Another stunning episode.
Ramin Djawadi's music took me back to the atmospheres of some GOT (g)old episodes like 5x10. Even the ending kinda remembers that situation of kings and crowd closed together inside a building that could mean death for everyone.
Up for the Queen that never was, down for some CGI scenes (and it's not the first time this season). But, WOW.
Great episode, stunning visuals as usual and beautiful music, especially at the beginning of the episode, when there is silence before the storm before the king's death is know. It was suspenseful and engrossing from the very first moment to the surprising ending. Alicent believes that Viserys wanted her son Aegon to become king and intends to have him crowned, but in spite of this, even she is a bit shocked that the rest of the council under the leadership of her lord father has been plotting to supplant Aegon as heir for some time already. One of the lords who are against this gets killed by Ser Criston. Alicent wants her son to be king but doesn't approve of the violent means her father wants to use, and is against having Rhaenyra killed as the Hand wishes.
Prince Aegon is found missing and so a compeition ensues, a sort of race who gets to him first, the Kingsguard sent by Otto or Ser Criston and Aemond acting on Alicent's orders. Apparently the woman who used to be Daemon's whore at the beginning of the season is now an influential person in the underworld, nicknamed the White Worm, and knows where the prince is. The Hand's party get him first but he escapes them and in the end the Queen's party get him, so Alicent announces her father now everything would be as she wants it. Aegon doesn't want to be king and his younger brother believes he would be more suited to rule, but in the end he brings his brother to his mother.
Alicent is an interesting character in this episode, as she takes part in the plotting but opts for a more peaceful version of the power grab that her father would prefer, hence the conflict between them. She even tries to talk Rheanys to support her in the name of peace and less bloodshed in the kingdom. Her father accuses her that she doesn't want to have Rhaenrya killed more out of liking for her as her childhood friend than because her late husband wouldn't like to have his daughter killed. Rhaenys tells her that Alicent really doesn't want the power for herself, but always for the men around her and it seems to make Alicent think a bit on this matter, though in the end she goes on with the coronation of Aegon all the same. On the other hand, she seems to be moved by her husband's death since she cries when she is alone so that it is not for show. Though she might be afraid about her position now as well. Larys offers her to kill her ladies-in-waiting and other people who may be spying for her father and it is not clear whether she agreed, though the fire in one of the buildings suggests she did.
The coronation is really visually stunning, though I am not sure whether Aegon would be a good king and wouldn't have the people who helped him get the throne killed if he has the mood, as one of the Kingsguard noticed that when he was a prince he had a proclivity for violence. Alicent asks him not to have Rhaenyra killed but I don't think he would follow his mother's advice.
The ending was surprising as one of the Kingsguard helped Rhaenys to escape from the palace where she was imprisoned, and she witnessed the coronation of Aegon dressed as one of the smallfolk, though at the end she slipped out and returned on the back of her dragon. However, instead of dracarysing everyone present, she just flew away. This was a bit disappointing as she only showed them she could have killed them but now they are alive they may have their revenge on her and her family and she may regret not using her chance to get rid of them.
I really missed Rhaenyra and Daemon, I wonder what they are up to? Hope we'll find out next episode.
Pros
+Alicent's emotion
+Small council meeting was great
+Chase for Aegon and reasoning for both sides was interesting
+Despite not really being book accurate the Rhaenys stuff had great dialogue and (even though the end of the coronation was kinda ridiculous) and was fun
++++++Aemond + Criston are the most based duo (soon to be trio with Aegon too)
+++++++Great atmosphere and tension
+Great cinematography
+Sets up the Storm's end fight next episode as well as the Erryk/Arryk stuff
Cons
-Kinda makes 0 sense for Aegon to be running away when he immediately starts whooping ass in battle when the fighting kicks off
-White Worm involvement is kinda eh
Fantastic episode if you like to watch scheming and intrigues at the royal court as much as I do. It's politics 401: how to stage a coup. Problem: the pretender to the throne needs some persuasion...
The episode looks awesome. Sufficiently dirty that is. Especially, the coronation is epic. Can't wait to watch the season finale.
Alicent again fantastic.
SAT word of the day: regicide.
One of those episodes that may fool the watcher to think nothing much happened. And yet much was said without words... those wonderful complex pivots of intrigue that an episode will be looked back upon.
Viserys the King of peace is dead.
The White Worm begins her role.
Ser Larys expands his role ... feet ahead of what we first thought.
The dagger will play its part in time to come.
The King the Conquerer, an omen of what is to come?
I love the writing for this show as it refuses to simplify and explain using verbal dialog every nuance, every action to an audience focused and invested on this story.
I'm disappointed the finale for this season is nearly upon us, yet I'm impatient for it to arrive. Solid 8/10.
1x09 - The Green Council: 8.8/10 (Great)
Following two of the season's finest episodes, “The Green Council” served as a deciding factor in determining the season's overall quality. Thankfully, it maintains the season's success and does a fantastic job setting up for the finale. What an exhilarating episode; the ominous tone that pervades throughout just serves to emphasize the story's overall gloomy tone. In contrast to the previous episodes, which mostly dealt with the characters' families and their intrigues, this one also showcases the people of King's Landing and the kingdom at large. Viserys' death was handled masterfully, moving rapidly enough to give you a sense of urgency without rushing things, and slowly enough to completely soak in every detail. I was delighted to see that they gave Alicent more ambiguity than before, as the previous episodes had been quite one-sided. There was never a dull moment, and the episode also gave the Greens—Aemond in particular—some much-deserved screen time. Alicent has been her father's pawn all along, but after talking to Rhaenys, she herself comes to terms with this fact. The shifting power dynamics will make it interesting to see how far Alicent and Otto succeed in driving a wedge between one other as they each strive to shepherd Aegon through his reign. Though this episode's primary function was to set the stage for future events, it nevertheless managed to deliver a satisfying payoff, especially in the episode's closing five minutes. Unlike “Game of Thrones,” “House of the Dragon” has an abundance of dragons and dragon riders and if the closing sequence is any indication, the battle for succession will be ferocious, since dragons will be on both sides. If I were to pick apart this episode, it would be that the CGI could have used a little more work. However, the showrunners have taken the wise decision, in my opinion, to save the most of the Dragon Fighting for the following season, which will presumably have a much larger budget and considerably better CGI.
wow what an episode and that ending omg! the war begins..
let it be heard. Rhaenys is, was and will ever be kinder and more regal than any of the Hightowers as she just didn't get them in the coronation ceremony. She truly is the queen they never was.
Seems like a safety hazard to host a coronation above a nuclear weapon storage facility. Someone might get hurt.
All we needed is one simple word. Dracarys
So the whole thing is because the king said the name of that dude, but his wife thought it was the name of their son? Wtf is this kindergarten bullshit?
Also I've never yelled dracarys so much as I did at the end of this episode.
Why didn't Rhaenys kill them all and end the whole situation? Then there would be no war. Was that her saying she was on their side?
If not, then this is one of the most stupid moments in the whole show.
But why would Rhaenys be on their side? When Rhaenyra is the true heir (and also will be the first queen, like she would have been).
And she might have got Driftmark for her granddaughters in a negotation with Rhaenyra instead of it passing to her bastard. But even besides that, she just had her granddaughters betrothed to Rhaenyra's sons, further sealing their alliance.
Even if Rhaenys was going to be on the greens side, she could have stopped an entire war by killing them.
How did she even get to the dragon pit past the guards.
Why aren't there any dragons protecting the kings coronation, don't they have like 5 of them?
The white worm part was rubbish.
I've been on the blacks side for a couple episodes now, and i don't like how much the show has painted the greens as the bad side and the blacks as the good side. Rhaenyra is the legitimate heir, and would be a good queen. Alicent wants Aegon king because of a misunderstanding of Visery's last words, and Aegon would seem to be a bad king. But ok, that's how things go.
If Rhaenys was undecided, then she still could have averted an entire war by killing them.
I'm guessing since she didn't say anything and flew off, she's on Rhaenyra's side.
It was a good episode overall, but the ending was stupid.
There is a beast beneath the boards...
As the episode title suggested it focused solely on the greens scheming and maneuvering in the midst of dealing with the aftermath of King Viserys’ passing. While still widely entertainting, this episode slowed down significantly and felt drawn out at times.
I had a bunch of previous episodes at 10/10 consecutively but for me this one didn’t exactly reach the height of those. Despite it probably getting close to a “filler” episode as it could get, the series quality has been so consistently that “The Green Council” still felt like an 8.
I’m so looking forward to the finale!
D R A C A R Y S ! ! ! ! !
Long, drawn out and very predictable political maneuvering, temper tantrums and a final scene that got so close to being great but sadly fell short. The sort of episode where show über fans will make long, drawn out and very predictable statements about how there was a thousand words behind each expression and read way into this mostly boring and sloppily written episode. On the positive side, if the writers get it together, we may get a solid finale and better second season. Being a peasant sucks!
That Larys Tarantino scene lol
I know the writers think it feels fresh and edgy to kill and maim, but spontaneously murdering a nobleman and council member just for debating a difference of opinion and with no consequences... They lost me. This is all getting a little tiring.
Not a bad episode, but pretty lacklustre compared to the last couple. Ending seemed kinda dumb.
Can someone please explain to me why this show constantly looks like butthole every episode? Don’t say it’s because of the time period, Fuck that! please do something about the darkness.
I'm sorry but this show so far is nothing like game of thrones. I don't mean story wise, but just writing wise. It just lacks any impressionable impact..
I'm very sorry, but the script cannot be at the service of spectacularity.
Is Rhaenys scene cool? Definitely.
Does it make any sense at all? Nope.
Another banger from HOTD. The slow-cooked drama, the dragon sequence in the end, the feet incident, the build up to the next episode and the war… ah chef’s kiss :type_4: love it love it love it
So, the king is dead... may the plotting merrily continue.
So, Otto and Alicent are so delusional to put some Joffrey-image onto the throne, Otto having always plotted against Rhaenyra, and Alicent misunderstanding Viserys' last message...
Well, didn't we already see where over-ambitious mothers (and uncles) lead the world? Only one of the four who went searching for Aegon and realized that he wasn't fit for the throne actually did something about it. And Rhaenys could have stopped all that with one drakarys - and she didn't.
Could have done without the foot-fetish. And please, can someone finally kill off Criston who's definitely gone round the bend. How many people exactly can he kill without facing any consequences? Strange, though, that he let the former commander of the guard leave...
I'm still watching but I still can't figure out who's who and what's going on.
It's got some ridiculous moments but this is honestly the first episode that really feels like an okay/good GoT ep. This is what I've been missing.
Holy frick that last scene is intense. You understand so much just from the looks they give each other, remembering everything they've been through together, and then she, with the perfect opportunity, decides to let them live.
Finally a great episode, now keep it going please
Dammmnnnn! What an episode!..In fact I'm very disappointed in Rhaenys.Just one word to end this fucking nonsense
OMG this episode was just awesome. Not just the ending, but several scenes already indicating what is to come.
I really really..Really... wanted Princess Rhaenys to burn it all down, but after getting over the moment, I guess this sets up a stage for an epic finale. It'll be one long week.
The Queen Who Never Was…
Unnecessary waste of time drama. She had a chance to burn them all but flies away on the dragon.
54 minutes of snoozefest that could have been told in 5. Last few minutes are good, but not enough to save the episode.
Rhaenys should have just torched them, buh then the story would have basically been over which is no fun
why the cgi is so fucking lame???? Great episode but I couldn't help wonder about the bad cgi
What a bummer. Not a great episode for Rhaenyra supporters.
Great Television, though.
My god was it frustrating to listen to Alicent and Otto repeatedly talk about “the king’s final wish.” Such a perfectly frustrating episode watching the greens activate their plan knowing just how wrong they are about what Viserys wanted. I actually do feel for Alicent at this point, it’s clear she really did love Viserys and truly believes that what she’s doing is honoring what he wanted. But Otto is so smug and annoying. Rhaenys’ moment at the end was so cathartic though and I love that she got her moment this episode. The finale looks like it’s going to be an absolute banger, I can’t wait.
Am I watching a film on National Geograohic?
Bunch of vultures looking for scraps….
Another episode that I struggled to get through.
One dracarys could have delivered the justice, but I guess then the show would not be as interesting as it is now.
What a dramatic entry by Rhaenys fuckin' Targaryen X Meleys
Watch at night because the backgrounds are dark and difficult to make out. It would be unwise to attempt to discern detail in a brightly lit room. The series is too good to watch in the daytime, when the sun is shining.
such a mid show this is bullshit just made for shock value made for Got audience horrible adaptation
Boy, I tell ya what, if the British royals ever had a coronation like that, I might actually care what they get up to.
What a wild ride this has been. HotD is living up to the Episode 9 reputation that GoT earned.
The meeting had gotten me fired up. Felt like I couldn’t leave the room either.
That was a good ending but what does it mean?
Green are hypocrites and dumb
Amazing how you still expect everything to go well even though you already know the outcome...
Just: Wow wow wow... Wow!
Why isn’t she using her dragon?
They should make a prize for that massive entranceeeeeeeeeeee
Damn All the Hightower!!!…this episode was totally stolen by Rhaenys and her dragon…watch out Otto because future doesn’t look bright for you…U_U
Shout by GusaVIP 2BlockedParent2022-10-17T17:41:53Z
A chaotic episode with new faces that aren't introduced very well and make for confusing scenes. The last scene makes up for a lot of it but for me this is one of the less memorable episodes. An episode without Daemon, Rhaenyra and Viserys just isn't the same. Too much time was spend with less interesting characters.