The hairy bear

Not sure about that. This scene "worked" for me in Fire and Blood, and there Helaena was just a name that had been mentioned a couple of times. This is an extremely dramatic situation that I think it should be easy to emphatize with. As I see it, the impact of the moment will be much more dependant on the skills of Helaena's actress than the amount of time we've spent with her beforehand.

I gave it a 7. Good, but not spectacular.

Another good episode, with some missteps, but doing a good work in setting up what's to come. Good things: I like how they are showing the passage of time, not only by throwaway lines from the characters, but also for the changes in dressing choices or, as in Daemon's case, haircuts. They've done an incredible job in showing Alicent's transition from a teenager to a mother of two. It's also cool how Rhaenyra now has her own chair at the Council Room. Good work in showing how Alicent is not happy with her lot. She looks suitably offended when Viserys laughs at her for suggesting a tapestry tour for Daemon, and the dead look on her face while making love says it all. Lots of casual foreshadowing, such as when Rhaenyra says that the thoughts of the commoners are "of no consequence". Things I didn't like: A pity that the opening credits weren't updated with Helaena's birth. I'm sure most casual viewers still haven't grasped what the blood flows are supposed to represent, and they want the concept to work they need to start giving us updated information with different perspectives, hopefully with clearer looks this time. The opening at Storm's End was a nice idea, but it didn't entirely work for me. I think they are making Rhaenyra far too petulant and politically unaware, which is fine for a 14 year girl, but I think it's a bit too much now that she's supposed to be an 18 year old woman. Also, the selection of bachelors were a little weird: Dondarrions and Swann were fine, but why did they placed so many people from the Riverlands that could travel much more easily to King's Landing to visit the Realm's Delight. There was a Blackwood, a Bracken, a Frey, a Mooton, a Strong and a Mudd. The last two are particularly mind-boggling. Lyonel Strong would have direct access to the King to introduce him any candidate from his family, and house Mudd is supposed to be exctinct. And that's a failure from the books more than the show, but having the Princess look for a husband in Storm's End makes it even more blatant: why wasn't Borros never considered as a potential match? The scenes at the brothel felt ethereal and disconnected. They didn't really work for me. And I don't' buy that either Rhaenyra or Daemon would have sex in a room full of other people. They are not that stupid. In general, I'm not very happy with the show's interpretation of Daemon. They are overplaying his outrageous nature while not giving him enough redeeming features. Random thoughts: Alyssa from the show seems to have outlived her book version. Viserys claims that Daemon was her favourit because he was a "warrior", but according to Fire and Blood she died when Daemon was just 3. When the kingsguard deliver Daemon to the king, I think it would have been nice that a couple of them had remained in the background as they usually do, and one of them had been Cole. That way, he would have "learned" that Rhaenyra went to him after having fucked Daemon. I don't know how or when they plan to have the rift between Rhaenyra and Cole, but I'd do it asap.

In same video Ryan Condal claims that Daemon refuses to go along with it because he knew it wasn't right. So I'd say that this was just Clare Kilner's personal interpretation. I agree that that reading is too sociopathic for Daemon and I both think and hope that the writing do not intend to go that far. A possible reading, I guess, is that Daemon asked Mysaria to fed Otto that piece of information. Knowing Viserys well, Daemon could have anticipated that he would be mad at his Hand spying on Rhaenyra for his own gain. And in any case, Daemon wanted Viserys to know what had happened (or more that what had happened) in order to force his hand into allowing their marriage. But then again, perhaps it's simpler than that and Mysaria is now just angry at Daemon and looking for herself. To be fair, predicting anyone's death on that show doesn't need any extraordinary foresight. But she is rude and mean, isn't she? I think that any male prince that publicly ridiculed his female suitors and made fun of them would be universally disliked by fandom. I think it's a good think that the sex scene between Rhaenyra and Cole wasn't "set up". Because that's exactly how it went. Rhaenyra didn't sleep with Cole because there had been sexual tension with him for years, or because he was her soulmate. She just fucked him because he was the closest male available. Cole is just a one-night stand.

Just as the Dance is based in the Anarchy, George clearly based the Westerosi official records on the real-life lists of English monarchs, where Empress Matilda is not included even if she was his father's designated heir and mother to the next king. And most "real historians" count Stephen of Blois's reign from 1135 to 1154. On the basis of this historiographic consensus, Wikipedia does the same, claiming that she is "rarely listed as a monarch" even though she "controlled England for a few months in 1141". Several references are provided. The point of contention here, I think, is that you are refering to "de facto" reign, while the lists of monarchs are invariably made on the basis of "de jure" reign. The difference is Jaehaerys didn't openly contest Maegor's rule, while Rhaenyra was crowned in Dragonstone on 129. Had she prevailed, she wouldn't accept 130 as the date of the beginning of her reign because that would be akin to accepting that her coronation had been void. The lists of monarchs are based on "de jure" rules, not "de facto". Again, in real life Henry II actively fought for her mother's rights, but when he became king he didn't move a finger to reinstate her mother's place as true monarch. I guess it's a combination of realpolitik, not wanting to stir the bee's nest by opening recent wounds, and having many other present and urgent matters to attend. It's an interesting what-if, because greens based their argumentation on women not being able to inherit. Alicent would surely disagree, but a rational player would see that Aegon III was the legitimate king even by the green's argumentation (Even if you dismiss his claim through female Rhaenyra, via his father he was Jaehaerys I's only heir through male line.) As I see it, this is the key point of the whole matter. After Aegon II was killed, Aegon III was the righful heir for both the greens and the blacks. Corlys and Co. used that opportunity to avoid ending the war with a winners vs. losers situation. They opted for reconciliation. Why else would they make sure that the rule of the realm was evenly split between the two factions? (the greens got the Handship, and more or less half the council)

On further reflection, here are a couple of things that I think that would have improved the episode: It would have been cool if, by the end (perhaps during Otto and Alicent's conversation), it had been revealed that Otto had actually planted a white hart in the forest, as a strategy to manipulate Viserys into naming Aegon his heir. Laenor should have claimed Seasmoke during the episode (offscreen). In the War Council someone should have demanded that Rhaenys joined the fight, and after Corlys had said no to that, Daemon could have remembered that Laenor had Targ blood and there were some young unclaimed wild dragons around Dragonstone. It would be easier to believe that the Triarchy had resisted two years against the Velaryons if they had only one dragon, and it would also make for a more sound battle strategy: once Daemon alone approached Crabfedder, the pirates would have reason to believe that no dragon would join the battle, giving them a reason to come out in the open in masse.

I'm sure it was supposed to be seen as pathetic. Viserys himself cleary didn't want to be there, and his disgust was noticeable. This is, I believe, an apt depiction of a decadent court: a rouyal hunt where the king and the nobles do nothing else than feast and wait while his servants have to do the actual hunt. It also makes for a nice contrast with Rhaenyra, who has to get bloodied. It was weird that they mention that Viserys married Aemma because "the Vale had an army that could rival the North". Why would the North be a reference in that context? Specially when they didn't spell out that Corlys had resigned as Master of Ships. If they wanted to go for it, it may have had more impact if Corlys had said so before storming out of last episode's Council session. Lord Hobert Hightower addresses him this way shouting in front of a crowd, and Viserys doesn't even react to it. It doesn't seem to fit Viserys telling Jason afterwards that considering Aegon the heir is treasonous. At least HBO, the showrunners and myself disagree with this assessment. I don't know if there'll be enough reasons to have 'regular' flashbacks, but I'd be certainly a great addition to show a flashback when they are reunited at the fall of KL. It could work very well to show how badly have things escalated, and Milly Alcock and Emily Carey certainly deserve it.

I liked it more than the previous one, but not as much as the first. Good things: The hunting camp was realy nice. Not only the colorful dresses and tents are much more pleasant to watch, but they can be used to identify characters quickly without words. Just as the first episode outdid the GoT's Tourney of the Hand, this one has put to shame Robert's royal hunt. And it's not only a matter of having more budget. I was a little afraid of the Lannister twins being played by the same actor, but it's been great so far. They really look different, their behaviors and personalities are distinct, and they are not shy of putting them together on the same scene. Given the complicated timeframe and the neck-breaking pace, I think the writers are doing a great job at giving us references to quickly grasp the timing of each episode. Thinks I didn't like: The battles were too unrealistic. Daemon single-handedly outmatching a few dozens of men while avoiding arrows, Corlys fighting on the front line, the helmets out policy, this stupid Hollywood fixation with flaming arrows (to kill a dragon, no less?!),... They should learn that some times less is more, and portraying a protagonist surrounded by a hundred warriors will have no impact on me if I don't doubt for a second that he will come out of it fine. I don't think the idea that the Triarchy was winning the war makes much sense. The crab men were holed in in the caves. Perhaps the Velaryon forces could not get them there, but they wouldn't be able to practice piracy from the inside. And while they were in the caves, the dragons should be able to burn all their ships, thus ending their threat. I think that the fact that Laenor owns a dragon merited an explanation. If I was a non-reader watcher, I think I'd be very surprised at a non-Targaryen having one. Particularly since the previous episode seemed to make a point of the fact that all dragons and eggs were zealously guarded by the Targs, and they are not in good terms with the Velaryons right now. Wine from Lannisport? Take that horsepiss away from me. I'll only accept Dornish red or Arbor Gold. Prince Aegon should NOT be addressed as the "Second of his name". Not only because he hasn't been named heir, but because Viserys is still alive! This style is only reserved to riling kings. And if they had been refering as the second Aegon of the family, they'd be forgetting about Aegon the Uncrowned and Jaehaery's firstborn. Random thoughts: I like how they don't shy away from showing Rhaenyra's ugly traits. But I'm afraid they may fail to do that with Alicent. This episode made her a little more likeable than she should be, I think. Rhaenyra was 15 in the last episode and 17 in this one. And now we celebrated Aegon's second birthday. This means that Viserys married and bedded Alicent immediately after the last episode (a bit creepy, if you ask me). Not sure about it, but I think that Samwell the Bard made the wrong call. I'd say that the Princess of Dragonstone and designated heir would outrank a queen consort.

I gave it a 7. Nothing extraordinary, but enjoyable. I preferred the Kingswood scenes that the Stepstones ones. That was Milly Alcock.

Sure! Thanks for the correction. The different canons are starting to mess up my head. Consider this quote from FIB: And yet it was to Archmaester Vaegon that the Old King turned now, summoning his last son to King’s Landing. (...) Reports had reached the court that Corlys Velaryon was massing ships and men on Driftmark to “defend the rights” of his son, Laenor, whilst Daemon Targaryen, a hot-tempered and quarrelsome young man of twenty, had gathered his own band of sworn swords in support of his brother, Viserys. A violent struggle for succession was likely no matter who the Old King named to succeed him. The theory is that if it had really been close to a 50/50 situation, and given the Velaryon faction had more wealth, more and bigger dragons, and the support of at least three Great Lords (Baratheon, Arryn and Stark), they may feel that once the Old King died they could have chances to seize the throne by force. They could believe that a "democratic" assembly where the vote of a petty lord weighs the same as the vote of a great one has no legitimacy anyway. By spreading the rumor that there had been a 20 to 1 defeat, Vaegon would convince Corlys and Rhaenys that their cause was hopeless and prevent any second thought.

In the books, the voting is only between Rhaenys and Viserys. The other claimants had been eliminated before the final vote: The Great Council deliberated for thirteen days. The tenuous claims of nine lesser competitors were considered and discarded (...). Archmaester Vaegon was ruled out on account of his vows and Princess Rhaenys and her daughter on account of their sex, leaving the two claimants with the most support. (...) By a lopsided margin, the lords assembled chose Viserys Targaryen as the rightful heir to the Iron Throne. Though the maesters who tallied the votes never revealed the actual numbers, it was said afterward that the vote had been more than twenty to one. I've never believed the 20 to 1 result (my conspiracy theory is that the numbers where very close and maesters lied). But in any case, the official history is that even if she technical came second, she suffered a resounding defeat. That's very interesting. The number of posts/users doesn't seem to have increased that amount. Are there really millions of lurkers reading our ramblings?!

The two situations have nothing to do with each other. Stannis was lord of Dragonstone, and he was expected to combine his duties on the capital as member of the Small Council with going back to his seat to deal with his own matters. And he didn't "take" any royal fleet. The lords of the Narrow Sea were not stationed at King's Landing and were Stannis' bannermen anyway. I don't follow which point are you trying to make. I claim that Daemon taking uniformed members of the City Watch away from King's Landing to take Dragonstone when he had been directly ordered by the king to return with his wife to Runestone is a transgression of the highest order. Do you disagree? I believe that with the information that we already have it's perfectly believable that most of the Watch favored Daemon. It doesn't seem I'll be able to convince you, but here are a few thoughts on the matter: Young men hired by Daemon in 105 could easily be still serving on the Watch at 130. Prince Daemon was clearly an exceptional commander of the Watch. He gave them their name, equipped them properly and made them proud. But most importantly, he behaved like one of their own. He joined them on the patrols, he fought amongst them on the first line, involved himself in taking care of justice, and took his men with him on the brothels and wine-houses to celebrate. Even for the members of the City Watch that entered after his tenure and never worked under him, it's easy to imagine how a myth would develope around Daemon within the City Watch. Specially if we imagine the kind of appointments that Otto would make afterwards: people of impeccable birth such as Gwyane Hightower that believe that they are much better than the scum that serve under them. It's reasonable to assume that Otto would try to put trusted men on the Watch after Daemon left. But that would only work for the high-ranking officers. The rank and file would still be Daemon's men. And even with the officers, there's a limit of what Otto could do. Everyone agreed City Watch had been improved under Daemon's rule, and he could not justify a big purge just because of a personal animosity. The vow sworn to Rhaenyra is weakened by old men dying, sure, but it doesn't disappear. In fact, she gets more support than Aegon. And the lords of the realm didn't have any particular reason to love Rhaenyra, while the men of the City Watch thrived under Daemon.

They do. Daemon had seized Dragonstone using men of the City Watch more than half a year ago, and according to Corlys, "without even a protest from the Crown". It was the egg that prompted them to act, according to the show. I don't find that realistic.

The first episode's confrontation at the throne room ends with Viserys telling Daemon: "You are to return to Runestone and your lady wife at once, and you are to do so without quarrel by order of your King". The City Watch is the local police force of King's Landing. when Viserys effectively exiles Daemon from the city, he is implicitly dismissing him from his post. Even if you don't take that for granted, he still wouldn't have the authority to send members of the City Watch outside of King's Landing for six months (even less if it's for personal gain). Those offenses would be, in my opinion, already far too big for the Crown to ignore. If I had been a script advisor I'd have suggested them to scrap all that non-sense of the gold cloaks and seizing Dragonstone. It would have been enough if the Council had received news that Daemon had just left the Vale and arrived to Dragonstone with the intention of finding a dragon egg for his unborn child. That enough (as in the books) would justify the Otto going there to intervene. As per the justification of why so many men from the City Watch were loyal to Daemon 20 years after, I don't think it's that hard to believe. Daemon gave them better equipment, better weapons, money, pride... Why should they forget that? I'm still grateful to the guy who got me my first job more than 20 years ago, and I wasn't an uneducated beggar from Flea Bottom without any life perspective.

Even if it's the same audience... it's ten years older now.

Lots of small thinks that I didn't like on that one. I enjoyed it much less than the first one. Good things: Laena was the highlight of the episode. That actress was gold. I like how Alicent keeps scratching her nails. It's a nice character-building trait that adds depth and can lead to interesting placed. I imagine that at the end of the story she'll resemble Lady Hornwood. The way how the have built up the alliance between Corlys and Daemon has been nice. And I loved how Daemon said that he was the only one allowed to speak ill of his brother. Things I didn't like: The opening credits are unimaginative, uninformative, and dispensable. If they had to use the same music, I would have appreciated at least a different variation or another orchestral arrangement. This will clearly be one aspect where GoT is miles ahead of HotD. I expected much, much better. The main conflict of the episode was ill-devised and ill-executed. I don't find credible that Daemon has been allowed to disobey the direct orders of his king instructing him to go to Runestone, use the City Watch as if they were his personal force, and seize the ancestral seat of the Targaryens. How can Viserys keep his nonchalant attitude after that. I don't think taking an egg is really worse than what he had already done. There were a lot of missed opportunities in Alicent's 'seduction' of Viserys. I would have liked to have Alicent use personal info that Rhaenyra had confided about her father, or see Otto give some instructions on how to best bend the king's will. The final scene could have been written by D&D, as in there were a lot of absurdities just for the sake of generating a SHOCK moment. Viserys deciding to anounce Rhaenyra's friend without telling her beforehand? Alicent being present in a Small Council session without anyone wondering why? Needlessly insulting the Velaryons by sharing the news with them at the same time as everybody else? I agree with the opinion that the character of Mysaria is the weakest link in the show so far. It's not really working very well as Daemon's lover, and I fear that it'll work even worse master of whispers. And really, that accent is painful. Not sure if Rhaenyra alone should be allowed to chose the Kingsguard new member without consulting anyone. And even if she had been fixed on choosing Cole, I don't think she would be fool enough to insult the rest of the candidates (loudly asking if there isn't anyone with actual fighting experience, and refusing to even consider four candidates that had traveled all the way to King's Landing for the opportunity. I like the detail of having the dragonkeepers full of burns. I don't like to see them dressed as beggars, specially when they are not occupied on their daily work but on a semi-official trip to Dragonstone. And I don't really see the point of having them speak Valyrian. It gives me the impression that someone thinks that you can't make a worthy fantasy show without including a given quota of made-up languages. Random thoughts: In the Red Keep they must have a miniaturist on payroll with no much work to do. How else would they bother to use those chess figures in the selection of the kingsguard. How useless were them, when the knights were all dressed in their colors and accompanied by standard-bearers?

I gave it a 5. I found it a big letdown, in comparison to the premiere. It wasn't an awful episode at all, but there were plenty of small things that bothered and there was very little to enjoy in compensation. The confrontation at Dragonstone, that should have been the climax of the episode, was lacking in many aspects. The revelation of Viserys chosing Alicent could have been handled much better.

If GoT was ever the best show on television, it was only briefly (perhaps after Breaking Bad ended and Homeland went downhill, but before the rise of The Americans or Succession). Does anyone have such expectations for House of the Dragon? After enduring the last seasons of GoT? I believe the initial expectations for most of us were "I hope it doesn't suck". I believe that the optimism is due that while this first episode is far from perfect and has some issues that should have been addressed, is still the best episode in this world since, I'd say, season 4 of GoT. And most importantly, it shows that it's been done with great care and not on autopilot.

Some of the deaths depicted onscreen could pass as accidents, and I'm fine with those. But there were others clearly depicting how combatants had their heads crushed when they were already defeated and on the ground. Who would be fool enough to do that? victory was theirs, and they'll only make an enemy of the family and friends of the defeated. I think it's unfair to place the responsibility of stopping it to Rhaenys. She was just the king's cousin and would have no authority in matters of fights and tourneys. There were plenty of people present that outranked her: Daemon, the Hand, any member of the Small Council, the master-at-arms,...

I enjoyed it a lot. It’s, in many ways, what the later seasons of GoT should have been. Even if we compare it to the GoT pilot, I’d say that Heirs of the Dragons is more solid than Winter is Coming (although the later has a much stronger ending). Good things: I’ve been surprised by their unwillingness to sacrifice characters from the original story. Lazier showrunners might have started with Orwyle instead of Melos, Borros instead of Boremund, or may have erased Rhea Royce from existence. Also, even if they had non-speaking parts, things like having the Velaryon children attending the tourney were great. As have been said by many, the colorful settings, banners and dresses are a beautiful to behold. Having Alicent approach Viserys by sharing her experience of losing a mother was a nice detail not from the books. Even if they are portraying her as a likeable protagonist, it’s cool that they are showing Rhaenyra’s frivolous side from the get-go. I was outraged at her for tearing that illuminated manuscript apart. She deserves to be eaten by a dragon only for that. Things I didn’t like Many of my complaints have already been dealt with, such the apparent randomness of how the Gold Cloaks violently seized every single pedestrian they found on the street. Also, not a fan of the gruesome deaths at the tourney. Noble killings is not how one would celebrate the birth of an heir. And I don’t think it can be waved away as a sign of decadence. At least not in the way that Viserys I’s reign is supposed to be decadent. One would expect a bunch of summer knights, plump and careless, overconfident and unexperienced, and certainly not aiming for the kill. It certainly wasn’t the best show to watch with my 7-months pregnant wife. Given the importance of dragons on the show, I think that we should have seen more of them in the opening episode. We only had Syrax for most of the time, and then a little bit of Caraxes at the end. The opening scene at the Dragonpit was a missed opportunity of depicting half a dozen of dragons in the background, if only to showcase how many of them were around at the time. The Valyrian-speaking bojutsu fighters seemed a little out of place. I wonder what they are aiming for with them. I didn’t like Daemon spying on the Council Chamber. This should be one of the most closely guarded places in the Red Keep. And I don’t see the need at all. People at the Council were more than open in showing who they liked or hated. I’m not entirely convinced with Matt Smith’s Daemon. It doesn’t help that two of the most important scenes for him (the Gold Cloak raid and the confrontation with Viserys at the Iron Throne) are awkwardly edited, and in the later, he is outplayed by Paddy Considine. And the last scene didn’t work for me at all. I feel it distracts from the issues raised in the pilot, and it’s an odd way of closing the first hour. Random thoughts: Have you noticed that the golden Targaryen sigil from the opening seems to shift from four-legged to two-legged at the end? I wonder what’s the point with the spheres from the council table. I can’t guess what they are trying to do with that.

I gave it a 9, which is probably a little bit more than it deserves. I guess it's like giving the Nobel Peace Prize to Obama just because he's not Bush.

@The Wondering Wolf My bad. I only read that one in diagonal and I guess I got confused among Viserys. I've already restored the reference. Thanks for catching it!

I think that the fact that he is considering to name the second volume Blood & Fire is a big clue suggesting that he doesn't plan to do that. That's very cool. Since Martin was fine with Amok sharing his character descriptions for the Targaryen portraits, and he has allowed other artists to make his guidelines public, do you think that you could share with us Martin's notes on the dragons that we have already seen depicted in officially licensed art?

It seems that Tyrion's main residence had been King's Landing court for some time by the time AGOT starts: He was present at King Joffrey's name day tournament, and had been on KL tournaments long enough for Renly to know his betting habits. (A pity the Imp is not here with us,” Lord Renly said. “I should have won twice as much.”) When he meets Lysa at the Eyrie: "Lysa Arryn and her half-sane weakling son had not been known at court for their love of wit, especially when it was directed at them." When he meets Ser Vardis: "Tyrion remembered him well from the years he had spent at King’s Landing as the captain of the Hand’s household guard." After Tyrion visits the Wall he departs towards KL, not Casterly Rock.

While I'm very skeptical, I'm also very excited to see what JMS can deliver this time. I assume he'll want to stick to his original plans for the show that were hampered by real-world issues: a single captain throughout the whole run, transgender Delenn, the second in command being a traitor, etc. I hope he'll also be able to improve some of weaker resolutions from the original show, such as the Valen time-travel or the climax of the Shadow-Vorlon conflict.