Sorry I had to re-upload this because HBO blocked it. Surviving that charge will add fuel to Daemon's fire. Baby Aegon really changes things, but now Viserys has made a promise to stick with Rhaenyra. Let me know what you think.
I think thankfuly finaly they had an Great Hunting Scene for the King! Not that Mini Scene with 4 Guys in the Woods like in GoT Season 1. 🤣 As if the King of Westeros would take just 3 Guys with him when he goes out for hunting. Here we see the Budget Differences.
laenor isnt gay in the books 2. among daemon's men there was a asian guy..... is the brother of his 2nd wife or is he a relative of his wife secret character early devoplment/scene they showed his face 2-4 times
Right!!! And what's crazy is I haven't seen a single one of these Review breakdown shows even mention this, He talked at the beginning then didn't speak a single word after..........The way they've been using facial expressions and body movement has been awesome and been some of the best scenes
Lord Strong should be the Hand of the King. He seems much more capable and he always gives advice that isn't for the good of his house but for the good of the realm.
One thing I appreciated for the Daemon scene is that when he paused to get a kill - he got shot. That long standing pause to get behind, hold, and slice someone down should've got him nailed, and it did.
Excellent recap and opinions. Appreciate the second effort to post as watching is an important part of the series' total viewing experience for us. The series is getting better and should be well worth investing time in. Thanks again, Pete.
Rhaenyra walking through the camp covered in blood and everyone staring at her, I think, is an interesting moment because it shows that even though the Realm is ruled by a King, a man, the Princess shows that she is much more hands on than he is (despite the nature in which the boar was killed) and arguably a lot tougher than him, a man. It's spelled out for everyone here that women are not below men, and yet, none of these characters are probably having these thoughts despite them clearly being impressed to some degree.
Imagine if she did come back with the White Stag? That would be something. No idea what's in the book, but It was already being portrayed as a sign that whomever it showed up for was the chosen one. And it didn't show up for Aegon, it showed up for her. That would have been a major mic drop if she came back with that.
@@TangoNevada And what was even better, in some ways, was that by the White Stag showing up for her, it gave her the confidence she needed, knowing the truth, and yet she's not so insecure nor vain that she needed to tell everyone. She knows the truth and that's enough for her. Love it.
So glad you decided to continue reviewing these. Such excellent commentary. Not just a rehash of what I just saw.Without saying a word, the crab feeder was one of the creepiest villians I've seen.
I enjoyed the episode. I like the white stag symbolism to the princess being chosen, and what it could mean for Rhaenyra to spare the stags life. I am hoping the musical dude is a tease to Mushroom 🍄 actually being on the show. I noticed a great deal but I need to rewatch it
Good Episode, I just had a question. In the beginning they said it would make the King/Throne look weak if he helped out in the battle in the stepstones. I see it as the opposite. If he helped out earlier, it would show that Daemon and the Sea Snake couldn't get it done and they needed saving by the King. That would make him look stronger. Now that Daemon won the war, now it makes the King look weak.
So they were fighting in Stepstone for how long 2 years? And eventually their plan was for Daemon to walk out alone onto the beach and draw everyone out of the cave..? And then dodge 500 arrows, kill like 10 soldiers, get shot in the chest and knee, get up and RUN into the cave to kill Crabfeeder (which we don't see). And that's it? Establishing some solid plot armor already!
Wow that hunt scene was amazing (in contrast to Robert Baratheron who hunted himself). It was shown in Viserys' face that he was discomforted by this and understood there was no "honor" in only taking the killshot after others did the work.
@@stupidminotaur9735 Seriously? I seem to remember plenty of horses and background characters throughout season 1, riding from Winterfell to Kings' Landing etc.
The missing hunt scene was always GRRM's least favorite scene of the show. And I think Viserys was miserable having to kill the stag because he saw the poor beast, who was a symbol of royalty, getting pulled by ropes in four different directions, scared and helpless, and saw himself in the stag. Viserys doesn't need to feel pulled in every direction, he could simply be strong and take decisive actions as his daughter was able to do in E2 when she flew to get the egg back from Daemon, but that's not who he is. He's well-meaning but weak and it will be his downfall. Loving all the moving parts of this show.
I’m so glad you decided to do the episode by episode recaps. You give enough context from the source material when it’s needed for deeper understanding but not to point out every tiny detail or Easter egg. I’m not knocking those who are looking for that; I just find that level of detail harder to follow since I’m not reading the book. I hope the views keep making this worth the effort for you, as I look forward to your recaps to make sure I’m not missing anything!
Glad to see the re-upload. Watched last night and wanted to re-watch this analysis again this AM. Having read the book and because of the nature of the book, I almost feel like that puts you at a weird disadvantage, as how things were recorded were not necessarily how they happened. Although it is also an insightful comment on history generally and I am enjoying both book and series so far.
Ok ok it's just a story but the whole "Crab Eater's men were winning by staying in the caves" angle didn't' work for me. Block or collapse the openings to the caves with stones and let them starve and rot in there. Not that difficult.
Such gorilla war tactic have worked for the people of Dorne who resisted the Targereyan dynasty by strategically hiding in caves and starving their enemies. It also has worked in our world for the Viet Cong, the Taliban and the list goes on Dragons are nuclear weapons but not an assured victory in every context. Tactics and strategy still matter
A lot of things don’t make sense in this show or are just plain stupid I just can’t take this show serious especially with the race swapping they did to corlys
@@andilezulu292 doesn’t always work worked in Vietnam cause they where inland and could re supply or move locations same for the Middle East but in this show they are on a island so they could basically just siege the island and starve them out or fight them all the way down into there caves just like the marines did in Japan
@@lorddaquanofhouserastafari4177 Oh fuck off - if you're so pissed at HOTD why are you even commenting? I'm so sick of y'all being able to tolerate fantastical beasts and magic but somehow not black people in central roles. Like honestly wtf, do you realize how big George RR Martin's world Is? And how he himself has commented on the disappointing and irrational absence of people of color within traditional fantasy.
@@lorddaquanofhouserastafari4177 You are missing a great dramatic performance from that actor SIMPLY because he is black. If that isn't racist discrimination, idk what is
Loved the look of Sea smoke I think they nailed it from the description in Fire and Blood. A little disappointed we didn't get a 1 on 1 with daemon and crab feeder, what's the deal with a song of ice and fire adaptations not giving us the 1 on 1 fights we deserve! The night king being another example. Overall good episode, love your breakdowns.
Do you really believe that the crab feeder with his greyscale ridden, half rotten body would put up a fight worth watching? he might be very good at skirmishing with his troops and playing hide-and-seek against dragons, but he certainly can't fight himself.
And furthermore, really, the idea that swordfights are long, tiring contests where people bash on each other for dozens of strokes until one gets a tiny little nick and then fights on - well no point in REALISM when it's not "OUR truth," right? Hey, go find a couple of swords, sharpen 'em up, give one to your Worst Enemy, tell him/her you really, really mean it, then bash on each other... umm, waiting for a NICK? Which causes an OWIE? Ahem. Along the same line, quite a few people were just keeling over DEAD from arrows, but DeeDee got shot twice, yanked one, broke off the other and THEN went and kilted the Krabster. How did he even get put in charge anyway...
For me the moment where Viserys reassured Rhaenyra she would still be heir, was also filled with foreshadowing. He said he would be honest with her and admitted he had briefly considered naming Aegon. But it makes the audience think, if her own father considered it himself, it's likely a lot of the realm isn't going to accept her either. It was telling that Daemon would rather die than not win the war all on his own. What's impressed me most so far is that the quality of the episodes has remained consistent.
I have a theory: (I hadn’t read the books, no book spoilers pls) Rhaenyra said that hogs make little children-ish screams when slaughtered. And she seemed to be very passionate while stabbing the hog that attacked her. Which led me to believe she fantasies over killing her younger brother Aegon. So, maybe her father will break his swear and make Aegon his heir, and then she will have him killed to ensure her legacy
I'm re-reading Fire & Blood and they are doing a great job at expanding the narrative. So much was glossed over in the text, and I think GRRM has given some critical character development. This episode was great. I wish they would tell us in opening how many years they are jumping, but seeing how old little Aegon is was enough for me. I really loved how the King didn't do battle with the stand-in Elk, but Rhaenyra actually saw it. There was a connection there. Interestingly, Daemon did major battle, as well as, Rhaenyra. It just underscores his weakness. You're right ..these folks are hard to like. But I'm liking Alicent more each episode.
I just finished re-reading Fire and Blood as well, and Emily Carey's portrayal of Alicent has been one of the biggest surprises for me. Without spoilers, I always considered Alicent a villain, but I love what they've done with her for the show. It just illustrates that historical texts rarely are able to tell you who a person really was, only what they did, and were rumored to say. I have tons of sympathy and admiration for the show version of young Alicent.
Beside the fact that the number of soldiers attacking Daemon was more than it should have been I really loved the battle scene and Matt Smith performance. The man didn't even say a word during the whole thing. Not to mention the smile he gave when he read his brother' message.
Yeah it's weird. It was both way more than it should have been, but also not enough. Plus how are caves a sanctuary and not just a hole you get stuck in. Just camp outside with your dragons, they will have to come out sooner or later. I couldn't help but laugh when they were discussing battle strategy and saying there is no reason for them to come out of their caves. Meanwhile two soldiers are passing a pouch of water to each other. I'm like, there's your reason. Just do a siege.
One thing I can’t understand is the complete lack of Arryns on the show. I looked up the background lore and found the current Lady of the Eyrie is likely a cousin to Aemma and Rhaenyra, but Rhaenyra is still half-Arryn. You’d think that they’d be her biggest champions right now.
The Arryns are secluded in the vail, and there is no mention in the book of any of them besides Aemma, and Ranyra being in kings landing before the war starts, they really don't play a big role in this story until the very end
I really liked that in the scene where Viserys promised Rhaenyra that he would not replace her, he called her back as she was leaving and admitted what she clearly already knew: that he wavered on this momentarily at one point but assured her that he was wavering no more.
Well that’s what happened to sir Jorah Mormont but who knows a lot of shit in this show don’t make sense don’t get me started with the battle scene it was so goofy
I am really happy with all the details and backstory. I think having GRRM there is a huge asset ! I agree top moments for me were drunk Viserys and the Break-bones smirk after Rhaenyra returned with the boar 🤣
I uploaded it the first time about ten hours ago and then a few hours later they blocked it. I thought they might clear the dispute quickly but no such luck.
Hi Pete! I'm a huge fan of your reviews and videos, but not such a big fan of the GOT universe. Do you have a new series you'll be diving into soon? Thanks!
How much embellishment/deviation from the book has there been? Show has been pretty awesome so far, but I may just be a noob seeing as I haven’t read the book (oops). It seems like having GRRM around has had a good effect(?).
The whole surrender flag scene is so funny. The two forces are separated by a body of water. Daemon and supporting forces are under no direct threat. Why wouldn't they simply said away if necessary?
He’s actually a really good actor but the scenes he’s been given are pretty stupid I think they did this on purpose to draw attention to his niece stupidly
Alicent telling Rhaenyra with a smile on her face that pregnancy isn’t so bad (even though her mother literally died from one) is so in character. She’s hardly the innocent swept along by events casual viewers seem to think. She’s clearly her father’s daughter. The inscrutable expressions are all part of her game. From the moment she realized that she might well be queen it was on.
This series is just top 10 ever already. Prob besides things like first seasons prison break, death note, peaky blinders, sopranos, clone wars etc pls let me know your best series ever :)
Applause to the director and/or writer for showing that Drahar's hand is free while Daemon is dragging Drahar's remains by "material" (cloth and/or otherwise) around the arm/wrist area of the corpse. Daemon at least is not directly pulling the remains by the hand of the remains. The digits/fingers to the remains are extended because Daemon isn't holding the hand of the corpse. At least the director and writer were thoughtful enough to not have Daemon directly pull the corpse by a hand-to-hand _"greyscale grasp."_ The blood on Daemon's face..Ha..I guess if that isn't at least partially Drahar's blood it is to be attributed to Daemon's battlefield theatrics. Although, while eyeing Drahar immediately before Daemon then runs to the cave entrance in pursuit, Daemon is shown without any blood _(his own nor the blood of a foe)_ on his face.
I wish there was more said about the princess and her slaughter of the boar. It’s more than just her being extraordinary. It’s symbolic of her grit and the absence of her father’s. For the most part, they all crow on too much about silliness. Still, I loved this scene.
When it comes to the succession it was really now or never. If it had been changed now it would probably would have been excepted by the princess and the supporters she does actually have but not now. After this any change to the succession was always going to be a slap in the face people couldn’t take without response. The problem is the hand thinks the princess should just except this being taken away from her. I don’t think he even thinks it’s possible she will do something in response to what he wants to do. If he’d tried talking to her about this I think there’s a chance he could have got what he wanted.
very good episode assessment with all characters. In the book, the two women Rhaenyra and Alicent are not close friends, so makes their trajectory more likely & understandandable- TV wanted additional drama I suspect
The series is very good so far, my only gripe is that the characters are all somewhat copies of the ones from the parent show, in terms of attitude, I mean. Rhaenyra is an amalgam of Daenerys and Arya, Otto as Littlefinger/Varys, Viserys as King Baratheon/Ned, Deamon as a lite version of Joffrey, Alicent as Catelyn/Sansa, Mysaria as Shae, etc... Hope future episodes/seasons will give them more personality of their own. On the positive side: DRAGONS! MORE DRAGONS!!!
The continuity mistakes and the CGI mistakes are annoying. Laenor is wearing silver armor in one scene when his dragon Seasmoke is attacking with fire and in the next scene yet when his dragon is strafing the archers he's wearing brown armor in the saddle. When Visaeris is giving the message to the messenger for Daemon, you can see that he has 2 green screen finger caps on his fingers that were supposed to have lost. Yet they failed to green screen out his fingers. I hope this isn't signs of future quality like it was for Game of Thrones when shit started going down in quality. And this is only the 2nd episode.
Finally someone with a brain haha I noticed a lot of weird things too like the armor of kings guard looks so fucking cheap man haha haha 😆 and re watch the battle scene the arrows in the background that miss daemon look like a glitch they look off
I've watched GOT more times than I care to admit and apart from the final season being fudged due to being a rush job, I consider it a masterpiece. This new series is not compelling me to watch like that did. I am not saying it is bad, but so far it is lacking a few of the things I liked so much about GOT. The acting is high quality, but the writing lacks the wit of GOT so far at least. Those memorable dialogues and one liners etc. GOT had such great characters played so well, but so far this one has good acting but lacks that special something, e.g., the great lines for characters like Tyrion or The Hound. Pace is slow and the content appears a bit toned down compared to GOT too. I am hoping it is just getting started with character and plot development. Is the series lacking D&D's writing skills as maligned as they are? (perhaps unfairly, because they just had to do what the studio bosses told them to do and finish it in 8 episodes when it really needed about twice that to tell the story well)
I was just thinking about this too. I found that by episode 3 of GoT, I was already deeply attached to certain characters as well as interested in what was going on. And the writing was absolutely exceptional. So I started thinking about Succession…in that series, I had a very hard time empathizing with any of the characters almost for the entirety of the first season, yet I pushed through and now it’s my absolute favorite show. So I was wondering if this might be like that…slow for me to get attached to any of the characters. I’m hoping that’s the case because the writing of the dialogue scenes in this show is not as strong as either GoT or Succession, and I don’t think that will change. While I believe many lines and scenes were lifted from the book, I still think that D&D added quite a bit that was not only wasn’t jarring but also added depth. It’s too bad season 8 happened because I think it’s really tarnished all their previous masterful handling of the books.
I think the episodes are getting better and better an I really enjoyed the opening and closing action scenes and all the political manipulation in the middle. I’m so glad you broke down the politics clearly. I agree that the performances are top notch and the production values are excellent
Enjoying the show, but tonight confirmed for me that we won't be getting something on the level of GoT S1-S4. The plot armor on Daemon at the end was so reminiscent of Jon Snow's in Battle of the Bastards. Kinda disappointing
Maybe I was expecting too much from this series. Sure it gets better each episode but I find its pace too slow, and for unknown reasons, I just can't dive into the series itself. It might have to do with the "viewing parameters" that is 1 hour episode a week. I only got into GOT this year, which allowed me to watch it in two weeks, and it makes a huge difference.
@Petepeppers - Please STOP the disclaimer about spoilers. If people are too stupid to understand theyre watching a BREAKDOWN video, then theyre too stupid to understand this show
I am struggling with this show. I watched the first episode and swore I was not going to get into it when I saw that underneath it was really just another show about who gets to sit on the Iron Throne. In many respects I do find the dialogue to be what I first enjoyed about the Game of Thrones series when it first began, but then I find myself thinking back to the fact that this is again just another story about who gets the throne and it feels like “been there and done that”. It’s like a fantasy version of Succession (another great HBO series) and overall, after GOT and Succession, I’m sort of bored with that type of drama. So far it’s ok but it’s not compelling (“must see”) to me. I will give it a few more episodes…
I’m exactly the same way about it I just can’t seem to get immersed or take it seriously no matter how much I hype myself up just feels like a cheap copy of GOT
as far as i care the first 3 episodes can be entirely summed up by "there was some discussion about the succession and a crabfeeder, who ended getting up a pretty shitty death"
The show is a 2/5 for me right now the conversations and story telling so far is bad and some of the armor looks cheap as hell and don’t get me started with the Rastafarian dude just riding a dragon like it’s nothing 🤦🏻
I call BS on the Crabfeeder falling for Daemon and House Valorian's white flag stunt. Why on Earth would someone who can readily walk away(or fly away) from the battle surrender and subject himself to a certain horrific death as if he were the one corned in the cave???????? The entire Valarian army could have just stopped fighting and left at their will. There was no need to surrender let alone have a high ranking officer or noble leave the safety of a remote location to deliver the news. You surrender to save yourself and/or your troops from slaughter because you are corned or out of supplies and fleeing is impossible. Once Daemon came with white flag crossing alone over "no man's land" anybody with an ounce of common sense would know something is extremely fishy.
Why all contents about this TV series are the same? It seems they all are copycats! I haven't seen one video about the production itself. Here is another one comparing the episode with the book and of course with GOT.
Wow, that was quick, by the time I finished commenting the video was gone! Ah well, my comments boiled down to how even though the situations are stressful, I didn't hate most of the characters, not even Daemon... yet. They're all rich nobles that are concerned with the only things that matters to their own world view, none have truly shown cowardice or a level of greed beyond what they've been promised. But Otto is a bit of a dick. Oh! And that one curly haired Lanister that, I swear, looks like the actor from "Greatest American Hero." I couldn't unsee it!
Just me but so much seems so forced at this point. I know the charactersare flawed by design. Still, you have to show things working well for a few episodes befre you start blowing up your world.
@16:50 Can fire harm a "real Dragon"? Look at Daemons neck in that frame. Looks like that arrow he got hit by, when he first showed up on caraxes and was shot at by Crabfeeders men, actually burned him. Should that be possible for a full blooded Targaryen? hmmmm. Also the reason The Crabfeeder and his men are in the Stepstones in the first place is to prey on Westerosi ships, couldn't the forces bait them with ships waiting for the Essos men to come out of their caves to plunder and attack them then? Hmmmm. On the whole "those with power ....", and "others pain and suffering ...." bit, it's the middle ages where this universe perpetually exists in (because of dragon power), there's widespread pain and suffering for most in this world, no matter what those in power chose or don't choose to do with their power, it's not that fragile, the common people won't immediately be elevated due to one king or immediately damned due to another, there are slight shifts depending on the goodness of any particular ruler, but people are still not taking baths in this world, they're foraging through dirt, farming, and no refrigeration, there's almost nothing but suffering for the vast majority. Hmmmm.
@@leykimayri Yeah, she was only supposed to have survived unscathed from Drogo's funeral pyre due to the blood sacrifice of Mirri Maz Duur. I'm guessing the burning of the Dosh Khaleen temple isn't book canon.
@@AlerieHightower Depends on what is considered as “blood magic”, because if the burning of one person made Daenarys fireproof, I guess the burning of multiple Khals and their bloodriders will probably make Daenarys not only fireproof but also control fire, lol 😂 Kidding, who knows, the books haven’t reached that far, so only G.R. Martin knows what will happen to the Khals
@@missArsenal18x the costume department said that the string mops they used for the valeryons heads wouldn't stay on the actors so they had to use gorilla glue. Look it up! Educate yourself
laenor isnt gay in the books 2. among daemon's men there was a asian guy..... is the brother of his 2nd wife or is he a relative of his wife secret character early devoplment/scene they showed his face 2-4 times
I just read Fire and Blood for the second time, and all of Archmaester Gyldayn's sources cite or imply that Laenor Velaryon was gay. It's literally one of the only things that Mushroom's and the Septon's accounts agree on. I don't know why that seems to bother you so much. Also, Daemon never married Mysaria, so I think you're reading too much into that one actor. I won't spoil non book readers on who Daemon's second wife actually is.
I don’t think it’s that she isn’t taking her role as heir seriously. She wanted to be queen but now that there is a male heir she never will be. Also FUCKING CLUBFOOT!!!
I loved the episode except for the final battle and how they handled the war over all. This wasn't the strongest episode imo simply because the delivery of the war and battle wasn't that great. It just didn't make sense. Throughout the episode they kept telling us how they were losing the war and they've been in war for the past 3 years. They made it seem like the Crab Feeder was a formidable foe, like he had some sort of special weapon or magic or some sort against the dragons. At the end you find out he had none of that. They were basically just held up in a cave which was pretty disappointing. How has the war lasted for 3 years lol. The set up and delivery was anti-climactic. Furthermore, we begin the battle scene with Corlys, his son, and men talking about how again they are losing the war and that Crab Feeder was held up in a tunnel funneling their opponents men into combat. They are basically using the same tactic as the Spartans in 300 to even out the playing field. In real life that is a great tactic, to funnel your opponent so you don't fight them all at once, only in portions. The plot hole with that is they have DRAGONS! 😂They could have easily torched that cave and BOOM, war is won. And if the dragons couldn't get close to the caves as they stated, they could have starved them in those caves. Just like surrounding a castle until they starve and give up during medieval times. They hammered it to us how they really needed the Crowns help and needed backup ASAP but apparently they just needed Daemon to wave a white flag and go through a gauntlet of soldiers in a very empty cliche moment in order to win.😂 The war and final battle was just handled all wrong... What they should have done was tell us Crab Feeder had a vast network of soldiers scattered around the islands and it's taken 3 years to exterminate, unnecessarily losing lives in the process because of Daemons arrogance, but final scene this was the last foothold. That would have been more believable. It doesn't matter how it was written in the book because the way they translated it into the show was weak. I also didn't like the time jump on this. It was really noticeable for me and felt removed from the show a little bit. I wish they had at least one season with all of the younger characters and I wish they would have dedicated at 1 or 2 episodes for the narration of the war, instead they did too much in one episode. I was diggin the first 2 episodes but after this one, I'm back have my guards up on being disappointed moving forward. I really hope they slow it down a bit. I have my fingers crossed this was just this episode and not how it's going to be moving forward.
I mean to be fair sieges can last for many years if the defenders have enough supplies to live off but admittedly they would never need to storm the caves, yes it would be slow and boring but just send the dragons to torch his fleet and neutralise him. Also it was such an obvious trap to have Daemon raise the white flag especially whilst the sky was cloudy and visibility was bad a dragon could approach anytime so I don't know why he fell for it. It should have showed the crabfeeders men getting desperate so the opportunity to negotiate was something that they really hoped to take advantage of which caused them to fall into the trap. And once daemon started fighting then it was too late to pull back as getting Daemons head was also a possible win condition for them.\ There was believable ways for it to play out but unfortunately I think they tried to cram it in at the end of the episode which didn't work super well.
Y is this series jumping time to time after every episode🤦 everytime i saw the first scene in every episode i thougt I've forget to see the previos episode 🤦
Great costumes, great visuals, great photography, great cgi (what is wrong with dragons neck?? too long in my opinion), everything is great. What do we need more from a tv show???? ......probably some interesting characters that we care about, better dialog, better acting. Overall this is a good documentary, a little boring for 3 hours of show, 1 hour should have been enough.
