[Spoilers] Episode 104 Discussion

[The Bard of Banefort]

21 minutes ago, zajaz said:

If the roles in the Rhaenyra / Criston scene were reversed (Rhaenyra was an old maid, and Criston a young prince), wouldn't the scene seem kinda... problematic?

Oh, I fully expect to see some think pieces about Rhaenyra abusing her position. Internet journos are obsessed with power imbalances.

Get ready for the grooming discourse!

[Mark Antony]

Loved seeing the Blackwood/Bracken opening. 
semi confused on why the white worm is feeding Otto information. 

[Ingelheim]

22 minutes ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

The scene between Daemon and Rhaenyra was really… unpleasant.  The actress playing Rhaenyra looks so young compared to Matt Smith.

Well she's actually 22 now, 21 when they shot this. But they make her look a little bit younger on purpose I believe.

[butterweedstrover]

I just don't get why Rhaenyra bullying her suitors is mic drop moment. 

Ignoring the political stupidity of offending noble houses for zero reason, why do viewers think it makes her so cool and likable? She is just plain mean. And spoiled. 

Edited September 12, 2022 by butterweedstrover

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

2 minutes ago, Ingelheim said:

Well she's actually 22 now, 21 when they shot this. But they make her look a little bit younger on purpose I believe.

I know… still.  I have the same reaction to Emma Watson.  She always looks very young to me.  The actress playing Alicent looks really young too.

[butterweedstrover]

2 minutes ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

I know… still.  I have the same reaction to Emma Watson.  She always looks very young to me.  The actress playing Alicent looks really young too.

Alicent's actress is younger (around 18 when filming). 

[C.T. Phipps]

7 minutes ago, Mark Antony said:

Loved seeing the Blackwood/Bracken opening. 
semi confused on why the white worm is feeding Otto information. 

Because she's the Shae figure.

She never loved Daemon.

[The Bard of Banefort]

Just now, Mark Antony said:

Loved seeing the Blackwood/Bracken opening. 
semi confused on why the white worm is feeding Otto information. 

She compared Daemon to a captor, so she's presumably still angry with him. Otto's giving her money and she wants revenge.

 

There were both shades of Viserra and Saera in Rhaenyra's scandal, with Alicent taking on the role of Alysanne.

I love hating on some Blackwoods, but that kid was pretty cool.

The random Harwin Strong cameo was kind of funny. Gotten keep him fresh in the viewers' minds!

And I'm sure we all appreciated the very-on-the-nose foreshadowing of Rhaenyra's death.

 

Oh, and enough with that godforsaken dagger already 

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

Was that the origin of the Bracken/Blackwood fued?

[The Bard of Banefort]

Just now, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

Was that the origin of the Bracken/Blackwood fued?

No, it goes back thousands of years.

[C.T. Phipps]

Of course the ten year old Blackwood wins against the adult Bracken.

The bias is real.

[RumHam]

8 minutes ago, butterweedstrover said:

I just don't get why Alicent bullying her suitors is mic drop moment.

Rhaenyra? I just remember her rightly calling out that old dude for being older than her father. It was Rickon Bracken who bullied the little Blackwood and died for it.

 

11 minutes ago, Mark Antony said:

semi confused on why the white worm is feeding Otto information. 

I think she basically explained it in the vaguest possible way. They separated on bad terms and she found a better way to make money than prostituting herself. Presumably Otto was very interested in any information she had about Daemon back then, and she knew he still was. I think that and her anger with Daemon probably explain she twisted things to leave out what happened with Cole.

 

[butterweedstrover]

Oh... I thought the kid died. Well that's good. 

[butterweedstrover]

Just now, RumHam said:

Rhaenyra? I just remember her rightly calling out that old dude for being older than her father. It was Rickon Bracken who bullied the little Blackwood and died for it.

 

Yeah sorry, Rhaenyra.

[zajaz]

Please, GRRM: a single Blackwood being a piece of crap, and a single Bracken being a Ned-like figure would be nice. That's all I'm asking you to write.

Edited September 12, 2022 by zajaz

[SilverGhost]

2 minutes ago, C.T. Phipps said:

Of course the ten year old Blackwood wins against the adult Bracken.

The bias is real.

Adult Bracken was drunk and overconfident. That is a terrible combination. 

Weird scene all around - Fire and Blood made it seem like the Princess wowed Knights and Lords while on her tours but here she comes off as an annoying brat. 

Like the small cameo from the Frey in line -- the second son of the House who outright asked for her hand in Fire and Blood and got laughed at. 

[C.T. Phipps]

Feminist Interpretation here: Part of the way Rhaenyra gets derided as "spoiled" is the fact that as both Princess, Heir, and a dragonrider, Rhaenyra gets to act in a way that is not demure and without having to hold her tongue. She's actually wanting to pursue a marriage partner she'd be happy with and attracted to (and she's not taking it seriously anyway because she doesn't want to get married or have a child).

Because Rhaenyra isn't being nice and is demanding equal respect to being a monarch, people are calling her rude and mean.

Because she's not a male character doing it.

[RumHam]

1 minute ago, butterweedstrover said:

Yeah sorry, Rhaenyra.

Sorta random, but I'm curious why I can like anyone's posts in this thread but yours

[Mark Antony]

2 minutes ago, RumHam said:

I think she basically explained it in the vaguest possible way. They separated on bad terms and she found a better way to make money than prostituting herself. Presumably Otto was very interested in any information she had about Daemon back then, and she knew he still was. I think that and her anger with Daemon probably explain she twisted things to leave out what happened with Cole.

That makes sense. I was just surprised to see her working against Daemon this early I guess. I remember their relationship going to shit in the book but thought it was toward the end of the dance 

[Caligula_K3]

I thought that was the best episode so far. There was a time skip,but for once I didn't feel like we'd missed two episodes somewhere along the way. It was slow, but it actually had character scenes and development instead of just repetitive politicking/random irrelevant crab people. I feel like I have a much better sense of Rhaenyra, Allicent, and Daemon after this episode. There was also real tension in some scenes, especially the first Viserys vs. Hightower scene, Alicent vs. Rhaenyra, and then the Viserys vs. Daemon scene in the throne room.

Oh,and someone had fun! I thought fun was banned in Viserys' reign unless you're a background extra, based on the first three episodes. I liked the tour through the streets of King's Landing, and Rhaenyra showing a playful side. I even really liked having Viserys drunkenly joking around with Daemon early on. It's not funny dialogue, but it's a start!

Criticisms: the sex scenes went on for way, way, way too damn long. The orgy room was also just weird. I find Otto Hightower's actor to be incredibly lifeless. Just the same stoic expression and soft tone of voice,no matter the dialogue. I'm not saying he needs to ham it up a la Aiden Gillen, but it's too bad, because he could be at least a fun villain. The scene where he loses the handship at least demands something more.

Some of the stuff that didn't work in this episode is because of the weakness of the last two. That never-ending sex scene seemed meant to convince us that Rhaenyra/Cole is a big deal, but I don't care, because the show hasn't put in the work to set it up (minus that weird boar scene last week). I also wish we got more development for the Valeryon family last week, so the marriage would seem like a bigger deal. 

But hopefully this episode is the start of a strong run for the show. Glad to be enjoying House of the Dragon for the first time since the pilot!