The Biggest Writing Flaw in House of the Dragon Season 2

[@jrrtalkin]

Thank you all for watching and commenting with your thoughts! If you'd like to support the channel, you can do so here: patreon.com/jrrtalkinpatreon or buy me a coffee at: Ko-fi.com/jrrtalkin

[@NovemberEleven]

Well said I agree 100% with everything you said especially the part with we need to know we see it then we forget it. They purely thought spending money on CGI dragons would be enough to keep an audience attention, like after season 8 GOT I never wanted to hear Dan and Dave again but after first episode season 2 HOTD I was like where is Dan and Dave when you need them.

[@MonsoonGeek]

The main thing I’m noticing in GOT vs HOTD is the change in world sizes. GOT took place on a giant map, had a ton of characters, and we still got to know everyone. HOTD takes place in a micro bubble in comparison, with way LESS characters, and they’re building 2D characters in small scope. Your characters need to be BIGGER in HOTD to make up for the smaller scope and cast.

[@weplaydk2343]

Good point. Also my friend wants more bodies and consequential deaths. But the cast is so small they don't have the same luxury as game of thrones did really. Good point on how small the world seems this go around.. side note what kills me (idk if this happens in the books) but Rhaenerya an others sneaking in and out of kings landing was pushing my suspension of disbelief as well as alicent somehow wearing a hood and getting to Rhaenerya 😂 like damn.

[@samf.s.7731]

The book mentions a lot of characters though. So many! It's a very huge cast if they wanted to do the story justice. And a very big ensemble

[@cwill4270]

blood and cheese not adding the choosing of a son and cheese's line 'y'hear that boy ya momma wants u dead' is just the most mind boggling decision to me. it goes from a scene you'd be telling people about forever to something new viewers probably forgot about by the end of the season. unforgivable

[@dawsonlucas369]

Bro do not understand what you are allowed to do with child actors especially that age tf wrong with you sicko

[@DuggyDarko]

I feel like the fandom oversold the importance of this scene overall.

[@geminisfl]

"new viewers probably forgot about by the end of the season"

[@abynighteater5670]

Except that scene makes perfect sense given Helaena's character in the show. In the book she's just not the same, and the whole dragon dream aspect is pretty darn interesting, especially in that context.

[@will2brown50]

​@@DuggyDarko In the book that event is the absolute point of no return. Lucerys' death and Jaehaerys' death ensured the Dance would be a fight to the death for all parties.

[@drrohanjacob]

There is no team green for pro blacks to hate anymore. They literally disbanded. Otto is in jail,criston wants to die helena alicent and jaheara defected,aegon ran away . Now it's house good guys vs team pyscho aemond

[@Δ-Δ-Δ-Δ]

100%

[@drrohanjacob]

@@Δ-Δ-Δ-Δ 👍🏼

[@spiekd]

Daemon literally murdered a baby and you think he is a good guy .Really ?

[@drrohanjacob]

@@spiekd Daemon is now completely subsumed by rhneyra thanks to ghost vision therapy

[@agpoland3632]

Because of what they did to Rhaenyra and Daemon (from badass to weak and depressed, from charismatic to annoying, inspiring no loyalty) I started to root for Aegon and Larys 😅

[@crazybanana331]

Also I feel like them making Aemond burn Aegon has ruined him burning Sharp Point as a shocking moment to us. We expect the worst of Aemond now, so it wasn’t even that surprising

[@sugarcombfilms3467]

The fact that they didn't even show Aemond burning Sharp Point ruined him burning Sharp Point. Also it makes zero sense for his character to do that, I view it as horrendous character assassination.

[@blockboi3816]

​@@sugarcombfilms3467🤨🤡

[@tinaye8638]

I think it would've still been shocking. Him trying to kill Aegon was a surprise but if they had actually shown what he did at sharp point it would've added so much more to him being a villian

[@TheEtherny]

I dont think sharp point was meant to be surprising (I mean, I barely knew what happened) I think it was the last straw for the greens to start running away from him

[@lightinferno4490]

The showrunners (feminist activists) have no clue what they're doing and GRR Martin literally left them with a blueprint. Complete hacks

[@liliebilie]

I’m convinced Hollywood can’t make a decent show anymore to save their lives. Shows will start out great, some even amazing and then slowly lose quality before eventually becoming a hot mess or a disappointment. I don’t know what’s going on with the execs and in the writers’ rooms but this getting ridiculous

[@deathwishtommy9773]

You could point to one problem or you could point out all of them and you would be correct. Nepotism, Favoritism, Self-Censorship, writing on a pipeline, writing in a group committee , a Parasocial relationship with their audience, etc. Me personally? I have often long felt that a lot of these writers lack life experience. Not that they are too young or not old enough, but that they at some point in their life stopped developing as a person. This is a problem because they lack self awareness, restraint, maturity, and the inability to see from others perspectives. This why, in my mind, you get all this bland, milquetoast entertainment that borders on non offensive, trying to entertain everyone but no one at the same time, whatever thematic meaning or purpose to their chosen genre is erased, and reduced to a more palatable, “sellable” product. Sorry for the rant but I write so this gets to me on a personal level. TLDR: Never stop growing as a person or you will make bad entertainment Edit: Don’t get it twisted yo, I’m ok with inclusion and am generally quite socially liberal, but I am against shitty writing and I am a writer. You want to write something? Fantastic. Write it and I will check it out. Don’t take another’s work and warp it to fit your desires. I am looking at you in particular Sarah Hess.

[@Pasuhdina]

@@deathwishtommy9773hit the nail on the head!

[@kingban1613]

DEI happened

[@kingban1613]

​@@deathwishtommy9773 wish I could pin this comment.

[@dw9524]

@@deathwishtommy9773 yes because hey're mainly nop kids who don't have life experience lol. well, outside of being rich that is lol

[@Anacronian]

I dreaded the blood and cheese scene for a long time, because it is so pure evil in the book, but after seeing it on screen, I just felt nothing.

[@meameam]

I read the book as soon as it came out, so I don't remember much. But i remembered that scene for its horror, and I was thrilled. Just for it to fall so flat in the show.......

[@zara-zq1oi]

So desensitised honestly. You are complaining about not getting off on watching a child die…

[@Anacronian]

@@zara-zq1oi Have you even seen the series? A child still died, you numb nuts.

[@theboy1625]

@@zara-zq1oiit’s not about getting off it’s about having an emotional moment which we didn’t get cause we don’t know the kid.

[@sassybdiy7565]

​@@theboy1625you knew "the kid" in the books? Genuinely asking

[@Gojeto346]

I think what they were able to do with Viserys given the source material is honestly a spit in the face now. They could do it, they were capable of meaningfully adapting and changing things from the “history” book it was based on. But now people wanna say well they had a harder time with that source material then the writers did with GoT when they’ve shown us that shouldn’t matter, they WERE capable.

[@abiwhipkey324]

One thing that really gets me is that they make a huge point that the dragons are more than just big war machines, but the one character we have that refuses to use her dragon as a war machine (Helaena) we never get to see her bond with that dragon and how the bond can be different with peaceful riders. I feel the same about Laena and Vhagar

[@abiwhipkey324]

Also, you cooked with this video. There were so many things that didn't land with me and you annunciated the issues incredibly well!!

[@emptyhead242]

Ooh having Helaena withdraw and only ride her dragon would have been cool, if she's only mentally stable when riding. So when Aemond tries to make her ride to war, it has bigger stakes and we understand that she doesn't want to lose her dragon

[@misanthropicservitorofmars2116]

You literally see Ulf get on the blue queen and take a joy ride around Kings Landing. A dragon that’s never seen battle or war ridden by a man who just wants to drink in the pub with his mates.

[@misanthropicservitorofmars2116]

Did you even watch the show? We’ve only seen 4 of the dragons used as war machines. The bond of dragon and rider is a major theme, we see how the dragons interact with their riders. We see how their different personalities manifest. We saw the Blue Queen do a fly over of Kings Landing. A Dragon that never saw battle or war. Queen Alyssane never used her for war. It’s like you only watched one episode and didn’t even look at the screen the rest of the time. Rhaenyra is making a Dragon religion.

[@islabee94]

I 100% agree. The connection between dragon and rider and the different dragon personalities should have been more fleshed out. That alone would have been a massive improvement

[@geminisfl]

Blood & Cheese scene was a major letdown. I didn't read the books before, but I knew what was all that about. The show played such a wathered down version of it, and then showed so little impact of the aftermath... that I was amazed of how bad the writters adapted the source material. Even taking some liberties with the way you tell the story, how can you screw things up so badly to a point where a MAJOR event in the books now seems to be just an anecdote?

[@Δ-Δ-Δ-Δ]

When I read that in Fire and Blood, it was absolutely distressing. It showed the stakes were set on fricking Mars for this war. No one was safe. In the show, it mattered for like 1 episode and then everyone forgot about it.

[@marcogianesello6083]

This show constantly threatens to become interesting and then never actually pulls through on it. Everything is so grey and lifeless, every character feels weirdly whitewashed and crispy clean while I keep being told how morally ambiguous and brutal the world is supposed to be, the result is you get either utter caricatures of insufferable assholes like Criston Cole or characters that can never do anything compelling, unexpected or debatable without the show going out of its way to dumb it down and/or half hassedly justify it, like with Alicent. There is no Sandor Clegane here, no Syrio Forell, no Bobby Baratheon, none of the colorful personalities that existed in got to give a bit of texture and variety to the world. The best way to put it is that it seems like the characters have no internal life. They will only ever do exactly what you expect them to in order to achieve a plot outcome, they will always explain their motivations out loud, they will never have conflict between them that goes beyond what is the most superficial version of it on paper. Everything is dramatized in the most transparent and simplistic way one can think of with the material at hand. The only possible exceptions to this are Daemon and Aemond because you feel like they have things going on in their head beyond what the writers make come out of their mouth, they are actually fun to watch, but everyone around them is just so dull. Imagine a character like Jaime written into this show, they'd never be able to manage him, because they'd never be able to handle the amount of layers there are to his personality and demeanor. They can only go "over the top bastard that only talks to be an over the top bastard" or "misunderstood victim of circumstances that only talks to explain how misunderstood he is", while he's really neither of these things, but a bit of both. Wanna watch a show about a family tragedy that merges interpersonal conflicts with the mechanisms and dynamics of power? Watch Succession instead. Logan Roy talking in a board meeting in that show is more frightening than all of the dragons HBO money can buy, and there is more meaningful and layered conflict developing in throaway lines and literal jokes in that show than in all of HOTD's lofty ass, bland monologues

[@frankvandorp9732]

The first thing I thought of when reading your comment was the scene in season 1, episode 7, where they pretend for a minute that Rhaenyra arranges the death of Laenor. They go out of their way to show why it would make sense for Rhaenyra to order it, how it strengthens her politically to ally with Daemon, and how she is becoming a darker figure to try to deal with her increasingly desperate situation. A fantastic scene, great character development for her, and challenging the audience to reassess her character and their own assumptions about her. All in all, excellent writing. And then they completely annihilate all of that in a few seconds, by having Laenor row away with his lover. It's almost as if the writers were just mocking us there: "you see how absolutely awesome this scene could have been? Well, too bad, because this is the Rhaenyra show and she's the good guy, so we're chickening out and making it lame instead."

[@marcogianesello6083]

@@frankvandorp9732 I don't like to be that guy because my only concern is the quality of the work they put out, but did you really expect THESE writers to kill off the gay guy? It's 2024, you can't just treat characters as if they were people

[@Δ-Δ-Δ-Δ]

Succession is GREAT. Every scene, every conversation in that show had me screaming because of the drama, the conflict, the themes. It's people talking to each other in very boring-looking hotels and yet, it's far more exciting than anything HOT D has managed to pull off in season 2.

[@frankvandorp9732]

@@marcogianesello6083 They killed off another gay guy in episode 5, so to be fair it wouldn't even be the first time they did it.

[@hurremhightower]

@@frankvandorp9732allying with daemon was a smart military choice because they have dragons it was not a smart politically choice because everyone hates daemon

[@TheEtherny]

Im gonna say it, they were too enamoured with the idea of highlighting the unfairness of being a woman on that world (and this) and took power out of Alicent and Rhaenyra to make them look innocent but ultimately made them boring, they had already made their point in the first season that they were treated unfairly and were pushed to their positions by the patriarchy, but it makes no sense for these two to be stopping war and meeting each other after all that transpired. It just makes them seem less like characters with a mind of their own and more like puppets

[@lukasbusch2135]

When Alicent‘s brother shouts at Cole, I was certain I somehow missed a scene by falling asleep the other day.

[@SashaBazine-dt6kn]

I need to thank you for respecting my time as an audience member and delivering a well thought-out, well edited, well narrated video. You're an overachiever in a sea of GOT youtubers who just enjoy listening to the sound of their own voices and it's extremely refreshing. The work you put in is NOT going unnoticed

[@augustleoberonis5369]

this analysis is by far the best I've heard and couldnt agree with you more, although I'dnever would have been able to describe everything so eloquently and clearly. You really know what you're talking about.

[@maddycz]

Listening to this, I understood my feelings about the show more... why it seemed to have so many great elements but was somehow less than the sum of its parts. Lots of good scenes and dialogue (as well as some bad stuff) where I just... couldn't seem to care?

[@davidcopperfield5345]

At first I was sure you were meat riding. But, having finished the video, I fully agree. Perfect analysis.

[@dhruv9744]

I think the major problem with the writing is the suspiciously weird decision by the authors to turn all the female characters into paragons of peace and the almost comical degree to which it is portrayed that men are hot blooded fools while the women are true champions of peace. The characters of Rhaenyra and Alicent have been drastically altered from the book narrative where they are politically shrewd and ambitious politicians to two helpless damsels who are made to go in the direction of war by the men around them. I straight up laughed at many points in the show when Rhaenys starts a hackneyed monologue about Rhaenyra's virtue of non violence and Alicent acts as the most overpaid exec in the kingdom by only stomping on plans and proposals with a holier than thou look and no plans of her own. Rhaenyra is shown to be turning into a cult leader/ tyrant by the end of the season but its too subtle to the point that i feel many people will miss interpret it and will have problems later with her tyranny, they way they had problems with Danny Breaking bad in GoT season 8. I think Alicent is getting this treatment because the authors genuinely dk what to do with her now because shes not really character in the war at this point in the books. She becomes a secondary character and the focus is shifted onto Jace, Aemond and Aegon. Jace is confusinfgto me this season because you said it correctly, the authors delivered all the information we need about his stance on bastard riders without making us feel the legitimacy of his arguement ( his words will turn out to be correct in the future storyline with ulf and hugh). But Jace is relegated to the position of secondary character even though in the books at this point he's the main lead of the blacks. I understand they want to focus on Rhaenyra as the protagonist but they are neglecting the blacks as a whole. Im fairly firmly on the Black's side but the greens are just so much more fun to watch and so much more compelling. And you can see the hints of Book Jace because he's shown to be an adept diplomat and a pretty smart politician but its contrasted by his almost childlike regression into the "attention seeking unruly immature prince" in Rhaenyra's presence. He also has good political accumen because he can instantly forsee the political problems on his claim to the throne by getting bastard dragon riders, this is a tyoe of foresight that Viserys and Rhaenyra lack, as they think that the words of the Ruler and sufficient for a clean succession, and they forget the importance of symbolism in this world. Its actually frustraing to see Rhaenyra not understand this after being a victim to this herself, idk how they will play this in the future or it might be a forgotten plot like most of the deeper plots the writers have. The blacks would be better rulers but dayum the greens make for better entertainment. Aemond feels like hes getting the Daemon treatment. In season 1 Aemond had some of the best aura ive seen in GoT characters and thats because outside of the taming of vhagar, we view him throught the lens of Lucerys which makes him much scarier and impactful. This season almost no one takes him seriously or respects his power which makes him feel like a hollow villain. Daemon has the same problem, last season the rogue prince when viewed from Rhaenyra's perspective felt very intimidating, this season i felt like the writers were intentionally taking revenge on Daemon by just servicing him with the worst plotline of the season and sucking all the impact of his character. They also seem to be selectively whitewashing a lot of characters, and pinning the sins onto specific characters. All of the Black's warcrimes are pinned onto Daemon and Rhaenyra is left scot free, even the red sowing is made to make her look like shes the good guy for killing all those bastards, Rhaenys's massacre of the dragon pit is straight up retconned out of the show, All the green's war crimes are put on Aemond for the benefit of Alicent, and whats funny is that they actually acknowledge this in the writing. Alicent says that Aemond is angry in episode and thats why he killed luke and she decides hes a monster right then and there, and Aemond confides in Criston Cole that Alicent is a weak hypocrit who commits treason against Rhaenyra and then dumps all the dirty work onto Aemond. Alicent is a frsutrating character to me becaue she is written in a very interesting way but it is completely unintentional. The writers genuinely want her to be the good guy on team green but they just make her look like a hypocrit. The choice to make her betray her children for her childhood friend turned enemy was blatant character assasination for me tho. Alicent's character has been irreversible damaged and i think they should just stop trying to fix it and move away to other characters on team green as the main POV. Hopefully Daeron should revive some team green fandom, because at this point half of team green has mutinied to team black (alicent and haelaena). I think episode 4 and episode 7 were the only real plot moving episodes this season and no wonder they were the most liked, the pacing of the show was severely hampered and we now know why. The writing of the the season was finished in march 2023, and in april they were told that 2 episode were being cut by HBO (this is well into preproduction). in May the writers strike started which meant the scripts couldnt be revised throughout the entirety of principle photography and the Battle of the Gullet had to be moved to Season 3, you could tell they they definetly wanted to do the Battle of the gullet this season in episode 9- 10 but the budget was cut as was the episode count. I admit that a lot of choice outside of those were bad, but i genuinely feel like it also had an equal amount of good moments and decisions that could have evened out the quality of the season especially when it comes to reqrites. You can feel a lot of repetitive scenes especially with Rhaenyra and Rhaenys which you could instantly tell were problem because they couldnt do rewrites, they would have been hammered out duing filming by an active writers room during filming. Hopefully season 3 is much better and they go back to the 10 episode count after the backlas they received this season, one of the season had to be the worst one, and ig this is gonna be it. I also am pretty sure that Sunfyre isnt dead, this is a misdirect because killing him would break vital universe cannon which Ryan Condal has promised not to do. Sunfyre has a major role in the story to come. i watched your previous video on HotD and i got the impression that you dont think this show is very good, i respect your thoughts in this video and certainly agree with a lot of them but i still am a huge fan of this show and franchise. Now the three things i think they did very well this season: Aegon: I absolutely loved the characterization of Aegon, and Tom Glynn Carney was the MVP of the season for me. His characterization as Richard II and then his transition to Richard III was dont very well and it is evident to the actor's skill that he genuinely made me feel bad for this guys who is a literal rapist. I think the decision to make him a child slave pit promoting rapist in season 1 was a bad idea because they made him too Joffrey Coded. This season they significantly roll is back and almost try to retcon it like they retconned Rhaenys's massacre and we see this boy whos pushed into power with absolutely no competence and temperment for it and a his innner hole of love from his parents is being filled by the newfound ego he has developed from becoming the king. He is consistently the funniest character in the show and the scene between him and Otto where he explains the Arryk/Erryk twin plan in episode 2 had me CACKLING. His closeness to Larys and the development of their relationship is also an amazing choice and definetly feel like they improved his character from the books just like how they improved Viserys from the books last season by giving him the characteristics of King Aenys Targaryen from fire and blood. I cant wait to see the Richard III arc from him in season 3 and 4. Criston Cole: Dayummmm they actually made me feel for him after his characterization in the previous season. I think i finally understood him this season, hes a Narcissist in denial and now his narcissism has been molded into nihlism by Rooks Rest. Hes a critical view of "The Knight" or atleast this shows attempts at exploring the qualities of a true knight, And he is done pretty well. I actually really enjoyed his character this season. However i think the show "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" coming in 2025 set in the ASOIAF universe will do a much deeper and better examination of the "The Knight" because that's the sole focus of the story and the writing is much deeper than Fire and Blood as it is an actual narrative with arcs and storylines, unlike Fire and Blood which is written like a history book with no actual concentration on theme and story pacing. Hugh: They definetly improved Hugh from the books and the choice to make him the son of Saera Targaryen was brilliant as a reader. This is for the book readers only, i understand that, no show only watched will understand the divinely brilliant irony of him claiming Vermithor, but i like the direction they are moving in with him, after his dynamic was set up wth his wife Kat (in tumbleton lmao). Hyped to see how they use him because he has great potential. Third honorable mention: I liked Alyn and his character setup this season and i loved his final monologue with Corlys in the finale, even tho they wasted Corlys this season and left him as a glorified contractor overseeing a single ship being built for 8 episodes straight.

[@HahaDamn]

Tl dr

[@JSinuYasha]

I actually read all of this and enjoyed your take on the series. I share a lot of similar thoughts but I HATE how to spun Alicent's character.

[@minimumapature3361]

​​@@HahaDamn Good read tho

[@TIMMY8959]

Holy, I don’t got time to read this, someone sum up this comment please

[@dhruv9744]

@@TIMMY8959 @HahaDamn TL DR : Writers turned all the female characters into saints and all the male characters into warmongers, Alicent has been completely ruined by the finale as a character she would never have done this in the book, Aemond has been neutered, Jace has been neutered, Daemon has been emasculated into uncoolness, Rhaenys was a mouth piece of the writers, Rhaenyra has been completely whitewashed. good stuff: Aegon was amazing, Criston Cole was an improvement, Hugh was well done, Alyn was well done.

[@SayMy_User_Name]

6:45 U said it perfectly here, there is absolutely no sub text, every conversation is just people speaking bluntly about something that just happened or might happen, and there’s no push and pull between characters nor is there any sub text within the dialogue.. which makes the dialogue scenes boring and excruciatingly bland.. there’s also no set protagonist or antagonist in any given scene or in the overall plot, which makes everything feel inconsequential

[@Morfe02]

Alicent surrendering the City is hilarious and pointless : >The goldencloaks already obey Daemon >Yesterday they help 50 dragonseeds to go on boats > Of course they are gonna surrender to 2 FUCKING DRAGONS ALICENT WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING DO YOU THINK THEY CAN BATTLE TWO DRAGONS AND THE WHOLE ARMY OF CLOACKS

[@Δ-Δ-Δ-Δ]

Even if they were loyal to Aegon for some reason, Helaena would have 0 power. It's 100% clear she's a puppet, a furniture for the Greens, at least on the show. Being Queen Consort doesn't automatically grant you super powers, it's also about the connections you create with your underlings or subjects. For example, how Cersei had to get Littlefinger under her purse to destroy Ned. Or how she had to sleep with the Kettleblacks in the books to gain their arms. Even Alicent, she has to create alliances with Otto, Larys, Criston, she has to manipulate her sons into doing what she wants, etc. It's not like the Gold Cloaks would've heeded the advise of the weirdo hermit Queen who never shows herself to the people.

[@Morfe02]

@@Δ-Δ-Δ-Δ yes absolutely in fact would make a little sense if her Brother Gerald (or something like that) was the Lord Commander like the book But he isnt and would make any change since the same tv show SHOWS how the soldiers are working for Rhaenyra and not 1 guy you can see a lot in the boats scene

[@Gojeto346]

Finally someone who isn’t dickriding this show just because it’s “still better than anything we’ve gotten recently”

[@SonderDAzeX]

Theres several folks criticizing season 2 especially Book invested content creators. Peerhaps it's content creators that cover multiple shows at a time saying "still better than anything we've gotten recently".

[@Arthur-nr5ci]

​@SonderDAzeX Or it's content creators who have a vested interest in hyping it up and overlooking all it's faults because lack of enthusiasm in the show threatens their livelihood

[@binarathanushka]

Yes, but Alicent has no bond with her sons is the issue, and that's why Aemond acting like this. it's her fault. now this dumb woman let her son die because she didn't have any power in the council? She's the one who put Aegon in this mess. writers trying to make her like the innocent victim. at least in got Cersei to care for her children.

[@TaeSunWoo]

Most of KZbin right now is complaining and borderline whining, wdym

[@jakkeday1]

@@binarathanushka Cersei didn’t really care for her children because she was a narcissist! This is highlighted with Tommen’s storyline. She blew up the woman he was in love with and instead of thinking of his feelings, Cersei was busy revelling in her torture of Septa Unella.

[@tinaye8638]

It's clear that HOTD are trying to write a more feminist perspective of the story but in doing that they've actually robbed all the female characters of their autonomy, desires and agency. 1. Alicent Hightower- Is robbed of her thirst for power, her religious devotion, her love for her children and the power that she actually holds in court. She's not a good person in the books but she is a real character, and a very real representation of how internalised misogyny and religious extreminism uphold the patraichy even by the very women who are hurt by it. This would've been interesting to watch, a women with the power to actually sit on the iron throne herself (Alicent is a very active member of the council in the books) fights against the claim of another women. She was also robbed of her grief, because she actually cares about her grandchildren in the books. 2. Rhaenyra Targareyn, was literally robbed of her rage, grief and her agency. She's made to be some docile being who seemingly does nothing to solidify her claim to the throne until it's stolen from her. A change I would've welcomed, would be that she was actually trying for years to solidify her place in her father's council but she was being left out and I would've liked an explanation of why she went to Dragonstone when she knew her throne was in danger. That aside, after ep1 of S2 it's like she never lost a son, her rage is non existent. This is a major problem with a lot of the female characters in the show, I'm so tired of women in shows experiencing life shattering grief and reacting with a single tear down their cheek lol. She literally spent 3 days in labor in the books when she heard what the greens did and then she lost her son. Why on earth would she still seek peace when she lost her throne, 2 children and she didn't even get the privilege to attend her father's funeral. I just think someone who went through that would want they're enemies head. Also I love Emma Darcy's performance as Rhaenyra Targareyn, they really embody the role effectively however book Rhaenyra isn't thin, and it was a missed opportunity to have a lead who isn't thin for once. 3. Heleana. I get that they made her autistic apparently and that she is a dreamer or something of the sort, but the fact that she barely grieves the very traumatic death of her child is ridiculous. It's basically the same complaint I have for Rhaenyra and the lack of rage or real grief being displayed. Also I wouldve liked her to not forgive Alicent because who would lol. It's like she is a walking void that lacks emotion. 4. Baela and Rhaena, I don't have much to say about them.. I would've like to see more of them for sure, also I don't get why they decided to give them daddy issues and make Rhaena miserable when she wasn't in the book. 5. Lastly although she's not in the show, I wouldve liked to see Nettles. I think we lacked a good understanding of the small folks true attitudes towards the Targeryns and the war overall. Nettles would be the perfect addition because she is such an anomaly in the story. This is less to do with women lacking their agency but it follows a pattern I've noticed with this show and their POC characters. They raceswope characters and then take away their interesting stories, they did it with Laena Valyrian, who was a big part of Rhaenyra's life and they gave that story to Alicent instead, they barely emphasis the importance of Corlys Velaryon and then with one of the few actually black characters in the book they just merged her story with another POC when it poses serious issues with the future of the story. Anyways I'm done ranting🙃

[@jimmyhyun8546]

Agreed. It's not a coincidence Sara Hess is an activist Lesbian.

[@patrycjazak9753]

Sara Hess only wrote 2 episodes of this season, can we stop just blaming her? There are several writers in season 2 who dropped the ball.

[@jimmyhyun8546]

@@patrycjazak9753 Sara Hess wrote the last episode.

[@patrycjazak9753]

Right. It was a disappointing finale but not the worst episode. The worst episode was 6 “smallfolk” in which all the plot lines seem to go nowhere. Sara Hess is not to blame for all the bad writing. The problem is having individual people write episodes that feel like fanfic and then think that it’s going to make sense as a series. All the writers should be working on each episode together and have a clear vision of what they want out of the season.

[@jimmyhyun8546]

@@patrycjazak9753 Sara Hess was the one who wrote the finale which sucked.

[@jimjohnson6944]

The sharp point shot was so confusing. I assumed it was Rhaenyras dragons that attacked and Aemon was surveying the destruction

[@Δ-Δ-Δ-Δ]

That pissed me off. An impactful moment is stolen from all of its power, same happened with Blood and Cheese.

[@Chadius_Thundercock]

No offense but it was pretty obvious it was aemond who destroyed the town

[@emptyhead242]

It would have been better if somebody from team Black (Baela?) went through the damage & then reported back to the council

[@Mercury_ASC]

I LITERALLY just posted about how if a show has characters talking about “this isn’t how our story is supposed to go” or “this isn’t how our story ends” etc that it’s a sign of severely bad writing 😂🤣 to hear it reaffirmed was music to my ears

[@DolphineAchonga-gn6kn]

The purpose of the dance of dragon is to show where the decline of house Tygaryen began and why. Aegon the conqueror had a grand purpose for taking Westeros. Which was because he wanted to unite the kingdom against a perceived big threat to humanity that was coming with Westeros as the first line of defense. This was forgotten by his descendants. They instead, resorted to petty power struggles that ignore the purpose that their ancestor had in mind. The dance is the peak of this collective amnesia as the house nearly self destructs in the course of their power struggles. And though they survive, their power is greatly diminished and the unity of the realm is hanging on by a thread. The dragons who were supposed to be a great tool for control and against the others are destroyed in this civil war. And there were more civil wars down the road until Aegon V remembered why they were in Westeros in the first place and reestablished sanity in the dynasty. But, maybe by then it was too little too late. Because Aerys the mad then lights a fire that breaks the chain of centuries of Tygaryen rule. The theme was, "The only thing that could bring down house Tygaryen, was the Tygaryens themselves."

[@hurremhightower]

house targaryen caused death and destruction because aegon got drunk once and started seeing ghosts

[@ItsShiggy]

Incredibly well put. First video I've watched that goes into the actual writing process and isn't just complaining about lore changes.

[@TheEtherny]

If I could sit the writers down to watch 1 critique video to understand what they did wrong, I would pick this one. You explained what I couldnt even begin to grasp

[@xhinoteque]

I think when you can see right through who the writers like and who they don't like, you are in big trouble. Speacially when you give extra time for side-plots in Essos and the acting is mid af. And we need representation, don't get me wrong, but if it's mid, don't make it cringe and try to make it happen quick and out, if the acting chops aren't there, in the first place, and in a season finale. I mean, why not show what happened to Otto or Daeron or Oldtown? Big mistake right there.

[@Δ-Δ-Δ-Δ]

For real, I would've rather seen Daeron and Ormund in Oldtown than Hugh battling against Abigail in some Essosi unspecified place.

[@atkcsc]

Top picks for POV: Kings' Landing: Alicent for the family drama & Ser Criston for the small council, and battles. His emotional journey could have been more impactful this season, and he could have had more scenes with Aegon and Aemond as well, so that we get to know their characters better. I may also add Larys, if we want to stick to the plotline of him getting Aegon out of KL. He took a weird backseat this season, I wanted to be reminded of his scheming and creeping more often in the beginning too. I would have had Helena as an observer throughout the season and once Alicent leaves King's Landing for her year of rest & relaxation, have her step in and carry the story through, through the end of her arc, so we can follow her state of mind from her own perspective, making it much more tragic. Dragonstone: Rhaenys & Rhaenyra Wall & then after the sewing, Dragonstone: Jace Riverlands: Daemon? I am thinking maybe it is better to view him from the outside, perhaps I would have had Harrenhall advisor guy (someone remind me of the name) be our POV. Could have sensed how he is feeling about Alys, clocked her as a threat though his fear, not just through her brewing creepy potions and standing weirdly off-frame. Could have had Daemon going less visibly crazy, with the audience still sensing something is off, establishing him as a loose cannon, and wondering what's going on in his mind. This is exactly what Rhaenyra is wondering, so it may have also strengthened the viewer's connection to her, rooting for Daemon to stick to her. And yes, I would have cut the visions and dreams, and focused more on what Daemon's politics say about him as a person. Vale: Rhaena, like you recommended, with more focus on her princess & the dragon storyline - either establishing the bond between her and Sheepstealer, or highlighting her desperation more, and killing her off at the end of the season in her confrontation with Sheepstealer as a schocking reminder of how young Targaryens are pushed to claim these beasts, serving as an opposite outcome to Aemond's success last season. On the other hand, this could have been interpreted as a reversal to the dragonseed debate: how Targaryens feel entitled to these dragons, often overestimating their own blood. Nettles could have came in with the line before Rhaena dies or gets seriously injured about how the only way to tame a wild beast without fancy Targaryen dragon pit masters is to earn their trust. Addam & Alyn would have been great POV characters for: Introducing the other dragonseeds who got a dragon after the sewing & the blockade, and the whole Velarion storyline. We have seen remarkably little of Corlys this season, and if we've had someone he strategized with consistently, that would have given us more insight into who he is as a character. I would have loved for Alyn and him to have a stronger professional relationship. Alyn could have still born the huge grudge against him, but let's say he just really. loves. sailing. and therefore is not hesitant to accept promotions, and is actually enthusiastic about military strategy. His passion for this could have overridden his hate for his father, and lead to him agreeing to work with him still. I don't specifically hate having scenes with all dragonseeds previously, we could have still gotten Hugh on the audience with Aegon and see Ulf in brothel scenes, for example, but as more of an easter egg of what to come, in a scene from another characters POV, not focused on the dragonseeds specifically. It would have added to the mystery of who they were, for after they got their dragons. Overall, what I'm missing in HoTD from thrones is the how long dialogues, often about strategising or the world of Westeros, revealed character's personalities and stories. There was always a link between personal and political that made the show come off as both touching and intellectually engaging. I would love to see more of this on HoTD.

[@silversauceran]

Daemon already explained people grieving in different ways in season 1 he already understands that. Rhaenys is just defending ng Rhaenyra instead of being an actual character we can emotionally invest in. Which is why we don’t miss her much at all.

[@Idanuboy]

Imagine if Alicent was actually there for the Blood and Cheese scene, and she heard them say 'a son for a son', the entire season she's unsure about who really gave the order, then in the final episode she goes to see Rhaenyra and she hears her say this line, everything clicks for her and she has a change of heart and she tells Rhaenyra everything she said in the actual episode but it's actually a trap.

[@enlighten92]

Damn. Nice idea. It could have worked

[@lolilol5346]

Nah that still suck and melodrama af lol .

[@jeffbachman2949]

For me GOT 1 through 6 are far superior. I recently rewatched GOT and Hodor death alone is more emotional and impactful as anything in HOTD

[@wKFaded]

Considering they had whole books to go back too with alot of actually dialog alot of detailed characters... also it was once in a lifetime show it is almost impossible to recreate ever. There was plenty of problems in the first couple of seasons in the end they destroyed it and almost destroyed the whole universe. Condel has done a hell of a job bring song of ice and fire back to the number one show in the world.

[@jeffbachman2949]

@wKFaded except I noticed the majority of the show dialog was actually show only from the start. They added great dialog from the very first episode. For example like all of littlfinger and Varys scenes and almost of of Tyrion and Cersei scenes are show only and that's just one of many examples. I mostly just disagree GOT overall is leagues better than HOTD. The characters are much more interesting, compelling, and overall better written, especially the female characters.

[@wKFaded]

@@jeffbachman2949 season 3 of HOTD has potential to be just as good but we need at least 10 episodes....

[@b1bbscraz3y]

@@jeffbachman2949 they still had more characterization of the characters in GoT to draw from to create those lines that were show only. we don't have much characterization of these characters in HotD to really know what kind of people they are, aside from like Daemon

[@raymaxxTV]

hodor death scene is impactful but from the point of logic, it was poorly written

[@DrKumkar]

I was also hoping Jayce would have been the focal character but i got the impression that the men couldnt be portrayed in this show without being petulant, weak, immature, incompetent, misogynistic, or subservient fools. I was glad Daemon remained loyal, but unsatisfied with his character arc. It felt kneecapped, all because he had a vision GOT s8 instead of coming to some sort of meaningful change of heart or centering of his focus, that he changed his stance for the very visions he mocked his brother to being a prisoner to.

[@Δ-Δ-Δ-Δ]

100% I spent so much time watching Daemon have visions, all for nothing. He doesn't ever change his ways. He doesn't grow. He doesn't become wiser. There's simply a deus ex machina-d vision about Daenerys and the White Walkers that somehow, makes him change his mind. He's not an active character. He doesn't get to any decisions on his own. He has to be hand-held like a child with no free will. Disappointing. Reality is often.

[@silversauceran]

The show refusing to consistently give a “rouge prince” agency is WILDLY BAD WRITING, when it’s probably his number one character trait lmao

[@thezerowulf2046]

That's not an impression. That was what was being shown.

[@DamnTheBeavers]

the show has 2 parallel stories that don't really fit together: the book cannon and the showrunners fanfiction

[@spointz8936]

Is there a reason why the song of ice and fire prophecy has to be only told to one person/ the heir? Like it's not like it's nuclear secrets.. in fact probably bett3r the more ppl know about it?

[@mordecaiissad8529]

I don't think it was ever directly stated, however, I'd assume it would have to do with the situation in westeros. For many generations Targaryens were struggling against various issues with the people and transitions. During the events of Got we see the notion of walkers ridiculed by damn near everyone except the Northerners to an extent. The faith would also not be amused about Targs tripping about some random dream to justify their rule. The more people know the further it would spread and cause more trouble. So it's only told to the heir to keep secret. There is a popular theory that during Aegons conquest, the Starks knelt because Aegon and thorin discussed the threat over the wall and his dream. Tho I'm also not sure it would completely change anything. In this case, Otto and alicent still just could've believed Aegon was the prince that was promised and obviously should be the one keeping the kingdom safe and not Rhaenyra and the whole thing happening all over again. Meaning it could lead to further in fighting if someone believed themselves the chosen one over their siblings

[@LilBrownieD]

Exactly

[@KristineElizabethKraycer]

I was actually frustrated by both seasons. This season being the worst. It's not engaging enough like you said and I won't be watching it any more. I didn't understand any of the characters and why they acted they way they did because there was no build up. You explain my feeling pretty well in this. Thanks.

[@ButChaAreBlanche]

This is a tremendous analysis. You are so, so, so right on (everything, but) the power of POV and this series’ lack of discipline with it.

[@silversauceran]

I agree with a lot of what you are saying. Jace was probably the most interesting character on Team Black but we didn’t get to connect with him. Rhaenys death was reduced to spectacle. Daemon was soulless and had no agency this season. Rhaenyra was meandering, banal, and arrogant both in action and in convictions. The connection was severed with these characters and I cannot forgive that from Season 2.

[@kikidee3204]

Crap writing everywhere these days

[@kikidee3204]

I don't give a fuck about character arcs NO it is an insult to audience intelligence and no I don't always want good to prevail

[@rationalmuscle]

Gee, I wonder why?

[@jasonsturek6510]

Tyrion's dialogue . . . that is what separates GOT from HOTD more than anything through the first season for me. At any moment in GOT, if one of the plot lines was even slightly ho-hum or even boring, a cut to a Tyrion scene lifted all the boats. There is simply no equivalent mechanism in this prequel. It is still highly entertaining and I believe payoffs are coming, but that just is what it is.

[@jrm371]

I blame letting Miguel Sapochnik go as being the #1 contributing factor for this underwhelming season. The choices made throughout this season were terrible.

[@anastasiabinkis5132]

Yes, and Sara is a terrible writer. Her comment about queerness of A and R relationship explains a lot.

[@mirayc451]

yall give that man too much credit, him and his wife are the ones who came up with alicent being aged down to be rhae’s bff and all his episodes are dark as shit

[@dumbitc11]

i literally forgot that jace and baela were even betrothed considereing we never actually see them interact as a couple

[@fanfaxforever]

Brilliant summation of most of the problems i felt with this season, especially how the writers ditched proper perspectives and cause & effect mode of storytelling; fracturing the entire season's emotional momentum , how things seemed to happen cuz it HAD to; like a setpiece without any set up. Obstructing major events, like we all were eager to see Aemond telling his mother what he did to luke at the end of first season and Seeing Alicent's reaction to it, completely ommited. And Those scenes with Sylvie were not adequate to fill the gap between Annoyed by Brother Aegon, to Tryna Kill him the next Episode. i have a thought as we focused on Rhaenyra & Daemon dynamic the first season, we should've focused on Aegon & Alicents dynamic a bit more. This couldve been amazing. But apparently the story isn't about Aegon & Rhaenyra but Rhae & Alicent and they both were poorly so no creative grace to be found. Rhaenyra & Aegon as the main POV charecters with Jace's POV in the north and Oscar Tully's POV in riverlands wouldve been great.

[@Leo_ofRedKeep]

Episode 9 was terrible. Nothing happened again ;(

[@geminisfl]

I didn't even realized the season ended :P

[@theredsir869]

Lol, you had me for a moment there. 😂

[@55187706344]

😂😂😂

[@sliceofheaven3026]

This is my biggest issue with the show. We lack multiple points of views of this particular civil war. In GOT we had extended scenes with multiple characters but HOTD seems to center itself around only a few central characters. I think this is one of the reason we are getting so many scenes at the wharf, at the council rooms and so on. After a while it all just feels repetitive. Why not instead show events happening around Westeros in preparation of the civil war with some of the characters that are not the so called main protagonists. One of the best things about GOT was that we kinda got new main protagonists as the seasons progressed in the form of Robb, Sansa, Artya, Jon and so on. It wasnt Just Cersei or Daenyrys all the time.

[@ashmaz400]

They absolutely shat all over jayce's character as well as aemond and daemon

[@bornarose11]

A lot of people think the complains are about the lack of faithfulness to the books so they excuse it with the books not being accurate or exact and this being an adaptation. That's okay But this show, ignoring the books, is just badly written as it is, and inconsistent since season one. There are many shows out there who are more developed, have put more care in the personalities of their characters and follow a structure that makes sense, not breaking the logics of its worldbuilding Even old cheap fantasy cw shows from the 2010s at least knew what the characters they wrote were like and what the rules were and remained consistent with it

[@Gigipretty64]

I think you should do a public service and raven this video to Sarah Hess and Ryan Conjob with haste (before they start season 3 writing) please and thank you.

[@jonmakiavel93]

😂😂😂😂

[@erocgittens5962]

I think it wouldve been cool if during the "Blood and Cheese" episode they started by going through the life of Halaena Targaryan. Like what she does and her duties as queen, and then towards the end out of nowhere Blood and CHeese just show up, say their iconic lines, and follow exactly what the history books said happens. It also be nice to see the Maesters who are recording the histories so we can see their perspectives. Why they wrote the histories the way they did. That would've been cool IMO

[@PinkPatriot]

I wanted to see so much more from our characters. I would have loved to see Jace in winterfell, learning more about Rhaena and Baeyla. I hated that every episode felt like a repeat of itself where the same things happens, the same dialogue is repeated, and when Rhaenys died I didn’t feel a damn thing bc I was so pissed off on why she would go back when she could have fled. I also HATE that they refuse to make Alicent or Rhaenyra have any agency to go full mad queens and make morally questionable decisions in a fit of rage; while still having them be sympathetic. I think how bad Cersei was but how I still loved her bc I understood her reasoning always.

[@bandoogiemanz]

Meh, I liked the moment with Daemon, but it was still underwhelming. Introducing his vision took away all the potential angst leading up to this moment. My issue with daemon's arc is he didn't do anything of his own accord. There was no introspective realization about his behavior(other than being regretful for not being there for viserys, but he can't rectify that directly, because his brother's dead.) THAT alone could have been enough of an impetus for him to bend the knee to rhaenyr, his only way he can see to apologize to his brother and be there for him the only way he now can, by being there for his chosen heir. Even him rectifying the issue with the riverlords is not of his own doing, little oscar tully politically maneuvered him into doing it. Honestly, id rather have seen daemon reluctantly bend the knee explaining that he's not sure if his niece is the right answer, but that he has decided, he will honor his brother's wishes.

[@siddhantkumar6340]

How did they get s1 so right and s2 so wrong

[@GangStalker17]

It sure is suspicious how all the Maester Propoganda that is corrected is always in Rhaneras favor. Whew I was almost worried that she would be flawed in some way. Also isn’t her character supposed to be portly? Isn’t it wrong to take away the size a character who could do wonders for fat acceptance?

[@lilchaos9212]

This. I would be completely fine with them "setting the record straight" and revealing errors the Maesters made... If it wasn't ONLY to make Rhaenyra/Team Black look better and make Team Green look worse. Any positive Team Green had in the books and anything bad Team Black did is labelled "Green Propaganda" rather than letting the characters be nuanced and realistic people who are privileged, make bad decisions, and struggle with the hand they've been given. It's such poor writing compared to the book where both sides did good and bad things. The show TELLS you to like Rhaenyra and hate the Greens, rather than letting you come to your own decision.

[@GangStalker17]

@@lilchaos9212 Game of Thrones understood that, I thought the entire premise of GRRMs franchise was based around the idea that black and white doesn’t exist. They have completely lost the plot and the shows identity.

[@tinaye8638]

Exactly in the book both mushroom and the master are untrustworthy narrators. There are some things they allege that are true and things that aren't. Aegon may not completely be evil in the book and neither is Rhaenyra, but they both do horrible things. The people writing for this show don't understand the actual theme of the story and that's the problem. They remove so many important details that create holes in the plot or come across as strange.

[@GangStalker17]

@@tinaye8638 I think a complaint from GOT they seem to focus on is how Danny turned evil. It’s strange because they try very hard to make Rhanera good because of how Danny ended up, but these are completely different characters and stories, but I can’t shake the feeling they are more focused on making this series a fan-fiction of sorts. It’s sad because they are taking away from the tragedy of the story.

[@tinaye8638]

@@GangStalker17 I think they're trying to correct Dany character assassination with Rhaenyra, and that's why they keep on mentioning the prophecy and why we saw Dany at the end of ep8.

[@ButChaAreBlanche]

PLEASE more videos more often! Even if they’re behind a paywall; your work is fabulous.

[@mbanerjee5889]

Completely agree with everything you said. I think the character that they should've focused on was Aegon. S1 showed us Viserys's story from being a happy king to an old broken man that just wanted his family to get along. At the end of S1, Aegon didn't want to be king. We see him actually try to help his subjects but not understand diplomacy. We also see him genuinely take an interest in training his heir. But not enough time is given show his grief over losing his son or dragon. He's son was murdered, his brother tried to murder him, his half sister wants him dead, his mother doesn't care if he lives or dies, his dragon is dead, and everyone on council is manipulating him. The audience should feel bad for him as we did for Theon, but we don't. GoT (S1-S6) almost always made me cry or cheer. The only times HotD make me feel anything was the scene of Viserys walking to the throne in S1 and when Jace broke down to Rhaenyra when he returned.

[@MourningCoffeeMusic]

Imagine if season 1 began where the 2nd half started, and we were left to wonder why the families are feuding and why Viserys is dying, only gaining more information through the advancing dialogue. God that would’ve been so much better imo.

[@marigray7148]

What's truly such a shame is that the actors and the people who work on special effects, sound design, set creation, etc are very talented individuals. It feels like it'll all be wasted if the show continues down this route but hopefully the 3rd season is better. It could very well be wishful thinking on my end. Hopefully not. 🤞 Though, I will forever feel like one of the down sides to this show (and alot of shows, actually) is the amount of episodes each season. Stories as deep, detailed and intricate as the books aren't suited for 10 or less episodes a season. The characters, world building and lore have too much depth to be boiled down to 8 or 10 episodes. The time jumps are a prime example of this. The jumps were bad because of the episode count. Another fault of the show is the changes. The changes were small and weren't bad at first but overtime the changes became way too much. Like I didn't mind Rhaenyra and Alicent being friends because it would hit harder when they became enemies but that never happened. Alicent had moments when she could've transitioned into her book counterpart and never did. I have never read the books but have been informed of the differences and I am so disappointed. Book Alicent seemed like a fun, easy character to hate. She was powerful. She was cunning. She was loyal to her family. She was a villainess. Which makes it such a bummer that they didn't go this route with her character. I am not sure why the writers are afraid to make a woman morally grey or evil. This is coming from a woman before anyone starts. I mean come on. let's be realistic. There is bad, evil, cruel, and/or awful women in real life. Like I love epic and powerful female characters but that doesn't mean that they can't be morally grey or evil. I wish Alicent treated Rhaenyra like her book counterpart. It would make the dynamic between the sides more interesting. More entertaining. More enjoyable. Like when Book Rhaenyra talks about the death of her sons to Book Alicent. Book Alicent response was crazy epic, telling Book Rhaenyra that the blood spilt was B*stard blood. A proper villain. A shame people won't get to see this version of Alicent in the live action. Alicent isn't the only example of an unfortunate case of a character not being like their counterpart. Before anyone starts with the "history book" excuses, just know it doesn't make any sense in the first place. So, don't even waste time typing it. The show isn't even properly following ages, appearances, events or characters. So, why should we still use the "It's a history book" and "The history books are pro-green and have unreliable narrators" excuses. At first, I agreed with these claims but I don't anymore because it doesn't make sense. It would make more sense to say "Just separate the books from the show." Since they're clearly doing their own thing with the show. Another problem with the show is how the show is written in comparison to the marketing. The writing and the marketing are contradicting each other. HBO is marketing the show as "pick a side", which was cool. It made the show more interesting because of it. The idea of choosing a side. Like a "Pick your poison" or "Pick the lesser evil" because each side has their faults but the writing in the show has clearly chosen a side. Instead of showcasing a story of two sides, it's become a story about a "Good" and "Bad" side. Which sucks because almost every character in the story is supposed to be complex, multifaceted, and/or moral grey. Like Daemon. Speaking of which, he's another case of not being like his counterpart. He's supposed to be morally grey. Which is a character who isn't good but isn't bad, they're in-between. They make choices that can be bad but also decisions that can be good. We don't get to see Daemon's good side much in the show. For example, his love for his daughters. Which is a shame. That's such an easy way to showcase the more good sides to him but the show doesn't do it. Instead, they give his girls "daddy issues" when not everyone in the show needs it. There's already enough daddy issues on the show. Like seriously what's with every show and daddy issues. I love an adorable father and daughter dynamic. I wish the show would just let us have it. Though, I could go on and on about the faults of the show. So, I'll stop here. 😂

[@Romanian42]

The biggest thing that bothers me with the writing is, not wanting to make Alicent or Rhaenyra look bad, or evil. In the books they are both horrible people, But they dont let any of that show .

[@MerweenTheWitch]

Thank you so much!!! I've been toying around this idea since Season 1 and it feels great to see this criticism so well developed here. I feel like a lot of critique of bad writing for HotD misses the mark on where the bad writing was exactly, and I think you've nailed it

[@OkMakuTree]

Bravo, you’ve perfectly explained many of my complaints with this season. Even with episodes 9 and 10 that wouldn’t fix the bizarre pacing and botched character arcs. I genuinely wonder if the writers can fix this mess in season 3. Alicent, Rhaenyra, Daemon, Rhaena, Heleana, Larys, Mysaria, and Corlys are all worse off by varying degrees after this season. I have no idea how they’ll handle Alys and Aemond’s romance given how she hates small folk suffering in this season. I’ll keep watching because there were some genuinely great elements, but this season did a number on my excitement for HOTD.

[@FarleyHavelock_III]

I think there's no chance they can make a great third season. With the shoddy foundation they've set this season and the damage they've done to the plot, characters and emotional investment of viewers it would be a monumental task for even the best writers to undo that damage. And from what I've seen of the writers in HOTD, I don't believe they will stick the landing

[@DuggyDarko]

Theyre making all the same mistakes they made with the later seasons of GoT with the added probelm of "men bad" writing hanging over every scene.

[@OGseoulite]

I think the biggest issues it that the show plays with the idea of nuanced female character shut never fully commits to exploring all that comes with that idea. That and THE PACING!! GOOD GREIF THE PACONG THIS SEASON WAS HORRIBLE- especially at the times when it just skimmed straight past the reflections of the charters and how they resonate after emotionally impactful points. It’s like they’ll be up sort for 5 seconds the n the next scene you see them in they’ve already “eat, pray, love” their way out the despair & loss. It’s like these characters don’t get an opportunity to FULLY feel the weight of their decisions & contemplate the aftermath. I wanted to see how Coralys & the girls felt after armaments died- I wanted to see Corolys get ANGRY and actually challenge Rhaenyra by questioning how losing Rhaenys in any way would have strengthened the moral of their forces. I wanted to see Baela & Rhaena grove together and cry sharing their favorite memories and sayings from Rhaenys that encouraged them. I wanted more emotional conflict if we weren’t going to see any battles beyond Rooks Rest.

[@NYKIKE]

Phenomenal. You should have so many more viewers!!!! I was here at 8K!

[@Idanuboy]

Whenever you say "privy" I keep hearing Tywin says "and what, you'll kill your own father in the privy?" 😆

[@micaelasielas1392]

Can anyone talk about the lighting choice for HOD? Seems that sunny days, rainy days or any kind of weather scenario is completely left out. Casterly Rock, the Eyrie it's all Winterfell looklike all grey and boring!

[@benjaminjane93]

When I was watching the Blood & Cheese scenes I did think to myself "This would've been better if it was seen strictly from Haelenas perspective." I would imagine that if we have had the closing scene on Alicent or Haelena, probably Alicent since she had a narrative throughline in the episode, it wouldn't be "out of place" since Haelena isn't a pov character. It could pick up at maybe a post coitus argument between Cole and Alicent that has her leave in a huff. Maybe to grab some air or to visit her daughter - the point being that as she is walking through the castle corridors we the audience hear voices of two men bickering and whispering. When it becomes clear enough for Alicent we would like to invoke the feeling of her being watched. She is fearful that someone may discover her affair with the kingsguard, and we see that fear amount until she reaches Haelenas room where she hears the two men's voices demanding her to choose between her kids. We hear a stab. We see Alicent paralyzed by fear. We see Blood & Cheese leave the room, blood dripping from their hands. Maybe they even spot Alicent but walk past her as guards may be converging on the scene. We see Haelena leave the room holding her daughter. Camera pans up to her as Alicent triest to ask her what happened. Haelena says the line "They killed the boy." and we black out to credits. Here's what I think and why I wrote it like this: By limiting the POV and what the audience hears we create more suspense. We have seen Daemons plans made earlier in the episode. But we are not privy to seeing the assassination carried out. We get less objective facts about what actually happened. We ground it in the experience of a main character who also don't have the full story, which creates a bias. We make Blood & Cheese a hundred times scarier as they become less of a Odd Couple comedy routine and more like ghosts haunting the castle. A horror and tragedy that cannot be stopped. We could even have Alicent see them come out of Aemond's room and follow them at a distance, and we get snippets of their dialogue saying "What do we do now?" She may follow them to Haelenas room, and by that it may add more guilt to her - why didn't she scream for the guards when she had the chance? I thought that by basing the whole scene and events in two throwaway characters we get to know more when we should know less. Because neither of the POV camps. The Greens and The Blacks know the full story themselves. That's what happens when you hire unreliable agents to carry out an assassination. The one who knows the most is the victims mother. Haelena. Who is "addled" as the show might put it. At least that's close to what I think should've been. Maybe more skillful writers could make it work. Horror and Suspense comes from the whole audience knowing more than the characters. And this if any event in the series should have been treated as a horror scene.

[@kevm6890]

The great GOT comparatives you make would works well with Viserys in Season 1. We stayed with him to see his mental and also physical struggle. Sometimes by another characters pov e.g. when Daemon saw what a pitiful state he was in it said a lot about both without dialogue. Or by the audience having a direct POV with Viserys long painful walk to his throne to make his decision clear on his successor. We felt every step both physically and rooting for his emotional mission. Daemon placing Visery's crown on his head then said so much without dialogue about their relationship, and Daemon's acceptance of his decision. This is unlike the direct - often soap-operaish dialogue in Season 2. The subtlety and subtext of GOT Season 1 was barely there there in House of the Dragon Season 2. We didn't really 'walk' with any character to feel their emotional journey, consequences or concerns, as it was more like the writers were just sticking labels on characters of 'good' or 'bad' - without giving us character nuance and consequences to feel our own way about the characters.

[@bandoogiemanz]

I could go on and on about blood and cheese, but you made plenty of quality points about it. You know how forgotten it was by the characters and moreso the writers? In the finale, when rhaenyra proposes to alicent that she betray aegon and leave him for dead, she says "a son for a son." i almost fell out of my chair when I heard that. I mean what the HELL was jaeharys' death then?

[@silversauceran]

My major problem with this series is the writers telling viewers what to think instead of letting viewers form their own conclusions.

[@louiebedlam]

This video just made me want to go rewatch GoT just for the early seasons because those early seasons were amazing

[@chikzdigmohawkz]

'Anytime characters acknowledge they're in a story, it's a sign of a desperate writers' room'. Counterpoint - Black Sails

[@rationalmuscle]

When your entire writing staff is "Men Bad, Women Good Even When Evil", this is the shit you get.

[@bandoogiemanz]

The whole thing in one perfect and succinct statement.

[@gratefulgrasshopper]

the scene where Aemond is chosen over Alicent to be regent is the scene you should pay attention to as it shows her unraveling without any dialogue. its absolutely brilliant because she realizes that the work she had put in for decades meant nothing, and it brings back the conversation she had with Rhaenys.

[@notgonnapay]

But it makes no sense because Alicent wouldn’t think she’d be regent anyway as it would go to Aegon’s brother. Alicent was never portrayed as someone who wants power, either. And because Aemond was written as the pragmatic and knowledgeable brother, you think he’d want his mom’s council, as she’s the woman who ruled the realm while Viserys was rotting in bed.

[@VeniVidiVici100]

@@notgonnapayher talking about peace probably lend to her being removed which again makes no sense. The show decided to make her an innocent victim instead of the boss she’s suppose to be.

[@TheSands83]

That’s an extremely low bar for brilliant 😂

[@gratefulgrasshopper]

@@notgonnapay Alicent did think she would be regent, because she did want that power. She has always wanted power that's what the conversation with Rhaenys in Season 1 was about. Rhaenys tried to dissuade her of that opinion and she only realized now. She was betrayed by Larys and Criston too, two dudes who would not be there if it was not for her. The only reason the Greens are even what they are is because of her, she wore that dress and she created the Greens faction. It was not Otto. She's finally seeing the futility of what she has done and all the damage she has caused, because it means nothing for her.

[@thesahel7218]

Alicent didn't put in all that work for power. She did it because she didn't have a choice and she did it to protect her family. Otto put in decades of work for Jaehaerys and Viserys, he orchestrated Aegon’s coronation and Aegon kicked his ass out and replaced him with a nobody. Otto did not take that opportunity to rat out his family, he kept on pushing the green cause.

[@ishmael_03]

"Assuming the audience will care about something in the show universe just because we probably care about it in our universe." That is the main problem I have with writers injecting modern politics/ideology into fantasy dramas. It does not fit!!!

[@amyjones8114]

Thank God for a channel with an intelligent approach. I’m sick of the goofy GoT and HotD channels.

[@GP.Records]

Wait….Sunfyre can’t be dead….that would give Rhaenyra an opening to survive….

[@mattfisher2371]

That’s exactly what I thought… interested to see where they take this now 😂

[@abynighteater5670]

Pretty sure they think he might be dead but isn't. Like Rhaenyra dying by dragonfire is a bit important for Aegon III's whole personality

[@annie-sc]

He's probably recovering in the wild

[@abynighteater5670]

@@annie-sc The point might be to just surprise us when he comes back later.

[@Chadius_Thundercock]

If they genuinely fake out Rhaenyras death this show is officially trash

[@apeters5339]

I think the 10 episode season really changes the game for this. 20% more scenes and options to show detail and context and perspective

[@TS-qr3rk]

This is an amazing analysis, you've articulated my feelings for me. Excellent!

[@theduxabides9274]

15:55 Daemon brought up the unclaimed dragons in S1Ep10, hence his visit to Vermithor in that same episode. That being said, it's a testament to the show's stalling for time that that plot was immediately dropped until the back half of S2

[@mama_T13]

This was an amazing video, I was literally taking notes for my own writing. Now I'm off to watch all your other videos. Well done, great work!! Please keep em coming.

[@e.vasileva5891]

This was super interesting. You really put well to word things that I could feel but not really explain as to why they were caused.

[@Qun_Ideas]

Woow, the best analysis I've ever seen. Real in-depth discussion on screen writing.

[@TreyAubrey]

Your words ring true as Valyrian steel. May the Three-Eyed Raven carry them to those who shape the fate of the Seven Kingdoms in season 3 and beyond.

[@c.m.580]

do u know how long ive been searchin for a new good youtube analyser essayist 😭 agess this vid is crazy good

[@Nachobeerman]

They are just trying to make the show drag on for 10 seasons instead of just make the best show possible , at this rate we will all be dead by the time the show finishes

[@BlackQback]

Well, series 2 often felt like we're not watching the story unfold, but solving a puzzle, while ever so often being treated with a corner piece or a large, can't miss where it goes, one. Furthermore, when important information needs to be conveyed, the writers take some strange "show, don't tell" approach - showing stuff that tell very little or nothing, or alternatively, when some mystery is required (like with Aemond and Helena), then they plainly blurt out how will arc of the character end. Or, we get a warning that something might happen, and then that thing happens a bit later. It's all over the place. In one of the interviews I watched (or read) about a year ago, either Ryan Condal or GRRM himself said that they wanted to keep some ambiguity about some events that happen, and inspire discussion among viewers about who's in the right as well as show that history books are unreliable as to what really happened (due to writer's biases, sources going missing, we can't be sure what the "players" were thinking...), so they wanted to show the difference between history as recorded vs. real history (in imaginary world) well, they failed at those task. Most of discussions revolved about WTF just happened, and as for history books, or history as it is taught: a) we already know that, b) they only added another unreliable account, c) maesters are really bad historians (GRRM is a history buff, not a historian; he doesn't seem to understand how history is researched and written).

[@jholt03]

If I was the show runner this would be the next Sheepstealer scene: Rhaena Targaryen approached Sheepstealer, determined to finally claim a dragon of her own, but just at the moment she reached out to Sheepstealer, Nettles crests a hill with a small flock of sheep and sees this silver haired stranger approaching the dragon. Nettles looks shocked. Even here in the middle of nowhere, some uppity Targaryen has come to commandeer the dragon she'd worked so hard to tame and finally claim herself, but Nettles won't allow this silver spooned royal to shove her back down to the life of struggle and pain she'd always known before. In that instant a wave of fear and anger washed over her and Nettles shouts "Dracarys!!!". Alas, Rhaena Targaryen was no more. .....Or maybe Nettles crests the hill just in time to see Sheepstealer rejecting Rhaena and just as the dragon is about to light her up, Nettles intervenes and saves Rhaena. The relationship between these two girls from different sides of the tracks develops from here.

[@nayleenhernandez9359]

It sounds good, amazing!

[@Al-ji4gd]

Excellent video. Excellent. I haven't been this impressed by a critique in quite a while.

[@kidgforce1]

Wonder why Blood and Cheese didnt get Aemond. They were at his room and could just waited for him. And then have a better escape plan knowing the secret ways in the walls, getting to a boat for example.

[@buh2604]

Great video!! I had the same feelings through the whole season (and S1 too, tbh...). It's so difficult for me to get engaged in a story where I don't care that much about the characters... nor the relationships between them, which should have been the key to the war. As you said, they communicate what is important for the plot, without narratively building up those moments. There's a lack of anticipation, and a lack of consequences too. It should be the tension before, during and after a scene what makes the viewer connected to what's happening

[@jonmakiavel93]

😱Your video should go straight to the HBO writer office BEFORE they even start to think to make the very first episode of the Season 3. Period! Your analyse was on point gurl🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@teamguapogames]

Great analysis. I tried watching the show when it was first airing but the first episode was so boring I quit halfway through. I gave it a second chance once season 2 started airing because people were saying the first season gets good towards the end, and everyone had such high expectations for season 2. Honestly I have no idea why peoples expectations were so high. It's hard to believe that the same people that liked Game of Thrones so much like this show. This show never had what Game of Thrones had in terms of writing, and to me season 2 played out exactly how I would have expected. Anyway I'm glad that the fan base has turned on the show, even if I am a bit sad that people can't see these things coming.

[@GreatUnwashedMass]

I've never written anything but your discussion here really had me thinking about hpw to go about it if i tried. Seems kinda obvious in hindsight to stay fixed on certain character POVs rather than this happened;that happened and "here is how to thibk avout it' dialogue.

[@user-vj6ws1op4u]

I still can’t believe they botched blood & cheese

[@rafaelluna3564]

This was sooooo good my god . Your terminology and ability to articulate is impressive . Or maybe I should've read more books . Nonetheless u hit it right on the head with this and I love it . I subscribed. Thank you cheers from nyc!

[@futurefox635]

This was a very therapeutic 50 mins for me, thank you

[@briannarose2439]

Great video! I really hope you do another one on this season going more in depth on the character arcs. What you liked and didn’t like and what you thought worked and didn’t work. It sounds like you’re pretty knowledgeable about the process of writing and it’s hard for me to articulate why exactly this season as a whole didn’t work for me and why I found it disappointing since I’m not a writer. So yeah, if you’re willing to do an even deeper dive into the season I’d love that.

[@reneegiordano3937]

Very informative analysis! I’ve learned much and more about perspectives and critical themes from this post! Thank you

[@cyberpunkdarren]

It would have been much better for season 2 finale to be a big battle and then damon shows up with his army just in time to win it for rheanera

[@strigiformthunderstorm]

Fantastic analysis, looking forward to more from you!

[@rubydoo3307]

With the knowledge that the writers had to flesh things out in this case, in order to add depth, it becomes less surprising. There have been reports that Hollywood is cutting development times, shrinking writers rooms, not extending contracts to cut corners...so you get different writers between seasons and less care overall. I wish Hollywood would just figure out that cheap AI written entertainment is not the future. Human led, human made shows with the right resources is the future.

[@theocaldwell5440]

Came for the channel name, enjoyed the video. Thank you!