Re-watched season 1 because my local library has the Blurays. Re-affirmed that Viserys is a weak but well-meaning King and the Paddy Considine did a great job playing him. I didn’t really understand how great until I watched season 1 and 2 back to back. His absence is truly felt once the character passed.

Ser Criston Cole is the biggest hypocrite every to hypocrise, prone to uncontrolled fits of rage and completely unfit to be Kingsguard. I still can’t believe he survived murdering a member of a royal wedding party by literally beating a him to dead pulp. Viserys quietly gaining more and more sores and losing fingers over the season was somehow very funny this time around. And Alicent really didn’t love at least Aegon, judging by the scenes where she is completely emotionally unresponsive to crying toddler-Aegon and that whole “imbecile” response in the carriage in response to Aegon’s question about whether she loves him or not – I truly believe that the whole reply would be “Imbecile… Of course I don’t.” had the scene gone on.

A few season 2 thoughts:

Season 2 finished exactly where season 1 left off: on the verge of the same exact war! There’s really bad things going on with the pacing of this show. The last episode of season 2 felt more like the penultimate episode than the finale of the season.

That said, I do like season 2 a lot. Acting, costuming, locales, settings… all good. Some of the scenes and dialogue are great too. It’s just the pacing: like the writers are jumping from important event to important even without doing the character work that leads to and from them. I think maybe they are trying to tell a convoluted, sprawling story with many important, pivotal characters in too few episodes and the pacing suffers great from it.

I like the castles and the other settings and find the actors very enjoyable and the characters entertainingly awful. I’m not really rooting for anyone personally, the only reason I think Rhaenyra should be Queen and ruler of all of Westeros is because she is the heir Viserys officially named. The Greens can tell all the lies they want, and pretend to believe in Aegon’s legitimacy all they want – the truth is that Alicent willfully misunderstood Viserys’s last words in the way that benefits her personally the most. Personally I think actually all of them are unfit to rule and would be awful about it.

I’m disappointed that Aemond was made into a caricature of evil brother, both in behaviour and how he’s styled and the way he moves. And the styling and moving reminds me so, SO much of the Wraith from Stargate: Atlantis! At first when Ewan Mitchell took over the role in his white wig, eye patch and long black leather coat by brain tried its damned to see a Wraith!

I’m glad the show finally remembered that Helaena exists! I certainly didn’t until she had to choose which kid is murdered right in front of her eyes. I’m glad she got a little more attention after that.

Daemon was off in his own gothic ghost story for most of the season, and some of those scenes were the funniest. Like Simon Strong’s non-reaction to Daemon’s grand announcement that he’s taken Harrenhal, or when the little Lord Tully insults Daemon up one side and down the other in the course of talking his own Tully bannermen into swearing fealty to himself and by extention to Rhaenyra as the rightful Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, and Daemon couldn’t do a damn thing about it if he wanted those bannermen under his command!

Also loved the bit where Larys Strong said to somebody something to the effect of “Nah, let Daemon take Harrenhall the penniless haunted ruin. The place will drive him barmy while keeping him bogged down in the Riverlands.” Can’t remember the wording but something like that. Hilarious.

I have zero idea how much time has passed since Viserys’s death. Are we talking days or weeks? Or months?? There’s zero sense of how much time passes in season 2.

Still not enough dragons for a show about Dragon Riders! I loved Meleys and Rhaenys remained my favorite until her death. Eve Best and Rhaenys will be sorely missed.

So all in all: I enjoyed season 2 despite its flaws and I’m looking forward to seasons 3 and 4!