dornad

Up until when he mentioned her, I was believing Alys was a ghost or manifestation of Harrenhal that only Daemon could interact with.

I still don’t think she has interacted with anyone else.

• “Here’s a description of sexual assault.” Great, let’s follow that with a makeout session…

Not a direct mention😉

Things I liked

• Intro updated! Meleys and Sunfyre are on the tapestry.
• The Lannister's army bringing a live lion is such a vibe.
• Aemond saying, "No, you idiot, I'm talking about Grandpa," was hilarious.
• I love the idea of Larys leaning into the new shared disability aspect between him and Aegon II. Clever.
• Gwayne being a proud uncle is a nice setup for introducing "The Daring" in Season 3.

Things / Random Thoughts

• I honestly thought that was Casterly Rock... turns out it’s just the Golden Tooth. 🫤
• Princes Aegon (the Younger) and Viserys seem way younger than in Fire & Blood. How is the Gullet going to work?
• Did Aegon's drinking buddies get ripped apart by the mob?
• Can someone remind me if Rhaenyra is canonically bisexual in Fire & Blood?
• "Here's a description of sexual assault." Great, let's follow that with a makeout session...
• Seasmoke: "You look like that kid I used to know—you're my rider now, deal with it."
• Are they merging Nettles with Rhaena?
• Also, Sheepstealer heard that the sheep are prettier than the women at the Vale. 😉
• Steffon Darklyn totally could've claimed Seasmoke if he didn’t get cocky. As soon as he thought, "I DID IT," Seasmoke was like, "What are you doing, buddy?"
• I think Simon Strong knows more than he’s letting on. The way he described Alys trying her "healing powers" on Grover Tully was suspicious.
• Men will literally commit war crimes and sleep with their niece before giving their big bro a hug.

Things I liked

• Matt Smith certainly looks like The Warrior himself (God/Aspect of the Seven). If HOTD becomes an antology series (post-dance of the dragons) I would not be mad if he played another Daemon...
• Speaking of Daemon, how ducking funny is his reaction to the Brackens saying, "go ahead - burn us". Mad respect for him to actually realize that THAT is the kind of soldiers he needs.
• Alys Rivers remains one of the breakout characters of this season.
• Trippy/Trippin'/Mystical Daemon >>>>> "Regular" Daemon
• Baela is a boss. Loved her conversation with grandpa Velaryon. Indeed, Rhaenys chose to go out like a dragonrider.
• 🤩 🤩 🤩 More Book-accurate Eyrie and (Frey) Crossing 🤩 🤩 🤩

Random Thoughts

• Parading Meleys' head around is definitely a bad idea. It's diminishing the mysticism that the dragons possess. This is also undoubtedly setting the stage for the <event from F&B>.
• That's a level of incest I was not prepared to see, Daemon.
• So far with Daemon: Brother issues, niece issues and are we adding Mommy issues ? Next Episode are we getting Baelon cameo ?
• Is the Valyrian armor "HOTD-Canon" for Aegon surviving Rook's Rest ?
• I'm not quite sure who Rhaenyra's handmaiden was seeing at the end.
• "What time is it" "The WOLF". Loved how that line could have a meta context, in addition of the actual in-universe meaning.
• I loved the proposal and extent of the Dragonseed plan for the Blacks. To me, it sounds more out-of-left-field and grandiose than the F&B version.
• Was this the first usage of "Aemond One-Eye" ?
• Good job, Otto. All that work to keep Daemon off the throne... only to end up with Daemon on the throne - just with the D moved to the end and a cool eye-patch.

Things I liked

• We got Rook's Rest.
• Even more young Rhaenyra! ~ Hi Milly!!!
• Daemon is getting a crash course into Spooky/Mystic Westeros.
• They spent all this time setting up Cole as a stone cold warrior.... Only to have him shellshocked at what a Dragon vs Dragon war really entails. "What have I unleashed"
• Alys Rivers for best new character of the season.
• I love how disorienting the mystic scenes at Harrenhal are.
• We have ~~Muppets~~ Tullys!
• Clever bit of foreshadowing (for the end of the episode) with Alicent dropping the 🐲 figure

Weird Things / Random Thoughts

• Doesn't appear they've added anything new this week to the opening credits. Still ends with the hanging of the ratcatchers.
• War isn't romanticized... we're getting the futility of war. I've read before that GRRM writes conflict from an anti-war point of view. Could not be clearer now.
• Was Aemond really going to double-dip into Kin-slaying ?
• Do we prefer HOTD's version of why Cole gains the Kingmaker moniker ? I think the book's version makes more sense; he is a much bigger player in F&B.
• Looks like we're getting no differences in post Rook's Rest Aegon from F&B.
• Well done HBO... I can't believe Criston Cole is likeable in this episode.
• Alicent’s actions in being a horrible mother again are devastating.

ROFL for Trump to not invest… that’s not a low bar. The bar is buried and no shovel would help.

Bush Gardens was/is awesome, how dare you 😂

For Drumpf, it’s more of a sequel to Action Park (NJ)

My question: does that indicate that weirwood is impervious to dragon fire?

I'm unsure. My theory is that Ryan Condal (and GRRM by extension) are hinting at the magical properties of weirwood and, more specifically, that it could harm dragons.

During Aegon's Conquest, Brandon Snow (Torrhen Stark's bastard brother) offered to cross the Trident alone at night, sneak into the Targaryen camp, and assassinate the dragons while they slept. So, at the very least, Brandon thought he had something powerful enough (and maybe fireproof—or at least resistant) to get the job done.

The connection to Weirwood might be in ADwD. In that book, one of the visions Bran has through the Winterfell heart tree is of "a pale, fierce, and dark-eyed young man" slicing three branches off the weirwood and shaping them into arrows. I've read before that this may be Brandon Snow, preparing Weirwood arrows to kill the three Targaryen dragons.

It seems that way (at least according to HBO)... in book lore, it is hinted that Danny's dragons are the eggs stolen during Jaehaerys' reign by Elissa Farman.

Ballsy.... she is learning from "chaos hoodie" Daemon.

Things I liked

• Intro updated! Jaehaerys and Rat-catchers shown. Luke's death no longer shown 😔
• Braken v Blackwood!
• Rhaenys keep speaking truths.
• "It's a big chair, made of swords" - Daemon cracks me up.
• Ulf is growing on me.
• I love how we were shown a gruesome after-battle in the Riverlands, and everyone is basically saying "That was a cheeky skirmish between the Brackens and Blackwoods"
• Loved seeing "little" Moondancer.
• It seems we're walking towards evil stepmother and Maegor with Teats after all/

Weird Things / Random Thoughts

• That was Bloody Ben, right ?
• Hull is everyone's favorite shit-talking uncle.
• That was Alys Rivers over a Harrenhal, right ?
• Did.... they make Aegon's posse from the previous episodes the new KG ?
• It's been a while since I read F&B, but I don't recall Daemon getting prophetic/dragon dreams.
• Wait... is the show implying that the curse of Harrenhall could be tied to the weirwoods ?
• The premise of the secret Sept meeting is ridiculous, but the scene itself was great.
• I am not buying "Seasmoke is acting out because it's bored" - I think this might be a sign that something happened to Laenor.
• I appreciate that the "misunderstanding" angle in HotD is being sidelined. While misunderstandings did play a role in the events leading up to this point, the conversation at the Sept makes it clear that Alicent knows Viserys didn't truly want Aegon to be king. At this stage, Alicent's actions are more about ignorance, greed, ambition, and other emotions that have entangled her and the rest of the characters deeply..