BATTLE AT ROOK'S REST | HOTD S2 E4 "The Red Dragon and the Gold" | Reaction & Breakdown

[@rtrslimjim]

13:55 those men were 100% not trained by Cole

[@hightower19]

those men are not trained by criston, it's actually the opposite case he actually hates that they got hired (nepotism, they're aegon's friends)

[@RandomsPage]

People have been really going in on the members of the black council but I think it’s worth pointing out that there are members on the council that are having their castles get taken and their family and household slaughtered. They may seem eager to attack or annoying in their bickering but how would you feel if you were getting reports and ravens of an army coming to kill your family while you just sit around a table with a queen that refuses to act or disappears without notice. These council members have risked the lives and legacies of their ancient families to swear fealty to her and it's fair to expect protection from the Queen in return as the opposing army marches to their castles. But Rhaenyra kind of failed them by not putting anyone in charge in her absence and not even letting them know where she went, all while their vassals and family are being put to the sword, with seemingly zero protection from their Queen. The sexism isn’t excusable but their anxiousness and anger regarding inaction in these crucial moments (such as not burning Cole when they had the chance) is understandable to me. Especially since they were essentially right episodes ago about it being too late for peace. It had to be frustrating to have to wait weeks for Rhaenyra to join them in their assessment that was obvious to everyone else at the table, including Jace. But that crucial time spent waiting for her to act resulted in deaths of family members for some of them and a loss in strategic positioning

[@LaCheeserie]

You are right on most of this. One thing which is not exactly a book spoiler is Rhaenyra not being accounted for much during this time and how the show is inserting her into the “action” is not surprising because it is billed as her vs Alicent and they could not have her off the board so long, even if it was recovery from traumatic childbirth. Other than meeting Alicent, which ultimately has not changed anything, she is essentially sidelining herself, just on screen.

[@sproductionsinc]

You can't be emotional no matter what's happening to your family. You have to think about everyone, not just your own. All the men in this show are extremely emotional. She's doing everything she can to save lives & keep the 80 years of peace. In the end, none of those men complaining are going to be on dragons fighting.. it will be her.

[@RandomsPage]

@@sproductionsinc it’s not being emotional. Rhaenyra even AGREES with the council now. It’s just the time she took to finally understand what everyone else already understood has cost them.

[@sproductionsinc]

@@RandomsPage Yes because she heard it for herself that there's no chance at peace. Makes sense. The council pushed to send a dragon & now it's dead lol Most of this really is just emotion. Daemon can't get over his brother not choosing him. Cole can't get over breaking his oath. Aemond can't get over losing an eye & being bullied. Aegon can't get over the lack of love.

[@siyamafuya7163]

"daemon is bad at the politics" well obviously. he hated it. he never would sit in viserys council in S1 because he was always given roles (ordered by otto) to always move him around and keep him busy and the later in ep 1 of S1 when him and viserys spoke daemon expresses how he hated always being sent around instead of actually close to him brother or getting the job that otto got at being viserys hand. even when he got the job as being the commander of the city watch almost immediately they had issues on the way he was giving out punishments to the criminals (which is important to not that the laws on the crimes they had done technically the punishment given is nothing they haven't seen before but more on how he is ruthless) so i wouldn't daemon is bad the politics but more he is a strategic thinker on the war side because daemon is more of a general and fighter that so many people overlook imo. Season opener he has the talk with rhaenys he talks about wanting to face vhagar and doing it as a tag team because their 2 dragons on the blacks side are the most experienced and would be able to face aemond. Meleys in the books was described as one of the few fastest dragons (which was actually daemons mothers dragon so he grew up with meleys and daemons dragon caraxes was rhaenys fathers dragon before him and + vhagar was daemons fathers dragon at one point as well before Laena and aemond so he knows more that side things rather than politics). i think there are so many moments if you look back where you might even say "they should've listened daemon quicker for x y and z" and yes obviously we know daemon likes to rush things and push but hes more quick on his feet it may be impulsive but for him it works. The whole plan about going to harrenhal was something he brought up during the final of last season, which is they have the strong hold of the riverlands to host a large army there (because it is the largest castle is westeros) set up camp there with the allied armies with a last host of dragons the when the time is right then march on kingslanding and take the throne. all this has always been the plan from the start for daemon because POLITICALLY its the strongest move. so after their fight he still goes to harrenhal to get it done but now he is met with other problems. its really not about how he is expecting all the bow down to him or things to go his way so easily but more of the fact that now he has to deal with the internal problems of the riverlands between bracken and blackwoods at that feud including the tullys and how like he said "they are a fish with no head" right now so its a mess (which was not part of the plan) and i dont know if you caught the conversation he had with the blackwoods man and saying they will give an army if he can sort out the brackens for them and thats where daemon works best, being on the ground on the dragon

[@monie3558]

There’s an important dragonriding character named Nettles I hope she’s also introduced in season 3

[@rtrslimjim]

GOATed episode and GOATed reaction

[@brandonj7458]

🤣😂 he says dumbass like 3 times in a row THEN SAYS "is dragons blood acid?" 🤣 you did that to yourself

[@LaCheeserie]

Davi said dumbass, Abe asked about the blood

[@tonylife94]

King Aegon II absolutely does not deserve the hatred that viewers feel towards him. In my opinion, he is a very tragic figure. Probably the most tragic in this series so far.

[@airconditionedrelco7099]

Another lil detail, paraphrasing here but the writers and directors said they looked at how eagles courtship by interlocking claws and spiraling as a inspiration for the dragon battle scene. which i find really cool and it fits well with the name of the war ''Dance Of The Dragons''

[@kyletreat3724]

two specific shots i really love this episode: the shot of meleys and vhagar swirling in the sky while breathing fire at each other and the soldiers looking up at them (it looks like they're dancing, it's cool that the people who make the show looked up how hawks fight - gripping their talons together and clawing at each other), and the wide shot of criston walking through the bloodied battlefield with his white cloak (there's no glory in battle and i hate criston but he's one of the best characters). this season is phenomenal so far (better than the first in my opinion since this is the meat of the story) and we still have a lot more insane moments to come

[@monie3558]

I don’t like them killing off Rhaenys without letting Baela and Rhaena have one on screen conversation with her

[@RandomsPage]

They killed off Laenor and Laena without letting them have a single conversation with Rhaenys or Corlys. Certain characters they unfortunately don’t really care about developing.