Feeling CONFLICTED | Episode 6 House of the dragon REVIEW
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- čas přidán 21. 08. 2024
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People who say they don't want kids and then becoming very affectionate once they become a parent is pretty common enough in real life. The opposite case as well.
Yeah. Plus, what she was against was being a baby machine trapped in a certain position with no options. That is not the same thing as being against having children at all. Having kids on her own terms where she has agency is quite different.
It's like the old 'Dad never wanted a dog, but look how much he loves the dog'.
When you're talking about having a child or even a pet, it's just a nameless, faceless thing that requires resources and responsibility. Once you have your own child/pet, it's an individual and most people are loving in nature.
My wife and I feel this way because we don’t want to give up the freedom in our lifestyle. That doesn’t mean we won’t do the best we can if we do have kids.
@@freehaven-junprince2376 hire a nanny
@@JoshuaKevinPerry sure if I want to be a shitty parent. “Hey kids, you both are getting in the way of our travel lifestyle so I’m going to pay someone to look after you while your mom and I have fun all the time, bye! See you in a month or two!”
I also love how much better this show handles metaphors and saying.
Contrast the "The Sea is always right" vs "The wise sailor flees the storm as it gathers."
That's an actual line in RoP? 💀
@@tealsquare Yes... yes it is.
Let's all just appreciate how cool Vhagar looks. THAT is a big and old dragon.
Vhagar is Epic. if only we could see Balerion or Canabal
@@thebaron2277 The cannabal is yes as it will kill a dragon in the later seasons.
@@kjellduteweert9262 can't wait to see if they decide to make him bigger than Vaghar and Balerion because nobody knows his exact size
@@thebaron2277 i doubt they'll animated him. Probably just mention him in conversation. But who knows... Maybe they'll get bigger budget for the next season.
yea that's a proper dragon like GoT used to have. I had not been a huge fan of the new ones.
Also one of the lines I loved most in this episode was when Harwin said goodbye to baby Joffrey, "I will be a stranger when we meet again."
In the Westerosi religion, the Faith of the Seven, the Stranger is the personification of death, death is sometimes called "meeting the Stranger". And Harwin and Joffrey will only meet again after death.
Great catch!
Nice catch.
My daughter was born with a twisted leg / clubfood. Few minutes after the afterbirth the nurses told me that they will take her to the orthopedist immediately to fix her foot with a clubfoot splint and told me to stay and rest. I asked them, if they are kidding me, went out of the bed, asked for more sanitary pads and brought her by myself. I was full of adrenalin, there was no pain only the need to stay with my child and to protect her. So, to me, this scene felt very normal. 😅
My mother was out and about the hour after the birth of my youngest brother. To the point that first-time mothers still recovering in the ward looked at her with mouths agape - she had just shrugged off the childbirth so quickly, and being 40.
I'd say yes, I think the idea is justified.
@@Enyavar1 Ok sorry, but I only can see the "First time?" meme now... lol
I hope your mother stays healthy! She sound super strong! 💪🏽
You're the real MVP! I'm a dude, so I don't have ANY idea what you were going through, but still, big respect! I hope your kid is healthy and has no prpblem with its foot. :)
She didn’t want kids till she had one. I think a lot of people can relate. This is her third child and it would make sense if her thoughts on having children changed after 10 years.
My mom didn't want children until she became a mother. She said she was shocked at how much she was in love with her baby. She has 4 children now. Its normal for teenagers not to want children, many feel different when they become adults.
She had to have kids. She had no choice.
One thing this episode did really well was make me feel very worried for all the royal children, because bad things are definitely coming their way.
spoilers. They all die.
The other thing show did really well as make people like the all the hateful characters.
I loath all the adulterers, bastards, killers and yet I want to see more of them
Oh good God, these poor kids... Lmao
@@MrPegasusfeather I only love king and his hand rest of them are garbage
No. Nobody else found is super fake/unreal writing when rhaenya just started walking to the queen with the newborn baby in hand while bleeding, not even finished birth & not changed/cleaned/rest...like is she from royal family married to the strongest 2nd dragon family...or is she a nobody who's has to follow the queen, a queen thatisher age & her step mother... of course ofxouurse she or her husband could say yes we will show baby in 39mins...now the ppl & guards won't gossip when they see queen walking while bleeding on the floor? The king won't say why my p incessnto be queen daughter is walking shoeless while bleeding...this is let's accept it, bad unrealistic writing. Please point these things out. Her char should be written with her standing in mind, & her standing is heir o incess, not lowborn who would give up bieth tonwalk over half bleeding on floor...I can't accept it even though I try as it is too silly...ty
I pointed out the irony to my wife while watching this episode, that back at the hunt when everyone was vying for Rhaenyra’s hand in marriage, when Lyonel Strong suggested Laenor, the king assumed he was going to suggest his own son. The son who ended up fathering her children anyway.
That is unfortunate!
Oh wow great observation!
This is where the series lost it for me. The ONLY watchable character for me was Milly Alcock. I could have cared less about them replacing the queen, she was a boring character, but the princess? That killed the series for me. None of the other characters were interesting enough to keep watching. Huge blunder replacing her. Had to stop watching.
@@skinnie2838 ...I do question how you expected an 18 year old to go on to portray a 30 an on year old.
@@Jwsponky lol?
I thought it was a great episode. I haven't been disappointed yet (which continues to surprise me). Watching that sword training scene the same week of the Numenor/Galadriel sword training scene was too perfect.
I thought about that when seeing they train while wearing armour (granted they should also wear a helmet but I guess it's the usual invisible helmet in plotarmourium forged in Hollywood) and using wooden swords.
HBO continues to fire shots at Amazon
@@Duke_of_Lorraine you gotta get the actors face in the shots or their managers start bitching at you
Why is there praise for a bad adaption of a story you can both read and watch in animated form, it's the bad and forced race swaps when un-needed yet people watching this will later complain about other stuff being swapped.
Have some consistency and so no to all of it, other wise they learn nothing and will keep doing it sometimes with characters you like, other times not, but it's all the same shite.
@@arlisongbird9386 beside the very questionable race swap (which will sound weird when they start calling Rhaenyra's faction "the Blacks"...), the show is of high quality.
And if there is one adaptation for which changes are welcome, dare I say expected, it's that one. Fire and Blood is supposed to be a second-hand historian cross-referencing several heavily biased primary sources that often contradict each other, while the show portrays events as they did happen. GRRM supervises the entire series after all.
Daemon being a great father appears disputable given the fact that he apparently ignores the one daughter that has no dragon.
Seriously, not sure what Shad was seeing there. I saw Daemon being fatherly to (in his eyes) the most promising daughter. He's still an indifferent husband at best.
here's the thing Rhaenyra didn't want kids or to marry but at the time she was a moody 17 year old who was upset with the people around but after a few years it makes sense she would have a child and she would end up loving it
The conversation with the delivery surgeon explains Laena's death somewhat. He says he's at the limit of his abilities and the baby will not come. She will die anyway because the baby is in breach and will kill her, the only choice is to attempt to remove the baby through c-section, which will also kill Laena. Daemon doesn't want to put her through that as Viserys did to Aemma Arryn and refuses, so Laena decides to kill herself and her baby by dragonfire rather than go through with the c section. Earlier in the episode, she tells Daemon she wants to die a 'dragonrider's death.'
I think you're right, the dialogue just didn't do a very good job reinforcing that.
And both die.
I think most people got it tbh. Maybe more so those of us who've had kids it was just kinda obvious even without the dialogue what was going on, Laena was f*cked and took control of her fate. Pretty badass and in keeping with her character.
@@TripleSBreakdowns Oh guess I'm misremembering lol. Someone definitely dies falling from dragonback though
@@n0killz44 Sick sick sick. Humanity deserves a culling.
Regarding the breastmilk thing. We see Rhaenyra being presented with some cloth thing that was meant to ease the pain of milk production, and she is told that the pain will stop when the milk has dried up. This is alluding to a real historical practice that was the binding up of breasts to basically suffocate the mammary glands in order to stop milk production, which would hurt in the short term but stop the pain in the long term. This was also used by women who bore stillborn children, but it was pretty common practice for aristocratic women in many cultures to have wet nurses that would breastfeed the babies for them. This was due to many disparate reasons; like breastfeeding preventing the woman from wearing the garb that represented her station, or in this case of a queen, breastfeeding prevents her from entertaining the company of men because it would be considered an indecent display, and I think the show portrays quite accurately how aristocratic men would react to their superior suddenly being overcome by a bodily function, not only because she is a married woman of higher status whose nakedness would be the absolutely least socially acceptable thing to bear witness to, but also because the kinds of superiors they are used to typically are in control of their environment either through physical or monetary means; that is how they legitimise their supremacy. So when a superior suddenly can't even control herself, let alone the room, then it would be extremely awkward for the subordinates.
This is a great insight! Thank you!
Another great decision by the writers: Rheanyra still has a belly days after giving birth! As someone who has popped out a baby, I appreciate this attention to detail. Also, so great being able to listen to a reviewer with an Aussie accent. Love your work Shad! Keep it up!
I have to say the small council scene when Rhaenyra starts “leaking” is very well done. Alicent points it out to shame Rhaenyra in front of the other lords and cut off the point she was trying to make. It felt like Rhaenyra was taken aback at a fellow mother (and former friend) shaming her for this while also realizing the Queen has no sympathy for her or her children.
I never considered this, good shout!
This could also explain why Rhaenerys decided to abscond to Dragonstone in a subtle way, as this shows her that Alicent will not entertain a union and they are basically already at war. So she *had* to make a decision now, as it only gets worse.
Who knows? Maybe she figured her sons were next after hearing about Harenhall and moved to save them and stage her uprising, she is clearly in second place in the race to the iron throne and she understands this and made her decision herself, without seemingly *any* advisors.
Characters being smart and making smart decisions, I love this show!
I felt that her embarrassment about the breasts leaking was more about how she is meant to be the future ruler, but things like that just keeps reminding every one that she is a woman and thus "inferior" to men because their nipples never leak.
Everyone saw she was "leaking" (like a person with something on their face). Everyone else was afraid to say something, but Alicent, a woman and mother, said something to stop her shame for continuing. The opposite of what you said.
@@williamwire2444 I was referring to why it was something she considered embarrassing in the first place, something the host of the CZcams channel was uncertain about. I am not saying women are worse, but reminders such as those that women have different struggles does inherently make her claim lesser in the eyes of the men present.
@@williamwire2444 That’s also very plausible! It’s what makes me love the series so far, like early GoT the characters are so layered you really can’t tell exactly what their motives are. It’s fun to theorize and speculate again 😂
I feel like Larys was sort of blackmailing and forcing the queens hand in a way. she has no choice but to "reward" him to both keep him quiet and any denial would not be believed anyway.
Yeah, in the book, we were told that Daemon gets laughed out of the Eyrie and told not to come back by Lady Jeyne Arryn when he tries to collect his late wife's inheritance of Runestone. I mean, considering how little loved he must be for abandoning his wife, we can assume that he does not get the inheritance he wants.
I understand what you’re saying about Rhaenyra “leaking” at the end of the council and I even agree with you.
But my reading of that scene is not so much that she is embarrassed about that in and of itself. But rather she is rapidly losing what little standing she has in court and now, in her big grand gesture meant to bridge the gap between her and the queen and solidify her position as heir this happens which highlights her femininity in a very masculine area, at a time where her femininity is a very distinct liability.
EDIT: Also, I agree with you on daemon and his wife. I would almost bet money that there is a deleted scene that would take place between him shaking his head and her running outside that got cut for some stupid reason at some point and now the entire plot line is weaker because of it.
She is grown up and matured. She realizes there is actual danger, when you are a teenager you feel invincible, now she understands that a few wrong moves and her and her loved ones can suffer brutal deaths If she plays the game of thrones and loses.
Alicent remembers Rhaenyra swearing lies to the memory of her dead mother with 0 hesitation in order to protect her claim to the throne. She knew then that Rhaenyra is willing to do anything and break oaths/lie, she is not a person that she can trust, especially with the lives of her children.
It's actually surprising how much a Targaryen child can get away with behind the backs of the dragonkeepers. The memory is foggy but one of King Jaehaerys' daughters managed to sneak some boys down there and started contest in which she promised her maidenhead to the one "brave" enough to fit his head inside the mouth of a dragon, which was only stopped last minute by the dragonkeepers.
That's hilarious. Helping with natural selection there 😆
bro WHAT THE FUCK is that story holy!!!!!
Power of horny is stronger than natural fear of dragons :D
@@mildlydazed9608 Jaehaerys daughter, which number she was I do not remember, Saera the Rogue Princess
Couldn’t they’ve went and put their head in a dragon skulls mouth? Was it specified it had to be alive? lol
It was a dense and pivotal episode. Many new characters were properly introduced, the plot thickened and moved forward, we had some cloak and dagger, some dragons, sword fights... In this world, sentences and actions have implications and consequences, making it captivating. It is good and keeps me on the edge of my seat - while ROP keeps me on the edge of my sleep.
I really look forward the next episode !
The sword scene was just great! At first the children of the queen and princess are shown to be actually close (or at least aegon) but you can see how much the influence of the adults around them are starting to drive them away as aegon is relentless (though because of criston) and jace retaliate aggressively starting the division all because of the conflict between Criston and harwin
I think Rhaenyra's actions are justifiend because the theme of the episode was, in a way, how love (towards our children) affects us. Viserys chooses to be blind to what's obvious (which make even cause a war down the line), Lyonel is put into a hard position by Harwin's actions, Alicent is playing with things she doesn't really approve (she's got an ally in Larys but what he does goes against her religious morals), and Rhaenryra is rushed into making a stupid decision by her fear for her sons. It made sense to me.
PS: notice how Daemon only teaches High Valyrian to his dragonrider daughter...
The last monologue doesn't apply to Rhaneyra because she was already loose to begin with. In fact, her choices only hurt, not protect her children. Her love to protect them from getting called bastards is making her do politically stupid thing (leaving KL), but nothing immoral. She was immoral to begin with.
The "love is death of duty" applies to Lynel and Viserys, who despite being good men, ignore indiscretions of their children, ignoring their duty for love, which ruins them. Viserys's legacy is on the verge of collapse because he didn't reined in Rhaneyra for her selfishness, while Lynel's undoing comes from both his sons being assholes
Shad doesn't understand nuance. Which is why he is so stubborn in beliefs and thoughts.
@@kirathekillernote2173 What did Rhaenyra do that was immoral? Cheat on her husband? No, because that was their arrangement from before the marriage. Laenor was never going to give her children, but the realm will expect the king’s heir to have a line of her own. Even if much of the realm has no intention of supporting her claim, anyway. Having no heir of her own would only weaken her claim.
@@Shamrock797 She has done lot of wrong/immoral things, including using Sir Cole as her boytoy (that includes hiring him for her fancy) and fucking around with Daemon. Leave aside dismissing lords callously and being absolutely ignorant towards her duties as heir in ep 3, these are all minor traits that don't matter much and are easily redeemable.
What is not, is cheating on the realm. Imagine being a lord in reach, and knowing you have to bow to an obvious bastard who was never legitimised. Rhaneyra is queen because tradition says lords must follow the King. She cannot derive her existence from succession rules and then scoff at them because she couldn't help herself with StrongD.
No one has any reason to bow to Luke or any of her bastards. She is as evil as Cersei was in pushing jer bastards as heirs. And I believe she will go as far as Jeoffery in eliminating other claims because hers is very insecure, because of her own making
@@kirathekillernote2173 rheanyra and cersei are in opposite positions thou, royal instead of consort. Cersei did it to spite bobby B while in rheanyra’s case her hubby can’t preform with women. The entire situation is fucked. And cole is just a little selfish bitch who couldn’t handle rejection, incel vibes lol. Btw obviously a green 😂
34:30 Rhaenyra used a secret passage to get to the Hand's chamber. She didn't go to talk to Harwin. Her objective was to spy on the conversation.
Exactly!
I felt something when The Strongs died😭, considering that they are only there for a few episodes with few scenes. They seem like the Ned Stark of the show. The few people here that is not power hungry.
I wish they just added more episodes so we know of them and Laena more.
I see that as good writing. They left you wanting just a bit more. It would've been nice for them to get more development because we liked them, but we also probably liked them in part because they didn't get developed more. The real estate required to develope then would've forced some drop in the rest of the action and killed the show's pacing.
All part of why this show is so much better than RoP, where they try to spend so much time developing that nothing ever happens (although it's worse than that because no one actually develops interestingly either...)
As far as the Rhaenyra breast feeding thing goes and the leaking, I think you missed something. They have wet nurses for breast feeding. Rhaenyra isn’t doing it herself. Women in upper society are expected to hand their children off and not do it. That’s why Rhaenyra is experiencing a lot of discomfort (like during her conversation with the maid before Laenor comes in) and she’s leaking because she’s not feeding the baby. That’s why it’s embarrassing… because a woman in her position is expected not to.
I wondered why she wasn’t feeding her baby but that makes total sense. Also give me a break. These folks lived in filth & that offended them. 😂
I had a small criticism about the...clearly very heavy chambermaid they have in the show. Would a royal chambermaid ever even be able to get obese?
@@KillerChickn maybe she is the cook's special friend. If there is one place where you could find fat servants is at court. You ain't finding fat farmers
The best Episode
Yeah easily.
I think with the leaking scene it's mostly just that it throws her off her game. It's also just a reminder that even though she now gets to sit at the table, she's still a woman, which is the main challenge to her claim.
This was one of my favorite episodes so far
I really enjoyed it, as much as any other episode!
Yeah, i was verry afraid of new actors but it was good! I could imaged that they are just older now.
I thought it was one of the best episodes so far. No issue with the new actors and actresses, other than that I’d have liked them to give us a few more episodes with the younger ones.
The younger versions got no important story anymore, it will still be the same stuff. The time jumps needed to introduce the kids, after this eps we will get another kids and some child actors will be teenagers/young adult, the dance will start with the kids, prolonged the young rhaenyra and alicent just a waste of time. And ofc with only 3-4 seasons they need to start the dance, since that part is the longest and important one lol
The Alicent actress, young one, already loved her so much!!
@@firstofall21 it's not the longest? They literally cover the yeard from 101 to 129 in season 1 and then the dance was only from 129 to 131
@@tanajagrobin6831 it will expand till season finale from the info I read. After eps 8 there will be no more time jumps, the focus will be just about the dance, there will be 3 or 4 seasons in total. idk if they will go all the way till aegon III took over or ended right before that. Since they preparing another spin off.
This is where the series lost it for me. The ONLY watchable character for me was Milly Alcock. I could have cared less about them replacing the queen, she was a boring character, but the princess? That killed the series for me. None of the other characters were interesting enough to keep watching. Huge blunder replacing her. Had to stop watching.
This was a great episode in my opinion. The acting from Rhaneyra in the opening scene was fantastic.
I feel like this time jump was too quick. We really needed an episode to explain how Sir Criston wasn't arrested and what exactly happened at that wedding. Plus they didn't explore Rhaenrya's relationship with Harwin Strong, it just happened off-screen. Not a smooth time transition for this one.
Yeah the time jump was a big mistake in my opinion, they really should've taken a bit more time to flesh out all the relationships in the 10 year period
I disagree but I respect your take on this.
I think the show did a good job of setting up the time skip and the new consort-knight and Ser Criston can both be explained from the previous episode through inference.
Criston was clearly pardoned by Alicent in return for serving her, she probably convinced him Renaerya was at fault for their affair and the 10 year gap gave time for Criston to change his opinion of Renaerya like he did.
I think the show decided fleshing out the new dad was too much bloat, plus, he really seems to be more of an extension of Renaerya's personality, as she prefers lamb to duck as set up last episode.
People need to understand that there are no good characters in the story. Outside of some kids everybody is pretty bad and makes mistakes. i Liked this ep. My only negative is that they rushing some characters arcs
I think since some characters not really the main story, they dont want ppl to be too attached to side characters, even the young ones shouldnt be there in the first place. And since the seasons will be shorter compared to GoT, guess they dont want to waste time and budgets, after eps 7 or 8 there will be no more time jump and will go accordingly.
The parentage is why I was against the casting choice for the Valareyons. In the book Rhyneara’s kids parentage wasn’t as glaringly obvious. It was all rumor and speculation. In the show it’s like looking at the sky and saying the sky isn’t blue.
This obvious fact in the show that the sons are bastards changes the whole feel from the books. It makes ppls perceptions change and motives that you don’t or do understand in the books, are very different in the show.
That’s how YOU interpreted the parentage intrigue. The show only comments on hair and briefly “plain features”. Skin color was never brought into the conversation- we know it would be in real life but considering this is a fantasy series….
I really enjoyed it. I feel this should have been season 2 episode one though. The new actors take some getting used to especially since the young woman who played young Rhaenyra was amazing
That would have meant 3-4 filler episodes to cap off season one, which would have been no bueno for me. Absolutely love the pacing of the show and I was stunned that the time jump was pulled off so seamlessly, but shouldn't have been surprised given that the writing and acting are top drawer.
Agree, I would have preferred a short prologue season of HotD (6-8 eps) to flesh it more. However, casual fans are gonna hate it.
Even with the current set up of the show, some general audience are already complaining why they are not seeing more dragon battles when this is supposed to be a show about “Fire and Blood”. Some are even mocking it as “Days of Our Lives” on a higher budget. what more if we had a slow prologue season, they would have bitched about it 😅
@@jl1702 dragon fights is season 2 and 3 those that complain will see dragon fights every 5 minutes. 17 dragons will be shown in this episode.
This is where the series lost it for me. The ONLY watchable character for me was Milly Alcock. I could have cared less about them replacing the queen, she was a boring character, but the princess? That killed the series for me. None of the other characters were interesting enough to keep watching. Huge blunder replacing her. Had to stop watching.
Fun Fact: "Stark" means "Strong." If House Strong is an old branch of House Stark, I will laugh.
This is from the expression 'in Stark contrast' came from
They are one of the few first men houses in the south so they'll mix blood whatever happens.
They both are first men houses The Starks are definitely older
To me it felt like the scene of Daemon choosing the life of Laena over a possible childbirth and the scene of Laena's suicide by dragon fire were hours apart from each other. When I watched the episode I did not consider the possibility that Daemon was actually looking at an empty bed when he made his decision. For her reasons I can only speculate. Maybe her grieve and pain after her unsucessful birth and her suddenly declining health overshadowed every hope she had while she felt betrayed once again by Daemon who chose the exact opposite of what she would have wanted.
I cannot believe Shad, as a fan of both history and fantasy, that you haven't dived into the ASOIAF books, as well as Fire and Blood. It's essentially fantasy written as if it were historical fiction, and the parallels drawn throughout are so fun to pick apart. Fire and Blood is written as an in-universe history, with competing sources and accounts where the 'truth' is always just out of reach. The Dance of Dragons itself, the civil war we're building to over twenty years, is very much based on the Anarchy, the civil war in England and Normandy between Stephen I and Matilda.
Well he definately doesn't wanna dive into Fire and Blood because he wants to be surprised when things happen. Most people are putting that book on hold until after, so they won't be spoiled.
Not Shad, but I’ve been avoiding the books for years before the show. No one ever really said anything about why they liked it except that “the good guys lose, and the bad guys win.” Never sounded that interesting. No after watching some lore videos on and off it still seems like I made a good decision. There’s some good stuff in the books, but it largely stuff Martin only hints at. Mostly the books seem to focus on sex and politics and not the fantasy elements.
@@donkeysaurusrex7881 The thing is, there are no 'good' or 'bad' guys (though, of course, some learn more towards one or the other), but everyone justifies their own motives, right or wrong. It makes things more interesting than simply some characters are beautiful and righteous while others are ugly and evil (lord of the rings), imo.
I think Shad is concerned that the series might not have an ending at this point, and so he's wary of starting to commit to it, as it might be a long series with no closure. Not sure where I heard him say this tho, so I'm not sure how true this is.
19:00 she literally proposed a marriage between their children so there would be no need to worry. Also, Ramsey became a Bolton the children could be legitimized
A bastard to take the throne!!! Blasphemy, the royal line should be pureblooded
That would’ve changed nothing about Aegon’s claim to the throne. Aegon would still be a target bc he is the eldest, true-born son of the king. That’s probably why Rhaenyra was written as having only boys, bc Rhaenyra having a daughter who could’ve married Aegon might have actually worked.
About the breastfeeding: It is probably not so common for nobility - there was a scene (when her drunken husband and his new friend came in) where she was discussing to stop the milk over two days. Nobility probably had wetnurses to do the job for them.
I really enjoyed this episode and I think a lot of people didn't understand the reason why Rhaenyra had black haired children. It's not simply because Rhaenyra decided to sleep with another man, its because Laenor doesn't want to have sex with Rhaenyra. I think the death of Joffrey really affected Laenor's relationship with Rhaenyra and when it comes time for Laenor to do it with Rhaenyra, he probably couldn't be aroused enought to do it. That's my theory
Hmm, I think it's because he's gay
How about get over it b/c life is hard & you & your wife may die if you don’t?
There is dialogue for both interpretations in this episode. Rhaenyra scolds him after the naming that he should (more) do his duty (as husband?). In another later dialogue he defends having done his side of the bargain. So we cannot be 100% sure, if he has never done his job, only in the beginning of their marriage or has done it continously. In the latter case the children could be really his (at least theoretically, even if he wasn't her only lover).
In the end, I didn't settle on this answer since I think Rhaenyra would have insinuated his dereliction of duty more strongly in his drunken conversation. I think all evidence in the show points to him doing his duty towards giving her a child, but for reasons of nature, it didn't work. It certainly could have something to do with his gayness, but since Rhaenyra made no such accusation, we can't be sure.
Laenor is gay. he does not want the Targussy
before the second birthing scene Laena deadass says she wants to give birth and die on driftmark ,and die a dragron riders death ...she possibly hears them saying that the baby aint coming out ,then she decides to go out like a champ
If there's anything I love more than Rings of Power bombing as hard as it is, it's that another show (which initially received a lot of the same criticisms from fans) is airing at the same time and is being embraced by many of the same people who despise Amazon's very expensive trainwreck. I could not have planned it better myself.
It’s almost like, writing, character development and a consistently interesting plot are actually more important than visual effects and graphics! *gasp* :O who would have thought?
@@paradoxus6098 And House of the Dragon even looks better than Rings of Power 😂
@@aperson9847 right? Absolutely stunning. The costumes, the castles, and don’t even get me started on the dragons.
I like the subtle setup and payoff that goes all the way back to episode 2 in which the 12-year-old princess of the sea snake mentions that she's heard about a possible location of the largest dragon and now as an adult she now rides that dragon
Good catch! Did you spy that out yourself or is it from reading Fire and Blood. Only read it once when it came out.
What I got from between the royal apartments and small council scene is that Rhaenrya was trying to dry up her breasts. She had a wet nurse and was even telling her, the nurse, of what kind of wine to drink. I know there was a way, I think involving drinking salt, they can dry the breasts up so maybe the “surprise “ at the small council was her thinking everything was working fine.
Yes, might be the least good episode. But it is wasn't bad. They had to introduce/reintroduce a lot of characters. We've just just been spoiled by first 5 episodes. Looking forward to episode 7.
Yep it is like an introduction to the kids actually, not really focus on their partners story that's why it felt rush on that side of story, but the kids arc until rhaenyra and daemon got kids and they will start the dance.
Solid setup episode, next one is gonna be more focused on aemond and I’m hyped
In the book Laena gives birth (on Driftmark, not Pentos) to a twisted and malformed babe that dies within the hour. The labour drained her strength and she was infected with childbed fever not long after. After a few days she pushed away the septas praying over her, got out of bed intent of reaching Vhagar to fly one last time, she falls down the tower stairs and dies.
I much prefer the shows version but do too think that they could of made it make more sense with a little bit of logic
It's funny. In the books the Valeron family looks very similar to the Targaryens, pale skin and white blonde hair. The dark skin is show exclusive. But that makes Rhaenyra trying to convince people that these kids were fathered by her husband much harder to believe. I mean his skin is pretty pale compared to his father but still.
White people and mixed race people can have babies that look entirely white. Just look at Prince Harry & Meghan Markle’s kids after all.
I mean if the kids had ended up with fairly light skin and blond hair it might just about have been believable give how light skinned he is, so its still really the hair that does it, I think.
Since Laenor’s already fairly light brown, it’s believable any children he could have with Rhaenyra could be fair skinned. The hair is the damning thing - there’s no way to explain the brown hair happening three times in a row.
@@everhall306 exactly! they should’ve kept that Laenors mother had black hair and given Rhaeneras mom more traditional Arryn features to make the lie more believable
That casting just doesn’t make sense. I like the actor for Corlys, he has a good presence but idk what they were thinking. They could have at least made one of Rhaenyras kids have white hair or something.
Also with Daemon. I know genetics can’t be completely predicted but his kids are like a quarter black and they don’t even look like it
"What'd you bring me?"
-Bilbo Baggins
In the book it is mentioned that the Lady of the Vale denied Daemon his inheritance. I agree it should have been mentioned in passing, but minor point.
I really don’t think that was an oversight or a big mistake. The birthing doctor like you say says he’s at the end of his abilities. It’s mirroring the first birth in the series with Aemma, almost exactly and that doctor said he could try and sacrifice one (the mother) or lose both.
We are essentially told any form of cutting the women at this stage in Westerosi history equals an essential death sentence.
And since it’s basically the same scene I think it’s just implied that we know the impossible decision and that one is going to die regardless if they cut her open. If it’s got to that stage where there’s physically no other way and Daemon isn’t willing to be the one that gives her essentially a death sentence. She knows it’s ultimately his decision and that she’s unfortunately dead regardless (she’s two kids down at this point she mad and the women of Westeros will know the risks) so instead of bleeding out and being cut open Laena makes her way to vahgar to go out on her own terms.
I think it’s actually really well done and not an issue at all. Mainly because of how much it mirrors the first birthing scene and showing how one woman had basically no say and no idea what was happening. Compared to Laena who was very much aware and decided her own fate.
Even if it’s a more dramatic version than in the books it’s a pretty similar scene.
I loved this episode. I think we were all a bit worried about getting used to the actor change for the new time jump, but i felt it went really well. Alicent is literally the same. Rhaenyra seems to have grown up into a mother, which all who knew the material beforehand expected, and i didn't feel like it was out of character for her at all. And the tension between the two are stronger than ever. Which one would assume. And we could really feel the conflict the children brings to story. Also loved seeing more of the dragon pit!
Laena's death might have been a bit rushed, or not the way we wanted, but it wasn't that bad of a change. What i really liked about the change was seeing how ones dragon will hesitate so much to killing their own rider. So sad.
Great episode! I don't like comparing all that much, but i can't help but feel the difference in looking forward to the next ep of HOTD every week, and how bored i've gotten with ROP.
The Laena suicide scene is changed from the original book story. In that the baby is delivered, but is dead, and she is unable to recover from the birth. She tries to go to Vahgar to fly her one more time, but dies before she gets to Vahgar. I don't know why it was changed in the show. Wasn't necessary.
It’s a direct comparison to ep1 pregnancy. It’s shown that if the baby is breach then they do not have the method to save the mother and can only try to save the child by caesarean. Daemons wife realises this and removes the choice (despite him seemingly saying no) by choosing to kill herself and the baby by fire
Shad love watching your breakdowns here and with Gary. This episode Is not without it's flaws. That being said it is still incredibly captivating. The time jump and new actors held their own. The political deception and chess games are great and the episodes closing speech was as good as any rant little finger ever had. Love this show. And it's a must watch. Which I never thought I'd say after the complete disaster that was season 8.
to explain the scene with leana's death you have to understand both her character and daemon's, and this goes along with why deamon is in pentos and not in the vale, he's lost. It's shown with his conversation with laena, he spends all the time reading about the dragonlords of old because he's trying to find something he can't fully grasp, he's not happy but he should be, and leana pokes at him saying she married him knowing he's meant for greatness and even mentions she knows she failed to live up to his greatness and accepts she is not what he thought he wanted. when she fails to give birth, the "battlefield" for women, she doesn't want to live with that disappointment and would rather die with the honor of making that choice herself. As for deamon and him letting her go only to run after her later, this is probably daemon's greatest flaw up to this point and it's shown in everything he does. He doesn't fully know what he is aiming for, in every scene he's done it's shown there's hesitation. When he took rhaenyra to the brothel he hesitated and left her, when he sleeps with other women he's not able to finish, when he kills his wife he almost leaves her and shows some reluctance. When he steals the dragon egg he ends up just giving it back, same as when he's given a crown. There's parallels with deamon and jaime lannister, they are both characters that want to be great, deamon wants to be worthy of being a dragonlord, and jaime wanted to be worthy of the kingsguard, yet both are on shaky paths that force conflict with their ideal selfs and what they really are.
Dang! That's an awesome take on Daemon's character that I never saw before
I return again to be entertained and further my quest! I wonder if these messages are even being found considering I'm so far behind. Today, I'm cleaning so hopefully I can catch up and maybe Shad will see "Review A Knight's Tale!"
Found the new Littlefinger to be rather sprung on us without any proper development previously
No one has mentioned how bad ass the dragon scene was. Vhagar is a God damn unit.
I know Oz has his own channel now, but will he still be collaborating with you guys every now and then? Kind of miss him…
Probably not, since they gradually removed him form the intro.
Also, this is why you don’t race swap when it comes to prequel.
Are all the kids of Daemon and his “black” wife dead or did they eventually turn all white? Or did Daemon and Rhaenary have kids and those are the straight “white” kids in Game of Thrones?
What happened to all the “black” tar…gar..re.. whatever that name. Are they all dead? Bloodline wiped out?
EDIT: I’m also black, so no I’m not racist, but stop race swapping everything
Basically in the past minorities existed and they were all wiped out in both Westeros and Middle Earth 🌎 not troubling at all
Good analysis not sure if this is my least favorite one but it's finally taking all those threads and builds toward the big conflict well. Personally it's more of a middle of the road episode not as good as 5 or 3 but a runner up to the high points of 4 in my opinion.
Each new episode of HotD just gets better and better to me. The cast is outstanding and the writing is still marvelous in every way. I’m excited for Sundays again!
Be honest
12:12 I guess because I read the book I'm seeing a failure of story telling in how
people are taking the whole issue with Rhaenyra's children. Viserys isn't in denial
at all. He told Rhaenyra that he wanted her to be happy and to make her own choices
and that she wouldn't ever be put aside. And he meant it. He had to marry her to Laenor
and if you don't think he knew or knows about Laenor's choice of duck to goose, then
the viewer isn't thinking clearly because of course he knows. And he knows Laenor isn't
a good choice in producing heirs. So it's not denial it's protecting his family and the throne
from gossip. He has decreed that any slander against his daughter and her children is to be
met with torture and death. Which includes the Queen herself. So they can't, by decree, outwardly
speak against his grandchildren. It's why Lionel refused to say shit about why he wanted to quit.
Saying so would end in his arrest. And THAT is why Alicent was near orgasm over his teetering on
the words. Had he said it, he would have faced the King's "wroth" and been removed, and she could
have suggested her father being reinstated as Hand. But Lionel refused to put his life and family at
risk of the King. Alicent is the one flaunting her authority by testing the King's decree and willfully
speaking openly about Rhaenyra.. the heir to the throne... so hatefully.
As for the legitimacy of Rhaenyra's children, even you know that surrogacy is a very real thing
when rulers can't produce natural heirs. The King knows Laenor can't provide heirs so he's legitimized
her children as seen when he embraced Joffrey. It's an arrangement he's in on. And no one is to speak of.
Her children have Targaryen blood, have dragons and have the King's approval and legitimacy.
Which just adds to the hate in the things Alicent does and says because she knows he's deliberately
accepting Rhaenyra's children over hers. She should have STFU and accepted the marriage proposal.
But no. So there you go. It's not denial. It's not a bug, it's a feature. Just poorly explained.
As for modern equivalents of being blind to children and heritage, just look to Michael Jackson.
Enough said about people.
Daemon's wife's choice does make sense. She couldn't push out her child which would mean a long agonizing death and Daemon wouldn't want it cut out as it would have killed her too. So she chose to die her own way, in dragon fire.
i don't think it was an error. there was no way to surivive that birth and she didnt want to die through child labor. she chose to die the way she chose, as a dragon.
When Rhaenyra offered her firstborn son to marry Visery's and Alicent's daughter, Helena. You can tell Viserys very much liked that idea as it fixes and future problems, especially if they secretly make the marriage matrilineally. If Viserys overuled Alicent's decision that they will discuss about it, it would've saved the Kingdom and House Targaryen the problems it will face in the future. Do very much like how the show is showcasing scenarios that if the characters chose another path it would prevent what is to come.
One thing I liked a lot about this episode is that it makes Alicent seem crazy compared to everyone. Just because she is walking about like
"THEY ARE BASTARDS!! HOW AM I THE ONLY ONE SEEING THIS? THE PARENTS HAVE WHITE HAIR AND THEY HAVE BROWN HAIR! HELLO?!? IS ANYONE LISTENING? AM I GOING CRAZY?"
Not sure it would have fixed the issue, because everyone knows they are bastards after all. It also leaves House valeryion without a true valeryion to further the house. Outside of Laena and Daemond kids that is.
This series really highlights why in a world where your legitimacy and authority comes from an unbroken Royal line, it tends to pass through the men. It’s much easier for a woman to pass off an illegitimate child as legitimate than a man
Actually it highlights the opposite - you always know who the mother is.
@@dagmarbelesova4284 Quite the opposite. That’s why its easier for the woman to hide a bastard child. If a man has an illegitimate child, you know who the mother is much more easily. What with the whole pregnancy and birth thing. Before DNA there is no real evidence of whither a woman had a bastard child or not beyond her pinky swearing she didn’t sleep around. Or had a child that was a vastly different ethnicity from the legitimate father.
Knowing who the mother is in isolation is not a good thing if the child is still not a legitimate birth.
@@thevictoryoverhimself7298 And the only reason that matter is if the children's claim comes from their father. With matrilineal succession you eliminate that problem entirely as the claim comes through the mother and it doesn't matter who the father is.
Why wouldnt it matter who the father is? This is the exact situation going on in the TV show. Its not about what parent is important, its that a one parent child is what the word "bastard" means.
Episode 6 is the one episode where it felt Daemon was in good behavior! I feel like for most of this season, us stans needs to keep defending his crimes. 🤣 He's a problem child. He's Loki, the younger brother passed over who loves chaos and mischief.
It seems Daemon is closer to Baela than Rhaena being Baela has her own dragon. So he isn't exactly father of the year but he seems more peace with himself. If he was 31 when Rhaenyra was 15, he's probably about 45 by this episode. Laenor looked like a supportive stepdad from the stills but it was completely miscalculated. He's a gay man who likes to party with his boyfriends and is a bit of a deadbeat.
We finally see the Greens being the c-nts they are. I think Olivia portraying Alicent is far more book accurate than how Emily Carey portrayed her. I thought young Alicent is way more likeable than Olivia's version but Olivia's much closer to the source material. TBH, the worse Alicent becomes, the more I like her. Remember, bad is good in this world.
I'm going to really love Aemond. He won't be as bad*ss as his uncle but he's the most bad*ss among the Greens. And NGL, I actually like Aegon II. I enjoyed him jerking off at the window. Homelander approves! He's looked to be the total doooosh among the Greens sorta like Joffrey Baratheon but not quite. The pompous jerk. Helaena is the least problematic child from Alicent. Where's Daeron?
I thought Ep 6 was good but I won't say it's my fav. I still think Ep 3 or 4 were better. My issue is it felt like a middle episode from a newer season. No ramifications or connection from Ep 4 & 5. My fav scene is when Harwin beat the 💩 outta Criston. I'm glad the TV writers started to finally make the Greens look worse. There's a reason they're the unpopular party.
All that good stuff you saw from Alicent and Criston from Ep 1-5 gets thrown out the window. They're not quite what they seem intially. Alicent is not that innocent and we're starting to see the a-holeness of Criston. Your feelings will keep changing for these characters. By the end, you may not like any of them.
I'm sad what happened to Laena, Lyonel, and Harwin. Laena's death was altered for TV. Just when I was liking them more and more, they all die. Larys is definitely the Littlefinger of this series. He's so far the biggest POS. Even Otto never devised killing his relatives like that for personal gain.
Vhagar looks really, really old because she is. She's in her 180s. But she's the size of an airbus. Stealing her is in the next episode. It's pretty obvious who will steal her but I won't spoil it for the noobs. Based from all the dragon designs, I still like Seasmoke the most. I can't wait to see Aegon's dragon, Sunfyre.
Good Daemon made this episode a little dull. Laena was tamin' Daemon for 10 years. We need less Tame Daem and more Daemonic to make it fun to watch. Or was Ep 3 being his peak? But I can understand if Daemon never returns to that. He is 45. I'm fine with this final evolution of him. Do we really expect him to be wild his entire life?
Daemon is now a dragon lord scholar hanging around a library all day. He's the calmer, caring, and family protector Daemon. The mature Daemon who wears New Balance dad shoes and has dad jokes. So far, a #girldad like Kobe. Baela is his Gianna being Baela has Moondancer and Rhaena is like Aemond without her own dragon.
MVP of this episode is easily Olivia Cooke. The moment she opened her mouth, I'm like that's the Alicent we are supposed to hate. She controlled every scene including the small council scene sitting and standing across Emma. I was never worried about Olivia. It's Emma I was worried about being how the viewers got attached with Milly Alcock so much. TBH, I didn't think Emma let us down. She was still great.
I feel Alicent is two different characters. Emily played it more like Margaery. Olivia is playing it more like a softer Cersei. While I think Olivia's performance was stronger, Emma didn't really deviate from Milly's performance. I'm more convinced Emma is Rhaenyra while I feel I'm watching Alicent's evil twin sister from Olivia. But Olivia crushed it. That's exactly how book readers see Alicent. She's not that sweet and innocent.
Daeron Targaryen would definitely be born by now and close in age to Jace, maybe just a bit younger. Could be that he's already serving in the court of Lord Hightower, receiving his education there. edit: Though if that were the case I feel like it wouldn't be hard to throw in a quick sentence remarking on his existence.
Don't worry - Daemon's most Daemony scenes are still coming :)
Damn , i agreed with most of what you said but when you put Alicent as the new Cercei you lost all that.
Cercei was acting like a vile bitch from the very first scene and had almost no redeeming moments and she said it straight forward she doesnt care about anyone else but her family and is not above murder torture lies to get what she wants.
If you say Alicent is close to Margaery thats fine i can see some simillarities but to compare her to Cercei jesus christ man this isnt Disney level of writing.
Like not only do i not hate her but in fact i agree with her and support her.
She was never against Rhaenyra taking the throne , not even once did she said Rhaenyra cant have it.
Her only problem is what happens to her kids when Muffin face takes the throne.
And the fact Muffin face kept her slutty attitude and made not only 1 (very fairly pointed by Alicent) but 3 kids from the same guy is a huge insult and risk to the stability of the realm.
Alicent angle is that she knows when Rhaenyra comes to power a lot of people will not like it and having 3 bastards that everyone knows are not of legit heritage will make it even worst.
So her whole idea is to find a way to protect her kids from the incoming dispute of Rhaenyra coronation since a lot of lords will put her eldest son up for a reason to rebel.
DO you get the point ?
She isnt the one starting a rebellion vs Rhaenyra but rather a person who knows will be involved in it like it or not and thus she needs to prepare for that day.
I mean Otto even tho being a cunt said it perfectly - even if Alicent stays loyal to Rhaenyra and doesnt question her coronation , when majority of lords rise up against her by claiming that the eldest son of Alicent should be King , this is the moment Alicent must make a choice to either go with the flow of the other lords or support Rhaenyra and beg and hope she doesnt kill her kids to silence the resistance.
I feel like you dont get it - She isnt the leader of the resistance vs Rhaenyra , she and her kids are an object to be used by others to give legitamecy to the civil war.
So in fact she is far away of being a straight up "bad guy" as Cercei was but rather a tragic one put in a bad spot.
Thats why i get so pissed at people being fools and chuggin Alicent as the new Cercei - such a childish mindset for a good show like HoTD
This is where the series lost it for me. The ONLY watchable character for me was Milly Alcock. I could have cared less about them replacing the queen, she was a boring character, but the princess? That killed the series for me. None of the other characters were interesting enough to keep watching. Huge blunder replacing her. Had to stop watching.
Nitpicky thing but why did Criston Cole barely age?? Everyone else had some wrinkles added or maybe a few gray hairs but he literally looks exactly the same??
I had no problem with Rhaenyra standing up before the second birth came out, I think it's meant to show her strength of character and her insistence on showing off to Alicent.
In the scene right after she meets with Alicent you can even see a trail of blood on the floor from where she walked, which was an awesome detail.
It wouldn't make sense for her to stand so quick. It's simply not as realistic.
@@rpgadventurer32 Some women would be able to do it, it can happen.
@@rpgadventurer32 Shad said his wife did it two minutes after the birthing process because she wanted to be with her child. Rhaenyra feared for her child's life. That is plenty enough motivation to do something quite difficult. Also, she was shown to be nearly crippled during the entirety of her walk, showing she was not some Mary Sue that can do the impossible because "reasons."
@@rpgadventurer32 you ever live in a 3rd world country? I assure you, some woman can stand up after giving birth, some can even give birth alone, especially if they live in a rural area. She is shown to be in pain, She just has too much pride that she manage to do it.
Valid criticism, for sure. The “suicide by dragon” scene seemed rather implausible. A woman in labor, especially one of a high station, will have at least a midwife and some other attendants. For her to slip away unnoticed and unaided was just lazy. It harkened back to when D&D realized that they had too many characters and too few episodes remaining to write them all out properly, so they just gave them one line and called it a day.
Thought this was a great episode but I kind of think there should've been 8 episodes prior to this one instead of the 5
Definitely. We needed at least one for the aftermath of the last
It was just mid season re introducction to the new characters and and the old, all the seeds planted will spring in next chapter, like the steptones with daemon, it wasnt untip ch3 the whole thing blow up
In the Birthscene wit Daemon, you can see while Daemon is talking that she stands up an goes..yeha still nobody stops her. And when hes done talking he notices that she is gone, still weird that hes so slow compared to her.
I imagine it took him a while to figure out where she went. Perhaps he thought she went to see her kids? We could have had a scene of him searching for her, but it didn't really break immersion for me, so I didn't mind. Especially as a book reader. I suppose for non-book readers some of the scenes can be weird.
When you realize Otto both forced his daughter into getting with the king, and also convinced the king to make Rhaenrya the Heir to spurn Daemon, and then convinced his daughter Rhaenrya would kill her children should she take the throne... it doesn't really paint the Greens in a good light. Plus, it's a fucking self-fulfilling prophecy, Alicant. I'm glad they were faithful to the book when Aegon was shown not to care if his cousin ascended the throne. Had Alicant not poisoned his head, the eventual war might not have broken out. In the book, he didn't want to usurp his half-sister.
Aegon is 50% Targaryen, 50% Hightower / Jaecarys is 50% Targaryen, 50% Strong - the only difference is one was born out of wedlock.
Having Jace marry Helaena would have averted the war (and, of course, the show would have ended there :P), but Alicant's fear, hatred, etc., is what causes her own demise in the end.
I'm saving up HOTD until I get back from Norway (then binging) but I'm encouraged by the spoiler free reviews so far.
37:20
Maybe an appropriate distinction would be that a commoner wouldn't have a problem with it, but royalty showing any break in fashion, however small, is an infraction, or sign of weakness.
Just my own theory, but it seems Viserys is dead by the next episode. We see Alicent use Cat's Paw on Rhaenyra in the Ep 7 trailer. Why would she do this if Viserys was still alive? No way Alicent would try to attack Rhaenyra publicly while Viserys is still alive. If Viserys isn't dead, then I expect it happens by Ep 9 or 10.
The Ep 7 trailer shows a burial in the sea and it's Laena. Because Daemon is already next to Rhaenyra and Laenor. This is how Daemon reunites with Rhaenyra after a decade. In Driftmark. In the books, Rhaenyra attends Laena's burial and were always very close to each other.
My only qualms with this entire series is I feel they're rushing it. Ep 6 felt like a Season 2 episode. Feels disjointed. They're moving way too fast with the story. TV writers wants to get to the Dance by S2. But the Dance only lasts 2 years. It seems HOT D might only last 3 seasons.
Per season = $200M x 3 = $600M
It feels way too rushed and I'm beginning to think Milly and Emily should've lasted an entire season instead of only appearing in the first half. How Joffrey Lonmouth dies felt rushed. Like writers didn't have time to show him die in a tourney, so they decided to kill him faster in a wedding.
Now I love both versions of Alicent. I love Emily's and Olivia's. But it does feel completely off watching Olivia's more Cersei-like version vs. Emily who played it off like a more innocent Margaery who was a victim of circumstances. Milly and Emily watched each other's performances, so theirs' feels more connected.
Emily's Alicent is someone we can all sympathize with. While Olivia's Alicent is far more charismatic but devious. More of Alic-nt/Alicersei who Team Black are supposed to hate! Has early Sansa vibes as well. Alicent did have a savage line to Laenor in the beginning...
"Do keep trying, Ser Laenor. Soon or late, you may get one who looks like you."
Why wasn't Daemon not burned from Vhagar's flames when they were flying? Didn't a flaming arrow scar him? I thought not all Targs are fireproof? I know Daenerys is fireproof and I believe Rhaenyra is too. But Laena wasn't and her mother is Targaryen. I'm a little bit confused by which Targs are fireproof and which ones aren't?
Overall, I still love the show. I'm getting my New Era Targaryen sigil hat today. House of the Dragon, Loki, Cobra Kai, The Boys, The Mandalorian, and Stranger Things are my favs. I don't waste my time on She-Hulk, The Rings of Power, or Andor. I would rather rewatch all of GOT than watch that crap. I just feel HOT D needs to slow it down or this will only last until 2024.
My Favorite Dragon Rankings
1. Drogon
2. Caraxes (will eventually surpass Drogon)
3. Seasmoke
4. Syrax
5. Vhagar (not in her prime)
6. Meleys
7. Rhaeghal
8. Viserion
9. Vermax (still a youngster)
Honorable mention: The Pink Dread 🐖
If Vhagar was in her prime, she'd probably be higher. But she isn't any more. I also was a little bit underwhelmed by her overall design. I mean, I'm aware she's really, really old. But I thought some of the CGI looked a little dodgy.
We didn't see Meleys very much in Ep 5 but I dig her design like I do with Seasmoke. Meleys is red like Caraxes. And black and red is the Targ's sigil colors. I believe Caraxes will eventually be my #1 once we get to The Battle Above The Gods Eye.
I'm aware Drogon has no chance against the likes of Vhagar, Caraxes, or Meleys in a fight. But since we saw Drogon the most, he's still my fav. Caraxes will eventually top him. The flying scene with Caraxes next to Vhagar was awesome. The good times when they were still allies.
Can't wait when we finally see Sunfyre. The golden dragon and the most beautiful dragon of them all.
Hey just wanted to comment on the fireproof thing. So in the books no Targaryen is fireproof actually, the thing about Daenerys being fireproof is show only and isn't in the books. They are a bit more resistant to heat but not fire itself. Rhaenyra also is not fireproof. The reason why Daemon wasn't burnt by the flames is cuz he passed through them very quickly. For something or someone to actually catch on fire they'd have to be exposed to it for a little while and since Caraxes is very fast Daemon wasn't surrounded by flames long enough to catch on fire. Hope that cleared some things up.
Shad, you unknowingly made the point yourself on the Laena scene. You had to rewind it to confirm Daemon shook his head no. It seemed clear to me that she didn't see that either.
Imagine her mindset knowing she's basically lost him after their last disagreement and now he's given the same choice his much nicer and less impulsive brother was, when he killed his wife. To me, she 100% thinks he's going to kill her and she'd rather die at the "hands" of someone she loves, in a way fitting of a Dragon rider.
“Is Harwin Strong my father?”.. I feel like if the kid realized in the moment, he wouldn’t refer to him that way. Since he used his full name, it feels like he’s repeating an accusation that he’s been teased with sometime earlier…feels great that they choose words to fill out what we don’t see.
I understand that with Laena's birthing scene they were trying to compare to two brothers and their responses but personally I prefer her death in Fire and Blood. In the book the baby is born deformed and quickly dies, Laena from both the labor and grief is weak and sick. She tries to ride her dragon for one last flight but dies on her way. Daemon carries her body back to bed and he with Rhaenyra sit in vigil over her. Her death happens at her home on Driftmark, this rather than her and Daemon disagreeing about returning just makes them feel a bit closer. I also feel this shows more variation in complications regarding birthing. Overall this just sits better with me than her killing herself by dragonfire when there is the possibility that her child could live.
I suppose her death scene gave her ultimate agency over her own life, as she said earlier, she wanted to die as a dragonrider. To have them stick to what was written in F&B would have been way more tragic for my liking. We barely got to see her, I'm glad she got to choose her own death rather than collapse trying to reach Vhagar.
It is not out of character; Rhaenyra has matured she knows it’s necessary for her to have children for her legacy to continue. I the books Rhaenyra loved her children so fiercely!!!
I thought it was pretty clear that they couldn't save her and she would die anyway... and just chose to go out on her own terms. but yeah maybe that was me injecting a bit of headcanon.
Own a sword for manor defence, since that's what the Magna Carta intended. Four heathens break into my cottage. "What in the Lord's name?" As I grab my aventail bascinet and windlass arbalest. Punch a bolt through the first man, he's dead on the spot. Throw a pot of naft at the second man and miss entirely since it's a hand thrown grenade in the dark and burns down the neighbour's harvest causing them to starve in the winter. I have to resort to the pot of boiling oil at the top of the hay loft "Deus Lo Vult!" The boiling oil completely drenches two men and cause them to scream in agony and writhe on the ground, racked with incomprehensible pain. The screams of pain frightens horses in nearby stables. Draw sword and charge the last terrified infidel. He bleeds out with no one to assist him since this is Feudal Europe and nobody gives a shit. Just as the Magna Carta intended.
In regards to the sparring scene I believe Cole also said something that was the complete opposite of what Galadriel said in rings of power where Cole says stay light on your feet but heavy in the hands basically saying stay as mobile as possible but swing with Force
I have to disagree with your logic and displeasure of Laena's decision and death. With all due respect you are using your own head canon and modern medical viewpoint and applying it to the situation.
From the character's perspective the mother and infant are done. Laena is condemn to death - and it's going to be a extremely painful ordeal. Daemon, is not willing to put his wife through that. The surgeon has already given up on saving Laena, he's not giving Daemon any option to save Laena. The sugeon is saying she's going to die. The only option the surgeon is giving Daemon is putting Laena to the blade - a horrifc death - but he's pretty much saing that the infant is not going to survive either. Rememer we have to view this from thier prespective. We have to view any kind of surgery or a "c-sections" in this time frame is pretty much a death sentance.
I think this is a horrific situation for Daemon, which I can honestly see why he wouldn't want to make. I can see Laena's decision to not only spare Daemon but also wanting to end her own and her child's suffering. I know many people want to say Laena's decision doesn't make sense to not try to save the baby - but again, let's view this in a non-modern medical sense. In her mind, her baby is pretty much dead. Also, suicidal people tend to not make logical or coherant decisions. In fact, suicidal mothers tend to make some very twisted decisiions like dying with their children.
When you look a this decision without the modern perspective, without moden medical knowledge and even without modern ethics, it makes a lot of sense. Just my opinion. I understand that for you it seems like a huge plot hole/character motivation - but for me I saw in real time that this was a very understanding and logical response, especially for the characters of Daemon and Laena who like to view themselves as above commoners, being of pure/high blood. In the end Laena got her wish (and for her "dead" baby also), a dragon rider's death.
Exactly. I didn't even question it when I saw it. I honestly can't see how it's a plothole; it's just a continuation of the subtle writing of the show. As for Laena sneaking out by herself... maybe that's a bit more of a stretch, but what would the others rationally do? Like, she was good as dead anyway, so there's no real benefit to doing anything except maybe saying their goodbyes and drugging her with GoT-brand Opium aka. "milk of the poppy".
My girl and I thought it was the best
Larys Monologue reminded me very much of Little Fingers monologue from the original series.
By rights and proclamations, Rhaenyra should be heir to the throne, and yet she is brazenly putting up bastard sons as her heirs. It's mindboggling that she would make such a mistake. She weakens her and her children's claims, and gives her enemies cause to oppose her even more. I really don't understand how she would think that was a good idea.
And so Alicent, although she comes off horrible for poisoning her children's mind and scheming to put her son on the throne, is kind of justified. Since her son is trueborn and can sire his own heirs, instead of being passed over for a woman with illegitimate sons.
I believe Alicent should have accepted Rhaenyra`s proposal. It would have removed the threat to her children by legitimizing Rhaenyra`s own. It seems like pure greed on her part to have her own children inherit the throne. Rhaenyra oldest child even have a dragon so he would still be a dragon rider.
I wasn't the biggest fan of this episode given how it jumped around - but given what it was trying to do, covering 10 years of character building that we missed while continuing a consistent story forward, I will give it a pass.
Laena didn't see Daemon's answer, so she tought she would die in a cesarian, so she chose to be burned. But still the quickly she got to the dragon is strange.
honestly i like that both the brothers make different choices but in the end they both have to watch there wife and child be burned by a dragon its really tragic and shows that in those situations it can be hopless
I don't really understand how anybody can be on Ser Criston's side.
He had sex with Rhaenyra once and after that expected her to leave her home, her family and her entire sense of self to relieve himself of the guilt he felt. And when she refused he went into a blind rage and killed a person at her wedding. And now, 10 years later, he is not only extremely bitter about it, but he extends that bitterness to her children. That is just pathetic.
mans a simp turned incel💀
you should rewatch every scene from ep3 to ep5 with criston cole and then you will understand his point of view.
it's more than the rejection that made him hate rhaenyra it's the fact that she has no honor and breaks oath like it's a game.
that she use people for her own personal gain that's what made sir criston cole hate her.
also rhaenyra told a LOT of times to cole that she didn't want to be heir that it's too heavy for her. Cole though rhaenyra was white but she is more grey and he gave his oath to that person and he hate her for that. Also he kill joffrey because joffrey use blackmail.
I actually thought it was the best episode so far. I loved the new actors playing Alicent and Rhyneara...this episode felt more GoT...I was a bit worried after watching episode 5 but this restored my faith in the show..can't wait to see what happens next
Rhaenyra wants to have a kid because of duty. It is duty of their to have successors. They have been building her up as duty oriented. Sometimes you need to see deeper Shad
Very thorough analysis insightful and very listenable. Thank you! Im appreciating Game of Thrones more with each passing episode.