The Dragonpit

Ser. Duncan the Tall finally discovers who his Squire is -- right as Egg finally starts to become a hardworker. Check out the Dragonpit's take on the latest season of the Knight of the Seven Kingdoms! 

We're back with episode 2 of HBO's A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. 

We're back in Westeros with HBO's new series A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. In this novella come to life, we explore the life of Dunk, the Hedge Knight, and his squire Egg. Episode 1 takes us to the Ashford Tournament through the eyes of the newly knighted, Ser Dunk. 

We start this episode in the Free Cities with Tyland Lannister begging the Triarchy to join the war on the side of the Greens. After the fierce Commander Lohar makes Tyland prove his mettle, they agree to set sail. Meanwhile, in Westeros, Aemond has started burning cities to answer outrage with outrage and proceeds to bully his sister into joining the fight, over Alicent’s and Helena’s objections. On Dragonstone the six dragon riders are getting to know each other and Rhaenyra is readying her battle plans when she finds out Daemon has finally raised his army. She flies to Harrenhal to confront her husband only to find that he is a changed man after weeks of Weirwood tripping and downloading eight seasons of Game of Thrones. Corlys tries to be a good dad. Rhaena finds her dragon. And with Rhaenyra back on Dragonstone, Alicent comes to tell her that she’s also changed woman who just wants to wander the woods with her daughter and avoid the slaughter of the small folk. The episode ends with everyone marching to war. 

We start with a confrontation between Rhenerya and Addam with two dragons squaring off and one bending the knee. Rhenerya returns with Addam to Dragonstone and wants to instruct him in High Valyrian — over the concerns of her council and her son. In Harrenhal Daemon gets schooled in politics by the 14-year-old Oscar Tully who pledges the Rivermen to his cause. Back in King’s Landing Alicent decides to go camping and no one wants to be honest with Prince Regent Aemond. Returning to Dragonsone, the Targaryen bastards converge to claim Vermithor and Silverwing and we finally get the Dragonseeds Rollins has been waiting for. Aemond see the Silverwing joy ride and almost takes Dragonstone before he realizes he’s a deadman. 

The episode starts with a scene of the Lannisters marching to war and Jason Lannister summoning Aemond to join him. Obviously, Aemond hates that and screams at his council that they must get more aggressive in their efforts to end the blockade and take back Harrenhal, going so far as to dismiss his cautious mother from the group. Aegon’s recovery bothers Aemond who continues to terrorize the inhabitants of the Red Keep. On Dragonstone, Rhaenyra asks Ser Steffon Darklyn to try to try mount Seasmoke. This attempt ends in his death and Rhaenyra begins to regret the plan and question her ability to win the war at all. At Harrenhal, Daemon continues to hallucinate and confides in Alys Rivers who convinces him to stay. On Driftmark, Corlys names Alyn as his First Mate and Addam seems resentful of the attention he receives from their father. In the Vale, Rhaena realizes Lady Arryn has been lying to her and that there is a dragon in the region. In King’s Landing, Mysaria’s scheme to stir unrest with the small folk takes hold as boats of food cause chaos in a starving city. Back on Dragonstone, Rhaenyra questions if she can win the war and Mysaria convinces her she can with a passionate kiss. The two are interrupted when news is brought to Rhaenyra that Seasmoke has found a new rider, causing her to take flight to confront Addam of Hull. 

In Episode 5 we see the realm’s reactions to the battle at Rook’s Rest. Despite Criston’s best-laid propaganda plans, the small folk in King’s Landing see the parading of Meley’s head as a bad omen. On Dragonstone, Rhaenyra’s council continues to second-guess her and she sends Baela to Driftmark to convince her grandfather, the Sea Snake,  to become the Hand of the Queen. In the small council room in King’s Landing, Alicent’s campaign to become the Queen Regent fails as Aemond is appointed to serve in the place of the severely injured Aegon. At Harrenhal, Daemon is struggling to build his army of Rivermen and with his own Oedipus Complex. Jace has some success in winning over the Freys as Rhaena struggles to convince Lady Arryn to send her men to war to fight for the Blacks. At the end of the episode, we see Rhaenyra and Jace hack a plot to find new riders for the dragons residing on Dragonstone. 

Titled “The Red Dragon and The Gold,” this episode will go down as one of the best episodes in the entire Game of Thrones universe. We start at Harrenhal where Daemon continues to struggle with both his past crimes and shifting reality. In between flirting with the woods-witch, Alys Rivers, and tripping on Weirwood paste, Daemon continues to terrorize the Riverland lords demanding fealty from both Oscar Tully and the Blackwoods. 

Back in King’s Landing, Alicent sips on her moon tea while searching for answers on the Song of Ice and Fire. Aegon and Aemond bicker about war strategy and Larys’ loyalty is questioned. On Dragonstone, Rhaenyra returns from King’s Landing to a divided council unable to proceed forward without her and struggling to defeat Criston Cole’s campaign throughout the Crownlands. Rhaenyra declares that she’s ready to send the dragons into battle as Rhaenys heads into battle on Meleys — not realizing Rook’s Rest is a trap for the Blacks and she is playing directly into the Green’s hands. 

Defending Rook’s Rest is already a lost cause when Meleys and Rhaenys arrive to aid Team Black. But before Rhaenys can even take out the Green’s army, she is attacked by King Aegon on Sunfyre — much to the surprise of Criston Cole. Meleys seems to be winning when Aemond and Vaghar enter the fray. Against two fully grown dragons, Rhaenys doesn’t stand a chance but she fights until her last breath. The episode ends with Cole and Aemond finding Aegon and his dragon badly injured, but still alive. 

We start off the episode with a centuries-old rivalry between the Brackens and the Blackwoods finally escalating to thousands dead as one swear for  Rhaenyra and the other for Aegon — war has officially started in Westeros. On Dragonstone, Rhaenyra urges caution with her counsel as she still hopes to resolve the war peacefully. She sends Rhanea to the Vale with her remaining children. 

In King’s Landing, Aegon and Criston Cole set in motion the first march towards battle with Criston taking the army in King’s Landing and Oldtown north to take Harrenhal to convince Lord Tully to bend the knee. Despite lacking any real command over his counsel, Aegon gets himself some new Valyrian Steel armor with his buddies cheering him on as they head out to brothel and find Aemond in the arms of his lover once again. In the tavern, we also meet our fourth dragonseed of the season — Ulf the White. 

In the Riverlands, Daemon has taken Harrenhall, but remains skeptical of its loyalty as he starts to go slowly mad in the haunted castle. The urgency for battle increases as Baela spots the Green army marching north. After hearing the news, Rhaenyra and Mysaria hatch a plan to talk to Alicent and push one last time for peace. Rhaenyra confronts Alicent in the Sept and tries to clear up the misunderstanding around Viserys’s last wishes. Despite realizing she made a mistake, Alicent says it is too late for peace, leaving Rhaenyra no choice but to go to war — where the dragons will dance.  

The episode Rollins has been waiting for! Cargyll Bowl where brother kills brother and are forever memorialized in Westerosi lore. But before we get to that brutal killing, we see the people of King’s Landing mourning the loss of Jaehaerys in their own ways. 

Aegon smashes everything he can touch. Alicent thinks the gods are punishing her for banging Criston Cole and Otto sees a “chaos is a ladder” scheme unfold. Helena and Alicent agree to a funeral procession with little Jaehaerys’ decapitated body through the streets of King’s Landing. 

Back on Dragonstone, Rhaenyra realizes that Daemon was behind the plot and finally confronts him about his years of treachery. Before we get to the big moments of the episode, we get a number of amazing insights into our favorite characters. Jace and Baela talk about their fathers. Aemond is seeking maternal comfort in a brothel. We see insights from Hugh the blacksmith’s family and the brothers Alyn and Addam of Hull reunited on driftmark. Finally, we get an intimate scene with our favorite Westerosi couple -  Rhenys and Corlys. But this is all leading up to two crucial plot points. 

First, Criston Cole sends Arryk to go kill Rhaenyra telling him to slip into the castle and pretend to be his brother. Before Arryk can finish the job, Erryk is tipped off my Mysaria. One twin kills the other and the survivor kills himself. Second, back in King’s Landing, Aegon fires Otto as Hand and replaces him with Criston. Once again, Otto finds himself kicked out of the Red Keep and venturing back to the Reach.  Lots to unpack.