HOTD - A House of the Dragon Podcast

Game of Thrones is back, and we’re here to break down all the angles, all the characters, all the theories, and all the feedback. Who will sit the Iron Throne? Will there be an Iron Throne? Will the Hound find peace? What role will Tyrion play after the War for the Dawn? Will Bran wind up living in a tree? Will Dany wind up with an all-woman Queensguard? We discuss all this and more as we kick off...

A.Ron and Anthony are back to talk Game of Thrones and Gods of Thrones! This week we discuss the curious coincidence of Stark children warging, how the British legend of Bran the Blessed could tie into the fate of Brandon Stark, and how Jaqen H’ghar functions as a literary genie of the bottle. Listener, you ain’t never had a friend like him. If you enjoyed our discussion, please check out godsofth...

Getting ever closer to HBO’s Game of Thrones season 8 premiere, Anthony and A.Ron are back to celebrated a related milestone; the imminent release of Volume 2 of their deep dive into the religions and cultures of Westeros, Gods of Thrones! This follow up to Volume one covers the Faceless Men, The Ironborn, the Dothraki, the Valyrians, and many more topics with tons of historical notes, cultural an...

We’re so close we can feel the dragon fire! HBO dropped an awesome new trailer for the long awaited final season of Game of Thrones, and we’re here to break it down in near-exhaustive detail. We’re letting you know our plans for coverage this year, which we’re aiming to be the most timely and comprehensive around. Instant takes, deep dives, and lore talk, a fantasy film festival, and a new book by...

We’re back with a super-sized wrap up episode for our coverage of our new book, Gods of Thrones, as well as putting George’s Fire & Blood to bed as we consider the final third of the book, starting with “The Dying of the Dragons: Rhaenyra Triumphant”. Anthony and I get things kicked off with a discussion of Lord Cregan Stark and his “Hour of the Wolf”. Then I welcome our old pal Kim Renfro (follow...

Anthony jones me once again as we discuss the second third of GRRM’s new Fire & Blood, as we consider from “Jaehaerys and Alysanne: Their Triumphs and Tragedies” to “The Dying of the Dragons: Rhaenyra Triumphant”. Firewyrms! Mysteries of the wall! Dragon eggs beneath Winterfell! And many other interesting twists and tidbits we found in this fake history book detailing the first 150 years of Targar...

My Gods of Thrones co-author Anthony is back once again as we do a deep dive on GRRM’s latest work, Fire & Blood! We talk about events up to but not including “Jaehaerys and Alysanne, Their Triumphs and Tragedies”. Next week we’ll be reading up to “The Dying of the Dragons, Rhaenyra Triumphant”, before finishing the book the week after. This week’s all about Aegon, Maegor, and the third generation...

Anthony and I talk about GRRM’s latest book, Fire and Blood, which is a complete and in-depth historical account of the 300 year old Targaryen dynasty in Westeros. We discuss our initial thoughts, anything that might have changed some of our thoughts in Gods of Thrones, any intriguing jumping off points for theory-crafting, and consider fan feedback. Also, Anthony has some stunning revelations abo...

Anthony and A.Ron continue their deep dive into the characters and themes from their new book, “Gods of Thrones”. Now available on paperback! Today we’re talking about a polarizing character among the fandom, Catelyn Stark. What are the essential differences between Book! Cat and TV!Cat? What is her worst move in playing the Game? Who would win in an all-female Houseoff? How vital is Lady Stonehea...

It goes without saying that Tyrion Lannister is an extremely interesting character in A Song of Ice and Fire / Game of Thrones, but you’d think he’d make a poor focus for our book on Westerosi religion. After all, he’s famously skeptical of superstition and faith in a world full of magic, physics defying creatures, and powerful gods. But it’s precisely that contradiction that makes him so fascinat...

We have a special series of podcasts for you coming out over the next few weeks! Dr. Anthony Le Donne joins me today to talk about the new book we co-authored in the off-season, Gods of Thrones: A Pilgrim’s Guide to the Religions of Ice and Fire, available now on Amazon. The book is filled with fun analysis of the religions, cultures, and characters of Game of Thrones and delves into the real life...

And just like that, we put HBO’s Game of Thrones season three into the Bald Move history books. Again. “Mhysa” is an excellent way to wrap up the season and set the table for season four, as we get great work out of all our star-crossed lovers; Tyrion, Shae, Sansa, Jon, and Ygritte. Arya has some fine work servicing the fan’s desire to see her be the terrifying little murder beast we know she can...

This week we have the pleasure of talking about one of the best, and most gut wrenching episodes of HBO’s Game of Thrones, “The Rains of Castamere”. The Lannisters score a decisive victory against the Starks in surprising and brutal fashion. Particularly rough is Arya, who is forced to witness the destruction of her family when she was oh so close to being reunited with them. Over in Essos, Dany p...

Jim and A.Ron consider the latest episode in our summer re-watch of season three of HBO’s Game of Thrones. “Second Sons” features the second happiest wedding we’ve ever seen on Westeros (which is damning with non-existent praise), Arya swinging from utter despair to something approaching optimism in her captivity with the Hound (the sweet, summer child), as newcomer Daario Naharis steals into Dany...

On this week’s episode of our summer Game of Thrones rewatch, “The Bear and the Maiden Fair”, Brienne picks on someone her own size, Joffery tries talking politics with his grandpa, Robb YOLOs his way through a fraught political position to buy some extra time to consort with his queen, and Sansa and Tyrion lament their respective fates. For feedback we discuss the relative intelligence of wights,...

We’re back with another terrific season three episode of HBO’s Game of Thrones, “The Climb”. Of course the title refers to the Wildlings’ epic climb of The Wall, but also Littlefinger’s unhinged speech about chaos delivered to a shell shocked Varys. Both are amazing in their way, as is Lady Olena and Lord Tywin’s political duel in the Hand’s chambers. We discuss all this plus tons of fan commentar...

Lots of things get “Kissed by Fire” in this episode of HBO’s Game of Thrones. The Hound. Jon Snow. Leslie’s Rose. But in all seriousness there is so much good packed into this hour of Thrones; Robb beheading an important bannerman in the pouring rain; Jaime venting a lifetime of frustration and regret upon an unsuspecting Brienne; Tywin managing to bitterly disappoint both of the children he has i...

We really enjoyed “And Now His Watch Is Ended”, the latest episode in our summer rewatch of HBO’s Game of Thrones series. Packed with intellectually satisfying intrigue, as well as one of the more satisfying action scenes in Thrones history, it has something for just about everyone. We ponder the comeuppance of Tywin’s children, the finer points of contract law in Essos, and the altruism of the Ty...

Jim and A.Ron take in the episode “Walk of Punishment” of the third season of HBO’s Game of Thrones. Dany struggles to find a moral middle ground as she strikes a bargain for a massive slave army, Robb struggles with his command, Theon gets a glimmer of hope, Jaime is taught a harsh truth about the value of his family name. See you back next week as our summer re-watch rolls on! Check out the late...

Jim and A.Ron do a retrospective review of HBO’s Game of Thrones episode, “Dark Wings, Dark Words”, same format, we first do a non-spoiler review then get in depth and spoilery at the end of the podcast. We discuss the Reed children who make their first appearance this episode, analyze Shae and Tyrion’s relationship, fear for Margaery’s life as she tries to dance around the psychotic Joffrey, and...

Jim and A.Ron are back for the summer re-watch of HBO’s Game of Thrones season 3. Might as well start at the beginning, with episode 301, “Valar Dohaeris”. Daddy’s back in town, which is an interesting dynamic which finds Tyrion and Cersei trying to find their place, Margaery attempts to win over the peoples’ hearts and minds, Jon sells his role as double agent, and Dany struggles with the moralit...

We’re back to ambush your podcast feeds with a summer re-watch of HBO’s Game of Thrones season three! If you’ve seen the show, you know this is a red banner year for the series with tons of the twists and tragedies we’ve come to expect. And if this is your first time through, relax! We’ll be doing our level best to keep all spoilers for future episodes and seasons confined to the very end of the p...

Jim and A.Ron finish our retrospective re-watch of season two of HBO’s Game of Thrones with the finale, “Valar Morghulis”. It’s a typical GoT finale, in that it does a great job of setting up the next season as something you can barely wait to arrive. Arya could start super assassin training! The White Walkers are marching on the Night’s Watch! Dany’s dragons can spit fire! We talk about these top...

Jim and A.Ron are nearing the finish line of their retro-re-watch of Game of Thrones season two. This week is one of the all time great episodes, “Blackwater”. There aren’t many heroes or villains in this one, just brave men fighting each other in desperate and bloody fashion. Great action, but even greater character moments for Sansa, Cersei, Tyrion, and the Hound. We have a lot of fun gushing ov...

Jim and A.Ron’s rewatch of HBO’s Game of Thrones continues with “The Prince of Winterfell”. We’re really feeling the tension as the countdown to the invasion of Stannis approaches zero. Also, Robb commits political suicide, the Halfhand recruits Jon for a dangerous mission, and Arya tries to escape Harrenhal before it’s too late. All this plus feedback, and at the end of the podcast our SpoiLore s...