House of the Dragon S1E09 Explained
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- čas přidán 22. 10. 2022
- This video has no spoilers for House of the Dragon beyond Episode 9. It does have spoilers for the original Game of Thrones show.
Weekly Alt Shift X HOTD livestreams every Sunday at ~10:15pm Eastern Time, right after each episode -- then an Explained video later in the week!
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Images and video from Game of Thrones used under fair use.
Images from The World of Ice and Fire used with permission from Random House.
Map from The Lands of Ice and Fire.
Aegon I by Magali Villeneuve: www.magali-villeneuve.com
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#HotD
Who's hotter, Erryk or Arryk?
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Erryk definitely
Better question : who's hotter, Shwift or Shift ?
@gaecha we all know the answer
@gaecha it's obviously Danny DeVito
Arryk
These are so good. I hate having to wait a week for them!
Didn’t expect you to be here
@Crab Dipp who is this guy anyways?
Week? After tonight, the looonnnggg winter beginß
@Coffee Coder YT owns a bunch of big basketball pages and works for ESPN
Who you got in Suns Clippers tonight?
HOTD really makes both Rhaenyra and Alicent more sympathetic, their book versions seem more evil and conniving
It makes sense when you think that the f&b book may be villainizing them due to the misogny in westeros
@i’m an angel That's such a stupid point and I hate that it exists.
@Al How is it stupid? I agree with the op but you can’t ignore the fact that this book was written by a man in a misogynistic time who never actually knew any of these women. It’s quite sensible to assume that they may be villainized or painted as worse that they actually were. I argue that taking mushroom at his word takes away from the unreliable narrator and from the uniqueness and different povs that f&b offers us. I still believe that they made Alicent and Rhaenyra way too sympathetic but it wasn’t without reason.
@i’m an angel Ok, I can understand your point to some extent, it just annoys me. They may be villainised or painted in a worse light than they actually were but I think there's aa much more interesting story to tell than ''oh, these women weren't as bad as history says they were, so let's make this a story about the patriarchy''. Some of the writers had issues about making Rhaenyra chubby after several pregnancies for that very reason, for Christ's sake. I also think that they made them too sympathetic, it's almost like they're scared to portray any female character as villainous, self-serving or power-hungry in any way and want to paint them all as victims of the patriarchy.
@Al the show is explicitly about patriarchy. The central conflict is a succession crisis, for fucks sake.
Anyone else notice how the conqueror's crown is too big for Aegon's head? The symbolism is everywhere in this episode
Yes I thought it was going to fall off his head in that shot
@Anaïs Martinez women ☕
Wrong.
Criston is totally the“nice guy” that kills a girl that doesn’t reciprocate his feelings.
Criston is a classic beta, as opposed to Ser Harrold the sigma
yawn
You are joking right xD Criston avoided death, gained titles,made Harwin admit by pushing him, then outlived him, and helped to keep Rhanyra out of the throne she didn't deserve.He isn't bitter because she turned him down, he is because she continued this life of cheating the rules, and getting away with things, and expecting rest to follow.Rhanyra does bad things and expects approval where she doesn't deserve it for it.
@Mohg CEO of Blood LOL. How has she cheated the rules? What is she getting away with? Oh no, a woman had sex before marriage. That's evil and cheating. LOL. Give me a break. Sexist men don't like Rhaenyra.
They really did an awesome job casting this show
Great video
well not really
@Average Alien who do you think was miscast
@TheKingOfRooks think? I know half of the Velaryons were miscast.
Very good
When Alicent called Aegon an imbecile I actually thought she meant: "You imbecile, of course, I love you, how can you even ask that?" She even smiles lightly when she says that. But at the same time, she's not capable of actually saying she loves him so that's her way of expressing it.
I thought that's what she meant
the more I've thought about it, I don't necessarily think it's a "does she love him or not" kind of thing. I think the one prime possibility is what you've described, versus her saying that in, "whether I love you is irrelevant, that's the last thing you should be concerned with right now, you can't look this needy as a king"
Or... she doesn't love him.
@Feliciano Frontado I think this line is meant to be ambiguous
@Hannibal Good point. Maybe it was meant to have multiple meanings indeed :O
Helaena Targaryen is the Patchface we didn't get in the original series
Damn you're right.
can you explain me why ?
@Mayuresh Rasam Patchface, Stannis’s jester in the books, tells a bunch of cryptic phrases that almost everyone ignores but we as readers recognize as prophesies. Helaena is the same
Facts but patchface was the bringer of the atlantic aramada
@Puffmoney O holy shit, you’re right
The whole 'girl boss' moment is kinda undercut by the whole killing hundreds of civilians thing.
#justgirlbossthings
the women running these kinds of shows dont consider that sort of thing because muh patriarchy
That's the point.
A noble cares not for the lives of peasants
Also notice how Aegon looked so depressed walking towards his coronation, but once he received a standing ovation from the people his confidence increased, because it was the first time he was recognized and appreciated, after years of being used, rejected, scorned and ignored by Alicent and Otto.
And Viserys
Might be the 1st time he experienced something other than contempt from anyone...
@Elias Magus and Viserys
Alicent is literally the only person who's loved him.... I think you confused her with Viserys? 😂
I love how the Twin Kingsguard are as if Jaime was split in two characters
Hopefully at least one of them will care for the people, innocent or otherwise.
@David Wolfish shade has been thrown 😅
Poor Alicent during that feet scene. She had the same dead-eyed dissociative look she’d have when Viserys would send for her in the middle of the night
Yesssss she even says the same thing "the hour is late". I really felt bad for her. She's the QUEEN, what's supposed to be the 2nd or 3rd most important person in the realm but has to resort to selling her feet for info.
Shame.
I'm not shaming the foot kink, but I will shame the hell out of the manipulation. Larys made my skin crawl with that more than killing his own family.
Medieval Only Fans
Larys is what we call a "Moral Relativist"
I didn't believe Alicent was actually calling Aegon a "Imbecile" as an Insult but rather saying his question was dumb. Almost as if she said "Of course I love you idiot"
Yeah no absolutely not☠️
Alicent can't stand Agon. She has a rape victim routine she goes through every time a new servant comes to her about being harassed by her son.
@6:12 Otto definitely does NOT tell Harold to arrest Rhaenyra. "Be quick, and be clean" is clearly a subtle order to murder her and her family
Oh yeah, he definitely meant for the kingsguard to take out Rhaenyra
Yeah he was asking them to take care of her. And not in a good way
@Extremeus Ace her youngest child is an infant 🤣
@[redacted] Yeah, especially on a video that is explicitly not spoilery.
Some people just suck, and unfortunally CZcams doesn't allow blocking certain people's comments.
@Extremeus Ace lol reported
who else loves Olivia Cooke? I absolutely love her acting as Alicent.
I swear her portrayal has me questioning my allegiance to team black every episode.
she’s an outstanding actor…the entire show was really casted well -> all the actors are amazing & so well suited to their roles
She's amazing!!! I'm so glad they really fleshed out her character and gave her the emotional range that an actor like her deserves. I hope she gets recognized for her phenomenal work here.
Her end was so tragic. A good daughter used by her father for his political gains.
she's hot af
Olivia Cooke is not only crazy beautiful but such an amazing actress. They really did an awesome job casting this show.
I agree. I was extremely skeptical and (understandably) pessimistic after what GoT did to us at the end but I've been really impressed by the majority of the casting. Excited to see if it stays this way and who else they chose.
i mean i agree in spirit but why is amazing actress second to beautiful as though it's a surprise she's good at her job
I tell ya, she's got a flawless American accent. because of my very few talents in this world is a good ear for accents, and "Ready Player One" was my first ever exposure to her, and I never remotely questioned she wasn't American in real life (there's been a few actors the last few years who have accomplished that)
@Raphael Surprise would be a heavy word but it has some reality in it. Think about it, when people are beautiful, they have access to much more opportunities in virtually everything. Therefore, it is slightly more common for “beautiful people” not improving themselves in certain things
@Barış Aydın There's literally no evidence for this, you're just saying "think about it" prefacing complete conjecture
I feel for Aegon.
Let's be real, his father and mother did not love hor care for him. Every time we see him interact with Alicent, she belittles him, his father spoke maybe 4 sentences to him during the show.
He was also forced to marry his sister whom he does not love.
Dude knows nothing of love or kinddness. Is it really a surprise he is so messed up?
The kicker, though? He KNOWS he shouldn't be king and tries to run away.
He has enough self-awareness of his own flaws to know the best he could do is walk away, and knew that for YEARS.
He is also smart enough to not only see Aemond wants the throne, but humble to know Aemond would be so much better at it than him and is very willing to give it to him.
How many characters in GoT are both selfaware and humble enough to do that.
Aegon could have been a far better man if his parents actually did their job.
Exactly what I was thinking...
On quite a few ASOIAF forums, I’ve seen a lot of people upset of Alicent being less evil in the show but I really like the change. The relationship between Rhaenyra and Alicent in the show is one of my favorite aspects of it. Getting to see them compete and scheme while trying to not outright hurt the other is interesting to see and the actresses sell it so well!
The people complaining just want Rhaenyra to be perfect
@Elias Magus They want her to be a Mary Sue so they can project themselves in her. It is literally the same as all those other fanfics that girls write where they make a character they don't like from a series to be a completely psychotic villain so then they're "justified" in hurting them as much as possible throughout the story lol.
At the same time, the whining I’m seeing at how it’s “unfair” that the show writers are making the men are depicted as horrible monsters (ex. they don’t think book Aegon II is a rapist. Larys Strong has being one dimensionally gross evil) while the women are made less horrible than they are in the books, because writer bias reasons.
EDIT: a more better argument is, the show is afraid of showing women as having woman ambition for their own selfish or evil reasons. Rhaenyra, Alicent and even Rhaena are forced into the conflict by external forces (perceived threats to family, or men forcing their ambition on them) rather than their own reasons (it puts less blame on the women for the conflict), none of the women are allowed to just be power hungry.
Morally grey characters are so much more interesting. It plays with audience's emotions and allegiances so much more effectively than just character being straight up good or evil. I'm sure Alicent will sooner or later become more evil. That's the real character arc moment.
@Ferreneh both will definitely become more villainous as the show continues, especially after the finale and what’s gonna happen to the greens next season both sides are gonna get more and more amped up
You speak of Alicent's hidden hate and anger, but really her son lost an eye of course she will react like that after there's no consequences and that the guilty guy is spared any punishment, she even refrains from murdering Rhaeneya
🎯
While I had some issues with how drawn out the hunt for Aegon seemed to be, I have to say that I really did appreciate what it accomplished in a narrative sense as it showed his character and his relationships to everyone around him without showing us Aegon himself. First of all, no one knows where he is, so we can immediately see that until this point he was something of a secondary thought as people aren’t exactly keeping a close enough eye on the future king. But even after that, few people know where to even begin looking and it’s only because Erryk is his sworn shield that he knows Aegon’s personality and Aemond is forced to know him as his brother but neither of them enjoy this, as they resent Aegon as a person. Likewise, his perverted activities show not only a vain narcissist but also a brutal sadist who enjoys watching pain in the fighting pit, with a doubly dark dimension that Aegon might be watching his own bastard children fight to the death for his amusement.
And even after all of that, all Aegon wants to do is literally run away from his responsibilities, to forsake the crown and run away to do literally anything else. We saw from the last episode that he’s clearly a monster but is he irredeemable? We can see that he doesn’t lust for power like Joffrey, he doesn’t crave the ability to make people hurt and he doesn’t get reinforcement from his family in his urges, just the opposite in fact which might be the cause of his urges in the first place that all he wants is love and respect but no one gives it to him which just makes his tendencies even worse.
So that all leads up to the moment of his coronation where he unsheathes Blackfyre, to the cheers and adulation of the crowd and for the first time in his life, he finally found a purpose and place where people would accept him and love him. This was the first time Aegon felt like he had support and whereas Rhaenyra gets her validation from her family and doesn’t need the crown, Aegon gets validation from the crown and doesn’t need his family.
I felt this added so many layers and dimensions to his character that could be explored, even though I know he’ll just end up being a diet, store brand version of Joffrey. I would love it if Aegon wanted to be a kind of populist ruler who did what he thought the people would want him to do as they’re the ones who gave him love and respect, not his family.
It would be an interesting contrast to Rhaenyra who is kind and gentle to people in her immediate circle but is regarded as Maegor with teats by the people while Aegon is a POS to people in his life but is loved by the smallfolk.
Perfectly said
White worm might have told Otto to take down the tournaments to show him what his grandson is doing.
Wait wtf I swear I've seen this posted elsewhere?!?!
@French Guitar Guy same
Would love to see Aegon show off to the small folk or go out of his way to get their love and attention. It looks like he is getting high off all the cheering and I can see a character like that chasing a high like an addict.
Tom absolutely killed it here! Hard to believe the only thing we've seen of argubaly the most important character of the show until now is them hammering in that he's a sexual deviant, ffs. There's so much more depth to Aegon and finally we get a tiny glimpse of it. King Aegon's two defining traits : depression and resentment. Depression ...the way he tells Aemond "let me find a ship and sail away" at that moment I can't help but feel bad for him. Resentment...when he asks his mother "do you love me". The childhood neglect, the burden of expectation being the king's firstborn son, the validation he always craved from his father and never got that shattered his self esteem, and finally the roar of the crowd serving to feel that void. Tom's acting during the coronation...the changing facial reactions and body language to the adulation of the crowd was unreal! Hoping to see this direction for King Aegon in S2!
16:00 Biter from the main series grew up as a fighter in these chilld fighting pits (and has filed sharp teeth to prove it), so it shows that despite Mysaria's best efforts, these pits are not going anywhere.
I do love Mysaria's line about the people allowing the king to take power. If you've read the books, this line is probably building up to a certain climactic and tragic moment in the story. Can't wait to see it.
The complete irony of Alicent telling Rhaenys that she had the better temperament to be the reigning monarch while she's trying to install Aegon, who is.... yeah, when there is Rhaenyra, who isn't perfect, but we can all agree between the two, she has the better temperament.
Agree Alicent should just let Aegon sail away , Aemond would be better than him. But in her mind this is what Viseys wanted
@Elias Magus and so do the Hightowers Otto and Hobert, and most of the Green lords and knights. Aemond as a claimant could be refuted by his step-sister Rhaenyra and his rival uncle Daemon.
@Elias Magus I would have agreed with you until episode 10 came out. I think having seen Aemond's reaction to just being in the same room as Luke, he would not have been mature enough to handle the throne, especially since it puts him directly in conflict with Rhaenyra's family. He would have relished the opportunity to face the boys regardless and probably would have caused more damage, since he would have been sitting with Vhagar in King's Landing and waiting to utterly decimate any fleet or dragon that came too close. He also doesn't seem to understand that he doesn't have mastery over Vhagar and is genuinely shocked and scared when she goes against his commands in the finale.
He thinks he's more capable and in control than he is, which makes him arrogant and dangerous, plus he doesn't know about the prophecy and has no real reason to avoid mass bloodshed. Aegon might be a monster in coward's attire, but Aemond is a petty, arrogant child with an unreliable dragon nuke.
Rhaenyra better temperament? Lol, You havent seen nothing boy
Myseria laid out some of the heaviest foreshadowing in the series "there is no power but what the people allow you to take". Abusing the smallfok, particularly in KL, is going to end VERY BADLY for them but in pursuit of power, they have put them on a course of self destruction.
Honestly extremely clever take on Mysaria on the showrunners parts. So many future events are starting to click together really nicely.
Hopefully they follow through this time and not a repeat of GOT completely dropping smallfolk dissent as a concept even after similar foreshadowing
@wilder cerrate Chekhov's civil unrest, lol
I think a riot will happen, bigger than the Faith Militant riot in Game of Thrones.
You don't know how right you are. Not sure if Mysaria is going to be the one helping to instigate this particular event (a different character in the books is responsible), but there will be a major development made by the common people of king's landing near the end of the war as a response to all the bloodshed.
Also I noticed that Blackfyre in Aegon's hand looks more closer to how Valyrian steel was described in the books than in Game of Thrones
That might be due to it being a sword of Valyrian steel forged before the Doom. As smiths rework it, it may lose some of the purity.
Take Longclaw for instance, most of the rippling pattern is along the fuller, rather than the entire blade as Blackfyre has.
It would make sense that as no one knows how to make Valyrian steel, reworking it in its original purity would also be a great challenge, so it could have normal steel added to it while it's molten to make the metal easier to work with.
@GrimmTimes My guess was always that dragon glass was added to the molten iron during the forging process, literally forging it a part of a volcano into the sword.
Adding regular iron and charcoal to valyrian steel would probably just turn it into a regular sword if it doesn't ruin the metal altogether.
Otto met Mysaria back in episode 2, standing side by side with Daemon. I guess 20 years really had passed since he just doesn't recognize her.
He said “you’re the White Wyrm?” As if he was surprised she was there under his nose .
@Original J Yeah but if he KNOWS that she is the white worm, why on EARTH would he ever take any advice from her, knowing that she was the paramour of his GREATEST rival?
@Blocky Because the White Worm has being feeding him reliable information for decades, so Mysaria most likely gave him intel that proved valuable against Daemon, as he was Otto's main rival during Viserys' first years of reign. The White Worm being Daemon's paramour doesn't mean she's loyal to him, Otto understands that better than anyone now.
Anyway, I'm pretty sure Otto doesn't give a crap about King's Landing children or the common folk. He understands its good to keep them happy but at the same time I feel he's underestimating them, so I wouldn't say he's taking advice from her. More like 'sure dear whatever you say'.
The casting is rlly A+. I appreciate the complicated female relationships. Rhaenys x Rhaynera and Rhaynera x Alicent is so interesting, dynamics we don’t often see in this genre (or most genres to be honest).
I really hope Alt Shift X is ok and hasn't burned out making these. No rush to make ep 10 dude, you don't owe anything to us. Take care of yourself
I think people misinterpreted criston's views on women, the dialog is meant to reflect the relationship b/w Cole and Alicent these past years. We saw how Alicent turned to faith and religion after the blade incident, Cole bringing up Mother in a conversation is effectively showing us that he followed Alicent in that path . Cole followed Alicent into religion, that's how close they are and how Cole's devotion to Alicent has evolved. I see Cole as a mirror of Alicent
I think both can be true. Criston sees Alicent as his salvation as a knight that allows him to still view himself as just as honorable after soiling his cloak. So it makes sense he would follow Alicent in using the same coping mechanisms for similar plights. I also think it points to a very conservative view of women. More nuanced than just "hating women but pretending to respect them" I think he just subscribes to this religious ideal that women should be chaste and pious (Alicent) instead of promiscuous and willful (Rhaenyra). Not to say that it isn't still hypocrisy, it definitely is, but that's the sort of justification he uses for the things he does.
I think the show is pointing out that despite Criston following Alicents party of faith, deep inside its fuelled by petty misogyny and male pride.
11:28 The woman who recognised Aemond actually taught Criston Cole’s actor drama. He said it was awkward for him
The way in which you add depth and context to each episode is truly invigorating and brings so much more appreciation and understanding to the entire series. I often watch reviews from other creators as they react to each episode, so often I see confusion or misunderstandings, you bring such clairvoyance, I hope they all watch your videos after each episode as well. I’m sure you already know but your work is greatly appreciated.
I think you misunderstand Otto's comments about Alicent looking like her mother. He uses the same facial expression and tone that he did after Alicent cut Rynaera. He is proud of Alicent for beating him to Aegon. It's a pretty common film troup for a father who is proud of his daughter to say that they look or remind them of their mother. He only sees Alicent as an equal when she stands up for herself and goes after what she wants. I have a feeling that was what her mother was like, and one of the reasons Otto loved her so much.
The only other explanation I can see is Otto seeing his power slipping, and uses Alicent's mother to pull on her heart strings and keep himself in the Redkeep. Now that I think about it, both could be true.
I think both are true, but he's definitely proud of her asserting herself and besting him.
Either way, he fails to communicate it this time. Just like in the video, Alicent is trying to pose as an equal to him and he makes it about a memory of his wife, which is not really how you acknowledge someone's value. The child wants to be appreciated as an individual being, not being compared to some other people, family or not, dead or alive.
During the after-the-episode livestream, there is also a moment where the sexuality of men around Alicent is discussed. Alicent has been this decent your girl, playing by the rules, surrounded by the ever horny men, who want only power and influence over everybody else. The ultimate dominance game - and she is so sick of it. She thinks "is this really how this world is supposed to be?" - and this kind of echoes in her talking to Rhaenys in her chambers.
At first, she was used to win over the king Viserys, which could be a OK deal for her at the time - married to the king yay. Viserys was still relatively healthy and capable. However, there is this huge age gap still. She sees what Rhaenyra lives by, a much more passionate live, having sex with this crazy handsome young kingsguard. And she, at the "late hour" has to comfort this sick old man with rotting body, not gaining any pleasure out of it. Then there is this Larys guy, another sex fetish, then even her father keeps comparing her to her mother (which also might remind Otto of some joyous moments in his youth and maybe Alicent can sense it). Alicent seems to be so disgusted with what primitive instincts drive men to do what they do, but still, she kind of yields to it.
Certainly, these here are only disadvantages to her situation, along with caring for the sick king, but she also posess some influence and is in the position of power. It comes with perks as well. Quite complicated, fascinating, and all around very well written character.
But see, there is the issue that makes these shows hard for most to understand. This ain't normal film tropes. This is real filthy human beings with limitless power and none of the boundaries of average people.
After she leaves he says to himself "as you wish" so I agree he said the mother comment as a sign of respect, his wife might have been smart and tough and thats why he loved her.
I just want to say that there is a weird parallel in the fact that Rhaenyra tells her mother that she doesn't want to just pop out babies all the time. But that's exactly what she winds up doing with Harwin and Daemon. I'm not sure if that's what Martin was going for. But it still strikes me as odd that she still technically wound up in the same position as her mother
I get what you're saying but it's different. Rhaenyra has had passion and choice in her love and also knows she has a duty to produce heirs, even while being kind of selfish and irresponsible. But hers have been born of much different circumstance than Alicents, what she sees as a miserable life. She also flippantly sleeps with and loves who she wants because she is not abiding by the typical duty or righteousness of Aemma or Alicent respectively.
So a person's life turned out quite differently from what they pictured or hoped for when they were young? Yeah that never happens in life, we definitely must question GRRM about it. ;)
That aside, it's been abundantly clear in both GOT and HOTD that one critical way to consolidate one's claim (man or woman!) on the throne is to reproduce legally (i.e., in wedlock). There is something about making sure you have heirs and multiple backups to that heir that makes your own claim more secure. In a violent, medieval world where life is generally fragile, it makes sense that people want certainty.
So Rhaenyra needed to marry AND squeeze out multiple heirs to help secure her claim. Them's the rules, regardless of what she may have thought when she was 14.
I think GRRM was going for some irony. Visarys longed for a male heir and it cost him his beloved wife Aemma; when he finally gets a son, two no less, he ignores them.
Rheanyra on the other hand has SIX sons!
Last year I prayed to God in repentance then begged for help with all my heart, "I was until then an Atheist."
I then had a dream of Jesus coming before God and he spoke of the Tabernacle in perfect context, "A word I didn't know existed because I never read the bible", and the love I felt from Jesus was unlike anything I've ever felt before - A lifetime of joy every second - It brought me to sobbing and it changed my life, forever.
I've had other miracles since, a few being a light turning on in answer to deeply needful prayer over a dozen times, seeing a orb of light hours before a major surgery, seeing an Angel in a dream the night my mother prayed for me to see one, "Without telling me", and So much more.
Know that God and Jesus ARE real and that they love us deeply. Let go of your hatred and Imagine yourself holding the people who've hurt you. Tell them you love and forgive them and I believe we should do our best to follow the 10 commandments.
Always have hope.. I believe that Unconditional Love Is The Answer.
I wish you could've talked about Otto at the coronation, it feels like he's living through Aegon, he's being crowned himself, he smiles as if he was the one being king
I'm sorry I fucking love Otto so much (I need more fanart of him god damn it)
Same
What makes you love him
Haven’t seen this opinion often. He’s a wal-mart Tywin imo. Only half as smart and clever as he thinks he is.
@Jaylin Clax Tywin was so smart he got assassinated while on the Bog 😂
I actually quite like the fact that Rhaenys' entrance ended up killing a bunch of the peasantry. It further establishes an issue that Rhaenyra's side has in this conflict, that being a disregard for the common folk (particularly in King's Landing). The first hint of that can be seen in episode 4, where Rhaenyra doesn't care about their opinion when she's watching the play in Flea Bottom. Definitely establishes the grounds for certain future spoilery events!
yeah the foreshadowing has always been done well in westeros...well up until a certain season. XD
Nah
The death of peasants made me cringe,Targaryens don't value lives of men beneath, but Hightowers rely on them entirely, it's what makes ruler a Ruler after all.This and the fact it acomplished nothing for the blacks. I root for hightowers overall.
That doesn't excuse not killing the Greens or even just Alicent/Otto
@Geze News
Least whataboutist blacks defender
Bless ASX for being able to distinguish Arryk and Erryk
This show is so good but also so damn confusing for me to follow, so these breakdowns are so clutch for me.
I sometimes take for granted how much forethought goes into each episode of HOTD - and this episode is one of those where I missed a lot of subtext. You're really doing an awesome thing here, helping to illuminate the brilliant plot and design decisions behind the scenes! Great breakdown as always.
"The child is a boy Aemma. I'm certain of it. I've never been more certain of anything. The dream. It was clearer than a memory. Our son was born wearing Aegon's iron crown. And I heard the sound of thundering hooves, splintering shields, and ringing swords, as the bells of the Grand Sept tolled...and I placed my heir upon the Iron Throne..." Viserys ended up being right. It was just destined to be the boy he refused to acknowledge.
Really dissapointing that they threw in the Rhaenys scene but completely leave out Sunfyre and Helaena's coronation, the Kingmaker plot, and no Vizzy T telling stories to his grandkids on his deathbed.
It nearly killed my interest in the show in that moment... But I'll give them another chance considering how great the show has been otherwise...especially Aemond and Daemon.
@Artur Mayhaps. But man, they are on thin ice as it is already. That Rhaenys scene actually gave me flashbacks to Season 7 and 8 it was that bad and nonsensical.
We appreciate all the work you’ve done this season Alt! Can’t wait for the season FINALE tonight! Team Black! 🖤
the finale is come out a day ago
@Dnl vlkv the official release is tonight in America
@MrCamcam28 it got leaked early, the whole thing was up days ago 😔😔😔
@Paya Whip yeah that sucks lol. I’ve been trying to avoid spoilers all week and watch it during the normal release time so I waited :/
Aegon's actor is winning me over. I already liked the greens because of Otto but Aegon Helaena and Aemond really secured me to the greens.
Have you recognised the baby monk yet?
@Comrade Commissar Yuri what?
because of Otto 💀💀💀
@Elias Magus have you seen the last kingdom?
Is EP10 explained planned ?
Would love to watch it
the styling of Alicents hair is so clever and is a window into her state of mind. disheveled hair when shes coming undone, neater hair when she's more in control.
the shots 14:13 show it so nicely ⭐
I mean, it’s a fairly common technique.
@Jalanko13 The show still executed it well, though!
By far the best explainer videos I've seen. I really like that you show a picture of the character that you're referring to. Makes it really easy to understand the show. Thank you and I hope you'll cover more series.
It really says a lot about how well this show is communicating the complicated morality of these characters when Aegon II, who is an all around terrible person, can even be a sympathetic character when you look at him from the light of him being neglected, psychologically/physically abused, and politically groomed for his whole life
I can almost guarantee that it's going to be Missaria that calls the common people to go and slaughter all the dragons at the end of the series 100% after she witnesses all the destruction and the taking of innocent lives by this war she's going to be the one who incites the raid of the dragon pit at the end they have been building up the importance of her character and she's the one who's trying to help and protect the innocent common folks that the royals walk all over and when dragons go to war everything burns
i think people often overlook that alicents most logical motivation for wanting to believe that viserys wanted aegon on the throne is that she doesn't want her miserable life of exploitation to have been for nothing. if aegon is crowned, at least something came of it. at least the system she's been chained to since birth will have given her its due (it didn't actually, it just gave it to aegon, but we already know she's delusional as a coping mechanism)
question: can you please put the quotes on the top of the screen so that those who watch with subtitles turned on can see both texts? thank you
I think there's a misanalysis of Criston though. At some point in the episode Allicent talks about the 'feelings' Criston has towards his Queen, and he doesn't deny. Criston isn't hiding his own depravity behind his duty of Queen's Gard, he's really desperate to 'protect' her.
I love this series so much! They have humanized the characters much more than GOT. The way Alicent basically says "duh" when her son asks if she loves him lol. I really feel like they have fun making this show. There is so much variation like the little pensive montage at the end was very old school tv cheesiness but I love it. It really felt like things were out of control when there isn't a king. I really didn't know what would happen next. I don't love the costumes as much as in GOT (they serve a purpose but I don't want to recreate any of them) but everything else has been evolved on very very well.
Septon Eustace kind of forgot about Rhaenys’ dragon bursting through the floor
"That dragon was The Red Queen, the princess Rhaenys has fled.'
"Twas the King's dragon you saw, dreg. He loosed his Sunfyre to celebrate his coronation."
"I am old- but not blind, that dragon was re-
👀 🗡
that lady travelled very fast to the dragonpit and im still wondering how that dragon got underground?
@Annatar the dragons are kept in underground tunnels (remember the dragon lessons in ep6, where aemond goes into the underground tunnels from the floor opening)
i mean could be omitted from record - considering the greens would have probably wanted damage control about how glorious aegon's coronation was. one must remember fire and blood is a history book and history books are not always accurate.
@kyliena thea I actually agree
I think that the presedent that Maegor left was the doubt of inheritance, giving the second sons a glimmer of hope to second sons to ascend. We saw it with Daemon and now with Aemond
This was my favorite episode. Aegon’s coronation with the ceremony, emblem banners, costumes, and props all screamed A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE to me. Aegon’s actor and Alicent’s actress are amazing. Can’t wait to see more of them next season. Aegon might become a very polarizing popular character similar to how we ended up liking the child killing sister loving king killing Jamie Lannister.
Aegon is a good, conflicted, interesting character so far. No morally worse than Daemon. People are just rooting for the blacks because Daemon is cool and has been there from the beginning.
@Artur I'd argue Aegon is definitely worse than Daemon. He has his own bastard children put into fighting pits for his amusement and, from what passages I've seen from the books and from the dialogue in the show, it's somewhat ambiguous as to whether those children are the products of prostitutes or Aegon's assault of other children in the fighting pit.
@Linden Shepherd Daemon is a guy who had a 6 years old child murdered in front of his mother and himself commited multiple cold blooded murders.
Man. What I love about your videos is that you don't really impart bias into your analysis. It's about the show and its themes and how they compare and contrast to the source material. I wish you did Rings of Power analysis videos, those are way too influenced by bias on how scenes aren't "lore accurate" and how the specific analyzer "feels" about the scene rather than it just being a good synopsis. Keep up the good work!
Thank you so much for the recap. Always some thought provoking commentary. Hadn't thought about all the possible interpretations to Healena's prophecy and some of the other details regarding Alicent.
The idea is Aemond being the father of Helena's children is an interesting one. That would leave Aegon with no hiers, although to claim the crown, this information would need to be made public.
I can totally see that one coming. A certain spoilers event is coming too and if they are Aemonds, we will know when that happens.
@Rich Smith it would certainly explain Aemond going nuts after Blood and Cheese... Then again, he could get upset about his nephew as well.. Overall, I don't fancy it that much.
It would also add a delicious twist of irony on their fight with Rhaenyra. Imagine Alicent's reaction to finding out that Aegon's kids aren't his own but are bastards by Aemond? She and the Greens have been slagging off Rhaenyra's STRONG kids, but are not immune to do that on their own. Hypocrisy at its finest.
I honestly get so excited when these videos go up. Thank you for working so hard on these. 🥰
I think that Larys Strong is Azor Ahai. He is associated with fire and he could easily defeet any white walker
💀💀💀 LMAO
How the fk did you come up with this theory??
“The Feet That Was Promised”
And and and ! lymon beesberry is the night king ! (they don’t show it but we can infer that he is ressurected by many clues that you see throughout the episode) 🎉
"The Club that was Promised"
I know Alicent's parenting style is far from perfect but I do feel you've misread her feelings for Aegon. I've also heard you talking about this in the live stream. I'm pretty sure you've misinterpreted her calling him an imbecile, just look at her facial expression. It's a playful one, not a spiteful one; she actually shows a kind smile. (And if it were not the case, they would have probably had a shot of Aegon's face not taking it well so as to give this some relevance.) I do think she's also disappointed in how he turned up but still loves him. It seems to me like you took to her saying he's not her son too far based on other relationships in the books.
Right. The tender smile and loving eyes basically say, “you imbecile, you question my love for you? How could you ask that, look at everything I am doing for YOU?”. Of course they have ups and downs and obviously Aegon does things Alicent hates and disgusted by, but he is still her son and underneath the complicated feelings is a foundation of motherly love.
Rhaenys killed hundreds of people with her dragon, many of which would of included mothers, but decides to not kill people who just imprisoned and threatened her because she was a ~mother~
This really does help us tell the difference between Arryk and Erryk, very helpful indeed.
I‘m a bit surprised you didn‘t mention the scene between Viserys and Alicent in front of the bonfire where Viserys tells Alicent about his dream. It’s a nice detail and further explains why Alicent misunderstood Viserys‘ ramblings.
nah, a bit of a clear Black bias going on so it's an easy detail to ignore.
This is an excellent catch, I didn't think of this at all but makes perfect sense. He literally said "what if I was wrong" in reference to a prophetic dream. Seems way more believable that he might have changed his mind eventually.
@niganic sez he addressed it in the livestream
Thank god Shifty is here to explain stuff, I was totally convinced Larys offered to look at Otto's feet
Huh
25:50 Imagine ALL the trouble, war, deaths and so on that could have been prevented if Rhaenys would have ended it there.
She could have stopped the war right there and prevented the dance of the dragons.
Thank you for finally acknowledging that Aegon himself could be the beast beneath the board!!!!!! Where they pulled him out from underneath a boarded table, hiding! That was the first thing that went through my head! It may not be right but I was so happy to hear you thought that as well! Great breakdown as always! 🤓
Obsessed with the imagery when the Silent Sisters were wrapping up Viserys' body. Gloomy dimly lit hallway, religious ikons, incense burning, Alicent's silhouette beside the window with the sunlight falling on her. It's like a symbolism heavy mysterious renaissance painting. That's my type of aesthetic.
Don’t worry guys we’ll get episode 10 for Christmas!!
Still waiting 🥵
Can’t wait for your take on episode 10, sucks that we have to wait so long for season 2 things are gonna get crazy!
the beast beneath the boards is one of the best turns of a phrase I have seen in regards to corruption. back in European medieval times people did not die on tables they sat in a room and place the board over their knees with everybody's knees supporting the board. this is where the phrase room and board comes from it meant that you got lodging and a meal additionally it's where the phrase above board meaning honest dealings comes from. it is a good parallel between our history and the history of westeros as I like to imagine they went through the same thing culturally at some point
Your analysis are so good they literally make my day!!
I was just rewatching this seasons episodes and in the scene when Alicent is having dinner with Larrys she took her shoes off before sitting in the table.
So this has been going on for a long time.
I love this channel so much. Explains and explores all the little details that we missed. I’m always excited when finishing an episode for ur video
Thank you for such an amazing ride along this season alt shift x, the lives were a pleasure and so were the explained videos, keep up the great work! ♥️
really hoping for a recap of episode 10 soon :)
I am honestly as hyped for the new episode of altshit as i was for an actual episode of HOTD
Barriston's exit was much more epic: "here boy, melt it down and add it to the others"
Wasnt he laughed at by every one present there after the naked knight comment?
@Anhkriva No he shut them up by reminding them even without armor he could kill any of them with ease.
@Emmett Montanaro Any of them? Hound definitely would not go down easly, but its not like he would live long enough to reach him with 5 Kingsguard members and dosen lannister soldiers in between.
"All the dragons roared as one" had a nice literal moment this episode, but I think there will probably be a bigger demonstration of this in the finale.
This episode also confirms Rhaenys is squish-proof.
Daenerys is fireproof, John is sword &arrow-proof and Arya is invulnerable
@C H. Jon must have gotten the arrow protection from Daemon
@jsullivan2112 he got hit by like 3 arrows after his fake surrender just before he kills the crabfeeder, it did kinda suspend belief at that point
@fraser martin Oh yeah I forgot about those lol. Was only thinking about the earlier scene when he's on Caraxes and gets the fire arrow in the shoulder.
In regards to Aemond saying he's next in line... he's only technically wrong, if Jaehaerys is Aegon's truebon son, he's maybe 2-3 by the timeline of the show, he's definitively not of age to seat the throne if Joffrey Baratheon could be considered by some as too young for it, meaning Aemond, as the first person in succession to be of age, would likely seat the throne as King Regent until Jaehaerys or Maelor come of age.
Thank you so much for explaining the opening with such an awesome details. 👍🏻
Love your content and the quality. The effort and time you put in is very clear. After hotd, i would love to see explanation videos for euphoria. Hope you consider
It's interesting that Daemon used to be so ruthless as the city watch captain while he was with mysaria. I imagine he was so fierce at least partly in an effort to make things better for the small folk as per mysarias wish
Man I love these videos. It's so nice to watch these after watching the actual episode to get a full overview and see things I missed throughout the episode.
I basically live for these videos of yours every Sunday. Thanks for the content. This channel got me started creating. Keep it up, you inspire more people than you know!
Great episode, some people did not like the last scene with the dragon and I thought it just reinforces that Varys line how it's the common folk who really suffer.
HBO should hire you to provide these immediately after the episode instead of the horrible aftershow they do now.
Thanks once again for your research and commitment. Yours is the best GOT explainers and you are so careful not to provide spoilers unlike others.
I feel Aemond being the father of Heleana's children would just contradict a core part of his character i.e he hates rhanerya's children not only because they took his eye (I know lucerys individually tool his eye but you get what I mean) but couldve also taken his claim as even though everyone could tell rhanerya's first 3 kids are bastards, they couldve probably overidden his or aemons claim as next in line for the throne after rhanerya. I would love that ship though, I could easily see great potential in there rs i.e maybe heleana was the one or one of the people who originally helped aemond with his lost eye tending to him which would show her openess to someone and would strengthen the idea that shes not only a weirdo but cares for someone, maybe heleana and aemond were talking as kids and in an effort to comfort aemond she tells him the riddle of "for aemond to get a dragon he'll need to close an eye" but because she's weird it just comes off as her just saying stuff but aemond actually listens and is cheered up and when he loses his eye he returns to her and they have "you/I was right" moment, cares for someone, maybe heleana grows up she teached aemond ways to use poison from spiders and snakes etc to kill people essentially making aemond a "viper" using heleana as tall grass.
If the Theory is that maybe Helena’s kids are really Aemond’s. If so, then “A son for a son” is really gonna hit different
I’m really glad I found your channel, for someone who has just started GOT & HOD in 2022 lol you have did an awesome & amazing job breaking this down for us Noobs. Thanks my guy!!
Please purchase, and read the books. You'll be happier.
Rhaenys' "giving peace a chance" might seem noble (if you ignore the deaths of the commoners!) but it could be like Ned Stark's mercy in warning Cersei - it ended up just getting more people killed (perhaps she should have been more like Bloodraven - or how he will be, anyway).
She's just a blameless victim of circumstances if her trying to be moral gets people killed. It's the system's fault.
Maybe deep down Alicent thinks the throne is her consolation prize for serving so dutifully and feels entitled to it.
The level detail that you specifically pick out in each episode is 🤯
I can appreciate Alicent's efforts to be more peaceful then the bloodthirsty men who surround her. Yet I think there is a women who eventually sat on Iron Throne years after Alicent died. She famously said:
"When you play the Game Of Thrones, you either live or die."
Alicent doesn’t seem to understand how dangerous the situation is. If she rlly thought sending terms would prevent a war she’s a fool. Otto’s plan would’ve resulted in a quick and short war.
IF YOU SAW THE LEAKED FINALE, PLEASE DON'T SPOIL IT FOR EVERYONE ELSE
That being said, I liked it lol
It was fantastic
I can't believe they allowed this to happen but then again I didn't mind 🤣 it didn't ruin anything I still can't wait for the premier
Amazing finale. Jaw dropped in that one scene...
Aemond is not the secret father.... I was wondering, Since Aegon has not been crowned, he is not yet King. So would his children be the heirs? Im not so sure the the throne would automatically pass ti his children, until he has actually been named.
Rynes has a duty to the realm to at least try and understand what the Green's are offering. And Corylis is still the Lord. She can't do anything without his permission. But I do think that she has respect for Alicent. Murdering a helpless woman and all her children, is just rude. And its not her style. It would have been wrong. Plus, Rhaenyra did start all of this by having those illegitimate children. I can understand her inaction. This, made me think of Jamie's words to Brianne. "What do you do when the King is a mad man and tells you to kill your own father? What if your father hates the king you are sworn to? You swear and you swear and in the end it means nothing. Its all too much."
Personally.... I would have burned them all and been done with it. Saved the lives of thousands.... then I would have taken Rhaenyra out and made myself Queen. But.... thats just me LOL
Yes, Westeros works differently from real world. For example, if king charles passed away before his mother, the crown would go to his oldest son, not his brothers or sisters. But in westeros, if the heir dies before the king, the crown passes over them to the next oldest living son of the king, instead of the king's grandchildren.
I always love your videos, but I think you missed a very important reason why Alicent assumes Viserys wants their son Aegon on the throne. She doesn't just misunderstand his dream in that particular way for no reason, but because earlier, in episode 3, Viserys told her about his dream of seeing Aegon on the throne, when he was getting drunk and depressed by the bonfire. He also specifically doubted his choice to have Rhaenyra be his heir. Alicent remembers all of that, so her conclusion isn't so crazy from her perspective. Plus she's grieving, which is going to make her extra suggestible and more determined to do it, because she feels like she's honoring Viserys' wishes that nobody else heard.