Second of His Name

The politics and family drama is very intricate and intriguing. The same can not be said about the big battle sequence. It's very well made and it looks phenomenal but it's way too predictable which honestly makes it underwhelming. Spectacular things happen on the screen but there is no tension or stakes which makes it kinda meh. A good fight scene is only as good as the writing.

It is still a great episode. The relationships are very intricate and it's understandable why every character acts the way they do. Everyone has their own agenda and they can't please anyone without hurting someone else they care about. The ancient norms and rules are questioned and the discussions regarding duty and love are thought-provoking and interesting. The stakes are immense and the air is full of tension.

Actually, the director of this episode doesn't seem to be very good at directing battle scenes on the battlefield. They should let Miguel Sapochnik direct the fight scenes in this episode. Personally, the battle scene at the end of this episode didn't convince me. Just all the blood and killing each other, so disturbing and uncomfortable, instead of giving the viewer a sense of drama and fear when the characters rushed into battle. When I saw Daemon hurling himself at the pirates and getting a rain of arrows, I was pretty sure he would survive, so what's the point of that scene? Even the fact that the crabfeeder was killed so easily and without saying a single word, this unsurprised me no more than a Velaryon riding a dragon and shouting "Dracarys!". Wow what a not-so-interesting scene. I was waiting for the climax at the end, and I was disappointed. Actually the detail at the end could develop the Daemon character, but the beach fight scene is really boring. GOT has a lot of interesting battles, but this is not one of them.

Speaking of what happened before that battle, wow I must say I'm so satisfied. King Viserys is so well developed and as a viewer and know many interesting GOT characters, I'm starting to get interested in this squishy and soft king. The emotions and thoughts that Viserys has experienced and felt in more than 10 years of being King, I can personally understand through just over half an hour in this episode. And including the relationship between father and daughter, the disagreement between generations, I believe this episode has messages for real-life families, in today's modern generation as well. And once again I would like to commend the team of costumes, setting design, so beautiful, so dreamy. Through this episode we also get to know many new characters, and hopefully they will join this game in a larger role.

This is definitely my favourite episode so far. The acting was as always outstanding. Without giving anything away, I want to say that there were a couple of unexpected moments through the episode. These moments only made it more exciting to watch. I think that they did a great Job with the time jump. Personally I was a bit scared about the time jumps, but this one was done in a proper way. You immediately knew what happened in those 3 years and it didn't get confusing to me. The most exciting part of this episode was definitely the battle in the Stepstones. The directing and fighting was phenomenal. After watching this one, I am even more curious about what's going to happen in the next! Definitely worth watching.

Second of His Name is a very good third episode, yet a bit flawed. The pacing is once again on point, in one hour it shows different locations and events, slowing down on the in-depth analysis of some characters but never getting boring. The soundtrack, with the new tracks, is fitting for the themes of the characters and the costumes, scenography and locations are as masterful as they should be. The time skip is well managed and doesn't leave the spectator questioning about the new setting, this skip also forges new personalities in the character we had already known: Otto is more determined than ever; Viserys has once again found joy in his new son; Rhaenyra is a rebel who needs a new husband, although she doesn't want it, and is now in conflict with Alicent, despite the latter still tries to reconcile with her; Criston Cole has already become a favourite of the princess and Daemon must show his value. The conflict father-daughter between Viserys and Rhaenyra is stronger than ever and emotional on some points. The hunting in the Kingswood and the camp are also some devices to show new families of the Seven Kinkgdoms, such as the Lannisters and Redwynes. Then we also get to know new characters such as Vaemond and Laenor Velaryon and the whole plot climaxes in an outstanding and unpredictable ending, able to break the previous schemes of Game of Thrones. The episode is focused on the politics and intrigues, in order to set up the future conflicts and the ambiences show the common life of the hypocrite nobles of Westeros; yet some action-packed sequences are shown and are able to balance the rhythm. Furthermore, Second of His Name, is rich with symbolism, as there are many hints at symbolic values and future happenings in the series.

On the downsides in this episode, I found some flaws in the dialogue and structure: the former is a bit repetitive and, after some time, becomes slightly annoying; in this third part of the first season, we have a recurring structure: if the first episode was focused on the King's succession, the second on the new wife, the third one evolves around the duty of Rhaenyra's new husband, thus leading to a repetitive dialogue on this matter. At the fourth or fifth time that we hear about her rebellious attitude, her will against the king or the fact that she needs a new husband, the dialogues seem heavy. Furthermore, the CGI of the dragons seems improved, however the animals are a bit clunky in movements and emerge as not so real. However, except these two flaws and a bit of plot armour in the end, the episode is perfect: if the problem of the dialogues gets figured out in the following episodes, we might reach a level of perfection.

Normally don't review individual episode. But this one deserves individual praise. Paddy Considine's portrayal of Viserys Targaryen is probably better than how GRRM wrote him. The musics, specially in the end was on point. It elevated the visuals rather than being a distraction. Rhys Ifans and Matt Smith brought their a game. Even Milly Alcock (as Rhaenyra), whose acting I found a bit wooden in previous two episodes, improved her overall performance. Gave 9/10 instead of a perfect score coz. The Dragon CGI needs a little bit of work. Otherwise this was a flawless 1 hr entertainment.

Now I really feel bad for the billion dollar dumpster fire that is the Rings of Power, whose review is still locked on IMDb.