WHAT WE WERE WAITING FOR! HotD S2E4 - The Red Dragon and the Gold | House of the Dragon Review

House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 3 Reaction - The Red Dragon and the Gold or A Dance of Dragons is what we have all been waiting for! The Dragons Danced!
Steven is the Chad Book Reader and Dan is the Average TV Show Enjoyer!
Let them break down and over-analyze the episode for you.
#houseofthedragon #gameofthrones #targaryen

[@burgunbeerd]

QUESTION! Is HotD better or worse than GoT so far?

[@Arizona-kj4yp]

If you like dragons, HotD is definitely better. But I'd say S1 and S2 GoT were better. Even if the later seasons left a sour taste and hindered the overall show. Loving HotD currently though.

[@jasongupo3859]

Seeing HotD while it's airing compared to GoT makes the experience more fun because of the weekly discussions. GoT was very good early on, can't deny. But I have faith they can surpass it in the next seasons

[@geofftottenperthcoys9944]

No.

[@Jamiiemac]

@@burgunbeerd as good as any other 2 seasons, with the potential to get better. (Also potential to get worse, but less likely)

[@AzkuulaKtaktu]

Thats how large fish and reptiles hunt. Too big to sprint, gotta lurk and chomp. Twice now has us anticipating the third.

[@jacklu1611]

The analogy is a good one but I feel what makes the jumps scare bad is that the camerawork prior to that scene & the physical dimensions of the surrounding terrain/castle doesn’t make it plausible for Vhagar to be at that location ready to pounce. Like Dan said, Vhagar has been repeatedly shown and described as lumbering, so it feels unlikely that she’s on the ground behind the cliff and leapt in the air just as Meleys flew by. Not to mention it also seems implausible for her to have managed to maneuver behind the castle to begin with without being sighted by Rhaenys/Meleys. It would have been much better/feel less contrived if they just had Vhagar climb back up in the air and Meleys fly at her for a second time and clash and die head-on. I can see them choosing not to for budget reasons, but if they deliberately did this for shock factor or some other reason I stand genuinely baffled.

[@traviscue2099]

I think Vagar coming out of no-where twice is intentional, the same thing is going to happen to her in the future.. I think its set up, since the scene tells you very clearly she's not making it home.

[@J_ads2000]

Her attack is similar to a great white shark. Ambushing them from below is such a predatory move. Most dragons ambush from the sky but Vhagar is way too big for that so she uses her surroundings and environment.

[@jasongupo3859]

I can forgive the Vhagar jumpscare moment because they were hiding behind the cliff face/castle so Meleys and Rhaenys were taken by surprise. The point of Rook's Rest is that it wasn't supposed to be a big battle but because of the trap set by Cole, and Aegon's surprise entrance, it became an important battle that had major consequences in the war

[@burgunbeerd]

@@jasongupo3859 but was vhagar like crawling on the cliff face or did they just perfectly time it so they were out of view but still flying? Dan needs answers!

[@jasongupo3859]

You know what, when I imagine Vhagar attached to a cliff face waiting to ambush Meleys, I can't help but imagine a giant lizard stuck to a wall 😂 that was unclear how it happened and I'm sure there's some better way to show that on-screen

[@J_ads2000]

@@burgunbeerd Aemond knew Rhaenys and Meleys would eventually retreat back to Dragonstone if she couldn’t find him. She’d have to go over the cliff to fly back across the bay. I imagine he was putting a lot of trust in Vhagars instincts. Similar to trusting her to track down Luke and Arrax in season 1. While Rhaenys is old and experienced, Vhagar is much older and much more experienced. Aemond probably stirred her to the cliff and Vhagar did the timings. Maybe she hovered or just timed it right. Perhaps she did land at the base of the cliff and jump up when she saw, smelt or heard Meleys. 🤷‍♂️

[@beden653]

​@@J_ads2000Rhaenys made a mistake by not rising higher above the battlefield. But this is not a logical fallacy. Although I would like to see Vhagar/Aemond's POV at this point

[@joaorodo]

Daemon was right all along. When the blacks were still warming up he was ready to take out the enemy's only xfactor with a solid plan. Now hes lost to madness and under magic spells. RIP Rhaenys and Meleys, should have taken the offer that was given back in ep1.

[@singstreetcar5881]

Seeing the dragons fighting each other brought tears to my eyes

[@Jamiiemac]

I know that it was only really this ep they really focused on, but how much of a good tactician Criston Cole is never ever gonna be appreciated. Fabian plays the role so well, that the character is hated beyond just your average antagonist. People HATEEE Criston and they cannot seperate the two hahahahaha

[@KerioFive]

I hate him but he's a certified bad ass

[@burgunbeerd]

its great to see people feel so strongly about a character again, havent really seen it since Joffrey

[@mosthatedty9585]

To be fair this plan was aemond not Cole’s we hear them make this plan in the first episode before blood and cheese and it’s mostly aemond

[@GeeNoniGee]

He has such a sunny presence in all of the group interviews, I doubt he'll get TOO much hate.

[@michaelalan6459]

We saw as Meleys flew to Rooks Rest the castle sat atop the cliffs over the ocean. Aemond flew Vhagar beneath the cliff knowing when Rhaneys tried to leave back to Dragonstone she would have to fly past but over them. This gave him a position to attack her from below, where she couldn't see his approach. It was smart.

[@foxsquad6992]

No, wait. George, HBO & the writers have all confirmed HotD will be 4 seasons!

[@thenickfoxx]

There IS FARMLAND around rooks rest if you read the books. We got the immediate area around Rooks Rest guys. Like come on. Meleys face was burnt on the right side. If you PAYED ATTENTION you'd see that. That's why Vhagar caught her off guard. So many nit picks lol. Just goes to show, you can't make everyone happy. So it is what it is. Does the guy on the right just want to watch dragon battle? Asking if we needed 3 episodes beforehand? Lol. World building is important. Rhaenys death wouldn't mean as much if Rooks rest was episode 1.

[@trevorwinn5012]

Amen !!!

[@christinestevenson4304]

I don't mind the pacing of season 2! They did such huge time jumps in season 1 that the show would be over far too quickly if they put the battle in episode 1 or2! That and i really enjoyed episode two! It felt like got season 1! I feel like it was the best episode of the series! The acting was superb! I felt so bad when helena says, "why?"

[@NightDweller]

Love the production quality and articulation

[@heddofeddo]

You earned that /whispers "subscribe"...well done

[@michaelalan6459]

I am hoping that they have a scene of Rhaenyra really cramming down the lemon cakes and hotpies before season finale. By the time she feeds Sunfire she better be pushing 250, maybe even 300.

[@thenickfoxx]

4 seasons confirmed of HotD. Knight of the Seven Kingdoms between seasons of HotD confirmed and filming. Aegons conquest confirmed about 5 months ago. That will be airing after season 4 of HotD.

[@AtticusHimself]

low key major thanks for the spoiler warnings lets you chat to your heart's content without ruining it for people

[@marko.m8]

I'm liking where the show is going but don't think I'd ever put it over the first 5 seasons of GoT

[@jessjess23brooks89]

Unlike the first few seasons of thrones, this story really heats up in the second half. Let it cook. We just reached a decent simmer. Time for shit to boil over. They are gonna need a fuckton of money to do the last two seasons justice though.

[@jakemilano8868]

I think its better than GoT s5, but dont see it touching any of the first 4

[@BussinJeiber-wy1nc]

What if Jason used to ride pony-Tyland when they were kids.

[@barb_deni]

Loved this episode! However, I'm a bit concerned that with such battles later on we'll run out of dragons too quickly. I mean, it was one episode and already two of them are out. Not too many left, especially considering that mostly they are still quite small. And also Vhagar seems to be a huge problem for creating interesting battle scenes in future. Even Meyles looked small in comparison to her. And with her being gone, the rest of blacks' dragons just look tiny. So now it feels like with Vhagar on one of the sides any dragon fight is a bit pointless... But we'll see, I suppose. Haven't read the books, so might be missing sth.

[@burgunbeerd]

Dan here, so i know very little about it but from the vague stuff stevens said it seems like theres more dragons than we really know about and some more riders will be popping up

[@GeeNoniGee]

​@burgunbeerd There's the wild dragons, and that kid at the Citadel with the blue dragon we've heard mentioned, once, in passing.

[@michaelalan6459]

Jace would have disgraced the Iron Throne with is tainted, mongeral Strong blood. Hail King Aegon, Second of His Name.

[@jessjess23brooks89]

They did the Vhagar jump scare for book readers, the director of this episode said as much. We know how everything plays out, but they have made changes. So it gave us the hope that maybe Rhaenys is gonna make it out alive, just to rip that away from us too. It was nice that they did a little something for us.

[@burgunbeerd]

I'd probably love it if they hadn't already done it last time. Surely there's more ways to surprise the bookies other than RKO's - Dan

[@jessjess23brooks89]

@@burgunbeerd I feel that. It did kind of seem like they wanted a woah moment, but maybe were pushing the budget. Seems like a Vhagar sneak attack would be cheaper than her say, sweeping down from above really fast or meeting Rhaenys head on. I was hoping for a head-on stand off. But overall, I was so pleased. I've rewatched the battle like five times and still cry for the poor dragons, stupid Aegon and my fave lady. I think they gave Rhaenys the send off she deserved. I deduct points only because they should have ended the episode with Aegon all melty, crispy and screaming like Anakin.

[@jacklu1611]

@@jessjess23brooks89yeah it would have made the battle much more intense imo if Vhagar simply crashed into the two embattled dragons from above. We can still have the moment of betrayal where Vhagar bathes both dragons in her flames and we would have avoided the questionable jump scare (I get the reptile hunting analogy, my main gripe with it is that the camera work does not show us how Vhagar maneuvered over there and the entire scene felt unrealistic/contrived). And Vhagar crashing into Meleys from above would also remove another confusing scene-that of Aemond apparently leaving Meleys alone after breathing fire. Like to me it felt was very clearly shown that Aemond did not attempt to engage Meleys at all prior to Rhaenys ordering Meleys to return to the fight. There was a shot of Aemond looking at the returning Meleys with an expression that looked almost like mild surprise and only then wheeling Vhagar around to engage. Even if you were to argue that Meleys is much faster than Vhagar it still makes zero sense for Aemond not to try to kill Rhaenys, since that was the whole point of the ambush-to kill a Black dragon. And I would argue that after Sunfyre falls said objective becomes even more crucial since the greens now only have 3 dragons, and only Vhagar is combat ready (Daeron’s mount having yet to arrive from Old town). There is absolutely no chance in my opinion that Aemond gives up killing Meleys right after making his brother collateral and the shots of him flying away casually is just silly. Again, none of this would have happened had they just have Vhagar crash down on Meleys, bring her to the ground and destroy her there. As stated in this video, it would have done a better job of showing off Vhagar’s brute power.

[@jacklu1611]

If this is true then I feel it’s rather shooting themselves in the foot. Like I feel it’s in general not a good idea to do a scene just for the sake of shock, or in a shallow attempt to satisfy certain audiences, especially not in the ASOIAF setting where fans expect a higher degree of consistency and logic. Just look at the amount of eyebrow raising the jump scare has already created. Also don’t forget Meleys koolaid-manning the dragon pit in episode 9 only to do nothing and fly off last season simply because the creators wanted a cool scene (though granted that was more egregious than the jump scare).

[@sarahbrennan8815]

Dancing dragons

[@Arizona-kj4yp]

You are on a dragon, looking for the biggest dragon around, and you choose to skim the ground. I didn't like the vhagar out of nowhere either. Have her lose yeah, but it didn't have to be a scene out of sky Jaws.

[@TeWhero]

Nah that vhagar jump scare felt lazy, especially since thats how Lucarys died, but i think i could be made cool if the show makes that Vhagar’s “hunting style”. But when Meyles did came back around for her first attack on vhagar, we see the cliff and it ant that big, you would noticed the biggest dragon in Westeros flapping is massive wings.

[@leonrobinson2475]

So the show runners have Aemond accidentally kill Lucerys but intentionally try to kill his brother?

[@adamthompson9785]

Well, there's no brotherly love lost between them. Aemond clearly envies his brother's position as the King.

[@jessjess23brooks89]

Maybe kinslaying gets easier the second time around.

[@J_ads2000]

I mean one’s an adult in his 20’s. Luke was a literal child in every sense of the word. Aegon was always the ring leader for this bullying. Killing Luke started a war, killing Aegon is actually helping the greens avoid further destruction.

[@J_ads2000]

Not to mention how eveyone would hate another “it happened by accident”.

[@J_ads2000]

Reminds me of people saying “why didn’t Rhaenys retreat and go home”. But the exact same people were hating on her for retreating last season.

[@cabron1984]

Why spoil the story you could’ve just talked about the episode

[@burgunbeerd]

@@cabron1984 giant spoiler warning not enough for you? Plus I wouldn't say anything we said was OVERLY spoilery