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The Trump administration's moves threaten $121 billion in new solar and wind power, two energy sources that are the biggest contributors to new capacity in the U.S.

TIDAL's new policy will prevent AI-generated music from making money on its service.

⚡ Quick Take

• Five Nights at Freddy’s 3 is happening with Gary Dauberman, the writer behind IT: Chapter 2, penning its script.

Five Nights at Freddy’s gave video game fans two box office smashes that brought Freddy and his friends to the big screen. So, it is not at all shocking that there’s a Five Nights at Freddy’s 3 in the works with writer Gary Dauberman on board. Dauberman is behind films like 2017’s IT and IT: Chapter 2 as well as The Nun. 

Universal Pictures

According to The Hollywood Reporter, it is not clear if the previous film’s stars will return for this next installment. But it is pretty likely that we will see Mike and Abby again. And, with Vanessa being possessed by the Marionette and the suit with William’s body activating at the end of the second film, there’s more story to tell with them too. These films have come out in relatively rapid succession, with the first two being released in 2023 and 2025, respectively.

RELATED ARTICLE

FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’s 2 Unleashes More Animatronic Horror in New Trailer

So it would not be shocking to see a late 2027 release for the Five Nights at Freddy’s 3 film. We don’t mind a two year schedule in a world where the next chapter of everything seems to take 84 years. (The exception is The Pitt, which comes out every year and absolutely rules.) We can’t wait to see what Freddy Fazebear, Bonnie, and those other creepy animatronics will get into next. 

The post FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’s 3 In the Works with IT: CHAPTER 2 Writer appeared first on Nerdist.

The Supreme Court's decision to limit geofence warrants is a win for privacy advocates, who called their use unconstitutional but sought an outright ban.

WhatsApp username can be between 3 to 35 characters length

The all-stock deal values Iridium at $8 billion, and gives Rocket Lab even more firepower to compete against Amazon and SpaceX.

The startup, Proception, is taking a unique approach to collecting training data to tackle one of the hardest problems in robotics: hands.

Pocket sells a $129, credit card-shaped puck, which sticks to the back of your phone, and promises unlimited recordings, transcriptions and to-do items.

Flipper Device's new Busy Bar will retail for $249.

Omen AI raised a $31 million Series A to monitor chip coolant and stop bacterial outbreaks in data centers.

Alicent Hightower made a shocking offer in House of the Dragon‘s season two finale. After a lifetime of service and a fatal deathbed misunderstanding, the Queen Dowager wanted the war to end. In exchange for the crown, Rhaenyra just had to grant Alicent and her daughter Helaena the freedom to live peacefully. In House of the Dragon‘s third season, Rhaenyra was eager to accept even if her advisors feared a trap. Were they right? Or was she finally able to claim the Iron Throne? In season three’s second episode, we got our answer.

HBO ⚡ Quick Take

• In House of the Dragon season 3, episode 2, Rhaenyra and Daemon took King’s Landing.
• The Queen beheaded Otto Hightower and executed several Green council members.
• Alicent failed to escape with her daughter and granddaughter.

Rhaenyra’s small council did not share her faith in Alicent’s offer. For a brief moment it wouldn’t have mattered if they did. The Queen was bedridden with grief following the death of her son and heir, Jace. She only got out of bed when her husband Daemon arrived and told her he’d learned about Aegon the Conqueror’s White Walker prophecy. That was enough to stir her to action, which she took once learning Aemond had left King’s Landing on the back of Vhagar.

Her advisors still worried she was walking into a snare, but Rhaenyra did not care. She said she would either claim the Iron Throne or die trying. Dressed in black scale armor, she led the way to King’s Landing on the back of her golden dragon, Syrax. Daemon on Caraxes, Ulf on Silverwing, and Hugh on Vermithor flew with her. The sight of four dragons sent the people in the capital rushing to the city gates. Meanwhile, Green forces quickly laid down their swords and knelt to Rhaenyra when she arrived.

HBO

The Queen and Daemon then walked through a mostly abandoned Red Keep. Alicent had worked to make sure no Green soldiers would stand against Rhaenyra and mostly cleared the castle before trying to escape the city unseen with Helaena and little Princess Jaehara.

As Rhaenyra and Daemon walked through the castle alone (yes, alone for some reason), they encountered little resistance. Daemon easily cut down the few Green soldiers who did oppose them. It wasn’t until the two reached the throne room that any real force tried to stop them. Kingsguard knight and Alicent’s protector, Ser Rickard, led a small Green force to stand before the Iron Throne. He laughed when Rhaenyra pulled her sword to fight alongside Daemon, but he wasn’t laughing when Ser Luthor Largent entered. The City Watch Lord Commander and his men stood alongside Daemon, the prince who’d given them their Gold Cloaks almost twenty years ago.

HBO

The City Watch then took Rickard and the Green soldiers prisoner so Rhaenyra could claim the Iron Throne. She refused to take the Conqueror’s chair until she took the head of her half-brother Aegon, but he had long fled the Capital. While Rhaenyra waited for Daemon to find Aegon, she thanked her now-freed supporters, those who’d remained loyal to her, in the throne room.

Like all the Greens, Grand Maester Orwyle honestly didn’t know where Aegon had gone. He instead saved his own neck with some quick words and by offering up Lord Jasper Wylde’s head instead. Daemon accepted. He swiftly decapitated the Green council’s Master of Laws after Rhaenyra sobbed her way through a slow, painful execution of Otto Hightower. The missing former Hand had been secretly imprisoned in the black cells by Ser Larys Strong before the Clubfoot fled King’s Landing with Aegon. Daemon told his wife, by swinging the sword herself, she would finally become Queen.

HBO

Her first attempt missed. Otto groaned from the pain. Then she finished the job and took the Iron Throne as the captured Alicent and Helaena were brought before her to see what had happened to Ser Otto.

Alicent’s plan worked, but only for Rhaenyra. And even then it only partially worked for the new ruler of King’s Landing. The Dowager Queen did not get what she wanted. Alicent and Helaena failed to escape and it seems impossible Rhaenyra can just let them go now. Meanwhile, although the new Queen now sits on the Iron Throne, her usurper half-brother remains at large. The whole point of taking the Iron Throne was to end the Dance of the Dragons. Instead, the Fall of King’s Landing didn’t end this civil war or succession the way any queen wanted.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post Did Rhaenyra Take King’s Landing on HOUSE OF THE DRAGON? appeared first on Nerdist.

⚡ Quick Take

• The Vampire Lestat brought us a Devil’s Minion wall slam. But it turns out the wall push is a fandom ship classic. We celebrate it!

Happy Pride! As we near the end of this celebratory month, The Vampire Lestat gods decide to bestow upon us a gift. And by us, I mean Devil’s Minion shippers. In The Vampire Lestat episode four, Armand and Daniel share several beautiful, emotional, and deeply complex moments together. But the Devil’s Minion ship also does something else. Yes, in “The Devil’s Road,” DM enters one of the most Hallowed Halls of fandom as Armand and Daniel complete what I like to colloquially call “The Wall Slam.” “The Wall Slam,” or wall push, is a very intricate maneuver, in which one member of the ship, often overcome by rage, but really, by the inability to stand the intensity of emotions they have for the other person, shoves the other member of the ship against the wall and then gets obscenely close. (You know, because that’s what you do when you’re mad.) Then, in most cases, what transpires is the AO3 tag: “Unresolved Sexual Tension.” Though, for the lucky few, there comes a kiss. (You know they’re already SO close.)

Alas, no kiss luck yet for Devil’s Minion, but a quality wall slam if there ever was one, executed to top marks with everything the trope should hold. Just off the top of my head, the moment nostalgically flared to life a number of ships past. And as I dug into the concept, it turns out, nearly every good ship out there has a variation of “The Wall Slam,” also known as Kabedon or Wall Pin of Love. At first, I considered ranking these devilishly subtextual ship moments. But I decided that all wall slams are valid. So instead, in the spirit of Pride—let us celebrate these fine moments in fandom, which have spurred thousands of fan creations and lingered long in memory.

Devil’s Minion, The Vampire Lestat: Armand and Daniel’s Wall Push Gets Extra Marks for Style

screaming crying throwing up I CAN’T MOVE THIS IS THE BUZZIEST THING I’VE EVER SEEN.. THEY’RE THE COUPLE OF ALL TIME #tvlspoilers pic.twitter.com/b4wBibzTxA

— nora ꕤ (@norabuckleydiaz) June 27, 2026

Our newest entry into the Wall Slam Hall of Fame, Armand and Daniel, did not come to play in episode four of The Vampire Lestat. I mean, factoring in that Armand turned Daniel into an immortal being, then ran away for two years, left Daniel to fend for himself, and has NOT been in touch, it’s only fair that Daniel push him into a couple of walls about it. That, along with the incredible chemistry and tension between them, gives us all the ingredients we need for a very successful ship Wall Slam.

RELATED ARTICLE

Will Armand Call Daniel ‘Beloved’ in THE VAMPIRE LESTAT? Who Knows, But We’ll Always Have This

But honestly, we have to hand it to Daniel. Usually, the wall push is a one-and-done kind of scenario. But we give Devil’s Minion extra points for Daniel actually pulling Armand forward so he could slam him back again a second time. Two-in-one Wall Slam. Yeah, we’re not mad about it. Extra points for Armand following it up with a love confession. It’s not a kiss, but we’ll take it.

AMC Destiel, Supernatural: Dean and Cas Actually Have Like a Zillion Wall Slams, But This Season 4 Finale One Has Stayed with Me

Dean and Cas did not invent the Wall Slam, but they certainly made it their signature move. Over the course of Supernatural‘s many seasons, they’ve had at least three wall slams, if not more. But it’s this moment of Castiel pushing Dean against the wall in the Supernatural season four finale that has stayed with me, and what I see in my mind’s eye when I imagine the Wall Slam. There’s nothing like sealing “I’m betraying Heaven and everything I’ve ever known for you” by pushing the object of your affections into a wall and getting extra close. (Which is saying something when it comes to Dean and Cas.)

The CW BlackBonnet, Our Flag Means Death: They Win Because They Kiss at the End

This is a nice wall slam because it’s just pure love. We could honestly use a few more cheerful wall pushes amongst our ships. Stede and Blackbeard are living their happily ever after as a fully realized canon ship, and that means loving wall slams and kisses. Should all our ships be so lucky, amen.

BlackHands, Our Flag Means Death: The Form of a Wall Slam If There Ever Was One HBO

But, you know, Izzy and Blackbeard are a dang good ship, too. And they bring us the definition of a fandom ship Wall Slam in Our Flag Means Death‘s season one finale. Izzy wants Blackbeard to go back to his old self, and he’s not afraid to bait him into it. And baiting Blackbeard means ending up against the wall, a hand to your throat. It’s what Izzy wants, and it’s what BlackHands shippers need.

HBO

RELATED ARTICLE

Steve and Dustin Break Our Hearts in STRANGER THINGS 5 (As Eddie Haunts the Narrative) Steddie, Stranger Things: A Ship Is Born with a Wall Slam

Steddie is a truly beautiful ship. Even though Steve and Eddie could not be more different, they quickly bond over their shared love and child, Dustin. Steddie stole the hearts of many Stranger Things shippers in record time. And even though the pair only share a handful of canon scenes together, one of them is the all-important Wall Slam. Eddie pushes Steve into a wall, presses a broken beer bottle to his throat, and the rest is history.

Netflix JohnLock, BBC Sherlock: There’s Nothing Like Pushing Someone Against a Wall to Say “Stop Hurting Yourself”

(PS, the video works if you press play!) Oh, JohnLock. So much potential. But we won’t dwell on old wounds. Instead, we’ll celebrate this intense Sherlock season two, episode four “The Lying Detective” moment that had JohnLock fans buzzing. In a fit of rage that Sherlock won’t stop abusing drugs, John Watson slams into a wall and actually slaps him, and the moment devolves into a fight between the pair. It’s an intense sequence. But it’s clear that it’s born of the fact that Watson and Sherlock love one another in ways they can’t understand or express.

BBC Aziracrow, Good Omens: Don’t Call Crowley Nice, Aziraphale (Or Do…)

Good Omens‘ Aziracrow is another one of those ships destined for actual canon. But there’s a lot of bluster between the pair before they can fully admit their feelings for one another. In this famous sequence, dubbed “That Wall Scene,” Crowley can’t take the idea that Aziraphale might think he’s… nice. And the reaction is naturally for Crowley to push him against the wall and glower in his face about it. Yup.

Spuffy, Buffy: The Vampire Slayer: A Wall Slam That Influenced a Generation

Spuffy’s Wall Slam is generational. And it contains the best of all worlds. Not only does it begin with the classic antagonism and intensity that any good ship Wall Slam will have, but then it devolves into a frenzied make-out. I have it on good authority that this Spike and Buffy kiss against the wall in Buffy‘s season six, episode nine, “Smashed,” changed lives. Some might call it the hottest scene on television… And so I rest my case about the importance of a Wall Slam to a ship.

RELATED ARTICLE

All 7 Seasons of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, Ranked Buffy: The Vampire Slayer Also Has Spander and Fuffy Wall Pushes The WB

It turns out, Buffy: The Vampire Slayer is RIFE with Wall Slams. Enemies to lovers sweetheart ship Spander, Spike and Xander, has one, and so does Fuffy, Faith and Buffy. That’s a show that knows how to do it!

The WB Sterek, Teen Wolf: A Classic Wall Slam

Sterek was one of Teen Wolf‘s major ships—so, of course, it requires a good wall slam. Like so many ships before them, Sterek began life as an antagonistic match-up, which involved a lot of menacing and finger-pointing into faces, and yes, getting way too close to walls. Happily, eventually, the pair found their way into something softer. But we’ll never forget the early days of tension and Wall Slams.

MTV VillanEve, Killing Eve: A Wall Slam Plus a Knife, Winning.

VillanEve is a god-tier ship. We need more tense love and angry chemistry among our ladies in the world. And Villanelle and Eve delivered that to us in spades on Killing Eve. We say their Wall Slam is absolutely up there in our books. Not only does it involve all the usual hallmarks, a lack of personal space, a good deal of sexual tension, heaving chests, and a ton of threats, but it also brings a knife into it. 10/10 Wall Slam, gals.

George and Mitchell, Being Human: A Fandom Favorite Wall Slam

I’m told this incredible show, featuring a vampire and a werewolf as roommates, is a must-watch. In addition to constantly saving one another from their vices, George and Mitchell know a thing or two about the wall slam. Compelling television and a strong ship. If you haven’t watched this one yet, what are you waiting for?

BBC Lisa and Jackson, Red Eye: Hello, Airplane Wall Push

Cillian Murphy and Rachel McAdams bring Wall Slams into the air with this steamy scene. Terrorism, assassination, and some heavy breathing in the sky. It wasn’t a wall push that immediately jumped to my mind, but I can see now why it had such an impact on so many. Red Eye, we salute you.

BatJokes, The Dark Knight: Batman and Joker are an OG Ship, They Deserve a Wall Slam Warner Bros.

The Batman and Joker have been intertwined for a long time. In some ways, they give the other a reason to keep going. And BatJokes is a truly classic, well-loved ship. And so, we were thrilled for long-time (and new) fans of the pairing when The Dark Knight brought a truly growly wall slam into the mix for this comic-based ship. We certainly wouldn’t want Batman holding us against the wall like that… But we feel like Joker totally does.

RELATED ARTICLE

THE HUNGER GAMES: SUNRISE ON THE REAPING Trailer Delivers FAMOUS Faces Everlark, The Hunger Games: Katniss Pushes Peeta Against the Wall

Sometimes, a woman has to slam a man against the wall, and we are here for that. When it comes to Katniss and Peeta, it’s definitely Katniss who is the more reactive of the pair. And she’s not afraid to throw an elbow up and go for the full neck choke in her rage, which we fully applaud. It’s only the beginning of the relationship between Katniss and Peeta in The Hunger Games, but for fans of EverLark it’s absolutely a memorable scene.

Lionsgate Honorable Wall Slam Mentions: Spirk in “Amok Time,” Hannigram’s Ladder Scene, Spike and Angel Fight

It turns out the Wall Slam is a very specific kind of scene. So, we had to be firm on what was and what wasn’t a Wall Slam. But we feel like there are a few spiritual offshoots of the Wall Slam. One of them is the “Floor Pin,” which Spirk, Spock and Kirk, perform admirably in Star Trek: The Original Series‘ “Amok Time” and Spike and Angel demonstrate nicely in Buffy.

The other is whatever Hannibal’s Hannigram has going on during “The Ladder Scene.” Hannibal doesn’t literally pin Will to the ladder. But you know, he may as well have…

The Vampire Lestat airs on AMC and AMC+ Sundays at 9 pm ET/PT and midnight, respectively. You can snag The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice to read, if you’d like to know a little bit more about what’s going on.

Rotem Rusak is the Editor-in-Chief of Nerdist. She’s so ready for Devil’s Minion to become canon so one of her ships can finally sail.

This post has affiliate links, which means we may earn advertising money if you buy something. This doesn’t cost you anything extra, we just have to give you the heads up for legal reasons. Click away!

The post The Devil’s Minion Wall Slam Continues a Time-Honored Ship Tradition appeared first on Nerdist.

⚡ Quick Take

• Assad Zaman spoke to Nerdist about Armand’s love confession to Daniel in The Vampire Lestat, where it came from, and what it means.

In episode four of The Vampire Lestat, a long-awaited reunion finally comes to pass. After three excruciating episodes of separation, Armand and Daniel reunite for the first time since Armand turned Daniel into a vampire. Their first collision with one another in The Vampire Lestat doesn’t go so well—Daniel becomes drenched in complete rage at the very sight of Armand, and Armand attempts to communicate with Daniel by reading from a script. But the course of true love never did run smoothly. And the second meeting between them takes a much different turn; a complicated muddle of that same rage, but drenched in something far more raw on both sides of the equation, something pained and, perhaps, yearning. And in the mix of it, Armand, perhaps more honest than he’s ever been in his life before, confesses that he’s in love with Daniel. Being obsessed with this sequence as we are Nerdist dot com, we had to discuss it with Armand actor, Assad Zaman, who filled us in on the confusion inside of Armand, the unexpected nature of the confession, and the way in which, in the end, the result was a tender moment between the pair.

AMC

For Zaman, Armand, as always, is a muddle of confusing and conflicting emotions and motivations, a tangle that is inscrutable, even to the vampire himself. On the one hand, Zaman confirms that Armand has absolutely been following Daniel and company for some time, lurking in the shadows and watching them from afar. He notes, “I said this before, Armand has, even though he hasn’t been around, he has been around. He’s always watching, he’s a lurker, he’s a serial lurker, and he’s been that as his world has crumbled and he’s gone into the shadows.” And offers that a motivation for keeping tabs on everyone is that he feels the Great Conversion is dangerous, and he wants to stop the impending explosion. And yet, beyond the idea that “Daniel is there creating a documentary about Lestat and vampires,” which could definitely add fuel to the fire, “He’s also Armand’s fledgling…” And although the act of creating a vampire fledgling is abhorrent to Armand, now that he has created one, the idea that Daniel is Armand’s fledgling isn’t something that Armand can let go of easily.

But despite this magnetic draw between the pair of them, Zaman thinks Armand couldn’t fully grasp why he was doing what he was doing in this time. “Does he know that he missed him? Does he know that he is in love with him?” Zaman responds when I wonder why Armand has stayed away if he is in love with Daniel. “I think what’s beautiful about the end of four, that confession that when I read that, I was like, ‘Wow, this is a really, really fascinating way to make this admission.’ Because I don’t think Armand was prepared to… I think it surprised Armand, even, that it came out because it also confirms that what happened in Dubai, the sort of not being able to hear Daniel’s thoughts or being able to be on top of the manipulation, letting himself be discovered was in essence something to do with his affection for Daniel that he himself didn’t understand and couldn’t work out, couldn’t place.”

RELATED ARTICLE

Will Armand Call Daniel ‘Beloved’ in THE VAMPIRE LESTAT? Who Knows, But We’ll Always Have This

He continues, sharing that coming to terms with his love for Daniel is still a work in progress for Armand, “I think that only happens after he’s turned. I think that happens after he’s turned Daniel. And we don’t know the circumstances of his turning Daniel, yet. But I think the cocoon period of Armand happened very soon after turning Daniel, because the act of turning himself is something that he’s just done, something that he finds abhorrent. He, as a vampire, finds disgusting, disgraceful, and abhorrent. And so there wasn’t any space in his mind, I think, to go, “Oh, I’m sorry, let’s work this out. Let’s find…” He just runs away. So this is him facing it, him facing Daniel facing his sort of actions.”

And even though Armand couldn’t be sure what his emotions for Daniel are, it is, as mentioned, more than just his concern over the Great Conversion that draws him out of hiding. Zaman shares, “At the same time, he’s trying to come to terms with what he’s done in Dubai, what he’s done to Louis and Daniel, and trying to reconcile with that. It’s sincerity that’s always peppered with manipulation or peppered with a mission that he feels like he needs to do to survive.”

AMC

And that sincerity, the one which surprises even Armand, comes out in the form of a love confession to Daniel. And it’s drawn out by Daniel… Being Daniel. Zaman walks me through the love confession scene between Armand and Daniel in The Vampire Lestat episode four, “In the beginning, I think he just thinks that Daniel is just going to sort of berate him again because that’s what he did in the bowling alley. He fully believes that Daniel has every right to hate him. He left him. He left him completely vulnerable. He left him with something that he didn’t ask for, and so he feels guilt for that, and he knows that Daniel really does hate him in his guts right now, but then I think both of them don’t… Daniel and Armand, they don’t understand what this connection is that’s happening. Armand does more than Daniel, but they don’t understand this vampire bond because it’s new for Armand as well, but the fact that Daniel is asking about Dubai and going, ‘Was it all a lie? Was it all fake?’ Is a moment that kind of comes out of nowhere for Armand.”

Daniel’s abrupt ability to throw Armand off his game and press him for the truth when he least expects it is one of the reasons why I’ve always thought the pair make a ton of sense romantically. Daniel presses to the heart of things with stubborn intent, and Armand, who is always evading, can’t help but let himself be pinned.

Zaman shares that Armand felt what might be one of the rarest sentiments that could exist in Armand. He offers, “In that moment, I feel like he doesn’t want to lie to Daniel.”

#tvlspoilers
it’s their first real conversation in 2 years and armand is admitting he loves daniel, armand really is the world's biggest hopeless romantic pic.twitter.com/Qhb9ukL3Mp

— dah 🦇 (@vmprlstt) June 27, 2026

And from that determination, born of his affections for Daniel, he gives him something honest—his love. The confession of the power that Daniel has over him. Zaman concludes, “And I think it comes out, it’s an honest confession that, ‘Yes, you can hate me, you can hate me for what I did. I manipulated you. I turned you, I did some fucked up shit, but that pretending to let you manipulate me… That’s not true. You think you were under my spell, actually, I was under your spell. That’s why you were able to free everyone,’ and maybe that’s part of it. Maybe Armand, somewhere deep inside, is like grateful to Daniel for freeing Louis and Armand from this disastrous, nothing relationship that’s a spiral of misery. So yeah, it’s a really tender moment that comes out.”

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All the Devil’s Minion Teases We Got From THE VAMPIRE LESTAT Cast and Creators

The tenderest. And so we must ask, and then what happens…? But for that, and the rest of Armand and Daniel’s (hopeful) twisted love story, we’ll have to wait for more of The Vampire Lestat.

The Vampire Lestat airs on AMC and AMC+ Sundays at 9 pm ET/PT and midnight, respectively. You can snag The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice to read, if you’d like to know a little bit more about what’s going on.

Rotem Rusak is the Editor-in-Chief of Nerdist. She’s ready for Devil’s Minion to become canon so one of her ships can finally sail.

This post has affiliate links, which means we may earn advertising money if you buy something. This doesn’t cost you anything extra, we just have to give you the heads up for legal reasons. Click away!

The post Assad Zaman on Armand Making THAT Emotional Confession in THE VAMPIRE LESTAT appeared first on Nerdist.

⚡ Quick Take

• Episode four of The Vampire Lestat feels like a Devil’s Minion fanfic in the best way and gives us all the feelings about Armand and Daniel.
• In episode four, we get wall slams, incredible love confessions, and a deep, multi-layered complexity of emotions.
• Assad Zaman and Eric Bogosian both talk to us about Armand and Daniel’s journey in The Vampire Lestat.

If you’ve ever read a fanfic, you know the high. (And if you’ve never read a fanfic, what are you doing with your life?) That unbelievable euphoria that comes when the stars align, the writing is on fire, there’s hurt, there’s comfort, there’s a deep tangle of confused feelings, and yet some fated, universal thing is irresistibly pulling two characters together in exactly the way you’d hoped for. And then, if you love that relationship, you come to literally understand where the concept of the word “high” came from in the first place. Because you feel like you’re floating. Perhaps for people who regularly ship canon ships, this kind of thing is not unusual in official capacities. But for folks who hold queer ships in their hearts, these moments are rare to behold on our screens, and rarer still to receive with true meaning, depth of story, and intent behind them. Often, we get glimpses of exciting possibilities, enough to get the fanfic machine revving and creating, but almost never do these moments combust into something greater. But, oh, The Vampire Lestat episode four, “The Devil’s Road,” brought that full fanfic feeling to life when it came to the scenes between Armand and Daniel, also known as “Devil’s Minion.”

AMC

In my The Vampire Lestat Review: Devil’s Minion Edition, I slyly noted, “And I will say this, there is a moment later in the season, one of my favorites, that could have been plucked from a Devil’s Minion fanfic. Where I was like, ‘Omg, Daniel, just…’ And Daniel did! We love to see it.” And for me, that’s the entire diss track concert sequence in The Vampire Lestat episode four, and everything that comes after it. But specifically, it’s that moment where Assad Zaman drapes Armand in that fanfic favorite “look of fragile pain and frozen rage” and turns on his heel to exit the show, furious and humiliated by Sam Reid’s unbelievable Lestat, who oozes an incredible sheen of sharp viciousness and a desire to punish. (Which, Armand, of course, in so many ways, deserves. He has done much worse and caused much harm. And despite this can still feel hurt in this moment.)

AMC

Meanwhile, Daniel is in the crowd, watching all this unfold with an, as the fanfics love to say, “unreadable expression.” And now, I invite you to imagine the fourth member of this unholy quaternity, me, leaning over my laptop at midnight, yelling at the screen. “Oh my god, Daniel! Just GO!! AFTER!!! HIM!!!!” Yes, this actually happened, just like that, and I’m proud of it. And Daniel…

AMC

If The Vampire Lestat was a Devil’s Minion fanfic, then as Armand despondently pushes his way through the crowd and out into the street, Daniel, conflicted though he might be, would feel unable but to follow him. The world would vanish around them, figuratively and literally. The only two souls left in the world. Daniel would shove Armand into the nearby wall, get too close, “their breaths mingling” or “their faces suddenly so near their breath became shared” or what have you, they’d say angry, awful things, and then Armand would inadvertently confess his love, even though he didn’t mean to, but how could he not? Wait a minute. That’s what happens in The Vampire Lestat. Do you hear that? That’s the sound of a million DM fanpeople collectively losing their minds across the world.

RELATED ARTICLE

Will Armand Call Daniel ‘Beloved’ in THE VAMPIRE LESTAT? Who Knows, But We’ll Always Have This

Of course, if this were a Devil’s Minion fanfic, we might suggest Armand and Daniel would have kissed here against the wall in The Vampire Lestat episode four. But, in some ways, for me, Daniel going after Armand and everything that comes with it, in this moment, is almost better than a kiss. Or, to be clearer, it’s an incredible lead-up to an eventual kiss which had better come. But kiss or not, the exchanges in The Vampire Lestat episode four speak to that intense something that pulls Armand and Daniel toward one another, unfold so perfectly the dense, delicious promise of their relationship.

Armand and Daniel’s clashing together here is so intensely multilayered. Though Daniel might think he’s furious at Armand and going after him just to yell at him some more, that’s clearly not the case. And when Daniel asks Armand why he’s finally returned, and Armand says, “You’re courting great danger with Lestat.” Daniel’s “Him?” is so pained, it literally begs to be the reason why Armand is there. That veneer of anger holds for a breath, then shatters away completely.

screaming crying throwing up I CAN’T MOVE THIS IS THE BUZZIEST THING I’VE EVER SEEN.. THEY’RE THE COUPLE OF ALL TIME #tvlspoilers pic.twitter.com/b4wBibzTxA

— nora ꕤ (@norabuckleydiaz) June 27, 2026

As Eric Bogosian tells us, “Well, it does start out with raw anger, but just as we saw when we ended the second season, there’s more to be learned when it comes to Armand; there is a lot more to be learned. As he learns it, he’s really put on his back foot. It’s something that just keeps moving along through the season.” And we can see Daniel start to learn it here in episode four of The Vampire Lestat.

AMC

Meanwhile, on Armand’s end, there’s a rawness we hardly ever see on the vampire. Perhaps still born of his journey through Arun and Amadeo and the confusion of who he is amongst all the broken pieces of his current existence. And although we know Armand lies like breathing, intent and vulnerable, he wants Daniel to believe that Dubai wasn’t just a farce, that it’s the truth when he says, “But it was love.” And I want that too.

#tvlspoilers
it’s their first real conversation in 2 years and armand is admitting he loves daniel, armand really is the world's biggest hopeless romantic pic.twitter.com/Qhb9ukL3Mp

— dah 🦇 (@vmprlstt) June 27, 2026

Assad Zaman tells us of the moment where Daniel confronts Armand in The Vampire Lestat episode four:

Well, in the beginning, I think he just thinks that Daniel is just going to sort of berate him again because that’s what he did in the bowling alley. He fully believes that Daniel has every right to hate him. He left him. He left him completely vulnerable. He left him with something that he didn’t ask for, and so he feels guilt for that, and he knows that Daniel really does hate him in his guts right now, but then I think both of them don’t… Daniel and Armand, they don’t understand what this connection is that’s happening. Armand does more than Daniel, but they don’t understand this vampire bond because it’s new for Armand as well, but the fact that Daniel is asking about Dubai and going, “Was it all a lie? Was it all fake?” Is a moment that kind of comes out of nowhere for Armand.

And in that moment, I feel like he doesn’t want to lie to Daniel.

And I think it comes out, it’s an honest confession that, ‘Yes, you can hate me, you can hate me for what I did. I manipulated you. I turned you, I did some fucked up shit, but that pretending to let you manipulate me… That’s not true. You think you were under my spell, actually, I was under your spell. That’s why you were able to free everyone.’ and maybe that’s part of it. Maybe Armand, somewhere deep inside, is like grateful to Daniel for freeing Louis and Armand from this disastrous, nothing relationship that’s a spiral of misery. So yeah, it’s a really tender moment that comes out.

AMC

Tender, messed up, and beautiful. Truly, we could want for nothing more. Except maybe that kiss. But for now, we’re content with this gorgeous slow burn between Armand and Daniel. And our hats off to Assad Zaman and Eric Bogosian for their top-notch acting and the incredible way they bring to life the beauty of Armand and Daniel’s constantly shifting, tumultuous emotions and complex affections.

The Vampire Lestat airs on AMC and AMC+ Sundays at 9 pm ET/PT and midnight, respectively. You can snag The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice to read, if you’d like to know a little bit more about what’s going on.

Rotem Rusak is the Editor-in-Chief of Nerdist. She’s ready for Devil’s Minion to become canon so one of her ships can finally sail.

This post has affiliate links, which means we may earn advertising money if you buy something. This doesn’t cost you anything extra, we just have to give you the heads up for legal reasons. Click away!

The post THE VAMPIRE LESTAT Episode 4 Gives Me That FANFIC HIGH appeared first on Nerdist.

⚡ Quick Take

• Assad Zaman sat down with Nerdist to discuss Armand’s motivations, addictions, and love confessions in The Vampire Lestat.

The Vampire Armand is finally back in full force in The Vampire Lestat. And, as always, his true intentions are hard to parse. At times, Armand appears contrite for the wrongs he’s managed to stir up in the lives around him, worried about the state of vampire kind and the safety of those he… loves? But, of course, with Armand, multiple motivations are always at play. And it’s hard to tell where tenderness bleeds into manipulation, bleeds into sincerity, bleeds into lies. But, in my book, that’s what makes him so interesting. In the wake of The Vampire Lestat‘s stunning fourth episode, “The Devil’s Road,” Nerdist sat down with Armand actor Assad Zaman to pry open Armand once again and dive into his addictions, confessions, and intentions in the series. Enjoy our full interview with Zaman below, Beloveds.

AMC

So in episode three of The Vampire Lestat, Armand introduces himself as an addict. What is he addicted to?

Assad Zaman: He is addicted to lying, to manipulating. He’s addicted to surviving above everything. He hasn’t got the wherewithal, the courage to understand that maybe the world would be a better place without him. He’s like, “No, the world will not be a better place without me. I will find my place.”

He should think that.

Assad Zaman: He should think that! Maybe he thinks, “The world will be a shitty place, but fuck it. I will make it shittier as long as I survive.” Of course, we can debate how sincere he is about being in an AA, especially the same AA as a member of Lestat’s band. Is that a coincidence or is that by design?

AMC

Armand also calls himself Arun at that meeting in episode three of The Vampire Lestat. Why does he use that name?

Assad Zaman: Well, part of it might be, obviously, to use as a disguise, although the book is out. I don’t know how useful that is as a disguise if people are reading the book and know that his name is Arun. But also, there’s a more sincere answer there that he… I think where we meet him here, it’s two years after his entire world’s collapsed, everything that he has built has sort of gone away. We don’t know exactly how he spent the two years, but I think there has been a regression. There has been a regression into a past version of himself. I think that’s meant that he’s had to revisit his traumas, his past traumas, and parallel them, compare them with what’s happened here.

One of the things that we know about Armand from the books is that this collapse isn’t the first collapse of his existence. He’s had a few of these in the past, and each one has been devastating in its own way. After each one, he’s had to regroup, rebuild himself from the crumbs, from the ashes, and find who he is and survive again. So each time I think Armand never really gets a chance to really understand his trauma and understand, come to terms with it and really sort of evaluate it. He doesn’t give himself the chance to do it, and neither does anyone else really engage with it, really help him to get through it because they have good reason not to.

AMC

He’s a manipulative asshole. He doesn’t do himself any favors. So he’s never really been able to come to terms with the things that have happened. And here, there’s another thing that has happened that’s been devastating, and you’d think anyone would come out of it going, “Okay, wake up. What have I been doing?” That’s what a normal person would do, and hopefully try to come out of it a better person. Does Armand do it? I don’t know. I don’t know that he’s capable of that. I think it’ll take something really big. So Arun is an effect of that. Arun is him coming back out of his cocoon, his two years of sort of hibernating after this devastation. He’s coming out, he’s showing himself, and he’s like the baby version before coming back into Amadeo and Armand. What that’s going to be, we don’t know yet.

If Armand loves Daniel as he implies, and maybe he’s missed him, why did he abandon him for two years after turning him?

AMC

Assad Zaman: Does he know that he missed him? Does he know that he is in love with him? I think what’s beautiful about the end of four, that confession that when I read that, I was like, “Wow, this is a really, really fascinating way to make this admission.” Because I don’t think Armand was prepared to… I think it surprised Armand, even, that it came out because it also confirms that what happened in Dubai, the sort of not being able to hear Daniel’s thoughts or being able to be on top of the manipulation, letting himself be discovered was in essence something to do with his affection for Daniel that he himself didn’t understand and couldn’t work out, couldn’t place.

I think that only happens after he’s turned. I think that happens after he’s turned Daniel. And we don’t know the circumstances of his turning Daniel yet. But I think the cocoon period of Armand happened very soon after turning Daniel, because the act of turning himself is something that he’s just done, something that he finds abhorrent. He, as a vampire, finds disgusting, disgraceful, and abhorrent. And so there wasn’t any space in his mind, I think, to go, “Oh, I’m sorry, let’s work this out. Let’s find…” He just runs away. So this is him facing it, him facing Daniel facing his sort of actions.

RELATED ARTICLE

Will Armand Call Daniel ‘Beloved’ in THE VAMPIRE LESTAT? Who Knows, But We’ll Always Have This

Daniel asks Armand, “Why are you here?” And Armad gives him an answer, but why has he come back now after staying away for so long?

Assad Zaman: Many reasons. There are wider reasons relating to the Great Conversion that he feels that he has a duty, responsibility to halt and make people understand. Daniel is there creating a documentary about Lestat and vampires, and he’s also Armand’s fledgling… And I said this before, Armand has, even though he hasn’t been around, he has been around. He’s always watching, he’s a lurker, he’s a serial lurker, and he’s been that as his world has crumbled and he’s gone into the shadows. Everyone else has sort of come out of the shadows and are certainly being very loud. Louis is enterprising all over the place, and Lestat’s on a world tour, sort of bringing in the entire world of vampires together, and there’s Daniel documenting it all, and it’s something that Armand finds dangerous, so he has to do something about it.

AMC

And at the same time, he’s trying to come to terms with what he’s done in Dubai, what he’s done to Louis and Daniel, and trying to reconcile with that. It’s sincerity that’s always peppered with manipulation or peppered with a mission that he feels like he needs to do to survive.

When I first watched episode four, and Armand left the concert, I was like, “Daniel, go after him.” And then Daniel did. How did that feel for Armand for Daniel to kind of pursue him?

#tvlspoilers
it’s their first real conversation in 2 years and armand is admitting he loves daniel, armand really is the world's biggest hopeless romantic pic.twitter.com/Qhb9ukL3Mp

— dah 🦇 (@vmprlstt) June 27, 2026

Assad Zaman: Well, in the beginning, I think he just thinks that Daniel is just going to sort of berate him again because that’s what he did in the bowling alley. He fully believes that Daniel has every right to hate him. He left him. He left him completely vulnerable. He left him with something that he didn’t ask for, and so he feels guilt for that, and he knows that Daniel really does hate him in his guts right now, but then I think both of them don’t… Daniel and Armand, they don’t understand what this connection is that’s happening. Armand does more than Daniel, but they don’t understand this vampire bond because it’s new for Armand as well, but the fact that Daniel is asking about Dubai and going, “Was it all a lie? Was it all fake?” Is a moment that kind of comes out of nowhere for Armand.

And in that moment, I feel like he doesn’t want to lie to Daniel.

AMC AMC

And I think it comes out, it’s an honest confession that, ‘Yes, you can hate me, you can hate me for what I did. I manipulated you. I turned you, I did some fucked up shit, but that pretending to let you manipulate me… That’s not true. You think you were under my spell, actually, I was under your spell. That’s why you were able to free everyone,’ and maybe that’s part of it. Maybe Armand, somewhere deep inside, is like grateful to Daniel for freeing Louis and Armand from this disastrous, nothing relationship that’s a spiral of misery. So yeah, it’s a really tender moment that comes out.

The Vampire Lestat airs on AMC and AMC+ Sundays at 9 pm ET/PT and midnight, respectively. You can snag The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice to read, if you’d like to know a little bit more about what’s going on.

Rotem Rusak is the Editor-in-Chief of Nerdist. She’s ready for Devil’s Minion to become canon so one of her ships can finally sail.

This post has affiliate links, which means we may earn advertising money if you buy something. This doesn’t cost you anything extra, we just have to give you the heads up for legal reasons. Click away!

The post Assad Zaman Talks Armand’s Addictions, Confessions, and Intentions in THE VAMPIRE LESTAT appeared first on Nerdist.

⚡ Quick Take

• Assad Zaman spoke to us about why Armand called himself Arun in episode three of The Vampire Lestat and what it reveals about the character.

In Interview with the Vampire season two, the series gives us glimpses of the complicated past that is Armand’s; a series of tragedies that have left the vampire with an intense hunger for survival and the inability to ever truly find or trust peace. Armand tells us that his earliest memories are blurry, kidnapped by slavers in Delhi, sold to a brothel, and then purchased by his vampiric maker, Marius, whom he “served with all his heart”… Only for that existence to be cut short by the Roman Coven, who burned Marius and his home, and stole Armand away again. As a poignant demarcation of each instance in which Armand was destroyed and remade against his will, a different name was forced on him at each point. Arun, in the brothel, a name which may or may not have been Armand’s at the outset. Amadeo, with Marius. And Armand, from the Romen Coven. It’s a dizzying array of identities, none of which Armand chose to acquire.

And so, it is of particular note that in episode three of The Vampire Lestat, Armand introduces himself as Arun during a group meeting he attends, coincidentally/not coincidentally, alongside the wayward member of Lestat’s band, Alex. Curious about the moment, Nerdist asked Armand’s actor, Assad Zaman, to break it down further with us. Why did Armand call himself Arun in The Vampire Lestat? And what does it reveal about the character? Here’s what Zaman had to say.

AMC

Zaman offered the following incredible insights about Armand and his relationship with Arun and his other names and selves:

Well, part of it might be, obviously, to use as a disguise, although the book is out. I don’t know how useful that is as a disguise if people are reading the book and know that Armand’s name is Arun. But also, there’s a more sincere answer there that he… I think where we meet him here, it’s two years after his entire world’s collapsed, everything that he has built has sort of gone away. We don’t know exactly how he spent the two years, but I think there has been a regression. There has been a regression into a past version of himself. I think that’s meant that he’s had to revisit his traumas, his past traumas, and parallel them, compare them with what’s happened here.

One of the things that we know about Armand from the books is that this collapse isn’t the first collapse of his existence. He’s had a few of these in the past, and each one has been devastating in its own way. After each one, he’s had to regroup, rebuild himself from the crumbs, from the ashes, and find who he is and survive again. So each time I think Armand never really gets a chance to really understand his trauma and understand, come to terms with it and really sort of evaluate it. He doesn’t give himself the chance to do it, and neither does anyone else really engage with it, really help him to get through it because they have good reason not to.

He’s a manipulative asshole. He doesn’t do himself any favors. So he’s never really been able to come to terms with the things that have happened. And here, there’s another thing that has happened that’s been devastating, and you’d think anyone would come out of it going, “Okay, wake up. What have I been doing?” That’s what a normal person would do, and hopefully try to come out of it a better person. Does Armand do it? I don’t know. I don’t know that he’s capable of that. I think it’ll take something really big. So Arun is an effect of that. Arun is Armand coming back out of his cocoon, his two years of sort of hibernating after this devastation. He’s coming out, he’s showing himself, and he’s like the baby version before coming back into Amadeo and Armand. What that’s going to be, we don’t know yet.

AMC

If there’s one thing that’s true about Armand, it’s that he’s deeply traumatized. And even though he’s likely only play-acting at group therapy, maybe the attendance of it will be somehow helpful for him. Whoever Arun, Amadeo, and Armand are to Armand, they are, all of them, deeply damaged. And five centuries of trauma without understanding it is a lot for any vampire to deal with, especially on their own. Manipulative asshole or not, we’d like him to try to find the way that’s right for him. And maybe even a name that he gets to choose for himself. Until then, we’ll sit with these intense Armand-feelings and wait to see what happens next.

AMC

The Vampire Lestat airs on AMC and AMC+ Sundays at 9 pm ET/PT and midnight, respectively. You can snag The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice to read, if you’d like to know a little bit more about what’s going on.

Rotem Rusak is the Editor-in-Chief of Nerdist. She’s ready for Devil’s Minion to become canon so one of her ships can finally sail.

This post has affiliate links, which means we may earn advertising money if you buy something. This doesn’t cost you anything extra, we just have to give you the heads up for legal reasons. Click away!

The post Assad Zaman on Why Armand Calls Himself ‘Arun’ in THE VAMPIRE LESTAT appeared first on Nerdist.

House of the Dragon season three’s second episode starts off with some serious heartbreak. Rhaenyra is parsing through the demise of her son Jace, who died in the Battle of the Gullet. She’s angry and lashing out at everyone, and understandably no longer focused on her plan to take King’s Landing. It seems that no one will be able to motivate her into getting back into the game… well, except one person. Enter Daemon Targaryen, her husband who has been determined to see her sit on the Iron Throne since he saw those visions of Daenerys last season. And, it is that vision about the song of fire and ice that re-ignites Rhaenyra and leads her to seizing the opportunity to claim the Iron Throne.

Ollie Upton/HBO

Daemon receives a letter informing him that Jace is dead. The next move is to fly to King’s Landing with Rhaenyra and take the Iron Throne in Aemond and Vhagar’s absence. He returns home to find Rhaenyra in bed grieving and, in true Daemon fashion, he starts to talk her into chaos. She questions if it is worth losing her sons to sit upon a throne and Daemon counters, saying that they cannot let them die in vain. He begins to speak in High Valyrian and tells her about the in-depth visions that he saw while in Harrenhal. 

RELATED ARTICLE

HOUSE OF THE DRAGON Made Daemon Targaryen a Part of GAME OF THRONES’ Story

In case you forgot, last season, Daemon saw his own descendent Daenerys Targaryen hatching three dragons from the flames. And, he also saw that all of that will only be possible if Rhaenyra, not himself, sits on the Iron Throne.

⚡ Quick Take

• Daemon Targaryen’s vision about Daenerys is the motivation to get Rhaenyra out of bed and into action to take King’s Landing.
• He tells her briefly what he saw, reminds her of her father’s words, and says that she cannot let her sons die in vain.
• This leads to action where Rhaenyra and Daemon take King’s Landing and she finally sits upon the Iron Throne.

I saw it, Rhaenyra. At Harrenhal. The darkness in the north. The Song of Fire and Ice. I saw a girl with silver hair in a desert far away. And there were dragons at her breast… But if it is real, what my brother told you… If it were true, what then would you do? 

Of course, the girl with the silver hair is when Daenerys emerges from the fire with her dragons in Game of Thrones and earns her moniker “the unburnt.” This speech from Daemon, combined with reminding Rhaenyra of Viserys’ promise and vision, is enough to make her want to rise from bed and seize the throne. 

And, well, she does indeed do that but it is with a cost in many ways. She severs the head of Otto Hightower, who manipulated his daughter and grandsons’ path into power, only for Alicent to show up and see her father’s headless body on the floor. Yep, it’s pretty messy.

It is nice to see the interconnectedness between Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon despite the stories taking place hundreds of years apart. The choices that Rhaenyra makes will certainly impact the legacy of the Targaryens and set the course for what we’ve seen with Daenerys.

The post The Daenerys Prophecy Takes HOUSE OF THE DRAGON to Another Level appeared first on Nerdist.

This post contains major spoilers for House of the Dragon season three, episode two. If you want to avoid them for now you can instead check out our coverage of the season premiere.

HBO ⚡ Quick Take

• Rhaenyra finally claimed the Iron Throne on House of the Dragon, but the show made some pretty big changes to the Fall of King’s Landing from Fire & Blood.

Alicent’s offer to Rhaenyra in House of the Dragon‘s season two finale guaranteed the Fall of King’s Landing would be different from its source material. In Fire & Blood, historians say the whole city and those who ruled there were caught off guard by the Queen’s arrival. On the HBO series, Alicent made sure it happened. But just how different was the show’s version compared to George R.R. Martin’s? They took different paths to arrive at the same place. But they both ended with Rhaenyra on the Iron Throne and Otto Hightower’s head separated from his body.

Rhaenyra’s Comings and Aemond’s Goings HBO

Fire & Blood says that “anger” and hatred” over the death of her son Jace at the Battle of the Gullet, as well as a lost battle not yet seen on House of the Dragon, drove Rhaenyra to make an assault on King’s Landing. Meanwhile, in King’s Landing, Prince Regent Aemond Targaryen also decided to attack his uncle Daemon at Harrenhal with a multi-pronged attack. It was not a decision the entire Green council supported, but Aemond was determined to claim the castle, kill his uncle, and destroy the army of riverlords Daemon had amassed.

Unlike on House of the Dragon, book Aemond did not head to Harrenhal alone. He left King’s Landing with an army led by Ser Criston Cole. On HBO, Cole had long ago left the capital city, but he was waiting for Aemond and Vhagar to go to Harrenhal. Cole is now leading his army there on House of the Dragon.

HBO

In both versions of the story, Rhaenyra was able to easily take King’s Landing because Aemond and Vhagar were not there to protect it since Queen Helaena refused to fight with her dragon Dreamfyre. The major difference was that on House of the Dragon, Alicent convinced her reluctant son to leave King’s Landing. In Fire & Blood—which never indicated Aemond intentionally tried to kill his brother Aegon—the Queen Dowager is said to have urged caution. Alicent wanted Aemond to wait for Aegon, still recovering in the Red Keep, and Sunfyre to heal.

Daemon Flees and Ser Simon Strong Dies HBO

On House of the Dragon, Daemon left his forces in the Riverlands because Rhaenyra summoned him to Dragonstone. The Queen wasn’t abandoning the infamous castle entirely, though. She’d ordered Addam, Ulf, and Hugh to stay at Harrenhal to await Aemond’s impending arrival, which Alicent had guaranteed. The three dragonriders abandoned their post citing both a possible “misunderstanding” and the urging of possible “witch” Alys Rivers.

In Fire & Blood, Daemon happily left Harrenhal after a too-long stay because he got word of his nephew’s plan. The Rogue Prince still had friends in King’s Landing and those unknown allies alerted him to Aemond’s imminent arrival. It would not be the last time friendly faces in King’s Landing would come to his aide.

HBO

Aemond killed Ser Simon Strong in both versions of the story, but in Fire & Blood, the Prince Regent did it in a far crueler way the show only hinted at. History says Aemond, after already taken the castle and having it under his control, forced the elder knight to pick up a sword for a formal duel. Aemond accused Simon of too easily giving Harrenhal to Daemon previously. On House of the Dragon, Aemond told Ser Simon to pick up a sword during his attack. The Prince Regent then stabbed the armless man when Simon tried to calmly tell Aemond he’d already won.

It was an unjust death in both tales, but HBO’s version made Ser Simon’s murder feel more impetuous and emotional rather than the cold, calculated, monstrous charade of a “duel” history remembers.

A Very Different Role for Ser Gwayne Hightower HBO

The Greens of Fire & Blood knew the City Watch of King’s Landing had deep ties going back decades to their former Lord Commander, Daemon Targaryen. As Game of Thrones fans know, the Gold Cloaks are powerful enough to help decide who rules. Baelish paid the City Watch to betray Ned Stark, ensuring Joffrey would become king.

In Martin’s history, the Greens, well aware of the City Watch as formidable armed force within King’s Landing, long ago decided to keep a close eye on the current leader of the Gold Cloaks, Ser Luthor Largent. (Book Luthor was 7-feet tall.) To make sure the City Watch stayed in line, the Greens installed Alicent’s brother, Ser Gwayne Hightower, as the Gold Cloak’s second in command.

HBO

Since his introduction on HBO’s prequel, Gwayne Hightower has marched alongside Ser Criston Cole. The two have led the Green forces as they’ve attacked Rhaenyra supporters in the Crownlands. While Gwayne is not exactly having a good time fighting the war, he has already survived longer than his book counterpart. Book Gwayne fell in the Fall of King’s Landing.

Rhaenyra’s Dragons Arrive in King’s Landing HBO

Only Rhaenyra (atop Syrax) and her husband (flying Caraxes) flew to King’s Landing in Fire & Blood.

In the show, Ulf and Hugh accompanied her with their dragons. They offered support book Rhaenyra instead got from Lord Corlys. He sailed his fleet into Blackwater Bay in a coordinated attack. That was not possible on House of the Dragon. In the source material, the Queen’s arrival in the capital happened well after the Battle of the Gullet. That legendary conflict was not yet over at the start of season three’s second episode.

In the book, the denizens of King’s Landing panicked. Some tried to hide, some began looting, while others tried to flee King’s Landing. The City Watch eventually got the mob under control. House of the Dragon showed much less of the commonfolk’s reaction to the invading dragons, but we did see some panic in the streets.

HBO Alicent – Queenmaker Versus Desperate Queen Dowager

Olivia Cooke’s Alicent convinced her son to abandon King’s Landing in season three’s premiere. In the second episode, she wouldn’t let her sworn Kingsguard protector, Ser Rickard, stay with her. She was working to make the Green army to stand down before Rhaenyra arrived. Alicent wanted to make the Queen’s ascension as peaceful and bloodless as possible. She also wanted to make sure she got to escape.

Alicent tried, and failed, to sneak out amid the throngs of people who took to the streets. She and Helaena were caught and taken before the Iron Throne. There Alicent saw her father’s head no longer attached to its body.

HBO

Book Alicent’s story during the Gall of King’s Landing was totally different.

In Fire & Blood, she did everything she could to save her family. She sent riders to bring Aemond and Cole’s army back to King’s Landing. She also ordered Grand Maester Orwyle to send ravens calling for help. The Gold Cloaks made sure neither happened. The City Watch under Ser Luthor Largent remained loyal to Daemon. They killed the Green loyalists who operated the seven city gates, so Alicent’s riders never made it out of King’s Landing. Gold Cloaks also beat and imprisoned Orwyle before he could send any ravens. And when Gwayne Hightower tried to sound an alarm he too was taken. Luthor then split open Gwayne’s stomach. (See? Show Gwayne might be miserable but he still has it much better.)

The City Watch then opened up the gates to Lord Corlys men. Once captured, Alicent made a wild, desperate offer to Rhaenyra. Instead of a bloody war to determine succession, she said they should summon the kind of great council that had once chosen her father as heir. An angry Rhaenyra shot down the offer saying she knew the lord of the Realm would always chose a man. Out of options, Alicent turned over the keys to King’s Landing and ordered the Green forces to surrender. (On House of the Dragon, many Greens immediately laid down their swords on their own they saw Rhaenyra’s dragons.) Alicent then promised Rhaenyra would not rule long, promising Aemond would soon return “with dire and blood.”

Rhaenyra Meets Little Resistance on House of the Dragon HBO

HBO’s prequel didn’t show the full scope of the City Watch’s role in the Fall of King’s Landing, but it did prove pivotal to Rhaenyra claiming the Iron Throne.

Rhaenyra and Dameon encountered very little resistance as they made their way through the Red Keep. Daemon easily slew the few Green soldiers who attacked. It wasn’t until they came before the Iron Throne the Queen’s life was in obvious danger.

Lord Rickard and Green soldiers tried to stop Rhaenyra when she entered the throne room with only Daemon by her side. The only thing that saved the couple was the arrival of Ser Luthor and his Gold Cloaks. On the show, it did not appear Daemon was fully expecting their aide, making him and Rhaenyra’s entrance into the throne room needlessly reckless. House of the Dragon‘s Ser Rickard was then taken prisoner.

HBO

In both tales, Rhaenyra’s men then went looking for Aegon. He was long gone on the show, having fled his brother’s wrath in season two.

Aegon’s book counterpart only left King’s Landing when Rhaenyra arrived. Larys Strong, with Ser Rickard’s help, smuggled Aegon out through secret passages the City Watch didn’t know about. Aegon’s two surviving children also went with him. He only has one on the show, Jaehaera, who we saw Helaena carrying as she tried to escape with her mother. Book Helaena was easily taken from her bedchamber during the hunt for Aegon. In each version, not even Alicent knew where her son had gone.

Rhaenyra Executes the Greens But Spares Her Fellow Queens HBO

Both Lord Jasper Wylde and Ser Otto Hightower, two members of the Green small council that conspired to seat Aegon on the Iron Throne, lost their heads after Rhaenyra claimed King’s Landing. (It happened much, much sooner on House of the Dragon.)

There’s nothing written in Fire & Blood to indicate Rhaenyra herself wielded the sword to execute Otto Hightower. He was present when Alicent surrendered the city on behalf of the Green council. Book Otto was also never a secret prisoner of Larys Strong like on House of the Dragon.

Tyland Lannister was also taken prisoner after the Fall of King’s Landing. In Fire & Blood, Rhaenyra did not execute him, though. His fate currently mains unknown on House of the Dragon after Admiral Lohar threw him and his heavy armor overboard during the Battle of the Gullet. Drowing would be a blessing compared to what awaited his book counterpart….

HBO Queen Rhaenyra Finally Sits on the Iron Throne

House of the Dragon delayed Rhaenyra’s big moment until after she killed Otto Hightower. In the source material, his execution didn’t happen until well after the Queen was secure on the Iron Throne. That was a minor change in time, but a major change in tone. Rhaenyra’s ascension was not a triumphant moment on the show. In front of the entire royal court, she sobbed throughout the execution of a hated enemy her book counterpart relished see die.

HBO

The show did give its answer to an always dubious tale written by a Septon partial to Aegon. It’s a the story about what happened when Rhaenyra sat on the Conqueror’s chair. This is what that biases historian says happened when she rose in the early dawn following her first night on the Iron Throne where she had listened to people swear fealty and beg forgiveness. From Fire & Blood:

“….cuts were seen upon Her Grace’s legs and the palm of her left hand. Drops of blood fell to to the floor as she went past, and wise men looked at one another, though none dared speak the truth aloud: the Iron Throne had spurned her….”

Rhaenyra’s father King Viserys famously cut his hand on the Iron Throne. It was an ill-omen. On House of the Dragon Viserys’ cut never healed (to say the least). Even in the book it cost him two fingers. But this story about the Conqueror’s seat rejecting Rhaenyra has always felt like propaganda meant to undermine her rule after the fact. It was also meant to connect her to the worst Targaryen ruler from the family’s first century in Westeros.

HBO

This story is a reference (and not the only one) to Maegor the Cruel, whose memory helped lead to the Dance of the Dragons. Many lords, like Otto Hightower, feared Daemon would be a “second Maegor” if he ever claimed the Iron Throne. Daemon’s actions combined with the memory of Maegor—who caused the first issue of Targaryen royal succession—contributed to Viserys naming Rhaenyra his heir. Daemon had been first in line before Viserys broke that tradition, which set in motion the Dance of the Dragons.

Maegor’s bloody, violent reign ended when he was found dead on the Iron Throne with his arms “slashed open from wrist to elbow” and blade sticking up through his neck. Some said Maegor ended his own life, others say it was regicide. But there were those who believed the Iron Throne itself killed the cruel King.

A chair of steel cannot intentionally cut anyone, not even the unworthy. The Iron Throne itself does not pass judgement, and it didn’t on House of the Dragon, at least not the first time Rhaenyra sat in it as Queen. It did not reject her by making her bleed. But that story was never about the truth. It was about trying to paint Rhaenyra as a monster who was never meant to rule. A nickname she will soon earn will do the same….

Why Rhaenyra Made Her Move on the Iron Throne HBO

In both versions the Queen, dressed in black scale armor, was determined to either take the city or die trying. The big change was “why.” Rhaenyra only agreed to take King’s Landing on House of the Dragon because Daemon reminded her of Aegon the Conqueror’s White Walker prophecy. It was not out of rage over Jace’s death like in Fire & Blood.

Only, that might not really be a change. The already unreliable history of the Dance of the Dragons didn’t know about Aegon’s dream. No source material before House of the Dragon ever cited the Song of Ice and Fire as the reason the Conqueror wanted to unite Westeros, but it seems likely (certain?) that revelation came from George R.R. Martin. directly.

HBO/IGN

There was never a good explanation for why House Targaryen suddenly turned its attention to the Realm after one hundred relatively quiet years on Dragonstone. A fan theory long ago, that the author spoke about, did posit that Aegon’s interest in the Seven Kingdoms was tied to the impending return of the White Walkers. But while it wasn’t an outrageous revelation when we learned that’s exactly what happened, it did change everything we ever thought we knew about House Targaryen’s rule, including Rhaenrya’s fight for the Iron Throne.

No matter the “real” motivation behind Rhaenyra’s attempts, though, the source material makes clear it had nothing to do with a secret offer from Alicent. And while it might seem possible to argue historians could not possibly have known about such a treasonous pact, what followed Rhaenyra’s arrival in King’s Landing in the book make any possible collusion with Alicent impossible.

The result in both tales ends the same way, though. Queen Rhaenyra finally sits on the Iron Throne. Now she must try and keep it.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. He’s not upset the traitor Ser Otto is dead, but he will miss Rhys Ifans. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post The Biggest Changes HOUSE OF THE DRAGON Made to the Fall of King’s Landing appeared first on Nerdist.

House of the Dragon season three is only two episodes in, but A LOT is going down. Rhaenyra is dealing with Jace’s death, Alicent is desperately trying to get TF out of King’s Landing, Rhaena is trying to NOT get murked, Aemond is unhinged, and Daemon continues to be an agent of chaos. In episode two, Daemon and Rhaenyra finally make their move on King’s Landing to take the Iron Throne. But, with that takeover, heads must roll to assert their authority. And that’s exactly what happens… but not with whom we’d expect. House of the Dragon showed the epic return of Otto Hightower and his swift demise at the hands of a tearful Rhaenyra. 

Ollie Upton/HBO

In this episode, Rhaenyra and Daemon bring the dragons and confidently slice their way to the Iron Throne. After gaining the support/surrender of the City Watch, Daemon finds Grand Maester Orwyle, who says he’s no hero nor a fighter. He declares himself faithful to the true Queen Rhaenyra and offers up a prisoner in exchange for his own demise. Daemon discovers that it is Jasper Wylde, the same man who tried to sexually assault Alicent. Predictably, Wylde is talking lots of trash, so Daemon is more than willing to offer him as a sacrifice. But, he learns that Lord Larys Strong left him the greatest gift of all: an imprisoned Otto Hightower. 

⚡ Quick Take

• House of the Dragon season 3, episode 4 brings back Otto Hightower for a surprise return.
• He’s offered up as a sacrifice to assert Rhaenyra’s dominance as she takes the Iron Throne.
• Rhaenyra chops off Otto’s head right before Alicent is brought in, which will surely cause more tension between the former friends.

The return of Otto Hightower in House of the Dragon was inevitable considering that he played such a big role in setting all of this mess in motion. He was replaced as the King’s Hand when Aegon took the throne. After Ser Criston Cole took his place, he left to gather allies in the Reach but disappeared. Last season, we saw him in a dark jail but it wasn’t clear where he was. Well, it seems he was in King’s Landing the entire time. Look at that. 

HBO

Otto and Wylde are brought to Rhaenyra. Daemon tells her that she must take their heads to assert her authority, but she is hesitant. Not everyone is a natural born killa, Daemon! Otto laments that her father wouldn’t want to see things go this way, to which she replies by telling him to shut up. She finally did what needed to be done and chopped both of their heads off.

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Meanwhile, Alicent, Helaena, and Helaena’s child are captured and brought into the room. Alicent is shocked to see her father’s lifeless body on the floor as she looks at Rhaenyra sitting on the throne. RIP Otto, you got what you deserved, my guy. 

The post A Key HOUSE OF THE DRAGON Character Makes a Shocking Return appeared first on Nerdist.

In a significant flashback in episode four of The Vampire Lestat, “The Devil’s Road,” we see a major life milestone moment in the personal development of Sam Reid’s Lestat. And it explains so much of his later behavior with so many other characters, particularly his fledglings, Louis and Claudia. Episode four shows us the first time his mother, Gabriella, picked up and abandoned him for years and years. This left a hole in his heart that he always tried to fill with the love of others. Particularly, his great love, Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson).

⚡ Quick Take

• The Vampire Lestat episode 4, “The Devil’s Road,” showed us a significant beach scene.
• It depicted the first time Gabriella abandoned Lestat.
• This left a hole in Lestat’s undead heart.

AMC Gabriella Abandons Lestat in the 19th Century

In one of the 19th-century flashbacks, we see Lestat and Gabriella on an unnamed Italian beach. They have finished picking off a group of sailors, and they decided to take cover from the morning sun. They dig holes in the sand, and flip over two lifeboats for protection from the sun’s rays. But when Lestat awakens the next evening, he turns over the boat next to him, and finds that his mother/lover has already left. He knows that this time, shes gone for good, leaving him all alone. This leaves him despondent, feeling totally abandoned by the woman who gave him life, and whose life he saved in return when he gave her the Dark Gift.

AMC

This leads to a depression that causes Lestat to bury himself in the Earth for nearly a century. In Anne Rice lore, a vampire can essentially cease drinking blood and lie in the ground for an unlimited amount of time. But the longer they stay in that state, the more difficult it is to climb back up to life. They consider it a form of death and eventual rebirth. They can telepathically hear the world around them, but they take all that information as if in a dream state. Lestat does this until the early 20th century, which brings us to season one of Interview with the Vampire.

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Based on things that Gabriella has said so far, while under her guise as “Sofia,” she did come back to see Lestat here and there over the last few hundred years. Apparently, she nursed him back to health after the assassination attempt by Louis and Claudia in season one. But then, it’s evident that she disappeared again for a very long time. It’s unclear how long Lestat went without seeing his mother by the time the pair are reunited in The Vampire Lestat. But it seems to have been decades at least. Gabriella simply does not need Lestat the way he needs her.

How Lestat and His Mother Parted Ways in the Anne Rice Novel Alfred A. Knopf/Ballantine Books

In the book, the rupture between Lestat and his mother unfolds over time. The two travel the world together for a decade, but even then, Gabrielle would vanish for days, then weeks, then months at a time. She much preferred hunting in nature to living among human civilization. For her, she would prefer to kill a wild bear or elephant than a regular human. In the novel, she and Lestat did not kill their family together. Lestat’s brothers died in the French Revolution, and his father, Gabrielle’s husband, escaped to New Orleans. She kept this news from Lestat, who, enraged, told her to leave him forever. Gabrielle does not see Lestat again for nearly 200 years, reuniting with him at Lestat’s San Francisco concert.

AMC

This event in Lestat’s life left a permanent mark, and informs so many of his bad choices in later years. He clings so hard to Louis, largely because of feeling abandoned by his mother. And also, the disaster with his first love, Nicholas, informed a lot of that as well. But if Gabriella had not abandoned him, he may have never embarked on a trip to America, and settled in New Orleans. A lot of Lestat’s bad decisions can be traced back to that evening on the beach in Italy.

The Vampire Lestat drops new episodes on Sundays on AMC and AMC+.

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