The Red Dragon and the Gold

If you're someone who thought this season has been too slow so far (which I'm not,) then this is the episode you've been waiting for. Not only for the action, which I'll get to in a second, but every character and dialogue scene was engrossing as well.

Any chance they had to make interesting developments with the plot and character choices they took. Alicent specifically really came into her own this episode.

But the thing everyone will be talking about (And rightfully so) is the battle. What can I even say. This may be one of the best battles in Game of Thrones. It's epic and colossal and brutal, everything you'd want from a Game of Thrones battle. The directing and music are top notch as always as well.

One side note before the end, I actually love the character of Criston Cole. I get that he's very hateable but that doesn't mean he isn't a great character. It also doesn't mean you should attack the actor in any way. This is childish and baffling behavior and Fabian Frankel is great at his craft.

All that being said, this is a generational episode in Game of Thrones. Kinda feel like I witnessed a big moment in tv history.

Up there with some of the best episodes of peak GoT. Was on the edge of my seat throughout.

Absolutely raw, brutal and rivetting. I was glad to see that the dance of the dragons was as epic as I imagined it while reading the books. It meant the world to see such a faithful adaptation.

This episode called for the highest number of VFX shots in the season, and it delivered. You can see a lot of money was thrown at the screen and everything sticked the landing.

The character arcs are finally starting to burst and all the consequences of the actions throughout the series are starting to blossom, may it be good or bad. Very exciting time to be a GoT fan.

What an amazing episode. I would guess 70% of the season's budget went into this episode. Best episode of the show in either season. This is what everyone was expecting in a show called "House of the Dragon".

The performances were wonderful, as usual. It gave us a close look at my favorite character in the show, Princess Rhaenys, played by Eve Best. It also gave us a further insight into the plotting of Aemond, and expanded on the introduction of magic into the show through the Prince Daemon subplot.

Between the battle scenes and the dragons, this is the most action-packed episode to date. Recommended.

The Dance of Dragons ensues with one of the biggest spectacles we've seen in Television since 2019 when Game of Thrones ended.

Director Alan Taylor that helmed key GoT episodes such as 'Baelor', 'Fire and Blood' and 'Beyond the Wall' returns for some fiery Dragon action, with the best Dragon-on-Dragon action we've yet to see in the 'Game of Thrones' universe. While in my opinion still not in the level as the key battle sequences in GoT, the final sequence of the episode reminded me of the glory days when GoT was airing. The stakes were high, the action was amazingly made and accompanied by a great musical score by mastermind Ramin Djawadi.

Of course, the battle didn't take the entire screen time of the episode, and the rest of it was pretty good as well. The scenes at Harrenhal, for example, were one of the strengths of the episode. Unusually, in this aspect, "House of the Dragon" marked an improvement over the original series, as it seems they managed to portray the atmosphere and aura surrounding the "cursed" castle more effectively than in "Game of Thrones." The set design was stunning, the cinematography was excellent, and overall, the scenes succeeded in creating an atmosphere that aligns very well with how the castle is described in the original books and the common culture of the characters within the series' universe. The atmosphere was almost David Lynchian in its essence, feeling like a horror thriller for a moment, as if something is about to happen that we do not yet know, and more and more details unfold.

The buildup for the battle was also exceptionally made, and despite knowing it was coming (from the source material but also from reactions from critics), you can feel the tension naturally building towards the unknown slowly but steadily. The episode did wonders in character development as well; Aegon became more intriguing, Criston continues to be more and more insufferable (in a good way for a villain), and Aemond is starting to solidify himself, along with his seemingly unstoppable weapon of mass destruction, as one of my favorite antagonists in the GoT universe.

If I may get picky for a moment, one thing that was missing for me in the battle sequence was attachment to characters involved. Without delving into specifics (spoilers), the battle indeed had a few characters that served as 'hooks' for interest of the viewer, and I indeed felt attachment to them, but it seems that compared to GoT, where the writers always said they tried to build most of the battle sequences around the experience of key characters and their perspective, it felt like here it had a lesser effect to a degree. But to balance this complaint, I would like to mention the Dragon v. Dragon fighting was absolutely epic, and even better than the amazing sequence we had in the 'Long Night' episode in GoT. The sequence also managed to very effectively depict the horrors of war involving Weapons of Mass Destruction in their Westerosi version. Being the first dragon battle in this war, it showed that from here on, everything is only going to get much worse for everyone involved.

But in the bottom line, Kudos for Ryan Condal for sticking the landing in HOTD's first major action piece. Accompanied by many people of great talent such as the director, composer, VFX crew, Production Design crew, pyrotechnic crew etc., it seems at least for now that the major key pieces of the Dance of Dragons are in good hands. The episode is one of the best episodes in the series yet, and a worthy entry in the Game of Thrones cinematic universe. I'm sure the internet is going to discuss it in length in the days to come, just like in the good old days, and I can't wait for next Sunday to see how things unfold next.

The rising tension in the council with Otto gone is amazing, showing the respect for Aegon declining with the only real player out of the council. Leading to his growing irrationability, which makes complete sense, the loss of his son, the advice from Alicent, and Aemond plotting behind his back, all plays a huge part of the climax this episode and i love it. It also shows just how sinister Aemond is, and how he has grown from being the bullied brother to the biggest threat to peace in the kingdom, while having to deal with his brother as a pretty useless king. The acting was also phenomenal this episode, i think every single character was nearly flawlessy acted and it deserves applause. The desensitized state Alicent is in as she realizes Viserys never wanted Aegon on the throne, the anger, yet happiness from Jacaerys when Rhaenyra returns, the emotional moment from Rhaenys and the confused state of Daemon while at Harrenhal was magnificently put together.

This truly is the best of the best.