The Enemy Within featuring Showrunner Ryan Condal
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There is no war so hateful to the gods as a war between kin. And no war so bloody as a war between dragons. Very timely scream to punctuate that clip. The scream is perfect. Yeah. Let's go. Let's go.

Welcome to the official Game of Thrones podcast, House of the Dragon. I am Greta Johnson. And I'm Jason Concepcion. Welcome back to the pod. It's been too long. It has been too long, but we are back and we are here to stay. Just like last season, we are diving into all things Westeros as we unpack every episode of the HBO original series, House of the Dragon, season one.

Season 2. It's almost here! And in these weeks leading up to the premiere on June 16th, we'll be revisiting Season 1, talking to writers and crew from the show, and getting all of us prepared for what's coming in this blockbuster new season.

Yes, today we are beginning our march together towards season two. We're going to share all the updates we have about season two, including new characters and the new trailer. But that's not all. We will also share a sneak peek of a conversation we had with showrunner Ryan Condal, who gives us a little tease of what we can expect in this new season. So let's get into it. No time to waste.

Everyone has to pick a side. Yes, even you. Get off the sidelines. Get off the bench. Team green or team black. Check a box. Let's go. Long live the king.

Okay, so let's run down what we know so far about the new season. We have gotten a few teases and they are making me extremely impatient. First, I also want to say, don't worry, we are not doing spoilers here. But if you do not want to know anything about season two and don't want to hear anything about the trailer either, just skip ahead like 10 minutes and you'll be good to go. Okay, so here's what we know about season two for sure thus far.

It's going to be eight episodes. We know that. We have confirmation from the very top folks, from Ryan Connell himself, that the time jumps are done. We're going to be in the present and we're going to stay there. And we know there's going to be a lot of dragon on dragon action. There is some stuff that we can glean about season two based on the casting news, but

There's a host of new characters that are going to appear in season two. Let's go over some of them. There's Sir Gawain Hightower. He is a knight.

and the brother of Alicent, Queen Alicent, Serato's son. He's going to be played by the appropriately coiffed Freddie Fox. You've probably seen him in a bunch of things, but you might know him from Slow Horses, the wonderful spy adaptation, where he plays just like a fucking little shit. What do you think it's like to be Alicent's brother? That's a really great question. I mean, God, I don't know. He's probably a little shit, right? Yeah.

Yeah. I would imagine it's a lot about just being ignored. Your sister is the queen.

Your dad is a big-time mover and shaker all throughout the kingdom, was hand to the king and is now hand to the other king, his grandson. And you are a knight. Sounds like your career has kind of ceilinged out, so it must be pretty annoying for Sir Gawain. A nepo baby. Yeah. We'll also be going back to the Vale this season. Amanda Collin has been cast as Jane Arryn, Lady of the Vale. Yeah.

For those of you who may not recall, the Vale is the very mountainous region of the constituent regions of Westeros. You might remember it from Game of Thrones as... The Moondor. Yeah, the place where Tyrion was taken hostage and almost thrown out of the Moondor. That was a specific castle, but that region in general is the Vale, a place of high mountains, deep valleys that is...

very hard to wage war in and contains a lot of kind of indigenous tribes who the Lords of the Vale have for years tried to bring to heel and just kind of can't because it's such a mountainous region. That's wild. It makes sense, though. Based on the casting news, it looks like we're going to see more of the Strong family. So I would also guess that the massive castle Harrenhal, where Laris had his dad and brother killed by tongueless prisoners last season, is also going to be a big part of this coming season.

One quick note about Harrenhal is they say it's cursed. And much like Father Time, the curse appears to be undefeated because everybody who pays rent at Harrenhal for any period of time has bad things befall them. So watch for that. And we're going to meet Sir Simon Strong, great uncle to Laris Strong. Of course, Laris...

as we saw last season, kind of ripped the spine out of his family. So you've got to bring new people in to help run this family affair. So we're going to meet Sir Simon Strong, played by the great theater actor Simon Russell Beale.

We also have Gail Rankin, known for roles in Perry Mason, Glow, and others. She's going to show up as Alice Rivers. Rivers being the name given to children born out of wedlock in the Riverlands. Like Jon Snow, except in the Riverlands instead of in the Riverlands. Correct. Interesting. She is known as the Queen Witch of Harrenhal. Oh, nice. Let me just say, I can't wait for her storyline. I can't wait.

I have never heard the phrase queen witch before in this context, but I'm thrilled. It sounds great. I think I'm going to love her. Now I am so pumped for this part. We're going to talk about the full trailer for the new season. The new, just-released trailer. The Targaryen who sits the Iron Throne is not just a king or a queen. They are a protector of the realm. Now I find myself in an impossible position.

All hail King Aegon! The enemy usurped my throne. We're going to King's Landing.

Okay. Oh my God. Well, first, can we talk for a second about the music? Because that is like so epically cinematic and emotionally manipulative in just the right way. You know what I mean? Like I'm hype now. It sounds like music also that we've never heard before. So very excited about that. Man, a lot of tantalizing threads laid down here beginning with...

Who's that silver-haired person entering the throne room at the top? Mm-hmm. Because it could be several people. I think Adon's hair is shorter than that. But, I mean, I thought right off the bat that looks like either Daemon or Aemond. Yeah, but we don't know which. And both are pretty fascinating, I think, to me.

either could easily fill the definition of the enemy within, depending. And it seems like finally we're going to see the Starks. We're going to see Craig and Stark. We're going to see Winterfell get into action. They're coming down, you know, I-95 on the King's Road. They're going to try and cut back on the rest stops, and they're moving as fast as they can. But it is a long road trip down from the top. Yep, yep, it sure is.

I really loved, oh God, the scene between Rhaenyra and Daemon. I'm seeing too much. But I'm very curious to see how that plays out. Do you accept me as your queen and ruler?

Yeah, that is, you know, major suspect for an enemy within is Damon. Uh-huh. What are his intentions? Yep. You'd expect a little bit more full-throated support for the right of his wife to rule than the long, pregnant pause that follows her question? Uh-huh, yeah. If you have to take the time to refocus the camera, you know? It's too long. Uh-huh.

Something I noticed at the small council meeting, it surely seems like Aegon is playing with Aegon the Conqueror's dagger, the dagger with the Song of Ice and Fire branded on it. Good catch. And of course, that weapon has a long and storied history going all the way into the days of the Game of Thrones storyline. Of course. But like wild to see him just like playing around with it, like at a meeting. It feels fitting, doesn't it though? It does. Yeah.

It does. So Jason, you mentioned the idea of the enemy within, and I think we should unpack that a little bit. Gosh, I mean, I think on the most surface level, it means can you trust the people around you to be loyal? There's a lot of competing visions for what this kingdom or queendom is going to be. And keeping everybody on side, whether you're team black or team green, I think is going to be very difficult. And you're going to see people...

starting to make moves that benefit them, not necessarily benefit whatever side they're on. More generally, the enemy within is like the lust for power and how it unhinges people, makes them irrational, makes them do things that are reckless and irresponsible and will result in the deaths of many, many people that

Otherwise, if they didn't have that hunger to be more powerful, that would not take place. What do you think it means? I don't know. I mean, I was going to say kind of facetiously that the enemy within is the patriarchy, but I think that's actually not too far off in a lot of ways, right? It's sort of like... Yeah. Like, no one is going to just win. Like, the cost of all of this is so heavy. And I think...

We saw that a lot in season one, and I think this trailer really brings that out, too. I mean, there's no edge. Both sides have dragons. Both sides have armies. Maybe one side has more dragons. Maybe one side has a bigger army. Maybe one side has a bigger navy. But they're going at each other with the same tools, and everybody's going to get hurt. It's going to be brutal. War is coming. And neither

Well, that is a lot of season two news. And to try to digest it all, we were very lucky to get to talk to showrunner Ryan Condal. We are going to hear our full interview with him in a later podcast episode. But for now, here is a sneak peek of what he told us about season two. We are thrilled to welcome back House of the Dragon showrunner and executive producer Ryan Condal. Ryan, we missed you.

I missed you guys. This is one of the easiest parts of my job. So I really appreciate it. Yeah. How does it feel going into a production of a second season of a show with all the response out there in the world? What does it feel like now, having absorbed all these reactions from the fans, from the critics, and then bringing that energy into season two? I mean, it's better than going into the first season when you don't know whether anybody is going to watch this at all or

Are they all going to hate me? It's new for me because I've been a showrunner for, I guess, 10 years now, sort of most of the last decade. But this is such a unicorn phenomenon to have this show that was so widely accepted right out of the gate. And it was an entirely new feeling for me. I think it was nice because it was validation that we had done well, I think, and just honored what

what came before us with David and Dan and with George's world. And we found the right tone and aesthetic, where to start the story and who to focus on.

seemed to be backed up by the fans response and the number of fans that showed up and watched. And yeah, it was all brand new to me, but I think, I think I just came in sort of going, okay, let's try to make it even better. But I think we also can't lose sight of the things that we did well in the first season.

That makes a lot of sense. I imagine also even just logistically, there have to be a lot of elements with the season two that you've been able to figure out with season one. And like now you know how long it takes to like get Matt Smith's wig on or whatever stuff like that, that just like you can't know until you do it a bunch of times. Absolutely. And I will say it was it was a shockingly smooth production for as complicated as it was. And it was much more complicated this time around just from a

size, scope, logistics, the amount that we bit off this time versus in season one was much, much bigger. It's also clear from these trailers, we're going to see a lot more of the continent of the world this season. What was your approach as you started to bring those new areas in? Well, we definitely knew that the world was going to expand pretty quickly, just by virtue of the fact that really until episodes nine and 10 of

season one, we were kind of locked to King's Landing. We traveled a bit, but the whole family lived under one roof, complicatedly so, which made for really excellent drama. It was a great canvas to paint on because it allowed everybody to get to know all of the central characters in this one family, this one kind of extended, blended family that we have before everybody got scattered to the winds and before the war broke out.

But once Rhaenyra decamps to Dragonstone and Daemon starts making plans to ride about and raise an army and Jace and Luke are sent off on their dragons to get the support of the South and the North, you can feel the world just instantly starting to expand. And we know that we can't really wage a war just from the home front. I mean, certainly there will be people at Dragonstone and King's Landing throughout this story, but others have to go afield if they're going to battle for their claim.

So we really started by kind of following the main characters and where are they going to go. And your three main characters, Alice and Damon Raniere, much of the season they spend in kind of different places from one another. They do certain do cross, certain don't. And from there, worlds start to build out. So you've introduced new characters in those worlds that come in. So you really start getting this very, it's natural. It doesn't feel like we're suddenly like,

okay, we got to see the whole continent. It does feel like those people that we knew very well in season one, we're now going to follow them on their diaspora as they go out and try to defend the claim that they are defending. You've mentioned that there won't be time jumps in season two, so that's not a spoiler, but how does that change your approach for this season? It's funny, the time jumps, as they've come to be called, were necessary in the first season because we had to kind of cover 20 years of history, really 30 years of history that we

condensed into 20 years for the sake of everybody's sanity and so that we weren't recasting everybody sometimes multiple times because i just think it would have been really hard to follow and i i have to credit the audience that was a lot to ask of a new audience on a new show and they went with it and they followed it and they got it and all the targaryen names that sound alike and valerian and valerian i mean they really they went for it so kudos to you guys thank you uh

It was very hard to write because each of those 10 episodes, other than 9 and 10, which essentially happens in real time, each of those episodes were kind of self-contained.

So you couldn't really have a cliffhanger at the end of the episode that you were going to answer in the next episode. You almost had to write, we were writing like seven sort of short form features with all of the story of that time period crammed into that world so that when we meet the characters in the next story, you understand that time has passed and that they've evolved, but they've carried on from this hopefully seismic event that happened in the last episode. Whereas this time around, it really feels more like an eight chapter novel.

That's really cool. I think it makes sense, too, that you had such a kind of tight scope in terms of location and characters in season one, just because with time as your other factor, you were already being so expansive that way narratively that it was like, yeah, let's just focus on that and getting to know everyone we need to get to know. And then we can build off that stuff more in season two.

Yeah, absolutely. And the reward of season two for us as the writers of the material, I think, is because we did all the hard work of getting to know these characters and setting up all of the interrelationships and understanding the intricacies of Laenor and Rhaenyra's marriage and Harwin and Rhaenyra's relationship and Aemond. You know, Aemond doesn't just come out of the mold as a fully formed anime villain. He's like, he...

He had a real interior life as a child when he was afraid and bullied. And we understand him as a character now. So when you see the big bad, you understand where he came from and you understand this core injury to him. Even Damon, all the complexities of him. And he's done some horrible things in this story. But you also understand that there's a core wound at the heart of that with his relationship with his brother.

So all that hard work that we did, all that character building now sets us off in a great place in season two because we don't have to backfill and explain everything. It's like, okay, you guys know the deal. Everybody has been through a really tough experience and they're all very complicated and you understand the relationships that they have and here we go. And it's really exciting because it allows you to just, you know, it really turns the page in season two and kind of picks up right where we left off. And I'm not going to say any more, but I'm very excited for people to see it.

That was the top GFOP, the good friend of the pod, showrunner Ryan Condal. And we'll hear more of that conversation in a later podcast episode. So stay tuned for that. GFOP, I love it. Okay, right now, Greta, let's talk about where we left things in season one. Because in preparation for season two, we both rewatched the first season, which...

Obviously, we recommend, but people are busy, have busy lives. You may not have the time. Don't stress on it because, of course, we have you covered here at the official Game of Thrones House of the Dragon podcast. There are so many things that happen in that first season, so many characters, so many locations, so many things that take on new meaning after you see it all. So we want to do some unpacking together of season one. So first, Greta, will you give us a little recap of the first season and

And I know you've been doing some important Westeros TMZ reporting. I have indeed. I have tried to come up with the best, most succinct and juiciest way to spill this tea about season one. Do it.

Tee me up with some music. This is our very gossipy recap of season one, which only covers about 20 years. So get ready. Before we start, some general pointers. If you are wondering if they're related, they probably are. And if you wonder if they've slept together, they probably have. Okay, let's dive in.

So the big question at the heart of this saga is whether Westeros can truly accept a queen as its leader. Sweet old King V's daughter Rhaenyra is heir to the throne, but after Viserys' wife Emma dies in childbirth, he remarries Rhaenyra's best friend Alicent. Wow. They name their first son Aegon, which is a real kingly name, and the realm is obviously torn on whether they need to keep pretending like they're cool with a lady taking over after Viserys dies. ♪

Meanwhile, Rhaenyra needs to buckle down and get married. But first, she fools around with a hot knight named Criston Cole. We like to call him Christopher Cole. And she also hooks up with Daemon, her uncle, because why not? But she ends up marrying her cousin Laenor, who is a good dude who likes dudes. ♪

They have an arrangement where Rhaenyra can sleep with a different hot knight, and everyone pretends like the kids are Laenors, even though it's extremely obvious that they're not. It's a whole thing. We call them the Strong Boys, and the Strong Boys' actual dad leaves town in shame.

and his brother Laris gets someone to burn the family house down. It's crazy. Eventually, Rhaenyra decides she has had it with the farce with Laenor, so he pretends to die but sneaks off in the night with his lover. That way, Rhaenyra can marry the real love of her life, which of course is her uncle Daemon, who has been married at least two times before at this point and did kill his first wife, but it's fine. He loves her too.

♪♪

Meanwhile, we meet three of Alicent and Viserys' children, Aegon, who's a creeper, Helena, who is an excellent weirdo, we sometimes just call her Helen, and Aemond, one eye, who is exquisitely deranged and who loses an eye in a really bad kid fight at one point. It's a lot, I know.

Oh, and also, Viserys has been really sick for a really long time, and this is where things get extra messy, because on his deathbed, Viserys refers to a prophecy that's been passed down to generations of Targaryen kings, but when Viserys mentions it to Alicent in a fever dream, she's like, "'Oh, shit, my husband thinks our kid should be king after all,' and it's just the nudge that she needs to go full-blown tiger mom, as if she hadn't been conniving before."

So yeah, by the end of the season, we have Aegon sitting on the throne in King's Landing, but Rhaenyra has also been crowned queen in Dragonstone, and she even has her own competing small council. She just had a horrific stillbirth. Her husband is kind of a huge dick. And in the last scene of the finale, she learns that one of the strong boys was killed by one of Alicent's kids. In other words, it's really bad. Bad for them, but good for us because we get to dish about it. And that was Greta the Goss from

from Westeros TMZ. All the news that's fit to print and all the rest of it too. We're raving about this news. That was fantastic and comprehensive. And spicy, right? I mean, it's pretty wild when you really write it all down. It's like, oh my God, they really are just all sleeping with each other. That was a wonderfully juicy recap. And just from that, you can see the types of twists and turns that season one takes us through over the course of

20 years of fictional history, you know, in a lot of ways, despite the tumult and drama that you outlined, season one is really going to be the calm before the storm, or at least the calm before the war, right?

But in terms of, you know, the relationships between the characters, it was nothing but conflict the entire time. So I'm wondering, Greta, is there a moment when you look back at season one where you think, okay, that was the point where war was inevitable? It's a really good question, Jason. And I think there are probably at least half a dozen points.

that you could kind of point to over the course of season one. I do wonder if the earliest one is Viserys deciding to marry Alicent.

I would go back even further. Would you?

He does very little to prepare. So I think it starts there and then just proceeds. We're preparing for war. We're choosing sides. Is there any hope for peace at all at this point? Heavy sigh. I think no. Right? It would take a real sweetheart, incredible, generous deal on behalf of, you know, King Aegon probably acting without the advice of Otto and Alicent to like give...

who has now lost a son and a dragon, something that she feels she could go away with that would make her feel pretty good. And I would imagine that once you lose Luke and Arax, it's blood for blood at that point. There's no chance. What do you think? I think you're right. I think it's,

impossible at this point. I think it's probably been impossible for a long time, but I think you are right that by the end of season one, it is like, oh shit, it's just all happening. This is it. Yeah, because there are various points where you think, you know, for instance, when King Viserys has that wonderful last family dinner, you really felt like, oh, here's an off-ramp, you know? Let's listen to a moment from episode eight where Viserys gives that final heartfelt plea to his family to get it together.

Let us no longer hold your feelings in our hearts. The crown cannot stand strong if the House of the Dragon remains divided. But set aside your grievances, if not for the sake of the crown, then for the sake of this old man, who loves you all so dearly.

Let's raise a glass to Patti Considine, huh? Such a phenomenal actor in that role. Crushed it. You know, I think it's a credit to Viserys that this almost worked. It really did almost work, which is the tragedy of the first season is that they almost got away with it. Like they almost patched things up. It came very, very close to happening. And it's very sad. It's really sad.

Do you think that they could have patched things up here? How did this speech hit you? It's an impassioned speech. I think that whole scene is fascinating. I love a fancy dinner that goes terribly wrong, and this is exactly that. It must be the TMZ reporter in me. But I think this is too little, too late. I think essentially Viserys is saying, like, get over it.

But he's the only one who actually still has the power at this point to effectively do something about it. And I think it's kind of frustrating to just see him be like, no, everything's fine. Just pretend like it's fine and it'll be fine. Because I think, you know, as we've discussed, like we're way past that, you know? I completely agree. Let's hear Rhaenyra's response to this, which I think is an incredibly moving and generous response from her. Yeah.

I love my father. I must admit that no one has stood more loyally by his side than his good wife. She has tended to him with unfailing devotion, love, and honor. And for that, she has my gratitude and my apology. You know Otto is sick watching this. Damn. Yeah. He's like, God damn it. I love that moment, though. The thing that I think is really sweet about that moment is that

I don't think Rhaenyra is just sucking up. Like, I believe everything Rhaenyra is saying when she's complimenting Alyson. I think that's really beautiful and pretty heartbreaking given the circumstances. That was real. You know, I think that was legit. For all the machinations and things that Otto wants and that Daemon wants, I think that was real. And if you could have

If those two could have locked each other away together where they're just together in a room, I think they could have brought peace. I really think they could have. I agree. But at that point, there's the kids too, and they've got their own trauma now. I mean, it's just, it is such a mess. Yeah, and I think it's quite clear that Alicent, you know, considering all the people in the room that want her to not say the things that she says here and show generosity and forgiveness to Rhaenyra...

that that was an extremely brave and sincere thing that she said. I think she really meant it. I think that really touched her. And just think about where we, like when this moment happens, where have we already come back from? That's like the saddest thing is like, Alicent has already come at Rhaenyra with a knife after the kid fight. Had already tried to order Chris Cole, Chrissy Cole, Christopher Cole, and

to, like, grab the queen. Like, that, in that moment, seemed like a breach that would never be healed. And in fact, she wanted an eye for an eye. And the fact that they almost patched it up right here, like, almost, they came back all the way back from that moment

I think it's a credit to these two women. Yes, 100%. I think that's partly what's so devastating about the whole season one. And I assume like the world in general, right, is that in the end, it's not about these two women at all. It's about all of these systems and all this other, you know, ideas of power that are imposed on them and the roles they're supposed to play in this world and the fact that they're completely trapped in that. Yeah. Yeah.

So there was no reconciliation between Alicent and Rhaenys. And now we have two sides. Team Green, on the one hand, named for the color of House Hightower. And on the other hand, we have Team Black, which is named for the color of House Targaryen. And it is time for everyone to pick a side. I think what's fair is fair. And even we, Jason, should pick sides. So...

I do think it would be nice if you and I, as the host of the official podcast, can reserve the right to change sides at any point over the course of season two. But given where we stand right now, are you team black or team green? I am, with extensive caveats, I am team black. Okay.

Because, listen, this was the king's edict that Rhaenyra would be his heir. Yeah. Many, many, many nobles swore to it in front of witnesses from all around the realm. Could he have prepared for it better? Yes, of course. Could she have prepared for it better? Yes, of course. But...

in this system, it should be the law of the land. And team green, in fact, went way out of their way to not just subvert those decisions, but to sow chaos and dissent and,

And when called on it by the wonderful servant of the realm, Lyman Beesbury, in that small council meeting after the death of King Viserys, what did they do? They killed him. They killed him. They murdered him so they could get on with their business of stealing the kingdom. So I'm team black. I understand that it's kind of a moral stance. And again, I do have concerns about team black, but I am team black. Where are you?

I am also team black for many of the reasons you have just stated. I also, I think Rhaenyra would make a better queen than Aegon will be king. Yeah, I think so. I guess more to come on that front. Yeah. I do think kind of as we've discussed when you...

Boil it down to especially the relationship between Rhaenyra and Alicent and especially just thinking about everything Alicent has been through. I have so much compassion for her. She has been in impossible situation after impossible situation. Yeah. But also she is becoming more and more villainous.

to me. And I think what they just launched was a coup, and I'm not super cool with that, turns out. Well, again, I have to stress, I am Team Black. I'm Team Black in my heart. If you cut open my veins, I would bleed black. Wow, wow, wow. Let's take a devil's advocate approach. Here's how, if I was going to be Team Green, I would be all in on Team Green.

I would probably say, you know, we want to mention stability and how this is not a time for war. I mean, look at the, you know, like Essos war,

The rest of the world, they're looking at us. We're at peace. The crab feeder has been defeated. No threats on any part of our nation. And yet here we are arguing with ourselves about whether we want to do a thing that's never been done before in history, put a woman on the throne, or whether we want to just keep on keeping on, let the good times roll, King Aegon, run it back.

Same name as the guy we all loved. And let's do it again. Does he suck? Yeah, he's not that great. But great team around him. Otto Hightower tried and true. He's been doing it for years. I hate how good you are at this, Jason. It's deeply disturbing.

Keep going. Don't let me stop you. Christopher Cole, you know, keeping the realm safe. Also on the team of Team Green and, of course, Queen Alicent. The realm loves her. Loves her, right? And, you know, at the end of the day, what do we know about Damon other than his brother didn't like him that much and didn't want to give him anything and now he's a heartbeat away from the throne if you decide to go that way.

You got one way, everything we've ever known all these years. Keep the good times rolling. You got the other way, new stuff. New stuff. We don't know where this leads. And oh yeah, her husband's crazy. You tell me. That's really alarming.

I hate what I'm saying. I want everybody to know that I don't like what I'm saying right now. Okay, well, all that picking sides business is obviously very interesting to think about, but I think we should do something completely like no stakes and ridiculous before we go today, which is since we are officially graduated from season one, we're going to do a little bit of a

We're going to choose some, like, senior superlatives. So, Jason, you're probably familiar with this concept, but this is like, you know, in your high school yearbook. Like, the, you know, cutest couple, best dressed, best hair, you know, just like ridiculous. Yeah, exactly. Before we get to superlatives for some of our characters, I have to ask if you got any senior superlatives. Yeah.

I think I got like Class Clown or something like that. Oh, that's a good one. No, I got Most Talented. I did get Most Talented. Damn, that's really good. I'm impressed. Okay, so yeah, we were thinking it would be fun to like assign some to our characters from season one of House of the Dragon. And I think we should start with Cutest Couple because I think you and I agree on this.

I think cutest couple are Corliss and Rhaenys. Oh, that's wonderful. Right? Agree. I agree that that's a great couple, but I'm going to pick a different couple. Ooh, okay. I'm going to pick what could have been. Ooh. Alicent and Rhaenyra. Oh. Cutest couple. Oh, my head.

Remember them working on their homework together in the godswood? That's so sweet. And it's just like, what could have been those two if they could have just kept the bonds strong? Too many powerful forces tearing them apart. But that's my cutest couple. That's a really good one. What about best dressed?

Ooh, best dressed. That's a tough one because everybody is... They all look good. They're all looking great. I'm going to go... You know, I love a man in uniform. Go on. I'm going to go with Chrissy Christopher Cole.

I think the armor suits him. Nice and shiny. So I'm going to go with that. Kind of a basic pick, but you know. That's nice. What about you? I'm going to choose Rhaenyra for this one. Because I really love what they're doing with her sort of like dragon rider badass queen outfits. They kind of remind me of what they did with Cersei in Game of Thrones where there's a lot of like, they're still gowns, but they're very like armor adjacent. Mm-hmm.

And I really like the dragon riding vibes that we're getting from Ray Nero with what she's wearing. And I think that's cool. Next up, King's Pet. Or Queen's Pet, such as the case may be. King's Pet. This one's tough because I think part of the problem is that there aren't enough pets. Like, everybody's got ideas, but nobody's really sucking up quite right. You know what I mean? But maybe Otto. Maybe Otto's good for this one. I think that's a good pick.

I am going to go with J-Bo, Jason Lannister. J-L. Ooh, that's a really good one. Just the way, you know, on the hunting trip, he's like, look at this beautiful spear, Sire. Mayhaps should fate gift you with the white heart. It is my most earnest desire that you should stab it in its heart.

Bowels. Okay, okay, okay. With this golden spear that I so generously give to you, sire. And by the way, Rhaenyra looking pretty good. Is she single? I'm here. You know, that makes me think Harwin Strong also is like a very obvious good pick for that one. Yeah. What about most dramatic? Oh my gosh.

That's such a fun one. You know who I want to pick? Is it Vaimond, Corlys' brother? Oh, gosh, yes. He really was quite traumatic. Yeah, he just really wanted to yell about treason. He really, you know, he wanted the house. Yeah. I want the house. Yeah.

Um, that's a great one. I, this is slightly making me regret my earlier pick for best dressed, but because now I'm going to double dip. You're just get Kristen Cole wins everything in your heart. I think Chris Christopher Cole, the guy falls in love with the princess, which fair. I get it. Sure. Right. And then he's like,

hey, let's go run away because I once saw a crate of oranges. And so therefore my big idea is you and me hit the road like vagabonds, you know, following the Grateful Dead or something like that. And then when she spurns him, because that's a crazy fucking idea. Crazy fucking idea. He becomes as vindictive as any Bravo housewife character. He becomes venomous. Yes, exactly.

Okay, what about biggest flirt? I wish there was more flirting. Jason Lannister, to your point, I think would work really well for that one. I think that's a great one. I'm going to go with Laenor Velaryon. Oh, cute. So flirty with his sailor friend. And, you know, I hope he's living his best life, honestly. Yeah, same, for sure. Yeah. Most Westeros spirit?

You know, Otto Hightower. I was going to say Otto, too. A thousand percent. Yeah. Just like aggressively. Aggressively. Like, hey, it's good for the realm. Is it not? Is it also good for me? Yeah. Yeah. But it's great for the realm. This is great for the realm. Win, win, win. Most likely to be dictator. Isn't that all of them? Isn't that the system? Pretty much. Yeah. I mean, Aegon is a good answer for that one.

Named after a conqueror. What I take this to mean is most likely to be like a despotic ruler. And I think you're right. Like I think, Adon, what we've seen of him thus far is he is a man ruled by his vices. Yes. Yeah. And his emotions. And I think that is all of that leads to bad things for the citizenry. Yeah. My last one is tiredness.

I mean, Lyman Beesbury was falling asleep at meetings. That's true. That's a really good one. That's a really good one. Master of coin, my guy. Like, let's... What's going on with the budget? Somebody wake up bees. I was thinking about Vhagar. Oh, yeah. Very sleepy. Very drowsy girl. Maybe it's most over it. Yeah, Vhagar is...

She did the battles. Right. Come on. She conquered the continent. Can she get some rest now? Yeah, stop. Why are we rousing her? Let her rest. Right. Just leave her alone. She's fine. Right.

So, Jason, the show's producer has just informed us that the two winningest seniors in our little prize situation are Rainiera and Kristen Cole. Prom king and queen. Prom king and queen. Our personal favorites, obviously. I love it.

How much fun is this already? It's wonderful. I've missed doing it. I am so happy that we get to do it again. For all of you out there, season two premieres on Sunday, June 16th on HBO and Max, but we've got even more pre-premiere episodes hitting your feed before then. Make sure to join us next week for

when we're going to be breaking down some of our favorite characters, the dragons of House of the Dragon. Love those dragons. We'll also talk to the brilliant sound designer Paula Fairfield, who creates every utterance that those dragons make. She's amazing. I can't wait for y'all to hear that interview. And of course, if you like what you are hearing on this show, don't forget to leave us a five-star rating and review on your podcast player of choice.

And you can find us on the Game of Thrones and House of the Dragons social media handles. You can also find me at GretaMJohnSen on X and Instagram. You can find me at NETW3RK on X and Instagram. The official Game of Thrones podcast, House of the Dragon, is produced by HBO in collaboration with Pineapple Street Studios.

This podcast is hosted by Greta Johnson. And Jason Concepcion. Our executive producers for Pineapple Street are Gabrielle Lewis, Jayanne Berry, and Barry Finkel. Our lead engineer for the show is Hannes Braun. Pineapple's head of sound and engineering is Raj Makija. And Pineapple's senior audio engineers are Marina Pais and Pedro Alvira. This episode is mixed by Hannes Braun. Our editor is Darby Maloney with fact-checking by Melissa Akiko Slaughter.

Our producers are Ben Goldberg, Elliot Adler, and myself. Special thanks to Michael Gluckstad, Alison Cohen, Kenya Reyes, Savon Slater, and Aaron Kelly from the Max Podcast team. Thanks for listening. We must remind these lords of the oaths they swore and the cost of breaking them.