House of the Dragon spoiler thread

[Zardnaar]

I didn't notice two bodies on the pyre.

 

[Rabulias]

We saw lots of ancestors of the GoT houses, but did I miss it or did we not see any Lannisters?

 

[billd91]

I felt the "tourney" was overly brutal and felt more like a gladiatorial contest. It seems that this kind of attrition amongst your mounted aristocracy wouldn't be very sustainable, but maybe it's intended to demonstrate the overall decadence of a kingdom that's been at peace for so long.

I was thinking it was a bit too much at first, but now, I'm not so sure. The tourney competitors were generally young men who had lived in relative peace. Open up a outlet for violence and they erupt. That may become a theme for the rest of the series based on my delve into the story of the Targaryen war of succession that we're heading into.
It's an echo (pre-echo?) of the same issue in GoT/War of the Roses when big standing forces with not enough to do against outside enemies turn on each other.

 

[Tonguez]

I was thinking it was a bit too much at first, but now, I'm not so sure. The tourney competitors were generally young men who had lived in relative peace. Open up a outlet for violence and they erupt. That may become a theme for the rest of the series based on my delve into the story of the Targaryen war of succession that we're heading into.
It's an echo (pre-echo?) of the same issue in GoT/War of the Roses when big standing forces with not enough to do against outside enemies turn on each other.

I just wondered where are the families of the killed knights - why arent there friends piling in to stop their champion being slaughtered and why arent their fathers there demanding the kings justice. One would think that a knight getting their face smashed to mince would be a just cause for war and does the king really want that?

I didn't notice two bodies on the pyre.

there was a little bundle wrapped next to the queens body, I thought that was more jarring than if they had shown the baby die at the birth - an omg the baby died moment.
that said like Sepulchrave I think having the king holding his son as the baby dies and then hear him cry out in anguish might have been a chance to build some sympathy for the character

 

[Wolfram stout]

We saw lots of ancestors of the GoT houses, but did I miss it or did we not see any Lannisters?

No named Lannisters, but when the knights line up for Daemon to chose his first opponent, one of the knights is wearing the Red with Gold Lion tabard. So I expect some named Lannisters soon.

 

[billd91]

I just wondered where are the families of the killed knights - why arent there friends piling in to stop their champion being slaughtered and why arent their fathers there demanding the kings justice. One would think that a knight getting their face smashed to mince would be a just cause for war and does the king really want that?

Probably because those are rules of the game. This isn't A Knight's Tale where the jousting is just sport. This is a much more violent tourney where contestants can and do take it farther and know that might happen. Not that some behavior might not drive a vendetta - just not necessarily one that could be officially sanctioned.

there was a little bundle wrapped next to the queens body, I thought that was more jarring than if they had shown the baby die at the birth - an omg the baby died moment.

Oh, yeah. Definitely highly jarring to see the wrapped baby body. I approve of the choice made by the director/editor/whomever decided that would have maximal impact.

 

[pukunui]

Yeah, the lethality of the melee is a bit ahistorical. It was meant to be a mock battle. Perhaps we will see some fallout from the deaths at the tourney in later episodes ... although we're going to get a time skip to when Rhaenyra is an adult soon, so I don't know ... maybe tourneys are just more lethal in Westeros and it's just par for the course.

 

[Zardnaar]

Yeah, the lethality of the melee is a bit ahistorical. It was meant to be a mock battle. Perhaps we will see some fallout from the deaths at the tourney in later episodes ... although we're going to get a time skip to when Rhaenyra is an adult soon, so I don't know ... maybe tourneys are just more lethal in Westeros and it's just par for the course.

Tourneys could be lethal irl a king died due to one.

That was more gladiator games though.

 

[pukunui]

Tourneys could be lethal irl a king died due to one.

Absolutely. It's just that they weren't generally intended to be, whereas the tourney in this show is presented as though the lethality is perfectly normal and expected. No one even seems to get upset by Daemon's unsporting use of his jousting lance (like they were all expecting him to cheat).

 

[Older Beholder]

I think the tournament (and the brutality of it) is meant to mirror the birth, which is why we cut back between the two events.
There was a line previously in the show about a women's womb being her battleground or words to that effect (can't remember it exactly). This is the point that's being driven home by the juxtaposition of the two events.

I would also suggest the shape of the jousting arena also adds to this theme, I mean it's not really that subtle: