Westeros.org on House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 4: The Red Dragon and the Gold

A absolutely momentous mid-season episode has come to a close, and Linda and Elio return to recap the episode, discuss adaptation changes from the source material, and dig into some background and dragon lore!

00:00 Intro and synopsis
17:52 Changes from the source material (Correction at 18:18: Misspoke, Elmo was Grover's grandson, with sons of his own.)
27:52 Background details (Correction at 31:10: Donnel of Duskendale, not Roland -- there was a Roland Crakehall in the Kingsguard at the same time!)
32:20 Dragon facts

[DrahminsGooch]

You both do the best breakdowns of House of The Dragon episodes, always excited to see a new upload from this channel

[Divine_Chareka]

Lord Corly's reaction to his wife's demise is gonna be devastating to see. Super excited to see the aftermath of Rook's Rest in episode 5. This show is cooking!

RIP Rhaenys Targaryen (The Queen Who Never Was) and Meleys (The Red Queen) we shall never see their likes again.

[AlexBB]

Outside of the Rook's Rest battle also appreciated how the episode more and more highlighted Aegon's struggles & deficiencies as a king ; impulsive, rash, irascible etc. Also the Aegon v Aemond dynamic / rivalry, especially the council scenes and the culmination during the dragon battle. I am enjoying the Harrenhal scenes and the size / scale and eerie vibe that should rightly be at work at Harrenhal. I am assuming Daemon's near constant surreal experience (dreams / visions etc) since being there is due to Alys Rivers ; likely her magic and / or potions. Seemed very much like blood on her hands while mixing that elixir, so HotD could be going with a Weirwood paste angle (Alys giving that to Daemon) ; especially as she seemed quite in the know regarding Weirwoods.

[ThatsMrFrank]

My god, your watches of HotD have never come up in my sub box until now. I always loved your GoT episodes

[jakelangs]

I feel so bad for Sunfyre. Such a beautiful dragon 😢

[thedragondemands]

We first saw the chain belts in episode 1 of this season, when Rhaenys unbuckles herself when she returns to Dragonstone

[AlexBB]

Very solid episode overall though the standout scenes to me were by far the Rook's Rest dragon battle(s). I do prefer the textual version (as is basically always the case) the more Rhaenys knowingly going up against basically unfair near insurmountable odds and embracing the challenge and the more 2 v 1 aspect. But i did find HotD's version well done especially the emotions and empathy for the injured / killed dragons and the bond at work. The glances back between Meleys to Rhaenys were quite emotive both leading up to engaging in battle with Vhagar and then again right before Meleys died. Also, just the showcasing of the carnage and destruction dragons create in combat and the collateral damage especially to the other (non-dragon) forces. I do prefer the textual version of the dragon battle but in this case even with the divergence from the text still resulted in a really well executed satisfying end-product.

[thedragondemands]

We saw House Massey’s sigil embroidered on Elinda’s gown in episode 2

[shaneoconnell]

Vhagar must have a cloaking device battling these snub fighters

[markpjf]

Great episode 4 impressed dragon 🐉 battle it fit perfectly with the writing in fire and blood George’s vision 5 ⭐️

[PaulRamen]

part of me find the elmo kermit oscar grover naming funny, my other half struggles to keep the suspension of disbelief/immersion haha

[Elmarby]

I am on the same page as you with regards to the muppet names.
I can roll with Grover and Kermit, Oscar is too generic to possibly object too, but Elmo is a bridge too far. And my name is Elmar and was nicknamed Elmo for ages!

I am a bit worried about what is going on with The Lads and associates (or rather, what isn't going on) as it is beginning to look that those that aren't written out of existence are going to be sidelined. The strangest absence is Alysanne Blackwood. These are quite progressive writers, but here we have a canon bad ass warrior woman and.... we get nothing? Really?!

[AlexBB]

Also been wondering, with the wider more subtle lore reveals on HotD ; like those taken from that glimpse of text on HotD. I am curious if such reveals like those regarding Daenys / Daenys being a rider of Balerion and forming the bond right before her prophetic dream. Or the reveal of Daenys' mother (who as far as i know never previously mentioned) as Elaena Targaryen and some info about that Elaena. Also the Targs potentially falling from grace before / in the lead up the Doom and that Elaena Targ's bitterness about it etc. Any inclination if these could be actual book canon / from GRRM lore reveals or would you suspect they do not go beyond HotD ? If anyone could provide such clarity can't think of anyone better than you two.

[elektrablacksky]

Personally I love the muppet names 🎉 theyre the only easy names to spell or remember 😂

[FelixFelinis]

any implications of Rhaenyra passing the prophecy onto Jace? I had a thought that the Pact of Ice and Fire might still become a thing and be named after the dream. Or maybe I am overthinking and it's just meant to instill him with a sense of duty...

[akaraniq]

It made sense that tv Aemond attacked Aegon, but I thought that change minimized Rhaenys' sacrifice

[nycgatita]

All the dragon crying and dying was super sad, I felt awful all day, even if they are not ‘real’ 😆

[vortex_wave]

I never realised that Houses that followed the Old Gods didn't have knights

[thedragondemands]

I’m starting to suspect Black Aly Blackwood was merged with Sara Snow, who may be introduced next episode

[salemsaleh]

They had Eve Best and did nothing with her. Her character was all over the place and only a tool to other characters. She was my favorite actor on the show despite the mediocre material she had.