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In this episode of A Cast of Kings, David Chen and Kim Renfro dive into the reaction of House of the Dragon season 2. 

What were the ratings like for this season of House of the Dragon? Did HBO really cut two episodes from the second season in a way that negatively impacted the story? Did Ulf actually have one of the best arcs of season 2? sAren’t Targaryens supposed to be fireproof? Does House of the Dragon have a prophecy problem? Listen to hear us discuss all these questions and more!

Links:

• Email us at acastofkings(AT)gmail(DOT)com
• Subscribe to Decoding TV on YouTube
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• Buy Kim Renfro's book about Game of Thrones
• Subscribe to Jessie Gender on YouTube
• Learn more about Jessie Earl's movie, Identiteaze 
• Follow this podcast on Instagram
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• Subscribe to David’s free newsletter, Decoding Everything

Thanks to our sponsor this week, GhostBed:

• Visit GhostBed.com/castofkings and use the code CASTOFKINGS to save 50% off your purchase sitewide. 

Tune in next week for a season 2 post-mortem, with reactions to your feedback and thoughts! Email us at [email protected] for a chance to be included.

In this episode of A Cast of Kings, David Chen, Jessie Earl, and Kim Renfro dive into House of the Dragon’s eighth episode, “The Queen Who Ever Was.”

Why did this episode make us say “Huh” at the end of it? What did we think of Daemon’s storyline this season? Is it too easy for Rhaenyra and Alicent to see each other? Did we think this was a satisfying conclusion to Criston Cole’s storyline this season? And what did we think of this season as a whole? Listen to hear us discuss all these questions and more!

Links:

• Email us at acastofkings(AT)gmail(DOT)com
• Subscribe to Decoding TV on YouTube
• Follow us on Tiktok
• Buy Kim Renfro's book about Game of Thrones
• Subscribe to Jessie Gender on YouTube
• Learn more about Jessie Earl's movie, Identiteaze 
• Follow this podcast on Instagram
• Follow this podcast on Tiktok
• Subscribe to David’s free newsletter, Decoding Everything

Thanks to our SPONSOR for this episode:
BetterHelp: Visit BetterHelp.com/castofkings today to get 10% off your first month.

In this episode of A Cast of Kings, David Chen and Kim Renfro dive into House of the Dragon’s seventh episode, “The Red Sowing.”

What kind of occupational safety standards exist in the world of Westeros? What do we make of Rhaenyra’s seeming nod towards religious fanaticism? Is Oscar Tully the most badass character on House of the Dragon? Is the Daemon storyline actually good this week? And do we have any idea how the season finale is going to wrap things up? Listen to hear us discuss all these questions and more!
Links:

• Email us at acastofkings(AT)gmail(DOT)com
• Subscribe to Decoding TV on YouTube
• Follow us on Tiktok
• Buy Kim Renfro's book about Game of Thrones
• Subscribe to Jessie Gender on YouTube
• Learn more about Jessie Earl's movie, Identiteaze 
• Follow this podcast on Instagram
• Follow this podcast on Tiktok
• Subscribe to David’s free newsletter, Decoding Everything

Thanks to our sponsor for this week's episode:
GHOSTBED: Visit GhostBed.com/castofkings and use the code CASTOFKINGS to save 50% off your purchase sitewide.

Become a paid member at DecodingTV.com to get bonus episodes.

In this episode of A Cast of Kings, David Chen, Jessie Earl, and Kim Renfro dive into House of the Dragon’s sixth episode, “Smallfolk.”

This week, Team Black and Team Green experience some difficulties with their respective plans. What did we think of Rhaenyra’s big gambit at King’s Landing? What was up with the weird vibes between Aegon and Aemond this episode? And how did we react to that big surprise at the end of the episode? Listen to hear us discuss all these questions and more!

Links:

• Email us at acastofkings(AT)gmail(DOT)com
• Subscribe to Decoding TV on YouTube
• Follow us on Tiktok
• Buy Kim Renfro's book about Game of Thrones
• Subscribe to Jessie Gender on YouTube
• Learn more about Jessie Earl's movie, Identiteaze 
• Follow this podcast on Instagram
• Follow this podcast on Tiktok
• Subscribe to David’s free newsletter, Decoding Everything

Thanks to our sponsor for this episode:
Factor - Head to factormeals.com/castofkings50 and use code castofkings50 to get 50% off your first box plus 20% off your next month while your subscription is active.

In this episode of A Cast of Kings, David Chen, Jessie Earl, and Kim Renfro dive into House of the Dragon’s fifth episode, “Regent.”

This week deals with the sprawling aftermath of the events of last week’s battle. What were the storylines and moments that resonated the most? How do Alicent and Rhaenyra’s plotlines mirror each other? Is Daemon’s storyline working for us at all? And why is George R. R. Martin so mad about the way dragons are depicted in this show? Listen to hear us discuss all these questions and more! 

Links:

• Email us at acastofkings(AT)gmail(DOT)com
• Become a paid member at DecodingTV.com to get bonus episodes.
• Subscribe to Decoding TV on YouTube
• Follow us on Tiktok
• Buy Kim Renfro's book about Game of Thrones
• Subscribe to Jessie Gender on YouTube
• Learn more about Jessie Earl's movie, Identiteaze 

To get bonus episodes all season, become a paid subscriber at .

In this bonus episode for A Cast of Kings, David Chen, Jessie Earl, and Kim Renfro discuss which elements from House of the Dragon episode 3 were changed from the book.

Why does the show keep increasing the stakes of characters’ actions beyond what they intend? How propaganda-driven is Fire and Blood anyway? And what is the net effect of this on the story being told in the show? Listen to hear us discuss all these questions and more!

Links:

• Email us at acastofkings(AT)gmail(DOT)com
• Subscribe to Decoding TV on YouTube
• Follow us on Tiktok
• Buy Kim Renfro's book about Game of Thrones
• Subscribe to Jessie Gender on YouTube
• Learn more about Jessie Earl's movie, Identiteaze 

Thanks to our sponsors this episode:
GhostBed: Visit Ghostbed.com/castofkings and use code CASTOFKINGS to save 50% off your purchase sitewide.
Betterhelp: Visit BetterHelp.com/castofkings today to get 10% off your first month.

To support this podcast and get ad-free eps and bonus eps, become a paid member at .

In this episode of A Cast of Kings, David Chen, Jessie Earl, and Kim Renfro dive into House of the Dragon’s fourth episode, “The Red Dragon and the Gold.”

This week was an action packed episode that showed what type of damage dragon-on-dragon violence can wreak on the battlefield. What did we think of how the big battle sequence played out? What were some of our favorite highlights? And what did we think of that enigmatic ending? Listen to hear us discuss all these questions and more! 

Links:

• Email us at acastofkings(AT)gmail(DOT)com
• Subscribe to Decoding TV on YouTube
• Follow us on Tiktok
• Buy Kim Renfro's book about Game of Thrones
• Subscribe to Jessie Gender on YouTube
• Learn more about Jessie Earl's movie, Identiteaze 

In this episode of A Cast of Kings, David Chen, Jessie Earl, and Kim Renfro dive into House of the Dragon’s third episode, “The Burning Mill.”

In this episode, the war begins to spiral out of control. What did we think of how the show depicts this? Also: Rhaenyra makes some big moves. What did we make of her daring gambit at the end of the episode? And what’s Daemon up to these days, anyway? Listen to hear us discuss all these questions and more! 

Links:

• Email us at acastofkings(AT)gmail(DOT)com
• Subscribe to Decoding TV on YouTube
• Follow us on Tiktok
• Buy Kim Renfro's book about Game of Thrones
• Subscribe to Jessie Gender on YouTube
• Learn more about Jessie Earl's movie, Identiteaze 

In this episode of A Cast of Kings, David Chen, Jessie Earl, and Kim Renfro dive into House of the Dragon’s second episode, "Rhaenyra the Cruel."

How is Aegon’s character shaping up this season? Are Otto’s reaction shots going to be the source of amazing gifs and memes? What do we think about how the show is introducing us to the smallfolk? And what exactly happened in the battle between Erryk and Arryk, anyway? Listen to hear us discuss all these questions and more! 

Links:

• Email us at acastofkings(AT)gmail(DOT)com
• Subscribe to Decoding TV on YouTube
• Follow us on Tiktok
• Buy Kim Renfro's book about Game of Thrones
• Subscribe to Jessie Gender on YouTube
• Learn more about Jessie Earl's movie, Identiteaze 

To get bonus episodes all season, become a paid subscriber at .

David, Jessie, and Kim discuss some of the ways 'House of the Dragon's' season premiere changed the book.

In this bonus episode for A Cast of Kings, David Chen, Jessie Earl, and Kim Renfro, discuss the saga of Blood and Cheese and how the season premiere of House of the Dragon changed certain elements from the book. 

What did we make of the changes? Did they make things more or less effective? And is the show still in dialogue with the book, as it was in season 1? Listen to hear us discuss all these questions and more!

Links:

• Email us at acastofkings(AT)gmail(DOT)com
• Subscribe to Decoding TV on YouTube
• Follow us on Tiktok
• Buy Kim Renfro's book about Game of Thrones
• Subscribe to Jessie Gender on YouTube
• Learn more about Jessie Earl's movie, Identiteaze 

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit today to get 10% off your first month.

Help keep podcasts like A Cast of Kings going by becoming a paid member at DecodingTV.com.

A Cast of Kings is back to cover season 2 of House of the Dragon! In this episode, David Chen, Jessie Earl, and Kim Renfro dive into House of the Dragon’s season 2 premiere, "A Son for a Son." This episode shows us the immediate aftermath of the events from season 1's finale. Will Aegon be a better king than Viserys? Will Alicent be able to stem the bloodletting? Will Daemon's plans bring Rhaenyra to ruin? Listen to hear us discuss all these questions and more! 

Links:

• Email us at acastofkings(AT)gmail(DOT)com
• Subscribe to Decoding TV on YouTube
• Follow us on Tiktok
• Buy Kim Renfro's book about Game of Thrones
• Subscribe to Jessie Gender on YouTube
• Learn more about Jessie Earl's movie, Identiteaze