So the story I am hearing is that HBO informed them they were cutting the season from 10 to 8 episodes in the middle of filming and during the writers strike so they couldn’t really make any changes. We are missing the standard ep.9 big event and ep.10 denouement of most GoT seasons. Also it kinda screws up the next season, specially if it is also short.
They were clearly setting up the battle of the Gullet with Tyland Lannister recruiting the Triarchy ships and Corlys preparing his navy. The events of that battle and the fallout from it would have made an excellent episodes 9/10. Will be a banger start to season 3.
Besides one or two of the bastard riders flipping, I’m thinking Rhaena could switch sides with her new dragon because she feels like the home team has marginalized her. And Helaena’s Dreamfyre has to factor in somehow, right? Chekov’s dragon and all that. So adding in Daeron the Unseen and his dragon, that evens the number pretty much.
I hope it won’t be that obvious, but then again…
Don’t forget, even if there are different show runners, this is the franchise that hand waved away the death of a dragon with “Dany kind of forgot about the Iron Fleet and Euron’s forces.”
I mean, it was 100% the show runners just wanting to GTFO and do something else, it’s not the “franchise”. Right now the one most likely to flip seems to be Ulf, who is already causing trouble, but the thing is he is very much not the type to join a losing team and even he can do math.
Yeah, and that’s the kind of example they set for the franchise. That’s bad enough.
I really enjoyed the finale and thought they did a great job of setting everything up for the next season. Yeah, it sucks that we have to wait two years for what would have been episodes 9 and 10 but I’m not big on battles anyway. The first season introduced the characters and the conflict and this season was more about fleshing all that out. Even the slow pace of Daemon’s part in the story got a payoff. And there can’t be a lot of dragon fights early on because that just means the beginning of the end, as Criston Cole has recognized. There are still two more seasons.
I’ve really enjoyed the acting and this episode had one of the best scenes in the series - Alyn spitting truth at Corlys. That actor knocked it out of the park. You could feel every line.
I have a feeling that Ulf is going to get cold feet and flee to Essos. Doing what he knows, he’ll gather an unsavory entourage, take every advantage of his position, and then eventually get drawn into Aegon’s quest to retake the throne.
Maybe she will “see” that she needs to get involved to save her little brother Daeron. It would have to be something very personal. Unless she dies and Dreamfyre gets a new rider.
I’m just a schmoe who got caught up in the saga and keeps watching because of the acting, CGI, costuming and engaging fantasy story. I haven’t read the books and have no idea what to expect from future seasons. However, here are some of the things I wonder about:
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It’s hard to not notice that Aemond’s injured eye appears very like the eyes of the White Walkers in GoT. I’ll just bet he’s got something to do with that.
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Illegitimate son of the Sea Snake, Alyn of Hull, very forcefully declared he is “of salt and sea,” which Baela declared was a requirement to become Corlys’s heir. Hmmm.
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Does anyone listen to Rhaenyra? Off goes Prince Jace to treat with the Freys without her permission; Rhaena abandons Rhaenyra’s children to chase a wild dragon. Daemon leaves her to pull together an army on his own behalf and is only back in the fold thanks to Alys Rivers. I hope Rhaenyra finds a way to command some respect.
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Alicent… that woman really loves the water, doesn’t she?
Looking forward to Season 3!