HOUSE OF THE DRAGON 3x01 BREAKDOWN: Every Detail You Missed!

[00:00] There's actually an even more tragic

[00:02] layer to this underwater shot in the

[00:04] battle of the gullet that I think

[00:05] everyone missed. I'm Eric Boss of the

[00:07] New Rockstars channel and this is a

[00:09] scene by scene breakdown and analysis of

[00:11] House of the Dragon season 3 episode 1.

[00:14] As I discussed in last night's quick

[00:15] reaction to the episode, The Battle of

[00:17] the Gullet and all of the scenes in this

[00:19] episode that lead up to it, I think

[00:20] overall represent the best episode of

[00:22] House of the Dragon yet. And in this

[00:24] video, I'm going to break down this

[00:25] masterpiece of an episode scene by

[00:27] scene. for the details you missed, some

[00:29] of the artistic choices that may have

[00:30] confused you, and overall everything

[00:32] that made this season 3 premiere great.

[00:34] Season 3 begins with an updated opening

[00:36] title sequence. You may remember how the

[00:38] series switched over from the blood

[00:39] river sequence of season 1 to this

[00:41] ancestral tapestry animation of season

[00:43] 2. Ryan Condell explained a few years

[00:45] ago that they wanted to show this

[00:46] family's living history, partnering with

[00:48] titles company, Yuko, to base this on

[00:51] the real world tapestry depicting the

[00:53] Norman conquest of England. William the

[00:55] Conqueror crossed the English Channel to

[00:56] establish the dynasty that lasts to this

[00:58] day, which is partly what inspired

[01:00] George R. Martin with Aegon the

[01:01] Conqueror crossing the Blackwater Bay to

[01:03] establish this dynasty. But right away,

[01:05] a change that has been made to season 3

[01:07] before we saw the threads of the

[01:08] tapestry stained with blood as we

[01:10] realized it was actually a volcano

[01:12] erupting through one of the castles in

[01:13] the Doom of Valyria, one of the 14

[01:15] flames that all erupted at once,

[01:17] shattering the Valyrian Peninsula

[01:18] landmass, destroying the civilization

[01:20] that had lasted 5,000 years and killing

[01:21] most of the dragons and dragon riders.

[01:23] But the Targaryenss had escaped 12 years

[01:25] prior to resettle on Dragonstoneone due

[01:26] to the prophetic vision of this calamity

[01:28] by Daisy the Dreamer. But now in season

[01:30] 3, we see those threads representing the

[01:32] 14 flames starting from below the

[01:34] tapestry amid embers. I counted and

[01:37] there are exactly 14 of those threads.

[01:39] This emphasizes that this volcanic doom

[01:41] really did come from the earth below. It

[01:42] was like this entire fictional planet

[01:45] rejecting the Valyrians on its skin. And

[01:47] of these threads, five of them appear to

[01:49] be red, which I think could represent

[01:51] five Valyrian bloodlines that escaped

[01:53] the doom. That would be the Targaryenss

[01:55] and then the Valyrians. And then the

[01:56] Celtic are also technically from

[01:58] Valyrian descent, as was the dragon

[02:00] rider known as Orion of Cohor and the

[02:02] Volantean elite of Volantis. Now, there

[02:04] may have been more surviving bloodlines

[02:06] throughout Essos and Sos, but a literal

[02:08] reading of these symbolic threads is

[02:09] that just as the magma of the 14 flames

[02:12] was faded, so were the survival of these

[02:14] particular Valyrian bloodlines through

[02:16] this living tapestry. I love how

[02:17] something so small added for season 3

[02:19] could pack so much meaning. Now, the

[02:20] rest is much of what we saw in the

[02:22] season 2 tapestry as it evolved episode

[02:24] to episode. We see a dragon on fire and

[02:26] a blood mage of Valyria making a blood

[02:27] sacrifice. We see Denise the dreamer

[02:29] holding her dying father Anar. We see

[02:31] the 14 flames erupting and the

[02:33] structures of Valyria crumbling. We see

[02:35] Agon the Conqueror on Valyrian the Black

[02:37] Dread followed by his sister wife Raine

[02:39] flying Maraxis and his other sister wife

[02:41] Vizenya flying the greenscaled Vagar.

[02:43] Yes, the same Vagar now ridden by Aemon.

[02:45] Beneath them crossing the Black Wider

[02:46] Bay are sails bearing the crest of House

[02:48] Valyrian. Yes, the same fleet that gets

[02:51] ravaged in this episode. Then we see

[02:53] King M the 9inth of House Gardner, the

[02:55] last king of the Reach in the event of

[02:57] the field of fire that killed Gardner

[02:59] and Lannister men. Then we see Torren

[03:01] Stark, the king who knelt with Edmund

[03:04] Tully and Shara Aaron of the Veil.

[03:06] Notice how the blood staining the weave

[03:07] stops at their feet because their

[03:09] decision stopped the bloodshed. We see

[03:11] Magor the Cruel found dead on the Iron

[03:13] Throne after being stabbed through the

[03:14] throat. On either side of him are

[03:15] Vermathor and Silverwing. The tapestry

[03:18] shows their writers, King Jiharis and

[03:19] Alisan flanked by the sigil of the faith

[03:21] of the seven and a pot of gold because

[03:23] it was a faithful and prosperous time.

[03:25] Then we see the first shot of the

[03:26] series, Jiharis at the great council of

[03:28] 101. And then jumping ahead to the dance

[03:30] of the dragons, we see Egon II on the

[03:32] iron throne of the greens and Rara on

[03:34] the throne of Dragonstone of the blacks.

[03:36] We see the battle over the storm's end

[03:38] from the season 1 finale with Aean to

[03:39] top Vaggar chopping down an RX and

[03:41] Luceris. We see the kill line going over

[03:43] the throats of the young prince Jiharis

[03:45] murdered by blood and cheese in the

[03:46] season 2 premiere. Then we see the

[03:48] battle of Rook's rest, Sunfire and

[03:50] Melly's. Vaggar flying above with King

[03:52] Aegon II in the middle raising his sword

[03:54] Blackfire. Just remember this tapestry

[03:55] depicts what historians right now think

[03:57] happened, not what actually happened.

[03:59] Then we see Vaggar facing all of the

[04:01] Black Dragons. We see Cyrax out in front

[04:03] and center. Next is Vermax. That's

[04:05] Jason's dragon. Behind Vermax is a

[04:07] darker one with red wings. I think

[04:08] that's Caraxis, Damon's dragon, the

[04:10] blood worm. Then this line extends

[04:11] further past Silverwing and Vermore. Now

[04:13] above that line from Silver Wing is a

[04:15] pink-winged dragon that I think could be

[04:17] Tyrais. That's Joffrey's dragon or it

[04:20] could be sheep stealer. The line extends

[04:21] back past Vermathor, the Bronze Fury to

[04:23] three dragons bringing up the rear. In

[04:25] the middle is Sea Smoke. That's Adam of

[04:27] Ho's dragon. At the bottom, that's got

[04:29] to be Moon Dancer. That's Ba's dragon.

[04:31] Or it could be Stormcloud, Egg on the

[04:32] Younger's dragon. And then at the top, I

[04:34] think that would be Sheepsteeler, the

[04:35] wild dragon written by Raina in this

[04:37] episode that none of them see coming.

[04:38] But then the season 3 credits make one

[04:40] last change. Rather than the tapestry

[04:42] just extending directly to the iron

[04:44] throne, now the tapestry billows and we

[04:46] see this embroidered border that I think

[04:48] is one of the bands of the solar spire

[04:51] in the Game of Thrones opening title

[04:52] imagery. And then we see a black and

[04:54] crimson Targaryen house sigil. And then

[04:56] no Iron Throne right now, just the

[04:57] series title. I think they're saying

[04:59] that at this point the family tree

[05:00] branches have completely lost the plot

[05:02] and are just going after each other

[05:03] without any thought of the realm itself.

[05:05] This episode opens on this sheep grazing

[05:07] the veil. No match for sheep stealer. It

[05:09] will be this dragon's fire and its

[05:11] targets that prove most pivotal in the

[05:13] battle of the gullet. If only this

[05:14] dragon was left to toast sheep in peace.

[05:16] Jace would be fine. In fact, there's

[05:18] something natural and beautiful about

[05:20] the characteristic roar and waggle from

[05:22] this beast that makes you feel bad it

[05:23] was taken out of the wild.

[05:30] Yeah, you can hear its throat muscles

[05:32] and jowls flapping on that shake. We're

[05:34] literally hearing the sounds of what's

[05:35] this part of the body called? Yes, the

[05:37] gullet. And right as we hear this gullet

[05:39] flap, we see Raina's tiny form appearing

[05:41] on the hillside. Remember, Raina was

[05:43] supposed to accompany Reineer's youngest

[05:45] sons when we saw them all leaving the

[05:46] veil for Pintos in season 2, episode 7.

[05:49] Throughout that season, Rea felt dragon

[05:50] envy, jealous of her sister Bay. But we

[05:52] have to remember that Rea is basically

[05:54] the Targaryen equivalent of a horse

[05:55] girl. Like any horse girl, she hears the

[05:57] winnie of a wild horse and wanders away

[05:59] from her family during a road trip,

[06:01] thinking, "Surely I can tame this wild

[06:03] horse. Maybe I'll work my way up to a

[06:05] unicorn." And then ruins the family

[06:07] vacation when this wild horse tramples

[06:09] her brother-in-law to death. We've seen

[06:10] it a thousand times. Season 2 ended

[06:12] showing Raina already finding Sheep

[06:14] Stealer once. So now, logically, Sheep

[06:16] Stealer must have been like, "Fuck off,

[06:17] horse girl. I'm trying to eat mutton

[06:18] here." And then horse girl Raina just

[06:20] keeps following this dragon from hill to

[06:22] hill throughout the veil. Now, the VFX

[06:23] artist put way more detail into Sheep's

[06:25] tailor now in close-up, and we see that

[06:27] it has a gnarly underbite. Its lower jaw

[06:29] and mouth are completely exposed to air

[06:31] at all times. I don't mean to be

[06:33] insensitive, but compared to all the

[06:34] more elegantl looking dragons on this

[06:36] show, I think the designers intended

[06:38] this dragon to be, you know, a bit birth

[06:40] defected, like it's not all there. Rea

[06:42] says Valyrian word of liri, meaning

[06:45] calm. It's exactly what young Aemon said

[06:47] to calm Vagar in season 1 when he first

[06:49] mounted it on drift mark. basically

[06:51] stealing the dragon that should have

[06:52] gone to Raina. Raina climbs Sheepest

[06:54] Stealer having no saddle which is an

[06:56] important logistic detail that will

[06:58] matter a lot in the Battle of the

[06:59] Gullet. It makes visibility of the rider

[07:01] much harder. Sheep stealer dives off a

[07:02] cliff and kudos to actress Phoebe

[07:04] Campbell throughout this episode.

[07:06] Specifically here for this shaky

[07:07] multi-note scream. [screaming]

[07:11] Yeah, right away she sounds like someone

[07:12] who's never going to be fully in control

[07:14] of her mount and absolutely hates this

[07:16] experience. Meanwhile, Aemon drags out

[07:18] Arch Maester Orwhile, accusing the

[07:19] maester of smuggling King Aegon the

[07:21] second out during the night. Now,

[07:22] Orwhile is disloyal. He secretly

[07:24] arranged for Ellison to meet with Reero

[07:26] without Aeand knowing, but Aeund is

[07:28] grilling him for a different treason.

[07:29] Right before he strikes Master of Laws,

[07:31] Jasper Wild, aka Iron Rod, stops Aeand

[07:34] saying, "Lord Laris also fled the keep."

[07:36] Aegon begs Laris for milk of the poppy

[07:38] for his pain. He says,

[07:39] >> "I'm the king of nothing with Raven shed

[07:41] for a throne and a [ __ ] for a

[07:43] protector."

[07:44] >> Tom Glenn Carney, you're so good. I'm

[07:46] really excited to see what he does with

[07:48] this era of Aegon on the series. Of all

[07:50] of the Greens, he really has the most

[07:52] interesting hero arc ahead of him.

[07:53] Specifically, his addiction in this

[07:55] moment to milk the poppy will be an

[07:57] experience that he learns from for a

[07:58] later wound in his life. They're stopped

[08:00] by men of House Stuntton. According to

[08:02] their shields, this is the house of

[08:03] Rook's rest, the Reineer loyal house

[08:06] that Sir Christristen Cole and Aemon on

[08:07] Vagar attacked in season 2, defended by

[08:09] Rainees on Mellies, where Aegon was

[08:11] burnt and wounded. Yeah, a lot of these

[08:13] guys either survived that battle or had

[08:15] friends die in it thanks to what the

[08:16] Greens did. So, this Staunted Soldier

[08:18] requires them to bend the knee. Laris

[08:20] outs them and proposes to bring them in

[08:22] as living hostages, allowing the poor

[08:24] carriage drivers to be killed. This

[08:25] stunted soldier says to transport them

[08:27] to Duskadale, which would be the nearest

[08:28] East Coast port, and plan to bring them

[08:30] to Dragonstone. Meanwhile, Rene looks

[08:32] upward as if in hopeful prayer as she

[08:34] tells her son Jace that she has to

[08:36] believe that Allison's offer to open the

[08:38] gates of King's Landing at the end of

[08:39] season 2 was real. Now, it's subtle, but

[08:41] we actually stay in the shot with Emma

[08:43] Darcy and Harry Klet for 50 full seconds

[08:45] without cutting as we get some shifting

[08:47] shot composition with Jace at one point

[08:48] in extreme close-up as it is going to be

[08:50] on him that the biggest consequences of

[08:52] Reineer's optimism for quick peace with

[08:53] the greens ways. Joining them around

[08:55] Agon and Conqueror's map table is on the

[08:57] left Lord Bertamos Kelzigar, Lord of

[08:59] Claw Isle, and Grand Masteraster

[09:01] Gerardis. And then on the right,

[09:02] Reineer's King's Guard, Sir Lawrence

[09:04] Marbrand, and Mistress of Whisperers,

[09:05] Bizaria, the White Worm. Reineer shares

[09:07] Allison's terms with them. that she,

[09:09] Helena, and Jihara are spared and that

[09:12] this war ends without further bloodshed.

[09:14] >> Ah, now I think we see why Ryan Condle

[09:16] omitted the character of Mor, the

[09:18] additional child of Aegon and Helena

[09:19] from the text based on Rea's tone in

[09:21] this line. She sounds like all she cares

[09:23] about is just killing Aegon and ending

[09:25] the male line. She doesn't really care

[09:27] about leaving Princess Jiara alive.

[09:29] Maybe because she just thinks it was the

[09:30] custom of male primogenature that kept

[09:32] her from getting the throne. But if Mor

[09:34] existed at this point in the show, there

[09:36] would be an additional male prince and

[09:38] heir left alive, which would make

[09:39] Allison's offer, a complete invention

[09:41] for the HBO series, unrealistic for Rea

[09:43] to even consider or get excited about.

[09:45] So basically, in order to

[09:46] reccharacterize Rea and Allison as the

[09:48] secretly peace-seeking frenemies on this

[09:50] HBO series, they needed to remove

[09:52] characters like Mailor in order to clear

[09:53] a path to make these peace offers even

[09:55] possible. Allison returns to the Red

[09:57] Keep with Sir Rickard Thorne. She wears

[09:59] the crucial color of blue that she wore

[10:00] in her meeting with Reineer. Blue was

[10:02] the color that she wore as a young woman

[10:03] and friend of Rene in the King's Land in

[10:05] Godswood. But she's surprised to find

[10:07] her son Aemon sitting the iron throne.

[10:08] Notice how he's holding Blackfire.

[10:10] That's a sword belonging to his brother,

[10:12] the real king. After a moment of

[10:14] intimidation that this self-appointed

[10:15] king might kill her. He instead just

[10:17] takes the tone of a whiny second son who

[10:19] is just pissy to be left out of the

[10:20] loop.

[10:20] >> Agon has abdicated the throne, fled

[10:22] King's Landing with that toad Lis.

[10:25] >> Yeah, you and Mitchell's really good at

[10:27] just having these moments of immaturity.

[10:29] So Allison is smart enough or maybe just

[10:30] experienced enough with the whining of

[10:32] her sons to play this as a scolding

[10:34] mother saying that she had to go on

[10:35] nature walks because Aean boxed her out

[10:37] and that he was supposed to have joined

[10:38] Sir Kristen at Harrenhal to challenge

[10:40] Damon, but Aean says he's staying put

[10:42] for now. So Allison has to just kind of

[10:44] silently recalculate as she realized she

[10:46] just invited Rea into a death trap. In

[10:47] the Riverlands, we see some soldiers

[10:49] hacking off the head of a lion. I assume

[10:51] this is the same lion that was with the

[10:52] Lannister host, like the tiger of the

[10:54] LSU football team that we saw at the

[10:56] beginning of season 2, episode 6. this

[10:58] poor lion. We see Damon Targaryen, Matt

[11:01] Smith, killing some Lannister soldiers

[11:03] with Caraxis fighting off more of them

[11:04] in the background. The soldiers fighting

[11:06] alongside Damon have shields with

[11:08] heraldry showing Riverland houses like

[11:09] House Vance and House Mallister. Those

[11:11] would have been part of the coalition

[11:12] that Damon formed with Oscar Tully's

[11:14] forces in season 2. We see the young

[11:16] Lord Oscar here who greets Damon saying,

[11:18] "Lord Jason Lannister fled when his line

[11:20] broke." Since this is the battle where

[11:22] Jason Lannister dies, I'm just going to

[11:23] assume that this is the Battle of the

[11:24] Red Fork that's described in Fire and

[11:26] Blood. Though we should note that Jason

[11:27] Lannister is not killed by Rodri Dustin

[11:29] of the Winter Wolves like he is in this

[11:30] episode. Also, Damon is not part of that

[11:32] battle. But I think this season wanted

[11:34] to start with Damon in a more active

[11:36] starting place considering Matt Smith is

[11:37] the biggest star of the show arguably

[11:39] and in season 2 he was sidelined for

[11:40] most of the season. We get this

[11:42] interesting moment where Oscar says he

[11:43] wants to make time to bury their dead.

[11:45] Damon says Caraxis can burn the corpses

[11:47] much faster and prevent plague. And

[11:48] right as he says this, right on Q,

[11:50] Caraxis torches some corpses in the

[11:52] background. But Oscar says

[11:53] >> that is not our way. Rivermen must be

[11:55] returned to the mud. You may remember

[11:56] the Viking boat funeral custom of the

[11:58] Tullies that we saw in Game of Thrones,

[11:59] but I think that was reserved for just

[12:01] highborn lords. In this case, mud really

[12:03] just means the banks of a river, which I

[12:05] assume they would be near if this is the

[12:07] Battle of the Red Fork. But I think

[12:08] there's another deeper layer of this as

[12:09] well that I'm going to get to in the

[12:11] spoiler dungeon. Behind Oscar to the

[12:12] left, that is a new character for the

[12:14] season, Allison Blackwood, aka Black

[12:16] Alley, sister to Lord Samuel Blackwood.

[12:18] She's played by Annie Shapiro. Doesn't

[12:20] get any lines here, but she's going to

[12:21] be an important character this season.

[12:22] Now, you may remember how season 2 kind

[12:24] of skipped directly to the aftermath of

[12:25] the Battle of the Burning Mill, so we

[12:27] never got to see this. But during that

[12:28] battle, Sir Amos Bracken actually died

[12:30] from a weirwood arrow that was fired by

[12:32] Black Alley to avenge her brother's

[12:34] death. She's a real badass character,

[12:35] and she's got quite a history ahead of

[12:37] her. But then through the treeine

[12:38] arrived, the Winter Wolves. These are

[12:40] the 2,000 Northern men sent by Kan Stark

[12:42] after Jace met with him at the wall in

[12:44] the season 2 premiere. We saw them

[12:45] marching through the twins in the season

[12:47] 2 finale. They're made up of older men

[12:49] who left the North behind, assuming

[12:50] they're never going to return in order

[12:52] to leave more resources for their sons,

[12:53] daughters, and grandkids for the coming

[12:55] winter. Roger McDustin steps forward and

[12:57] tosses the severed head of Jason

[12:58] Lannister. He's also known as Rody the

[13:00] Ruin. He's played by Tommy Flanigan, and

[13:02] he's going to rock by involving the

[13:03] Winterwolves in this battle. They may be

[13:05] merging this with a battle by the lake

[13:06] shore, which in Fire and Blood took out

[13:08] twothirds of the Winter Wolves against

[13:10] Lannister Spearman. But either way, it

[13:11] sounds like they haven't fully finished

[13:13] off all of the Lannisters and that host

[13:14] from the Golden Tooth as Damon now says,

[13:16] >> "We've got more lines to hunt."

[13:17] >> And as we transition out of the scene, I

[13:19] love how we can hear the first four

[13:20] notes of the Reigns of Castmir theme.

[13:24] Yeah, we're going to see a lot of

[13:25] Lannisters die in this episode, and I'm

[13:27] happy about it. Sir High Totower reacts

[13:29] to one of their men assaulting a woman.

[13:31] There's kind of a running theme in this

[13:32] episode of these High Tower Greens just

[13:34] being too green for the gritty realities

[13:36] of war. Wayne is shocked at the dishonor

[13:38] of his own men. Orund is grossed out by

[13:41] the grime of the messenger. Allison

[13:42] being stunned at how pervy and incesty

[13:45] her son is, even though they were all

[13:46] raised in a keep with dragon beastiality

[13:48] porn all over the walls. Sir

[13:50] Christristen Cole paints a shield with

[13:51] the heraldry of House Cole of Black

[13:53] Raven and the Dornish marshes of the

[13:54] Stormlands. 10 black pellets on a field

[13:56] of scarlet. Interesting that he's

[13:58] painting a shield with his own house

[13:59] rather than taking on the green high

[14:00] tower heraldry. It's kind of like he

[14:02] knows his days are numbered and he's

[14:03] trying to get back to his roots. He

[14:04] seems pretty pessimistic based on this

[14:06] line.

[14:06] >> We will all become beasts before our

[14:08] end. Yes, as we see with the untamed

[14:10] disobedient dragons in all of these

[14:12] battles, it's ultimately these beasts

[14:13] that decide our fates. Meanwhile, at the

[14:15] God's Eye Lake, we see sea smoke flying

[14:17] up and landing beside Vermor as

[14:19] Silverwing looks down on Ul the White,

[14:21] gathered with Hugh Hammer and Adam of

[14:22] Hull. Ul recalls growing up an orphan in

[14:24] the streets and meeting a priest from

[14:26] Essos who paid him and abused him and

[14:28] told the boy that he had King's blood, a

[14:30] story that he ended up embracing with

[14:31] his reputation of Ulf, the dragon seed,

[14:33] as we saw in season 2. So that really

[14:35] tells us that when Silverwing bonded to

[14:37] him, the connection that he shares with

[14:38] this dragon is really part of his

[14:40] healing process for the abuse that he

[14:41] had to suffer. By the way, this red

[14:43] priest would have been a worshshiper of

[14:44] the red god Ror, the lord of light. Ulf

[14:47] assumes that if they're victorious

[14:48] against Vaggar, they'll get castles and

[14:50] is disappointed to learn that Reineer

[14:52] only promises to make them knights, not

[14:53] lords. As we saw in the Night of the

[14:55] Seven Kingdoms, knights, even with their

[14:57] horses, can still end up pretty much

[14:58] homeless, sleeping under trees. What Ul

[15:00] wants more than anything is just a nice

[15:02] roof over his head. June is men's mental

[15:04] health awareness month. Father's Day is

[15:06] coming up and that can invite a lot of

[15:08] overwhelming feelings. Positive ones

[15:09] like pride, love, and gratitude, but

[15:11] also negative ones like guilt or feeling

[15:14] like you're not doing enough. That can

[15:15] be a lot to deal with on your own. But

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[16:14] here with you. Now, in the text, these

[16:16] three dragon seed recruits are not

[16:18] sidelined at Harrenhal like they are in

[16:20] this episode. They're actually at Dragon

[16:21] Stone and they join the Battle of the

[16:22] Gullet. Ultimately, I like the choice to

[16:24] limit the Battle of the Gullet to just

[16:25] the three dragons and the three riders

[16:27] that we see. It's more personal that

[16:28] way. And I'll talk about why I think

[16:30] they put these three characters here at

[16:32] the God's Eye Lake a bit later in this

[16:33] breakdown. But meanwhile, Raina tries

[16:35] taming Sheepstaler by singing.

[16:41] >> Ah, this is the same Valyrian lullabi

[16:43] that her dad Damon sang to Vermore in

[16:46] the Dragon Mont. This song was actually

[16:48] called Haros Bartosi, meaning with three

[16:50] heads. It was written by Tai Michael,

[16:52] translated to Valyrian by the show's

[16:54] language expert David J. Peterson. The

[16:56] opening lyric that Raina sings here

[16:57] translates to fire breather, but sheep

[16:59] stealers Rora cuts her off. Helena says

[17:01] of Aean,

[17:02] >> "Veamemon's frightened too after he

[17:04] claimed Vagar, he forgot what fear was,

[17:06] but he remembers now."

[17:08] >> Yeah, we've spent so much time on the

[17:10] series with Fearless One Eyee Aemon,

[17:12] played by Yuan Mitchell, that we forgot

[17:13] how this kid nearly pissed himself

[17:15] facing Helena's dragon, Dreamfire, in

[17:17] the dragon pit. I have a theory about

[17:18] some moves Helena may be making here.

[17:20] I'm going to save them for the spoiler

[17:21] dungeon. Corus offers Alan of Hall some

[17:23] booze from IB. IB is an island off the

[17:25] northeastern coast of Essos in the

[17:27] shivering sea. At least that's in the

[17:29] HBO cannon. We don't really know exactly

[17:31] where this Icelands sized island is. But

[17:33] it just shows that Corus has sailed all

[17:35] over this world. Corus says they call it

[17:37] dragon water. According to the world of

[17:39] ice and fire, dragon bones were found on

[17:40] IB, suggesting dragons once lived there.

[17:43] But then 53 and counting Triarchy ships

[17:45] have been spotted and right away we see

[17:46] the contrast in their making. Much

[17:48] smaller ships, bigger sails, all

[17:49] catching full wind and moving fast.

[17:51] Thailand Lannister proposes to Shurakco

[17:53] Lohar to take the southern inlet south

[17:55] of Drift Mark into the Blackwater Bay in

[17:57] order to be close to the Valyrian ship

[17:58] so that the Black Dragons will be less

[18:00] likely to open fire on them. But Shurco

[18:02] orders part of her fleet to sail north

[18:04] of Dragonstone so that they can sack

[18:05] high tide on the northern side of Drift

[18:07] Mark and strike at Corus' heart. Shurco

[18:09] warns Tailwind that he's going to regret

[18:11] his heavy armor when he ends up in the

[18:12] drink. Indeed, she personally makes sure

[18:14] that happens. Meanwhile, at the camp of

[18:16] Orand High Tower, we see the blue dragon

[18:18] Tarion. This is the dragon of Allison's

[18:20] youngest son, Darren, who has not been

[18:22] revealed on the show until the season.

[18:23] But the squire to Orand, at least

[18:25] according to George R. Martin's text, is

[18:26] supposed to be Prince Darren. So, we do

[18:28] see a squire in the scene who does not

[18:30] speak. This guy has reddish hair like

[18:32] Allison. Darren in the text is supposed

[18:34] to have long silver hair like his

[18:35] brothers Aegon and Aemon. So, it's not

[18:37] clear if this show is going to make this

[18:38] squire Darren. We'll probably find out

[18:40] next episode. Orund is played

[18:42] wonderfully by James Norton who plays a

[18:44] character with these snobby

[18:45] idiosyncrasies like this cringe at the

[18:47] stink of the messenger and noticing the

[18:49] dirt on the wax of the letter similar to

[18:50] the way Allison picks at her fingers.

[18:52] I'm just excited to see how these

[18:54] green's little quirks manifest when the

[18:56] [ __ ] goes down. We also meet the

[18:57] character of Bold Jon, John Roxton. Both

[19:00] Jon and Orman carry Valyrian steel

[19:02] swords. Orman carries vigilance. Bull

[19:03] John carries orphan maker. And you'll

[19:05] notice on Orman's armor, we have the

[19:06] beautiful engravings of the mother and

[19:08] the warrior on his chest plate. But

[19:10] getting a closer look at the letter that

[19:11] Allison wrote pretending to be Aean. She

[19:13] straight up calls Aemon King Aemon first

[19:15] of his name. And she didn't really have

[19:16] to copy or forge A because literally

[19:19] Aemon never would have written a letter

[19:20] like this before and would have had to

[19:22] come up with specific royal initials. We

[19:24] see how Allison successfully manipulates

[19:26] Aemon to take Vagar to Harrenhal

[19:27] appealing to his ego and his fear and

[19:30] offering maybe a bit too much motherly

[19:31] affection. Aemon maybe sensing an

[19:33] ulterior motive, just the wrong ulterior

[19:35] motive and warmed by the fire and

[19:37] probably by the dragon beastiality art

[19:39] all over the walls goes in for a kiss on

[19:42] his mom. Yes, this is deeply unsettling

[19:44] and I really appreciate the way Olivia

[19:46] Cook plays it. Like she can't afford to

[19:47] upset her son and she needs him to take

[19:49] Vagar to Harrenhal for Reira to let her,

[19:51] Helena, and Jahara escape, but her eyes

[19:53] reveal how she's in full panic mode,

[19:55] realizing the even deeper layer of

[19:57] depravity of the monster she's raised.

[19:58] Back in the god's eye, Ol sees a goat

[20:00] while he's dropping a load. Remember, a

[20:02] black goat is also a form Alice Rivers

[20:04] took to Damon in Harrenhal early on in

[20:06] season 2. Hugh and Adam, meanwhile, look

[20:08] up and see a creature with antlers and

[20:10] fawn legs. Damon saw this same dude in

[20:12] the season 2 finale beside the Weirwood

[20:14] tree right before his epic vision. This

[20:16] is a green man. The green men are

[20:18] humanoid hybrid beings that we don't

[20:19] know too much about other than they just

[20:20] tend to the weirwoods on the aisle of

[20:22] faces in the middle of the God's Eye

[20:24] Lake. They are tied to the magic of the

[20:25] old gods and the pact between the

[20:27] children of the forest and the first men

[20:28] that ended that war agreed to on that

[20:31] island. I'm just flashing back to a

[20:32] whole bunch of theories I had when I was

[20:33] covering the later seasons of Game of

[20:35] Thrones thinking that the series was

[20:36] going to end on that island. And

[20:37] hopefully Ryan Condell can make

[20:39] something like that happen on this

[20:40] series. Alice Rivers just kind of

[20:41] appears out of nowhere.

[20:42] >> Friends, right?

[20:46] >> You're missing the battle. The Queen

[20:48] needs you at Dragonstone.

[20:49] >> Hm. How does she know that? Well, based

[20:51] on Damon's vision from that tree, it

[20:53] seems like Alice just knows all about

[20:55] the fateful twists of this dance of the

[20:57] dragons. And I love how Alice doesn't

[20:58] even hide it with these three. Who are

[21:00] you?

[21:02] >> I'm a witch.

[21:03] >> Ha. She is wise enough to know that

[21:05] these three easily spooked,

[21:06] superstitious dopes would get out of

[21:08] dodge when some Scooby-Doo [ __ ] started.

[21:10] And I love with this little glance at

[21:11] Ols running to Silverwing. It's like

[21:14] Alice knows that he was a kid abused by

[21:16] a red priest, a priest who magically

[21:18] knew about his ancestry. So what was the

[21:20] point of this subplot other than to just

[21:22] sideline these three to limit the

[21:23] dragons in the battle of the gullet?

[21:24] Well, by shifting Damon and Caraxis out

[21:26] of Harrenhal to give him a more active

[21:28] role with the Riverlanders and the

[21:29] Winter Wolves, I think the writers

[21:31] needed to show how Reineer and the Black

[21:32] Council didn't completely abandon

[21:34] Harrenhal to be undefended. But I think

[21:36] they also wanted to remind us of the

[21:37] divine importance of Harrenhal in the

[21:39] god's eye and the power of the old gods

[21:41] in this conflict. That it wasn't all

[21:42] just in Damon's head in season 2. that

[21:44] there are real witches about openly

[21:46] calling themselves witches with true old

[21:48] gods power. But I also think Alice

[21:50] Rivers just wants to clear a path for

[21:52] Aemon to arrive. She already manipulated

[21:54] Damon in season 2. And for an oracle

[21:56] figure like her, she likely sees Damon

[21:59] and Aemon with the god's eye view that

[22:01] we the audience does. Two sides of the

[22:03] same hotaded coin. One with the hot D up

[22:06] top, one with the hot D bringing up the

[22:08] rear. More on this parallel in the

[22:10] spoiler dungeon. After Bao reports

[22:12] seeing the triarchy in the gullet, Reara

[22:13] wants to go herself to Corus's aid. And

[22:15] Jace doesn't agree.

[22:16] >> If you die, then you will at last be

[22:18] king.

[22:19] >> Rea's exasperated tone here on top of

[22:21] this intention to fly into the battle

[22:22] herself, I think is another

[22:24] characteristic difference with Reara on

[22:25] this show from the text. Like, we get

[22:27] the sense that Reara is just done with

[22:29] this succession [ __ ] and wants to

[22:31] end the escalating bloodshed as

[22:32] decisively as possible, even if that

[22:34] means her own death. But I have to say,

[22:36] I'm not crazy about this narratively

[22:38] clunky way in which the script has to

[22:40] then sideline Rene in order to make sure

[22:42] history goes the way it has to. Jace

[22:44] ordering Sir Laurent to barricade the

[22:46] queen's doors, putting Sir Lawrence in

[22:48] this impossible position of protecting

[22:49] his queen from her own impulses. I just

[22:51] don't buy that Sir Laurent and the Black

[22:53] Council and all the queen's guard would

[22:55] defy the queen. Like, they'd be more

[22:56] afraid of her than they'd be of Jace.

[22:58] But I think it's another example of

[23:00] these writers characterizing Reineer as

[23:02] more of a victim of the men around her

[23:04] trying to control her either out of

[23:05] love, out of duty, or out of their own

[23:07] selfish ambition. Like obviously Reineer

[23:09] couldn't herself be there at the gullet

[23:11] according to history. But I just think

[23:12] dollousing her in her room for this

[23:14] isn't the most narratively inspired

[23:16] solution to that. Like I'm not trying to

[23:17] tell the writers how to do their job,

[23:19] but wouldn't it be simpler to just have

[23:20] Jace intercept Baya before she could

[23:22] report the news of the Triarchy and the

[23:23] Gullet and the two of them could just

[23:24] fly off before Rineer could ever be told

[23:26] that information? Like then at least it

[23:28] would all fall on Jayce's naivee and

[23:30] protective impulses. But as it plays out

[23:32] here, Jace and Sir Lawrence would have

[23:34] had to get all of the other Queen's

[23:35] Guard Knights and the Black Council that

[23:37] certainly overheard Raineira to support

[23:39] this coup d'eta that happens in the

[23:40] episode. So basically by trying to make

[23:42] Reara more of a hero in the show, they

[23:44] end up robbing her of the power someone

[23:45] in her position should actually have

[23:47] over the people around her. And they

[23:48] just kind of leave it to Emma Darcy to

[23:50] do the great acting that they always do

[23:52] and just kind of play the emotional

[23:53] breakdown that follows from that. Don't

[23:54] get me wrong, I love seeing Emma Darcy

[23:56] emote on this show. But in this episode,

[23:58] she ends up being just like locked in

[23:59] her bedroom like a teenage girl. And I

[24:01] know that's Ryan Condell commenting on

[24:02] the men of this world, but I don't think

[24:04] they need to be that afraid of the

[24:06] version of Reineer that George R. Martin

[24:07] wrote in the text. But I do love this

[24:09] crazed look in Jayce's eyes as he tells

[24:11] Baya that he's not going to let another

[24:12] rook's rest happen on their side where

[24:14] their monarch was drawn into open war.

[24:16] But really, he's just the eldest son

[24:17] desperate to be in the history books. He

[24:19] will be, but not for the reasons he

[24:20] wants to be. So, we begin the chaos of

[24:22] the Battle of the Gullets. Right in the

[24:23] middle of it, we see the burning mast of

[24:25] a Triarchy ship crashing into an already

[24:27] burning sail of a Valarian ship, causing

[24:29] them both to burn even more. That yet,

[24:31] the Sea Snake is untouched. From the

[24:32] beginning, we see Corus' naval

[24:34] expertise.

[24:35] >> Barrelman, signal the fleet. Do not

[24:37] cluster. Keep them ON THE CHASE.

[24:40] >> YES, CONSTANT communication with all

[24:41] parts of his crew for them to maneuver

[24:43] in sync. I also love how big the crow's

[24:45] nests are on these ships. You get a

[24:46] sense that lots of barrelmen can be up

[24:47] there to keep an eye on all horizons.

[24:49] Notice how Corus' chest plate

[24:51] incorporates his hand pin as he is

[24:52] technically currently handed queen for

[24:54] the Black Council. Allan reports seeing

[24:56] Shurco Lohar's flagship,

[24:57] >> the Bitchfist. The Bitchfist, an

[24:59] invention of the series, an apt name

[25:01] given to the broadside ramming mechanism

[25:03] that makes the ship so deadly. Shurco

[25:05] Lohar spots the sea snake and orders to

[25:07] send her own flagship after the other

[25:09] flagship. Tylen says that that's a

[25:10] terrible strategy, and he's right. But

[25:12] Shurco says Corass led the personal

[25:14] slaughter of her people for the past 20

[25:15] years. Indeed, over the two decades

[25:17] since season 1, we have seen how Corless

[25:19] working with Damon did ravage the

[25:20] Triarchy and his Stepstones. And we got

[25:22] to remember the whole triarchy is really

[25:23] just a coalition fleet made up of

[25:25] sailors from Lee, Mir, and Tro sailing

[25:27] under the banners of the three

[25:28] daughters. And it makes sense that

[25:29] they'd be motivated by just this

[25:31] pirateesque bloodlust that misses the

[25:33] forest for the trees, or I guess I

[25:34] should say the ocean for the waves. She

[25:36] rallies her soldiers.

[25:37] >> You'll all join me as I sit the

[25:39] Driftwood throne and dine ON THE SEA

[25:42] SNAKES.

[25:44] I mean, this is really a strategic

[25:46] blunder by the Greens to bet their whole

[25:48] naval superiority on an alliance with

[25:49] these free city rogues with their own

[25:51] short-sighted goals. Like for Shurco

[25:53] Lohar, the ultimate throne is not the

[25:54] one made of iron, but the one made of

[25:56] driftwood, gifted by the Merlin King,

[25:58] according to legend, in a pact with the

[25:59] Valarians, a legend that the Triarchy

[26:01] would obviously hate. The idea that this

[26:03] mythological figure would gift the

[26:04] bloodline, the Valyrian invaders,

[26:06] something that ancestrally would belong

[26:08] to the three daughters. This whole idea

[26:10] of the power of driftwood, it's an

[26:11] interesting parallel to season 1.

[26:12] Remember when Damon showed up with the

[26:14] driftwood crown that he threw at his

[26:15] brother's feet? Meanwhile, Reineer

[26:17] anxiously picks at the skin of her

[26:18] fingers, a nervous tick that her

[26:20] counterpart, Allison, has shown

[26:21] throughout the series. As really being

[26:22] locked in a room away from the action is

[26:24] the most Allisony. Reineer has been cast

[26:26] in the series. She stabs and slashes at

[26:28] her writing leathers as if admitting

[26:29] defeat that her so-called supporters

[26:30] will never really let her fly into

[26:32] battle. Jace on Vermax and Ba on

[26:34] Moondancer arrive and torch two triarchy

[26:36] ships. His confidence restored, Corass

[26:38] orders Allen to set course for the

[26:39] Dragonstone Pass, to isolate Shurako

[26:41] Lohar's flagship and leave the rest of

[26:43] the rudderless fleet for the Dragons.

[26:44] This is another benefit of Corus'

[26:46] experience. He's a naval captain who

[26:48] knows how to work in tandem with dragons

[26:50] after collabing with Damon on Coraxis

[26:52] and his son Lighor on Seasmoke. Now,

[26:54] it's not clear if his wife Rainey son

[26:55] has ever fought in the Stepstones, but

[26:57] she at least patrolled the waters around

[26:58] Drift Mark in ways Corless would have to

[27:00] calculate, but Shurakhar is undeterred.

[27:02] The Triarchy also has experience in

[27:04] dragons thanks to fighting Caraxis and

[27:06] Sea Smoke and they whip out this grapo

[27:08] firing scorpion similar to the character

[27:10] Quint and Jaws lining up his harpoon to

[27:12] plug the shark with barrels. We see

[27:14] Lowhar's point of view as she lines up

[27:15] her aim on Vermax. It's similar to

[27:17] Corass taking the helm himself. We see

[27:19] how her command comes from her doing

[27:21] this complex task herself. She

[27:23] successfully hooks Vermax, but if you

[27:25] look closely, it only pierces the

[27:26] leather harness of the saddle that Jace

[27:28] rides on, not Vermax's flesh. It does

[27:30] weigh the dragon down, but Lowhar

[27:32] prematurely celebrates.

[27:33] >> Lowhar, dragon slayer.

[27:35] >> We see how the grapo line snares on

[27:37] another ship, tearing apart the planks.

[27:39] I appreciated this as a possible

[27:40] reference to one of the other ways Fire

[27:41] and Blood reports Vermax's eventual

[27:43] fall, getting tangled on the raiding of

[27:45] a ship. But we also see the true

[27:46] advantage of the Blacks. Not just one

[27:48] big dragon, but a squadron of dragons

[27:50] working in harmony. Baya orders Moon

[27:52] Dancer to aid, and Moon Dancer is

[27:54] trained enough to know what that means.

[27:55] They've run drills on this exact

[27:57] scenario. That's awesome. Moon Dancer

[27:59] swoops down and snaps a line, freeing

[28:01] Vermax. Now, for book readers, this

[28:02] cleverly gives us some false hope that

[28:04] Jayce's fate could play out differently

[28:06] than how we're expecting. We think, "Oh,

[28:07] maybe this wholesome couple working so

[28:09] perfectly in tandem on their dragons

[28:11] could end up being a better Jiharis and

[28:13] Alisanne." We get this little gleeful

[28:15] smile from Jace where he could see that

[28:17] hope in his eyes. Meanwhile, the Sea

[28:18] Snake sails into the Dragonstone Pass. I

[28:21] loved this sequence. On a personal note,

[28:23] I grew up in a Navy family, spending

[28:25] many days on boats in my youth,

[28:26] navigating rivers and channels that were

[28:28] just barely deep enough to cross,

[28:30] questioning if my retired Navy captain

[28:32] father knew what he was doing. I would

[28:34] feel this huge anxiety whenever I would

[28:35] hear the whole scrape against something.

[28:37] And then ultimately, I would just feel

[28:38] this tremendous relief that my captain

[28:40] knew the tides perfectly to see his sons

[28:42] through. It's honestly a feeling that I

[28:45] haven't thought about in like 20 years.

[28:46] So, we see how this pass is basically

[28:48] Corus' beggar's canyon. He's navigated

[28:50] this channel countless times, probably

[28:52] crashed against these rocks countless

[28:54] times and had to swim to keep himself

[28:56] from drowning. He knows where all the

[28:57] traps are. He knows how they can appear

[28:59] or disappear based on the tidal clock.

[29:01] And he's probably taught a lot of this

[29:02] wisdom in varying degrees to different

[29:04] parts of his crew. So, when we see

[29:06] Corass peering through this spy glass,

[29:08] he's looking past the haze and the smoke

[29:10] of the battle to the position of the sun

[29:11] on these exact rocks at this exact time

[29:13] of day in order to calculate the precise

[29:16] tidal clock and how much time he has

[29:18] exactly before the tide goes out. in

[29:20] this pass, how fast exactly to move in

[29:22] order for his ship to clear it, while

[29:23] doing the [ __ ] fist in the exact length

[29:25] behind him to run around. And I really

[29:27] like the idea that there may be some

[29:28] secret magic in the exact

[29:30] crystallization of this spy glass that

[29:32] only the sea snake can have, a specific

[29:34] type of vision that he would want to

[29:35] pass on to his heir someday. But he also

[29:37] has to do what every great captain has

[29:39] to do. Know your crew. He has to know

[29:41] how much everyone weighs, how much their

[29:44] armor and cargo weigh, every plank of

[29:46] his ship, how fast they can possibly row

[29:48] when they're tired, what their emotional

[29:50] breaking points are, and how far he can

[29:52] push them. The lead lines that they drop

[29:53] in the water are for measuring the

[29:54] current depth. And once Corass gets this

[29:56] info,

[29:58] >> SIX,

[29:59] BARRELMAN REPORT.

[30:01] >> He asks the barrelman up top to report

[30:03] and the barrelman says, "Breakers ahead,

[30:04] tides going out, currents are strong,

[30:06] set to lar, meaning the left side of the

[30:08] ship when you're facing the bow." So, I

[30:10] appreciate that. Even in a moment like

[30:11] this, Corass also tries to teach his

[30:13] helmsmen at first. He instructs him to

[30:15] steer Larboard, meaning against the

[30:17] current to keep the current from pushing

[30:18] them directly into the breakers.

[30:20] Meanwhile, Shuraka Lohar foolishly

[30:21] orders to just follow the sea snake's

[30:23] wake. But with the tide receding this

[30:25] fast, that's not necessarily the safest

[30:27] path for them cuz it's all based on the

[30:29] exact timing. So, when Corus' helmsman

[30:31] steers too hard, notice that Corus does

[30:33] not lose his cool. He just calmly puts

[30:35] his hand on the other guys and takes

[30:37] over because he knows that the last

[30:38] thing he needs his crew seeing is the

[30:40] captain losing his nerve as that would

[30:41] cause them to start making mistakes of

[30:43] their own. So Corass then orders his

[30:44] cockwain, referring to the collar of the

[30:46] oresman, to tell the others to bank

[30:48] their orars right now because that means

[30:50] they have to draw them in so that the

[30:51] ores don't get caught on the rocks. And

[30:53] so now Corless will use the current

[30:55] momentum to just glide the ship without

[30:57] any propulsion beyond that through this

[30:59] super narrow part of the teeth. Like

[31:01] maybe I'm obsessing over this too much,

[31:03] but again, I grew up learning these

[31:04] various simple lessons of naval command,

[31:06] and this sequence just reminded me of

[31:08] all of those lessons of good teamwork

[31:10] and leadership. Also, we get to finally

[31:11] see the cunning of Corus, how he's

[31:13] really an Odysius-like figure, bravely

[31:15] navigating his crew through the

[31:17] impossibly narrow path between the

[31:18] mythological Caribus and Hydra, like

[31:20] they call these rocks the teeth, like

[31:22] there's some beast below about to devour

[31:24] them. Really, in the narrative structure

[31:25] of this episode, it ends up giving us a

[31:27] false victory because then we cut to

[31:29] this wildcard element of Sheepsteeler

[31:31] arriving at Dragonstone to Rea's

[31:33] short-term relief. But rising over the

[31:35] island, she sees the smoke of her

[31:36] grandfather Corus' fleet burning, and

[31:38] she feels like she has to act. Really,

[31:40] the ultimate sin of all of the dragon

[31:42] riders is an innate hero's complex.

[31:44] Meanwhile, Shurakhar orders three hands

[31:46] to starboard, meaning a sudden hard turn

[31:48] of the rungs of the helm, hand over hand

[31:50] over hand. the exact opposite of the

[31:52] gentle turning that Corus told his

[31:54] helmsmen to do. So Shurako's two sister

[31:56] ships run ground on these teeth. But we

[31:58] see the contrasting leadership style of

[31:59] Shurocco where she decides she wants to

[32:01] go faster by going alone, lightening the

[32:03] load at all cost. Something Corus would

[32:05] never do because his strength relies on

[32:06] him knowing his crew mates. So she

[32:09] chaotically dumps cargo and anchors and

[32:11] all of these armored Lannisters,

[32:13] including Thailand Lannister. Yes,

[32:14] Jefferson Hall has to play dead

[32:16] characters twice this episode. Even

[32:17] though these Lannisters were soldiers

[32:19] who helped them in the past ships that

[32:20] they raided before the past in this

[32:22] battle. So we watch as Thailand and

[32:23] these other Lannisters reign of Casemir

[32:25] down on these rocky teeth and struggle

[32:27] as their armor and swords weigh them

[32:28] down. RIP. But it's important to note

[32:30] that Corass does not know that Shurocco

[32:32] Lohar made this sacrifice. He just

[32:34] thinks the Bitchfist luckily and

[32:36] magically cleared the teeth. Like you

[32:37] always have to assume the worst about

[32:38] your enemy. Though you never know when

[32:40] they're secretly bleeding and how they

[32:42] are bleeding. On the other side of the

[32:43] pass, I love how they show the bitchfist

[32:45] speed with strong wind and waves

[32:46] crashing against Abigail Thorne's face

[32:48] while Corass's locks don't really move

[32:50] at all because they're just turning for

[32:52] a broadside defense. But this pivoting

[32:54] allows him now to see the castle of high

[32:56] tide on drift mark burning. He's

[32:57] completely missing the fact that the

[32:58] bitchfist is not also turning for a

[33:00] typical boarding party where the ships

[33:02] would be parallel. Allan notices it just

[33:04] a second too late, so they have no time

[33:05] to turn back and avoid getting rammed.

[33:07] So, we also see the great captain's

[33:09] folly, his love for his home, and his

[33:11] treasure vault, which is also Odysius's

[33:13] folly, his fixation on Ithaca,

[33:15] Penelopey, and Tmicus. Because the [ __ ]

[33:17] fist is too narrow and moving too fast,

[33:19] Allen's orders of crossbow and catapult

[33:20] releases miss, and the camera movement

[33:22] braces us for impact. I love how THIS

[33:24] PUSHES IN.

[33:25] >> HOLD ON [ __ ]

[33:28] SO, THE bitchfist rams the sea snake and

[33:30] chews a fatal gash into its hole and

[33:32] deck. We see the Triarchy raid with

[33:34] planks and this awesome swinging boom,

[33:36] meaning the Valarian sailors would not

[33:38] be able to repel them one at a time.

[33:40] Meanwhile, our hearts sink as sheep

[33:42] stealers claws scrape the waves toward

[33:44] the battle. Raina's voice CRACKS AS SHE

[33:45] SCREAMS.

[33:47] >> AH, NOT A GOOD SIGN. She's already

[33:49] losing her voice from all the screaming

[33:50] she's been doing this episode, and it's

[33:52] going to be less likely that Sheep

[33:53] Stealer will hear her future orders.

[33:55] Sheepaler burns one Triarchy ship, but

[33:57] then gets hit by arrows and flaming

[33:59] projectiles. So, the dragon gets

[34:00] flustered, clips a ship, and then just

[34:02] aims at the first non-dragon thing that

[34:04] it sees, a Valaran SHIP

[34:08] [screaming]

[34:12] EXHAUST.

[34:13] >> SO, NOW ALL bets are off in the battle.

[34:14] It's like an Uzi's been dropped down a

[34:16] stairwell, but Corless needed a

[34:17] bitchfist slap to regain his senses. His

[34:20] helmet is immediately knocked off. We

[34:21] can't show everything in this battle,

[34:22] but they went to a lot of effort to make

[34:24] this a viscerally red, bloody battle.

[34:26] There are bloody arm stumps. We see

[34:28] sailors on the deck, slippery with blood

[34:29] and intrails. But the chaos of the

[34:31] aerial theater causes Baya to order Moon

[34:33] Dancer to attack Sheepstealer. After

[34:35] all, to her, this is a dragon she's

[34:36] never seen before. So, she assumes it's

[34:38] on the side of the Greens. But again,

[34:39] because Raina mounted Sheepstaler with

[34:41] no saddle, she's lower on the dragon's

[34:43] scales and harder to see over its head.

[34:45] So, only at the last second does Baya

[34:47] see her sister Raina on its back in

[34:49] orders to evade, putting her at a

[34:51] disadvantage. We see this incredible VFX

[34:53] shot going from the evasion to Sheep

[34:55] Steeler clawing directly at Baya

[34:57] directly at camera, missing her by

[34:59] inches, and then Moon Dancer has to go

[35:00] into this chaotic dive, missing a crow's

[35:02] nest, and then the camera pivots around

[35:04] to show Sheepsteeler chasing Moondancer.

[35:06] And by the way, I love how this is all

[35:08] shot in the daytime with the fiery glow

[35:09] of an increasing number of galls that

[35:11] this is all just thankfully easy to

[35:12] track. Smart choice to limit it to three

[35:14] dragons instead of five. As Corass

[35:16] swashb fuckles with Shurocco, we see his

[35:18] burning home in the background of all of

[35:19] this. We cut to some below shots of the

[35:21] two ships in their wrecked states. The

[35:23] crashing waves against both of these

[35:24] ships cause the two fighters to keep

[35:26] losing their footing from each other as

[35:27] the glor crumbles beneath their feet.

[35:28] Corass goes into the water and

[35:30] disappears. And we don't know about his

[35:32] fate in this episode. So Allan has to

[35:34] step up and engage Shuraco. Meanwhile,

[35:36] Jace makes the same mistake Baya did and

[35:38] orders a strike on this mystery dragon

[35:40] and again realizes too late that it's

[35:41] Raina on the back. So, this directs

[35:43] Sheepsteelers rage on Vermax. This fiery

[35:45] chase causes Jason and Vermax to lose

[35:47] their focus. They fly too low past these

[35:49] Triarchy ships. And notice how Jason

[35:51] Vermax's heads are turned back around

[35:53] when Oh [ __ ] Another grap. No hook is

[35:56] deployed. And this time punctures

[35:57] Vermax's lung. You can actually hear

[35:59] Vermax's screeches sound deflated by his

[36:01] ruptured breathing.

[36:09] And notice how smoke emits from the

[36:10] puncture as all dragon breath is fiery

[36:13] hot. Poor Raina turns around and sees

[36:15] what her chaos caused.

[36:17] >> Jeez.

[36:18] >> Bay tries to dive Moon Dancer to save

[36:20] Vervax again, but the dragon is too low

[36:22] and the hook is too embedded in its

[36:24] flesh. But it's not a glorious victory

[36:26] scored by the Valorians. Meanwhile,

[36:27] Allan tries to drown Shurocco in the

[36:29] flooded guts of his father's sinking

[36:31] ship and ultimately just stabs Shurco in

[36:33] the neck and allows her to sink in the

[36:35] water. The promise Corless made to

[36:36] redeem his strained relationship with

[36:37] his bastard son, it really falls on the

[36:39] bastard son Allan to carry that load.

[36:41] Bayless screams after her betrothed

[36:43] Jace, but a Grapnell line just nearly

[36:45] misses Moon Dancer and she can't get

[36:46] closer. So, we see poor Vermax thrashing

[36:48] in the surf again. Incredible VFX here.

[36:51] They really had Harry Klet in a water

[36:52] tank for his part of it. We see Jace

[36:54] from below the waves, reminding us of

[36:55] the shots of Tailwind Lannister and how

[36:57] his heavy armor and sword weighed him

[36:59] down. Black blood billows from Vermax's

[37:01] corpse, but Jace is able to swim to the

[37:03] surface, and we're like, "Oh, he's

[37:04] okay." And just as he finds a piece of

[37:06] driftwood, boom, my Roshi arrow. We hear

[37:08] them cheering as a second, and then a

[37:10] third plunges into his chest and neck.

[37:12] We're reminded of poor Rob Stark. And

[37:14] the way the arrows of the phrase and the

[37:15] Boltons hit him at the Red Wedding, and

[37:17] then we see his body from below, far

[37:19] below. And here's the details at the

[37:20] top. Based on how deep we are, I think

[37:22] we are seeing this as a point of view

[37:24] shot from Vermax, the last thing the

[37:27] dragon sees of his writer. helpless to

[37:29] help this boy. We are left with the

[37:31] setting sun over the smoke and haze of

[37:32] the sea battle with no clear victor as

[37:34] Bao rides Moon Dancer helpless

[37:36] casualties on all side. Now, a big

[37:38] thematic change for this series is the

[37:40] emphasis that these humans do not have

[37:42] full control over their dragons and

[37:44] every dragon battle we see is impossible

[37:46] to predict the ultimate outcome of and

[37:48] will always lead to a mass casualty

[37:50] event on all sides. We end this episode

[37:52] in the spoiler dungeon. If you haven't

[37:53] read the book and you don't want to know

[37:54] what happens after this historically

[37:56] according to the text, you can stop

[37:57] watching now. Okay, book readers know

[37:58] that Corless Valarion actually does

[38:00] survive this, though he has a haunting

[38:02] line that he says, "If this be victory,

[38:03] he never wants to fight again." Also,

[38:05] book readers know that this whole

[38:06] episode omits the involvement of the gay

[38:08] abandoned ship. That's a ship headed to

[38:10] Pintos, carrying Rineer's youngest sons,

[38:12] Agon the Younger and Vizeris. In the

[38:13] text, the princes were intercepted by a

[38:15] triarchy ship before the battle breaks

[38:17] out. Aegon the Younger escapes with

[38:18] Stormcloud back to Dragonstone. Vizeras

[38:20] goes missing with the dragon egg, but

[38:22] Reineer has thought she lost two sons

[38:24] and it's not really clear if Aegon the

[38:25] Younger has Storm Cloud on the show. All

[38:27] we saw were four dragon eggs. It's also

[38:29] not clear where the gay abandoned ship

[38:31] is in the show. Maybe we'll learn in

[38:32] future episodes, but we know that some

[38:34] Triarchy ships survived this battle. At

[38:36] least 28 of them according to the text.

[38:38] Maybe their runin with the gay abandon

[38:39] will happen after this. Now, most of the

[38:41] surviving ships are from lease, leading

[38:42] to a future conflict among the three

[38:44] daughters, thinking that Shurakhar

[38:46] spared her own ships at the expense of

[38:47] the Mir and Teros ships. Meanwhile, the

[38:49] mention of Aegon and Larry headed to

[38:51] Dragonstone this episode. This is going

[38:52] to set up a very fun Aegon on

[38:54] Dragonstone subplot that I hope we see

[38:56] in this season where Aegon manages to

[38:58] stage a sort of coup at Dragonstone.

[38:59] Take the island and fight Baala for it.

[39:01] And the Milk of the Poppy addiction

[39:03] referenced in this episode when Aegon is

[39:05] injured in that fight. He's going to

[39:06] have to restrain himself from Milk of

[39:07] the Poppy and he's going to come out

[39:08] stronger in his recovery. I'm really

[39:10] excited for the Aegon Redemption arc.

[39:12] Then the mention of Ulf wanting to be a

[39:13] lord more than a knight. Of course, it's

[39:15] going to set up his shifting loyalty in

[39:16] the Battle of Tumbleton. Reero will only

[39:18] knight them, but the Greens will offer

[39:20] lordship. Seeing Alice Rivers at

[39:21] Harrenhal, she's scared off the dragon

[39:23] seeds to clear a path for Aean, I think,

[39:25] so that she can seduce him. He's going

[39:26] to end up impregnating her. They're

[39:27] going to end up together. I think she's

[39:29] ready to play that part. I wonder if

[39:30] Aean kissing Allison was meant to show

[39:32] how horny and needing a physical

[39:34] affection one eye Aean is. Affection

[39:36] that Alice is going to provide him. Now

[39:38] remember in the season 2 finale, Helena

[39:39] was surprisingly part of the vision that

[39:41] Damon had from the weirwood tree that

[39:43] show all events including Blood Raven,

[39:45] the White Walkers, Daenerys Targaryen.

[39:47] Both Alice and Helena are plugged into

[39:49] that knowledge. And since we saw Helena

[39:51] counseling her mother Allison on how to

[39:53] approach Aean, I wonder if old bug girl

[39:55] dragon demer Helena is secretly working

[39:57] with green seer woods witch Alice Rivers

[39:59] to manipulate the greens in this

[40:01] conflict. I think Alice and Helena may

[40:03] be scheming to lead to the ultimate

[40:05] climactic Aemon versus Damon, wiping

[40:07] each other out over the god's eye lake

[40:09] as the old gods swallow and claim them

[40:11] in the lake in the mud. And also I think

[40:13] it's going to be Helena with her dragon

[40:15] dreamfire that manipulates Rene and the

[40:17] blacks to die at the dragon pit. And

[40:19] coming back to Oscar Tully's return to

[40:20] the mud line and Damon's reaction to it,

[40:23] it struck me as a possible foreshadowing

[40:24] of his fate on this series. Battling

[40:26] with Aean in Vaggar above the God's Eye

[40:28] Lake and Caraxis crawling through the

[40:30] mud of the lake shore before the dragon

[40:32] dies. Now, according to the text,

[40:34] Damon's body was never found, but

[40:35] historians are convinced he died there,

[40:37] too. And maybe it'll just be the mud

[40:39] that swallows him. Throughout this

[40:40] breakdown, I've been wearing this fire

[40:42] and blood shirt that you can get

[40:43] exclusively at our merch store,

[40:44] nerdride.shop, with other fun House of

[40:46] the Dragon inspired designs. A special

[40:47] thanks to one of our NR Underground

[40:49] subscribers, Frederick Price, for

[40:51] supporting us at the executive producer

[40:52] level. You can get all of our exclusive

[40:54] bonus content by clicking on the link in

[40:55] the description below or going to nr

[40:56] underground.supscast.com. Big thanks to

[40:58] Studio Tech Brian Kim, New Rockstar's

[41:00] editors Joshua, Steven Hurd, and Abby

[41:01] Freel and all of our supporting editors

[41:02] for their work on this video. Follow me

[41:04] at EA Boss. Hit that subscribe button.

[41:06] Thanks for watching and I'll see you

[41:06] next time. Bye.

[41:15] >> [music]