Spoilers A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

[Distracted DM]

I keep thinking about Baelor turning around at the end... I was just waiting for that once he needed help getting his helm off. Truly grisly stuff.
It's been very well done all 'round. I didn't have any interest in watching House of the Dragon as my wife watched it, but I knew that Hedge Knight would be a lot more grounded and I'm REALLY enjoying the cowboy-western influences that they're making use of. The twangy music they use here and there is great.
In the after-show interview of this episode they explicitly called out westerns, I'm not sure they did in previous interviews.

My wife said this episode reminded her of Saving Private Ryan in terms of giving the feel and chaos of battle; I can see that! I loved the grittiness and chaos of it.

 

[Tonguez]

well that was like a hole in the head

 

[Older Beholder]

This show has my fist pumping the air, cheering and cursing the screen more than I have in a long time.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I am hoping 77-year-old Martin still has a long life ahead of him still, but he looks shockingly frail in all the publicity he's doing for this series.


Pretty cool that he's opened a bar with his book money. Hemingway would approve.

 

[Stalker0]

That was pretty intense. I thought the violence was a little too over the top to be believably survivable for the two primary combatants, but it was exciting as hell to watch.

Honestly it was some of the best renditions of armor since a Knight's Tale (and I don't mean that sarcastically....it really has been that long since I saw armor actually do its job).

That armor took the mace and the swords like a champ, it was the high speed piercing damage of the lance that got him, and then you saw his opponent get him with the short piercing daggers in close quaters. That's real armor fighting right there....I loved it.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Honestly it was some of the best renditions of armor since a Knight's Tale (and I don't mean that sarcastically....it really has been that long since I saw armor actually do its job).

That armor took the mace and the swords like a champ, it was the high speed piercing damage of the lance that got him, and then you saw his opponent get him with the short piercing daggers in close quaters. That's real armor fighting right there....I loved it.

I also really liked that the prince, who's been fighting from birth, was a real threat except when Dunk could bring his bigger size and strength to bear, which clearly scared the prince, and for good reason. If he hadn't had that dagger, that shield was going to take his head off.