How many heirs does it take to get a Targaryen monarch? One…two…three!
Spoiler Note: This recap and the comments section may contain spoilers from George R.R. Martin’s novels and Westeros histories, whether or not that material has appeared on the show yet. If you have not read the books and wish to remain completely Unsullied, we encourage you to check out our non-book-reader recap by Oz of Thrones!
House of the Dragon sets itself apart from its Westerosi predecessor right off the bat, by grabbing our attention with a singular move. Game of Thrones fans are obsessed with the show’s viral opening credits, humming along to the music and waiting to see each season what new location would be added to the visually stunning credits. HOTD surprises us in the premiere by…not having opening credits, just a flash of the Targaryen logo after the cold open. (Relax, we’re told there will be credits starting in episode two!) While it could be a pragmatic time-saving move, it does establish that this isn’t GoT– we’re in a different century and it’s a whole new ballgame.
I hope you enjoy the opening narration from Emma D’Arcy as adult Rhaenyra, explaining the Great Council of 101, because that’s all we’re getting of them in this episode. I have to say I’m not a big fan of starting off a show or movie with narration in this manner; it’s ponderous and an obvious shortcut in the classic telling-not-showing manner. As for the rest of the episode, “The Heirs of the Dragon” firmly belongs to Milly Alcock as the teenaged Rhaenyra, restless and frustrated by the limitations laid on her by others who can’t see beyond her gender.
After the slow start, the episode introduces us young Rhaenyra (Alcock), the charmingly paternal Kingsguard knight Harrold Westerling (Graham McTavish) and Rhaenyra’s good friend Alicent Hightower (Emily Carey). Dragons are treated as refreshingly normal in this version of Westeros, rather like dangerous pets; people are wary but not shocked to see them. We see familiar sights such as the Red Keep of King’s Landing and it’s striking how much warmer and more prosperous it appears than under Cersei’s rule. While the throne room is still forbidding, with its amped up iron throne, the rest of the keep is lively and bright.
Rhaenyra’s struggles with accepting her lot in life are seen through her interactions with her very pregnant mother, Queen Aemma (Sian Brooke). “Childbed is our battlefield” turns out to be not just a cute metaphor but foreshadowing for Aemma’s bloody end later on, during the tourney.
The petty issues a ruler deals with in running a kingdom are addressed by King Viserys (Paddy Considine) and the Small Council, most likely setting up action for later in the season. His council includes Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint) and Alicent’s father Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), the Hand of the King. Rhaenyra serves as her father’s cupbearer, allowing her to listen in on ruling and politics decisions.
The introduction of Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) demonstrates his sheer balls. Waltzing into the throne room and having himself a seat on the deadliest throne in the known world? Alright then. That IS an introduction. The prince and his niece Rhaenyra converse in High Valyrian, and he gives her a gift and if you picked up on creepy grooming vibes…you’re not imagining it. (Side note: the Targaryen wigs get a lot of criticism but they’re fine as far as white wigs go. They do look better when they’re not stick-straight. It is what it is.)
Rhaenyra and Alicent are giving flirtation vibes in the godswood, with Rhaenyra wishing she could keep her comfortable position, more or less in Alicent’s lap. She denies wanting to be heir, but she’s troubled over the coming baby. And there’s more trouble on the horizon she doesn’t even know about, with King Viserys’ wound that won’t heal.
Talking with his wife, the king foresees the birth of his son, but like all Targaryen dragon dreams, it’s going to go horribly awry. In his dream, he heard the sounds of battle, the hooves…and well, you’ll see. Queen Aemma makes her own kind of prophecy- this pregnancy needs to be her last.
In the city, Daemon and his City Watch goldcloaks go on a rampage against alleged criminals, dismembering and killing people. Called on the carpet for his deeds, he justifes his actions as a strong defense of King’s Landing. The Small Council wimps out on pushing him, and instead deflects, bringing up Daemon’s wife in the Vale. He brings up Otto’s wife instead, and it’s a whole wife-implied-shit-talking fest. They’re all class.
Time for the Heir’s Tourney! I’m sure nothing bad will happen. But in the meanwhile, enjoy spotting the many familiar sigils (oooh, a Tarly huntsman!). The queen goes into labor, and a mysterious young knight named Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) arrives on the scene to unhorses two Baratheons and draw attention.
Prince Daemon joins the tourney, defeats a Hightower and asks for Alicent’s favor. Now this is where it starts to get ugly; this is not gentlemanly or even semi-polite fighting like in A Knight’s Tale. These guys are straight-up murderizing each other on the field. Also, Queen Aemma’s not doing well with a breech baby happening. A C(itadel)-section is recommended by the maesters, and Viserys makes a choice.
As the Velaryons point out, these young knights have only known peacetime and never known war so this is all they have. But damn, if these are the knights of summer, I hate to see what the knights of winter in this era fight like.
As Aemma labors, Daemon and Criston Cole go head to head, with Cole unhorsing the shocked prince. On the ground, it looks like Daemon’s viciousness with a sword will win the day, but Cole fights him off with a flail, bounces back from a fall and forces Daemon to yield. Winning the tourney, he asks for Rhaenyra’s favor. The girls are charmed!
It goes less well for the queen who suffers through a C-section without anesthesia, and bleeds to death. The baby boy lives only a few hours.
The queen is given a proper Targaryen funeral, but her husband leaves it to her daughter to do the final honors. Rhaenerys has to be the strong one who calls “Dracarys” and sets light to her mother and her baby brother.
The Small Council faces the pressing question of the heir, once again. Daemon, quite frankly, is an asshole and out of control. But, no queen has ever sat the throne. Debating the subject, the king makes a decision finally (and A Feast for Crows reference).
Otto Hightower visits his lovely young daughter and sends her to comfort the grieving king. Otto, you scheming ass. Pushing your teen daughter toward a guy your age when his wife is like three days dead. Gross.
Viserys has regressed and is playing with his model trainset. Well, Westerosi equivalent. Alicent brings a book, offers words of comfort, and the whole thing is very uncomfortable.
Daemon and his companion Mysaria have a bit of fun at the local brothel, where the prince talks a little too much shit about his newly deceased nephew. The king calls him out for his “Heir for a Day” cracks and instead of showing an ounce of humility, Daemon attacks Hightower and the king.
Is he wrong about Viserys being weak? Probably not. But it’s not a smart strategic decision because his ass is packed back to Runestone, and he is no longer heir.
Viserys brings Rhaenyra before Balerion’s skull to share the news and more with her. She is now the heir, and must protect a deeper secret. The dream of the song of ice and fire. He shares the dragon dreams of Aegon, the long winter, and how one will unite the realm against the cold.
Rhaenyra is officially designated the heir and the lords of Westeros pledge their fealty. It feels bittersweet, seeing Rhaenys looking on, the Queen Who Never Was.
Daemon and Mysaria ride off on Caraxes together. He’ll be back. Bad dragon eggs always turn up.
A Few Stray Thoughts
Death by Pregnancy: A woman dying for lack of proper healthcare, mostly because of men’s idiotic choices and prioritizing a baby over her life, it feels all too relevant. Sian Brooke knocked it out of the park in an inevitably brief role, and Paddy Considine was really great. Many will hate Viserys for his choice (though I suppose some people may sympathize with him), but you can’t deny Considine’s strong performance. He’s one of the actors I was most excited by, in casting, and I’m happy with everything I’m seeing from him.
Visceral viscera: The show didn’t fuck around in the first episode, with Daemon’s murder parade, the C-section and the gruesome tourney. It was punch after punch in the gut, drawing a physical reaction from me, which I assume was the intent in the writing and direction. I do expect violence and no kid-gloves in this world, but oh boy, that was a lot for the first episode! I’ll be curious to see if that turns off some potential new viewers.
Let’s talk about sex, baby: in advance of the premiere, there were some contradictory statements from cast and crew about the level and quantity of sex on this show so let’s get this out of the way. Yeah, there’s a lot of nudity and fucking so far. I mean it was only one episode, but yeah. That aspect felt very Thronesian, we’ll just say that.
The set-ups: The premiere did an excellent job setting up the rest of the season, while keeping the episode flowing and not overladen with exposition.
Not a Targaryen lover? Not a problem! One of my reservations leading up to the series has been that I am simply not that into the Targaryens and I’m not passionate about the Targaryen histories. Some people treat that as sacrilege, but hey, we all have our preferences! However, I really enjoyed the episode, and I think the writers’ room and the actors have done a good job of creating a well-rounded group of characters, Targaryens and non-Targaryens alike. It may be House of the Dragon but it feels like there is room for everyone.
Final Judgment: Is It Just Like Game of Thrones? No of course not. Thank goodness. If we wanted something exactly like GoT or characters exactly like Tyrion or Arya or whomever, we’d just go watch that again. This is something else. Embrace that fact.
RIP
Queen Aemma (Sian Brooke)
Baby Baelon Targaryen
Various knights
Assorted criminals
I hated the jousting tournament and I’m shocked because I was looking forward to this a lot based on earlier trailers.
But seriously, knights murdering each other to the cheers of the crowd?
These tournaments had clear rules, knights often used blunted weapons, and most importantly the contestants had incredibly strong plate armor. Fighting to death was simply not a thing and death was a rarity at best, not something cheered on by the crowd.
Now I know you can argue about it being a fantasy show. But Lords send their sons to these tournaments for glory sake. If they all start killing each other, you would have wars break out in every corner of the realm about lords trying to get back at their sons murders. Not to mention Lords running out of sons given how common such tournaments were.
I’m not impressed yet, I was hoping that this show would treat its viewers more intelligently like its original did. Back then someone being killed was a shocking thing, cheating was frowned upon. Meanwhile Daemon cheats and no one cares?
That whole sequence left a bad taste in my mouth that the rest of the episode could not wash out.
Funny I was going to write my thoughts in long form, but you nailed it. I agree with pretty much your entire assessment of the episode. Here’s a few things I would add:
The scene at the tournament showing various members of the court was subtly delicious. I could feel the undercurrents, this history, the posturing. It felt very GoT-ish and I was there for it.
I didn’t love the monologue open either. One of the things that made GoT so powerful to me was its ability to tell three stories simultaneously – the past, the present, and foreshadowing the future. Although I haven’t read the book, I didn’t need to be told the past. That could have been better baked into the dialogue over the first season.
I’ve seen some snark about Matt Smith as Daemon, but he has screen presence in spades. I think we just need a few episodes for him to get comfortable and find a bit more multi-dimentionality. Milly Alcock also shines on screen. While I’m looking forward to Emma D’Arcy’s version of adult Rhaenyra, at the moment I find myself wishing Milly Alcock could have been both.
I went into the episode with measured expectations, and ultimately enjoyed it thoroughly. By the end, I felt a touch of that old familiar frission of excitement that GoT so often delivered.
P.S. Ramin Djawadi needs his name closer to the front of the credits. His impact is far greater than the dozen or two producers. Maybe put him after the EPs. EDIT: I re-read this and realized this might make it seem like I don’t appreciate the contributions of the list of producers. Not the case. My comment is about the power of the music.
P.P.S. Did I miss an opening credit sequence? I saw the flash of the Targ badge after the monologue, but I feel like I kept waiting for the kind of elaborate opening credits that we always got with GoT. Was that it, or are they saving something for episode 2?
Edit: I do want to say that some of the dialogue felt a little sloppy in places and/or missed the sharpness of GoT and sometimes seemed surface. But as a first episode, it was okay.
Ah, I liked it! If I sound surprised, it’s not that I didn’t think it would likely be at least good…I just wasn’t excited which made me sad. So I was happy to feel engaged. 😀
Daemon is a tw*t and he’s supposed to be, but it will probably take me as long to care much about him and I did Jaime.
My first round thumbs up to Harrold, Alicent, Criston, and the dragons. Jury is out on Otto Littlefinger Hightower. Thumbs down is no one, because it’s the first episode.
I loved that Game of Thrones had no voice overs or internal monologues, however we did see instances where that would have been useful in lieu of working around it.
A letdown. Hope it becomes better.
Damn you almost made me spit out my coffee with the model train comment. Top drawer.
The killing during the tourney seems way over the top. The prince that was promised refernce also feels off with the way it finished in GOT.
Early days still, but looks well worth it.
Ulf the Wolf,
You were expecting what exactly?
Leylos,
Wouldn’t be Game of Thrones if you didn’t have fans raging over incredibly petty issues I suppose. One of the reasons I began ignoring fandom
I guess first season will all be about the Dance of the Dragons. It’s been a very long time since I read the books so I don’t remember everything but I wonder what storylines will be in the next seasons.
I hope there will be a whole season about Dunk & Egg, loved their roadtrip. Then we could see all the other houses again and Winterfell and we’d finally know what happened at Summerhall (if GRRM ever finishes Dunk & Egg).
And I hope the last season will be about Robberts Rebellion and what Rhaegar drove to act so stupid.
I’m actually more looking forward to those storylines than the present one about The Dance of Dragons.
The entire season is the setup for the Dance of the Dragons, which will go on for at least two more seasons, and probably more.
“A woman dying for lack of proper healthcare, mostly because of men’s idiotic choices and prioritizing a baby over her life, it feels all too relevant.”
I feel this is a somewhat unfair way of looking at Viserys. The fact is his choice was let both the child and his wife die, or attempt to save the child. There was no saving the mother’s life, sadly. So it wasn’t a case of prioritizing the child over her life, because her life was unfortunately ending anyway at that point.
It was a matter of trying to at least save the baby, which can hardly be called idiotic imo.
However, what is unacceptable and most definitely not okay is denying the queen a choice. She should have been allowed to decide if she was on board with the c-section. It’s her body. Springing it on her and then doing it despite her protests is horrifying.
So that part is genuinely awful, but also understandable given the historical and political context, unfortunately.
Onrack,
Not everyone can turn off their brain at a moments notice. There is no reason for a show to throw away common sense and logic.
This is supposed to be a show for adults after all, not for kids.
Luka Nieto,
At least two more seasons about The Dance of Dragons?! It’s not such a long story from what I remember, since it’s mainly about the Targaryens. I hope they have enough interesting content for so many seasons. I don’t really like the Targaryens very much, The Starks and Lannisters are so much more interesting.
#13,
Yeah, what was the model anyway? I only got a brief glimpse. I saw some Dragonstone type architecture but it was much larger, so I’m wondering if it was some Valyrian palace?
And.. Aegon’s prophecy-is that canon? I must have forgotten that.. but it was a pretty cool
Easter egg!
It’s just so good to be immersed in Westeros again! And mind blown with the Song of Ice and Fire and the ‘promise me’ references and all they entail. Happy days, for now…
Pretty good first episode. I especially liked the Throne Room scene between King Viserys and Prince Daemon. I think those two were my favourite characters this episode.
And of course, I loved that last conversation between Viserys & Rhaenyra.
Also, just hearing that music again was so nostalgic.
People are going to have different opinions. If you can’t handle that then the problem might be with you, not the “fandom”. We don’t need a Minister of Propaganda here.
There’s no reason why you can engage respectfully about a disagreement over a fictional tv show.
Things I never thought I’d say pt1: I love Viserys. Yeah a lot of people seem to be missing that Aemma was going to die anyway.
In any case I’ve never seen a childbirth scene like that! Can always count on Westeros for some fresh Trauma. All fears of the edge being dulled were allayed with that and the City Watch sequence. Some dark, get-under-your-skin type of stuff happening on this show.
Aegon’s dream honestly made me groan out loud at first. But the more I chewed on it, the more sense it made. It tracks with book Rhaegar, and even adds some fresh context to Ares II. I just hope it doesn’t become the main focus of this series.
I was bored out of my mind. Daenerys has more personality in her little finger than Rhaenyra has in her entire body. That says a lot as the entire show centers around this monotonous girl. The dialogue was mediocre, the characters were uninteresting and the plot, mundane. There was zero humor, and the message that women are perpetual victims of evil men seems to be the only theme this boring show has. Will I be setting aside my Sunday nights to watch this program as I did for GoT, NO WAY!
I will say this too- GRRM comparing the childbirth scene to the Red Wedding is preposterous. I mean we just met Aemma and it doesn’t even compare to the shock and numbers of the
Red Wedding.
I liked the first episode, and so far no jumping around geographically as S1E1 of GoT did to introduce all the characters.
And Re: Paddy: “He’s one of the actors I was most excited by, in casting”
Honestly, same. He’s fantastic from Hot Fuzz, Outsider and now this. Paddy’s so versatile and that’s what makes him excellent. I also loved the fact that the camera zoomed in on the very dagger that killed the Night’s King when Viserys was informing Rhaenyra of the prophecy. And hello- shout out to Jany Temime for the amazing wardrobe/costumes. She has big shoes to fill.
And now I shall patiently await for Axey’s Twitter roundup 👀👀🍿
Agree 100% Totally weird comparison
Yea, I’m not sure how to feel about this show getting into the PTWP prophecies, especially when they brought up the Long Night. It’s not like Winter Coming anytime soon.
They probably brought it up to bridge the gap between the two shows, but this show isn’t dealing with the White Walkers or the Long Night.
Like many others, I went into the episode feeling no level of excitement whatsoever. I’m blown away by how much I enjoyed those 60 minutes. The script and the characters and the story all have that on-brand GRRM-ness that made the first four seasons of GoT so gripping. It’s as exciting as GoT without, necessarily, being GoT.
I had to skip the final ripples of the child birthing montage. It’s strange; watching multiple knights gore each other to death barely affected me, yet the death of a single person, Queen Aemma, destroyed me like no TV death has done in quite some time. The juxtaposition between the tourney and the birthing bed wasn’t SUPER effective, I think, because empathy slanted hard to one side. The knights rushed into stupid, mindless slaughter of their own volition, chasing fame and driven by testosterone and bloodlust, while the Queen was completely robbed of choice, helpless, past the point of no return; doomed since the moment she got pregnant, in a way. Her death just hit HARD.
I think Viserys didn’t explain stuff to her, in part, because she was drugged out of her mind and would have had a difficult time grasping the concept of what was about to happen. Another possibility is, there was no time to be had. A third reason I can think of is, how in the hell do you tell your wife she’s guaranteed to die? I don’t know. I also think that the reasonable thing to have done would have been to stop straining that tortured woman after dead baby #3 or something. But, well, not the way of the times. Being four months along myself, that whole sequence is going to haunt me, and I consider that good television.
Otto Hightower is giving major Tywin flashbacks – if a bit less adept in the general art of Tywin-ing. I can kind of see a younger Tywin sending an adolescent Cersei to a king like that. I hated everything about that pimping out scene and, given the events in the book, I only expect to see more of it. Great! Give me characters I can hate: another mark of quality television.
And something that definitely deserves its own paragraph – dialogue quality! No more bad poosies and unimaginative dick jokes and overmodernized, oversimplified speech. The characters are back to speaking medieval, court language, and it’s wonderful when a show treats its audience with SOME level of respect.
Overall, the dragons are no less majestic than they were in season 8 of GoT, but here, the story kind of almost overshadows them, which is exactly what should be going on. I’m just so pleasantly surprised by this first episode. Can’t wait for more.
Leylos,
Eh, these violent delights have violent ends.
Also: what Rhaenys said. There’s a reason the script have her comment on the specific violence we witness. The realm is ready to burst of too much breeding for war while having too much peace. Comment and scenes were perfectly placed.
I expect he might have been referring to the ‘visual representation’ of it as opposed to the emotional connection we felt at the Red Wedding. Childbirth in the Middle Ages very often was a life and death matter. Giving birth can be painful and bloody – even with today’s medical advancements in First World countries. In many parts of the world, those without the means to access good medical care still face very high risks when giving birth today. Perhaps the dragging of the Queen in last night’s episode is far more symbolic than we realize, given attempts in today’s world to drag us back to that time.
I really liked the episode. They sure went back to the seeds of the civil war, while I expected flashbacks only. The actors did a wonderful job so far.
Paddy was amazing in every Viserys scene IMO. Loved all the Viserys dynamics: with Daemon, Rhaenyra, Corlys, Otto etc. every scene he was in was really, really good.
Anyway, looking forward to next ep. Also looking forward for comments not to be automatically moderated. If possible to get the Always Support The Bottom button again (?).
Look at me all requests and the first ep not even properly under the belt.
I agree with everything you said about the Tourney. It really threw me off when Dameon blatantly cheated and it meant nothing. From there it went only worse with all the killing that made no sense and absolutely not featured the rules of such a tourney.
The birth was super-hard to watch for me. And I seem to have missed anybody mention that the boy had died because I was very confused when they discussed the heir, while I had no idea the boy had died.
Other than that I really liked the episode. It felt refreshingly different from GoT. But I still would have preferred a non-Targaryen centric sequel alot.
I was fortunate to see the first episode on a big screen – special presentation at TIFF. Although I admit to looking away during certain gory scenes, I will definitely stay with the series. Opulent, well-acted and just plain fun. Can’t wait to see how it plays out. We were also treated to a Q & A with Steve Toussaint ( Corlys Velaryon) – great stuff!
So it seems the “Inside the Episode” for the premier explains that it was executive producer, Ryan Condal’s decision to do the “prologue” to reintroduce viewers to ASOIAF. Additionally the prophecy was used to establish the link between HotD and GoT. Having said that, I’m wasn’t a huge fan of having the “prologue” but I can understand why they did it. Anyways it’s up on the HBO/HotD page and you don’t need to be in the U.S. or have a subscription to watch the featurettes.
https://www.hbo.com/house-of-the-dragon
I really loved Paddy’s performance in this episode. He had a lot to do, as he went from an easy going guy, cracking jokes at a council meeting, to a loving husband … then to a grief-stricken widower/father and finally to an angered brother. Beside that I’d say council scenes were probably my favourite.
Pepi,
DID YOU SAY IT?
It made me so sad and a bit scared too. Daemon fucked up and he knew it too…
No big complaints. I have read Fire and Blood and made no attempt to avoid leaks and promo hype, so largely know what is going to happen. I enjoyed it as much as I expected to.
The tourney scenes did shock me a bit. Daemon getting away with tripping his opponent’s horse was egregious, and all the fights to the death seemed pointless and not a thing that can happen on a regular basis or nobody would be sending their sons to these tourneys. I guess they’re trying to make two points. One, Viserys is weak and letting things slide that should not, and that is going to come back to bite his family. Two, the realm in general is ready to fight. I’m not sure the latter point really makes sense, but whatever.
It at least will hopefully help to establish one of the weaker points of Fire and Blood to me, which is why the court and realm and city were so quick to turn on Rhaenyra. It makes sense eventually, given the things she does once she is in power, but not as much at first. Pure misogyny is not a good enough answer. I’m getting the feeling that her marrying Daemon is what will ultimately be her downfall. Way too many people remember Maegor and don’t want Daemon anywhere near that throne. He nearly killed Allicent’s brother and Otto’s son right there, for no better reason than sheer pettiness.
Nick,
Exactly. I’ve seen this mistake on several large website reviews too. Writers need to do a bit of research about medical things before they comment( as an aside, this would have saved millions of lives if writers and commentators would have done this for Covid)
Nick,
There’s no historical context- this is fiction. 🙂
I don’t agree it was a foregone conclusion that Aemma was going to die. The maesters approach Viserys and pointedly ask him to make a choice and he chooses. He wants them to try to save his heir. So yeah it was idiotic and more to the point, cruel.
Sue the Fury,
He should’ve been truthful with his wife and it did come off as selfish to me, but it’s a difficult choice either way having to choose between your wife and baby.
Mr Derp,
It should not be a difficult decision to choose between your living breathing wife that you know and love, and an unborn being.
– a number of other people have already critiqued the tourney sequence devolving into a random murderfest for no reason, so I’ll just say I agree with that.
– my only other criticism would be that I think the Goldcloaks’ rounding up the criminals is a very confusingly-shot sequence. You’d be forgiven for think that they were just going around grabbing random people.
– those bits aside, I liked this episode. Efficient at establishing the setting (there’s an expected amount of expository dialogue, e.g., Viserys addressing every councillor by name), and for the first time in a long time Westeros feels like a society with people in it outside of the main characters.
– acting is good across the board, from what we’ve seen of them. Considine is the obvious best in show thus far.
Sue the Fury,
I will be honest, I also understood the choice the master presented him with to be between losing one (the mother) or losing both (baby and mother). I would have to see again the episode but that’s what I remember. Definitely could be wrong though.
Regardless, we can safely say Viserys was a pro-lifer dude. It’s the way she said “no more” in the bathtub when she speaks of pregnancies and he does not really respond to her plea. He’s definitely hurting when he hears Aemma’s ask but it doesn’t mean he is agreeing to it.
Interesting that this actually reminds me of Alysanne and the other Targ lady who died in childbirth who was married to Rogar Baratheon. Boy that fired something under my ass and when Rhaena went mad and threatened to kill him… well, why not admit it, I was all for it. Also the lovely line: “Her blood is on your cock, may you die screaming.”
I would choose my wife too, but to say it’s not a difficult decision for anyone is just wrong and shows a lack of empathy.
Sue the Fury,
While I personally would make this exact choice in a heartbeat, saying it’s universally ‘not a difficult thing to choose’ sounds a bit narrow-minded and invalidating differing opinions / feelings on the matter. Kind of defeats the purpose of advocating for the right of having a choice.
I think House of the Dragons is going to tie together the Prince that was Promised Prophecy and the first Targaryen Queen (which was foreshadowed in the final scene of S1 E1) and it won’t be happen until the First Targaryen Queen is crowned Queen of the 7 Kingdoms in the final episode of SNOW
it felt new yet. like coming home. didnt want it to end.
Ironically, 200 years later in Westeros, Lyanna Stark died giving birth to the PTWP. I wonder what choice she would’ve made if she was given the option. Could you imagine how much more heartbreaking that scene would’ve been than it was already if she had to choose?
The detail in the first episode that bugged me as highly improbable (aside from tourney participants being allowed to savage each other) was… How would the Small Council Chamber, of all places, have a place convenient for a spy to stand unobserved behind some latticework and overhear every state secret being discussed?
Yes, we learn from Varys in ASoIaF that the Red Keep was designed by the Targs to have many secret passageways and noplace that is entirely safe from espionage. But the Small Council Chamber, where the most intimate strategy discussions go on? Daemon hasn’t even crawled into some discreet little ventilation duct; he’s just casually standing behind a screen, where he can see them but they can’t see him. Sorry, but I don’t buy it.
<>
Am I the only one who has trouble seeing Graham McTavish as any character other than Dougal MacKenzie from Outlander?
It was a foregone conclusion by the time the maester made the suggestion. The choice was very clearly let both die, or attempt to save the baby. There was no option to save the mother.
Lol, I agree! He spoke with a Scottish accent too, though it sounded slightly toned down.
DId you catch the other actor from Outlander who was in last night’s episode? He was on the Small Council.
Leylos,
I have a vague (possibly wrrong) recollection that melee events aren’t only for lords and knights, but for everyone who signs up. So a commoner without a real armor may sign up in hopes of scoring the prize. Once this is added in the mix, the events understandably get exponentially bloody (by intention or otherwise). It’s like a mosh pit with weapons. Thoros kept using a flaming sword, so I’d say everything goes, really.
Ya know, the Targaryens could just skip all the fighting over the throne and just give it to whomever has the best story. 🤢🤮
Good episode for a pilot. I read criticisms that seem to conflate Game of Thrones with a new pilot. Expecting more from the episode based on knowing the Game of Thrones world and universe.
But it’s not jumping into the middle of the Game of Thrones you know. It was a pilot episode and did a great job displaying and crafting the characters and plot arc.
I must admit, I had hoped not to be disappointed because I really needed to come back to Westeros in a visual environment. What a relief, I did like the episode more than I expected, Paddy being my favourite actor so far. Imo he managed to create a Viserys who is gentle, loving and by no means stupid! A weak king, maybe, for a ruthless time, but a character one can relate to. On the other hand, the violent and resentful Daemon is an interesting character to watch and be shocked while watching! I have seen both actors in other films/series and I was glad that the casting had admirable professionals.
Speaking about welcoming famous actors… Graham McTavish is always a treat for me!
The dragons were delightful and I’m looking forward to admiring more, but I have a feeling their fight won’t be easy to watch. I have a question though: who was the one who incinerated the poor Aemma and her son?
I think that was Syrax?
Mr Derp,
I’m not sure, but he looked a bit different to me and I wondered whether he was a third dragon, maybe the one who belonged to Aemma.
It was Syrax, Rhaenyra’s dragon, on her order. ❤
Pigeon,
I was wrong, I can see it now. I have just watched Rhaenyra’s flight twice and I had previously missed Syrax’s horns and the orange bits on his neck.
Mr Derp,
I did not. I haven’t read Fire and Blood yet, so had my hands full keeping track of the main characters. I’ll have to watch it again, paying more attention to the other Small Council members. I lost interest in Outlander around S3 or S4 (because I thought the actress playing Claire and Jamie’s daughter was awful), so if the actor’s character came into the story later on, I won’t recognize him anyway.
Firannion,
It was from season 1. The legal advisor, Ned Gowan.
Great recap, I’ve missed those! I just have a little quip about the child birthing scene. I think the author of the recap should watch the episode again – the choice Viserys was presented with was explicitly A, lose the mother, and B, lose the mother AND the child. In no scenario was Aemma going to live. That much is also confirmed by the writer himself in the official BTS video up on the GoT / HBO YouTube page. By the time that child had to be delivered, no medical feat in medieval Westeros could have saved the mother’s life. That doesn’t make her death any less tragic, but it does mean Viserys was by no means ‘idiotic’ for attempting to save the one life that could still be saved.
From the tax collection tour scenes? I vaguely remember an attorney.
Firannion,
Yes, and he defended Claire during the witch trial.
I almost missed this too. But at the funeral, next to Aemma was the wrapped body of a baby. In that instant I was like, “oh…no…”
I like that it was subtly done. Something else the original GoT did well in the early seasons and it gives me hope that they’re not going to feel compelled to spell everything out in real time.
I thought about this a lot last night. My first reaction was that the tourney felt a bit out of place and over the top, aside from the wonderful undercurrents in the galley.
But after thinking about I completely agree with you. Not only with the tournament but with the Gold Cloaks violence in the city and the alliteration to rampant crime…Viserys has neglected to maintain strong law and order and it’s playing out everywhere.
And that weakness in the court has led to petty grievances that played out in the tourney. There’s no bonding or cohesion among the families and everyone it itching for a fight.
I have decided that I’m not going to compare House of the Dragon to GOT and will judge it on its own merits. Otherwise, it would be hard to live up to my expectations.
My favorite scene was the scene between Viserys and Daemon in the throne room. Very compelling! So far, these two are my favorite characters. I agree with others that said not many of the characters are likable, but I don’t need them to be likable, only interesting.
I found the reveal that the baby had died to be a little awkward. They should have indicated that the baby was having some sort of complication before cutting to the funeral. I also wasn’t fond of the prophecy at the end, though I don’t like prophecies in general, so it’s just a personal thing.
Overall, it was a solid premiere. 8/10.
I did enjoy it and will watch the episode again to pick up more detail as it looks sumptuous. But I will be turning subtitles on, as I found a lot of the dialogue was unclear – mostly with the younger actors. Very poor diction, hurrying through the lines soitwasimpossibletomakeoutmuchofwhattheysaid. This sort of thing is rife now; they wouldn’t get away with it in a stage production.
Didn’t catch any memorable lines, and missed the humour that ran through GoT. But it’s early days, and it looks promising.
Tara,
I don’t believe maesters actually know what they’re doing esp when it comes to delivering children. Why aren’t there midwives in Westeros? Either way, it is not a forgone conclusion that breach babies = everyone dies. I think the maester deliberately (or stupidly) gave him a false choice so it would be “easier” to make. And unconscionable that no one discussed this with his wife. Sadly, even in modern day US, doctors make decisions for birthing women without their consent all the time. I say this from personal experience.
Sue the Fury,
I couldn’t help contrasting Aemma’s lack of agency in having a caesarean, and Viserys’ willingness to order it, with the characters of Jane Seymour and Henry VIII in the traditional English ballad “The Death of Queen Jane.” Here are the lyrics of the version sung by Joan Baez, though there are other variations:
Queen Jane lay in labor
For six weeks and more
The women grew weary
And the midwife gave o’er
King Henry, he was sent for
On horseback and speed
King Henry came to her
In the time of her need
“Oh, Henry, good King Henry
If that you do be
Please, pierce my side open
And save my baby”
“Oh, no, Jane, good Queen Jane
That never could be
I’d lose my sweet flower
To save my baby”
Queen Jane, she turned over
She fell all in a swoon
Her side was pierced open
And the baby was found
How bright was the morning
How yellow was the moon
How costly the white robes
Queen Jane was wrapped in
King Henry, he weeped
He wrung his hands till they’re sore
The flower of England
Will never be no more
Leylos,
Thanks for clarifying this. This was in the back of my head, it seemed cartoonish and inauthentic, worse yet, it seemed the only purpose for it was to make some really on the nose comparison between child birth and war (would’ve been more effective and subtle if expressed only through the dialogue). Add to this, I felt showing the c-section in such detail was edge lordy and in bad taste. You guys wanted Sapochnik and now I hope you’re happy. Guy has no emotional depth.
I think i’m going to wait a couple of weeks and binge a few episodes. I was bored after 10 minutes and turned it off after 20. I just don’t care about the Targs and it didn’t grab me at all. I’ll try again though. It’s nice to see it’s positive reception and the viewing figures were great. I thought they would be, even people who hated S8 watched it
RawJah,
During the funeral, someone said something like “For the few hours that he lived…”
Knowledge is Power, Who will be the Targaryen queen in the final episode of “SNOW”? :O
Oh yeah, I definitely agree with you there, I’m certain the mom could have made it under more competent care. But at the time of having to make the decision, under those super sucky, limited circumstances, it was my impression that there was no maester in that room who had the medical ability to pull it off – that’s what I was saying. It was incredibly cruel not to run the plan by the queen herself tho, and I think that’s why the death was SO brutal at the end.
I thought the scene with birth and decisions by Viserys was well done. As Daemon says he’s a weak king, one that at the core seems a good person but that doesn’t always make a good ruler. You could tell he was heart broken to choose as he did so I don’t believe he will be hated although I didn’t like or agree with his decision.
Also thought Daemon was the star of the show and many people are now already painting him as the bad guy and Rhaneyra as the good one in the conflict to come which is interesting…
#13,
Why though? I honestly still think the Prince that was Promised was in fact, Prince Aegon Targaryen/Jon Snow. Given that Jon is the one who talked the Wildlings into allying with the kneelers, went to Dragonstone to try to recruit Daenerys and went to Kings landing to try to get Cersei on board and did his best to rally the remaining Lords of the North. He was in fact the one that more or less “brought everyone together” to fight a common enemy. And he was in fact, the actual “heir” to the Targaryen crown. A prince. And if Targaryens believed a Targaryen needed to sit as King or Queen in order for all of this to take place, then in a way that is what happened too. Daenerys named herself Queen and sat on the Throne at Dragon Stone. That prophecy more or less came to be.
Lenika,
You do know George had tons of dick jokes in his books also. And.my one complaint about this show is the zero levity.
Fireblood87,
I was rather specifically referring to unimaginative dick jokes, not dick jokes in general. Never did comment on the quantity, just the level of intelligence going into them. That’s the difference between George’s jokes and what GoT was serving towards the end: not so much the frequency as that the former are actually funny.
But I do agree this show could use a Bronn or a Tyrion or even a Sandor. Maybe we’ll get one? Could see Daemon cracking a dry one here and there but we’ll see whether we’ll get a ‘comedic’ character, or, indeed, comedic scenes overall.
Leylos,
I agree with your assessment of murders at the tourney!! Just the resources to send a highly trained knight, armor, horses, barding/armor for horses, squires, lances and bluntrd weapons, retainers, etc. for them to be KILLED RANDOMLY?! Never, would happen… Tournaments are about winning glory for the Coat of Arms you wear, and your House (and personal) Name… It is not a “Murderfest” for the common folk!
Much better to have them break a few bones or have a few knights start a dishonorable melee or something other than killing… A tourney is not a battlefield… They could have made the point that the birthing bed was more dangerous and graphically bloody than what the knights were doing..