HOTD Musings

[Thomaerys Velaryon]

3 hours ago, The Bard of Banefort said:

Looks like they’re filming scenes at the Wall this season. I expect the S2 trailers to really hype up the North. The only problem is, Rhaenyra didn’t tell Jace about the prophecy in S1 (at least not that we know of), so he won’t be visiting the Wall with that foreknowledge.

It's totally plausible for Rhaenyra to have told Jace off screen before he left. We already have Viserys telling Rhaenyra in the pilot then Rhaenyra speaking about it in episode 8. In the finale, Rhaenyra told Daemon thinking he already knew, they maybe didn't want to have the same scene again in the same episode with Jace. 

I'm not a big fan of the idea that Aegon's Ice and Fire Dream being passed on from monarch to heir until the Dance but that's what the show choose. In the books Jace spends a significant amount of time in Winterfell, he hunts and feasts with Cregan and a romance blooms with Sara Snow. Show-Jace knowing Aegon's Dream could lead nicely into the Pact of Ice and Fire that he forms with Cregan and a quick visit to the Wall. On a meta level, the Wall is a fan favorite location that people will be happy to revisit and on a narrative level it would be in keeping with the Dream thread the show introduced in the pilot and kept all throughout season 1. Plus the Wall is not that far from Winterfell (especially on dragonback).

I'm winderung who is the LC at the Wall at this period. My headcanon would be Cregan's uncle Bennard Stark who got quickly elected after Cregan sent him to take the black.

[$erPounce]

"According to Maester Yandel, however, the Starks were angered at being forced to surrender the territory [of the New Gift], as they believed the Night's Watch would focus their attention beyond the Wall and would neglect the New Gift. The brother of a Lord Stark sought legal guidance from the maesters of the Citadel to avoid the forced donation to no avail. This resentment toward Jaehaerys and Alysanne might have contributed to Lord Ellard Stark supporting Lord Corlys Velaryon and Rhaenys Targaryen in the Great Council of 101 AC"

Perhaps Jace will be involved in this dispute in HOTD? That would be a good reason to visit the Wall.

[Thomaerys Velaryon]

On 8/2/2023 at 10:43 AM, $erPounce said:

Perhaps Jace will be involved in this dispute in HOTD? That would be a good reason to visit the Wall.

Seems a bit off topic since the reasoning behind the votes at the Great Council was not explained in the pilot, but why not. That could be a good way to make Cregan appear cold and stern when Jace first meets him and then he slowly warms up to Jace in the course of 2 or 3 scenes before the Pact of Ice and Fire is concluded.

I expect Jace's first scene in 2x1 to be his arrival to the Eyrie and meeting Jeyne Arryn. As Rhaenyra told Jace in the finale, it shouldn't be too difficult for him to gain the Vale to her cause. 2 scenes between Jace and Jeyne should be enough before he leaves for the North by the end of the episode. Then he arrives at Winterfell mid-episode 2x2 but leaves only in 2x4 or 2x5.

[The Dragon Demands]

On 8/2/2023 at 4:14 AM, Thomaerys Velaryon said:

I'm winderung who is the LC at the Wall at this period. My headcanon would be Cregan's uncle Bennard Stark who got quickly elected after Cregan sent him to take the black.

Oh that would be pretty cool.

There's no other behind the scenes leaks about this. Just that one day the spy drone guys noticed "wow, this is obviously the Wall"

[The Dragon Demands]

Ah, new spy photos from Redanian Intelligence from filming in Bourne Wood, Surrey, of the LANNISTER army:

https://redanianintelligence.com/2023/08/07/house-of-the-dragon-films-lannister-scenes-for-season-2/

Nothing very specific, just that you see a column of Lannister cavalry riding up to meet two riders bearing Lefford heraldry. They must be massing to enter the Riverlands - I think we'll see the opening Battle of Red Fork by the end of the season.

But on a general level it's interesting how they're handling Lannister armor: it's actually trying to look like an earlier version of the Lannister armor seen in Game of Thrones (and they're made by the SAME armorer, Simon Brindle!)....but more...realistic? Less fancy. Because if you think about it season one barely featured Houses with familiar distinctive designs for soldiers like Starks and Lannisters, the Hightower and Velaryon armor is very different.

[The Dragon Demands]

...I've been thinking on this a lot:  

Dare we hope that House of the Dragon will try to explain why the White Walkers are returning specifically now, after 8,000 years of dormancy?

Or maybe not specifically "why", but that you'd JUST start seeing them becoming active again....I didn't think of this, but the theory is, what if they quickly introduced some sort of "proto-Craster" wildlings?

I doubt Craster was the only wildling to supply them with infant sons, or even the first. Who knows how far back they started slowly stirring in the farthest north?

....I'd be okay with it so long as GRRM is okay with it.

I mean....I think we can tell the difference between "gratuitous fanservice" and "an honest attempt to tie the lore together". I.e. If Season 1 just showed "hey, that Valyrian steel dagger Arya killed the Night King with used to belong to the Targaryen kings", that would be fanservice on its own, but "revelation that Aegon the Conqueror actually forged the Iron Throne after a prophetic dream of the White Walkers' return"...is actually "adding to the lore".  

....If they DO briefly appear or cameo or something, it can't just be... "checking off a box" but "adding to the lore". 

[The Dragon Demands]

On 8/2/2023 at 12:44 AM, The Bard of Banefort said:

Looks like they’re filming scenes at the Wall this season. I expect the S2 trailers to really hype up the North. 

I wouldn't mind hyping up the Wall and the Starks in the trailers; I mean, we didn't really get to see the Starks in Season 1, this is their big introduction in this prequel era. Who else would people really get hyped for who hasn't appeared yet? We know the Arryns and Tullys are in Season 2 but they're not as much of a draw...

[The Bard of Banefort]

I wonder what Miguel’s “radical ideas” were?

https://collider.com/house-of-the-dragon-season-2-miguel-sapochnik-exit-olivia-cooke-comments/

[$erPounce]

10 hours ago, The Bard of Banefort said:

I wonder what Miguel’s “radical ideas” were?

https://collider.com/house-of-the-dragon-season-2-miguel-sapochnik-exit-olivia-cooke-comments/

I am not sure if we will ever get any information on this from reliable sources. 

But I do have to say that ever since the first interviews about House of the Dragon, I have had the impression that Sapochnik has a different vision of what kind of show it should be than Ryan Condal. It would not surprise me that there have been disagreements about what course the show should take.

[The Bard of Banefort]

48 minutes ago, $erPounce said:

I am not sure if we will ever get any information on this from reliable sources. 

But I do have to say that ever since the first interviews about House of the Dragon, I have had the impression that Sapochnik has a different vision of what kind of show it should be than Ryan Condal. It would not surprise me that there have been disagreements about what course the show should take.

Interesting. Could you explain?

[The Dragon Demands]

According to Redanian Intelligence, HotD Season 2 just cast actress Abigail Thorn in an unknown role.

While she is an actor, Thorn also runs the YouTube channel "Philosophy Tube Live". 

Abigal Thorn came out two years ago as a Transgender Woman: 
 

Moreover, just two days ago she made a post on Twitter showing off extensive weight-training she'd been doing for months for an upcoming TV role....so apparently, this is a physically intensive role: 
 

 

My suspicion is that Abigail Thorn has been cast as a Jogos Nhai mercenary from the Triarchy.

This has actually been a suggestion floating around for years: "how would a Trans character ever be included?" Well, without breaking the lore, yeah, the Jogos Nhai simply have different concepts of gender, like many real life cultures: 

Basically, Dragon Age already did something similar. 

 

 

.....ON THE OTHER HAND, some are theorizing that Thorn has been cast as Sabitha Vypren. On the basis that last year Thorn actually played a lesbian warrior in another project.
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/sep/22/the-prince-review-southwark-playhouse

ON YET THE OTHER HAND, others have pointed out to be on Reddit that Thorn might be weight training for her upcoming role in Star Wars: Acolyte, so that might be irrelevant to her role on HotD.

Edited August 13, 2023 by The Dragon Demands

[The Dragon Demands]

Not much earth-shattering news came out in the past week, though we got nice spy photos of scenes we already know are in Season 2 from the filming down at Bourne Wood in Surrey:

https://redanianintelligence.com/2023/08/16/criston-cole-gwayne-hightower-filming-house-of-the-dragon-season-2/
 

• VERY good spy photos of the Lannister army arriving at Golden Tooth and being greeted by riders from House Lefford. Leads to the question of whether the Battle of Red Fork will happen this season, or more probably, they'll end the season on the cliffhanger that "oh no, the main Westerlands army just invaded the Riverlands, the war is entering a bigger phase now, not just consolidating local vassals" but leave it for Season 3?
• Increasingly good spy photos of the Battle of Rook's Rest, showing what's blatantly a dragon crash site, director Alan Taylor himself (confirming what we already heard from other leaks that he's directing episode 4, which this is in), and very clear shots of heraldry - from Crownlands Houses that bent the knee to the Hightowers and joined their army such as Rosby and Darklyn. Also one or two not very revealing spy photos of Fabien Frankel (Criston Cole), Freddie Fox (Gwayne Hightower), and...Eddie Eyrie?
  
  Eyre played Gerold Hightower in Game of Thrones and we suspect he's Ormund Hightower in HotD (but can't confirm that).....this leans against the hypothesis that he's Ormund. What would he do, fight Rook's Rest only to race back to Oldtown? Maybe he's a different Hightower, though.

Edited August 16, 2023 by The Dragon Demands

[The Dragon Demands]

FAKE SNOW DRESSING TEAMS HAVE BEEN SPOTTED IN BOURNE WOOD.

Probably woods in the North around Winterfell.

 

[The Dragon Demands]

Spy photos indicate we’ll physically see Tyrosh in season 2 

 

[The Dragon Demands]

The Night's Watch returns

This isn't too shocking since we already saw a set for the top of the Wall at Leavesden Studios, but the past few days we saw set dressers filling part of Bourne Wood with fake snow, so we suspected it was either Winterfell or the Wall itself, part of Jace's storyline. But now it looks like we've got amazingly clear footage for a ranging company of the Night's Watch, riding by tourists.

Edited August 25, 2023 by The Dragon Demands

[The Dragon Demands]

SPY PHOTOS CONFIRM ON-SCREEN RETURN OF WHITE WALKERS IN HOTD SEASON 2

https://redanianintelligence.com/2023/09/08/house-of-the-dragon-season-2-may-include-the-undead/

Edited September 8, 2023 by The Dragon Demands

[Takiedevushkikakzvezdy]

29 minutes ago, The Dragon Demands said:

SPY PHOTOS CONFIRM ON-SCREEN RETURN OF WHITE WALKERS IN HOTD SEASON 2

https://redanianintelligence.com/2023/09/08/house-of-the-dragon-season-2-may-include-the-undead/

I guess they haven't been asleep for thousands of years, then.

[Ran]

Hopeful they'll be for a vision Helaena has or something of the sort. But regardless, feels like some lowest common denominator pandering for the GoT viewers. Hope it doesn't take too much time out of the run.

Edited September 8, 2023 by Ran

[Takiedevushkikakzvezdy]

5 minutes ago, Ran said:

Hopeful they'll be for a vision Helaena has or something off the sort. But regardless, feels like some lowest common denominator pandering for the GoT viewers. Hope it doesn't take too much time out of the run.

You may be right. It was established in season 1 that the dagger/prophecy are connected to the White Walkers, so this might be some sort of follow-up on that.

[The Dragon Demands]

8 hours ago, Ran said:

Hopeful they'll be for a vision Helaena has or something of the sort. But regardless, feels like some lowest common denominator pandering for the GoT viewers. Hope it doesn't take too much time out of the run.

Actually, your grace, there’s spy photos of a big invented subplot at the Wall and a column of mounted Night’s Watch rangers and everything.

***The mere fact that they're putting so much effort into this - building real full sets and location shooting with mounted rangers - when they COULD have just green-screened it on the virtual set....heavily implies that this isn't a short sequence. If it was a cameo in a dream or flashback they'd have used the virtual set. 

And they can't flash back to both Wights and the Wall with Night's Watch men...like a flashback to the War for the Dawn....because the Wall was only really built AFTER the fighting had ended. 

...I wouldn't rule out a flashback to the 13th Lord Commander at the Nightfort, but I doubt it. 

But no, I'm seeing the glass as half full: maybe GRRM wanted to show the first stirring of the White Walkers back to full activity beyond the Wall?

Edited September 9, 2023 by The Dragon Demands