The Night's Cast

There was a lot to love about the first season of House of the Dragon and even more to hotly (heh) debate, so for a little bit of offseason fun, The Night's Cast is bringing you the best of and not-so-best-of HOTD. It's the first-ever Hottest D Awards! In this special episode, Petra, Samantha and Vanessa hand out the Hottest D's to best actor, character, location, and more -- and the not-so-best-of get their own recognition in the form of the Shrinkies.

The first season of House of the Dragon ended with a shocking death, a furious glare, and plenty of chatter about the season as a whole, and the Night's Cast is no exception (about the chatter -- not so much the death and fury). Join Petra, Samantha and Vanessa as they discuss the final episode of the season, "The Black Queen," and its high points, low points, and everything in between.

The King is dead. Long live the Q... uh, King? In "The Green Council," the Greens conspire and successfully steal Rhaenyra's throne (for now) and will likely face significant backlash from the Blacks as we head into the finale on Sunday. On this week’s episode, Vanessa and Petra discuss character motivations (or lack thereof), choices and their consequences, and who really cares about the smallfolk anyway?

To paraphrase a well-known saying, this is how a king's reign ends: not with a bang, but with a whisper.

This week's episode of House of the Dragon brought all the feels, as we said goodbye to Viserys Targaryen (keep that #AnEmmyforPaddy trend going) and watched an unfortunate miscommunication set up further erosion of the fragile peace in Westeros. Join Petra and Samantha on this week's episode of The Night's Cast as they discuss all this and more!

Nothing puts the fun in funeral like a dysfunctional family reunion. "Driftmark" brought tensions to a boiling point and sowed further division among the royal family, setting the stage for greater conflict to come. On this week’s episode, Vanessa and Petra talk dragon riding and "dragon" riding, and the consequences of both.

After last week's hard-hitting (heh) wedding episode we've jumped ahead in time by 10 years this week on House of the Dragon, to see that Princess Rhaenyra has just given birth to her third child, albeit of questionable parentage -- and that tensions are high surrounding the line of succession. On this episode, Petra and Vanessa discuss the gathering storm of Alicent's maneuverings, Viserys' ill health, Rhaenyra's children, Harwin Strong's untimely death (RIP to our favorite himbo), and more.

Ah, weddings in Westeros...never a dull moment (even if the Dothraki may disagree). In "We Light the Way," hearts were broken - along with skulls - and allegiances shifted in a fantastic conclusion to the first half of the season. On this week’s episode of the Night’s Cast, Vanessa and Petra discuss lovesick knights and the terrible decisions they make, secrets and the wedges they drive between friends, and Daemon Targaryen and how he keeps getting away with...well, everything.

This week "King of the Narrow Sea" gave us good sex, bad sex and weird foreplay as we approach the House of the Dragon season midpoint. On this week's episode of the Night's Cast, Petra and David discuss sex scenes, the down side of fast-paced timelines and whether or not Daemon's penis is his Jiminy Cricket.

Episode three of House of the Dragon was a splendid spectacle - from a fiery beach battle, to a lavish glamping party, to a chaotic suicide run. "Second of His Name" was a pivotal episode for several characters, and we can't wait to see what awaits them in the weeks to come. On this week’s episode of the Night’s Cast, Vanessa and Petra discuss teenage angst, the difficulties of running a kingdom (and handling a strongwilled daughter), and Daemon's plot armor of Valyrian steel.

Another week, another episode of House of the Dragon on the books. "The Rogue Prince" may not have been as action packed as the premiere, but it still gave us us plenty of intrigue, indecision, and yes, ickiness, to chew on as we wait for Sunday night. On this week's episode of the Night's Cast, Vanessa and David discuss how Viserys is a very bad dad (and not so great at the king stuff either) and the political ramifications of his terrible decision making - or lack thereof.