SHOW SOME RESPECT
In the days since the Season 2 finale of “HOTD” aired, fans have been roasting the once fearsome beast, calling her “Walmart-brand Godzilla,” “a hag,” and “grandma.” What gives?
Gayle Sequeira is a culture writer and critic with a focus on TV and movies. Her work has appeared in BFI, Inverse, Little White Lies and more. She loves cats, The Princess Bride references and not having to talk about herself in the third person.
LOOKING AHEAD
Now that the finale of Season 2 has aired, here’s our biggest questions.
WHO’D HAVE GUESSED?
For all of the movie’s raunchy jokes and huge action scenes, it’s an emotional exchange that’s actually the highlight.
DEEP DIVE
Rhaenyra and Mysaria’s kiss at the end of this week’s episode just confirmed that Rhaenyra is canonically queer—and sent her a new trajectory in the show.
ABOUT TIME
The changes in “HOTD” from George R.R. Martin’s books have all been in the service of justifying bad actions. But Episode 4 finally gives fans the ruthless cruelty we’ve craved.
MVP
Ifans’ delicious performance as Otto Hightower is so good that the show truly suffers when he’s not in an episode.
”A SON FOR A SON”
The source material’s version of these gruesome events was far more powerful than what we ended up with on screen.
PLAY NICE
These hot-headed, hard-hearted supes deal with more family trauma than one thought possible. But the way they’re dealing with it has radically changed.