Hello, my name is Dave Gonzalez, and I haven't read any of the books in George R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. I'm Joanna Robinson and I've read every book in George R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. And I'm Neil Miller and I have also read those very heavy books. Years ago, we hosted a Game of Thrones podcast called A Storm Spoilers, and we're thrilled to head back to Westrose to cover the second season of House of the Dragon on the trial by content feed. We'll be using our book knowledge to dive deep into each episode

and answer your lingering questions. So send us a raven every week to trial by content at

Gmail.com. Follow and subscribe to trial by content on Spotify or wherever you get your podcast to

join us on Thursdays where these two will explain to me which Targaryen is right.

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Thank you thousand pounds investments or savings required for the advice service eligibility and fees apply welcome back to the prestige tv podcast feed i'm joanna robinson i'm here with rob mahoney we have a very special guest bill simmons is here hi bell how you doing How are you doing? Yeah, I invited myself. I was listening to

your last episode on 5 and 6, and I was like, I just got to join. I'm in. There's no good TV right now.

So this show, I think, has filled some sort of weird void. I don't know if anybody really

loves this show, but everybody kind of likes watching it. And the fact that it's once a week and old school, I think really helps the show. I love it. I want to get your sort of big picture take, because you promised me some hot takes, and I want to hear all of them. Just really quickly want to mention that later on this episode, we have an interview with director Greg Catanis, who directed the middle chunk of the season. He directed a bunch of those episodes, and we'll be talking to him about all of those. So stay tuned for that. Bill Simmons, you promised to come in hot. What is your hot presumed innocent take? Before we get to the takes, this is a late-breaking turn in this season, you coming on our show. Do you have an alibi for the nighting question? I can't be ruled out. I know. Well, you know what's funny? I really liked episode seven. So after five and six, I'm like, I'm coming in so hot. This show is so dumb. I don't know why I like watching it, but man, they're just milking it along. And then seven, I was like, oh, yeah. I thought seven was good to be. The issue is, it's like with every David E. Kelly show, which you've mentioned before, where it's these little red herring things to get you to the next episode

where it's like,

we're taping a pod with Rob. Uh-oh, he's clutching his heart. Is Rob dead? We're back next week. Oh, no, Rob's fine. He's having a soda. In fact, I'm better than ever, it turns out. May we all be so lucky as to have an electrical event. Came out improved, yeah.

So they're basically taking a movie that basically already existed

35 years ago and doing the TV version of it with some red herring. So there's one. And then

the other thing was we know how this ends allegedly from the movie in the book. And yet as

I'm watching this, and I know Rob is doing the naive. Nah, nah, nah, putting his hand over. It does one here. And I'm not going to spoil it. But the more I watch show in, I'm wondering, are they going to veer from the book slash movie? So now I'm watching this going, oh, I thought I knew how this ended. But maybe I don't know how this ended. Maybe they're going to veer. They have you exactly where they want you, basically. Like, this is something that, you know, Chris Ryan, who has also seen the movie, from the start, he's like, they're going to change the ending. Rob was like, I think they're going to change the ending. And I was so firm. I was like, they're not changing the ending. And yet Rob doesn't know what the ending is. I don't. But it's just like, why would you make it to do the same story?

You know, you have to come over. I was like, they're not changing the ending. And yet Rob doesn't know what the ending is. I don't.

But it's just like, why would you make it to do the same story? You know, you have to come up with some spin. And this isn't the kind of story that has a whole fresh new context that would make it feel new and modern. And so what are they changing, if not that? Well, the story's so old, they kept the characters named Rusty. and there hasn't been anyone named Rusty in like 30 years.

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