HOUSE OF THE DRAGON 3x02 BREAKDOWN: Every Detail You Missed!

[00:00] Emma Darcy does something subtle and

[00:02] brilliant in the way Raya sits the Iron

[00:04] Throne. But did you catch it? I'm Eric

[00:06] Boss of the New Rockstars channel and

[00:08] this is a breakdown of House of the

[00:10] Dragon season 3 episode 2. Let's go

[00:12] through this eventful episode scene by

[00:14] scene to explain what's going on, the

[00:16] details you missed, and for any theories

[00:18] or spoilers for future plot events from

[00:20] the book. We're going to save that for

[00:21] the spoiler dungeon at the end of this

[00:23] video. New Rockstars has some

[00:24] interesting House of the Dragon themed

[00:26] merch designs like this house crest

[00:28] design. and grabbing one of these shirts

[00:29] is the best way you can support what

[00:30] we're doing here at New Rockstars. Okay,

[00:32] the opening family tapestry animation

[00:34] has been updated since last week to

[00:36] include new embroideries reflecting the

[00:38] events of the Battle of the Gullet. We

[00:39] see the blue threads forming the waves

[00:41] and then we see Corus Valarion and

[00:42] Shurco Lohar dueling on the deck of the

[00:44] sea snake with Shurocco defeated.

[00:46] Interesting how the tapestry credits

[00:48] Corus with this kill when it was really

[00:50] his bastard son Alan Apo because as

[00:52] we've seen before the tapestry shows the

[00:54] historical record as recorded by outside

[00:56] observers as a form of propaganda for

[00:58] the family story. We also see Prince

[01:00] Jiharis dead from the Miroshi arrows. No

[01:02] sign of Vermax's corpse in this

[01:03] tapestry, but hey, maybe the dragon is

[01:05] embroidered on the underside of it. We

[01:07] open this episode underwater like many

[01:08] memorable shots of the Battle of the

[01:10] Gullet from the season premiere. Except

[01:11] now we begin beneath the hull of a

[01:13] sunken ship, seeing a body that might

[01:15] have been Jayce's corpse still floating,

[01:16] but I don't think it is. We see dragons

[01:18] overhead finish off the battle. A

[01:20] flaming projectile followed by a plume

[01:22] of dragonfire. Then a creepy long-haired

[01:24] figure floats into view from the right.

[01:26] I thought maybe this could be Shurako

[01:28] Lohar's body. She did have long hair,

[01:30] but notice how this corpse seems to be

[01:32] wearing a sleeved jacket. and Shurco

[01:34] fought her final fight with leather

[01:35] bracers that fit tightly over her

[01:37] knuckles. So, could this be a Merlin

[01:39] spoken about in Ironborn Legend? Could

[01:41] it be the aquatic race known as the Deep

[01:43] Ones mentioned in the World of Ice and

[01:44] Fire? Or could this be Alice Rivers

[01:47] watching from the waters as she takes

[01:49] stock of the fish feed in the marine

[01:50] battle of the lake shore across the

[01:52] God's Eye Lake from where she is? Q on

[01:54] Vermathor, Ulf on Silver Wing, and Adam

[01:56] on Sea Smoke now join an exhausted BA on

[01:59] Moondancer as they sweep the Gullet,

[02:00] torching any last remaining Triarchy

[02:02] ships and sailors they can find. Smoke

[02:04] from the fire they're all cooking up

[02:05] makes visibility even harder. In the

[02:07] Fire and Blood text, these other three

[02:09] Dragon Seed riders were at the battle

[02:10] from the beginning alongside Jason

[02:12] Vermax and Nettles on Sheepsteeler. So

[02:14] having these three come in at the end of

[02:16] the battle does reconcile why historians

[02:18] might remember all five of the Black

[02:19] Dragons torching the Triarchy. Baya

[02:21] tearfully rides Moon Dancer with Chase's

[02:23] body under her arms. I was trying to

[02:25] figure out the logistics of how she got

[02:26] that body on her dragon. Like, did

[02:28] someone swim out there and push Jace to

[02:30] an overturned ship or a nearby rocky

[02:32] shore where Moon Dancer could land and

[02:33] then the body could be loaded on? Can

[02:35] dragons do aquatic landings and takeoffs

[02:36] like pelicans? Back at Dragonstone,

[02:38] Jace's body is carried by the Valyrian

[02:40] dragon tamers. It kind of looks like

[02:41] they have some specific old Valyrian

[02:43] ritual by which they handle the remains

[02:45] of dragon riders who died in battle. Sir

[02:47] Lawrence Marbrand steps up heartbroken

[02:49] and knowing the seven hells he's in for

[02:51] from the queen.

[02:52] >> The battle

[02:53] >> it is won.

[02:54] >> Yes, we forget that despite the

[02:55] heartbreaking loss of the crown prince

[02:57] and his dragon, from a strategic

[02:58] perspective, Rineer's forces

[03:00] successfully repelled a naval assault on

[03:02] the Gullet and wiped out the Green's

[03:03] naval threat. And though this wasn't the

[03:05] case in the book, they took out Master

[03:07] of Ships Tailand Lannister. While last

[03:09] episode he drowned in the Dragonstone

[03:10] Pass, the book version of Thailand

[03:12] Lannister is caught with his pants down

[03:14] when they invade King's Landing and is

[03:15] thrown to the torturers. so that they

[03:17] could try to find the Lannister gold.

[03:18] Reineer's first stage of grief is denial

[03:20] as she addresses her son's corpse like a

[03:22] child she's scolding.

[03:23] >> What have you done?

[03:25] >> She's taking the motherly tone that she

[03:27] once took to reprimand him as an

[03:28] 8-year-old for airing in some kind of

[03:30] way, but now she just breaks down in

[03:32] tears.

[03:32] >> How could you do this to me?

[03:35] >> She blames Jace for leaving her behind

[03:37] to mourn yet another son. Sir Lawrence

[03:39] pulls her off of Jace and now she turns

[03:41] on her queen's guard who barricaded her

[03:43] in her chamber. Sir Lawrence admits his

[03:45] failure and offers his sword to the

[03:46] queen to behead him. Good thing Reara

[03:47] doesn't go through with it in this

[03:48] moment. Based on her aim later with Auto

[03:50] High Tower, it would have taken a few

[03:52] hacks. Rea rightfully rages at everyone

[03:54] here because yes, her grounding did

[03:56] amount to a temporary coup d'etat in

[03:58] which everyone on Dragonstone with an

[04:00] earshot was a conspirator. They are all

[04:02] supporting a system in which this queen

[04:04] does not have the full power over her

[04:05] ranks that she should. And so in this

[04:07] episode, that feeling of powerlessness

[04:09] will lead Rineer, I think, to shed off

[04:11] the throne of Dragonstone, to claim the

[04:13] throne where her power and demands

[04:14] cannot be ignored, where she will truly

[04:16] be feared. Though, we should note that

[04:18] one of the changes they made for the HBO

[04:19] show is the fact that Reineer at this

[04:21] point in history thinks she lost a

[04:22] second son in the Battle of the Gullet,

[04:24] when the ship that gay abandoned

[04:25] carrying Aegon the Younger and Vizeris

[04:27] headed to Pentos, also gets caught by

[04:28] the Charish ships, and only Aegon the

[04:30] Younger comes back on his dragon. She

[04:32] thinks Viseris died or drowned and it's

[04:34] the resolve of the second son dying that

[04:35] historians believe lead her to next turn

[04:37] to King's Landing. This episode takes a

[04:39] different approach to how Reero works

[04:41] through her grief to make her next

[04:42] decision. Raina returns to the gates of

[04:44] the veil to face Lady Jane Aaron. I like

[04:46] how Sheep Stealer stays back kind of

[04:48] with his head lowered like a dog that's

[04:49] being punished. Lady Jane already knows

[04:51] that Jace is dead. Seems like the

[04:53] message carrying ravens beat Raina and

[04:55] Sheepsteeler to the veil which is kind

[04:56] of funny because it means that Sheep

[04:57] Stealer made a few pit stops after

[04:59] leaving the battle before taking Raina

[05:00] here. probably saw a few sheep over in

[05:02] the five fingers that he just had to

[05:03] taste. Rea begs for asylum, but Jane

[05:05] rejects her, please. Rea took a wild

[05:07] dragon into battle and killed the crown

[05:09] prince, meaning the full forces of Rea's

[05:11] faction will come down on the veil at

[05:12] some point. It's also possible that Lady

[05:14] Jane could have her suspicions about how

[05:16] things really ended between Damon and

[05:18] Rya Royce in the veil in season 1.

[05:20] Because remember, Rya's cousin Gerald

[05:22] straight up accused Damon of murder at

[05:24] Rea and Leanor's wedding in season 1. So

[05:26] Jane probably does not want Damon and

[05:28] Caraxis anywhere near the veil. Jane

[05:30] reminds Raina that she was supposed to

[05:31] be on a boat to Pintos with her half

[05:33] brothers Agon the Younger and Viseris.

[05:35] Ryan Condle did explain the missing gay

[05:37] abandon ship at the battle of the Gullet

[05:38] as a kind of complication of having two

[05:40] young actors in a big dangerous water

[05:42] set like this, but that the writers

[05:43] still have not forgotten about these

[05:44] princes and where they currently need to

[05:46] be. Raina reminds Jane how the lady once

[05:48] told her that she was deceived in her

[05:50] dealings with the queen, referring to

[05:51] their spat in season 2, episode 5 when

[05:54] Jane was complaining that she gave

[05:55] Raineira 15,000 men, but in exchange got

[05:58] only two tiny dragons, referring to

[06:00] Joffrey's dragon, Tyraxis and egg on the

[06:02] younger's very small dragon, Stormcloud.

[06:04] So now Rea offers Sheepsteeler as a

[06:06] fully grown dragon to truly defend the

[06:08] veil with Sheepsteeler in the background

[06:09] hunched in a ready put me in coach

[06:11] stance in this great three-point shot.

[06:13] While Rea is offering this as a gift,

[06:15] Lady Jane knows it's also in a way a

[06:17] threat because Raina could right now

[06:20] order Jakaris take the veil and send

[06:22] everyone with the last name of Aaron or

[06:23] Royce through the Moond door or into

[06:25] Sheep Steeler's Underbite. So Jane has

[06:27] to play it cool.

[06:28] >> The veil is vast. I cannot stop a dragon

[06:31] from abiding redes.

[06:33] >> It was her ancestor Shara Aaron who bent

[06:35] the knee to Aegon the Conqueror and more

[06:37] specifically his sister wife Vzinia in

[06:39] Vagar as we see in the opening tapestry

[06:40] of every episode. So that's effectively

[06:42] what Jane does to Raina and Sheep

[06:44] Steeler here. Meanwhile, in the

[06:45] Riverlands, Damon Targaryen, Oscar

[06:47] Tully, Black Alley, Rodrik, Dustin, and

[06:49] the Winterwolves, and all the other

[06:50] Riverland lords and soldiers celebrate

[06:52] with seafood and me with Jason

[06:54] Lannister's head on a pike next to the

[06:56] lion's head. They all sing a victory

[06:57] song with a chorus chant of fish feed.

[07:00] Sir Simon Strong arrives with his

[07:02] grandsons from Harrenhal and drops the

[07:04] exposition that they're all celebrating

[07:05] victories from the Battle of the Red

[07:06] Fork and the lake shore. Thus why

[07:09] they're chanting fish feed, confirming

[07:10] my thinking last week that they were

[07:12] showing us the ending of the Battle of

[07:13] the Red Fork. That is where Jason

[07:15] Lannister dies. But they would be

[07:16] bringing in the Winter Wolves a little

[07:17] early, suggesting that we'd be in the

[07:19] proximity of the Battle of the Lakes

[07:20] Shore. It's kind of a bummer that we

[07:22] won't get to see the Battle of the Lakes

[07:23] Shore on the show. And Fire and Blood is

[07:25] described as the bloodiest land battle

[07:26] of this entire war. After losing Jason

[07:29] Lannister, the Greens, now led by the

[07:31] infirmed Lord Humphrey Leford, set up

[07:33] their defenses on the western shore of

[07:34] the God's Eye Lake behind a line of

[07:36] pikes with the lake to their backs. At

[07:38] this point in the text though, Aemon is

[07:39] already at Harrenhal with Vaggar. The

[07:41] combined blacks forces have to shoot

[07:43] arrows at the Lannister raven that are

[07:45] trying to send word across the lake to

[07:46] Aean for help. And the blacks worried

[07:48] that Vagar will come over to torch them

[07:49] at some point, sending the winter wolves

[07:51] five charges one after the other right

[07:53] into the pikes, losing 2/3 of the winter

[07:55] wolves numbers. And then from there, the

[07:57] fighting goes into the reeds of the

[07:58] lake. And when the Greens were defeated,

[08:00] estimates range from 30,000 to 48,000

[08:03] men died in a single battle. Since this

[08:06] battle was conducted mostly in the reeds

[08:08] of the lake, that's why it's called fish

[08:09] feed by the participants of it. And it's

[08:11] what they're singing about now. How they

[08:13] fought them into the muddy shores and

[08:15] the water got too thick with blood that

[08:16] they could no longer see. They're

[08:18] laughing. 48,000 men died and they're

[08:20] laughing. I mean, hey, you got to laugh

[08:21] and sing so you don't cry. But this

[08:23] context and the lyrics of the song,

[08:25] specifically sung by Oscar Tully, does

[08:27] echo Oscar's need to return his fallen

[08:29] rivermen to the mud. And it struck me

[08:32] that they're now dining on seafood that

[08:34] they probably caught in those same

[08:35] waters as they're laughing about how

[08:37] their enemies are now fished. And all of

[08:39] these waters are flowing in and around

[08:41] the god's eye lake where this series is

[08:43] telling us very spooky [ __ ] is going

[08:45] down on that aisle of faces with

[08:47] prophetic woods witches and antlered

[08:49] green men. Simon Strong with his

[08:51] grandsons German and Paxter carry and

[08:53] wine for the feast. And he also gives

[08:54] Damon a raven missive that reports Jace

[08:56] is dead and summons to join Reineer to

[08:58] take King's Landing. Damon orders Dustin

[09:00] to march the Winterwolf South and we'll

[09:02] meet him there, which I think just tells

[09:03] us that the winter wolves aren't the

[09:04] ones that get torched in Harrenhal

[09:06] later. You don't cast Tommy Flanigan

[09:08] from Braveheart and Gladiator just to

[09:10] kill him off that fast. Caraxis gulps up

[09:12] some water from the shore of the God's

[09:13] Eye. Maybe the exact reads where

[09:15] thousands of corpses are still

[09:17] submerged. Alice Rivers tells Damon,

[09:19] >> "I've seen that your coming has been an

[09:20] omen of the end."

[09:22] >> Damon asks, "The end of what, and Alice

[09:23] cryptically says, of many things and the

[09:26] beginnings of others." Ooh, see you in

[09:28] the spoiler dungeon for that. Alice

[09:30] tells Damon that she did Rene a service

[09:32] by helping Damon unite 40,000 men in the

[09:34] Riverlands. As repayment, Alice just

[09:36] wants the little old thing of Harrenhal.

[09:38] >> I've lived there all my long life and

[09:40] I've seen it given from hand to hand,

[09:42] and yet none seem to cherish it.

[09:44] >> Her long life. Yes, this HBO series

[09:47] whole impetus for establishing Alice as

[09:49] a woods witch just really comes from her

[09:50] description of Fire and Blood as seeming

[09:52] never to age. We cannot forget that this

[09:54] whole series began at the great council

[09:56] of 101 at Harrenhal. I kind of have a

[09:58] feeling that we're going to learn that

[09:59] Alice was present for that and who knows

[10:01] might have even manipulated the vote.

[10:03] Damon reminds Alice that she has no name

[10:05] or title or husband and that the crown

[10:06] doesn't give castles to midwives. But

[10:08] when Damon proposes some other kind of

[10:10] payment, Alice says,

[10:11] >> "I ask for food and you offer me rubies

[10:13] for all their worth. They will never

[10:16] satisfy my hunger."

[10:18] >> Hm. I get the sense that this witch

[10:19] feeds off of Harrenhal and the magic of

[10:22] its weirwood tree. the God's Eye and the

[10:23] Aisle of Faces. Alice must know it's a

[10:25] huge ask to expect one of the biggest

[10:27] castles in Westeros to go to her, but

[10:29] this witch has ambition. She wants to

[10:31] raise her status in the realm. And I

[10:33] think I have a really great theory about

[10:34] this, but for further speculation on

[10:36] this, I got to direct you to the spoiler

[10:38] dungeon along with the deeper meaning of

[10:39] what Alice says here when she storms off

[10:41] shouting,

[10:41] >> "Do not come back here. Remember I told

[10:44] you." Now, we get this interesting scene

[10:46] between Baya and Allan as they look for

[10:48] Corass and compare their childhoods as a

[10:50] high-born granddaughter of Corass versus

[10:51] the lowborn bastard of Corus. It is

[10:53] important that the show brings these two

[10:55] characters together at this point given

[10:56] the futures they both have in the text.

[10:58] For now, I'll just say that it's

[10:59] interesting that Bayless sees the world

[11:01] through loyalty to one's spouse as in

[11:03] Corless to Rainees. Whereas Allan sees

[11:05] the world through the naval conquest

[11:06] that the sea snake represented with his

[11:08] sourced dragon water as Alan looks out

[11:10] seawward as his life, his love and his

[11:13] ladies is a sea. Allen's brother, Adam,

[11:15] rides Sea Smoke and actually does spot

[11:17] Corless's bright platinum hair

[11:19] contrasting with the Dark Rocks. You

[11:20] know, that might be a natural advantage

[11:21] for white-haired Valyan bloodlooded

[11:23] dragon riders over the ages. It's easier

[11:25] to spot them and perform sea rescues

[11:27] like this. Those poor dark-haired,

[11:29] strong bastards Luke and Jace didn't

[11:30] stand a chance. But then, in a twist of

[11:32] events, the Stuntton capttors who were

[11:34] escorting Aegon and Laris to Dragonstone

[11:36] get attacked by surviving and invading

[11:38] Triarchy soldiers. While we did not

[11:40] expect Aegon to be much of a fighter or

[11:42] in any condition to do anything

[11:43] physical, we have to remember from the

[11:45] this is a stuffed Lionel boy fights with

[11:47] his nephews in the red keep courtyard in

[11:49] season 1 episode 6. This jerk remembers

[11:51] what a young fighter looks like when

[11:53] he's scared to death and win to pounce

[11:54] for the kill. So instead of to Dusk

[11:56] andale, Aegon wants to go to Rook's rest

[11:58] probably to reunite with the wounded

[12:00] Sunfire who's still grounded there.

[12:02] Corus says

[12:02] >> this be victory. I hope I never see

[12:05] another. This is the direct quote that

[12:07] Corus is credited by historians with

[12:09] saying after the battle of the Gullet in

[12:10] Fire and Blood. In the distance, you can

[12:12] see High Tide burning. Yes, he did lose

[12:14] his entire treasure vault there. And the

[12:16] port of Spice Town was completely

[12:18] destroyed and never rebuilt in history

[12:20] thereafter. In the aftermath of Fire and

[12:22] Blood, it is said that Adam on Sea Smoke

[12:24] did not join the other dragon seeds to

[12:25] celebrate at Dragonstone. He instead

[12:27] went to Corus. And it's not known what

[12:29] they talked about. I don't think Adam

[12:30] says anything in this episode, so we

[12:32] still don't really know what they talked

[12:33] about. But in this scene, it's really

[12:34] Corus with his daughter and his two

[12:36] sons. Almost all of his actually blooded

[12:39] descendants except for horse girl Raina

[12:40] in the veil as he honors Allan by making

[12:43] him an official Valyrian.

[12:44] >> I count that of more worth than a

[12:46] mountain of gold. This line is an

[12:48] interesting parallel to Alice Rivers

[12:50] considering treasures like rubies

[12:51] worthless. Allison sees Aemon flying

[12:53] Vaggar north of the dragon pit on top of

[12:55] Rainees's hill and she breathes the sigh

[12:56] of relief. Then she goes into the

[12:58] Goldcloak's bath house where a bunch of

[13:00] guys are hanging dong to talk to the

[13:01] goldcloak's captain Luther Larent. He

[13:04] was a goldc cloak during the time when

[13:05] Damon Targaryen was captain of the city

[13:07] watch in season 1 and now he's the

[13:09] captain appointed to this position by

[13:10] Otto High Totower in the past. Allison

[13:12] warns Larent that Reineer is coming and

[13:14] to open the city gates to her forces

[13:16] when they arrive. We kind of have to

[13:17] accept that everything with Allison at

[13:19] this point on the HBO series is just a

[13:20] major departure from the text. In Fire

[13:22] and Blood, Allison never made this back

[13:24] rooms deal with Reineer, and she

[13:26] actually fought to fortify the Red Keep

[13:27] when Reira approaches. In the text, it's

[13:30] actually Larent himself, who just

[13:31] decides to turn the gold cloaks in favor

[13:33] of the blacks out of loyalty to Damon,

[13:35] even killing his number two, Gwane High

[13:36] Totower, who in the HBO series is, of

[13:38] course, shifted to be with Kristen Cole

[13:40] in the Riverlands. So, why does Allison

[13:41] hold this meeting in the bath house?

[13:43] Well, because this is an HBO show and we

[13:45] need Dong. But really, she probably

[13:47] doesn't want her visit to be seen as

[13:49] official business since she's basically

[13:50] asking him to commit treason against all

[13:52] of the Greens, dooming a lot of the

[13:54] castle guard. She's also probably hoping

[13:56] to catch him in this vulnerable moment

[13:57] when he can be honest and not have to

[13:59] put on heirs in front of any other

[14:01] lieutenants around him. But though it's

[14:02] not stated in this episode, I'm assuming

[14:04] one of these nude dudes was the one who

[14:06] snitched on her to Master of Laws Jasper

[14:08] Wild, who probably also made some

[14:10] assumptions about her for the sorted

[14:12] detail of her being in the presence of

[14:13] these unclothed men. Back on

[14:15] Dragonstone, we see the long necked

[14:17] Caraxis doing a lap around the island.

[14:18] Demon finds Hugh and Ol. And Ol kind of

[14:21] goes in for a hug that Demon rejects. He

[14:24] grills the two of them for abandoning

[14:25] their post at Harrenhal. And I love how

[14:27] Ol pulls the guilty kid move. Adam left,

[14:29] too.

[14:30] >> Yeah, Adam left, too. Go yell at him.

[14:32] But now just finally shares what scared

[14:34] him.

[14:34] >> There's something wrong in those woods,

[14:36] though. I'm telling you. Heard all kinds

[14:39] of sounds like voices. I'll sort of

[14:42] >> now while he was about to say which as

[14:44] Hugh soon gets to I wonder if he was

[14:46] about to say I saw a furry dude with

[14:48] antlers but I don't know if it was Ul

[14:49] who saw that or just Adam and Hugh but

[14:51] Damon also saw that green man at the end

[14:53] of season 2 but Hugh confirms that a

[14:55] woman was there with news of the battle

[14:57] that he thought must have been a maester

[14:58] but was actually a witch. So now in this

[15:01] moment Damon knows that the woman I just

[15:03] pissed off is also spooking these other

[15:05] three dragon riders with some

[15:06] supernatural scaries. He's getting a

[15:08] sense that there are higher powers than

[15:10] he is at play. Specifically since he

[15:13] left his garrison at Harrenhal after the

[15:14] fish feed singing. He is feeling like he

[15:16] might have gotten played by Alice Rivers

[15:18] to doom Damon's garrison without any

[15:20] dragon protection for when Vagar

[15:22] arrives. It was Alice who told them to

[15:24] leave without Damon knowing that she

[15:26] told them that. She did not bring it up

[15:28] with him lakeside when they talked.

[15:29] Damon runs into Misaria and kind of

[15:31] takes out his anger at being played out

[15:33] on her. He remembers that the last time

[15:34] they saw each other, she was behind

[15:36] bars. Because remember, these two

[15:37] characters started together in the aisle

[15:39] of silk in season 1. And throughout the

[15:41] first season, Misaria proved to be the

[15:42] spy master, the white worm, who plotted

[15:44] to have the drunken prince Aegon

[15:46] kidnapped. And she ended up tustling

[15:47] with Otto High Tower. And then at the

[15:49] end of the season, she had her mans

[15:50] burned down by an agent of Laris Strong.

[15:52] So in season 2, fleeing King's Landing,

[15:54] her ship was caught by the Valarians in

[15:56] the Gullet, and she was taken prisoner

[15:57] on Dragonstone, where Damon accused her

[15:59] of serving the Greens. And to get her

[16:00] freedom, she felt like she had to give

[16:02] Damon the name of her blood and cheese

[16:04] conspirators. And then after the

[16:05] assassination of the young prince, Damon

[16:07] just took off and went to Harrenhal,

[16:09] leaving her still behind bars. So Reara

[16:11] had to choose to honor Damon's promise

[16:13] to release Misaria. Mizaria further

[16:14] gained Reara's trust by warning the

[16:16] Dragonstone guard about Aric coming to

[16:18] assassinate Reara. So after that, the

[16:20] two women ended up very close as

[16:22] Mazzaria is kind of moving her way into

[16:24] becoming mistress of whisperers on Rea's

[16:26] small council. Now Damon just mistrust

[16:28] Mazaria as the other bed fellow to his

[16:30] wife threatening to get closer to Reara

[16:32] than he is an adviser who actually

[16:33] respected Reineer's needs and wants

[16:36] before Damon figured out he needed to do

[16:37] that. But then there's this interesting

[16:39] turn in the scene when the two of them

[16:40] sit next to each other and share their

[16:42] common angst as someone who might know

[16:43] Raineer even better than both of them.

[16:45] Allison Misaria is frustrated that she

[16:47] wasn't in that season 2 finale meeting

[16:49] and kind of echoes the frustrations of

[16:51] book readers that there might be some

[16:52] weird connection between these two women

[16:54] from their time as girls that no one can

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[18:08] here with you. Allison returns to the

[18:10] Red Keep and gets immediately scolded by

[18:12] Sir Rickard Thorne for slipping his

[18:13] detail. She seeks the captain of the

[18:15] castle guard, Sir Saurin, and refuses to

[18:17] let Rickard summon him for her because

[18:18] she knows these honorable brothers of

[18:20] the king's guard are going to be sworn

[18:21] to snitch. Sure enough, offscreen, it's

[18:23] implied that Rickard did snitch over to

[18:25] Sir Saurin. Allison really proves

[18:27] correct Demon's description of her as a

[18:29] conspirator by so brazantly screwing

[18:31] over all of these green loyalists. I

[18:33] know she feels like she's lost control

[18:34] over her sons and their dragons and it's

[18:36] going to ultimately spell doom for her

[18:38] and her daughter and granddaughter, but

[18:39] the HBO series decision to have Allison

[18:42] herself as the one sneaking around

[18:44] basically unlocking all the doors and

[18:46] dismantling the defenses is just a bit

[18:47] hard to buy. Like as opposed to this

[18:49] subtrafuge that we see, I would have

[18:51] been interested to see the city forces

[18:52] like the gold cloak start to break rank

[18:54] on their own when they see Ra's forces

[18:56] arriving and Allison could just kind of

[18:58] push things more in that direction and

[19:00] then ride that wave of panic as she

[19:01] tries to escape. But it's really another

[19:03] example of what the show does by trying

[19:05] to make Allison a more active character

[19:07] at this point of history than she is in

[19:08] George R. Martin's text. They force the

[19:10] character into some outlandish behavior

[19:12] that really asks the audience to accept

[19:14] some unrealistic responses from the

[19:15] characters who serve her. Ray in her

[19:17] grief suggests to Damon that sheepaler

[19:19] had somehow been mounted by the Greens

[19:21] forces and that it was the Greens who

[19:23] deliberately set this trap to draw Jace

[19:25] to his death. I guess Baya didn't see

[19:27] her sister Raina on Sheepstaler's back.

[19:29] Or maybe to spare her sister, Baya

[19:30] didn't tell Rara that part of it. But I

[19:32] suppose this is another reason why the

[19:33] writers replaced Nettles with Raina and

[19:35] created this new arc with Rea being the

[19:37] one on Sheepsteeler. Maybe they felt

[19:39] they needed to create this confusion and

[19:41] dramatic irony where Reara thought

[19:43] Allison went back on her word and sent

[19:45] another dragon controlled by the Greens

[19:46] into the gullet leading to Jayce's

[19:48] death. It seems like the writers did

[19:49] this to justify Reineer being as

[19:51] bloodthirsty as she is when she gets to

[19:53] King's Landing. And maybe the writers

[19:54] felt that they couldn't make the green

[19:55] aligned dragon in the gullet be Vagar or

[19:58] Tisarion or Dreamfire or Sunfire as all

[20:00] those dragons are just in other places

[20:01] or indisposed. So I guess to get that

[20:04] chaotic force of Sheepsteeler, it had to

[20:05] be an accidental rampage with Raina at

[20:08] the helm in order to preserve Allison's

[20:10] innocence from that event. When Damon

[20:11] tells Rea that Vagar has left King's

[20:13] Landing, at first this grieving mother

[20:15] doesn't even want the now undefended

[20:17] Iron Throne, equating the swords that

[20:18] made that throne as part of the

[20:20] bloodshed that claimed the lives of the

[20:21] sons who clung to her skirts. But now

[20:23] Damon switches to high Valyrian, the

[20:25] language these two characters only speak

[20:27] in when they really want to connect with

[20:29] each other so that no one else will be

[20:30] able to hear or understand. He confesses

[20:32] to her the vision that he saw at

[20:33] Harrenhal.

[20:42] >> He's describing what he saw in the

[20:43] Weirwood Tree Vision in the season 2

[20:44] finale, including a white walker and

[20:46] their future descendant of Daenerys,

[20:48] daughter of the mad king Aerys II in the

[20:50] red waist with the dragon hatchlings.

[20:52] He's basically saying, "I saw it,

[20:54] Rainineer. I saw the massive

[20:55] monocultural HBO series that our lives

[20:58] are the prequel to. There's going to be

[20:59] watch parties and bars, random Ed

[21:01] Sheeran cameos, and millennials adopting

[21:03] huskys in climates that are too warm for

[21:05] them." Now, interesting that Damon does

[21:07] not mention seeing blood raven because I

[21:09] guess to Damon, he'd be like, "Who the

[21:10] [ __ ] is that guy?" But it's also

[21:11] interesting that the future he witnessed

[21:13] skipped over the full history where

[21:14] dragons would go mostly extinct because

[21:16] in Fire and Blood, Rea does not end up

[21:18] with Sheep Staler Nettles, but instead

[21:20] Rea ends up with the pink she of

[21:22] Mourning. And Mourning is one of the

[21:23] last known dragon hatchlings at this

[21:25] point in history until the never named

[21:27] last dragon in George R. Martin's lore,

[21:29] who was deformed and ended up dying in

[21:31] 153 AC. is really appealing to Reineer

[21:33] in the language of their dreamer

[21:35] ancestors to instill in her the faith

[21:37] powered mission that her father

[21:39] activated in her in the pilot episode.

[21:41] Basically, if vengeance won't work to

[21:42] get Reara out of bed, a sense of duty

[21:44] and destiny might. Master of Laws Lord

[21:46] Jesper Wild catches Allison packing in

[21:48] her chambers. He says he remembers her

[21:50] as a young girl snaking into the halls

[21:52] of power and accuses Allison of finding

[21:54] enjoyment with Sir Christristen Cole.

[21:56] Now, later, Allison says Sir Rickard was

[21:58] the one who betrayed her. And I think

[21:59] the detail about Sir Kristen Cole is

[22:01] something that Sir Rickard knew about,

[22:03] so that's why she said it. But I think

[22:04] the gossip of Allison going to make this

[22:06] secret deal with the Goldcolaks could

[22:08] have been snitched by any other

[22:09] Goldcolaks in that bath house. Or also,

[22:11] we got to remember there are spies all

[22:12] over the streets of King's Landing that

[22:14] snitched to each other to get paid.

[22:15] Also, I think it was Sir Rickard who did

[22:17] go talk to Sir Saurin, and that's why

[22:19] Sir Saurin did not initially come into

[22:21] the room when Allison started screaming.

[22:23] Not until Orwhile went in the room. So,

[22:25] in an affront to any Fire and Blood

[22:27] reading Iron Rod fanatics out there,

[22:29] turns out Iron Rod is a moniker for

[22:31] being a violent predator who assaults

[22:33] women. And based on what he said about

[22:34] noticing Allison when she was young,

[22:36] potentially he's on the Epstein list,

[22:38] too. Now, to be clear, in the book, the

[22:39] name Iron Rod really comes from Jasper

[22:41] Wild being unbendable in matters of law.

[22:44] But Mushroom does say that he sired 29

[22:46] kids and his last wife died from sex

[22:48] exhaustion. To be honest with you, dear

[22:50] viewer, I did not like this scene. I

[22:52] honestly never like it when these HBO A

[22:54] Song of Ice and Fire shows add essay as

[22:56] a plot point when it was not there in

[22:58] George R. Martin's text. And honestly, I

[23:00] think this was really added by the

[23:01] writers to suggest that Allison met some

[23:03] resistance while she was trying to sneak

[23:05] out of King's Landing and leave the

[23:06] doors open for Reneer. I just don't

[23:08] really like the narrative's implication

[23:09] that Allison had this coming in any way.

[23:12] Even if the episode ultimately punishes

[23:13] Jasper Wild, Orurh Wild does eventually

[23:16] burst in and Lord Jasper seems to think

[23:17] that saving Our Wild from Aean beheading

[23:20] him last episode might keep Orhile loyal

[23:21] to him in this moment. But Orurow

[23:23] defends Allison and orders Jasper

[23:25] arrested. Rea ignores the caution of

[23:27] Bartamos Celtic and Grandmaster Gerardis

[23:29] and sets out for King's Landing. And she

[23:31] also says,

[23:31] >> "Let Sir Lauren choose how he will die."

[23:33] >> So much for her refusal of his life

[23:35] forfeiture. We don't really see how Sir

[23:36] Lawrence does it in this episode, but he

[23:38] doesn't die this way in Fire and Blood

[23:40] because of course it was the HBO series

[23:41] invention to have Sir Lawrence lock Rain

[23:43] in a room to begin with. I wonder how

[23:44] Sir Lawrence's going to react to hearing

[23:45] this from Keltar or Gerardis. Is he

[23:47] going to be like, "Yeah, okay, but how

[23:49] did she say it?" Mizaria hands Rea the

[23:51] crown of her father, Vizeris,

[23:52] >> remember which one of us has been

[23:54] faithful.

[23:54] >> Mizaria doesn't want Demon or anyone

[23:56] else ousting her from her position of

[23:58] trust that she's earned here at

[23:59] Dragonstone. But these words will also

[24:01] be something Rara thinks about in the

[24:02] context of Allison. When Reara gets to

[24:04] King's Landing, she's going to initially

[24:06] see that Allison was faithful. Well,

[24:08] somewhat. Damon checks in with Ul and

[24:10] Hugh, who are now dressed in the red and

[24:12] black riding leathers and cloaks, with

[24:14] Ulf wearing the three-headed dragon

[24:15] clasp, which I assume is part of the

[24:17] pageantry and theatrics of making these

[24:18] dragon seeds appear from the ground to

[24:20] be part of the ranks of Reineer's black

[24:22] faction. Specifically, the way Damon

[24:24] just presses Ul's forehead. In the words

[24:25] of the Telltale games, "Ol will remember

[24:27] this." Cirax, Caraxis, Vermathor, and

[24:30] Silverwing depart Dragonstone with their

[24:31] riders soaring over the broken ships of

[24:33] the Gullet. Another reminder of what

[24:34] Gerardis said. These four are flying

[24:36] into King's Landing without any Valaran

[24:38] backup. Helena is back to her buggirl

[24:41] roots, noticing a caterpillar in the Red

[24:42] Keep Godswood. Remember, this is the

[24:44] same garden where Allison and Reineer

[24:46] used to spend their time, where Allison

[24:48] stops Sir Kristen from ending his life.

[24:49] Helena says, "It isn't the season for

[24:51] this caterpillar to be crawling on this

[24:53] leaf." We see a nature book that Helena

[24:55] was either reading or perhaps a journal

[24:57] that she's keeping with her with her own

[24:58] drawing of a butterfly. The inscription

[25:00] reads of Nath something something no

[25:03] other shade. The lines are distinct as

[25:05] if drawn with a quill. They are said to

[25:07] cause death to people around them while

[25:09] living, but so far I remain alive.

[25:13] Nth is known as the Isisle of

[25:15] Butterflies. It's an island in the

[25:16] summer sea off the northwestern coast of

[25:18] the southern continent of this world,

[25:20] Sos. Remember in the later era,

[25:22] Daenerys's adviser, Miss Mande, is from

[25:24] Nth. Helena is a Targaryen dreamer who

[25:26] often devised cryptic prophecies from

[25:28] the insects and arachnids that she would

[25:30] fiddle with. I think she's surprised to

[25:31] find the caterpillar that will molt into

[25:33] the yrium of Nth butterfly already

[25:35] active earlier than she expected, which

[25:37] could foreshadow death, which is true.

[25:39] We already start to see heads of the

[25:40] greens rolling this episode, starting

[25:42] with Helena's grandfather, Otto. Though,

[25:44] notice how Helena's notes say she has

[25:46] been around these butterflies before and

[25:48] she is still alive. Helena and Alice

[25:51] Rivers are the two most interesting

[25:52] characters to theorize about. So, we're

[25:53] going to talk about this more in a

[25:54] spoiler dungeon. Allison tries to assure

[25:56] Helena that fleeing is the right move

[25:58] and that she just wants her to be happy

[25:59] like she was before becoming queen. And

[26:01] Helena says this,

[26:02] >> "I think I might like to keep chickens.

[26:05] >> God bless this sweet, sweet bug girl who

[26:08] loves her chickens." Allison tells Sir

[26:09] Frederick on the battleman to stand down

[26:11] by the order of the queen. And Helena

[26:13] dutifully says,

[26:14] >> "I will not have any beast harmed." And

[26:17] then as Allison scares Sir Frederick

[26:18] about Reineer coming with Dragonfire,

[26:20] Helena speaks up trying to take the good

[26:21] cop approach.

[26:22] >> Her sons were always kind.

[26:24] >> Helena is recalling when Jace danced

[26:26] with her on Drift Mark in season 1

[26:28] episode 8. Now we don't know if this

[26:29] moment if Helena knows that Jace is

[26:31] dead, but for Helena, she always held

[26:33] the niceness of Jace of Luke and Joffrey

[26:36] when they were all in the Red Keep

[26:37] together compared to her own freaky

[26:39] brothers. That that goodness must have

[26:41] reflected on the kind motherly qualities

[26:43] of Reineer. Lord Hand Kristen Cole and

[26:45] Gwane High Tower see Vaggar and Aean to

[26:46] fly overhead and charge to Harrenhal. We

[26:48] see bats swarming out of Harrenhal as

[26:50] Vagar looms in the fog of her head. I

[26:52] mean maybe Alice Rivers is just a goth

[26:54] girl who wants a big bat castle. The

[26:56] garrison that Damon ordered to occupy

[26:58] Harrenhal gets torched. We don't know if

[26:59] Oscar Tully is with them though. I think

[27:01] for a character that big they would have

[27:02] shown his death. The kaiju sized dragon

[27:05] of Vaggar topples pillars with his

[27:07] massive bulk and sprays these Tully men

[27:09] with fire while Aean just cuts through

[27:11] all of them alone without much effort.

[27:13] It's pretty interesting that this

[27:14] episode shows two sequences of these

[27:16] dragons taking the two largest castles

[27:18] of Westeros without much resistance. But

[27:20] that is in a sense how it goes down in

[27:22] Fire and Blood. It's all kind of like a

[27:24] silly game of chess and out thinking and

[27:26] outmaneuvering the dragons on the other

[27:27] side. I mean really Aean is following

[27:29] the same path Damon did in season 2. He

[27:32] even bursts into the same room finding

[27:34] Lord Simon Strong and his grandsons

[27:36] German and Paxter dining just as Damon

[27:39] found them. Aemon wants to duel the

[27:40] elderly Lord Simon, who tries to bend

[27:42] the knee the way he did to Damon, but

[27:44] the young prince won't accept it. He's

[27:45] less patient and he stabs the old lord.

[27:47] Now German shouts father. Even though

[27:50] I'm pretty sure these two guys are his

[27:51] grandsons, but German dies too, but

[27:54] Paxter, good old Paxter, lunges in with

[27:56] a steak knife behind Demon and stabs him

[27:58] through his armor right in the kidney.

[28:00] Now, according to Fire and Blood, these

[28:02] killings do mark the unceremonious end

[28:04] of House Strong, an ancient house

[28:05] descended from the first men. But in the

[28:07] show continuity, Lord Lar Strong remains

[28:09] alive and Alice Rivers is technically

[28:11] the bastard daughter of Lord Lionol

[28:13] Strong or at least they think she is.

[28:14] And of course, Prince Joffrey is a

[28:16] strong bastard, son of Harwin Strong. So

[28:18] the bloodline does live on. It's just

[28:20] the Riverland house now historically is

[28:22] done. Alice Rivers approaches Aean just

[28:24] as she did to Damon. But bleeding from

[28:26] the wound from Paxter, he crawls to her

[28:28] feet to help. He's not dead, but she's

[28:30] in control right now. The rest of the

[28:31] episode is spent at King's Landing, the

[28:33] sacking of King's Landing. We're already

[28:35] here. It's happening. Rineer squadron

[28:37] flies toward the city from the

[28:38] Blackwater Bay. Sir Frederick does stand

[28:40] down from a scorpion and a second of

[28:42] command removes his helmet. Notice how

[28:43] this guy is heterocchromia. Maybe it's

[28:45] just an interesting casting choice. Then

[28:46] there's some panic in the streets of

[28:48] King's Landing and Fire and Blood.

[28:49] There's way more panic. There's looting.

[28:51] There's rioting. There's people fleeing

[28:53] the city for the hills. There's people

[28:54] who just start burrowing underneath

[28:56] their homes hoping to escape the fire.

[28:57] Tunnels that fire in blood nodes are

[28:59] still there in future generations. We

[29:01] see Hugh Hammer's wife, Cat. The dragon

[29:03] she sees is Vermathor. and she sees the

[29:05] back of it where Hugh would be riding.

[29:07] This would be the first she has seen her

[29:08] husband since he left. It's not like he

[29:10] could send word with a raven as to where

[29:11] he would be flying with his super

[29:13] important dragon. While Silverwing flew

[29:15] over King's Landing in season 2 as a

[29:16] show of force by Raineer to Aeand in the

[29:18] Greens, none of these people have seen

[29:20] the bronze fury Vermathor in their

[29:22] lifetimes because remember in season 1

[29:23] he was still hauled away in a dragon

[29:25] cave. So it must be terrifying to see a

[29:27] dragon that's nearly as big as Vagar,

[29:29] but one that is clearly a different

[29:31] color in the sunlight flying overhead.

[29:32] As Caraxis lands outside the gates, we

[29:34] literally see green cloak soldiers

[29:36] throwing open the gates for them. And

[29:38] when Rara lands on Cyrax, they all offer

[29:40] their swords and bend the knee. It is

[29:42] pretty wild to see Damon and Rara by

[29:45] themselves working their way through the

[29:46] red keep before waiting for the gold

[29:48] cloaks to help them take the castle like

[29:49] they do in Fire and Blood. They get all

[29:51] the way into the throne room, which in

[29:53] fairness to the loyalist Greens might

[29:55] have been a deliberate defense strategy

[29:57] to lure these enemies into the thing

[29:59] that they would be going after the most

[30:00] and then try to kill them there at the

[30:01] feet of the throne. Because the iron

[30:02] throne is like basically a series of

[30:04] pikes. It's a brier patch of swords that

[30:06] was designed that way in part to make

[30:08] anyone who would try to climb over

[30:09] themselves to take this musical chair

[30:11] style would die on that climb. Sir

[30:13] Rickard leads Green soldiers to defend

[30:15] the throne from Rara and Damon. Damon

[30:17] asks where Aegon is. Is the upstart pup

[30:19] too craven to face his queen?

[30:21] >> Upstart tart is some incredible word

[30:24] play. Raineira draws her sword getting

[30:25] last from Sir Rickard and the gold

[30:27] cloaks led by Sir Luther Larent rush in

[30:31] >> Sir Luther. The city watch remembers our

[30:34] commander Damon Targaryen.

[30:36] >> I like to think this all might have

[30:38] hinged on just Damon remembering the

[30:40] name and face of this gold cloak that he

[30:41] once served with. Similar to Ned Stark

[30:43] trying to confront Cersei in this same

[30:45] room decades in the future from now just

[30:47] to find Littlefinger betraying him with

[30:48] the gold cloaks. The ultimate control

[30:50] over the Iron Throne really does just

[30:51] come down to who has control over the

[30:53] city watch. Many of the green soldiers

[30:55] drop their swords, but the honorable Sir

[30:56] Rickard refuses to surrender. Rea

[30:58] initially refuses to sit the throne

[31:00] until she can get blood, the blood of

[31:02] Aegon the usurper, but Orhwhile reports

[31:04] to Damon that Aegon has fled as has

[31:06] Allison. We see Allison and Helena

[31:08] fleeing with Princess Jiara through the

[31:10] streets. Though some women recognize

[31:12] them, probably some women in attendance

[31:13] of that funeral procession where their

[31:15] carriage got stuck. These are probably

[31:17] part of the same spy network that

[31:18] snitched on Allison to Sir Rickard and

[31:20] Jasper Wild. We see Damon going down to

[31:22] the dungeon to free the political

[31:24] prisoners always loyal to Rea down there

[31:26] and taunt Jasper Wild, the replacement

[31:28] offered by Orw. But then this other

[31:30] dungeon keeper says,

[31:31] >> "A gift from Lord Laris Strong."

[31:34] >> Inside the cell is Auto High Tower. Now,

[31:36] remember we saw Otto leave King's

[31:37] Landing in season 2, episode 2 after

[31:39] Aegon removed him as hand of the king.

[31:41] He had told Allison that he was planning

[31:42] on going back to Oldtown to mentor his

[31:44] grandson, Darren. But then in the season

[31:46] 2 finale, we randomly saw him in a cell

[31:48] somewhere. So now it's confirmed he's in

[31:50] the Red Keep dungeon, captured by some

[31:52] agent of Lord Laris strong, probably the

[31:55] same network that burned Misaria's

[31:56] house. Why did Lary keep Ottoa prisoner

[31:58] all this time? I assume Allison didn't

[32:00] even know her father was down here. I

[32:02] assume we'll get this question answered

[32:04] in a future episode, but it is very

[32:06] confusing and I don't really have an

[32:07] answer for it other than we had to rush

[32:09] the writing of season 2 and couldn't do

[32:10] rewrites cuz we shot it during a strike.

[32:12] Back in the throne room, Lord

[32:13] Merryweather and Lady Fel are presented

[32:15] to Reineer. Remember back in season 1,

[32:17] episode 9, these two were lords who were

[32:19] living in the Red Keep who refused to

[32:21] swear to Aegon II as that would break

[32:23] their oath to Vizeris the first and

[32:24] Reara and Otto had them escorted out.

[32:27] Now we know where they were all this

[32:28] time. In the Fire and Blood text, they

[32:30] were actually beheaded for refusing.

[32:31] They appear to be the same actors here,

[32:33] just looking more haggarded. Jasper Wild

[32:34] is dragged before Raineira, followed by

[32:36] Lord Otto High Totower.

[32:38] >> I assume everyone else is dead.

[32:40] >> Otto has been so isolated, he assumes

[32:42] that King Aegon, Aemon, Allison, Helena,

[32:45] even young Jihara have all been killed

[32:47] before they got to him. But he hears

[32:48] Damon whisper that Aegon has actually

[32:50] fled. And Reese Eiffens, what an amazing

[32:52] actor that I will miss on this show. The

[32:53] way he drops his head in disappointment,

[32:55] almost like he wanted it to all be over

[32:57] for his shitty grandsons. And now Otto

[32:59] knows that it's going to be him who gets

[33:01] scapegoed. In the dying of dragons

[33:03] chapter in Fire and Blood, it is stated

[33:04] that Otto High Tower is the first to be

[33:06] executed, followed by Iron Rod. But it

[33:08] doesn't say that Rara is the one to

[33:10] behead Otto. And Otto and Iron Rod were

[33:12] not previously imprisoned by the Green's

[33:14] own forces in these dungeons at the time

[33:15] of the sacking. In this scene, Damon

[33:17] tells Rea it needs to be her who does

[33:19] it. Otto requests Damon to spare him

[33:21] from being hacked at, and Otto says,

[33:22] >> "If your father could see what it's come

[33:24] to, he would never have imagined it.

[33:26] >> Speak no more."

[33:27] >> Yeah. Truly, this was the fruit of

[33:29] Otto's own manipulations at the end of

[33:31] season 1. Otto turns back to look at Rea

[33:33] one last time and then leans his head

[33:35] forward to show the bare flesh on the

[33:36] back of his neck. The same kind of

[33:38] target that we saw on the back of Edard

[33:39] Stark's neck in the Bor episode. As Rea

[33:42] brings the sword down, Otto starts to

[33:44] say,

[33:44] >> "I did my best."

[33:46] >> He was saying, "I did my best." He was

[33:49] going to try to say that he did his best

[33:51] to serve the realm in House Targaryen,

[33:53] but Reineer's miss leaves him with this

[33:55] undignified end. She missed by a mile,

[33:57] fully wedging the sword in Otto's upper

[33:59] back. So Otto's real final moments alive

[34:02] are in tremendous pain, gasping for

[34:03] breath. It's similar to Theon Greyjoyy's

[34:05] failed execution of the Winterfell

[34:07] Master at-arms Rodrik Cassell in Game of

[34:09] Thrones season 2 episode 6. But with the

[34:11] second swing, Reara lobs Otto's head

[34:13] clean off. She is using Demon's Valyrian

[34:15] steel sword to Dark Sister, which was

[34:17] first carried by Vizenia, sister wife to

[34:19] egg on the Conqueror. Within seconds,

[34:21] Damon takes Dark Sister and swings for

[34:23] Jasper Wild, who begins to say to tell

[34:25] his lady wife whatever she hears and

[34:27] slice. So, confirmed Iron Rod was

[34:29] married. I just think he doesn't want

[34:30] his wife hearing about what he did to

[34:31] Allison in his final hours. The violin

[34:33] strings in the sequence are haunting. We

[34:36] go from a light motif of the High Tower

[34:38] green theme from season 1 upon seeing

[34:39] Otto again to just these dramatic cries

[34:44] kind of set the rhythm of a heartbeat.

[34:46] stepping through the blood of Otto, her

[34:48] father's council, who is most

[34:50] responsible for denying her ascension,

[34:52] Reineer steps toward the Iron Throne,

[34:54] leaving a trail of bloody bootprints.

[34:56] Now, Emma Darcy here does an amazing job

[34:59] of seizing their body with a sense of

[35:01] shock, but then showing how Rene is able

[35:03] to collect herself and takes the walk up

[35:05] to the throne. We see her literally

[35:07] reflected in the puddle of Otto's blood.

[35:09] Reara sits the throne with this awkward

[35:12] angle to keep her holstered sword from

[35:14] getting tangled in the swords of the

[35:15] throne itself. For a moment, she shows a

[35:17] bit of relief, but then Allison and

[35:18] Helena are walked in in front of her,

[35:20] and notice how Rene now shifts awkwardly

[35:22] in her chair, as if one of the swords

[35:24] might have cut her. Allison looks down

[35:26] at her beheaded father, Otto, probably

[35:28] not knowing that he had been imprisoned

[35:30] by Laris and handed over to Damon and

[35:31] Reara that way. Probably assuming that

[35:33] Reara just found him as a prisoner of

[35:35] war first and did this to him. Once

[35:37] again, confusion leads these two women

[35:39] to assume the worst about each other.

[35:40] Allison looks up at Rea with a look of

[35:42] betrayal and fear. Raineira tears on her

[35:45] face knowing that the entire court is

[35:47] watching her for any sign of weakness.

[35:49] Struggles to maintain composure,

[35:50] tightening her face while her eyes

[35:52] express a perfect mix of regret, anger,

[35:55] grief, and pain as she sits this iron

[35:58] throne. Yes, emotional pain and physical

[36:01] pain. I imagine she feels like her dead

[36:03] son Jace with another queen coming into

[36:06] the room to ask, "What have you done?"

[36:08] But on that note of pain, we right now

[36:11] have to go into the spoiler dungeon

[36:12] here. You're welcome to stop watching if

[36:14] you don't want to know what comes next

[36:15] from the book or have anything from

[36:16] these upcoming episodes accidentally

[36:18] spoiled to you. In Fire and Blood, this

[36:19] chapter ends with a specific account

[36:21] from Septan Eustace, who said that Rene

[36:23] sat the Iron Throne all night as

[36:25] everyone in the Red Keep was brought

[36:26] before her to kneel and plead for

[36:28] forgiveness and swear. Eustace also

[36:30] notes that cuts were visible on Rea's

[36:33] legs and palm, and drops of her blood

[36:35] fell to the floor as she walked past,

[36:37] and wise men looked at one another,

[36:39] though none dared to speak the truth

[36:40] aloud. The Iron Throne has spurned her

[36:43] and her days upon it would be few. I

[36:46] think this episode was trying to convey

[36:47] that with the blood on the floor left by

[36:48] Reineer's bootprints from Otto's blood.

[36:50] Also, the way Rineer awkwardly sits on

[36:53] the throne, the way she jumps, the way

[36:54] she conveys this physical pain on her

[36:56] face. I just won't be surprised if

[36:58] episode 3 begins with her standing up

[37:00] and we discover cuts on her body just as

[37:02] her father Vizeris was pricricked by the

[37:04] throne when he sat upon it. This is the

[37:05] curse of the Iron Throne. If it cuts the

[37:07] leader when they sit on it, the throne

[37:09] is spurning them. And of course, book

[37:11] readers know that Reero will not be a

[37:12] long-term monarch. While she scores her

[37:14] vengeance on the Greens here, it won't

[37:16] be long until it all comes to an end in

[37:18] season 4. But let's talk about Damon and

[37:19] Alice Rivers. The omen Alice mentioned,

[37:22] I think referred to the end of Damon's

[37:23] selfish ambitions in the beginning of

[37:25] Rineer's true reign, but also the

[37:27] beginning of the end of the civil war.

[37:29] Why does Alice want Harrenhal? Well, I

[37:31] think now that she's tending to Aean's

[37:33] health and recovery, her goal is to

[37:35] marry into the Targaryen bloodline and

[37:38] be Lady of Harrenhal, producing an heir

[37:40] with Aemon. Like, if she couldn't do it

[37:41] with Damon, she's going to do it with

[37:43] Aean. And I think Alice's ultimate goal

[37:45] is to bring an end to the madness of

[37:47] Targaryen dragon power in Westeros by

[37:49] restoring things to the natural balance

[37:51] of the old gods in this continent. I

[37:53] think she's going to work all sides to

[37:55] try to make both Targaryen factions wipe

[37:56] each other out, and then their heirs

[37:58] will be left without dragons. Like we

[38:00] could find out that the manipulations of

[38:02] Alice Rivers and the old gods is what

[38:04] leads to House Targaryen to end up being

[38:06] dragonless. The diminished status that

[38:08] they have in Night of the Seven

[38:09] Kingdoms. The sighting of Blood Raven

[38:11] and the vision that Alice showed Damon

[38:13] at the end of season 2. Blood Raven is a

[38:15] character alive during Duncan Egg's era.

[38:18] I think that's going to be continuing

[38:19] that old godpowered agenda. Alice's

[38:21] warning to Damon to never return here

[38:23] reminds us of her warning in season 2

[38:24] that Damon will die in this place.

[38:26] Indeed, he will at the battle of the

[38:27] God's Eye Lake. Seeing Caraxis lap up

[38:30] that water from that same lake as that

[38:31] water rained down over Damon and Alice.

[38:33] I think that shot was definitely setting

[38:35] that up. The Allen and Bais scenes. Yes,

[38:37] setting up the marriage that these two

[38:39] will eventually have. Looks like these

[38:41] two final seasons are going to make some

[38:42] time for that subplot. That's fun to

[38:44] see. And let's end the speculation with

[38:46] Helena Bug girl. This yrium of Nth

[38:48] butterfly inscription is awesome. I

[38:50] think it's a potent of Helena's own

[38:52] death. Now, I'm not excited for this,

[38:55] but last week's coming up on this season

[38:57] trailer included a shot of Helena seen

[38:59] from above looking like she's seconds

[39:00] away from being torched by dragon fire,

[39:03] making me worried that Helena is going

[39:04] to go over to the dragon pit and get her

[39:06] dragon dream fire to do this to her,

[39:08] ending her life the same way Lena did

[39:10] with Vaggar. I really don't want that to

[39:12] be how she goes out, but that might be

[39:14] what these writers are doing. Comment

[39:15] down below with your thoughts on this

[39:16] episode. And a special thanks to one of

[39:17] our NR Underground subscribers, Rick

[39:19] Denman, for supporting us at the

[39:21] executive producer level. You can get

[39:22] all of our exclusive bonus content by

[39:24] clicking the link in the description

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[39:28] Big thanks to Studio Tech Brian Kim, New

[39:30] Rockstars editors Joshua Steven and Abby

[39:32] Freel and all of our supporting editors

[39:34] for their work on this video. Follow me

[39:35] at EA Boss. Hit that subscribe button.

[39:37] Thanks for watching and I'll see you

[39:38] next time. And bye.