House of the Dragon (Game of Thrones prequel series) (1 Viewer)

[SamT]

This guy. Prince Lucerys 'Luke' Velaryon?

Your interest in the princeling's training is quite unusual, Commander.
Most men would only have that kind of devotion
toward a cousin...
or a brother...
or a son.

And then the big guy gets upset. Who are his parents?

 

[jayembee]

View attachment 157797

This guy. Prince Lucerys 'Luke' Velaryon?

Your interest in the princeling's training is quite unusual, Commander.
Most men would only have that kind of devotion
toward a cousin...
or a brother...
or a son.

And then the big guy gets upset. Who are his parents?

His (and his brother's) father is Harwin Strong, the "Commander" in that quote. And was Rhaenyra's lover while she was married to Laenor (who was gay). That's why all of the sniping about Rhaenyra's children being bastards (and in this last episode, Vaemond Velaryon calling her a whore). It's also why Aemond Targaryean toasted Luke and his brother with emphasis on their being "strong boys".

It's not like anyone couldn't figure it out. Neither of the two princes had features that resembled either the Targaryean or Velaryon bloodlines. No white hair, no dark skin, etc.

 

[Patrick Sun]

1x06 The Princess and the Queen

It's so hard when you are behind to go find where the discussion of that episode starts. It would be nice if each week, the first post about that episode start with the episode number.

I kind of think they sharked the jump a little! I think the new actress is not as good as the younger version. Not the same presence. So all this is complicated. Don't know if they should have done a better casting for the older version or cast only one actress for both time periods. There was a huge disconnect in this episode. I'm not as invested as before.

And who was the father of that little boy?

FYI - the older 2 main actresses for Alicent and Rhaenyra were casted first, and then the younger actress counterparts. It's just jarring due to the time jump, and we've spent 4-5 episodes with the younger set of actresses for those 2 characters before the older set take over the roles due to the time jump.

 

[Sam Favate]

That ending.
Whoa.

 

[Sam Posten]

That ending.
Whoa.

It was a slog to get there tho.

 

[Citizen87645]

And also kinda dumb. I know we need the coming conflict to have the series

Spoiler

but why go to the trouble of showing someone had the perfect opportunity to just wipe everyone out, when you know you can't do that in order to continue the show. There is no tension in that, it just begs the question WHY?

 

[Walter Kittel]

I enjoyed the episode, but to Cameron's point... While it was a great closing sequence, Princess Rhaenys' actions (or lack thereof) sure felt like a huge tactical error. Or more practically, plot armor at its finest.

One of the more plodding episodes. It was sort of a 'fill in the blanks' kind of hour that gets us from point A to point B. Despite that I did like seeing some of the machinations.

BTW, is Larys one of Quentin Tarantino's ancestors.

- Walter.

 

[Citizen87645]

Ah yes, I forgot about the "plot armor" term. I'll use that next time.

Larys Tarantino has a nice ring to it.

 

[John_Bilbrey]

I think it was kind of a "power move" to not do anything at the end. It's a bit of "I have you, you're toast if I choose, and there's nothing you can do about it". Probably a tactical error to not finish them as we know how the war plays out, but was a really cool scene regardless.

Plus, dragons are cool.

 

[Sam Favate]

Obviously they couldn’t have her kill them all for purposes of the overall story, but to the audience in the moment, you want her to. Just like Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader in his recent series, you’re sitting there thinking “Just fucking kill them!”

I predict Rhaenys will regret her decision.

 

[Sean Bryan]

I think it was kind of a "power move" to not do anything at the end. It's a bit of "I have you, you're toast if I choose, and there's nothing you can do about it". Probably a tactical error to not finish them as we know how the war plays out, but was a really cool scene regardless.

Plus, dragons are cool.

Agreed. Whether or not it was the right tactical move, it was clearly a decision she made (not to incinerate a number of family members) and not something she just didn't do.

 

[Citizen87645]

That's fine solely from the perspective of the characters, but as a viewer you effectively have to turn off a part of your brain that knows too much about where things wind up (in even the broadest terms, i.e. that Aegon lives and sires the lineage that gives us Daenerys). It seems like the writers should have been cognizant of this since they are working on a prequel after all, but it seems they couldn't pass on the spectacle of it all.

 

[jayembee]

It's also worth keeping in mind that one of the things that Alicent tried to convince Rhaenys with was that the crown keeping her dragon was a move that would diminish the strategic advantage that the Blacks have. Taking her dragon with her undoubtedly made her think that the Blacks maintain their strategic advantage, so dracarysing their asses wasn't necessary. At this point, Aemond's dragon is the only one the Greens have.

 

[Sean Bryan]

Eve Best gives her taken on it here: https://www.vulture.com/article/house-of-dragon-eve-best-interview-escape-green-council.html

"I know! The temptation is there, right? In the end, she makes a bigger choice. We see that at the moment with what’s going on in Ukraine; to choose not to destroy is the better choice. That’s an important thing for us all to remember right now. It’s why she would have made such a great leader. She had, in that moment, all the power. Yet she has respect for Alicent as a woman and a mother. They understand being in the grip of other people who might torch them. They know the only right choice is not to go there. Furthermore, it’s the intelligent choice, on her part, not to torch a whole bunch of innocent people in the room. What’s to be gained? In the end, it’s not her battle."

"The escape she makes on the dragon is something that’s been brewing since that very moment she was passed over wrongly, unjustly, for the crown. It’s this yearning just to get the hell out and get away from the whole ruddy lot of things. When she bursts out of that arena, she’s internally saying, “[frick] you all.” It’s more about that than a need for revenge or destruction that the men might’ve jumped onto. She’s breaking her own glass ceiling.“

 

[John_Bilbrey]

It's also worth keeping in mind that one of the things that Alicent tried to convince Rhaenys with was that the crown keeping her dragon was a move that would diminish the strategic advantage that the Blacks have. Taking her dragon with her undoubtedly made her think that the Blacks maintain their strategic advantage, so dracarysing their asses wasn't necessary. At this point, Aemond's dragon is the only one the Greens have.

I thought all the boys had dragons at this point?

 

[jayembee]

I thought all the boys had dragons at this point?

The ones in Rhaynera's brood, perhaps (though I'm not sure of that), but I don't believe Aegon has one. Aemond only has one because he hijacked the one that belonged to the dead Velaryon girl.

 

[Sam Favate]

So when is season 2 due? I hate long waits.

 

[Citizen87645]

Is 1.5 years too long?

 

[Walter Kittel]

That final shot says "It's on like Donkey Kong"

Helluva season finale.

- Walter.

 

[Sam Favate]

Is 1.5 years too long?

I read that Fall 2024 is best case. Filming won't even begin until early-mid 2023. This season took 15 months of post-production.

I liked the finale a lot, although they sure foreshadowed

Spoiler

Luke's death. It was obvious from very early in the episode.