The Cast Beyond the Wall is back to wrap up our House of the Dragon season 2. The long-anticipated sophomore season started slow but realized several memorable storylines and a couple of pivotal moments for the screen.

Reviewing House of the Dragon Season 2

Hosts Caleb Masters and Daniel Stull discuss the last eight weeks of the Westerosi dragon wars before heading into the long winter wait.

In this episode of The Cast Beyond the Wall, we will cover:

• Listener Email
• Ice-breaker question: What is your favorite cliffhanger from a film, television, or video game?
• Overall thoughts on House of the Dragon season 2
• Season 2's strengths, weaknesses, and most compelling storylines left hanging
• Our letter-grade verdicts
• What we know about Season 3
• This season's winners, losers, and wild card players
• Season 2 special awards

Continue the conversation

Is there anything you'd like to add to our discussion of House of the Dragon Season 2?

Email questions to [email protected]

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As quickly as the dragons arrived, season 2 of House of the Dragon is a wrap. Though it may be over, the conversations and theorizing are just beginning. The 2024 capper was a bit of a headscratcher, but as abrupt as it may be, there are many clues about what to expect in the climatic wars ahead.

The Cast Beyond the Wall continues our series recap in our new format covering:

• S2 E7 - The Red Sowing (directed by Loni Peristere and written by David Hancock)
• S2 E8 - The Queen Who Ever Was (directed by Geeta Vasant Patel and written by Sara Hess)

Special guest Laron Chapman joins hosts Caleb Masters and Daniel Stull to break down the finest moments of episodes 7 and 8 of House of the Dragon season 2.

In this episode of The Cast Beyond the Wall, we will cover:

• Alicent Hightower's mid-life crisis
• Larys and Aegon conspire for an escape
• Aemond's desperation in the face of Rhaenyra's dragons
• Tylund Lannister's Triarchy Misadventures
• Criston Cole gets called out
• Rhaenyra rallies the bastards for the Red Sowing
• The rise of high and Ulf
• Daemon's lessons in leadership and foresight
• What Helaena's visions could mean
• Was that it? Our read on the closing moments of House of the
• This week's winner, loser, and wild card player

Continue the conversation

Is there anything you'd like to add to our discussion of House of the Dragon S2 Episodes 7-8?

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Following the battle of Rook's Rest, the game has shifted. In House of the Dragon Season 2, episodes 5-6, Aemond is taking the wheel of the Greens, and Rhaenyra must turn to new allies and ideas if she wants to survive in this civil war.

The Cast Beyond the Wall continues our series recap in our new format covering:

• S2 E5 - Regent (written by Ti Mikkel, directed by Clare Kilner)
• S2 E6 - Small Folk (written by Eileen Shim, directed by Andrij Parekh)

Hosts Caleb Masters and Daniel Stull break down the darkest chapter of Westeros in House of the Dragon so far.

In this episode of The Cast Beyond the Wall, we will cover:

• Aegon lives!
• Aegon might as well be dead. Long live King Regent Aemond!
• Jason Lannister crosses the Riverlands to march on Harrenhal
• Alicent is pushed aside for the beginning of her life after being queen
• Daemon continues to be plagued by dreams and slow recruiting efforts
• Rhaenyra's new strategy for winning support from the "small folk" after her defeat at Rook's Rest
• Jace and Rhaenyra hatch "Operation Let's Ride"
• A new dragon rider has entered the chat?
• This week's winner, loser, and wild card player

Continue the conversation

Is there anything you'd like to add to our discussion of House of the Dragon S2 Episodes 5-6?

Email questions to [email protected]

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Sound the horns and prepare the scorpions. War has arrived. In episodes 2-4 of House of the Dragon season 2, the powder keg explodes in an all-out Westerosi Civil War.

The Cast Beyond the Wall shifts into the new episode format to cover:

• S2 E2 - Rhaenyra the Cruel (written by Sara Hess, directed by Claire Kilner)
• S2 E3 - The Burning Mill (written by David Hancock, directed by Geeta Vasant Patel)
• S2 E4 - The Red Dragons and the Gold (written by Ryan Condal, directed by Alan Taylor)

Special guest Daniel Bokemper from The Cinematropolis and Flick Attack rejoins hosts Caleb Masters and Daniel Stull to assess the highs and lows of the season so far.

In this episode of The Cast Beyond the Wall, we will cover:

• The blunders of King Aegon II
• Otto Hightower's fall from grace
• Who's winning? Team Black or Team Green?
• Daemon's spiritual reckoning at Harrenhal
• How the war and petty squabbles of the royals impacts "the small folk."
• The battle at Rook's Rest
• This week's winner, loser, and wild card player

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House of the Dragon season 2 begins on a somber note as Rhaenyra and her family(AKA The Blacks) mourn the loss of Lucerys after his death at the end of season 1. Meanwhile, Alicent and the Hightower family(The Greens) continue their plan to install Aegon as king and begin preparing for war.

With each family hatching their plans while forces like Larys Strong and the white worm work in the shadows, the impending violence is imminent. Daemon's scheme to bring retribution for the blacks using the assassins "Blood" and "Cheese" is certain to have ripple effects throughout the season.

Does the House of the Dragon season 2 premiere effectively set the stage?

Tune in to hear our review, recap, and thoughts on these topics:

• Rhaenyra's reaction to Lucerys's death.
• Returning to Winterfell and the Wall for the first time since Game of Thrones ended in 2019.
• The tension between King Aegon and Otto Hightower.
• Varys Strong's schemes.
• Ethics with Ser Criston Cole.
• The tale of the treacherous "Blood" and "Cheese" AKA dumb assassins.
• This week's winner, loser, and wild card player.
• What we expect to see next.

According to IMDB, "A Son for a Son" is described as:

"As Alicent grows concerned by Aegon's Small Council, Rhaenyra arrives at a fateful decision."

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They say winter is coming, but the heat from the Sunday, June 16th House of the Dragon season 2 premiere says otherwise. After nearly two years away from Westeros, hosts Caleb Masters and Daniel Stull are excited to take their next trip back into the "Dance of Dragons" civil war dividing the Targaryen house.

We start this show with a noteworthy programming announcement related to the 2024 podcast release schedule. From there, we reflect on our overall thoughts on House of the Dragon season 1 since the finale in October 2022.

We close the conversation about what we expect to see in the premiere.

This episode's topics include:

• Welcome back!
• Scheduling updates for House of the Dragon season 2 recaps
• Two years later, how do we feel about season 1?
• Are we team black or team green this year?
• What would we like to see in season 2.

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Remember my lords and ladies, when you're lost in the darkness without a new season of House of the Dragon on the horizon...look for the light! Believe in the Fireflies and join The Cast Beyond the Wall for this special one-off podcast discussion reviewing HBO's The Last of Us season 1.

In today's bonus crossover episode with The Cinematic Schematic, we are joined by a panel of guests including our own Caleb Masters and Daniel Stull, along with Static Media's Jo Light, the Tunes/Toons podcast's Harold Storey, and The Cinematic Schematic podcast co-host / Oklahoma filmmaker, Laron Chapman, to provide our reviews and analysis of The Last of Us season 1 which recently concluded on Sunday, March 12th.

Today's conversation kicks off with the panel sharing our experiences with zombie fiction and The Last of Us video game series. We then provide our spoiler-filled reviews of season 1, and finally, we conclude this special conversation with a deeper dive into some of the series' themes and what might happen next.

Did Joel make the right decision regarding Ellie's fate? What episode was the best of the season? Does this show break the "video game adaptation" curse? Tune in for our thoughts on all of these questions and more!

DISCLAIMER: We will be spoiling everything that happens in season 1 of HBO's The Last of Us, however, we will not be spoiling anything outside of what has aired on HBO including The Last of Us Part II video game.

Send your thoughts on this season to [email protected].

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Timestamps

0:15 - Introductions

5:00 - What's our take on zombies in pop culture?

16:15 - What's our relationship with The Last of Us Part 1 video game?

28:25 - Why are video game adaptations so tough?

43:04 - Why is The Last of Us different from other video game adaptations?

48:22 - The Last of Us season 1 review

148:54 - Where will they go next? Spoiler-free

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At the beginning of this season of The Cast Beyond the Wall, we were skeptical about House of the Dragon. After the premiere, we were curious, and as the series aired, we found ourselves enjoying this Westerosi show almost as much as the last. In this season finale of The Cast Beyond the Wall, hosts Caleb Masters and Daniel Stull are re-joined by Rapidfire & Blood Reactions co-host, Lauren Weingart, to look back at the Game of Thrones successor series's freshman year.

Now that the dust and ashes have settled, how well does House of the Dragon hold up now that we've got the complete picture?

Today's podcast topics include:

• Listener feedback
• The characters and stories that provide the most satisfying arc
• What is our favorite first season of a TV show?
• How well did season 1 of House of the Dragon fit together as a whole?
• Does it compare to the first season of Game of Thrones?
• What would we like to see in season 2?
• This season's biggest winners, losers, and wild card players

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House of the Dragon has come a long way in its first season, and it's all been leading to this...the biggest civil war in sci-fi/fantasy on this side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In this episode of The Cast Beyond the Wall, hosts Caleb Masters and Daniel Stull are re-joined by special returning guest host, Ben Friend, to discuss what the events of this episode and cliffhanger mean for team Rhaenyra AKA "the blacks," and the viewers.

Following last week's "The Green Council," which focused on the Hightowers AKA "the greens," in King's Landing, this week's episode shifts the focus to our other lead, Rhaenyra, from her base in Dragonstone. Rhaenys delivers the troubling news of both Visery's death and also Aegon II's being crowned king in her place.

With Corlys "the sea snake" Velaryon making a surprise return from the brink of death to pledge support from Rhaenyra and Daemon counting dragons, it seems the Blacks are not out of the game despite lacking loyalty from many of the key lords of the seven kingdoms. The name of the game is "war," especially after Lucerys is murdered by Aemond's dragon in a chase the bards will sing about for generations to come.

Does this episode provide an adequate cliffhanger to leave us wanting more for season 2?

Today's podcast topics include:

• Does this episode provide a satisfying close to the first season of House of the Dragon?
• The consequences of Aemond's actions on Houe Targaryen
• The crowning of Rhaenyra as queen on Dragonstone
• Daemon's obsession with war
• Do the Blacks have the support they need to wage a war?
• Corlys's unexpected return from the edge of death
• What do we expect to see next season
• This week's winner, loser, and wild card player

According to the IMDB synopsis, "The Black Queen" is described as:

"While mourning a tragic loss, Rhaenyra tries to hold the realm together, and Daemon prepares for war."

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Rapidfire & Blood Reactions returns to The Cast Beyond the Wall in this minisode where hosts Caleb Masters and Lauren Weingart provide their immediate reactions to the latest developments in the Targaryen family feud.

Today we provide our initial unfiltered thoughts covering the House of the Dragon season 1 finale, "The Black Queen."

In this short discussion, we'll cover:

• How this episode completes the "prologue" chapter of the series and why that's a good thing
• What Aemond's assassination of Lucerys means for the dance of the dragons
• Whether the gruesome childbirth scene in this episode was necessary

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Email questions to [email protected]

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