Lord of Brewtown

I thought the not having the heraldry be more prominent for minor houses was one of the biggest mistakes on the original series. It could have really helped casual viewers remember who certain characters were and especially with all of the re-castings of Ser Gregor, it could have helped with recognition.

Some good callouts so far. I agree with Andrew the Unsmiling, and Rolland Storm, and could go along with Karyl Vance. I don't think I'd put Marq Piper in the badass category. I think a lot of the other underrated badasses are from the less publicized regions (Dorne and the Iron Isles): I'd say Daemon Sand, Anders Yronwood, Qarl the Maid, and Jason Mallister

Dany. Maybe I had some sympathy for her early in the first book. But, she always came off as too entitled/stuck up. The ideal ending has her armies crushed, and her taken captive but not killed. Bran/the victorious Starks would show appreciation for their loyal bannerman by gifting her a a concubine to Jojen Reed.

Yeah, I think Greenwald was overly harsh; but, he did make some good points. He did love GOT, up until the last season - so he shared that perspective with the readers. Chris Ryan has been somewhere in the middle in his thoughts (The Ringer has one review podcast with Ryan and a couple of book readers - Ryan's summaries are pretty funny/good - and then 'The Watch' podcast with Ryan/Greenwald that review many TV shows).

Have you checked out/listened to 'The Watch' on The Ringer? Andy Greenwald has pretty much panned the whole season. Granted, he can be a bit of a TV 'snob'. From a less high brow perspective, Clay Travis on Outkick thoughts can I think be summed up as the show is fun/he enjoys the dragons/violence/etc; but, there isn't as much character development or unpredictability as GoT - he feels like everything is telegraphed he knows what's coming. It's also obvious that both, as non-readers, have not picked up on several things. That's 2 non-readers (I try to focus on reviews from that perspective where I can). From the reviews I've read, its seems like most readers like the series. For non-readers, it seems like more casual viewers enjoy watching for the fun aspect (the action/violence/intrigue);, and the more 'high brow' the non-reader/critic (TV/film backgrounds), the more they are picking apart HotD (they are getting attached to any characters/really caring about them).

Regarding Rhea: I wonder if leaving more doubt for audience might have been better (maybe not show her/have some other scene where another character mentions that Daemon is not where he has been hanging out; but, still include the accusation scene at the wedding). One of the criticisms I'm seeing from some non-reader reviewers is that everything is pretty clear cut in season 1 of HotD - they don't feel like there's as much guessing about personality's/what might happen/who's good/bad, etc. Regarding Laenor - I liked the choice they made. I think having Daemon kill him would have been a mistake given the closer family relationship in a way, and history of working together in the Stepstones/being saved him and Seasmoke. Granted, it opens up the whole how can someone else ride Seasmoke while he's still alive question. However, it opens up some other possibilities as well (which may have been discussed on these boards; but, if so , I missed that portion of the thread). Do they maybe bring Laenor back (either reveal himself or incognito) and have hime ride Seasmoke in a battle of Tumbleton? Do they just have him die in the Stepstones or Free Cities (he is a bit more of a warrior than in the books)? Does he maybe make a triumphant small appearance in the last season (or earlier) by playing a part in the rescue of young Viserys (maybe by rescuing from the Triarchy and later sending a message to Alyn)??

I think that ship has sailed for non-readers - it's going to feel weird. Now, I think many will be able to get over it quickly and move on; but, it will still feel weird. I really don't understand why they didn't at least have a few references to him: Rhaenyra or Viserys could have said something like it's too bad Daeron isn't also here at the family dinner in episode 8, or casual reference could have been made to him at Laena's funeral, etc. They definitely should have made some comment about sending a message to Lord Hightower and 'your brother' in a conversation of some kind in episode 9. But, that's a think I think GOT wasn't very good at either. Example: I think they had an opportunity to really build up the mystery Beric Dondarrion in season 2 - could have had more questioning in earlier episodes or made battle references to being raided by him. Could have really had viewers wondering who this guy was, and then bam, had him appear in season 3.

I agree with a lot of this. My take is also that being in/around King's Landing and/or being drawn into the actual politics or 'Game of Thrones' brings out the worst in Daemon. This is exemplified by how he seems to be 'fine'/more level-headed/happy when he's with Laena and his girls in Pentos, and after his marriage to Rhaenyra -at least while Viserys is still King/they are away from King's Landing and all of the scheming. But, the earlier episodes showed his need for affirmation from Viserys, and how he doesn't really react well when his counsel isn't taken when he's in/around the politics, and starts to act out. I think that's kind of happening here. He's being drawn back into the high stakes political game, he's more a man of action vs words, and I think he's surprised when Rhaenyra is not 100% on the same page as him. Thus he's reverting back to acting/lashing out emotionally.

Interesting Ideas. My only concern is that the main issue this season is they really haven't had enough time for character development/to get the audience invested enough in characters for some of the deaths to really make the sufficient impact. While I'd love to see that kind of thing brought in from the Vale is we had more episodes/seasons, not sure it would work/really help the 2nd season. But, a visit to the Stormlands (maybe making it more difficult for the Stormlanders to gather/assemble a host/explaining their seeming delayed entrance in the books) and Rhaena substituting for a drawn-rider might make sense.

Decent episode. Even knowing the story, the final scene had me on edge. Eve Best is really fantastic again this episode. Regarding the direction to make the final scene a "things escalating too fast/getting out of hand" incident - I don't hate it; but, as someone pointed out above, when you combine this with Alicen'ts misunderstanding of Viserys' ramblings, the writers are relying a little too much on 'mistakes'. Overall, I enjoyed this season; but, still wonder if long term the popularity of this show can be sustained with non-readers. I'm just not sure that Lucerys' death had the impact for the common audience that most deaths in GoT had. We didn't really see him enough. The other problem the show still has: not enough high points or humor. Despite all the death and emotional lows GoT had, there was humor, and each season ended on a high of some kind (dragons born, someone proclaimed King in the North, Arya sailing away/home, Dany setting sail). The GoT audience was on an emotional roller-coaster. HotD has pretty much been all 'downers' - which will drag on an audience after a while. I would think that even if you're rooting for the greens, the 'losing control' take makes the ending to this season somewhat of a downer/lessens any triumph/feeling of accomplishment/success.

If Condal said that, he was really overthinking this. And yeah - the armor/wardrobe change struck me as odd. I'm going to stop and throw on armor (or a dragon-riding suit?) while I'm in a hurry to get to my dragon/get free? Just so obviously a 'we need her to look/be badass' play. I'll admit, she did look cool; but, this is just over-the-top.

Agree. If they really wanted that to be her motivation, they needed to play up the taboo of kinslaying/murder via dialogue earlier in the episode and really emphasize it.

I thought the episode was great right up until the end. There was a sense of tension throughout the episode, and it was great the way they brought the Cargyll twins into the story. The ending is just so frustrating. If they wanted to make Rhaenys cool/badass, a fighting escape would have had that effect without throwing all logic out the window.

I really enjoyed this episode, and think the last 3 episodes have really started to build up well. Of course, I'm horribly biased, as I probably would enjoy any series even loosely based on George's world. I am greatly concerned that for non-book readers, the show just isn't quite hitting the mark. It was always going to be tough for Condral to get this to be as good as Game of Thrones, and while the acting and direction have been superb, I can see how this might not be connecting with those who are not as immersed in the books as most of us are. I understand the decision behind the time jumps; but, I think many of the things that should have bigger impacts (the Strongs burning at Harrenhal, Laena and Laenor's deaths) just aren't quite working - the characters just haven't been 'present' enough for people to care about/make those impacts. I kind of wonder if just adding 2 more episodes (12 instead of 10) might have allowed for a little more time for Harwin, Laena and Laenor, and really improved things. I understand that budget limitations wouldn't allow that. But, on that note, I also wonder if they are making the right decisions on how to spend that budget. For instance, I'm not sure the way they've utilized the dragons has been optimal (though not sure I can suggest a better alternative). I think for non-readers, things have not been made very clear: many didn't realize Harwin was in earlier episodes, it wasn't clear Laenor was riding Seasmoke, or even that Seasmoke was a different dragon, and I don't think most know who is a dragonrider and who is not. I think in some ways, they've hit the audience over the head with certain things (the realm won't accept a woman on the Iron Throne); while not making others clear (again Harwin, dragon-riders, or, Arryk and Erryk being twins - though they may still rectify that). Arryk/Erryk are 1 area where changing a name or two from the books (Beric, Derrick?) would probably have been helpful for non-readers. Anyway...I'm enjoying it; but, I am still a little concerned about if this is coming close to meeting expectations for non die-hards who don't have in depth knowledge/background of the characters like we do.

My initial thoughts on this episode are that the pacing just seemed a bit off. I didn't particularly dislike anything, and in fact really liked the sneaking into the city. Nothing stood out as bad; but, with so much stuff to cover in so little time; I'm just not sure this episode covered/accomplished enough from a characterization perspective/delivered the bang for your buck that is required when things "slow" down in an episode like this. My opinion could change after I have time to think on this after a few days. Again, I actually liked most of the episode, it just felt like a lot of screen time to accomplish what it accomplished.