June 2024 – Simon’s Incoherent Blog

House of the Dragon: Season 2, Episode 2 – Rhaenyra the Cruel

“I would remind you only that when princes lose their temper, it is often others who suffer.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

The politicking continued in Westeros this week, despite the last ep ending in an act of provocation that seemed certain to spark all-out conflict. House of the Dragon continues to be a more low-key show than its all-guns-blazing parent, a fact lamented in the Guardian this week, as they declared the show “boring”.

Doctor Who: Season 14, Episode 8 – Empire of Death

“Every sun is dead. The universe has come to a halt. And it is my fault.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

Well, if it wasn’t obvious before, it certainly is now – Russell T Davies is definitely back. Empire of Death was everything we’d gotten used to from RTD season finales of old: a deadly threat to the entire universe; a ‘Davies ex machina’ McGuffin appearing out of nowhere to save the day; and a Big Reset Button that meant you could kill off whatever beloved character you like, because you could always bring them back. It was a rollicking rollercoaster ride of action and emotion that doesn’t really bear scrutiny if you stop to actually think about it too much. Just like all the season finales from 2005-2009, the last time Russell was in charge.

House of the Dragon: Season 2, Episode 1 – A Son for a Son

“Duty is sacrifice. It eclipses all things, even blood. All men of honour must pay its price.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

Gird your loins (metaphorically speaking), for after a gap of nearly two years, HBO’s spinoff/prequel to Game of Thrones is finally back for a second season. That large gap reflects a very big, expensive production – but of course it also represents a lot of backstage difficulty with both a writers’ and actors’ strike. Nonetheless, it’s notable that it’s back a couple of months before arch-rival Amazon show Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

Doctor Who: Season 14, Episode 7 – The Legend of Ruby Sunday

“You’ve seen my life. I bring disaster, Kate, disaster.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

It seems like the new season of Doctor Who has barely started, but we’re already into the endgame with this jaw-dropping penultimate episode, the first of a big two-parter. A run of eight episodes is, sadly, pretty short to flesh out a new Doctor, particularly when he’s been virtually absent for two of those eight episodes – but Ncuti Gatwa has been as superb as I always knew he would be. This episode showed us more of that irrepressible joie de vivre, but coupled with the melancholy we’ve seen in the past, drawn from centuries of bad experiences which, rightly or wrongly, the Doctor considers himself responsible for.

Doctor Who: Season 14, Episode 6 – Rogue

“Oh my Bridgerton – this is my actual dream!”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

So, this week’s Doctor Who was the much-anticipated “Bridgerton episode”. Just in case you weren’t aware of its inspiration, Ruby and the Doctor helpfully dropped the name of the show they were imitating over and over again – “it’s just like Bridgerton!” I wasn’t entirely clear, but it seemed at one point that even the villains were mentioning their love of Netflix’s hit Regency drama.

Doctor Who: Season 14, Episode 5 – Dot and Bubble

“Bubble down, Dot off.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

We’ve all seen them. Perhaps you even are one. Those people walking along the street, headphones on, heads down, immersed in their smartphones, utterly oblivious to what’s happening around them – in both a literal and a wider sense. Where I live, in central Barcelona, I often find myself having to dodge them as I walk along, as otherwise they would just walk right into me before they noticed I was there.