House of the Dragon: 2x4 Full Reaction
Added 2024-11-19 01:24:46 +0000 UTC"The Red Dragon and the Gold"
Comments
It probably is a supernatural thing, but my guess for a non-supernatural explanation for the weird dream/hallucinations at Harrenhal would be all the mold caused by dripping water from the lack of upkeep on the castle. Fungus can mess with people's heads; and people seem to know that non-locals start to go crazy there aka someone being exposed to something psychoactive, while the locals probably have built up some degree of tolerance to it.
James Smith
2025-02-16 03:24:38 +0000 UTCThis episode is so good, but so tragic. As epic and visually amazing as the dragon fight was, my heart was breaking the whole time, especially as I knew what was coming from reading the book. Aemond's betrayal of Aemond was a shock though, as it's a change, or at least an expansion of the source material. It makes a lot of sense though, especially after Aegon mocking him last episode; Aemond seriously knows how to hold a grudge, and he decided to return the favour by embarrassing him in the Small Council, then seizing the unexpected opportunity to try and get rid of him. I'm not sure if you caught it, but when he and Vhagar hear the signal trumpets they're about to set off, but when Aemond sees Aegon flying overhead he tells Vhagar to wait, presumably in the hope that Rhaenys would kill Aegon before Vhagar shows up to fight her. Speaking of Rhaenys, the implication of the scene between her, Alyn and Corlys is that Alyn is a bastard son of Corlys. She sees a resemblance between them, and is very accusatory, but she doesn't blame Alyn - "his past is no fault of his own" - whilst Corlys is very defensive - "is this why you came? To subject me to an inquisition?" Adds an extra layer of tragedy that their final interaction was such a tense conversation, and explains why Alyn is so awkward around Corlys. The man talking to Daemon in the dining hall at Harrenhal, Ser Willem Blackwood, actually appeared in Season 1 for a single scene. This was before the 10-year time skip, when Rhaenyra was on her marriage tour searching for a partner - Episode 4 I believe. He was the young boy who got in a sword fight with and killed an older Bracken boy who insulted him after his proposal to Rhaenyra. This is what he's talking about when he says he once vied for her hand. The tea that Alicent drinks to counteract any possible pregnancy is called "tansy tea" in the books, and yes it can be used to have an abortion, not just as a preventative measure. In the main series, we piece together that Catelyn and Lysa's father, Hoster Tully, forced Lysa to drink it after she slept with Littlefinger. She had a nasty miscarriage, and never really recovered. It's possible that the damage this caused is a contributing factor to why her son with Jon Arryn is so frail, and it's undoubtedly why she's so overprotective of him. I understand Alicent's frustration and why she lashed out at Aegon like that, but it was probably the worst thing she could have done; in a moment when he was actually listening to her and asking her advice, she was needlessly cruel. Telling him to just sit down and shut up was never going to go over well, and combined with the embarrassment of the Small Council meeting and Aemond/Cole plotting behind his back, it's why he decided to take matters into his own hands, and now...
Jordan McLaren
2024-11-20 01:27:35 +0000 UTC
