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[BadBurger]

I'll be honest, I feel so fucking disconnected to all the characters and everything that is happening.

Why did Raenyra and Criston stopped talking? Why is Criston with the queen? Why is Alicent such a cunt now?

Why is Reanyra fucking this other Strong guy (I didn't realise he was the Kings Hands son until half way through the episode)? How did they meet? When did they meet? Are they in love? Am I meant to care about him after just 10 minutes of screen time?

Why is Daemon estranged from the rest of the family? He was at the fucking wedding. Why didn't he pursue Raenyra? Why did he marry Laena? Am I meant to care about Laena, I barely know her. Why is Laena with Daemon? What was the point of Daemons old whore? What was the point of the Stepstones battled? It hasn't amounted to anything

Am I meant to care about any of the Strongs? They have had barely any screen time!

I say again these time jumps are killing the show for me

• Rhaenyra spurned Criston, in favor of performing her duties as a Targaryen and heir to the throne. Remember the "You want me to be your whore?" scene on the boat. Criston took it so poorly he almost killed himself. Alicent stopped him and accepted him into her service
• I guess Rhaenyra and Harwin just fell in love. Remember, her actual husband is homosexual and has his own lovers. He's perfectly fine with it, they have an agreement to keep up appearances
• Daemon isn't really estranged, he's just off doing his own thing living off other noble houses. I don't recall why Laena and Daemon were married, honestly. I guess it just happened
• The elder Strong was on the council, and was the current Hand of the King. Harwin, the younger, was lord commander of the Night's Watch. There's kind of long scenes mentioning both of these things, and also one is wearing the pin and the other the garb of the lord commander

I think maybe you zoned out at several key points, heh. Hope that helps though.

 

[HoodWinked]

its just funny like Rhaenyra is like Schwarzenegger fucking his housekeeper cause they were just there.

 

[sol_bad]

• Rhaenyra spurned Criston, in favor of performing her duties as a Targaryen and heir to the throne. Remember the "You want me to be your whore?" scene on the boat. Criston took it so poorly he almost killed himself. Alicent stopped him and accepted him into her service
• I guess Rhaenyra and Harwin just fell in love. Remember, her actual husband is homosexual and has his own lovers. He's perfectly fine with it, they have an agreement to keep up appearances
• Daemon isn't really estranged, he's just off doing his own thing living off other noble houses. I don't recall why Laena and Daemon were married, honestly. I guess it just happened
• The elder Strong was on the council, and was the current Hand of the King. Harwin, the younger, was lord commander of the Night's Watch. There's kind of long scenes mentioning both of these things, and also one is wearing the pin and the other the garb of the lord commander

I think maybe you zoned out at several key points, heh. Hope that helps though.

Nope, didn't zone out, I know all of the above.

The show doesn't indicate any kind of time frame that Rhaenyra and Criston were bumping uglies. We didn't see their relationship grow and surely Criston had the intelligence to understand Rhaenyra couldn't marry him, we didn't see the progression of change of his thought in mind. As a viewer, we just saw them fuck, time jump, nek minute Criston is a whingey bitch and goes full throttle killing Laenor's love, time jump, nek minute Criston is the Queen's bitch. We should have seen the fallout between Criston and Rhaenyra after the wedding, their new relationship status quo should have been established. Criston was in love with Rhaenyra, we should have seen something, anything between these characters and why Criston chose to be the Queen's bitch instead of Rhaenyra's lover. And why did Rhaenyra chose Harwin over Criston? We saw absolutely no progression on that front. Why did Alicent stop Criston from killing himself? Why is Daemon doing his own thing?

These relationships are so intricate and involved but we see nothing, no character development, no reasoning for decisions made. We saw nothing happen, it was off screen without explanation. Not only does this show not .... show us whats been happening, it doesn't even tell us what's been happening. That old quote "show don't tell" was really thrown out the window.

 

[negator2vc]

In my opinion, rhaenyra is groomed to take over the throne. She was there during her younger days, even as a cupbearer. Meanwhile,viserys is frailed, and Alicent is there to support him or act as an advisor, I guess. It is not a new tradition because one of the queens of Maegor is also in the council. About the defiance, who can stop the queen? Only viserys can.

I think it was nice to give background on the family's cracks since the Old king's days. The evolution of each character is a nice touch.

But it was Viserys that the queen defied when she practically said to Rhaenyra that they will think of her marriage proposal while the king loved the idea.
Also the last time that Rhaenyra was at the council was to fill their cups not take part. They didn't show Rhaenyra evolution.

 

[taizuke]

All I see when Aegon is on screen:




Nice to see I'm not the only one.

 

[jason10mm]

In my opinion, rhaenyra is groomed to take over the throne. She was there during her younger days, even as a cupbearer. Meanwhile,viserys is frailed, and Alicent is there to support him or act as an advisor, I guess. It is not a new tradition because one of the queens of Maegor is also in the council. About the defiance, who can stop the queen? Only viserys can.

I think it was nice to give background on the family's cracks since the Old king's days. The evolution of each character is a nice touch.

This, I think, is a VERY overlooked component to a (successful) feudal monarchy system of 'government'. The reason why blood equals "qualified to rule" is because typically the 'blood' part means "grew up with tutors, access to higher levels of intellectual discourse, meetings with all the players involved in trade, taxation, religion, regional/world events, and gradual [hopefully] involvement with decision making and responsibility to include seeing the consequences of prior decisions and an understanding of the 'big picture'". Lesser books/films LOVE to have the "wayward slacker Prince have rule thrust upon them" and certainly that has happened, but rarely do they illustrate the quantum level difference in education and scope of thought between the average commoner, the average noble, and those on a ruler track.

So we do see Rhaenyra learning as a child, passively absorbing the small council discussions, making a somewhat reasoned decision to choose Cole over some other knights for the Kingsguard and eventually participating in the small council as Heir Apparent even if she doesn't seem to have a specific role as of yet. Viserys restates his intent for Rhaenyra to rule multiple times, so no one can honestly say he desires otherwise.

So for Alicent to be so prominent in these discussions shows her own desire to be at the center of things and her strong influence over the King. This situation is a bit different in the book, so for the show there must have been some substantial friction as Alicent edged in and Rhaenyra out. The specific discussion, whether or not the Stepstones should have been fortified, was clunky though because one would assume Rhaenyra knows the state of the royal treasury as well as Alicent does. One could imagine that during periods of pregnancy and childbirth each one tries to undermine the other. I won't go into book specifics here but there is also a very catty reason for some of the animosity as well beyond what they have shown on the show so far.

 

[jason10mm]

All I see when Aegon is on screen:




Nice to see I'm not the only one.

Those boys need to start an 80's hair metal band...

 

[jason10mm]

its just funny like Rhaenyra is like Schwarzenegger fucking his housekeeper cause they were just there.

I like how podcasts and stuff are blowing off the fact that Rhaenyra could have Cole KILLED AT ANY TIME, thus her "romance" with him is actually a horrible horrible example of sexual assault. Sure he went with it but you gotta imagine he was thinking hard about how gelding and the Wall might be waiting for the rest of his life.

Flip the genders and have a young Prince pressure one of his chamber maids into sex and none of these commentators would be saying "good on Rhaenyra for getting hers and then remembering the realm". Funny how triggers only work sometimes

 

[Melon Husk]

its just funny like Rhaenyra is like Schwarzenegger fucking his housekeeper cause they were just there.

Young Rhaenyra looks like she could be Arnold's (grand)daughter. Same eyes and chin.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Here is the only issue I have with the show so far where they did their own explanation who killed Lyonel and Harwin Strong…

Alicent can have her new dog Criston snuff Larys at any time to break that hold over her, or, it comes down to the Queen’s word over the Littlefinger gimp that would admit to killing his father and brother “for the Queen,” which still looks bad on him.

 

[AJUMP23]

Episode 7 that was good

 

[DeepEnigma]

Holy shit, this episode!

 

[Dynasty8]

What an amazing episode. I'm hooked.

 

[BaneIsPain]

I like it but I wish they maintain the ending the same as the book. I guess they predict a similar reaction of loud minority complained about joffrey lonmouth death.

No reason to support Black for me. Let’s go Green.

 

[mortal]

Whew we've crossed the point of no return. Bridges have officially burned from too much dragon fire lol.
The episode started off with dagger eyes going every which way.

I wonder if Princess Helaena is a dreamer or a seer. Either way, she seems clairvoyant, even if a bit on the spectrum.
Her line about Aemond having to close one eye to gain a dragon came to pass.

Damn House Valeryon got done dirty, man. I feel for Corlys and Rhaenys, so much tragedy in such a short period.
They've done such a good job of portraying characters from camps black & green with moral ambiguity, that I find it rather difficult to pick a side.

I like it but I wish they maintain the ending the same as the book. I guess they predict a similar reaction of loud minority complained about joffrey lonmouth death.

No reason to support Black for me. Let’s go Green.

I'm going through Fire & Blood atm, but yea the final scene immediately stood out to me as a change from the book.
The final scene ultimately undermined the impact imo, wouldn't be surprised if it was done as appeasement.

 

[jason10mm]

GREAT ep. I missed who the rower was first time round, that tweak kinda raises more issues than it solves but whatevs.

I really wanna talk about the preview because we get another 4-5 year time jump but I'll give it a few days.

The kid squabble was fantastic. Them girls stepped up and were put down! I'm pretty solid team green at this point which is odd, thought I'd be black given the book.

My wife though, HARD TEAM BLACK! Damn near though I was gonna have another kid given how she got riled up when Rhaenyra and daemon finally did the deed.

Anyone else think the front quarter of the ep was too dark (lighting)? We had to turn off all the lights in the room to make out Aemon in the sand.

 

[HoodWinked]

One thing that is clunky is how Daemon propositioned the knight to presumably kill Laenor saying "a quick death, one with witnesses" but then Daemon also kills that random brown skin servant that seemed to be used as a corpse double and Rheynera saying she loves Laenor but Daemon would grant him this kindness. So it seems like that was the plan all along. Other than that the composition of the scene is so well done with showing Laenor at the end with his head shaved, everything conveyed expertly without a word.

also a testament to the skill of the showrunners a scene with only kid actors manages to be interesting and not cringe. the fake out with the rock in Aemond's hand, was really unsure how the scene would end.

 

[DeepEnigma]

GREAT ep. I missed who the rower was first time round, that tweak kinda raises more issues than it solves but whatevs.

I really wanna talk about the preview because we get another 4-5 year time jump but I'll give it a few days.

The kid squabble was fantastic. Them girls stepped up and were put down! I'm pretty solid team green at this point which is odd, thought I'd be black given the book.

My wife though, HARD TEAM BLACK! Damn near though I was gonna have another kid given how she got riled up when Rhaenyra and daemon finally did the deed.

Anyone else think the front quarter of the ep was too dark (lighting)? We had to turn off all the lights in the room to make out Aemon in the sand.

Yes. It was definitely a darker aesthetic in this one. Even with HDR.

Tinfoil hat time...
Did we witness the dawn of the "Lightbringer" in this episode as well?

 

[EviLore]

Goddamn. We've reached 10/10 status. What a show this is already.

 

[Ionian]

Goddamn. We've reached 10/10 status. What a show this is already.

Curious now. Was a fan of GoT, read all the books barr the one this is based off. 'A Dance With Dragons' after 'A Feast For Crows' put me right off.

Felt like I'd wasted my time. Interested now though.

 

[EviLore]

Spoiler: This episode

 

[gimmmick]

Best episode so far this season. HBO is really pulling no stops for redeeming the series after the ending of GoT.

 

[Nobody_Important]

Finally sat down and watched. Best episode of the season hands down.


This cast is putting on a performance for the ages. There are not enough awards to go around.

Curious now. Was a fan of GoT, read all the books barr the one this is based off. 'A Dance With Dragons' after 'A Feast For Crows' put me right off.

Felt like I'd wasted my time. Interested now though.

If you want the masterclass of shock and awe then watch the show and don't read the book.


If you want to see how D&D should have done GoT and how a show based off of a book is TRULY done well then read the book and then watch the show.

 

[balls of snow]

Sooo good. Damn eveything that was being said and shown was important in some way.

 

[balls of snow]

Also that dragon was ducking gigantic compared to what they shown before.

 

[Nobody_Important]

Also that dragon was ducking gigantic compared to what they shown before.

Vhagar is the oldest Dragon alive. Dragons grow nonstop until their death. Its why Balerion (Viserys's Dragon whose skull we see in the early part of the season) was built like a flying brick shithouse. He was the last living creature in Westeros to have seen Old Valyria. He flew to Dragonstone with the Targaryens before The Doom itself. He was over 200yrs old I think. He was the original dragon of Aegon the Conqueror. The Black Dread. The most feared creature in the history of Westeros.


TLDR; Bro was old as shit and was fucking LARGE as a result of that age. Vhagar is huge for the same reasons.

 

[Ionian]

Finally sat down and watched. Best episode of the season hands down.


This cast is putting on a performance for the ages. There are not enough awards to go around.


If you want the masterclass of shock and awe then watch the show and don't read the book.


If you want to see how D&D should have done GoT and how a show based off of a book is TRULY done well then read the book and then watch the show.

My internet is shit so will have to wait. Looking forward to it now though! Will probably wait until there's a few episodes. I tore through the books just never read the one this is based on. Delighted to hear it's good despite the fact E&E are involved, always found them obnoxious yet watched all their videos which is an oxymoron.

 

[Nobody_Important]

My internet is shit so will have to wait. Looking forward to it now though! Will probably wait until there's a few episodes. I tore through the books just never read the one this is based on. Delighted to hear it's good despite the fact E&E are involved, always found them obnoxious yet watched all their videos which is an oxymoron.

E&E?

 

[nominedomine]

I don't know if them murdering some random black guy to use in their ruse is the show showing how insane Daemon and Rhaenyra are or really bad writing. They also made Laenor an unredeemable PoS in this episode, he fakes his death to escape his marriage right after his sister died and doesn't even tell his parents? Things are starting to pile up.

 

[What A Shame...]

Holy shit, that was good.

I'm shattered for the Velaryons.

Spoiler: Mild GoT observation

I'm assuming more tragedy is coming their way based on their House's non-existence in GoT.

 

[Nobody_Important]

Holy shit, that was good.

I'm shattered for the Velaryons.

Spoiler: Mild GoT observation

I'm assuming more tragedy is coming their way based on their House's non-existence in GoT.

GoT is not a measure of canon proceedings.

Don't make any predictions based on the D&D nightmare.

 

[Ionian]

E&E?

Meant E & L, typo.

https://www.youtube.com/c/WesterosTV

They were involved in writing the book with GRRM.

 

[Elysion]

I don't know if them murdering some random black guy to use in their ruse is the show showing how insane Daemon and Rhaenyra are or really bad writing. They also made Laenor an unredeemable PoS in this episode, he fakes his death to escape his marriage right after his sister died and doesn't even tell his parents? Things are starting to pile up.

This episode’s ending is 100% a show invention so that people don’t complain about too many gay characters being killed. In the book Laenor absolutely dies.

And I agree, Laenor is complete garbage. Honestly, this makes Rhaenyra and Daemon look even worse than if they’d just killed Laenor, because not only did they kill a totally innocent person in his place, but they put Laenor’s parents through all this grief for no reason (and there’s no way they know the truth; I very much doubt Corlys would be ok with his son and heir just fucking off to Essos).

I’ve seen some theories that Laenor may come back later when his family needs additional dragon riders, but him being revealed as alive to Westeros would mean that Daemon and Rhaenyra’s marriage is invalid, and her children with Daemon would be bastards. It’s of course possible that we never see Laenor again, and he is truly ‘dead’ for all intents and purposes. But that has issues as well: not only does it turn Laenor into an absolute bastard, but it also means his dragon Seasmoke would be left without a rider. Dragons can only be bound to one rider, and in the book Seasmoke gets claimed by another character eventually.

As good as the episode was overall, the ending definitely left a bad taste in my mouth (though I guess that’s only because I know what happened in the book, and what will happen in the future).

 

[Lady Jane]

Easily the best episode, arguably the first good one.

And fuck Laenor and fuck his apology. Couldn't do his part in the marriage so all he had to do was be a decent father/husband...and he didn't do that either. His apology was a decade late. And Rhaenyra killed him in the book? Good, it was deserved.

 

[taizuke]

Was laenor infertile or simply couldn't get down with Rhaenyra?

 

[DeepEnigma]

Was laenor infertile or simply couldn't get down with Rhaenyra?

I think it was the latter.

 

[taizuke]

I think it was the latter.

If that's the case then Marjory Tyrell had the best solution. A threesome. Have Laenor's lover start him and then finish inside her.

 

[Lady Jane]

If that's the case then Marjory Tyrell had the best solution. A threesome. Have Laenor's lover start him and then finish inside her.

I didn't want to get that far into details but I thought the same thing. I don't understand how they couldn't figure this out? Everything depended on their children having thick blood. It was worth the effort. Being gay isn't an excuse for a noble husband to not impregnate his noble wife. Whether this is GRRM or the show, it's shoddy writing.

"It wasn't fun...the other guy made me feel wanted." Um, okay, cool? So you couldn't bear with it for one or a few nights of basic strategy to get it done and then have your fun? That wasn't worth the effort to secure the throne? Nothing about their children situation makes sense.

 

[nominedomine]

This episode’s ending is 100% a show invention so that people don’t complain about too many gay characters being killed. In the book Laenor absolutely dies.

And I agree, Laenor is complete garbage. Honestly, this makes Rhaenyra and Daemon look even worse than if they’d just killed Laenor, because not only did they kill a totally innocent person in his place, but they put Laenor’s parents through all this grief for no reason (and there’s no way they know the truth; I very much doubt Corlys would be ok with his son and heir just fucking off to Essos).

I’ve seen some theories that Laenor may come back later when his family needs additional dragon riders, but him being revealed as alive to Westeros would mean that Daemon and Rhaenyra’s marriage is invalid, and her children with Daemon would be bastards. It’s of course possible that we never see Laenor again, and he is truly ‘dead’ for all intents and purposes. But that has issues as well: not only does it turn Laenor into an absolute bastard, but it also means his dragon Seasmoke would be left without a rider. Dragons can only be bound to one rider, and in the book Seasmoke gets claimed by another character eventually.

As good as the episode was overall, the ending definitely left a bad taste in my mouth (though I guess that’s only because I know what happened in the book, and what will happen in the future).

I don't think he absolutely dies in the book, by the way the book is written a successful fake death would just show up as a weird, conveniently times death.

My bet is that Laenor will take over as another character and if he is alive it makes complete sense that they wouldn't just ignore the fact they have a dragon rider on their side. It's going to be cheesy but the official story that is told when this other character shows up out of nowhere is also not believed in the book. What I didn't like is that the show left Corlys out of this plot apparently and that sucks.

 

[8bitpill]

The only good thing about this show. I've had no emotion towards any of the other characters.

Daemon feels like a character from the original Game of Thrones series.

This show feels like a modern soft fantasy soap opera with Game of Thrones title attached to it.

 

[lifa-cobex]

Pretty wild ep.
Didn't like how they kinda brushed over whole ending to get to the wedding.
They could have made a whole episode just from that last 5 mins.

 

[lifa-cobex]

If that's the case then Marjory Tyrell had the best solution. A threesome. Have Laenor's lover start him and then finish inside her.

I like ya thinking .

TBF he might have been infertile or something.
They did say that they gave a shot a couple of times but nothing came of it.

 

[DR3AM]

The only good thing about this show. I've had no emotion towards any of the other characters.

Daemon feels like a character from the original Game of Thrones series.

This show feels like a modern soft fantasy soap opera with Game of Thrones title attached to it.

Yep, that's exactly how I felt when watching it last night. So much drama over people not communicating.

 

[BadBurger]

To tell you the truth I found this episode boring until Aemond showed his true grit and we had that wild child group fight and knifing. Daemon and Otto both being nonplussed in the fallout of the entire affair was hilarious. Of course those two don't give a shit lol.

 

[SlimySnake]

I am absolutely baffled by how good this show is despite essentially being a royal family soap opera. When I saw the Miguel Sapchik (sp?) directed the episode, I was ready for a Battle of a Bastards or Hardhome style balls to the wall action episode but i got some family drama and I still was blown away. Who is the writer for these episodes? This reminds me of Game Of Thrones season 1 which was full of political intrigue and characters just talking and stabbing each other in the back before the show turned into Avengers infinity war. Whenever I watch clips of that season, Im reminded of just how much happens in that first season. Thats the feeling I get here, and yet unlike Seasons 7 and 8, it doesnt feel rushed.

The only thing I dislike and I dont even know if its a dislike or just a feeling, but i think every single character in the show is a piece of shit. No one is likeable. I liked Rhyners until she almost fucked her uncle. Then again began to like her until she killed her fucking husband only to marry her uncle again. Like wtf is going on with this woman?

Im almost starting to go team green even though that woman has her own set of issues.

 

[EviLore]

Then again began to like her until she killed her fucking husband

Might want to rewatch those scenes!

 

[DeepEnigma]

I like that they make it difficult to "choose a team" so far.

 

[jason10mm]

If that's the case then Marjory Tyrell had the best solution. A threesome. Have Laenor's lover start him and then finish inside her.

TBF in the show Rhaenyra says they tried sex at first.

Guess no one has invented a turkey baster in Westeros yet

 

[BadBurger]

The only thing I dislike and I dont even know if its a dislike or just a feeling, but i think every single character in the show is a piece of shit. No one is likeable.

I think that's part of the point. The time of the Targaryens are looked back upon as illustrious by some - what with their dragons and golden and silver hair, conquering kingdoms. When truth is they were like any other monarchs taking almost everything from the small folk while engaging in petty affairs only the rich, pampered, and protected could in their world.

Some see their existence as a necessity but I am not sure. Since the books will never be finished who knows.

 

[SlimySnake]

Might want to rewatch those scenes!

lol he survived but she still tried to have him killed, no?