Jason and Greta unpack the second episode of the season. They talk with Tom Glynn-Carney (King Aegon II) about his desire for war and later, Matthew Needham (Larys Strong) about his character’s new alliances
I was just saying last week "they're going to make me like Aegon and I don't know how to feel about it" lol. Although he's really a shit person, TGC's acting has made me second guess it
@shubhangbahadur7112 ya that scene was sad and the fact that no one at all is there to comfort him. No friends, his own mom, no one. I think he's just a damaged kid who was just handed power and thrust into a gigantic conflict he never really wanted
@@HB-ey2dk And I think all the fuss about Aemond is only that he rides the most powerful dragon Vhagar. Aside from that, he has shown nothing significant that makes him feel "honoured" that uncle Daemon considers him as his "foe".
@shubhangbahadur7112 true, I think Aemond is equally as damaged, if not more so and I think he doesn't actually love that reputation bc it only keeps people further away from him, but I'm guessing he likes the thought of it as being the scary one after being picked on and unloved as a kid. Either way this show is doing such a good job making these characters so multifaceted.
Aegon sobbing and being abandoned by his mother made me understand why he is so fragile and unprepared. As I see it Viserys, Alicent and Otto never put any effort in for Aegon and now Alicent and Otto reap the consequences of putting someone they neglected on the throne and still they refuse to learn. We also see splinters between Team Black and Team Green. Going spoiler free, some hints that Daemon may rally supporters around the Riverlands and Otto using Daeron Targaryen as another of his puppets in the Reach could make things interesting as the conflict intensifies.
"My son is my legacy, my son is the heir to the iron throne" The way he say "is" not "was" in denial that his son is dead. Tom performance is emmy award worthy, I got chills.
Tom was incredible today, he really made me feel Aegon's pain. I so wish his mother could have hugged him in that moment, it was so sad. Phia as well was terrific as Helena, she doesn't always say a lot but you see so much on her face. That moment when she and Ageon meet on the stairs was really moving. I loved the scene where Rhaenyra tells Daemon she can't trust him, at long last. Then the drama of the tragic brother's fight, brining a very emotional end to the episode.
When Madam Sylvi says to Aemond who is showing remorse, but also feeling sorry for himself at the brothel: "when princes lose their temper it is often others who suffer. Small folk like me" A lot of emphasis on some of the small folk that the war will affect this season, Hugh the Hammer, the rat catchers, Alyn and Addam Hull, then the Arryk/ Erryk battle all because of the royals' drama
I really enjoyed this podcast episode. Needham's take on Larys in particular made me appreciate the character more. I'm excited to see more of this season!
Only issue I have with your analysis on Daemon is that Rhaenyra knows that she need him to fight Aemon and Vhaeghar. Say what you will but if daemon is gone Aemon and Vhaeghar effective win the war without any fight. Military thinking is paramount.
I love that scene with Aegon and Otto. Otto amd Alicent expected Aegon to tire of ruling and just leave it to the two of them. Remember when Otto said about Daemon that a man hadn't been made who would turn his back on absolute power. Remember at Laena's funeral when Otto found a passed out drunk Aegon, he looked around, and then kicked him. It is amazing that he plotted so long to put Aegon on the throne but never formed a mentor relationship with him. Did he seriously think that he could yell at the King, call him a feckless disappointment, and then dare the King to fire him.
Rhaenyra really needs to start making plays. She's coming off very weak at the moment. Also, as screwed up as he is, getting rid of Daemon would be a stupid move. He's one of her best fighting, has a good mind for war, and has one of the strongest dragons. Punish him after the war.
Tom amazing! Iwill give 👏🏽👏🏽 to Fabien Frankel too.Not since Jack Gleeson Joffrey have you ever respected an actor for making you despise a character with a passion... Compared to other actors Fabien’s Cole has a one dimensional character and the writing limits his range but the man is carrying that character.
@@MyUniqueVibe Tom is saying Aegon is an empath, and Aegon loves his children so much in S2. In S1, Aegon was a rapist and enjoyed watching children fighting to the death. How is that consistent? Someone with genuine empathy doesn't do those things, unless something truly terrible happens to them. Even then, I don't think anything justifies rape and paying for children to kill each other.
Something that was a bit weird was that in the trailer we saw a riot during the funeral but not in episode. Does anyone know if it was cut out or if it will take place in another episode?
haven't listened but i doubt the hbo youtube podcast is gonna spoil episodes for its viewers ....if they did you will hear the actor make subtle refrences in advance most likely
jason isn’t the brightest bulb in the tanning bed, is he? on what mortal plane would it make sense for rhaenyra to throw her husband to the greens, or to put him in prison? he is the only war experienced dragonrider from all of them, and the only of them who would be fierce on a dragon and generally, in battle. it wouldn’t look good either: here she is, the maegor with teats who killed a baby and betrayed her husband. she also probably loves him. or is that of no value whatsoever anymore? so, only a rational conversation, with all the patience that one could muster in the world, would work with daemon. daemon wasn’t the best in their discussion, but rhaenyra was pretty bad, as well. she’s supposed to be the rational one, but she acts as if she doesn’t know daemon.
She doesn’t know him; do you know the one next to you? NO-one knows the other. It’s an allegiance one is building. She is still doubting her standing as Queen. Actually she is totally right with that she mentioned to her father, that he divided the realm by naming her heir. She intuitively knew, that holding a realm in peace doesn’t include war. She trusted her father upon the prophecy; she did her best, while everyone around her played games based on misunderstanding, own interests, jealousy, just to name a few. He held the promise she gave to her father.
@@sneza3204 the point is: she is not doing anything but put gasoline on the fire, and he had actually started the conversation with a non-combative attitude. this could have ended differently, but she’s starting to drudge up old things, make inflammatory accusations, so he’s starting to go back to the old attitude and saying things i honestly don’t think he really means(because i think he really loved viserys and doesn’t believe everything he said about him), and so on. in this situation, internal conflict and misallignments are the last things they can afford. one thing she knows about him, however much of a mistery he might remain otherwise, is that he is temperamental and vulcanic. the whole, let’s fight till you go on again on your own and “take your own path,” instead of “let’s decide to be cleverer in the future and not do things without really drawing our plans out in as much detail as possible” will cost them this war. i mean, it’s idiotic to the point of no tomorrow and back. and i actually would have wanted her to win and become queen, but clearly she’ll lose everything the way things are going.
@@monicad99 I'd say, that maybe she broke somewhere alongside her way. At this point, she tries to hold everything together, when everything goes completely sideways. When she said "I want Aemond Targaryen", she didn't expect that Daemon would step right into Action. She is a stragetic player; like she said to Jace, that "naught is to be done but my command". By stepping into Action, Daemon literally took the leash out of her hands; but she has to deal with the damage. It was extactly this, she was trying to avoid. Internally, she must have had the feeling, that her efforts are torn apart, and therewith her promise she gave her father. She lost her father, whom she loved; she lost him to Alicent, and therewith trust. She lost Ser Harwin; she lost her son. There was no letter reaching her, clarifying the incident above Storm's End. It's a boiling point, added one to another. And this heavy burden on her shoulders. Maybe she also got stuck, what to do and how, after her father married Alicent. I think that the first misconception of hers was, that Alicent is still the friend of childhood days; she didn't take into consideration, that Alicent could be not the person, she thought, she is. She thought only the best of her; and maybe trusted her. So yes, she is putting gasoline on fire, but only because she, so I would assume, became insecure. She is the one that will take the blame for something, she didn't want. She cannot afford misalignment, but she cannot afford either to do as is if was okay, when it is not. A child died. She is not his keeper, she is the Queen and he is the queen consort. But he doesn't act like it. He acts like Daemon; she only tried to clarify their situation and the ranking order.
First: I think that Daemon would have seen with pleasure the downfall of House Hightower. Would he wanted to have a child killed on purpose, having kids on his own and loving them ? No. It was by accident, tragically, but yes. The other important, way more interesting Question is, and I feel, that the hosts are really afraid to ask because of the answer is: WHY weren’t Heleana’s chambers guarded? There IS a commander of the kings guard and he was in bed with Alicent while it happened. Someone wrote, that Alicent loves Rhaenyra so much, that she wanted to have Criston Cole in Rhaenyra’s chamber, in her bed. I call this a solid vengeance. Daemon still clings on unsolved brother ship and vessels between this and Rhaenyra. Rhaenyra never experienced what her predaccessors did: war and fighting. The one thing she did not take into account was, to go through worst-case-scenarios. And she very much held up the vision of a peaceful realm; Viserys never prepared her, what might happen if ….
Alicent has failed all of her children. And Rhaenyra seems like an excellent mother. Which is wild and backwards to me because when they were teenagers I expected the opposite.
It's really sad to watch the consequences of generational trauma and neglect play out with the Greens. They can't evwn express that they care, and sometimes its questionable if they even DO care. Every generation of the Hightowers is just... incapable of showing love and it's what will destroy them. Fascinating stuff
last ep we saw rhaenyra run to comfort jace after he came back from his mission, but this ep alicent couldn’t get away from aegon fast enough when she walked in on him crying. it’s really just so interesting (and tragic)
It’s all a big, tragic cycle when it comes to the hightowers. Otto not knowing how to comfort alicent- alicent not knowing how to comfort aegon- and aegon unable to comfort helaena.
the show is fast and loose about the children and grandchildren, they're magically pretending Aegons 2nd son Maelor doesn't exist while waiting till just this episode to mention Aegons younger brother Daeron.
I strongly disagree that team green is in the lead.Aegon also murdered many rat catchers which pissed off a lot of The kingdoms small folk. at this point, those who believe that Rhaenyra actually killed that the young child (not the actual true prince”-from the rumors, are now also believing that aegon is also crazy and that at this point everyone’s crazy. So I don’t agree that team green I s the win, they would have been if Aegon didn’t kill every single rat catcher in the palace.
Im almost feeling sorry for the usurper ! How, i mean what kind of mother is Alicent Hightower ? She abandoned her son when he needed her the most again to go and fu*k Cole ! She's a monster! Im shocked with this episode! I loved it ! But hey ...I feel even sad about this ep😢
I was so pissed at Alicent in that moment. She's such a terrible mom (and person). She wants power so bad but refuses to admit it to herself and is forsaking her own blood for selfish reasons.
she keeps going on and on about how she (and otto) will be able to manipulate aegon, but she refuses to actually DO the manipulating. moments like that where he’s crying and looking for comfort are prime moments for her to be like “there there, btw do what i want you to do, don’t listen to the others”. for someone who wants to scheme and rule from the shadows, she certainly doesn’t do a very good job of it.
Exactly! And she did that right after she wanted a listening ear from her own father and confess her sins. Yet he didn’t want to hear it. Then she walked away angry. And then she does the exact same thing to her own son! While his grief seems a lot more serious than feeling guilty over getting some D
It isn't a reality check. It's hipocresy hitting on Otto's face: Otto is the first who had schemed,lied and killed for having Aegon on the throne against his wishes. He spent a life neglecting Aegon so he could be a puppet to rule through him.
Otto is a hypocrite who was just angry that he couldn't control Aegon the way he did Viserys. All the bad things Aegon did this episode Otto also did it or try to do it. Aegon wanted to assassinate Rhaenyra to avenge his son while Otto wanted to assassinate her right from the beggining. And Otto himself is no stranger to hanging inocent people. All the things he scolds Aegon for, he also did it.
@@user-rm9pz2qf2sit was still a very similar talking down to, almost like he thought 100% it would work and he would have the final word just like Tywin. I think it’s aegon who’s the difference. He’s no Joffrey in many ways
With such a great show and great material, I thought HBo would have the best podcast…. Couldn’t finish listening and went to other channels. These two are too hard to listen to. One is histrionic, the other comatose. It doesn’t work
Cole's plan wasn't terrible. It was much better than what Daemon did last episode sending just 2 dudes (one of which is maybe an OK fighter) to kill freaking Aemond.
Literally how was his plan better? At least Aemond did some damage, causing chaos within the green side. Aegon now is descending into madness causing Otto (who was literally one of their smartest players) to leave. Like he said, people will now question Aegon's right to rule because he hung innocent men in the street. All crispy cole did was send Arryk to his death, while Erryk also died, his "plan" literally did nothing of great value for team black. It was thoughtless and dumb, weakening their side further lol.
No, its worse by far. Those "two dudes" are nobodies and team black has some plausible deniability when it comes to sending them. A Kingsguard answers to the King, so Aegon has no deniability whatsoever.
@@fang3982he was nearly sucessfull. And if he had succeeded Rhaenyra's claim would pass to Jace whom everyone know is a bastard and not a legitimate heir which would lose her a lot of allies. And the thing is that many would have seen it as Aegon merely avenging his son by targeting the person that is believe to ha e given the order rather than the target of someone inocent. The biggest flaw was not to give a crew to assist Arryk. And Rhaenyra nearly being killed because Daemon's actions does drive a wedge in the black faction.
@@nebuloushammer8773who cares about "plausible deniability"? If two randos assassinate the king's son soon after Rhaenyra's son has been murdered anyone not completely braindead knows whose work that was. And Aegon's plan didn't require any deniability it only needed to succeed, they are already at war, it's not like he needs to cover up the fact that he wants his sister dead
@@pg1448 At this point killing, Rhaenyra would just make Jace king. Jace already negotiated personally with Arryn and Stark for support, so they know him personally. There are others with a motive to kill Jaehaerys. For example, Aemond would also be a likely suspect. He is already a kinslayer, when he killed Luke. Blood and Cheese snuck in through his quarters. What is another nephew to make himself the heir to iron throne?
GAMES of Thrones. Think our Politicians are any better? Where are the Morals to make good choices! Let’s see THE DRAGONS!!! They do what brings Money and Power
Why wouldn't they have someone that really knows the show and books and can analyze it rather than these two saying how bad Daemon is and pathetic and that Rhaenyra should lock him in a dungeon 😂
You guys are upsetting me talking about Daemon as if he asked for this! Didn’t Rhaenyra ask Daemon to be on her side and MARRY HER!?!? He’s LOYAL HES ALL ABOUT TEAM BLACK!!! He struck a CHILD, so just like that she forgets about her own CHILD LUKE!!???? This is BS , team black is acting WEAK and DAEMON IS THE ONLY ONE TAKING ACTION IF THIS IS REALLY WAR!!! I know if anyone of us lost our own child we would see nothing but RED RUM.
Agree with you. In this world you have to be decisive. Look it what happened to Dany waiting to take over KL. She wanted to do that after losing Highgarden but was advised otherwise. Aegon the Conqueror didn’t mess around. You snooze, you lose in this world.
Daemon - A helpful soldier 🤣. Daemon is the fu****g rouge prince, He is not a goody-to-shoes character. Book Rhaenyra is not so innocent like the show, She wanted as much blood spilling as Daemon. Book Daemon and Rhaenyra are both selfish, violent and hot-headed Targryens. But Ryan Condal and his team wants a simple show of Good and Evil tropes for the simple-minded audience who doesn't understand grey matters. Unfortunately Goerge RR Martin loves to write morally grey characters that HBO can't potray. Rhaenrya was no saint and villainising Daemon will not change that fact. Daemon is a Targaryen Prince who is the vanguard of Valyrian Targaryenism. He was selfish like other kings or monarchs. Daemon is not a foot soldier of Queens Bidding. Don't forget that Rhaenyra wanted to marry Daemon to bolster Her claim. Without Daemon who will fight Rhaenyra's war Huh Her "Strong" boys aren't capable ennough to even pinch Aemond, Aegon and Criston. Corlys was a old man past his prime and Rhaenys was not interested to fought Her war. Without Daemon Rhaenyra's claim is just a hollow claim with no substance. All the lords who supported Rhaenyra during Dance knew that Daemon was the one who was spearheading Rhaenyra faction. Daemon was the biggest asset She had and due to him her sons Aegon and Viserys live to rule Westeros after the dance.
100% this. They don't seem to know the lore nor understand the characters' personalities, priorities, and ambition. The only reason I listen is for the guests. David Lightbringer would be a far superior host.
Really struggle with the hosts. They don't seem to know the lore nor understand the characters' personalities, priorities, and ambition. The only reason I listen is for the guests. Perhaps not the right people for this. David Lightbringer would be a far superior host.
Hate the tone of this podcast. Anyone who has moral values seems to be placed as the hero. You should be able to see passed this and enjoy the character. Calling Daemon pathetic is ridiculous.
I'm so close to quitting the show, there was so much potential for the drama and exploration of Aemond's character and his relationship with his family after the first season and you basically wrote him off the show because his screen time is RIDICULOUS. Even new characters no one cares about have more screen time and dialogue. Shame on you, HBO. Sidelining your popular and interesting character makes no sense. And for Criston Cole? Insane.
@@ianschmitt4991they really went with the worst rumors for Aegon and went full speed ahead while filing off all the edges on the smug C word of Dragonstone. I meant more so in George RR Martin writes these very complex human characters so sometimes you have these bad guys doing this great things or good guys doing terrible things and I feel like characters like Jamie Lannister, the Hound, and Aegon are all perfect examples of that. You get to go on a roller coaster and see a wide range of emotions and see these characters at their highs and lows.
@@berserk4souls You justify him as a typical Martin character and then go onto to refer to Rhaenyra as the "c word of dragonstone". You lack self awareness.
Not a good episode. Every TV series the second episodes are always throwaway episodes. This is no exception to the rule. Too much dialogue and 2 short clips of dragons. Caraxes for 10 seconds and Moondancer from 3 miles away for 15 seconds
@@berserk4souls Well it is called House of The Dragon. what if you bought spaghetti and meatballs and then when you got home, it was all spaghetti and one meatball? I mean, technically you can call at that, but you probably would have something to say about it.
@@goMANgo84I think you are watching the wrong show. Given your intellect you should dabble into some latest Fast and the Furious and Marvel stuff. Sombre and meditative moments are too much for your brain.
@@rishabhaniket1952 And you’ve ascertained my level of intelligence from one comment? You should “dabble” in cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, or just psychology in general because you must be truly gifted. However, your suggestion for alternatives leaves more to be desired.
