Black or red, a dragon is still a dragon.

Cole and Gwayne are having one hell of a time in the riverlands. Reminds me almost of Stannis' expedition in the North during GoT, but without the utter horeshit that was Ramsay's luck. Cole's death is all but a certainty next episode, but I am curious to see what they do with Gwayne going on. Does he end up taking over Hobert Hightower's role?

Little bit more of Ormund and poor Daeron. I'm surprised that Daeron wouldn't know who Meria Martell was, considering she's probably the most famous princess of Dorne after Nymeria herself, but the exposition was a nice bit of comparison to Ormund's subversive assassinations in King's Landing.

Speaking of King's Landing, we've got pregnancy drama with Helaena. Forcing her to take moontea is not the greatest thing in the world, but I kinda get Alicent's view. A son of Aegon would be a direct threat to Rhaenyra's legitimacy, as well as any aspirations of kingship for Aemond or Ormund (on behalf of Daeron). I like that Alicent was able to convince Mysaria to keep the news to herself, showing that she's not 100 percent loyal to Rhaenyra.

More development that is the buddycop comedy between Larys and Aegon. He finally let Aegon have it and say exactly what he thinks of him. Only time will tell if Aegon takes any of it to heart.

Oh, and we finally got Tyland back! I was really worried he'd be unceremoniously killed off, glad he'll be sticking around longer. Hopefully we still end up having the Hooded Hand development in some way.

And last, but certainly not least, we're finally having some Alysmond development. You can definitely see how he'd be drawn to her judging by his mommy issues, but I'm curious to see where the show takes the relationship once Aemond fully recovers.

Oh, and there's also the killings of the gold cloaks. Presumably this is going to be key for worsening relations between the Reed Keep and the city, with the remnants of the watch cracking down even more on Fleabottom or even starting to abandon Rhaenyra.

I think overall, Nolan present an Odyssey with a different core message. While the violation of guest right is still present and very important, Nolan emphasizes guest right's role more as an essential social contract for Greek society. Interestingly, he portrays the Trojan Horse trick as a violation along the same lines of breaking xenia, and as an act that would end up permanently staining Greek society and bringing an end to the current age. Rather than a traditional review, I thought I would go over some key plot points of the epic and say how they change.

The Trojan horse: It's mostly the same. In a key difference however, Odysseus purposefully leaves Sinon unaware of the men hiding inside it in order to ensure the plan goes off without a hitch. The cramped claustrophobic perspective we get inside is great. One scene I like is when a Trojan ends up stabbing inside it to check it, accidentally cutting a soldier. The wounded soldier is quickly gagged by the others, while Odysseus quickly and delicately wipes the blood off the sword before it's withdrawn.

The Trojan War: Helen is mentioned as the prime catalyst for the war, though Penelope cynically mentions that it's probably more about trade routes (an interesting allusion to the "real" trojan war) for Agamemnon. Odysseus's participation in the war is implied to be a result of owing allegiance to Agamemnon as some sort of overall high king, though the particulars of the arrangement are not really mentioned.

Calypso: Calypso takes the place of the lotus-eaters, feeding Odysseus the lotus flowers in order to keep him as a complacent husband. She also is the one Odysseus narrates his adventures to, taking the place of the Phaeacians. Rather than a divine messenger in the form of Hermes, Calypso's own conscience is what makes her release him, though there is rumbling of thunder that is all but stated to be an omen from Zeus warning her.

Odysseus being sent on the raft is framed as accepting a loss of control and submitting to the mercy of Poseidon. Zeus will not allow Poseidon to kill him or prevent him from returning home, but he still has to face the god's anger with nothing more than a glorified plank of wood and the clothes on his back.

Menelaus: Overall the same plot function. Telemachus is received by Menelaus, who praises Odysseus and surmises that Telemachus is his son, but has no news of his whereabouts. However, his and Helen's relationship is a more antagonistic than the epic. Menelaus remarks on some scars on her face as robbing of her of a portion of her beauty, and Helen is shown to be bitter about the sacking of Troy. While Paris isn't really mentioned, the movie seems to suggest that this version of her chose to run away with Paris (though she seems very regretful about her actions indirectly causing Odysseus to be gone for so long).

Polyphemus: The basic set up is the same. Upon spotting signs of habitation (a built fire, cheese), Odysseus decides to wait for the owner to come back and use hospitality to receive supplies. Polyphemus instead decides to kill and eat them. There's a change in that Polyphemus does not speak at all until he wails in pain at the stab in the eye. This however is highly implied to be arrogance, as Odysseus puts it: "would you speak to an ant?" An aspect I really liked is after the men all escaped the cave with Polyphemus none the wiser, Odysseus can't help but shoot him with an arrow, provoking him into chasing them to the beach, nearly killing them all. The men later realize that he's the son of Poseidon (as they heard him wailing to his father after his injury), and that wounding him certainly turned the god against them.

The Laestrygonians: Aside from the costuming, this part I really liked. The greeks see what they believe is an ordinary human out in the forest. The figure turns around... and they see that it's a very young child that's the same size as them. Eurylochus grimly ponders that if that's a child, how big are the adults? The child screams, summoning the giants who proceed to slaughter the humans.

Circe: This had some parts I liked, and some parts I disliked. Rather than a beautiful woman living in a palace in the middle of the woods. She's a rather ordinary-looking woman who lives in a rather dingy house. She certainly has magical powers, but it's unclear if she's even divine in this adaptation.

However, her turning the men into pigs was by far the best scene in the movie. Honestly even if you hate everything I've written about so far, watching the movie solely for that scene would be worth it. They also keep the drugged animals surrounding her house (though it's heavily implied that they are all transformed humans in the same manner as the crew).

The sun cattle: Almost exactly the same. The sun god however is said to be Apollo rather than Helios. I don't particularly care all that much about this change.

Talking to the dead: In a change that I would say signifies the message Nolan wants to speak, Odysseus ends up speaking to Sinon rather than Achilles, who berates him for his lies and sending him to his death. The conversation with Agamemnon's shade stays mostly the same.

The ending: This is something I imagine will be somewhat controversial. Odysseus' return home mostly follows the same steps: in hiding as a beggar, revealing himself to Telemachus, the contest with the bow and axes, etc. After slaughtering the majority of the suitors, the rest surrender. The bloodshed however stains Odysseus (which is why he doesn't want Telemachus to kill anyone and share his fate), who ends up having to go into exile along with Penelope as he can no longer remain in Ithaca. Telemachus ends up as the king as his parents sail off to the west.

Obviously, this isn't everything that happens in the movie. Lot to cover in a 3 hour movie that a single tumblr post can't contain. If you have any questions about any particular aspects, feel free to ask.

Overall, I'd say the film is worth watching. I enjoyed it (I'd rate it about a 7/10?), and think a lot of people who enjoy greek mythology would as well. However, I imagine people who haven't read the epic would enjoy it more on average.

Ormund's portrayal is... interesting. A hardcore Andal traditionalist who sees Valyrians as inherently tainted. The only reason he seems to be on the team at all is because he sees Daeron as more Hightower than Targaryen. Not really fond of the Green cause being even more divided, but I guess it's hopeless to care about that at this point. I was kinda happy that they showed he had some sort of standards by having the soldier be gelded... but then the show turned it back around by having Hugh's brother-in-law executed anyways.

Daeron is a bit more meek than I expected. I could be in the minority, but it seems like they're trying to imply Ormund was (at least emotionally) abusive towards him? Bit of a twist from what we see in F&B where Ormund praises his courage in battle, feasts him, and personally makes Daeron a knight.

There's Rhaena and Daemon. Already said I disliked the Nettles replacement so I'm not going to talk about this much, but I will concede that I like Daemon bringing back a random head in order to appease Rhaenyra.

Apparently Helaena is pregnant, which I very much missed on my watch. Interested to see how the Maelor plot ends up being adapted here. We got a little bit more of Aegon and Larys. Not much to comment on there beyond the return of Sunfyre, who is obviously not dead.

Ulf and Hugh have been sent to Tumbleton. Curious as to how they'll end up flipping to the Greens. The seeds have been conspicuously planted, but I wonder what the show will make their breaking point, as opposed to simply raw greed and a hunger for power.

I had seen rumors floating around about the fake Daeron twist, so I was kind of expecting it from the start. I had also seen people saying that Daeron was going to have dark hair, which I hated, but given that the imposter was using silver dye, that means Daeron has his proper hair colour which is a relief. Honestly, the fake Daeron could definitely play him, he's got the right look.

I adore that the show's using the stress of ruling a kingdom to allow some of Rhaenyra's book characterization develop slowly- the wastefulness of an elaborate coronation when the city is starving is definitely something she would've done. Sure, legitimacy is important, but given that the city's starving you kinda have to seek compromises.

The tension with the High Septon clearly seems to be foreshadowing the Shepherd - I do like the reasoning of him declining to have two anointed claimants running around at once. It's not something I really thought about, but it seems like a logical addition.

Corlys was also good in this episode. I was surprised that he shouted about it in public, but in his defense I think he just about hit his breaking point. Rhaenys, Laenor, and Laena are dead, High Tide sacked, half his fleet destroyed, he nearly died himself. I'd be stressed in his position. Honestly, I could definitely imagine him saying all the things he did in the show in the book - though obviously behind closed doors.

The dragonseeds are clearly getting a taste for power -no surprise there.

Rhaenyra in the opening scene was great. As always, Emma's a great actor, and portrayed Rhaenyra's grief really well.

(Sidenote: Baela, that may have been the worst way to tell her Jace was dead. First you tell her, then you let her see the body, don't just ambush her with it.)

Alyn was great. I doubt we'll ever go so far as to see him and Baela end up together, but having them shares some scenes together was nice. Alyn has only really had scenes with his brother and Corlys in any great detail, unless I'm forgetting something from last season.

As I was hoping, someone pointed out how idiotic it was for Rhaena to run away and ride Sheepstealer into battle. Honestly, her decision to hide away in the Vale as well was a bad one - her best shot is to throw herself at Rhaenyra's feet and plead for mercy. If she can't execute Otto without Daemon egging her on, she definitely won't kill her stepdaughter. But hey, if Rhaena had any sense she wouldn't be in this position to begin with.

As always, Matt Smith is great when he has time to shine. I can't say I really have much to say on Daemon today, Matt's consistently a great actor.

Alicent was good as well. I'm not really a fan of the whole surrender plot, but the way the show actually goes about her having to run around and actually talk to all the people in the Red Keep.

Then there was that Ironrod scene. I didn't like that scene and I'll mention it in another post.

Finally, we have Aemond and Alys meeting for the first time. With how she talked about desiring Harrenhal for herself, I can see how she wouldn't really be bothered with Aemond executing the rest of her family - not that they ever really seem to acknowledge her much in the first place.

I really didn't like the Otto scene. So on his way out the door, Larys manages to track him down, capture him, and throw him in the black cells without anyone noticing or blabbing about it to Alicent or the rest of the council. What exactly was the point of having Otto talk about heading to Oldtown instead of remaining in the Red Keep as per F&B, if they were just going to throw him in the dungeon and chop off his head as usual? Did they run out of their budget for the actor? Were they not able to think of anything for him to do for the rest of season 2?

Someone mentioned that this was probably where season 2 was intended to end before the writer's strike and all that jazz mixed up production, and it does seem very much like a natural stopping point. Definitely would've had a better view of the season had that been the case.