Overall I thought the episode was okay. However the main take away from it for me was mainly Blood and Cheese. The book version and the animated version are so bone chilling. The show version wasn't terrible but very lackluster. I really hope the other memorable moments of the Dance are better. Also Aegon actually trying to do the right thing and being a decent king actually was surprising. I also agree that they went too far from setting him up as a despicable and almost irredeemable man in season 1. Instead of being a drunk, neglectful and uncaring person, they made him guilty of a far worse crime.
I agree, my friend. I was very disappointed with Blood and Cheese. But I was so excited they showed Aegon trying to help people. I hope they continue this progress and have more of the show fandom believe or at least wonder if he could be a good King.
@@aegorbittersteel2154 Exactly my friend. In the books Rhaenyra also does some very messed up things, and can easily be described as cruel during many moments before and during the dance. It would have also been nice if we had seen the two of them interact more before the dance began. Also they mentioned Sunfyre and they still didn't show him.
@@Ambuscade94 the animated version is of the whole dance condensed in about 20 minutes on TH-cam. It can spoil possible events in the dance so please be careful if you do. I don't remember what timestamp it is at the moment. EDIT: Blood and Cheese for the animated Dance takes place at exactly 6 minutes into that video and ends at 7 minutes and 34 seconds.
smh obviously no read George R.R. Martin's interview before season 1 came out plus House of the Dragon is the only show so far that HBO gave him full say in it. Ryan Condal was picked by George not HBO.
I suspect that, a big part of why 'Blood and Cheese' was not just a one for one of the books. May, come down to, HBO Higher Ups feeling it was too brutal for general audiences. I don't think the actress played the scene wrong at all. it felt very in character for her to seem almost disconnected. Then add in that she is most likely in shock it felt very realistic. and who knows how many times she dreamed of that moment. Helena completely breaks down after finding her mom. But as someone who did read the books and is a GRRM fan, it was disappointing that the choice was removed.
I think it just comes down to them cutting Maelor from the show. And the only reason I can see for them to remove him is because of his grisly fate that in my opinion is even more brutal than what happened with Blood and Cheese.
Helaena sees the future. From her perspective, there is nothing she can do about it. She believes her visions will happen. Her reaction is one of someone who is reacting to something she has seen before. She has no control of the events as they unfold. She knew her son would die. All she can do is not make the situation worse, so she picked up her daughter and left the room. She is trapped by her visions. It's a terrible way to live.
I wanted to see Alicent and Otto's reactions to Luke's death. No pact of Ice and Fire. I swear Syrax is still small af. I think the sex scenes highlights how low Alicent has fallen and makes them both hypocrites. Toning down B&C, taking away the Sophie's choice aspect and cutting Maelor and Helaena being calm vocally and how she left like she was power walking. (No fault of Phia however she did the best with what she had). They took away the choice and emotional turmoil of that choice. I wish they left Alicent in so we could have gotten the horror aspect through her.
Exactly. I agree. That's why I'm thinking he might've been cut from the show because what happened to him was just so horrific. And then what the maesters said about Rhaenrya smiling when they brought her Maelor's head. Ain't no way in hell the show would have Rhaenyra smile like a cartoon villain at something so heinous.
I’ve seen some people make the argument for the less graphic Blood and Cheese scene that it wouldn’t have been appropriate to put little child actors through that. I have to agree that children as young as the ones playing the twins on the show wouldn’t understand what was going on and it could have traumatized them.
I can believe this "turn" in Aegon II. It stemmed from Episode 9/S1. When he's crowned & then proclaimed, he has his back turned away from the crowd bc he thinks they're going to boo/heckle/denounce him...instead the smallfolk cheer for him & show him love. S2 seems to pick up days (or a week-ish) after his coronation, so it makes sense that he wants to further endear himself to the smallfolk. He wants to keep their "love" & adoration bc it's the only time he's felt seen/heard/accepted. It doesnt erase the sins of the past, but all it takes is one moment to "change a person" & he wants to lean "all in" on this "better, Improved side", now that he's King. All of Aegon's sins & devious behaviors are still there underneath.
Aegon "the family man/loving father" can also be explained that the aftermath of the coronation. He simply just wants to do for Jaehaerys, what Viserys never did for him. Now that he's King & Jaehaerys is his heir, he feels compelled to "be/do better". ...also it was a cheap writing trick to make us care for the kid & "feel sorry" for Aegon after B&C.
Disagree, it could've worked with just the twins, a tweaking of lines AND keeping with what the show wanted: Blood/Cheese happen upon Helaena, they're working under a time constraint. They realize the twins are in there. Cheese restrains Helaena. Blood wakes the kids. They tell Helaena to choose which child she wants to sacrifice. Helaena offers her necklace. Blood or Cheese tells her they're not here for gold/trinkets, theyll get paid when they deliver a child's head. They warn her to not make anymore offers (like, kill her instead), they threaten to abuse the kids until she makes a choice. Helaena finally breaks & chooses... If she chooses the GIRL, Blood can just smirk & Cheese says, "Finally, a decision... but our orders were for 'a Son for a Son'", Blood draws his blade towards the boy -- cut away -- & we just get Helaena in shock, maybe muttering to herself, perhaps about 🐀 rats, clearly disturbed & disassociating with what she's witnessing. If she chooses the BOY, Blood can whisper to him, "You hear that Boy? Your mother wants you to die." Smirks, draws his blade - cut away - & same ending as above. Blood/Cheese make their escape, Helaena takes the girl & runs to Alicent & we get the ending we get. Fade to black/credits. ~~~~ 14:38 One of MY disappointments w/the show version, was that I was sure that they were setting up B&C from when Helaena was a BABY. Helaena would cry & cry in Alicent's arms. Only time she stopped was when she was with the handmaids. Then when she's older, you have multiple moments where Alicent is trying to be comforting/loving/affectionate & Helaena cringes/recoils, not wanting to be touched by Alicent. & alot of times when Helaena has visions/says something prophetic, she's with Alicent. So I thought, "Damn, they're really setting up Blood & Cheese!" Bc I assumed (incorrectly 🙃) that ALICENT was in the room when B&C went down. & that was the explanation for Helaena never wanting Alicent to touch her bc Helaena "knew" something tragic was going to happen with Alicent near. I agree that they should've had Alicent in the room &/or do your rewrite of sequencing of events -- leave the Alicent/Criston sex reveal at the end when Helaena bursts thru the door -- if they insisted on removing Alicent from the moment. 15:23 That's interesting bc I watched it w/my mom & sister (both never read the books) & they were confused. Confused why Daemon didn't go with them, confused why they killed the boy when they didn't even try to find Aemond, why didn't they just kill everyone in the room & ultimately it didn't make sense. I've watched other videos from non-book readers who also felt the same way: Confused. I showed my family the Animated Histories/Lore version & they both agreed that THAT was the better version. Even w/out Maelor, there's more understandable motivations in the B&C book version. The show version was a mess from a writing perspective.
I wasn't confused at all of how it went down. plus, we are witnessing the true telling of the dance of dragons as George said before the show aired. Remember Fire & Blood is written in the perspective of measters and third party witness accounts. House of the Dragon is giving us first person perceptive of the events that went down especially book theories that are being canonized about dragon bounding as well now thanks to the new intro and Deamond singing, now what is revealed to be, the dragon bounding spell to prepare Vermathor for bounding. Blood and Cheese made more since in the show than in the book no matter how horrific it maybe. Besides the horror of the event is not what was important, it was the premise is sets for future events and for characters it effects down the road in dance of the dragons.
@derrickj45 Nah, that's a cope. This whole the "books are unreliable narrators" stance is the biggest straw man argument going around. ALL of OUR history is "unreliable narrator" to some degree. But there are obvious events & timelines we collectively agree upon: People involved, Names, Ages, Alliances, significant events, etc. HOTD show CAN'T be "the Truth"/what "really happened" bc where's Maelor? Where's Mushroom, one of the main "narrators"? Why isn't Alicent older, like she is in the book "history"? Etc. So no, I don't accept that premise & I haven't seen what you're referencing where GRRM co-signs that theory. The show is its own "canon", separate from the book & ASOIAF "HISTORY". Ppl are just using that "unreliable narrator" as a (poor) excuse for the changes being made in the show. & like I said, a great amount of viewers, book readers & non-book readers WERE confused about the sequence of events in S2/EP1. & the main point I was making was: If there's THIS MUCH misunderstandings & criticisms, then that's a clear FAILURE ON THE SHOW/writers. The showrunners have also now made statements explaining why they couldn't adapt the book version: Maelor doesn't exist in their show (they didnt have time to include the character for their outline of the show) & legal restrictions w/ young kids on set (Jaehaerys/Jaehaera). ^^yet another reason why the show CAN'T be canon, bc they're hindered by our real-world systems & restrictions. If you enjoyed the episode, good on you. No one is telling you you can't love/enjoy it. But some of us, we wanted & expected more & we have valid criticisms about its adaptation & changes being made to characters/events.
Even though actors do make many of their own choices regarding performances, what you see onscreen ultimately is owned by the director and, to some degree, the editor. They are the ones that decide what goes in the final product.
ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY CUT DOWN 2 EPISODES! That as a huge fan is such a tragic thing to do especially when it needs more if anything and this is one of HBO’s biggest things it has. So stupid.
Thanks for the review, it was quite easy to agree with! That said, I'm pretty worried with all the cuts and changes from the books and fear they'll only increase as the show goes on. Removing Maelor just seems to make progressing the the story more difficult down the line than keeping him. The Reach had some of my favourite events in the Dance (Tumbleton I&II, Caltrops, Maelor) and the involved characters seem to be hit hardest by the cuts. If they're not including Daeron, that story becomes simply unsalvageable in my eyes.
I cannot even begin to tell you how much anxiety I was feeling, waiting for Blood And Cheese! This was by far the moment I and many were dreading the most! 😨 Toning it down to such a degree wasn’t the right choice. Heleana not wailing, as well as cutting Maelor out of the show! It was fine, but imagine what it COULD have been… Barely any time in the North! I was really looking forward to lots of Jace and Cregan! ☹️ No initial reaction from the Greens to Aemond killing Lucerys! That was surprising. That being said, by far THE highlight of the episode was Jace and Rhaenyra hugging and mourning Luke. That scene got me genuinely crying! That emotional weight sat on my chest ever since 😭 There’s some other great highlights! Rhaenyra finding Arrax’s wing/Luke’s cloak. Luke’s funeral! Tom is also killing it as Aegon! 👏 Really hoping that from here onwards, more highly anticipated moments aren’t cut out or toned down! 🙏 Rook’s Rest better not disappoint!🤞
Glad to know I’m not the only one who would have wanted to see Otto’s reacting to Luke’s death, and how Aemond played it off… that aside, blood and cheese was ok, i always knew they’d do their own interpretation and It was kinda meh, but whatever. Aemond being the target makes sense. The Alicent and Cole thing was odd, but I think it will pay off… funny how him and Aemond this close while he’s banging his mom lmao and the cgi for Syrax has gotten worse, how has she gotten smaller after 20 years?
i’m a book reader but i agree with you. It would be a horrific experience to do it exactly as it’s written. I’m actually glad they didn’t show anything because we’ve been there with GOT and it’s just too much, especially with very young children.
I think phia saban is doing a fantastic job along with Tom Glynn-Carney, ever since the centipede scene i always had the idea that Helaena's character may have been on the autism spectrum and with her reaction to blood and cheese i think that only helps push that narrative which is great to see and heartbreaking just because shes so good at portraying how someone like that may react and its 100% believable to me. Especially the quiet mumbling when she was coming down the stairs and taking a moment to look back and kinda hyperventilate to herself it was just *chefs kiss* for me. But yeah The horrified reaction and screams were lacking from alicent or helaena in the end. i wouldve liked the writers to have added maelor though bitterbridge was a moment i was looking forward to...not for the child murder but the aftermath. Go Team Green 💚💚💚
As much as I wanted to see a faithful recreation of the Blood & Cheese storyline, brutally killing a child was going to be too much for even HBO. Even in the most violent movies, let alone tv shows, the child almost always dies off screen. A faithful recreation would almost certainly have slapped the show, if it were a movie, with NC-17 and tv shows stop at TV-MA which is only a R equivalent. I agree that the psychological aspects of Blood & Cheese could have been more impactful.
This is such a straw man argument. They DIDN'T have to show (& no one in the book fandom was asking for) the explicit unaliving of a child on screen... Even the animated Histories/Lore version DOESN'T show the beheading**. The show could've stuck closer to the book version & still not have it be explicitly gory/violent. It's more about the emotional/psychological impacts anyways. Plus, GoT did/showed worse: Shireen being burned, Olly getting hanged by Jon, pregnant Talisa getting stabbed at Red wedding, ETC **& it's ironic AF that ppl saying this, also overlook the fact that the show did the killing MORE brutally. Instead of one clean stroke, they have it be BOTH Blood/Cheese are hacking this kid's head off, along w/the sound effects 😒 WHY tone down the other stuff & make that choice?
For The Watch & The Lord commander!! All my brothers in Black!!! We are the shields that guards the realms of men… Brother Bittersteel I am here brother !!! Here here for House Blackfyre!! I enjoyed the entire episode Don’t have much to complain about, loved the added bit with Criston & The Dowager Queen Alicent… spiced up things a bit since Cole wasn’t there to protect the Heir to the iron Throne… An eye for an eye A son for a son I thought that was done Very very well!! I’ve found that more people are pissed about the dog getting kicked then brutal murder of a child … Thank you for the content mi’lord!! May all those that watch this channels be blessed by the old gods & the new !!
I think the popularity of Game of Thrones kinda made House of the Dragon even more in the spotlight because of how amazing Game of Thrones was even tho season 7 and 8 wasn't that good.
The Autism excuse. I am on it as well austism doesn't take away the feeling of horror or the love of a mother. What does this serve other representing a tiny fraction of the viewer base? You can have a head in the clouds character without an actual condition and still have her be horrified at what happened. The "She's autistic coded" & "it's in character" are terrible excuses. You heard the emotion in her voice when she said "What if he doesn't want to be king?" to Aegon. Making the character how she is robbed a lot out of the character.
But she is showing horror, you don’t need to scream or whatever in order to show it, the work of Phia as an actress is perfect, showing us the horror that Helaena is living in the moment with the eyes, the eyes of despair, like if they were seeing a nightmare (which it is) Heleana knew that blood and cheese was going to happen but wasn’t really sure nor was it cleared about it. The whole point of Heleana in the show is to show how alone she is, when she speaks with Aegon about the rats and he doesn’t really care nor understands her, she feels alone and the camera work shows it. Helaena is horrified by the moment and that whole of emotions just drowns her and she enters in shock, people can react that way, including mothers (yes, they are ppl). I also see that ppl don’t like that she called Jaehaerys “boy” but we have to see the whole picture, in that moment Helaena is running away with her daughter seeking for safety, she doesn’t know where to go because she is overwhelmed, so she does what a little child would do, she seeks for her mother, but instead of receiving the safety she seeks she finds herself in an uncomfortable situation, so she sits in a corner like a child and doesn’t even look at Alicent, she now feels guilty. So when Alicent ask her what happened she answers like a little kid would answer if they felt guilty of a mischief they did, she feels guilty and ashamed of what just happened, her choosing Jaehaerys, Aegon’s heir. I personally think that the scene for TV formant and for the context of the show is perfect, it was horrible without entering in the morbidity of violence (which ppl clearly like) and without the scandalous screams that we are so used to, they showed a different way of horror and I loved it, but that is my personal pick
LOL you are right Aemond never tell how he kill Lucerys and starts the war Is like he planned all along and the greens acts like Rhaenyra is over What the hell bro feel so out of place they even expend screentime on Alicent riding Cole TWICE And Blood and Cheese is so bad made, whats the point of the walking of the reaction, is like pulling Red Wedding without showing the gore of the scene Doesnt have sense The adaptation could be better like having the reaction of Heleana already happen in the episode or having she witness the murder Or "showing" like the shadow of the headless corpse to Alicent to make more graphic without blood But i feel the scene ending so bad made literally i laugh on that fact that she has no reaction IS A LONG WALK AND ALICENT IS WITH COLE IS ABSOLUTE COMEDY i cant take serious that
hard to tell thus far but i do like that they are giving the likes of Huge more backstory. Addam is defiantly older than 16 so i guess they are gonna go down the route of them being Corlys sons. Looking forward to seeing more of them all
Since Maelor doesn't exist. Will Jaherea suffer Maelor's fate at bitterbridge or will they omit that whole scene entirely? I don't think omitting it would make sense because it explains why the city was so brutally sacked.
i think one of three things will happen, Maelor will somehow be born, maybe Helaena is already pregnant or something (not sure how that will work timeline wise). Jaehaera takes Maelor place at bitterbridge and they change the ending of the dance. Or they invent some new reason as to why they sack the city
The psychological aspects make it more brutal but, when reading it, it’s also the part that we should question the most. This isn’t an account from the Blacks or a neutral party, it’s from the Greens. Propaganda is hardly foreign to the histories that inspired GRRM, and it should be noted just how hard it goes into painting them in the most tragic possible light (but still coming out physically unharmed, except for the only other adult witness). Certainly it has a documented affect on Helaena, and I’m not saying she or even Alicent would have been the ones to create an even more dramatic narrative, but Otto? I can’t say I’d be shocked if I found out from GRRM himself that Otto made the whole thing even more dramatic and cartoonishly evil to demonize Rhaenyra and hurt her cause. The perfectly clean final blow could also be seen as a sign that this could be a curated version we’ve read. Death by sword is seen as cleaner, more painless, and is, when it comes to execution, something reserved for nobles. The idea that the actual kill was so neat is the kind of thing you could expect to find a chronicler did to give the dead some dignity. Even characterizing Helaena as a perfect, self sacrificing mother would be a detail to put in as a chronicler for propaganda purposes. So, like everything in the book, there’s more to doubt than we might think. And especially these moments where suddenly the chroniclers are so detailed in character and emotion but with so few witnesses. So changes don’t bother me, especially as a history nerd who has learned to consider the more cynical motives in historical accounts. As for the choice aspect, what this made me realize was even the book account actually shows defending Jaehaera as a major factor for Helaena. With the musings about why she might have named Maelor it’s often forgotten that a specific threat to Jaehaera was made (along with a threat to kill them all) that finally got Helaena to give up bargaining and name a son to die. So, while one choice is removed because of Maelor, the choice to let a child die to protect Jaehaera remains (if you take that threat into account when considering what Helaena does next). And with that the knowledge that she is the only one who would have chosen Jaehaera to live, and that she will be despised for that by anyone who found out, because she acted for someone she is going to be reminded over and over was less important. Thank you for defending Phia’s performance. I thought her shock felt horrifically real, especially with how they dropped us into her perspective (camera moving away from Jaehaerys as she averts her eyes, but she can’t cover her ears so we she has to hear it and so do we, the camera movements). Both her and Rhaenyra don’t scream when chroniclers say they do. That’s very interesting when you consider that the sources he would cite would, again, want to use this to help their cause. The picture of a mother letting out this haunting, pained scream at the loss of her child is visceral, it immediately makes us feel something for them. But reality can be less clear and perfect for a camera op (if they’d had them in Westeros, at least). Go look at people in the wake of massive tragedies. You’ll find plenty screaming. You’ll also see the same stunned horror Phia captured so perfectly, that shock dulled panic as she searches for anyone in the halls is brilliant.
I'm all too in agreement with how you feel about this episode. Very strange start, to be honest. And blood and cheese utterly lacked the tension of the original.
when i read the book i felt like rhaenyra was the evil, spoiled princess, for example she fed people to her dragons but we dont get that vibe from the show. anyone else?
The writers are going to make Rhaenyra look as heroic as possible to steer the audience to her side. I.E: Alicent and Cole indulging themselves is unbearably hipocritical but when Rhaenyra had her fun last season despite her station and duties it was ok because it's Rhaenyra.
They very much intentionally show the better side of her character in the show, but i do wonder if they have done that so her downfall and mental decline hits harder. But honestly i think they just wanted to remove the more questionable part of her character.
I believe phia saban and other actors have potential to kill original b&c. Nobody is asking for graphic child murder but make it more about helaena's reaction.
I absolutely hated the way they presented the story. Mostly smearing the greens and making the black faction look better. This was supposed to be the moral nadir of the black faction.
I fell its logical that Aemond was the target. but what I hated was the ambiguously they made it when they ask Deamon wha if they can't find Aemond. Just make it clearly spell it out. Have Deamon say kill a Son. Now it seems like Deamon is innocent or it was a mistake. I just want the actors to be more decisive. Less House Of Mistakes More showing both sides as people willing to do terrible actions. We dont need to see Jea die what we needed was more realism, watch blood and cheese kill some guards kill some maids. Tie up Alicrent. Show helaena choosing between her sons. Here the scene fell flat. B&C bumble their way into helaenas room and everything happens so muted. then the whole scene is undercut whit the scene between Cole and Alicent
Disappoinment of larys strong and his scheme to manipulate Aegon was an important one. Now he made a lot of schemes for vengeance. He will play in the shadows. Now he had no use of Alicent except her legs.He will use Aegon as his primary target. Mysaria will become a key player for Blacks in later.
I witnessed the immediate and direct aftermath of a mvrder, wherein a mother saw her child bvtchered to death. And I can say, that is not really true. The screams from the mother I witnessed were as loud and piercing as anything. Even witnesses three blocks away recorded the screams on video as if they were happening right in front of them.
💯 Best TH-cam channel on GOT, HOTD and Westeros! Agree with your Review! I gave it a 6 out of 10. Slow Start, Lots of talking, not enough action! Fire and Blood! “Let’s Go”🇺🇸
Why do people always want action straight away... Good character work, excellent dialogue scenes and the political intrigue is what makes this franchise great so when the action happens you care about it.
I know they chooses to play Healena neurodivergent so her reactions would not be the same. But I would have liked to see more life and fire in her. We have heard her say nothing expect mysterious prophecy’s since we met her.. and she hardly put up a fight in the blood and cheese scene.
I think the blood and cheese scene was more than enough. The series can't be for only one group, the book readers, and it is logical they are targeting the general public that have not read the book while doing their best to address book readers as well. Let's be just.
Honestly, I pin the lack of impact on the limited time we had with Jaehaerys and him being the child of one of the most hated characters in the show. I thought the scene was okay, and my girlfriend was horrified by it. With the Greens being clear antagonists, and not having many likeable characters, I think this scene was doomed regardless.
Episode is okay did enjoy the actor playing cregon just wish there more scene to know he means business do like what he said about the wall. Also beg the question did Starks know about Aegon the first dream? The Christon and alicent seems fitting just prove both them and Rhaenyra are hypocrites. As for blood and cheese it okay in the show but the book and animation version is better with Heleana she a dreamer so she seen this coming but the guilt will eat her up through the season she like Daphne from the Trojan War ability to see the future but no body believes her. Just hope they do Otto reprimanding Aemond in the next episode.
I think that having two A&C sex scenes was the right thing to do. The first is fior setup, and the second was to provide both characters with massive guilt about it, as perhaps if Criston was on duty as he should have been, the tragedy may have been avoided. Also, it may give a reason for why Aemond & Criston fell out so spectacularly before the Butcher's Ball - imagine what Aemond would think about Cole being with his mother?
I mostly agree with mostly everything, B&C seen was a big letdown. But I see why, there were no 2 boys to choose from, but a girl and boy. It seems like Daemon ordered it to be so, if the cant find the one eyed khunt who rides that big old b
They also keep going on and on about how many teams they had filming and how much bigger this season is. Where? They've cut so much and added so much it's hardly recognizable compared to Fire and Blood. I know this is supposed to be "The true story", but it seems they've just taken that as an excuse to make their own show that's just a prequel to Game of Thrones, not a show based on a book anymore. I'm enjoying it, but this is not the story told in Fire and Blood by a long shot.
The sex scenes of alicent and Criston and the dog kicking part got more shock from audience than the actual blood and cheese event ...this goes to show how bad the writers of this show have gotten too...they simply don't care now
Honestly, dude, I think the reaction to the sex and doggy has more to do with the audience themselves than the writers. We live in a hypersexualized society overly fond of pets (over humans), so yeah, of course that got many reactions.
I suspect the reason why they added to second Cole/Allicent sex scene was to emphasis Cole's responsibility in Jaehera's death. It isn't made clear in the book which King's Guide was on duty at the time, and therefore is to blame for the security breach. I think the writers will make it appear that Cole was on duty and neglected it by his rendezvous with the queen. This will develop his character even more and divide them both. Overall, I liked the episode, but I agree with you. There was something lacking in the transition, and I it wouldn't surprise me if there are a lot of cut scenes.
I think the show runners have shoe horned some deep south inbred kinda vibe to the Targaryen, Awful, but the show its what It Is, wich Is the Best HBO series right now, the acting , scene building, music, direction its very good. A shame Game of Thrones retroactively makes all this useless , since we know the end of the Targaryen líne of this particular, dare I call It multiverse?
I think the writers for this episode may have thought the book version for blood and cheese may have been too dark and they wanted to make it less psychological
I feel like the scene in the book was too over the top, too gory, too horrible... like it had been embellish made that way on purpose. you could have given those kids the names of the Princes in the Tower and it could have been torn right out of Richard the third. it felt like propaganda. because it kind of was. "Ooh, look at how awful our enemy was! look at how much better we are now!" come on! the book was written from several different competing points of view, several years after the war was over. by that time everyone hated the Blacks and the Greens. and the maesters just hated Daemon. I'm not saying he wasn't awful, I'm just saying the book version was unreliable narration at best blatant character defamation at worst I'm not saying it was perfect, it could have been done better. I'm just saying the book version felt like the over the top drama you'd see in a Shakespearian play about the War of the Roses most especially in the defamation and demonizing of Richard the 3rd. it's post war propaganda. take it with a grain of salt.
Did you read my comments that I left on several channels.i argued with ppl who just loved.you hit on everything I said.great video you are so right.episode one was a failure.ryan condal has to check his ego and stick closer to the source material.he definitely is no George RR Martin. Why he thinks he can change the story and the fans will love it is just egotistical and grandious.they can kill babies push kids out the window but blood and cheese was rated g.i pray it doesn't get worse
![ค้างคืนโรงเก็บกระสวยอวกาศร้างกลางทะเลทราย [Around The World Ep. 3]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/E5bWZQhABJE/mqdefault.jpg)
Overall I thought the episode was okay. However the main take away from it for me was mainly Blood and Cheese. The book version and the animated version are so bone chilling. The show version wasn't terrible but very lackluster. I really hope the other memorable moments of the Dance are better. Also Aegon actually trying to do the right thing and being a decent king actually was surprising. I also agree that they went too far from setting him up as a despicable and almost irredeemable man in season 1. Instead of being a drunk, neglectful and uncaring person, they made him guilty of a far worse crime.
I agree, my friend. I was very disappointed with Blood and Cheese. But I was so excited they showed Aegon trying to help people. I hope they continue this progress and have more of the show fandom believe or at least wonder if he could be a good King.
Where can I see an animated version please?
Also I agree, it was ok but they definitely didn't do the source material justice
@@aegorbittersteel2154 Exactly my friend. In the books Rhaenyra also does some very messed up things, and can easily be described as cruel during many moments before and during the dance. It would have also been nice if we had seen the two of them interact more before the dance began. Also they mentioned Sunfyre and they still didn't show him.
@@Ambuscade94 the animated version is of the whole dance condensed in about 20 minutes on TH-cam. It can spoil possible events in the dance so please be careful if you do. I don't remember what timestamp it is at the moment.
EDIT: Blood and Cheese for the animated Dance takes place at exactly 6 minutes into that video and ends at 7 minutes and 34 seconds.
Ryan Condal can't physically make Rhaenyra look bad, i bet the "Maegor with tits" will be flipped so it's not actually her fault
Yep, the girl boss must reign Supreme
Well.. to Ryan Condal the entire dance of dragons is a misunderstanding
smh obviously no read George R.R. Martin's interview before season 1 came out plus House of the Dragon is the only show so far that HBO gave him full say in it. Ryan Condal was picked by George not HBO.
And in that attempt, he's making her something far worse. Boring and completely uninteresting character.
Rhaenyra the good that makes all the mistakes to lose
I suspect that, a big part of why 'Blood and Cheese' was not just a one for one of the books. May, come down to, HBO Higher Ups feeling it was too brutal for general audiences. I don't think the actress played the scene wrong at all. it felt very in character for her to seem almost disconnected. Then add in that she is most likely in shock it felt very realistic. and who knows how many times she dreamed of that moment. Helena completely breaks down after finding her mom.
But as someone who did read the books and is a GRRM fan, it was disappointing that the choice was removed.
I think it just comes down to them cutting Maelor from the show. And the only reason I can see for them to remove him is because of his grisly fate that in my opinion is even more brutal than what happened with Blood and Cheese.
Helaena sees the future. From her perspective, there is nothing she can do about it. She believes her visions will happen. Her reaction is one of someone who is reacting to something she has seen before. She has no control of the events as they unfold. She knew her son would die. All she can do is not make the situation worse, so she picked up her daughter and left the room. She is trapped by her visions. It's a terrible way to live.
I wanted to see Alicent and Otto's reactions to Luke's death.
No pact of Ice and Fire.
I swear Syrax is still small af.
I think the sex scenes highlights how low Alicent has fallen and makes them both hypocrites.
Toning down B&C, taking away the Sophie's choice aspect and cutting Maelor and Helaena being calm vocally and how she left like she was power walking. (No fault of Phia however she did the best with what she had). They took away the choice and emotional turmoil of that choice. I wish they left Alicent in so we could have gotten the horror aspect through her.
I always thought the massacre at Bitter bridge and what happened to Maelor there was tougher to read than Blood and Cheese.
Hence there is no maelor
Exactly. I agree. That's why I'm thinking he might've been cut from the show because what happened to him was just so horrific.
And then what the maesters said about Rhaenrya smiling when they brought her Maelor's head. Ain't no way in hell the show would have Rhaenyra smile like a cartoon villain at something so heinous.
I’ve seen some people make the argument for the less graphic Blood and Cheese scene that it wouldn’t have been appropriate to put little child actors through that. I have to agree that children as young as the ones playing the twins on the show wouldn’t understand what was going on and it could have traumatized them.
I can believe this "turn" in Aegon II. It stemmed from Episode 9/S1. When he's crowned & then proclaimed, he has his back turned away from the crowd bc he thinks they're going to boo/heckle/denounce him...instead the smallfolk cheer for him & show him love.
S2 seems to pick up days (or a week-ish) after his coronation, so it makes sense that he wants to further endear himself to the smallfolk. He wants to keep their "love" & adoration bc it's the only time he's felt seen/heard/accepted.
It doesnt erase the sins of the past, but all it takes is one moment to "change a person" & he wants to lean "all in" on this "better, Improved side", now that he's King. All of Aegon's sins & devious behaviors are still there underneath.
Aegon "the family man/loving father" can also be explained that the aftermath of the coronation. He simply just wants to do for Jaehaerys, what Viserys never did for him. Now that he's King & Jaehaerys is his heir, he feels compelled to "be/do better".
...also it was a cheap writing trick to make us care for the kid & "feel sorry" for Aegon after B&C.
Disagree, it could've worked with just the twins, a tweaking of lines AND keeping with what the show wanted:
Blood/Cheese happen upon Helaena, they're working under a time constraint. They realize the twins are in there.
Cheese restrains Helaena. Blood wakes the kids. They tell Helaena to choose which child she wants to sacrifice. Helaena offers her necklace. Blood or Cheese tells her they're not here for gold/trinkets, theyll get paid when they deliver a child's head. They warn her to not make anymore offers (like, kill her instead), they threaten to abuse the kids until she makes a choice.
Helaena finally breaks & chooses...
If she chooses the GIRL, Blood can just smirk & Cheese says, "Finally, a decision... but our orders were for 'a Son for a Son'", Blood draws his blade towards the boy -- cut away -- & we just get Helaena in shock, maybe muttering to herself, perhaps about 🐀 rats, clearly disturbed & disassociating with what she's witnessing.
If she chooses the BOY, Blood can whisper to him, "You hear that Boy? Your mother wants you to die." Smirks, draws his blade - cut away - & same ending as above.
Blood/Cheese make their escape, Helaena takes the girl & runs to Alicent & we get the ending we get. Fade to black/credits.
~~~~
14:38 One of MY disappointments w/the show version, was that I was sure that they were setting up B&C from when Helaena was a BABY. Helaena would cry & cry in Alicent's arms. Only time she stopped was when she was with the handmaids. Then when she's older, you have multiple moments where Alicent is trying to be comforting/loving/affectionate & Helaena cringes/recoils, not wanting to be touched by Alicent. & alot of times when Helaena has visions/says something prophetic, she's with Alicent.
So I thought, "Damn, they're really setting up Blood & Cheese!" Bc I assumed (incorrectly 🙃) that ALICENT was in the room when B&C went down. & that was the explanation for Helaena never wanting Alicent to touch her bc Helaena "knew" something tragic was going to happen with Alicent near.
I agree that they should've had Alicent in the room &/or do your rewrite of sequencing of events -- leave the Alicent/Criston sex reveal at the end when Helaena bursts thru the door -- if they insisted on removing Alicent from the moment.
15:23 That's interesting bc I watched it w/my mom & sister (both never read the books) & they were confused. Confused why Daemon didn't go with them, confused why they killed the boy when they didn't even try to find Aemond, why didn't they just kill everyone in the room & ultimately it didn't make sense. I've watched other videos from non-book readers who also felt the same way: Confused.
I showed my family the Animated Histories/Lore version & they both agreed that THAT was the better version. Even w/out Maelor, there's more understandable motivations in the B&C book version.
The show version was a mess from a writing perspective.
I wasn't confused at all of how it went down. plus, we are witnessing the true telling of the dance of dragons as George said before the show aired. Remember Fire & Blood is written in the perspective of measters and third party witness accounts. House of the Dragon is giving us first person perceptive of the events that went down especially book theories that are being canonized about dragon bounding as well now thanks to the new intro and Deamond singing, now what is revealed to be, the dragon bounding spell to prepare Vermathor for bounding. Blood and Cheese made more since in the show than in the book no matter how horrific it maybe. Besides the horror of the event is not what was important, it was the premise is sets for future events and for characters it effects down the road in dance of the dragons.
@derrickj45 Nah, that's a cope. This whole the "books are unreliable narrators" stance is the biggest straw man argument going around.
ALL of OUR history is "unreliable narrator" to some degree. But there are obvious events & timelines we collectively agree upon: People involved, Names, Ages, Alliances, significant events, etc.
HOTD show CAN'T be "the Truth"/what "really happened" bc where's Maelor? Where's Mushroom, one of the main "narrators"? Why isn't Alicent older, like she is in the book "history"? Etc.
So no, I don't accept that premise & I haven't seen what you're referencing where GRRM co-signs that theory. The show is its own "canon", separate from the book & ASOIAF "HISTORY".
Ppl are just using that "unreliable narrator" as a (poor) excuse for the changes being made in the show.
& like I said, a great amount of viewers, book readers & non-book readers WERE confused about the sequence of events in S2/EP1.
& the main point I was making was: If there's THIS MUCH misunderstandings & criticisms, then that's a clear FAILURE ON THE SHOW/writers.
The showrunners have also now made statements explaining why they couldn't adapt the book version: Maelor doesn't exist in their show (they didnt have time to include the character for their outline of the show) & legal restrictions w/ young kids on set (Jaehaerys/Jaehaera).
^^yet another reason why the show CAN'T be canon, bc they're hindered by our real-world systems & restrictions.
If you enjoyed the episode, good on you. No one is telling you you can't love/enjoy it. But some of us, we wanted & expected more & we have valid criticisms about its adaptation & changes being made to characters/events.
Even though actors do make many of their own choices regarding performances, what you see onscreen ultimately is owned by the director and, to some degree, the editor. They are the ones that decide what goes in the final product.
ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY CUT DOWN 2 EPISODES! That as a huge fan is such a tragic thing to do especially when it needs more if anything and this is one of HBO’s biggest things it has. So stupid.
We could've spent a whole episode with Jace in the North.
@@anna_luin Yeah
Thanks for the review, it was quite easy to agree with! That said, I'm pretty worried with all the cuts and changes from the books and fear they'll only increase as the show goes on. Removing Maelor just seems to make progressing the the story more difficult down the line than keeping him. The Reach had some of my favourite events in the Dance (Tumbleton I&II, Caltrops, Maelor) and the involved characters seem to be hit hardest by the cuts. If they're not including Daeron, that story becomes simply unsalvageable in my eyes.
I cannot even begin to tell you how much anxiety I was feeling, waiting for Blood And Cheese! This was by far the moment I and many were dreading the most! 😨
Toning it down to such a degree wasn’t the right choice. Heleana not wailing, as well as cutting Maelor out of the show!
It was fine, but imagine what it COULD have been…
Barely any time in the North! I was really looking forward to lots of Jace and Cregan! ☹️
No initial reaction from the Greens to Aemond killing Lucerys! That was surprising.
That being said, by far THE highlight of the episode was Jace and Rhaenyra hugging and mourning Luke. That scene got me genuinely crying! That emotional weight sat on my chest ever since 😭
There’s some other great highlights! Rhaenyra finding Arrax’s wing/Luke’s cloak. Luke’s funeral! Tom is also killing it as Aegon! 👏
Really hoping that from here onwards, more highly anticipated moments aren’t cut out or toned down! 🙏
Rook’s Rest better not disappoint!🤞
Glad to know I’m not the only one who would have wanted to see Otto’s reacting to Luke’s death, and how Aemond played it off… that aside, blood and cheese was ok, i always knew they’d do their own interpretation and It was kinda meh, but whatever. Aemond being the target makes sense. The Alicent and Cole thing was odd, but I think it will pay off… funny how him and Aemond this close while he’s banging his mom lmao and the cgi for Syrax has gotten worse, how has she gotten smaller after 20 years?
Well they did sort of react the small council him talking to alicent and his sole talk with Aemond
As a non reader a thought the Blood and Cheese bit was great. Please don’t hate me readers!
i’m a book reader but i agree with you. It would be a horrific experience to do it exactly as it’s written. I’m actually glad they didn’t show anything because we’ve been there with GOT and it’s just too much, especially with very young children.
I think phia saban is doing a fantastic job along with Tom Glynn-Carney, ever since the centipede scene i always had the idea that Helaena's character may have been on the autism spectrum and with her reaction to blood and cheese i think that only helps push that narrative which is great to see and heartbreaking just because shes so good at portraying how someone like that may react and its 100% believable to me. Especially the quiet mumbling when she was coming down the stairs and taking a moment to look back and kinda hyperventilate to herself it was just *chefs kiss* for me. But yeah The horrified reaction and screams were lacking from alicent or helaena in the end.
i wouldve liked the writers to have added maelor though bitterbridge was a moment i was looking forward to...not for the child murder but the aftermath. Go Team Green 💚💚💚
As much as I wanted to see a faithful recreation of the Blood & Cheese storyline, brutally killing a child was going to be too much for even HBO. Even in the most violent movies, let alone tv shows, the child almost always dies off screen. A faithful recreation would almost certainly have slapped the show, if it were a movie, with NC-17 and tv shows stop at TV-MA which is only a R equivalent. I agree that the psychological aspects of Blood & Cheese could have been more impactful.
This is such a straw man argument. They DIDN'T have to show (& no one in the book fandom was asking for) the explicit unaliving of a child on screen...
Even the animated Histories/Lore version DOESN'T show the beheading**. The show could've stuck closer to the book version & still not have it be explicitly gory/violent. It's more about the emotional/psychological impacts anyways.
Plus, GoT did/showed worse: Shireen being burned, Olly getting hanged by Jon, pregnant Talisa getting stabbed at Red wedding, ETC
**& it's ironic AF that ppl saying this, also overlook the fact that the show did the killing MORE brutally. Instead of one clean stroke, they have it be BOTH Blood/Cheese are hacking this kid's head off, along w/the sound effects 😒 WHY tone down the other stuff & make that choice?
@@leiana_yt You're 100% correct but unfortunately our fair criticisms will fall on deaf ears. Personally, ep4 will be the last one for me this season
For The Watch & The Lord commander!!
All my brothers in Black!!!
We are the shields that guards the realms of men…
Brother Bittersteel I am here brother !!!
Here here for House Blackfyre!!
I enjoyed the entire episode
Don’t have much to complain about, loved the added bit with Criston & The Dowager Queen Alicent… spiced up things a bit since Cole wasn’t there to protect the Heir to the iron Throne…
An eye for an eye
A son for a son
I thought that was done Very very well!!
I’ve found that more people are pissed about the dog getting kicked then brutal murder of a child …
Thank you for the content mi’lord!!
May all those that watch this channels be blessed by the old gods & the new !!
You made it wonderful and came for House Blackfyre even Better😄 Hope you are doing great.
1st to take the Black for House Blackfyre 🗡
Brother steel!!!! Where's the first ranger??!
@lawrencereid2767 I hope he will be here soon maybe he's late like me😄 I didn't realize there was a video today. Hope you are well.
@@aegorbittersteel2154 To The Captain-General of The Golden Company first to take the Black! Aswell as...
To The King! 🍻
@lukebarroso449 and to you, my friend, a great person who is kind, wise, and always a joy to discuss things with🍻
And to The One True King🍻
@@lawrencereid2767here I am mi’lord!!! Work kept me
It's wild they confirmed he goes to literally child fight pits is now giving people moral questions
Really ruined it with that. Hopefully, they can dig themselves out of that whole.
Yep he enjoys child fighting pits and is a rpist and now they are questioning. 🤣
HE IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE PERFECT
@@aegorbittersteel2154 I suppose that's the definition of 'grey character' no?
@@aegorbittersteel2154they won't, manage your expectations my friend
They cut off too much , this shows they could have just made a 10 ep season to show us this stuff
I think the popularity of Game of Thrones kinda made House of the Dragon even more in the spotlight because of how amazing Game of Thrones was even tho season 7 and 8 wasn't that good.
The Autism excuse.
I am on it as well austism doesn't take away the feeling of horror or the love of a mother. What does this serve other representing a tiny fraction of the viewer base?
You can have a head in the clouds character without an actual condition and still have her be horrified at what happened. The "She's autistic coded" & "it's in character" are terrible excuses. You heard the emotion in her voice when she said "What if he doesn't want to be king?" to Aegon.
Making the character how she is robbed a lot out of the character.
But she is showing horror, you don’t need to scream or whatever in order to show it, the work of Phia as an actress is perfect, showing us the horror that Helaena is living in the moment with the eyes, the eyes of despair, like if they were seeing a nightmare (which it is)
Heleana knew that blood and cheese was going to happen but wasn’t really sure nor was it cleared about it. The whole point of Heleana in the show is to show how alone she is, when she speaks with Aegon about the rats and he doesn’t really care nor understands her, she feels alone and the camera work shows it.
Helaena is horrified by the moment and that whole of emotions just drowns her and she enters in shock, people can react that way, including mothers (yes, they are ppl).
I also see that ppl don’t like that she called Jaehaerys “boy” but we have to see the whole picture, in that moment Helaena is running away with her daughter seeking for safety, she doesn’t know where to go because she is overwhelmed, so she does what a little child would do, she seeks for her mother, but instead of receiving the safety she seeks she finds herself in an uncomfortable situation, so she sits in a corner like a child and doesn’t even look at Alicent, she now feels guilty. So when Alicent ask her what happened she answers like a little kid would answer if they felt guilty of a mischief they did, she feels guilty and ashamed of what just happened, her choosing Jaehaerys, Aegon’s heir.
I personally think that the scene for TV formant and for the context of the show is perfect, it was horrible without entering in the morbidity of violence (which ppl clearly like) and without the scandalous screams that we are so used to, they showed a different way of horror and I loved it, but that is my personal pick
@@gabrielsarti310 Bro that was such a perfect analysis of Heleana. Even the actress would be extremely proud of this comment. This needs to be pinned.
Love your content thank you for being open about your personal point of view
LOL you are right Aemond never tell how he kill Lucerys and starts the war
Is like he planned all along and the greens acts like Rhaenyra is over
What the hell bro feel so out of place they even expend screentime on Alicent riding Cole TWICE
And Blood and Cheese is so bad made, whats the point of the walking of the reaction, is like pulling Red Wedding without showing the gore of the scene
Doesnt have sense
The adaptation could be better like having the reaction of Heleana already happen in the episode or having she witness the murder
Or "showing" like the shadow of the headless corpse to Alicent to make more graphic without blood
But i feel the scene ending so bad made literally i laugh on that fact that she has no reaction IS A LONG WALK AND ALICENT IS WITH COLE IS ABSOLUTE COMEDY i cant take serious that
How you feel about the dragonseed introductions?
hard to tell thus far but i do like that they are giving the likes of Huge more backstory. Addam is defiantly older than 16 so i guess they are gonna go down the route of them being Corlys sons. Looking forward to seeing more of them all
Agreed!
*The dog was Azor Ahai* 🔥🐕
Duty is sacrifice. It eclipses all things, even blood. All men of honor must pay its price
Seeing Cregon, & ice on his back was my favorite part of the episode..
He knows the white walkers are out there
@@jeffcordova9633 seeing the wall man properly was also great 👍
Since Maelor doesn't exist. Will Jaherea suffer Maelor's fate at bitterbridge or will they omit that whole scene entirely? I don't think omitting it would make sense because it explains why the city was so brutally sacked.
i think one of three things will happen, Maelor will somehow be born, maybe Helaena is already pregnant or something (not sure how that will work timeline wise). Jaehaera takes Maelor place at bitterbridge and they change the ending of the dance. Or they invent some new reason as to why they sack the city
Awe ❤I had no idea about your autism 😮we love you thank you for sharing your story with us!
The psychological aspects make it more brutal but, when reading it, it’s also the part that we should question the most. This isn’t an account from the Blacks or a neutral party, it’s from the Greens. Propaganda is hardly foreign to the histories that inspired GRRM, and it should be noted just how hard it goes into painting them in the most tragic possible light (but still coming out physically unharmed, except for the only other adult witness). Certainly it has a documented affect on Helaena, and I’m not saying she or even Alicent would have been the ones to create an even more dramatic narrative, but Otto? I can’t say I’d be shocked if I found out from GRRM himself that Otto made the whole thing even more dramatic and cartoonishly evil to demonize Rhaenyra and hurt her cause. The perfectly clean final blow could also be seen as a sign that this could be a curated version we’ve read. Death by sword is seen as cleaner, more painless, and is, when it comes to execution, something reserved for nobles. The idea that the actual kill was so neat is the kind of thing you could expect to find a chronicler did to give the dead some dignity. Even characterizing Helaena as a perfect, self sacrificing mother would be a detail to put in as a chronicler for propaganda purposes. So, like everything in the book, there’s more to doubt than we might think. And especially these moments where suddenly the chroniclers are so detailed in character and emotion but with so few witnesses. So changes don’t bother me, especially as a history nerd who has learned to consider the more cynical motives in historical accounts. As for the choice aspect, what this made me realize was even the book account actually shows defending Jaehaera as a major factor for Helaena. With the musings about why she might have named Maelor it’s often forgotten that a specific threat to Jaehaera was made (along with a threat to kill them all) that finally got Helaena to give up bargaining and name a son to die. So, while one choice is removed because of Maelor, the choice to let a child die to protect Jaehaera remains (if you take that threat into account when considering what Helaena does next). And with that the knowledge that she is the only one who would have chosen Jaehaera to live, and that she will be despised for that by anyone who found out, because she acted for someone she is going to be reminded over and over was less important. Thank you for defending Phia’s performance. I thought her shock felt horrifically real, especially with how they dropped us into her perspective (camera moving away from Jaehaerys as she averts her eyes, but she can’t cover her ears so we she has to hear it and so do we, the camera movements). Both her and Rhaenyra don’t scream when chroniclers say they do. That’s very interesting when you consider that the sources he would cite would, again, want to use this to help their cause. The picture of a mother letting out this haunting, pained scream at the loss of her child is visceral, it immediately makes us feel something for them. But reality can be less clear and perfect for a camera op (if they’d had them in Westeros, at least). Go look at people in the wake of massive tragedies. You’ll find plenty screaming. You’ll also see the same stunned horror Phia captured so perfectly, that shock dulled panic as she searches for anyone in the halls is brilliant.
I'm all too in agreement with how you feel about this episode. Very strange start, to be honest. And blood and cheese utterly lacked the tension of the original.
when i read the book i felt like rhaenyra was the evil, spoiled princess, for example she fed people to her dragons but we dont get that vibe from the show. anyone else?
The writers are going to make Rhaenyra look as heroic as possible to steer the audience to her side.
I.E: Alicent and Cole indulging themselves is unbearably hipocritical but when Rhaenyra had her fun last season despite her station and duties it was ok because it's Rhaenyra.
They very much intentionally show the better side of her character in the show, but i do wonder if they have done that so her downfall and mental decline hits harder. But honestly i think they just wanted to remove the more questionable part of her character.
I believe phia saban and other actors have potential to kill original b&c. Nobody is asking for graphic child murder but make it more about helaena's reaction.
I absolutely hated the way they presented the story. Mostly smearing the greens and making the black faction look better. This was supposed to be the moral nadir of the black faction.
I fell its logical that Aemond was the target. but what I hated was the ambiguously they made it when they ask Deamon wha if they can't find Aemond. Just make it clearly spell it out. Have Deamon say kill a Son. Now it seems like Deamon is innocent or it was a mistake. I just want the actors to be more decisive. Less House Of Mistakes More showing both sides as people willing to do terrible actions. We dont need to see Jea die what we needed was more realism, watch blood and cheese kill some guards kill some maids. Tie up Alicrent. Show helaena choosing between her sons. Here the scene fell flat. B&C bumble their way into helaenas room and everything happens so muted. then the whole scene is undercut whit the scene between Cole and Alicent
Disappoinment of larys strong and his scheme to manipulate Aegon was an important one. Now he made a lot of schemes for vengeance. He will play in the shadows. Now he had no use of Alicent except her legs.He will use Aegon as his primary target. Mysaria will become a key player for Blacks in later.
This review was so spot on
Helaena’s in shock: people in real fight or flight situations don’t waste energy shouting in histrionics
I witnessed the immediate and direct aftermath of a mvrder, wherein a mother saw her child bvtchered to death. And I can say, that is not really true. The screams from the mother I witnessed were as loud and piercing as anything. Even witnesses three blocks away recorded the screams on video as if they were happening right in front of them.
I imagine Daemon delivering that head to Rhaenyra like a cat does a dead bird.
"Do you like it mommy?" No, she does not 😆
I so wish they kept to the book
💯 Best TH-cam channel on GOT, HOTD and Westeros! Agree with your Review! I gave it a 6 out of 10. Slow Start, Lots of talking, not enough action! Fire and Blood! “Let’s Go”🇺🇸
Why do people always want action straight away... Good character work, excellent dialogue scenes and the political intrigue is what makes this franchise great so when the action happens you care about it.
Bro you the best at GOT content
I know they chooses to play Healena neurodivergent so her reactions would not be the same. But I would have liked to see more life and fire in her. We have heard her say nothing expect mysterious prophecy’s since we met her.. and she hardly put up a fight in the blood and cheese scene.
Even the dogs acting was better than any one on rings of power.
episode was an 8.2 outa 10 it was better in the books but overall there doing a great job
I think the blood and cheese scene was more than enough. The series can't be for only one group, the book readers, and it is logical they are targeting the general public that have not read the book while doing their best to address book readers as well. Let's be just.
Honestly, I pin the lack of impact on the limited time we had with Jaehaerys and him being the child of one of the most hated characters in the show. I thought the scene was okay, and my girlfriend was horrified by it. With the Greens being clear antagonists, and not having many likeable characters, I think this scene was doomed regardless.
Episode is okay did enjoy the actor playing cregon just wish there more scene to know he means business do like what he said about the wall. Also beg the question did Starks know about Aegon the first dream? The Christon and alicent seems fitting just prove both them and Rhaenyra are hypocrites. As for blood and cheese it okay in the show but the book and animation version is better with Heleana she a dreamer so she seen this coming but the guilt will eat her up through the season she like Daphne from the Trojan War ability to see the future but no body believes her. Just hope they do Otto reprimanding Aemond in the next episode.
I think that having two A&C sex scenes was the right thing to do. The first is fior setup, and the second was to provide both characters with massive guilt about it, as perhaps if Criston was on duty as he should have been, the tragedy may have been avoided. Also, it may give a reason for why Aemond & Criston fell out so spectacularly before the Butcher's Ball - imagine what Aemond would think about Cole being with his mother?
I mostly agree with mostly everything, B&C seen was a big letdown. But I see why, there were no 2 boys to choose from, but a girl and boy. It seems like Daemon ordered it to be so, if the cant find the one eyed khunt who rides that big old b
They also keep going on and on about how many teams they had filming and how much bigger this season is. Where? They've cut so much and added so much it's hardly recognizable compared to Fire and Blood. I know this is supposed to be "The true story", but it seems they've just taken that as an excuse to make their own show that's just a prequel to Game of Thrones, not a show based on a book anymore. I'm enjoying it, but this is not the story told in Fire and Blood by a long shot.
The sex scenes of alicent and Criston and the dog kicking part got more shock from audience than the actual blood and cheese event ...this goes to show how bad the writers of this show have gotten too...they simply don't care now
As a Star Wars fan I’m sorry but hotd writers may not be great however they are no where fucking close to how bad that franchise is being done.
Honestly, dude, I think the reaction to the sex and doggy has more to do with the audience themselves than the writers.
We live in a hypersexualized society overly fond of pets (over humans), so yeah, of course that got many reactions.
I suppose 8 episodes just aren't enough.
Btw I felt episode 2 was weaker than episode 1
I suspect the reason why they added to second Cole/Allicent sex scene was to emphasis Cole's responsibility in Jaehera's death. It isn't made clear in the book which King's Guide was on duty at the time, and therefore is to blame for the security breach. I think the writers will make it appear that Cole was on duty and neglected it by his rendezvous with the queen. This will develop his character even more and divide them both. Overall, I liked the episode, but I agree with you. There was something lacking in the transition, and I it wouldn't surprise me if there are a lot of cut scenes.
I think the show runners have shoe horned some deep south inbred kinda vibe to the Targaryen, Awful, but the show its what It Is, wich Is the Best HBO series right now, the acting , scene building, music, direction its very good. A shame Game of Thrones retroactively makes all this useless , since we know the end of the Targaryen líne of this particular, dare I call It multiverse?
I think the writers for this episode may have thought the book version for blood and cheese may have been too dark and they wanted to make it less psychological
I feel like the scene in the book was too over the top, too gory, too horrible... like it had been embellish made that way on purpose. you could have given those kids the names of the Princes in the Tower and it could have been torn right out of Richard the third. it felt like propaganda. because it kind of was. "Ooh, look at how awful our enemy was! look at how much better we are now!" come on! the book was written from several different competing points of view, several years after the war was over. by that time everyone hated the Blacks and the Greens. and the maesters just hated Daemon. I'm not saying he wasn't awful, I'm just saying the book version was unreliable narration at best blatant character defamation at worst
I'm not saying it was perfect, it could have been done better. I'm just saying the book version felt like the over the top drama you'd see in a Shakespearian play about the War of the Roses most especially in the defamation and demonizing of Richard the 3rd. it's post war propaganda. take it with a grain of salt.
Second comment🥳
Did you read my comments that I left on several channels.i argued with ppl who just loved.you hit on everything I said.great video you are so right.episode one was a failure.ryan condal has to check his ego and stick closer to the source material.he definitely is no George RR Martin. Why he thinks he can change the story and the fans will love it is just egotistical and grandious.they can kill babies push kids out the window but blood and cheese was rated g.i pray it doesn't get worse
What’s the point of this show if they’re going to fly through everything