House of the Dragon S2E02 live Q&A discussion 

The lone wolf dies, but Cheese's dog survives.

Its a small thing but i love how jace and beala were able to openly talk about harwin strong, like he knows shes not using it to try and make fun of him, but shes just actually interested in what hes thinking and feeling. It also somewhat shows the hints of hoe corlys and rheanys are able to actually talk to each other truthfully

Every time Christon fails he gets a promotion it seems.

Otto roasting Aegon was very satisfying

Otto remembering viserys and finally kind of acknowledging viserys was needed .

the twins killing each other almost had me crying. i felt so bad for them both.

I guess you could say they Hughmanized the Hammer

The acting in this episode was top notch.

The realism of watching in between him killing his brother and When falls on his sword is such that it’s disturbing. It removed the idea of romanticism that act that’s often implied when it’s in a book and destroys it. Like you can see in his face the mental space of someone who decided that’s the best option they have and can’t live with what they did. Pretty incredible.

I like how the Hull brothers see dragons, nobles and beasts,from different perspectives: Alyn saw the destruction of the war and how dragonriders have so much power. Nobles can destroy the common people lives with their wars. Adam sees a flying dragon as a symbol of both power and freedom. Having the Velarion patronage, and by consequence helping the "dragon" queen, could help him stop being a common lowborn with his hands in the mud.

The thing I find most interesting is that Larys DEFINITELY was suggesting to Aegon that he be had his hand. He just happened to do it to the most politically inept person in the family, so he Aegon just picked whoever was nearest to him that he happened to like at the time. This is going to stir up some shit between Criston and Larys. Larys is going to try and blackmail Criston with his and Allicent's relationship, but do you remember what Criston did to the last guy that tried to blackmail him over a sinful relationship? He got his head smashed inside out at a wedding.

Is Helaena making the opening credits tapestry? She was too sad/busy to update it this week

Otto: schemes to put aegon on the throne Otto: knows aegon isnt loved and gets abused (does nothing, adds to it) Otto: knows aegon takes his hurt out on others (does nothing) Otto: knows aegon doesnt want to rule (doesnt care) Otto: knows aegon knows nothing about ruling (doesnt teach him anything) Otto: forces a grieving and angry aegon to parade his freshly dead son when he doesnt want to Otto: insults aegon Aegon: fires him Otto: surprised pikachu face

the main difference between hotd and got for me has been the use of violence and sex as narrative tools. nothing feels gratuitous and always feels like it’s being used to meaningfully develop characterization/plot. really appreciate the change

Otto's "I don't wanna hear it" sounded like it actually meant "I really don't want to know anything in case I'm under trial or in dungeons with Larys".

Otto: "CAN YOU PLEASE JUST BE NORMAL?! Aegon: "I'm gonna make Criston the hand of the king!"

I swear seeing the funeral carriage get stuck had me thinking the kids body was going to fall and his head would roll off. The show runners threatened to make it worse.

What I liked about Aerrykbowl is that I lost track on who is who. I was even wondering if the extra Kingsguard was gonna murder the survivor no matter who the survivor says he is, just to be sure.

It was heart wrenching watching Halaena. Literally had to pause a few times. Very painful.

I like the idea that Arryk was the one who fell on his sword after killing his brother. During their fight, he realised how much the conflict had taken from him. So he apologised to Rhanerya and took his life for going against his vow to protect the Queen.

Damn I can't believe they got Cheese. That poor dog.

Couple of thoughts... The fascinated choice to show Alicent's physical grief/guilt mimicking Rhaynera's, whilst in labour, post Luc death. Her body language at the start of the episode was leaning over a table deep breathing and rocking, then pacing about with her hands on her lower back and focusing, mentally, internally. Some really fascinating mirroring and linking of the two characters by showing their physical grief as the same, even though one was in actual premature labour. The depiction of Heleana suffering as an autistic woman; completely overwhelmed, over stimulated, and suffering panic attacks trying to withdraw and crawl out of the wagon was one of the best depictions of autism in a long time. I was crawling over the back of the couch triggered and mimicking her. ❤

I loved that during their fight you couldn't tell which twin was which. Because it didn't matter. It doesn't matter which side you're on, it results in the same pain and death. I'd like to think it was Arryck who apologized to Rhaenyra, understanding how meaningless all this violence is.

I love the through lines of the scenes for Baela/Jace, Aemond/Sylvie, and Hugh. The Baela/Jace scene concludes with Jace saying he misses Luke and in the next scene Aemond admits his remorse for killing Luke to Sylvie. She concludes that scene by telling Aemond the actions of angry princes affect the smallfolk like her, and then we transition to Hugh's situation as one of the struggling smallfolk. Great use of runtime and pacing in service of character building and plot *Chef's kiss*

Criston was A Bed, but Aemond was A Bed the whole episode. Meanwhile Rhaenyra was attacked while she was A Bed in Dragonstone, coincidence, I think not!

Here's why Criston Cole's plan to send Arryk to infiltrate Dragonstone was a dumb plan from the word go. How many Queen's Guard does Rhaenyra have? Three. So when Arryk shows up at Dragonstone and worms his way into the castle to get to Rhaenyra, there's a one in three chance that the Queen's Guard by her side at any given moment is Erryk. You're also sending one of your own King's guard (of which Team Green only has four) to certain death. Good luck getting more warriors to enter into service when you're on record throwing their lives away. Also Arryk does not know anything about Dragonstone so him managing to spot Rhaenyra while initially avoiding his brother is nothing more than dumb luck. The plan relies entirely on dumb luck.

I took the Mysaria and Rhaenyra “how did you got that scar” scene as Rhaenyra realizing Daemon was also violent to Mysaria. It seems like they both recognize and went through the same struggle

40:10 Rhaenyra IS protective of her. That's why she told her to stay high and keep her distance! The greens wouldn't go after her! The same way Blood & Cheese didn't go after Helaena's daughter. Jace is heir, so unfortunately he's worth more and more vulnerable to the greens.

Jace and Baela seem to be into each other. Which is good, I guess? It's not that they are too close relatives, by Targ standards they are basically unrelated...

Everyone knew a Criston in college!

Laenor might as well be dead. He went to be a sellsword. And a normal state of a sellsword after 6 years of service is a dead sellsword.

“Death begets death begets death” Love this quote from the Red Rising series (GoT in space). It sums up the whole sequence perfectly. Death and violence will keep repeating until all the warring parties have killed each other off. Those who have read Fire and Blood will understand

"Dad loves his 40k miniatures more than his son" 😂 You are the best Alt Shift X!

The symbolism with Aegon smashing the Valyria model is so great. My interpretation was that not only is Aegon neglecting his legitimacy, he is also destroying the realm that his father spent a lifetime building and trying to stabilize.

Everyone saying Blood could have identified Cheese but like, so could Helaena.

Daeron Targaryen, the Prince that was Promised!

2.42 hours and I have no problem whatsoever listening to all your insights for that long. Well done mate, love your videos! ❤

DAERON MENTION HYPE

I've lost all respect for Alicent for going back to Cole. What was all those, "I've sinned" confessions? Her grandson died in part because of her riding the Kingsguard. All those lighting the candles in the Sept, and wearing the Seven pointed Star were meaningless. But then again, we all can be guilty of religious hypocrisy.

That bit when he said Aegon was resentful because Viserys was too busy building warhammer 40k model sets was funny as helll

it’s something i realized recently, daemon and aemond are very similar personality wise, they do first and then think later. but also, they’re names are very close, if you move the d from daemon to the end, it’s aemond.

Larys was involved with blood and cheese. Larys enters the small council chamber at the exact moment Aegon asks Otto and the small council: WHO?!!!!. Sneaky little hint to the ratking

Helaena could have identified cheese also

This season is keeping the quality of the first one 😄

Otto is the most fascinating character in my opinion. So many of his conversations show that he might be closer to a Varys than a Littlefinger. When he’s talking by to Alicent about “this is revenge not about the realm anymore”. Maybe he really is just looking for the most stability in the realm as he sees fit. Remember in season 1 he basically tries to end this conflict by suggesting to Viserys that he should marry Aegon & Rhaenyra

"One soul with two bodies" is strangely reminiscent of Jaime and Cersei.

The crossbow is very light (hand-reloaded without even a lever, and Baela isn't especially strong), I don't think the bolt would go through more than winter clothing. It's a light hunting xbow, I'd be surprised if she actually used it in battle.

i think with the Otto and Allicent scene where she tries to confess her sins to him, Otto refusing to hear them wasn't out of a desire to not hear it but in a way trying to reassure, it was him trying to go "Its fine no matter your sins I don't care" thinking she was afraid of his judgement rather than just genuinely wanting to confess them and get them off her chest and prob get some comfort, advice or maybe actual judgement from him.

Daemon definitely tried to choke miseria and kill her. There's so much foreshowing to a future choke out by daemon. Idk who its going to be but its going to be one crazy choke out. He just can't help it every other scene he has a choke itch

This episode was bloody brilliant. It was chocked FULL of details and drama and dialogue and complexities. It fit so much into one episode holy... definitely needed the 74 min runtime

I might be wrong but when Otto told Alicent "I do not wish to hear it", he just didn't want to hear bad things about his daughter that he's proud of.

Two moments that I loved with Otto: One was that scene between him being outraged at Aegon through to Criston revealing what he's done. It's that moment of thinking he's just endured the dumbest shit that anyone could've possibly have done in this moment, and then the idiot who did it has a friend that chimes in with something somehow even more completely fucking idiotic. Otto's exasperation at this is just so palpable and relatable. The other was him questioning reality and realizing just how good he had it under King Viserys.

Surprised to see Tekking101 throw in a super chat. A fellow fan.

Strangely enough Aemond is one of the very few people willing to take responsibility for his actions. despite being a hot blooded young man...

House Cole isn't lowborn? They may not be the most prestigious House, but they have their own coat of arms and everything.

Just a note on the Valyrian genetics, the reason why Ned Stark allowed the realm to think he had a relationship with Ashara Dayne, as incase Jon grew up with Valyrian / Golden Empire features.

If I had a dude on my team with a carbon copy on the opposing team, I would make my guy wear a bandana or something at all times. Just in case!

Cheese’s dog mourning him, despite being kicked, reminds me of the "Pet the Dog/Save the Cat" trope. Animals are often used to humanize characters. If an animal dislikes a character, it signals their immorality; an evil character showing kindness to an animal adds depth to them. The dog's mourning of Cheese, among the cries of the other smallfolk, suggests that we are meant to sympathize with people even like Cheese. They are the ones entangled and suffer the most in the powerful's struggle for more power.

This is good an all but can we address the a stated fact that Criston Cole is a bed?

I absolutely love how Otto described the assassination order on Rhaenyra as a 'prank', like these dudes are doing the political equivalent of pissing in her cereal.

Damn I go from hating one character to rooting for them in one episode. Otto (couldn’t stand him) was such a chad and Aegon was really relatable but became a dick. Crispin can go f himself and Emma D‘Arcy knocked it out of the park with her performance

28:37 no but Helaena... SHIFT! I HAVE SO MUCH TO SAY ABOUT HELAENA!!!!!! I am so sure that Glidus will come from a very similar perspective as me. Helaena being autistic God it is so important to know that someone is there for you. Even if you don't want them there, it is so comforting to know that someone is ready and willing to be with you when you are ready to talk about it. But she has no one! Even the scene where she and Aegon walk past each other and she just nods and keeps walking was so heart breaking!! Helaena is just a girl and this type of horror should not be brought upon anyone and I really want to just give her a hug so bad it hurts my god! I don't know what will happen to her character but I am firmly on the side of she needs to be the only one to make it out alive cause she did nothing wrong.

Nobody trained Aegon in the ways of ruling because he wasn’t the heir, which really shows Otto’s shortcomings because he should of stepped in and prepared the boy if this was his whole game plan but apparently he just presumed Aegon would be pliable and easy to manipulate?

Yo love the video thought it was odd we never got a dune 2 video do you plan on making dune content or did you not like the second one? love to hear your opinion/breakdown and comparison to the books since ive never read them

Otto doesn’t want to hear about Alicent’s sins. Good for him. She doesn’t get the relief of confessing. Criston never gets over teenage Raenyra’s rejection. Criston has no clue. He and Alicent deserve one another.

Cargyll was my favorite scene and the Dog looking at Cheese’s dead body.

did anyone else think that the meaning of "i don't want to hear it" meant "i'd trust you ragardless of your mistakes"? idk looking back my 1st interpretation is a little shakey but i thought that was why he was smiling

To me it looked like Otto was actually supporting Alicent for once when she was about to confess her sin. Because he knew what she was going to say and wanted to spare her shame and guilt. Sort of, whatever you did - it's fine. Be yourself. Do what you feel like doing.

I really look foward your videos. I watched all of your game of thrones videos and will continue to watch the house of the dragon videos as well , i agree with and really enjoy everything u r saying in these reviews i love your accent and your clear pronunciation compared to other youtubers

I think the real message of House of the Dragon is don't half ass your assassinations

I see people in the chat saying that they should've shown Mysaria telling people about Arryk. No, they shouldn't. By not showing it they kept the suspense of wondering if he'll be found out, and the surprise of Erryk bursting in. That woul've been spoilt if they showed Mysaria warn people.

I love how they are actually making Hugh likeable. Cannot wait for the show-only's reaction Tumbleton lol

does anybody feel like the hanged people doesnt look dead? lol. like in GoT they all looked like theyve been pulled down by gravitation. the ratcatchers looked like they took a nap with eyes open. they look “posed” like they are being hanged.

Maybe I’m in the minority but I like the long explainer videos . Everyone has a summary video but not everyone can really break everything down and get the nuances and the backstories just right.

Did Daemon give Mysaria the scar Rheneyra spotted? I don’t remember it coming up before but that seemed to be the implication.

I find it amazing how your voice has aged into Alt Schwift X's voice. Almost like he made it happen. The role of prophecy.

Ser Crispin was last seen a bed!

what was the coin that aemond took from under the table?

Cole failing upwards like the American politicians!

I'm surprised there's not a Targaryen that tried to make their dragon their heir

Re: the precision of the cut, that's interesting. I don't think you're overthinking it, I think something is rightfully nagging at the back of your mind about a bizarre incongruent detail. Here's what I think happened, I actually think you might agree. So in field medicine back in the dayif somebody got a messy or uneven wound, they would basically cut until the wound was uniform, even if they made it bigger in the short term. Th idea was that a uniform wound heals faster. Obviously this logic is moot for a corpse, but the idea might be the same. It's probably like you said, the would have been ragged and looked like absolute butchery. So I think maybe the Silent Ssters were tasked to "re-cut his neck; make it look better than this" and they did the best they could, with the result still being ghoulish but nowhere near if they just left what B&D did originally.

I think you are being too harsh on Daemon here. He is "equal parts light and dark", as GRRM himself said. "Oh, he's a groomer". Yes, but that's 100% acceptable by the awful twisted standards of that society. Viserys I marrying Alicent is equally creepy if not worse. "Oh, but he's using Rhaenyra." Yes, the same as she is using him. She (as an adult woman) married him for his power, both martial and polytical, the same as he married her for the claim. Not to mention, although violent and power hungry (and who isn't on this world?), Daemond DOES love Rhaenyra, he always had, in his own way. Also, I think, at this point, although killing Jahaerys is an unecessarily cruel and politically stupid thing to do, Daemond is correct on the more general point that Rhaenyra at this point needs to be more proactive with her war. Had Rhaenyra actually took her war more proactively, the blacks would have a better advantage and Daemond would not have "needed" (from his own cruel and precipitated point of view) to hire Blood and Cheese. The sensible plan would have been what Daemond suggested first: send Daemond and Rhaenys, the more experienced dragonriders with the better dragons on the black side to somehow corner and kill Aemond and his dragon. After that, you might actually have the greens surrender because Aegon's dragon alone probably can't beat Rhaenyra's or Rhaeny's, let alone Daemond's. (And Helaena, at least TV Helaena, is not stable enough to help), thus preventing thousands of deaths. Rhaenyra is trying to prevent a war that can no longer be prevented, while Daemond is fighting it without the propper support (and do the stupid thing he did out of fury and desperation).

Daemon used to always take responsibility for stuff he DIDN’T do- like having sex with Rhaenyq when he didn’t

I fcking pray every single day that Nettles is real in the show!!! Daeron is in the show and was rumored to not appear, so too was Nettles. How they forshadow Daemons arc shows that there is room for Nettles. Sheepstealer is confirmed to not be in the show, so I don't know

The "named to the kingsguard at 8 and 10" meaning 18 is hilarious to me because I am aware of the naming convention but don't think I've heard it used for such small numbers before so I totally missed the meaning. I just thought "Dang they were good-ass knights I guess, that's Westeros for you having children as ultra-murder masters."

On Aegon and his newfound love for his child: while he had bastards scattered all over town (and in the pits), the only people narcissists can love other than themselves - I’ve heard it said - are their own children. I think this tracks perfectly, as the context has changed for him in a lot of ways.

"Ribbed for his pleasure" got me laughing so much 🤣🤣🤣

LONG explained Episodes. I have a week of waiting to fill with these type videos and you're are the best

I’m sick to death of book readers being upset that the Blood and Cheese scene wasn’t as visceral as the book. Like, are ya’ll okay??? It was done as tasteful as a scene that horrible could be done. Also please make the review videos as long as you please; I loved the 40 minute review and was excited that it was that long.

I’m glad Hugh Hammer is getting more of a backstory

The dog has been named Chili, also known as Chili Cheese's Dog

Ewan Mitchell is so good. He enriches every scene

Totally agree with Shift: The show is dark and violent enough, this moment in particular, we don't need that kind of gore. Personally I find it very disturbing, that people are demanding this, total sickos.

Ser Erryk fell on his own sword to save Rhaenyra from the paranoia that the wrong twin won .... now thats loyalty 💯

The fight between Erryk and Arryk was heart-breaking. Although they didn't really much much screentime, it was a really emotional scene especially the last part

now that theres no rat catchers, I wonder if the rats will take over

Ottor is the control freak who was already going to upset Daeron.😂

The “so that Aemond (x3) could be the king” trip around 1:50:40 made me think my phone was skipping during my walk. The intonation was exactly the same each time. lol 😅

About the comment saying that the word "sin" is tied to Christianity and therefore immersion-breaking: If you look at words with such a level of scrutiny when the book is written in English and characters have real world names like Eddard/Edward, Petyr/Peter, Eric/Erric etc. you will never cease to be disappointed. All the words in the English language have a history and real world history therefore has left its traces in the vocabulary that is used by GRRM and his fictional characters.

Aegon said he asked Blood to identify Cheese but he couldn't tell who it was. How did Blood just forget?