Alien: Romulus Review: Great Moments Weighed Down by Nostalgia.

Despite being the most renowned sci-fi horror franchise of all time, the Alien sequels have yet to live up to the excellence of its first two installments.
This was something I hoped would change with Alien: Romulus.
Directed by Fede Álvarez, one of the best horror directors working today, the first teaser for the film truly gripped me, getting me more excited for an Alien movie than I have been in years.
So, the first chance I got, I made my way down to the theater and sat down to watch it.
Unfortunately, I left that theater disappointed.
That is not to say Alien: Romulus is a bad movie, don’t get me wrong.
But the film is simply no better than the many average sequels which came after Aliens.
There are times when the movie is great, but those moments are undermined by a lot of bad.

*Romulus* starts off well, but its issues become more apparent as the film goes on.

Set between Alien and Aliens, Romulus follows a group of young adults who board a deserted research station.
Consisting of Rain (Cailee Spaney), her android brother Andy (David Jonsson), Tyler (Archie Renaux), Kay (Isabela Merced), Bjorn (Spike Bearn) and Navaro (Aileen Wu), this group attempts to find a way to make a better life for themselves, only to be met with a brutal fight for survival as they encounter the most dangerous creature in the universe.
Out of every character in the cast, the best are definitely Rain and Andy.
Their bond is the highlight of the film, with David Jonsson being particularly great as Andy.

Jonsson makes Andy endearing, awesome, and off-putting at different points throughout the film.

As for the rest of the characters, they are fine.
A lot of them are just there to die horribly when things go bad.
Speaking of which, these deaths are really gruesome, with a lot of horrifying practical effects.
The effects for the Aliens are also top notch.
They have been mostly CG for the past few movies, so it was great to see Fede Álvarez return the franchise to its practical roots.

Turns out the Alien is much more threatening when it is actually on stage with the actors. Who would have thought?… okay, everybody already knew that.

Along with the practical effects, the set design is also phenomenal, as is the sound design.
The soundtrack is nothing special, but it gets the job done.
All of these settings combine to create some truly great scenes, most notably with the Facehuggers.
Romulus presents the Facehuggers at their most terrifying, while also adding to the lore of how they operate in fascinating ways.

The Facehuggers have not been this scary since *Aliens.*

All of this is great but, as I said earlier, the movie is weighed down by many problems, chief among them being nostalgia.
Whenever a franchise gets rebooted nowadays, the writers will often have characters repeat famous lines from earlier movies, even when those lines make no sense in the context they are repeated.
Romulus is unfortunately no different.
There is an action scene near the third act which is tense, inventive and one of the best scenes in the film… but then they have to weaken it by having a character awkwardly repeat a line from Aliens.

This scene would have been perfect without the unnecessary callback at the end.

The issues do not end there because, without giving anything away, the movie baits nostalgia using CGI for one specific plot point, and it was just awful.
It looked so bad to the point of distraction, especially compared to the many great practical effects throughout the movie.
And then we have the ending.
Oh, boy, that ending.
Going into Romulus, I had heard that the ending was nuts and yep, it definitely is, but not in a good way.
It starts off well enough, being sufficiently creepy.
However, as the scene goes on, the threat just becomes goofy.
It felt like I was looking at something from a cheesy Resident Evil game rather than something from Alien.

The third act will be divisive, I think. Some people will enjoy it, while others, like me, will not.

I can appreciate Fede Álvarez taking a big swing with his idea for the ending, but it definitely missed for me.
Not to mention this final threat feels extremely similar to an idea from a prior Alien sequel which already failed.
It is a shame that Romulus has all of these issues because, like I said, there are a lot of great things about this movie.
Rain and Andy’s bond is a highlight, the practical effects are amazing, and a lot of the horror and action scenes are intense.
It is all just weighed down by eye rolling nostalgia bait, extremely poor CGI at times, and a third act which just feels goofy and honestly too far removed from Alien.
Overall, Alien: Romulus is still a good movie, but best to temper your expectations before going to see it.

House of the Dragon Season Two, Episode Eight, The Queen Who Ever Was Review: Worst Episode of the Series?

I was excited for the Season Two finale of House of the Dragon.
The previous episode, “The Red Sowing”, was one of my favorites of the series, so I was anticipating the season would likewise end on a great note.
Unfortunately, House of the Dragon followed up one of its best episodes with easily its worst for me.
Directed by Geeta Vasant Patel, “The Queen Who Ever Was” not only ends Season Two on an anticlimactic note but also has plenty of poorly integrated scenes, scenes that go nowhere and, worst of all, two cases of extreme character assassination.
The episode begins with Tyland Lannister negotiating with the Triarchy.
Over the course of the episode, we see him struggle, having to engage in a mud fight with Admiral Lohar to win the Triarchy’s support.
These scenes all feel very rushed, considering they are just shoved into the season finale.
If this storyline had been stretched out over previous episodes, maybe it would have been better.
A counter point to this is that Tyland and the newly introduced Lohar are just not interesting enough to carry their own storyline.
Sadly, this is not the only story with scenes spread across the episode which lacks intrigue.
Throughout “The Queen Who Ever Was”, we get brief scenes of Rhaena running through the Vale, looking for a wild dragon.
Not only is Rhaena unlikeable here because she abandoned her half-siblings, but the storyline also makes little sense because somehow no one noticed she was gone.
The episode ends with her finding the dragon, which has a cool design, but that is the last we see of Rhaena this season, making all of the buildup she got seem like a waste of time.
The Tyland and Rhaena scenes feel like they could have been removed in favor of focusing on more interesting events, like Aemond burning down a city that is loyal to the Blacks.
We only see the aftermath of this attack, removing a lot of its impact.
If we had seen Aemond actually burn the city, driven by his anger of the Blacks recruiting new dragon riders last episode, it could have been a big moment for his character.
Instead, it feels kind of hollow.
Speaking of those new dragon riders, Ulf is already letting the power get to his head, being disrespectful towards Jace.
This only furthers Jace’s fear that these Dragonseeds could prove to be more of a threat than allies.
Rhaenyra is not likely to listen to his protests, however.
She is, thankfully, finally listening to Corlys.
He was named Hand of the Queen in Episode Five, but he has bizarrely never been seen advising Rhaenyra until now.
It honestly felt like Mysaria was Hand of the Queen rather than him.
Now, we finally get to see him advising Rhaenyra to take the war to the Greens, while also unveiling his new ship, dubbing it “The Queen Who Ever Was” after Rhaenys, which is a nice touch.
Corlys is also in the best scene of the episode, when he tries to offer Alyn help, only for his illegitimate son to confront him with all of the pain he put him and Addam through by neglecting them.
Abubakar Salim gives a powerful performance here, and it makes me more excited to see him in Season Three.
Hopefully, we will see Corlys advising Rhaenyra more next season, as well.
She is certainly going to need all of the advice she can get, given that one of her plans failed so badly this episode.
The Lord she sent to access Daemon ends up betraying her, wanting to support Daemon’s claim instead.
Rhaenyra is just lucky Daemon had a vision about how terrible Season Eight was and now wants to stop it from happening.
That joke brings me to Daemon’s part of the story, as he finally makes his choice regarding his place in the world, deciding to stay loyal to Rhaenyra after his vision of the coming Whiter Walker threat.
While this was a big moment from Daemon, I do feel like House of the Dragon leans way too heavily on the events of Game of Thrones at times.
I wish it could just be its own show, especially how a lot of us do not want to be reminded of Season Eight.
Along with this, Daemon and Rhaenyra reconciling makes me wonder just what the point was of that bizarre make out scene between Rhaenyra and Mysaria in Episode Six?
That scene has never been addressed since and it probably never will now that Rhaenyra and Daemon are back on the same page.
However, Daemon’s storyline has an even worse problem, which is the complete character assassination of Helaena.
Helaena appears in Daemon’s vision, revealing herself to have powers similar to Bran’s in Game of Thrones.
She then gives him some advice.
“This is all a story. And you’re but one part in it. You know your part. You know what you must do.”
I hated this.
Daemon is responsible for the brutal murder of Helaena’s son, and I am supposed to believe that she is willing to help him after that?
Why?
She should hate his guts.
In episode two, we saw how traumatizing the death of her son was for her and this scene lessens that impact.
This is the first character assassination of the episode but there is still one more and it is far worse.
I am getting ahead of myself, though.
While, yes, the scene with Daemon and Helaena is bad, at least there are a couple of good scenes to balance the episode out a little.
The first of these is the already mentioned Alyn scene, but there is also one of Criston, where Gwayne confronts him over his relationship with Alicent.
The scene is a bit weird since Gwayne confronts Criston out in the open, practically telling everyone who did not already know that the King’s widow is having an affair.
That being said, the scene does have the best dialogue of the episode, as Criston shows how nihilistic he has become.
“Perhaps all men are corrupt and true honor is a mist that melts in the morning.”
Criston may be a complete and utter jerk, but damn did that line feel like something George R.R Martin would write.
Criston is faithful to Alicent… it is just a shame that she is currently willing to sell him and every single person in her family besides Helaena up the river.
After learning Aemond wants to force Helaena to fight, Alicent goes to Rhaenyra in secret to negotiate, being willing to surrender King’s Landing to her once Aemond leaves.
At first, Alicent attempts to claim she can convince Aegon to bend the knee, but Rhaenyra refuses, saying Aegon has to die for her claim to the Iron Throne to succeed.
So, obviously, Alicent says no, right?
I mean, this is the woman who threw herself in front of a dragon to defend her son in Season One, Episode Nine.
She would never sacrifice her children after being so afraid for their safety previously, right?
Nope, she agrees to sacrifice Aegon and, by extension, Aemond, Otto and Daeron, the latter of whom she wanted to know about just a few episodes ago.
This completely destroys Alicent’s character.
She was the one who turned her children against Rhaenyra in the first place and now she is willing to have them executed?
Not that it will happen though, because Aegon flees the city with Larys this episode, which will probably cause yet another misunderstanding between Rhaenyra and Alicent in Season Three.
As for Aegon himself, Tom-Glynn Carney did a fantastic job this season.
I somehow both sympathize with his character and despise him.
This is what the show should have been going for with Alicent.
Instead of the ruthless, power-hungry woman who loved her children from the book, we get the complete opposite, someone who wants peace even if it means her own children have to die.
Seeing what it led to, I now really don’t like the switch in Alicent’s character in “Lord of the Tides.”
If she had crowned Aegon because she wanted to, rather than because she misheard Viserys, it would have made her a lot more interesting.
Honestly, Rhaenyra suffers a lot from these kinds of issues as well.
In the Season One finale, Rhaenyra’s face after she learned of Luke’s death promised vengeance.
In Season Two, however, apart from Episode One, this desire for revenge because of her son’s death has completely disappeared.
She has been so pro-peace this season, even when it is absolutely obvious that the other side is not going to surrender.
I wish the show had just kept at what it was initially building up between Rhaenyra and Alicent, a friendship turned bitter and hateful rivalry.
Their children have literally been killing each other and they are still somehow friends.
Alicent even wants Rhaenyra to come with her which is just bizarre.
Where exactly would you two go where you would not be noticed?
At least the cinematography and Ramin Djawadi’s score are excellent, as this final, awful scene brings the season to an end on an incredibly anticlimactic note.
Overall, “The Queen Who Ever Was” is a bad finale.
Sure, it has some great scenes, like Alyn and Criston’s, but the rest of the scenes either feel shoved in, pointless, or have blatant character assassination.
As for the season as a whole, I have mixed feelings.
There have been amazing episodes, specifically Episodes Two, Four and Seven, but a lot of the other ones have been slow.
This would have been forgivable if they had built up to a good finale but, instead, we got the worst episode of the show.
I sincerely hope the writing quality will improve for Season Three, otherwise this show could be in trouble.
That being said, the writing for “The Queen Who Ever Was” is not as bad as Season Eight of Game of Thrones.
So, at least there is that.

Book Spoilers Section:
You know, it’s funny.
I spent the past few episodes planning a rant for when Rhaena claimed Sheepstealer but the writers cut the scene before it happened.
A part of me wonders if the writers are just waiting to see fan reception for Rhaena before they commit to abandoning Nettles entirely but that is probably not it.
I mean, why would they commit to having Sheepstealer in the Vale if they were not going to have Rhaena claim it?
And if Nettles does show up next season, then her storyline will probably be considerably weaker than the book, since the show spent so much time building up to another character getting her dragon.
At least Sheepstealer’s design looks cool.
Speaking of new dragons, we also got to see Tessarion briefly at the end of the episode.
I hope the show does Daeron justice.
Another interesting thing is Otto being in prison at the end.
This is completely book original, and I wonder where the show is going with it.
Perhaps it will be a way to tie him into Daeron’s storyline, like I speculated in prior reviews.
Along with Daeron, next season we also have the fall of King’s Landing and the Battle of the Gullett to look forward to.
The latter is what was being built up to with those Tyland and Lohar scenes.
However, that really does not justify those scenes’ existence, in my opinion.
All it really would have required is a simple message from Tyland saying he had got the Triarchy’s support, not a weird scene of mud fighting.
Oh, well, hopefully the battle will be good, along with the writing.
As you can see, the poor quality of this episode’s writing has me concerned for Season Three.
I really hope we don’t get Aemond hallucinating at Harrenhal with Alys Rivers when he eventually takes the castle.
Could you imagine?
I, unfortunately, can.
As for Season Two itself, I would still say it is good overall, but the writing is a definite step down from Season One.

Deadpool & Wolverine Review: Cameos Galore.

The first two Deadpool movies are a lot of fun.
The self-aware adventures of the titular merc with the mouth can always be counted on for a lot of fun violence and fourth wall breaking comedy.
Although, going into the latest film, Deadpool & Wolverine, I was a bit concerned because I knew this movie would be a follow up to Logan, my favorite movie of all time.
I was wondering how they would bring back Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, while staying respectful to that movie.
Well, Ryan Reynolds’ Wade Wilson explains how they plan to do it right from the film’s opening narration.
“We’re not.”
Yeah, see, Deadpool & Wolverine begins by literally desecrating Logan’s grave.
Had this been any other movie, I would have probably been enraged by this insult.
But… well, this is a Deadpool movie, and so the way they went about this desecration was somehow inventive, fun, and hilarious.

The opening of this movie would have most likely angered me had this had not been a Deadpool film.

Directed by Shawn Levy, Deadpool & Wolverine sees Wade Wilson kidnap a disgraced version of Wolverine to help him save his universe.
The story is honestly pretty bland but that is okay because it is merely used as a vehicle to get Deadpool and Wolverine on screen together, which definitely does not disappoint.
Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman have a lot of chemistry, making every dialogue exchange and fight scene they have comedic gold.

“I waited a long time for this team up,” Deadpool says in the movie. As have we all, Wade. As have we all.

Another highlight of this film is the cameos.
Oh, boy, does Deadpool & Wolverine have a lot of cameos.
I was expecting to see some since the film deals with the multiverse, but I was surprised by the sheer number of them.
With so many, it would have been easy to make these cameos feel cheap and unearned.
I would argue this has been the case with many of the MCU’s multiverse stories.
I mean, they even just announced that Robert Downey Jr. is returning to play Dr Doom, which reeks of desperation, in my opinion.
However, the cameos of Deadpool & Wolverine are often unique and unexpected, and I am glad I did not get spoiled about most of them.

You are bound to recognize some of the superhero and super villain cameos in this film, even if you only have a minor understanding of superhero movies.

Along with the cameos, there are also plenty of new characters, like the antagonist Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin), Charles Xavier’s evil twin sister.
Her character is pretty fun, with her gleeful villainy creating a fun yet threatening antagonist, who is pretty unpredictable.

Corrin clearly had a lot of fun playing this villain.

As for my criticisms of the film, as I said the overall story is pretty meh.
Along with this, I feel like one of the cameo characters honestly deserved a bit more to do.
Otherwise, Deadpool & Wolverine is an enjoyable film.
The cameos are well executed, the comedy is top notch, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman are expectedly fantastic as their characters and have great interactions.
Last, but certainly not least, the film serves as a love letter to the Fox era of Marvel, which has now ended.
Check it out just to see how many cameos you can recognize.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 172, Bzz! Boom! Chomp! Review: Called It.

In my review for Chapter 171 of Chainsaw Man, I predicted that Pochita would instantly kill the titular Special Division 5 at the beginning of the following chapter.
I was so confident about this that I literally titled the review, “They’re All Going to Die.”
Well, surprise, surprise, Chapter 172 begins with Pochita immediately slaughtering all of the newly introduced Fiends and their handler.
One of the Fiends seems to have successfully avoided the attack, only for them to immediately lose their head in a moment which had me laughing at the darkly comedic timing.
With Special Division 5 dead, the Devil Hunters of course throw Special Division 6 at Pochita.
Because that totally had a chance of working!
The 6th Division gets wiped out quicker than the first and I have to wonder what exactly Public Safety’s plan is?
Are they just going to throw Divisions 7 through 100 at Pochita individually and hope that they eventually kill him?
Well, whatever plan they do have is going to be next to impossible to communicate now that all of the characters have no ears.
In a disturbing panel, Pochita seems to be lining up the heads of the various Fiends he killed to eat, and he starts with the Ear Devil.
This removes the very concept of ears from the world so now people can’t hear each other.
It is pretty funny to think that Public Safety thought having the Ear Devil fight Chainsaw Man was a good idea.
Seriously, who’s afraid of ears?
Now they have only made their jobs harder, since they can no longer communicate using sound.
Did all of the competent people at Public Safety die, leaving only the idiots?
We’ll just have to see as the story progresses if their plan is as idiotic as it seems or if there is something more to it.
I doubt ears will stay gone forever, though.
Having the characters unable to communicate through sound for the rest of the story would be difficult to pull off.
So, how will ears return?
Well, Pochita will probably throw the devil representing it up again.
And who better to accomplish this task than Yoru?
She did promise to make Chainsaw Man throw up nuclear weapons at the beginning of Part One.
The chapter ends with her realizing Chainsaw Man has taken a concept away, her expression angered.
Looks like the long-awaited fight between the War Devil and Chainsaw Man is about to begin.
Yoru and Asa may be the only ones who can stand up to Pochita, since they were empowered by the growing fear of war.
I am really looking forward to this fight, which has been built up since Asa rescued Denji from Public Safety.
Let’s see how Fujimoto pulls it off.
Chapter 171 is yet another solid Chainsaw Man chapter, which shows off the power of Pochita, while hyping up the fight between him and Yoru.

House of the Dragon Season Two, Episode Seven, The Red Sowing Review: Best Episode of the Season?

My favorite part of Fire and Blood was the sowing of the seeds.
I just loved the concept of having Targaryen and Valyrian bastards from the smallfolk claim dragons.
So, obviously, this was the part of the story I was most excited to see in House of the Dragon.
Well, this storyline finally got adapted in Episode Seven of Season Two, “The Red Sowing”, and it did not disappoint.
In fact, I would say that in some ways the show actually did better than the book.
Directed by Loni Peristere, the episode begins with the first of many cinematic shots, as we get a brilliant extreme wide shot of Syrax and Seasmoke facing off, Rhanerya having chased Addam down.
She confronts him about claiming Seasmoke, understandably suspicious, but Addam asserts Seasmoke claimed him, voicing his wish to learn the way of dragon riders and serve her.
Noticeably, he does not admit to Corlys being his father.
Word of Addam claiming Seasmoke soon gets back to Larys through Iron Rod.
Larys, however, chooses not to bring this to Aemond, which is unusual, even if the information is currently unreliable.
That is unless you consider the fact that Aemond clearly despises Larys, who is now trying to get on Aegon’s good side.
He may have deliberately withheld the information to weaken Aemond’s position.
We see later on in the episode that he is continuing to aid Aegon, although through indelicate means, as he has Orwyle helping the king walk, despite the agonizing pain.
Meanwhile, back with the Blacks, Mysaria convinces Rhanerya to use the Smallfolk to fill her ranks of dragon riders, while Corlys meets with Addam.
The conversation between the two is understandably awkward, given that they both know their relation but refuse to acknowledge it.
Corlys ends the conversation by telling Addam “Well done,” probably the first bit or praise he has ever given his son, based on the emotional look upon Addam’s face.
Following this, we get one of the best scenes of the episode, as the Harrenhal plot finally goes somewhere.
Oscar Tully (Archie Barnes) arrives to meet with Daemon after his grandfather’s death.
He swears his allegiance to the Blacks but maintains it will be difficult to control the riverlords because of how much they hate Daemon, due to him encouraging Willem Blackwood’s war crimes.
All of the lords and ladies meet outside before the Weirwood Tree to discuss the matter, and it is here that it becomes perfectly clear just how good of a lord Oscar Tully will be.
Although young, he manages to expertly play Daemon, forcing him to execute Willem to make amends, ensuring the riverlords’ loyalty.
Archie Barnes is absolutely fantastic in this scene.
I honestly did not pay that much attention to him when we first met his character in Episode Four, but now I really want to see more of him.
Daemon’s storyline this episode ends with him having yet another vision about Viserys, who confronts Daemon over whether he really wants the crown.
Viserys is disfigured and, apparently, it was Paddy Considine who decided he should look that way for the scene.
It was a good thing he was listened to because his disfigured state perfectly shows Daemon the effect the crown can have on someone.
It took a while but Daemon’s storyline this season finally seems to be taking off.
Better late than never.
Daemon’s storyline is the second best of the episode, but my absolute favorite is, as I already stated, the sowing of the seeds.
This story continues with Jace confronting Rhaenyra over allowing Targaryen bastards to claim dragons.
I will admit, I was a bit disappointed to see that Jace did not have as big of a role in the sowing as he did in the book, where it was his entire idea.
That being said, the show did a great job of explaining why this makes Jace so scared.
He himself is a bastard, and the whole world knows it, so what is to stop another Targaryen bastard, this one with more Targaryen features, from asserting their claim to the throne over his?
In the end, though, Rhaenyra is not to be deterred and has her handmaiden spread word throughout King’s Landing that she is looking for bastards to claim dragons.
When Ulf hears of this, he acts as though he has an injured leg, not wanting to go until his friends peer pressure him into it in a humorous scene.
Hugh’s scene is much more emotional, as it is revealed that his daughter tragically died.
He reveals his past to his wife and states his intent to claim a dragon, despite her pleas.
That night, Hugh, Ulf and dozens of other Targaryen bastards are snuck out of King’s Landing for Dragonstone, where Rhaenyra is waiting.
However, it is not only Jace she is receiving resistance from.
The dragon keepers are also incensed with her decision, believing it desecrates the ways of old Valyria.
They force Rhaenyra to do her task alone, and she introduces the potential Dragonseeds to the dragon Vermithor.
Called the “Bronze Fury”, he is the largest dragon besides Vhagar, and the shot of him appearing behind Rhaenyra is especially threatening.
Just imagine how the Smallfolk felt when Rhaenyra left them all alone with him.
The potential dragon claiming quickly turns into a massacre, as Vermithor roasts Dragonseed after Dragonseed.
Although I do wonder why Rhaenyra did not just send the candidates in one at a time, it makes for quite the horrifying spectacle.
The CGI for the dragon is stunning, especially in an excellent one-take shot in which we see Hugh attempting to flee Vermithor, before standing up to him to save a woman.
I wonder if he was reminded of his daughter in this moment and this is what motivated him to make his move.
Hugh standing his ground against one of the mightiest dragons in the world and screaming “Come on!” is now one of my favorite moments in the series.
It bumped Hugh up to my top five characters of the show in a single moment.
His taming of Vermithor is also incredibly ironic because it is heavily implied that he is the son of Princess Saera Targaryen, who was disowned by her father Jaehaerys, Vermithor’s previous rider.
As for Ulf, his taming of a dragon is far easier than Hugh’s.
He just happens to stumble into Silverwing’s resting place, and she accepts him.
It is left vague why she claims him.
Ulf does step in one of her egg sacks before she sees him, so maybe she smelled him and thought he was one of her children?
Either that or she is just lonely.
Also, I have got to say that Silverwing is by far the most beautiful dragon of the series so far.
Her horns give her a really unique look, as does the color of her scales.
It is kind of funny that Rhaenyra sent the Dragonseeds to tame one of the most violent dragons first instead of the most chill one.
After the taming scenes, we get the final scene of the episode, as Aemond’s Small Council is interrupted by the arrival of Silverwing, Ulf on her back, cheering and laughing as he flies over the city.
I absolutely love the way the show has handled Hugh and Ulf.
To be honest, in the book they were fairly generic characters.
But in the show they have fleshed out personalities and motivations that make them all the more compelling and relatable.
There is something about seeing Ulf laughing with joy as he flies over the city that brings a smile to my face.
It definitely does not bring a smile to Aemond’s though, as he rides out to reach Vhagar.
They chase Ulf and Silverwing all the way back to Dragonstone, where Aemond realizes it is a trap and has just enough time to turn a reluctant Vhagar around before the two of them can be swarmed by the combined might of Syrax, Vermithor and Silverwing.
The episode then ends on yet another fantastic shot of Rhaenyra watching Aemond flee, a determined glare on her face, as the dragons roar behind her.
“The Red Sowing” is a fantastic episode.
There is not a bad scene in it.
The weakest is definitely the Alicent stuff, where she pretty much just goes on vacation, but that was not bad, and it could be building to something she will do in the finale for all I know.
Speaking of which, the next episode is the last of the season, and I hope they can end it on a banger.
As for “The Red Sowing” it is currently my favorite episode of the season.
Is that bias because of how much I loved this storyline in the book?
Maybe, but I personally do not care.

Book Spoilers Section:
I loved the show’s portrayal of the Dragonseeds this episode.
The only thing that would have made it better for me is if we also got to see Nettles claiming Sheepstealer.
However, as I have constantly mentioned, they have almost definitely given that role to Rhaena.
It is a shame we probably will not see Nettles because, as I said earlier, I loved the portrayal of Ulf and Hugh this episode.
If the writers had Nettles in the show, I know they could do her justice.
Well, at least we will see Sheepstealer next episode, so I have that to look forward to.
As for what the season will end on, I would have to guess the Blacks taking King’s Landing.
The show has not built up enough to the Battle of the Gullett yet.
So, Rhaenyra will probably take King’s Landing in the finale, and then go on a darker path next season.
The writers seem to be alluding to this based on Rhaenyra having her guards prevent the Dragonseeds from leaving the sowing, resulting in many of their deaths and the deaths of some of her guards.
She is becoming increasingly willing to sacrifice others for her aims.
Even the Dragonseeds will not be safe from this darker path, as some will most likely go power hungry.
This could cause a lot of tragedy as, before he leaves, Hugh’s wife suggests going to Tumbleton where her brother is.
Tumbleton is the sight of a massacre in the books, caused when Hugh and Ulf switch sides to the Greens.
I can see a tragic end for Hugh’s wife where she dies because of his actions, driving him over the edge.
But that is at least another season away.
For now, we will have to see how Episode Eight chooses to end the season.
Will it be the fall of King’s Landing, or something else?
We shall see.

House of the Dragon Season Two, Episode Six, Smallfolk Review: An Odd Pairing.

Episode Six of House of the Dragon may focus on the plights of the titular “Smallfolk”, but it begins with the nobility.
Directed by Andrij Parekh, the episode begins by showing Jason Lannister, who we have not seen since Season One.
He is marching to war, bringing a lion of all things with him, but delaying because he wants Aemond to protect them with Vhagar.
Naturally, this does not please Aemond, who has taken to his new job as Prince Regent with a vindictive stride.
He begins making some bold moves by attempting to set up an alliance with the Triarchy, and even dismisses his mother, Alicent.
“Have the indignities of your childhood not yet sufficiently been avenged?” Alicent asks, showing that, no matter how strong he may act, there is still a part of that scared bullied child inside Aemond.
Unfortunately, the dangerous and vindictive side of him is winning out.
Meanwhile, with the Blacks, Corlys takes his new role as Hand of the Queen, but unfortunately we do not see him really do anything with it this episode.
Maybe he will in the next one, considering what later happens to a certain bastard of his?
As for Rhaenyra, she begins enacting her and Jace’s plan to find those with Valyrian ancestry to ride dragons.
It turns out that one of her Queensguard, Ser Steffon Darklyn, is one of these people, so she asks him to attempt taming Seasmoke, Laenor’s dragon.
Steffon accepts the task but it ends poorly, to say the least.
At first, it seems as if he has succeeded, but he then gets overconfident and Seasmoke burns him and a dragon keeper alive.
The dragon keeper pulls out a knife and slits his own throat, showing just how bad of a job it is.
They have to constantly be ready to kill themselves because that is better than burning to death.
The ending to this scene was horrifying, and it leads to Rhaenyra slapping one of her lords when he questions her.
“It is my fault, I think, that you have forgotten to fear me,” she says.
To be honest, though, I do not know if the lords ever feared Rhaenyra.
She has not really done anything in the show that would make anyone scared of her, unlike in the book.
Daemon, however, has given plenty of reasons for people to be scared of him.
Simon Strong knows this better than anyone after this episode, as a paranoid Daemon accuses him of poisoning him, holding him at knifepoint the whole time.
Although, it is kind of weird that Daemon would think Simon is the one influencing him instead of, you know, Alys, the creepy witch lady.
Speaking of which, we get even more Daemon hallucinations this episode.
Yay.
Yeah, not going to lie, the constant hallucinations have become a bit tiresome, at this point.
Don’t get me wrong, it was great to see Paddy Considine back as Viserys.
His first scene is meh since he is just repeating lines from the first season, but his second one is great because it shows Daemon comforting Viserys for Aemma’s death like he should have done.
I do at least like how these hallucinations are being used to show Daemon feels guilt for some of his prior actions.
And to be fair to the writers, Daemon spent a long time doing very little at Harrenhal in the book too, so they had to find some way to make his storyline interesting, hence the constant hallucinations.
But Daemon’s story at Harrenhal is definitely about to pick up because he learns that the old Tully lord has died, most likely poisoned by Alys.
I am pretty curious about what Alys’ motives are.
She might be poisoning Daemon or setting a spell on him, and yet she helps him by convincing him to stay at Harrenhal and then likely poisoning the old Tully.
What is her end goal?
While Daemon will soon be making moves at Harrenhal, Rhaenyra and Mysaria put their plan into action this episode.
We see Mysaria’s agents spread tales of the high life those in the Red Keep experience, while the smallfolk suffer.
Rhaenyra then sends loads of supplies to these smallfolk.
It is a brilliant piece of propaganda to turn them to her side and it works wonders.
It honestly works a little too well because it almost ends with Alicent and Helaena being murdered by an angry mob.
In the end, they are saved but the same cannot be said for the frat boy friends of Aegon’s who he let into the Kingsguard.
Aegon really is lucky that he did not have those guys defending him when things went bad.
Unfortunately for him, he is stuck with a vindictive man like Aemond for a brother.
When Aegon awakens, Aemond pays him a visit.
Aegon claims to remember nothing, while Aemond pretty much tortures him by pressing into his burn wounds.
It is clear that he is lying to save himself, though, but who could blame him?
In the end, Aegon’s only friend here might be Larys, of all people.
After being hilariously shot down for Hand of the King by Aemond, Larys turns to Aegon and, in the best scene of the episode, relates to him by explaining the circumstances of his birth.
Through comparing his club foot with Aegon’s horrible wounds, it seems like Larys is able to bring himself to actually sympathize with Aegon’s situation, giving him some advice.
That being said, he is still definitely manipulating him, and his withholding of Milk of the Poppy was cruel, even if it was to keep Aegon level-headed.
As for my second favorite scene of the episode, this sees Alicent saying her goodbye to Gwayne.
They discuss Daeron and Gwayne begins a series of flatteries to describe him, before ending simply with, “He’s kind.”
I really liked the delivery of this line, and it made me even more excited for when Daeron eventually shows up.
This scene also did a great job of highlighting Alicent and Gwayne’s relationship, and the tension that exists between them due to their father’s attention.
What is way more intense than that, though, is what Seasmoke does after roasting Ser Steffon.
The dragon chases down and corners Addam in a moment that had the man understandably scared for his life.
However, while this scene was undoubtedly terrifying for Addam, it was hilarious for me.
Seasmoke really wanted Addam to be his rider and he was not taking no for an answer.
As for why he chose Addam, I wonder if it was because he reminded him of Laenor?
News of Addam riding Seasmoke eventually reaches Rhaenyra but, before that, we get the most controversial scene of the episode.
It begins with Mysaria reporting to Rhaenyra about the success of their plan, but Rhaenyra is still unsure, having doubts.
Mysaria then pays off the question about the scar on her neck, which Rhaenyra asked about a few episodes ago.
She reveals a horrifying story about the abuse she suffered from her father, and how she survived it, before relating it to meeting Rhaenyra, who is the first person to treat her like an equal.
Rhaenyra embraces her, and the two end up kissing.
I heard leaks about this scene and, when I did, I wondered if it was a troll because it sounded out of nowhere.
No prior scene in any episode seemed to hint at a Rhaenyra and Mysaria pairing.
Having seen the scene now, I still hold true to that belief.
I get the reason for it happening, but it still feels a little fast.
Not only that, but it feels pretty tone death, as well.
The scene goes from Mysaria telling the horrifying truth of the abuse she suffered to the two of them making out.
Maybe future episodes will improve my opinion of this pairing but, for now, this is one I don’t really like.
In the end, the two are interrupted with the news of someone being seen riding Seasmoke, and Rhaenyra goes to confront them, ending the episode.
Overall, “Smallfolk” is a good House of the Dragon episode.
It has plenty of great scenes, like Larys giving Aegon advice, Gwayne talking about Daeron, and Seasmoke claiming Addam.
On the other hand, there are some things which hold it back, most notably the odd pairing between Rhaenyra and Mysaria.
Only two episodes left before the season ends now.

Book Spoilers Section:
Going into this episode, I was excited to see the Dragonseeds plotline play out, but they seem to be saving that for next episode.
Addam has now claimed Seasmoke, and this will serve as motivation for Rhaenyra to call for more Dragonseeds, eventually resulting in Hugh and Ulf joining the Blacks.
Rhaenyra may also slowly become more like her book counterpart, if her telling the lord “It is my fault, I think, that you have forgotten to fear me,” is accurate.
As for Rhaenyra and Mysaria’s make out session, I was wondering why the writers decided to pair them up from a story perspective.
Their sudden make out feels like something Mushroom would write about, rather than something that actually happened.
So, what purpose will this serve in the plot?
Well, I think it could be used to drive a further wedge between Daemon and Rhaenyra.
We know Nettles has been cut, so instead of Rhaenyra being jealous of her, Daemon might be jealous of Mysaria?
Speaking of, this episode officially killed any hope I may have had of Nettles not being replaced by Rhaena.
Rhaena finds a bunch of burned sheep in the Vale and Jeyne Arryn confirms there is a wild dragon there.
I said in an earlier review that I thought it made sense for a sheep eating dragon to turn up in the Vale.
While I stand by this claim, it still kills me that one of my favorite characters from Fire and Blood is going to be replaced by a character who is so at odds with what her entire story was about.
I mean, not including Nettles felt like a major missed opportunity this episode.
The episode is literally called “Smallfolk.”
It focuses on their plight, and it would have been perfect to see Nettles begin the difficult process of claiming Sheepstealer this episode.
Instead, we get Rhaena who is a noble and thus completely ignorant to the struggles of the smallfolk.
Again, though, I am going to save the rest of my complaints for the episode where Rhaena actually claims Sheepstealer.
So, if you like rants, you have that to look forward to.
I want to end this review on a more positive note, so I will end it by talking about more positive directions for future storylines.
One such direction is that of the Shepard.
We see a man get his hand cut off by the incompetent Kingsguard this episode, and that man could be the Shepard, the one who leads the smallfolk to kill all the dragons.
Otto is also hinted to be returning.
Aemond sends for him this episode, and it would be great to see him again.
That being said, I hope he does not return to King’s Landing because, if he does, that means he will most likely meet his book fate and die in the season finale.
Rhys Ifans is one of the best actors in this show and I would like him to stick around longer than his book counterpart.
I theorized in an earlier review that he could take part in Daeron’s storyline next season, so I hope that is the case.
We will just have to wait and see what Otto’s fate will be in the final two episodes of the season.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 171, Special Division 5 Review: They’re All Going to Die.

Following the devastating reveal of Chainsaw Man Chapter 170, we all knew Denji’s world had been destroyed.
The opening panels of Chapter 171, “Special Division 5” are haunting.
Denji’s horrified face takes up half a page, with the environment around him being entirely blacked out, forcing us to focus on his emotion.
To make matters worse, Barem continues to taunt Denji.
“This is downright cruel of me, isn’t it?”
Understatement of the century there, Barem.
We then get the most satisfying moment of the chapter, as Pochita begins to take over, as predicted, and brutally rips Barem’s head from his shoulders.
I liked the detail of Barem attempting to take one last bite of sushi, like he wanted to get some last little enjoyment before his painful demise.
Unfortunately, this demise will not be permanent for Barem.
He is a hybrid, after all.
The only way for him to die for good would be if Pochita ate him.
Denji’s transformation into his old friend is just as gruesome as it was in Part One.
Asa and Yoru’s horrified reactions definitely show they are regretting wanting to fight Pochita.
They spent most of this arc trying to convince Denji to fight them this way but now they are seeing the true horror of it.
Be careful what you wish for, indeed.
Pochita’s design has even been updated, since he has even more horns now.
But don’t worry, there is someone there to stop Pochita now that he has been unleashed.
No, not Asa, Yoru and Katana Man.
I am, of course, talking about Special Division 5, Special Division 4’s successor.
The chapter ends with Fujimoto introducing these new fiend characters in various panels, showing off various interesting designs.
So, these new characters will definitely be capable of taking on Pochita, right?
Nope, they’re all dead.
Seriously, if Makima could not kill Pochita with the Weapons on her side then these random fiends do not stand a chance in hell, even if they are just trying to hold Pochita off.
Reading this chapter instantly reminded me of the Yuko arc where Fujimoto introduced the Devil Hunter Club, only to kill off the majority of its members immediately afterwards.
The same fate is almost certainly going to befall these new characters.
The only characters who may stand an actual chance are Yoru and Asa, since they have been powered up due to the world’s fear of war.
Everyone else is screwed.
Overall, “Special Division 5” is a short chapter but one with yet another impactful moment as Pochita returns to wreck everything following the loss of Nayuta.
My only criticism of the chapter is that the final panel is drawn a bit weird.
I honestly cannot tell if Pochita already appeared behind Special Division 5, if they are walking away from him for some reason, or if this is a separate panel.
Aside from the confusing final panel, though, “Special Division 5” is a great if short read.
Get ready to see all these new unnamed characters die horrible deaths next chapter.

House of the Dragon Season Two, Episode Five, Regent Review: What in the Oedipus Complex?

After one of the best episodes of House of the Dragon, the subsequent one, “Regent,” is a much calmer affair.
Despite this, it has, without question, the most cursed moment of the entire series so far.
Directed by Claire Kilner, the episode begins by showing Corlys’ reaction to the death of Rhaenys.
While his tearful moment is tragic, I will admit I was a bit disappointed we did not get the scene from the book, which I feel could have made Corlys’ grief more palpable.
Steve Toussaint’s performance still gets the job done, though.
From here, the episode transitions to King’s Landing where we see the Greens milking Rhaenys and Meleys’ defeat for all it is worth.
Meleys’ head is paraded through the streets to show the Small Folk of the victory at Rooks’ Rest.
If the Greens were hoping for a propaganda win then they definitely underestimated the element of superstition, as much of the Small Folk view the death of a dragon as a bad omen.
Also, it’s probably not a good idea to show the oppressed people that the dragons they fear can be killed.
Hugh spells this out perfectly when he states that the dragons are, “just meat.”
But the parade has another purpose besides propaganda.
It is also being used to smuggle the injured Aegon back into King’s Landing.
I was curious to see how far they would go with Aegon’s injuries.
The book’s description was pretty gnarly, and I wondered if the show would go all the way with it, or just apply a little makeup.
Well, of course House of the Dragon did not cheap out because Aegon’s wounds are gruesome.
Aemond, however, is more concerned with taking power in Aegon’s place, and Cole is willing to stay silent about what really happened, even to Alicent.
Back with the Blacks, the loss of Rhaenys and Meleys is causing Rhaenyra to have trouble with her lords again.
One of them takes the sexist approach again, telling Rhaenyra that the “gentler sex” has no place in planning battles, only for Rhaenyra to correctly point out that he has about as much battle experience as her.
It is good to see these troublesome lords get called out, although Rhaenys’ presence is missed because she was especially good at this.
Meanwhile, in the Riverlands, Daemon is attempting to threaten the Brackens into bending the knee with the help of Caraxes.
Admirably, however, the Brackens are steadfast in the face of being burned alive, and bravely turn their backs on the dragon.
Daemon’s following statement, “I did not think they would be so eager to die” makes him almost seems impressed with them.
This does not stop him from tasking Willem Blackwood (Jack Parry-Jones) with terrorizing their lands to threaten the Brackens into bending the knee.
If you will recall, Willem was the young man who vied for Rhaenyra’s hand back in Season One and killed his Bracken tormentor.
He is just as eager to take on the Brackens now, escalating it to war crimes with Daemon’s encouragement.
As for Daemon’s children, Rhaena has arrived in the Eyrie with the dragon eggs and Rhaenyra’s sons.
Jeyne Arryn is understandably none too pleased with receiving dragon eggs rather than a dragon rider to protect the Eeyrie.
As for Baela, her storyline this episode is more interesting, as we see her interact with Corlys, bringing him Rhaenyra’s offer to make him Hand of the Queen.
Corlys is initially incensed by this offer, probably seeing it as a means to placate him after Rhaenys’ death but Baela delivers an impassioned speech about Rhaenys and how she died as she would have wished.
Before Baela departs, Corlys offers to name her heir to Driftmark but she refuses in the best line of the episode, “I am blood and fire. Driftmark must pass to salt and sea.”
To be honest, I think House of the Dragon did a poor job of establishing Baela and Rhaena as characters in Season One.
With the exception of the fight with Aemond, they were pretty much just background characters, standing around while more important characters talked.
Season Two is attempting to fix this and they are succeeding, at least with Baela.
It remains to be seen if they will do so with Rhaena but I do have concerns about that, due to certain leaks which I will not get into here.
Getting back to their father, Daemon is still experiencing hallucinations at Harrenhal, with his most recent one being incredibly messed up.
Remember how I said at the beginning of this review that this episode had the most cursed moment of the whole series so far?
Well, this hallucination is that scene.
Daemon hallucinates having sex with a Targaryen woman and, for most of the scene, it is a mystery who she is.
That is, until she looks up at Daemon and says, “my favorite son.”
Just like that, all as one, the entire fandom recoiled in collective disgust.
We all know Targaryens love their incest but your own mother?
Really, Daemon?
When Viserys said that mother loved you best this was not what he meant!
Joking aside, I do struggle to see the point of this scene other than sheer shock value.
It just feels like the writers wanted to gross us out here.
Or maybe they saw it as a way to hint that Alys is possibly behind Daemon’s hallucinations, since she brings up his mother in a later scene?
Still, they could have gone about it in a less disturbing way.
To be fair to Daemon, though, this hallucination plays out more like a nightmare, so it is not like he actually wanted to have sex with his mother… at least I hope not.
Well, typing all of this is up has left me feeling pretty dirty so I am going to move on to the Greens again now.
With Aegon in a coma, the Green Council sets about naming the titular “Regent” of the episode.
Alicent nominates herself but, come on, they were never going to elect a woman when their whole justification for making Aegon king is that a woman cannot rule.
With Cole siding against Alicent, Aemond is named regent but, rather than focus on him and his council’s tactics, the shot stays firmly focused on Alicent, who is having a breakdown as she slowly realizes what she has helped unleash.
Olivia Cooke does a fantastic job in this scene.
She really brings Alicent’s horror to life.
This is a horror much of King’s Landing is experiencing, as many are attempting to flee the city because of food shortages and the fear of retribution for Meleys’ death.
Among those who attempt to flee are Hugh and his family, including his sick daughter, but Aemond orders the gates closed.
The last scenes with the Greens see Helaena confronting Aemond over what he did to Aegon without saying it, and a wounded Aegon calling out to his mother in his sleep… let’s just hope is dream of her is more innocent than Daemon’s.
Relax, I’m kidding.
Aemond is not the only prince making moves because, with Baela’s encouragement, Jace begins negotiating with the Freys, who are just as conniving as their descendants in Game of Thrones, hundreds of years later.
The Freys want Harrenhal, and Jace seems more than willing to meet this demand.
Although, since Simon Strong currently holds Harrenhal, I imagine he will have a few problems with this.
Yet, he does not command a strong force so, if he does turn traitor because of it, I do not imagine it will have that big of an impact for the Blacks.
What will have a big impact, however, is Daemon’s encouragement of war crimes.
His story this episode ends with him being confronted by a bunch of lords and ladies about the atrocities committed by the Blackwoods at his direction.
Despite Daemon building himself up as a King the whole episode, the results of his actions really prove how terrible he would be as one.
Unless the lord Rhaenyra sent to access Daemon can help somehow, I really do not see how Daemon can spin this whole mess in a positive way.
Speaking of Rhaenyra, she is enacting plans of her own, as she sends one of her handmaidens into King’s Landing to meet with Dyana for a currently unknown purpose.
The episode then ends with her and Jace deciding to find the descendants of Targaryens and Valyrians, and enlist them to their cause as dragon riders.
This storyline is my favorite part of the entire Dance so I am excited to see it finally being adapted.
I hope the show does it justice.
As for “Regent” it is another good episode.
Some of it is questionable, namely the whole Daemon sleeping with his mother hallucination but, otherwise, it does a decent job of building up to future storylines.

Book Spoilers Section:
Going into this episode, I was excited to see Corlys’ reaction to Rhaenys’ death.
In the book, he blames Rhaenyra, lashing out in his grief.
Unfortunately, we did not get this scene, as we just see him mourning alone.
As I said, Steve Toussaint does a great job portraying this grief, but it was a bit disappointing to not see this scene from the book.
That being said, the show already seems to be building to one of the most impactful moments of Fire and Blood, which is the storming of the Dragon Pit.
The Small Folk realizing that the godlike dragons are “just meat” will undoubtedly lead to this dark event in future seasons.
Another bit from the book which was built up this episode was the meeting between Alys and Aemond.
Daemon tells Alys she should pray she never meets him because he will kill her.
It is kind of funny to know, as a book reader, how wrong Daemon is because Aemond will actually take her as a lover.
In the next few episodes, we will definitely be seeing the Dragon Seed storyline play out.
Addam will claim Seasmoke, as foreshadowed by him seeing the dragon fly overhead a few episodes ago.
I wonder what will motivate to do so, and I am also curious to see if him claiming Sheepstealer will confirm Laenor has died?
As for the other two Dragon Seeds, Hugh and Ulf, I have a pretty good idea of their reasoning for becoming dragon riders.
Ulf has already revealed himself to be a Black loyalist with his boasting in Episode Three.
As for Hugh, his reason for joining is probably going to be way more tragic.
His daughter appears to be on the brink of death when he and his family try to flee King’s Landing.
She will most likely die, and Hugh will want revenge, blaming the Greens for aid not arriving as promised and for locking them in the city.
So that is three out of four Dragon Seeds but, as I have probably repeated ad nauseam in these reviews, Nettles has most likely been cut for Rhaena who will claim Sheepstealer in the next few episodes, to my displeasure.
However, Rhaena claiming Sheepstealer may not be the only issue I have with the next few episodes because there is another weird leak going around.
This leak claims that Rhaenyra and Mysaria will kiss.
If this happens, it will be absolutely bizarre because, while the scenes between the two are good, I have not felt a single hint of romantic or sexual tension.
Although, given that this leak is so bizarre, there is always the possibility that it is a troll.
Or, who knows, maybe the kiss will make sense in context, if it does happen?
In any case, I am still excited to see Addam, Hugh and Ulf claim their dragons so there is that to look forward to.

Chainsaw Man Chapters 169 and 170 Review: Barem Bridge Must Die!

In my review for Chapter 168 of Chainsaw Man, I said the sushi place Denji and the group going to being called “Death by Sushi” was ominous.
Well, after reading Chapters 169 and 170, I can say that I hate being right.
Chapter 170, “How to Eat Sushi” is right up there with Chapters 79 and 81 in terms of the sheer trauma unloaded upon Denji.
But I am getting ahead of myself.
Chapter 169, “Hands and Adaptation” builds up to this devastating moment well, with Denji still reeling from his and Yoru’s intimate moment in the alleyway.
He wonders if he is “happy or unhappy now” which is pretty sad to see that he still does not know.
Unfortunately, I doubt he will be happy ever again after what is revealed later.
While some of the group seem unsure about eating, Fami, of course, digs right in.
Asa, however, does not, seeing as she does not like sushi.
Fami has said that she can control people who are starving, so maybe this is a strategy to control Asa?
If Fami is pulling Asa’s strings, then Barem is definitely pulling Denji’s.
The Flamethrower Hybrid once again proves himself to be a master of stealth, as he just slides on into the conversation as he has done plenty of times before.
Denji attempts to attack him, only to stop immediately when Barem brings up Nayuta, promising to let Denji see her if he does what he says.
His first request?
“Eat this egg sushi.”
The chapter ends on this line, and my immediate thought was, please don’t let Nayuta be the sushi.
After thinking about it for a bit, though, I reasoned that there was no way Fujimoto would kill Nayuta off screen.
I had been telling myself that ever since she disappeared, and I told myself that right until the devastating reveal of Chapter 170.
“How to Eat Sushi” begins with Denji initially refusing Barem’s demand, only to relent when he brings up Nayuta again.
Denji begins to resentfully stuff his face, to which Barem says, “Good boy.”
Once again, I cannot help but be reminded of Makima, which makes sense considering how key she is to Barem’s motivations, which are still mysterious.
He says he wants the Chainsaw Man with the ability to erase names from existence but Denji protests, saying that chainsaws don’t have that power and they are just for cutting down trees.
Barem then raises the interesting possibility that chainsaws had other uses, which Chainsaw Man removed knowledge of.
There is a theory going around that Chainsaw Man is the Life Devil or Birth Devil, since the original purpose of chainsaws was to help during childbirth.
If Chainsaw Man is the Life Devil, it would make sense that it could remove names from existence.
If it can bring concepts into the world then it can also take them out.
Chainsaw Man being the Life Devil would also make it the direct opposite of the Death Devil, which raises interesting implications, since Yoshida asked Denji at the aquarium if he thought he could eat the Death Devil.
Back to the chapter itself, Barem then tells Denji that two things are needed for Chainsaw Man to return.
The first of these is for people to fear Chainsaw Man, which has already been achieved through the Chainsaw Men transformations.
The second of these is Denji’s unhappiness.
This reminded me so much of Makima orchestrating Aki’s death and killing Power to make Denji miserable, and the parallel is clear because of what happens next.
Barem orders another round of sushi and, as it goes down the conveyer belt, we see each customer’s disgusted reaction, from Asa to Katana Man, as Fujimoto slowly builds to the full page spread reveal of Nayuta’s head on a plate.
Nayuta is dead, and Barem has most likely been feeding Denji pieces of her, just like Denji ate Makima.
I screamed “NO!” when I saw Nayuta’s head on the plate.
This moment is just as horrifying as when Denji was forced to kill Aki.
It is just as crushing as when Makima killed Power.
Denji went through a lot of suffering in Chainsaw Man Part One, but his ending was hopeful.
He had Meowy, Makima’s dogs and, of course, Nayuta, a little sister who he was raising to be a good person, despite all that her past life had put him through.
Now, he has had everything taken away from him again.
Meowy and the dogs likely burned to death in the apartment fire and now Denji has lost the person who meant the most to him.
The chapter ends with a close up of Nayuta’s decapitated head, while Barem watches Denji’s horrified reaction with a smug smile.
To that, I say can someone please kill this monster?
Barem Bridge is one of the biggest psychos in the series and he has probably just surpassed Makima in terms of emotional trauma inflicted upon Denji.
I cannot deny that he is a great villain, though.
The bastard is probably going to get his wish too, as Denji will transform into Pochita, and a fight between him Asa will then ensue.
As for Nayuta, I hope there is some way that she can be revived.
Power stated at the end of Part One that she could be brought back, so maybe Denji could do the same for Nayuta?
Hopefully?
I just want Denji to be happy.
Sadly, this probably will not happen.
Hell, I would not be surprised if Denji stops trying to find happiness altogether after this.
I would too if everyone I loved was taken from me in the most tragic and cruel ways imaginable.
Chapter 170 is one of Chainsaw Man‘s most gut-wrenching chapters, and Chapter 169 is a tense build up to it.
Knowing Fujimoto, the fallout of this in the next chapter is probably going to be just as traumatizing.

House of the Dragon Season Two, Episode Four, The Red Dragon and the Gold Review: Rook’s Rest.

In my review for the previous episode of House of the Dragon, I said that Episode Four could be one of the best episodes of the series so far.
Having seen it, I can confidently say that this prediction was absolutely correct.
A slight correction, though.
In that review, I said this episode was called “A Dance with Dragons” but it is actually called “The Red Dragon and the Gold.”
A much better name, in my opinion.
Directed again by Alan Taylor, “The Red Dragon and the Gold” begins at Harrenhal, where Daemon is experiencing more nightmares about his past.
Milly Alcock returns again as the younger Rhaenyra who does a good job calling Daemon out for his past actions.
Daemon responds in typical Daemon fashion by decapitating her, before being awakened with blood on his hands.
I kind of figured Daemon’s nightmare would be a one-time thing last episode, but the show really seems to be running with it.
While Daemon attempts to gain allies through the Tullys and Blackwoods, he loses time and experiences flashbacks to his past, including seeing his dead wife, Laena.
In one bizarre moment, he even sees himself as Aemond.
I am unsure how I feel about this storyline at the moment, but the show seems to be pretty ambiguous on the cause of all this for the time being.
It could be the curse of Harrenhal, Alys Rivers using some kind of magic on Daemon, or simply Daemon’s guilt messing with his mind.
Maybe all three.
In any case, I think it would be a missed opportunity if the show did not have Daemon experience a hallucination of Rhea Royce.
Her murder is definitely Daemon’s worst crime and, even if he does not feel about it, it would be strange if he was not confronted with it.
Overall, I am still interested to see where Daemon’s storyline goes at Harrenhal.
The highlight of the episode, though, is definitely Rhaenys, who begins the episode meeting Alyn to thank him for saving her husband.
Her interaction with him, and Corlys’ subsequent reaction, basically confirm that he is Corlys’ bastard, but Rhaenys proves her morality for not judging Alyn on the basis of his birth.
Rhaenys and Corlys then travel to Dragonstone to help Jace and Baela set their conflicting lords straight.
Corlys’ line, “is there naught to be done in the absence of the Queen but to grouse and claw for power” shows how far he has come from Season One, where he started off as extremely power hungry.
Had the old Corlys been in this room, he would have been just as combative as the other lords.
To be fair to these lords, though, Rhaenyra certainly has not helped matters by disappearing and, when she finally does come back, everyone is shocked to learn she went to King’s Landing to meet with Alicent, especially Jace.
Rhaenyra’s reasoning for meeting Alicent really bothered me in Episode Three, due to how shortsighted it was, but it was made retroactively better in this episode through the other characters calling her out on it.
She is at least ready for war now, although it may be too late because the Greens are already attacking her allies.
We see the sacking of one castle, where Criston kills the lord and assimilates his forces into his own army.
The lord does have some awesome last words though, telling Criston that his death will come in kind.
Despite the war progressing well for the Greens due to Criston’s actions, Aegon is displeased to hear of Daemon taking Harrenhal.
His insecurities only grow when Aemond embarrasses him by showing just how bad his Valyrian is, while Aemond’s is impeccable.
Aegon then does what any insecure son would do when he is feeling inadequate, seek the comfort of his mother.
Unfortunately, his mother is Alicent, who is also reeling from the revelations of her conversation with Rhaenyra.
She deals with Aegon’s insecurities with the subtleness of a brick wall, offering him no comfort, and telling him to do nothing, as if she had no hand in this situation.
She had literal years to train Aegon to be a king, and yet she clearly taught him nothing and now expects him to do nothing.
Did she really expect him to be content with that?
This is not a complaint, though, as I love how complicated Alicent is.
Rhaenyra proves herself to be both much more caring, and to also be better at preparing her son for kingship by telling him about the Song of Ice and Fire.
From here, the episode transitions to a scene I have been waiting to see adapted ever since I first read Fire and Blood: Rook’s Rest.
The battle did not disappoint.
Not only are the effects, both CGI and practical great, but so is the cinematography and the brilliant score by Ramin Djawadi playing throughout.
Cole lays siege to Rook’s Rest, resulting in Rhaenys volunteering to take her dragon Meleys and aid the Blacks.
Meanwhile, Aegon, drunk and eager to prove himself, takes his dragon Sunfyre to the battlefield.
And so, the red dragon and the gold head for conflict.
However, both are unaware of the third, old dragon.
Cole and Aemond planned an ambush and are ready to meet Rhaenys with Vhagar.
They are not ready for Aegon to interfere, however, and he nearly gets himself killed fighting Rhaenys.
Thankfully for him, help is on the way… unfortunately for him, that help is Aemond.
As I predicted, Aemond was not quick to forget Aegon’s humiliation of him in the brothel, along with the years of humiliation he was subjected to as a child.
Aemond orders Vhagar to shoot fire at the two dragons, seemingly not caring if his own brother is killed.
Aegon and Sunfyre plummet into the forest below, leaving Meleys and Vhagar as the only dragons left in the fight.
Rather than flee, Rhaenys valiantly fights against Aemond and Vhagar.
What follows shows exactly why this conflict came to be known as the Dance of the Dragons as, locked together in battle, the two dragons do almost look like they are dancing.
In the end, however, Aemond and Vhagar are able to get a sneak attack on Rhaenys and Meleys, ending the fight.
As Meleys dies, the look on Rhaenys’s face as she falls is tragic, knowing that imminent death is getting closer, until she and her dragon crash into the castle below, resulting in a fireball.
In the aftermath of the battle, Criston finds Aemond standing over Aegon, sword drawn, leaving it implied if he was really going to kill his brother or not.
In the end, Aemond takes the Valyrian Steel dagger and leaves Criston with Aegon, whose fate currently remains unknown.
This whole final scene at Rook’s Rest makes “The Red Dragon and the Gold” one of the best House of the Dragon episodes, but the rest of the episode is nothing to sleep about.
We have Daemon being confronted by his past, Rhaenyra finally accepting that war is inevitable, and the buildup to Rhaenys’ death, with her sharing her last scenes with Corlys.
Speaking of Corlys it will be tragic to see him learn of his wife’s death next episode.
As for Rhaenys herself, Eve Best did a fantastic job with the character.
While I felt like the writing for her could be a little bit iffy at times, like when she killed loads of civilians in the Dragon Pit, when the writing for her was good it was really good.
We see that this episode during her interaction with Alyn, and it is a shame we will not be getting more Rhaenys scenes like this, due to her death.
RIP the Queen Who Never Was.

Book Spoilers Section:
The episode ends keeping Aegon’s fate up in the air, but he does survive his injuries.
I am curious how far the show will go as to the extent of those injuries.
Will his scars be super prominent or more subtle?
As for Aegon himself, I don’t expect we will see much more of him this season, due to his wounds, which is a shame because Tom Glynn-Carney has been doing an excellent job this season.
Speaking of a character’s screen time being reduced, I am unsure if we will see Otto again this season, since he left to meet up with Daeron and he has not been cast yet.
I am, however, now wondering if Otto’s fate will be changed from Fire and Blood.
When Rhaenyra takes King’s Landing in the book, Otto is among those executed.
But if this season ends with the taking of King’s Landing, like I think it will, Otto will not be there to meet that fate.
Instead, Otto will most likely be mentoring Daeron next season.
If that is the case, then he could end up meeting the fate of another book character where, after Daeron’s death, he poisons himself to ensure the death of Ulf the White.
This would be a cooler way for Otto to go out and Rhys Ifans could definitely pull it off.
With Rook’s Rest now concluded, I expect the next few episodes will finally get into my favorite storyline from the Dance, which is the Dragonseeds.
I have mentioned in previous reviews that I am concerned about this storyline in the show, due to the potential cutting of Nettles, however the show has done a good job of setting up the characters of Addam, Hugh and Ulf, so I am excited to see them tame their dragons, at least.
We will see how that storyline turns out in the next few episodes.