1x10 - The Black Queen: 8.8/10 (Great)
The Dance beings! There were a few moments in the episode where I felt it fell short, but the conclusion more than made up for it. Among the season's best just because of that final sequence. My anticipation for the upcoming season has increased greatly now that the stage has been set. Fantastic debut season for a show that, like "Game of Thrones," I expect will keep us entertained for years to come. There's really nothing else I can say besides, "Just watch it."
Now we know why it's called Storm's End. No wonder the Baratheon's are so bitter.
Well I couldn’t resist. The finale was awesome and much improved upon the previous episode especially in terms of CGI and more Daemon is always good. Truth be told I spoiled myself beforehand so the shocking cliffhanger didn’t exactly come as a big surprise but I imagine a lot of people will. I actually thought they would follow up a little more but all and all it was a good ending point for sure. 10/10 episode.
Overall the season didn’t actually have any weak episode, it started strong, maintained its quality throughout and ended on a high note. It helped a lot with the lore already fleshed out in GoT so that was a major advantage. I’m definitely hooked and eagerly looking forward to witnessing the whole Dance of the Dragons being played out!
Arrax fucked around and subsequently he found out
Another traumatic birth scene?!?! this one seemed quite unnecessary however
I knew that Vhagar is the biggest dragon alive but not that big
We're going to war.
I haven't loved this season as a whole but 'The Black Queen' is without a doubt the best episode of the season (followed by the Pilot and Driftmark). With the most emotion, character moments and payoffs, the direction, the writing, the score, it's all at the shows best. Without spoiling anything, the anguish and the fury I've been left with make this one of the best episodes HBO has produced within this universe.
Poor kid. I liked him. The size of the dragon compared to his is massive. I never realised his dragon was tiny in comparison.
Grandma Vhagar must die for this!
Great finale. This show hasn't quite reached Game of Thrones levels of good, but it has managed to get really close on quite a few occasions! Looking forward to season 2.
What a finale!! Unreal moment at the end and set up the next season perfectly. I can’t believe we have to wait two years now but I know it’ll be well worth the wait. This season is right up there with the best GOT seasons for me.
dudeeee, that's last look totally telling you it's gonna be hell for what coming next!!
[How can this episode already have several ratings for it? - original post Oct 10]
[Review]
What a ride! Hail the Black Queen!
Honour, allegiances, and common sense still become clear in the rising tide of war. The intentional overcome by the accidental rage which more than often starts most wars.
Excellent writing, direction, performances. Every aspect of this show drips high fantasy for adults and for those that don't need everything to be spelt out to them as an audience.
Now this sudden recall of the realisation of the long anticipation between the early seasons of GoT is overshadowing the brilliance of this finale. No matter, I'll just rewatch it!
Thanks cast and crew for this splendid Season 1. And restoring the hope there can still be in Quality entertainment coming to an expecting audience and that all is not lost. 10
Can the sad sacks rating things before they air please find a hobby? Something productive to do with their time.
I still can't believe this episode got leaked and it was so so good.
Another boring episode with a good scene at the end.
I liked the show in general.. I absolutely hated the time jumps they did multiple times but now knowing that this is the cast we're sticking with I'm fine with it
This episode was nerve-wracking as expected especially that Dragon chase scene, it was something we never seen before
ofc they left us with a dirty cliffhanger but that final stare from Rhaenyra into the camera gave me chills
I'm excited to see where the story is going in future seasons
Alicent's sons are both a lost cause. At least Rhaenyra was keeping hers in check. Honestly I simply do not care who sits on the Iron Throne anymore. Everything goes to shit eventually.
Mr Condal how sick are you man to kill 2 of Rhaenyra's kids in one episode??
Holy shit. Her last expression says it all
"Fuck peace. I will rain dragonfire on all the Seven Kingdoms for this!"
I was indifferent to this show until the last 2 episodes... now I want another season!!! This is really looking like its gonna be good.
A worthy season finale. Season finales are difficult to master (GoT failed miserably in its show finale). There's not much more to say. Except maybe the fact that Daemon is a strange guy. Don't really know what to make of him.
The dance of dragons begins! Great season finale. Loved Rhaenyra with all my heart.
This was absolutely phenomenal. Overshadows all previous episodes. Less of the excessive sex and gore things and more of this please. I also love how Daemon went from a piece of shit to an honarable piece of shit. The future seems dark and grim and full of rich stories.
He was my favorite. That dragon thief has to pay!
everything's great but pls use less childbirth scenes, its very disturbing to see
There's nothing I can do: when I see dragons, I'm always full of chills.
This episode got me sticked to the screen, the scene with Arrax and Vahgar into the storm was so catchy.
I'm not ready to see dragons killing each others, but I can't wait 2024 to come.
Great season finale, great series.
Pros
+The show consistently desires to make Rhaenyra the "good guy" and the Greens are just the 'bad guys" which imo has harmed the actual story since in the books it's very understandable why a LOT of people despise her and doesn't constantly beat around the bush with her intentions when she's doing things that are clearly unacceptable like banging her uncle, or having a bunch of rando bastards, or killing her husband, etc. and it's good to see that that seems to be going off the deep end going into the war. There's no place for the weirdo, fence sitting, old Rhaenyra in the war and the final scene is suggesting she's gone
+Daemon is properly portrayed as the complete and utter piece of shit he is
+Dialogue around the dragon advantage is incredibly important (although unfortunately this seems to confirm Daeron and Tessarion don't exist in this version of the story. Not surprising considering as I said the show plays favorites big time and having the most honorable Hightower boy not exist fits with the agenda)
+Rhaenyra's indecision at first is consistent with the show's portrayal of her relationship with Alicent
+The two Strong bastards being forced into shitty situations by their clueless parents
+Daddy Velaryon is back in business
+ Aemond giving that little shit what he deserved was super satisfying and the Baratheon conversation in general felt very real, great acting and dialogue
+Phenomenal visuals, art design, cgi, costume design, etc.
Neutral
*Her coronation taking place at her dead baby's funeral was mildly hilarious and honestly a decent metaphor for things to come
Cons
-Tired of saying it but the changes they have made only make the story more one sided and less interesting by proxy
-Otto delivering the message himself was an attempt at a mirror of the 2nd episode's bridge negotiation but doesn't make sense symbolically since Rhaenyra isn't on their side nor is she completely with Daemon which kind of shatters the mirroring of events
Great last shot to prime audience for season 2, justifiably relying on D'Arcy to sell what's to come the same way Catching Fire did on Lawrence.
Things finally start to boil over, and the Dance of Dragons begins! I entered this show with my walls very firmly up after the shambles that was the final season of Game of Thrones, and House of the Dragon has managed to knock them down effortlessly. All the political intrigue and chess-piece-movement of GoT is present here, in a denser, tighter package. I still felt allegiances to these characters and their likeability was a pain point throughout most of the season, with not a single one of them being truly righteous or relatable. That's changed now the season has wrapped and the main players and their intentions are fully on display.
Great show, and can't wait to see where we go in the next season. 2024 is so far away.
Such a mid show made full of shock values one of the worst season's finale and one of the worst show.
Ha, so Rhaenyra's the rational one - the one who truely puts the good of the kingdom in front of her own ambition even after just suffering through a stillbirth (maybe the most moving scene of the whole series to me)... and see what happens. Another king's son (the spare if you choose to think of him), reminding me once again of Daemon, taunts her second son, sent as a messenger... and his dragon eats Luke's (and Luke)... of course, a tragic accident. Daemon's right, dragons are going to decide the fight for the crown.
And let's not forget that Rhaenys had the opportunity to kill all of the green council... and she didn't take it.
The final 2 episodes of this season certainly remind me of GoT - and while that's a good thing for this series, it also means that it's nothing really new. I've seen it all before.
About halfway through this season started to feel like GoT and I'm very glad about that because the first 4 episodes weren't that thrilling. The finale is a definite highlight and a great buildup for what's to come!
CHOMP CHOMP goes Vhagar
I totally missed Maverick in that Top Gun scene
I will go completely bananas when the new season drops… I feel so much for the green kids… ahhhhhhh
Even when trying to be shocking, it's boring. Impressive.
Welp, shit's on now I guess.
Shocked by how much I enjoyed this series, it has been as dark and disgusting as expected, but also surprisingly intriguing by its masterful cinematography (set design and camera work so pretty!) and excellent acting. Good on them.
“No one is very happy, which means it’s a good compromise I suppose." - Tyrion Lannister
Oh no ooo...I want more! Great ending and I'm hoping to see more and more in the next season.Such an epic ride!
House of the Dragon comes to the end of its first season with an epic ending, but still problematic in some aspects. This episode, more appreciable than the disastrous ninth episode, sees the point of view and actions of the Blacks faction, led by Rhaenyra and Daemon, as a consequence of the previous events that hit King's Landing. The war is near and excellent the taste given by the latter part is undoubtedly. The interpretations of the actors and actresses are admirable and once again prove to be the merit that suppresses (partially) the enormous defects of plot and script. I think it's a worthy conclusion to this first season, with incredibles twists that leave you speechless. I hope that in the phases it will not be that they will take more time to deepen more dynamics and characters that this season have not been treated with the right weight. It comes as a masterpiece and praised as such by fans, but I disagree. It's a good series, but nothing more and nothing less.
Sweet boy :sob::sob: Gonna rewatch Driftmark for some kind of retribution.
Season 2 : War of Dragons
This last episode of the first season focuses solely on Rhaenyra and her family and supporters. After Rhaenys informs her about her father's death and Alicent's move of crowning Aegon as king, Rhaenyra has a stillbirth and loses her baby. This will not be the last child she lost in the episode, though. There is a strong conflict betweenn Rhaenyra and her husband, as Daemon want to take a more aggressive approach and use dragons in warfare, while Rhaenyra, in contrast to what Dany did centuries later, does not want to be the queen of bones and ashes and tries to think first of what is good for the realm as a whole (hint: not an open war with dragons burning everything in their wake). However, Daemon even tries to choke her as she begins to tell him the story of the Song of Ice and Fire. Rhaenyra seems to be a reasonable ruler as she intends to gather her allies first and then decide what would be best for the kingdom as a whole. It turns out that Corlys Velaryon is alive, and he finally declares for Rhaenyra and offers to use his fleet to block King's Landing, he also appears to have defeated the Triarchy, giving Rhaenyra's team control over the Narrow Sea.
The episode ends with a tragedy as Rhaenyra's son Lucerys is killed. The young princes volunteer to deliver the messages to the supposed allies as dragons would be faster than ravens, and even though she is initially reluctant do to so, Rhaenyra eventually agrees and sends her sons as messengers. Before they leave on the dragons, she gives them short advice how to approach each of the lords they are going to meet, and makes them swear on the Seven not to start fighting and bloodshed. Lucerys' older brother was supposed to go to the Starks and it is a bit of a pity that they were not shows as I rather miss them in this series as a Stark supporter ;) However, when Lucerys comes to Storm's End, it turns out that Aemond has already come there on Vhagar and presented Baratheons with a better offer, so Lucerys' message is rejected. However, Aemond starts taunting him and demands to have his eye, it is only the lord of the castle that prevents the bloodshed. There is no happy ending, however, as Aemond begins to chase Lucerys on his dragon Vhagar, it looks like they lose control of their dragons and Lucerys' dragon breathes fire on Vhagar and she in turn attacks him, killing the dragon and Lucerys in the process. The dragon chase was very emotional since it was clear that Lucerys' dragon did not stand a chance against Vhagar, and there were moments when there was hope he might escape and evade the bigger dragon. The war is about to start as when Rhaenyra is told of her son's death, her face totally changes and it is clear she is done with her peaceful approach and now wants revenge and blood.
The episode was visually stunning as per usual, especially the atmospheric castles of Dragonstone and Storm's End, I also loved the imagery of the famous stone table with the map of Westeros heated by fire so that the map gives light. The scene when one of the twin brothers from the Kingsguard bring Rhaenyra the crown and acknowledges her as the queen (just after she's lost her stillborn baby) is great too.
There are some threads left hanging as Rhaenyra's decision as to what answer give to Otto Hightower's message (she seemed to be moved by the leaf from the book they read together with Alicent as children and maybe this is what made her choose the peaceful way in this episode, though after Lucerys' death her answer would be rather violent now) and the dragon Daemon meets undeground (I suppose he sang in high valyrian to the dragon?) - I haven't read the books yet so I have no idea.
The season really ended on a cliffhanger so I have no choice but to read the book before second season drops, instead of waiting a couple of years for it to appear.
Rest in peace
Visenya Targaryen
Lucerys Velaryon
Good episode, show really feels like a prequel, but I'm not sure how they're going to make a civil war last for 2-3 seasons might get boring, we'll see
They took the blame from Aemond and gave the dragons autonomy, after all they are not just toys for the Targaryens. But I found the episode of the blacks weaker than the green ones
''Then the storm broke and the dragons danced.'' What a finale! I'm looking foward to see Cregan, my favorite Stark of all. And despite knowing how it ends, it will be great to see the war ahead.
Half way through & nothing has happened except for pointless extended still born child birth scene. So fucking boring.
Will keep this short, this episode was pretty enjoyable and I can't wait for season 2!
I guess if I didn't read the book I'd liked this episode more.
Shout by whos_ur_buddhaBlockedParent2022-10-24T02:09:33Z
Boring pointless episode like majority of the episodes in this season. They put 30 second scene to give everyone hard on so they can tune into next episode but in this case the next season.