In a new video, Marco from Nerdkultur analyzes the first episode of the second season of House of the Dragon and explains what Blood and Cheese is all about.
Spoiler warning: The following article contains spoilers for the first episode of the second season of House of the Dragon. If you haven’t seen it yet, you should catch up.
Who is Marco Risch? Since 2015, Marco Risch has been posting news, analyses, reviews and interviews about current films, series and games on his YouTube channel Nerdkultur.
In addition, he sits down weekly with his colleague Yves Arievich and chats about pop culture topics such as Star Wars, Marvel and DC in the podcast Nerd & Kultur. Both the YouTube channel and the podcast are part of the Webedia network, of which MeinMMO is also a part.
In a new video, he analyzes the latest episode of House of the Dragon and explains what Blood and Cheese is all about:
Nerd Culture: House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 1: Analysis
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The initial situation in season 2
What are the many actors doing in season 2? Marco starts by talking about the new intro of the season. While the first intro symbolized the bloodlines of the Targaryens, the new intro, a bloody embroidery, shows the perspective of Helaena Targaryen. It tells the story of her family and ends with the events of the first season.
Alan Taylor, who directed 9 episodes of The Sopranos, returns to the franchise and is now even the showrunner, who, together with composer Ramin Djawadi, is staging a return to the Starks and the original series, especially through the two characters Jacaerys Velaryon and Cregan Stark.
On the other hand, there is the Black faction from House Targaryen, who are discussing the next steps. This finally shows the perspective that was also discussed in Game of Thrones: the influence on ordinary people. Instead of only seeing the powerful acting, we now also see the role of the ordinary characters.
The other faction from the House of Targaryen are the Greens. Alicent Hightower and Ser Criston Cole, meanwhile, have to cope with the current unpleasant situation, because their duties have changed. This is also the case with Helaena Targaryan, who now moves into her mother’s old chambers as queen. There she changes everything as a symbol of new leadership. On the other hand, there is Aegon II, who changes nothing.
It is based on traditions
What’s the deal with blood and cheese? In his video, Marco explains the parallels between Daemon and Aemond, who both know the importance of Harrenhal and the leadership needed for the civil war. This is also the reason why both want to kill each other. That is why Daemon wants to make sure that happens. According to Marco, this scene is a reference to the argument between Daemon and Viserys.
We don’t know what Daemon said the two should do if they don’t find Aemond, and that fits with the books. We can only know what we experienced. In keeping with the Middle Ages, there are no reliable reports, only those from third parties that have to be interpreted.
Similar to what we know about Blood and Cheese. Just as Fire and Blood are only made up of lore, the names of the two are also unknown. Blood is the former butcher who belongs to the Gold Cloaks and Cheese is called that because he is the Pied Piper.
Marco particularly emphasizes the scene through the sewers, as it was shot with great craftsmanship and detail. Combined with the natural light and minimalism, the result is a scene that perfectly visualizes the two intruders and their approach. If you want to see another analysis from Marco, then take a look here: After that, you will see DUNE 2 with different eyes