Preston's House of the Dragon Watch - Season 2, Episode 4, The Red Dragon and the Gold

[@brian21282]

Preston makes fun of Daemon for putting on a cloak to solve all his problems. Meanwhile, everytime Cole takes his cloak off, problems. Always wear a cloak, lads.

[@kyleholmes8230]

Vaeghar was wearing a cloak, bro.

[@zifircin1797]

I was fine with it tbh, reminded me of this mobile game infinity blade where theres like a moss giant disguised as a tree

[@locanix]

lvl 99.99 stealth

[@someguyoutthere110]

Clearly Brann was warging both Sunfyre and Meleys to make sure they arrived at the right time

[@Leolottie]

The blue whale is known for it's stealth 🐋

[@LarthV]

I assume they would actually be quite stealthy if necessary. I mean - they are under water 😁

[@mokarokas-1727]

its* ^^

[@yetigriff]

I've never seen one

[@rovert881]

Justice for the Muppet Tullys

[@stingerjohnny9951]

Summon Maester Oscar!!!

[@TheTonyEntertainment]

I wanted Elmo and Kermit damn it😠

[@DrJReefer]

That's how I know George wasn't expecting this to be a tv show.

[@zaja2418]

Nah, fuck them. Muppet Tullys were bad and GRRM should feel bad.

[@DrJReefer]

@@zaja2418 He was just plucking names out of the air to fill his book with. It wasn't supposed to be a tv show.

[@mk2gamer]

Alicent rubs her belly to show shes pregnant

[@J_ads2000]

Or just bad gas?

[@LarthV]

She rubs her belly to show she has pain - maybe pregnant, maybe other issues (my wife is in significant pain there once a month...)

[@ComradeCommissarYuri]

Moontea

[@ivandankob7112]

It was a peach soup aftermath

[@nordette]

She is obviously pregnant, her belly is poking out a bit as well

[@elijahbrown9738]

Faceless whales are extremely costly to hire, but the results speak for themselves.

[@OverthinkingConde]

They speak "waaoaoooooooooooaoaoo"

[@JimRFF]

Ok but real talk... the idea of a "Faceless Whale" assassin is both horrifying and hilarious

[@siamath9954]

When the All Druid Party plans an assassination attempt^^

[@anonymous-hz2un]

Imagine a faceless skinchanging assassin who wargs into whales to plummet any and all enemy ships in open seas. Now that's scary.

[@Swimmaroo]

Black and white whale = KILLER whale 🐳 COINCIDENCE?????

[@locanix]

oh no no no... new nightmare thought created

[@1cryogen]

I have no idea how you find time for this, considering you have a job and a young child. You sound remarkably well rested. God bless you, Preston Jacobs.

[@jaysemitchells497]

The energy of Chad Summerchild enters him and fills him with immense joy

[@thewatcher2538]

i love how the tree is hiding the giant wale

[@ivandankob7112]

The irony is that whales can be perfectly unseen in the water that is, you know, literally transparent

[@SpewPuke]

What giant whale?

[@PainCausingSamurai]

I am both thrilled on Preston's behalf that his theories are getting more validation from the show and devistated that the "Minds of Wolves and Robins" series is apparently over 8 years old.

[@masonduke5647]

Right? I remember watching those as they came out...

[@juanfranciscovillarroelthu6876]

The whale noices are killing me xD

[@KashTheKwik]

Had me thinking of the Skyrim Macho Man Mod

[@octagram2955]

The one at the end ooooooo000000OOOOOOO So good 👌

[@leaf.onthewind]

"The weirwood bed gives you weird dreams," Alys said, washing her hands of something extremely blood like as Daemon happened to wake up with blood on his hands. Me: Oh Preston is gonna like this

[@KashTheKwik]

Whenever Alyn isn’t on screen the other characters should be saying ‘where’s Alyn?’

[@isakkallsmyr9854]

Thats basically the entire regency

[@kimberlywebster6057]

There only one Alyn.

[@Ulyssestnt]

Wheres Poochie??

[@DrJReefer]

Alyn? Alyn? Who the fuck is Alyn?

[@cassesvultus43]

There's nothing more dangerous than a faceless whale.

[@oEllery]

7:00 I have a sort of crackpot theory that might explain all the secrecy and weirdness of everything about Criston's plans. it seems like Cole and Aemond started plotting together in secret at some point, we're shown this several times during season 2, and there are even scenes where they seem to intentionally deflect or hide information from the small Council during the meetings. there's a particularly weird scene where the idea of bringing Vhagar to support Cole is floated, and then Cole says that Vhagar needs to remain in King's Landing..... then Aemond becomes weirdly silent and the two share a look. it's almost like Cole and Aemond are intentionally trying to make the Council members THINK that Vhagar will remain in the city, but they've already planned in secret to send Vhagar out with Cole's host, and Cole is reminding Aemond not to leak this information to anyone else. after Jahaerys was beheaded, Aegon brings up during the Small Council meeting that there might even be people "in this very room" working against him. now, we don't know if this is true or not. Otto seems like he wants to pin the whole thing on Rhanaerya and not bother investigating the matter any further. if Aegon, Aemond, and/or Cole were genuinely concerned about potential double agents on the Council, it might explain why they've been keeping things secret from the other Council members. a feint to harrenhal, with no declared Vhagar, would ensure that if any council members intend to betray Aegon/Cole, they might set a trap or start plotting with minor houses in the lands on the route to Harrenhal. this leaves the path to Rook's Rest clear of any potential betrayals. then, once Cole is already on the road, he redirects his army to Rook's Rest. by the time Aemond reveals this information to the Council, it'd be too late for them to do anything to double cross Cole. then, during the next Small Council meeting, nobody seems to notice the significance of the fact that Aemond is already gone. again, the councilors are a step behind Cole and Aemond; they haven't realized that Aemond took Vhagar out of the city, so there's no time for them to warn Rhanaerya that King's Landing is left undefended. it's all about the illusion of making it seem like Vhagar will always remain in the city, so that any spies or double agents will be unable to leak information like "hey Vhagar is going to be gone and King's Landing is undefended." they gain the advantage of putting Vhagar out in the field, only letting the most essential people know about it, while making it seem to everyone else that King's Landing is always being protected by their strongest dragon. I have no answer to the logistics of ACTUALLY keeping Vhagar hidden in the field. that's just TV writing I suppose.

[@alanpennie8013]

I think this is quite plausible. Aemond and Crispy are both secretive distrustful people and I can well believe they would deceive their own Council because *security*.

[@alanpennie8013]

I think this is correct, and fits their characters and political inexperience. The loss of Otto is being felt.

[@nobodi12]

Thank you for the detialed post. None of the people complaining are cknsiderjng double agents in the council

[@saskiaviking9447]

Weird battle timings and coincidences happen a lot in asoiaf. You have Tywin and the Tyrells arriving exactly when needed during Stannis' attack on King's Landing. You have Bran being inside the same tower where Jon and Ygritte are outside of. Bran and Sam meeting at the Nightfort. You have Arya arriving at the Twins while the Red Wedding happens. Victarion arriving in Meereen during Barristan's charge. In your own fanfic, you have Tyrion and Jorah trying to save Daario at the same time the Dothraki arrive and help them. In the same chapter, you have Quentyn opening the gates of Meereen just as Tyrion is about to pass them. And Arianne going to Storm's End while Connington engages the Tyrells. This is just how stories with multiple main characters spread out accross the world happen sometime. When you want those characters to meet in a big event or to have that event shown in different perspectives, some contrived coincidences and timings are needed to make the characters meet and interact in interesting contexts, like a grand battle.

[@botflyguy7814]

It's also not that crazy of a coincidence for aegon to show up when he did. Personally i don't even see it as a plot hole.

[@StommelenGames]

Yeah, that was really weak and weird criticism by Preston

[@VinnieMF]

You're right, those are all contrived, none of those is good. Them being that way in ASOIAF doesn't make contrivances here any better though.

[@lordmudkip7344]

The Harrenhal feint makes perfect sense imo. They wanted to lay a trap for a dragon, if the blacks knew with more time they were going for Rook's Rest they could potentially send an army instead of a dragon (from either Harrenhal or by ship). But with less time to prepare, they have to send a Dragon. And tbf, the hiding Vhagar for the trap thing is from the book, only the timing is a bigass coincidence, which could have been better addressed witn Aegon finding Cole before the battle and Cole not telling him about Aemond because he's afraid Aegon won't like to be out of the loop or something like that. Aegon can arrive first but not learn about Aemond being there and the rest still pans out the same

[@darj617]

Aegon flew directly over Aemond and Vhagar, how would he not see at least Vhagar ? It's not like you would miss a giant clearing in the middle of a forest.

[@lordmudkip7344]

@@darj617 yeah, they should probably also change Vhagar's hiding spot. Not just because of Aegon, you can argue he wasn't looking, but because or their army. Vhagar should be hiding far from their army path imo

[@sammyjenkis5260]

Fuck dude, that faceless whale joke in the end made me spit my drink

[@AstraLuna-o9i]

Watching this and my 15 year old special needs blind daughter was busting up at Preston’s blue whale noise. 0:41

[@jaxsetbertoncarlism8873]

❤

[@cassidycross3406]

"two personality overhauls" lmao.

[@Waluigi93666]

Finally someone else is saying Daemon had Weirwood Paste

[@jackalackb17]

I would argue that the feint keeps Daemon occupied. If it was clear that Rooks Rest was in danger Daemon might have gone there to head them off instead of dawdling in Harrenhal. The greens are working under the assumption that Daemon and Raenyra communicate.

[@alanpennie8013]

No one would have guessed that Daemon would become lost in dreams and and drop out of the war for a while.

[@TableTopNeverStop]

I have no problem with Vhagar being hidden. He was multiple horn blasts away from the fight.

[@PrestonJacobstheSweetrobin]

Later he hides behind the castle and jumps out.

[@TableTopNeverStop]

@@PrestonJacobstheSweetrobin that did annoy.

[@TableTopNeverStop]

Maybe Rhaynera had her headphones in

[@J_ads2000]

⁠@@PrestonJacobstheSweetrobin In all fairness she was below the cliff. Shes far too large and not nimble enough for an attack from above. Instead she attacks like a great white shark, using her powerful jaws to knock the life out of her prey.

[@estebang1779]

I can buy it, many large lizards are ambush predators and I can imagine Vhagar been somewhat slow but capable of sudden bursts of speed

[@SHARKVADERS]

PJ IS BACK FOMOS

[@iurilourenco]

SHARKVADERS IS BACK SAYING PJ IS BACK MOFOS

[@locanix]

we eating good this week!

[@nickkoch3467]

Justice for Kermit and Elmo! 3:55

[@emarti3853]

I think the orgy joke is everyone starts disentangling at the end. I didnt really like the joke, it really just showed how much the "council" was not in control without Rhaenyra there

[@mihaelo7333]

Hey Preston! It’s my birthday today. I won’t claim to be a long term fan, I’ve found your stuff fairly recently, but I’ve had the time of my life catching up on your content! Cheers.

[@anansee580]

Aemond did not want Aegon dead "because he teased him at a brothel". Aegon has been bullying Aemond since they were children. He's been the main adversary in Aemonds life. I can understand questioning if Aemond would be willing to take a life after accidently killing Luke and feeling bad about it, but I have no idea how someone could watch their relationship in season one and two and conclude that the only reason Aemond tried to kill Aegon was what happened in the brothel.

[@berserk4souls]

The same teasing brother that defended Aemond from Otto and Alicent when they asked why is he taking part in the council meeting that Aegon invited him to. Aemond is just too sensitive.

[@carterd9761]

@@davidcook8065 I agree. I think the most important scene that builds towards this is in Season 1 Episode 9 when Aemond tells Cole he would be a better king than Aegon. It's obvious he considers himself better suited for the job and contemptful of how Aegon rules as king.

[@lolilol5346]

The build up is just so weak though . Yeah there isnt much love between them but to try to kill him came out of nowhere .

[@pee8607]

The show really doesn’t justify that relationship, aemond feels guilt over killing lucerys, who maimed him, but will happily try to murder his own brother, king, and one of the few dragon riders on his faction? Because aegon fucked with him?

[@TheEnecca]

​​What more do you need. He doesnt like the guy, he doesnt think hes fit for the position and he wants it for himself. Now he gets the opportunity and strikes.

[@conradaster3764]

....you know....im finally getting smart enough to understand these videos 😅😂

[@TheTonyEntertainment]

Same. They even sound normal to me now

[@thedevilshelp]

What are your thoughts on GRRM giving a whole dissertation on dragons today on his not a blog?

[@SockPuppet80]

If they wanted Aemond getting ideas about replacing his brother, they could've done it reasonably (the way it was done in the source material) and made it opportunistic: Once Aegon is badly wounded, Aemond steps in as de facto regent and decides the crown fits him well. That would have caused the trap at Rook's Rest to make some sense: green bros attack together, massively disadvantaging Rhaenys and her solitary dragon. Yes, it still fucks the king up, but not due poor planning or ridiculous timing, just through the sheer unpredictability of combat. Also, the Harrenhall "feint" would work better: luring Daemon away would be what provides the two-on-one advantage that the Greens have at Rook's Rest.

[@victorc8855]

Maybe they knew Larys was listening after all and decided to talk about taking Harrenhal just to spite him

[@ivandankob7112]

They probably know there is a spy, but now sure it is Larys Could be ironic that he is a black’s double agent and Mysaria is double agent of greens

[@TheJinzoSpoon]

Maybe they were wearing cloaks the entire journey, Preston

[@solomonrivers5639]

Christon Cole proved to be yet another military commander without a viable pullout strategy

[@sentteri]

Bring back GoT s6-8. This watch along was a lot more fun when dragon show was bad.

[@DibsEquipped]

This episode was sooooo good. Hope we get more cloaks next episode though.

[@alexsnewhandle]

7:10 what happened is that Aemond and Cole planned independently from the small council and the king. Cole is secretive bc his plan is to against the sanctioned plan, it's effectively treason, endangering a royal prince (who's also the heir unless Maelor is in the show after all) even

[@alanpennie8013]

I think Jaehaera is heir.

[@gokbay3057]

@@alanpennie8013 It would be ironic to support Jaehaera over Aemond when they are supporting Aegon over Rhaenyra.

[@mcbeaty3971]

@@gokbay3057No it wouldn’t be, that’s just the line of succession according to male-preference.

[@m4em4e]

I have not read these books but regarding the dragon Meleys being battle tested. Can't it be in Essos or on the ocean defending Velaryon ships? Battles that not really counts as real wars? The dragon fights was cool and all, but I agree with RTR that it was a bit lame to have Vhagar do the same finishing move two times. A move that not really fits a larger, slower fighter.

[@sweetfancymoses2942]

I’m looking forward to the next asoif spinoff: The Tullys take Manhattan.

[@Jotari]

Maybe Christian Cole wanted to ensure Daemon thought he was going to Harrenhal so Daemon wouldn't fly to Rook's Rest and reinforce it with a dragon.

[@ftayl5]

A nice refreshing glass of Jojen Reed 🤣

[@KamiShikkaku]

That's a humpback whale, not a blue whale. Immersion ruined.

[@SamuelHulick]

WOKE

[@TheYrrp]

Now I want Ryan Condal to add a surprise faceless man to the story

[@dulceharajuku]

Maybe the burning mill was the friends we made along the way.

[@Wyliecoy0te]

So far none of the small folk have brought up Rhaenys & Meleys' massacre in the dragon pit last season. Shouldn’t more people be talking about it?

[@iliaponomarev1624]

I don't think Vhagar stealth mission is impossible. I just want a 5-minute video of Aemond flying on Vhagar at night over the water, landing in some uninhabited region of Cracklaw Point, making Vhagar lie still and camouflaging her with dirt and bushes for the rest of the night.

[@adomqadree5891]

I laughed WAYYY TO HARD at this lmfao

[@uthorofthehightower3367]

episode 2 is preston's Daeron

[@GonçaloNeto-v2q]

The faint would serve to prevent any dragon from showing up during the march. You would want to keep the army safe.

[@jaysemitchells497]

3.37 this makes sense, the week the book dropped this was probably one of the most talked about thing across the entire book

[@TheHellyeahmen]

Why is there no video on episode 2? It had some stupid stuff in it too. Like Rhaenyra not giving one of the twins a different set of armor because his twin is literally on the enemy team thus preparing specifically for that obvious plan? They both died because of this

[@JayneCobbsBunk]

Holy Toledo that ending is a serious call back...

[@manband20]

The way I would have handled the whole "Rook's Rest Ruse" would be like this: Have Cole openly and earnestly march on Rook's Rest and make as much noise as possible on the way. When he gets there, have a maester send a raven back to King's Landing a few hours before the attack a la The Night's Watch during their Great Ranging. Maester Orwyle is told by Aemond to expect a raven earlier in the episode and when it gets there, bring him the letter immediately. After the chat with Alicent, Aegon is super sad. He feels inferior and he thinks he needs to prove himself. Along comes Orwyle with a letter saying Rook's Rest is under siege. He asks if Aegon's seen his brother lately because he has a message from Cole. Aegon is pissed that he isn't even being consulted on the siege, rushes off to the Dragonpit, and takes off. Aemond is halfway up Rhaenys' Hill when he sees a dragon depart. He gets PISSED when he realizes which direction Sunfyre is going and gallops off to fetch Vhagar. Rhaenys and Meleys launch their attack on Cole's forces when Aegon attacks and the episode basically plays out like it did in the episode. Only difference is Aemond and Vhagar are a little late to the party, which leads to a massive loss of life on the side of the Greens but also causes Meleys, the swiftest dragon in the world, to become too tired to fly away and forces Rhaenys to fight it out. None of that "I guess this is as good a shot as any" banzai charging she did in the episode, which I found incredibly stupid because why did she not cut her loses and retreat back to where she had dragon reinforcements? Just my two cents. There is a very easy way to make this not ridiculous with camouflaged dragon. It's like the US Navy trying to hide the USS Ronald Reagan supercarrier in the middle of the Hudson Bay. So silly.

[@alanpennie8013]

It does make more sense and ties the episode together better. The hidden dragon was cool but the big tactical advantage of dragons is that they move very fast.

[@alanpennie8013]

As an alternative Larys could have told Aegon about Crispy's nefarious plan.

[@manband20]

@@alanpennie8013 Actually wait yeah that's better. I still think Larys undermining the family because Alicent was banging another guy is infinitely better than "Daemon is actually evil tehehe" in regards to Blood and Cheese. I wrote the idea with a sort of "Vegeta is jealous of Goku and throws his own health under the bus to try to prove he's better than him" thought process. Only issue I can think of is Larys would rather Cole be dead because he's banging Alicent and the only way that happens is if Aemond never gets the letter that Cole arrived and Aegon doesn't fly off to help. So sending the King he can control off to possibly die isn't the smart move to make.

[@alanpennie8013]

@@manband20 This is a fair point. Larys knows he can manipulate Aegon so he would prefer to keep the king safe. Unless he prefers causing chaos to securing power for himself.

[@nickrobinson9806]

I don’t enjoy these videos ALMOST as much I enjoy them.

[@itzfifson6140]

These are better than the actual show

[@Alphabunsquad]

I don’t think the timing is that ridiculous. Stuff like that happens all the time like the assassination of arch duke Ferdinand. Also I’m pretty sure the point of the feint is to keep Daemon frozen at Harenhall expecting an attack so that way they can avoid having Cyraxies being the dragon they lure out which would be the most dangerous for Vagar. Plus I assumed he said the end of a lysene orgy because for one it makes it rhyme more with the phrase “the end of the knot” which is what everyone expects him to say making the joke hit a bit harder, but also when you finish the orgy is when you have all the detangling to do. Everyone detangles at the end. They don’t detangle in the middle of the orgy

[@FencingMessiah]

The assassination of arch duke Ferdinand is famous for being such a coincidence. It doesn't happen all the time

[@ltbraca470]

All of us boys have been guilty of following a one eyed version of ourselves. I also love Ninja Dragons.

[@FishMan_001]

🤣🤣🤣 You're *ucking nuts! That opening.

[@lomiification]

Almond controls the strongest dragon in the world. There's no way he couldn't be on the counsel

[@sagebauer1077]

Still doesnt mean he earned it

[@TheEnecca]

​@sagebauer1077 Well ge got the dragon himself

[@alanpennie8013]

​@@TheEnecca At the cost of his eye.

[@VinnieMF]

I mean, Alicent is there for no reason, might as well include Almond.

[@TheEnecca]

@@VinnieMF She ruled the realm for years together with Otto.

[@MC-el2us]

Ohhh that’s why there was so many reshoots Gotcha

[@keyseeker1]

I thought Darklyn called Cole Kingmaker sarcastically, with a bit of a scoff. Not using the word as a slur

[@caramia4789]

Still waiting for episode 2 review!

[@axechaos9984]

Cole needed to travel in secret and during the night because if they marched openly they could be attacked at any moment by a dragon. Aemond could not follow them from a distance for a month and stay hidden exactly because Vhagar is almost impossible to hide. The only way for the trap to work was for Aemond to get close to the army and hide the previous night and then Cole to reveal himself and provoke the other side to send a dragon. The exact timing of Aegon's arrival is total BS I have to agree.

[@alanpennie8013]

I expect it was prophesied so it had to happen like that.

[@AlexKwiatek]

Oh common Preston! Alicent is berating Aegon because he fired Otto, and basically said as much. She doesn't give a damn about Aemond and Criston. That whole bit about men who earned their seats was because he needlessly fired Otto and is now whining about consequences of firing Otto

[@sapphyira]

Shade of the lamp segments are instant funny

[@Hroupe]

You've outdone yourself!

[@SamButler22]

The timing is convenient? That's how fiction works

[@christinapollard2727]

Aemond was clearly not following him the whole time, which is why the secrecy was necessary. Aemond was at the first small council meeting this episode, so he is a recent arrival. They specifically planned the ambush for here, as opposed to in the books when it could have happened whenever

[@sheildingepicness]

The premise of the battle actually makes sense, even the secrecy of moving through the woods to avoid DRAGONS, not the small folk. Since episode 1 aemond and Cole have wanted to seek glory and violence by killing the blacks dragons. Alicent spurning her son to go fight is also pretty in character, she is just repeating Otto’s own care for her issues. The timing is whatever, aegon knew the battle was going on and so did rhaenys

[@amynurss1375]

Yay! Dont forget episode 2

[@bloodbuzzin]

The ending made me choke

[@Blckrngr]

The whale noises 😂. Honestly, though, Vhagar's ninja stealth attacks are begining to enrage me now.

[@psevdhome]

Vhagar is a stealth bomber, those are big! Also the biggest gripe is that Aegon is only burned by Vhagar and not Meleys at all. And Rhaenys should have gotten at least a little burned.

[@FencingMessiah]

A stealth bomber is stealthy because it is quiet and avoids radar not because it can't be seen

[@psevdhome]

@@FencingMessiah I know I'm joking. A stealth bomber is loud as fuck, just not as loud as a normal one I guess.

[@FencingMessiah]

@@psevdhome oh ok my bad

[@psevdhome]

@@FencingMessiah no problem. Stealth Vhagar is pretty stupid.

[@wafflingmean4477]

Imo the ruse of going for Harrenhal then going for Rook's Rest was to keep Daemon at Harrenhal. Criston clearly keeps the plan from his troops until the last minute. So it seems Aemond and Criston are taking precautions in case they have spies in their army (which is incredibly likely given a decent portion of their troops only bent the knee after being defeated by Criston's army). If Criston is clear they're going to Rook's Rest from the start, it gives time for Meleys and Caraxes to end up in the same place. Given the plan is to ambush with Vhagar, the best option is to split them up. And sure, only Caraxes was at Harrenhal, but if Criston goes for Harrenhal, Meleys can overtake them to link up with Daemon. And sure, Caraxes could fly from Harrenhal to Rook's Rest (since Criston and Aemond have no way to know he and Rhaenyra are split right now), but given Criston was making an effort to hide his army, odds are Dragonstone would know about Rook's Rest being under siege well before Daemon would. Lord Staunton would send ravens and Dragonstone is closer. If Dragonstone thinks Vhagar's still at King's Landing, it makes sense they wouldn't wait for Daemon before attacking. And yes, I know in the books Rook's Rest was under siege for days... but Vhagar and Sunfyre (who is way easier to see) somehow ambush Meleys in the books. Tbh it seems like that plothole originated in the books and the show is trying to patch it, not the other way around. Plus if Vhagar flies by night, the night before Criston is supposed to arrive, you sidestep the issue of feeding Vhagar giving away her position. Vhagar just has to forgo eating for like 12 hours. Give her a big dinner. Given Aemond wasn't travelling with the army until Rook's Rest he was waiting until the last minute in case Moondancer spotted him. And Caraxes didn't turn up despite having days to do so in the books. Making it a ruse and all immediate gives a logical reason for Daemon and Caraxes to not come to Rook's Rest.

[@EdAnsbro]

“The Minds of Wolves and Robins” is probably Preston’s best work, even if he’s probably wrong about half of it. Loved the callout to it. Hot take: “The Secrets of Craster’s Keep” is a close 2nd.

[@leviathan_is_me]

This show needs a party room, there aren't enough expositional areas... long live the party room.

[@AlexKwiatek]

Okay so here's my understanding of the "we're not going to Harrenhal" ploy: Getting there with surprise catches Blacks off guard. If they knew earlier what was going on, they could've send forces there. Velaryon army, trenches, yadda yadda. You don't want them to come there with a pretty detailed battle plan. If they deem land army to be sufficient for your forces, they won't send dragons all in. If you'll try to force win and send Vhagar, they'll know you have Vhagar there. They might ask for reinforcements. They might not engage with their own dragons. Catching them off-guard gives them little time to decide on what to do, and sending a land army is going to be way too slow. They have to send a dragon. Expecting no dragon, because you didn't revealed you have one. Nevermind that it's impossible to hide Vhagar. The plot is written with the assumption that it was possible.

[@maxwell_j_R]

So did Jojen Reed time travel, or was there another Reed named Jojen a couple hundred years before the main series? Do the fathers name their son Jojen knowing he will be sacrificed?

[@alanpennie8013]

Good of Simon to discourage Daemon from raising Riverlanders to use as dragon fodder. Crispy is Ned now. Didn't see that coming.

[@gwlevits]

HERE WE GO!!

[@King_Mac80]

Pretty sure Vhagar would've flown in it at night and hid a few miles away in the forest hence they had to use flaming arrows set up in two different places to signal Aemond to attack. If Vhagar flies in under the cover of darkness it would be easy to hide.

[@urosjovanovic808]

But Aegon and Rhaenys did not arrive at the same exact time. Rhaenys was already done torching the big portion of Green vanguard when he arrived.

[@autje1970]

I'd have to watch the episodes again, but I don't think the Green plan is to specifically attack Harrenhal, but to establish it as a toe-hold in the Riverlands. They need it to garrison their troops; the show establishes that it is the only castle in the area large enough to do so. And since Larys has probably informed them that it is currently occupied by five men, a barn owl in human form, three hounds, and a black goat, it stands to reason to think that any Rhaenyra-supporting forces in the Riverlands (say, the Blackwoods) could quite easily take it. Granted, I do not know how well-known the information is that Harrenhal has basically no defences. TLDR; I don't think the plan was to attack Harrenhal, but to secure it as a place to garrison their army.

[@alanpennie8013]

Makes sense. Harrenhal isn't really very defensible but it would make a convenient base.

[@whatsthejokersname]

The Brackens are team Green. The Blackwoods are the ones on Rhaenyra’s side. I mix it up all the time it seems like it should be the other way around in my head.

[@autje1970]

@@whatsthejokersname Ack! Of course! The reason behind my thinking there is lost in time, I fear. Thanks, I fixed it.

[@Rhaenarys]

Im rereading the book again, and just noticed this time, EVERY Tully is named after a childrens show puppet lol. Theres Oscar, Elmo, Kermit...😂😂😂

[@Rhaenarys]

I typed this before i saw it also pointed out lol. My bad.

[@convenientlyshapedlamp8664]

Is chapter by chapter analysis tabled til the end of the season 😢

[@SilveryRow]

Shade of the Lamp got a glow-up!

[@nixielee]

yeah when you start peeling layers off that battle scene it falls apart pretty quickly. Ryan is not a details-oriented showrunner, as long as it looks cool he is happy, logic be damned

[@lolilol5346]

Why does this smell like got season 6 writing

[@TheEnecca]

Just like The battle of the blackwater where Tywin arrives in the exact second to prevent Cersei from killing Tommen. Why wasnt that a big problem back then?

[@lolilol5346]

@@TheEnecca because it make sense in the story ?

[@TheEnecca]

@@lolilol5346 Just like two dragons arriving at the same time to a battle they knew is happening. Both are incredible coincidences.

[@lolilol5346]

@@TheEnecca well yeah but in hotd these coincidence happens all the time , see the difference ?

[@wubwub247]

I think it was well established that Vhagar was at least multiple hornblows away from the battle wasnt it? And honestly I think people are overblowing Vhagar hiding behind the cliff, we get a shot of Melys flying over it from the sea when she arrives to show us how it could be used to hide. But in both cases Preston you are right, the timing is beyond lucky and pretty dumb.

[@Gazkhuul]

They're clearly doing the "hidden Vhagar pops out" trick to show that when Aemond tries to do it against Daemon at the Gods Eye it wont work there.

[@princeprocrastinate6485]

The timing is a bit overly coincidental, however from an editing standpoint, it really adds a sense of urgency and intensity to the battle. I feel it's fair to trade one for the other, though the build-up to all of this could've been better thought out and brought us to near enough the same sequence of events.

[@ceilingfanenthusiast6041]

I don't think the contrivance if Aegon and Rhaenys showing up around the same time matters takes away from the episode much. If I was in the writing room I would have put it in. It adds a lot to the story.

[@georgerivas8051]

Why do you think and imply that Helaena was lying? She's completely guileless and only speaks exactly what she thinks regardless of whether it's off-putting or inappropriate.

[@silverskall1432]

Maybe I missed something but Amond following the army from far away is the easiest explainable point you brought up. Cole probably sent Amond a letter so that Amond could just fly over there by night, land in the forest nearby and be ready for when the battle begins. No need for food or dragon shit. But yeah I agree that they made up dumb reasons for why and how the battle happened. Also Alicent shitting on Agon was such a weird scene. That could have been her moment to influence the king who was starting to listen and even asked "what should I do?". I mean, wasn't that at least one of her big problems, that she didn't have any power anymore in this conflict?

[@hudsonlewer7486]

Fire take you’re right literally last episode she bitched about not being able to do anything and how it’s everyone else’s decision now

[@alexsnewhandle]

but she is! she's trying to make Aegon realize he's a dumbass and should listen to her and to others in his council.

[@hudsonlewer7486]

@@alexsnewhandle well no that’s not what happened at all She didn’t say listen to me She literally said i have no power and listen to your counselors who are trying to insight a war and finish their military coup

[@alanpennie8013]

​@@hudsonlewer7486 Alicent has become very bitter about the way Aemond and Cole ignore and is taking her frustration out on poor Aegon.

[@VinnieMF]

Her father might be inept and illogical when dealing with Aegon but you can always count on her to be ever less competent.

[@Gui101do]

Yes!

[@sheildingepicness]

The orgy thing is a little too semantic, if they entangle, they have to disentangle at the end. I think that’s reason enough for the metaphor

[@sorsha295]

god damn he's not killing him over the brothel thing. Aemond is ambitious and Aegon has always been an useless joker asshole that can't rule or leave the city, might as well seize power since he's already the most powerful being on the planet basically. Its a big risk to take because Sunfyre can be useful but Aemond probably thinks he can solo the entire war and do a Maegor and be the king au passage.

[@evinoge5834]

“He hid a dragon in the woods, keeping it fed and watered” We literally see Aemond Just flew out of kings landing that moment. There was no long term hiding of the dragon.

[@fortythreenorth2518]

Cole looks awfully clean for weeks out in the wild.

[@MakoTheFrog]

crazy world we live in, i remember the time 600lb andre the giant sneaked up on 130lb rey mysterio and snapped his neck, what a satisyfying and great ending to a wrestling match that was! best wrestlemania ever!