The Burning Mill

Third episode into the second season and it's still not as gripping as GOT. The characters are just don't have the same level of chemistry somehow and this isn't without the writers trying I feel.

Alicent lacks the same sheer baseless of Cersei, although some similarities we're still trying to figure her out, apart from her being a nymphomaniac she doesn't seem to have any driving force. Rhaenar is the trying hard to be the heir to the throne but it's a man's world and she's not tough enough. The world is littered by creepy, ne'rer do wells but they're lacking in the side shows of GOTs. I know it's early days but I'm still not feeling it.

Direction and production is great, let's hope it gets better.

There are two positive points in this episode and two negative points that unfortunately illustrate this season well so far.

The positive points are:

Production: King's Landing and Harrenhall have never looked so beautiful, making the world of the books truly transport to TV.

Acting: The casting could not better. Practically all the actors are excellent in their roles, delivering relatable characters.

But these points live far from the soul of a TV production, the script room. And there are the negative points:

Pacing: The series appears to not know how to balance moments of tension and moments of respite, often using 1 hour to end at a point slightly different from where the episode began, both in terms of narrative and character development. This episode is an example of this: which character took a significant leap in transformation over the course of the hour?

Cohesion: Unfortunately, the characters don't seem as intelligent as players in a game of thrones should be. Rhaenyra doesn't seem to think a move forward in her actions. If she could convince Alicent, what real difference would it make? It was a very, very risky plan, it could put his entire family, offspring and legacy at risk in the vain hope of convincing someone who doesn't even seem to have that much power over his children. Rhaenys does not have coherence in her ideas. Sometimes she seems to want war, sometimes peace. Sometimes she seems to believe in Rhanyra, sometimes she doubts her. All without motivation or reason.

There are good adaptations in this series, such as the old friendship of the two female protagonists, but the wit of those who play the game of thrones to survive is often given up in favor of a dramatic scene for the audience. And that makes such a fantastic world seem less believable.

Not what i would call a strong episode but it does relay certain plot points needed for it's up coming episode/s. Characters are now moving about the board and the battle is around the corner. Despite the weaker progress, it does also become slightly tiresome that scenes with such goof would eat at the episodes runtime. As i said in my review for the last episode, strong dialog is important, it has to make sense in every scene because it connects us with the story. Dialog aided the development but only by little, i found myself watching certain scenes confused as to it's connectivity. I was seeing more to what HBO could get away with and giving Aegon a scene to indulge his egotistical prowess with bad humour. What i'm trying to say is even though this episode had progress, it was also badly paced. The last scene with one or two others were interesting but this episode was the weakest so far of Season 2.

Let's just hope next weeks is the payoff we've been waiting for.

When the show is that good, the script is well-thought-out, and the production is at its best I honestly can't understand people arguing this is impossible to watch the show / the episode without yawning. Is that just a side effect from being too much on a TikTok or maybe obsessing over original materials?

For me, this season has jumped to another level of storytelling. And I'm not talking just about the script, but about how the scenes are built, the locations, the details. Daemon walking in the rain through the remains of Harrenhal... wow. The quick switch to the sea of the dead after the battle in the beginning of the episode... wow. Production team needs a raise. Can't wait to know what the rest of the season brings.

I think the first season of the show was amazing... The changes from the book, the actors, the characters and the pacing was totally Okay... But this 2nd season is a big waste of potentials. They cut out almost the whole north storyline and CREGAN STARK for s3x scenes between Alicent and Criston! Why?!

They don't want to give Jace the heir to the throne enough screentime... Why?!

They are totally messing up so many characters for shock value like Alicent that I couldn't even tell who she is now. And my greatest pain is the many horribly written dialogue... Episode 2 had some of the best of the show and Ep3 doesn't even have 1 I could enjoy without thinking about plotholes and everything else.