House of the Dragon - And So It Begins

This might be a new Game of Thrones show but the pursuit of power and that Iron Throne is just as much an obsession. Dany never truly got to sit on the Throne and truly be the Queen of the Iron Throne.

A king is selected named Viserys (Considine), first of his line, with a wife who can't bare him a son. And he was obsessed with that to the point that he sacrifices his wife, only for the baby to die not long after he was cut from his mother's belly. All that time, the daughter, Rhaenyra (D'Arcy), is there feeling as if she's just being passed over without a chance to prove herself. With her mother dead, Rhaenyra is eventually chosen to be next in line instead of Viserys' brother, Daemon (Matt Smith, who is going to win an Emmy, I'm sure of it), considered by the Hand of the King, Otto Hightower (Ifans), to be a liability (or much worse, considering as he's put over the City's Watch to make sure law and order is kept in King's Landing, using that authority to use brutal violence on criminals, with butchered body parts tossed in a wagon as a reminder that he means business). Otto really has it out for Daemon, who can't hold on to a position throughout King's Landing without being held under severe scrutiny. Whether or not that is true, Otto is convincing enough an influence as Hand that Viserys listens to him. 

As I anticipate probably going back through Game of Thrones eventually, I will also repeat-viewing these episodes, too. I want to make sure I have my shit together if I'm going through the first season of House of the Dragon.

I can only imagine how someone new to Game of Thrones would respond to the jousting tournament with all the outbursts as the participants are just attacking each other "off horse". Shields shattering, the armored jousters breaking their spears, and plenty of collapsing bodies, but on their feet, plenty of them haven't seemed to be trained as well as they might need to be. An ax in the face, and swinging spiked balls on chain, not to mention, the pulled sword from its sheath, the jousting tournament  can descend into violent chaos. It gets interesting when Daemon doesn't win once he's on his feet and must accept the hand to be lifted off the ground.