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[where-theres-smoak-2]

Who's the Black Heart?

(SPOILERS!)

Ok Agatha all along theory time, because there was a moment in ep 6 that opened up the mystery of who the black heart on the list of names for the coven really represented, a mystery that I think we had all thought was already solved. But during ep 6 Billy's boyfriend, Eddie, sends him a message saying 'you're my 🖤'. So now there have been three characters who could potentially be the person behind the black heart on the coven list, Sharon who in wandavision was identified, along with her husband, as a black heart on the calendar and whose alias was Mrs Hart, Rio who tells Agatha that she has a black heart and that it beats for her and now Billy. So which one is the black heart that lilia put on the list and who was meant to be part of the coven?

Well my theory is that the answer is actually all three of them, here's my reasoning. When Lilia gives Agatha the list she says 'here's a list of four names, looks like you've got your coven' and as the audience we assume the four names are Jen, Lilia, Alice and whoever the black heart is. But I went back and looked at that moment again and noticed something:

Agatha's name is also on the list. So the four names are Agatha, Lilia, Jen and Alice, which are the four names that we see written here. The black heart is not seen as it's out of shot.

So whilst we at first assume the coven is meant to be made up of five witches, Agatha and the four names, I actually think the coven is meant to be made up of seven. After all 7 as a number is meant to hold magical significance. Part of the reason why 7 is considered a magical number is because it combines the holy trinity and the 4 elements bringing together the earthly and the divine.

Which brings me to the ballad because within the ballad there is the line 'darkest power, wake thy power, earthly and divine' in the first verse. Which I think could be a clue that there is supposed to be 7 members of the coven. As I said above the number 7 is also connected to the 4 elements which are also mentioned in the first verse of the ballad, in the line right before, 'Gather sisters fire, water, earth and air.'

Now the holy trinity, the other half of the magical number 7, isn't mentioned in the ballad, however the maiden, mother, crone is and this particular trinity you could argue is a witches version of the holy trinity, there is that moment when they are on the broomsticks and Billy is saying oh God repeatedly and Lilia tells him to try praying to the divine mother, which could indicate that the maiden, mother, crone trinity holds the same significance to witches as the holy trinity does to those of the Christian religion.

Another thing that is interesting is that in the second verse three more figures are mentioned, you have the lines 'I hold Death's hand in mine', 'Familiar by thy side' and 'Spirit as our guide.'

So I actually think that the four elements represent Lilia as air, Jen as water, Alice as fire and Sharon as earth. Now I know what you might be thinking, but Sharon isn't a witch let alone a green witch, Rio is the green witch. And true, but I think that's where the twist is going to come in, we all think this but we know that Sharon was good with plants, when Agatha approaches her to invite her she is gardening and Agatha comments on the garden and I feel like there was a point to that as opposed to it being a throw away line. Also Agatha mentions that within a three mile radius there will be a collection of witchy enough people to form a coven and I think Sharon is one of these witchy enough persons, she may not be a full on witch but there's enough magic about her for her to be included within the coven. As to what may give her some magical quality it could be something as simple as she has an ancestor way way back that was a witch so she's kind of a blood witch but it was so far back now that she doesn't possess any obvious magical abilities. Another possibility, though, is Wanda's hex. This idea of the hex changing people in a magical kind of way has been explored before. When in the hex Ralph Bohner was able to use super speed, passing through the hex gave Monica Rambeau powers and being created in the hex meant Billy and Tommy also had powers, Billy's powers as we have seen continued after the hex was gone as did Monica's. So maybe Sharon was left with just the smallest hint of magic due to the time she spent in Wanda's hex, again not necessarily enough to give her full blown magical powers but just enough to count her as part of the coven. Maybe she became extra skilled at gardening and plants etc in a slightly magical kind of way if I am making sense there. That could also be what Agatha meant when they were digging a grave for Sharon and she said 'I didn't know you had it in you.' Maybe Agatha realised that there was something at least a little magical about Sharon.

Ok so if those four are the elements who are the three figures mentioned in the second verse. Well I think death is actually Rio, I mentioned in my ep 4/5 review that I think Rio may either get her powers from people dying by like absorbing their souls or that she could be a grim reaper type figure based on some of the things she and Agatha have said. I think they are trying to trick us with Rio being a green witch, after all there is some cross over between earth and death, you know burial, returning to the earth and all that, I also do think that there is a connection between Sharon and Rio and they are supposed to mirror each other and we are supposed to connect them so that we are kept confused about who is really represented by what. Sharon did die and ended up in the earth, rio came out of that grave, rio is a green witch but Sharon also has something of a green thumb etc.

When it comes to who the familiar is supposed to be I think it's pretty obvious, the only person we've seen referred to as a familiar is Billy and he has been addressed this way on multiple occasions. Familiars are also considered to be spirits or supernatural beings which does kind of fit with Billy as he is technically a soul or spirit that took over a vessel.

The spirit I think might be in reference to Agatha. Episode 5 covered the spirit trial and that was agatha's trial, it seemed she has the ability to commune with spirits. As rio said who better to commune with the dead than someone whose put so many in the ground.

Going back to the trinity though I think Billy, Agatha and Rio are also meant to represent the maiden, mother and crone. Maiden could be representing youth and innocence, Billy is obviously the youngest of the group and when he started the journey on the road had that youthful innocence about him. Agatha would represent the mother, we know that she had a son but we have also seen her show a motherly concern and protection towards Billy, then Rio would represent the crone, old age and death, the end of life etc, although it isn't confirmed that she is the oldest, most ancient of the group from the way she said she was the green witch as opposed to a green witch makes me think she was the original.

Another reason why I think the list actually included all seven of the characters as members of the cove , is because each of them have taken part in the trials on the road and I feel like if any of them truly wasn't part of the coven that wouldn't have been allowed. We know the road has rules and that it has ways of making you follow them, like agatha's wine refilling, the house always appearing in front of them and being forced back down to the road when on the broomsticks. So I think the rule is everyone who is a part of the coven at that time, unless they die, has to take part in the trial some way. Even when it comes to opening the door to the road I feel like it wouldn't have worked if Sharon didn't have something magical about her and if she wasn't supposed to be part of the coven. She also takes part in the first trail. But Billy also technically takes part in the trials, including the first one even though he didn't drink the wine, he still took part in helping make the potion and his blood was used in the potion. Which if you think about it, if Billy hadn't been there and the rules were everyone in the coven has to drink that would have made the trial impossible to pass, as there wouldn't have been anyone to give the blood of the unpoisoned. So whilst we were all thinking that Billy didn't need to drink because he wasn't part of the coven and the glass kept refilling because not everyone in the coven had drunk it, I actually think that the truth is the rules were everyone but one member had to drink the wine, the glass kept refilling because too many members of the coven hadn't drunk the wine. Hoping that makes sense. I think there would always have been one less glass available than there were members of the coven, irregardless of whether Billy the underage teen was there or not. Rio also takes part in some of the trails as well after Sharon dies, so all of them have taken part in some way.

So basically tldr is there are supposed to be seven members of the coven, the four earthly elements, Lilia, Jen, Alice and Sharon and then the trinity Billy, Agatha and Rio. The list of four names was Agatha, Lilia, Jen and Alice and the black heart represented the three as of yet unknown members of the coven, Sharon, Rio and Billy. I mean I could be totally wrong about all of this but it makes sense in my head, I do think there are more layers and double meanings to some of the lines in the ballad like the spirit guide could also be Sharon's and/or Alice's spirit coming back in the future etc, but I've already written an essay so I think I will leave it there for now.

[where-theres-smoak-2]

Agatha all along ep 6 spoilers.

After the ep 5 ending I was really looking forward to seeing ep 6 and I have to say it did not disappoint. This episode was great and we got some answers but also some more mysteries to solve. I do think this episode had some really dark moments amd themes in it but then that was balanced out with some comedic moments too.

First I want to talk about one of the darker more tragic events of this episode and that's the William Kaplan/Billy Maximoff backstory. This situation is tragic in so many different ways. When it comes to William Kaplan obviously the tragedy is that he is this young 13 year old boy, he has a loving family and has just celebrated this huge milestone and has his whole life ahead of him when there's a car accident that suddenly cuts his life short. I think unfortunately this is a story that happens way too often in real life, and it's always devastating when someone so young is lost like that.

But this situation is made darker because you've then got William's parents who have no idea that their son has died. They know that he is different and that he doesn't remember them, which is really hard to cope with, but they think it's a result of the head injury from the accident, they don't know that their son died and was replaced with Billy Maximoff and how would Billy even begin to explain that to them. But it means you've got these parents who have gone through one of the most devastating things a parent can go through, the loss of a child, but they don't know it has happened and so can't properly grieve for their son. All they know is that he is different than he was before the accident.

Then you have Billy. That moment when he was in the hospital and you could see how terrified he was, well that was heart-wrenching. Billy must have been so confused and scared, one minute he's saying goodnight to his brother and parents, the next he's bleeding in a car, being rushed to hospital and is surrounded by strangers. On top of that he is being told by everyone around him that he is William Kaplan, that he doesn't remember that because he was in a car accident but he himself believes he is someone else, that he's Billy Maximoff, that something isn't right, so he must be really struggling through an identity crisis and trying to figure out what is real and who he really is. On top of that he has memories of his twin, Tommy, he can sense him but can't find him. It's a lot for a young boy to go through and to deal with. He can also read the minds of those around him which adds to the distress he feels. He spends the next three years trying to figure out who he really is whilst also feeling like an intruder and like no one truly knows him which must be really lonely. I think that's why when he hears Eddie thinking about telling him he loves him he confesses to him because he wants at least one person to know who he truly is. I think he struggles with his identity up until his meeting with Ralph and hearing Ralph talk about Wanda and Vision's sons is when he gets that confirmation that the identity he knew, Billy Maximoff, is real and that's when he begins to re-embrace that identity and he becomes determined to find his brother, the last member of his family still left to him.

Another added level of tragedy to this situation is Wanda. She spent the events of MoM desperately looking for her children, wondering why they existed in every other universe but her own, feeling that bitterness and grief and how unfair it was that in every other reality her children exisisted and were with her, so why didn't they exist in hers as well, why was she without them. But the heartbreaking truth was that they did exist in her universe but, Billy at least, was hidden by the sigil. I do wonder why it is no one can find Tommy and what happened to him? Did he also end up in the body of a dying kid? Is his soul just kind of floating around without a vessel and that's why Billy can sense him but not find him? I also wonder if when Wanda could hear her sons calling out for help whether that was real and was her sons in her reality subconsciously calling out to her. We know Billy was going through a bit of turmoil, it's possible Tommy was aswell where ever he is, so maybe Wanda was picking up on that in the post credit scene where she had the darkhold and could hear them, but maybe the sigil prevented her from being able to physically find them/Billy. If that makes sense, so she could hear their thoughts, but when she tried to actually look for them, the sigil plus whatever is hiding Tommy, prevented her from finding them. I will say though that Agatha's line about how every witch with heartbeat can hear Billy now becomes even more heartbreaking when you think that Wanda no longer has a heartbeat and so she'll never know that her son is still alive. Unless of course the mcu find a way to bring her back which I am still holding out hope for.

So speaking of the sigil, out of all the potential characters that could have cast it I was not expecting the reveal to be Lilia. That being said it does make sense to the story, she's a divination witch and clearly saw something that made her feel the need to put the sigil on him. I do wonder what exactly she saw, clearly she saw William dying and being replaced by Billy but I can't help but wonder if there was more to her vision than that and whether the sigil was to protect him or to protect others from him.

Another thing I did like in this episode is how Billy/William came into contact with all the members of the coven at some point, Lilia at the bar mitzvah, Alice at the car accident, Jen on YouTube and Sharon when he ran into her car. It adds to that idea of a coven being brought together by forces of fate.

The relationship between Billy and Eddie was so cute and wholesome and I hope we get to see more of them. I love how supportive Eddie was of Billy when he confessed to him that he wasn't William Kaplan and how he helped Billy try to unravel the mystery around his identity, even going so far as joining him in a creepy parking garage to meet a creepy stranger from online.

Ok kids I do need to say though if you make contact with someone online, especially someone named bohneriffic please don't go meet up with them, especially not in a creepy parking garage, Billy was not deploying street smarts there, the only smart part of that plan was that at least he took his supportive boyf with him. I do have to say that when wandavision first aired, I really, really, really hated the reveal that Evan Peters wasn't another variant of Peter/Pietro but was some random dude named Ralph Bohner, mostly because I really loved Evan Peters version of quicksilver in the xmen films and so was excited to see him in the mcu. So finding out that he wasn't actually quicksilver was like a slap in the face. That being said the scene between Mr bohneriffic, Billy and Eddie was a balm that helped sooth the sting a bit. The scene was very funny and I think Evan did a great job with it. It was also interesting to hear from the point of view of someone who was under Wanda's hex and what that was really like for those who lived in Westview. I'm still hoping that one day we'll see Evan's quicksilver in the mcu though.

Speaking of funny scenes and seeing things from a different pov, getting to see the whole chase and interrogation scene from the first ep from Billy's pov was hysterical, it really did leave me in stitches. Highlights have to be, her using the end of a hose pipe as a gun, when she kicked him out of the chair but actually it was just this really goofy kick she laid on him, the whole poking the bear bit and of course the iconic 'I don't want to go back in the closest' line. Again, though, it was also interesting to see it from outside of agatha's pov and see how different the reality actually was. It's kind of funny how she saw Billy as this mouthy, confident teen when in reality he was actually being really sweet and kind of goofy.

Another interesting scene was the ending between Billy and Agatha. I do think they have an interesting dynamic and they always have had, there does seem to be an affection there between them, like I believed Agatha when she said it was good to see him again, also she didn't want him feeling guilty for taking over William's body and she seemed to have a kind of pride in him and saw him as even more of a witch because he survived, like witches do. But at the same time there is that antagonism between them too, they've wronged each other and Billy does have trust issues when it comes to Agatha, I also wouldn't be surprised if Agatha is now a bit less trusting of Billy after he threw her in the mud. She clearly was enjoying mocking him about his parents and brother and trying to get a rise out of him.

Honestly for me this show just keeps getting better and better, I can't wait for the next episode and to see what will happen next, where Jen and Lilia are now because let's be real they aren't dead. What's rio up to because she's been noticeably absent since Alice died. Is Billy going to be able to find Tommy at the end of the road and what's Tommy been up to since the end of Wandavision. So many more questions I need answering.

[where-theres-smoak-2]

Agatha All Aling Ep 4 +5 Thoughts (spoilers).

So I've gotten caught up in Agatha all along and I'm still really loving this show and all the characters. After watching ep 4 and 5 I do have some more thoughts and theories. Just to be clear though I haven't read the comics so all my theories are based on the show and so are probably really far off, but hey that's part of the fun right.

I liked learning more about Alice and seeing her journey throughout ep 4. I was surprised to find out her mum had died in tour and searching for her on the witches road wasn't Alice's motivation for joining the coven. It might not have been a huge twist but it was still one I wasn't expecting. Finding out that lorna's version of the ballad was actually a protection spell was really a touching moment, just coming to understand the lengths lorna went to protect her daughter from the generational curse. I'm glad that Alice was able to come to that realisation.

I also really loved hearing another version of the ballad, I think it's now the third version we've got, there was the gritty tv credits version from the first ep, then the version the coven sing to open the door to the road and now lorna's version. I like that each one has a different style and each version is unique from the other. I am totally down for hearing other versions as the season goes on.

I am so curious about rio's character because there is something unusual about her, like some of the things she says and that Agatha has said to her makes me think she isn't a regular witch, that there is something different about her. Like in ep 2 when she tells Agatha that she can't kill her and how throughout all the trials she seems to have no concern for her safety like the others are, it's like she's not afraid of dying, which makes me think maybe she actually can't die. Then there was that conversation in the sound booth where Rio talks about her getting her bodies. I could be totally off base on this but I do wonder if Rio is some kind of like soul reaper type figure, like she gets her power from the souls of the dead, that could be why when teen is hurt Agatha tells Rio 'don't' because she's worried Rio will reap his soul to gain power for herself. From the conversation they had in the sound booth I think maybe they've had some kind of contract between them where Agatha kills other witches for their power and Rio then reaps their souls to gain power. There was that line in ep 2 where Agatha said Rio can't kill Agatha because 'it's not allowed'. At first I thought maybe this was an agreement or pact made just between the two of them but now I am wondering if Rio can't kill those whose soul she wants to take. Like maybe there is some cosmic rule that says she can reap a soul but not take the life if that makes sense. So she needs Agatha to do the killing part. But like I said I am probably totally wrong about all of this but it could be cool if rio was a like grim reaper type character. I mean when she was summoned she did come out of a literal grave.

Speaking of Rio being summoned to the road, when she shows up she says 'I heard you guys were having a party.' At first I thought at first maybe this was a throwaway line but then I remembered the reason Agatha gave Sharon to get her to come on the road with them, that she was having a party. So my theory is that rio has spoken with Sharon's ghost or spirit and I am still holding out hope that Sharon might make another appearance at some point, that could be wishful thinking on my part because I really loved her character and I am still not over her death.

We also learnt some more about the Salem seven in ep 5 and they are as creepy as they were in ep 2. I do think it's interesting that they are the daughters of the Salem witches that Agatha killed, it makes sense why they want her dead. I do think they could be an interesting allegory of what happens when you become consumed with revenge. Rio describes them as feral and hive minded, they often behave very animalistic and I think it shows how they've become so driven by this murderous revenge and hate that they've been consumed by for centuries that they've lost their humanity. Again really adds to their creepy halloween vibes.

But this backstory of the Salem seven also tells us something about Agatha, once at least, she was capable of showing mercy, particularly when it comes to children. Which to makes this narrative that Agatha gave up her child for the darkhold even more intriguing. Why would she spare the children of the coven that tried to kill her but sacrifice her own son? It isn't completely consistent, unless she spared the Salem seven out of guilt for what she did to her son? But as I said before I just feel like there is more to it then we know. I do feel like Rio may have something to do with Nicholas' death/disappearance and that's why Agatha is so angry with her. But from the 'she's my scar' speech I don't think Rio had a choice in whatever part she played in Agatha losing her son.

Speaking of Rio and Agatha, omg the chemistry between them two! It's just sizzling. I definitely have a new ship. I just think their relationship is so interesting because there is obviously alot of anger and hurt between the two of them and sometimes they act like they hate each other but at the same time there is an obvious love between them too, I guess it really is a fine line between love and hate. They have some really tender moments between them like the hug and almost kiss at the end of ep 4. Rio also shows alot of protectiveness over Agatha in ep 5 especially when the topic of agatha's mother and old coven comes up. It's just a really interesting dynamic and I can't wait to see and learn more about them and their past together.

So agatha's mother really is a piece of work. Like that moment when she says that Agatha was born evil and that she should have killed her the moment she left her body was really hard to watch. It does make you understand why Agatha got to be the way she is, I mean with a mother like that she was always kind of doomed to walk a dark path or at the very least she didn't have the best support system to steer her away from that path. It did make me have some sympathy for Agatha and I am enjoying all the layers they are adding to her character.

Which brings me to Alice. I am so upset about Alice's death. I think what makes it more heartbreaking is she had just gotten closure over what happened with her own mother and it was clear that hearing evanora speak that way to her own daughter hit Alice hard and in that moment she was trying to protect Agatha and it cost her not just her powers but her life. Her last act was one of protection. Alice was also someone who had looked out for the whole group through the trails etc, if I remember rightly she was the first one to remember Sharon with the antidote, she refused to leave Sharon behind when the house started to flood and tried to carry her by herself, she protected both Jen and lilia from the curse. I think her loss is definitely going to cause a shift in the tone and within the coven itself going forward. I think teen in particular is going to be effected by her death as they did form a bond with each other.

From Alice's death though it looks like maybe Agatha can't actually control it when she takes others powers, it's almost like something takes her over and it takes something major to snap her out of it, like hearing her son's name followed by his voice, which that moment when you hear the little boy calling out for his mum to stop was so heartbreaking and yes I may have had a tear or two in my eyes. I know in the flashback to her killing her coven in wandavision she says that she can't control it and asks them to help teach her but honestly at the time of first watching it I assumed she was putting on an act, that she was just trying to play innocent and like a victim. I am less sure now seeing her reaction to what she did to Alice. I mean she could have been putting it own to try and manipulate teen and the rest of the coven but again I'm not completely convinced of that as there was the moment when she was outside by herself and you could see she still looked shaken by what happened, there was no one there for her to put an act on for.

Then we get that moment between her and teen and honestly this scene was so so good, they built the tension so well in the moment. I think it really was a moment of disillusionment for teen, he had this idea in his head that a coven was a group her looked out for each other and shared blessings and burdens, I think as the trials went on he started to feel like he was becoming part of the coven and that they were all looking out for each other, which is why he was upset when the rest started turning on Agatha. That was the first chip in that illusion he had that this group had become a true coven and that he was a part of something. It's also why he looks so angry and hurt when Jen calls him a familiar and when Agatha calls him pet, because he's once again being treated as something and someone lesser. They moment when Agatha realises who teen really is was chilling and so well acted out, that you saw the shift in her and the bitterness well up. Hearing teen say her son's name confirmed without a doubt that teen is not her son, and it was clear that Agatha was hoping that teen was her son or at least felt some motherly protection over him. But then to rub salt in the wound not only is this boy she's come to care for not her son but he's Wanda's. I think this just fills Agatha with anger and bitterness and just a feeling of injustice.

This is the moment teen also just snaps, he is angry that these witches only care about themselves, that they don't care about what happened to Alice. He's also angry at Agatha because the whole time he's been defending her and I think he thought they had a genuine bond so what she did to Alice feels like a betrayal. So he's done defending Agatha and he controls Jen and lilia to throw Agatha into the sinking mud. Again that moment was chilling I got literal goosebumps. I like that teen, well I suppose we should call him Billy now as to me it's as good as confirmed that's who he is, but I love that Billy's magic and hand movements look just like Wanda's, right down to the glowing eyes when he's controlling the others. The only difference is his magic is blue instead of red. Also love the design of his crown and how much it looks like Wanda's, I just love that they have made those connections between mother and son. Also the use of Billie eilish's you should see me in a crown was perfect here.

I am very excited to see where we are going to go from here, like what's going to happen because surely Billy throwing the three of them in the mud hasn't killed them all, its too early in the season. So I wonder if Billy will pull them out at the last moment, or maybe rio will show up and save them. Or seeing as both Rio and the Salem seven came to the road through the mud maybe the mud doesn't kill you it just throws you out of whatever realm the witches road is in, so maybe they'll all just end up back at home? But then does that Billy will complete the road by himself, or with just rio? Will the other three find their way back somehow? I mean we know from the trailer that there are other trails to be completed and I'm pretty sure they were all there for them so maybe Billy does just come to his senses and pull them out the mud, it's going to awkward after that though. I have so many questions still to be answered and I really can't wait to see what's going to happen next.

[where-theres-smoak-2]

OSAKA COMIC CON 2024 ・ favorite scenes from the series Tom Hiddleston & Sophia Di Martino

[where-theres-smoak-2]

(Agatha all along spoiler warning!)

So I just watched the first 3 episodes of Agatha all along, and I have to say I'm really loving this show so far. The show really is fun and I've really enjoyed the characters. I like that they've all got a bit of a mystery about them and I can't wait to learn more about them. But I have some random thoughts and theories.

I am really intrigued by the dynamic between Agatha and teen. There are times when Agatha seems to really dislike him and seems very annoyed by him, but then there are other times where Agatha seems to show a motherly concern for him, like when he got hit by the car and when he went to drink the wine. When it comes to teen he often comes across as the excitable fanboy who is eager to learn from Agatha, but then there are other moments when he gets aggravated with her like when he finds out she didn't drink the wine or when she wanted to leave Sharon behind, to me its almost like he is wearing a mask that slips occasionally. What's really interesting to me about these moments is teen almost orders Agatha to drink the wine and help with Sharon and surprisingly she listens to him.

Adding the plotline of Agatha being a mother has also hooked me in. I do think it creates an interesting parallel between her and Wanda, you had Wanda who used the darkhold to try and get her kids back and supposedly you have Agatha giving up her child to gain the darkhold. That being said, I do think from her reaction to the darkhold in the crib in 1x03 and how distraught she was, that there is a lot more to that story than we know. I think they are trying very hard to make us think that teen is her son but to me they are trying a bit too hard, which makes me think that the twist will be that he isn't her son. I wouldn't be surprised if he does kind of manipulate her into thinking that he is her son to get what he wants, like he doesn't outright say it but does play into her own suspicions.

If I had to take a guess at who teen really is, then I think he could be one of Wanda's sons. I think it's Billy who had her powers, like the witchcraft. I feel like he is lying about why he wants to walk the road, I don't think it's just that he wants more power but that he wants to bring his mother back. I could see it being a situation where he and his brother somehow ended up back in this reality only to discover that their mother was dead so Billy found out about the road and decided to go back to his hometown and use Agatha to help him get to the end of the road and wish for Wanda back. But I could be totally wrong about that. I mean I am basing this off the fact that he parked outside Wanda's old house as opposed to agatha's and that when Agatha pulled down the welcome sign only the 'w' was left behind which made me think of Wanda.

I really loved the addition of Sharon into the coven, she brought alot of humour and was also really relatable, I just love her. So I was really bummed out that she died in 1x03. I also thought it was really sad that she kept getting called Mrs Hart by pretty much everyone constantly, even after she told them repeatedly that her name was Sharon. They also kind of forgot about her when making the antidote and it was only when they noticed that the timer was still going that they remembered her. It was also only after she was dead that she is addressed by her actual name when teen says Sharon is dead. I do think we will see Sharon again though, as there is that line in the ballad 'spirit as our guide'. So I suspect that Sharon will reappear as a ghost to help guide them through a trial or along the path somehow.

But yeah the shows is great, I'm really enjoying it, can't wait to see more episodes because I have so many questions about all the characters and I'm looking forward to finding out you know how and why Jen got bound, what lilia sees in her visions, what happened to agatha's son, what happened to Alice's mum and is she really lost on the road, what's the history between agatha and that witch that she fought in ep 1 and obviously who is teen?

[where-theres-smoak-2]

Ok I have to talk about the whole lila/five/Diego triangle thing, because I hated it, like it really did not work for me at all. First off I don't really agree with the opinion that five needed to have a love interest, like I get that all the other siblings have had some kind of love story over the seasons and when it comes to five the closest love story he's had is with Dolores the mannequin, but for me personally, well the others all had love stories so let's give five one too, isn't a good enough reason for the plotline, I think if you are going to give someone a love interest it shouldn't just be for the sake of it, it should add/develop the character in some way and I just don't think this added anything to either five or lila's characters.

When it comes to five it's the same story we've already seen with Dolores, the only difference is that this time it's his sister in law that he fell in love with instead of a mannequin and somehow that's debatably worse than the mannequin. But it's still, five gets lost in time/different timelines, alone and away from his family and so he forms a romantic attachment to the only female there and finds some comfort in them. Having seen the story before already means it doesn't really add any kind of development to his character. I honestly think if they really felt the need to give five a love interest, then they should have created a new character instead of having him fall for his brother's wife.

When it comes to lila I just don't think that this plot made any sense for her. The whole reason why she and Diego are having troubles is because she is bored of the domestic life after being an assassin for so long. She wants the excitement and that's why she goes undercover with five and why she goes on those side missions with him leading to them getting lost together in that substation. But the part that doesn't make sense is that when she does form the romantic attachment to five it's when they are playing house together living a domestic cottage couple life picking poxy strawberries. This makes no sense to me because if she was bored of the domestic life with Diego why would she suddenly find it appealing with five? The other thing I found frustrating about the whole plot was that Diego himself was going through the exact same thing lila was, he was struggling with feeling bored of this new safe domestic life, previously he was either in the umbrella academy or working as a vigilante, or off on some crazy mission with his family. They had a great opportunity to show lila and Diego having a conversation where they both recognise that they are going through the same thing and having the same feelings and working through it together. But instead of having her work through it with her husband they decided the best route to take was for her to cheat on him with his own brother. Like Diego figures it out for himself in a relatively healthy way. He talks to that cia guy who regrets not being there with his family and realises that the excitement of high risk missions isn't worth missing out on the life he's already got with his wife and children and at that moment he decides to change to be more involved and attentive to his wife and family, his first reaction upon having this realisation is to call lila he immediately wants to talk to her and the moment he sees her again, even though for him it's only been a few hours, he tells her he missed her. He didn't need to cheat on his spouse in order to get to that space, to that point of realisation and I don't think it was necessary for lila to either. Her simply being lost and missing Diego and her children should have been enough for her to reach the conclusion that she already had a good life with her family and that was worth more than the excitementof dangerous missions.

I think the other reason why this plot didn't work was because of how rushed it was, like it pretty much takes place over one episode. I know for lila and five it was 7 years but for the viewer it kind of just comes out of nowhere and we are supposed to just accept that these two characters are in love now. Then in the next episode it all falls apart anyway and it never really gets concluded because there's no time to conclude it. So no one really gets closure. Diego and lila never really sort it out past one line where lila tells Diego that she didn't mean to hurt him. Five and lila don't really have any closure either as although she tells him it's over she also never answers diego's question of whether she loves five. And Diego and five also never resolve anything and at the end seem to hate each other. So for me it just felt kind of pointless. If they had stretched the plot out over a couple of episodes, say had lila and five get lost an episode earlier and showed them slowly becoming closer as well as showed them having conflicting feelings about developing romantic feelings for each other, then it might have been more bearable, don't get me wrong I still would have hated it but at least it would seem like there was actual effort put into the story line because as it is not only was it a bad writing choice but it was also written badly, if it had at least been a properly developed plotline with some kind of character development I might have been able to forgive it.

Something else that did bother me was how unbothered five and lila were about what they had done, particularly five. It just came across like they didn't care how this would hurt Diego or lila's children. Like I said above, it might have added some interest at least and some complexity to their characters if they felt conflicted, if they felt guilty about the feelings they were developing for each other, if they tried to resist those growing feelings. But we didn't see anything like that it was just oh yeah sure let's just get together who cares if Diego is my husband and your brother, no need to make this weird. It was just such an odd reaction to me and honestly made five and lila seem really cold and unfeeling and frankly selfish.

Lastly, I think another reason why I wasn't a huge fan of this storyline was because I was really enjoying the familial/sibling vibe that five and lila had going on, that I thought was an interesting dynamic, how they went from hating each other and pretty much being sworn enemies to actually seeing each other as family and caring about each other. This whole love triangle thing just ruined that dynamic completely which I think is a crying shame.

Anyway like I said hated the whole thing, wish I could burn it from my memory, sorry about the rant.

[where-theres-smoak-2]

Just watched the final season of the umbrella academy and umm, I don't like to be negative but I honestly wish I hadn't because what the actual was that? Unfortunately it wasn't great, I think the problem was a mixture of poor writing choices but also it struggled with it being only a 6 episode season, the plots and characters just didn't have enough time to properly develop in my opinion.

[where-theres-smoak-2]

Just finished binge watching my lady Jane, 10/10 would highly recommend, the show is awesome and really very funny. I love the Jane and Guildford pairing, they have great chemistry and I really enjoyed watching their love story unfold. It really is a great watch and I hope we get a season 2.

[where-theres-smoak-2]

HOTD 2X05 Review/Thoughts (SPOILERS)

After last episode I do think that this episode was slower in pace, we're back to it mostly being people sitting and talking. That being said I do think there were some really great scenes in this episode, there is definitely plenty to talk about. Once again, as I say every week, I have not read the books, my thoughts and opinions are based purely on the show and there will be spoilers. This week I am going to break the review up by character, so lets talk hotd.

Rhaenys

Whilst I do wish we had spent a bit more time showing the characters grief over Rhaenys death, I think the scenes we did get were really moving and sad. It definitely pulled at my heartstrings seeing Corlys cry on his throne. I also thought that shot of Rhaenyra looking out across the sea with tears in her eyes was beautiful but sad, it looked to me like she was almost searching the skies waiting for Rhaenys and Meleys to return but knowing they never will. I also felt really bad for Rhaena as she is having to grieve her grandmother alone. One scene I did really love though was the one between Rhaenyra and Baela where they talked about how Rhaenys claimed Meleys and how fierce she was, I really loved that line about her being fierce in both anger and love. It was just a really sweet yet sorrowful scene between the two.

Daemon

So Daemon still can't catch a break, especially it seems when it comes to giving instructions to others. In this episode he wants to win the Brackens to their side, his first tactic being one that has served him well in the past, which is threaten them with his dragon. But the Brackens don't fold which I actually think impresses Daemon and it only makes him want them on his side more. There is that really awesome shot of the Bracken lord after he says they chose fire and turns away on his horse and you can see Caraxes' face in the background, it was just a very cool shot. I also thought Daemon's line about not thinking they would be that eager to die really funny, his delivery was gold. Daemon choosing not to go through with his threat does make sense to me, he knows that the death of Jaehaerys did some damage to Rhaenyra's claim and so he knows he has to be careful with his actions going forward, but he still needs to get the Brackens to bend the knee. In theory him instructing Blackwell to 'do his worse' in order to bring the Brackens in line, is a smart one, as he says the crown can't be seen to be acting in certain ways, by sending the Blackwells to essentially do the dirty work he can ensure that Rhaenyra/the crowns name stays clean as most will just see it as another altercation between two houses that have been warring for generations. It also seemed at the time that Daemon gave the instruction that Blackwell understood this. For a moment it seems like Daemon gets a win when he is informed that the Brackens have indeed bent the knee after the Blackwells attack. It all comes crumbling down though when the lords show up complaining about how the Blackwells robbed and burned sacred monuments and farmers fields and killed children and women and did so whilst carrying the targaryen banner. I mean how dumb could Blackwell get, Daemon made it clear to him that the crown's hand could not be seen in these actions, Blackwell says yup sure got it and then precedes to fly the targaryen banner announcing to all of the riverlands that he is acting on behalf of the crown. Needless to say not a great day for Daemon because whilst he gained the Brackens he has now potentially lost the rest of the Riverland Lords.

To top all of this off, Daemon is still being plagued by visions. During the confrontation with the lords he again sees Laena. This time she speaks to him telling him that a terrible war is plaguing the land before asking if he has taken care of their daughters. It's interesting to me that it is during a scene where he is being told about children being killed and where he is accused of ordering the murder of a child himself that he sees this vision of Laena asking after their own children. Its again, like most of his visions, playing into his guilt suggesting that maybe he feels he hasn't done enough to protect and care for his girls. It could also suggest that he fears for his daughters during this time of war, that they too could face the same fate as those children killed by the Blackwoods and like Aegon's son was slain.

Then there was that other vision. With his mum. Yeah I really don't have many words for this, my initial reaction being something along the lines of wtf is this shit. I'll be honest I really don't know what the writers were trying to achieve with this scene other than a cheap attempt at shock value. This vision is a bit different than the others as in the others it seems to be things that are tearing him down but here Daemon is seeing the mother he never really knew telling him what he wanted to hear, that he is better than viserys, that he should have been king etc, and I can understand the need for that part of the scene but I really don't get why they felt the need to add in that sexual element to it. If I try to make an attempt at interpretating it maybe its supposed to be a commentary on how never knowing his mother means he's never experienced a motherly love and the only love he's experienced with women is a sexual/romantic one. But I still stand by my opinion that this scene as it was played with that sexual element was not necessary in the slightest and I wish I had never had the misfortune of seeing it.

Alys

Alys has got to be manipulating Daemon's visions right? I mean that line about his mother made it seem that at the very least she is aware of what is happening in his visions. If she is messing with him though, I can't quite figure out what her motives are. Is she just trying to control him and manipulate him into doing what she wants? Or is her goal to turn him against rhaenyra? My best theory here is that she used most of the visions, like the ones of young rhaenyra and Laena to wear him down, to break him, then she has used the one of his mother to kind of build him back up in a way and to place the seeds of you should be king over Rhaenyra in his head. As to why Alys would want Daemon to turn on Rhaenyra I don't know, maybe she thinks if she can make Daemon her puppet and then have him become King in place of Rhaenyra, she will gain immense power herself, basically she would be ruler herself as she would be the one in control. This is all purely speculation on my part though.

Jace

Jace was a standout for me in this episode, I really loved his storyline. As the season has gone on we've seen Jace become more and more frustrated at the inaction of himself and Rhaenyra and honestly I can understand why he was so frustrated. His brother was killed so there is a part of him that will want some kind of retribution for that, but also I think Jace is very similar to both Rhaenyra and Daemon in that in times of crisis he wants to be proactive. He's very protective of his family and he wants to fight for them and his mother and her claim.

I really loved the scene between him and Baela where she catches him on his way out. I find mysefl shipping these two more and more with each passing episode. I just love how supportive they are of each other and I think the actors have great chemistry. I love that Jace was able to confide his frustrations in Baela and she didn't judge him or berate him for it, she just calmly explained Rhaneyra's reasoning, Jace is the succession and that is why Rhaenyra is coddling him. But I also like that she didn't try to stop him from leaving. She listened to his plan, she pointed out that Rhaenyra wouldn't like it but ultimately she understood Jace's need to act. Honestly the plan also is a pretty sound one, it never hurts to make sure there is another army available if Daemon is unsuccessful or something else goes wrong with him, so ensuring the crossing for the stark grey beards is a good move.

Which brings me to the scene where Jace treaties with the Freys. This scene might be one of my favourite Jace scenes so far, it really was such a great scene for him. I loved how it showed his political skills, he played this situation so well, it really was a perfect negoiation. When the Freys mentioned their fear of Vhagar Jace points out that they are fearing a dragon that is leagues away when his own is right outside their gates. Its just the right level of threatening, a polite reminder that his side too has dragons that can be used either for the Freys protection or for their destruction. Another thing that he does that is very good is he openly listens to their concerns and addresses them, they are worried for their safety, he assures them of the crowns protection etc. But he also listens to their requests. They want Harrenhall when the war is over. I lover that moment when Jace holds his cup out to be refilled, not answering right away, before telling them for that price his mother will want more than just a crossing. But my favourite moment has to be when Frey asks what the price will be and Jace just replies 'bent knees'. His delivery was chef kiss perfect. I assuming what will happen now is that the Freys are going to have to use their influence to convince the other houses of the riverlands to bend the knee to Rhaenyra, I'm pretty sure that was what Jace was asking for, if so then after the blunder with the Blackwoods, the Freys have got quite the task on their hands, they will defnintely have to put in the work to get that castle.

Another great scene was the one at the end between Jace and Rhaenyra. I liked how Jace smirked when Rhaenyra asked how it went at the twins, he knew he did good. One thing I do love about Rhaenyra and Jace's relationship is how they have an open and honest communication with each other, even when they are upset with each other. I think this scene also showed just how similar they are to each other, just like Jace, Rhaenyra is feeling frustrated at being unable to act. Its kind of amusing because last episode you had Jace wagging his finger at Rhaenyra telling her that she shouldn't have left without telling anyone and must stay safe at dragonstone and then this episode you've got Rhaenyra wagging her finger at Jace for the same thing.

I think this episode really showed how intelligent and politically savvy Jace really is. It's shown again when he comes up with another plan to help their cause. When Rhaenyra laments about how she needs more dragons, Jace points out that she has enough dragons, there are two, Vermithor and Silverwing there at dragonstone both who are big enough to challenge Vhagar. The problem isn't a lack of dragons but a lack of riders. This is when Jace suggests looking for others who have targaryen blood that have fallen out of their line, those who married and now carry different names. It's a ballsy move, and a risky one, the targaryen image is built on this idea of them being closer to gods than men because they can control the dragons, having others from different houses, with different names claim dragons will break that illusion. There is also no guarantee it will work as they don't know if the targaryen blood in these others is strong enough for a dragon to accept. But as Jace said putting someone who isn't a targaryen on a dragon is a better outcome then death and destruction. It a gamble but its a smart one, if they have the dragons there then they might as well give it a shot. As for who these potential riders could be, I am thinking this might be why we've been introduced to a few bastards that may carry targaryen blood. There is that guy from ep 3 or 4 who claimed to be the half brother of Daemon and Viserys, then there are Corlys' potential bastard sons, it did seem like last episode they were hinting that Alyn was Corlys bastard, the Velaryons have been crossing with the targaryens for generations so they would have targaryen blood. Also if Alyn's brother is also Corlys' son then that scene with him on the beach where he sees Seasmoke could be a hint that he will go on and claim that dragon.

Baela

Baela was another star of this episode. I am glad that we are getting to see more of both her and jace. Again in this episode we saw that fire that Baela has. I already talked about her scenes with Jace and Rhaenyra but another really great scene was the one between her and Corlys. I love how fiercely Baela talked about Rhaenys and how in a way she was calling Corlys out too. She pointed out when he said he basically wanted to sail away that he had already done that in the past and it had dire consequences on those that loved him. I love that she did call him out here but that she didn't do it in a way that was nasty or hateful, she was just telling him the truth he needed to hear. I also love how she reminded him that Rhaenys went to Rook's Rest by her own choice and that she died how she wished, a dragon riders death. That was who Rhaenys was, someone who fights fiercely for those she loves and for what she believes in and I think Corlys needed that reminder. I also loved Baela's response when Corlys offers to make her heir, that she is fire and blood and that driftmark should pass to salt and sea. I think it was such a good line but it was also interesting, Baela could have grabbed for power here but instead she recognised that she wasn't the best suited to the role, that maybe even that she wouldn't have been happy in that role, which I think takes alot of self perception. I think Baela definitely comes across as someone who is mature and wise beyond her years.

Corlys

While we are on the subject we might as well talk about Corlys next. It was obvious that he was grieving and feeling a bit lost without Rhaenys in this episode. I also do kind of understand why Corlys partly blamed Rhaenyra for Rhaenys death, it was for Rhaenyra's claim that Rhaenys went to fight, but I don't think he truly does blame her it is more the anger of grief coming through. As I mentioned above Baela does kind of set him straight on that one. I do think that part of the reason that Corlys decided to name Baela heir was not just because he saw Baela's fire and passion but also because he knew that was what Rhaenys wanted, she had brought it up to him a couple of times. Maybe he saw it as a way of honouring Rhaenys. I also think that he would be a good choice as hand of the queen, I really hope he accepts it as I think it would give him direction and a purpose.

Rhaenyra

Rhaenyra seemed a bit lost and frustrated this episode. Like Jace it is clear that she wants to act and she is also getting frustrated with her small council who only seem to undermine and talk around her. She is frustrated because her father taught her how to rule but didn't teach her how to fight and that has left her second guessing herself. I really like that scene between her and Mysaria where Mysaria points out that there is more than one way to fight a war and that rumours are like food to the discontented. It seems like their plan in to spread rumours through Kings Landing through Elinda and Dyana in order to turn the people away from the greens and to support Rhaenyra instead, it also seems they are going to use Cole's blunder with Meleys head parade to help fuel this fire. I am very interested to see exactly how this is going to play out. I am hoping that Rhaenyra begins to gain some confidence and she does seem to be beginning to take some action and try to get a hand on things. She is sending one of her lords to Harrenhall to test Daemon's loyalty and find out what exactly he is doing. She has a plan to gain more dragon riders, she's named Corlys hand and she has a plan to turn support her way in Kings Landing by spreading rumours so it does seem like things may be coming together.

Rhaena

We only see Rhaena really briefly but I still really liked that scene between her and Jeyne Arryn, I think her name was Jeyne anyway. It was an interesting conversation and I liked seeing Rhaena show some grit and backbone, she stood her ground against Jeyne when Jeyne was complaining about the lack of a fighting dragon to protect the Vale. I mean I don't know what Jeyne expected, obviously during a war Rhaenyra is going to need all the fighting dragons for you know fighting. She can't afford to spare one just to protect the Eyrie. Another thing we learned about Rhaena this episode though is that in the past she has attempted to claim and dragon and it seems she nearly lost her life in the process leading to Rhaenyra not wanting to risk her again by allowing her to claim another dragon. I can see why they would be really frustrating to Rhaena who has wrapped her self worth up in not having a dragon. All this talk of not having a big enough dragon and the Eyrie and of claiming dragons does make me wonder though if Rhaena will claim an adult dragon. I am hoping we see more of her in the next few episodes.

Aegon

Boy his injuries really are horrific, that scene where the maesters were treating him and as they were removing his armour you could see how it had melted to him was really gruesome. Also where you could see his leg was broken and the bone had to be reset, honestly I am amazed the guy is still alive, the fact that his brother did this to him makes it even more horrifying. I am curious as to whether he is going to survive or whether he will pass away in the next episode or two. Still that mommy he whispered out as Alicent was leaving was sad, at that moment he was just a young kid who was hurt and wanted his mother. Sadly we also learned that Sunfyre did eventually die at Rook's Rest which I am really upset about because she really was a gorgeous dragon and so loyal and didn't deserve to die like that.

Cole

Cole's decision to march the head of Meleys through the streets was a misfire. The smallfolk's reaction was interesting but I think it stems from the fact that they viewed the dragons as kind of gods, these invincible beings, so naturally seeing one dead and dragged through the streets is obviously going to be a shock. I think its natural that they would also see this as a bad omen. Also it just isn't a good idea to parade the symbol of the ruling house through the streets like that. The dragon is a symbol of targaryen power, by displaying it in this way you are essentially reducing that power and showing that they can be defeated, that as the blacksmith guy said, they are just meat. I just think this was a really bad idea and that its going to have bad consequences further down the line.

What was interesting to me this episode was the way Cole seemed to be protecting Aemond in a way. I think he was unnerved by what Aemond did but I think he was more disturbed by what he saw on the ground, the men with armour melted to them, walking around in flames. I think he understood just what kind of horrors they had unleashed and in a way I think he believes in order to win the war they need to do monstrous things and so who better to have leading that task then someone who has shown themselves to be monstruous. He wants to distance Alicent, and maybe even himself, from these acts so that he can continue to see her and them in a pure and righteous light, something he wouldn't be able to do if Alicent and he were the ones calling the shots in the war, in a way he is using Aemond as a scapegoat so that he can continue with this chivalrous knight act and so he can continue to see Alicent as this pure, righteous woman. Of course that's all already an illusion.

Aemond

Aemond is ice cold in this episode. It was clear that he wasn't at all concerned with Aegon's injuries, his eyes were set on his goal, him being the regent, he is the first one to bring it up. When it comes to his suitability in the role I am not sure how well suited he will be. On the one hand his decision to cut down the rat catchers was good. He was able to recognise that was an error on his brother's part. But then he makes the decision to close the gates and lock the people of Kings Landing in to stop the spread of rumours. I understand the logic behind it, people leaving the citry and talking about how they are starving in the city, how the blockade is effecting the city and how they are afraid could lead to more support being swayed in Rhaenyra's direction as it seems she and Mysaria are planning. However I still think this was a bad move. The smallfolk are already scared and desperate and now they feel trapped as well. One thing scared and desperate people don't like is to feel caged and I suspect from shots of the trailer before the season aired that this is going to lead to the small folk rioting. What really worries me is that line the blacksmith said about how the dragon was just meat and how the smallfolk were then yelling out we want meat as the gates were locked as now I am worried that they are going to do something to the dragons in the dragon pit. I hope I am wrong though.

Another interesting scene was the brief one between him and Helaena in the throne room where she asks him if it was worth the price. I can't help but think this is more than just what Aemond did to Aegon, more than just asking if hurting his brother was worth the throne. It kind of reminds me of her line in season 1 when Alicent says Aemond will have a dragon one day and Helaena says it will cost him an eye. This idea of cost and price makes me wonder if what she is really asking is whether claiming Vhagar, losing his eye in the process and that leading to Luke's death which in turn lead to Jaehaerys death, and how Vhagar has now also killed Meleys and Rhaenys and burned Sunfyre and Aegon and how Aemond now has the power of the crown and is seen as this powerful weapon and great threat to be taken out, is worth it. I think the question is really what is the cost of a dragon and is that cost worth it?

Honestly whilst we did get a bit more of Aemond this episode overall this season I am surprised by how little screen time Aemond has had. It's mostly been very small scenes here and there, which surprised me because after the events of 1x10 with Luke I really thought Aemond would be much more prominent this season. I do wonder if it was because they wanted to focus more on Aegon in the first half and show how he is as King before he has this injury so that we can compare how Aemond is as acting king in the second half of the season.

Alicent

So wrapping this up with Alicent's role in this episode. I'm going to be honest I don't know why Alicent was surprised when the small council chose Aemond as regent over her. I can understand why she is frustrated by it, she is right in that she is the more experienced in ruling and if we are being honest when it comes to everyone in team green she probably is the most suited to act as regent and rule in Aegon's stead. That being said the entirety of Aegon's claim to the throne is based on the fact that he is the eldest male heir and by tradition and precedence the eldest male heir inherits. If they now name a female as regent over a male heir then they are basically admitting that Aegon's claim is a farce and holds no weight. They can't do that and Alicent really should have realised this. That shot of her sitting at the table as the sound muffles and her breathing gets heavy was really realistic though. As someone who suffers from an anxiety disorder and has suffered multiple panic and anxiety attacks this scene hit really close to home.

Still I can also see how she feels betrayed by cole and larys, she saw these two as loyal to her and on her side and yet in that moment neither one supported her. I think Alicent is feeling more and more alone and also more and more like she has lost any sense of control or purpose, she went from ruling in Viserys stead to now barely even having a voice at the table.

Alicent also is preoccupied this episode by the fact that her son is gravely injured and I think she had figured out pretty quick that it was her other son that was responsible. I do think Alicent loves Aegon and we see some of that care come through as she worries for him and as she sits at his bedside. The tragedy of their relationship can be seen in their last scene together though, we see Alicent care for him but ultimately when he calls out for her it is when she is walking away, as in the past we've seen that she has love for him but in every moment that he has truly needed her she has failed to be there in the way he has needed.

As a last little side note I just need to say that I need someone to adopt Cheese's dog and give them lots of pets and bones because that is one loyal and good puppa. So that's everything for this episode, overall I thought it was an ok episode that had some great character moments, as I said Jace and Baela were standouts. I am hoping that at some point this season the pace is going to pick up a bit because it has felt a bit slow and repetitive so far. So until next episode.

[where-theres-smoak-2]

What in the name of oedipus did I just watch?!

[where-theres-smoak-2]

HOTD 2X04 Review/Thoughts (SPOILERS)

I know I am late with my review this week as well, apologies for that I have had a busy few weeks so haven't had as much free time as normal. But anyway 2x04 of HOTD, this episode definitely picked up a bit in terms of action, I do feel like so far this season its been a lot of sitting in rooms talking and not much on the action front so I am hoping this is the first of many more action packed episodes to come. As I say in every review, I have not read the books so my following thoughts and opinions are based solely on the show and of course there are spoilers.

Daemon and His Ghost Hunting Adventures

So I wanted to start out with Daemon who is still having quite the time of it during his stay at Harrenhall, he is still being plagued by visions and it seems they are now also effecting him whilst he is awake. What I think is really interesting about these visions is it seems to be of things he either feels guilty about or has some regret over. So lets talk about these visions he has.

The first one we see is another vision of young Rhaenyra, this time she is sat on the iron throne, she is dressed in the same black dress she wore at her coronation, she is wearing her father's crown but interestingly in this vision the crown is too big for her. What is also interesting is how when she first starts speaking he can't understand her, even though she is speaking Valyrian a language that they often communicated in. I think this might be to show how even though they both have the same goal, rhaenyra as queen, the greens defeated, aemond killed in retribution for luke's death etc, they still have this distance between them, Daemon just does not understand Rhaenyra's recent actions, why she would even consider suing for peace or why she would ever consider the green's terms. Then Rhaenyra's speech becomes clear for him and again what she says is interesting, telling him he was the one who created her but now he is seeking to destroy her because his brother loved her more. Another little detail in this scene in that this conversation happens under the eye of that giant stone statue of Viserys, showing how even after his death his shadow still looms over both Daemon and Rhaenyra.

We also then see Daemon lash out at this vision of Rhaenyra and cut her head off. The way I interpreted this moment was that it wasn't really Rhaenyra that he was lashing out at, I don't think it was an anger thing directed towards Rhaenyra herself, I think Daemon knows that this is a vision, obviously because this is young Rhaenyra and not current Rhaenyra, but it is clear that Daemon is very disturbed by what this vision is saying. As I said above, these visions seem to be playing into Daemon's fears, inner conflicts and things that he feels guilty or responsible for. Right now Rhaenyra is in a lot of danger because she is the heir, because she wears her father's crown, with the vision saying 'you created me and now you seek to destroy me' I wonder if this is because Daemon feels like if his own actions hadn't led to him being replaced as heir then Rhaenyra wouldn't be in the danger she is now, also that if he hadn't acted recklessly when it came to the assassination attempt on Aemond then he wouldn't have made things worse for Rhaenyra inadvertently putting her in even more danger as now he's been sent away from her and can't be there physically to protect her as well as losing her trust. It's interesting that when he cuts her head off the crown falls from her head, I wonder if this is his worst fear that the greens will take her life whilst attempting to de-crown her and that in some way he will be responsible for not protecting her, maybe that is why when he wakes up for a brief moment there is blood on his hands, he fears her getting hurt and that blood being on his hands.

So the next vision is the one where he is following Aemond through the halls of Harrenhall. Can I just say though, that we are officially 4 for 4, last week I did point out that so far we have had a scene where one or more characters have creeped through dark hallways, and this episode is no exception. So now we have daemon sneaking through the dark, creepy halls, in pursuit of his current greatest enemy, only when he catches up to his foe, it turns out to be himself. I think the message here is clear, Daemon in his thirst for vengeance recklessly went after Aemond, seeing him as his worst enemy and the greatest threat to Rhaenyra and his family but in the end he was his own worst enemy and he in turn ended up being a threat to Rhaenyra when his actions damaged Rhaenyra's reputation.

I think the next vision he has is another one that is pretty self explanatory. Whilst at a meeting with the head of the Blackwoods Daemon envisions the cup bearer as Laena. In the vision he sees her as we saw her in ep 6, when they lived in Pentos and when she was pregnant with their unborn child that died with her. In that episode Laena expressed a wish to go home, wanting her child to be born in westeros, at driftmark. This was a request Daemon denied as at the time he wished to stay away from westerosi politics. I think this vision shows how he has some regret over not agreeing to go back to driftmark with Laena, maybe he thinks things would have turned out differently if they had returned. It's also possible that he is just feeling grief over the way things turned out, and is reliving the trauma from the way he lost Laena. Again it could be him feeling a sense of responsibility for failing to protect his wife and that playing into his fear of not being able to protect his family during this war.

So sticking with Daemon for a moment the other scene I want to talk about is the one between him and Oscar Tully. And look hear me out ok, Daemon had a point. Not to say that Oscar should stick a pillow over his grandsire's head but Daemon had a point about House Tully being a fish with no head and how that is leading to its Vassal Houses not respecting or obeying their authority and basically doing whatever they like including slaughtering each other. So Daemon had a point when he asked if Oscar would speak on his Grandsire's behalf and then in how he dismissed the boy when he refused as Oscar at that point was pretty much useless to Daemon's cause. Don't get me wrong I did feel sorry for the kid but Daemon wasn't wrong, if Lord Tully is incapacitated then someone else needs to step up and take charge. Seeing as no one is doing that because, its not their way, then it makes sense that Daemon would look else where for support and strong leadership.

Alys the Trapped Barn Owl.

Ok I have to say, she is a little creepy, but I really like Alys, she was very amusing in this episode and it was funny seeing her wind Daemon up. There is something that makes me wary of her though. I do wonder if she is the one giving Daemon the visions or whether it is as she said, that Harrenhall is cursed due to a grove of weirwood trees being cut down to build the castle and how the spirits that lived in those trees now haunt those who reside or visit the castle. The way she said that Daemon's bed was made from one of the trees makes me wonder if that is contributing to his visions. We know that magic is real in westeros and there is more to the weirwood trees than them just being trees, so I could 100% believe that they are what's haunting Daemon, but I also can't help but think Alys has more to do with the visions as well. I also wonder whether the drink she gave him was actually to help or whether it was too further open his mind to the visions or have some other nefarious purpose. Either way I am intrigued to see more of Alys' character and learn more about her.

Potential Offspring (TW. Abortion mention)

So I am going to throw these two in to together as I don't have loads to say about them and they are kind of around the same subject.

We got a scene between Rhaenys and Alyn, the sailor who saved Corlys' life, that was really interesting. There was an obvious tension between the two whilst they were talking and an awkwardness that indicates a secret, when Corlys also joined the conversation that tension and awkwardness only increased. Between Rhaenys saying that Alyn's mother must have been very beautiful and then telling Corlys I know who he is, I think its safe to assume that Alyn may be Corlys' bastard son. Couple of things I want to say about this, firstly, we know that Alyn has a brother and now I am wondering if Alyn's brother also is Corlys' son or if he and Alyn are half brothers sharing the same mother only. The other thing I am wondering is, if Alyn and his brother are Corlys' sons then did his affair with their mother happen before or after he was married to Rhaenys, I'm not sure how long he and Rhaenys have been married or how old the two men are. What i do think is interesting though is Rhaenys reaction to Alyn, it doesn't seem to me like she holds any ill will towards him and even chastised Corlys for trying to hide him away, saying that actually he should be honoured for saving Corlys' life.

Speaking of potential bastard children it looks like Alicent may have taken some steps to abort hers and cole's illegitimate child. Judging from the tea that the maester brought her and how she was using warm rocks to deal with cramping I think she found herself in the pridicament of being pregnant with Cole's unborn child. I could talk about the obvious hypocrisy here but at this point I think the writers have made it pretty clear that both Alicent and Cole are hypocrites so its old news at this point. I still feel some sympathy for Alicent, obviously going through an abortion is difficult and painful and possibly it was a hard choice for her to make. I suppose she could have tried to say that the child was viserys' but I don't think anyone would believe that in his state at the end he was partaking in any marital relations, then there is the fact that the child obviously wouldn't look targaryen at all, so she really didn't have much of a choice but to abort it. I do wonder if the tea was effective though, I know in season one they said the tea could be ineffective if not brewed properly. From the cramping I am going to assume that it did work but you never know. I don't know what Alicent would do if she is still pregnant though, I guess time will tell. I also wonder if she will tell Cole about the pregnancy and her choice to end it or whether she will just keep it to herself, I also wonder if she does tell him what his reaction will be to it.

Aegon the Puppet King

This whole season the writers seem to have been taking efforts to show that Aegon really is unsuitable to be king, it was clear that he wasn't given any training or preparation to be king and in this episode it really is made painfully clear why, they only ever wanted a puppet king, a king whose strings could be pulled and who would be the face of the crown but who would ultimately leave the actual ruling to the hand and the small council.

The two scenes we see of the green council are great examples of just how little authority Aegon really has. In the first council scene Aemond arrives and announces that he and Cole have been strategizing together and acting without consulting Aegon first, they've planned to take Rook's Rest instead of Harrenhall and Aemond ignores Aegon's request that Cole turn around and retake Harrenhall from Daemon. On top of that Aemond then humiliates Aegon when he speaks to him in High Valyrian. It is obvious that Aemond was aware that Aegon isn't as well versed in the language and Aegon is put in the situation where he is struggling to speak a language that is traditional to his house, this was an obvious move by Aemond to call into question Aegon's legitimacy as a targaryen and show himself as being the more superior one, and it was a definite hit to Aegon's ego and hit on his insecurities. I do wonder how much the small council understood the Valyrian because they reacted like they understood what was being said. It also seemed like although Aegon struggled to speak the language he was able to understand what Aemond was saying perfectly fine.

The next council scene is a smaller one but still shows how little the council respect Aegon as king and how little consideration they have for his opinions. In this scene Aegon announces that he is bored, that they are all boring him, before he gets up and just leaves the council room. The significant part though is the fact that after he has left the council just carry on as if he was never even there to start with showing just how little involvement Aegon truly has in the running of the kingdom.

One scene that I did find a bit frustrating though was the one between Aegon and Alicent where Aegon confides in Alicent that he feels like the council don't care what he thinks and don't listen to him. Alicent's what thoughts could you offer comment was really kind of harsh. I think what I found frustrating was that Alicent was essentially complaining about how unfit Aegon was to rule, how sacrifices were made to put him on the throne, but it was her job to get him ready to rule, hers and Otto's. For years she was telling Aegon that one day he would be king, they plotted to put him on the throne but did nothing to prepare him for the role and is now complaining that he isn't prepared for the role. Being King also wasn't something that Aegon wanted, I mean he literally tried to run away from it and had to be dragged back, so it was a bit galling to see Alicent act like Aegon should be grateful considering the sacrifices that were made to give him the throne when lets be real here it was something that was forced on to him, not something he wanted for himself. If you look at this from Aegon's pov, he spent all of his life being told by his mother that he would be king, yet his father made it clear that his choice was rhaenyra, then his father dies and he is forced to be king, meanwhile his mother is assuring him that his father changed his mind on his death bed and actually he wanted Aegon to be king. So Aegon decides to try his best to fulfil the role he thinks his father has given him, admittedly he does it badly but he does at least try, only for his mother to then turn around and say just don't do anything, do nothing, she might as well have told him he was worthless. Like obviously this is going to mess with Aegon's head.

The other thing that I found frustrating about the conversation was that Alicent says that having a crown put on his head doesn't imbue him with wisdom, she also then chastises him telling him she thought when he became king he would be humble and ask for advice from others more wise and experienced than him, but I'm like if he wasn't humble before and if he didn't listen to others before, why would she think he suddenly would once he was king. Like if a crown doesn't imbue the wearer with wisdom by the same measure it isn't going to imbue them with humility either.

In this scene Aegon was looking to his mother for reassurance and comfort and it very much reminded me of that scene in the carriage on the way to his coronation where he asked if she loved him. But just as she did then, instead of giving him any reassurance or comfort she instead belittled him. By this point Alicent knows how Aegon can act out especially when he is angry or upset, the smart course of action and what Alicent really should have done was attempt to calm Aegon and pander to him a little to keep him under her control, give him the attention, affection and reassurance he was clearly seeking. The result of Alicent pretty much telling him he was useless and the best thing he could do was nothing, was that Aegon felt the need to prove his self worth by getting on his dragon and joining Cole's army in the attack against Rook's Rest. Which had disastrous consequences.

Jace the Very Fed Up Prince.

Now I want to talk about the black council, like the green council it seems like the black council is beginning to lose respect for the Queen's authority and wants to start acting and making decisions without her. In Rhaenyra's absence, Jace, Baela and Rhaenys have been left to try and keep some handle over the other lords but its proving to be a difficult task as those lords are cleary restless.

I will say that I loved Jace and Baela in this scene, they don't have much to do but the moments we do get are golden. Like I love when the lord criticises Baela for not burning Cole and her response is just well maybe you can on your dragon, she's not taking any of his crap. I also love that Jace immediately supported and defended Baela, he made it very clear that in this house you better respect his betrothed. I also really liked that tiny blink and you miss it moment where Jace reaches over and takes Baela's hand after Daemon and his silence is brought up. I do think this gave us a little glimpse of how Baela and Jace would be like as King and Queen and it is clear that they would support each other and stand together.

I also have to say that I fully understand Jace's frustration and anger at rhaenyra when she returned from King's landing. I said myself after ep 3 that her going to king's landing to talk to Alicent was a foolish move that put her in unneccesary danger, so I think Jace's reaction was warranted. It was also kind of amusing as it was almost like Jace was the one that was in the role of a parent and rhaenyra was the teenager that had just been caught sneaking out when she shouldn't have.

I do get where Rhaenyra was coming from when she said that before ending the peace she inherited from her father she had to be sure there was no other way, but at the same time like, alicent has spent years terrorising you and your sons, the greens have usurped your throne and attempted to hide your father's death from you in the process, caused you to go into preterm labour and you then losing your unborn daughter, Aemond has then killed your son, in retaliation Aegon's son and heir was killed and its only now that you've realised that there was no other way, like really? Because I figured out we were past the point of no return about 4/5 episodes ago. Like I get the need for building anticipation for the dance and showing that rhaenyra made an attempt at peace and didn't just immediately jump into war but they built up the anticipation just fine in season 1, they didn't need half of season 2 as well, I just feel like they needlessly dragged it out. On top of that Rhaenyra could at the very least have told someone where she was and what she was doing, even if was vague like in this moment where she says she was making a last ditch effort for peace. But instead she left her council in the dark and to try and deal with Cole's advancing force without the queen there to guide them and give them instruction.

I again understood Jace's frustration when Rhaenyra said she would fly out on Syrax. He was correct in pointing out that she was too valuable to risk, that if she died all would be lost. But I also think Rhaenyra made a good point when she said Jace lacked experience, the flip side of that is he won't get any experience if Rhaenyra keeps him locked up inside dragonstone. Ultimately Rhaenys is the most logical choice, as she said she has the largest dragon and has experience as well. Still it was clear that it was a difficult choice.

The Battle of Rook's Rest.

Ok I know last week I was complaining that I wanted to see the dragons fight already but having seen the dragons fight in this episode I have changed my mind because boy was it horrific and distressing to see. That being said I am glad that we actually, finally got to see some action this week.

The whole battle was great, horrifyingly great. It really did show just how brutal and terrifying these battles between dragons are for everyone involved, the dragons themselves, the riders and those on the ground, I mean seeing that body crumble to ash when Cole touched it and all the soldiers whose armour had literally melted onto there skin was pretty haunting. Some parts that I really thought stood out was, those moments where Rhaenyra was recounted the prophecy to jace in a voice over as we see Rhaenys/Meleys and Aegon/Sunfyre preparing to fly to battle. I loved those little moments showing the bond between dragon and rider, where you had Rhaenys leaning her forehead against Meleys and speaking to her gently and where Sunfyre playfully nudges at Aegon. But that whole scene with the voice over from Rhaenyra as the two dragons fly to war gave me goosebumps.

It was also interesting seeing the different sizes of the dragons. It was clear right away that Sunfyre and Aegon were completely outmatched by Meleys and Rhaenys, not just in size but also experience. That moment where Meleys comes up from under Sunfyre and just claws into her was awful to watch, just seeing how much damage was inflicted and seeing the blood pour out as Sunfyre flew away screeching in pain, was heartbreaking.

Then we have Vhagar and Aemond. I totally called it last week after Aegon publicly humiliated Aemond that Aemond would retailated against Aegon somehow and so I really wasn't all that surprised when Aemond took this opportunity to literally roast his brother. Still it was not fun to see poor Sunfyre in pain like that and falling from the sky.

It was equally upsetting when Meleys and Rhaenys fall from the sky. Again throughout this battle we really do see the experience Meleys and Rhaenys have, it was pretty ballsy for them to take on Vhagar but they actually did do some damage, even bringing Vhagar down to the ground at one point. I think Rhaenys knew she wasn't going to survive the battle and so her plan was to just inflict as much damage to Vhagar and Aemond as she can. It seems to me like one of team blacks main priorities is to take Aemond and more specifically vhagar off the board for obvious reasons and this was Rhaenys taking her best shot at that. What I do find interesting is how Rhaenys death mirrors Luke's, both were taken out by an ambush attack from Vhagar and both fell with their dragons. Also both had the opportunity to leave but both stayed to fight for their queen's cause. It seems to be a pattern with team black where they are all in, die or nothing types. I fully get why Rhaenys didn't just flee when she had the chance. Rhaenyra gave her a mission, destroy Cole's host, defend Rook's Rest and stop it from falling into greens hands. Rhaenys hadn't completed that task yet and she was going to complete or die trying, and if she could take out a green's dragon or two then she'd give that her best shot too.

Losing Rhaenys was definitely a huge blow and I was really sad to see her go, I really did like her character and how much she supported Rhaenyra. I think this is going to be really tough on Baela and Corlys in particular, so I am really hoping that Baela gets some comfort from Jace and that there is someone there to support Corlys too.

And am very interested to see where the story will go next. It looks like Aegon might still just about be alive, also Sunfyre was still breathing at the end of the episode but did look like she was in terrible shape, so I am interested to see if they both pull through and just how extensive their injuries are. I am assuming that Aemond is now going to act as regent in Aegon's place, potentially, or will it be Cole who acts as regent seeing as he's the hand? I guess we will find out next episode, so until then that is all I've got this time.

[where-theres-smoak-2]

Well in the show at least, alicent has red hair which is actually the least dominant hair colour. In order of dominance it goes brown/black, blonde then red. So the reason why none of her children have her colouring is because viserys' blonde gene is more dominant than alicent's red haired gene. In order for any of alicent's children to have her hair colouring viserys would gave had to also carry a recessive red haired gene from a previous ancestor, and the gene from both parents would have to be passed on to the child. Considering all the inbreeding with the targaryens I don't know how likely it is that viserys would carry that recessive gene. With rhaenyra and her sons, the opposite is true as harwin's brown hair gene is the most dominant, so cancels out rhaenyra's blonde gene. Again, for rhaenyra's sons to have blonde hair harwin would have to carry a recessive blonde gene and for the gene. So it's actually pretty realistic that alicent's children are blonde but rhaenyra's aren't.

When it comes to eye colour though you are right, alicent's children shouldn't all have blue eyes when she has brown. Again it's to do with the dominance of the genes in the case of eye colour, from most to least dominant, it's brown, green then blue. So with alicent having brown eyes and that being more dominant than viserys blue, realistic most of her children should have brown eyes. It is possible for her children to have blue eyes if she has a relative in her bloodline that had blue eyes and if she then carries that recessive gene but the chances of all of her children having blue eyes, well she got lucky there.

All that being said you still have a point about the fire and blood book being written centuries later and so we can't know for sure that the descriptions given are accurate, for all we know the maesters could have lied about certain features, maybe some of alicent's children did have dark eyes but the maesters left it out to make team greens claim more legitimate by making them seem more pure targaryen. But we can't know for sure.

I have a question. Putting aside ether you are team green or team black answer me this. Why the hell werent Allicent’s kids born with brown hair? Aren’t we led to believe brown hair/black hair is supposed to be some kind of dominant gene trait? Is it because Viserys was a pure bred Valyrian and that carried his genes through? This wouldn’t exactly make sense though! Even Rhaenys had black hair and Aemon was a pure Valyrian and he married a Baratheon I’m confused on how this didn’t happen with Allicent as well. Is this all just story convince for the sake of writing a war? Elia Martell had two children by Rhaegar and Rhaenys looked like a Martell while Aegon was reported to look like his father, pale hair and all. Aegon the unworthy had VARIOUS children that had various genes when it came to hair, skin color, and eyes. Rosey, the Otherys siblings, Aegor Rivers, Mya Rivers, Brynden Rivers, and Gwenys Rivers being examples of some of the children he had. Now don’t get me wrong, not all the kids Aegon the unworthy had were described but we DO know at least that bittersteel had purple eyes and black hair. That checks out, then we can assume the rest of them were a healthy mix of their parents. Besides the oddball Brynden aka Bloodraven and Shiera who had rare mismatched eyes like Alyssa Targaryen.

Now riddle me this. How is it possible NONE of Alicents kids came out with her coloring yet most of Rhaenyra’s kids did? At the very least some of Alicents kids should have had different eye colors yet there’s no mention of it, on the contrary, her kids looked like perfect Valyrian children. But…that’s not how genetics work 😭 at least ONE of them should have been the odd one out and some of Rhaenyra’s kids with Harwin should have come out with one of her characteristics in some way. Yet that’s not what happened!

Truthfully 😭 I think the Maesters either lied about the characteristics of the children or they put in false information to make the Targaryen’s to look as bad as possible. Fire and blood was made many centuries after the fact. It would have been so easy to just write out whatever you pleased about how people looked because no one was alive from that time period anymore 🤷🏾‍♀️ everyone around the current timeline in asoiaf would look to this history book as fact with no question because of how trusted they are supposed to be(because we know that the people in the story know of what happened back then. So at the very least the book has been around for a few years. Or at least the accounts of what happened has at any rate)

Sure, this could also be writers convince to write out the war but that’s so boring! 🤣 Not to mention there was literally a war dedicated to bastard Targaryens and how they looked!

This was just something that struck a cord in me and I thought it would be something fun to dive into!

[where-theres-smoak-2]

I don't get why people are getting mad or criticising daemon for being called 'your grace'. It's his title, the consort of the monarch is called your grace. Alicent was your grace when she was consort to viserys, helaena is your grace now that she is consort to aegon, I don't see people arguing that they are arrogant or entitled. So why is it suddenly a problem when Daemon, as a consort, is called his grace? Why does that suddenly make him arrogant and entitled? He's just requesting that he be called by the correct title.

[where-theres-smoak-2]

HOTD 2X03 Review/Thoughts.

Ok so I am a little late with this review, honestly having thought the episode over I don't have as much to say about it this week. I do feel like it was quite a slow episode, honestly I feel like this whole season has started out kind of slow and drawn out. But anyway there are some parts and points I want to talk about, so as I always say I have not read the books so my opinions are based solely on the show, these are my own thoughts and opinions and there are spoilers.

The opening battle was interesting, it seems like there's a lot of bad blood between the brackens and the blackwoods. I also get that they are a foil for the targaryens' civil war and this whole sin begets sin and soon no one remembers why wars and feuds are started etc. Here's my complaint though. Like I said I understand what the writers are trying to say here, its a running theme not just in this episode but throughout the whole series, a good ruler seeks peace and unity in the realm, seeking revenge and acting impulsively is bad ya di da. I understand that they are trying to show Rhaenyra as a good queen because she is being reserved and trying for peace instead of war, but at this point they've been sprouting out this message for a season and a half and its starting to feel like being preached too and its getting boring, like we are half way through this season, I want to be entertained, show me the dragon fights. I agree with the whole messaging about always trying your best to seek peace but I feel like we are way past that point now.

On that subject Rhaenyra this episode, I was not behind some of the choices she made, yet there were still some choices I thought were good. I think her decision to send her younger sons away to a safe place is a good idea, however I don't know that I would send them all to the same place. This might sound a bit cold and strategic of me but I would think her best strategy would be not to put all her eggs in one basket, not to send all of her heirs to the same place. If it were me I'd send Rhaena and Joffrey to say driftmark and then Viserys and Aegon either to the Vale or to Pentos. But anyway, I do think that Rhaenyra showed she has alot of trust in Rhaena, she is entrusting her not just with her own sons but also with the dragon eggs, as she said she is entrusting Rhaena with their future, not just the continuation of Rhaenyra's line with her sons, but also with the hope of more dragons in the future. I always thought that maybe Rhaena would claim a dragon like her mother did, but now that she has those eggs, I am wondering if she will actually hatch one of them. Rhaenyra's strategy here makes alot of sense, Rhaena is older and therefore is in a better position to protect the eggs and care for the younger heirs, also as she said if things go badly for Rhaenyra and the rest of team black, like if team green send more assassins etc, then rhaena, the boys and the young dragons/eggs are the back up plan, they really do represent hope for the future.

All of this being said I do also understand why Rhaena was feeling upset that she was being sent away and to the place where her own mother died of all places. I can understand how when her whole family are in danger and she just wants to feel useful she would see being sent off with the younger children as Rhaenyra seeing her as a nursemaid, when really Rhaenyra does value Rhaena and is entrusting her with some of the most precious things she has. Rhaena has long struggled with her self worth due to her not having a dragon like her sister and I think you can see that coming through in this episode, I don't think Rhaena really understood how much value and trust Rhaenyra was truly putting in her until Rhaenyra presented her with those eggs. I was also glad that although we saw some of that resentment Rhaena feels towards her sister, she still didn't hold it against Baela and did hug her goodbye.

Speaking of hugs goodbye, they are really killing me with these scenes between the blacks where they are hugging and comforting each other, in this episode not only did they get me with Rhaena and Baela's hug but also with Rhaenyra kissing her boys goodbye and Jace hugging Joffrey goodbye, its just such wholesome, sweet scenes, that also have that twinge of sadness to them.

Over on the green side however, things are in a shambles. That scene where you've got cole walking to the council room and as he's walking past Kings' Guards they are all slouching and are all relaxed and not at attention, I just, the heir was just assassinated within the walls of his own home, in his own bed, and instead of being hypervigilant like you would expect these guys are literally just laying about the place, totally relaxed. Then there was the scene where the guards are convincing Aegon to go to the brothel as a squire needs bedding and Aegon points out that they a sworn to chastity and they all just laugh. I think it really shows how Aegon's Kings guard has devolved into something of a sham, I mean even their commander is breaking his oath.

Which brings me to Cole. It seems like there is no some negative tension between him and Alicent, she clearly is'nt happy with the decisions he's been making of late, even the decision in this episode to march to the riverlands. Also does anyone else feel like Alicent specifically asked her brother Gwaine, was that his name, to go with criston so that he could keep an eye on him. I got kind of babysitter vibes in that scene between the three of them. Gwaine however does seem like he's a little bit of an arrogant fool, the whole getting themselves exposed to Baela and Moondancer, all because he wanted a comfortable place to sleep.

Also I loved the look of Moondance and that whole scene of Baela like dive bombing Cole and his men and chasing them into the trees. It was such a good scene and looked great, I will admit a part of me was really hoping Baela would just light those trees up but I understand that she was given orders by Rhaenyra not to engage. I also did find that scene where Baela admitted that she didn't stay up high and said you said not to engage and I technically didn't, really funny. I was definitely getting some Daemon vibes from her in that moment I think she's got a little of his roguish traits.

One thing that this episode confirmed to me is that despite how much people love to go on, even at times in the show itself, that Luke and Jace bullied Aemond, that true antagonist was always Aegon. Like he encouraged his nephews to bully Aemond when they were all children and from Alicent's reaction to the pig prank it seems like Aegon often instigated bullying towards Aemond and was never punished for it, Alicent literally tells him, you can bully him at home but don't do it in public. Yet here we are when they are both adults and Aegon is still bullying Aemond. That scene in the brothel made me so uncomfortable, the way Aegon was just publicly humiliating Aemond, whilst he's naked and vulnerable, although Aemond does play it off like he doesn't care. But I would be careful if I was Aegon. We saw the way Aemond reacted to Lucerys who Aemond felt humiliated him in the past. Luke ended up dead and with the way Aemond was prattling on about how he would make a better king than Aegon in season 1, well I wouldn't be surprised if now that he's pissed off at Aegon for bullying him he decides to orchestrate some kind of accident for Aegon so he get his revenge plus take the throne, like I just think Aegon should be really careful when walking at the top of stairs alone because he might find himself taking an unfortunate tumble.

Sticking with the brothel scene, we also saw that guy, who was looking at the rat catchers that had been hung last episode, again. Surprisingly it seems he is apparently the bastard brother of Viserys and Daemon which I think is really interesting, he called himself a dragonseed so I am thinking he's going to be important in the story, with him comparing himself to Jace as well I do wonder if at some point this guy will claim and ride a dragon. I could see Rhaenyra allowing bastards who have dragons blood to claim dragons in order to boost her forces. Them being bastards I don't think would bother Rhaenyra, she would see the strategic value of them. I am less sure on whether the green side would recruit bastards to their side as they have very negative views towards bastards and I think they would see it as sullying their house almost, like they might have this arrogance of only true targaryens can ride dragons, considering the way Alicent said she was surprised Jace, Luke and Joffrey's eggs even hatched. But either way I am interested to see what they do with this new character.

We also met some new characters at Harrenhall this episode. Complete side note here, but one thing I do think is funny is that every episode so far there has been a sequence of one or more characters sneaking through dark hallways. In ep 1 it was blood and cheese, ep 2 Arryk and in ep 3 its Daemon. But anyway there was something creepy going on in Harrenhall as Daemon seemed to be chasing ghosts then came across some kind of vision, I guess, of young rhaenyra sewing on Jaehaerys' head. I thought this scene was really interesting especially rhaenyra's line, always coming and going aren't you, and I'm left to clean up the mess. With the way Daemon's eyes teared up it was clear that Daemon was feeling a certain amount of guilt for what happened, but more so it seems he feels alot of regret and guilt in general, this scene showed him in a very vulnerable light. I think it shows that he does feel guilty for the brothel scene with young rhaenyra in 1x04, for abandoning her in 1x05 and leaving for essos, possibly even for stealing the egg and going to dragonstone, leaving Viserys in his time of grief as Rhaenyra put it, but he also left Rhaenyra in her time of grief. And then of course it seems like from the way Jaehaerys' face flashed before him that he also feels alot of guilt over causing the death of a child and in turn weaking Rhaenyra's claim and making things more difficult and messy for her. It's just interesting seeing that guilt within him as he usually keeps things close to his chest. I do wonder if that girl with the dark hair had something to do with the vision he saw, she was giving me witchy vibes and her saying Daemon will die there was super creepy and now I am worried for Daemon.

What was interesting is throughout the episodes they've brought up Aegon the conqeror a few times. In this episode we see Aegon wearing his armour, he also wears the conqueror's crown and I think he even carries his sword. The greens are doing this as a way of trying to add legitimacy to Aegon's claim and trying to draw parallels between them and show Aegon II as a strong and great leader. However to me it looked like the armour and the crown were way too big for Aegon giving this impressions of a young boy trying to fill boots that are too big for him. But also they've had two characters now point out that the conqueror actually used violent and brutal measures to win the crown. Cregan in ep 1 points out that his ancestor knelt to the Conqueror because he threatened the realm with his dragons. In this episode Lord strong points out that Harrenhall is in such a state of disrepair because the conqueror burnt it with dragon fire to the point that the stones themselves melted, and an entire house was wiped out. I feel like this is all to hint that Aegon ii himself will also use such brutal methods.

Ok lets talk about that last scene with Rhaenyra sneaking to the sept so that she could talk to Alicent. Unpopular opinion maybe, but this whole scene/scenario was so stupid. Like there was no logical thinking behind this at all. And here is why I think it was stupid, first off is the obvious risked to Rhaenyra, she's the queen, and if she has gotten caught it would very very likely have cost her life, which goes without saying would have been a disaster. The other reason why it was so stupid is because its already been established that Alicent as little to no control over the men who are making the decisions and acting rashly. So even if it went well and Alicent agreed that peace must prevail, what the hell does anyone think she is going to do about it? Like what she was just going to go to Aegon and go hey honey I know you son has been killed, and I know I told you that your dad actually wanted you on the throne, and I know I pretty much forced you to be king against your will and I know that now that you've had a taste of the power you've found you really like it but do you think we could just try for peace instead, because I've spoken to Rhaenyra and actually it turns out this whole thing was a bit of a oopsy on my part, one too many Aegon's am I right, so yeah if you could just make nice with your sister now instead, even though I spent years drilling it into you that Rhaenyra is a threat to your life, that would be great thanks hun. Come on be for real, there was never going to be anything Alicent could do to prevent this war, even before the mix up with Viserys saying Aegon on his death bed, the other members of the green council were plotting to usurp the throne. For me the scene just felt pointless because it is obvious before Rhaenyra even leaves dragonstone that there is nothing Alicent can do to help get peace between the two side, it just felt like the only reason they added that scene was so that Alicent could realise she made a mistake and that Viserys didn't change his mind after all, which considering that mistake in itself was pointless as there were already plans to go ahead with the usurpation just made the scene even more pointless. Even when it came to the scene where Rhaenys is convincing Rhaenyra to talk to Alicent, the writers contradict themselves because one moment you've got Rhaenys saying there could still be a way to avoid the war go talk to Alicent and maybe she can help bring peace, then when Rhaenyra points out that Alicent was complicit in the usurpation, (she wasn't there were moment when she was spearheading the entire thing, it was her that hunted Aegon down and her that decided to put the conqueror's crown on him etc, she wasn't complicit she was active in it), Rhaenys then turns around and pretty much says Alicent has no control over the men and their decisions, so like what would make either Rhaenys or Rhaenyra think Alicent has any power to convince the men that peace is the best option now. I just didn't vibe with that whole scene at all, it just made Rhaenyra look a bit foolish for unnecessarily risking herself. Also it came off more comedic than I think it was supposed to, between Alicent's wtf facial expressions and Rhaenyra's I've begun badly line.

I know this review has been a bit more negative than the others, but honestly I think I am just getting more frustrated with each episode that passes because it doesn't feel like the characters are really doing anything and instead the narrative just keeps going round in circles, war is bad, peace is good, revenge is bad, acting impulsively is bad, acting reserved is good, this civil war was terrible and sucked for everyone, war is bad, revenge is bad, seeking peace is good and around and around we go and at this point I'm just like I was told this show was about the war between dragons so can we get to that point please because so far all that has happened is a couple of botched assassination attempts and alot of Rhaenyra being told to do something and alot of Aegon being told not to do something and in the end nobody actually doing anything.

Anyway I am hoping that with next episode being the mid season point we will get a bit more action and excitement because I really do think the season needs something,

[where-theres-smoak-2]

I keep seeing these posts on my for you page, I really don't know why they are on my for you page because I definitely don't agree with their views, saying that rhaenyra doesn't care about baela because she sent her to patrol and keep an eye on kings landing even though she wouldn't let jace go and that she thinks jace is more important than baela.

Here's the thing though, politically and strategically speaking, jace is more important, and before people start screaming about me being misogynistic or some such nonsense, how can I say the male is more important than the female character blah blah blah, it's got nothing to do with their gender and everything to do with the fact that jace is the heir. Losing him would be a more politically damaging blow. I'd say the same if the roles were reversed and baela was the heir, in which case it should be jace that is sent in that scenario.

When you put yourself in rhaenyra's pov for making this decision, she needs to send someone to do that patrol, not to would be incredibly foolish. She can't go herself because as queen, she needs to be present in dragonstone, making decisions as events unfold, she can't be absent flying patrols. Rhaenys is already patrolling the gullet and helping enforce the blockade, an important task. Daemon is at harrenhall gaining support for rhaenyra and raising an army for her, also an important task. So the only two dragon riders she's got left are jace and baela. Sending jace, her heir, would again be really foolish, you don't unnecessarily risk your heir, so strategically, baela is just the more logical choice.

However, that doesn't mean that rhaenyra doesn't care about baela. There is a reason why she told baela to stay high and to not engage if she did see something, because she was concerned for baela's safety and obviously doesn't want anything bad to happen to her. It's also why rhaenyra looked upset when baela admitted that she wasn't all that high when she saw and chased down Cole, because she was worried for baela and honestly if that maester hadn't have interrupted I suspect baela might have gotten a bit of a telling off.

I think sometimes people forget that these characters are living in a medieval setting during a time of war. In our modern society it's easy to say I treat all my children equally, and good I would hope so, but these characters don't live in modern society, their societal norms and rules are different and when at war rhaenyra doesn't have the luxury of making decisions based on emotions. She has to think strategically and strategically you always protect your heir first. I'm sure rhaenyra would love to take all her remaining children, blood and stepdaughters alike, and wrap them up somewhere safe and far from the war effort. But she is queen and has to make decisions that give her and their side the best political advantage, sometimes that includes the difficult choice of which of her children to send on a potentially dangerous patrol. But that doesn't equate to rhaenyra doesn't care about baela.

[where-theres-smoak-2]

Just finished watching 2x03 and as I said last week, I will write a full review later, I just don't have the time right this moment.

But one thing I do want to talk about real quick, is this theme that ran through the episode about how in time no one will remember what started the war, and all the discussion around what started the war, was it aemond losing an eye, jaehaerys death, luke's death etc.

Here's the thing though, whilst I understand what they are trying to say here, violence begets violence and eventually people are just hating each other and killing each other and don't even remember why they hate each other any more and it'll all be better if they just talked it out and sang kumbaya around a camp fire. But first off that idea is incredibly unrealistic because how do you ask a mother or a father not to seek vengeance for the death of their child. Secondly the whole history won't remember thing is just false, and we know it's false because in fire and blood, you know the history book covering the dance, it says this:

Lucerys Velaryon died with his dragon, Munkun insists. This is undoubtedly correct. The Prince was thirteen years of age. His body was never found. And with his death, the war of ravens and envoys and marriage pacts came to an end, and the war of fire and blood began in earnest.

So the history books do remember what started the war and they cite lucerys' death at the hands of aemond as what started it. Also if you look at all the wars grrm has written they all start the same way, with first blood being spilt, with an unlawful death or murder. The dance of the Dragons was started when aemond murdered luke, Robert's rebellion despite being named Robert's rebellion wasn't actually started by Robert, despite popular belief it also wasn't started with lyanna running off the rhaegar either, it was started when the mad king murdered Ned's father and brother. The war of the five kings was started when joffrey unlawfully executed Ned. In all of these wars, before these deaths, there was always a chance that things could be turned around and some chance for peace and for war and blood shed to be avoided. But each of these deaths were the turning point, the point of no return.

So, in my opinion I don't think there is any debate or question as to what started the dance of the Dragons, it was started with the death of lucerys and yes history does remember that.

[where-theres-smoak-2]

I've been thinking about Rhaenys line in 2x2 'where (daemon) goes he wishes to be his own master.' Honestly though, it makes a lot of sense why he's this way, always wanting to be the one in control and making the decisions, when you think about his late teens/ early adulthood.

At just 16 he is married off against his will to Rhea Royce. Forced to leave his home and go to the Vale, he doesn't get on with his wife, he hates it in the Vale. Then when his brother becomes king he asks for an annulment only for that to be rejected, he gets only a small victory in that he's allowed to come back to kings landing.

He was made master of coin but after only a brief time Otto persuaded viserys to take the position away from him, then he was made master of laws but once again Otto saw to it that he was dismissed from that position too. Then he gets the position of commander of the city watch, a role that he seemed to really love and that he flourished in, but once again thanks to Otto's scheming he once again loses that position and on top of that is then exiled from his home again.

He was heir to the throne, but that was taken from him at the same time that he was banished by his brother.

He wants to marry rhaenyra but is told no, you're already married, then when rhea is dead rhaenyra is already engaged to someone else. Laena at least was his own choice but that all falls apart too when she chooses to die a dragon riders death and he watches her and their unborn child burn. He finally gets to marry rhaenyra and it seems like for a while everything was dandy but then his brother dies and all hell breaks loose.

Honestly, I think Daemon has just been messed around so much, forced into marriage at a young age, he was only a year older than alicent was. Then having position after position taken away from him. He must have constantly felt like he was never in control of his own life, all decisions were made for him, by his mother, or his brother, or otto and now by rhaenyra. It makes sense that as someone who often had his free will taken from him, he would seek control in whatever way he could and at every opportunity he can.