House of the Dragon: Season 3, Episode 4 – Tumbleton

“He dares me to rain fire down on a seat that raised my banner. And the realm would name me ‘Maegor Returned’. They’d rise up against me, and the same gods who delivered me to the throne would rightly cast me down.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

After a fairly eventful first three episodes, this week sees House of the Dragon settle back into the more… sedate pace for which it’s become known. That figures, what with this originally having been planned as the second episode of the season, where traditionally the political wrangling holds sway. And so it does here. If you’d been hoping that Ormund Hightower’s surprise seizing of the town of Tumbleton would lead to another Great Big Battle, you’d have been disappointed (so far).

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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.

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