Who’s up for a seafood boil? I’m feeling peckish for some reason.
Spoiler note: This recap will spoil the heck out of the latest episode of House of the Dragon, but doesn’t allude to any future events.
Welcome back to the grossest war ever! Corlys and Daemon’s fight against the Crabfeeder in the Stepstones isn’t going so well (how does the dude with a dragon get beat up by the crab guy with greyscale…but I digress). The dragons (human and beast) show a weakness for arrows, and lose a skirmish with Craghas Drahar before escaping with their lives.
In mainland Westeros, we get properly caught up- two years have past since the last episode, Alicent the new queen has given birth to a baby boy named Aegon, is very pregnant with another and there’s a Lannister named Tyland (Jefferson Hall) in town working with the Small Council. Rhaenyra is still righteously pissed off about everything, as she has right to be, and also who wants to go to a toddler’s birthday party anyway? They’re honestly the worst.
Viserys orders Rhaenyra into happy fun family times, a royal hunting trip because those always end well. He slips in some “start thinking about marriage” hints because that’s where this is all headed.
As the Targs ride into the hunting grounds, House Strong makes it debut en force. Papa Lyonel is joined by his two sons, Larys (Matthew Needham) and Harwin (Ryan Corr). Immediately after that you realize that that Lannister guy from earlier has a clone- that’s right, Tyland has a twin brother, also played by Hall. All the families welcome the baby enthusiastically while Rhae sulks a bit. (She’s a teenager, she’s entitled to it.)
The long-haired Lannister twin Jason (that’s right, he’s simply…Jason) flirts with Rhaenyra. He’s considerably smoother tongued than his brother, and is direct about his intentions with the princess. Realizing now her father is putting her on the marriage market, she confronts Viserys. She asserts her independence and rejects his expectations. Otto as usual interrupts, this time with a report of a white stag.
Rhaenyra rides off in a huff, with her loyal knight Ser Criston in pursuit. It’s apparent from the familiarity that the two have developed trust over the past few years.
Jason Lannister presents Viserys with a hunting spear and discusses Rhaenyra with the king. He offends him with the presumption that the princess will be set aside in favor of her brother. But it’s what everyone is thinking. It’s true but he shouldn’t say it. (Meanwhile how good was Jefferson Hall at both of these roles? I like that he wasn’t ridiculously over the top in making them different. They were clearly separate characters, but they are brothers with different levels of confidence and different skill sets and it affects how they speak. So good.)
Otto proposes a suggestion that is much much worse (of course); that Rhaenyra marry her baby brother. See this is what happens when you have an impromptu small council meeting in the middle of a toddler birthday party. Nothing good.
Viserys mulls over the problems on his plate, and Lyonel Strong offers him another possible solution to the marriage issue: Rhaenyra should marry Corlys’ son Laenor. If he survives the battle at the Stepstones.
At night in the forest, a stubborn Rhaenyra refuses to return to the hunting camp. A boar attacks and Ser Criston stops it from killing her. Rhaenyra finishes the job with a stabby-stabby freakout Arya Stark would be proud of.
Viserys is still tormented by the decisions that lay behind and ahead of him. Visions and prophecies drove his choices, and contributed to his wife’s death. Now he’s uncertain and questioning what comes next. Alicent reassures her husband.
A hart is finally found but it’s not the fabled white hart the huntsmen promised. The common hart is brought before the king, and he makes a rather botched job of killing it, needing others to guide his hand far too much.
Returning to camp, Rhaenyra spies the white hart. Cole draws his sword, but she stops him, and lets the hart run free. The bloodied Rhaenyra rides back into camp with the carcass of her boar kill in tow, parading it before the men who would try to rule her.
Back at the castle, in her room (what’s with the orgy tapestry, Alicent?), Otto Hightower approaches his daughter the queen to work on her about their situation. Why isn’t her son the heir and why isn’t she trying harder to make it happen? Hmmmmmm?
After sitting on the pot for three years about his brother Daemon and the Stepstones war, it takes a gentle nudge from his smarter wife for Viserys to make a decision. He declares he will send help to Daemon. And despite their recent troubles, he affirms that Rhaenyra will remain his heir.
Tensions are getting to the Velaryon war effort. Despite having the most fabulous armor around, they aren’t winning. Viserys’ promise of help arrives and Daemon takes it like a true little brother, determined to win without him after three years of being ignored.
Daemon goes on a near-suicide run at the Crabfeeder, drawing him out with a false surrender before battling his way close to the enemy. He’s not zigzagging nearly enough. It’s stupid, it’s reckless but dammit it’s magnificent. He draws them all out and in, so the Velaryons can surround them and then young Laenor Velaryon on his dragon Seasmoke roasts the crab asses into oblivion.
Mission accomplished. Big brother can take his ten ships and shove ’em where the ship don’t shine.
Stray Thoughts
The dragon-rider connection: When Daemon was hit, Caraxes screeched as if he were hit too, which was interesting. There’s a lot of theorizing about the physical and metaphysical connection between dragon and their chosen riders. HOTD has a chance to explore that more, featuring more beasts and more riders.
The Black Swan: Fun shout-out, slipping the Lady Johanna Swann origin story into the idle gossip of the party.
“fucking politicking:” it’s literally your job, my guy. What do you think a king does, Viserys? Sometimes he feels like a less decisive and less boorish Bobby B. Not well-suited to the job at all. Leave him alone in a castle somewhere with his prophecies and dragon minifigs.
And this is Jason: It will never not make me laugh my ass off that in a world of wild names like Jaehaerys, there will occasionally be some guy named Robert or Jon or….Jason. It’s made so much funnier by the fact that his twin brother is “Tyland.” Like their mother put a lot of effort into naming one of them and then passed out from the effort of giving birth to twins.
Building Up the Velaryons: I wish we’d gotten more build-up of Laenor somehow in the past couple episodes, even just a couple of moments, so there was a more emotional payoff in seeing him show up on Seasmoke. We glimpsed him in the tourney seat as a child, and then he appears here played by a different actor so a casual fan may not realize it’s the same character. The spectacle was undeniable but I want more than spectacle from HOTD. The dragons and fire should serve the story, not the other way around. The final scene was cool, I enjoyed it, but it could’ve had more impact if we had a little more bonding time with Laenor and Seasmoke. With Lyonel Strong pulling for a Laenor-Rhaenyra alliance, hopefully we’ll see more of that soon.
Velaryons! Strongs! Lannisters! Oh my! How excited am I to see more families join the fray! Targaryens are fun but variety is the spice of life and Westeros.
The costumes: next year’s Emmys are already won because the armor alone is so incredibly well-designed and beautiful. The costumes are all so smart and interesting and thoughtfully done.
Valar Morghulis
Craghas “Crabfeeder” Drahar (Played by Daniel Scott-Smith): Rest in pieces and flaky bits
That poor schmuck stomped by Caraxes: Run with the dragons, and there’s bound to be collateral damage. Rough way to go out by any standards. Still better than crabs, I guess.
I’d be interested to see more of Otto’s relationship with his brother. I got the impression from this episode that he’s driven (at least, in part) by a desire to please his brother. (Not unlike Daemon, ironically).
“The final scene was cool, I enjoyed it, but it could’ve had more impact if we had a little more bonding time with Laenor and Seasmoke. ”
Agree. I think it also would’ve been nice to know who the crab feeder was and why he was doing what he was doing in the first place. Why crabs of all things? I don’t recall the show delving into his motivations at all. I think they barely mentioned his name in the beginning of this episode, but that was it.
“Boars of Unusual Size? I don’t think they exist.”
*THUMP*
Boars are remarkably strong. They will punt you half way across a forest, easily, if you don’t get gored by their tusks first.
This episode was amazing. I love the father daughter rift, he’s trying so hard and there is so much pain behind his eyes, but she needs reassurance about his love, his respect and her role in the end. The small grateful smile she gave him before she walked away was touching, honestly.
I’m loving the dragons in this show compared to GOT. They’re so colorful and gorgeous. Seasmoke is stunning.
Was it only Seasmoke and Caraxes in this episode? I was confused by the red colouring of the dragon who burned the archers and thought maybe Meleys was there too?
”…As the Targs ride into the hunting grounds, House Strong makes it debut en force. Papa Lyonel is joined by his two sons, Larys (Matthew Needham) and Harwin (Ryan Corr).”
A Harwin?
I enjoy this show. But it almost feels like The Force Awakens of Game of Thrones.
New characters and story but in such obvious parallel to the original that it’s almost predictable.
Daemon is the only character where you can’t see a direct parallel to GOT.
Star of the Episode, Rhaenrya’s hunting outfit. Alicent seems to have gone all Renaissance for some reason. Good maternity wear.
The battle scenes didn’t do much for me, I wasn’t invested in the Crab man, or the war. I’m glad it’s over tbh. Sebastian should have been more suspicious when a man bearing a white flag started killing people, but never mind. I agree with Sue about Laenor, I wish we knew him better, especially since people are considering a marriage between him and Rhaenyra.
It was nice to see a couple of Pride and Prejudice actresses (from the 1995 series) appear in that ladies gathering. They will get every British actor in GOT.
I enjoyed Rhaenyra more in this Episode, she’s growing on me. That girl has been sulking for 3 years. That’s willpower. I really thought I’d be swooning over Daemon by now, but I don’t really get it.
Good episode overall, but I got upset about that CGI stag, I had to look away
Hodor?
Ok, In a world with dragons, how does a war with a crab guy in a cave last two years? It’s ridiculous.
Jenny,
And I thought I was the only one to notice… Very nice seeing Mary Bennet and her Aunt Gardiner again! They seem to have become more gossipy since the 90s! I wonder if this was a nod or just a coincidence.
Was it just me, or did anyone else go ‘uh oh’ seeing Daemon soaked in blood and dragging by the bare hand the torso of a man who appears to be infected with the apparently highly contagious greyscale?
Agreed about Seasmoke and Laenor. It would have been great to have some build-up. I hope casuals aren’t too confused.
The armor looks amazing, but also Alicent’s costume is gorgeous. She looks like a she stepped out of a Medici family gathering.
Does anyone know if the adult actors will show up next episode? When Emily Carey was sitting in one of the scenes near the end of the episode, her face looked just like Olivia Cooke. I will be sad to see Milly Alcock and Emily Carey go. I figure once the show brings on Olivia Cooke and Emma D’Arcy, that may be all we see of the younger actors. Perhaps they could have a few flashbacks.
I was thinking about King Robert when the wild boar hit Ser Criston in the stomach and launched him like a canon ball across the clearing.
The show is doing a good job portraying the realities of marriage and the monarchy. This show is closer to the books with showing the ages. The scene with King Viserys walking with his possible future 12 year old wife unsettled me. In this episode there was discussion of Milly Alcock marrying her 2 year old brother for the good of the realm. HotD takes its time and delves deeper into the subject of royal marriage than GOT. In GOT, Danny does her duty by wedding Hizdahr zo Loraq. It’s a quick decision, and GOT really didn’t delve into Daenerys’ feelings. We were left with the idea that Daenerys was doing what Queens do, but not much more depth into the world of marriage and the monarchy.
Am I the only one disappointed with the opening sequence? I feel like this show should have had its own theme song and opening. The blood flowing doesn’t really do much for me, and I just think of the old show when I hear the theme. It could have been a variation on the theme. I think this show deserved its own theme. The opening could have been in the same style as GOT, but it’s not a continuation of GOT.
I love the bravery (or recklessness, or arrogance) shown by both Daemon and Rhaenyra. They both show they are characters of action and don’t fear death. The final battle sequence made me think of Jon Snow’s moment where he faced the entire calvery on foot with just his sword. Daemon did have dragons to back him up, so it wasn’t quite the same, but I had a flash back for a moment. The show is doing a good job at developing the characters.
Tron79,
A lot of us had similar complaints last week regarding the opening credits.
I wanted black humour, didn’t I? I burst into a nervous laughter when I saw the poor guy who had saluted the arrival of his saviour prince Daemon being stomped by Caraxes… although I felt so sorry for him. I think it’s not about the dragon, but the dragon rider: a compasionate one would have supervised the landing. Caraxes behaved as ruthlessly as Daemon.
Rhaenyra can still be compasionate or at least it seemed like that when she spared the stag’s life. The same girl who took revenge on the boar, not only finished it, forshadowing the future adult princess.
Imo the most horrible scene was the killing of the replacement stag. I hate hunting, but it wasn’t even hunting, it was butchering of an innocent, tied up animal to please a king.
Thanks for the reply. I just thought with Ramin Djawadi writing again, they would ask him to do something new. It could still have had a GOT feel. Each Star Trek series (for example) has its own theme. Most of them are similar enough to know they are in the same franchise. There was only a big backlash on Enterprise’s theme song, partly because it strayed so far from the others. It just surprised me when I saw and heard the HotD opening. Perhaps they thought it was a way to tie the shows together. I do enjoy seeing which actors’ names pop up in the opening. In GOT, I was always focused in to see if my favorites were appearing this week. I’m sure I will start doing the same thing with HotD once I get more and more attached to the characters. But it’s possible with less main POV characters in HotD than GOT, more of the cast will appear in every episode.
Good way to set up early that Daemon is willing to go on a suicide run to win if that’s what it takes. That was a dishonorable way to win, though. I guess ode to Ser Bronn of the Blackwater, but I’m with Jon on this one. This is how you end up with widespread war crimes, prisoner slaughter, and refusal to ever accept a surrender. Works in the short run to win a battle, but it’s why you can’t build a real civilization. No trust.
Viserys is doing a great tragic figure. I really like that the impact of the male-only heir thing is being played up like this. It’s not just going to be the Dance itself that results from it. Viserys cleary didn’t want to be king. He wants to be a scholar, and he could have been doing that with Rhaenys doing what she probably would have been better suited for, but this is what we get. No one is happy, no one gets what they want, and the realm itself gets shittier leadership. All because their succession rules are stupid. Remembering here that Aegon II himself doesn’t even want to be king at first.
Again, one more reason you can’t build a real civilization.
Also, hard agree on the logistics of this war making no sense. I get that you can hide individual soldiers from dragons in caves, but how are they getting resupplied from across the narrow sea? You can’t hide supply ships from dragons. How are they still managing to raid shipping lanes? They lasted two years like this? It only makes sense if it’s a local insurgency with local support, analogous to how Dorne managed to hold out all these years. Foreign invaders should not be able to stand against dragons.
Flayed Potatoes,
Is it possible I wonder that they specifically withheld showing Leanor and Leana flying dragons for a surprise moment such as this?
I mean I read comments from book readers who didn’t realize it could have been one of the Velaryon kids on their own dragons and thought it was Rhaenys who attacked on the dragon.
Perhaps they will make a show of it in the next episode. I do think they’ll make big deal of Vhagar’s foot since we saw that ominous second in the trailer so Leana may actually get a moment to shine on her dragon.
Shy Lady Dragon,
I don’t think Viserys wanted to do it, I think he was doing it to please his subjects as well. Because that’s what strong man would do. It was all so pathetic. He can’t hunt himself, so that was what he was reduced to, they were all taking part in that farce. It upset me, but it was only CGI I tell myself
I liked the episode. Vyserys and Rhaenyra did most of the heavy lifting. I LOVED Daemon’s outburst when he read his brother’s letter–wordlessly tells you all you need to know about their dynamic. I get goosebumps from Rhaenyra’s entrance theme, eerie yet powerful. It’s actually the only original piece that I can HEAR watching the series, the rest reads as rehashed GoT music. Wish we’d hear more original music for this show, including the opening credits.
Things I did not like:
Corlys’ brother’s wig is very possibly the worst I’ve seen across either series. He looked so pathetic next to his menacing brother at the war camp, and I wholeheartedly blame the wig.
That Leanor dude, I barely got to see his face before he was high-pitch screaming something that sounded kinda sorta like Dracarys. The dragon CGI was gorgeous but the emotional impact was missing. The fact that he wore a helm that hid his facial expressions did not help the sequence. Which is a shame because he seemed to have a pretty relatable reaction to riding his dragon into battle. Dude was going all ‘wohoooooo’ and it could have been epic, but wasn’t.
I do not get Alicent’s character. I do not know what drives or moves her. She’s just… there. She hasn’t been fleshed out and it kinda bothers me because she’s been in a lot of scenes. It’s ok not to know much about Rhaenys or Corlys (though I even feel like I know either better than Alicent) but she’s been on screen long enough and seems crucial to the story. Interested to see if Olivia Cook’s portrayal sheds more light.
Couldn’t disagree more. She’s coming off more like brat with every subsequent episode. Oh, poor Rhaenyra! She might not get to be ruler of the universe! The horror!
I don’t feel bad for these people. They’re a bunch of privileged brats.
Agree on the stag scene though. That was a bit much.
Mr Derp,
I think a lot of that has to stem from seeing her best friend marry her dad. I’d be gagging as well lol. They made it look like they were almost in love with each other, so she feels betrayed in 2 ways. I wanted to see her face when they got married, maybe we could have seen how she was gradually pushed out. Or so she thinks. The brattiness is real, but it makes sense to me
Lenika,
I feel exactly the same about Alicent, i’m not sure about her. I feel sorry for her though. Did she want to marry someone twice her age? She could have done a lot lot worse, but she is being maneuvered by dear old dad. At the same time, she clearly holds some power over Viserys, every good act came from her.
Jenny,
I think you are right, Viserys did what he thought he was supposed to do, but, although I like Paddy’s Viserys, he disappointed me in that scene. There were no serious circumstances when one had to make a huge sacrifice for the greater good! He appeared as ludicrous by performing that mockery hunt. What could he do? He could have said something like: “The gods refuse to favour me today! Release the stag, only the white one would have been suitable.”
I missed the Black Swan gossip (and who knows what else) because my Unsullied husband is frequently asking questions and making predictions. Based on the preview for the next episode, he thinks Alicent will cheat on Viserys!
Jenny,
I see Alicent as a girl who was raised to obey her father and whw tried to love her husband out of duty. Her feelings might be a mixture of pity, kindness, enjoyment of her social status and delight caused by knowing to be the stronger and more persuasive.
LadyOfTheNorth,
Yes! How is everyone else missing this?
LadyOfTheNorth,
There is longstanding speculation in ASOIAF fandom that Targaryens are immune to greyscale, among other illnesses. Just speculation, mind you, but it’s based on quotes and comments from the books, such as Dany recalling that she had never been ill in her life, and Viserys says that Targaryens are “untroubled by the pestilences that afflicted common men.”
Sue the Fury,
I just figured it was a dormant form of greyscale, like what Shireen had.
I don’t feel much connection to these characters. Some of them are interesting, but I’m yet to care what happens to them.
That being said, this is part of this particular story and I need to get used to it. George Martin himself said the characters in this story are very grey, basically all of them. He wondered in one of the pre-show interviews how people would take to them.
Just based on a non-scientific general observation of the interest it seems the more hardcore book readers enjoy this more than the final years of GOT, and maybe vice versa for the non-readers. So that will be interesting to follow.
Hmmm. Excuse the Covid analogy: I wonder if Targs are asymptomatic, yet can still transmit contagious “pestilences that afflicted common men” like greyscale.
Why else have Daemon carelessly dragging a greyscale covered corpse…unless Prince Superspreader is going to cause a nasty outbreak?
I thought Shireen got cured, but the greyscale infection left her face scarred. Maybe I’m wrong. (BTW It doesn’t seem likely that Shireen got the agonizing debridement treatment Dr. Samwell administered to Jorah Mormont.)
Mr Derp,
Lol. The show depicts crabs eating a man’s face but killing a deer is too much?
Three years of war to finally just invade the cave and kill the guy. Did I Miss something?
I put my initial thoughts into the episode preview but having mulled it over and talked to a few other friends this really felt like the most disappointing episode so far.
It wasn’t bad by any stretch and I say this as someone who was really excited to see it but also concerned by the time jumps. I will say this a) the story is progressing at a rapid pace, it’s too fast and it’s detrimental to character investment 2) it’s hard to root for any of the characters apart from Alicent (who was more dour this episode). This has the recipe to bring down the show and put people off longer term if they don’t ease off the pace and allow the audience to bond with characters. Both Daemon and Criston Cole have potential maybe Rhaenyra too but she’s coming off as a spoilt brat a bit too much with throwbacks to Dany/Sansa . In early GOT we had Jon, Bran, Dany, Arya, Nedd and Rob as obvious protagonists but other than Alicent who is there in HotD? Viserys is a decent well intentioned king but it’s obvious he’s heading for his death in the coming episodes. Otto is bland and despite some scheming to gain power (including at the expense of his daughter) isn’t really someone you care about either way.
As a long term contributor hopefully you all know I am a lot more positive than negative. The episode was by no means bad but there feels like a few issues arising.
We have big battles where there is no emotional investment but we also introducing new characters at the same time too who thought that would be a good idea?
This was some of the best talky talk drama dram stuff. The ending was fine but I’ve rarely cared about action. But hey, if you’re not into this stuff, shrug. Your problem.
It’s not just casuals who were confused I think most people were simply because nobody knew who was riding the dragon because it was a character who was introduced only a few mins before. It really could have been avoided by fleshing out the characters and building up to it properly over a few episodes. Sorry to be negative but it could have been so much better.
Yeah, that’s basically what I meant. I should have worded my comment better. I think Crabfeeder’s greyscale was cured, like Shireen’s was, and is therefore, not contagious.
This, plus Viserys’ cuts fester, so I I am not sold.
I’d say the weakest of the 3 episodes so far.
The crab feeder felt like a missed opportunity to me. Same for seasmoke/laenor entrance, no emotional impact.
Daemon is the only scene-stealer here.
Overall, I’m really loving the show. The production value is just astounding.
But it’s this, and the fact I know what’s coming that’s keeping me hooked, and I can’t help feeling the show needs to gather pace soon, or add in some plot twists (even non canon), to keep casual fans interested over time.
Almost everyone I know is complaining that it’s so slooooow. And the script is dire in places, though I guess the slower, dialogue heavy scenes will pay off later on.
As a side note, did anyone else think Rhaenyra was gonna rock up with that white Stag over her shoulder?
And why the HELL did they wait so long to lure out the crab mafia? All they had to do was roast them alive from the cave mouth, or have Vhagar seal them in with molten rock!
I hope the House of the Dragon story brings in a few strong, unique, ugly characters with a clever personality instead of a bunch of pretty faces with boring personalities.
Characters like Khal Drogo – Sandor Clegane – The Mountain – King Robert – the 1st Daario Naharis – Queen of Thrones Olenna Tyrell… Queen Daenerys “I am not a politician … I am a Queen”… no Queen Daenerys is not ugly… just the opposite… She has personality though
Killing a deer is not too much. However, taking forever to kill a deer while it’s screaming in agonizing pain is too much, IMO. If you don’t like my opinion then get some cream for your butthurt and take a hike.
KellieisComing,
I absolutely agree with your assessment. Daenerys destroyed the Iron Fleet, and the Golden Company, and leveled the scorpion fortified King’s Landing to rubble and ashes (including nearly every inhabitant, and combatant), with only one dragon (Drogon). So it’s shockingly inconceivable that the Daemon-Velaryon alliance with two dragons at their disposal, would take three years to win the war for the Stepstones.
Gen,
Perhaps that highlights the shortcuts taken with the original series? The dragons usually came out when they needed to end a plot line quickly. I think dragon battles must be very imprecise, Dany somehow did it without killing any of her own. Daemon killed his own soldier 30 seconds in. I don’t know what to make of it really
That’s quite a contrast that you think it’s so slow, my view and others I’ve spoken too feel they are raving at warp speed and consequently the characters are not being fleshed out. Is it really the pacing or lack of unexpected twists that you are missing? I feel for twists to have an impact you need character investment at the moment I don’t feel I have that other than for Alicent and to a lesser extent Viserys.
That’s quite a contrast that you think it’s so slow, my view and others I’ve spoken too feel they are racing at warp speed and consequently the characters are not being fleshed out. Is it really the pacing or lack of unexpected twists that you are missing? I feel for twists to have an impact you need character investment at the moment I don’t feel I have that other than for Alicent and to a lesser extent Viserys. The love of the characters and the fear you could lose your favourite was one of the factors which made GOT so loved.
Jenny,
The dragons in the original series were more in line with what we know about the history of dragons. Aegon the Conqueror conquered Westeros with only three dragons and a few thousand men. The dragons were an army all on their own. It beggars belief that Daemon, with dragons at his disposal, would have trouble with what was essentially a glorified pirate for three years.
Young Dragon,
That makes sense. I think they could have shown Dany accidentally killing her own soldiers, because that must have happened. Her dragons were laser like. That is a quibble though. This war doesn’t make an awful lot of sense, and the final battle was a bit silly for me. I assume that the whole war is summarised in one line in Fire and Blood
If this battle were super important to the plot, I would probably be more critical of it, but since it’s not (it’s more about Daemon’s character development), I’m more willing to let some of the more nonsensical aspects of it slide.
I enjoyed watching it.
Mr Derp,
No spoilers but DO NOT watch Bambi.
Jenny,
I think house of the dragon should have highlighted that the stepstones battle was more similar to what happend in dorne using guerllia warefare vs a typical battle. Dorne didnt join the seven kingdoms until years later. Meraxes was actually killed in dorne. This show is moving faster than thrones did in season 7 and 8. I’ve read the book and still not catching everything until rewatch.
Spoilers. The death that happened in Bambi is nothing remotely close to what happened in HotD. Sorry to hear your butthurt is still there.
Mr Derp,
Please keep it civil. My butt hurt is my business not yours.
You misunderstand me. As the person who apparently brought this terrible affliction upon you, I can’t help but feel somewhat responsible, so I want to help you. There’s a cure, ya know! It involves avoiding pointless internet squabbles. Good luck!
Is Melisandre alive during this time period? I’m not big on Easter eggs, but it would be kind of fun to see her.
Didn’t it say they were coming out at night and boarding the ships from small boats? (Almost impossible to spot). I assume the cave system was extensive too, making it very difficult to locate and fight them. I want to watch episode 2 again, now–now I’ve got a better idea what was happening–to digest the background to it all a bit better.
She should be, and possibly the Night King, Three-eyed Raven and maybe Wun Wun too (though I doubt we’ll see them, unless someone in HotD has the warging ability or one of the dragon riders flies North of the wall!) I do hope we see more locations from Thrones in later series.
If she is, I would think she would be in Asshai as it is still too early for her to come to Westeros in search of the PTWP. I would love for them show Asshai, or find another reason why she would be in Westeros and have her make a cameo.
Rygar,
I brought it up, and I was upset by it. You can’t control these things. I’m obviously affected by violence against people, but there is a level of cruelty involved in hurting defenceless animals that I just can’t stand
stew,
Yeah, if they spent more time on it, perhaps that would come across onscreen. But it probably wasn’t important enough to give it more screen time. We just have to accept that it happened, it’s over and that Daemon is apparently willing to go to any length to prove himself
1. Good job with the parallel hunt emphasising that while Viserys does not have any appetite for blood, Rhaenyra certainly has.
2. Does Aegon’s royal prophecy about the future coming of the White Walkers explain much of the later obsession by Targaryen kings with recovering dragons? Indeed might it explain the “madness” of king Aerys, and his ammassing of wildfire coming out of his growing fears of them (perhaps he even received some early sighting of strange events north of the wall, that tipped him over the edge) – so that when saying “burn them all” he meant the army of the Night’s King?
3. About the firepower of Dragons, some comments seem not to consider the differences of size and age. Balerion the Dread or Vhgar were enormous old dragons when they conquered Westeros. Other dragons, especially smaller young ones, might have far less firepower in them. There was even a noticeable difference between Drogon and his brothers, that would have probably become more marked with time. Also dragons were obviously becoming progressively weaker and smaller in Westeros. Vhgar was supposedly double the size of Caraxes and three times larger than Seasmoke, so firepower would be appropriate to size.
King Viserys killing the stag reminds me of when Theon Greyjoy decapitated Ser Rodrik Cassel in Season 2… both couldn’t do with 1 strike.
It showed weakness in King Viserys and cowardness in Theon Greyjoy
TormundsWoman,
“Is it possible I wonder that they specifically withheld showing Leanor and Leana flying dragons for a surprise moment such as this?”
Yes. We’ve heard Corlys say his line is of Old Valyria, but not actually seen any proof of it. Now we have, and in the most dramatic way.
To everyone who wondered why the war lasted for years, I found this believable because:
1) The Stepstones are a vast archipelago of rocky islands, extending from Dorne to Essos. There are plenty of coves and caves in which to hide ships and men. By moving constantly and raiding different shipping lanes, the Triarchy could stay ahead of their landlubber pursuers.
2) Nothing like the full strength of Westeros was ever in the action. Corlys and Daemon were making war without the approval of their King.
3) Being possessed of dragons may have made Corlys and Daemon overconfident at the start, costing them time to “find their feet.”
Finally, I like how Daemon’s fake surrender was nicely foreshadowed by his low blow at the Tourney. Not a man to cross lightly, that one…
It’s funny you say this because I for one as a non-book reader am enjoying this so far. I had conversations with friends back in the GoT days when the show surpassed the books (ie. the final few seasons) and was afraid that the quality was surely going to dip.
I was someone who was obsessed with GoT and its world and its lore and so forth while all my friends weren’t. They were just viewers who mostly came on late. Very interested viewers to be fair because it was such a big phenomenon but nowhere near as invested as I was.
And surely enough when the show passed the books I noticed the dip in quality right away even though it wasn’t blatantly obvious and my friends just couldn’t see what I saw. As the final few seasons moved along I made a point to them that the big battles and those kind of show piece moments were more spectacular than ever for sure, but the rest of the show went downhill. Still they couldn’t see it and honestly it seemed the world as a whole couldn’t see it either except for a very small percentage of us.
So yes there is a bit of merit to your observation about those who really enjoyed those final seasons of GoT and not so much HotD thus far. The “casuals” so to speak are more easily captured through the huge battles/set pieces/action scenes whereas what really carries both of these series are the drama/dialogue scenes and this is what more “hardcore” fans enjoy.
I don’t see it. Rhaenyra stabbed the boar in self-defence. That’s entirely different from killing a helpless tethered animal. And she let the white hart go rather than let it be killed.
The surprise didn’t work in my house, because we didn’t know who was flying the dragon. We only knew it was called Seasmoke from the subtitles. My initial thought was that it was Rhaenyra again.
And it proves nothing about Corlys’s line, because his children are half Targaryen through their mother.
But if you’ve read the books you must know that the quality also drops in the later books. The show left out a lot of digressions that would have dragged it down further, imo. And let’s not forget that there was some quality original writing too, even in the early seasons: for instance the scene between Robert and Cersei discussing their marriage was not from the book.
That’s one of my favourite scenes!
“The long-haired Lannister twin Jason (that’s right, he’s simply…Jason“
Exactly how I felt when I first heard “Jamie”. Tywin, Cersei, Tyrion, and…. Jamie?? Uh, ok.
Grandmaester Flash,
And it proves nothing about Corlys’s line, because his children are half Targaryen through their mother.
That’s a good point, and I thank you for correcting me on it. It opens the possibility of House Valyrion not being what Corlys says it is.
DavidQ,
Hello. I am a 2 time book reader, TV show watcher, and I am also obsessed with the lore of this world. I also noticed how the GOT show diverged from the books, and even the characters diverged from their book counterparts. I am enjoying HOTD show so far, and I understand that if we compare the war of the Stepstones with the later seasons of GOT, Dany was able to use the dragons to burn her enemies. She had dragons, so why are Daemon and Corlys losing this war if they have 2 dragons? If we compare GOT TV show to HOTD then I can understand the confusion. I was initially confused myself. But then I remembered Dorne never bent the knee to the Targaryens in Fire and Blood, and it didn’t matter how many times dragons were sent to Dorne. Rhaenys and her dragon both perished in Dorne as they were trying to conquer it. Aegon the 1st never conquered Dorne. I guess it isn’t a given that if you have dragons, that automatically guarantees a win.
For me, it’s kind of both.
We’re only 3 episodes into the series and we’ve already experienced multiple time jumps, which makes the show feel like it’s moving a bit too quickly. Especially when there has been very little time devoted to character development.
However, whether we have a time jump or not, we’re still left with the same exact plot…the succession. It’s kind of the same thing over and over again and, for me, it’s losing my interest. I just don’t really care who gets the crown of most privileged person in Westeros. It’s kind of boring to me. This show could use a bit more seasoning. Right now, this show is basically one flavor.
Mr Derp,
Yeah, it is quite uniquely fast paced and slow at the same time. We are skipping through time, but we don’t really know any of the characters yet. GOT would have dedicated an episode to the aftermath of the wedding announcement, we would wallow in the repercussions of Viserys’ decision. But HotD just moved things along. I think I know Viserys best so far. I understand Rhaenyra but Daemon is a puzzle, same with Alicent. Though I can fill in the gaps with her
It’s Jaime, not Jamie.
And what’s so funny about Jason? It’s a name from classical mythology and not the first time it’s cropped up here. Wasn’t there a Jason Mallister in GoT?
Grandmaester Flash,
My brothers name is spelled Jamie so excuse TF out of my phones auto correct.
Your name must be Jason lol
Grandmaester Flash,
I share the opinion of the person who wrote this article. You want to jump down her throat as well?
“The final scene was cool, I enjoyed it, but it could’ve had more impact if we had a little more bonding time with Laenor and Seasmoke. ”
Agree. I think it also would’ve been nice to know who the crab feeder was and why he was doing what he was doing in the first place. Why crabs of all things? I don’t recall the show delving into his motivations at all. I think they barely mentioned his name in the beginning of this episode, but that was it.
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