House of the Dragon... Why It's Great!

Pretty sure the reason Rhaenyra became so deeply resentful towards Alicent is not just the marriage itself but because she realized Alicent had been cozying up to Viserys for a long time entirely behind her back and felt deeply betrayed by it. Of course Alicent actually lacks agency over her situation and I think Rhaenyra does recognize that to an extent but Rhaenyra has never been afraid to stand up to her own father, unlike Alicent who is very obedient, so the fact that Alicent would "choose" Otto's scheme over her best friend cut deep.

I actually liked the smaller scope far more. It was easier to realize who is who, and the dynamics. I was far more invested on whether Viserys and Rhaenyra would see eye to eye, whether Otto would be figured out or not, whether Alicent would become friends with Rhaenyra again or whether Viserys and Daemon would finally be there for each other once more, than anything in GoT. Those intimate relationships inform the grander political ones and make them more impactful.
Example, Daemon storming the crab pirates alone, bad ass as that scene might be, it’s made even more awesome by the context that he’s once again about to be seen as lesser because his brother sent a huge force to help him win, and he would rather do something that insane and probably die, rather than letting that happen. That’s amazing.

I think that Viserys is a big part of the reason why this family feud happened, he neglected Aegon, Aemond, and Heleana his whole life, if he had shown equal love to all his children, this wouldn't have happened

The problem with Cersei's kids is they're not related to the sovereign, but in Rhaenyra's case they are and her consort is shooting blanks. It is indeed different.

Rhea was FORCED to push for her second born son to be the heir of Driftmark because if she were to support Laena’s daughters she would be openly admitting that her sons are bastards, which would absolutely threaten both her place as Viserys’ heir and the lives of her children.

After the last couple seasons of GOT left such a bad taste in my mouth, I seriously questioned whether or not I even wanted to return to the world of Westeros, which is surprising considering just how invested I was in the first 6 seasons. Thankfully the first season of HOD really reignited my faith in this franchise and what it can deliver.

Daemon is just as unpredictable as a dragon... a wild beast that wants to be free but everyone thinks they understand and can control.
Then act shocked when he's pushed into survival mode or defends his family.

I disagree about Rhaenyra suffering more consequences over Laenor's death. By that point in time, all Corlys and Rhaenys have left are their grandchildren, three of which are Rhaenyra's sons (despite not actually being their grandchildren by blood, it is heavily hinted that they love them like grandchildren anyway,) the other two are Daemon's daughters, all of whom support Rhaenyra, if they wanted to help protect their grandchildren, they would've had no choice but to support Rhaenyra as well.
It doesn't mean they and Nyra are all cool, just that they have similar goals in mind.

36:21 I totally agree with you about Aemond killing Luceres. The only accident in killing him was that his dragon ate Luke. He was literally trying to knock him off his dragon and stab his eye out minutes before. He was fully aware how dangerous it was and didn’t care. If this happened IRL, he’d go to prison. It’s insane that people are playing down what he did as a little oopsie and excusing him. He was an adult bullying a child.

Viserys Targaryen is not the Ned Stark of this universe, one key difference is that Ned Stark never doubt to go war if he feels that the realm or his house feel threaten, Viserys always try to appease things, making the conflict under his nose worse, Ned in other hand, his only flaw was to think that everyone else had the same sense of honour that he have.

Paddy deserves an Award for his extraordinary and exceptional performance when he dragged himself to the throne while dying

I woudnt say that Rhaenyra's marriage to Lanor was to 'sleep around' it was to pursue happiness whilst upholding thier duties. Its very different. And she was justified in her anger toward Alicent as from her perspective she was using her as a tool to get close to her father behind her back.

Rhaenyra’s answer to Alicent in episode 4 was more rules lawyer than lying. When Alicent asked Rhaenyra if she had been with Daemon, The answer was no, because Daemon stopped things before they went that far. Alicent never asked just about sex. So I think Rhaenyra gave a politicians answer, and the exact answer to the worded question, not to the spirit of the conversation.

I think you make valid points, though, I think you might have missed some nuance in the scene between Laenor and Rhaenyra as just that they didn't try enough. I think Laenor may be sterile. My gripe with Rhaenyra is that she didn't find a Laenor look-alike. With regards to the relationship breakdown between Alicent and Rhaenyra, I imagine that Rhaenyra shut Alicent out and thought she must have wanted to marry Viserys. If we're going by how Rhaenyra acts, she might've thought that if Alicent wasn't glad to marry her dad, she would've done something about it. That's what Rhaenyra would've done. Flown off on Syrax and told the old man to get bent. Otto is manipulative, and he's thinking of himself, not Alicent. Hightower as a house, not people. He wanted to put the Hightowers on the throne. I didn't think of overcompensation being Aemond and Vhagar but now that you said it, Vhagar as a jacked up truck and Aemond in sleeveless plaid and a trucker's hat is what I see. Great video, even if I don't wholeheartedly agree with all your points.

I think that Alicent does believe Viserys' "change of heart" to be true. Based on the scene in the episode where they go on the royal hunt in honor of Aegon's nameday, Viserys openly questions his choice to make Rhaenyra heir to the throne and talks about the Targaryan "Dreamers". Ironically, Alicent at the time reaffirms Viserys' choice and talks him out of his doubt. But then hearing Viserys mumble out something with a dream and hearing the name Aegon it is not that far of a leap that she would make the connection that she did and that she would believe it - after all Viserys had his doubts once - why not again?
But it obviously doesn't help her case that she acts with jealosy and recentfullness most of the grown life after that.

I feel like the part when Daemon laugh during his 2nd wife funeral is because Vaemond decided to take this time of mourning to keep throwing shades at Rhaenyra. Nothing to do if he's evil or not. That's how I interpreted.

Something I would like to point out, Alicent's kids were just a little troubled before Otto arrived back in court. After he did, their biggest flaws got super propelled into criminal degrees

It was so nuts to me that Viserys was so downtrodden at that point in time that he couldn't insist, upon his right of kingship, to marry his daughter to his grandson (eww, but it is what it is). It's not as though Rhaenyra and her immediate family hadn't been in KL for six years at that point, and he wasn't so incapacitated that he was indefinitely bedridden. He could have put his foot down but instead, he just ostensibly
shook his head and went "Well, can't argue with that 🤷🏼".

It's conjecture to say that if Rhaenyra was a kinder sister to her half-brothers, they wouldn't be so intensely at odds with each other and have strained relationships with her sons. Remember the bullying that Aemond suffered for not having a dragon (the pig dragon prank in particular)? That led to him desirous of having one, if only to prove himself as deserving of his lineage. That, in turn, led to a chain of events ending with him losing one eye and cementing a long-standing hatred in his heart. Rhaenyra didn't have anything to do with that (well, arguably).
In short, kind sister =/= better (half) brother relationships and so on down the line.
But yes, they're all flawed top to bottom, and their flaws have dire consequences. In the real world, it would be highly improbable because of how modern society is set up, and that is what makes the show so compelling too, imho.

13:39 “I’m sure Rhaneyra could’ve had a kid if she really tried and not slept around” the show literally explains thru Lainor that they did try and he was infertile and also Rhaneyra only slept with him and Harwin and that time so its not like she was sleeping around with everyone, and at least none of them were her brother either lol

One thing to note is that in the fuedal world, being more critical of women sleeping around isn't just some arbitrary decision. It has to do with paternity certainty. Maternity is always certain, but paternity is not. The only say to ensure it is for the woman to only be with one man. The more important paternity is, the more the magnifying class is focused on the woman's sexuality.
This was a MAJOR staple in gender relations for millennia after "modern" civilizations started springing up, and one of the foundational principles for a lot of the sexism that sticks around. That and women being baby-makers and men expected to die in combat.

Alicent's comment during her rant about "your pretty little foot", is hilariously ironic, considering what she's getting up to with her own royal feet.

Great video, and props for using each character’s theme when discussing them!

Such an underrated Clip-Sharer. Such great pacing script and how he delivers.

Exactly, people sees Otto and Alicent as a Villains, while in fact they are doing what they are supposed to do. An outstanding video 🔥🔥

Much as I love Danaerys I'm glad HOTD shows the faults in Rhaenyra and doesn't display her as the realms delight, loved by all. It's easy to see her doing horrible things out of grief and anger vs Dany doing a 180.

This was a really great breakdown, I liked the rubber band analogy of how the season really built tension. I've seen so many people say HOTD is too slow and they constantly compare it to GOT but Character building, setting up scenes and conflict is just as important as the big battles and shocking moments and to me this first season was meant to build the back story before leaning in to the drama that we like in GOT.

All of the bad and evil Allison shows is caused by the poison her father brought to all of them.
He traumatized her and made her fear... Fear is a great motivator and he put a lot of that into her.. even before the show started.. it even goes down into the body language of the actors portraying that so very well with the nails (biting nails is a sign of inner conflict and possible trauma. Yes it can also be just bad hygiene padagogy but in itself thats a trauma too..)
Allison is as much a victim to the whole situation as her and Rhaenyras kids.
Otto is the worst.. Rhaenyras unrestrained actions (justified or not) make her the second worst cause of suffering.
If Rhaenyra had her s**** together and embraced Allie and helped her out of fear and faith they might've become the greatest friends who hold the Kingdrom together... but because of Ottos poison and Rhaenyras recklessness... the Kingdom will literally burn..

I'm over the narrative that Rhaenyra shunned Alicent out for no reason. Alicent was groomed by her father sure, but she could have told Rhaenyra what was going on rather than have her be blindsided.

13:20 It's implied that Laenor was sterile since Rhaenyra did say that they 'performed their duty' which would explain that no matter what, they could not have heirs

I was going to give the show a miss, but it's awesome. The first episode drew me in. Paddy Considine is hypnotic. Milly Alcock is brilliant. I love how it's very character based and intimate.

I loved this video essay, it's very even-handed and balanced. I have my biases, of course, but it's great hearing this story from all sides.

ita crazy how underrated this channel is. every vid is so proffesionaly made and so good! keep up the good work

I liked how it was more condensed storyline wise. And having already read the fire and blood book makes me even more excited for season 2! Paddy Considine as Viserys was so good! I also really liked the two young actresses that played young alicent and rhaenyra. Olivia Cooke, Matt Smith as Daemon and the actress who plays the older Rhaenyra is also fantastic.

Enjoyed your very well spoken character briefs, understanding of the world , and pacing and tone of your delivery and agree with your appreciation of the miraculous accomplishments this show achieved in a post GOT universe! Allowing differing perspectives characters continue to develop and evolve as results of their circumstances keeps them from stagnating and the viewer immersed themselves as you say it shows both short and long term consequences of actions and motivations. Aemond is by far my favorite character (even tho I can admit to the excitement of the fatal attraction towards Daemon and young Rhaenyra😊)
Aemond (season one at least, no didn’t read the books) is the epitome of loyalty intelligence perseverance desire discipline and fully embodies that power of drawing strength from within using his adversities as motivation to sharpen up not seek outside distractions.

I know everyone is raving about Paddy and I agree he’s a great actor and Matt’s scene with him were my fav. But Matt Smith draws my eyes to him in every scene he’s in. He’s always going to be no 1 for me because I’ve been following him since Doctor Who. I just want him to get the respect he deserves. He is a phenomenal actor, and he embodies Daemon. As for the character I want him next season to make people afraid the min he walks in the room

In the beginning, Alicent is mad that Rheanyra is not worried about her position. Alicent, then to Rheanyras, full knowledge just undercuts her position and marries her father. Now I know Alicent has anxiety as noted by her picking her fingers, but if she has said anything to Rheanyra and got ahead of it, I doubt it would have gotten as bad as it has. Viserys is not doing anything to her if she tells Rheanyra, and Alicent knows this, she talkes to Viserys for a while and could have told Rheanyra during any point

Alicent misunderstanding Viserys didn't lead to the war. When she told the council, they didn't even seem to believe her and had been planning the coup for YEARS behind her back. The ONLY thing that scene changes is Alicent's feelings towards Viserys. She feels like in his last moments he did right by her children. Because don't mistake it, keeping Rhaenyra as heir was a betrayal. It was the theft of her son's birthright. So all it really changed was allowing her to mourn him, because if someone betrayed my sons the way Viserys did I'd spit on their corpse and leave them to rot. Alicent has gone above and beyond performing every wifely duty to the best of her ability with a smile on her face when inside she wanted to cry and there were certain things she was due for that service.
People read Alicent going after Rhaenyra with a knife as proof she's crazy and bitter, but really it shows how unjust her situation is. An eye for an eye is their definition of justice. They cut off body parts left and right in their culture. From Alicent's perspective, four children accosted her child with weapons and cut out his eye and for that they SUFFERED NO CONSEQUENCES. And her children aren't just any children. THE KING'S SON was maimed!!! What's the point of marrying the king if it offers NO protection for your children? Viserys was more interested in who called Rhaenyra's bastard kids bastards than his son's missing eye. That tells those boys they don't matter at all. They are below even bastards, the lowest of the low in importance to their father.
Compare what Viserys did (literally nothing) to a similar scene with Robert as king. When Joffrey says he's been attacked, Robert "makes it right" by ordering Lady killed, even though she had nothing to do with it. Basically the Lannisters suffered, so he makes the Starks suffer. He balances the scales. Everyone is miserable and justice is done.
Viserys doesn't balance the scales, he takes nothing from the blacks to make them suffer as the greens suffer. That's why Alicent is demanding eyes and going after people with a knife. She wants justice but will get none because Rhaenyra may do as she pleases as may her bastards and will never suffer consequences for her actions.
In other words, every bit of this is Viserys' fault.

22:10 If Aemond consoles Lucerys then he admits that Harwin Strong is Luce's father and that Luce and his brothers are bastards. I think that's one of the reasons Aemond chose not to do that.

I actually on reflection like the Allicent prophecy scene. It lets her hear what she wants to hear, but also she knows Viserys had a dream of Aegon wearing the conqueror's crown and got the whole speech from Viserys about the power of prophecy being in Targaryen blood. One she likely heard a lot over the course of her marriage to him, especially with how Aemma's death consumed Viserys and made him hyperfixate on the circumstances surrounding it - questioning his abilities as a dreamer and focusing on Rhaenyra, who resembles Aemma. Ironically of course Viserys' dream did in fact come true. People say Allicent was stupid to believe it, but she's religious at a time where Targaryen Exceptionalism is accepted Faith doctrine and her husband kept harping on about how he would give birth to an Aegon who wears the crown of the conqueror, and then Viserys says on his deathbed that "Aegon's dream is true". The only dream Allicent knows of to believe is this one.

What makes Otto the most Machiavellian is that he hides his ambition behind "justifications", all of which you listed. He may not be obviously/overtly evil, but for that you can't paint him as "a guy just doing his job." He used his position to advance his family, not for "the good of the realm". As a second son himself, he knows he has no claim to lordly titles, so he has to attach to power to get power of his own--becoming Hand of the King, so he knows he has to bolster the King and protect him to retain any semblance of power. He knows Viserys named Rhaenyra heir, and Viserys never once retracted or wavered on this, but spent years/decades planning to usurp her--"hiding" behind the whole "men first" line of inheritance, but really to bolster his own blood. His brilliance is that he built his vanity and ambition behind a facade of "duty", so everything that he does appears to be "justified". HE GOT YOU

I totally agree with Aemond. I loved the idea that these powerful dragons aren't so easily controlled and have wills of their own and I also love the idea that there really isn't a good and evil. (Aside from the undead/Euron Greyjoy/And others), but I love the idea that you do have characters like Aemond and Daemon who are just people who do good things for wrong reasons and bad things for good reasons. Or let their emotions get the best of them. It's super human and easy to understand.

Crazy how Otto created realm destructing war worthy drama where there was none just like Littlefinger!

I absolutely love how you used the characters themes in the background of each of the characters’s chapters. I love this detail

I watched House of Dragon twice... first time I was focused on Rhaenyra and Daemon(lol I couldn't help it, Matt Smith's performance was amazing) and the second time watching it I was focused on Alicent. I really saw a difference from the first and second viewing of the show. You kinda feel for Alicent but damn there was just so much going on. I can't wait for season 2, I hope it lives up to season 1 but we all know sometimes shows will fall OR rise from the first season. Lol

What a great video - I WHOLEHEARTEDLY AGREE with everything you pointed out. This season was a masterpiece and I am so happy we get to watch this show :)

Can you do a video on who caused the Dance of Dragons, all the way from the beginning? Personally, I think Otto has a big hand in this. He suggests that the king has an heir, Rhaenyra. He puts her up as an option, while also saying the king should remarry after the death of Aemma.

Just because Viserys sleeps with Alicent doesn't mean that Rhaenyra has to look at their children as siblings. They are her half siblings and most importantly she's able to see very clearly that the Hightowers are trying to usurp her. This Aegon has replaced her own brother who died within a day, Alicent is now the queen, Aemma was a queen. I don't blame Rhaenyra for how she reacted, I'm only shocked that she wasn't disgusted with Viserys, didn't ask how Aemma died, initially she was angry at him but oh God, Viserys was pathetic. Daemon didn't try to save his child, he let his wife decide what she wants to do and she burned with her child. Viserys could at the very least talk to Aemma, it would have taken 2 minutes, they cut her stomach open ffs. And comparing Viserys to Ned Stark has got to be the biggest joke of all time, Ned would never endanger his wife's life to produce male heirs and he would not remarry imo. Viserys was king yet he acted like he has to marry because he has no choice. Rhaenyra didn't wrong the Velaryons, she didn't let anyone challenge Luke's claim because that would challenge her oldest son's claim too, she betrothed both her oldest sons to laena's daughters so that the Velaryons get what they deserve, a queen and a lady of the driftmark. Alicent Hightower isn't some Saint that Rhaenyra should worship, she came in her home, took her mother's place and acted like this is all okay. She was forced, yes, it's not like she could just tell Otto no or that she's trying but it's not working. Rhaenyra was right to hate her. And Rhaenyra wasn't sleeping around, it was just one man whom she loved as well. Alicent wasn't sleeping around, she was only letting a foot fetishist do the deed right next to her as she looked away. Just because two people aren't sleeping together or having babies together doesn't mean that that's not cheating or disgusting. Alicent Hightower and Otto Hightower were pathetic and it shows in her children, except Halaena perhaps.

All of this just proves how bad/toxic of a mindset a person can have when they're forced to grow up too soon, and when kids get too much power while stuck in their childish mindsets.

I can't help but think that Christian Cole forgets that Rheanyra is the reason he's in the King's Guard to begin with. And he can be mad at her but don't take it out on her children.
And I can believe that Aemond killed Lucerys by accident, but it wouldn't have happened if he hadn't gone chasing after him to begin with. His desire for revenge reminds me of Christian Cole, his anger towards Rheanyra turning into hatred.

Excellent video - best I have seen outlining why the show a massive success.

GOT is brilliant! I'm thankful to at least have that after the Witcher Netflix fail. GOT knew how to make worlds and people believable and relatable. It was and still is phenomenal!

I would argue that Alicent is more like Ned in *one* way: she's by-the-book even when she knows it's a bad book. Both she and Ned follow the rules knowing it will just make everything worse.

I agree, I will always love game of thrones no matter the ending for what it showed we can do TV. But this has rejuvenated my interest going to Westress. Thanks to this show we can have other points in history brought to the screen properly

Aemond is actually a lot like Daemon, I think they will grow some sort of respect for each other later

I believe that both GoT and HotD have cast talented and capable actors, which, along with the characters themselves being well written, made both series great. A good example is Joffrey Baratheon. Everyone hated him with a passion. I believe that Jack Gleeson's top notch performance was a huge part of creating that. Same goes for King Viserys. You can't help but feel bad for him in the end, as he really tried to please everyone, even in his final days, and Paddy Considine really gets that through.
I would also like to say how I find hilarious the facts that Daemon is a walking, talking legion of red flags, yet every woman around him is like "impregnate me" and the reality check punching Aemond in the face when Vhagar kills his nephew. His face had literally the phrase "oh f**k" written all over it. 😂

There are many people to blame for what happens and I think that's what makes the show so interesting.
Viserys for all the obvious reasons, Otto too, but one of the biggest misfires is that Lyonel Strong had the chance to suggest Harwin to wed Rhaenyra! That would have prevented everything that follows. What seemed like a lovely selfless idea he had at the time, was actually a massively terrible idea.
I genuinely can't stop thinking about that and I think Viserys would have at least considered it and talked to Rhaenyra about it. Because at least Harwin was not a baby! Still one of my favorite scenes to this day. Paddy mostly gets praise for episode 8, but that man had some of the best comedic moments too. His facial expressions were on point.

Does anyone know what the repercussions of Rhaenyras children being recognized as bastards? Why she fought so hard to make sure her son inherited Driftmark?
The answer is pretty obvious…

one thing that makes GoT and HotD great too is the music. ramin djawadi is a master at what he does. he is equally as important to the writers, producers, directors and actors/actresses.

So after house of dragon, I decided to rewatch GOT (something I've never thought I'd do) and I personally enjoyed season 1 of HotD more than GOT. I personally like the small scope and find the characters and dynamics more interesting so far.

The fact that I personally see Alicient as in the right instead of Rheyneara just shows how 3D all the characters are and how fleshed out the world is.

BRILLIANT ANALYSIS...
8:00 in and I'm assured the pathway of a successful story has been planned for the viewed (I've watched hundreds of hours of Clip-Share synopses of these programs and yours is EXCEPTIONAL).
Bronx Love brother 😎

I just finished season 1, and I loved it! This video gave a lot of perspective. I can hardly wait for season 2.

Great video, liked your takes on each character, and the editing was on point!

People think it’s too slow? You know…I’m not even surprised. A video of longer than 1 minute is too slow these days.
To be honest, it’s refreshing to see something take its time to allow you to fall into the world with the story.

Rhaenyra is a woman who is just trying to live her best life ... and when she realised at the wedding just how severe the consequences of her actions are. She did her best to do what was required of her.
She had to bear chiuldren and her husband was infertile, what did you expect? In those days, it would have lost her throne completely.
I believe that she stayed in King's Landing to bond with her siblings and her children bond with them also. But that weas impossible because the Greens and that jealous guard were all actively and grotesquely ensuring that they create a divide amongst them.
Alicent was so obsessed with her that she doesn't even raise her children, which is why they turn out to being like that. Many children are raised by single parents but don't turn out like hers even in HoD and GoT. Stop excusing her blatant hatred, it's unwarranted, sure she lied when shge was a teenager, what teenager has never lied before? Do not.
Yes her father could have intervened but it would never have helped long-term, it could have prevented what happened. It all boils down to the Hightowers and their decisions. Every bad thing hereon out is their faults and theirs alone.

Not making a decision, is a BIIIIGG decision. -Negan.
Love that “a great man once said” 26:15

Rhyneara didn't lie to Alicent. She asked if she had sex with Daemon. Besides Alicent withheld the fact she was spending so much time with her father. She could have told Rhyneara that her father was pushing her to spend time with her father. I know Vicerys asked Alicent not to say anything, but if they were close friends she wouldn't have withheld that information from her. I see the initial problems with their relationship coming from Alicent more so than Rhyneara. Besides what happened with Rhyneara and Daemon or Criston was none of Alicent's business. That should have stayed between Rhyneara and Vicerys. Plus Alicent knows full well Vicerys would never want Aegon to rule the realm. He is a sick rapist. I think it says a lot about how Alicent raised her kids by how perverted, insane, and bloodthirsty her children are. Rhyneara has very kind, loving children.

people having a problem with rhaenyra sleeping around (if you consider 3/4 men in total of 30 years sleeping around lmao) is so wild to me. she tried multiple times to have children with leanor and it was all for nothing. plus bastards or no they would still usurp her

you put so much work in what you say with your mouth AND what you say silently with your clever editing and all this work went NOTICED. I'm just mad I gave lazy creators my views for so long before finding your channel. Very clever, very respectful of your audience, subscribed immediately.

Rhaenyra acted like a teenager.
I love the way Martin plays with shades of gray.

Um.
Rhaenyra told Daemon that she and Laenor had had sex several times (but that "there was no joy in it"), and later, when Rhaenyra is talking to Laenor, she talks about the times they had sex.
It's quite possible Laenor was sterile. And Laenor was OBVIOUSLY *quite well aware* those children were not his and didn't seem to care at all...he loved the kids.

Every characters are interesting and if you watched the show with open mind and never taking side, I would say you will enjoy the story more and more.
You'll eventually caught on with why characters do what they have done.
ps. about Aemond's finale change, I concur that any who disagreed or dislike that might enjoy simple characterization, but what make these shows great is that the charactrers feel like humans, as they all make mistakes and have unresolve negatives in them, just like the rest of us do.

Excellent video! Your takes are always so thorough and worth hearing!

Just imagine if daemond was king of the seven kingdoms. He’d be up there with aegon the conqueror

Wow this is the first I’ve seen someone comparing Otto’s actions to Ned Stark’s and 100% agree. It really is all about perspective. My first impression of his character had more in common with Ned Stark than with Littlefinger or Tywin as well

I'm 22 mins into this and I know this will hit 10 million views in the next 3 years. Great video. Keep up the good work for the next seasons.

"Daemon doesn't want to rule - he just wants the attention and love of his brother" I think we didn't watch the same show then.
Daemon's main motives are : the Supremacy of House Targaryen, and making a name for himself in History.
Sure he may not even have actively coveted the throne, other than as a means to an end ( making a name for himself ) - that's why we see him laugh when he spies on the small council in Episode 2 and Viserys says he doesn't have ambition for the throne. We, the audience can never fully rule out that he may have coveted the throne at one point. Don't forget that before Rhaenyra was named heir, Daemon was next in line waiting for his turn to sit on the throne. The show purposely leaves it up to our imagination to think of what Daemon would have been capable of during that time...
But in order not to confront his brother in a treasonous manner, he would have been happy to settle for the position of Hand of the King because, much like a Prime Minister, this is where power actually resides.
Yes, he really does love his brother but he squashes every opportunity for peace between them and calls him weak and defies him at every turn. Daemon only realizes Viserys' strength just before his end when the crown falls and he puts it back on his head.
The whole motivation of people like Daemon and Otto is to advance or strengthen the position of their own house in a time of uncertainty.
They clearly would stop at nothing and they always play dirty if necessary.
George RR Martin has based his books on European History, and throughout History you always get a permanent dualistic power shift from peaceful rulers to tyrants and vice-versa. And when you have two peaceful rulers in a row ( Jaehaerys and Viserys ), then the unrest has grown to the critical boiling point. It has been the central point of House of the Dragon so far. And with Viserys being such an idealistic dreamer he seems blissfully unaware of the tension in the Kingdom and he imagines he can just name Rhaenyra his heir and perpetuate the peace...
But the Greens have been waiting for their turn, while Daemon wants only to restore Targaryen supremacy through force.
Rhaenyra's privileged and relatively safe upbringing has made her believe she can do anything she wants without facing the consequences and that she will prevail without paying a steep price...... but we know how its going to play out for her, unless the show takes a drastic opposite direction from the books.

Imagine Helaena as Queen, with Aemond as her husband, and Rhaenyra as Hand. Aemond, Daemon, Rhaenyra and Helaena, supported by Rhaenys... Gives me goosebumps.

37:13 i mean the moment he claimed vhagar he was immediately ready to kill jace and luke and maybe baela and rhaena also

Helena "the weird bug girl". I have never related to a statement more than that in my life. I just relate to Helena because out of my 5 siblings I'm the outcast. And I'm a tarantula keeper with the occasional jumping spider. :>

I hope that house of the dragon will become the great full story!

AAAH Phoooey! you spoke about being kinder to Alicent being forced to marry Rhaenyra's dad but like she was with him a lot of evenings and she held that from Rhaenyra. In my humble opinion, Alicent could have told her best friend that her pops Otto was making her keep the king company in Alicent's dead mothers dress and to top it off helping Rhaenyra mourn her mom, seems very snaking to me, I think Alicent has always had a side to her like her dad but it was never brought out. I do agree All characters have flaws and I think that is why its got sooo much approval from me, I love it!

It truly was a masterful Season One. Amazing 👏

I find your analysis of Otto and Alicent to be a bit off
Otto isn't just doing things for the benefit of his house in a purely logical way. House Hightower is already one of the most influential houses. He's an ambitious man who is also a second son that feels he has something to prove. He isn't just complicit in usurping Rhaenyra's throne, he was one of the active conspirators. He wanted a grandson of his to be king, which would lift his station. I don't think any amount of perspective would make us see Otto as a Ned Stark figure. Ned hated the game, the politics and the conspiring. Otto plays the game and plays it rather well, though he may not necessarily enjoy it.
The scene between Larys and Alicent isn't just Alicent deciding to get information. It exemplifies how women's bodies in the GOT universe are seen for what they can give to others and are used in said way. It exemplifies how not even the queen is above that treatment.

/agree. This season been has trully perfect. I have to say that in house of the dragon characters are much more flawed and realistic than in GoT, which tend to follow clear archetypes. This is a more akin to RL drama compared to GoT and that is why in the end i think it managed to be even better!

I like this video but some fundamental issues about some of the 'facts': first, rhaenyra and laenor *did* try to have children, they do say this in the show, but clearly it didn't work. Second, Lucerys is heir to Driftmark because his last name is Velaryon, and Corlys wants his legacy to pass to a Velaryon. Daemon's daughters are Targaryen, not Velaryon (despite having both bloodlines) and if they married they would take their husband's name. Corlys makes a whole speech about how a name is the most important thing to him in his legacy. So of course Driftmark passes through the Velaryon name, and not to his Targaryen granddaughters (which was part of the compromise for them to marry Rhaenyra's children, as then they would have both bloodlines and still be called Velaryon).

I stopped watching GOT midway of season 2 during haitus of S7. I read about main plot points and the "worst ending".
But this show got me hooked, and i enjoyed it so much 👏👏👏

See… it was all ottos idea to find a way to get daemond removed as heir. He was the first to say the princess was an heir during the small counsel. Knowing a boy will always have higher claim then a women he knew if his daughter Alicent has a son then he will be the heir not her. Thing is it can be more than one heir

Great video kinda wish you also talked about the dragons as well

I think Daemond is a complicated, interesting character to watch and follow. When he choked Raenerya I was like "oh snap"

Young rhaenyra was the best character in the show 😍

Vaemond, skipping over Rhaena and Baela was out of line. He didn't lead 9 voyages to secure the house wealth, Corlys had every right to appoint his successor.

"How did a franchise that seemed dead for over three years make such an explosive comeback?"
Simple, George R.R. Martin. The seasons of GoT based on the books were incredibly good. As soon as you got beyond the books, they rapidly went downhill ending with a ... disappointing ... conclusion. ALL of HotD will be based on published books by GRRM, so I expect it to be great throughout. The writers have made some changes, hopefully that won't make the show worse.

I actually see Otto in different light, he made me a little sus, still am, but I see his actions a little understandable
The Ned comparison helped kinda

Props for this amazing vid man, cant wait for the upcoming seasons and your vids on them

"Everyone is incredibly Flawed" you take that back!!! Lord Strong is Perfect in every way!!!

Your point on Rhaenyra ‘feminism’ is spot on

I'd love to have them putting the focus more on team Green in the second season, and if HoTD really gets 4 seasons, them putting the focus back on the Blacks more in S3 and so on :D Because... honestly, that would be the best way to go on with it in my mind. Every character is gray. Of course some are more evil or good than other, but still.

What a great video! You made me rethink about certain characters.