Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 284

Bring Light to the Dark with This New Disney RPG-Style Game, Available for Pre-Order Today

Ravensburger is no stranger to Disney. The games publisher has made a mark on the world of trading card games with Disney Lorcana, which first launched in August of last year. Before that, there was Disney Villainous. This time, the game company is combining Disney with RPG-style gameplay in Chronicles of Light: Darkness Falls (Disney Edition). The tabletop game will feature Disney and Pixar heroines joining forces to conquer a darkness threatening the world. This new Disney game is an immersive adventure that combines roleplaying, storytelling, and cooperation. All of that comes in an approachable board game package.

Ravensburger

The game’s cover art shows Disney heroines Maid Marian, Belle, Moana, and Violet. We do not see enough of Maid Marian from Robin Hood, and I’m happy to see her here wielding a badminton racket like a weapon. We don’t know too much about Chronicles of Light: Darkness Falls, but here’s a brief description from Ravensburger:

In Chronicles of Light: Darkness Falls (Disney Edition), players work together to form dynamic alliances of Disney and Pixar heroines, including Moana (Moana), Violet (The Incredibles), Maid Marian (Robin Hood) and Belle (Beauty and the Beast). Materializing as radiant crystal versions summoned into the realm, the heroines drive back shadows of infamous Disney Villains and restore the Realm of Light. Along the way, the team explores a brand-new illustrated world and encounters familiar characters, items, and creatures on their quests. Fully designed and illustrated by women, the game’s diverse missions and modular board generate new adventures every time it’s played.

Ravensburger recommends the game for four players ages eight and up.

We look forward to seeing more illustrations and discovering more about the gameplay.

Chronicles of Light: Darkness Falls (Disney Edition) is now available for pre-order at Target.com. It will then be available for purchase at Target and hobby stores nationwide on July 21. The MSRP is $29.99.

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The Thematic Connection Between HOUSE OF THE DRAGON’s Rhaenys and Ned Stark

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“A war is like to be fought over this treachery, to be sure. But that war is not mine to begin.”

Princess Rhaenys refused to kill the Greens in House of the Dragon‘s first season during Aegon’s coronation. She justified her inaction by saying the coming Targaryen civil war was not hers to start. It was (at best) a frustrating moment that immediately seemed like a mistake. Yet it wasn’t totally out of line for Eve Best’s character. The Queen Who Never Was did not wish for fire and blood to consume the Realm. Rhaenys was a decent, wise person who knew what a war of dragons would mean. But being a good person did not save her during the Battle at Rook’s Rest, where the very people she spared at the Dragonpit killed her.

Rhaenys’ demise gets to the very core of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, a story about what it means to lead that asks if it’s even possible to be both a good person and a good ruler. And like Rhaenys, Ned Stark also paid with his life to learn why you can’t on Game of Thrones.

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The kind, insightful Rhaenys was a fearsome warrior who did her best to avoid combat if she could. She was a keen observer of people who also recognized the pitfalls of power and glory. Like Ned Stark, Rhaenys was everything you’d want in a leader, and though she never got to rule, she was a huge and steadying influence over many who did. Rhaenyra had no greater ally than Rhaenys, the very best of House Targaryen. Westeros was lucky to have her.

And what was Rhaenys’ reward for being a good, decent, honorable person on House of the Dragon? Her own kin, the very same people she let live, killed her. Being the best Targaryen in a Targaryen civil war wasn’t enough to keep her safe. But once she entered the war, that was all but inevitable. Rhaenys ultimately supported Rhaenyra in the Queen’s fight for the Iron Throne and went to war on Rhaenyra’s behalf. There were only two outcomes once she did. As Cersei Lannister will tell Ned Stark two hundred years later, “When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die.”

HBO

Ned Stark will die in Game of Thrones, same as Rhaenys does in House of the Dragon. And for the same reason. He tried to be a good person in a world that often demands you be ruthless. The Lord of Winterfell learned the terrible secret that Cersei’s children were not King Robert’s kids. But rather than arrest Cersei and her brother Jaime, Ned infamously told the Queen what he knew. He wanted to give her a chance to flee with her children, lest Robert kill them all. Eddard Stark did the noble, decent thing, just as he always did. His reward for being good was losing his head.

A Song of Ice and Fire is a story about what it means to be a good leader. The demands of power rarely lend themselves to being a good person because being decent and “winning” are rarely compatible.

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That’s a lesson Jon Snow, who survived the game of thrones, learned over eight seasons in which he was constantly forced to choose between doing what was “good” and what was “necessary.” Jon needed to “kill the boy” he was and accept the hard responsibilities of ruling, just as Maester Aemon told him. Those responsibilities were often unthinkable, like when Jon didn’t want to behead Olly. Executing a child certainly wasn’t something any decent person would do. It was something the Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch was forced to do.

Jon was a decent, noble person like the man who raised him, but Jon didn’t make the same mistakes Ned did. He adapted to the world around him, and he accepted his duties, even the ones that went against his very nature. Neither Ned Stark, nor Rhaenys were able to do this and so they seemingly sentenced themselves to death in respective Game of Thrones stories.

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If Ned Stark hadn’t been so kind and noble to Cersei, he would have lived. If Rhaenys had burned the Greens at the Dragonpit, she would never have had to fight at Rook’s Rest. Who was wrong, though: Ned Stark and Rhaenys, or the world? Can we really fault people for doing the “right” thing even in a world that can be so evil? The answer, as it so often is in A Song of Ice and Fire, is not an easy one. Their goodness was commendable, and the world would be better if everyone was like Ned Stark and Rhaenys. Yet ultimately, their good actions were not good for them, their families, their allies, or even the Realm. Their decency led to war and countless more bloodshed.

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Rhaenys was wise and temperate. She was good. And now she’s dead on House of the Dragon, and the very fire and blood she tried to prevent from happening will consume the Realm. Too bad that good Ned Stark didn’t learn from Rhaenys’ mistakes.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist and #1 Ned Stark super fan. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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HOUSE OF THE DRAGON Season 2, Episode 5 Trailer Reveals Gruesome Fates and War’s Consequences

Things are in a bit of disarray on both sides of the Targaryen civil war after House of the Dragon season two, episode four. And the trailer for House of the Dragon season two, episode five, highlights many of the reasons why. So if you haven’t seen the latest episode of the series, look away. And definitely don’t hit play on House of the Dragon season two, episode five’s trailer. War has arrived in earnest now, and it takes many shapes. But which of these paths will bring victory? We’ll just have to wait and see.

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You can watch the full trailer for House of the Dragon season two, episode five, below.

The Battle at Rook’s Rest shook the world of House of the Dragon. On Rhaenyra’s side of things, a dragon and valuable ally was lost, as Rhaenys Targaryen and her dragon Meleys, were killed in the skirmish, taken out by Aegon Targaryen and his dragon Vhagar. Of course, the surprise appearance of King Aegon didn’t end well for the Greens either. Now, the King appears to be struggling for his life, even as he is lauded as a dragon-killing hero in the trailer for House of the Dragon season two, episode five.

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Then, of course, the House of the Dragon trailer reveals more of Daemon who is continuing his eerie stay at Harrenhal and seemingly becoming obsessed with the idea of his own potential claim to the throne anew. That’s not good news for any side of the war.

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Even House of the Dragon‘s dastardly Crison Cole admits in the episode five trailer that “what we must do now is terrible.” What could make even the worst character ever murmur those words? We’ll find out when House of the Dragon season two, episode five, airs on July 13 at 9 PM on HBO and Max. You can check out more details about House of the Dragon season two’s full release schedule here. In the meanwhile, we’ll be pondering just how many ways there are to win a war.

As this trailer suggests, we bet none of them will end well on House of the Dragon.

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The ARKHAM ASYLUM Series Will Not Move Forward at Max

We’re going to have to cancel our visitor’s pass for Gotham City’s most notorious mental hospital. Via Variety, we’ve learned that the Max streaming service is not moving forward with the proposed Arkham Asylum series, which was formally announced back in late 2022. This would have been the first Batman-centric series set in James Gunn’s new DCU, not in The Batman universe, like the upcoming Penguin series. Antonio Campos was developing the series, which originally began as part of Matt Reeves’ universe, before switching gears. Apparently, DC Studios and Warner Bros. have not ruled out another take on the Arkham Asylum series in the future.

DC Comics

This series has gone through several permutations since 2020. Originally, it was a show about the Gotham P.D. That evolved into a show about Arkham Asylum itself, where Gotham City’s most mentally deranged criminals reside. So basically every Batman foe not named Catwoman or Ra’s al Ghul. Creators like Terrance Winter and Joe Barton came in to develop the project, but both left over creative differences. The last iteration from Antonio Campos was described as a “horror movie or haunted house that is Arkham.” That sounds pretty cool to us.

If we were to guess why they’ve stopped development on Arkham Asylum, it might have to do with the DCU setting. If DC Studios has yet to introduce their Batman, how do you introduce his main villains first on another series? Whoever the director may be for Batman: Brave and the Bold might want a say in who will play their version of the Joker. Or Poison Ivy, or any other famous Arkham inmates. More than anything, this may be the hold-up on progress for Arkham Asylum. However, we think an Arkham-based series will see the light of day at some point. We’re just going to have to wait a bit longer.

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THE RINGS OF POWER Season 2 Brings Villains Into the Light

Season one of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power introduced us to numerous societies and heroes of Middle-earth and beyond. The Dwarves in Khazad-dûm discovering mithril. The Elves in Lindon trying to ensure the survival of their race, with a master smith turning to outside help to do so. The Harfoots ending a long journey with a strange wizard, and one of them stepping on a new path. The Númenóreans answering Galadriel’s call to war and accidentally contributing to the rise of Mordor. The Southlanders losing their home. All separate groups and separate lives then, but with Sauron’s return, season two shows they will be separate no longer.

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“As the season goes on, [we’ll start to realize] that this is not a story about several different worlds. This is a story about one world, and Sauron is the spine that connects all of it,” co-showrunner Patrick McKay said in a conference room adjacent to the show’s sets, surrounded by concept art and location models for the upcoming season.

Nerdist joined a group of journalists on The Rings of Power season two set in spring 2023. The crew had been shooting since October, over London’s dreary winter. Normally, production designer Kristian Milsted explained, you want to avoid filming in London during that time. But in this case, the gloomy cold and landscapes with dead trees suited the darker universe they’re establishing in season two. A season, executive producer Lindsey Weber said, that is more about villains. “Sauron is out and about and the people of Middle-earth are having to confront the fact that he’s back. Stakes are increasingly high, so the storytelling by its nature is a bit different. It’s certainly more intense.”

Season one of the fantasy series ended with Galadriel learning her friend Halbrand was actually Sauron, and that he’d returned to a place of power, in no small part, because of her actions. He traveled to the newly established Mordor. Gennifer Hutchison, who wrote the season one finale and the season two premiere, said there’s not a large passage of time between the two seasons. We’ll pick up not long after where season one wrapped. But first, a flashback.

The Opening of The Rings of Power Season TwoPrime Video

Showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay gleefully painted a picture of the beginning of season two. It starts with the ice fortress Galadriel visited in the season one premiere. When Galadriel and her forces entered the fortress, it was desolate. The only presence was evil and a snow troll. That was not always the case. Payne set the stage, “We open in the darkness. An orc is walking in, and we see there are thousands of orcs gathered here. And we see that it’s not ruined and cracked…”

The rest, well, it’s too full of spoilers to share. But know that we’ll see a key part of Sauron’s trajectory, as well as his complicated history with Adar. This will show us how Sauron came to the Halbrand guise, as well as how he came to meet Galadriel on the ocean.

Galadriel Reckoning with Her ChoicesPrime Video

That beginning will re-contextualize season one, in terms of Sauron and Galadriel’s relationship. It will show where he was emotionally. He manipulated her and ultimately used her to access the Elves, but season one didn’t end exactly as Sauron hoped. He left Eregion with no allies, no army, no resources.

Payne said, “Season one was all about the heroes, and about setting the table with Galadriel, and with the Dwarves, and Númenor, and with the Southlanders. Season two is going to be all about the villains, and specifically, all about Sauron. And we’re going to watch as he uses deception, manipulation, lies, coercion, cunning, to start to set the chess pieces in motion, where he is going to go to this person over here, and set this group against that group over there. And start using people’s inherent trusts and mistrusts and fears against them, to start to set up the situations that are all beneficial to him.”

As we’ve since learned about season two, Sauron adapts the guise of Annatar, which means “Lord of Gifts.” His visage has become fair, more elf-like. We saw him get under Galadriel’s skin in season one, and now he’s going to do it with everyone. “Sauron’s able to take the things that you want to do that are good, and turn those against you,” Payne said. “It’s the ring personified. Literally, the ring offers you ultimate power. And when you give someone power, you see what’s really inside them. Because you see, ‘What would they will into being if they could will anything into being?’ And so when you see Sauron having relationships with people, he doesn’t have normal relationships, because he empowers them.”

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Beyond Sauron and his obvious darkness, individuals have to reckon with the possible evil inside of themselves—like Galadriel. Payne said, “Galadriel made some pretty questionable choices in season one, and really empowered the Dark Lord to really rise from nothing on the rafts, to being at the point where he could, as Patrick said, have access to some of the big power players in Middle-earth. She’s got to deal with that in season two. Her friends might look at her differently and not trust her as much, and then she has to really come to terms with that.”

McKay continued, “What does it mean for the rest of the elves? How does Elrond feel about that? Elrond loves her and trusted her, and was worried about her, and everything he feared came true. That’s a lot worse, potentially. So what’s going to happen when he finds that out? But we’re talking a lot about darkness and horribleness and misery, and that’s all a part of it. Tolkien takes you there. But the other thing that we really love about Tolkien in this material is that there’s hope everywhere too. And we know there’s an unnamed wizard heading out to parts unknown, and exploring huge parts of the map we’ve never seen before on-screen. Or even in the books, only talked about in myth and rumor, perhaps that destiny is going to tie back into the rise of Sauron over here.”

The Adar of It AllRoss Ferguson/Prime Video

The season two opening makes Adar an even more intriguing character. In season one, we saw him leading the orcs in season one and demonstrating compassion for them. Payne explained, “Adar is in an interesting and sort of vulnerable place. He just made Mordor and is the father of this entire orc nation. But when you do that, you also get a target on your back. You have a lot of land to protect now. And his ambitions aren’t over yet. His desire to make sure his children are safe is stronger than ever. But now, there’s other forces that… He’s on their radar. Before, he was going below it all. And there’s the Elves that know he’s there now. There’s Sauron that knows he’s there.”

Besides showing Adar’s current power struggle, season two of The Rings of Power will go deeper into his character. McKay said, “We know that he’s one of the first orcs. How did he become that way? And why? What does he really want? And how is his journey to pursue that going to test and twist him even further than he might already be?”

The trauma from season one is coming back to touch all of Middle-earth. Darkness is arriving for everyone.

The Rings of Power season two premieres on Prime Video on August 29.

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Skydance Secures Deal to Buy Majority Stake in Paramount Global

We love it when companies buy each other, don’t we folks? We can all agree Disney buying 900 things has been great for the entertainment landscape, consumerism, and society as a whole. Why yes, I am being sarcastic. But we live in a capitalist hellscape and this kind of thing will keep happening. Case in point, we now have David Ellison’s Skydance Media reaching an agreement with Shari Redstone to buy out her majority stake in National Amusements, which in turn gives them control over all of Paramount Global, including Paramount film and TV studios, Paramount+, CBS, and cable channels like Nickelodeon, MTV and Comedy Central.

Paramount

We saw the news via The Hollywood Reporter. The buyout is still pending regulators’ okay, but assuming all goes through, Ellison would become the CEO of Paramount, with former NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell (currently working for RedBird Capital, one of the financiers of the deal) taking over as president. Evidently the months-long speculation over whether the Skydance/Paramount deal would happen depended on kicking enough benefit to other shareholders besides Redstone. Rich people need to make sure they get more rich, after all.

This kind of thing sucks, but as I said, it’s bound to keep happening. How this will change things like Paramount+’s rates or programming, or whether the cable networks will keep operating as they are, will shake out in the near future. Hopefully they don’t prematurely cancel Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. That’d be worst case scenario for old Kyle Anderson.

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.

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Norman Reedus Wants to Play THE WALKING DEAD’s Daryl Dixon in Future Spinoffs

The Walking Dead is over but, as we know, the end of the flagship series that’s been in fans’ hearts for over a decade doesn’t mean this world is done. The show already has six spinoff series: Fear the Walking Dead, Tales of the Walking Dead, The Walking Dead: World Beyond, The Walking Dead: Dead City, The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, and The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon. Most of them are completed; however, there’s a couple that are continuing this franchise with more seasons.

While The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live gave Rick and Michonne Grimes a happy reunion with their kids, other major characters’ new adventures are just beginning. Daryl Dixon is coming back for a second and third season of his spinoff series. And, if Norman Reedus has anything to do with it, he will be playing the character for many years to come.

“The Daryl Dixon spin-off has given me an opportunity to take the show in a direction that’s different to the original show,” Reedus told IGN. “I didn’t want to make the same show again in a different location. I wanted to reinvent it. And they let me, with the other like-minded people involved, invent something new. So it feels fresh to me. It’s in a different language. It’s shot a different way. It’s not really about zombies, and who’s going to get bit this week, it’s completely different. So as long as I keep reinventing it, it’s fun.”

Jump To: The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol // The Walking Dead: Dead City S2 // TWD Crossover Event

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Season Two – “The Book of Carol” Is Coming in September

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon is gearing up for season two and already has a confirmed season three. But it seems the series might get a fourth round, according to Norman Reedus during a RadioTimes interview. “We’re about to start seasons 3 and possibly 4 in Spain,” he said. “I think I’m allowed to say that. I don’t know. I just said it. But I think we’re going to Spain, to Madrid, for that.”

Season two will release on September 29 with the first of six episodes. It is time to see what Carol will do.

Here are some fresh new images to get you ready for Caryl action:

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You can check out The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon‘s season two teaser below.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, showrunner David Zabel gave fans more insight into season two. He reveals that the Nest is a prominent location in season two and Carol’s previous comment about some mystery person coming back will come into play. “There’s also another clue… this moment in the radio call in episode 5 where she talks about something or someone having come back,” said Zabel. “And the impression we get, and Daryl also gets, is that something’s a little off for her, something’s wrong. And so that’s going to also function into the story for Carol in season 2.”

The Walking Dead: Dead City Season Two Will Arrive in 2025

While this universe is trucking along with Daryl’s adventures, things are slower for Dead City. We’ve known that a second season was coming for a while but didn’t know the release window until now. We will get season two in 2025. Season 1 ended with Maggie trading Negan to get her son Herschel back. Now, Negan is working for The Dama, a dangerous leader in NYC. This next chapter will presumably focus on her organization and Negan’s attempts to escape… if he even wants to do that. Negan no longer has his family and really has no friends either, so he might as well crank up the evil again, right? As long as he stays far away from the Grimes family, I truly don’t care what he does.

Here’s a synopsis for Dead City‘s second season:

In season two, in the growing war for control of Manhattan, Maggie and Negan find themselves trapped on opposite sides. As their paths intertwine, they come to see that the way out for both is more complicated and harrowing than they ever imagined.

Anywho, season two will bring new faces into the mix. Deadline reports that Sons of Anarchy alum Kim Coates will join Dead City‘s cast as Bruegel, the leader of a fierce NYC gang.

The Walking Dead‘s Potential Spinoff Crossover Event and The Ones Who Live‘s Future

As fans know, Rick Grimes was supposed to get three movies, but now it is the limited series alongside Michonne. The Ones Who Live is meant to wrap up their storylines; however, Gimple says there might be more story to tell. “Anything is possible…,” he said to Deadline. “We’re focused on this one right now. But this one came together in a really amazing way, where there were all sorts of plans. And then the world changed and we altered those plans.”

AMC Networks

We obviously know now (and honestly always knew) that Rick did not die in his spinoff. He got to reunite with Judith and meet Rick, Jr., but there are so many reunions that need to happen. Morgan is out there looking for Rick, Daryl will eventually return to the US, and there’s the rest of his found family back home. All signs seem to be pointing to a crossover event, which Gimple wants to happen.

“I do have dreams of merging this all together, and I have laid little breadcrumbs toward that, but you never know exactly when and how [it will come together], because of a variety of reasons,” he told TVLine. As long as The Walking Dead franchise is getting money and attention from fans, it will surely keep making more spinoff content. That’s fine with us but please, please don’t follow the comics and kill Rick Grimes if you bring him back in the future.

With Norman Reedus wanting to play Daryl Dixon for several more years, it wouldn’t be shocking if he crossed into some future spinoff series. I wouldn’t mind a Daryl and Connie miniseries. Perhaps he will somehow come across Maggie and/or Negan in their show. Or, maybe he will be the gateway to introduce us to a new character to follow. A crossover event would likely put him front and center as one of this universe’s leading men.

A lot is happening in The Walking Dead universe and there will surely be more details about other spinoffs if they happen. There’s plenty left to explore in the land of the dead, so let’s keep walking right towards these spinoffs.

Jump To: The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol // The Walking Dead: Dead City S2 // TWD Crossover Event

Originally published on April 7, 2022.

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How HOUSE OF THE DRAGON Brought a Major FIRE & BLOOD Battle to Life

House of the Dragon has finally shown why Westeros remembers the first Targaryen civil war as “The Dance of the Dragons.” Season two’s fourth episode brought to life the infamous moment from Fire & Blood when those creatures first fought one another high above the Realm. The Battle at Rook’s Rest was a brutal, terrifying, impressive sequence that was also a mostly faithful adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s in-world history. But the prequel series did make some meaningful changes, and they will have long term ramifications on House of the Dragon.

[image error]HBOThe Similarities Between House of the Dragon and Fire & Blood‘s “Battle at Rook’s Rest”

House of the Dragon followed the same general story about the “Battle at Rook’s Rest” as told in Fire & Blood. It began when new Hand of the King Criston Cole left behind both King’s Landing and the letter-writing campaign of his predecessor, Otto Hightower, to be Aegon’s “steel fist.”

Cole began by moving his small force swiftly through the Crownlands, the region surrounding King’s Landing that is also close to Dragonstone. The Lord Commander easily took both the castles Rosby and Stokeworth when their namesake lords swore fealty to King Aegon. Those houses’ forces then joined Cole’s army on the march to Duskendale. There the “Kingmaker” beheaded Lord Darklyn who refused to bend the knee. Those at Duskendale who did also joined the new Hand of the King’s army.

HBO

Rather than turn his growing army towards the vital Harrenhal, Cole instead marched towards Rook’s Rest, seat of House Staunton. Lord Staunton, a member of Rhaenyra Targaryen’s small council, tried to stay safe inside his castle’s walls. But the attack on Rook’s Rest was nothing more than a ploy. Cole’s real plan was to draw one of Rhaenyra’s dragons into battle. It worked. Princess Rhaenys and her experienced dragon Meleys came to the rescue. When she arrived she bathed many of Cole’s soldiers in dragonflame.

Rhaenys wasn’t alone in the sky for long. She soon found herself facing two dragons, Aegon’s Sunfyre and Aemond’s Vhagar. The brave Rhaenys refused to flee and led Meleys into a fight for their lives. When the civil war’s first dragon dance ended both Rhaenys and Meleys lay dead, having fallen when Vhagar bit Meleys’ neck.

HBO

It was not a total victory for the Greens. Aegon and Sunfyre also lay greatly wounded on the ground, with both rider and dragon burned and battered.

What House of the Dragon Changed from Fire & Blood‘s “Battle at Rook’s Rest”HBO

While not completely inaccurate, Fire & Blood‘s account of the Dance of the Dragon is notoriously unreliable. (Sometimes in ways we can’t even know that are unknowable or obvious.) That gives House of the Dragon the freedom to tell its own version of the story and fill in gaps without technically “changing” anything. But the HBO series still made some choices that are clearly different from the history presented in Fire & Blood.

House of the Dragon‘s Aegon Almost Screws Up the PlanHBO

One of House of the Dragon‘s biggest changes at Rook’s Rest was Aegon’s role in the battle. The King was not part of Cole’s plan like in Fire & Blood. On the show the rash, impetuous King, determined to prove his worth to his family and small council, flew off to the invasion alone atop Sunfyre. On House of the Dragon, he forced Cole to call on Aemond and Vhagar much sooner.

This made Cole’s plan on the show less impressive. Having two dragons in hiding is smarter than only one, especially when the Greens had no way of knowing how many dragons Rhaenyra would send. It also changes what we know about Aegon, making him even more of a fool than his book counterpart. But neither of those mean this change was bad or indefensible. It completely fit with the story House of the Dragon is telling about Aegon. He felt weak and unimportant, as his Hand and brother plotted without him. They also had already refused to let him in on their secret plans, as well, lest he interfere needlessly. This scene showed why they were right.

House of the Dragon‘s Aemond Is Not Loyal To His Family HBO

Fire & Blood presents the stern, humorless Aemond as ambitious, but also fiercely loyal to his family. Book Aemond would seemingly never do anything to harm any member of the Greens, no matter how much he wanted to rule. It’s arguably his best trait and adds immense depth to his character in Fire & Blood.

House of the Dragon‘s “Battle at Rook’s Rest” changed what we thought we knew about Aemond. At best he was completely reckless with his brother’s life and at worse actively tried to kill Aegon. Rather than come to his King’s rescue when Meleys had Sunfyre in her grasp, Aemond had Vhagar shoot fire without worry, endangering Aegon’s life. (The nature of Aegon’s role in this sequence also changed that Fire & Blood says all three dragons fought at once.)

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If there was any doubt Aemond wasn’t worried about saving his brother’s life, it looked as though Aemond was about to finish off either Aegon, Sunfyre, or both on the ground before Cole showed up an stopped him.

Aemond hates his brother (with good reason), and that hatred combined with his ambition seemed to push Aemond to a place we didn’t know he could go. He’s still a fascinating, dynamic character, just a different version than Fire & Blood‘s.

Gwayne Hightower Fights at the “Battle at Rook’s Rest”HBO

House of the Dragon has already greatly changed Ser Gwayne Hightower’s story from Fire & Blood. Alicent’s brother was not at Rook’s Rest that faithful day because he was serving as second-in-command of King’s Landings City Watch at the time. His father installed him in that role at the start of the Dance because the Greens feared the City Watch was still loyal to its former Commander, Daemon Targaryen. Gwayne had also already lived at King’s Landing for many years with his family and new Criston Cole for a long time.

A Quick Attack on Rook’s Rest Instead of a SiegeHBO

Fire & Blood tells us that Criston Cole surrounded Rook’s Rest and burned its nearby fields. Lord Staunton then sent ravens to Dragonstone begging for help. Nine days later Rhaenys arrived alone.

House of the Dragon changed this by having Cole attack the castle immediately. Rhaenyra instead preemptively sent Rhaenys atop Meleys to help her sworn bannerman after her other allies had already falle. However, Rhaenyra sensed something about Cole’s movement didn’t make sense, as Rook’s Rest had little obvious value. Despite her sixth sense, Rhaenyra fell for Cole’s trap, losing the Black’s most valuable dragon.

Rhaenyra Keeps Jace Behind to Tell Him About Aegon the Conqueror’s DreamHBO

In Fire & Blood Rhaenyra prevented her sons Jace and Joffrey (no longer at Dragonstone on the HBO show) from joining Rhaenys out of fear for their lives. The history stresses that the death of Luke and the recent loss of her unborn child made Rhaenyra scared to send her other children into battle.

On House of the Dragon Rhaenyra kept Jace behind (at least in part) so she could finally tell her heir about Aegon’s prophetic “A Song of Ice and Fire” dream about the inevitable White Walker invasion. She also cited that responsibility as part of her reason for finally unleashing dragons on her enemies, but no one else knows that but her son.

What the “Battle at Rook’s Rest” Means for House of the DragonHBO

No matter his reason for being there, Aegon is either dead or badly wounded. That calls into question how many people supporting his claim will still back the Greens now. Alicent’s callousness towards her son also contributed to him flying off into battle, another tragedy she will now have to live with. How much guilt and pain can she withstand?

Meanwhile, Aemond might have just tried to steal the crown (and possibly did), showing he’s not the loyal family member history remembers him as. With little Prince Jaehaerys dead (and the show omitting Aegon’s youngest son Maelor entirely) Aemond would likely be named King if Aegon died. What other treachery is Aemond One-Eye capable of? What might he do to rule? Can anyone trust him if he would willingly maim his own brother and king?

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Things are even more dire for Rhaenyra. She lost her wisest adviser and biggest advocate. She also lost her best, most experienced fighting dragon and her allies in the crownlands. Rhaenyra also allowed Rhaenys to go off to battle alone while keeping her son and his dragon safely on Dragonstone. How will Lord Corlys and the rest of the (already frustrated) small council react to this disaster? How much will they trust Rhaenyra’s judgement both as a leader and a person? Where do her loyalties lie? To her sons or to her kingdom?

HBOWho Won the “Battle at Rook’s Rest?”

The Blacks lost the “Battle at Rook’s Rest” in more ways than one. But the Greens did not win that day. Each side suffered losses that will shape the future of the Targaryen civil war on House of the Dragon. Unfortunately it seems unlikely either faction will learn the one lesson they should have when dragons met high above the Realm, because the dancing has only just begun.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist and the world’s leading Criston Cole hater. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post How HOUSE OF THE DRAGON Brought a Major FIRE & BLOOD Battle to Life appeared first on Nerdist.

Homelander and Sister Sage’s Supe Plans Are Darker Than We Imagined on THE BOYS

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Many villains are at play in The Boys season four. But episode six solidified one fact: Sister Sage and Homelander are one hell of an evil duo. Homelander continues to distance himself further from any shreds of humanity still in his superpowered body as he works to put supes and billionaires in complete power. He is also strong-arming Victoria Neuman into forcing billionaires to commit treason and create a 25th Amendment situation (i.e. if the President dies, the VP becomes President). This would create a world where supes rule without oversight. But, until now, we weren’t quite sure why Sister Sage was so invested in helping Homelander advance his plans. 

Sister Sage’s Family Tragedy Led to Her Hate all HumansJasper Savage/Prime Video

Sage, Homelander, and Victoria Neuman all attend Tek Knight’s alt-right shindig at his estate. While he’s off in the Tek Cave being a wild dude, Sage and Victoria have a conversation. Sage reveals her grandmother was diagnosed with Stage 3 leukemia. She said the doctors didn’t care to save “some old ex-Black Panther,” so Sage came up with a cure. She gave the research to them and they brushed her off. Her grandmother later died in pain.

Sage says she could cure cancer, reverse global warming, and more, but she believes there is no point because humans are animals. She uses this story to appeal to Victoria, saying they both understand living in a world where they are ignored. Sage encourages her to take power by getting one hand in the enemies’ pockets while slitting their throat with the other. Oof. 

If I were a billionaire and a group of supes—including one with the power to laser my head off and another that can pop my skull—asked me to be part of their coup plans, I’d have to consider it. The billionaires push back on a few very valid issues (how to handle the military, stock markets, etc.) but Victoria uses her cunning to sway them in her favor. (Sister Sage was dealing with temporary brain damage courtesy of MM shooting her in the head.) They all seem in favor of supporting her but it remains to be seen if that holds up.

Sage and Homelander Want to Create Internment Camps for Humans (and Anti-Supe Folks)Jasper Savage/Prime Video

In this episode, we also discover Sage and Homelander were working with Tek Knight to create internment camps. Knight’s ancestors owned a large portion of the prison industrial complex, which explains why he is so rich now. He agrees to partner with Sage and Homelander to use those spaces to hold humans as supes take over the world. It’s a bleak plan that sets up the possibility for genocidal activity. The show doesn’t make it clear how much Victoria knows about this plan, but she only cares about herself and her daughter, who is now a supe. I am sure she would be down to do something so vile. 

With Tek Knight dead, Victoria getting billionaires into her pocket, and Sage’s hatred of white men possibly leading to her double crossing Homelander, The Boys is spiraling as season four begins to come to a close.

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THE BOYS Reveals the Truth About Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s Joe Kessler

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The Boys continues to show us the dangers of Compound V and Compound V24 in its fourth season. Hughie’s desperate attempt to save his ailing father ended in disaster in episode five. And, throughout the season, Butcher kept physically spiraling while trying to kill Homelander. He teamed up with a former colleague and friend, Joe Kessler (played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan), earlier in the season to dig into locating and using the supe-killing virus from Gen V to get the job done. The show turned all of this on its head in episode six by revealing that Joe Kessler is actually dead and a figment of Butcher’s imagination in The Boys. The supe-killing virus is also far more unstable and dangerous than we thought. 

Related:

How Gen V Ties Into The Boys Season Four

How The Boys Characters Showed Up in Gen V‘s First Season

Who Is Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s Character Joe Kessler on The Boys?

In this episode, Butcher is still holding Sameer hostage to force him to make more of the virus. He goes out to gather the necessary ingredients needed and also has a long conversation with Joe Kessler about coming home from war. Of course, his visions of Becca continue as she urges him to make a better choice to save Ryan. Towards the end, both Becca and Joe Kessler are speaking to Butcher in a very “angel and devil on shoulders” type of way.

Joe Kessler Is Actually Dead and a Figment of Butcher’s Compound V24-Influenced ImaginationJasper Savage/Prime Video

Becca urges Butcher against genocide (more on that later) while Kessler is ready to kill all supes. Suddenly, Butcher tells Becca to shut up (basically) and Butcher is shocked. We see things for what they are for the first time with Butcher having a full-on conversation with no one. So yes, Joe Kessler is not a living person but the physical representation of Billy Butcher’s dark side, a contrast with Becca’s light. This makes sense considering we never saw Joe Kessler interact with anyone else on the show. We cannot imagine what’s going through Sameer’s mind during his imprisonment. 

Speaking of him, he refuses to make more of the supe-killing virus. Why? Because to make the virus strong enough to kill Homelander, it would become very unstable and potent. It is airborne and highly contagious, which means the supe virus would not only kill the intended person (Homelander) but anyone with Compound V in their veins. That’s likely thousands, if not millions, of people worldwide at this point. Butcher is going to die either way but that puts Kimiko, Starlight, and Ryan, among others. 

What Happened to the Real Joe Kessler in The Boys Universe?

The Joe Kessler apparition reveals the real person died back when they were in the midst of a conflict in the Panjshir Valley. Butcher did not pull Kessler out and save him but instead left him to die, which checks out for good ole Billy. He cannot seem to remember that very real fact and buys into the idea that he’s scheming with his old buddy. The effects of Compound V24 (and that V shot) are taking a major toll on Butcher, indeed. Now, he must deal with his choice to cut off Sameer’s leg and the ramifications that will come from messing with Victoria’s man. 

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