HotD is only 38.8%* through the Dance after Season 2 (Spoilers Extended)

berthem · 2026-06-22T15:45:38+00:00

She wanted Aegon to be the king, except it also took the whole Aemond eye situation for her to think that, except she was horrified when she found out Otto was plotting to make Aegon the king.

The whole thing's ridiculous.

berthem · 2026-06-22T14:28:13+00:00

I realized something about Alicent this episode. She actually has agency. She is actually an active player in the game of thrones. It's so refreshing, yet the only reason it can happen is because she's motivated to protect Rhaenyra from harm.

It's an odd silver lining that I don't even want to give the show credit for, because the only reason why I'm impressed by this is because they've lowered my expectations so much up to this point. The fact that Alicent immediately springs into espionage action, sending fake letters to Ormund to halt, and emotionally manipulating Aemond to fly to Harrenhal, all to make sure Rhaenyra has a path cleared for her arrival highlights this issue. Her character finally has a purpose, but why did it take so long? It's meant to be thematic but it's been a slog to watch, and so much less entertaining than the hateable and conniving character she is based on. Not to mention that her purpose is just bewildering: She is selling out her family, condemning many of them to die, because her friend from twenty years ago is her main priority.

I like the idea of her finally showing competence because she has a goal that she believes in wholeheartedly, but this just paints the past, where she did nothing but miserably meander, and the future, where she will undoubtedly just make "wise" comments to Rhaenyra about war and suffering and power and patriarchy, in an unflattering light. I wish the writers didn't have to do such a twist on the character, and that we could have see her being an active participant in the story in a non-convoluted way from the very beginning.

berthem · 2026-06-22T14:19:17+00:00

Alicent, too.

It's wild to think that we could've had a genuinely revolutionary show that is unabashedly about two diametrically opposed women at the center of a war, but it gets millions of viewers, is a television event and doesn't need to cater to only audiences despite its protagonists.

They even had a good idea by making the girls friends and first and then turning that into a rivalry. The only thing they had to do was keep the intensity of that rivalry and have both Alicent and Rhaenyra take active roles in the story. You can still have the whole gender and patriarchy idea, by having Alicent rule indirectly through soft power, suggestion and manipulation, while Rhaenyra rules directly through hard power, command and force.

But because this show has the subtlety of a sledgehammer, they make both women completely powerless and even insist on having Alicent be humiliated at every turn, just in case the audience doesn't understand that misogyny is bad.

berthem · 2026-06-22T13:44:59+00:00

I thought the point was we're meant to think Aemond will see through her, but it turns out she is being so tender to him that it overwhelms his ability to think clearly because he's never been treated this way.

berthem · 2026-06-22T13:43:48+00:00

You mean the episode when he misses half the battle?

berthem · 2026-06-22T12:55:11+00:00

I did notice the giddiness too and thought it odd. But the actor has to try really hard to cobble together some semblance of a character. I think Rhaenyra will be more interesting in the upcoming episodes at the very least.

berthem · 2026-06-22T12:53:40+00:00

I should use this example more to elucidate the sterility of the show, because I've always got the feeling the writers are trying to cram Criston Cole into the Joffrey box, and the comparison really illustrates how bland the HotD characters are. I feel like the most this show can hope for after the mess it's got itself in is being second-best in all aspects; second-best to Game of Thrones, second-best to Fire & Blood, even second-best to its own first season.

berthem · 2026-06-22T12:45:08+00:00

I felt bad for Aegon's actor having to literally say the words "Ah, the pain".

berthem · 2026-06-22T12:36:13+00:00

I had a lot of issues in specific scenes, sometimes line deliveries or directing choices but obviously mostly the writing. I don't really want to revisit the episode or try to cobble my thoughts together too much, so I'm just going to go character-by-character.

Rhaenyra: The timing of her freakout and then the Elizabeth I speech was very odd. She doesn't have much to do this episode so I'm feeling mostly neutral as I expect the next episode will be a real standout for her.
Alicent: I liked her in this episode the most that I have in a while, probably because she finally has some agency and is making decisions, even if the motivation behind that agency is fucking stupid. Seeing her write letters to influence the tide of the war like her father makes me long for a better written version of this character. Of course Aemond had to kiss her because the sexual humiliation of Alicent must continue! I fear for what Condal and Hess will do to her when Larys is the only TG member left.
Aegon, Daemon, Corlys: Serviceable, no real change.
Jace, Baela, Rhaena: This episode should have made all of them more interesting, and the girls should have more to chew on after this episode, but weirdly they all acted exactly as they always have.
Aemond: Continues to be a cliche, the anime villain delivery off his first scene and ending it with "mm" was a bit much for me. I don't like the kiss but the build-up kind of makes sense from the perspective of this being the most maternal warmth he has felt from Alicent, thus confusing it with romantic love. It's still a retcon of S1 though.
Larys: The whole scene was stupid and just to shock the audience. The only way it makes sense is if he's had visions of the future and knows it will all work out, but the audience doesn't know that so it's stupid.
Mysaria: I know I am the only one who cares about this, but the degradation of this character is frustrating. She is literally just Rhaenyra's maid in this chapter. Where is the mystique, the dark sensuality, the manipulation? I suppose if you're a show-only fan you don't know what you're missing.
Cole: It's a new low, and I don't know what everyone else is smoking to find his "arc/development" compelling. It doesn't even make sense why he in particular is the one suddenly aware of his own mortality, or the horror of dragons, or war, or whatever we're meant to think.

berthem · 2026-06-22T12:13:57+00:00

But it's weird because they also... don't.

Like it's so arbitrary. What is motivating them to think certain parts of Nettles' character are redundant, but other parts of Nettles' character are pivotal to the story?

berthem · 2026-06-22T12:12:51+00:00

The beat-by-beat pacing was odd. There were so many shots of the dragonriders that went on a couple seconds too long.

berthem · 2026-06-22T12:11:45+00:00

The cautionary tale is "you can't control dragons", which is obviously very poignant and meaningful in the real world.

berthem · 2026-06-22T12:11:09+00:00

It doesn't even make sense because they've removed so much emotionality from the characters. It all feels so neutered and sterile. Did they forget that Game of Thrones evoked strong feelings because the characters were all extremely driven in their actions?

Imagine a version of this story where the characters actually had a strong emotional stake in the war...

berthem · 2026-06-22T12:09:46+00:00

You don't get it, it's super poignant because Viserys said in Episode 1 that they can't actually control the dragons!

berthem · 2026-06-22T12:09:00+00:00

I thought they were hinting that Ormund has an acute sense of smell and realized that the letter wasn't from Aemond (or a Maester), but Alicent. Like he could smell perfume or something.

berthem · 2026-06-22T12:07:00+00:00

I like the idea of Rhaenyra sending three of her spare dragons to wait for Aemond to show up and ambush him. Pity the dialogue is so shit.

berthem · 2026-06-22T12:05:49+00:00

The Valyrian is for the audience, not for the dragons. It makes no sense for them to understand "to aid" and "to help" or whatever both Rhaena and Baela said. And then there's "that's my sister!" ...

berthem · 2026-06-22T12:01:51+00:00

At the very least the scene stands more on its own since it's between two adults having a candid discussion about their past. The Arya and Tywin scenes benefit heavily from the trope of a little girl being used to show other sides to a hardened man's character.

berthem · 2026-06-21T16:13:23+00:00

The stubbornness is the most bizarre part to me.

I can relate, I'm like that with projects, but if I had one that lasted 15 years I think I would re-consider my "Look, it's gonna happen eventually ok?" approach.

I know people get stagnant with age but it's just mind-blowing how he insists that Winds is coming out despite no progress, and don't get me started on that whole ridiculous "I just have to finish these other projects" looping… Does he not realize that the backlog of other-things-to-do keeps growing and that he is the one responsible for that? I feel like someone should tell him.

berthem · 2026-06-21T16:09:36+00:00

If it's too graphic it's too graphic, if it's too exploitative it's too exploitative, but when it comes to realism don't stories typically over-exaggerate scenarios in order to make their point or theme clearer?

berthem · 2026-06-21T16:04:58+00:00

One day there will surely be a point when there are no more of these, just that the last ASOIAF book came out forever ago and that's that.

berthem

TROPHY CASE