'House of the Dragon' and the Rule of Women; Plus, 'Cape Fear'

Hey, everyone.

It's taking it down the TV podcast from the Alabama take and we're inching towards episode 300.

Keep an eye and an ear out for how you can be a part of that episode coming this fall.

Today on the episode, we're discussing the newest from House of the Dragon titled Faceless Men, as well as the totality of the Apple TV show Cape Fear now that it's ended its run.

As always, though, begin with no spoilers about both series before we take a break and then return with some in depth thoughts about each.

So let's begin the episode with Adam and Donovan joining me.

Alabama take projection.

Hello to Adam and Donovan who are here and both eager as hell to talk about House of the Dragon and Cape Fear.

Before I unleash the gentleman with those two shows.

Did either of you know that Ted Lasso is returning to Apple TV this week for a new season?

I was aware of that.

I have zero excitement for this.

Do you have any interest?

I suppose?

Interest, maybe, but excitement, no.

What about y'?

All?

I think I was aware because there are people in my life who adore this show so much.

The initial run arrived at the right time for them personally and I think culturally, I think we talked about that quite a bit and they're so excited to have more of it.

And I am excited for them.

Good for you.

That's something I could never do.

Be excited for someone else.

Just be happy for anyone else.

Well, I think this, this show, the first season was like, damn, this is.

It's pretty good.

It really made an impression.

And after that, it was just kind of like a nice warm blanket.

Yeah.

You know, and like, if they want to do another season of warm blankets, then, yeah, why not?

For the people who enjoy that in.

90 Degree Alabama weather.

Yeah.

Donovan, you have any excitement, interest?

I'll watch it, by the way, and I may love it.

Yeah, I mean, you know, not.

Not really.

I think just like Adam said.

Right.

Like, the first one was such a cultural moment.

Is also particular to that moment in time.

You know, if it comes back and it's awesome.

Great.

I got my fill of Ted Lasso at the halftime show of the World Cup.

However, was he involved in that?

Oh, man.

God, yeah.

He and the guy who plays Coach Beard came out to introduce Justin Bieber.

It was horrible.

I. I changed the channel and refused to discuss it with anyone.

That was really wise.

A moral stand.

Donovan, I'm sorry for your loss.

It was.

It was easier to keep it on because the baby was distracted.

So I halfway Watched it while playing with the baby.

But yeah, he walked out as Ted Lasso.

It was.

I've had my fill.

Was it pretty cringe worthy or something?

Yeah, it was horrible.

Okay, they brought the Muppets out.

Ted Lasso coming in for that fourth season though it's goes hand in hand with our discussion in Cape Fear a little later which is does it have a good why?

Yeah, does it have a good.

Why are we doing this?

Well, that's gonna we yet to see it.

Are you familiar with big piles of money, Blaine?

Yeah, no.

I mean not personally.

I've heard stories.

Yeah, that could very possibly be Its.

Why I've seen Breaking Bad with Huell.

Yeah.

One show I am sort of excited about and I'm certainly interested in is Furious on Hulu.

Have you heard of this one?

I haven't.

Well, last week I told listeners that lucky on Apple TVs one for doing the laundry.

I couldn't give it.

Yes, full praise at all.

Not this one.

I can recommend it with a full chest full throatedly I can recommend it.

It's worth people's time.

It stars Emily Rossum and Lola Petticrew, whom you'll recognize her from say nothing in her role as a IRA member.

Furious though is a crime procedural in a way.

It's serialized.

It's created by Elizabeth Merryweather who created New Girl years ago and she also had a big hand in the dramedy from last year, Dying for Sex, which I didn't see.

I didn't see that and I didn't know that.

That's interesting.

It got rave reviews.

A lot of people's end of the year list, it was at the top.

But she's taken this female perspective, a real modernized female perspective.

Maybe she that she even had it a little bit in New Girl.

But to crime scenes where Emily Rossum's an FBI agent tracking down what seems to be a killer who may have killed more than one person.

I'll say no more other than recommended.

I've seen one episode and from what I gather the more I read about it, it's going to be worth it.

I can see in the first episode you can see elements of a well done show already.

Very interesting.

It is interesting.

They dropped three episodes so far it's on Hulu and then they're going to go week to week probably on Tuesdays when they tend to do Hulu shows.

But that takes us to our non spoilers with the most recent episode of House of the Dragon titled Faceless Men.

Hit me with your thoughts on the.

Extra long episode here, I finally got some smell payoff.

Been waiting on that.

Yeah, you gotta think there's more, though.

We've been told Ormond is sensitive to smells.

And watching the face that James Norton made was, I thought, really funny.

Some people are still horny.

There's mothers, sons.

What more can we say?

I thought it was good.

I thought it was.

I think.

I'm sure we will probably lead off in spoilers talking about that open.

Yeah.

Due to that.

Due to.

Not that we've lacked action in this season at all, but the way that things played out.

You know, Blaine, you.

I thought of you saying last week that you still love getting lost in this world, being immersed in it.

And this was maybe the first.

For the first third half of this episode, I felt the same way.

Which is not something I've maybe felt in other episodes this season.

So, yeah, I enjoyed it.

The big complaint is online.

This is too slow.

Didn't land that way for me as.

An episode or as a season episode.

Yeah, that's insane to me that people say things like that when the original show.

There have been moments of action in this that would have taken like four episodes to build up to in the original run.

Now, that said, that's a credit to how good the writing was early on that people were just along for the ride.

But there's so much happening here.

Yeah, I think a big complaint is there's not enough of the Westerosi world involved that you're really kind of stuck in a castle or you're stuck in Tumbleton, and that's kind of it.

I have seen that they're out in the countryside some.

We get a little bit of that in this one.

But there was some mutterings online about somebody posted how many people actually died, civilians and soldiers in this war that they like.

Somehow you can figure that out and.

And there's all these battles.

It was much more apocalyptic maybe, than the show will be able to convey.

So that may tie in a bit to what you're saying there.

That, like, we are seeing a lot of, like, castle intrigue when really there is this big sprawling conflict.

Whereas especially early on with the original show, you really felt like there's campaigns happening everywhere, there's all this happening across an ocean.

Dorne's doing a thing like.

It felt much bigger.

I think Harrenhal is also stymied.

A lot of people.

I meant to say Harrenhal when I mentioned castles.

People don't like.

They didn't like it last season.

I Thought that Harrenhal as a character took a step forward this week.

Yeah, that I dug.

But I also like reading about weird old haunted places.

So.

Yeah, I've narrowed down three types of House of the Dragon viewers, particularly online.

Okay.

But maybe irl those who love it, which are rare, those who hate it, and those who want to like it, but complain about every decision in relation to the books.

Do we fit into these three categories?

I love it.

I'm unabashed lover.

I don't care that they're only in two sets per episode.

Three sets per episode.

I just think there's a little bit more going on.

Do you love it as much as you love the original run while it was on?

Not those first four or five seasons.

But I certainly enjoy Sunday night coming along.

I. I get a little anxious, you know, is it 7:55?

Is it 7:56?

Here we go.

I'm a fan.

I think it's great that you're able to put yourself out there again.

That takes a lot of.

After being hurt in the way.

Yeah, all of us, yeah, we've all been hurt by the end of the last show.

And I, you know, maybe I'm.

Maybe I'm just jaded now.

It helps that I don't have a great memory, I think.

Me either.

But maybe it's because it has a defined ending.

I'm like, well, this other show kind of did like as much as this one does because they're kind of basing it off of.

So I don't know.

I feel like.

But there's something about, for me, comparing.

And perhaps the showrunners and writers and directors are very aware of this, like, comparing what they were doing.

It's like, okay, I feel like we have a firmer hand on the till.

I think they're very aware here.

And I think that a couple things helped me.

It's.

It's 200 years in the past.

It's a little bit of a build up in a way.

Although it's 200 years ago, it's kind of a build up to those early seasons that we did love.

I mean, it's gonna.

If, if.

If we don't get anything in between other than A Night of the Seven Kingdoms, then, you know, this is not gonna.

I mean, it might go off the rails.

Yeah.

But it's not gonna do too badly.

The.

Like Donovan said, the ending's already written.

If you wanted to go have a look.

I don't, but it just is also.

Too like, for, for me this season.

It's like bring, bring together a bunch of well directed, well written folks that I like, make them act in front of a camera.

Like I'm probably gonna feel favorably towards most of what you're doing.

Damn much like the original Roland, they got some great acting.

Speaking of indigenous, we've come to the end of Cape Fear 2, which we decided to address after the season's ending.

I'm still left scratching my head on what the producer saw in this or in the scripts to give it a green line.

I realize Scorsese's probably only a producer in name in that he made no decisions related to this other than for sure he probably okayed them to cop a little of his script from the 91 film.

You have to wonder what people at Apple TV thought though.

Were there moments where they said, hey, not only is this good, but it's worthy of being done again despite two films?

I just don't know.

Yeah, we'll get talk more about it and spoiler too.

But you know, it's kind.

In the intervening time, I still have not seen the Scorsese Cape Fear, but I came to the end of it and I, I too was wondering, like, what's different about this?

What's so different about this one?

There are some differences.

There are new things and I thought some of them were good.

I assumed there had to have been.

Just if for nothing else that it's a 10 episode hour long, you know, so you've just got way more time to fill in a TV show than you would with a movie.

New things for sure.

Some of them were okay, some were okay, good.

But when it was all put together, I thought it was a bit schlocky, a bit trashy.

A bit.

Yeah, a bit.

I mean, yeah, I'm not underselling.

Beth watched like she had been watching it with me.

She went away, I was watching it for, for this.

And then so she came back and I think watched the last of last two episodes with me and like just trying to describe what had happened in an episode before that.

I'm like, this sounds insane when I say it out loud.

Like,.

Yeah, it does.

I mean, just try, just try and like recap what's happening in one of these episod.

It was so enamored with its own twistiness.

It felt more than anything else.

And that's fine.

It's kind of like popcorn.

Like I wanted to see what was gonna happen, I'll admit.

Me too.

I liked Javier Bardem, was by and large my favorite part.

He was just.

I want to talk like him now I just try practice.

I'd practice in the car.

I do too.

In this role, I still was entertained somehow.

It's kind of funny.

We'll get into some of the specifics later.

But I still wanted to watch it.

Every week I. I get the feeling that, like, it was enjoyable or like I wanted to watch it.

I wanted to see what was gonna happen.

But I don't.

Like, I'm not good.

In six months I'm probably not gonna be thinking about the Apple TV version of Cape Fear.

I find it highly unlikely.

Well said.

That there will be anything to nourish me.

Well said.

And it.

Was it good?

I don't think so.

Did I like it and was entertained by it?

Yes.

Those are two different things.

You know, it.

It went beyond like at some point.

I mean, no, it wasn't good is what I'll say.

Sometimes though.

Like, it's just.

It was so uninterested in it that it's like, if you want to talk about whether things are good or bad, you're watching the wrong show, bud.

Which, which really I think though it.

Was kind of presented as a possible prestige sort of show.

Oh, it had the sheen of prestige.

But you know, you crack, you get under the hood of that baby, there's just like a whole mess of snakes.

Just something rotten in the state of Denmark, I suppose.

Hey, this is going to sound weird.

I don't quite know what I mean by it, but it wasn't TV for adults, if that makes sense.

In the sense that I would think something along the lines of prestige tv.

Like Mad Men.

You know, that's actually, that really is for grownups.

This was not a TV show for grown ups.

This was a.

This was what it was.

And what it was was fine.

But it wasn't.

It wasn't that.

Yeah.

What you're getting into is exactly some things I'll bring up in spoilers, which we'll take a break for right now.

Spoilers on the other side for Faceless Men from House of the Dragon as well as the entirety of Cape Fear, especially the final.

Okay, we're back.

On this side.

It's spoilers.

We'll begin with our spoiler thoughts on House of the Dragon.

And it's a little longer than usual episode Faceless man since the sixth in a season of eight.

We're going to start with the biggest tragedy this, this week.

And that's.

UL is very saddened by not being allowed to go to the pubs.

He makes some damn good points.

We got to start with the most important.

We said in our.

In the text that this really puts it, you know, sometimes these grand stories, especially when there's fantasy elements.

How do you relate to it?

This really puts the cost of war into a people's perspective.

Like, what the.

Has this dragon improved his life in any way?

No, he can't go to the pub anymore.

His butt sore from riding a dragon.

But he wouldn't go back.

Important, right?

Yeah.

He gets bossed around.

Wouldn't you go back to poverty?

I think that's one of Hugh's big insights here when talking to him, is that times were pretty rough before.

And then Hugh, of course, goes and tries to tell his wife, life's going to be better now, but she's not for it because she had to endure the hardship while he was off in her mind, just gallivanting on a dragon, which he very much was.

Recently said he basically was.

Yes.

It's a tough scene.

It was a tough scene.

I thought that was pretty well done, and I. I came as a bit of a surprise.

I figured she would just be like, yeah, get me out of here.

It's been dangerous.

I don't like it.

Maybe I'm giving the show more credit than it deserves, but I feel like there has been.

They've done a really pretty good job of, like, kind of showcasing, like, how a normal person might feel about someone who rides a dragon.

And it's a pretty good point, you know, like.

And it's like.

Like in this world, when he was flying overhead, I believe it was actually last episode over Tumbleton, and, like, he blots out the sun for a second and, like, the horses shy away.

I thought, like, okay, yeah.

And now, you know, the person who was doing that was your husband, who basically left you to starve in King's Landing.

We've talked about the dragons being a nuclear weapon, but also they very much would be for me.

And if I was in that setting, like the dude driving the Hummer or the Corvette, I'd be like, what a douche fucking guy.

They're the private plane.

Yeah, they're the private jet.

You got it.

Absolutely.

When she first asks, she says, do you know how long it takes to walk here from King's Landing?

I thought that it was going to not go as dire as it did, you know, that it not only does it.

I thought her point was, like, you were completely out of touch with how we live and how we.

Which she does, but it.

It takes an even more drastic turn.

Yeah, but that.

And then I thought that.

That reminded me of when Damon parts from after whatever Victory, and he gets called back to King's Landing or to Dragonstone, rather, and he's like, I'll see you guys wherever.

And it's like we talked then about how this is almost like a godlike person who's among them, who has this, like, fast travel capability and nuclear power, essentially.

Yeah.

I mean, we truly have been seeing that play out where, like, for all these episodes, these guys are still marching and Damon's been 20 different places.

Let's talk about the guys marching.

It begins with one of the bigger moments of the episode and seemingly one of the biggest ones since Chase's death.

I think I, for one, loved Sir Christian Cole's death.

Oh, yeah.

So sad.

Here's why I loved it so much.

Not that Game of Thrones or House of the Dragon would do this, but so many shows would have him employing some rare rule of kingdoms that require his request for 2 versus 1 to occur by law, and instead it's just.

Nope.

I mean, we kind of saw that in this show's cousin earlier this year.

Yeah, right, right.

Yeah.

Yes.

Where there was a rare ancient law you could use to save yourself a little.

But right after he makes his request, boom, he's dead.

I thought that was as good a way to go as any.

It also really paints Lord Tully young River kid as becoming kind of a badass.

Yeah, they were definitely done with him after.

After, you know, like, a month of being harassed and, you know, by him and injured.

That is important to remember that, like, you're not.

He hasn't exactly been, like, following the.

A gentleman's code of, oh, yeah, right.

Like, he's kind of earned being shot in the field.

They've been face.

It's been practically guerrilla warfare.

Right.

You know, it's not clean, like.

Like you said.

And so to ask for that is a bit of a stretch.

He did get his moment of.

You know, we kind of laughed last week when we.

He claimed that he's the best warrior in the Seven Kingdoms or whatever.

And he looked pretty badass in that fight before it turned against him.

And he even got the moment to take the little handkerchief and.

Right.

Wrap it around the hilt of the sword.

And then in very Game of Thrones style.

I. I do like that they did it, but it is a very.

These are the people who killed Ned Stark kind of moment.

Like, oh, you're full of arrows now.

You got bored.

I did like that.

I like the abruptness.

And I did say it was like, for Me.

What was sad is that that death wish he had that's leading other people to their.

I mean, his army's done at this point, you know, they were surrounded, the survivors are in Tumbleton.

You know that he's.

He's done.

He's basically failed.

And it's like all.

All of it was.

It's like maybe Alicent will hear that I died in a crazy way and she'll think about me.

And it's like there's something so sad that all of it.

To me that like all of that was reduced down to almost like this.

Like this kid's longing almost.

It is very like adolescent in a way.

Like maybe she'll.

It's sweet, maybe.

But also it's like what in.

In the way that Game of Thrones can often cast a bit of a nihilistic light on things.

Like what.

What's even the point, right?

There's also this funny play that they're trying to do on.

It would be cliche to have the previous episode end with his death and you'd be shocked.

So let's put it at the beginning.

They're trying to out think viewers.

I kind of liked it at the beginning of this one.

I mean, let's start off with a bang.

I liked it too.

This is another place where I'm probably giving the show too much credit.

But I wonder if, you know, part of Ser Criston's purpose too is to question from all these many people, like, why do you serve?

You know, why do you.

Why do you serve?

Why do you fight?

Why do you die?

Because the Dragon Riders, their loyalty is somewhat in question, right?

Just with, like, why should I, you know, I don't even get to go to the pub anymore.

Damon's is constantly, you know, like, everybody serves for a different reason and everyone wants different things.

And like I said, I might be giving the show too much credit, but I feel like part of the theme of Game of Thrones has been kind of its look at.

Like, here's the way that like, powerful people are able to drag others and like two or three people are able to drag everyone else in their wake.

That's spot on, I think.

Rhaenyra's blood from the Iron Throne.

She gets cut, draws some blood.

She's going to want to wash that.

Don't let it get infected.

Isn't that what caused her father's infection initially?

Oh, yeah.

He's complete.

He's get.

He got cut up all the time by the throne and it just got worse and worse.

And worse.

I mean, that was actually really grotesque.

She.

This signals a terrible, horrible no good day for her.

It's a hell of an omen in this world, I think, which we talked about how the Iron Throne.

If it cuts you, that's a bad sign.

Yes.

It's passing judgment on you.

Hey, how have we not talked about the young lady who plays Helena?

She's a Saban.

I saw that.

How has that not been a topic of conversation here on an Alabama tape.

Understand.

Part of the.

Yeah, the Saban dynasty.

Speaking of her, it's my understanding that a dreamer is very different from someone who wargs.

Very different wogs.

Wargs like Bran.

Plus, being a dreamer seems to be really important.

You know, Rhaenyra has this reaction, and that information tells you something.

She really wants to know more.

Unless I'm completely misunderstanding it.

And I'll be honest, I don't remember the brand stuff very well, and I don't care.

But, like.

But like Rhaenyra.

Rhaenyra believes this, right?

Because it's like the.

The Aegon the Conqueror dream is in the.

Is in the.

Helena is his blood.

Like, she knows this can happen in their family.

Yes.

It makes sense that it would stand.

Out to her because she, you know, like, there are, like, three other people in the world who know that this is real.

You know, it's like, it's her, it's Damon, and maybe somebody else.

Right?

Like, so she's gonna react differently than anyone else, I think, which I think is awesome.

That they.

I loved in the original.

I feel like I'm the one who brings up the original run every week, but the.

The way that early on they would drop these little nuggets like, none of this matters because there's this great existential threat out there, and I love that.

In a world, like I said, that can be a bit nihilistic.

There's still these little hints of something bigger is going on, and I am motivated to action or decision by these things.

You know, it is just as you were saying, that that was.

It was kind of like, for the original Snow, you know, the huge existential threat.

It boils people almost down to, like, the truest, like, version of the feudal deal, right?

Like, if you serve me, if you give me your crops, if you let me do whatever, I'm gonna protect you, right?

And.

And I mean, and then kind of like bleat, like, starkly.

That's what this is.

You know, that's the almost the only justification that any of these people have for their for their rule, for their legitimacy, which I think.

I don't think we've talked about it, but that's another theme that I think has been done really well in this series right now, is.

Is the contest for legitimacy.

And that's just.

That's out of, like, Byzantine politics right there.

It's.

It's very good.

Her reaction to that, to encountering a dreamer, anything that feels almost supernatural, like she really cares about, like, essentially the Church saying, we're not going to recognize you.

Yeah.

Bothers her because she feels like fate, like the gods have put her in this position that is like, not only because there's so much just, like, power for power's sake or land for land's sake or money for money's sake happening in this show.

And to have the position of, like, this is cosmically important, that I am in charge right now is like, an entirely different.

I mean, it could make you insane as a rule.

Right.

But I think belief in, like, some greater story is intriguing.

No, it clicks for me with Rhaenyra's psychology because, you know, like, at a certain point, it's like, does it really matter which powerful family occupies the throne?

Right.

Like, they're essentially interchangeable.

And I think that's like, part of that is like, okay, this has to be, you know, Rhaenyra's belief in herself and.

And why her father chose her.

And then also, like, at this point, too, it's like, what she's sacrificed, which is currently, you know, like.

Like, you know, sons, friends, at, like, at this point, like, you almost have to have this idea that, like, it's.

It's for something more than just personal power.

Right.

With.

With her.

Even though, truly, it may be nothing about more than personal power.

But I thought that was done.

I thought that was really good and done.

Well, I think Orbund is honestly a little bit more honest about things and is kind of like, yeah, we're gonna be king because we don't like Dragon Riders, we don't like Targaryens, and, you know, we can do it.

And it's not to mention that Rhaena's obviously a lady, and there's a swath of misogyny in the kingdom that doesn't really want to bow down to a woman.

Sure.

That's a constant.

Yeah.

A constant threat inside and outside, with her own counselors, with Damon, even.

Yeah.

We're not taking this, like, as just.

That's the way we think it is.

It's in the show.

Well, yeah, it's.

Well, her Lord Valyrians wife was the queen who never was, because women can't be queen.

Although there was a great orman calling her squeamish, too squeamish to do what needs to be done, and then immediately puking after.

Seeing men disemboweled was great.

It's.

It harkens so much to the whole women are too emotional to be president.

How's that playing out?

It was.

Yeah, it was just.

It was too stinky for Ormond, I thought.

You know, she like to.

Even.

Last episode or the episode before, he has a line where he's like, the only woman truly blessed with a military mind.

In case you were wondering where Sir Ormond stands in all this.

And yet him.

Him throwing up was hilarious.

Especially after he'd been such a jerk to his cousin.

What's.

What's.

What's his name?

Alison's sibling?

Gwyn.

Sir Gwynne.

Thanks.

Yeah.

The only good person in that family.

And questioning his masculinity.

And he's what saves his life through complete toughness and badassery.

Another thing we can see reverberating through today.

Yeah.

Speaking of funny things, though, can we get more of Damon throwing things at Tor and Manderly God, please.

Yes.

I had a note here that said to Adam, that's as good as this series is going to get.

Him throwing things at it and then saying the only battle they fought is with indigestion.

Yes.

That's great.

Matt Smith, every week just continues to be.

He is so funny in those meetings because, like, this is obviously, like, the last place on planet Earth he wants to be.

It's relatable.

And he thinks everyone else is an idiot, which, you know, again, relatable.

Rayana's other son, Joffrey, does he ever wake up asleep?

That kid's on drugs, by the way.

If you're a parent and that's happening.

Drug test.

He's tired from his journey, I suppose.

What the hell's going on with Bayla and Uncle Allen?

Did you have a what the heck, bro?

Moment?

I mean, she wasn't.

She.

Adam growing kind of close and then Uncle Allen.

Uncle.

Uncle Adam liked her.

We never saw it reciprocated from Bela.

I thought there was a little, you know, I'll come pick you up and we'll be exiled, but let's get you fit.

I thought she was, like, had some glint in her eyes, you know, maybe she just wanted an uncle.

Uncle is the daddy of 2026.

You damn right.

And I really hate that these two.

Guys are surely going to get pissed at each other, though.

Why else have Uncle Adam kind of give her the rundown there of, hey, we might eventually be together?

Did you feel it was too sudden, too rushed for a show who's pretty infamous for dragging its feet on storylines, though, just having them kiss right there.

I thought it was a little sudden, but I was also like, this makes sense for the plot.

As big as this show is there, I think maybe I'm, you know, too gentle over my time.

But there's some stuff in here I'm like.

I'm like, I just know it's not gonna work.

So, like, it's fine, like, as long as 90% of it is good.

I'm.

I'm just not complaining about the other stuff.

I also think, you know, if you read about, say, how many people got married or got up to things otherwise during, like, the blitz, you know, I mean, extreme circumstances maybe accelerate these sorts of.

Yeah, of course, you know, things that would have taken longer.

They're both living life and death fairly regularly.

That's a good point.

It's been probably in Showtime just a couple weeks ago where her fiance was, you know, killed in front of her eyes, and his dragon was dragged down in front of her eyes.

You guys have mentioned Ormond a couple of times over in Tumbleton.

It really helps me when I picture Ormond as an evangelical in today's times.

He's like a youth minister and Darren is his Sunday school student.

And viewers are supposed to understand that this some is devout as hell.

And imagining him in that light helps me paint a picture of how determined he is to, you know, raise the kid right, so to speak.

Or really just raise him to control.

Mold him.

For sure.

That's it.

You want to know what would benefited the royal guards, though, before they had to resort to mass resignations?

A union.

They needed to unionize.

Yes.

Not so sure Damon is pro union, but you.

You know who might be willing to hear from a union?

Rayana.

She seems pro union, whereas Damon may not be.

Rainier's listening to the.

The concerns of the people.

For sure.

That's for sure.

She's trying her best when she's not getting cut up by the throne.

Yeah.

Whatever her flaws, yes, she does seem, at least practically to understand that the people are important.

Damon doesn't seem to think anything but himself is important ever.

And that's why we love him.

Exactly.

But he also is getting shit done.

Oh, yeah, true.

And he makes good points.

Yeah, he's right most of the time.

And Again, we're right back to that conversation from last week of, like, Matt Smith is outpacing the charisma of the character.

Possibly.

Yeah.

I think he's supposed to be charismatic, but not to the point where I'm like, this checks out.

Logical.

Had to do it when he's rolling around town.

The two great.

Really wanted to bring this up.

Two great uses of funny little helmets this week.

Damon's very funny.

And Alan's is also very funny when he's talking to his dad there in the forest.

Him trying to hide his golden locks under that stupid little helmet.

Very funny.

Oh, it was so funny with the nose piece, too.

It's great.

I have no notes on Corliss's story.

That was a pretty short scene between he and his son.

Something's brewing.

Okay.

I mean, that's my.

No, that's assumption.

That's fine.

It was short and we'll see if this happens.

But it's been set up for, you know, she's increasingly reliant on coral now that she's lost the guard.

She's increasingly reliant on his power.

And she has refused to do something for him.

And he kind of fairly has given basically everything to her.

Everything he's done for her to scratch.

His back because he scratched hers.

We'll see what happens.

And the other big plot I haven't really any notes on is Aegon and Larys and the Lannister.

Him asking, is Thailand right?

It is.

I think you're right.

Him asking him, do you think I'm a terrible man?

And like, Thailand just like, just stumbling.

35 Seconds of actual screen time.

Just like.

Well, you know, everyone has their.

I mean, that is to say, we all have our good and our like.

Hilarious.

It was so good.

And that was so much worth the 30 seconds it took him to get it out.

I was yelling, at least internally.

Just say, yeah, you were.

Also got to watch three men struggle to dig a hole.

That was funny, too.

And they were just making them.

Just watching Tyland do it.

That was funny.

The humor, the physical humor of just not even on screen.

You just see his leg.

The lower half of his body has moved and he's rolled this corpse into the grave.

It's very good.

See, if Aegon would have had a union workman's comp would have covered his burns.

That's a good point.

Well, I don't know.

As Laris pointed out, he was.

He was drunk and not invited.

So I think the law.

They could have canceled.

I think the lawyers could Find something to do with that.

That's what we have on House of the Dragon this week.

All right, Donovan.

We said we'd wait on Cape Fear and let it finish before we gave any thoughts so that we could have maybe a clearer picture.

So spoilers for the entire season from ample tv.

Although, big time spoilers for the finale.

Although I've got a few things going back a couple episodes.

Max, Katie likes antics.

He can't help himself.

He gets into some mischief.

He is a devil.

This my whole takeaway from this show is like watching Javier Bardem be this evil.

It has been really fun, but it's like, at every.

At every corner.

It's like, if you say his plan, it sounds insane.

Like, oh, he convinced his daughter to go live in the walls of his enemy's house and dose their kid with a drug that makes him disassociate so that he bite off his own toe.

And also believe that Max was his father.

Like, yeah, it's outrageous.

But at the same time, that was what was working for me, the kind.

Of fun of him just, like, being a diabolical mastermind.

And I do think that a really good part of Bardem's performance was, like, they really.

There really is no mystery as to whether Max is actually a bad guy.

I think maybe, I don't know, it would possibly be a different show if we hadn't pretty explicitly heard him in the.

The first episode tell convincing his former mistress to kill herself.

But, like, even though we knew pretty clearly that he's a bad guy, like, he really does, like, play with the charisma where you're like, what's he up to?

Scamp.

I had moments in mid season where I debated with myself, is this all his sisters doing?

Yeah.

And he's maybe not as bad as we think.

Yeah, he completely was.

Yeah, he's as bad as you think.

He's worse.

And of course, Luke is Max's son because who else is that horny?

He asked Natalie within seconds of meeting, of not even meeting her, but coming in contact with her, if he could kiss her.

And Max is a very horny man.

Max is a horny man.

His children, he.

That would be the second of his children to have kissed their potential half sister.

So, in fact, that may be the lesson here is control how horny you get, lest you end up in prison.

I. I think that's what they did to pitch the show to Apple.

It was Cape Fear.

But the moral of gauging your horniness,.

You know, if everybody here had just been A little less horny.

Exactly.

Might have the prosecutors.

Tom Bowden.

Yep.

Less horny.

His coworker.

Less horny.

I mean, come on, people.

Which character on the show didn't get into some trouble because of sex?

Slept with Max.

That's, of course, a big twist from the.

A couple of originals.

Well, maybe.

Right.

She doesn't know because she was.

She blacked out.

Right.

Oh, that's true.

We could give her the benefit of the doubt there.

Well, it's.

She has the lingering.

Right.

Because that leaves the lingering question for Natalie about who her father truly is.

Yeah.

I'm going to go back to episode five quickly and point out some of the good.

Because I didn't think the show was all bad.

I do think it was not a good show overall as a complete package.

And I said at the top I found it entertaining, albeit just not good.

But episode five had some.

Had a plot point where Max had used AI to create a threat.

Yeah, I thought that was very smartly done because you don't see it.

You haven't seen it much in TV or movies that's outside of a computerized setting or computerized world.

And that's probably got to be point plots for TV and movies going forward.

Yeah, unfortunately.

Exactly.

That.

That proves that it's not good.

I say that that reality, where anyone can make anyone say anything, kind of.

Kind of scares me.

It's creepy as hell.

And I'll keep with the.

What the series I thought did well, at least for a little bit, Episode six, which was Possum, I thought that it kind of had that vibe of the first episode that when it's good, it was pretty good.

I had to remind myself in the opening flashback of that episode where Javier Bardem is in prison, I had to remind myself, he's an actor.

He's not really going to have a seizure.

If he lies down too hard on that prison bed or if he yells too loudly during a religious service, he's going to be.

It's Javier Bardem, not the.

Not Max.

Katie here.

Here's an example of bad.

The flashback there hinted that it wanted to say that all his good luck was due to his change in worldview thanks to newfound prison religion.

But that's the problem.

The series never really wanted to settle on one major, major thematic bid or two, maybe two or three thematic through lines that could resonate and then, you know, have threads coming off of that with various motifs.

I did think.

Or.

Sorry, I did agree with you there, Blaine, that that was weirdly dropped post.

This episode yeah, it just, it ended up becoming Cape Fear with new characters in a more twist.

Yeah.

Now I just, I told you this when we were watching it, but a brief interjection.

I saw the writer for episode six and was, was.

I was like Brian Evanson.

I'm like, Brian Evanson.

Is that the same.

I have his books.

Is that the same guy?

Looked him up and it is.

In fact the writer for episode six is the multiple award winning writer, Brian Evanson, who writes really strange horror and weird fiction.

So that's just, that's a complete side note.

I was just.

It was nice to see an author like that having a writing credit.

And episode six usually did pretty well.

It fit this series.

I thought, well, I wish he would have written more.

He doesn't have a lot of writing credits.

Same writing credits in TV and film, I guess.

No, he's, he's, he's, he's done.

He's mostly literature, fiction, fiction.

Yeah.

But that was still kind of fun for me.

So that was, that was interesting.

But I.

Decent episode.

I thought that was, I think, possibly the high watermark for it as an episode.

But like you said, Blaine, a lot of stuff that was picked up just didn't.

They just didn't seem interested on following through on it.

In fact, I think that if they could have made the series, episode one, five, six in the finale, four episodes, I think it would have been a, a much better show.

I think you picked up on something too with like this kind of question of like, what made Max.

It's like, is it the real.

Like, I think there's an interesting version of this show out there where it's like, like, who made Max?

Right?

Like, who made Max the way he is?

Like, was it like his.

Okay, yes, his father was abusive, but he actually didn't kill his wife.

That they were afraid of him.

So they, they tried to put him away.

Okay.

He's a guy who's already kind of scary and he's got damn right damage that might cause him to hurt others.

And yet prison, you know, at a certain point Max says to him, like, I am what you made me.

And I, I think there's a really, there's something interesting there that it's not interested in it at all.

You're exactly right.

I mean, that's a really good one.

What made Max but you.

They could have had a close examination of the prison reform system or redemption or the innate dangers of, honestly, a lack of care with sex or.

And there were some themes that they really could have ran with more heavily.

Instead, it became more so operatic.

A more soap operatic look at revenge even, I would say.

So if you squint hard enough, it might have some things to say about family as well.

But even with a. Gosh, they almost had a biblical slant in there or even like a Greek tragedy slant in there, but it ended up just being silly in the end.

I think if they'd been a little bit more interested in this too.

Like, one thing with the show is, you know, you learn that Max didn't truly kill his wife, but all this at the same time.

Now, at this point, he's already done so many horrible things.

Like there could be.

This thing was like this guy actually didn't deserve to lose 17 years of his life.

But from step one, you've seen him do so many bad things that you don't have any compassion.

I mean, I. I didn't at least really have any compassion for him just because he's.

He's so obviously set up to be the bad guy.

And if he doesn't.

Didn't deserve it now or then, he deserves it now.

And I do.

I think that was kind of a wasted opportunity to explore some of those themes that.

That you had mentioned, Blaine.

Yeah, there was.

I just.

It feels like a real swing and a miss, especially when you've got a.

An actor as good as Javier Bardo in your role.

And, you know, he did that.

Hell, like, if there's one thing that choosing him was perfect for, you know, like in this.

In this show, Max has scary charisma.

He could talk people into anything, it seems like.

And you're.

And that.

That was the perfect choice.

You really do see, like, Javier Bardem's acting, you.

That really comes across and he could flip the switch.

Yeah.

Which was scary.

Yeah.

Both incarnations of this before the television show had Max as a sexual criminal.

I'm fine with avoiding that completely.

But there was a scene that alluded to them not really wanting to discard that storyline completely.

It was his discussion with Natalie when he runs off the podcaster.

There was a hint that he may be a danger to her in a predatory sort of way.

Glad it didn't happen.

Of course, you find out pretty quickly after that she might be his daughter as well, but it just had some serious heavy vibes there.

It definitely wants to make you uncomfortable.

That was worried.

Yeah.

And in that case, it was successful.

But you're right, it was a lot of that's due to Bardem's.

I thought it was a good directing choice just to Change the aspect ratio in order to display that the house had been drugged from Tom's lsd.

Yeah, that was good.

That was a real smart and subtle move.

I thought the LSD episode was pretty decent.

I can't remember if that was Possum.

Is that possible?

That's Possum.

Yeah, that's the same and that's the good one.

So, yeah, maybe you could have created a three episode series here with 1, 6 and 10 and just cut the rest.

I will say that the young lady who plays Nevaeh, she was creepy too.

Yeah, she made me so uncomfortable.

Let's talk about the finale a little bit more in depth.

So it begins with the entire loving Katie family together reunited.

And you know, that is the same setting as the two films ending.

But what'd you make of the family drama that began that?

Well, was there anything to make of it?

Like, I suppose not.

You know, that, that after what we kind of have talked about here, like, that's sort of my feeling about some of this stuff is like, what was it anything?

I don't think so.

Yeah, I, I, I, if it was something, I'm having trouble thinking of what it could be, except just like, it's just supposed to be like yet another shocking twist to, to me it was.

And, well, there was the element of, hey, this Adam, whom you've pined for this whole time, you just shot him in the gut.

Yeah, I mean, you know, it's a, it's a, it's a dark irony.

Right.

In the sense that like, you know, part of Max's problem is that he, you know, he ends up destroying what he set out to preserve.

At that point in the show, for me, there's nothing to make of it.

I'm sorry, but I'm just like it, you know, it's like, whatever.

You're right.

I do think there's another, there is another show where like this theme could have been more.

Yes.

Present.

And I, and I think that there could have been kind of an element of exploring how Max's evil spreads and kind of makes other people do like, evil things.

Like Natalie betraying Nevaeh.

That's kind of a bad thing to do.

I mean, obviously she's doing it to survive against Max, but I think there could be an interesting thing where it's like, you know, it looks at like, hey, what are you willing to, what are you willing to do to survive?

And is it worth it to survive if you had to fundamentally change who you are?

This show was not interested in that.

No.

And it would have been incredible and engaging if it could just sink its teeth into some of those things.

Yeah.

Odd to see something so well acted and well shot.

I thought it was magnificent to look at, to be such.

Well, pretty much a dud, like.

Although, hey, I was entertained by it.

I just know it wasn't that good.

I. I think it was episode two or three that you said it was just pulp, and I think that was like, you had your finger on it right then.

And.

And, yeah, like every.

Even like, almost like the.

The goodness, the.

The sheen of it almost just like reinforced how much.

How pulpy it is as I was watching it.

Did as much of it boil down to character motivations and choices as I'm feeling it did, or am I wrong?

I mean, some of it was just the lake.

And here's another shocking twist.

Here's another crazy thing that happened, you know?

Well, that's the thing.

I think that if they would have just gone full throttle crazy over the top, I think it could have been something.

Yeah.

Or truly frightening if they could have done.

But like I said, episode one was.

Was over the top, but it was jolting.

The LSD episode felt a little bit like that.

And then I felt the last 30 minutes of finale had that.

I think a lot of that was due to Bardem and the directing.

I think that was the last 30 minutes there.

Yeah.

Like, there's a point where now it.

Was at its best in those last 30 minutes in the.

In a seedy way.

In its seediest in a way.

Oh, yeah.

It was done well.

I think I felt the feelings the people involved wanted me to feel.

Yeah.

You know, he.

Bardem is convincingly scary as Max Cady.

You know, he could do just about anything.

You know, it in a broader sense, though, it doesn't amount to much of anything.

Except plot, I guess, is the way, which, you know, there's nothing wrong with plot.

Have you tried things without plot?

They're often.

They're often horrible, you know, they're hard to digest.

We'll end with this.

And that's that.

I appreciated how the cat was a red herring, I suppose, of what Max could have done.

I'm just glad the cat made it out.

Like, when we got that cat in that last scene, I'm like, oh, thank God.

Yeah.

Well, spoilers for the two other cave fears.

There's a dog in each one.

You can imagine.

He gets kaput.

Yeah, the cat is fine.

And I do think that Max gave him a better name.

I don't remember what that was, but it was a better name.

It's better than Peanut Butter.

It's Peanut Butter.

That's what.

That was their name.

That was fun.

That made me laugh that he's like this majestic animal.

Yes.

He's so good there.

You're calling it Peanut Butter.

Yeah, I'm not even.

I can't.

I kind of.

I want to do his accent so bad.

It's so funny.

His pronunciation of counselor was there with Robert Dairo's.

Oh, and jury, did you like.

Are you looking for me, gentlemen of the jury?

Urine Uri.

He was so good.

Javier Bardem.

He probably didn't make it as entertaining as it could have been.

And I was there.

I think without him, I not sure I would have finished this series.

Good point.

I think, really, that's a testament to his acting.

Yeah.

That's it for us, folks.

And remember, if your adopted sibling has a crush on you, you may want to address that sooner than later.

All right, thanks, everyone.

Have a great week.