[Poll] How would you rate episode 106?

[Ran]

What'd you think?

[TormundsWoman]

Knives come out, bitches! All the knives.

A 10 from me. I know I loved the change in how Leana died! Oh and Cooke and D’Arcy? Why did I ever worry about them taking over? I forgot why. It’s irrelevant anyway. Nailed the parts and hit the ground running.

lots of contraction in the timelines and clearly they feel they need to get to the dance by the end of the season but changes worked for me.

[RumHam]

4 minutes ago, TormundsWoman said:

I know I loved the change in how Leana died!

I liked that too but damn those are some oblivious midwives! how the hell did she manage to get out there in her condition without anyone stopping her?

Might have been my favorite episode yet. -1 point for making me look at that giant millipede thing. 

[dsjj251]

Im not going to lie. I did not like the string of previews we got. Everything seemed off and I thought that the older actors were just not going to cut it, boy was I wrong. 

 

[Ser Not Appearing]

Probably their best episode so far. The fewest eyerolls for sure.

[VisenyaTargaryen]

I didn't like this episode all that much, but I gave it a 7. It feels more objective and fair, considering that some of the things I disliked were more of a matter of personal preference, I guess. And since I don't want to be a Debbie Downer, I'm going to focus on the things I liked, such as:

- Vaghar, Lyonel, Harwin and Laena, even if they appeared for only a short amount of time. At least Vaghar I'll get to see Vaghar again.

- Emma as Rhaenyra. I loved their acting and their voice! Watching Rhaenyra being more involved in politics, trying to make peace, and finally acting more likable, respectful, and mature was great.

- All of the kids! They were the best part of the episode, for me. Well, except for the scene of Aegon in the window and Alicent acting very blasé when she caught him, which makes me wonder... does he do this often?  But anyway, other than that, I liked every scene with them, and it was nice watching them getting along and being cute. That and Rhaenyra's proposal of marrying Jace to Helaena made me wish things had turned out differently (Btw, apparently, that scene where Daemon talks to his daughters on the roof got cut)

Anyway, I look forward to seeing Rhaenys and Corlys again. I really missed them in this episode.

[The hairy bear]

I gave it just a five, but at the same time I feel optimist about the show at this point. Most of the shortcomings of the episode were consequences of failings from previous episodes or due to the abrupt time jump. This should no longer burden the writers anymore.

[C.T. Phipps]

HOUSE OF THE DRAGON 1x06 "THE PRINCESS AND THE QUEEN" is basically a reboot of the entire House of the Dragon series, which is an odd thing to happen in the fifth episode of the season. Here, we have a massive decade-long time skip, a change of a substantial portion of the cast's actors, and a focus on setting up the new status quo. It feels like they could have made an entire season out of the first five episodes or skipped them entirely.

I've complained earlier about the show's issues with time and it's not something that has gotten any better but something I hope we're at least past the worst of. There's too many important character beats and events that need to be followed up on.

Just last week, we had Ser Criston Cole beat to death a guest at the royal wedding and it's not even mentioned in this episode. That's because it took place ten years earlier but it still is something that should have been mentioned or, better yet, had a whole episode of follow up.

Anyway, the premise is that Rhaenyra has just given birth to another child that is suspiciously neither black nor white-haired. Their father is obviously not Laenor but Ser Harwin Strong, the city guard captain. As such, Alicent takes no small amount of pleasure in rubbing this fact in Rhaenyra's face. She truly believes her father's insane statement that Rhaenyra would murder her children so she's planning to murder hers first.

Fans of Fire and Blood will appreciate Alicent is no longer being treated as a sweet and kind girl done dirty. No, she's taken several levels in jerkass and is now someone who spends all of her time spitting Rhaenyra, Rhaenyra's children, and underming their position at court. It's much more similar to the character in the books but it will come as a great shock to those used to the show's portrayal of her.

Speaking of awful characters, we also see Ser Criston Cole has turned from a charming knight in shining armor to a vengeful bully that not only displays misogynist behavior toward Rhaenyra but also behaves as an absolute scumbag toward young children. I suspect he will rapidly become the anti-Jaime Lannister among fans and be someone the audience actively roots for dying.

Rhaenyra is a great deal more mature despite her questionable choice of making a paramour of a man with no resemblance to her husband. She has evolved into a person who could be a capable queen and effective leader but has already made dire enemies of both her stepmother plus a Kingsguardsman. Worse, she's still not overly fond of her husband and hasn't been making the kind of alliances she needs to with Alicent plotting to put her son on the throne.

I like the depiction of Aegon in the story as he's clearly an unhinged wild child who has no limits on his behavior. He's also a bully who enjoys tormenting his relations and should never be entrusted with power. The fact Alicent keeps trying to to turn him against his relatives (and it's working) shows how much of a duplicitous and awful person she's become. Also, the fact she has no interest in the greater good of the realm but only her own family's advancement.

The big villain of the piece seems to be Lord Larys Strong and his turn on his family is genuinely shocking. Unfortunately it lacks dramatic impact because we haven't gotten to know Lord Strong or their father very well. This is another element that shows how much the show has suffered for underdeveloping its characters outside the Targaryens. Also, I don't get Lord Larys' motives that go from 0-100 for evil in an instant.

In conclusion, the acting is strong in this one but so disconnected from the rest of the stories that we've experienced that it might as well be a new show. As such, I am really hoping we're done with the time skips as they've effectively killed a lot of my interest in the show. It's still fascinating and well-written but I feel like I'm on a roller coaster.

7/10

[TeethGrinder]

7/10

As always there's a lot to like. The characters themselves are great and I think D'Arcy and Cooke picked up where the younger actresses left off. Fantastic performances - Even the child actors, especially Aegon, really brought it. He really is the indifferent little shit I imagined lol. Viserys withering away is just so sad - Paddy Considine has brought so much to such a tragic character. He knows everything is unravelling but lacks the will to confront it. 

The time skip was jarring and I felt some of the moments of the episode were worse for it. They could have gotten us more invested in Harwin and Laena - They seemed like they could have been great characters who'd have connected with the audience if they'd been fleshed out a little more. As it was it felt like they're just moving past them as quickly as possible. 

[Ser Graymax]

7/10

I was skeptical about the new actresses but they really brought it.  The new Rhaenyra who I was the most doubtful about was believable in minutes and Allicent's change was almost transparent.

Evidently Daemon has solved his not able to finish or possibly even begin problem.

Lots of references to their history and ancestors in the  early pages of the book.  I liked that.

Story is moving along.  Guess the next time jump will be the kids story and almost a complete restart again.  Well, fire and Ice is written like a history book so its fitting.

 

Edited September 26, 2022 by Ser Graymax

[Howland Reed]

I think I need to rewatch this episode, I'm not sure, it just didn't do it for me.  First I think the time gap casting change was a bit jarring, and trying to link the previous characters to their current selves felt disconnected, I guess that is inevitable when doing that.  Things felt way to hamfisted with Harwin and the princess, you would feel they would be more subtle about that but he is basically playing the role of dad from what we see.  They are also pulling the Me, Myself and Irene move by having these kids look nothing like the "father."  I have not read Fire and Blood, prefer pov style, so I can't compare this to that, so this is purely from watching the show. 

This is a fantasy show, but I get pulled out when things seem a bit jarring, such as Cole having no punishment, (his character honestly just seems unbelievable to me but that's another story), the princess climbing through the castle after birth, Laena walking about on her own to burn herself, etc...  People enjoy these things but for some reason they kinda pull me out of the story. 

I think they are trying to cover so much ground so quickly that I am struggling to care about any of the characters.  These deaths are happening, but I don't really care bc I never was able to get attached to the character.  I am honestly not trying to be a downer, I actually quite liked episodes 1-4 so far, granted I had some qualms with some aspects, but 5 and 6 have kinda let me down and left me not that excited about the following episode.

I rated this a 4, obviously that is probably too harsh, the costume and set design are so damn good that it could probably be a bit higher, but this is just my experience and I just struggle to care about what was going on sadly.

Edited September 26, 2022 by Howland Reed

[Cashless Society]

Miguel Sapochnik, praise be. No offense to Clare Kilner, she did some brilliant work but Miguel is on another level.

A fantastic opening scene to reintroduce us to Rhaenyra. Sounds of breathing followed by a soft cut showing Rhaenyra giving birth, a hand-held one-take with shallow focus. An intimate affect that allows us to empathise with Rhaenyra even before the audience is made fully aware that it is Rhaenyra. D&D could certainly learn a thing or two about using one-takes effectively, not just for coolness sake. The use of a sombre variation of the leitmotif originally heard when Rhaenyra and Alicent first entered the Red Keep, when Rhaenyra and Laenor present Joffrey to Alicent to highlight the fractured relationship between the episode's titular characters.

The make-up on the frail Viserys is extremely brilious, somebody ought to put him out of his misery. But it draws a brilliant parallel to the rot that is infecting King's Landing (Larys, Criston, Aemond). I also loved the framing of Harwin during his scene with his father. Between the wall and the pillars, showing how trapped he currently is with the walls closing closing in. Just a simple way of enhancing the story with visual metaphors.

The only weak link for this week was the Laena and Daemon section. There's a lot of substance that could be mined, such as Laena's attraction to Deamon stemming from the similarity he shares with her father (ambition and a DIY drive) and how, now in Pentos, Daemon seems to be completely done with that aspect of his personality and has resigned himself to being an over glorified sellsword. It's very easy to see how such a relationship would sour, but not enough time was given to flesh it out. Perhaps this could have been included in the hypothetical missing episode.

Gave it an 8/10.

[butterweedstrover]

3/10 

The worst episode yet filled with miserable characters and unlit sets impossible to see. Olivia Cooke did a terrible job, destroying everything Emily built and turned Alicent into a straight out villain. 
 

All the character development is ignored in favor of time jumps in favor of shallow political discussions that functions as nothing else besides exposition dumps. Bad acting, bad directing, and bad plotting.

[Ran]

Given we're past the half way mark, I thought I'd share where the board rankings for the first five episodes are at present:

Episode 1: Average 7.86
Episode 2: Average 7.21
Episode 3: Average 7.07
Episode 4: Average 7.65
Episode 5: Average 7.12

I find it interesting that the two lowest rated episodes are the ones that feature the biggest challenges of suspension of disbelief for viewers so far (Daemon's suicide run/bizzare Velaryon plan, Cole brutally murdering Joffrey Lonmouth in the middle of the feast).

[Takiedevushkikakzvezdy]

6 hours ago, TeethGrinder said:

I think D'Arcy and Cooke picked up where the younger actresses left off.

I think Alicent feels like a completely different character.

[EggBlue]

5 hours ago, Ran said:

Given we're past the half way mark, I thought I'd share where the board rankings for the first five episodes are at present:

Episode 1: Average 7.86
Episode 2: Average 7.21
Episode 3: Average 7.07
Episode 4: Average 7.65
Episode 5: Average 7.12

I find it interesting that the two lowest rated episodes are the ones that feature the biggest challenges of suspension of disbelief for viewers so far (Daemon's suicide run/bizzare Velaryon plan, Cole brutally murdering Joffrey Lonmouth in the middle of the feast).

thank U Ran. I think it's safe to say the season as a whole will be a solid 7 . hopefully , season 2 will reach 8 . next season will be a bigger challenge in terms of characters but with less plot points to rush through , there's more opportunity for them . I also hope they forget about what seems to be surprise of the week thing Joff and Laena's changed deaths certainly did not sit well with me.

[Ser Yorick Ampersand]

The show runners are morons, it just keeps getting worse. Morons will eat up meaningless scenes done for shock value. Morons will eat up extra long scenes with no dialogue that just fill in time like S08 of GOT.
No intelligent dialogue ever. The CGI keeps getting worse. The new actors choice is so stupid if you don't age up everyone else, Cole looks exactly the same or even younger.

The after show is almost as comical as Dumb&Dumber because they always contradict what happened in the screen, it's actually amazing how they say they try to do one thing and everyone else gets it the other way.

Every change they made to the source material is worse, much worse.

 

[Ran]

This episode has a 7.51 average, for those wondering. Third highest of the series so far.

[Takiedevushkikakzvezdy]

44 minutes ago, Ran said:

This episode has a 7.51 average, for those wondering. Third highest of the series so far.

But episode 1 has a 7. 86 rating.

[C.T. Phipps]

23 hours ago, butterweedstrover said:

3/10 

The worst episode yet filled with miserable characters and unlit sets impossible to see. Olivia Cooke did a terrible job, destroying everything Emily built and turned Alicent into a straight out villain.

To be fair, that is Alicent's character in the books so its a re-railment.