HOUSE OF THE DRAGON 2x07 REVIEW | Game of Thrones | HBO Max | THE GEEK BUDDIES

[@jamesdavison1942]

Rhaena Targaryen went full Lord Farquaad this episode - "Some of you may die, but that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make"

[@salmaishaq8207]

No, Hugh's mom was not a bastard. She is the aunt of viserys and Daemon. She was exiled because Jaeharys her father couldn't control her. Making Hugh a cousin of Daemon and Viserys

[@williamdaniels9728]

He's still technically a bastard because his mother wasn't married and he was born out of wed lock from an unknown father.

[@jim1242]

Yes you are correct, the family tree, is very complciated for house targaryen, especially due to the fact they all marry each other to keep the Valerian blood pure (no doubt inspired by the real life Habsburg dynasty) ! I beleive viserys and Daemons father was called prince baelon , which would make hugh's mother, baelon's sister.

[@salmaishaq8207]

@williamdaniels9728 yeah I know. Wasn't arguing he wasn't a bastard. His mother was a high class prostitute

[@akeemcase2481]

​@williamdaniels9728 Hugh is a bastard, his mother is not, Hugh's mother is Saera Targaryen who was was sleeping around and the King sent her away and she went on to become a prostitute

[@believeume122]

I still feel for Jace. That talk didn't give me a darker sense of Jace. Hell he was right. He doesn't know these random people living on the streets. There is not a Targaryen outreach program. He probably only hears about the small folk when they are doing something bad. Rhaenyra is mostly thinking of the small folk because she's being counciled by one of the small folk. Especially when he's basically saying he knows he's no better than the other bastards. The dragon was the only thing that made him different. He's been told his whole life he was nothing. If a silver haired bastard were to challenge him after Rhaenyra dies the people would rally behind the silver haired challenger and Jace would be forced to go to war again or give up the crown. He made total sense .

[@ameliacraiig4193]

Agreed. Also, the definition of 'mongrel'(n.) is: of a type within a species resulting from no definable breed. Not a pure-bred or pedigree. Now I'm sure Jace, from his place of privilege, was deliberately using the word offensively, but he seems to be the only one, between him, Rhae & Mysaria, who is thinking ahead & is acknowledging the possible can of worms being opened.

[@RyanMichael00]

Hugh’s mom was not a bastard. Her name was Saera Targaryen, the 9th child and 3rd daughter of King Jaehaerys and Queen Alysanne. Her brother Baelon was the father of Daemon and Viserys. She is their aunt. She was disowned by Jaehaerys, and wound up in Essos where she made a fortune working as a courtesan, and built an empire of pleasure houses across Essos. It is said that Jaehaerys’ last word was “Saera.”

[@shannonmcclung9405]

Ohhhhhhhhhh, holy crap...

[@williamdaniels9728]

I really loved the scene with Vermithor because the camera work was very reminiscent of Jurassic Park's T-Rex. It really brought me into the scene with the chaos and people running everywhere and the camera following Hugh. I loved it.

[@jim1242]

7:14 - just a small clarfication on b*stards. Jace's intial plan was not to find high born b*stards but highborn or noble lords or knights that had some targaryen or valerian ancestry in their famiy tree, such as ser steffon darklyn. The problem with this being that Steffons' Targaryen blood was too diluted for the dragons to accept him. Hugh, Adam and Ulf are actually high born bastards, due to having at least 1 Targaryen or Valerian lord / princess etc . Unlike Ser Stefan , they all had direct Targaryen /Valerian parentage , meaning the dragons would more likely accept them. For them to be low born bastards, both parents would need to be small-folk. Its also possible, unlike low-born b*stards, Hugh, Adam and Ulf could also be possibly legitmized as the heirs to their house , similar to what we saw with Gendry and Ramsay in Game of Thrones. Of course even high-born or noble b*stards are still looked down upon by highborns of noble birth.

[@Melodicroger]

Yeah Jace’s plan was for noble candidates which could tie stronger military and familial alliances. Lowborn bastards do not have the house alliance potential and opens real risk to him.

[@williamdaniels9728]

It seems pretty clear there are 3 ways you can dragon bond, the first is bond-pairing by placing an egg into a baby's cradle to hatch and grow up with the baby. The 2nd way is for you to actually "claim" the dragon (if it lets you) and the 3rd way is the dragon chooses YOU to bond-pair with. We've seen all of these ways demonstrated on screen. All of these ways however require a certain percentage of Valaryian blood (not Targaryen)

[@VioletaElena19]

Still Targaryen or another Valyrian dragon riding lineage. The Velaryons come from Valyria, but their house was never a dragon riding house. The only reason Laenor and Laena are dragon riders was Rhaenys and her Targaryen blood. That's why Corlys said it's not coming from my family, it must be your mom. And even Targaryens struggle to bond with dragons...sometimes you have to wait for your bond. Meleys rejected Daemon, his mother's dragon, but he could claim Caraxes, his uncle's dragon, and Rhaenys's father. Rhaena tried to claim Vermithor and Silverwing with no success, looks like she's about to claim Sheepstealer. But a drunk like Ulf could just stumble upon Silverwing and she said ''you'll do''.

[@williamdaniels9728]

@@VioletaElena19 Their house wasn't a dragon riding house to their knowledge. Valaryia would be some 100+ years old at this point. I don't think Corlys really knows. He has white Valyrian hair and his family had inter-married with Targaryens since they landed in Westeros. I think they were a dragon riding family but the Targs had the last remaining dragons after the doom and justified it that way to make it appear like their family line was superior.

[@VioletaElena19]

@williamdaniels9728 the Velaryons established Driftmark well before the Doom. In Valyria, there were houses with no dragon lords, and that's what the Velaryons were. Hotd is around 200 years after the Doom...if they had any blood connections to the dragons, it is well diluted now. Also, the Velaryons had women marrying Targaryens. But no Targaryen woman married a Velaryon before Rhaenys. Before that, there was no Targaryen blood in the Velaryons bloodline, but there was Velaryon blood in the Targaryen line. Aegon the conquerors mother was Velaryon.

[@williamdaniels9728]

@@VioletaElena19 You may indeed be right but it seems strange to me to suggest the "dragon bond" comes from a random "unknown" lowborn shipwright woman that Coryls got with and not from himself or his Velaryon family line. He has white hair after all. A signature sign of strong Valyrian blood. I just don't think the Velaryon's, Celtigars, Targaryens all really don't know the entire 1st hand account history of what Valyria was actually like. They just know of it and know they escaped before the doom. I always assumed the Targaryen's used the Velaryon's and their ships and naval prowess to transport Lannister gold to Valyria or that maybe the Velaryon's shipwrecked on Driftmark in their escape journey from Valaryia. It's interesting to go back and read and speculate about.

[@salmaishaq8207]

Also so many people are annoyed at Jace. But I think he is justified in his feelings. 2 truths are true here. Rhynera absolutely had no choice she needs dragon riders BUT she has absolutely screwed Jace with the succession. If she become queen, the minute she dies there will be another war over the throne as people will overlook Jace. The only thing that validated him as a Targaryan heir was his ability to ride a dragon. Rhynera has now proved to the world that as long as you have enough Targaryan in you you can claim a dragon. This is the 2nd thing that has dimmed the mystic and God like view of the Targaryan. The first being Melys' head being carted around King's Landing

[@williamdaniels9728]

JACE THE FACE IS UPSET

[@akeemcase2481]

Jace's plan was to find non Dragon Lord riders not high born bastards(Ulf, Alyn and Hugh are all high born bastards as they are related to members of high houses lol as they wrote that only dragon lords ride dragons..also said by Corlys when he spoke about being from old Valeryia but not Dragon Lords, but hints that Alyn and Adams mother may have Targayren blood, Ulf is the bastard brother of Daemon and Viserys

[@realBatman-89]

Jace wasn't looking for bastards at all but Targaryens married into other families.

[@VioletaElena19]

it's fascinating to me how people are so enamored with Aemond but seem to despise Daemon so much. As much as Viserys and Daemon were fighting all their lives, Daemon still loved Viserys and there is the guilt that in the end he was not a good enough brother. And he never attacked Viserys, even if he could have...he was the stronger, fighter brother with a dragon. He allowed his brother to put him down and punish him because he was the head of the family first, king second. Aemond on the other hand actually burned his brother and is doing everything he can to isolate him. But people still see Daemon as the villain. I don't think he ever wanted to usurp Rhaenyra either...as he said, he put the crown on her head and kneeled.. At Harrenhal, to begin with, I think he was acting on her words, ''If she thinks the worst of me, I'm gonna act on it''. And the visions are driving home even more how unfit to be king he would be, but he learns to work with people. He's allowing Oscar Tully to talk down to him for the alliance...last season he would have offed his head a la Vaemond in front of the whole court. *Willem Blackwood might have worked with Daemon, but remember Daemon said not to show any banners, and the blackwoods used Rhaenyra's dragon banners. So, he was not following orders properly...that can be a reason to be killed in a Westerosi world

[@ameliacraiig4193]

" ....and the blackwoods used Rhaenyra's dragon banners." Agreed! That revelation made me so annoyed. What exactly did W. Blackwood mean by parading the Blacks dragon banners like that?! If he doesn't understand why Daemon requested it to be a clandestine operation, then he is of no use to them. Lol. Like you've said, the comparisons between the two pairs of brothers should be far and wide. Daemon loved his brother & wouldn't physically hurt him in any way. However, we've seen to what lengths Aemond will go to benefit his own ends. I personally love the both of them for differing reasons.🖤💚

[@joerossi6595]

Hughes mom was Saera Targaryen...the black sheep of the family.

[@louissanchez4073]

Oscar Tully is a gangsta

[@starhawk63]

Word.

[@phoenixrising8231]

Jace is correct. He wanted high born nobles. Because they are bound to their houses. Not going to try to be king. Hugh has the second biggest dragon and looks like a Targaryen. Jace wouldn't be able to compete. Rhaynera just set up a dance of the dragon 2.0. Hugh would make an awful king. He doesnt have the education or political alliances to run the seven kingdoms. Look at Robert Baratheon. He was high born but care less about running the kingdom. But he had the political alliances of most of the houses & wise Jon Arryn to run the kingdom. Once Jon Arryn was killed. It all fell to pieces. With Robert Baratheon final being killed Hugh's mother is the aunt of Daemon and Viserys. So Hugh is on par with Jace. But like I said, he looks like a Targaryen & has a bigger dragon. I havent read the book. But i dont think Jace & Rhaynera's talk is just a mother & son argument. But will have ramifications later in the series.

[@ameliacraiig4193]

You're right, Adam does look like a Disney hero; he's cute.

[@believeume122]

You dont even know anything about Hugh and you're saying you would take him as king over Jace. That man could be fulll of revenge. That was an ignorant statement. And it just proves Jace's point.

[@davidsabellano7977]

Was Jace’s point really out of darkness? I didn’t take it as that. He actually made a good point not just for him but also for the future of his house. And for the record, I would take Jace over Hugh. He’s a good person but also actually smart. He can play the game of thrones.

[@commandZee]

Thanks Buddies! Sunday can't come fast enough!

[@williamdaniels9728]

Knights Of The Seven Kingdom is scheduled for a Q1 (Mar-Apr 2025) release and HOTD will probably release in Q2 of 2026 (June-July)

[@philrm99]

Yeah, poor Rhaenyra is just getting people killed with those dragonrider initiations 😆

[@Chudsic]

Appreciate the constant quality content, john

[@iamai_iggs]

Stop excusing Corlys’ deadbeat dad behavior lol he’s constantly trying to be closer to Alyn but ignoring Adam. Why do you think that is. One has the Valyrian silver hair and the other doesn’t

[@LukeTG1_TTV]

I loved this episode, the dragons sounded so good.

[@ZachBobBob]

Yeah this felt like a very lowkey, subdued episode for a penultimate GoT/HotD episode despite what happened plotwise.

[@douglasdubois7985]

It’s interesting you both think Hugh is such a good guy. I understand his desperation, but he straight up assaulted another starving person and stole their food last episode. Then he abandons his wife after the death of their daughter on the pretence of a Hail Mary play to improve their lives when she’s just like “nah, let’s just go hang with my brother out of town and we can be fed and start again”. Seems like a real cool guy. Guess we shall see.

[@realBatman-89]

They don't know what they're talking about. They're casual fans.

[@ameliacraiig4193]

Reading between the lines of what y'all are saying, I feel he will 'break bad'. I hope then that his betrayal comes from a sense honour, even if it is from only _his_ perspective....

[@emeraldarcher4258]

They teleport like season 8 of GOT

[@gustavoolivieri6568]

This was my favorite episode! 😄 It's a perfect episode, from beginning to end, and it begins and ends with dragons! Addam was interesting, then young Tully, then interesting character development for Jace, then the gathering of bastards, and finally, the dragon "taming"! Thrilling and awesome! (And fun Ulf bit.) Interesting too how different it all ended up being from the book, but much more interesting, contrary to usual... In the case of Game of Thrones, the books are waaay better, but House of the Dragon, as the book is so different and not focused on the characters inner conflicts but in the history and its versions, the series did it much more compellingly. For example, in the book, the bastards are Jace's idea; but here it makes much more sense. I only really miss a Mushroom character. I think it would be great. But as it is, it's good enough. Fav episode! Get better soon, MKToon! Congrats on the gigs turning up well, Shannon.

[@Quandryification]

I'm curious if they're going to make severe changes and if there will be significant time jumps

[@RPGwithDBJ]

Silverwing may have been released from a birthing season or instincts. With Ulf, she is free to fly and be released from her 'duties' as a dragon mate for Vermithor and other dragons.

[@jim1242]

I felt like this was a great episide 7 of a 10 episode season. However, having it as the 2nd to last episide of the season felt a bit strange, due to it being a lot more set up verses the traditonal big payoff like Blackwater or Watchers on the Wall. I am hoping for a big action scene / fight for the finale. However, I get the feeling this could delayed until season 3, which would be a disappointment due to the amount of buildup. Could this be due to budgets cuts orded higher up at Warner Bros?

[@zacharyalanlean]

Did we see a glimpse of Cannibal in the trailer for the finale?

[@realBatman-89]

Tessarion

[@zacharyalanlean]

@@realBatman-89 oh I thought I saw green smoke in front of Aeomond, that was coming out the mouth of a giant dragon. I thought Tessarion was purple and such? This dragon was the size of vermithor but breathed green smoke instead.

[@realBatman-89]

@@zacharyalanlean that was fake. You can tell by the cgi. Tessarion is blue. There's a few fake trailers up that mash together scenes.

[@zacharyalanlean]

@@realBatman-89 aaahh lol, I was tricked!? I saw green smoke and got too excited and jumped on to ask. oh well. The shot I saw was what looked like Aeomond looking at a huge dragon in a keep that over his shoulder shot was a dragon who had green eyes, etc.

[@MrMtspace]

Great show as always 😊✌🏾💜🕉