno
They're the fans who watched and drunkenly cheered season 5-7 in a bar and then were flabbergasted when season 8 was "suddenly" bad
@@Shooshawali Exactly! 😂
I'm so sad that Rhaenys already died this soon. (She did go out like a badass, though. Respect, Queen) She was my favorite.
After that death I kinda stopped caring about spoilers and just read all that will supposedly happen on the wiki, lol.
The books are written as history perspectives so there is a chance that the show may depict something entirely different. But I think reading the books, or the wiki seem like a good way to understand the discrepancies of the Maestors, potentially leading to revelations and motives cuz I think they are one of the big baddies
Kill off the best character rhaenys ,or at least one of the more interesting ones .
@@ChairmanMeowzah Rhaenyra fate was canonized in the first season of GOT
ruclips.net/video/rGjpM31G_dY/видео.htmlsi=9ph3kHPOazefrVmO
The history and lore videos from the GoT DVD's/BluRays were good, spoiled many a future show.
I’ve been reading everything since GOT season 3 came out so I’m use to spoilers lol
Really disagree with you about Alyn. There was a huge reveal in this episode and it's weird to me that people are acting like it didn't happen. Alyn is Corlys's bastard.
Yeah, but that's also kind of my point. It doesn't feel like character reasons to care about who this man is now, what he's doing with his life. It's all just "he is someone with a claim that might be important soon." All of his story so far is just him trying to pretend he's no one special...whilst being hinted that he is someone special. There's nothing character or personality wise to sink our teeth into, there
@@mylittlethoughttreeOh that will change.
@@mylittlethoughttree
Ohoho that will change later.
I very much hope so! I imagine there is characterization to mine into, which is why I consider it more a pacing problem so far, than a character one. We've not been shown enough, or seen enough progress within Alyn or Hugh or Ulf to emotionally invest in them as people...although your replies are now making me feel like I should dread whatever happens 😂
@@mylittlethoughttree
You have…. *no idea*
Me, an intellectual: trying to discern the deeper meanings of the episode and have an appreciation of the storytelling
Also me: "Noooo!!! They killed my Eve Best!!! My lady, my queen!!! 😭😭💔💔 how could they do it? And they didn't even do me the dignity of taking out Sir Krispy Kreme along with her while doing it! Whyyyyy!! (Cries)
I need to know who Sir Krispy Kreme is and why they're being called that 😂😂
@mylittlethoughttree Ser Criston Cole of course! (In America, a Krispy Kreme is a type of donut, hence where the nickname originated online)
@@mylittlethoughttree I believe it is just because of the similarities to the names and not because of confection implications of Cole, but I could be wrong
I did not know that! 😂 I was wondering if there was some doughnut-related connection to Aemond or something
Same. I'm still upset she's off the show, I thought we'd have more scenes with her 😭
The creator's investment in the build-up paid off in a major way. People can think what they may but the show gives us the pay days we want at the right moments. Thrones is about dialog and politics, battles are an extra sauce.
Yup, sometimes say what they want but don't know what they need. Episode 4 would not have hit so hard if we didn't have all the build up and character moments. It makes the battles so much more meaningful.
I do think Aegon had more wisdom than we give him credit for, perhaps I mistake for naivety but he was self aware enough to know he didn't want to be king and had absolute trust in his sister to not kill them for a power grab. I kinda feel bad for him despite being a total piece of shit in his own right
Agreed. He was apparently pushed into a role that he never wanted with an idea that he would be good little king doing as grandpa told him, and surprise, suprise, he doesn't like being a puppet and everybody's fool. His interaction with Sunfyre was like a child with his pup, and he had about as much idea what he was getting himself into as a child would. It made him look strangely vulnerable and sympathetic.
He is the one who laid the trap and predicted the blacks sending a dragon at Rooks rest too bad the show is written by black sympathizers
@@tseyazmutseyami1402 Aegon did in the books? Or I must have missed that in the show but yes I don't see the books and show needing to be direct because the books are simply not even agreeable in their account. They're written as histories and to a degree I would think that the shows are showing the live event of what happens but that's me overthinking it I don't think thats ever something GRRM said lol, correct me plz if anyone knows
@@tseyazmutseyami1402 Whereas the book was written by green sympathizers.
Sir Criston Cole doesn’t deserve such beautiful cinematography.
Yeah he's a shit, but he's really hot too. 😏
I think it was a great episode, but my only complaint and change i would make from my perception is how Meleys lost. It shouldn't have been a sneak attack, it should have been a gradual loss given the size of Vhagar. Makes more sense with the samurai spirit. Keep in mind I am simply a fan, not a writer or an actor.
I totally agree. As soon as you saw her riding over the castle, you knew vhagar was gonna pop out and that’s exactly what fucking happened. Like how is that the best choreography. The death was impactful but anticlimactic
@dracowuhan7536 well my perception is that rhaeys went back knowing she was going to die. To capture the essence of the feeling that she was experiencing before her death, it makes sense that it was a losing battle against the bigger opponent. How this relates to my therapy? Help me figure it out.
Well I am aemond in this scenario
Was aemond
But now I think I identify more rhaenys. I guess it kind of represents the losing battle you have with some patients no?
Showing Rhaenyra’s character development is important. Remember how we all felt cheated when Dany just burnt down all the Kingslanding!
I might get flack for this, but I prefer HotD to GoT and it's for all of the reasons you described.
To be honest, so do I. GoT had more fleshed out characters to draw upon, and could inject more fun as a result (though sometimes the GoT humour was pretty cheap) but I think HotD has better quality of writing overall, at least so far
And so do I. The first three seasons were decent adaptations as long as they stuck to the material, which they had aplenty, the moment they verged off or had to go with the bare bones, it went south very quickly. Here, the bare bones is all they have, and they are creating nuanced, lifelike characters played by very capable actors. Perhaps I have just forgotten, but I don't recall such great acting on GoT, at least not as a norm.
I did think the previous episode was definitely setting up a heal-turn for Aemond just absolutely being done with Aegon's 💩 ... did I imagine that would entail an attempted assassination this episode?? No, no I did not! I was thinking that would be an end of the season event.
I'm baffled people have found the show boring. To each their own of course but for me it feels like early GoT when we were getting proper set ups and payoffs. I love the slow burn we've got going, I hope they don't start rushing things along.
Early GOT with even more estrogen.
It's ok but it's on the feminine side.
@@suzukisixk7 idc about that. I'm just here to be entertained so as long as the story is good and the acting is good, I'll watch. In my opinion both have been quality to this point.
@@Mr_Mcfeely daemond is a good character, special effects look great.
@@suzukisixk7 bro what
It's because people nowadays need instant gratification for their short attention spans.
AS someone who knows what happens in the Dance of Dragons as a whole, this was the episode I was most nervous about but also the most excited about for the season. The odd numbered episodes weren't the best imo, I think 2 was good, this one was great imo, perhaps the best of the the series overall. I'm excited for the rest of the episodes, but at the speed of which they're going, I don't thing we'll see any more battles (At least like Rook's Rest on both ground and in the air) this season, which is a bit disappointing. We certainly won't see the next major battle until season 3 though, which I'm not happy about. I'm not going to spoil what potential small battles we will see or the next big battle though.
I don’t get what everyone’s issue with Rhaenyra going to King’s Landing is. The episode said itself that no one is going to look like at a couple inconspicuous people. And that’s totally true. 99% of people in kings landing do not know what she looks like let alone in a septa outfit
My issue is a) the repetition of someone stealthily breaking into somewhere that we've seen end all 3 episodes and b) the lack of tension to the scene, making it feel very easy in comparison to blood and cheese or Arryk. It would be a lot easier, sure, she's not breaking into the red keep, but the comparison by nature removes the sense of risk from the scene when it does still need to feel like a very daring thing to do
@@mylittlethoughttree I think you have a point. It was too - "relaxed"? Don't know. Maybe they felt they couldn't take the time to make it more tense. Or didn't want to. And you're also correct that sneaking into someplace is in danger of becoming a trope on HotD,
I think they shouldn’t have had Aemon wearing the eye patch for this scene
The sapphire eye is such a cool / intense look
That would have been a perfect look for when he was marching over to where Aegon fell, sword in hand. Quite terrifying!
People can have their opinions, but they're missing so much if they are only into dragon battles and don't see GRRM genius in character development and world building in council meatings. We saw that in GoT seasons 1-4 and 7-8, HotD season went back to backstapping and great dialogues and why people came back to love this franchises
I don't think Rhaenys' decision to go back was informed by her sensing herself being close to death OR expendable. She was an important advisor who reminded Rhaenyra's council to remain, and she was the rider of the largest and most veteran dragon outside of Daemon, who's not even available to be sent. I think her death shows how devout she is to Raenyra's cause, because she knows she's the only one who'd be capable of taking on Vaeghar that was present at the small council. She knew that if she didn't cripple or kill Vaeghar and Aemond, they'd be a huge unawnserable threat not far from Dragonstone.
With Meleys gone, the rest of the blacks have very few ways of dealing with vaeghar. Daemon or bust, basically. It'll be interesting to see, since if Aegon isn't dead, he and his dragon will presumably remain threats for the rest of the series, now that he's been spurned by his brother and mauled by the enemy. He's got no love for anyone at that point.
I think her age and expendability is a factor she went to Rook's Rest over Rhaenyra or Jace though, and I think she's known for a while there was a good chance she might die at some point during the war and she had somewhat prepared for it, then the chance came with Vhagar and I absolutely agree, she felt it was worth dying for
@@mylittlethoughttree IMO She went over Rhaenyra or Jace because she had the largest dragon and was the most experienced dragon rider, not because of her age or expend-ability. She's a diplomatic asset to Rhaenyra as well as a voice of reason at the small council. She made a logical decision to try to fight Vhagar in Daemon's stead, because there's no other dragon or dragon rider that's available to fight Vhagar to defend Dragonstone. If she could maim and kill Sunfyre, she probably reasoned she could take on Vhagar. Except Vhagar is a fnaf jumpscare dragon or perhaps Jaws with wings. Not to minimize their cool factor in the show but they do seem to just SUDDENLY AMBUSH their prey alot. Despite being so fucking enormous.
Your intro to SkillShare had me laughing out loud...what if, Aegon had had SkillShare? 😂😂
People who complains about more action scenes than building the core substance of the story are more like Aegon and Criston Cole who selfishly want war and war and revenge and war💀
Ah yes. Avenging the murder of your 4 year old son is Selfish. What about Rhaenyra? What about Rhaenys literally murdering hundreds of people? What about Daemon murdering his first wife? The bias is insane.
@@hawks7111Calm down Otto
Calm down it’s call writing a story. You need build up to the climax and plot to work or it’s a shitty story.
The "song of ice and fire" references in HOTD make me roll my eyes so hard. It's kind of insulting given how meaningless it all was in the context of the main GOT series.
Best setup for a skillshare ad ever.
I did like the bit where he struggled to speak Valyrian because I can relate. My mother was born in Mexico and while I can understand her clearly when she speaks. However, when I try my sentences tend not to make sense. My mom being the good soul she is somehow understands me or the intent of my words.
Same, but why parents don’t teach their mother language to their children is on them, not the child, IMO
The candlelight in the Sept fills your heart with resolve.
Perhaps Daemon’s dream symbolizes his hypocrisy, revealing that, due to his actions and desires, he is just like Aemond. Even their names are anagrams of each other.
So the purpose of Aegon's prophecy is to give Rhaenyra THE argument as why she should be Queen. Remember Varys's speech to Kevan Lannister as he killed him about Faegon; the speech is about how Faegon is worthy of the throne because he know's its his duty, where Tommen only knows that the throne is his right, something he is owed. Its the same with the Greens and the Blacks. The Greens believe the throne should be theirs because Aegon is Viserys's 1st son. Rhaenyra knows that being Queen is her duty.
That scene from the end of last season, where you see Vhagar, parked at the castle. That's when I first got a real sense of the scale. It's like a bloody, aircraft carrier.
They did such a good job of conveying the scale in that scene. Epic battle, too. I've re-watched that episode, at least 5 times.
I find it interesting that Aemond is trying to undermine Aegon by speaking to him in Valyrian, when he himself failed to control Vhagar in either Valyrian or the Common Tongue, resulting in the death of Luke
I think that’s more to due with his resentment that Aegon at the beginning of hotd lacks all the political, tactical and mental skills for kingship. It’s the frustration of the competent younger brother vs the foolish older. Very common in medieval royal families. I think only Daemon could control vahgar so that’s not seen as a comparable weakness.
Enjoying the recaps/analysis as much as the show.
If this stellar vid is any indication, methinks this channel is a real gem.
Ahh, thank you!
"rock-like" had me rolling... 🤣
Nice. This is the firstvome of your videos that I have watched. I’m about to watch the rest of your Season 2 videos. 🌟
Aegon brought his lamborghini to a Monster Truck Battle...
Nice breakdown. Thank you.
Amazing channel my guy
The "like and subscribe of my greatness" totally worked with me
One of the best episode breakdowns ever
I am so glad I found this channel!!! Your voice sounds so similar to videos from the Medieval Madness channel (one of my favorite channels).
I think there was a lot of push back when they added Rhaenys crashing up through the Sept and not ending the Greens then and there (and also killing a lot of small folk in the process). But I think having that scene and push back from fans and characters in the show adds to why she didn't flee the battle of Rooks Rest.
great video!
I cringe my ass off when Rhaenyra starts off with "Let me tell you about the song of ice and fire"
Otherwise for the show is 10/10
I was hoping she'd start reading the prologue to A Game Of Thrones, then it'd fade out and back in with her reading the epilogue to A Dance With Dragons
@@mylittlethoughttree Like a "There and back again" by Bilbo Baggins 😂
I also noticed the detail that Aemond speaks fluent Valyrian but Aegon is barely conversational when they are brothers that were raised together. We've already implied their dad didn’t spend enough time with them, and Alicent wouldn’t know it to teach them, their sister is unlikely to have taught them, this implies that Aemond took the time to teach himself or at least had someone teach him. Aegon wouldn’t have taken the time with that. It's interesting characterization right there and what it implies to their connection to their heritage / how they feel about it. I don’t think it's simple laziness, I think Aegon has some cognitive dissonance about his Targaryen background.
Aegon ii is a young man raised spoiled rotten, but in the depths of his soul he has a kind, carefree heart. Being raised how he was gave him a condescending opinion of small folk, an entitlement to the crown that his father never expressed, and a fear that his older sister wanted him dead from the moment he was born, despite growing up with her sons. The Hightowers poisoned an otherwise good spirit from cradle to grave.
I was happy seeing Jace call out Rhaenyra it was really weird how characters were praising Rhaenyra like "Hey queen really cool how you just haven't been fighting this war that has already started. Total girl boss move the way you've sent no reinforcement or aid to the people that declared for you and let them all die!" so it was nice to see Jace finally call her out.
As a book reader, I love seeing the reactions to the show from non-book readers. Keep the videos coming :)
love the show and its story pace.
The black goat is the symbol of Qohor, a city of Essos, a goat-shaped god in which in times of war it is customary to sacrifice children of the high name (just as Aemond did). It also somehow announces Vargo. Hoat, the leader of The Bloody Mummers, the mercenary company, responsible for cutting off Jaime Lannister's hand and ruling HarrenHall for a time. There are also 3 dogs, representing the Clagane house, which also after Vargo, ruled HarrenHall.
Interesting insight
You literally made me subscribe by telling me I better lol. I’m a new fan man. Great channel
I did not expect that to work 😂
i had my hands over my mouth on the edge of my seat for half the episode.
I think Alicent did her best under the circumstances. No doubt she knew Aegon felt powerless within his own court and council, but at the same time she knew he wasn’t ready to rule either. That isn’t to say she didn’t try to have him involved in all the Small Council meetings; she did. But Aegon flaked out of these meetings the moment Alicent absented herself from them, too. It doesn’t help that Alicent herself was also being undermined and sidelined by the same council she was relying on to keep Aegon in check while helping him rule. Aegon proved to be both brash and ignorant, and there’s little doubt Aemond saw an opportunity there to improve his own station, even at the expense of his brother.
I am suprised that nobody has mentioned so far how different Aemond looked when he downed his brother, as compared to when he killed Luke. With Luke, it was so clearly "oh shit, I didn't really mean to", whereas now, yes, he very much did.
Also, I don't think that "Daemon struggling with his past" is getting him, or us, nowhere - it's establishing Harrenhall and its curse, Alys Rivers, Daemon's zero talent for real diplomacy... and it prevents whatever it is they are going to do with him coming out of the blue. I LOVE her creeped out he is by those visions, it's a facet to his character we never had imagined existed.
I agree, seeing Daemon so plainly unnerved is a revelation. And making Harrenhal so overtly, magically creepy is a real treat, the place deserves it!
Wow, what an amazing episode!
I really wonderful and measured review. I would mention that Vhagar is a little too stealth for any beast/dragon that size. I thought Rhaenyra explaining herself to the council seemed ridiculous but I like how you said that means she’s past the point of no return (and justified in her mind). Nicely done.
I think I would give this a 9.8 at a 10, with Harrenhal driving that upper nine score.
I keep finding the parallels with the animation ‘how to train your Dragon’ a little offputting myself…. But it’s there.
"remember the book is written from a biased perspective against the blacks" Are you saying the greens won in the end? I like the idea of Daenerys Hightower of Oldtown. Daenerys of House Strong and Daenerys of the Daemon were useless bloodlines from the start as I had predicted.
Curious to see the aftermath of this battle, that's the best part of HOTD and GOT, the aftermath cements the tragedy
Aegons character is super complex, I think he does unto others what he believes has been done unto him. He feels like his freedom for choosing his own path in life was almost stripped of him, and instead of trying to empower those who feel similarly or undo his family curse he almost doubles down on it. when he needs to numb himself he’s accidentally opened a door to get more hurt. When someone bullies him or traumatizes him he does so to someone else to feel almost ‘ on top’ of them. Sad to see
RIP Lord Darklyn. Back to the mud.
I'm shocked how fun Criston and Aegon's arcs have been to follow. Like, wow. Awful people but fun characters. (Acting is phenomenal in this show.)
I chuckled at the sponsor introduction, that was sort of smooth lol
Omg I just saw my face on your skillshare classes, I thought I was just a 400 year old witch! 😊
The largest problem is that there are a lot of people hate watching because of the disastrous ending of Game of Thrones, and by “ending” I mean the final four seasons, not just season eight.
i think people forget part of the reason everyone loved GOT at was the intricate psychological and political aspects. or maybe just cause more people died all the time. But I think what a lot of people are forgetting is A) like you said the books are supposed to be a play on biased history accounts, they're technically not supposed to have a confirmed canon. The show gets to expel on that in a really cool way that allows for some really interesting choices and i think its so COOL! even if its felt a bit slow, i understand why. B) they're also taking the time to showcase more of the world of Westeros. I think the fact they're taking time to do that is great.C) theres a LOT if plotlines they're trying to stretch out and I think giving time to really flesh things out and also give fans a sneak peak of other characters (like alys!) is a great idea.
maybe they don't execute it perfectly, but i feel like they're paying a lot of respect and attention to detail within their means while also expanding on it. Not to mention GRRM is more involved, and I care more about if he feels it pays respect to his work.
I love that the show managed to pull off an incredibly action packed episode WITHOUT sacrificing the excellent dialogue and one on one scenes we've been seeing in the past episodes.
Cole's character plays and development was a key point most people overlooked because of the dragons
pacing is everything...so far they have a good stride
This episode was about how Aegon follows impulsive drunken whims and Rhaenyra follows her counsel and trusts certain people. Either way dragons die and riders are lost for nothing. They even said Rooks Rest was a tiny insignificant castle, totally DIDNT need dragons... but Aemonds plotting came to fruition just not in the way he thought.
My problem with the Aegon's Dream bit is that it just being between ruler and heir makes no sense. At this point in the Targaryen Dynasty there's been a grand total of ONE succession without controversy or conflict of some sort (Aenys I} .
It's also a Medical world where life is cheap. Jahaerys had all six of his sons die. He had thirteen kids and not one of them inherited.
If it's really important, then the idea of it being a secret makes no sense.
Yeah, I mean I'd have thought it could be a good story to with the common folk in order to reassert why the targaryens should maintain power. I'd have thought it's an obvious tool for propaganda, but who knows
@@mylittlethoughttree I have a suggestion. The Song of Ice and Fire will happen - who knows when? It might work as a means of keeping the Targaryens necessary for a while, but after a few decades, it will start getting old, people will openly doubt and scoff. You've read the other books, look at what happened to the Night's Watch, which was born to protect against the Others returning. Time passed, people forgot, the Watch became seen as useless, even a joke, a place to dump society's trash.
@@mylittlethoughttree💯totally agree
@MG-js8bn I would agree. I think they were already loosing belief in it themselves and were only doing it out of duty. If you're going to convince the public, you need to truly believe with passion. As you said outside of the north most people and already began to forgot about the wall even in this show it's obviously already not carried about outside the north.
Aemond at 3:47 with Bunny ears, lol
😂 That's hilarious!
I genuinely don’t think I can keep watching the dragons tear each other apart, this episode was brutal, I’m too soft 😂😭
One thing I don't like is we have obviously been lied to about why they have cut down the episodes per season since they are cutting so much stuff out that adds to character development. We are meant to get Daeron after being cut last season, guess he will show up and die in the same episode... Now Maelor MIA, Aegon III and Viserys II are too young for their storylines, so will all be cut... Guessing most of the book and lore will be missing, quite shocking really.
I think I see the show as so flawless because GoT burned me so badly that my expectations were in the ground. 😅 It's also mouthwateringly pretty in every scene, not just the one with the amazing dragons.
But yeah, Maelys looking back at Rhaenys like "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you" before the light went out of her eyes broke my heart 😭
Great battle scene 😍
When you get to the mindset of Cole, you really don't care if YOU live or die... Eventually, he will get to the point where he doesn't care WHO lives or dies... That is the level of true evil...
This line in House of the Dragon S2 E5 is a game changer. Christon Cole tells Queen Alicent. "Sunfire was long in the dying" Whoa! Hold the horses. This line is Huge Whatever book-to-film fan theories you were holding on to. Scrap em. Going by the books. Sunfire was supposed to recover. Though never be able to fly again. And the Dance of the Dragons was supposed to end with Aegon feeding Rhaenyra to Sunfyre. Jeoffry even bragged to Sansa about that moment in the original GOT series. If Sunfyre really is RIP. That is a huge change and means we are now in uncharted waters with this show. Anything can happen.
Was that foreshadowing Sunfyre when Alicent dropped the sculpture of the dragon and the wing broke off?
censoring the beheading and then not censoring is genuinely killing me lmaoooooooooooooooooo
The second episode of this season is still my favorite.
I think Criston will see backlash for this. Aemond told the Council both he & Criston planned this march on Rook’s Rest. Everything that happens, even Aegon pulling up uninvited, can and will be laid at his feet. Rhaenerya said to Alicent that a victory can be so bloody as to be counted a loss. Technically the Greens won, but at the cost of their King Aegon, Sunfyre, and much of their army.
I heard that the black goat and shaggy dogs are supposed to represent the non-lords who held the castle in asoiaf. Meaning, Vargo-hoat, the mountain, and poliver(I think).
Its frustrating how well done the character development is. Start of season 2 i was fully team green.
Everyone shits on Otto but he to me felt like a 10% scheming 90% honest political advisor, he just looks devious as fuck.
Everyone talked about Aegon like he was a monster but i felt like him being so young meant that he could grow for the better easily enough.
Aemond was kind of angsty but otherwise just a very capable.. everything, pretty much.
Cole is bitter but still one of the if not the best knight.
But you could tell that the blacks were always 'good guy coded' or 'main character coded'.
And now we are just seeing the greens make all the bad decisions when it comes to interpersonal relations, while the blacks make all the good ones. Raenyra manages to calm down Jayce before he becomes too impatient, meanwhile Alicent practically goads Aegon into doing something stupid.
Ig they did it well enough that i cant be mad, but im annoyed at how, even tho its belivable, every green character is pretty much becoming a worse person, and every black character is becoming a better person. Hell in the next episode we even see how Raenyra and her council start understanding eachother more, even that point of tension gets resolved.
2:00 I find the complaint that Rhaenyra isn't brutal enough in the show (yet) to be pretty dumb tbh, because even in the book it isn't until page 481 that: "Broken by the loss of one son, Rhaenyra Targaryen seemed to find new strength after [spoiler redacted for non-book readers]. [spoiler] hardened her, burning away her fears, leaving only her anger and her hatred." So yeah... if you want to see brutality from Rhaenyra, you're pretty much guaranteed to get it in short order - probably sometime in season 3, I imagine. She just has to, you know, have a character arc to get there. Because that's how good writing works.