Girls Gone Canon Cast - A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms — Season 1, Episode 4 — "Seven"

Episode Date: February 10, 2026

In which everyone invokes their rights: Dunk demands a trial by combat, Aerion invokes an old tradition to up the numbers, and we find out that some people might have more and better rights than others. Thankfully, some people are willing to do something about it, big or small. --- Reminder: You can and should still contact your congresspeople to not only add guardrails around ICE but to defund (and dismantle) them. Find and call your congresspeople by phoning the Capitol switchboard: 202-224-3121 All you have to do is say the name of your Senator or Representative, and you'll be directed to their congressional office. Not sure who represents you in Congress or how to find them? You can also find more of their contact information and their name on this site: https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member Besides calling Congress, if you're not sure what you can do, here are some more actions you can take, in no particular order: Get involved with mutual aid (this will differ depending on where you're based, so we didn't include any links) Donate to mutual aid or to organizations such as the ACLU, RAICES, National Immigration Project, Legal Aid Justice Center or local orgs that may need more support. Find a local rapid response effort and save their number to your phone. Know what to look for and what to report. Protest. Attend a bystander training or response training. Pressure local officials, employers, and landlords to refuse to cooperate with ICE. This is by no means an exhaustive list. Other actions you can take exist. Please do what you can. ----- Eliana's reddit account: https://www.reddit.com/user/glass_table_girl Eliana's blog: https://themanyfacedblog.wordpress.com/ Chloe's twitter: https://twitter.com/liesandarbor Chloe's blog: liesandarborgold.com Intro "Folk Round" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Hello and welcome to Girls Gone Cannon watches A Night of the Seven Kingdoms. Season one, episode four, seven. I'm one of your hosts, Chloe. And I am another one of your host, Eliana. Yes, thank you for coming to watch the thriller movie Seven. Oh my God. Oh my God, what's in the box? Welcome back to a Spoilers, Everything Ever podcast on a Night of the Seven.

Kingdoms. What does that mean? Spoilers everything, Eliana. Spoilers everything. It means we're going to talk about information that happens in the rest of this story in season, in the rest of a song of ice and fire, and the rest of what to anticipate for the lives of both Dunk and Egg as far as we know that's published and just really everything. We might even like, who knows, we could talk about hot TV, books, all of it. Like anything could happen. We want you to be prepared. Yeah. You know, get you into a defensive position during this podcast. Yeah. Ooh.

Also, I see. See, Chloe there, she made a reference to sports because we are also a sports podcast. And this is, it is Super Bowl Sunday as we record this. Sports, sports, sports. We actually have, like, relevant George, and you can hear me clicking to pull this up, George R.R. Martin content about this exactly. thing. I mean, obviously he talks about a night of the Seven Kingdoms, but most importantly,

he says in his latest not a blog that just dropped, had I found time back in the fall, I might have made some football post too as I have in past years, but given the seasons that the Jets and the Giants

had, it was just as well I didn't. I am not that masochistic. So that's some of your sports talk for today. Wow. Yeah, it was an interesting blog. I would like to take George's pain and make it my own. Regarding the sports? No, well, that, no, not that. I have my own issues with my sports life I've chosen. I'm a lions and an Eagles fan.

No, just his life pain. Like, I would take that pain for you, George. I would absorb that pain so that you can do so much more. Life is hard. I have an analysis on the teams, I guess, that are playing based off of, they're not my opinion. They're my friends opinions. Those opinions are these? They're my friend Tyler's opinions. Okay, tell us Tyler's opinions. He used to be a receiver in college football, so I think.

So he's got opinions and he's the one who taught me how the football positions work. So I can give that to all of you and you can tell me what you think. So same as you and I, Tyler has no true dog in this fight because his team is the Carolina Panthers. But ever so slightly, you know, he's rooting a little bit more for the Seahawks than for the Patriots because he feels that they are a more like kind of well-rounded team, a little bit more underdoggy in some ways. You know, none of them are like absolute like superstars. They just work together really well as a team, right? Whereas I guess the Patriots for a long time they had their run.

They had their flowers for a good many years with Tom Brady. I also learned in that moment that that is the team that Tom. I'm bradying this on. Shelly's going to be so mad at me. My God. So, yeah, what are your thoughts on, Tyler's thoughts, Chloe? You know, it's really hard because the Seahawks, I've actually seen them play a few games. They do all right.

The pats, I feel in principle I shouldn't like them. That's my own inherent prejudice from living in this country from what I've been taught. And then there's this other part of me that can please. doesn't care. I just don't care about them and what happens to them. So we'll see what happens, but... Yeah, I don't super care about, like, the sports itself. I'm excited about Bad Bunny and Green Day and also Jiggly Puff from Pokemon. No, I actually am legitimately excited about the halftime show, so... Yeah. So let's get our show on the road so Eliana can go party with Jiggly Puff. What a segue. If you have only been tuning in for these episodes, we are in a song of Ice and Fire.

POV chapter reread podcast. Not a sports podcast. We're not actually really sports podcasters, though you may be very inspired and moved by us when we do sports cast. That might be something you're feeling. If you're feeling that lock in, buckle up, stay with us. It's going to be a really fun time. We have covered every single POV in a song of ice and fire, the main five published books. And now we are covering the very last one on our list,

which is Tyrion Lannister. That will be starting after this series. So make sure that you subscribe on your favorite podcast platform. Wherever you're listening right now, stop, pause, click, follow so that you can keep up with us outside of the season after the Super Bowl's over here after the trial of seven. Well, but make sure you're following us. And if you can, leave us a review, whether it's iTunes or on any other platform, comments, reviews, those things help everyone else find us.

We do this podcast weekly. We are so excited to do our regular season, A-Swaf, POV podcast weekly for you. It comes out on Fridays. So tune in. We'll return with that after Night of the Seven Kingdoms is over. And of course, if you want more of our coverage, we have actually covered this exact story

in depth literally right before this and also when we first started. So you can listen to that. We are going to repeat some of the points that we brought up for those who may not have listened to it, but also we do have even more episodes as well on our Patreon, which you can find at patreon.com slash girls gone canon, where we have bonus episodes in the Stranger 2 and Above.

That's $5 and up. And this month we are going to continue our coverage of Dorn, folding in Dorn, which plays a direct role in how the Blackfire Rebellion was started and the Blackfire Rebellion does very much cast a shadow over this story that we're covering here in a night of the Seven Kingdom. So we'll talk about that. And in fact, Baylor, he has dark hair because he is part Dornish.

And that is part of the whole thing. And we also have a Discord channel where we'll be doing fun and games every now and then for brunch slash happy hour, brappy hour. This month that is on February

28th so we can, you know, gather our thoughts about the season and come chat about it. But we also might not chat about that. We might end up chatting about like, I don't know, recipes, which is also a very common thing to happen. Movies, Oscars are coming up too. It could be a Oscars chit-chat too. True. Yeah. It is Oscar's season. Yeah. We'll definitely chit-chat there with all of our Thunder tier patrons and above. And over at patreon.com slash girls gone can. And you can find hours of bonus content by joining the Stranger Tier and above you will get.

access to those many, many, many hours. So you should jump in there, become a stranger to your patron, become a thunder to your patron, or join for free. See what it's about first. We totally get it. We appreciate all of your support. It's what keeps our regular podcast coming out weekly for free. All right.

We got some emails and non-emales and comments. Yeah, we got from our friend Barbara over on Patreon. Barbara always leaves great comments. Barbara said, Ariens helmet kind of reminds me of the comic book Ghost Rider. Oh yeah, absolutely. When I saw that, I was like, yes, I think that's the image that might have been in my head as well. Like, that's exactly it. You're so right. Demon, you know, real demon hours. I still think about how I felt robbed of the Ghost Rider storyline in what was it, Agents of Shield. That was my ship, Daisy and Ghost Rider.

Agents of Shield really could have been the greatest. And then they tried to erase it forever. Just like all the Marvel shows. I think. I mean, like, I love the not Marvel Marvel shows so much. We know this. I hear they might bring back. What's her name? Chloe. Quake.

Yeah, Quake, though. Yeah, Chloe Bennett, though. F as Quake. So I'm, like, I'm hoping. Good for her. Good for her. Yeah. We have an email also from Dr. Cavita Mudan Finn.

Always a pleasure to receive it. Dr. Finn was listening to our Night of the Seven Kingdom's coverage and told us that she had referred to Arlen's entailment as the full penny tree, which is very good, very good, and also mentioned how we brought up the idea of people dying twice, once physically, and the second time when they are forgotten, and Dr. Finn has an addition to it asking, my partner and I were talking about that idea, and it occurred to both of us to wonder, what happens if someone is forgotten and then eventually rediscovered? Is that a kind of resurrection and or necromancy? Or is it more like getting a phone call on a phone that you thought was dead for centuries. Our example was everybody's

favorite Sumerian copper merchant, I.A. Nasir, who presumably was known during his lifetime and by his immediate descendants, but then forgotten for literal millennia until archaeologists found a stone tablet complaining about the poor quality of his copper ingots, thus bringing him back to life in a sense. So, and then also gives us a reminder about to, if you are in the United States, call your representatives and tell them that DHS and ICE have to go. Thank you very much, Dr. Finn,

and reminds us that I guess she is old enough to remember a world before both of them. And to poorly misquote Macbeth, nothing in their tenure would become it more than their end. Yeah, God damn right, get on. Wow, what a banger. What a banger. I love a Dr. Finn email, y'all. When we get that, that is beautiful. Really good stuff. Thank you for these wonderful anecdotes.

Yeah, I think regarding the idea of dying twice, like for me, I think of, I think there's like a moment, I believe, in no exit where they like have the moment after they die and like realize when the last person who remembers them has gone out. And also different thing. There's this anime that I used to watch. except I say used to because they just never continued adapting it from the manga for some reason. It was called Norigami. It was actually, it's kind of fun if you like the idea of like physical manifestations of gods as well in our world. And, you know, I remember crying and I don't think you'll hear this. So I'm going to just like tell you all. I think I might have seen like my partner almost cry too at the end of one of the episodes. I was like, are you crying?

I was like, I'm not crying. I was like, you're crying. I think you might be crying a little in this moment. So it's like a really emotional anime, and a lot of it has to do with like the power and, you know, the importance of like the gods needing to have someone a non-zero amount of people like remembering and believing in them and bringing to them

and that having to do with their ability to stay alive. We've talked about that concept. I feel like back in his dark materials too a little bit, as well as I think in like a swath about religion. So I'm like vaguely remembering you. talking about this. Okay. And we've probably talked about it and like I don't want to bring it up, but like it's an elephant in the room. So I'm just going to say it like American gods, right? But yeah. I was just going to say and also American gods. Yeah. And anyway, but Noragami's

different take would recommend. It's cute. But I actually don't know how the rest of it goes in terms of the manga. But maybe I should just continue it sometime. It was fun. Yeah. All right. Chloe's very excited about these comments that she is foraged for us today. I went hunting and gathering and I came back with these comments. I love Spotify comments. Spotify comments forever. They're just getting it lately. Thank you to everyone.

They really are. Everyone who participated in the poll, do you love Darren Targaryen? And answered either yes, but not as much as Chloe or yes. Thank you so much for participating all five of you. It was pretty good. Pretty good. I think everybody, I think yes, but not as much as Chloe. we won. So thanks everyone on Spotify. We'll put out more really interesting polls like that soon

with the same answer but not. I'm out of control having this kind of power on the Spotify account, you know, like I'm going unchecked. I'd be like crashing all those checks and balances. Oh my gosh. We got a comment. This is Dan's second comment ever because Dan previously gave us his first comment on a previous episode. Dan commented and said, hello to my favorite girls gone canceled. Got them. Can we please talk about these drip gods of the Kingsguard? Costuming in this show has been absolutely top tier. They hit a home run with the Kingsguard with all the white representing purity and honor. I think it really represents what Dunk thinks a knight should be. Also, my wife taught me the whip stitch the day before this episode aired, so I'm pretty sure

it's a sign I'm probably egg IRL. Love the show, thanks. And this was sent in on the squire, but bears repeating here. Yeah, we're going to talk a lot about. costuming today. I have like a big fashion hour, hashtag fashion hour for you all. So get ready. But I'm going to be, I'm going to say something in the contrary, which is wild. Everyone get ready. I'm about to be controversial. I'm not trying to fight with Dan. Dan just brusseling up that I've been thinking about. So Dan, you just get to be like my punch dummy. I'm so sorry. I don't like the Kingsguard armor. Controversial. Here are the reasons why. The things I do like about it. You're the reason.

I've only been thinking about this for four weeks. I like it and I don't like it. Like, there's a Watsonian and Doyle's kind of angle of why I do and do not like it. I think it works. However, I think it looks gaudy and tacky and plasticy because of the bright white of the armor. However, also, like, should it look that way because the role is kind of like the whole role and what they are and what they wear and representing that purity, like, is. kind of tacky and like hypocritical, right? There's a lot of hypocrisy in the Kingsguard even as early as now.

And Dunk comes to it as someone who does want the real, like the whole entire thematics of this show so far of, you know, the real change and being able to change the world and like what it takes and like the world being cynical and set against that and what that does to someone, right? The whole entire conversation with Dunk and the sex workers and trying to be a night who remembered your vows in this horrible world where everyone. like want to do some evil sports betting with us. So I think it like it actually does work in that way.

I like the dragon wing like shape and a lot of the formation of it, but it just doesn't do it for me. Like I actually very much see why the other show iterations in the show universe have pulled back and done closer like silver gold or silver with it and not made it pure white because it doesn't look good. It looks fake. It looks like Stormtrooper armor. It looks plasticy.

It looks tacky. So, like, I don't know. I personally am not a fan, but I like the shape. I do like the dragon wing kind of, like, ends on the plates. But I don't like it overall. It's not my favorite of the three. My favorite is probably Hot D Kingsguard and then got Kingsguard. Oh, God.

Game of Thrones Kingsguard. And then I would put Night of the Seven Kingdoms last. Personally, that's subjective. So that was a lot to chew one. on. Sorry, go ahead, Eliana. I'm a coward who has no rankings. Okay, pussy. This is what my friends and I have established. I do like the Kingsguard armor in this show, but also I don't have any, like, in-depth opinions on it because you haven't been thinking about it for four weeks. I've been thinking

about it for like four minutes, and they all happened about nowish together. Gun to your head. Other than being, like, sick. Hell yeah. But I will say like I like what you said about is it perhaps a little bit intentional that it feels plasticy? Like which it doesn't feel that way necessarily, but I see what you're saying and like storm troopery and like the ostentatiousness

of it because yes, that is kind of the point of how like thinly held. Exactly. This is like especially because as we find out, right, as Igg points out, they're fighting for Aryan's claim. And like even though we see that the Kingsguard are actually fairly like chill in their interactions with Dunk compared to how everyone else is at the tourney,

they're still upholding that system, right? And I do think something that's interesting about it to me. I don't remember if we talked about this during our most recent coverage of the Hedge Night, which was probably also about four weeks ago or not. It's interesting because a big part of the main Aswaffe books is how we are entering this time in which the songs no longer ring true, right? The heroes of all the Kingsguard is deteriorating and disintegrating with Barriston and Jamie. It just ain't what it used to be, and especially as like Circey starts staffing it. And even Robert starts staffing it with people who are undeserving.

But as we can see, these people, they're clearly like good fighters, right? There's a meritocracy aspect to that. But we're seeing that the institution of the King's Guard has been corrupt since then. Or even before then with like Lucanour the Lusty and also it's all just like kind of dependent on like the current regime, right? In and of itself it is somewhat of its own cage, but also reminder, just because I feel like plugging it and I just remembered it exists. We did do a Kingsguard episode. Yeah. We actually did like a Kingsguard series including Queensguard on our Patreon.

Patreon. That's it. That's all. Yeah. No. a lot to think about like I mean it's even represented in the back and forth with him and egg about you know oh he's just a guy that his dad was a fisher and eggs like no they literally own all of the crab fleets in the entire fucking country like they're loaded bro like he's bastard nepo nepo bastard

like so it's like plastic cold hard shiny plastic it's so i i didn't think about this when we were talking about it in that episode but it's so like there is a an interesting shift and difference in the way that we think about wealth culturally since the time that you and I were in our 20s than it is now, right? It's much more valorized again. I mean, it's always been aspirational and valorized, right? But people had a little more shame about being rich and wealthy when you and I were in our 20s. Like, you'd have like the artists, like, quote unquote, starving artists in like Brooklyn or Williamsburg or whatever. Um, who turns out parents were for paying for the apartment the whole time or something, right?

Like, that's what it's giving me. Like, I'm just, I'm just a crabber. And then turns out, oh, wait, what do you mean by that? And it's not that he didn't ever have, like, it's not that he ever wanted. He just, this was the only avenue for him. That's crazy. Well, and then it really, like, feeds. It all feeds into, right, all of these fucking children.

Makar keeps popping out, you know? So, interesting. Wow. Dan, see, you really inspired something great. Thanks, Dan for your comments. Yeah, thanks, Dan. Really glad you're enjoying it, though. Dan also just listened to one of our rereads of the Hedge Night that we recently posted several weeks ago.

So he's on that trail as well. Four weeks ago. Yeah, I look forward. Wow. I look forward to that trail for him to continue down that path. We'll see. I'm glad he's a fan. Welcome aboard.

We actually also got, this is huge. This is huge. Huge. Are you ready? This is huge. Yeah. Chris Pine, who previously had commented on our episode, Chris Pine commented again, revealing their true identity. They said, oh my God, y'all are reading and responding to my email.

Crying emoji, crying emoji, thank you. Dash, Brenda. Sorry, this is not actually Chris Pine. I don't know. I don't know. I'm not convinced. I just don't know. I'm just not, yes.

Chris Pine, I think, is a pretty good actor. And this could be Chris Pine acting as Brenda. Thanks Chris Pine, Brenda, for writing into us again. Not to erase your actual identity, Brenda. Chris Pine. You could be just like Chris Pine, Dan, and Dr. Finn by writing into us and Barbara, whether it's on Patreon, whether it's a comment on Spotify, a review on Apple, or an email at Girls Gone Cannon, C-A-N-O-N-N at g-M-L-com.

We'd love to hear from you and your thoughts on the episode and pictures of your pets especially would also be nice. I'm not begging, but I'm just asking, like, as a treat, you could send us pictures of your dogs and cats, your birds. Yeah, you could. Your lizards, we'll look at them. We'll tell you how we feel. Yeah, wait, someone sends an axelotel.

Yeah, it could be you. Yeah. That was exciting. It could be you. Could be you. Well, let's jump into the episode. We will once more be doing this based on vibes and our thoughts throughout the episode and where it takes us. So, Eliana, will you bring us in?

What do you got, sister? These are loosely chronological. Yeah, loosely. Yeah. To the episode. And I will say, I really loved the opening of this episode. I thought it was a beautiful transition of kind of making you think you're looking at the starlit sky.

So now we're in a cell. And I think that works well with the way that some of the previous episodes have been ending. And, you know, as Dunk is also thinking about we bring back the idea of the falling star, right? And how he and Egg had been staring up all those dreams. And now, fuck, why are we here? There's not a star in heaven that we can reach. Sorry, I was like, what's in my brain about stars right now? I was like, something's in there, and I knew I had to sing it to you.

It's like the 20th anniversary, which I, like, baffles my mind. You cannot say that to me. As a person who's not even that old. But it's the 20th anniversary, I think, of high school musical this year. Did you see that the Disney channel or whatever, TikTok? Uh-uh. They posted all the whole high school musical. They just chunked it up into parts, and they uploaded the entire.

entire movie on TikTok. That's so crazy. That's so rogue. That's nuts. That's the most insane social media strategy I've ever heard. Respect. Guerrilla warfare.

I really like what you pointed out with the way that they pan from the sky to the cell because it was fun like a stage play, right? Like it made me think of the way a theater would be set up and that like you'd have the sky above and you'd have the cell below it. Yeah. So you'd see both things at once.

So the way it pans down, that's kind of fun. It makes it all feel like a set. But also in the face of puppetry, right? In the face of the play that we saw Tansell putting on. And then also in the face of the puppetry and the play in the theater that's going on with the tourney. Just to bring it up Shakespeare again since Dr. Finn did. And we'll bring up Shakespeare again. All the world is a sage and all the men and women merely players.

Yep. Knights and fools and ladies. Same thing. Same thing. Wow. Also, but I do think that's like maybe also what Florian and Jeanquil are giving a nod to. Like maybe George also was writing that similarly in some aspect. Hmm. Much to think about. Indeed. Dunk is cosplay in Davos in this episode.

Dunk will be playing the role of Davos. Yeah. Love it. Love it. I love him petting the rat. I was like, that's Eliana. Literally. Yeah. That's actually like how I felt in that moment, too, when I saw that. I was like, oh my God. He's petting me.

I was like, I'm here. Yeah. Yeah. You are spiritually with me. Just like you said the other day, you're like, what are you talking about? You're always thinking about me. I'm like, yeah, there's not enough time not to in this episode. Eggs costume.

Love Eggs, little costume. We talked a lot about it last episode when we saw it in the upcoming, very country, very cute. but also I want to dig into the Targaryen costuming. If you are interested in a larger, wider look at Game of Thrones, The Song of Ice and Fire, etc., Hot D. Costuming, please do check out our episode with Megan D. Birdie D. Cosplaying Costuming, who we had on on Patreon.

We did an awesome review of Hot D. Costuming and Ace Wafee Costuming in total. We talk a lot more about some of kind of the foundation of costuming in the Thrones universe. I really, really love that episode with Megan. And Targary and Costuming is really fun because it's kind of a Benjamin Button costuming scenario, right? Like, your backfilling ideas, you have some constraints and some hard variables of what Targaryen costumes look like.

But in the main series, which came out first in real life's chronology, right? Like, the first thing we saw was Denarius and Viseries. So they had the first stakes in how Targaryen castes. Plays. True. House of the Dragon has come in and further taken those ideas and lines and played with them depending on which house that you're kind of showing your allegiance to, the event that you're dressing for, if you're a dragon ride or if you're not.

A lot of different variables that really change the costuming in House of the Dragon. And then now we have another layer of costuming that gets to be played with by this costume designer. So some of the classic Targaryen silhouette and shape that you get to kind of play with for these outfits is kind of the only rule, right? The only rule is that you have somewhat of a Targaryen silhouette. I see a lot of triangular, right? Angles, look at the shoulders on some of these outfits, those asymmetrical lines of sight as well. And this season really is embodying those harsh lines and almost seems to like trim away the fat, the extraneous. There's no flowing fabric really going on. It's militant. It's sharp. It's cutting. Very severe, very austere.

There's asymmetrical favoring in most of the doublets that the men are wearing in this. But specifically when we look at egg, he has also the sash, right? The very classic Targaryan sash. We see Denari's wearing this in the main series and it's very flowing. It's usually clasped at the shoulder and goes over her back shoulder like a half cape or like a long asymmetrically kind of cape on the outfit. But here we see eggs is very trim, right? It's almost worn like a military sash, like a war sash, like in the Revolutionary War or the American Civil War where officers wore silk sashes and crimson to show their level of authority or the red sash of the Legion of Honor, the French Imperial Order as well.

So I think that's really interesting on egg and also on Makar. We see Makar wear it too. And his sash is very trim and tight in the front, but does flow in the back where eggs is not flowing. Albeit it's like in a very neat line. There's not a lot of movement to make ours sash. So still kind of sticks within those very solid lines and not very much movement. But definitely like a military sash and reminds me almost of a relic of the previous wartime, right?

like thinking of how outfits and fashion would be reflecting after wartime coming from the Blackfire Rebellion. And as you kind of move out of that military lens, we then look over at Arian. Arian is wearing a very classic silhouette and it's actually two silhouettes. If you start to think about it, it looks a lot like the Valerian overcoat that we would see, for example, Damon and Renera wearing the robes at their wedding. those Valerian kind of pointed and very triangular angles in the shoulders robes. Those are supposed to be very, very much the Valerian silhouette. And then you also look at, you know, Deniery's, Beela, Renera,

they have those classic kind of war robes and dragon riding robes that have silhouette as well. That very triangular top leading down to the deep V. But also Darren's robe, if you look at the collar, is not very crazy. like it's very contained and restrained, which shows a lot of his character, but also I would argue that his robe that he's wearing, that nice red, deep robe with the studding across the shoulders, reflects Dorn, too.

It very much looks like Oberyn, Tristan, Doren, the style of robe that they wear in Dorn, with some of that same kind of silhouette to it. So that's fun to bring in a little bit of Dorn costuming and flavor in a way, even if it's just in the... shape. Kind of fun. That and Valerian is both present in Aryan's robe. And it says a lot about Aryan's character, right? He is wearing the most Valerian style outfit in full out. Here's my Valerian robe. The deep be part Dornish, part Valerian. Here's who we are. We're dragons

baby. Especially compared to Makar and Baylor. Baylor is very much utilitarian dressed. He has no nonsense with his outfits. And then the severity of Makar's robe. against him is very interesting. Magar's wearing a long robe doublet thing, and it's echoed with kind of those multiple layers, the Valerian wedding robes that Damon and Renierre wear, for example,

have all of these very layers of fabric all laying across each other in very diagonal linework. And looking at Maycar's robe, though, he has all those layers and he has that kind of tight Valerian silhouette and the very asymmetrical lines leading as it closes it.

and the collar that hangs open and the sash. But also, he has so many layers of fabric. And they're all, like, textiles, very thick. Lots of woven pattern. A lot of different textures going on. So he's, you know, definitely a little secret swagger going on there. Maker has some very, like, self-contained swagger. Like, oh, yeah, he seems like he's all business and an asshole.

But up close, yeah, he likes to have a little something special going on. Yeah. He's, like, in the, he's interested in the detail. He loves the detail work where you look at... I was going to say quiet luxury, but it's not very quiet. No, it's like loud, but it's hidden in those muted, dark, the dark colors, right? Like, he's not being flashy in color, but he is being flashy in the way the lines work against his silhouette compared to Baylor, whose outfits are very utilitarian. They are very much speaking for themselves.

They're not nice, but the most sparkle that he has is that hand of the king chain, right? which almost looks like Danny's chain in season seven and season eight, where she has the dragon chain that is clasping her little sash at her shoulder, her scarf at her shoulder, whatever you want to call it. Still has that Valerian kind of silhouette to him, but it's not very pronounced. It's not very deep other than that chain kind of encircling him. You see it's like going around and it's very much, I don't know, entrapping and circling.

And then you have Darren, right, when he is at the inn in the beginning of the season, you have him in kind of those looser shapes, very much a more Renaissance-shaped outfit, a doublet that's not at all Valerian kind of in silhouette. So very much like an outfit that could fit in with the other lords and with the commons in shape and not at all set him apart as a Valerian. And here, when he is now dressed in what he should be wearing, it's very severe, tight lines, asymmetrical. It's like an Anakin Skywalker-ass outfit. You have these layers of black velvet and black leather that are like strangling him in a way, suffocating him. Not at all really embracing that silhouette outside of the basic. So almost like Baylor's shape, not too much outside of the basic silhouette for the Valerian silhouette, but also like very tight. The neck has no ornament, has no extra bits to it.

He's very much just like here's a very tight black double. it with alternating and angled slashes. So I thought that was really interesting for Darren, him and his black Targaryen wear versus his other wear. I look forward to seeing his armor, hopefully, in the next episode. I'd like to see that. Oh, that's right. Yeah.

And the giant contrast is dunk to all of this, right? Like, he's in his teal gambeson looking kind of put together for someone who suffered in jail for a day or two. But we see him walking around now in like a new layer and almost kind of taking him on that journey from he started out very much in that ratty tunic and leggings and that cloak that like threadbare wool cloak and now here he is wearing a nice padded teal gambeson over all that and he's starting to look a little put together the beginning of his journey yeah something that he's probably like saved you know the other the other clothes are they suffer the wear and tear because

that's what you usually wear you know as you're traveling et cetera that's a really nice way to point And also it kind of, it works well with the colors, right, of the rest of the scene. As he's kind of muted, it shows him not really standing out. He's there together with the field, whereas the red and the darker colors really are much more of a contrast. Yeah. When you're there at the tourney, when we're talking about the actual tunics. But, yes, great fashion hour. And I like what you pointed out of how it sits in context with the rest of the cinematic universe.

you know, to an extent, like, Viseries and Denei's, when they were dressed, like, they weren't existing as well, like, in the context of the rest of their families for some of it. You know, they knew other, like, post-Villarian societies because they were going around the free cities, but they didn't really have access to the rest of how their family dressed other than maybe, like, I don't know, Viseries' memory. Yeah, until Danny came back in season seven to Dragonstone. Yeah, she might have been able to, like, see some of those. designs, et cetera, but it is like very different as well as even like other Viseries.

This series the first dress, right? Much more flowing, robes, like very much time of leisure as opposed to, as you were saying, very tight, sleek, clean silhouettes because it's one that's ready for movement because, you know, war. Yeah, absolutely. You can see that just the utilitarianism of like how they now dress since the last war is really interesting to think about. interesting to think about the robes, the Valerian style robes. That's a really cool introduction that we got from like Bacereswereus

Wearsam and the Damon Reneerra wedding robes. I really love that. That shape is really fun. Everyone's styled very well. Festival outfits. Love it. We had a really good look at that in the Nobles area too. There were a lot of folks dressed up there that I

was really paying attention to. Just really nicely dressed. It's fun to look at. Lots of different style. Lots of gold. I even really liked. Well, we'll get to that section later, but I also really liked Otho Bracken's costuming. Interesting, right? Very interesting. Yeah.

Yeah. Dunk is so funny because he's like super, super mean and private to egg about and critiquing like what he did wrong and how he's like, you lied, you knew you lied. Like don't fuck with me, egg. And Egg's like, what are you talking about it? Didn't mean to. And then they get with like Baylor and he's like, he's a good boy. He didn't mean to.

So cute. I was so sad And when he looks at him I hit him with the pleading emoji look You know And Dunk was like I know Like okay you can burn down

Summer Hall as a treat As a treat That's what That's besty My child bestie And yeah I mean like he Because especially he was quite mad

In that moment And I get it And there's a line that I think really explains it Well in the Hedge Night Where you know Egg is saying I just wanted to be somebody Squire and we have in Dunk's interiority, Dunk looked at him thoughtfully. He knew what it was

like to want something so badly that you would tell a monstrous lie just to get near it. Huh. Like knighthood? Yeah. That's kind of the turning point where he starts like softening up. But I mean like as Dung points out, you knew you were doing something wrong and Baylor even pointed out. He's like, we have a lot of power. One need not intend harm to do it. Yeah. And yet. It's easy to do that. Easy.

Yeah. It's, um, Miss Dami. It's almost reminiscent in some ways to of like Arien and Doren, right? With words as the arrow and once let loose, you can't take them back. Interesting. That's true. It's easy to start wars. It's not easy to end them.

That is also true. Yeah. All things that these characters will learn or have learned. Yeah. Baylor's been through that. quite a lot. Yeah. Well,

don't worry, Baylor. You don't have to go through it again, buddy. Because you're going to die. On to the next battle for you. Right. It is not one battle after another for Baylor.

One Baylor after another. Fuck. Oba. I really love the design of the Ashford Castle. It's not too overtly, like, bougie, but it still has all these really nice details

with their son's sigil all over. Like, in the door, I love that beautiful, big gate, that iron gate with the iron sun in it and blazoned in it. Really love it. It's not too much, but it's like, I think it gives us a realistic view of what a small castle should look like. I think that's something great about what the series gets to show us is that smaller scope, you know? Like, most of the castles we get to be inside and

hot deer and Game of Thrones are supposed to be really, really fancy. It's nice. Like, this is like how this lord lives. They're not a huge lord. They also don't have that much money, but it's still nice. I finally figured out, though, what it was making me think of. And it's the kingdom of Corona entangled. You know, with a little, like, a bright, like, sun thingy everywhere. That's what... I see the light. Oh, I guess that is, if you think about it, Repundzel escaping and going on this, like, crazy journey. It's a little, like, egg. Cutting the hair? Yeah. Yeah, dancing in the tavern. I have a dream. It's a little. He has a dream. Yeah, similar.

Yeah. It's the same. I'm aligned. It's the same, you see. It's the same. So I have this line here of, and you've already talked about, I do really love Baylor's hand, pin, and chain together. Yes.

Very much popping, especially in that dark light. And then how it comes also around. So good. So understated. Yeah. I like Baylor in this episode. I'm just a Baylor stamp. Like, what do you want me to say?

He's understated in this episode. a lot in a good way. Like, I'm glad they didn't lay him on too thick. It's very easy to maybe soften Baylor, wubify him too hard, so I'm glad they didn't. He's already whoopied pretty hard, I think, in like the original story. I'm like, oh yeah, fuck yeah, Beeler. So, in our most recent coverage, though, of this, and people have pointed this out as well in this episode, Baylor says that Egg must love his brothers, that the septans say that he must. And interestingly, as we called out in our coverage of the Hedge Knight, Baylor doesn't say, I say you must. He says the septent say we must love our brothers.

Right. And I've seen people kind of discuss it as like flippant or cruel regarding what egg has endured. But as we've talked about like Baylor likely had issues with his siblings as well, maybe not in the same way as like Arian does. But as we can see like Maycar. is like kind of a little bit annoying to him, but also I think especially, you know, maybe the septance told Baylor he had to do that, and this is, again, in the context of the Blackfire Rebellion, right? Like, Baylor isn't saying, it's what he says, it's what authority dictates, kind of outsourcing that, and it's like, loving one's own brother is important for keeping the peace when the

last time someone didn't love their own brothers enough between not only Darren and Damon Blackfire, Darren the Good and Damon Blackfire, also between Agor-Bettersteel Rivers, right, and Brendan Blood Raven Rivers, all these brothers not really loving each other enough, starting a war, and that's the generational trauma that they're carrying into this when they're like, maybe just swallow it, you know? Just swallow it. I didn't mean it like that. I mean, just, you know, like kind of...

I know you didn't, but... Push it down the way that Jamie's like, hey, Tom, and you know what I like to do? I just like to put it all in a little box. Well, and we talked back to last week with kind of some of that structure of the story, right? And how George likes to put a few similar beats in each story and similar themes and similar conflicts.

right? And it does make me wonder, just like Aria, Sanzah, and Ned, and when Ned tells Aria, look, shit's a little crazy here. And we have to band together. And I know that you think that your sister is kind of acting out and you don't like that, how she's acting. But like, I need you. I need both of you. And you need each other too. And you can't just hate each other. We need to stick together, kids. Like, you know, Ned has that talk. And it makes me wonder, when did Baylor's dad give him this talk? When did Baylor finally turn and be like, I know that your brother's a dick,

but we got to keep it together for the throne, dude. Yeah. Like, come on, Baylor. So, like, that tells me, A, Baylor got this very same conversation as a kid at some point. Yeah. But also here, and again, like, I'm very happy with how they're holding him back.

I think that's great, like a really good, keeping him very, like, his cards within for Baylor. I just like that he's nice. not too overstated of a character. I think it does really well to like, his actions are what plays out so easy for him. Like, you want his storminess and murkiness and,

like, questioning what he's going to do to be withheld until the moment when he shows what he's going to do. So, I think that comes through really well here. And it's interesting how measured he has to be because then you look at, like, Makar,

Megar's really not hiding how the seven are a joke to him and that he doesn't believe in them. He doesn't believe in the seven. He maybe doesn't even believe in any gods, really, and neither does Baylor maybe. Like, who knows, but you see Baylor says, ah, yes, the septans, who we have to respect because this entire engagement of us managing this entire country and ruling it is based on the seven gave in and let us do that. Like, there were some exceptionalisms that were accepted.

And yeah, Mekar, not even trying to hide it, right? he says, oh, if the Andals brought over knighthood. Oh, so you have all these mixes of like the country really embracing and trying to hang on to Andal tradition. And the Targaryans being like, none of it matters. All that ever mattered was power, the unassailable might of power. That's true. And we had it.

Now we are doing our best. We're barely holding it together at a tiny Coachella event being held here. That's true. That's true. And yeah, knighthood itself again, like Andal tradition, which I think, you know, people kind of forget, like, they assume was it just like always paned Westerosio? It wasn't. And I do think, something you said, like, really stood out to me of, yeah, Maycarus, like, he's pretty mad. He's, like, not hiding how he feels about it. Whereas as we, you pointed out, Baylor's been very understated and he has had to be, he's had to be so much more composed. at court because he's eldest son, he's the heir, to a very kind of fragile grip on the throne because of this rebellion. And people already like didn't like his dad. And also he looks part Dornish, right?

And then he's had to keep composure and everything and always show that and live by those rules and then make our people like his outbursts, like and by people I mean the audience. But he's not doing that. He's so much more emotional compared to his brother. And I didn't really think about that contrast between them. He's the youngest. He's been afforded some of that, like, kind of privilege in a way. Well, you know how men are emotional.

I also agree with that. And we're going to get into that. I've seen also a critique that people don't feel that Aryan is, like, feels evil enough, that he seems just petulant and annoying. Some people like that, some people don't I actually like that performance of him that he feels like very regular in some ways because I think it's important

as one of the writers like Sarah Edina Smith says it's the kid who has a bunch of wealthy lawyers and she doesn't say this part I'll get through to a second but that is exactly the point of it to me because you've probably heard me talk about this on this podcast a few times of like I think it's very important that we humanize people

who are villains or people who commit evils. Like, I think it's important that we humanize the people who commit assault, abuse, and rape, or other such things. And it's not because I think we should have empathy for them. Maybe, maybe not. But I think more so it's because in doing that, we remember that any of us are capable of great evil, right? You may not intend harm, but you can still do it, as Baylor reminds us. And that evil lives in the mundane. And that evil lives in the mundane. And people look past it. People who are doing evil things don't always think they're doing something bad. Egg didn't think he was doing something bad. Maybe, maybe not. Right? But that still means you're

capable of it. Same as with Aryan, right? Or that the person, you know, that you say that many people will say, oh, but he's such a promising young man. That's the interactions you have with him. That doesn't mean that he isn't a rapist. I'm talking about Brock Turner here, right? Like, that's the, I think that's a little bit of what Smith was channeling, which is talking about rich kid with wealthy lawyers. Right? It's the person who lives next door or people are like, wow, I couldn't have ever thought that this guy was keeping people in their basement.

He's so nice, right? And like those people who were biking past Brock Turner, they didn't do ortho-brackens like, oh, this isn't my cause, right? Yeah. It wasn't about them, but they still stopped. And so I think that that's also a reminder that just as evil, evil can be every day in commonplace and we need to remember that. But also at the same time, so is goodness.

Goodness is also, it can be every day and commonplace. That's what Dunk is there to remind us. But, you know, none of it occurs without effort. Yeah, that's real. Like, goodness and evil. I mean, it's a battle, you know? Both are battling it out on the daily. One.

No, no, you have to be stopped. You have to, no. I thought that's what you wanted. I thought you wanted us to quote it all the time, Chloe. Oh my God. Yeah, I think Ariens doing a great job and I think that

I think so. The other issue you run into like in a meta sense is you're never going to be able to recapture the lightning and the bottle of a Joffrey. Right? Like he was his own thing.

Jack Gleason was his own thing with Joffrey. Arian and Finn Bennett have to make their own way here as character and they have to get into one another well off. And also not to be crazy but Arian's really not that important in the grand scheme of the

story, like, we go away after this. So, you know, he doesn't need to be the star of the show for the season. There's already a lot of other people that should be the star of the show for the season. He's just an antagonist. Yeah. I think he's doing a fine job. He's a good one. He's doing a great job of representing what he's meant to represent. Yeah. Poor little rich kid. And the entire system that backs the poor little rich kid. Yeah, I mean, him with the walnut, right, was like, that was the obvious like blink and you'll miss it like that's the point right there that you know they're at lord ashford's house and he's showing oh i can make lord ashford get on his hands and knees and find my walnut under the table like a fool like embarrass him humiliate him like a fool

and so that's really interesting right like watching the balance of how he's using humiliation against him and in general how you know macaar has taught his children that Well, it's also, Mekar doesn't stop Arian from doing that in that moment, right? Like, yeah. He doesn't say, no, Lord Ashford, you do not have to get that. Aryan, you go get that walnut. Yeah. Right?

Parent your fucking kids. Like, clean up your fucking toys before we leave to go out to do something. Right. Like, why do you not just say, no, Arian, you should do that. Why are you letting him do this with the walnuts in general? right? Like, why are you letting him display such disdain here in what is actually, like, theoretically, this is a court of law, you know? This is a court that is being held here. And Aryan's just busting everyone's nuts. There's a symbolism there. But also, I will say

as well, you know, props to, I think his name is Paul Hunter, right? Lord Ashford's actor. Yeah, he's doing a great job. Fun portrayal as well. Yeah, I like that he's basically. like how strong for this show? Oh, yeah, a little bit. Yeah. But kind of a little more lighthearted, except for, you know, everything else that's going on. Yeah, it just very much reminds me of like Lionel and not just Lionel,

but then all of the strongs at Heron Hall that are left when Damon is there all series in, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But not Larry's. Not Larry's, different vibe. Different vibe. Yeah, way different vibe that he brings the function. Larry's just there with the rat at the beginning. That's the, that's the theory that he's like bringing into the rats.

Tim. Skin changing. Oh, my God. When you find out that Larry's Targaryen was in episode four of a night of the seven kingdoms, that'll be our YouTube thumbnail. Oh, my God. So I also love when, oh, my God, it was so sad. I was like, no, the horses are out in the rain.

It's probably happened to them a lot. They're probably, like, used to it because they were on the road a lot. And then Dunk being all sad and talking to them. And then Raymond popping out, and he's, like, confused. He's like, are you talking to the horses? And we suddenly realized, wait, not everyone does that because I would do that. But also, I just love that Raymond is always looking at. He's always like, are you hungry?

He's always looking out for dunk and if he's hungry. And that, like, really makes me understand Raymond. I'm like, oh, he's allowed to come to, like, you know. The functions. The Asian feasts, yeah. Nice. He understands us. Yeah.

Yeah. You need an eater, you know, like, for every feast, you need people that are bringing the food and people that are eating. Well, he's kind of more even like the mom, you know? Like Asian mom, like, have you eaten? Eat, you haven't eaten enough, you know? I love that. I love that. You know, making sure that you're eating.

No, there is something especially about like immigrant mothers in my life of my friends that are all amazing like that that are just like, you should be eating more. Are you hungry? Yeah. I think of my Yugoslavia and best friend's mom is like that. She's like completely the feeder. She's always feeding. In fact, as children, she would be like, do you guys want food? and she'd come in with like tons of food and my best friend would be like, no, go away mom.

And I'd be like, yes, please stay. I love you. So. Raymond's a real one for that. Looking for connection too. Yeah. I do. In the book, I find that really like sweet.

That entire exchange in the novella is really sweet. So glad they kept it. Food sounded good. They had cider. Very cute. So cute together. Also when they're in the tent and then egg eventually enters. And I do love dunk.

voice stream she's like egg what are you doing here it's like it softens it like really salt egg that's it yeah oh whoa oo-woo so cute no for real cute and also you know we'd be remiss if I didn't just talk about Darren Targaryen for the whole rest of the episode um I love him so much thank you for giving me this I don't know I've only had Darren Targaryen now for four weeks and I can't believe I'm going to have to say goodbye to him eventually yeah yeah They barely gave them to you. You know, if you're into Lady Jane Gray, that was a fun little one-season show they canceled because nothing good happens to me. And he is in that.

Henry Ashton is in that and he plays an excellent role in that. So go watch that. But really would love more Henry Ashton. In fact, I will say I was missing him and we'll come talk about that. But I was missing him in the console scene for the trial. But that said, he was. was great, total scene stealer, this whole episode. That implication that Makar beat the crap out of Darren, basically,

gave him a foot whipping, which is corporal punishment, a method of inflicting pain, but more specifically, humiliation. Unlike where you normally just get flogged, it's meant to, like, just be painful and annoying, and usually delivered with, like, a rod or a lash or a cord. But it was very oddly specific and said a lot to me, especially on the lines of what you've been saying a lot of with Makar as a father, as a failed dad,

he is a failed dad and he has a lot of failed sons and that he is obviously like, you know, he's reactive, not proactive in his parenting. The time to parent Aryan was years ago, not right here at the council taking him out like a fucking mother cat taking him by the scruff of the neck out of the council scene. Like, that was years ago you should have taught him

what he should be saying in front of, other nobility. Like years ago, you should be teaching him these things. Not now as like an 18 year old evil jock. So, and then of course that Darren also like, you know, grown-ass Darren. He's 18. He's in line, you know, for the throne really under Makar. And you have him footwipped as a response to, you know, him losing his brother.

Interesting. Also that like, I just found it like an interesting addition. It made me think of, you know, like the whipping mates that tie. has, for example. And instead of giving him a friend, Darren was actually given the corporal punishment. It makes you kind of think of like, was Darren perhaps also beaten for having weird dreams? Oh. I don't know that like the episode really implies that.

But I think about it and I think about the way that's sort of like behavior and weirdness. is treated. Because this is like normalized, right? Like this foot whipping was very normalized how Darren referred to it as. Like he wasn't referring to it as in like, I'm in so much pain. Oh God. But like, uh, foot whipping. Don't want that again.

That was terrible. Like, not new to him, it felt, which implies the entire family. That's how Mekarre reacts to his children. Yeah. And like it exists within the conversation as well that we were having regarding Dunk and Sir Arlen's relationship. as you were saying regarding the normalization, Arlen, only beating him, I guess, when things were, he did something wrong. But, yeah, it seems as though Maycar didn't know how to be a parent.

And I'm not saying that to excuse him because a lot of people become parents and they don't know how. Yeah. And they still fucking do it anyway. And I think that there's been a reaction. This is a very mad episode, right? I just happened to come back online before. for this and there's been enough of a gap between the airing of the episode and our recording of it that I'm speaking to it. But I guess people very much like Maycar.

Okay, so also, first of all, I was really confused on Friday. I just want people to know. I was confused though. I was like, oh, everyone's talking about like stuff that happens in the next episode. I was like, was the trailer particularly in depth? Even though, as you all heard, Chloe and I discussed when the episode, drops, like, quite in depth. But in the morning, I, like, completely forgot.

And I was like, I don't understand. Like, people seem to know a lot. Was this, like, all into, like, behind the scenes or just a really, again, very in-depth trailer that I didn't watch, and I realized, oh, no. They've just already watched the episode because it's been out. It's not like the episode only drops during the time that I intend to watch it. It's not that they base the whole HBO schedule off of my workday. So, anyways.

Wow. I was confused. But, yeah, it seems as though people like that Maycar seems to know that his sons are just not it. And I get that. And people even being like, people love Stanis. If he was portrayed like Macar, I'm like, it's still, you can dislike your kids, I guess, for that. But I'm like, that was your job. They are like that because of you.

And I just have very little, I think, patience for that. I'm like, Macar, that was your responsibility. in your job, if they are not the people that you think they should have grown up to be, that is a testament to your ability to be their father, especially if it was pretty much all of them that are doing badly. Ag turned out this way in spite of you, not because of you. Like, Ag is actually the- Same with Amen. Yeah, like those are the exceptions to the rules.

And maybe the daughters. Don't forget, the girls are important too. But it seems that Arian and Darren, are both actual responses to his abuse as a father when you think about it. Like the exact two responses, you have Darren, who completely turned in words, non-responsive, like, because of the way his father treats him, and Arian, who is overtly responsive, like could do with toning down his responses. Yeah, why was nothing stopped in regards to Arian? Like, how do you not know?

you know, Darren says he knew that Aryan could be a monster in regards to the way, the story that Ed tells of Aryan coming into his room. Yeah, how do you, yeah, Mekar, how did you not know about this? And what, and that's the truth. He did. He did not. He knew. I mean, look at him in the council.

Yeah, that's true. In the council during the trial, like, he literally, he knows. He knows what Aryan is. Everyone knows. Yeah. Yeah. And even if you can't, like, correct that behavior at 18. it still doesn't mean that you let

Aryan order Lord Ashford to get that nut. This is the shit Baylor is like you look bad at. This is the shit making you guys look bad. Yeah. That's why Baylor's so mad at like everything that's happening.

And like, Maycar could have at the very least been like no Lord Ashford. You do not need to get that. Even if no one else gets it, he could have at least said you don't need to get that. But the fact of the matter is he also finds, that Lord Ashford is beneath him and that's where Aryan gets this attitude from.

That's true. And why Aryan is this way. It is, you are the father, Makar, you are the father. Yeah. Now, all that said, all of them. I absolutely love Makar. Like, all of that said. I love him, so.

I think he's doing an amazing job on his performance. And I think they're doing a great job flushing him out as a character. And I think it'll be really interesting to see, therefore, how he delivers the parts of being like, why are you alive and not am later? I think it'll be really interesting. Agreed. I love the prophecy. They changed Darren's description of the prophecy that he gives dunk, though.

I don't know if you noticed because in the novella, he does not have a fire. It is just that the dragon falls and kills, which keeps it very vague and keeps it so that you can puzzle out. It doesn't mean now. Doesn't mean later. But no, they made it very much specific this time that Darren's dream. includes a great fire that kills a great dragon. So I love that. I love the sparks flying behind Darren during this entire scene and like dying in the air behind him.

During that entire discussion with Dunk is super nice. The look for Henry Ashton is great. The sweat on his face, the slight shakes that he has. Darren outsold. It's amazing. It's the best. We love Darren Targaryen. It's very Viseries the first.

Yes, at the bonfire with Allison. To Allison, yes. Yes. I didn't think about that until you pointed that out. Nice. Yeah. Love. Yeah.

Love that. Yeah. I think that was really well done, and it was a great break in the episode. Good to keep the tone kind of rolling. Yeah, I had like always thought that the dream in the Hedgenite, etc., mostly referred. to the death of Baylor, but the fire really changed it. I like that it was always ambiguous that it could be Baylor, but it could be more. Especially in light of Targaryans' interpretations of their dreams, right?

In light of the Targaryens. Yes. Re the Targaryens. This is very small and stupid, but I just really appreciated it when, after they leave the tent, the Fossaways tent. And they're having that talk. it's in the middle of the night. The rain is stopped kind of in that moment or during it's important and everything looks just so lush and green. It makes me think a little bit of Steely Paid being like, but the Elm Tree's alive even though it's night. But also it just

looks nice and it makes me think of this is just a personal feeling. Nothing to do with the episode. I like the feeling, especially during like after a spring or summer rain when you just go out right after and it just feels so so feckoned. Yeah. And that like scent of Petricor, that wet moistness. It's so refreshing. Yeah. Anyway, that's it.

No, I like it too because I think it's great. Again, the Davos cosplay going great for him at the beginning with all that rain pouring down and like the nastiness showing the, um, the severity of the situation. And then how... Shit's bad. Yeah, shit sucks. And then now like, shit has hope again. Yeah.

And you have that great line from Darren. I love this line from Darren. when he's talking about how his dreams come true. And he says, an impressive talent for an unimpressive man, another one of lives, little tragedies. And I'm like,

you're impressive to me, Darren. Every day that you get out of bed is a blessing, and I'm impressed. So, good job, Darren. I love you so much, Darrenian.

Yeah, he's the Elliot Smith of Westrose. You know how I am, though. Like, I have my issues. I love, like, faded lovers, like,

deep, depressive. like internalized, anguished male fail-s-on pathetic characters. Those are like, that's my thing. They really got me on this one. And I can't stop thinking about him. I look at pictures of him all day long. It's like not great.

It's a problem, probably. Oh, okay. That's interesting. I have like four screenshots from the episode that I have pinned in my tabs right now, and I just go back and look at him once in a while. I don't know. My poor little meow, meow. Word.

Love him. Meow, meow. Seriously. Like, Gaius Balter levels of poor little meow Miao going on right now. Red Alert. He's doing his best. It's still, like, not the best.

But he's, he's like, yeah, he's doing better than Aryan, you know. It was cute when Egg was like, no, don't hurt him. I like this one. Yeah. I also like the scene after this of when Pate finds Dunk, he's wandering through the puppet tent, and Dunk is just holding the head of Florian. feels like a very contemplative moment

very much reminds me of in Hamlet Alas, poor York I knew him well That's it Yeah, I really liked that bit where he's like Has the flicker of the memory of Tancel As Florian and I love it

Because I like even before the captions Clocked it, I was like oh, clocked it, it's Tancel But I really liked that And I liked him thinking about that And yeah, very contemplative I like these little moments where the characters can ponder and establish a little bit

we don't get very many of them because there's no fucking time apparently for it. Also love the steely Pate and oak and iron scene. I was just like, big smile, that's my shit, big smile. Dunk finding that his falling star has turned into like this

symbol of doom for him, but Pate being like, no, it's beginnings, like it's summer, it's the elm, the elm is alive, sir. That touched me deeply, it resonated deeply with me, And makes me think, you know, not to talk about Orpheus and Eurydice again, but beat. Orpheus rescuing Eurydice from the underworld by enchanting everyone with his harp music. And he pauses to play a love song at which spot it said in the myth that the first Elm Grove was said to have sprung up.

So the elm is kind of a symbol of the love and not just like love in the very romantic sense of it, but the chivalric love of protecting people, right? Like that elm that he, the elm that he uses as his habitat to harbor him from doing his work, which his work is actually to help people and to make the world better. And like Tanzel being a part of that and him trying to defend her. I don't know. Very beautiful, very beautiful, especially with Pate only charging him a penny.

Only a penny trees amount of cost. Very beautiful. I love it. I love it. I, if I were dunk, honestly, Steely Pate's pep talk and me like, no, it's alive and then remind it. I could do anything. It would have, it would have felt soothed and powerful and been like, thank you.

Thank you so much. Steely Pate. Affirmations are everything. And like, honestly, I'm a sucker for good talk. If you can give me good talk, I might believe in myself again. I get it. I get it. Yeah.

And also, I, it was, it was just like a beautifully. done scene as well with the reveal of the of the shield. It was beautiful too. It looked so good. So nice. It's so nice. I'm like, I kind of want that shield now on me somewhere. I'm like, I'm a tattoo that shit. I'm going to sir, dunk it up. Oh, you can put it under their Kligateen one. I know. I've got the it. Oh, yeah. I've got the itch, bro. So they're related. Yeah. Yeah. I need it. I need it. I love that last episode. You have Steely Pate telling Dunk about how his armor is practical, not pretty.

He's like, you're not going to find pretty shit here, but you're going to be protected. And then we flash after the Pate scene this episode, and we see Stefan in his Fossaway armor, which is very beautiful, very beautiful, right? With the inlaid vines and the apples, it makes me think of, like, Loris's armor and how it's spoken about in Agat. But it's not very practical, right? Like, doesn't look like it can do much protecting,

so you have that pretty versus practical, or as Lenore Dove in Sunrise on the Reaping would say, I like my pretty with a purpose, and some of the pretty armor doesn't have that purpose. That's a good point. He does have very nice-looking armor. That's so true about Stefan Fossway. And that is kind of also interesting in regards to, like,

oak and iron guard me well, like the shield, right? It's both pretty and practical. Two things. Yeah. Only a copper. and that Steely page is like, yeah, I reinforced it for you. For free. But he lets Dunk have some dignity, right?

By giving the charge for that. Yes, exactly. I think that's important. I think that Stefan's actor also coming back to him, his armor and the Fossways. Honestly, very big props to him, too. Like, I think that he, like, did such a good job delivering with conviction, everything in the tent about, you know, emphasizing finding, I'm going to find you more people

I have friends, we're going to back you, emphasizing how like dunk you lived by your vows, you have honor and he goes, you shan't die under my watch sir. It feels so good. He does it so well. Edward Ashley, I guess, is his name. Which only makes the betrayal so much deeper in that

moment when he's like, you're going to need to find five. And then Raymond like pauses. And you can see it. You can see that he immediately knows what that might mean, but he's waiting for Stefan to fucking say it. And everyone else's reaction is perfect too, and Seven's like saying, yeah, fighting for the other side, like Lionel's face is like, what the fuck? You are lower than dirt. And again, this is something that we discussed during our coverage of the Hedge Knight. This is very reminiscent of some of the motivations

behind the Blackfire rebellion, where we'll see that there were a lot of people who backed Damon Blackfire because, A, they wanted to. to fight Dornish people and weren't super jazz that they couldn't anymore, but also you know, had they had they won, they had the chance of attaining lordships despite the fact

that they were not that. Yeah, well, and I love that drop too when he mentions glory. Like, if there's glory to be gotten, then I will go for it to dunk because that's your big nod that he's going to betray, that he's about to totally betray.

Like, that, oh, if there's glory, in it. Well, there is really no glory in dunk side. Think about it. Yeah. There's no glory in what he has to do. I'm trying to understand. Well, that's the thing. Like, he even doesn't even value glory. He just values, I don't know, climbing up the ladder because as you said,

I was like, it's not really that gloriful, right? To be on the other side. That's like a way worse song. I guess you would even say I did warn you not to trust me, didn't I? Kind of moment. Oh. You know, this is the little finger betrayal. Yeah. I mean, he

by saying all that. Like if you listen to his speech, between the lines, you're like, oh, you don't give a shit about me, bro. You don't give a shit about people or this cause. Out for himself. Out for himself. But no, very well done scene. And I wish we had more time with Stefan in a couple ways, like maybe another scene with him

and Raymond that could help really cement this because I think it could have done a lot of heavy lifting with that in mind. And I wish we had had some intro scenes with the other fighters. Eagle Eye folks have pointed out the Beesbury guy is actually in episode one he's dancing in the Barathean tent when everybody is shirtless and dancing around and singing

he's sweaty and singing and he has this yellow shirt on but really missing out on the going for people's support I think that really could have only added to the effort of kind of this like rag tag crew of underdogs right like when you get to who the seven are outside of Lionel and Baylor, these are all red shirts.

They're people that can just, like, die, which two of them do. Three of them do, now that I say it, but they're all red shirts. They're not important people. I mean, so much so that you're knighting Raymond right before in order to get him in, like, it's not supposed to be a team of winners, right? Like, you're going up against the Kingsguard. You're going up against all these, like, hardcore people in the joust that we've seen already show off previously.

So, I don't know, it'd be nice to have kind of some, you know, some showing and telling of that to get you with it. And I say that and we'll come into this soon as well. You know, I think there's maybe some pacing and next episode is going to be a little experimental it looks like with some flashbacks, which is fine. We like a few dunk childhood flashbacks. But realistically, we're at like six pages left in the novella at the end of this chapter. So you have to make some shit up for episode five and then have the finale be that kind of come down and that depression and the funeral. And like, I see how you make 30 minutes out of the finale.

I don't see how you make 30 minutes out of the next episode with where we left it. And I think we could have pushed, you know, I'm not saying a whole episode's worth, but I think if we just put like five minutes more on each of these episodes, it would help with that. Yeah. But I mean, I can't. I guess I, it doesn't matter because we aren't going to. So, so whatever, but. Yeah. I agree, though.

Like, I do wish, because I, I don't know, maybe just because it was probably like the fifth or tenth time ever at the hedge night. I was like, I feel really connected. I feel really connected to these people who are fighting for dunk. Yeah, and there's none of that in the show. And I didn't feel that way. This other than. Yeah. I would trade the, no, I don't.

know that I would. I was going to say, I'd trade twink lionel scenes if it meant we got more, but I'm like, no, no, I wouldn't. I wouldn't trade that if that's the trade-off. That's a bad trade-off. There's so many fanficks now. Like, that's like stimulating the economy. That's making jobs. Amen. Oh, my God. And I do love when, when Lord Ashford is like, all right, so y'all got your people. And he's like, no, I don't. And Dunk says, my lord, I beg a moment, please, to go to try and find more people to fight for him. Because Lord Ashford, he knows this is unjust. He's not like, all right,

uh, no, you didn't have people in time. He says, okay, go go try and make it work. Because otherwise, you know, a man gonna be maimed and for what? Yeah, I like that there is a little bit of all of these lords and the small folk remembering

that like, Dunk is maybe closer to them than they think about. Even Ashford, after he was treated like shit by Arian. He's like, yeah. Take your minute. I'm not going to loose the dogs on you yet. Yeah, take the time you need. Truly phenomenal work, though.

Like, this is, there was a great buildup. Despite them using the Are There No True Knights Among You in marketing, which to me, again, not to get too meta, but that really bugged me. I get it, but that's such a big moment, and the buildup to get there is so important. And, like, using it in marketing felt unearned. But here, it felt very earned. I guess I don't mind like the bracken fart that much. Nothing.

I feel like thankfully you had the big moments to carry this scene because it could have been done better in some aspects. However, it was still moving, still had me hype. I felt that it really earned the reinsertion of the Game of Thrones, the newly composed Game of Thrones intro that they used. So I don't know. Yeah. I mean like I did really love still.

I think it still worked, but also, as you know, I didn't watch too much or the trailers that often. I watched it maybe once. With the Are There No True Nights Among You? Because, you know, I want to experience it in the moment. But, yeah, Peter Claffey's delivery almost as good as when you had to hear me fucking yell it in your ears. Chloe, I'm sorry, I didn't mute my mic for that. I guess I should have or could have. The fart from Otho Bracken, I don't know.

I don't really care. I will say it is peak medieval land fun time world. And by that I mean that actually more or less does happen in medieval land fun time world. And I'm not saying that Ira Parker was inspired by medieval land fun time world and our Coachella, Ash returny stuff. But I'm not saying that. And does he want to come on the podcast? So we can just talk about medieval land fun time world. I think we could do a, I think we could do a minisone about it.

Me and Ira Parker. And I can see why, so part of the speech is that they change it out from how it's delivered in the short story of a, he's not calling out the individual knights. And I think that was a good, that was a stronger choice. And also especially him saying like, this is what you're going to pass down to your sons. Because as we've been saying, like, Maycor, what the fuck have you passed down to your sons? I don't know, bro. I did love that. It also might have felt too much like Lord drops.

But I did miss him calling out Sir Otho Bracken since as we pointed out in the short story like Otho basically says like I know you not. And I feel like that matters greatly to the themes. I

wish they would have had the lords doing it even if it was too much. If they weren't going to amp up the actual lords on his team, I think it would have been great to bring every lord that we'd already seen in those tiny moments to just be like, what, why is it? Even if it's not like a direct back and forth, I would have said yes. Yeah.

I think they should have done it. I think it would have built up for the moment. I think it would have been a great nod to those actors that had been cast and only had a few small moments already also. And I think it would have built up. But I will say that kind of they're positioning it and showing the reaction from the sex worker, however, was. a good trade off there and having her feeling as she sits in a crowd where she's trying to gain

legitimization to be seen as a person by these people that she's sitting in the fucking box with them in the like highborn box escorting one of these lords and like that she's trying to be seen as a person right never mind that like the people that make the shame about it are also the people that require it to exist right like she's the one that is looking for it but so is dunk dunk is on that field now looking for that legitimization himself So like seeing her connect with him and her realizing like, oh, we are the same and I do support you and you're doing it. Like you're doing it in real time on the stage. Wow.

That felt good too. Yeah. I agree with that. And because when I think about it, there's no reason they couldn't have had both. Yeah. I mean, it might have been too long, but also I think they could have made it work. They could have done both. So.

Yeah. And I think the Sir Otho, you're right on that. I think that's like a, I would have liked at least his to be kept in. the fart works, but the fart was his honor, I guess. Yeah, it, I don't care if, like, it took people out of the moment or it was jarring or whatever. I did like his clothes, as we said earlier, but I just think that, so the exchange that he has with Otho Bracken is like, you know, Dong says you're supposed to be just, and he goes, that may be, said the Brutte of Bracken, who at least had the grace to reply, but it is your

cause, not mine. I know you not, boy. and as we discussed in our previous coverage, I think that's pretty important in the themes. It reminds me, again, of, like, Roberts Rebellion, calling upon the alliances, but also, you know, just the need to stand up against, like, the way that the crown's been treating people, right?

And as we're seeing, like, this abuse of power, and it's a cause that inspires egg later on, and therefore makes a lot of people not, like, egg, probably, I assume, Yeah. Some other things might have happened. We don't know now based off of some of these prophecies, but also like, I just think it's important in terms of, as we were discussing earlier, evil might be every day, but so is goodness. And it's an idea that each of our causes, our rights, our humanity is tied to one another's, that justice is only something that we must like reinforce with one another. Yeah, it can't be just us.

Whoa What if justice is just us? I'm sorry. No, it's perfect. It's perfect. And I also was thinking the same regarding, you know, the modified Game of Thrones theme how it comes in with Baylor there at the end. And I used the, I thought the exact same word too.

And I was like, all right, that was earned. That was earned. It was earned, yeah. And I respect that they waited this far to do it. Like, that says a lot. It says a lot about the legacy of the throne. cinematic universe and also that it seemed to have elements of Targaryen in it.

Like if you listen to it, some of the theme had some of those Targaryen late motifs going on that you hear in like some of Danny's themes or in some of the Hot D themes that carry over. So it was not just the same arrangement that you're used to. And it also goes into this wonderful kind of Spanish guitar arrangement of the song that's kind of more minimalist in the credits. And it was so good. Oh, interesting.

Yeah, yeah. Dornish influenced music. Yeah. Well, which makes it's so perfect for him for Baylor. He's half of Garnish. And I will say, yeah, perfect wrap up to earlier, Aryan saying, well, if it causes just good men, we'll fight for it. Okay, then. Here they are. Here he is.

Here comes the boy. Here comes the Baylor. Hello, Baylor. Welcome. There he is. There he goes. Yeah. Definitely, like I said, Miss Darren being in the council meeting for some of that tension, but I'm also curious if that might be scheduling, right? Because he's in so little of it and maybe it just didn't work out.

Who knows? I wanted some of that tension, though. I mean, the more Targaryans in a room, the better. But that's, like, an expensive paycheck, so I get it. I don't know. And the next thing you know, all of them are. a room and then next thing you know it's a civil war. I don't know. Anything could happen. And, or they're all just locked up there because their brother was like, do not tempt me. I don't know.

Anything could happen. And the scheduling issue is interesting. I hope he's getting great jobs, Henry Ashton. And yeah, I did miss some of the more of the Darren stuff because Darren does push back against some of this trial saying that he would withdraw his accusation, right? But also, there is the recognition that it doesn't matter if he withdraws it, if Arian doesn't withdraw his. And I was kind of thinking about like, how do I feel about Daryon still participating in the trial of seven? Yeah, that was messy.

Messy. Like, that could have been cleaner. It could have been cleaner. Like, he should have at least said he was withdrawing it and still participating maybe. I don't know, because like, on one hand, I'm like, well, you're still in it and upholding the system by doing so. But I know that if he weren't in it, someone else who actually was willing to fight. would have shown up. So at least by being there, he's just taking up an empty slot, I guess,

and making it easier for Duncan because I was like, well, do I think it's weird because he's still upholding the system than I thought about it? I was like, no, no, he's sabotaging it. He's sabotaging it. All right. All right, Darren. Yeah. I would have liked to have him in the council to play that tension because it would have made it neater, I think, in the long run. Having him actually push back on it then would make that tension and that reveal when he comes into the tent with egg a little better too, but is what it is. It is what it is.

But I guess then we wouldn't have had egg being like, no, don't beat him up because Dunk wouldn't know and I guess he was on his side, but whatever. Pleading eye emoji, pleading eye emoji. I do, I'm going to reserve my judgment till the season's out, but obviously we have to get the knight who remembered their vows line. Like, that was a miss this episode.

I think they're going to remix it in the next episode. So there's a lot, again, from what it looks like from the previews, there's going to be some experimental that's going to lead like a quarter to half of the episode against the actual trial because the actual trial can't really last more than 10, 15 minutes. Like, yeah, that's true. So there's going to be some other stuff. We're not going to jump right into the trial. It's not going to be done with all this shit to wait around.

They're going to fluff it a little bit. And that said, that walk up through the small folk and, you know, them all giving him their favor, the seven themselves and the crowd. I missed that. I really wanted that. That felt, I did feel that cut. So I'm guessing we won't get that in totality. But, I don't know, it's something that makes me sad about the 30 minutes set up, right?

Like, the tone seems to be a little inconsistent against the pacing, if that makes sense. I think some of the humor gets lost within the episodes because of that and some of the serious gets lost in the lightness. Some is really well done in fine. I think the Darren bits were really well-paced and the humor was punchy in a few places, but dark and dry. It didn't undercut or overcut in either direction.

But it does make a tone shift hard, which I kind of suspected that to happen anyway. We've discussed it in the past. It's kind of an odd transition from like two or three happy go lucky a knight's tale episodes to all the sudden like, oh, you're in purgatory. You are in hell and it is evil.

So it's a lot to get used to. but I just don't think that the 30-minute episodes give you the breathing time you need. Like there are a lot of really great artistic choices in this episode. The Arlen shrugging at a nighting dunk and not maybe knowing the words or not actually of knighting him or like maybe, et cetera.

We don't know 100%, but basically not knighting dunk versus Raymond being knighted. But like the Raymond getting knighted scene really beautiful for the seven seconds it was on the screen. I hear that. And it was a beautiful way that they filmed it, having Lionel from above.

But it faded out and it was very, it faded into the Arland stuff. And then like it was forgotten for me. It was not, you know, it wasn't given the room to breathe that I think a fine vintage should have. And something about the 30 minute episodes is a constraint to that, in my opinion. You can't let those moments of, you know, nice cinematography kind of take a moment to let the emotion flow. I mean, I'm talking one more small scene, five minutes each episode, and I would have time to enjoy it all. I think that's really it. Yeah.

This episode felt rushed with the amount of content in it compared to what next episode will be. So, we'll see. We'll see. Again, you can't really judge it as a whole yet, but... I think it'll still be good as a whole, but agreed. Like, I think I would like, as you said, more of that breathing room and time. Like, it's fine for me. I don't mind that it's not a movie.

I'm fine with it being a mini-series, but just, as you said, give me a little more. We have the technology, like in a very literal sense. We're not just trying to stick to certain time schedules. HBO has never been bound by that in the same way. So like, just do it, just do it.

Five minutes, that's all I'm asking for. It's not a lot. It's not a lot. Yeah, you're right. I do miss the scene of like everyone. Hopefully they find a way to do. do it where everyone does give him their favors

and a knight who remembered his vows because that's the heart of it. Yeah. I mean, that's a story. Yeah. Like, there are two big lines from this one is are there no true knights among you?

And the other is a knight who remembered his vows. Like, if they don't have it in there, that will be my only cat. You know, that will be my only cat villain origin story. Interesting. I look forward to the beginning of you being more of a villain. That's true.

Maybe I already am one. I feel an imposter syndrome. My God. Overall, great episode, though. I really did love it. Yeah. Yeah. They still nailed it.

They still nailed the scene. They still nailed the no true nights. I still got to watch a Westeros show. You know what I mean? Like, I'm not trying to complain for the sake of of complaining. I just, that's my critique. That's how I feel about it. I mean, again, we're not pitting shows against one another, but I think Hot D smells the roses maybe too much, and Night of the Seven Kingdoms doesn't get to smell it at all. Okay, I like that comparison. I like it.

Hot D could give five minutes to a Night of the Seven Kingdoms, is all I'm saying. Except for the previous season, really definitely needed another... Two episodes? 20 to 80 minutes. Yeah. Well, I mean, they would have to maybe be smarter about what they're giving of those five minutes, which they would not do. Yeah, that's true. Yeah.

Can't wait for poddy season. Wow. Can you believe it's happening this year? People are already having discourse about it now. It's so exhausting. And for a moment, for a moment, people were talking about, I will say, like, bastardy and like things like that. The legality of bastardy? Turns out they were talking about Rainier's children because I was like, whoa.

I don't understand. Why are we, like, backing Damon Blackfire here? You know, like, what do you mean the misogyny? I was like, Damon Blackfire's campaign was misogyny. Well, except for the Dana. No, that's not true. The Dana, the defiant part is not, you know, the claim flowing from there. But I was like, oh, what's happening?

Turns out it was about Rainier's kids. I just was so confused as to why that was the discourse when this is the current show. So that's all. Oh, you know how it is. People that hate Hot D love to come out of the woodwork during this. They love to. They really do. I'm seeing a lot of it.

I love both because I'm superior. Yeah, Chloe and I are just, we're just enjoying life. We're enjoying. I'm too old for all that. I actually am, like, you know. If I'm being honest about my age, I actually am. I'm tired. I'm tired.

I'm like Lady Stoneheart and she should just rest a little. You know, I'm so tired. It would totally help with those fine lines down her cheek. Oh, wait, those are scars. Just kidding. She just needs some niacinamide. Get her on Tret, you know, Tretto-Nohen. Give her a laser treatment.

Oh, she's red masking today. The Rolour. Oh, the Red God masking. Oh, my God. Incredible. Well, that is it for us for this week. You guys can attend via the A-Swaff Spa with us

if you want. Kick back, relax, listen to all of our episodes while you get your Red Rallor mask on over at patreon.com slash girls gone canon. C-A-N-O-N-N. You can find it all there. Or subscribe to us on your favorite platform. Leave us some likes, some

follows, some comments. We'd love to hear from you. Thanks for listening. And we will be back next week with episode five of a Night of the Seven Kingdoms. I've been one of your host, Chloe. Big fun. Bye. I've been another one of your hosts, Eliana.

Burr, bur, I just wanted to go out like Baylor. Okay, you want to go out like Baylor? I feel like I am every single day. I feel like I'm being in that every single day. All right, goodbye. Goodbye.