As if Viserys struggling to walk towards the throne wasn't heartbreaking enough, Daemon then steps forward to help his brother up and places the crown on his head. The moment he saw his brother completely helpless, he set aside any grudge for being disinherited and exiled. That scene was pure brotherly love and I just broke into tears. And to top it all off we saw Viserys being relieved for a brief moment at dinner that his family might finally start to get along, before everything falls apart after he's escorted out. Just utterly heartbreaking. What a grand performance from Paddy Considine.
Me too, that moment had me sobbing. Such character growth from daemon - from his first appearance sitting insolently on his brother’s throne, to helping his brother onto the throne and giving him his crown. I love their relationship, and I’m not looking forward to seeing his reaction to Vis’s death
Personally, Viserys has never been more badass and kingly than in that moment. Walking down the hall in excruciating pain, literally falling apart, but not being deterred to do so. Daemon had disrespected his brother for "being weak", and that was the first time he saw him being a *true Targaryen king* . It was a triumphant moment for Viserys. And yeah, I also got all the feels watching it.
I think it wasnt only brotherly love though. I think it was also about paying respect. For maybe the first time in his life, Daemon was truly impressed by his brothers deed. He may not have been a warrior as daemon, but in his situation, this was showing true strength.
I'm amazed by the presence of Aemond's new actor given he had only a few lines, people are saying he looks older than Aegon as if it is a mistake but I think it suits the character perfectly, holding grudges, becoming a warrior and flying the toughest dragon for years would do that to you, as opposed to Aegon who lives like a spoiled prince that hasn't grown or faced challenges.
@@tite93 I think its lazy production. They should do what Scorese did in the Irish man and just age the characters with CGI or switch the characters more correctly. It becomes weird that Otto and Rhaenis are the same actresses from when Raenis own children are her age to when her grandchildren are her age. Whilst young Alicent seems to be a similar age like Rhaenis even though she was always more of an older sister.
@@Deathknight249 Caesar was more of title than a name. Caesars; Latin pl. Caesares; in Greek: Καῖσαρ Kaîsar) is a title of imperial character. It derives from the cognomen of Julius Caesar, the Roman dictator. The change from being a familial name to a title adopted by the Roman emperors can be traced to AD 68, following the fall of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. From Wikipedia. A better example would be the kings of Europe taking on the names of former kings at the time of their coronation. A regnal name, or regnant name[1] or reign name, is the name used by monarchs and popes during their reigns and, subsequently, historically. Since ancient times, some monarchs have chosen to use a different name from their original name when they accede to the monarchy. Also Wikipedia.
@@stephens021 I think you can trace all of that back to people not understanding how Roman names work, and thinking that Caesar was his last name instead of his cognomen.
Alicent knows Viserys is on milk of the poppy and is barely coherent most of the time. She cannot in good conscience actually think Viserys was making some last-minute decision to place Aegon as heir when just in the throne room, when he's refused milk and was lucid for the first time in a while, he loudly proclaimed and reaffirmed that his support for his daughter and her claims. It was no misunderstanding. She heard what she wanted to hear.
@@PraxusUK At least he waited until his brother essentially 'gave him permission', so to speak. Waited until he knew Vaemond had truly overstepped the line to the point of angering the king before acting.
@@PerfectDark0 I mean Daemon has always struck me as a no nonsense let's get straight down to business kind of guy. Don't think even a younger Daemon would have taken his time to torture Vaemond to death.
Watching Viserys this episode is devastating, it's like seeing your grandparent at the end of their life. And seeing the model city with the cobwebs... hope Vizzy T found peace wherever he ended up.
Watched this episode on my phone while monitoring my grandma in hospice... definitely hit too close to home, but it made me appreciate what her viewpoint might be like.
Paddy made me tear up at the dinner table scene. Where the music was playing and he was taking a last glance at his family members. Could barely contain myself, phenominal actor
Death crossdress herself as beloved ones you know that already passed away. Its her way to convince you to go with her. Viserys fell for it like everyone does and will at some point
I got so emotional when Viserys showed up to defend his daughter "I will sit the throne today". It snuck up on me how much it hit me. Glad he passed feeling after getting to see his family happy. Paddy is all time
Death crossdress herself as beloved ones you know that already passed away. Its her way to convince you to go with her. Viserys fell for it like everyone does and will at some point
@@oscarbobo4733 That’s the part that got me. I just was totally not expecting that when they showed Daemon’s face beside him. I assumed it was a random guard or Otto trying for last minute favor. It was so wholesome that it was Daemon🥹Especially since he was really struggling when he saw how sick his big brother was. But when big brother needed help, little brother was right there.
Daemon helping Viserys was my favourite moment of the episode. Despite all their infighting and legitimate reasons to be antagonistic, they are still brothers who, deep down inside, care for each other. I doubt Daemon ever wanted to see his brother in such a sorry state so he helps him maintain a modicum of dignity in front of the court. They're also portrayed by two tremendous actors.
@@letmetellyalilstory9122 the reason I can’t agree with that is because In the beginning of ep 8 he seems concerned and annoyed with how little ottos maesters are doing for him. Basically just giving him band aids.
I thought it looked like Daemon respecting Vizzy for maybe the first time, seeing how hard he was working and how determined he was to get to the throne and say his piece. It was one of Viserys’ strongest moments.
I enjoyed how, after Aemond and Daemon stared each other down, Daemon turned to Rhaenyra with a little giggle and smile. Almost as if to say “this one’s fun”. Love how Daemon takes the time to appreciate chaos and chaotic energy, no matter the setting.
Death crossdress herself as beloved ones you know that already passed away. Its her way to convince you to go with her. Viserys fell for it like everyone does and will at some point
man i fking love their dynamic even more than anything in GoT and we've hardly had a taste of it... i just cant tell if they're going to kiss or throw hands its amazing
52:13 George R. R. Martin "breaking the rules of writing" when it comes to naming the characters similarly is one of the reasons why GoT and HotD are so genius. That reflects the real life monarchy (so many Georges...) That really allows the characters in the world and us viewers to give them other distinctive characteristics to differentiate the different personas: like the Beggar King, Mad King etc. Interestingly all Baelors were kind and feeble kings... And Alicent getting that whole prophesy confused because of names really shows how difficult the power struggle within that tight monarchy is. Plus Viserys mistakenly calling Alicent Aemma, his late wife... Just cherry on the top. Viserys was like all of us when we started watching Game of Thrones for the first time 😂
Aemond and Daemon are so alike, and I think they recognise it in each other. Both are 'dark horses', second sons, riders of fearsome dragons (even amongst other dragons), expert swordsmen, sharp tongued with veiled insults. Its such a great rivalry brewing.
@@LordVerdo bro no one cares like go take the book spoilers elsewhere. You're not some mysterious seer when you're unveiling important info to others who aren't aware of what's going to happen. Nerd.
I'm glad that the last thing Viserys got to see, was his family geting along. Even if it didn't last it was still a bittersweet moment for me. RIP King Viserys Targaryen first of his name. A fair king, a loving husband/father/grandfather, and a good man. 👑
Episode 8 was terrific, all around. The look on Viserys' face as he surveys the room -- he nows this will be the last time these people will be in a room together, "peaceful" like this. He knows his feeble body and harried breath is the only thing keeping them from tearing each other apart. In fact, as soon as he is carried out of the room, violence erupts immediately. I feel so bad for him. What a performance by Paddy Considine. And I think we were all theorizing that Alicent might misinterpret Viserys' last words, and it seems that's exactly what happens. She cannot in good conscience thinks this is the one (1) time Viserys is lucid enough to make proclamations on who should sit the throne... but she will use it as justification to install her son on it nevertheless. The final two episodes cannot come any sooner!
Maybe it would’ve been too naive of him, but I want to think Viserys truly believed everyone was happy again and on the way to making a peace that would hold. That family dinner is more or less the final time he’s lucid before his death, at least as far as we see in the show. So to me, I felt like that scene was giving Viserys a peaceful and somewhat happy moment to go out on. Poor guy deserved that much.
@@JakvsMetalheads999 That's how I saw it, too. He goes out thinking he reigned over a peaceful kingdom, and set his house right before he died. His last moments were watching his family laughing, and breaking bread. While it will obviously, and *does* immediately, fall apart after he's gone, for him it is the perfect happy ending he always wanted.
But that’s what he did in the start by naming her his heir over his brother..instead of his head being clouded by drugs it was clouded by grief for his decision which killed his wife. Him blaming himself then naming her heir there was going to be a war if alicent was there or not.
I loved how Aemond’s sparring session with Criston Cole mirrored the tourney fight between Daemon and Criston Cole with them using the same weapons but Aemond won, showing that he is a dangerous opponent for Daemon
Oh shit I hadn’t noticed that! I do note a strong resemblance between Daemon and Aemond, mostly in the shit-stirring grin. Serious props to the casting director along with the actors.
If any parts of the soundtrack sound average or underdeveloped, that’s only because Ramin had to devote all his time and energy into making sure Viserys crossing the throne room sounded as epic and heartfelt as was humanly possible.
i dont think soundtrack lacking. we have had beautiful scores across many episodes, sometimes silence speakers louder. The climax of this ep was certainly viserys climbing the throne and the soundtrack did it justice. The rest is just quiet silence now, a waiting game for whats to come, imo
@@AviChetriArtwork We counting the Aegons who never sat the throne? Because that would bump it up to 8- Aegon the Uncrowned who got killed by Maegor then Jon Snow.
At least in this instance there is a spiteful reason for there to be two Aegons, unlike the incredibly bad writing choice from Game of Thrones to name John Snow Aegon when he has a brother from the same father with the same name who was still alive when he was born. I really hope Martin doesn’t do that shit.
The fight actually began before Aemond's toast when Lucerys tries to stifle his laughter at Aemond as a roast pig is set in front of him, which hearkens back to the prank he and his brother played on Aemond when they were younger and they gave him a pig in lieu of a dragon. This sleight is what set off Aemond and led to him escalating things with his "toast".
@@diskeyes It's quite a common thing that happens with young men that are bullied by their peers. They are the ones who are motivated to become 'strong' and prove a point. Which is exactly what Aemond is, a young man who has become a capable warrior with the largest and oldest Dragon there is, but still a child in his thoughts and actions, who still thinks revenge is a good idea. Petty but somewhat justified..
@@diskeyes Interesting take. I think it's a pretty normal reaction for people to want their bullies to get comeuppance. Especially when that bully goes so far as to take your eye and faces no repercussions for doing so.
I feel like Aemond looks older from the fact of how serious he takes his position. While Aegon drinks, he’s training. He’s much more mature compared to his older brother. So more visual story telling through their appearance.
Death crossdress herself as beloved ones you know that already passed away. Its her way to convince you to go with her. Viserys fell for it like everyone does and will at some point
There won't be a season 8 the director already confirmed that it's gonna go for only 4 because there's not much to explore and YES Alicent will hate THE COLOR GREEN
@@Darkstar_Dayne It’s a joke that in season 8 of GoT, Dumb and Dumbass completely ruined Jaime’s character in a single line by stating that he never cared about the people in King’s Landing. OP is making a joke about Alicent not wanting to put her kids on the throne which would go against her established character, similarly to Jaime in season 8.
The entire Driftmark inheritance court scene was great, and so was the dinner scene. When Daemon helped Viserys ascend the throne, I genuinely shed a tear. Poor Viserys, I feel so sorry for him. Paddy is a great actor, I hope this role will be appreciated. The whole episode is very good, zero fillers for me.
Haha, he reminds me of someone a strong father figure who cares about his love ones and someone you can trust to defend you in every situation. Like his always got your back
Death crossdress herself as beloved ones you know that already passed away. Its her way to convince you to go with her. Viserys fell for it like everyone does and will at some point
I cant get over the dinner scene. For a brief moment there's peace at the table and Viserys gets what he wants and dies believing that finally there's peace. Only the second he was carried out of the dining hall and out of sight, its the children that stir things up once more. Those well trained ticking time bombs.
She literally did the best thing she could do for that girl. The alternative is that girl getting called a whore or temptress who seduced the prince. there is no metoo in Westeros.
I cried when Viserys surveyed the room for the last time. It is hard to make me cry. What a fucking performance by Paddy Considine. Favorite episode so far. His presence will really be missed.
I cried when deamon helped him in the throne. Him saying "I can do it" but when he sees its his younger brother he's like yeah you can help me, it's fine. Melted my heart
I love the speech that Aemond gives at the feast toward the middle of the episode. It sounded like he loves his nephews but the look of horror on Alicent's face when she realizes that her son is actually gonna insult Rheanrya's children is clearly there. She knows that Aemond isn't happy with Jace and Luke being there because he still holds a grudge against them. Luke in particular. Aemond has to play the part of a loving uncle when the reality he can't stand being around them
Seeing Viserys' decline and desire to be with his family in his final days/weeks/months made me more emotional than I would've expected. Trying to desperately mend ties between estranged family before dying is incredibly accurate in my experience.
Death crossdress herself as beloved ones you know that already passed away. Its her way to convince you to go with her. Viserys fell for it like everyone does and will at some point
Paddy Considine's acting brought me to tears this episode, what an incredible actor and an amazing episode. This has to be one of the best episodes in the asoiaf universe of all time.
Death crossdress herself as beloved ones you know that already passed away. Its her way to convince you to go with her. Viserys fell for it like everyone does and will at some point
When Viserys walked in it gave me chills; the past 8 weeks ive grown from laughing at Viserys to admiring the tragic majesty behind his Charachter. The scene of him walking in with the half-gold mask and Targaryen embed clothing sent shivers down my spine. Refusing Ser Erryks help but accepting Daemons help, two estranged brothers who despite their differences will always love eachother. The pain in Daemons eyes whenever he was in a scene with Viserys is truly remakable acting by all. Huge props to Paddy Considine an absolutely amazing performance.
It's important to note that Viserys' entrance echoes Alicent's entrance during Rhaenerys' wedding. Alicent's entrance at that wedding represented her disruption of Viserys' plans for his future; Viserys' entrance here represents his disruption of Alicent's plans for her future.
Same! I haven’t been this excited for a show since GOT! My Sundays are again for GOT and TWD. Though, HotD season 1 is only ten episodes, and soon TWD will be over 😢
There’s also a distinctly daemon sounding laugh when helaena talks about her marriage to aegon Also, helaena does talk about her children saying “have you seen dyanna? She was meant to dress the children” shortly after allicent goes crazy at aegon
-Paddy better get Emmys -A huge thanks to the casting team because Ewan Mitchell is killing it as Aemond, that guy has some evil resting face and his owning it -The dinner scene is my favorite the whole season aside from the finale ofc.
This episode brought back bad memories of when my Dad was suffering badly with Cancer and was wasting away. He would stubbornly continue to walk with a stick even though it was painful. Hi passing in the hospital was much like the scene with the King 😞
It's as though Aemond had it requested, the ways the servers placed it in front of him. Kind of like a taunt of sorts, that smirk looked premeditated haha
@@Anonthon That's grasping at straws if I've ever seen it. He was minding his business and wasn't going to do anything until his nephews had the nerve to laugh at him. Also, in the book i'm pretty sure his nephew actually orders the pig to be placed in front of him.
I was dying laughing when Daemon whispered.."Say it", so badass, and lets not forget that Aemond ate a full right hook from Jace like it was nothing,then eyed down Daemon
Small touches, the smirk which set him off, shoving him back, he did back down after staring at Daemon but when he walks past him without flinching Daemon gives this smirk of appreciation, all the others are worried and he's like "yeah that's the younger me, going to be fun fighting him. Aemond does the same in the throne room, he's like "this guy kills easily".
Ok, I think we're all thinking of Larys and rats and little birds etc. What if the beast beneath the boards is a shipwreck, and that's their way of fixing the Laenor "plot hole" in that it lets him die after all so that Sea Smoke can bond with someone else.
@@Matthy63 Maybe. I think something like that might happen to Laenor, unless they end up changing it so that Adam of Hull is actually Laenor. But I think they Beast beneath the Boards is probably Larys, or maybe Aegon's bastard that we see in the trailer for next week's episode.
The John Snow show should start with John Snow waking up and realizing that everything from Ed Sheeran onwards was just a dream, and use that as an way to remake seasons 7-8 from a John point of view.
The emotions were so high this episode, making it my favorite. I shed tears three separate times, this episode in particular was an absolute masterwork. Rhaenyra breaking down in tears at her father’s bedside, watching Viserys hobble down the great hall, Daemon helping him, the toasts between Rhaenyra and Alicent, seeing everyone happy at dinner, seeing Viserys drift away as music, laughter and revelry surround him (I thought he was gonna die right then and there), and Viserys’ death. All of it was so masterful.
I didn't expect this episode to set the stage for the Dance so powerfully. They really drove home the tragedy of Viserys' reign and the futility of the coming conflict.
This is my favorite episode by far as well. So moving. Team black here, but now I do understand the greens' cause. And I loved how for the first time I acknowledged and confirmed their good sides. Even Otto, as ambitious as he is, he genuinely cared for the King. And Alicent, that scene where she hugged Dyana, you kind of sympathize with her. She understands the girl's suffering because in a way she has been abused/used as well (from her father forcing her to marry). And it's confirmed she and cersei are nothing alike. Add to that Viserys calling Rhaenyra "my only child", I really felt sorry for Alicent and for kids. Even at his last moments, he thinks only of Rhaenyra and Aemma. Gosh, almost all of the scenes were so good for me, Rhaenyra breaking down to her father, the King making it to his iron throne, Daemon acting up for the honor of his wife, Visery's last plead to his family, the princess and the queen's toasts, and the King's final moments were the highlights for me.
This episode had me crying like a baby- Daemon and Viserys' last reunion, Viserys meeting baby Aegon III and Viserys II, and Daemon helping Viserys up the steps one last time. What an amazing episode.
I think Viserys getting help from Daemon was made all the more special because he initially denied help from his kings guard to maintain his dignity, but when he went to deny help a second time, he realized it was Daemon and he felt dignified in accepting help from his own brother
King Vicerys crying out to his first wife had me boo hoo ugly crying 😭 I feel like everything he did after her death was in her memory. What a performance by Paddy Considine. Encore! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
I didn't really read that final scene with Alicent and Viserys as a comedy of errors moment, where his confusion causes the problem. The way the dinner turned to conflict as soon as he left clearly showed that at this point no matter what he does, it's too late to prevent the impending war. Alicent might use his ramblings as an excuse, but she and Otto were going to promote her own children's claims no matter what.
in that episode she unnoficially disowned Aegon and during dinner admitted Rhaenyra as a good queen. I thought she was ready to "give up" until the last scene where things changed
This episode is really hard to watch for those who lost their dad/parent to disease and watching them dying/eaten away by it. Viserys' deathbed scene brought me to tears 😢😢
I think what I like best about this show is that it's so human. These terribly inconsequential issues spark disasters of magnitude, offer the finest justifications, for conflicts to rise.
I think it’s cool how it took daemon so long to truly come back around to viserys. (Not that I really think daemon ever left his brothers side) Finally seeing him in such a decrepit state, limping to his duty on the iron chair. I bet you daemon finally realized he was silly for envying Viserys and having been away from his side
his reaction when he saw viserys for the first time… you can see him thinking ‘what have i done by leaving?’ just confusion and devastation, barely able to look.
@@doryfishie2 His skin is scared and face a bit sharp which makes him look older but it's accurate to the book because Aegon as described as fat and stupid
Im not sure Rhanys was against her from the start. She wanted to hear it out of her own mouth that she didnt kill Laenor, then said "Ill have to stand alone", which she meant literally because her husband is gone and its all fallen on her. She was letting Rhaenyra sweat it out, but she always backed her husbands claim... Which is why she left when Corlys brother did, to stand for Corlys will. Corlys was always clear on what he wanted. She wouldnt have went just to besmirtch that for her own gain. She made it very clear in intimate times that she does not care at all to have it.
That's certainly true, but I also think the king coming back certainly changed things cause I don't think she would've appealed for Rhaenyra if the Hightowers were still running that sham hearing
I think her saying 'I'm standing alone' means that she wouldn't stand against the Hightowers as they are strong, even if she is not with them and she wouldn't consider Rhaenyra her ally because she believes she killed her son.
She said to Rhaenyra "you are on your knees so I will have to stand alone" (sic). Meaning Rhaenyra was compromised and had no weight, in the face of the Hightower's sham judgement.
Aemond and his new actor are weirdly fascinating to me. He had this commanding presence that was almost ghoulish in a way. I don’t know, I think he was cool. 😅
He has a very villainous facial structure and the eyepatch just adds to it all. His face is in a permanent shit-eating smirk. If he were buff and dark haired, he would’ve been a great book Euron
I feel like the golden mask Viserys is wearing is inspired by real life account of Baldwin IV, The Leper King of Jerusalem. GRRM adds so much true-life history into his writing. The battle in the stepstones heavily invoked WWII Iwo Jima battle tactics with the tunnels and aerial bombardment.
Death crossdress herself as beloved ones you know that already passed away. Its her way to convince you to go with her. Viserys fell for it like everyone does and will at some point
i thought there were clear analogues between Viserys and Baldwin IV of Jerusalem in that Vis had a leprosyesque disease and I LOVE that they went the whole hog and gave him a golden mask
Oh!! That long scene with Rhaenys watching every last second of the handling of Vaemond's body for burial was there because she's putting the pieces together (sorry, infelicitous phrasing--RIP Vaemond) *about Laenor's death*--or lack thereof Rhaenys takes her responsibilities seriously, and I think she is initially there to supervise the handling of evidence for her own house's purposes (she has Corlys to think about, and what to do about Daemon's actions in her own jurisdiction), to ensure Vaemond's remains are returned with integrity, and also to demonstrate that they reflect the way it was related in court (or else she's losing it and considering tampering with the evidence, but I think it's unlikely). So, as she watches the Silent Sisters (woot! glad to see them back in their original uniforms), we get a trippy, amazing fisheye lens shot effect behind Rhaenys' head while she is watching, and the camera lingers on her for a few more beats than I would expect in a show that is otherwise so economical with action and plot. At first, I thought the effect was there to accentuate her emotiions--like, oh, no, another member of our house lost to this bullsh*t---but she is too cool a customer for that. Vaemond and Laenor have some family resemblance, and she must be thinking about her own son's death, and how she didn't get the closure of seeing his body. I also believe she must be ruminating over what Rhaenyra just said to her about sincere love for her husband Laenor--and her claim that she really didn't plot his death--and Rhaenyra's offer to marry their children and grandchildren, and Rheany's subsequent question about Rhaenyra's desperation in that moment. I think she's realizing that Rhaenyra is *not* emotional when she's desperate; if anything, she's actually at her most strategic, and it's all leading to Rhaenys realizing that her son is possibly or probably or even definitely alive. What she will do with this suspicion is anyone's guess. Rhaenys is playing her own game, as was clearly illustrated in the first part of this episode when she witheld her answer to Rhaenyra's proposal until Viserys came in and reiterated that Luke would get Driftmark. The Red Queen is playing the hand she's been dealt.
Made me feel so sorry for Alicent, a sensitive girl who never should have been Queen. She was so starved for respect for what she had done, not just the position of power she was in, that she was basically ready to mend fences (much to Otto's chagrin). But alas...
I think she is still ambitious. No excuses for her starting a war. She could have just not listen to her nasty father. Also her kids are half bloods cause she is not Targaryen. What a hypocrite of a woman!
@@kesivan She hasn't yet started a war. And of course she could have done all sorts of things. She could have taken up painting and not given a damn about any of it, but that would make her a different character. This woman could not ignore her father, even if she wished to, he made sure of that while bringing her up, (though here in this episode we see she tries in her own way, by accepting Rhaenyra's toast and offering her one where she acknowledges her claim tot he throne, which Otto seems shocked by) even in her adulthood doing things outside of his influence causes her great distress. Her issue is not that Rhaenyra's children are half-bloods, it is that they are illegitimate. More pointedly that Rhaenyra was able to get away with pursuing a relationship for love, so blatantly and flagrantly without consequence, and Alicent had to abide by the rules of society. As she has ever had to. She has taken on the role given to her and "done her duty" and is upset by the fact that it is in many ways to no purpose (her children aren't even the heirs of the aged king she's cared for and shared a bed with for decades as he fell victim to age and disease) if Rhaeneya and her (illegitimate) children are the heirs, then Alicent has given up her youth birthing princes who will never be kings. What was the point of the indignities and unpleasantness she has suffered? So an old man had someone to share his bed while he took forever to die? Pretty raw deal, but one she seems willing to accept by the end of that dinner if she can just have some friendly faces around again. Until her dying husband, the one whom she has been so devoted to all these years, tells her that it is her son and not his daughter who should be heir, to save the realm. (or at least that is how in the moment she hears what he has to say). Is it ambition? I don't think so, but I think it is a desire for "fairness" for what is "right" that drives her. In order for her life to mean something, she must continue to serve her husband's dying wish, that her son should be king. It all has to be for something, this unhappy life she's lived. Now this is it. Her son is the Prince that was Promised (whatever that means) and her husband's dying words were that she should unite the realm. For someone who's life has always been serving another's cause (and who will cease to have a purpose after her husband's death), those words are marching orders towards some kind of destiny other than being a dying old man's brood mare.
@@kesivan Not hypocritical. Her kids are the king's kids, her actual husband's. Rhaenyras kids aren't her husband's, thus being bastards. I know Modern sensibilities don't really care about whose the father in regarding kids parentage and bastards are no longer a thing, but it DID matter back then. Laemon was prince consort. It's his and rhaenyras kids who are entitled to the realm, not rhaenyras and Strongs, a nobody all things considered.
Whoever did the casting for Aemond "One Eye" deserves a reward! If by season two he removes the eyepatch and there is a certain thing under it Ill loose my shit 😁
This was an amazing episode. So many feels. It's just heart-breaking how Allicent and Rhaenyra are pitted against each other in ways they do not want. After all these years of strife, they still care deeply about each other. They are family, they are sisters. And the sadness in Allicent's eyes, when she thought that Viserys told her that her son Aegon was to be on the throne. Obviously not knowing about Aegon the Conqueror's dream. Rhaenyra's and Daemon's children were so well behaved (until the strong thing at the dinner), they seem to take their roles seriously and take pride in being Targs/Velaryons. Having Aegon and Aemond as a stark contrast to that, trying to egg them on and being just overall not nice people. (Not including Helaena because she was just adorable, and it was so lovely seeing her dance with Jace. Was a great callback to their potential match, had Allicent agreed. Think they would have made a good pair. Jace seems nice, and honorable.)
Granted, if you lost an eye and then had to give up your birthright to bastards, probably wouldn't be a fan of them either. While Aegon the elder is just kind of a childish prick, Aemond only acts up when Laerys starts laughing at him over the pig, referencing the Pink Dread. It was a great scene
Death crossdress herself as beloved ones you know that already passed away. Its her way to convince you to go with her. Viserys fell for it like everyone does and will at some point
The dinner scene was so heartbreaking. You could tell that at least Rhaenyra and Alicent were having thoughts of, "What have we done? What have we set in motion? Neither of us actually wants this." But by this point things have gone too far. The kids have inherited the grudges and power plays that the adults have lived long enough to want to move past. And of course Otto is just there being a scheming piece of sh*t.
In episode 3 on Aegon's name day, Viserys tells Alicent about the dream he had about his son wearing the crown. How his obsession killed Aemma. That's likely the dream Alicent mistook his last words for
Same happened to me in the scene where Viserys surveys the room one last time, looking at his family in peace. It is hard to make me cry but it just got to me. Fucking loved this episode.
I also noticed Otto enjoyed Helena’s comments about Aegon the most as the feast. I think he genuinely loathes his grandson because all of his efforts rest on this stupid, drunk of a boy.
Couldn’t Viserys do it from the angle of “well all you idiots think they are bastards even though they aren’t, so here you go, I legitimize them anyways, now shut up and let me have a nap”. He could do it in a snide and mocking manner that would show he doesn’t believe the rumor but would still get it done all the same.
@@Etticos. Things are more political than that, even joking about it would mean he has to acknowledge it to an extent which is enough. Even though Viserys is aware they are bastards he intentionally denies it.
I still can't get why it's such a fuss to admit that they are Strong and not Velaryon. Just make the oldest Targaryen child (Aegon III) heir to the throne, problem solved.
@@alfrredd I mean, the plot beats of the Dance is basically the events of the Anarchy in 12th century England (minus the dragons). Possible spoilers ahead, I actually don't know how the Dance ends exactly and don't want to, but so far it's a clear influence in the same way that the War of the Five Kings is basically the War of the Roses with the serial numbers filed off, which is a thing that GRRM loves to do - York=Stark, Lancaster=Lannister, Tudor=Tyrell. Although if GRRM had decided to keep the ending the same, that means the Tyrells win, which like, they don't, so big ole grain of salt. Possible spoilers ahead for like, 800 year old irl history I guess. Henry I has a single legitimate son, who dies. To have *an* heir he breaks with precedent and nominates his daughter as heir, Empress Matilda. On his death, all the nobles decide to ignore this and install a guy with a weaker claim, King Stephen, who gets to be king by virtue of being brothers with an influential cleric and also literally racing to London first. Matilda nopes out of there and keeps trying to fight back from the Plantagenet holdings in France. Stalemate for 15-odd years. She eventually dies but her son Henry II grows up and defeats Stephen, who just lost his own heir. The peace treaty is basically, Stephen gets to keep the throne but has to nominate Henry II as heir. Luckily for Henry, Stephen dies all of five seconds later, so 19 year old Henry and his freshly divorced wife Eleanor of Aquitaine are suddenly rulers of England plus a solid half of France including Eleanor's holdings, and both very, very good at popping out lots of heirs.
49:15 Also recall that Viserys was the last rider of the Black Dread, and the boys bullied Aemond by presenting him the pig "Pink Dread". So we have the last rider of the Black Dread being carried out as the Pink Dread comes in.
Otto saying "Disarm him!" When Daemon sliced off the head. Was such a subtle note of him trying to get dark sister, like he's standing with the blade pointed down resting. Everyone no he meant no one else harm. Daemon reading into this "No need...". Just love the details. Everyone is trying to move as many of the chess pieces to their side.
It is insanely historical for the Targaryen dynasty to claim all of those titles in regards to Dorne. The kings and queens of England didn't give up on including the title of King of France until the French Revolution. That's the most famous example, but "aspirational" titles show up in heraldry all over Europe so seeing it in the show felt extremely natural and in no way an anachronism. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.
Aemond: Makes his speech and pauses before saying the last word. Camera turns to Luc Camera turns to Aemond Audience: Come Aemond SAY IT. SAY THE WORD Aemond: Strong Audience: YESSSSSS!!!!
I was sitting there absolutely praying that Viserys wouldn’t fall and impale himself in front of the Iron Throne, but Daemon came through. RIP King Viserys l
I'm amazed how many people thought Allicent poisoned the girl. They made it so very obvious that it was moon tea and poisoning her doesn't make any goddamn sense lol
But the moon tea that they gave rhaenyra in that episode was an amber brown colour from what I remember. This one looked different like it could have been nightshade or something.
It’s really not that crazy that some people thought that at first. Do you think Alicent would’ve told her “this is a poison, you’re going to feel some intense pain and then be dead in a few minutes”. If you want the person to stay calm and do what you want them to do, you present it as something harmless. She could’ve just been letting the girl think it was moon tea. The girl said “I’ll never tell anyone, I swear to you”. Alicent gave her the tea and said “best to be sure”. Although it was about pregnancy, it could’ve been interpreted as “best to be sure you won’t say anything” = poison. Also, the last time we saw Alicent, she was in a murderous rage. Now we see the Red Keep again and all the joy is gone. It’s empty, it’s dark, it’s serious. We have no idea who Alicent has become in the years since she attacked a child and cut Rhaenyra. We don’t know if she’s become evil or tried to redeem herself. We don’t know if she actually has sympathy for this girl or if she just sees her as an obstacle to eliminate so less people know what a monster her son is.
Lol it is obvious if you just pay attention. She calls it tea and tells her "just to be sure" and why would you bother to give someone gold if you're about to murderer someone? Also the murder would be relatively open and done right in front of a servant. Poisoning her literally makes zero sense
im not sure i like the new aegon actor, or at least, i preferred teenage aegon a lot more! i think he could've pulled off adult aegon too with a different haircut etc. aemond at this point looks older than alicent, but he does pull off the psycho daemon vibes well lmao
i cried twice during this episode, once when our homie Old man Vizzy denied to be helped by his kings guard to climb the throne (plus daemon helping him), and his speech to his family about making peace. By extension i was also screaming when he finally made it causing everyone to look at him with respect, even otto did not dare speak against the strength it took to do that. Patrick Condsidine gave it his all in these last scenes so i hope he gets the praise he deserves.
Talya is played by Miguel Sapochnik’s wife. She’s also in the episode “The Bells” & “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” in GOT. Also, Alicents maid has been everywhere & even came into Alicents & Larys dinner in the 6th episode.
> Ordering Jace to marry both Baela and Helaena I'd go further and make a big royal marriage of Aegon, Aemond, Daeron, Jace, Luke and Joff to Helaena, Baela and Rhaena. An ultimate solution. There is no succession crisis that incestuous polygamy wouldn't solve.
I think Rhaenys' actions this eps are 100% justified and add up. She does not side with Rhaenerya right away, letting her feel that she does not approve of her but in the end she chooses what is best for her house and her family. Her goal was to get her granddaughter on the dirftmark throne and marrying her to luke is the most secure way to do that. Rhaena and Baela both have their fathers name so in a way they need luke and jace to get the right name. Furthermore she protects her own sons honour by supporting the children he claimed as his own. Rhaena and Baela would have needed to marry anyway so getting them husbands with valerian blood (bastards or not) strenghtens the bloodline. She also knows from her own expirence that women getting their rightful inheritance is not a thing in this world. This decision saves her granddaughters to have to fight that battle and also supports rhaenerya getting the thrown, fighting against that unwritten rule still. She also pretty nicely made sure that she and her husband get what they want. And as an added bonus she once again shows Rhaenerya that it is her that needs the Velaryons and not the other way around
True but at the same time she's a targaryen supporting another targaryen to put her bastard with no velayron blood on the velayron throne. Which makes vaemonds actions very justifiable, and exposes rhaenyras hypocrisy
Fun Fact: The actor playing Gerardys, the maester teaching Jace’s High Valyrian lesson, was none other than legendary English actor Phil Daniels (Scum, Quadrophenia, Breaking Glass, Meantime, Parklife, etc.). Big fan!
This is episode was the best so far, paddy considine being insane, the visual plotting, aemond being cool as fuck, daemon being cool as fuck, vaemond getting killed and that scene in the throne room is one of the best scenes I’ve ever seen
Wow how fkn tragic was this episode.. made a grown man, borderline psychopath shed a tear😂 might be my fave episode yet.. never felt so much sadness for an episode or a movie before. Usually with hollywood only deaths are the sad parts but this was something else entirely. And damn.. my boii Daemon showing why he's the best guy in the realm.
STOP NAMING YOUR KIDS AEGON
hahaha same names, incest, gotta love it
Literally what I was yelling at the TV
LMFAO
What kind of fool do you take me for? He’s Aegon? He’s Aegon? You’re Aegon? I’m Aegon?! Are there any other Aegons I should know about?!
Everyone wants their son to be aegon the conqueror
Aemond-Daemon stare match was very unfair. Aemond was outnumbered 2 to 1.
😂😂😂😂
🤣🤣🤣
Lol
It took me a second to get it 🤣🤣🤣🤣
@@AwaMelvine h ki i
1
i.?. I'm u
1 ki
Paddy Considine brought so much to this show, will be sorely missed.
Long Live the King 🍷
"sore" ly
This is the highest of treasons. Long live the Queen!
Long live? Mofos dead
Yeah he was great at playing a piece of shit
@@TJS44_ huh
As if Viserys struggling to walk towards the throne wasn't heartbreaking enough, Daemon then steps forward to help his brother up and places the crown on his head. The moment he saw his brother completely helpless, he set aside any grudge for being disinherited and exiled. That scene was pure brotherly love and I just broke into tears. And to top it all off we saw Viserys being relieved for a brief moment at dinner that his family might finally start to get along, before everything falls apart after he's escorted out. Just utterly heartbreaking. What a grand performance from Paddy Considine.
Me too, that moment had me sobbing. Such character growth from daemon - from his first appearance sitting insolently on his brother’s throne, to helping his brother onto the throne and giving him his crown. I love their relationship, and I’m not looking forward to seeing his reaction to Vis’s death
Personally, Viserys has never been more badass and kingly than in that moment. Walking down the hall in excruciating pain, literally falling apart, but not being deterred to do so. Daemon had disrespected his brother for "being weak", and that was the first time he saw him being a *true Targaryen king* . It was a triumphant moment for Viserys.
And yeah, I also got all the feels watching it.
I think it wasnt only brotherly love though. I think it was also about paying respect. For maybe the first time in his life, Daemon was truly impressed by his brothers deed. He may not have been a warrior as daemon, but in his situation, this was showing true strength.
im glad other people cried cause holy shit i was crying
And I love how Vicerys doesn't let his Kingsguard help him , then he starts to say no again until he sees its Daemon helping this time 😢😥
I'm amazed by the presence of Aemond's new actor given he had only a few lines, people are saying he looks older than Aegon as if it is a mistake but I think it suits the character perfectly, holding grudges, becoming a warrior and flying the toughest dragon for years would do that to you, as opposed to Aegon who lives like a spoiled prince that hasn't grown or faced challenges.
👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 agree!
It's the dragon hormones
He just has sharper features and he's more lean. Aegon lives in gluttony and sloth, so he's more round-faced and not much of a warrior
@@tite93 I think its lazy production. They should do what Scorese did in the Irish man and just age the characters with CGI or switch the characters more correctly. It becomes weird that Otto and Rhaenis are the same actresses from when Raenis own children are her age to when her grandchildren are her age. Whilst young Alicent seems to be a similar age like Rhaenis even though she was always more of an older sister.
@@maltborg yeah just spend millions of more dollars taking away from the dragon CGI just to age people up and have it look like shit. Genius idea.
Cannot believe Westeros is gonna have a civil war because the Targaryens aren't creative with baby names
Names are everything in monarchy, people called themselves Caesar because of Julius Caesar
@@Deathknight249 Caesar was more of title than a name.
Caesars; Latin pl. Caesares; in Greek: Καῖσαρ Kaîsar) is a title of imperial character. It derives from the cognomen of Julius Caesar, the Roman dictator. The change from being a familial name to a title adopted by the Roman emperors can be traced to AD 68, following the fall of the Julio-Claudian dynasty.
From Wikipedia.
A better example would be the kings of Europe taking on the names of former kings at the time of their coronation.
A regnal name, or regnant name[1] or reign name, is the name used by monarchs and popes during their reigns and, subsequently, historically. Since ancient times, some monarchs have chosen to use a different name from their original name when they accede to the monarchy.
Also Wikipedia.
@@stephens021 I think you can trace all of that back to people not understanding how Roman names work, and thinking that Caesar was his last name instead of his cognomen.
There is something in movies and shows about misunderstandings that lead to terrible consequences that deeply enerves me
Alicent knows Viserys is on milk of the poppy and is barely coherent most of the time. She cannot in good conscience actually think Viserys was making some last-minute decision to place Aegon as heir when just in the throne room, when he's refused milk and was lucid for the first time in a while, he loudly proclaimed and reaffirmed that his support for his daughter and her claims. It was no misunderstanding. She heard what she wanted to hear.
Viserys stole the fucking show. Aemond being impressed by Daemon was cool and Daemon has mellowed with age but he's still razor sharp
MELLOWED WITH AGE? I'm sorry, did you see him cut Vaemond's head in half?
@@PraxusUK I’d like to think younger Daemon wouldn’t have granted Vaemond a quick death like that.
@@PraxusUK At least he waited until his brother essentially 'gave him permission', so to speak. Waited until he knew Vaemond had truly overstepped the line to the point of angering the king before acting.
It was his duty to defend his wife's honor
@@PerfectDark0 I mean Daemon has always struck me as a no nonsense let's get straight down to business kind of guy. Don't think even a younger Daemon would have taken his time to torture Vaemond to death.
Watching Viserys this episode is devastating, it's like seeing your grandparent at the end of their life. And seeing the model city with the cobwebs... hope Vizzy T found peace wherever he ended up.
So I'm gonna have to steal calling him VIZZY T lol...I want to see that name on his tomb.."Here lies Vizzy T" I'm dead lol..
VIZZY T
They absolutely nailed what a dying person looks and acts like.
Hit me hard at points.
He's with Aemma again, I refuse to believe otherwise.
Watched this episode on my phone while monitoring my grandma in hospice... definitely hit too close to home, but it made me appreciate what her viewpoint might be like.
Paddy made me tear up at the dinner table scene. Where the music was playing and he was taking a last glance at his family members. Could barely contain myself, phenominal actor
Death crossdress herself as beloved ones you know that already passed away. Its her way to convince you to go with her. Viserys fell for it like everyone does and will at some point
@@TiaguinhoMu I will be there in about
@@TiaguinhoMu
I got so emotional when Viserys showed up to defend his daughter "I will sit the throne today". It snuck up on me how much it hit me. Glad he passed feeling after getting to see his family happy. Paddy is all time
Daemon helping him, ugh, what a great episode
I must admit that he was not a strong king but he was great dad.
Death crossdress herself as beloved ones you know that already passed away. Its her way to convince you to go with her. Viserys fell for it like everyone does and will at some point
@@oscarbobo4733 That’s the part that got me. I just was totally not expecting that when they showed Daemon’s face beside him. I assumed it was a random guard or Otto trying for last minute favor. It was so wholesome that it was Daemon🥹Especially since he was really struggling when he saw how sick his big brother was. But when big brother needed help, little brother was right there.
same, he must make things right, paddy performance was epic, give him an award.
Rhaenys was absolutely amazing in this episode! Eve Best steals every scene she’s in, I hope we get lots more of her in the upcoming seasons.
@@GeronimoPlaz That won't happen this season
@@GeronimoPlaz Thats much later. After some kids have already died.
@@spoons250 dude, I was just joking. Thanks a lot.
Rhaenys is my queen
She is such a badass, I love her character and the way she plays her
Daemon’s face when Alicent prays for the soul of the man he killed made me audibly laugh.
They keep making him laughing 😂😂
“Yeah and I hope he’s roasting in hell lol”
'Alicent' brother
@@jamiegreyy thank you. I’m bad with the spelling of some of the names.
Poor man he died for doing nothing wrong and daemon won't face any consequences either, i wonder if he does have kids to take revenge?
Daemon helping Viserys was my favourite moment of the episode. Despite all their infighting and legitimate reasons to be antagonistic, they are still brothers who, deep down inside, care for each other. I doubt Daemon ever wanted to see his brother in such a sorry state so he helps him maintain a modicum of dignity in front of the court. They're also portrayed by two tremendous actors.
I actually found it to be the moment that showed Daemon that he was very much part of the manipulation of a dying Viserys
@@letmetellyalilstory9122 the reason I can’t agree with that is because In the beginning of ep 8 he seems concerned and annoyed with how little ottos maesters are doing for him. Basically just giving him band aids.
I thought it looked like Daemon respecting Vizzy for maybe the first time, seeing how hard he was working and how determined he was to get to the throne and say his piece. It was one of Viserys’ strongest moments.
@@Miss_Distress That's true. It's sad that he didn't manage to tie things off properly in the end
@@joshuaortega1118 I know what you mean completely. But they were there effectively to push each other's agendas while Viserys still lived
I enjoyed how, after Aemond and Daemon stared each other down, Daemon turned to Rhaenyra with a little giggle and smile. Almost as if to say “this one’s fun”. Love how Daemon takes the time to appreciate chaos and chaotic energy, no matter the setting.
He is really likes to enjoy choas and stood watching it.😅
Death crossdress herself as beloved ones you know that already passed away. Its her way to convince you to go with her. Viserys fell for it like everyone does and will at some point
The Daemon / Aemond dynamic is just so *chefs kiss*🤌🏻
man i fking love their dynamic even more than anything in GoT and we've hardly had a taste of it... i just cant tell if they're going to kiss or throw hands its amazing
@@TiaguinhoMu what??
52:13 George R. R. Martin "breaking the rules of writing" when it comes to naming the characters similarly is one of the reasons why GoT and HotD are so genius. That reflects the real life monarchy (so many Georges...) That really allows the characters in the world and us viewers to give them other distinctive characteristics to differentiate the different personas: like the Beggar King, Mad King etc. Interestingly all Baelors were kind and feeble kings...
And Alicent getting that whole prophesy confused because of names really shows how difficult the power struggle within that tight monarchy is. Plus Viserys mistakenly calling Alicent Aemma, his late wife... Just cherry on the top. Viserys was like all of us when we started watching Game of Thrones for the first time 😂
Word. So many Henrys and Arthurs. It's insidious.
Aemond and Daemon are so alike, and I think they recognise it in each other. Both are 'dark horses', second sons, riders of fearsome dragons (even amongst other dragons), expert swordsmen, sharp tongued with veiled insults. Its such a great rivalry brewing.
If things were happy go lucky, maybe aemond and daemon would have been a great duo.
Wait until you see the Battle above the Gods Eye.
I also mistake aemond as daemon when i saw him sparring with criston cole.
Game recognises game moment.
@@LordVerdo bro no one cares like go take the book spoilers elsewhere. You're not some mysterious seer when you're unveiling important info to others who aren't aware of what's going to happen. Nerd.
I'm glad that the last thing Viserys got to see, was his family geting along. Even if it didn't last it was still a bittersweet moment for me. RIP King Viserys Targaryen first of his name. A fair king, a loving husband/father/grandfather, and a good man. 👑
@@ULTRAOutdoorsman the last thing he saw when he was cognizant then. 😅
Also his eye was closed until the last moment before he died
RIP My King Viserys I! :(
@@emrecck He's Viserys I
@@Argos-xb8ek Vizzy No 1
@@Argos-xb8ek I wrote Viserys I… There is an exclamation point afterwards
Episode 8 was terrific, all around. The look on Viserys' face as he surveys the room -- he nows this will be the last time these people will be in a room together, "peaceful" like this. He knows his feeble body and harried breath is the only thing keeping them from tearing each other apart. In fact, as soon as he is carried out of the room, violence erupts immediately. I feel so bad for him. What a performance by Paddy Considine. And I think we were all theorizing that Alicent might misinterpret Viserys' last words, and it seems that's exactly what happens. She cannot in good conscience thinks this is the one (1) time Viserys is lucid enough to make proclamations on who should sit the throne... but she will use it as justification to install her son on it nevertheless. The final two episodes cannot come any sooner!
Maybe it would’ve been too naive of him, but I want to think Viserys truly believed everyone was happy again and on the way to making a peace that would hold. That family dinner is more or less the final time he’s lucid before his death, at least as far as we see in the show. So to me, I felt like that scene was giving Viserys a peaceful and somewhat happy moment to go out on. Poor guy deserved that much.
@@JakvsMetalheads999 That's how I saw it, too. He goes out thinking he reigned over a peaceful kingdom, and set his house right before he died. His last moments were watching his family laughing, and breaking bread. While it will obviously, and *does* immediately, fall apart after he's gone, for him it is the perfect happy ending he always wanted.
I feel SO bad for him completely, he's a good and peaceful person entirely so but he's surrounded by people who are not.
But that’s what he did in the start by naming her his heir over his brother..instead of his head being clouded by drugs it was clouded by grief for his decision which killed his wife. Him blaming himself then naming her heir there was going to be a war if alicent was there or not.
That is the nature of prophecy. Prophecy will bite your prick off every time.
I loved how Aemond’s sparring session with Criston Cole mirrored the tourney fight between Daemon and Criston Cole with them using the same weapons but Aemond won, showing that he is a dangerous opponent for Daemon
Oh shit I hadn’t noticed that! I do note a strong resemblance between Daemon and Aemond, mostly in the shit-stirring grin. Serious props to the casting director along with the actors.
Maaan I'm gonna miss Paddy, what a tragic character brought to life by an impeccable performance. RIP King Vissy 💖🤴🙏🏿
These three STRONG BOYS. Best line in the whole episode
The pig set in front of one eye was quality!
Everyone was waiting with bated breath, including me haha😂
*He can keep his tongue* that was the best
@@Darkstar_Dayne that's confirm that what he said is true, go back to a Tyrion quote
Aemond really getting his revenge back when they gave him the pink dread lol! Now he is the strongest fighter among the next gen
If any parts of the soundtrack sound average or underdeveloped, that’s only because Ramin had to devote all his time and energy into making sure Viserys crossing the throne room sounded as epic and heartfelt as was humanly possible.
i dont think soundtrack lacking. we have had beautiful scores across many episodes, sometimes silence speakers louder. The climax of this ep was certainly viserys climbing the throne and the soundtrack did it justice. The rest is just quiet silence now, a waiting game for whats to come, imo
Don’t forget Alicent’s entrance to Rhaenyra’s wedding feast. That song was a banger.
Westworld S4 music was very very lacking because he was busy making bangers fof Hot D
"They hate that theme tune? Well they're going to love this bit!"
Damn, this is instantly one of my favorites if not favourite soundtrack of all of GoT and HotD
I think they need more kids named Aegon, it’s a good strong name, from now on everyone is named Aegon.
Oh yeah baby Aegon the 18th, A-Gizzy the drunk, 18th of his name, hear to spit hot fire 🔥
I mean if anything it is realistic. Didn't the anglo-normans name all their kids William, Henry, Richard and Edward?
@@geoDB. 8 Henrys beats 6 Aegons
@@AviChetriArtwork We counting the Aegons who never sat the throne? Because that would bump it up to 8- Aegon the Uncrowned who got killed by Maegor then Jon Snow.
At least in this instance there is a spiteful reason for there to be two Aegons, unlike the incredibly bad writing choice from Game of Thrones to name John Snow Aegon when he has a brother from the same father with the same name who was still alive when he was born. I really hope Martin doesn’t do that shit.
The fight actually began before Aemond's toast when Lucerys tries to stifle his laughter at Aemond as a roast pig is set in front of him, which hearkens back to the prank he and his brother played on Aemond when they were younger and they gave him a pig in lieu of a dragon. This sleight is what set off Aemond and led to him escalating things with his "toast".
He’s just insecure af
@@diskeyes It's quite a common thing that happens with young men that are bullied by their peers. They are the ones who are motivated to become 'strong' and prove a point. Which is exactly what Aemond is, a young man who has become a capable warrior with the largest and oldest Dragon there is, but still a child in his thoughts and actions, who still thinks revenge is a good idea. Petty but somewhat justified..
@@gezenews ...he was not only bullied by them, he also lost an eye and his face is scared forever.
Then there is the fact that they are bastards...
@@gezenews Apologize? What are you talking about? They took his eye, you muppet.
@@diskeyes Interesting take. I think it's a pretty normal reaction for people to want their bullies to get comeuppance. Especially when that bully goes so far as to take your eye and faces no repercussions for doing so.
I feel like Aemond looks older from the fact of how serious he takes his position. While Aegon drinks, he’s training. He’s much more mature compared to his older brother. So more visual story telling through their appearance.
Death crossdress herself as beloved ones you know that already passed away. Its her way to convince you to go with her. Viserys fell for it like everyone does and will at some point
He looking like his uncle
@@TiaguinhoMuhow is she cross dressing herself as a woman? If death is a woman, dressing up as Aemma, that’s just normal dressing. Lol
paddy and matt’s performances in this episode were absolutely perfect… nearly brought me to tears ugh
Season 8 Alicent, "You know I never really cared about putting my children on the iron throne."
There won't be a season 8 the director already confirmed that it's gonna go for only 4 because there's not much to explore and YES Alicent will hate THE COLOR GREEN
@@Darkstar_Dayne Missed that one didn't ya? 😅
@@Darkstar_Dayne It’s a joke that in season 8 of GoT, Dumb and Dumbass completely ruined Jaime’s character in a single line by stating that he never cared about the people in King’s Landing. OP is making a joke about Alicent not wanting to put her kids on the throne which would go against her established character, similarly to Jaime in season 8.
Season 8 Viserys: I never really cared if my family fought or not
@@Darkstar_Dayne whooooosh
The entire Driftmark inheritance court scene was great, and so was the dinner scene. When Daemon helped Viserys ascend the throne, I genuinely shed a tear. Poor Viserys, I feel so sorry for him. Paddy is a great actor, I hope this role will be appreciated. The whole episode is very good, zero fillers for me.
Daemon stepping up to rhaenyra's sons and facing Aemond was really a nice moment
Really loved this episode. Rip Viserys !
Haha, he reminds me of someone a strong father figure who cares about his love ones and someone you can trust to defend you in every situation. Like his always got your back
Death crossdress herself as beloved ones you know that already passed away. Its her way to convince you to go with her. Viserys fell for it like everyone does and will at some point
I cant get over the dinner scene. For a brief moment there's peace at the table and Viserys gets what he wants and dies believing that finally there's peace. Only the second he was carried out of the dining hall and out of sight, its the children that stir things up once more. Those well trained ticking time bombs.
Alicent covering up Aegons behavior like R kellys management team
like Elaine try to defend Amber Heard 😂😂😂😂
Now this is brilliant. 😂
She literally did the best thing she could do for that girl. The alternative is that girl getting called a whore or temptress who seduced the prince. there is no metoo in Westeros.
Was the girl poisoned? Haelena says the maid is missing in next scene
@@kevincarter2020 I thought alicent let her have some time off since she just got graped
I cried when Viserys surveyed the room for the last time. It is hard to make me cry. What a fucking performance by Paddy Considine. Favorite episode so far. His presence will really be missed.
I cried when deamon helped him in the throne. Him saying "I can do it" but when he sees its his younger brother he's like yeah you can help me, it's fine. Melted my heart
@@ms.mittenz omg dude yess, I loved that. This episode just hit so many right notes in terms of Viserys' character, I love it.
@@ms.mittenz YES. You are not alone.
Paddy Considine not getting an Emmy for this would be a crime
Lena Headey didn't get a single award for her Cersei role
It wouldn't surprise me if those cunts overlook Paddy as well
Disagree, he lays it on too thick
@@12345Yeah what?
@@12345Yeah I agree. Maybe it’s because he’s mainly done theater. Either way, still a great performance
@@moonman8450 moaning uh ahhhhh uhhh, like a guy on stage performing
I love the speech that Aemond gives at the feast toward the middle of the episode. It sounded like he loves his nephews but the look of horror on Alicent's face when she realizes that her son is actually gonna insult Rheanrya's children is clearly there. She knows that Aemond isn't happy with Jace and Luke being there because he still holds a grudge against them. Luke in particular. Aemond has to play the part of a loving uncle when the reality he can't stand being around them
@Leithrel that was Luke who chuckled. Jace was dancing.
@Leithrel oh luke will definitely regret that.
Seeing Viserys' decline and desire to be with his family in his final days/weeks/months made me more emotional than I would've expected.
Trying to desperately mend ties between estranged family before dying is incredibly accurate in my experience.
Death crossdress herself as beloved ones you know that already passed away. Its her way to convince you to go with her. Viserys fell for it like everyone does and will at some point
Paddy Considine's acting brought me to tears this episode, what an incredible actor and an amazing episode. This has to be one of the best episodes in the asoiaf universe of all time.
Death crossdress herself as beloved ones you know that already passed away. Its her way to convince you to go with her. Viserys fell for it like everyone does and will at some point
When Viserys walked in it gave me chills; the past 8 weeks ive grown from laughing at Viserys to admiring the tragic majesty behind his Charachter. The scene of him walking in with the half-gold mask and Targaryen embed clothing sent shivers down my spine. Refusing Ser Erryks help but accepting Daemons help, two estranged brothers who despite their differences will always love eachother. The pain in Daemons eyes whenever he was in a scene with Viserys is truly remakable acting by all. Huge props to Paddy Considine an absolutely amazing performance.
It's important to note that Viserys' entrance echoes Alicent's entrance during Rhaenerys' wedding. Alicent's entrance at that wedding represented her disruption of Viserys' plans for his future; Viserys' entrance here represents his disruption of Alicent's plans for her future.
The "new HOTD episode" task doesn't end until watching the 3 hour Qn'A
this entire episode was an hour. But it felt like 14 minutes, I WANT MORE
Same! I haven’t been this excited for a show since GOT! My Sundays are again for GOT and TWD. Though, HotD season 1 is only ten episodes, and soon TWD will be over 😢
viserys' walk to the throne felt like 14 min alone lol
They listed it as 111minutes but we got around 56
Another week of waiting. I feel you bud
There’s also a distinctly daemon sounding laugh when helaena talks about her marriage to aegon
Also, helaena does talk about her children saying “have you seen dyanna? She was meant to dress the children” shortly after allicent goes crazy at aegon
Yes, Helaena and Aegon's children are alive by that time.
‘Alicent goes crazy at Aegon’ lmao, I hate it when bitch mommy whines when I do rapes, doesn’t she know I spent my good boy points so it’s chill.
I think when Daemon laughs and Otto praises helaena is the only time they've seen eye to eye.
Who are the children of helaena?
@@PDBisht She has twins. Jaehaerys and Jaehaera and eventually has another son Maelor. In the book she's 13 when she marries 15 year old Aegon.
-Paddy better get Emmys
-A huge thanks to the casting team because Ewan Mitchell is killing it as Aemond, that guy has some evil resting face and his owning it
-The dinner scene is my favorite the whole season aside from the finale ofc.
This episode brought back bad memories of when my Dad was suffering badly with Cancer and was wasting away. He would stubbornly continue to walk with a stick even though it was painful. Hi passing in the hospital was much like the scene with the King 😞
sorry man
@@swabrysaadsaad9108 Thankyou
Bro the scene with vaemonds body on the table was so eerie and rhaenyss had that same fire stare as Daenerys with the same music cue and everything
Her line about the Stranger not caring if her eyes are open or closed gave me chills. That was some deep, dark, sad shit
The Dance of the Dragons could have been avoided if they only hadn’t served pig for dinner
It's as though Aemond had it requested, the ways the servers placed it in front of him. Kind of like a taunt of sorts, that smirk looked premeditated haha
@@Anonthon I hadn't thought about this yet. I knew there was more to that smile/moment, for it to warrant Aemond starting that shit right afterwards
@@Anonthon That's grasping at straws if I've ever seen it. He was minding his business and wasn't going to do anything until his nephews had the nerve to laugh at him. Also, in the book i'm pretty sure his nephew actually orders the pig to be placed in front of him.
@@Anonthon It also foreshadows that Aemond's going to do some roasting himself using his sentient flying nuke.
@@srccde 🤣 sentient flying nuke hahaha. I love this fandom so much.
I was dying laughing when Daemon whispered.."Say it", so badass, and lets not forget that Aemond ate a full right hook from Jace like it was nothing,then eyed down Daemon
Daemom
Lol he immediately looked away when Daemon looked at him
@@TheHonoredMadman no he didn’t lol
Aemond is much stronger than the bastards now. They even got intimidated when they saw him sparring with cole
Small touches, the smirk which set him off, shoving him back, he did back down after staring at Daemon but when he walks past him without flinching Daemon gives this smirk of appreciation, all the others are worried and he's like "yeah that's the younger me, going to be fun fighting him. Aemond does the same in the throne room, he's like "this guy kills easily".
The beast beneath the boards is pretty compelling evidence towards the theory of Larys skinchanging into the rats.
We didn't see Larys, but I bet he was there 😏
Ok, I think we're all thinking of Larys and rats and little birds etc.
What if the beast beneath the boards is a shipwreck, and that's their way of fixing the Laenor "plot hole" in that it lets him die after all so that Sea Smoke can bond with someone else.
@@Matthy63 Maybe. I think something like that might happen to Laenor, unless they end up changing it so that Adam of Hull is actually Laenor. But I think they Beast beneath the Boards is probably Larys, or maybe Aegon's bastard that we see in the trailer for next week's episode.
I feel that the beast beneath the boards might be two beasts, maybe named after the red liquid many people ooze out, and fermented milk
The John Snow show should start with John Snow waking up and realizing that everything from Ed Sheeran onwards was just a dream, and use that as an way to remake seasons 7-8 from a John point of view.
Seasons 5 and 6 were very bad still
Everyone whenever the camera panned to him: Say the line, Aemond!
Aemond: These three Strong boys.
Everyone: *YAAAYYYYYY!*
Things were going too smoothly for Aemond’s liking and he was not having it lol
like a schoolyard fight, the crowd, "OOOOOHHHHH!"
He's still hurt about the pig
He got the balls to say that in front of daemon and rhaenyra SAVAGE!!!
@@yogesh_tmyk Daemon was laughing
The emotions were so high this episode, making it my favorite. I shed tears three separate times, this episode in particular was an absolute masterwork. Rhaenyra breaking down in tears at her father’s bedside, watching Viserys hobble down the great hall, Daemon helping him, the toasts between Rhaenyra and Alicent, seeing everyone happy at dinner, seeing Viserys drift away as music, laughter and revelry surround him (I thought he was gonna die right then and there), and Viserys’ death. All of it was so masterful.
I didn't expect this episode to set the stage for the Dance so powerfully. They really drove home the tragedy of Viserys' reign and the futility of the coming conflict.
This is my favorite episode by far as well. So moving. Team black here, but now I do understand the greens' cause. And I loved how for the first time I acknowledged and confirmed their good sides. Even Otto, as ambitious as he is, he genuinely cared for the King. And Alicent, that scene where she hugged Dyana, you kind of sympathize with her. She understands the girl's suffering because in a way she has been abused/used as well (from her father forcing her to marry). And it's confirmed she and cersei are nothing alike. Add to that Viserys calling Rhaenyra "my only child", I really felt sorry for Alicent and for kids. Even at his last moments, he thinks only of Rhaenyra and Aemma.
Gosh, almost all of the scenes were so good for me, Rhaenyra breaking down to her father, the King making it to his iron throne, Daemon acting up for the honor of his wife, Visery's last plead to his family, the princess and the queen's toasts, and the King's final moments were the highlights for me.
Aemond and Daemon doing their best PRE FIGHT ANIME POSE SCENE
Gave me DBZ vibes
This episode had me crying like a baby- Daemon and Viserys' last reunion, Viserys meeting baby Aegon III and Viserys II, and Daemon helping Viserys up the steps one last time. What an amazing episode.
I think Viserys getting help from Daemon was made all the more special because he initially denied help from his kings guard to maintain his dignity, but when he went to deny help a second time, he realized it was Daemon and he felt dignified in accepting help from his own brother
King Vicerys crying out to his first wife had me boo hoo ugly crying 😭 I feel like everything he did after her death was in her memory.
What a performance by Paddy Considine.
Encore! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
Same--Paddy slayed it!
I didn't really read that final scene with Alicent and Viserys as a comedy of errors moment, where his confusion causes the problem. The way the dinner turned to conflict as soon as he left clearly showed that at this point no matter what he does, it's too late to prevent the impending war. Alicent might use his ramblings as an excuse, but she and Otto were going to promote her own children's claims no matter what.
in that episode she unnoficially disowned Aegon and during dinner admitted Rhaenyra as a good queen. I thought she was ready to "give up" until the last scene where things changed
This episode is really hard to watch for those who lost their dad/parent to disease and watching them dying/eaten away by it. Viserys' deathbed scene brought me to tears 😢😢
My grandfather had dementia before he died. He wasted away just as Viserys did, so you can imagine how sad it was to see him like that.
I have a grandmother with similar mobility issues rn, so yeah.
My father died of cancer last month, his last days were very much like Viserys' last days. Needless to say I cried my eyes out during this episode.
The way Paddy mimicked the faint, dry speech of a bedridden senior was heartbreaking.
It’s the gargling-like sounds that get to me
I think what I like best about this show is that it's so human. These terribly inconsequential issues spark disasters of magnitude, offer the finest justifications, for conflicts to rise.
I think it’s cool how it took daemon so long to truly come back around to viserys. (Not that I really think daemon ever left his brothers side)
Finally seeing him in such a decrepit state, limping to his duty on the iron chair. I bet you daemon finally realized he was silly for envying Viserys and having been away from his side
his reaction when he saw viserys for the first time… you can see him thinking ‘what have i done by leaving?’ just confusion and devastation, barely able to look.
Seeing aemond rock the eye patch so well makes me weep for the state of show Euron.
GIVE ME MY MAGIC CTHULU WORSHIPING PIRATE GOD DAMMIT
Older Aemond looks amazing. He looks way older than his siblings though, like mid 30s or something.
@@doryfishie2 yeah i'd imagine losing an eye'll do that to you
@@doryfishie2 His skin is scared and face a bit sharp which makes him look older but it's accurate to the book because Aegon as described as fat and stupid
Im not sure Rhanys was against her from the start. She wanted to hear it out of her own mouth that she didnt kill Laenor, then said "Ill have to stand alone", which she meant literally because her husband is gone and its all fallen on her. She was letting Rhaenyra sweat it out, but she always backed her husbands claim... Which is why she left when Corlys brother did, to stand for Corlys will. Corlys was always clear on what he wanted. She wouldnt have went just to besmirtch that for her own gain. She made it very clear in intimate times that she does not care at all to have it.
This!
That's certainly true, but I also think the king coming back certainly changed things cause I don't think she would've appealed for Rhaenyra if the Hightowers were still running that sham hearing
I think her saying 'I'm standing alone' means that she wouldn't stand against the Hightowers as they are strong, even if she is not with them and she wouldn't consider Rhaenyra her ally because she believes she killed her son.
She said to Rhaenyra "you are on your knees so I will have to stand alone" (sic).
Meaning Rhaenyra was compromised and had no weight, in the face of the Hightower's sham judgement.
Aemond and his new actor are weirdly fascinating to me. He had this commanding presence that was almost ghoulish in a way. I don’t know, I think he was cool. 😅
He looks like the captain of a steampunk airship
He has a very villainous facial structure and the eyepatch just adds to it all. His face is in a permanent shit-eating smirk. If he were buff and dark haired, he would’ve been a great book Euron
I love him! First guy that actually screams Targaryen to me. Dude looks like he came out of someone's fanart.
@@lindsay9838 good observation. Totally would've rocked the proper euron look
I feel like the golden mask Viserys is wearing is inspired by real life account of Baldwin IV, The Leper King of Jerusalem. GRRM adds so much true-life history into his writing. The battle in the stepstones heavily invoked WWII Iwo Jima battle tactics with the tunnels and aerial bombardment.
That tongue hanging from half of a head and then Deamon calmly following it up with the line of the episode: ''He can keep his tongue''. spot on!
Death crossdress herself as beloved ones you know that already passed away. Its her way to convince you to go with her. Viserys fell for it like everyone does and will at some point
"Through the Weirwood" would actually be a good title for an anthology series
Sounds cool but not marketable enough for mainstream audiences I bet.
Oooo
i thought there were clear analogues between Viserys and Baldwin IV of Jerusalem in that Vis had a leprosyesque disease and I LOVE that they went the whole hog and gave him a golden mask
Yeah, I instantly thought of Kingdom of Heaven when I saw the mask
The face Deamon makes when Alicent prays for Veamond....
He's such a goblin I love him
Oh!! That long scene with Rhaenys watching every last second of the handling of Vaemond's body for burial was there because she's putting the pieces together (sorry, infelicitous phrasing--RIP Vaemond) *about Laenor's death*--or lack thereof
Rhaenys takes her responsibilities seriously, and I think she is initially there to supervise the handling of evidence for her own house's purposes (she has Corlys to think about, and what to do about Daemon's actions in her own jurisdiction), to ensure Vaemond's remains are returned with integrity, and also to demonstrate that they reflect the way it was related in court (or else she's losing it and considering tampering with the evidence, but I think it's unlikely). So, as she watches the Silent Sisters (woot! glad to see them back in their original uniforms), we get a trippy, amazing fisheye lens shot effect behind Rhaenys' head while she is watching, and the camera lingers on her for a few more beats than I would expect in a show that is otherwise so economical with action and plot. At first, I thought the effect was there to accentuate her emotiions--like, oh, no, another member of our house lost to this bullsh*t---but she is too cool a customer for that. Vaemond and Laenor have some family resemblance, and she must be thinking about her own son's death, and how she didn't get the closure of seeing his body. I also believe she must be ruminating over what Rhaenyra just said to her about sincere love for her husband Laenor--and her claim that she really didn't plot his death--and Rhaenyra's offer to marry their children and grandchildren, and Rheany's subsequent question about Rhaenyra's desperation in that moment. I think she's realizing that Rhaenyra is *not* emotional when she's desperate; if anything, she's actually at her most strategic, and it's all leading to Rhaenys realizing that her son is possibly or probably or even definitely alive.
What she will do with this suspicion is anyone's guess. Rhaenys is playing her own game, as was clearly illustrated in the first part of this episode when she witheld her answer to Rhaenyra's proposal until Viserys came in and reiterated that Luke would get Driftmark. The Red Queen is playing the hand she's been dealt.
Also, The goosebumps when Viserys entered the throne room with the guard shouting his name ...
Made me feel so sorry for Alicent, a sensitive girl who never should have been Queen. She was so starved for respect for what she had done, not just the position of power she was in, that she was basically ready to mend fences (much to Otto's chagrin). But alas...
I think she is still ambitious. No excuses for her starting a war. She could have just not listen to her nasty father. Also her kids are half bloods cause she is not Targaryen. What a hypocrite of a woman!
But i agree with rhaenyra, alicent were a great wife always cared for her husband, we don't know rhaenyra would have done if she was in her situation.
@@kesivan She hasn't yet started a war. And of course she could have done all sorts of things. She could have taken up painting and not given a damn about any of it, but that would make her a different character. This woman could not ignore her father, even if she wished to, he made sure of that while bringing her up, (though here in this episode we see she tries in her own way, by accepting Rhaenyra's toast and offering her one where she acknowledges her claim tot he throne, which Otto seems shocked by) even in her adulthood doing things outside of his influence causes her great distress.
Her issue is not that Rhaenyra's children are half-bloods, it is that they are illegitimate. More pointedly that Rhaenyra was able to get away with pursuing a relationship for love, so blatantly and flagrantly without consequence, and Alicent had to abide by the rules of society. As she has ever had to. She has taken on the role given to her and "done her duty" and is upset by the fact that it is in many ways to no purpose (her children aren't even the heirs of the aged king she's cared for and shared a bed with for decades as he fell victim to age and disease) if Rhaeneya and her (illegitimate) children are the heirs, then Alicent has given up her youth birthing princes who will never be kings. What was the point of the indignities and unpleasantness she has suffered? So an old man had someone to share his bed while he took forever to die?
Pretty raw deal, but one she seems willing to accept by the end of that dinner if she can just have some friendly faces around again. Until her dying husband, the one whom she has been so devoted to all these years, tells her that it is her son and not his daughter who should be heir, to save the realm. (or at least that is how in the moment she hears what he has to say).
Is it ambition? I don't think so, but I think it is a desire for "fairness" for what is "right" that drives her. In order for her life to mean something, she must continue to serve her husband's dying wish, that her son should be king. It all has to be for something, this unhappy life she's lived. Now this is it. Her son is the Prince that was Promised (whatever that means) and her husband's dying words were that she should unite the realm. For someone who's life has always been serving another's cause (and who will cease to have a purpose after her husband's death), those words are marching orders towards some kind of destiny other than being a dying old man's brood mare.
@@kesivan Not hypocritical. Her kids are the king's kids, her actual husband's. Rhaenyras kids aren't her husband's, thus being bastards.
I know Modern sensibilities don't really care about whose the father in regarding kids parentage and bastards are no longer a thing, but it DID matter back then. Laemon was prince consort. It's his and rhaenyras kids who are entitled to the realm, not rhaenyras and Strongs, a nobody all things considered.
@@Lurklen Excellent analysis
One hell of an episode. RIP Vizzy T.
Gone but never forgotten
Whoever did the casting for Aemond "One Eye" deserves a reward! If by season two he removes the eyepatch and there is a certain thing under it Ill loose my shit 😁
The resemblance to Daemon is fantastic - particularly that shit-stirring smirk. *chef’s kiss*
This was an amazing episode. So many feels. It's just heart-breaking how Allicent and Rhaenyra are pitted against each other in ways they do not want. After all these years of strife, they still care deeply about each other. They are family, they are sisters.
And the sadness in Allicent's eyes, when she thought that Viserys told her that her son Aegon was to be on the throne. Obviously not knowing about Aegon the Conqueror's dream.
Rhaenyra's and Daemon's children were so well behaved (until the strong thing at the dinner), they seem to take their roles seriously and take pride in being Targs/Velaryons.
Having Aegon and Aemond as a stark contrast to that, trying to egg them on and being just overall not nice people.
(Not including Helaena because she was just adorable, and it was so lovely seeing her dance with Jace. Was a great callback to their potential match, had Allicent agreed. Think they would have made a good pair. Jace seems nice, and honorable.)
Granted, if you lost an eye and then had to give up your birthright to bastards, probably wouldn't be a fan of them either. While Aegon the elder is just kind of a childish prick, Aemond only acts up when Laerys starts laughing at him over the pig, referencing the Pink Dread.
It was a great scene
Death crossdress herself as beloved ones you know that already passed away. Its her way to convince you to go with her. Viserys fell for it like everyone does and will at some point
The dinner scene was so heartbreaking. You could tell that at least Rhaenyra and Alicent were having thoughts of, "What have we done? What have we set in motion? Neither of us actually wants this."
But by this point things have gone too far. The kids have inherited the grudges and power plays that the adults have lived long enough to want to move past.
And of course Otto is just there being a scheming piece of sh*t.
Someone needs to make a compilation of every time they say “the stepstones” in this season
One doesn't get away with murder as easily as Daemon does.
I don’t blame Viserys for being sick of hearing about them because I sure am and they’re not even my problem
In episode 3 on Aegon's name day, Viserys tells Alicent about the dream he had about his son wearing the crown. How his obsession killed Aemma. That's likely the dream Alicent mistook his last words for
Older Aemond is a sensational actor.
I do not get emotional often but near cried as Visereys eneterd the hall. Great show.
Same happened to me in the scene where Viserys surveys the room one last time, looking at his family in peace. It is hard to make me cry but it just got to me. Fucking loved this episode.
Both of them had me on the edge of my seat (for different reasons!)
He is terrific, he was also superb in The Last Kingdom - a show which Helaena's actress is also in! Kinda cool.
He may be a good actor but damn is he ugly. The eye patch helps but it’s still a face only a mother could love.
He was so goddamn good in The Last Kingdom, and has some range considering he's a very different kind of character in that show
The little faceoff between Aemond and Daemon
The upstart prick against the professional prick 🤣
Such an intriguing uncle-nephew duo.
V cool to see their rivalry established here.
Daemon is old and ugly. Don't compare pretty Aemond to him!!!!!
I feel like having multiple people with the same names goes a long way to help it feel like real and cohesive world with a realistic culture
I also noticed Otto enjoyed Helena’s comments about Aegon the most as the feast. I think he genuinely loathes his grandson because all of his efforts rest on this stupid, drunk of a boy.
grandson* not nephew but yea i guess
If you legitimize them, you're admitting they are bastards and Rhaenyra is basically treacherous and that would probably hurt Rhaenyra even more.
Couldn’t Viserys do it from the angle of “well all you idiots think they are bastards even though they aren’t, so here you go, I legitimize them anyways, now shut up and let me have a nap”. He could do it in a snide and mocking manner that would show he doesn’t believe the rumor but would still get it done all the same.
@@Etticos. Things are more political than that, even joking about it would mean he has to acknowledge it to an extent which is enough. Even though Viserys is aware they are bastards he intentionally denies it.
Short term. But it would still be better than leaving it in flux like he did. And maybe it would Rhaenyra but dammit, she DID break the rules.
I still can't get why it's such a fuss to admit that they are Strong and not Velaryon. Just make the oldest Targaryen child (Aegon III) heir to the throne, problem solved.
@@alfrredd I mean, the plot beats of the Dance is basically the events of the Anarchy in 12th century England (minus the dragons). Possible spoilers ahead, I actually don't know how the Dance ends exactly and don't want to, but so far it's a clear influence in the same way that the War of the Five Kings is basically the War of the Roses with the serial numbers filed off, which is a thing that GRRM loves to do - York=Stark, Lancaster=Lannister, Tudor=Tyrell. Although if GRRM had decided to keep the ending the same, that means the Tyrells win, which like, they don't, so big ole grain of salt.
Possible spoilers ahead for like, 800 year old irl history I guess.
Henry I has a single legitimate son, who dies. To have *an* heir he breaks with precedent and nominates his daughter as heir, Empress Matilda. On his death, all the nobles decide to ignore this and install a guy with a weaker claim, King Stephen, who gets to be king by virtue of being brothers with an influential cleric and also literally racing to London first. Matilda nopes out of there and keeps trying to fight back from the Plantagenet holdings in France. Stalemate for 15-odd years.
She eventually dies but her son Henry II grows up and defeats Stephen, who just lost his own heir. The peace treaty is basically, Stephen gets to keep the throne but has to nominate Henry II as heir. Luckily for Henry, Stephen dies all of five seconds later, so 19 year old Henry and his freshly divorced wife Eleanor of Aquitaine are suddenly rulers of England plus a solid half of France including Eleanor's holdings, and both very, very good at popping out lots of heirs.
49:15 Also recall that Viserys was the last rider of the Black Dread, and the boys bullied Aemond by presenting him the pig "Pink Dread". So we have the last rider of the Black Dread being carried out as the Pink Dread comes in.
Otto saying "Disarm him!" When Daemon sliced off the head. Was such a subtle note of him trying to get dark sister, like he's standing with the blade pointed down resting. Everyone no he meant no one else harm. Daemon reading into this "No need...". Just love the details. Everyone is trying to move as many of the chess pieces to their side.
Viserys' dinner scene almost made me emotional.
Aemond also stole the show though. That whole dinner scene I'll rewatch in the future for sure.
It is insanely historical for the Targaryen dynasty to claim all of those titles in regards to Dorne. The kings and queens of England didn't give up on including the title of King of France until the French Revolution. That's the most famous example, but "aspirational" titles show up in heraldry all over Europe so seeing it in the show felt extremely natural and in no way an anachronism. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.
When he said "trust me, i know" about not being able to perceive depth with one eye, did he mean he only has one eye? Is Alt Shift X Bloodraven?
Aemond is a beast. I am looking forward to scenes with him and Daemon.
Aemond: Makes his speech and pauses before saying the last word.
Camera turns to Luc
Camera turns to Aemond
Audience: Come Aemond SAY IT. SAY THE WORD
Aemond: Strong
Audience: YESSSSSS!!!!
I was sitting there absolutely praying that Viserys wouldn’t fall and impale himself in front of the Iron Throne, but Daemon came through. RIP King Viserys l
I'm amazed how many people thought Allicent poisoned the girl. They made it so very obvious that it was moon tea and poisoning her doesn't make any goddamn sense lol
But the moon tea that they gave rhaenyra in that episode was an amber brown colour from what I remember.
This one looked different like it could have been nightshade or something.
It’s really not that crazy that some people thought that at first. Do you think Alicent would’ve told her “this is a poison, you’re going to feel some intense pain and then be dead in a few minutes”. If you want the person to stay calm and do what you want them to do, you present it as something harmless. She could’ve just been letting the girl think it was moon tea. The girl said “I’ll never tell anyone, I swear to you”. Alicent gave her the tea and said “best to be sure”. Although it was about pregnancy, it could’ve been interpreted as “best to be sure you won’t say anything” = poison.
Also, the last time we saw Alicent, she was in a murderous rage. Now we see the Red Keep again and all the joy is gone. It’s empty, it’s dark, it’s serious. We have no idea who Alicent has become in the years since she attacked a child and cut Rhaenyra. We don’t know if she’s become evil or tried to redeem herself. We don’t know if she actually has sympathy for this girl or if she just sees her as an obstacle to eliminate so less people know what a monster her son is.
Nothing obvious about it
Lol it is obvious if you just pay attention. She calls it tea and tells her "just to be sure" and why would you bother to give someone gold if you're about to murderer someone? Also the murder would be relatively open and done right in front of a servant. Poisoning her literally makes zero sense
@@talk-supersix-seven6021 wasn't it in a different goblet? Perhaps the way it's brewed is different
Alicents interpretation of Viserys's words is based on the conversation they had back during the hunt in the beginning of the season
im not sure i like the new aegon actor, or at least, i preferred teenage aegon a lot more! i think he could've pulled off adult aegon too with a different haircut etc. aemond at this point looks older than alicent, but he does pull off the psycho daemon vibes well lmao
It's opposite for me, adult aemond just seems weird and out of place compared to everyone
i cried twice during this episode, once when our homie Old man Vizzy denied to be helped by his kings guard to climb the throne (plus daemon helping him), and his speech to his family about making peace. By extension i was also screaming when he finally made it causing everyone to look at him with respect, even otto did not dare speak against the strength it took to do that. Patrick Condsidine gave it his all in these last scenes so i hope he gets the praise he deserves.
homie Old man Vizzy ? don't cheapen the show with this idiocy
Talya is played by Miguel Sapochnik’s wife. She’s also in the episode “The Bells” & “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” in GOT. Also, Alicents maid has been everywhere & even came into Alicents & Larys dinner in the 6th episode.
You know when the show is great when at the beginning of each Q&A Alt+Shift+X says: MY GOD, WHAT AN EPISODE 😆
> Ordering Jace to marry both Baela and Helaena
I'd go further and make a big royal marriage of Aegon, Aemond, Daeron, Jace, Luke and Joff to Helaena, Baela and Rhaena. An ultimate solution.
There is no succession crisis that incestuous polygamy wouldn't solve.
Rheanyra already offered a marriage to Alicent's children. She refused
Aegon "The Aegon" of Aegon son of Aegon
Lol
Reminiscent of Uhtred son of Uhtred son of Uhtred 😏
I think Rhaenys' actions this eps are 100% justified and add up. She does not side with Rhaenerya right away, letting her feel that she does not approve of her but in the end she chooses what is best for her house and her family. Her goal was to get her granddaughter on the dirftmark throne and marrying her to luke is the most secure way to do that. Rhaena and Baela both have their fathers name so in a way they need luke and jace to get the right name. Furthermore she protects her own sons honour by supporting the children he claimed as his own. Rhaena and Baela would have needed to marry anyway so getting them husbands with valerian blood (bastards or not) strenghtens the bloodline. She also knows from her own expirence that women getting their rightful inheritance is not a thing in this world. This decision saves her granddaughters to have to fight that battle and also supports rhaenerya getting the thrown, fighting against that unwritten rule still. She also pretty nicely made sure that she and her husband get what they want. And as an added bonus she once again shows Rhaenerya that it is her that needs the Velaryons and not the other way around
Yes that was a nice play by Princess 👸 Rhaenys. Like that she kept her cards close to her chest
True but at the same time she's a targaryen supporting another targaryen to put her bastard with no velayron blood on the velayron throne. Which makes vaemonds actions very justifiable, and exposes rhaenyras hypocrisy
Fun Fact: The actor playing Gerardys, the maester teaching Jace’s High Valyrian lesson, was none other than legendary English actor Phil Daniels (Scum, Quadrophenia, Breaking Glass, Meantime, Parklife, etc.). Big fan!
This is episode was the best so far, paddy considine being insane, the visual plotting, aemond being cool as fuck, daemon being cool as fuck, vaemond getting killed and that scene in the throne room is one of the best scenes I’ve ever seen
Wow how fkn tragic was this episode.. made a grown man, borderline psychopath shed a tear😂 might be my fave episode yet.. never felt so much sadness for an episode or a movie before. Usually with hollywood only deaths are the sad parts but this was something else entirely. And damn.. my boii Daemon showing why he's the best guy in the realm.