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Quick cat update before I descend into House of the Dragon madness: Grey is doing marginally better. We got in to see a new vet and we're probably going to switch to them. The problem is most likely allergies, so we've switched out some cat bowls and got her adjusted to those. She's supposed to be on a steroid, but it's a pill and she never takes those well, so for the moment that's on pause. The vet gave us a different hypoallergenic food to possibly try switching out for the old one, so we might give that a go next. But for the moment Grey is out of the Cone of Shame and hasn't had a major injury since the visit (knock on wood), so I'm counting that as a win.
So, House of the Dragon.
[SPOILERS UP TO AND INCLUDING HOTD S1X07 AS WELL AS FIRE AND BLOOD]
After a couple of bumpy episodes (which painfully reminded me exactly why I hate watching shows as they are released; two iffy eps means two weeks of show-related upset, instead of like, maybe a day or two), S1x07 "Driftmark" is the best installment of the show so far. Which hurts me to admit because S1x04 will have my heart forever, but S1x07 is just incredible. Literally one of the best episodes of a TV show I've seen. It was rough getting here, but it was worth it.
Choosing to set (most of) the episode during a 24-hour period is a stellar choice, centering the action on a single event (Laena's funeral). It has that feeling of forced proximity and emotional claustrophobia that family events create, right at a time when the family is beginning to truly fracture. So many individual storylines converge and come to a head here.
Of course, I am Daemyra-centered. They are my primary focus, and this episode absolutely delivers on that front. But before I derail completely into my Daemyra feelings, I want to talk about some of the other things that make this ep so great.
I am Team Black. Team Black forever and always, I will not budge. BUT! The one Green who has my whole entire heart is Aemond (Helaena on the show has also become a favorite, but I digress). Not surprising really. Aemond and Daemon are anagrams, and their characters are mirrors of each other. Younger sons who've had to watch older siblings be given everything while they have to fight for legitimacy and to be taken seriously. Black sheep within their family, set on an inevitable collision course of mutual destruction. This is the episode where Aemond becomes himself, claiming Vhagar as his dragon (I cried actual tears during that sequence), then power-drunk and immediately switching from the bullied to the bully.
Like Romeo and Juliet, it is the nature of generational tragedies that the feud is enacted through the children as much as the parents. The battlelines between the Greens and Blacks are drawn by the children with Lucerys taking out Aemond's eye, the incendiary spark that causes their mothers to finally erupt in flames (pre-echoing the formal beginning of the Dance with Aemond killing Lucerys).
And yes, the rift between Alicent and Rhaenyra finally turning into violence is utterly breathtaking. I am not an Alicent apologist by any means, and I have my issues with how the show has presented her which would be out of place if I were to enumerate them here, HOWEVER. I think her motivations are well-articulated, especially in this scene.
Okay, now Daemyra. I had to remind myself that this is the first time we've seen Emma D'Arcy's Rhaenyra interacting with Daemon. Other aspects of the major time jump have been rough, but this transition isn't. Their relationship is such a twisted gothic romance disaster and I love every messy minute of it. They're both legibly older, grieving not only their losses but also the years with each other that have been lost, tired and more cynical, but they instantly rekindle the fire within the other. "You and I are made of fire. We were always meant to burn together." I am a fucking SUCKER for I Will Burn The World For You, and no ship is more that than Daemyra. This is the soulbound, dark romance, gothic death spiral I've always wished to see rendered without pulling out all its teeth, and so far HotD is delivering.
I really loved the end of the episode. It's a bait and switch that actually works. Rhaenyra and Daemon plotting to kill Rhaenyra's husband to clear the way for their own marriage would absolutely be in keeping with all the above-mentioned tropes. It's completely credible. So then the reveal that they didn't murder Laenor, instead aiding in the faking of his death, ultimately gifting him with the freedom to escape with his lover Ser Qarl, feels less like a fake-out than it does a reward and a balm. Sometimes the shocking twist is that they lived happily ever after, and giving that gift to a queer couple (especially after the unfortunate use of Bury Your Gays in a previous episode), on a show that is fundamentally a tragedy in which nearly every named main character will die terribly, is truly lovely.
Anyway, this episode was great, and I haven't even talked about half the things that were great about it.
So, House of the Dragon.
[SPOILERS UP TO AND INCLUDING HOTD S1X07 AS WELL AS FIRE AND BLOOD]
After a couple of bumpy episodes (which painfully reminded me exactly why I hate watching shows as they are released; two iffy eps means two weeks of show-related upset, instead of like, maybe a day or two), S1x07 "Driftmark" is the best installment of the show so far. Which hurts me to admit because S1x04 will have my heart forever, but S1x07 is just incredible. Literally one of the best episodes of a TV show I've seen. It was rough getting here, but it was worth it.
Choosing to set (most of) the episode during a 24-hour period is a stellar choice, centering the action on a single event (Laena's funeral). It has that feeling of forced proximity and emotional claustrophobia that family events create, right at a time when the family is beginning to truly fracture. So many individual storylines converge and come to a head here.
Of course, I am Daemyra-centered. They are my primary focus, and this episode absolutely delivers on that front. But before I derail completely into my Daemyra feelings, I want to talk about some of the other things that make this ep so great.
I am Team Black. Team Black forever and always, I will not budge. BUT! The one Green who has my whole entire heart is Aemond (Helaena on the show has also become a favorite, but I digress). Not surprising really. Aemond and Daemon are anagrams, and their characters are mirrors of each other. Younger sons who've had to watch older siblings be given everything while they have to fight for legitimacy and to be taken seriously. Black sheep within their family, set on an inevitable collision course of mutual destruction. This is the episode where Aemond becomes himself, claiming Vhagar as his dragon (I cried actual tears during that sequence), then power-drunk and immediately switching from the bullied to the bully.
Like Romeo and Juliet, it is the nature of generational tragedies that the feud is enacted through the children as much as the parents. The battlelines between the Greens and Blacks are drawn by the children with Lucerys taking out Aemond's eye, the incendiary spark that causes their mothers to finally erupt in flames (pre-echoing the formal beginning of the Dance with Aemond killing Lucerys).
And yes, the rift between Alicent and Rhaenyra finally turning into violence is utterly breathtaking. I am not an Alicent apologist by any means, and I have my issues with how the show has presented her which would be out of place if I were to enumerate them here, HOWEVER. I think her motivations are well-articulated, especially in this scene.
Okay, now Daemyra. I had to remind myself that this is the first time we've seen Emma D'Arcy's Rhaenyra interacting with Daemon. Other aspects of the major time jump have been rough, but this transition isn't. Their relationship is such a twisted gothic romance disaster and I love every messy minute of it. They're both legibly older, grieving not only their losses but also the years with each other that have been lost, tired and more cynical, but they instantly rekindle the fire within the other. "You and I are made of fire. We were always meant to burn together." I am a fucking SUCKER for I Will Burn The World For You, and no ship is more that than Daemyra. This is the soulbound, dark romance, gothic death spiral I've always wished to see rendered without pulling out all its teeth, and so far HotD is delivering.
I really loved the end of the episode. It's a bait and switch that actually works. Rhaenyra and Daemon plotting to kill Rhaenyra's husband to clear the way for their own marriage would absolutely be in keeping with all the above-mentioned tropes. It's completely credible. So then the reveal that they didn't murder Laenor, instead aiding in the faking of his death, ultimately gifting him with the freedom to escape with his lover Ser Qarl, feels less like a fake-out than it does a reward and a balm. Sometimes the shocking twist is that they lived happily ever after, and giving that gift to a queer couple (especially after the unfortunate use of Bury Your Gays in a previous episode), on a show that is fundamentally a tragedy in which nearly every named main character will die terribly, is truly lovely.
Anyway, this episode was great, and I haven't even talked about half the things that were great about it.
