HOTD S2 - Episode 2 is Outstanding 

I spent all night trying to appease the relentless copyright detection system and made about 40 iterations of this video. That’s why there’s a black screen towards the end of the video and trust me, for whatever reason YT’s system would not accept the video if that portion wasn’t a black screen. Even putting text there over the black screen caused the detection system to flag other parts of the video for some reason. I was basically rolling the dice with every export and hoping one passed. With that said, if I run into a similar problem next week which is likely, I might switch to using stills instead of short clips.

Otto: *vents to Alicent* Alicent: *tries to do the same* Otto: “wow that’s crazy, but I don’t remember asking”

Otto roasting Aegon and Criston was lovely to see.

Watching Rhaenyra and Daemon fight felt like watching my own parents fight. Incredible acting from them

I always hate it when people call Otto a lesser Tywin. Sure, he made mistakes, but let's not forget that Tywin was commanding one of the most powerful houses in the realm, while Otto is a second son with not a single bannerman to his name. It was a LOT harder for Otto to command the room and turn the kingdom to his advantage, because unlike Tywin he has no tens of thousands of soldiers and endless stores of gold to back up his words. He has to go by mostly on wit alone. He can't just threaten his way to success, he has to actually convince people and make them believe the ideas he plants in their head, are actually their own.

Imagine being hand to 3 kings, slowly working on and building your influence and power, only to have your grandson throw it all away by hanging some ratcatchers. Poor Otto. I've always found him to be the most interesting character even with all his cunning conniving. I love how characters like him and Tywin always have self-interest first but have so much more complex layers about them. Yes of course Aegon lost his child but obviously he can't simply act on impulses just because he is the king.

When Agon fires Otto you can see his brain go "Oh Sevens, not again"

Otto and Aegon’s actors absolutely SMASHED it this episode. Otto gave me such massive Tywin vibes and I loved it

After the episode finished, I audibly said to myself "That was by far the best episode of HotD made so far"

Deffinetly this seasons goes to Aegon and Haelena acting.

A portion of fans were disappointed that blood and cheese was more tame compared to the books. I’m honestly glad they focused more on the aftermath rather than the event itself, felt more somber, rather than shocking.

Episode 2 was just like peak GoT. If you found it boring, go watch Marvel.

It satisfies larys anyways because it's a confirmation for Larys that Aegon can be controlled by him now

Series NEED to be like this, need to be more DEEP, and more PROFOUND, not kids shit with ''Oh we are good they are bad, we want just action'' WE NEED EMOTIONAL SHIT, you need to make a MAN, look like a show and be at the end ''Wtf i just witness?''

As a French viewer, the addition of the subtitles is very appreciated :) ! (Even if I always understood most of what you said, that's great to be able to understand everything ! I'll offer you a baguette to thank you.)

Really makes me realise how starved we are of good media lately.

Absolutely agree with the comments on the small folk scenes! It was refreshing to get a glimpse of their lives in kings landing and it makes the experience so much more immersive instead of just watching the main characters. It was also giving me major early GOT vibes

I disagree on the twins part. I thought the screen time they had was perfect, and i felt that scene of them fighting thought it was a very powerful scene knowing their brothers

This episode solidifies my faith in Condal and his writers. It shows me they understand what makes GOT so incredible. Its not the battles or CGI but the conversations, and the politics. This ep is one of the greatest got eps ive ever seen. Wonderfully written, directed and acted.

I never thought I would be vouching for Otto but watching him roast Aegon and Criston was so satisfying.

I like to believe that during the twins fight, Arryk is the one that won (the one sent by Criston) but was so heartbroken by having to kill his loved twin brother, that he broke down and killed himself, apologizing to Rhae one last time for what he was about to do earlier and the mission he was sent on.

Otto's face of "I'm surrounded by idiots" is such gold. About your video you gotta love how they're striking your REVIEW because it has fragments from the show in it, while the entire episode is available to watch in 4K for free on the internet.

I think it was briliant that they made the twin fight so confusing

Matt Smith being a handsome brilliant actor has y’all thinking that daemon is a good person with a bit of a bad boy side but he is actually a monster.

I don’t see much discussion over the Funeral scene conveying Helaena’s autism. It only struck me once the cart started rocking that she was getting overstimulated and the jump cuts + crowd of reaching hands conveyed that anxiety wonderfully.

My favorite shot was the one forshadowing Aemond’s fate with that painting of Harrenhal behind him while he holds a coin with the seven pointed star over his eye.

Hugh, Alyn and Addam have enormous roles later on. Definately not wasted time

Honestly happy with the slower pace. I really love seeing how the actions affect the common folk and I also think a slower pace gives the characters more time to be believable people.

I felt so bad for Heleana, and hate how some people don’t get her character and called her a cold mother 🤡 She is a dreamer, and her mind isn’t always in the present. It must be so confusing, imagine if you can’t always control what’s your reality or not. But she HAS feelings, she feels more than everyone. Just as Plato said: The ones who love the most are the ones who say less

0:10 "crushes the scene with amazing acting" shows a clip of him literally doing that 😂😂😂

For the first time I felt bad for Otto, he actually loved Viserys and know he realizes how wise he was. Yes, Viserys was “peaceful” but that peace was hard to mantain, and he did it. I think Otto would’ve been a great hand for Rhaenyra in an alternative reality, he actually made her the heir😂

Aegon's perfomance doesn't fully convince me yet and I'm not sure why, I feel like there's something missing, but I'm happy to see people are really enjoying. I'm sure the actor's amazing and I'm hopeful for future episodes! 😊

Daemon is a DRAGON in every sense, no one can control him while Rhaenyra and her father were dragonriders who knew how dangerous is to lose their temper. Daemon is the fire and blood of the Targaryen

Game of Thrones is BACK baby

Excellent video! Wanted to add that I think Daemon is resentful bc Vizzy didn't choose him as his hand rather than his heir. He even says so in S01E01. Same reason he gave his driftwood crown to Vizzy back in S01, and Vizzy's crown to Rhaenyra in the finale. Daemon's ambition is the restoration of House Targaryen's glory, not his own. Being the guy behind the guy in charge suits him better than being the actual guy in charge.

Love your reviews and I mostly agree with you on everything. The episode was great and the cinematography is outstanding.

I agree with just about everything in this video, you make some great points. I'm surprised that you didn't really mention WHY Criston Cole was projecting on Eric. So far Criston's dishonored himself and his Kingsguard status time and time again, in worse and worse ways. First he broke his oath of celibacy, then full on murdered two innocent people in separate instances. In the last episode though, he 100% fails in his solemn duty as Kingsguard, his Prince being beheaded in the next room over while Criston continues violating his sacred vow of celibacy with Alicent. He totally could've stopped the assassination. This episode features a lot of scenes of him and Alicent dealing with the grief and guilt of their actions, Cole feeling that he's well beyond the point of redemption. The scene with him watching the servants dismantle the bed the Prince was murdered in is heavy for his character too. He witnesses the mattress soaked with the child he swore to protect's blood, and is forced to stand in shame as it's slowly carried right by him. I hate Criston Cole as a character. He acts like his honor is a big deal, but besmirches it as often as he can. Then he gets upset about it and takes his frustration out on others, usually to their detriment and his own benefit. He's extremely mentally unstable, having already tried to kill himself twice in the show so far because of guilt for his misdeeds. Scenes like what I described though really cement how much of a coward and bad person that he is, which in my opinion is extremely great writing.

I think you have a misunderstanding of how TV writing works; just because someone's name is tied on as the "writer" of THAT episode, doesn't necessarily mean they were the ones to "write" it. Often times it means they drew up the first draft before the writing team as a whole tackles it together, sometimes it doesn't mean that all. We have no idea what structure they're following in the HotD writer's room, but I can tell you without a doubt Sara Hess isn't writing these specific episodes on her own lol.

Shogun should fall in the Limited Series category at the Emmy’s, so HOTD might dodge that competition

I felt bad for Aegon. Sure, he is insane, but he truly loved his son and his death clearly broke him. Also him wanting to give the flock back to the farmer and wanting to be a good king in general makes him more sympathetic.

Otto is smarter than people think. He aint been around this long for nothing.

Phia Saban killed it!

"This high angle close-up of us looking down at Helaena [...] Will probably go down as my favourite shot from the season." Episode 4: Hold my fucking beer.

this was seriously one of the best eps of the entire show. wasn’t a fan of ep1 but man this one was TOO good

I found the Erryk and Arryk fight to be very emotional. We didn't spend much time with them but the idea alone that two twin brothers who spend their whole life together are forced to fight to death to do their duty and of course the incredible acting are enough to make the scene heartbreaking for me. In my opinion the best scene in the season so far

brother before I watch this video, I just gotta leave some appreciation for this 10/10 episode under here

8:37 rhaenyra’s line didnt feel like someone would say that/a bit too long/felt a bit like a writer was writing it personally (altho could have been the performance) but otherwise writing was perfect - wish we had writing like this in other shows

This episode was absolute garbage. I’ve read the books, I’ve watched the show, this was absolutely TRASH.

I thoroughly enjoyed this episode. It was so good! And I agree with your opinion that seeing the small folk actually makes Westeros feel more lived in. When Aegon says, "who cares about the fisher wives?" I immediately thought about the mother who rushed to the wall and saw her son. I also like them showing Hugh Hammer's (hope that's his name) family talking about the difficulties of getting food, and worrying over their sick daughter, it gives his future actions more weight because we don't just see him as dragon seed, he's a husband and father with relatable problems, and his decision to side with the greens or black will have a direct impact on his family (that we now have a small emotional attachment too).

My favorite episode of the whole show. The emotions, the storyline, all of it was perfectly crafted

Rrykbowl was more an analogy to the Targaryen family, than a character plot line in my opinion. Something that has "one soul, but two bodies" tearing itself apart due to political conflict. It's a bit on the nose but I like the symbolism regardless.

I wish to spill blood, not ink🔥

The lad who plays aegon is phenomenal.

I was very surprised by how quickly they killed off Erryk and Arryk! I thought we were going to see more of them before they died. It definitely didn’t have as much of an impact as it could have

We've gone two episodes in a row with a silent Alicent bath scene. I wonder if episode 3 will break the streak

I like how Alys is Corlys the leader of ships and Adam the Corlys aventurer But Hugh looks so bad (because of the family) on the sense of what he is going to do 😂😂😂

I only hope they actually give Daemon his flowers this season and don‘t make it out to be that Rhaenyra is the one doing shit lol. Daemon is the reason they even stand a chance

The acting here compared to all the crap on Disney is an amazing difference.

Daemons desire for vengeance while ignoring how he harms other people is for pure joy, in contrast to Aegon having loss his son, doing it out of anger and rage.

For me, it was the whole funeral scene. Many of the scenes of the show are either one-on-one debates or big CGI scenarios for battles. However, the funeral didn't commit to any of those types. It had the larger scale of a battle, but without any kind of violence. It hadn't either that much of communication between characters. So, it was, after all, a big scenario dedicated to portray the pain within Allicent and Haelena. And holly guacamole, how much they did. The crops in the air, the levels of the chariot they're on, the way their veils moves and deforms their faces... It was amazing. I got chills after chills after chills, from the moment the door opens to show the chariot, to the oats in the wind, to their close-ups... I love the amazing treatment the scene received. Normally, that display only appears on war scenes, so many women don't have the opportunity to appear in them. It was great see the role that the patriarchy has reserved to the women in Westeros and how they are expected to battle those wars. It truly conveyed the spirit of geat funeral scenes, both real and fictional, as Lady Di's one or The Godfather's one. A truly amazing scene.

Why I love HotD and early GoT is because they focus on buildup to the conflict rather than on action itself. You can really learn how intrigue, plotting, bad choices and coincidences can lead to big wars, and actual battles are just culminating points of this pot brewing. So I really enjoy how they drag on the episodes, because every little dialogue and seemingly minor decisions can alter the fate of the realm

What I loved about this episode was it made me feel for the greens in so many ways even if I still do not like them (Helaena aside, obviously). Otto specifically has me super intrigued as well as freshly unhinged Aegon. That house feels even less stable than a house of cards and it’s so great to watch it fight to hold.

In an interview, Tom Glynn-Carney compared Aegon to Richard II, and I tend to agree. Now every time I see him, I can almost see Richard II as he may have been during his reign. They are all great actors, and the show deserves load of awards.

Bro, this eps feels like old game of thrones season 1. So freakin solid

Crazy how executives like zaslav create a show like this see the reaction to the 1st 2 seasons single handedly revive an IP that was brutalized in final run and think man we really need more AI in art

this episode made me feeeeell for aegon

I actually find episode 2 a bit lacking. I asked myself if it was the acting, line or because nothing explosive happened yet except the twins. Then I realized non of it were lacking and I actually love how they slowly build up the plot. I looked at the time and the show were almost one hour but I find it too short. Then I realized I'm just too excited for the next episode and find it disappointing that there's no ep 3 yet. 😂 Lol.

Emmy timeframes are between 1st June and 31st May, so HOTD might actually be recognised for some well deserved performances by the cast and directors.

couldnt agree more, what a fantastic episode

I think it's great how they give depth to the greens too, many people are blinded by their fanaticism for the blacks and can't appreciate it. I feel like there are many layers to all the characters. Loved that scene with Aemond too and I'm starting to really like Otto.

House of Dragon where 80% of the characters or unlikable or villains. To me, that's why I'm here. No Good and Evil just two Prince's fighting over a throne, simple as.

Otto has been my favorite character the first episode and I think people will now finally understand why. I’m also so happy that this season is making both sides more level and not just making the blacks seems like the hero’s. Aegon has done horrible things, and unlike say, Joffrey who was cruel and sadistic and genuinely enjoyed pain, Aegon has done horrible things simply because he never seemed to know right from wrong, it’s not justifying either but it’s so refreshing that we actually see there is a human under all the drunken stupidity and debauchery. I can’t help but like Aegon. Edit: I didn’t care much for Cargyllbowl but my wife is an identical twin and she was very hurt by it, didn’t matter that we didn’t know these guys too well, she understood it in a way I never could.

its around GoT S06/07 quality

yes, the cinematography is phenomenal .

I actually thought the Arryk and Erryk scene was brilliant, even without us knowing too much about them. To me, this was about showing that the conflict between the royals, basically a family conflict, is getting so intense that now brother turns against brother. This was a scene that I felt served Rhaenyra's character so well, because she sees the damning consequences of her family's feud on people outside of their line. This isn't so much about Arryk and Erryk, but simply about people being embroiled in the Targaryens' conflict and being forced to spill each other's blood because of it. This is a taste for what is to come for Rhaenyra and I think she feels it deeply.

With the twins fight, it would have been more interesting if we, the audience, knew who won, but because the characters were confused and couldn't take a chance they execute the surviving twin rather than a suicide.

REMINDER, please don't refer to Emma as 'she' since, their pronouns are they/them. And it is really disrespectful to do otherwise.

How does every sentence u say have the same cadence to it? 😂

Emma D'Arcy uses they/them pronouns💕

Great video. I disagree with your take on the erryk/arryk confusion. I thought not knowing who was winning was important as it put us in the shoes of the queen, not knowing if she was safe or in danger.

Every episode is basically: Alicent tries to not sleep with Crispin challenge (IMPOSSIBLE??)

Also Otto was like what did you do now to everyone he see this episode

The dialogues on this episode were excellent! 👌✨️

I honestly didn't think Arryk and Erryk's roles were as insignificant. It was more than enough for me to value their characters' qualities. The confusing fighting scene symbolizes the absurdity of the civil war we are about to witness.

The word humanity should not be confused n the same breath as rhaenrya

This episode was top rank. I’m getting GOT feels all over again

If the assassin brother had defeated Eric and had pretended to be Eric after the fact, I think it would've been way better.

I thought the twin scene was perfect I cried lol

The reason why he chose Cole to be his hand is because that’s how it is I’m the books. He felt like Otto was too inactive whilst Cole was willing to show action. Also makes it more interesting cause Cole is having an affair with his mom which wasn’t in the books.

My only complaint is there should be valyrian conversations

Lowkey knew you would appreciate this episode

The Green Counsel was one of my favorites. Am I the odd man out? When Aegon's dad died was my favorite episode.

I think you're right about Layrs. Remember, the servant girl was on that floor when no staff should have been there, so she 100%% knows what Sir Crispy was doing instead of guarding the prince. Layrs is going to tell Aegon and Aegon will send Crispy off to go fight hence the short hair cut in the trailers and his goodbye to Alicent

In the book, no one knew which Cargyll twin was which, so I think that the show was going for the same. I thought that it was great.

Thanks for pointing out that you also found the twin fight a bit underwhelming. The BTS clips were praising it so much and I'm wondering if I'm alone

This episode was on par with peak GOT and Succession, this episode didn't need any action to be great (the twin fight was amazing) the writing and character exchanges were amazing. Haven't seen anything this good in universe since maybe early S7 GOT.

Not to be too spoilery but 5:10 those characters they're showing are not just "commonfolk" they're very important later on in the story but they're introducing them now to develop their character and motivations despite you not knowing why they're doing that if you haven't read the books. If anything they're easter eggs for bookreaders and treats for people who will rewatch this series.

I though the period for this years Emmys ended in May? Id love them to be in contention this year but i think starting in June pushes them into the 2025 'TV' year.

Appreciate that the show doesnt treat the viewer like a child.

As much as I loved Rhys' performance this episode, Anthony Starr absolutely deserves that best actor Emmy for his S04E04 portrayal of Homelander