Girls Gone Canon Cast - House of the Dragon S1E5: We Light the Way

Episode Date: September 20, 2022

criston cole fans please do not interact with us on this day, we are mourning our knight of skulls and kisses SPOILERS: ASOIAF, F&B, KOT7K, TWOIAF, ETC Join us at our Patreon: https://www.patreon....com/girlsgonecanon Follow us on Twitter: @GirlsGoneCanon Sound Effects from Pixabay "Night Vigil" & "Big Drumming" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Hello and welcome to Girls Gone Canon Watch's House of the Dragon. Season 1, Episode 5, We Light the Way. I am one of your hosts, Chloe. And I am another one of your hosts, Eliana. Welcome to the wedding. We had an open bar, you know. An open bar. Last night.
Starting point is 00:00:43 And also, coincidentally uh it was your wedding anniversary one of yeah it was kind of i mean we didn't actually get married we just had a reception this day so it was like the reception bursary i mean when you're has more than one wedding anniversary too if you think about it yeah and truly poor nira she probably doesn't want to celebrate this one. This is a rough wedding. It was nothing like my wedding, thankfully. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:01:09 Ish. No, it really wasn't anything like your wedding. There was dancing. And that's, I think, the only commonality. And lots of food. That's about it. And it was more than one day, technically, in some ways. If you think about it. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:01:22 We went the full seven days. No, we didn't. That would have been awesome. No, we didn't. We would we would have been so tired though i don't think i could do that well before we get into this wonderful episode directed by claire kilner and written by charmaine de great uh who i think she did a bunch of episodes for the hundred that i've seen yeah i was trying to figure out where i might know her from. But before we get into all that, of course, we must warn you of our spoiler policy, which is all of the works of George R.R. Martin. All of them.
Starting point is 00:01:52 They will be spoken about. They will be spoiled. Yes, we will talk about all things from the main five books if it seems apt. I mean, we might run out of time. And fire and blood. Yeah, and especially fire and blood. We will spoil fire and blood. and especially fire and blood we will spoil fire and blood we will spoil what happens in the dance we will spoil sons of the dragon we will
Starting point is 00:02:08 spoil the princess and the queen which is basically more expanded in fire and blood we will talk about duncan egg we will not talk about duncan egg but we could we might that's not true we might talk that's true we could talk about duncan we're gonna talk about we will probably talk about the world of vice and fire and we will and the rogue prince we probably talk about the world of Vice and Fire. And the Rogue Prince. We will talk about the Rogue Prince. Maybe. Technically. So everything is fair game. We have not read the leaks.
Starting point is 00:02:33 Yeah. And realistically we can't be trusted is the problem. We just. We can't. We're bitch ass bitches. We'll spoil it on accident. You can tell because it turns out we were pretty wrong about the opening of this episode i was like oh shit oh shit he killed her but um we'll get into that in a second so that's the spoiler policy um but speaking of the main five books
Starting point is 00:02:57 yeah we are covering weekly outside of our weekly house of the dragon episodes every tuesday we are covering bran stark's point of view chapters. We go through a Song of Ice and Fire point of view chapter by point of view chapter, and we have landed upon Bran. We're having a great time. We just covered that very trippy Bran's fall chapter, which was fun. I'm excited to get a little deeper, getting into Clash even. That's when Bran's plot starts getting spicier and spicier.
Starting point is 00:03:27 Those are your favorites. Yeah, I mean. They actually are her favorites. Yeah, we get a ton of lore. You know, we love lore. So yeah, those come out every Friday for the public. Something else that's happening on Fridays is our live hot D discussions hosted by Maddie. happening on Fridays is our live hot D discussions hosted by Maddie. Yeah, our friend Maddie is doing every Friday. A great job, actually, first of all, like applaud that hands of the queen, you know,
Starting point is 00:03:54 she is out there holding together hosting discussions, everybody talking about the mess that are these episodes, which we love every Friday 2m eliana time for patrons in the thunder tier and above and if you join the thunder tier patron or above over at patreon.com slash girls gone canon you'll get access to our discord where there are events like this and many other events like brunch which we just held last weekend a monthly brunch happy hour it's a blast uh you also get a free physical gift every year we have some ideas kicking around for this year's it's a blast uh you also get a free physical gift every year we have some ideas kicking around for this year's it's getting messy getting exciting and i mean not just that but it's like a discord life membership where we're not kicking you out probably not we're here for
Starting point is 00:04:37 the lulz you know i mean you can you could fuck up big time yeah i mean you could be damon targaryen yeah and we'd probably let you back in every time just walk on up to the day and i'd be like chloe what the fuck are you doing what is this ah another thing you'll get over at patreon.com slash girls gone canon especially if you are in the stranger tier and above five dollar tier and above is bonus episodes every month we talk about something else different you know last month we started a new patreon episode series called mothers of the dragon or affectionately milfs of the dragon yes this month will be part two this will be part two part one which we did last month covered visenya rainies and not not the rainies that you're watching in this show visenya, Rhaenys, and not the Rhaenys that you're watching in this show.
Starting point is 00:05:26 Visenya and the wife of Aegon, Rhaenys, and also Rhaena. I'm like, that really clarifies it. Oh yeah, the wife of Aegon. Yeah. Well, I mean, anyway. And so this one, part two, will only be focused on one of the mothers of the dragon. Just because, I mean, she was mother to a lot of kids. Yeah, we're going to talk about good queen Alysanne. part two will only be focused on one of the mothers of the dragon just because i mean she's mother to a lot of kids yeah we're gonna talk about good queen aliceanne the queen not my cat
Starting point is 00:05:51 who is also a queen named aliceanne we can talk about your cat she might come up a little bit too she might we'll talk about aliceanne and her children as well some of the the dragons that come from her as well um unfortunately, this is going to be what, like an 80 part series because there's a lot of mothers to get to and we need Fire and Blood Part 2 for that. Yeah. I mean, honestly, we're going to hit a roadblock in this and there is more out there to discuss. Yeah. I don't think we're going to really do it based on what we have in the world of Ice and Fire just because I think it would be enriched by
Starting point is 00:06:28 having Fire and Blood Volume 2. And if you are a patron in that tier, Stranger tier or above, you do have access to the Maiden Vault at least. We do discuss the Maiden Vault at length. That's one of my favorite. It's one of my favorite eras. I was going to say one of my favorite Patreon episodes
Starting point is 00:06:44 that we did. Yeah. There's so much we had to take from the world of ice and fire and you know from what barry little is in the main series so it's a favorite of mine it's a passion piece yeah well with that let's talk about this let's talk about the House of the Dragon, season one, episode five, We Light the Way. Yeah. And that's the house words, right? House Hightower. Yeah. I actually really like that as a through line that we pop off, you know, at the front of
Starting point is 00:07:19 the episode after a few scenes, we'll get into the goodbye with Otto Hightower. But even though he's very absent in this episode he is still very much over it and his words are haunting alicent absolutely you can see that she is thinking of those words yeah he really he really just puts a lot on her and is like this is your fault and i'm like no otto i think it's your fault but we'll get there first let's talk about different things that different bad things that men have done in the veil so we meet rea royce and her first only and last scene in house of the dragon rea turns down her cousin's offer to go riding and actually ends up running into her husband yeah and he is doing as many have pointed
Starting point is 00:08:04 out he's doing a reenactment of the dark permit meme oh my god i am not the one who made that observation um some other genius on the internet did but it's true it's true it's been one of my favorite memes this this show has some great memes right now but that has been one of my favorites. Yeah. He comes in looking, I mean, it's something that's some weird ass energy. Yeah. Well, house of the dragon gave us Royces real Royces in our face. That was exciting.
Starting point is 00:08:33 Uh, Damon spooks the horse, pushes it to fall on Raya after she taunts him. Damon doesn't say anything, you know, until Raya kind of prompts him and she says, I knew you couldn't finish so he goes back with a rock which is fitting because in the book it's reported she dies cracks her skull on a
Starting point is 00:08:52 rock so this gives a nice little twist to how that rock came yeah it absolutely did and you know uh we were wrong damon does in fact do bad things uh though when i said oh my god he really killed her clue he's like i didn't see anything i don't know i didn't see well also also it's kind of funny i mean absolutely it's his fault i have no idea how he actually pulled this off because i'm like as my partner like pointed out he was like how is he strong how is he strong enough to push over this horse well it's not even that he pushes it over so much as that like he spooks it so apparently he speaks to horses or maybe like they smell dragon scent on him that must be it like obviously something happened right i mean obviously he intentionally spooked the horse especially because you know rio was about to attack him because he was giving off
Starting point is 00:09:45 i'm about to attack you in some way energy it was it was bad times well also i you know we were discussing this on the couch like no wonder he's going after like as discussed in the previous episode the director said i mean this is abuse right uh. A bit. Damon and his niece. He looks very cool compared to his niece, but that's why he's going for all these younger women. Rhea Royce is like, what the fuck are you doing? You're not a serious person. And calls him on his bullshit because she's been around the block and knows bullshit when she sees it. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:10:20 I thought it interesting they never consummated their marriage. Yeah. Is what she implies there right and because she wasn't blonde she's not blonde and his cousin or niece or sibling um I mean realistically any he'll take any there's something sad that like Alysanne made this match right and Rhea is supposed to be this very bold fierce young woman so you'd think that Damon would like that and as we kind of chatted in the previous episodes it's a power play like she very much is sure of herself if there's one thing we know about Rhea Royce's character from her only
Starting point is 00:10:54 scene yeah she's very sure of herself until he starts advancing towards her obviously yeah and until he spooks her horse and she can see what's about to happen to her it is awful it is terrible so but that is interesting that as you point out they didn't consummate their marriage so they don't do their duty right because that is a running thing throughout this episode of doing your duty within a marriage and it's funny because he told raniera in the last you know last episode yeah just do yourenyra in the last, you know, last episode, yeah, just do your duty, then get out of there. You know, that's what I did, and look at me.
Starting point is 00:11:30 And it's like, no, you're actually a big, giant coward. Yeah, you didn't do your duty. And you didn't do anything wrong in this scene because I didn't see it. I'm just kidding. Oh my gosh. I know he killed her. I knew he killed her already. Let's be real.
Starting point is 00:11:42 I kind of wish that her cousin had gone with her, but I wonder if he would just be like, I'll just kill him too. But I don't think he can spook two knew he killed her already. Let's be real. I kind of wish that her cousin had gone with her, but I wonder if he would just be like, I'll just kill him too, but I don't think he can spook two horses at the same time. Like, he what was he doing? He was just like, I'm wearing a cloak. And I'm like, what are you doing? Well, goodbye, Rhea. We hardly knew
Starting point is 00:11:57 you. We won't know anything about you. Honestly, part of me does think they were like, we have to include the Royces. Because you could have cut this out. I guess so, they could have. But also, maybe they'll do something with... Because we do get the mention of Lady Jane. And Lady Jane Arryn does play a significant role, especially in the dance and as an ally to the Blacks.
Starting point is 00:12:24 So, I mean, i think that maybe they included this as a setup maybe this will come back somehow and haunt like their alliance because i mean when she dies the veil splits up into huge war maybe that's what would have happened when raniera someday dies if she you know actually the throne. Maybe what we see with those different factions of men rising up and tearing the veil apart between Joffrey Arryn and Arnold Arryn. So she has an Arnold Arryn cousin, right? And he
Starting point is 00:12:54 and his descendants are disinherited from the Arryn line of succession by her last testament. Interesting. Interesting. Yeah, and she does become one of Aegon III's regents, so that is also interesting. And when she dies, so she names her distant cousin Joffrey Arryn as her heir,
Starting point is 00:13:13 but then the conflict between Eldric Arryn and Isambard Arryn rises up, and Corwin Corbray rules that her will and testament must prevail. There's definitely something Rhaenyra-esque of just, like, that's the echo of the wars, you know, over the succession. There's definitely something Rhaenyra-esque of just like that's the echo of the wars, you know, over the succession. That's interesting. And we might see something like that pass in the main series. Who knows? Yeah.
Starting point is 00:13:33 Well, we're on a boat. Oh my god. We had a review recently that really liked that we referenced on a boat. Really? What was that? I don't know. They said something about't know they said something about they just said something about how they loved it it was a good review i really liked that so we're on a boat viserys gets seasickness while his new hand lionel strong or old hand i guess he's been
Starting point is 00:13:57 hand for a minute right like a month a week i don't know a mid mid-length of time hand. A very, okay, a short amount of time. He has been hand for a short amount of time. And he kind of helps him wipe up. He hands him a little rag to wipe his face with. Lionel's duties in this episode have totally increased. You can tell. He's the opposite of Otto, though, because he does everything quietly and seems to observe, seems to act much more quietly, makes his
Starting point is 00:14:27 decisions and makes his actions very small, but they're very meaningful. Like, Otto did everything with a manner of decor or a layer of sarcasm about them, right? Like, he's never subtle, ever. Where Lionel, I mean, even at the wedding later, Lionel, like, gives him a head nod to his son. He goes, Harwin, get in there and go do this shit without even saying it. It was such a great, silent, just nod. And Harwin said, all right, they act as a unit. They act as a family.
Starting point is 00:14:56 He has his house sorted out. Where Otto, you know, very, even from the conversation he's about to have with Alicent, they're very differing. They're very much clashing in their beliefs right now in King's Landing, where the Strongs are somewhat one unit. Larius, I don't know. Keep an eye on that guy. Who knows? Yeah.
Starting point is 00:15:14 He doesn't even know. I don't know. And it is, yeah, interesting that, as you said, right, Lionel is very subtle and he does seem very unassuming, right? He seems like someone that you can trust, and he seems very down-to-earth, unlike Otto, who, yeah, he'd blow smoke up your ass, but he was also so pompous. Yeah, he just had a punchable face. Yeah, whereas Lionel, I don't know, he just has a trustable face, which may be wrong. And a weir, you know? Yeah has a trustable face which may or may be wrong and a weir you know yeah i trust
Starting point is 00:15:46 him i mean as you said right he's always watching we see it in the previous episodes and then this one but also i just love his facial expressions when he's watching he's like what the fuck he's like i can't believe people are doing this in front of me but when he offers the handkerchief to viserys like it's not he isn't asked to do it you know no one says get the king the handkerchief to Viserys, like, it's not, he isn't asked to do it. You know, no one says, get the king his handkerchief, and he does it. He just produces it very small, very subtly. He comes over and hands it to him, tries to take care of business. Where Otto would have made a whole display of it, like, oh, this is terrible, my king.
Starting point is 00:16:18 Oh, God, this is so horrible. You're dying in front of us. How could this happen? Yeah. Like, you don't need to commentate everything, yeah Lionel lets him save face and this episode does kind of I think show us a little bit about the contrast even though Lionel is so even though Lionel is so efficient Viserys did have a close friendship with Otto, right? And Lionel and Viserys don't have that kind of emotional connection.
Starting point is 00:16:50 And I think it's because Lionel actually did tell the hard truths to Viserys, as we've seen in previous episodes, unlike, you know, Otto Brownnoser. Yeah, Otto has a very honeyed tongue when it comes to the things he told Viserys. Like, everything had that extra shade of depth to it. Oh, well, this is why, my king, we must do things this way, because of you and your health and the way the kingdom is. Where Lionel's very quiet and they don't have a relationship at all. That's interesting.
Starting point is 00:17:19 Yeah, they have a working relationship, but they don't have a close personal one. And I think that makes some of the things like literally the personal affairs of Viserys' illness difficult later on. Yeah. The task between them. That's true. Anyway, Rhaenyra and Kristen are also hanging out on this boat and we're going to Driftmark. I'm so hyped to go to Driftmark. But before we get there we have
Starting point is 00:17:45 to say goodbye to otto i'm hyped for that too oh it's my favorite have a nice trip see you next fall literally probably yeah probably alicent bids her father farewell she doesn't want him to leave and he says well it's your fault kid because you are believing raniera and not me believe men alic Alicent, is what Otto is saying. You should believe men. Yeah, but also Otto is wrong, right? It has nothing to do... Literally, Alicent's beliefs didn't factor into this in the least
Starting point is 00:18:17 because we know Viserys doesn't believe Rhaenyra, which is why he sends the tea, right? He's like... Teenagers, you know? And I get it get it as a teenage girl i too lied to my parents a lot and the series was right to doubt that so otto was wrong otto was wrong that the series didn't believe reneara and it's just only one of the many things that otto was wrong about because i don't care i'm an otto hater I mean, if there's one thing we can all agree on, fuck Otto Hightower. He just, well, this especially
Starting point is 00:18:48 shows, too, he's like, not if you don't want to get fired and you're blaming it on your teenage daughter who, like, you only recently forced into this job in the last handful of years. I don't know. How are you
Starting point is 00:19:04 supposed to blame her for losing your job? Like that wasn't her job. Also she has done more for this kingdom than Otto. Right? Like she was the one who advised Viserys. Like you gotta put a fucking stop to this war. Right? Whereas Viserys would have let it keep going.
Starting point is 00:19:22 Just because he wanted to create that rift between Daemon and Viserys which was not in the benefit of the kingdom frankly Viserys wedding Alicent was not in the benefit of the kingdom right like none of this was good and Alicent did everything her dad asked and that's the other unfair part like you can obviously see he's emotionally abusive to her yes I mean he's putting this on her and saying dad lost his big corporate job because you did this wrong and because your friend fucked up and good luck with her and that's a good point she says to him like you're wrong and you need to stop pushing aegon as heir and he says he has to because the realm won't accept her
Starting point is 00:20:02 they have to crown aegon when Viserys dies, and Rhaenyra would kill all of Alicent's children to secure her claim. Again, planting these seeds, these seeds of doubt, and like, it's cruel the way he's putting it on her. At the same time, it's not like she shouldn't know there's a risk. But even the way, I don't know, in this scene, she still says she still is defiant even to this moment in the series so far she says to him like no you had if you hadn't pushed this none of this
Starting point is 00:20:33 would have happened none of this would need to happen it reminds me of ned and robert arguing in a game of thrones over killing daenerys right in the small council um it's one of those you know you're killing the crime before it's even been committed so it doesn't exist yet chicken versus the egg like yeah if we get rid of her now this problem now we won't have a problem down the road but like also he is literally creating that conflict at the very front of this episode he did this yeah otto i watched minority report oh my god and the point was that was bad that was bad for society and it's funny because it's a show that is about a family driven by this divine prophecy right and what we see otto doing is actually creating what becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Starting point is 00:21:26 Because like you said, right, he's planting all these ideas in Allison's head. Frankly, the Rhaenyra that we know and that we have seen portrayed in the show, in her actions, I do think like she would not kill Allison's children. And I do think that is part of the significance of why we were shown her refusing to kill the White Heart. Because it's not just like that the White Heart chose that she was the rightful heir and chose her. But had she brought it back, that is, again, a way to secure and prove her queenship. In the same way that getting rid of any competition is a way to secure your queenship right but she doesn't kill the white heart just as she would not kill allison's
Starting point is 00:22:13 children without provocation and based on what we see in fire and blood it doesn't seem like she really she really did even when like i mean who knows what happens with helena but she doesn't kill helena that's a really great point and it's sad because in that moment you could see a future where it could work out you know where she could raise her children along alongside raniera's they could have a weird big funny shaped family and it could all work. Yeah. I'm a much modern family. Exactly. Well, yeah. And then, like, but as you said, right, Otto puts it all on her,
Starting point is 00:22:52 and now Allison is suddenly even more alone, right? Like, she was alone before and had to deal with her father's stresses, but at least there was someone there. And that makes it, like, this weird toxic codependent thing. Yes. there was someone there and that that makes it like this weird toxic codependent thing but only she wasn't the only high tower there at court and now he's saying you can't trust rainiera you can't trust obviously she can't trust her husband he's incompetent so i would have liked some of this conversation to have been peppered in the last episode or so a little more yeah um things
Starting point is 00:23:26 are fast and that's okay like i can deal with it and i think the time jumps are supposed to make you understand this has been going on for a while for all parties involved in all sides but i would have liked a little more of this and a little more of the pressuring on her it's fine i like the way it all turns out and the way her arc in this episode plays out it was actually very interesting i was like very interested in how it was unfolding but i would like more maybe i just want more maybe i'm greedy well i think i think that's a valid like criticism and it's something that we've brought up in previous episodes right like we would just like one more scene of establishment before we get to like the sudden like payoff and whatever
Starting point is 00:24:07 this episode i think has a lot of that not in a horrible way just there's a lot you know laner and joffrey set up that's immediately yeah destroyed and then like lana is getting to be in the plot but for example this is what the only episode fully with lana at this age with this actress yeah and then she's a new actress next episode yeah exactly which is it's fine whatever they wanted to show it age up but it's very interesting how they aged this along yeah yeah i mean i just would have liked understand why they didn't time constraints whatever but it just would have been great to see a little more of the valerians and and as you said right like here with uh the difficulties between alice and her father we've seen quite a few but yeah anyway speaking of the valerians
Starting point is 00:25:00 we did it friends we are at driftmark finally and i have been waiting for this moment for all my god my whole life it was so beautiful yeah all my life man fuck's sake it was it was the best year it was beautiful yes it's everything i don't know i i think i still want to see spice town we're gonna see spice town i think we have to yeah i think we're gonna because i think ryan condell will give us that but yeah he gave us runestone that's true he did the veil um and i will say that i i don't know i wanted to call it this little detail there's that little lamp in the carriage on their awkward ride over i just like the little lamp oh i like the cup holder you like the lamp yeah adorable adorable it doesn't seem like a great ride right like viserys is visibly in pain renear is also visibly in pain because she has to go deal with this uh corliss in a major power move does not greet viserys he makes viserys and renear come
Starting point is 00:26:00 on in through all of his riches into his beautiful castle. Really makes him come in and work for it. Joffrey and Laena are out there in the yard fighting, which is very sweet. Laena welcomes them to High Tide and Corlys is waiting them in the hall. I thought there was a lot of, you know, like Oberyn with Tyrion, right? When Oberyn arrives and he's nowhere to be found. Or Robb receiving Tyrion, even. There's just something interesting in the power play that putting yourself that way knowing the king is coming
Starting point is 00:26:29 to ask something of me and i will not grovel for him but at the same time we'll see later he does still get to his knee you know and gives him his due yeah yeah the oberon does greet tyrian in the books sure i just mean more over the idea of, like, Oberyn comes instead of... Oh, yeah, yeah. Oberyn coming instead of Doran. And the insult, you know, of not greeting someone with the royal person that was invited. Absolutely. Though, I guess
Starting point is 00:26:56 then we find out, like, damn, Doran was in a lot of pain. That would have actually been really difficult for him. But it also, speaking of those parallels, is you were talking about Rob receiving Tyrion, but it's speaking of those parallels is you were talking about rob receiving tyrian but it's done to rob also by the phrase yeah by the phrase yeah oh and that's for a marriage a marriage yeah oh that's a great call it's for a marriage i like that well okay so we get to the godswood oh my god this is being a messy bitch this is the messiest scene in the fucking history of Game of Thrones.
Starting point is 00:27:25 It is. He is spilling the tea literally. And he discusses that the flowers here, like the Braavosi flowers, they are unnatural for this area. And I'm like, that's just a fucking hibiscus. I mean. Turn that into a flavor. I loved it, though, because you thought it too, right? It made me think about Braavos in the main series and the lemon tree.
Starting point is 00:27:44 I actually didn't. You didn't? No, that's interesting, though. So it's the too, right? It made me think about Braavos in the main series and the lemon tree. I actually didn't think of that. You didn't? No, that's interesting, though. So it's the opposite, right? Like he has a flower from Braavos that, against all odds, should not be thriving in King's Landing. And here it is thriving. And it's the opposite, that a lemon thriving in Braavos probably shouldn't be thriving. But yet there it is.
Starting point is 00:28:02 Yeah, so it shows that it can happen. Yeah, absolutely. thriving but yet there it is yeah so it shows that it can happen yeah absolutely absolutely and you know part of it is of course about alicent as a flower in the court and people being like didn't think it could bloom here but it did like it's pretty obvious yeah i think um and she does bloom at the end of the episode and um i kind of wonder if there's also a little bit of shade of like oh isn't it unnatural for a woman to be inheriting as well as uh you know her using the abortion tea the moon tea and I will say also I said this in our discord I don't know as you were saying about needing
Starting point is 00:28:39 more scenes this is one that I think needed also another scene and i think our patrons also discussed that because we haven't seen laurie's and allison ever really talk before or even have any sort of interactions besides them being in the same area during that women's court ish scene during the hunt and i don't know she just like after just one interaction believes him what he and what he's saying because personally for me if someone did that and was just coming in here you know I'd be like get the fuck out of here stop telling lies about my bestie I will argue like he does ask to sit down
Starting point is 00:29:14 and maybe that's why like at the woman's court he does ask to sit down and like sit and listen to them though he doesn't say anything so maybe she took that in high esteem yeah but i i think i just needed one more scene of them like even in the same room and then interacting in some manner you know um and i think it was also really interesting that alice knows what the t
Starting point is 00:29:40 implies whereas rainiera had no such clue that these sorts of things that birth control existed at all and so that points to allison actually having had like some sort of sex education and is it something that she learned from otto because he thought it would be practical for her to know is it like something that she learned from other noble women is it something that she learned from other noble women? Is it something that she knows because she is childbearing age? Though, of course, men would not really want her to know about it necessarily. And I also find it interesting that Rhaenyra was never taught this at all. I mean, I guess also her duty is to bear heirs. But it's just very interesting that Alicent is the one who knows what it is.
Starting point is 00:30:21 Yeah, and it does seem that she doesn't immediately condemn her still, right? Like, she continues on her investigation for the truth, though she's starting to obviously form a certain opinion. She's obviously like, all right, I need to put this investigation to rest soon. I think that Larry's definitely intrigued her with this, and it's interesting to think that, I mean, she was supposed to, her father was planning her seduction of the king, it seems, for years, like before she was even seductible, seductivable. I mean, we can see that he was planning for her
Starting point is 00:30:59 to be there, right? Like, and as you said, right, to catch the eye of someone, especially the king there, considering we know in Fire and Blood that she she was and that doesn't work for the ages here but she was reading fucking bedtime stories to jahir is she thinks she jumps to the conclusions it's the right conclusion right based on it being from maester mellows but kind of overlooks that it was sent by Viserys, so... Yeah, again, that's sad, because she doesn't know that... This is all based on miscommunications, this entire fight. This entire episode went full soap opera. It's so good.
Starting point is 00:31:36 I'm here for it, but I'm saying they went full soap opera with the way they do the miscommunication thing. So are the days of our lives back in corley's hall lena is taking renear at a breakfast which i loved i was excited to see them have a moment together i hope they do get some friendship in the next episodes yeah before you know she croaks damn it george same. Viserys coughs. He also does it while Corlys is bent beneath him. Viserys, I don't think does it on purpose, but damn, it was
Starting point is 00:32:12 rude. He coughs kind of all over Corlys. In this economy? Well, literally in this economy, I'm like, oh my god, mask off, Viserys, god. God, Jesus. Rhaenys enters with a very excited cousin it was very actually sweet and authentic and it was really sad when they go to have a hug and he pulls back you know
Starting point is 00:32:34 because of everything happening with his skin with his leprosy and his lack of fingers losing his fingers to this disease um she's worried for him yeah she is worried for him and like he doesn't want her to feel or see the monster that he feels he's becoming she's all hale and healthy and imagine if i mean that is our queen but imagine also if that was our queen and yeah oh i i also liked her outfit that she's got like these pants on. Yeah, it almost seemed like it was her dragon riding garb or something, right? Like what she wears on the day off when she's about to go ride Maileys around. Yeah, or even, I don't know, she just seemed like comfy loungy clothes. I was into it.
Starting point is 00:33:17 Agree. Interesting, too, that the first time we see her in her domain, she's relaxed and in these more natural colors and her hair is still great and crazy but uh the rest of her stuff is like very relaxed and laid back like you can tell they feel powerful and they feel proud in their domain and confident right of the proposal to come and she feels very cheery about it because i'm sure as we talk about a little in the episode, they kind of mention, you know, as they work out the negotiations of the marriage between them, too, that she's getting some of her due in some ways. Late, but, you know, better late than never.
Starting point is 00:33:56 Yeah, I mean, their family was snubbed twice. Kind of rude. Can't do it a third time. Especially very personally by Viserys, right? So, I mean, it makes sense that they were just a little rude. Like, the most you can do is, like, grovel a little bit, Viserys. Which he does, to an extent. Also, Lionel, again, he's here. Corlys congratulates Lionel on his promotion.
Starting point is 00:34:14 And then, speaking of news, surprise, Daemon's wife is dead now, Viserys. Viserys didn't know because he's on a ship. Yeah. Daemon is now single. Interesting. Interesting. And I actually thought it was really interesting that both Rhaenys and Corlys were like well yeah
Starting point is 00:34:38 don't you know? So now there's a matter of inheritance to be settled for Runestone, huh? Yeah, that's true. They actually were like very hungry, when they said it. Like, you could see a little hunger in their eyes. And I think that, I think there's definitely great setup for Lena and Daemon that's been happening for episodes. Like, the Corlys and Daemon alliance.
Starting point is 00:34:59 And now, obviously, this episode, they dance together. And, you know, Corlys and Rhaenys are like, so about Runestone. And it just, like, is in passing. It doesn't get lingered on. Especially because Viserys is like, well, let's not talk about all that. Let's talk about this. I want Laenor and Rhaenyra to get married. The heir, regardless of gender, very important, regardless of gender, will inherit.
Starting point is 00:35:24 And Corlys is like um but I would like them to be Valyrians you know since masculinity is a thing right now for me in these marriages my name yeah it's legacy and Viserys is like okay yeah sure
Starting point is 00:35:39 until the firstborn ascends the throne regardless yeah regardless of gender whoever takes the throne right then. Yeah, regardless of gender. Whoever takes the throne, right? Then they'll become Targaryen. Which, I mean, honestly, that makes sense. And that also speaks to what... That speaks to some of the world-building people have discussed regarding naming conventions before.
Starting point is 00:35:57 And also how often the queen consort does not take the name of the king. Yeah. She's not born into it. Yeah. So, you know, they play a little coy. They hold back. There's a pause. And then they take the name of the king yeah she's not born into it yeah so you know they they play a little coy they hold back there's a pause and then they take the deal they're like this is an equitable what was it something an equitable yeah engagement or negotiation yeah yeah and i'm like yeah it was this is a really good deal but i mean you made a great point last night to me because i was like
Starting point is 00:36:23 y'all aren't gonna go into any money and you're like they don't need money look at this fucking castle it's gorgeous like they don't need money what they want is what money can't buy yeah they want prestige and they want the connections that come with the crown in order to control the rest of you know the economy and how that money would flow i mean it is a deal, and now that I say that, I also want to pause because Rhaenyra is not a sure deal. They'll talk about it later, but Laena to the king would have been a better deal. Yeah, absolutely.
Starting point is 00:36:54 No offense, Rhaenyra. I think you're worthwhile. It's just a lot of society doesn't. Yeah, and we'll talk about that in a second. First, Rhaenyra and Laenor, they're going to talk about their marriage too at Driftmark. And this was everything that I kind of wanted it to be. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:37:10 Lavender wedding negotiations, right? They both talk about how they will do their duty and then wet their very different appetites on the side. And Rhaenyra implies, obviously, that she knows knows laner has very different tastes than raniera and she herself not so much into that she has other manly pursuits going on out there she's like call me agan the first because i'm out here conquering these men yeah in some ways their tastes are i guess this is a common metaphor based on the way johri asks later the roast duck and goose it's the way people talk about it in passing. But yeah, I don't know.
Starting point is 00:37:47 I'm glad that she knows. I've always wanted it to be that she knows and that they have this agreement and that they are friends, right? They come to this in this like peaceful way together. And I don't know how that'll go. It'll probably be somewhat peaceful. I mean, it's not like her fault
Starting point is 00:38:02 that Kristen fucking wilded out. Yeah. Corlys and Rhaenies discuss the marriage as well on their own once viserys is taking a nap before the ship comes back rainies calls this a pretty dangerous move and corlees refuses to acknowledge his son's gay but rainies doesn't forget and she's like you're really ignoring who he is doesn't forget and she's like you're really ignoring who he is yeah we are putting him actively in danger she basically tells him and god they did more on confronting i don't know some of these themes of homophobia right in in westeros and their society and what they're doing by putting their son married to the throne i mean this comes this comes true, right? Like she says, you're putting him in danger. And right after this, his companion dies, gets murdered at this wedding. Corley's ignoring it, pretending it's not real. It's interesting commentary. I'm glad that they put this into
Starting point is 00:38:56 season one of this show already. I'm glad they're starting to work some things in. It's not perfect. The source material is definitely not perfect when it comes to that. I do think they're at least improving a bit on it. Yeah, but I mean, it goes to show, right, being of a marginalized identity is being in a vulnerable position, right? And they're also talking about the extension of the risk when it comes to Rhaenyra, right? Because Rhaenys points out knives will come out because she knows how fragile women's inheritance is from being passed over before. And that's why, again, Rhaenyra's not
Starting point is 00:39:32 a sure bet. And it's interesting that they think Laenor's at risk because it's to crown him as to kill him. But that Laenor would have been safer because that is the way of things. People accept a king taking a much younger wife,
Starting point is 00:39:50 even though it endangers her in terms of the birthing bed. God. And it's just a bummer because we know none of this works out for Lena. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, he is endangered, right? And not in the way that people would think. It was Kristen Cole. Who's supposed to be a knight, sworn to protect the weak and the innocent.
Starting point is 00:40:12 Yep. And he's out here not doing any of that. We'll get to Kristen Cole's hate crimes soon. Literally, though. Yeah. We'll get to Kristen Cole's hate crimes soon. Literally, though. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:40:32 Lainer and Joffrey share a very last tender moment at Driftmark together before they take off to King's Landing. It is a sweet, tender moment. Yeah. Them wrestling around in the grass. Just sweet and tender and sad. Over too soon. Yeah. I mean, it looks like they had a wonderful healthy relationship they were best friends and that's what i that's how my relationship works you know and well that
Starting point is 00:40:54 well that's how a healthy relationship looks right you're best friends with your partner and and then joffrey like seems like a great He brings light to Laenor, right? He's clearly the more jovial side, and I like that he cracks the joke of, was I the duck or the goose? Which is, again, why I think this is clearly a common saying in Westeros. Yeah. Joffrey tries to cheer him up.
Starting point is 00:41:18 He's like, this is a great arrangement for all of us. And he says, you'll need a sworn protector. And then he pieces together that raniera has her own paramour very smart because she obviously does um and that paramour is about to be in the business of misery wait that's the wrong paramour i mean he is yes yes yes it is misery business's taken like a clock. Yeah. It is misery business. Things are taken like a clock.
Starting point is 00:41:49 So, of course, and Joffrey takes it great, right? Like, he is overjoyed. He's enthused. He's like, this is the best we could hope for for our relationship, Laenor. And then we have a very opposite scene because Rhaenyra's paramour is not taking this so well. Yeah, on the boat from Driftmark, Kristen Cole makes his greatest move yet. Rhaenyra, run away with me.
Starting point is 00:42:12 I love you. We can be poured together. XOXO. Heart emojis. I just want to say that my boyfriend when we were watching this was like, what the fuck? What is this? How does that thinking even work? And then when we were rewatching to prepare for this recording because he overheard, he's like, this dude's such a loser. Oh my god, it is so frustrating. Because the whole time I was like, no, don't do this. Because
Starting point is 00:42:35 this is actually what we kind of knew was coming. In reality. In fact, I expected this sooner, that he comes to her and is like, run away with me and give up all of this, right? Like, you said you wanted to choose your future, so let me choose it for you. We can get rid of the whole crown problem. We can go be poor and essos or go to a shy or this or that. And she's like, cute, but no. Like, the whole goal is that, like, I'm the heir. I get everything I wish for, which that's what it makes it so sad this episode because she negotiates with Lainer and she's like, I can have my cake. I can eat it too. I can have everything that a man can have.
Starting point is 00:43:15 Honestly, I want that for her. Yeah, I want it for anyone. Yeah, no, I want it for everyone. Everyone's just fucking it up, though. But like, absolutely. Yeah, he's like, I don't know, leave leave it all behind you said you wanted to choose your future so here you can do this thing and it'll be free to make your own choices and i'm like with what money anyway free to do what she doesn't get her trust for at least two more years krist. Literally. Also, she explains, you know,
Starting point is 00:43:46 how many, like, get super mad when she, like, chooses, right? And this ties back to what we were saying last episode, right? And why I've always been like, in some capacity, she must have rejected Kristen. I don't know, I didn't know how it played out exactly in Fire and Blood, because it was wishy-washy. That was
Starting point is 00:44:01 the point. But it always made sense to me that she rejected him in some way because as we discussed last episode men get violent when rejected and it's uh because they think they own you and here it's a little different but anyway she explains that she's a crown and it's her duty and that they can still bang and he'd still be he'd be her sworn protector and right there and he's very offended about this throws his oath of chastity in her face and that he's like it's the only thing i had to my name and i swore my cloak and he's like i thought if we were married i might be able to restore it what how does that even work i'm sorry i thought that if we got married, you could restore my good name and, you know,
Starting point is 00:44:46 wipe my sins and take my cloak from me. What? I'm like, so you wanted, I just don't understand. So you forsake all of the oaths then and somehow getting married fixes that? You can't marry her and get your Kingsguard status off without her being the queen. What? You think she's going to beg to Viserys to just forgive her like Daemon's done so many times? Yeah. And, like, there was no logic in this entire process for him.
Starting point is 00:45:16 This is, like, himbos everywhere are embarrassed right now. Aerys Oakheart in the future. He's not even a sperm in someone's womb yet, but Aerys Oakheart in the future. He's not even a sperm in someone's womb yet, but Ares Oakheart in the future is shuddering. Ares was not this dumb. He was dumb, but not this dumb. Absolutely not. Oh my god. I'm so glad
Starting point is 00:45:35 they made him stupid, because I was starting to be like, what's gonna happen with Kristen Cole? Because I thought I wouldn't like this stupid fucker, and they made him stupid. Thank god. Thank the gods. All of them all of them no old because he's so stupid i just sat here shaking my head this whole episode stupid reyniero tries to explain you know like i am the crown and she's got a duty and that the iron throne is bigger than everyone in warborn and starts to talk about aegon uniting the seven kingdoms when kristin storms off because I guess he doesn't have emotional maturity either
Starting point is 00:46:06 as well as being dumb. He doesn't see the big picture. He's so annoying. You know, I want to be sympathetic to him because as we discussed like last episode, there is a complexity with it in regards to her position as a princess, right? And the power that it would hold over like the Kingsguard,
Starting point is 00:46:24 but he did consent and somehow it's it's understandable that he wants her to take some i guess responsibility for this but at the same time i do think he could have chosen not to he like definitely could have said no and like i do think he did have enough power in a position to do so like i'm not i don't think he was coerced and i i understand that he's panicking obviously and he continues to panic the rest of the episode um but it just is so stupid to me of him like that he really thought i think that it's very human and it's realistic and it is terrifying to me that it is realistic because again like of what happens and how he just tries to ruin her life over having sex once you know i know that like his oaths are broken but it's also like why is she responsible i in my opinion for that too i i guess we can we can talk about that
Starting point is 00:47:35 i will say like i think that unlike how it is portrayed in fire and blood, Rhaenyra did take this proposal seriously. And we see she did not laugh in his face at this proposal. She is, I think, a little bit tempted by the idea of going to Essos. It's romantic, it's adventure, and that is what Rhaenyra wants on one level.
Starting point is 00:48:00 And it's what she told Emma, her mother, that she wanted. She wanted to be a knight she wants to be free and to go to essos and like be part of you know do whatever but she wouldn't be free if she did it with him exactly and i think that's another thing right it wouldn't be free she would be he's like yeah we would be nameless we could do whatever he wanted and there's an aspect of aria that you can like kind of see in that idea of freedom but also he's taking her away from people she loves from her home and isolating her and i
Starting point is 00:48:33 think for me that screams red flags also that isolation and abuse it's he's not doing it yet but it could become that that's important because in k in Kristen asking her to go and be nameless, what rights does she have as a nameless woman in Essos or anywhere else? What only rights she have would be, just like the beginning of the episode with Damon, what her husband's rights says. Exactly.
Starting point is 00:49:01 She has no power over the rest of her life if that's what she chooses. Yep. She'd have to hope that he'd her life if that's what she chooses. Yep. She'd have to hope that he'd be a good guy. And you know what? From the way he reacts to all this, she won this bet. I mean, I don't know if you deserve to marry me and take me to Essos at this point, Kristen Cole.
Starting point is 00:49:17 You're not acting very husbandly right now. No, he's not. Well, he's not a supportive king, okay? Yeah. He's really, well, for a number of reasons, but. It is not Kristen Cole season on this podcast is what we're saying. Yeah, I'm sorry. I do not.
Starting point is 00:49:32 Kristen Cole anti. Yeah, I'm a Kristen Cole anti. Now, with that same token, we're going to talk a little bit about how I'm like, but yeah, have sex with Allison because you know you're gonna. You guys have to have makeup sex together. About how sad you are about your lives. Yeah, they're gonna both pretend the other is Rhaenyra. Exactly. It's perfect for them.
Starting point is 00:49:52 I mean, I really do hope she can have an orgasm. It's the weirdest rebound, you know? It's like dark version of Korra and Isai. Oh my god. But not like that at all. Anyway, so of course Rhaenyra wants to keep her societal power and the
Starting point is 00:50:12 freedom she has here as heir and all the prestige that comes with that. But I do think that there is an aspect of duty that is driving it as well because she talks about it. She talks about the duty and the Iron Throne being bigger and she especially by bringing up Aegon, uniting the Seven Kingdoms, I think that speaks to her thinking of the prophecy
Starting point is 00:50:31 and this huge thing her father has put on her. She's choosing. I know he says, you didn't choose this. But she did in a way because marriage is like a horrifying thing for a lot of women in Westeros to have to choose. I mean, look at Rhea. Yeah. Look who she married and what happened to her. So she's hedging her bets in the best way she can that she'll be safe. She has a great situation. And I mean, it's funny because it is very Jamie Cersei in the way of like Kristen, you know, feeling some sort
Starting point is 00:51:04 of ownership over Rhaenyra you know and that probably comes from their intimate time together but he feels some sort of ownership to her when a queen is supposed to be for her people yeah and she has to choose that over him I mean she knows she has to but absolutely a queen is for her. And there's also the hilarious line that I do think is intentional. She's like, I will live a life of infamy, right? Well, I would choose a life of infamy over, I don't know, selling bushels of oranges, which is funny because she does become infamous. I was like, why did you choose that word?
Starting point is 00:51:41 Why did you choose that word of all the other words you could have chosen, Raymira? But I know why. Yep writing the writing yeah and i mean i guess i i guess i should feel a little bad for kristen cole like what choices are left to him but also i'm like he does a bad job at his literal job later on and we will discuss this in a second allison watches the series return there's this moment where he falls coming out of the carriage and she flinches. She physically flinches. And I don't know, maybe she's thinking about how that's her protection. Damn.
Starting point is 00:52:15 Oh. That's it. You know, the moment he falls, she feels like she'll fall too. Yeah. The maesters are called and Melos says says he needs leeches book canon book canon yeah and um i appreciate that i think she wore viserys's favorite dress just for his return oh yeah with the army thingies yeah she's into that dress but she wears that same dress too again we go full soap opera in this episode alic learns the truth from Kristen Cole. Yeah, this
Starting point is 00:52:46 was... What an idiot. What a fucking imbecile. If you thought Kristen Cole was stupid before now, like me, boy, are you gonna think he's even stupider after now. Allison straight up, she didn't
Starting point is 00:53:01 even, she didn't even say it was him and he just opened his mouth like that yeah and that's why i'm saying full soap opera right like with the miscommunications and stuff and i mean it's also like allison just loves to bury the lead with this questioning i get it she's like emotional she's young she's nervous this is a really weird thing to ask like yo did you fuck or not did you fuck yo do you know like if my best friend's uncle fucked her it's a weird thing to ask yeah understandably but uh she doesn't usually come out with it right when she's asking people like that's what she did with rainier and the
Starting point is 00:53:37 godswood and she's like did you do it and she's like what the fuck are you talking about define it yeah she's also but in that situation there were a million things it could have been. And to be fair, Rhaenyra uses that define it to her advantage. Yeah, unlike Kristen Cole, who... Just outs it. Just fucking... And it is an awkward thing to have to ask. And by asking it, it is treason.
Starting point is 00:54:04 She's like her uncle. True. It's treason. asking it, it is treason. She's a fucking uncle. True. It's treason. What she's doing is treason. She's asking Kristen. So it's interesting that he's immediately pleading for her to spare him with whatever power that she can have as a queen. Because he's like, I'm fucked because I fucked a queen. And she, the queen, is like, I'm fucked because I'm trying to fuck the queen.
Starting point is 00:54:22 Or I'm trying to fuck the queen's life up a little bit to get some answers. It's a little both. She doesn't know. She's confused. Column A, column B, you know. Young lesbians. You know, young lesbians. It's such a giant miscommunication that outs this whole entire thing.
Starting point is 00:54:39 And, oh, what juicy tea that brings to Alicent. And now she has to go spend the whole evening sewing a new dress. Yeah. She's like, this is the perfect time to premiere my brand new dress I've been working on for months. That's actually what she did. She's like, it's not a wedding. It is Fashion Week.
Starting point is 00:55:01 It actually, I think it is Fashion Week right now. Here's step mommy. Yep. Yep. And speaking of Fashion Week, I do want to give a shout out. fashion week it actually i think is fashion week right now here's step mommy yeah yeah um and speaking of fashion week i do want to give a shout out this person's probably like having a great time right now to over in ironwood um oh yeah over in ironwood rocks over from reddit yeah who sent us an email with their wonderful like in-depth analysis of, um, I think right now it's still just focused on Allison's outfits on season one and looking at them from a historical perspective, but I'm sure that they had a field day with this episode. Uh, so also, I don't know, I don't know if this is
Starting point is 00:55:37 published yet anywhere, Oberyn. If it is, send us a link, we'll make sure to share it. But it was great. Some really great costume analysis, and I know we'll make sure to share it but it was great some really great costume analysis and i know we'll talk a little bit more about the costume analysis when we get to the wedding but before we get to the wedding first you know we gotta we gotta work ourselves we gotta rally up for it the maesters and lionel are tending to viserys or while is there and he wants to give viserys potions and poultices but me Melos only believes in leeches, which is, again, literally book canon. There is a sub note about how Orwyle really thought maybe potions and poultices could be better. And also Rhaenyra's maester also thought that, that more about the
Starting point is 00:56:17 potions and we probably should have done it. Yeah, Melos only believed in leeches and that could have been part of the downfall that Melos was behind on his medical knowledge. Yeah. Go get your license reinstated or whatever. I don't know how the fucking medical- Retest. Yeah. You have to get those renewed or something, right?
Starting point is 00:56:37 Absolutely. Lionel, this is the scene, right, where you see they're just not that close. As Lionel gives Viserys the milk of the poppy. And then Viserys asks Lionel if he'll be remembered as a good king. He feels he wasn't challenged. He's literally being challenged. He's been challenged a lot because he didn't have a war. And now he feels his place in the history is his fleeting epony. Yeah, there are some really great references this episode, right?
Starting point is 00:57:02 Like there's a reference to the crucible in this speech oh yeah and of course the crucible the play especially obviously is an allegory comparing salem witch trials to mccarthyism uh showing the similarity during the red scare the hunt for communists and spies in the u.s similar to a witch hunt taking place in salem so i think that's interesting because there's a little bit of a witch hunt for Rhaenyra's hymen going on. And who took it? Who took Rhaenyra's hymen?
Starting point is 00:57:32 And also Viserys is slowly not trusting everyone else, right? And earlier on, Rhaenys said that Viserys has gotten himself into a tempest, right, into a dark storm to go full Shakespearean. They're really bringing in some great references this season. That's interesting. I'm going to keep the crucible in mind as the series progresses because I wonder if we'll see more of that
Starting point is 00:57:55 how it all goes with the series. And I don't know. I just can't take the series seriously. He's all like, pardon me, wishes that I had been tested, and again, I'm like, Bitch.
Starting point is 00:58:08 You were tested so many times, and you literally failed each time. I, you failed every single time, and. He's really sad, though. It's,
Starting point is 00:58:16 uh, reminiscent, a lot of people said this is very reminiscent of Robert, right, giving his failed king speech to Ned. Yeah. This is definitely not the peak of the series. It is the downfall of the series.
Starting point is 00:58:28 We are, we've reached his climax as an old man. Yeah, but maybe if he had, like, passed any of his tests, it wouldn't be his peak. Or, like, it wouldn't be, you know, so sad for him. I mean, Rhaenyra and the succession is one of the biggest ones.
Starting point is 00:58:46 And he's gonna fail it. Should've just kept his dick to himself. Yeah. I will say, at least he did remind everyone at this wedding that she's gonna be queen. I was like, one point for you. I was so giddy when Maelys and Seasmoke were swooping across the screen. Maelys especially, because Maile's was so red. So red.
Starting point is 00:59:06 Oh my god, so beautiful and wonderful and red. Yeah. Instead of terrible. I get it. Yes, indeed. I loved this as a show of power that they arrive on their dragons right to the wedding ceremony. First of all, they're Valyrians and they're Valyrians with dragons.
Starting point is 00:59:23 So if you're going to marry a Targaryen, you kind of have to show up on a dragon. Yeah. But at that same token, it makes me think about Viserys being confined to a carriage, right? That he no longer is a dragon rider, and he really couldn't be going everywhere because of his health. So he's arriving by boat and carriage. Rhaenyra, in turn, also does that. She has not ridden Syrax since what? Episode two?
Starting point is 00:59:49 That's such a great point. So she's being held back by Viserys in more than one way, but she hasn't even been riding her dragon that we've seen in a while. You know, it's not unlike the end when she doesn't ride her dragon. She keeps her dragon chained up in the dragon pit. Yeah, absolutely. like the end when she doesn't ride her dragon she keeps her dragon chained up in the dragon pit yeah absolutely so we haven't really seen i think reynira in full bloom yet peak reynira is coming with i think aged up reynira with emma de arcy peak reynira i cannot wait the drama absolutely uh i am sad to say goodbye to these actors. But I think this is good.
Starting point is 01:00:30 I'm hoping this is going to be a great launch pad for their careers. It sounds like they're trying to be smart about it. So I am going to miss them. But I'm looking forward to the rest of how things play out. Especially as we start with the kick things off with a little ballroom blitz at the Lavender Wedding. It is a Lavender Wedding. And it is a ballroom blitz. It is. Literally, it's ballroom blitz at the Lavender Wedding. Thank you. It is a Lavender Wedding. And it is a ballroom blitz. It is. Literally, it's ballroom blitz.
Starting point is 01:00:48 I was like, oh, God. It's not great. And the quick ceremony, the shotgun ceremony in the dead of night. So sad. Jason Lannister can go shave his back now. I hate him. He's literally the worst. Like, oh, my God.
Starting point is 01:01:04 I'm sure Mysterious is like, I can't believe I ever considered this guy as he, like, he really thinks that he was still, like, a great catch. Just the fact that he had to go to the oldest joke in the book for Alicent, like, ugh, still getting ready. Though, again, to that same token, she was.
Starting point is 01:01:20 She was. She was, but she did it on purpose. Yeah, she needed a dramatic entrance. And poor Gerald Royce, because he's here trying to cause drama, right? And he's like, I'm here for a very important reason, because Rhea Royce died, and I'm here for Runestone. And everyone's like, that's great, but not now. Yeah, yeah. Rhaenyra actually gets cut off trying to be courteous to him, right?
Starting point is 01:01:43 The speech, the Valyrians come in, and the the great speech and all this stuff is about to go down. But Geralt Royce gets cut off. Rhaenyra is saying to him, you know, like, oh, my lord, we will provide whatever aid for Runestone that you... And she gets cut off. She doesn't even get to be good at doing her courtesy for the first time unprompted. Yeah, it would have been really interesting because then I guess it would have cut off Daemon too. Whatever happens there. That was what was interesting
Starting point is 01:02:10 to me too, that like, specifically Daemon obviously is the cause for what happened at Runestone and she doesn't know that yet. She wasn't there when that was discussed or brought up there with Viserys, Corlys, and Rhaenys necessarily. But she's out here like,
Starting point is 01:02:25 what aid can we give you, Lord Royce? And Lord Royce is like, yeah, fuck your uncle. And she's like, oh, you want me to fuck my uncle? She's like, let's do it. Let's do it. Yeah, absolutely.
Starting point is 01:02:40 And, you know, I also want to call out, I've seen people asking, why doesn't Criston Cole have his helmet on? And I just want to call out I've seen people asking why doesn't Kristen Cole have his helmet on and I just want people to know it's not that deep it's just filming slash movie magic like yeah he probably would have had his helmet on but he's important you gotta keep that helmet off
Starting point is 01:02:58 for him you gotta show that baby face while you can well his emotions are so important to what happens in the rest of this wedding and fucking ruining it that like i'm sure they actually tried the scene with the helmet on maybe they didn't and it just doesn't work because you do need his emotions to be evident and to drive what's going on the only reason he's not wearing a helmet is so we can see it on camera i love otherwise uh the costuming is glorious right when? When the Valyrians show up,
Starting point is 01:03:26 the Valyrians look super opulent in the black and gold. It's funny because later that will become Aegon's colors for his flag to reflect Sunfire, the black and gold. But for here, they just want to show opulence. They want to show that they look very grand, very rich, able to be wed to the royal house. And I also love R love raniera's dress i like some of the little gold chain work on the shoulders off of the collar because in a way that also showed that she's chained into her dress into her wedding dress uh her braids were very
Starting point is 01:03:58 excessive very ridiculous but i really loved the rubies in her hair it reminded me of some of what cersei does with rubies in the main series, or like her mourning gown that looks like Rhaegar's armor. Oh, that's funny. Yeah, that's a really great, great comparison. And now that you've called it the chains in her hair, right? Most of the time that we see Rhaenyra's hair, it's usually much looser. So you're really seeing how this is a performance.
Starting point is 01:04:22 Binding her. For her, yeah. Her hair has bound her the ropes of her hair weighing her down absolutely there's one i mean there's one real big show stealing outfit that comes in and it is not damons no damons is fine he's wearing the same outfit from last episode it's whatever he could have washed it he could have literally worn anything he's like i'm not wearing a suit it's like he rolled up in jeans. Yeah, he rolled up in jeans. That's how much disrespect he had in his outfit when he came in. He really did, though. He was like, I'm bringing nothing but disrespect to this wedding and shenanigans. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:05:04 to wear the gown is interesting. Like we talked about, I think maybe I could have liked a little more time of Alicent becoming more Alicent. I think it's been such a good gradual change, but for some reason here and showing how isolated she feels at the Capitol and seeing her uncle, seeing her uncle and seeing his wife and hearing, you know, oh, the Hightowers are still on your side and we support you, even though your father's now gone i would have liked to see maybe just a little more ostracizing at court right of her feeling alone i don't want her to suffer but i would have just liked to feel that part more however great choice for the dress uh me and my husband were talking he kind of thinks it's immersion breaking because it breaks the greens and the blacks like it should have happened at the one dinner where they but i think it works out fine because alicent is embracing who she is and not trying to fit in
Starting point is 01:05:49 with the red tart she was wearing like off-color red targaryen dresses and they were just slightly different and the fashion wasn't even fitting to any of the targaryen women we've seen on the screen so far so she was like trying so hard to force herself to thrive and fit in, not unlike that red flower blooming in the godswood. And I mean, that isolation she's feeling, even the color doesn't look great on her. She's going all in on herself in this emerald, this color that is her, is her house, is her emotions right now. And it really just does like fit her undertones and everything. It looks great on her and i mean i think she's gonna just keep wearing green dresses from here on out so it doesn't
Starting point is 01:06:31 matter if we start and introduce here based on what we've uh seen of the trailers i assume she just keeps wearing green yes that's what we've seen really into that and it's kind of funny right because as you're saying about jason lannister making fun of her um saying you know oh all these women they're going to be like late to fighting battles in the war and i'm like allison is the earliest one here to this battle like this is that as as larry's points up right what color does the high tower beacon change to when calling the banners for war yeah and harman's like green and i actually like that exchange between the two of them because i think it's interesting based on what we see we're talking about how they're a cohesive house they have banter you know larry's and harwin for them
Starting point is 01:07:16 to have that like moment but it could it could have just been exposition that was convenient i don't know and then it also shows that like if Harwin's answering this so well and with that tone, I guess, I don't know, he's not a himbo. He seems like he might actually be pretty smart. Yeah, he seems really smart. He's actually always there at opportune moments and chooses, not unlike his brother, Larry's, chooses like what things to stop what things to do what things to keep at like he comes across for near on the streets he could use that he could go report it to the king he could have been getting money for reporting that but he didn't he chose to put that one under his belt till later and even here right
Starting point is 01:07:59 here's belt yeah you know what else he has under that belt yeah you know what else he has under that belt okay leave me alone i love him a lot but he knows when to choose his battles with raniera he keeps tabs on her for his papa you know he's watching her he dances with her and steps aside for damon yeah doesn't even pick a fight he says of course my prince of course of course and also. And also he's like, he's confident. He's confident. He doesn't, he's not threatened in like his desirability. He doesn't have to go out here and like prove anything. Don't worry.
Starting point is 01:08:32 The girls know. They'll come for Harwin. We all know. Everyone's like already making up, like putting Harwin on a pedestal. And you know, I love it. I don't think we've seen some of these aspects of him yet in the show. But I will say people say that he eats out. And that's so true.
Starting point is 01:08:49 I know it's true. Probably. I mean, wouldn't surprise me. Wouldn't surprise me one bit. Absolutely. It's not that I know it. Also during the dance, as you're discussing, there's this interesting little banter that I'm sure everyone like caught,
Starting point is 01:09:05 those puns about dancing not being that different from combat from Laenor and Rhaenyra. And I'm like, oh, just like the dance civil war. But also, I mean, this is not the only time that the series likens dancing and combat to one another. It happens a lot in the main five books, which is the basis of my essay of about sansa and dancing metaphors within her storyline oh please read it yeah that was a good essay i read that one
Starting point is 01:09:32 thank you i know you did i've read all your essays i'm still waiting for some of yours okay bitch uh everyone is eye-fucking Rhaenyra, right? Jealously, sadly, lustily. I actually really love the shots of, like, Criston Cole in one corner, Alicent in another, Daemon in another corner.
Starting point is 01:09:55 All of them just eye-fucking Rhaenyra. Except for her own fiancé in Joffrey. Amazing. Totally amazing. Great. Other things that are amazing speaking of eyes are you were talking about when gerald royce comes up to damon and uh it goes bad he goes jacoose right and i just love lionel strong's right here he's like his eyes every time some sort of commotion it always happens like right in front of him he's just like side eyes and he's like oh this is really happening right in front of me right now
Starting point is 01:10:29 every time everything happens and he's just quiet every time which is interesting he's getting so much info but also i just love his facial expressions like signing like what the fuck this is happening right now right in front of me how interesting but also like oh my god i love that damon doesn't take any precaution like immediately he's like interesting allegation that you just put against me you know my my brother's the king and will kill you for that though like you know that i will get justice for your slander and your house um total dick total dick but he also says something along the lines of my lady's wife death means that I,
Starting point is 01:11:05 her husband, gets what she was due. And I wonder if there's a little implication there for his character and Rhaenyra. Oh. You know, with the implication that if she dies, I take what's hers. Yeah. I do think that is, uh, that is
Starting point is 01:11:21 intimated in fire and blood, but we'll see, because I know a lot of people have been seeing chemistry between Damon and Rhaenyra. And I think that's what's hard. It's hard to tell what's real and what's not. Perception. Yeah. That's a big part of the series, too. I mean, I don't know.
Starting point is 01:11:36 I feel like it will fall somewhere in the middle. Yeah, I agree. Not unlike the Kristen Cole thing. You know what I mean? It fell in the middle, though. It really did. It does. Yeah, absolutely.
Starting point is 01:11:46 She instigated the sex in what they saw in this, and then he instigated the crybabying. Yeah. Yeah. And then we'll talk a little bit about Allison's instigating, too, in a second. I also, speaking of facial expressions, though, it's not just Lionel's. I do want to shout out Viserys's. As he looks at him, he's like, why the fuck is this happening this entire wedding the whole wedding for him was just him looking around going what the fuck like when did my family devolve into this like
Starting point is 01:12:14 watching damon and her basically not fuck but like want to fuck on the dance floor watching gerald come over and accuse dam Damon of murder that he totally maybe did we don't know I mean it wasn't on a screen I can't tell you if he murdered his wife or not but yeah I mean people make fun of me for watching reality tv but it is literally just like this it is exactly it is exactly like this in terms of drama it's not different poor Viserys watching him eat yeah that was really rough because he has no dexterity or mobility in his hands now that he's losing fingers and skin. And, you know, he's sloughing off of his own body, basically off his skeleton. It's pretty horrible.
Starting point is 01:12:56 Watching him eat and trying to cut that food, though, was really hard. It was sad. Yeah. And I think it just kind of gets sadder. Yeah. I mean, the trailer for next week, I was like, oh, damn, it's over. Yeah. It's over.
Starting point is 01:13:08 I feel bad for him, but, you know, it's, they've done this great job of doing this with a lot of the characters. You feel bad for them, but you're also like, this is kind of your fault. Yeah. I literally fluctuate between those feelings about Mysterious like 10 times a day. 10 times a day. I know. I know. I know. And I just, I think Paddy haunted him.
Starting point is 01:13:27 He's just killing it. Joffrey telling Kristen, or hinting to Kristen, that they are going to share beds at different hours, not with one another. It wasn't his best move. He was a little too trusting. He was too trusting. I don't read this scene as black no i didn't think it was blackmail i i read it as yeah like you said trusting i think john free was trying
Starting point is 01:13:52 to bond with a fellow co-worker who's in the same position as him like that's literally i think what it was i think you maybe needed to feel it out a little over a few weeks. Maybe, maybe not here. But either way, I mean, he doesn't fucking deserve to be hate-crined. Like, that was horrible. Yeah, that was terrible. That death was awful. Oh, my God. Me and you on the couch, both times watching it, his sobs. Oh, Lainer's sobs and just the-
Starting point is 01:14:18 The wail. The wail. Oh, and then the shaky voice during the ceremony. And backing up before the death for a second. Back to the sexy for a second before we go back to death. Because what is talking about death without talking about sex? In Dothraki culture, it seems like, yeah, you have to, right? This goes hand in hand, if you know what I mean.
Starting point is 01:14:39 Daemon and Rhaenyra making each other jealous all night. Very kinky, right? But earlier, what you said about Otto with the self-fulfilling this prophecy that he made up about Rhaenyra and her children and Alicent's children and Viserys' worries about Daemon and everyone worrying about Daemon
Starting point is 01:14:56 kind of feels a lot like that too. Obviously, they're standing there and they're like, oh yeah, I dare you to take me to wife at dragon stone oh yeah i dare you to fuck me i dare you to dirty fuck me then i bet you won't bet you won't that's really what that scene was yeah uh and beautiful in valyrian also viscerys's worries about damon betting his daughter and then like alicent worried about damon fucking raniera and everyone's so worried about damon fucking raniera and everyone's so worried about damon
Starting point is 01:15:25 fucking raniera did they realize that they made it happen that's kind of true like you guys did this they weren't gonna fuck i mean we were really so far so good yeah but everyone was so i don't know involved in their own stuff and if viserys had like, been a better brother. Or father. Both. This could have been avoided. I really do think so. If Viserys was just another person in general. Someone who had never been tested, perhaps. I also love in that exchange, though, her throwing back the marriage as a political arrangement in this phase.
Starting point is 01:16:01 Oh, yeah. Yeah, it felt so good. So good. That she was just like, I thought it was a political arrangement. And he's like, I just killed my wife. What do I know? Funny how on the dais, he's like, to Gerald, he's like, how dare you say this thing about me? And then he gets on the floor with Lena. And he's like, yeah, fuck my wife. I didn't care about that broad. Yeah, but he didn't fuck his wife exactly exactly he did not during the actual ballroom blitz it's it's a ballroom blitz and i must say the music is banging through this whole thing i
Starting point is 01:16:31 love literally uh literally that first song when she dances with laner is really sweet and beautiful and her theme is actually mixed in with some strings which it seems to be maybe part of laner's theme or something of the valerians yeah i really liked that after the dancing though when everything breaks out after obviously kristen cole goes on a rampage harwin actually gets veneer to safety which felt very sansa and sandor a la game of thrones in some ways with the the riot that breaks out i i love that Harwin did carry her to safety. Strong boy that he is. That was sweet.
Starting point is 01:17:08 That was a good touch for... She'll remember that. And they danced during the wedding and they seem to have good rapport. So these are all things that are going to prime us for them having three babies together next episode. Yeah. Like, I don't know. This might be something that I'm reading that isn't fair,
Starting point is 01:17:22 but you talked about how Lionel just like tipped his head and Harwin did it, right? Like he was obedient in doing what needed to be done. And I don't know, I'm like projecting this idea of him at like Louisa from Encanto as like the, the eldest child and like carrying all this weight now to, you know, the surface,
Starting point is 01:17:43 the song surface pressure. Also during that, that huge brawl, I like that there does seem to be care in a friendship between Rhaenyra and Laenor because she calls out for him. There, I think, is a friendship. So here's the part where I think Chris and Cole really failed his job as a Kingsguard. Which part? All of it?
Starting point is 01:18:04 All of it, yes, as you're right. A, they ruined the wedding. He ruined the fucking wedding. He hate-crimed Joffrey Lawmouth. Bullshit. Literally, the job is called Kingsguard, right? And during this kerfuffle, he strikes
Starting point is 01:18:20 Laenor. That's the king consort, or future king consort. And I feel like that in and of itself should have prompted the other Kingsguard to step in on Kristen. Also, I mean, this whole brawl endangers Rhaenyra as well. You see her knocked around on the ground. She gets hurt. She gets slammed. Harwin saves her. The city watch, the head of the gold clothes. She's got a type. Every single thing he does is in violation of the literal only part of the gold clothes. She's got a type. Every single thing he does is in violation of the literal only part of the oath that matters.
Starting point is 01:18:50 Like, a lot of people don't give a shit if you fuck, okay? The point is you protect the king, you protect the royal family, you protect the queen. He endangers the heir, he strikes the future king. His crimes only ramp up, too. Yeah, but I'm just like, this is a literal failure
Starting point is 01:19:06 of the job. The only thing that matters. And, like, I don't know. You know Alicent is using her one hall pass to free him later, I guess. Like, I hope we see that or we get some sort of hint that Alicent is his savior in this because it seems she's going to be. I don't know either.
Starting point is 01:19:22 Like, how did he not get let go? Exactly. That's why I don't't understand how does he not let go when again he does the thing that is completely again in violation of being a king's guard he is a king's endangerment anyway um then you of course have the scene you do have that hate crime scene right where he's taking his anger out on joffrey longmouth and it's just so it's just so unfair right and joffrey did nothing to him literally he was just trying to be friends he was literally just trying to be friends i think he would have been like oh let's like you know take shifts or whatever and the way that it's filmed and the emotion with which he i guess pummels Joffrey is perhaps, it's likely meant to be compared to and contrasted Rhaenyra killing the boar.
Starting point is 01:20:11 But they are, they're shot similarly. They have a similar feel, but they're different, right? Because Rhaenyra killing the boar, I mean, that's not a person, right? And the boar did attack her. It was soft defense. Joffrey Longout now that you said did nothing against kristen cole um he was a person and and i maybe some people will see the boar as comparable but i'm not a vegetarian and i love pulled pork so yeah it's very different i would
Starting point is 01:20:38 not eat kristen cole i would not i talk about cannibalism a lot but i would not yeah that's oh no i'm talking about christina that makes sense the. Yeah, that's one meal I don't want. Oh, no, I'm talking about Christine, although that makes sense. The actual boar is Joffrey. I don't see it as Joffrey, obviously. The one thing I will say, this is not in defense of Kristen Cole, those words will never come out of my mouth. I wonder
Starting point is 01:20:57 if he immediately saw it as a way of killing the rumor. Literally. Because Joffrey speaks to him and obviously knows he's fucking raniera and if he immediately saw that as a threat saw joffrey lawnmouth as a threat and saw this as securing the rumor so now only allison knew because i mean it's gonna get out eventually you know or not who knows but that knows, but that's an interesting point. That's just an angle I was thinking about it, of the why.
Starting point is 01:21:30 Like, why did he commit this crime? Oh, he murdered this guy, probably because this guy knows that he's fucking. Yeah, I think it's a combination of, I don't even think he knew in his head that he didn't want it to come out, because as you said, himbos everywhere are embarrassed. This is not a smart man. This man's fucking dumb. I mean, we retracted his himbo card. No, literally, because himbos have to be good.
Starting point is 01:21:55 That is actually part of the job description. Absolutely. It's that he just represents it existing at all. He pummels Joffrey for being a manifestation, I guess, of the rumor, not trying to quell it, but just him trying to- Erase it? Yes.
Starting point is 01:22:12 Undo it. Exactly, exactly. It's been done, buddy. I mean, you already did it. You already soiled your fucking cloak, and that fast. It only took you a couple years. Yeah, and it's remarkable that- I'm sorry, we're coming back to it, right? He's so concerned about his own honor, but not what could happen. I mean, Tarin, you're in her prospects, I guess. It doesn't connect that this is happening because they slept together, that this marriage is happening because of that. Yeah, the marriage itself, so the ceremony is moved up, right, due to all of this. And the marriage is put kind of right after Joffrey's death.
Starting point is 01:22:47 You don't see it up close, the ceremony first, but you hear the music. It's sad. It swells. There's a voiceover that is conducting the marriage and the ceremony. It's, of course, in the middle of the night, avoiding the drama. You don't see it right away. So to me, it almost sounds like it should be a funeral, right? If you close your eyes and you hear them speaking, you imagine you're going to a funeral
Starting point is 01:23:10 for Joffrey, you know, is where Laenor probably should have been. I mean, that's what he should have been doing is putting his partner to rest, but yet he's here doing his duty and both he and Rhaenyra are shaken up. They have tears in their eyes. It's really awful because he's forced to bear this and marry Rhaenyra, whose very wedding negotiations earlier kind of promised him safety in a way, right? Like, I am the queen to be. I can keep you safe. I should be the second most powerful person in our world right now. But she couldn't keep him safe. Her side of the negotiation was not equal to the side that he was giving up, right? Like in this, she obviously mentions to him that she does not like the taste of goose because it's too greasy for her. She finds pussy
Starting point is 01:23:59 too greasy. So I guess no canon gay Rhaenyra in story that's all right i don't know her and lana and damon could have had threesomes we just don't know that side of what she had to give up fucking sir christian cole right like that's not equal to what laner has to hide yeah and the lengths and what he risks in this marriage and treating it the way that she's treating it right it's just like this is just you know we have to do business and then at night we get to fuck off and fuck uh she's the queen she's supposed to protect him right denera says it in a clash of kings to jorah about how she was alone for so long and that visera should have protected her but instead he scared her and hurt her and he shouldn't have done that she says he wasn protected her but instead he scared her and hurt her and
Starting point is 01:24:45 he shouldn't have done that she says he wasn't just my brother he was my king why do gods make kings and queens if not to protect the ones who can't protect themselves and you see it in her eyes you see that pain you see that she feels guilt she knows that she didn't fulfill her side of their negotiation and their contract and then you tell me that it took two whole kids until he was allowed to have a joffrey fuck you yeah well apparently that was corley's yeah well fuck corley's fuck you corley's yeah and he's uh yeah i guess he's a wife guy but uh apparently i mean he's just not supportive of his son right like that's a that's a great call out that like because firing blood tells us that he couldn't name his children after joffrey because of corley's and because
Starting point is 01:25:30 people might know people might know and that sucks that like sucks like everything that like there's a discussion around episode two of like the way elena is being sold into this and duty and corley's does it also to Laenor, right? I think you can see kind of why they had him read Tywin's lines. Tywin does ask the same things of Jaime and this is what he forces Tyrion to do, right?
Starting point is 01:25:55 Like, in Wedding Sansa. Cersei! Yeah, and Cersei, absolutely, and Cersei, but that's also kind of, as you said, it's also kind of like with Laena, and Rhaenyra doesn't protect him, she uses Laenor as her own shield instead. Yeah. I think that,
Starting point is 01:26:12 I mean, I hope that, especially in this time jump for the next episode, I hope that stands out. I hope that she has learned from that. That Rhaenyra has taken that to heart. That part of the duty. And I think they do. It really feels like their little weird polycool can come together,
Starting point is 01:26:30 even briefly, until Laenor dies. Yeah, I hope so. And I think that's a great point. Does this really drive home the stakes that are here? They don't get to feast and enjoy. And that makes sense, right? How can they have a celebration when this man that their son loved died? Right. And I think, I kind of wonder if they rushed the wedding not just because of that.
Starting point is 01:26:54 A, to secure the alliance. B, I wonder what if Corlys and Rhaenys were afraid that Laenor would back out in his grief and pushed him into it. That's something. And not even just that, but I also wonder, I imagine dispelling rumors would have been very important in that moment, too. Yeah, that's true. Great point. Great point.
Starting point is 01:27:14 At the wedding, they were, like, nuzzling each other, which I'm all for, but Westeros is not all for. And the part where he also, you know, wails and dies and cradles his body. Yeah, it's important that he's seen marrying and going through the marriage at this time and they can't draw it out i mean it's a nice thing to him but they don't draw it out because how could he go through seven fucking days knowing that the only reason he was going with this marriage was that the man that he loved would get to be his all the time yeah how could he go on for seven days smiling at people
Starting point is 01:27:46 fucking tourneys and jousts i can't i can't imagine how could you do that i mean it's horrible it's so sad your only reason to fucking be alive in this world that persecutes you at every turn it's just yeah it it is tragic right they they talk about how this season and this arc of the dance is a tragedy. And there's so many small tragedies that make it up and that build up to it. And this is one of them. He thought he was going to have everything he wanted. Yeah. When the sun is set, no candle can replace it.
Starting point is 01:28:16 Except for Carl Corey. And that would be your downfall. No candle can replace it. Except for that one. Except for the next candle. I mean, like. And that candle kills you, buddy. Oh, fuck. Fuck.
Starting point is 01:28:28 Fuck, okay. Last thing regarding the shotgun wedding. A different type of shotgun at your head. Yeah, exactly. Earlier when they're negotiating their marriage, Ring Nero promises Laenor that each of us dines as we see fit. And then we have this shot of after the wedding has cleared, when they're doing the small intimate ceremony now.
Starting point is 01:28:54 And it's of the ravaged meal, right? It's of the bones that have been picked apart, the food, the leftovers. Nothing's there that they can dine on. It's all just scraps fit only for crows. You have, like, the weird feathery thing hanging over it all. A feast for crows and the corpses of it. I didn't think about that with the feather centerpiece. That's a good call.
Starting point is 01:29:17 Yeah. It literally is very feast for crow-y because, you know, they're giving us an adaptation of that finally. They are, they are. Yeah, and that's what this feast is now. It's been, it's just the carnage, right? The pulpy meat of everything. Like, what?
Starting point is 01:29:34 I do think it's intentional. I do too, but don't remind me. It was so sad. And of course it does end right on that pool of blood. And I don't know. I pay a lot of attention. I think that the food is very significant in this series i also think the food being half eaten showing like everyone had to go they were like well this sucked this wedding got kind of fucked up we gotta go that's great
Starting point is 01:29:55 yeah but also the metaphors well to talk about metaphors alongside this i actually really like how this is staged so alongside this horrible fucking forced ceremony late at night kristen is attempting suicide in the godswood with his sword you know dying a true soldier's death going to commit seppuku in the godswood in front of the gods all the gods are seeing it but he's stopped by alicent i'd like to read a quote from a poet actually right now. She was fearless and crazier than him. She was his queen and God help anyone who dared to disrespect his queen. Oh my God.
Starting point is 01:30:36 What? Oh my God. I mean, it feels fitting. The fact that she comes upon him, she stops him from doing this. Yeah. she comes upon him she stops him from doing this yeah and that's she saved his life in his eyes and she's going to probably save his life legally in other people's eyes i'd imagine yeah considering that he broke the one big rule that mattered of the king's garden and yeah i think you're right and so he feels like he owes her like she somehow i guess restores his
Starting point is 01:31:05 honor he has to have some mommy issues yeah probably right i mean who doesn't well he's fighting against the dornish um yeah as a and his mother's dornish like obviously he's got that self-conflict um but i don't know kristin You give your, people give themselves honor, you know? Someone else can't do that for you externally. And I don't think he understands that. Like, Rhaenyra can't give him his honor. Alicent can't give him his honor. Honor is something that you make for yourself, okay?
Starting point is 01:31:38 Just like Ned Stark. He looked dishonorable in front of everyone, like he went against his king. But he did the honorable thing, right? Somehow that line was the honorable thing to protect his family and to protect john i mean honor is a horse honor is also a horse absolutely also you know there's something to discuss here i know we've talked about regarding allison's now going like full tails against Rhaenyra because what? Rhaenyra lied to her about having sex. If Rhaenyra can lie to her about the things that she once felt they were close enough to not lie about. Which now there's a lot of power play going on.
Starting point is 01:32:18 Of course, she's married to Viserys. Things are weird. They don't have the same relationship. How earlier there's a very obvious disconnect when she calls her stepdaughter you're no longer raniera princess that's a great point step daughter that's her taking what power she can to wield for herself and what defense she can but if raniera is willing to lie about those things to her i would say it would deepen the doubts sown by her father. I understand
Starting point is 01:32:47 why Rhaenyra doesn't trust her. Because I see it in my opinion, the first person, maybe it's not a lie, but it is. You don't go around not telling someone yo, I've been meeting up with your dad every night. Yeah, that is. I think that was the first shot. Don't call
Starting point is 01:33:04 my dad. Yeah. Don't call my dad. Yeah. Don't call my dad. I have no intention of calling your dad. Oh, my God. Yeah. I just don't think that trust is living in that relationship anymore. I can understand why she did not think that Alicent deserved her trust when Alicent, you know, showed that her loyalties, they don't lie with Raymira in their friendship. They lie elsewhere.
Starting point is 01:33:26 And she's only proving that more, right? Like, and this is exactly right. The patriarchy tearing, as you've discussed, tearing these two girls apart. Also because Allison was like, got really weird about it. She got super weird about Rainiera having sex. And it is that internalized misogyny that Rainiera gets to have everything but I mean she
Starting point is 01:33:47 will like there's no if ands or buts we will see if Alicent and Kristen don't have sex in this show on screen I will be mighty surprised because the way that this is being painted to me is just like she's gonna have no one Viserys is falling apart as we see in the trailer she has no one and nothing not even her ladies really like her that much yeah yeah i don't know a lot of it is just auto tearing these girls apart and also viserys because maybe you shouldn't have married your daughter's best friend this weirdwood's getting a lot of play this is season yeah this is actually this is the polycule and it is the worst one. I'd like a better polycule moving forward as we move forward in this season.
Starting point is 01:34:31 I mean, she's the queen with nothing. She has no power and she's the queen and she fucking, you know, gave up her life to do so. To have this title with barely any power below it. And yet she's sitting here watching Rhaenyra in her eyes, fuck it all away. Yeah. And the thing is she could have, I mean,
Starting point is 01:34:51 Cersei did it. Oh, they did have her read Cersei's lines. Yeah. I mean, that's what she's doing. You know, she's,
Starting point is 01:34:58 that's why I think she really will sleep with Kristen because, yes, because she's going to see like, well, Rhaenyra doesn't have to play by the rules why should i anymore my sons should be king i should have sex i should make fuck fuck yeah and in her jealousy of wanting the things that reynera has by continuing to prop up egan as heir she continues to solidify that no one no woman will have that, including herself.
Starting point is 01:35:28 It's just like in Veep, the Amy and Selina fight, right? Like Amy telling her, now we will have no more female presidents because you ruined it, Rhaenyra. Oh my god. Well, they do have that kind of friendship. They do. It is very Amy and Selina. Yeah, actually, literally, though. The that kind of friendship. They do. It is very Amy and Selena. Yeah. Actually, literally, though. The incompetence is staggering. Oh, my God.
Starting point is 01:35:52 The incompetence is staggering, though, in the rulers in this show. It only gets even more staggering. The episode ends and then we have a trailer. That is not at the end of this episode. And he had to go find separately because HBO did not tag it on. It was really weird. I'm like, you've done it right for four episodes and suddenly you didn't have that behind the scenes and the trailer. I'm hurt.
Starting point is 01:36:14 Right after the episode. I'd like to speak to HBO personally. They can call me. They can call me. I'll leave my phone number for you below. Uh, the trailer is a blast. Uh, it's the age up, right? So goodbye, Millie. Goodbye, Emily.
Starting point is 01:36:28 You were amazing. Oh my god. You were amazing. They were amazing at playing Rhaenyra and Alicent and making us feel something or care about these little relationships that weren't really built up. I really appreciated it and I think it enriched the show for the better. But I'm also really
Starting point is 01:36:44 looking forward to Olivia Cooke and Emma Darcy. Yes. That's going to be as much as I love the nuance and the depth that has been brought to Allison's character and to Rhaenyra and Allison's friendship and to Viserys's character. I'm really ready for the fighting to start. Yeah. I'm sitting here with popcorn like, when are the girls going to fight? I'm ready. I'm ready for the fighting to start yeah i'm sitting here with popcorn like when are the girls gonna fight i'm ready i'm ready for the pettiness i want dragons snapping across the screen at one another you know like they say in fire and blood would happen when one of the
Starting point is 01:37:16 parties would show up that the dragons could feel the energy and they'd be like roaring hissing at one another i'm ready for the drama yeah and it seems like there's going to be a lot of dragons next episode based on the trailer. But also in regards to the fighting and the petty. Interestingly, you know, Allison's going to be in the small council room. So that'll be fun.
Starting point is 01:37:37 That clip is interesting because Rhaenyra you can already see Rhaenyra and Allison's pettiness back and forth, the snipping. Rhaenyra correcting something sheent's pettiness back and forth the snipping Rhaenyra correcting something she says and being like my queen well they're both in the council um it's
Starting point is 01:37:54 gloves are gonna come off yeah absolutely dresses are gonna come on wear your finest black and green yeah she's gonna keep wearing her green and we do see Alicent become more of a player and active. Yeah, she seems to really, I mean, that's the thing is, she's taking that active role for herself.
Starting point is 01:38:12 She's stepping in because she doesn't, I mean, she also has watched Rhaenyra be sidelined these last few years. That's true, yeah. She doesn't want that for herself. And she's isolated, right? Now she's unsafe, and it makes sense, right? She's trying to hedge her bets and create her own safety. And, you know, Rhaenyra would be wise to do the same, especially after the warning that came this wedding that
Starting point is 01:38:35 this is not safe. This is not enough of an alliance. And we do see Laenor in the trailer spot, right? We see Laenor with the babies and her. It looks like they're in front of a castle of sorts. I'm guessing King's Landing or maybe somewhere else. I'm excited to see a little more Laenor. We get Laena, a new actress for Laena, a third actress, the third head of the dragon. And actually the third, one of the three heads of the dragon.
Starting point is 01:39:03 Literally. Yeah, literally. She and Daemon. I'm excited to see what goes on with that wedding of theirs. And Pentos. It looks like we might see. Yeah, Pentos. I think we see it in the trailer very briefly.
Starting point is 01:39:16 Interesting. And we'll see Vhagar, of course. She's nice and beautiful and old. Excited. And big. She's real big. Real big girl. And Harwin.
Starting point is 01:39:27 We see Harwin and Kristen going at it. And Harwin decking Kristen, which I personally can't wait for. I'm happy for him. And also Lionel gets a haircut. Lionel does get a haircut. He's looking kind of like a little fuzzy baby bird. And I love it. Yeah, he's older.
Starting point is 01:39:44 He's older. Viserys. God bless. Wow. Yeah, he's older. He's older. Viserys, god bless. Also, hair is different too. He is, yeah, he's not got a lot of it on top of his head anymore. It's part gone and the leprosy is really making its way through him and he is not great and he doesn't look great.
Starting point is 01:40:01 He looks bad. Things look bad for Viserys. Things look bad for Viserys things look bad for him Aegon too he has a lot of hair Ty Tennant, David Tennant's kid wild, that's insane
Starting point is 01:40:13 the Doctor Who universe is clashing again twice his wig is insane and I will say if you watch some of the earlier trailers you might remember you see Alicent telling someone couldn't figure out who it is, that, you know, they need to rule the Iron Throne, that she'll kill them and their siblings, if not. And I'm pretty sure that's Aegon. It's curly, blonde, long hair that you can see in the shot.
Starting point is 01:40:38 And that's it. And now I'm like, oh, it must be Aegon. Yeah. Yeah, I guess she just, like, takes everything that her dad said and decides it's all true about Rhaenyra just because of the one thing being true. I really don't think Rhaenyra was gonna kill those kids until, you know... But you know what? Fuck them kids.
Starting point is 01:40:56 Absolutely. I think, well, I think she should've killed them. Oh my god. Kill Agen too. Sorry. God! Kill Aemond. What? Jesus. Don't kill children. Uh. Lots in the trailer. I slowed it down, watched it a couple times, and I feasted
Starting point is 01:41:12 gloriously, and I'll tell you what, I cannot wait another six days. Yeah, every single time this happens, I'm like, holy shit, I have to wait so long. I'm like so excited on Sunday. I'm so excited after the episode happens and then it sinks in that I'm like oh I have to wait
Starting point is 01:41:28 and so you will have to wait too dear listeners another week to hear from us until next week's episode which I think is the princess and the queen well also that's not true because we are much more generous they don't have to wait a week for
Starting point is 01:41:43 to hear us again you can tune in also to our coverage of the main book series. Yeah, we'll be covering Bran in A Game of Thrones for the next few weeks and we'll move on to A Clash of Kings afterwards. We would love to have you come listen in. And of course we would love to hear from you.
Starting point is 01:42:00 Yeah, if you have any thoughts, you can hit us up on social media at twitter.com slash girlsgonecanon. That's C-A-N-O-N. Or you can also send us an email, as some folks have, at girlsgonecanon at gmail.com. Make sure you're subscribed to us on a podcast streaming platform near you, whether that's Amazon Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, Acast, iTunes, Spotify, Audible,ify audible pandora you name it we're on there yes and of course you can always find this on patreon where patrons in the stranger tier and
Starting point is 01:42:36 above get bonus episodes each month this month will be mothers of the Dragon Part 2, covering Queen Alysanne. The ultimate MILF. The ultimate MILF. And then we also have Discord access for patrons in the Thunder tier and above. $10 and up. Yeah, for $10 and up, you get access to weekly House of the Dragon discussions in the voice chat with our friend Maddie hosting it, as well as access to a monthly brunch slash happy hour where we hang out, talk. Sometimes you play games,
Starting point is 01:43:10 chat about the show always, and we'll be announcing next month's date soon enough. So stay tuned. As always, I have been one of your hosts, Chloe. And I have been another one of your hosts, Eliana.
Starting point is 01:43:22 We'll be back next week. Dragon noises. Yeah, after seven days of feasting and celebrating. I don't know. I gotta work on it. We gotta practice our dragon noises. Maybe next week. Maybe next week. Goodbye. Bye.

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