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[Assistant] Grineera is close friends with Alicent Hightower, whose father is Otto Hightower, who is the Hand of the King, and who is also an enemy of Prince Daemon.


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[Assistant] Sadly, Queen Emma dies during childbirth and the child, a son, dies soon after.


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[Assistant] Daemon is back to being the presumptive heir, but then, after he rents out a brothel like it's a Dave and Buster's, he disgraces himself with a tasteless speech, leading King Viserys to name Rhaenyra his heir.


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[Assistant] Melded necessary info dumps with character building and dialogue that felt traumatic and real. You know, there's that moment.


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[Assistant] Where Alicent and Princess Renear are chillin' in the godswood, not doing homework.


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[Assistant] That's one of my favorite scenes. You get an entire, like, download on history of Dorne and Nymeria's travels to Dorne that happen in the flow of understanding how these characters relate to each other and this episode is full of stuff like that. Do you have any other scenes that you liked in that regard?


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[Assistant] Yeah, that's a great line to pull out because it's as deep as you want it to be. On the one hand, you know, here is a teenager saying, I wish I could do teenage stuff, right?


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[Assistant] Which, we get it, you know? On a deeper level, for people who've read the books and know this backstory, it's...


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[Assistant] Kind of tragic because the Targaryens marry off when they're like 12, 13. They never get it. That is not a thing that any of them ever get to revel in.


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[Assistant] So as frivolous as it seems, it's actually really heartbreaking to hear a character say, man, I wish I had a childhood, and then you learn about what it means to be a Targaryen, what it means to be a young noble in this world.


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[Assistant] The subject that they are talking about is really interesting as well because Nymeria is one of the female heroes of history in this world and was a pivotal figure in


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[Assistant] I wish we could just be like young kids without all this weight on us. It's just one example of like how well this pilot deploys exposition.


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[Assistant] Well, a shocking scene for Sir Harold Westerling, uhm, Princess Rhaenyra's direct king's guard, bodyguard, right? And I think you nailed something really important. Prince Daemon, again, like there's so much richness of meaning in that one scene and the way all these characters react, right? Prince Daemon is...


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[Assistant] Another scene I liked in terms of exposition was the first small council scene, right? You get everything there.


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[Assistant] We break in, in the middle of dialogue, King Viserys telling a butthole joke.


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[Assistant] Then we get Lord Lyman Beesbury, the master of coin being like, hey, Prince Damon's spending too much money. Yes.


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[Assistant] The king wants when he says, hey, guess what? The king heard you talk about the pirates, Corlys, and now he doesn't want to talk about it anymore. So if he wants to talk about it later, he'll come to you.


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[Assistant] And Viserys just kind of like goes, yeah, that's Otto Heiter, my Hand of the King, he just spoke with my voice. You get all of that in that one scene, it's so cool.


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[Assistant] And to your point, exposition like this, right? It's bad when you notice it, and when you don't notice it.


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[Assistant] It's great. Then you feel clever. You feel clever cause wow, you're learning so much. You didn't even understand you were learning it. That's what's so cool about these scenes.


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[Assistant] The stakes for all these people, you know, Princess Raniera is out having a joyride, whereas Sir Harold is like, man.


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[Assistant] I'm in trouble, which is a thing. When you take that oath, there is a school of thought that says if the person you are charged with protecting, and yes, they are guarding the king with the king, then clearly task, uh, Sir Harold to guard his daughter.


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[Assistant] If you fail in that mission, you shouldn't survive the person you failed to protect. So that's a big deal. That's a big deal to him. Any other relationships with Raniera that stuck out to you?


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[Assistant] Because we open with Princess Renira, we see her with Alicent, we see that bond, we see them walk through the castle, we see all the courtiers and various people, and then when she gets to Queen Emma, there's that, there's something about, you know, the bond of being a woman in this world, they share it, Queen Emma and Princess Renira share it, where Princess Renira is like,


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[Assistant] I'm checking on you, you know, everybody's dealing with the tournament that's coming and all the nobles who are coming and all these other like machinations and political stuff. How are you? Are you good? Like yes, you are essentially a baby factory.


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[Assistant] Sadly, but how are you, how is it sitting with you? How are you feeling? How are you doing? And the answer is stiff upper lip, but really not that great. You know?


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[Assistant] Honey, that's not your fault. But it is so heartbreaking because...


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[Assistant] You know, as far as the realm is concerned, that's for one and only job is to do that, is to produce this heiress so the realm can be stable and clearly King Viserys


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[Assistant] Is so laser focused on the belief that he is having a son. He believes it's gonna happen. He had this dream that he saw their son born with Aegon's iron crown and the dragons roared and it's definitely gonna happen and she meanwhile is trying to communicate, hey,


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[Assistant] I'm a little freaked out, I'm a little worried. Like, I don't want to do this again. And in fact, this is it. Like, no more. And he is just sky high in the clouds at the prospect of his baby boy being born. And that is hard to watch. What did you feel watching that?


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[Assistant] I wanna jump back to that earlier conversation with King Viserys and Queen Em in the Bath.


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[Assistant] Already predicting that it's not a son, that it's a daughter. And then she's already taken to calling the daughter Visenya. That's a very interesting choice. And then King Viserys then says,


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[Assistant] That's the thing that's probably gonna be lost on people who haven't read the books and it's really fascinating because Visenya was one of Aegon the Conqueror's queen wives. And it was kind of the most...


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[Assistant] A person who is not dependable in a way that Damon Targaryen is also not dependable and that's clearly the thing that...


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[Assistant] King Viserys is saying it's like we already have one of those and it's just so much trouble dealing with that, dealing with those machinations, the scheming, the unpredictability, the disappearing for long periods of time and potentially like the quest for the throne. So that was a really interesting


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[Assistant] Yeah, I thought so too. The Grand Maesters don't know what it is. Yeah. Well, I mean, you're sitting on a dirty, rusty, bacteria-ridden chair of swords. Guess what?


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[Assistant] Stuff like this might happen. For me, what was most fascinating was Otto's clear concern. The last thing Otto wants is to signal to the realm that the king is weak. Because, you know, it's this really...


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[Assistant] The rumor network, you know, Westeros TMZ would immediately kick into high gear. Iron Throne does not like King. Big problem. You know, and this is a thing that is the second King of the Targaryen reign after Aegon was King Aenys. A-E-N-Y-S.


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[Assistant] His problem was weakness. And that led to Magor. And so everybody is really, really, really laser focused on, don't communicate weakness, don't communicate weakness, don't let anybody see you're weak. What did you think of that scene?


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[Assistant] Some really focused moments of Otto. What did you think of Sir Otto of House Hightower?


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[Assistant] When the Queen has passed, there is an acrimonious small council meeting in which Otto, the funeral pyre not even extinguished. Literally the funeral, as far as we know, happened that afternoon. This is the evening.


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[Assistant] Serato is immediately like, let's talk succession, let's talk about it, let's hash it out. This turns into a big argument and the king storms out, obviously not wanting to have this discussion.


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[Assistant] First of all, what's in the letter? I would argue that those things are connected.


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[Assistant] And I would also argue that if we look at everything that Otto has done in this episode, one,


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[Assistant] He stymies Corlys when Corlys wants to talk about the triarchy and the triarchy warring on the front doorstep of the realm, right? He doesn't want to talk about it. He's like, don't worry about it. You heard the king. Cleaning up pirates is great. So they're doing it. We don't have to do it. Let's not talk about it. Forget it. He then talks against Prince Daemon and what he's doing with the watch.


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[Assistant] I think that if you put all those things together, whatever is in that letter is something that will, one, bedevil his foes, namely Prince Daemon and probably Sir Corlys, and will raise his family


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[Assistant] Namely, Alison Hightower. So, we're seeing the Hand of the King immediately scheming, despite the fact that he has presented himself, as King Viserys has said to his brother, as the most loyal servant of the throne. Is he?


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[Assistant] You know, it's very interesting. Prince Damon understands that Otto Hightower does not like him. They have that meeting. Oh sure, so you think it's just a direct dig toe?


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[Assistant] Listen, at the previous small council meeting, after Prince Damon's gold cloaks dismembered and killed multiple people in the city, Prince Damon then goes at Otto, like, hey, your wife is dead, do you want mine? My wife in the veil? Maybe you want her. To the point that the king has to be like, hey, you know that he's just trolling you, just don't worry about it. Then, at the later air tourney,


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[Assistant] Goes up to the royal box and is like, hey, Allison, what's up? Let me get your favor. With, you know, like, a not too subtle like smirk at Otto. This is all like, this is all middle fingers to Otto Hightower.


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[Assistant] So I thought this was really interesting because he takes off his helmet, right?


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[Assistant] Yeah. So this is interesting because this is a bit of a change. In the books, he's a storm lander.


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[Assistant] Of House Dundarian, the same kind of lineage which Sir Harold Westerling lays out, bastard son of the steward of House Dundarian, but to...


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[Assistant] Say that he's Dornish. I think it does two things. I think that change does two things. One, it brings Dorn into our story, which is going to be important for filling out what Dorn means to the realm in particular. And two, it allows us to eventually engage with Dornish culture, which is unique. And I think it's important because at this point in time,


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[Assistant] What is it, like, 110, 111-ish AC after conquest? Dorn is not even fully part of the realm. Aegon the Conqueror had a long and bloody war.


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[Assistant] Against Dorne lasted almost ten years. He lost his queen, sister, Rhaenia in that war. She died in under unknown circumstances.


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[Assistant] And after that, the realm basically just said okay.


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[Assistant] You can have something like autonomy and we can figure out what your actual role within the realm is later. And so that has actually not been fully nailed down. Dorne would not become fully part of the realm until 150 something. So the fact that Kristen is here would be really


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[Assistant] That said, as we saw, there are certain very brave individuals who do not shirk from kind of like showing off and going right at him.


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[Assistant] But yeaah, I think to your point, listening, Game of Thrones, when King Robert tries to enter the tournament, Eddard Stark has to be like, what are you doing? Nobody's gonna touch you. You're the king. So I think that is, you know, it's unfair, but it's also a great opportunity for Sir Kristen Cole to go look at who I'm about to dunk on the prince.


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[Assistant] While we're talking about Damon, should we talk about Damon and just like his hangers on? They didn't mention her name, but he's got that paramour who...


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[Assistant] None of that satiates him. Like there's that moment before he makes that terrible speech where he's sad. He's alone in that room full of


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[Assistant] Absolutely alone, and none of that can make him feel better, and that's why he makes this really terrible decision to be like, I've got this image of the prince of the city to uphold, so here I am, I'm gonna make this


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[Assistant] And it's a terrible idea. Very, very lonely guy, Damon Targaryen.


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[Assistant] It feels like this is one of the hinge points clearly of our story, King Viserys and his now named heir, Princess Rhaenyra.


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[Assistant] Yeah, it's interesting because he seems like a good dad. I think this is one of the things that I kept thinking about was what a different...


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[Assistant] Yeah. Knows the history. Knows the history. Takes other people's advice. Absolutely. Like it's so deliberative and collaborative in a way that we haven't seen. Includes his daughter despite the fact that there is... No precedent. Yeah, absolutely. A steel ceiling over how high she can rise, you know? And when he finally


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[Assistant] Names her the air. He does it. I think this was really important because it's the thing that makes him kinda not an asshole.


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[Assistant] Reluctantly because he understands, one, that it's a shitty job. It's a job you shouldn't want. You think you want it, you don't. You don't want this job. I got cuts all over my back that won't heal, among many other things and problems.


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[Assistant] But also he understands that like, it's gonna be an uphill battle because there are deeply ingrained biases in this realm that are gonna keep you


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[Assistant] As maybe you might have thought from his conversations with Queen Emma in the bath, he's not just like oblivious to what this all means. He understands it. What seemed to you like really showed what their relationship is like? Is there anyone that stood out to you?


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[Assistant] This is something really, really cool and it is a new understanding of why Aegon came over and invaded from Dragonstone and conquered the realm. Why did he do it? Because of this dream that he had that a Targaryen


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[Assistant] Had to sit on the throne when eventually a long winter appears. That only a Targaryen on the throne is the thing that will forestall the apocalypse. And that since the time of Aegon, this secret has been handed down from ruler to heir.


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[Assistant] One, that is incredible. That is new, that is so cool, what an incredible secret. Two, I gotta know...


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[Assistant] Seized it from his nephew. So how does that work? Do they all get the secret? There's so much more to unpack here, but that, him sharing that.


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[Assistant] Oh, obviously. So, The Great Council of 101, where Old King Jaehaerys had the realm. Which we see in like the beginning, beginning of this episode. Yea, had the realm vote on who the successor would be.


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[Assistant] That took place at Harrenhal, which is the largest castle in the realm by far. And it took place there because this was the largest gathering to that point. And you need a big venue. Let me research this quickly. But I think in, in Westerosi history, this is the largest gathering. And I should add that so tournaments, which we also see in this episode, tournaments,


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[Assistant] Just keep that in mind. Tournaments are de facto councils because it's a way for the nobility to scheme without anybody kind of knowing what they're scheming about. And then one more thing, the triarchy.


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[Assistant] The Triarchy is a gathering of three free cities from Essos who just kinda get together and try and conquer stuff. That's all you really need to know about that. That'll be a big... And is that pirate related? That is pirate related.


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[Assistant] So the Triarchy is, as Corlys lays out, they're warring against pirates who are active on the Stepstones, which are a group of islands on the Toe, I guess you'd say, of Westeros that lead to Essos. And why Corlys is worried about this is, hey, the Triarchy seem like they're kind of coming into our area. Does that bother anybody else?


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[Assistant] So watch out for that. The triarchy's ambitions are something that consistently impact


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[Assistant] Queen Emma. R.I.P. and Prince Balon. The knight who gets his face fully smashed in by a mace and gets dragged off in a pool of brains and blood. R.I.P. to him.


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[Assistant] That guy is dead, and then potentially, unclear if he does bleed out, but guy who got castrated, probably dead. So that's like, we'll keep it to four.


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[Assistant] There's a heavy-ish. Right, three definite deads, one probable dead, and then you gotta assume that in that two cartloads of body parts there are also other deads. So let's put it anywhere from three to say fifteen. But a hard three.


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[Assistant] Delighted to be sitting here now with Ryan Condal. Ryan is a seasoned showrunner and writer. You may recognize his work from the series Colony.


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[Assistant] Which I think was ahead of its time. The film Rampage, based on my favorite coin-operated video game, is the co-host of the podcast, What Dreams Are Made Of. And today, of course, we're talking about his work as co-showrunner, EP, and writer of the new HBO original series, House of the Dragon. Ryan, welcome to the official Game of Thrones podcast.


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[Assistant] So you're a fan of the books. At what point did you know as you were reading the A Song of Ice and Fire books by George R. R. Martin, did you know that it had hooked you?


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[Assistant] Westeros has an unbelievably rich history. I think one of the things that set this series apart is just the world building. You're talking about ten thousand years of fictional history, so many characters, so many places to explore. Why House of the Dragon? Why the second century of Targaryen rule in Westeros?


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[Assistant] I was struck by something you said, which is your relationship with George, and I wanted to ask because this is every, you know, A Song of Ice and Fire fan's dream is send an email to George and he answers. Talk about your relationship with George, how that started.


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[Assistant] That's amazing. You are co-shouldrunner alongside director Miguel Sapochnik, who I think many people are familiar with his work on Game of Thrones. How did that partnership and dynamic, how does it work?


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[Assistant] Some actors prefer to read the source material, some don't. There's various ways to go about this. Talk about the differences in those approaches and how you arrived at the product.


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[Assistant] Were there any surprises as these really incredible actors started to embody these people, these flesh and blood people?


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[Assistant] Let's dive into King Viserys. Obviously the contrast between himself and his brother Daemon could not be more dramatic. How did these characters drive themselves to the place where we find them in the story? What is that personality conflict like? And a question I've thought about a lot, is there any


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[Assistant] You mentioned Viserys may be a little too passive, Damon a little too crazy. What are the qualities of the perfect ruler of Westeros?


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[Assistant] Let's talk about that birth scene, Queen Emma. How'd you approach that? And can you set up a little bit what the stakes for the realm are in that moment?


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[Assistant] Steve Toussaint, who plays Corlys Velaryon, has said that House of the Dragon is a more political show than Game of Thrones. Whether you agree or disagree, I was struck by what you were saying.


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[Assistant] You know, if the stability of the realm is embodied in this child and the government is as well, the personal becomes very political at that point. How does that magnify these kind of small feuds, small insults? How does that magnify these things into what we see taking place across the continent?


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[Assistant] I couldn't help but wonder when Viserys finally chooses Raynera.


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[Assistant] Is he backed into a corner at that moment? Had he been trying to kind of prepare the ground for the possibility that this could happen? What is his feeling when he does that?


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[Assistant] For all the ways that they disagree and argue and each does a thing that the other would never do, it feels like when the rubber meets the road they love each other, period. Did you talk to the actors in terms of getting them to that place or did they find it?


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[Assistant] So after the realm loses Queen Emma and then Balon, uh, and after Daemon is returning to the Vale, we think, or he says he's going to, Viserys then shares a dream with Rhaenyra.


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[Assistant] He tells her about Aegon's dream and the song of ice and fire, uh, which tells a dangerous winter, and of course the Targaryens and their dreams. These are very important things to this family. How important is the idea of Aegon and what he has established, the Targaryen legacy here in Westeros to


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[Assistant] What Viserys and even Rhaenyra are trying to do with their reins.


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[Assistant] One thing that I loved about Game of Thrones is how present but also distant the history of, you know, even 150 years prior to the event seemed to the people at that time. How aware of


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[Assistant] King Viserys, our Rhaenyra are these, the people that are alive at this time.


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[Assistant] So you mentioned George as an influence on your writing, learning certain things, how to structure stories. What are, what are some of those lessons?


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[Assistant] I just asked, I just asked the pertinent questions, uh, and we got some great, really, really great answers.


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[Assistant] Yeah, I think one thing that, as a book reader,


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[Assistant] I took a lot of heart in was one clearly how much he knows this world and how reverent he is about it and also like how closely he and George are collaborating on this. He talked about George telling him that Aegon


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[Assistant] Had a reason for invading, and that is such a cool...


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[Assistant] Thing to get directly from George. It is kind of mind blowing to just have, like, imagining what it would have been like to be Ryan, to have the creator of this world just casually drop, here's a kind of a big animating thing that propels this vast story. That was just really cool. That was cool.


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[Assistant] Aegon in the books, and I'm including the novels, the Song of Ice and Fire novels, the history book, and also in the associated books, is talked about a lot, but he is


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[Assistant] Why specifically he invaded Westeros? It's kind of before this secret was revealed. You just kind of assume that he saw it, you know, it's like Caesar, he came, he saw, he conquered, he saw it.


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[Assistant] Yeah, but now we're understanding there's a deeper meaning and that really shifts the story in fascinating ways.


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[Assistant] And we want to hear from you. We want to understand how you're feeling in the series. Don't forget to leave a rating and review on your podcast player of choice. And of course, always find us on the Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon social media handles. You can find me on Twitter at NETW3RK.


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[Assistant] And Greta Johnson, our executive producer is Molly Sosha, our supervising producer is Nakia Swinton, our lead sound engineer is Matt Stillo.


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[Assistant] Special thanks to Michael Gluckstadt, Allison Cohen, Kenya Reyes and Becky Rowe at the HBO Max podcast team and Ashley Morton, Dana Froome and Liz Keating at HBO Creative Marketing.


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[Assistant] And I'm Greta Johnson, host of WBEZ's Nerdette Podcast, and this is a Game of Thrones podcast for everybody, whether you're an OG Thrones watcher or you are just starting your journey with the HBO original series, House of the Dragon.


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[Assistant] Long live the king. One more episode left, Greta. This king, I have so many very strong opinions and I am looking forward to getting into with you, but I mean, yeah, I can't believe that we only have one episode left. What the hell, dude?


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[Assistant] Yeah, I'm super curious to see how all that plays out. I mean, there's just a bunch to discuss. But before we dive in, you want to give us our recap?


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[Assistant] That's interesting. I mean, I could see that there would have been more wiggle room before Allison did everything she could to make sure that her...


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[Assistant] There were just so many opportunities for Allison to actually take charge, and I think there's still potential for her to do it, but the fact that she hasn't yet.


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[Assistant] Yeah, she's just surrounded by, that was another thing I wrote towards the end of this episode, was just like, man, fuck all these dudes. Like, all, all of these men. And you know, that's not to say the women are perfect by any stretch, but it's just like, man, ahh.


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[Assistant] Yes, especially Messaria. She's really good. Well, in both cases, you're right.


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[Assistant] Well, I think also it's worth noting that for her to take power, would she have had to kill her son? And she even has that, what was that line about like,


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[Assistant] Is it weakness to not wanna kill people? You know? I think there is that layer to her also where she has all these complicated relationships and to take the power that she is perfectly qualified to take, you know, at what cost would she have to take that is another very intense question.


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[Assistant] And the other thing is, I mean, really at this moment, Allison's play is, Viscera said it was Aegon.


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[Assistant] So, do you think Allison said it because she honestly believes that's what Viserys said? Or do you think she said it because it was a thing she could easily grasp at to shift power dynamics in her and her family's favor?


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[Assistant] Which Aegon, babe? I know you're really sick, but could you specify which one before you die?


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[Assistant] I think so too, though it did seem especially initially like...


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[Assistant] It's just such a convenient thing to say when you realize that no one else talked to him and very few people even know that he's dead yet and...


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[Assistant] Here's an opportunity to put some stuff in play that definitely wasn't in play yesterday.


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[Assistant] Oh no, you just get your head smashed in by like an extremely volatile Kristen Cole. Like, okay, great. Everything's fine. Everything's fine.


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[Assistant] Well, you know, this is growth maybe, right? You can argue that's what it means to develop morals, though he also killed Beesbury without a single bit.


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[Assistant] I mean, obviously he's a lot stronger than this extremely old man, but I don't know, partly the way I read that was like, is Kristen Cole someone you want? Obviously you want him on your team, but is he a wild card or is he under Allison's control?


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[Assistant] The information economy of this episode was really interesting. And it's often a thing throughout Thrones, like it's a pretty, you know, common theme, I would say, but I think especially in this episode, and especially in the first couple minutes, like, okay, who knows that he's dead? Who do we need to lock down at this point? Was really fascinating to watch.


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[Assistant] That's awesome. I'm also happy to hear you mention just point of view with camera because I thought the direction and the camera work in this episode was really interesting because especially in the early scenes, it felt very much as if we were looking in on spaces that we maybe weren't supposed to see. Did you get that sense too?


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[Assistant] Right? I mean he's the kid who like changes his whatever weird, what's the pea bucket called? The chamber pot!


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[Assistant] Oh my god, yes, that scene is just like, oh, we're not fucking around anymore. Not fucking around.


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[Assistant] Well, in the whole nobody leaves situation too, you know, was just the stakes in that room were really intense and it was, I just thought that was a really great scene.


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[Assistant] But then what do you, I mean if you want the deal, how does the collateral work? You know, I mean to your point, there are no contracts in this world, right? It's like what...


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[Assistant] Unless it's like, release all the children right this second, I guess.


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[Assistant] So is there a version of this episode you think that's actually like a buddy cop easter egg hunt situation with Eric and Eric just sorta like traipsing around town? A and E. Looking for the Easter bunny or something?


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[Assistant] Do you think that's just about the crown or do you know a thing that you can't tell us?


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[Assistant] So speaking of things I don't want to talk about. Sure. Is it time to get into this whole foot situation?


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[Assistant] Oh, and that's the part that really bums me out, is like, I don't know, it's interesting to unpack the power dynamic at play with that one because obviously she's getting information, obviously she's not putting herself in an unsafe situation.


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[Assistant] Well, I think it means that they're all on team patriarchy, right? And like, no one's encouraging her to have her own agency. They're just all using her as a pawn for the same outcome, essentially.


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[Assistant] This is another great question for Westeros TMZ, right? It's like, how's the network going?


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[Assistant] I could also see a world where Laris kills Messaria and just takes over the network for himself as opposed to actually eliminating the network, right? I mean, doesn't that seem like the exact sort of thing that he would just thrive on?


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[Assistant] Yeaah, it kinda shocks me that Allison didn't think through that more when she said...


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[Assistant] The king said Aegon should be king. But I guess what we see pretty clearly is that Otto was planning on a coup regardless of what Viserys' last words may or may not have been. Oh, right away. So we would have had the same outcome, you know?


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[Assistant] I was kind of surprised it wasn't Rainiera, but I guess the question is whether or not they even know yet what happened and is happening in King's Landing.


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[Assistant] The fact that she fucked it up as much as she did to me seems at least like a statement that this whole thing is a racket. But I suppose that's not necessarily


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[Assistant] Seemingly go pretty well, actually, when he takes out his sword and everyone's cheering, which seemed really unexpected, and then it's sort of like, oh, maybe we just have a nice lull, and then this insane explosion is like, oh, fuck, yes, here it is, you know?


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[Assistant] I think she still doesn't know what she wants. I think she has spent so much of her life being forced into these different positions and


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[Assistant] And I don't know if you could say the same about, Cersei had a lot more power, I think. And maybe it's the 170 years between the shows. Maybe that's the progression away from patriarchy that we get to see, but...


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[Assistant] Yeah, I understand the comparison. I think in a lot of ways it is really good, but yeah, I think Allison has just been so... She's never gotten to do anything for herself.


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[Assistant] Self-actualized Allison who gives no fucks about anybody but herself.


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[Assistant] That's right. Good lord. That's not convenient. It's not convenient at all.


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[Assistant] I think we're going to have to TBD that one though, because we just, we just don't have enough information.


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[Assistant] You know, I've always been really bad at guesstimations. I used to do a lot of reporting too, and if I were at an event with a crowd, I would literally like count the grid edges and multiply, cause I just can't, I'm not good at actually eyeballing. I mean, probably a couple hundred, right?


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[Assistant] Shout out to all those extras, I guess, huh? Yeah.


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[Assistant] Ugh, that's really cool. It's a fascinating episode because, to your point, there are a lot of different dynamics happening. I think too about, I mean, economy of information in a world that doesn't have smartphones, obviously, is really a big deal. But I think especially in this episode, when some of the first pieces of dialogue we see are, who knows? And,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] For sure. It seemed to me too like there were a lot of really interesting camera angles in this episode that made me feel like I was looking in on something that I maybe shouldn't be seeing.


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[Assistant] Well and I suppose you're trying to get it done in as few takes as possible too just for the sake of everyone else involved in the project.


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[Assistant] Yeah, it's interesting to think about that and then, you know, you brought up Rhaenys earlier, that interaction between the two of them in this episode two is so great because, you know, I mean, I kind of like to think of it as like Rhaenys almost radicalizing Alicent of like, you know, you can actually ask for power in this scenario. You're pretty well qualified for it.


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[Assistant] That's so cool. This wasn't the first episode that you directed for the show. You did four and five also. How would you say doing those two compared to nine? I mean, they're all pretty pivotal episodes in different ways.


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[Assistant] Very, I mean, mechanically probably about a lot of these different scenes in terms of just like who's standing where and where they're going and where the camera is.


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[Assistant] But I wonder, I mean, obviously you must be someone who's also just super fascinated and engaged by story. And I guess it just makes me wonder, with this story, have you chosen a side? No.


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[Assistant] Oh I am, hey look, I had a friend of mine, he's got some people come in, they want to meet me, so they take me to doze, okay, for dinner or to dine. Yeah, eat place.


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[Assistant] Yeah, eight plates, okay. They have great tamales, best tamales worldwide.


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[Assistant] And they always have really good steak there. So I ate four tamales, and a little chili, and about, you know, half a basket of crackers.


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[Assistant] A little colon massager. Yep, a little colon massager. Then a six ounce filet, cooked to perfection I might say. It was light pink in the middle and just, oh, it melted in your mouth. A rigging doorstep.


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[Assistant] And then, you know, I told them, make my fry a small batch. Hey, they gave me enough to feed three people.


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[Assistant] And I ate about half of it. So I, you know, I'm actually getting over the virus cause my, my, uh, appetite.


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[Assistant] Hey, you brought that up. Hey, Phil was having hip problems. And look, went to the doctor and found out his, uh, what, I think it's his left, left leg.


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[Assistant] His left leg is one half inch shorter than his right leg.


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[Assistant] No, no, no, no. Look, it wasn't giving him problems. He had, I mean, pain.


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[Assistant] So hey, look, they put an insult, uh, what, an instep thing. Yeaah. A lift, a lift in your shoe. I had that too. Half feet. Hey, the boy has never had any more problem with that. Yeaah. He walks good now. He ain't got no pain. Yeaah. I just think that's pretty amazing when you think about it.


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[Assistant] Being that half bubble off, I have more fun than those that are straight all the way.


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[Assistant] No, no, no, I didn't realize how far gone I was. I had the podcast the other day and then everybody in here was talking, called me a liar.


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[Assistant] You lied to all of them. Hey, I lied about this. I lied about that. The only person, look, the only good point about that was the only person I did not lie to.


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[Assistant] That's this year, okay? Like two months from now.


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[Assistant] No, I just, what I do is, hey, she's got the checkbook. I just say, hey, if you want some, go buy it.


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[Assistant] Thank you. Do not bother me with that. Well you forgot that on Saturday.


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[Assistant] That's what you can do for me, JD. Bring me a...


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[Assistant] Big laugh, okay, with four ice cubes and Mr. T's bloody merry mix.


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[Assistant] The shape of it is important. It's only that you can put four in there because you want it to get cold, but you don't want it to be able to where you can't get the juice out of it because of all that.


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[Assistant] Oh, no, no, hey. Do you prefer five, not five, but four? Hey, the thirty days I was sick, that's all this boy did was lay in bed.


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[Assistant] Oh no, hey, people say, hey, since you bought 40 days, 49, people say they don't believe in the flood. You haven't lived next to a river. Okay. Cause I'm telling you in the rainy season, if you live next to a river, okay, trust me, you'll believe in the flood. Cause when the water comes up, yeah. Oh yeah.


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[Assistant] Because the Almighty not only made it rain forty nights and forty days, but He opened the fountains of the deep too. Okay. So hey.


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[Assistant] Look, my brother's got a pump.


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[Assistant] 36,000 gallons per minute is what it pumps. Okay. He starts pumping the duck hole up depending on how bad the drought is. You know, he may start in October.


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[Assistant] Depending on your hydride. Look, he may spend anywhere between ten to twenty thousand dollars of diesel.


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[Assistant] Okay, so hey, don't tell me he can't flood this baby. Oh, he gets it in his mind to flood it.


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[Assistant] Here's one for you, I lived in Alabama for a while. Alright. Roll Tide, baby.


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[Assistant] Oh yea I did, yea I did. Anyway, my house, the water for it, came from a spring.


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[Assistant] Okay, and this is in the mountains. This is right on the Tennessee border. Okay.


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[Assistant] You go up the hill, okay, and, and you get to the peak, okay, and I'm standing on the peak, I'm looking around, over the whole thing, and ten yards below me is that spring. You gotta think about this. I don't know what year it was in the twenties. Bad drought in Alabama. Water's dried up everywhere, except for that spring. Now this spring is at the top of a mountain.


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[Assistant] Common sense would tell you, let's put the spring at the bottom of the mountain. No. The almighty don't play that.


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[Assistant] He put it at the top, and guess what? Everything else around there was dried up.


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[Assistant] This spring is about as big as this table, okay, and about six foot deep. Okay, and it's got sand in it, and it's bubbling the whole time you're standing there looking at it. It's ice cold sweet water. Look, a guy run a, uh, three inch PVC pipe.


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[Assistant] Down to a two inch, down to a one inch, down to a half inch, and then run it in my, in that house.


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[Assistant] So whenever you turn that baby on, gravity feed, okay? This ain't got nothing to hook up. Clear, crystal, cold, ice, cold, sweet water. Yes, every day when I come home.


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[Assistant] That's why, yeaah, why? Oh no, no, no, that's a good question, because look, we don't know it.


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[Assistant] But they have a, they have a reason for being here. I know and I gotta figure it out. Yeah, no, you ain't gonna figure it out. Forget it. Wait, wait.


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[Assistant] What are these Tommy Johns made out of? Heaven.


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[Assistant] Hey, after being gone, what, uh, I was in the hospital the 12th.


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[Assistant] So 12th on, I'm out on duck hunt. Well, guess what? This year the state of Louisiana said, okay, uh, on February the 7th, veterans will give you that day that you boys go out and kill you some ducks.


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[Assistant] So Stone said, hey, look, I done got a bunch of people invited over. They gonna be here, you know, Friday night.


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[Assistant] Yeah, or Saturday night. Yeah, Saturday night. Saturday night, we're going to have a big cookout at my place. I'm going to cook a big, uh, uh,


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[Assistant] It ain't the backstrap. Tenderloin. He said I'm gonna smoke a big tenderloin.


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[Assistant] You know, for supper, and then, you know, and then we'll do whatever else after that. So he did, he cooked that big tenderloin up, and hey, this is the finest piece of meat available in the world.


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[Assistant] Oh, no, no, no, no, I'm tellin' you, look. What about last night? Hey, when Stone cooked it, oh, no, no, no, look, this is, the steak was good, the filet mignon.


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[Assistant] So it's the second best piece of meat in the world. Cause it was first just moments ago. No, it was good, but it ain't, it ain't got, it ain't getting there. Okay. Cause stone, when he cooks that, uh, tenderloin and that trash can, that's what he calls it. The smoker.


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[Assistant] Alright, this is the finest piece of meat you'll ever get a hold of in your life. Okay? It's perfectly, if you like it medium rare, it's perfectly that.


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[Assistant] Perfect. Okay. Every time. Perfect. Cause he puts a temperature gauge in there and he, it gets up to this temperature and then that's when he takes it out. Wrapped it. Wrapped it. Nope. 137.


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[Assistant] And then the presentation is that he takes that out, takes the 10-4 law, puts it on the butcher block, okay, and then tell me how you want it and how thick.


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[Assistant] And I said well you know what I want, I want the end piece because it's light pink in the middle.


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[Assistant] Well, anyway, okay, that was the final, I'll find it to work. But anyway, back to the veteran hunt, what we actually brought this together for.


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[Assistant] So Stone got about, oh, six of his friends, or five of them. Five of them in me, okay.


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[Assistant] We all get together, go to the lodge, you know, get a decoy and all this stuff, and Stone's done scouted the whole, and he's got two spots where there's ducks. So we go in the morning, nah, wasn't flying too much, not too good. We only killed 10.


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[Assistant] Okay, cause hey, look, when they get out here, Phil's property, okay, to the duck population, okay, is, is world wide known as the dead zone.


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[Assistant] Okay, so hey, when they finally get down there and light, they ain't flying. And it's hard to kill ducks when they won't fly.


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[Assistant] So anyway, so we kill 10 in the morning, then we go the afternoon, and uh-oh, things are picking up, especially after we ate them pan-fried hamburgers at Phil's for lunch, which are excellent.


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[Assistant] And we thank the state of Louisiana for their appreciation, showing us a day, giving us a day to give gold up.


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[Assistant] And I said, yeah, but Johnny, how many ducks did y'all kill? You had 40 people in there on all these different duck blinds, y'all. How many ducks did you kill? He said, everybody shot five boxes of shells.


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[Assistant] Quantity, not quality. Johnny Winx, as long as you shoot firebox sales, everybody had a good time.


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[Assistant] No, I just put it this way, according to Phil Robertson and Jason Robertson, I've never killed a duck in my life.


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[Assistant] There's things that you can know and then there's things that you are unknown. I know. Well, hey, one of them deals when, uh, you gotta look at, I'm gonna talk common sense to you here. Okay, you got five people in the blind.


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[Assistant] Phil, Jace, Stone, Gavin, and me. Okay. Phil Robertson is shooting a modified most of the time. Jason Stone, both of them shoot extra full chokes. Gavin, you shoot a modified most of the time. I'm shooting an open bore.


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[Assistant] So when 11 ducks come in at 15 yards and I shoot 3 smooth times about a foot apart, guess who killed them 11 ducks?


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[Assistant] Hey, the mathematics of chokes will back me up on this.


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[Assistant] When did y'all turn into chef critics?


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[Assistant] Oh no, no, here's the one that's going, you know, yesterday was beautiful.


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[Assistant] It was. Cause my wife said, hey look, you need to go out and get some sunlight on. You go out there, it's really nice out and all. So I go out there.


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[Assistant] No, I'm not going to be. I don't, I don't try that one time. Yeah, don't do that. That one scratched off my bucket list. Okay, done it. Won't do it again.


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[Assistant] Hershey's Kiss. Alright, look. And that's been soaking in my tea all night long.


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[Assistant] Well, I picked the direction and unfortunately it was the wrong way.


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[Assistant] Cause I walked about 20 miles, what I call, uh, west.


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[Assistant] I got turned around. He said, well, where did you come in at? And I told him, he said, oh, did you ever get turned around? He said, you've walked about 25 miles son. I said, oh, I knew I was turning around.


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[Assistant] I said, because it all looked the same. And I said, Hey, when you lost and you don't want you, Hey, pick a direct and you go with it. You don't stop till you hit, you know, till you hit something and say, okay, here we go. Is that true? But that wasn't bad.


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[Assistant] This was, this was when I was young, JD.


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[Assistant] Well, let's just say, well, if it had been real big woods and without roads, I would have been in serious trouble. Yea, these days you can't walk. It may have been about 50 then.


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[Assistant] You go by and hey, if the cows are laying down, you ain't gonna get the doodly squawk.


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[Assistant] I guess, yeah, I guess it's when you say, Oh, Oh, there's a pentail pony. Yeah. Got pain on him.


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[Assistant] He's got paint on him. Look, he's white and black and whatever.


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[Assistant] You boys brought up a white thought on a cat.


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[Assistant] This is 35 years of research and development working for me.


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[Assistant] No, but I did have that little, uh, thing that they got that's hooked to the bed. Oh, the call button. The call button. Them nurses don't pay any attention to that thing.


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[Assistant] I guess my reputation preceded me, boy!


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[Assistant] Yeah, and it'd be, okay, I guess this, I guess this is, uh,


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[Assistant] We need a bell in here. That's my favorite, look, that's my favorite episode in Duck Dynasty. We're getting a bell. Cause soon as, hey look, the best thing was, no, look a fan.


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[Assistant] Had cut a board, uh, what, a, a one by twelve I think? Sure.


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[Assistant] Sanded it down, varnished it, and then put about ten, maybe twelve.


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[Assistant] I think it was 12 bales on it. 12 one inch bales. No, no one knows. These were different size. Look, and I called them my bongo bales.


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[Assistant] I said, where are my bongo bells? I need to work out. She says.


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[Assistant] And I said, you're kidding me. Tell me you're kidding me. She said, oh, I'm not kidding you. You are driving me insane with them stupid bales.


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[Assistant] That's a, yeah. That's a rare thing. I mean, a rare, rare, rare thing nowadays. Not a rare thing.


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[Assistant] That's right. Hey, look, give us something uplifting from the almighty to send us out.


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[Assistant] And with that, hey, let's go home. Maybe with that.


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[Assistant] Wow, wow, wow. I mean, this is a brutal, these are like terrible choices though. Like this sucks for Rainiera. Can I just say that?


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[Assistant] Okay, so I feel like this episode was kind of the closest thing yet to an episode of Gossip Girl. So in that spirit, I just want to say, hey, Upper Eastsiders,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Spotted Princess Rhaenyra is in another stunning outfit. She's trying her hand at speed dating. Prince Daemon is back in town after his chaotic battle victory and he's got a pretty great haircut. He and Viserys hug and make up but their brotherly love is not long for this world.


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[Assistant] When he invites Rainiera to sneak into town, she goes for it, but things take an incestuous turn, and everybody's talking about it, but who did Rainiera actually get with that night, and who lost his job after a lot of scheming? That's one secret I'll never tell. You know you love me. Xoxo. Gossip Girl. I love that.


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[Assistant] Yeaah, this looks extremely boring. Though, I have to say, her outfit is great, as always. I mean, you know, we talked to Millie, like, the costumes. Rainier consistently has the best costumes, and I love it. Little strapless number. Yeaah, the color, it was gorgeous. She looked great.


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[Assistant] Bro, who's like hanging out with his bro was, you know, and it's funny cause you know, they have this backyard barbecue and like the service still gets pretty sauced, but at least he's sauced and happy, which is, you know, a slight variation on at least what we've seen the last couple episodes.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well, and I think too, there's some real sweetness almost in that same scene between Rainier and Allison, where they're talking with each other.


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[Assistant] Yeah. Well, I think the problem is that all those forces are just so powerful that, you know, it's really impo- like how do you compartmentalize all of this patriarchy that the both of them are dealing with in different ways, you know? And I think it's kind of impossible.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, that was a really intense juxtaposition of scenes, for sure.


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[Assistant] Yeah, yeah, that was super interesting. I actually think before we talk about them going out though, we need to talk about their little scene where they like shit talk each other in Hivalierian.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, they both sort of like wander off from the barbecue. I think partly, you know, speaking of our theme of escape, like hearing Damon talk about marriage the way he does and how much he just obviously really disdains his wife. Yes.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And Rainiera expressing her hesitation around marriage to him, I just thought it was a really interesting, I thought it showed really interesting character insights on behalf of both of those characters.


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[Assistant] But, I mean, the way he kinda puts it is like, it actually doesn't matter. Like, you know, you can marry whoever and it's not gonna be that big of a deal. And then for her to come back and say, unless, you know, I die in childbirth, dude.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Was really something. There was also that small council meeting where we learned a little bit about what Corliss is up to.


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[Assistant] Rainiera has a seat at the table, which is I think the first time we've seen that in a small council meeting, which is cool, but it became very clear over the course of that meeting that she is still very much essentially a bargaining chip or a chess piece.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So from there, Alicent helps Viserys with his bath. He's still obviously unwell. And then Damon invites Rhaenyra out to go see a play. Let's go see a show.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, that's exactly how I felt. It's like, if it weren't for all of the extenuating circumstances, this might actually be kind of lovely. But then, you know, to go straight from that essentially to the next scene where...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yes, it was really interesting in that context. It's, you know, we haven't seen much of like, town in this show so far. I mean, we saw the city guard in the first episode going crazy, but other than that, we haven't really seen a lot outside the palace walls. And I think you're right, speaking of escape, like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's helpful for you to be informed about where everybody's at when you're, you know, at this point, the current air. But yeah, once we get to the sex club and he's like, fucking is a pleasure, you see? It's sort of like, oh, oh dear, this, we're doing this. It's like, it's happening.


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[Assistant] Gosh. Yeah. I think there are so many layers beyond the extremely problematic one of incest when it comes to Damon and Rainiera.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I would love to unpack that more with you actually, because part of me is like, to a certain extent, wouldn't Viserys be sort of relieved that, like, doesn't it actually potentially maybe solve a lot of his problems if Damon and Rainier just get married? You would think, but...


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[Assistant] My read on why he left is that I guess I think he might actually love her.


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[Assistant] And it's too much, like he can't, the level of vulnerability and actually, actually coupling.


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[Assistant] Aside from the whole incest thing and the age that, you know, like all of those things aside. He's been giving her jewelry for a while, yea. And she's still wearing that necklace, that must have been nice for him to see. They seem like they get a kick out of each other legitimately, you know?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So as a book reader, I assume you knew this was coming, right? This coupling, as Otto calls it later?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Mm, yeah. Well, Rae, it's funny because it's like, yeah, we all know Targaryens are incestuous. Right, we get that they do this. Like, conceptually, we have discussed this, but actually seeing it is like, oh god.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So, speaking of juxtaposition of scenes, we've talked about how intense it is, you know, Allicent being called in, and Raniera partying, but then going straight from this, you know, sex den,


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[Assistant] Where Rainiera and Damon have this moment and then Rainiera going back.


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[Assistant] And having this like, I was really struck by how kind of sweet and innocent the scene with Sir Kristen turned out to be.


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[Assistant] I mean, okay, well like, you know, I think we can all admit that the incest thing, even if we knew that was gonna happen, was...


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[Assistant] Yeah, of course. Yeah, generations of tradition around this. It happens.


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[Assistant] It's not like, hey, are you okay? How are you gonna get home? Are, you know, like, have you had enough water? Do you need a Gatorade? Like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Right, whereas, you know, Sir Kristen, as we talk, like, I just think there's such a sweetness to that interaction. It's age appropriate. They genuinely seem into each other. I wish we've had more dialogue between them. I guess you could argue that the dialogue between her and Damon


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I mean, there's just been more of it so far in the series, but I'm still shipping Kristen. What about you?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well, and then there's just like a number of conversations between, you know, a variety of people all trying to figure out who and whether Rainiera fucked.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Which is just like, okay, I guess that's what the rest of, it was just a lot of hot goss, I guess, you know?


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[Assistant] She has never not had Rainier as back. She has never not had her back. I mean aside from marrying her dad, but extenuating circumstances.


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[Assistant] It literally drags. There's that moment when Damon says


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[Assistant] Well and he seems legitimately furious when he really starts to think through Otto's own rise to power.


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[Assistant] Do we know how gender declensions work in High Valyrian? Exactly, a point that many have made.


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[Assistant] Dun dun dun. Man, what an episode. Is that all the things? Should we get to the death count? We have at least one child.


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[Assistant] But now, you know him as Sir Kristin Cole in the HBO original House of the Dragon. Fabian, welcome to the official Game of Thrones podcast.


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[Assistant] It's interesting to hear you say that because I feel like so much of Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon is about like a lot of characters with, with a lot of different competing and sometimes kind of nefarious intentions, but it really does seem like your character is just like a good dude.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, I was gonna ask you about that because it's been really interesting to learn about some of the first scenes people shot. Obviously it isn't linear, but it seems like in so many of these cases y'all are just like getting thrown into the deep end and figuring it out.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That's a good point. So, we have to talk about the coupling that takes place in this episode.


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[Assistant] I thought it was really fascinating and Jason and I even kinda talked about this in our recap. There's a sweetness and an innocence to that scene that I think especially in juxtaposition to like the weird sex dungeon situation that we see like just before that between Rainier and Damon.


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[Assistant] It's really interesting, and I mean, it's something you don't, we haven't seen a whole lot of in any Thrones episodes, really like a, just an innocent, kind of straightforward, well, not necessarily straightforward, but just like sort of a lovely relationship, you know, like I think there's sort of like a romance to it that really carries through. You had an intimacy coordinator for that, right?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, so you mentioned Sir Kristen being an outsider, I think in a number of different ways in court. I would love to hear a little more about, like, conversations you may have had with showrunners about what that looked like and what it would have felt like for him as a character and how you kind of tried to embody that.


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[Assistant] God, that's so intense. What was it like to, you know, prep for battle and, you know, I mean, I imagine you had to like, get in some sort of shape for a role like this too, right?


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[Assistant] Oh my god, Fabian, I have to, it's very funny to picture how generally terrified he is.


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[Assistant] So what was your familiarity with Game of Thrones before you got this role? Like, had you watched the series?


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[Assistant] That's really cool. Well Fabian, thank you so much. This was very fun to talk with you. It was really great.


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[Assistant] It does sound extremely intense. I think he brought a lot of really interesting nuance to a character who honestly hasn't had a whole lot of dialogue over the last four episodes either. So, great conversation, super fun.


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[Assistant] You enter my bedchamber, accusing my daughter of something.


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[Assistant] When we were Rhaenyra's age, we fucked our way through most of the brothels on the street of silk. We were young men. She is just a girl. Your niece. Rhaenyra's a woman grown.


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[Assistant] The first pair, the sunglasses are not prescription, so I have to put on two pair, because mine are prescription. We're not outside.


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[Assistant] Oh no no, he was trying and he got slapped off the table. He got, all he got out of the deal was a backhand. Oh lord, have mercy.


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[Assistant] Well, no, no, cause I was thinking of Jay Stone. He does all the work out of fields for the food plots and stuff on the deer. Okay, and then I actually go get to go with him later in deer hunt.


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[Assistant] Which is like he's talking about. That's part of it. Like duck hunting used to. Okay. I would be part of brushing the blinds and all this and that's part of it. Yeah. Okay. See if you've done a good job. No, no, no.


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[Assistant] And I said, nah boys, I didn't flare up. I said, you need to look where you're standing. I said, there's two openings in this blind. One of them's on Jason's end, the other one's on Phil's end. So if anybody's flaring their ducks, it would be one of those two.


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[Assistant] Now that burned. To shut off the valve.


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[Assistant] They burn it. It's like clearing land, once you pile up a bush pile you gotta burn it.


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[Assistant] Done my part. It's kind of like a Christmas present, Gawa. You know when you put the bowl top tight, and when you get ready to have them again, just untight.


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[Assistant] Yeaah, I understand that, okay, cause I've got four grandsons from each of my children.


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[Assistant] Scott gave me four when he got married and then Trace had done the same thing. And you say, okay, wait a minute, we done tried this four times and that's what we come up with?


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[Assistant] No, that's too much. There's too many children there. Me and Stone have an agreement.


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[Assistant] Why make something that you know good and well, okay, nope, I ain't gonna be able to handle it boys. Because it gives you a chance.


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[Assistant] I would make Miss Christine sweet instead of mean.


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[Assistant] She's somewhat in control of it. What's your plan? What's your plan? No, she just, she must be kin to my kin folks, okay?


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[Assistant] She's got a main streak to her, like the Hobbs' and the Hales boys, hey.


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[Assistant] It's just something you can't, you can't get that out of people, okay? It's one of them deals that's gotta work its way out.


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[Assistant] Okay, and you fall in love with this guy or this girl because you like the way she is or the way he is.


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[Assistant] So hey, here's what you do not do, you dummies.


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[Assistant] Once you sign the dotted line, the first thing you try to do is change him or change her. Have you lost your mind?


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[Assistant] The reason you fell in love with her or him is okay, is you like what you saw. So don't spend your lifetime


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[Assistant] Okay, what's left of it? Because most of them get divorced because of that very reason. They try to change each other.


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[Assistant] If you've dated for two years, you should know him pretty good or her pretty good.


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[Assistant] That's right. It's great advice for 2022, okay? Cause hey, guess what?


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[Assistant] Too much time together. Yeah, especially if you can't go out and she was like, uh oh, I've been here for three months with this woman and we ain't went out yet. Oh lord have mercy.


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[Assistant] Yeaah. I like it. I like it for Semperon. He's actually taught about it boys.


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[Assistant] Well, guess what? Then I've done something about that because I just, I just ordered my tummy tuck.


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[Assistant] Okay, look, I haven't used it yet because, hey, for the last five days I've been in Tulsa, Oklahoma with, uh, Eagle Pipeline people because I am their Goodwill Ambassador, okay, and we had


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[Assistant] We had run for five days and I have life so much for five days that I hurt all over. But anyway.


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[Assistant] My tummy tuck come in while I was gone, so I haven't used it yet. And you get two things.


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[Assistant] You get the tummy tuck that fits around, it's a, it's like a, uh, uh,


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[Assistant] Well, there you go. But hey, before you use it, you've gotta put the magic gel on your tummy.


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[Assistant] No, no, no, no, no, nope. You put it on, you put the gel on, put the tummy tuck on, and then you've got to do the stomach exercises, which is just push out and tuck in, push out, like that a few times to make the gel activate. Then you lose your tummy.


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[Assistant] Hey, I can, I can help you out on this, JD. I don't want that thing. No, no, no. I can tell you what to do where you lose. Okay, what you need to lose. Does it include jail?


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[Assistant] Cause every time they come visit, hey, stuff gets tore up.


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[Assistant] What? There's a saying that goes with young raccoons. What is it? Whatever they don't poop on.


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[Assistant] You hold the throttle there. I ride, I ride the bicycle, but I don't hold it. No, I got a motor on mine, boy. Yea, when you get to the, you know. That's called a motorcycle. Yea, I was, I was just sick saying when he said, you're jogging and riding a bicycle, I said, hey, if you ever see me jogging or riding a bicycle, get your gun and load it and then shoot what's chasing you.


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[Assistant] Stay tuned for next week, Gowan does all of his sounds.


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[Assistant] That guy made that movie. Didn't he? I'm serious. That guy, that guy made that movie. Period.


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[Assistant] If you haven't watched Police Academy. Cause uh, who's the big tall guy?


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[Assistant] That was made back in the 1900s. What was his name? Michael something?


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[Assistant] I'm looking at his face and I can't, I can't come up with a name. But I love to watch him watch all the sounds.


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[Assistant] And the guy was, the whole time during the movie, the guy is behind the scenes making all these weird noises.


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[Assistant] Don't die blondie. No. No, no, no, no, no. Look, it's an old man that plays the guitar and makes all them weird sounds between the guitar and his mouth. So there's two types of men in this world.


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[Assistant] Guess which one you are! Big! No, no, look, yeaah, we should have Al on this one. Because on movies, Al's the guy that can do all the one-liners. For all of them. Okay, and actually pretty good, you know, it actually sounds like that.


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[Assistant] The break is over! Well, y'all didn't say. We're back, Jack.


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[Assistant] We're back, Jack. Well, hey, here's what I do for New Year's Eve. Oh, I'll ring it in. All right. With a 20 gauge with.


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[Assistant] High velocity fours. Okay, on them ducks when they get in the decoys. At midnight? That's not legal. That morning. I don't stay awake to ring in the New Year. I get up at daylight. That's when I go ringin'. Hold on.


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[Assistant] Whether I need it or not. Whether I need it or not. If I'm really tired from duck hunting, getting up 4, 30 a.m., you know.


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[Assistant] You ain't, you don't need any reason, do you? And they said no, he's, he's, I'll teach him. He's doing his job, leave him alone.


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[Assistant] Look, I spent 24 years in the military, 24 and a half. Okay, and I got a nap every day. That's awesome.


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[Assistant] We grew up pretty close and then they moved to Jonesville, which is uhm, a few houses down from my mother's church.


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[Assistant] Uhm, we started dating in middle school, uhm, going into high school. And, uh, we started out really as best friends. Like, I could talk to him about anything, and he could talk to me about anything. Uhm, we was like really close friends.


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[Assistant] And then it grew into a romantic relationship, whereas I got pregnant with my son.


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[Assistant] The pregnancy was unexpected. Uhm, we wasn't together during the pregnancy because he didn't believe that was his child.


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[Assistant] So he waited and he was advised by his parents not to participate during the pregnancy until we had received the test results that it was his son. And once we got those results back in Jeremy, he was actively involved in Jeremy's life.


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[Assistant] Uhm, it was okay the first, I would say the first two to three years, but uhm, I got pregnant with my first daughter. And things just started kinda going downhill from there. Uhm, it was a financial strain because I wasn't able to work.


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[Assistant] And so we was, uhm, living off one income. We bounced around, uhm, moved several times. We moved in with a family member.


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[Assistant] And uhm, it was, it was a, it was a financial strain very early on. And then as soon as I had Nautica, I got pregnant with Amber. So they're like 11 months apart.


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[Assistant] And so uhm, I wasn't able to work at the time, and so it was a strain on having just one income. And at the time he was a barber, so it wasn't like a consistent, steady income at the time.


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[Assistant] Uhm, he was working on that Friday, which is the 19th, and I called him and told him I was like, I'm leaving. I'm not happy. Uhm, I don't see us working this out, and I'm gone. I can't do this anymore, and me and my kids are gonna move in with my parents.


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[Assistant] And uhm, I said okay. And he came home that night. We kinda talked about it. And I was just firm with it that I wasn't trying to work it out or anything. He left for work that Saturday morning and when he left, that's when Jeremy and I started packing up and moving things into the storage.


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[Assistant] Uhm, yes, and I told him I'ma keep the kids, but I'm not trying to take them away from him. I told him that we can, you know, we can get joint custody.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, I definitely wasn't trying to keep him away from the kids. I still wanted him to be involved in their lives. I just didn't want to be with him anymore.


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[Assistant] He trying to uh, file papers on me, uhm, what you doing, what you up to. I'm trying, I'm trying to call you. He was just rambling. I couldn't get a word in.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Throwing his hands up in the air, pointing at me and yelling, cursing in my face. Uhm, I couldn't move, I couldn't say anything, uh, I couldn't drive out. And all I could do was try to calm him down and I was like, I can't talk to you here, let's just go somewhere and talk. Trying to calm him down and uhm,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So he, I said, just, uhm, just follow me. And I was like, just follow me. I said, we'll go somewhere and talk, but I couldn't talk to him at that time.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He said that he was the resource officer from JT school and that he had got a call from my brother.


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[Assistant] And that I needed to get back. I said uhm, he said, where are you? I said, I'm downtown. He's following me. We're going to go get something to eat to talk about this. He said, you need to go back downtown. You need to go to the police station.


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[Assistant] Uhm, I was laying down, still laying down in the bed and I heard them come in the house. I heard the girls laughing and my mom, I think she was fixing them something to eat or something. Uhm.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I know that sound. It's really loud. And he pulled up right, it was like right next to the window. My bed was right next to the window where he pulled up at.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I heard, uhm, JT come in the house, uhm, he was talking to my dad and then he just came straight to the back of the room and was like, jumped on me and was like, hey mom. I was like, oh my god, I don't feel good. And he was like, I was like, what are you doing here? And he was like, I don't know, dad wanted to see you.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Um, Nautica was in the room with me and, um, Amber, I guess, was in the kitchen or living room.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I have a question. Devil's advocate, just thinking, not saying this is right, but like,


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[Assistant] Isn't insurance fraud like a huge reason that costs go up for the rest of us?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We don't have a Pots phone and don't plan to get one. I also have no outlet to plug one into in the house. The Pots wire runs right over my parking area where my wife and I park our cars. The problem is that the little birdies like to perch up on that wire and do their little birdie business right on our cars.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Can I cut down the pots wire so the birdies don't have a place to perch? Do you have any other suggestions?


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[Assistant] So for a loan of $2,300 he will have to repay over $10,000. Please advise your audience not to click on the first thing that comes up in Google. And is there anything we can do about it?


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[Assistant] Brian in California says, Clark, I've been a fan for many years and I just want to let you know I'm still driving my 1988 Nissan pickup I bought new when I was 21 years old.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well, I'd sure like to have a new vehicle. Every time I look, I'm turned off by the cost and decide to drive my truck for quote, just another year.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I learned to do as much maintenance as I can on my own, and I've saved a lot of money over the years because of that. It shows that regular maintenance and good care can go a long way in making your vehicle last. Today, YouTube is a great resource for folks learning to do things like maintenance items like air filters, fluid changes, and brakes. I appreciate you.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] When we met, she could afford minimum payments of $550 a month, but now we have enough free cash flow to make additional payments on the highest interest loans, a few of which are at 7% simple interest. We're paying over the monthly amount on the highest interest loans to chip away at the principal.


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[Assistant] Much to my dismay, the statements show these additional payments are mostly going toward the interest balance.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] From scouring the lender's site, internet forums, and taking, talking with their representatives, I keep getting the same answer, which is we pay off fees and interest before applying payments to the principal balance. My wife's friends who have loans serviced through this company have had similar experiences.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Matt in Illinois says I opened a Bright Start 529 plan for my daughter. I want to know if she, the beneficiary, makes contributions to her account. Can she get the tax advantage? In Illinois, I get about 5% back on my state tax return.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] She plans on making around $9,000 this summer. Good for her! She gets her federal tax money back, but she does not on her state tax return. If she puts money into the 529, is she eligible for the same benefit?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Rick in Arizona says, Hi Clark, I've concluded that I'm just awful at staying on top of all the rewards the various credit card companies offer. I'm sure I'm missing out. So for me, I think I need a card that somehow automatically either pays me cash or applies the credit card balance to the credit


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'm thinking about the Ameri- the Amazon credit card where they use my points toward purchases every month. Easy peasy.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] They may limit you to a lower limit though than he needs. I find that they, I've heard from other people too. They have a cap. Yeah.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] To, to support the city's efforts to help our community heal after obviously a major tragedy that we had back in 2015. I do want to recognize as I'm sure other members that are going to speak today to talk more specifically about those that have contributed


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But for me, anytime that you can add a park to your community, whether it's a passy park or it's an active park, it's always a really good thing.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And what I'm most depressed about, about this park is the fact that it was a partnership between the public sector and the private sector to help this neighborhood and our community heal from that tragedy back in 2015.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I just want to say on behalf of the city staff and also the city council, thank you to everyone that contributed to this park. I think it's going to be something that folks in this neighborhood and the community will be able to enjoy for many years to come.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's great to have you here on the Clark Howard Show. You know, our mission is to serve you with advice and information and guidance that empowers you to make better financial decisions in your life.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, during the pandemic, it even became a phrase, the pandemic puppy.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] A lot of people were lonely, they felt isolated, and they went out and they bought a dog.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And the adoption places were really short of dogs during COVID. Now that whole thing has reversed and a lot of the owners are feeling pinched financially or their lives have changed. And I want to talk about the implications of that and later


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I want to share with you some of the common tech scams that are being used today to steal your money. There are many different wrinkles to the scams, but there are some common themes


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That you need to know and be aware of, we're going to talk about that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Where the, the number of people who were pet owners was significantly higher than normal and then those people went back to regular lives and they couldn't


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Make it work in their lives for any of a number of reasons to still have that pet, usually a dog in their lives.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And rescues are overwhelmed.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And something abnormal, rescues usually have difficult to place dogs.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Today there are all kinds of what I call designer dogs available for adopting from


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, various rescue groups. And the rescue groups now, although there's always been this in the biggest cities, it's now common there are rescues for very specific breeds. So if you are someone interested


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You don't have to pay to get that specific breed. You're actually helping to solve a problem.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] If you are willing to adopt one.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Who is being held, handled by a rescue.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And a lot of the breeds, I think about the questions we were getting about the scams where people thought they were buying a dog and instead just their money got stolen.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And all the things that went on with the price of buying a dog going, I'm sure it was like at record high amounts during COVID because loneliness was a really big motivator in 20 and 21 in particular with COVID.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And it led to this spike in people buying dogs that now are sitting there a few years old and they don't have a home. So.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We have two dogs. We have one that was a rescue and we have one that, that we did buy from a breeder during COVID. And uhm,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Our dogs are going nowhere with us, but there are a lot of people who, uhm, it's not a guilt trip for anybody. There are a lot of people who it just didn't work in their lives anymore. Yeah, for sure. And these wonderful people who work in these rescue groups who have created


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] A safe place for these dogs is basically like foster parents to them right now till they can find a new home. So know that this is, this is a money saving opportunity and it's a good deed


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] If you're able to give a dog that no longer has a permanent home a place to live.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So I was with a relative yesterday and the relative's dog who is not.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] These are animals that we don't want to be residents in our homes. Okay, so here's what you need to know. You need to know the lingo. There's two different kinds of termite contracts. There's one that is just a re-treatment guarantee.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And those don't do anything for you. They don't...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Deal with the financial fallout of termites feasting on your home and the damage has to be repaired and all the rest.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The second type you've got to look for and make sure you have, it's a repair bond. It is an insurance type document in most states. And what happens is it makes the termite company your partner.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Because if they don't properly treat and properly inspect and termites decide that they're having a banquet at your expense, the bond


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Pays to repair the damage that has occurred to your house.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The more common re-treatment guarantee that you're paying for every year, they do the inspection, if necessary they re-treat, that does nothing for you. The termite company is not your partner.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And they're not there on the hook when damage occurs. So you always want capitalism to have interests aligned.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And with termite protection for your home, interests are only aligned when the interests of the service provider, in this case the termite company, and you are a perfect match. And that's what the repair bond is. So if you don't have a repair bond,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's worth it for you to protect your home moving forward to have coverage with a repair bond so that you do have the interests of both parties absolutely on the same page.


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[Assistant] So, uh, this is an unusual product where Discover gives you a very good cash back reward.


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[Assistant] In return for using a debit, not a credit card, not a normal thing. And, you know, I refer to debit cards as the piece of trash fake Visa and fake MasterCard.


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[Assistant] Never ever does it come up about Discover. So debit cards, the disadvantage is that you don't have the protections you do with a credit card.


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[Assistant] If you're gonna use a debit card and you're gonna use this reward one, know that you have risk for anything you buy now that you're receiving later.


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[Assistant] But you are getting a known reward. And so as long as you understand the risk, the Discover product is better than a typical debit card for that reason.


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[Assistant] Okay, so Carla, this is something that could be either clerical or criminal. What's happened here?


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[Assistant] And you'll have to go through a process with the feds just as you're having to go through with the state of California. Someone either accidentally or on purpose listed your social security number when they were receiving income


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[Assistant] As a non-employee is 10.99 income. What is the big advantage for them in doing this? Well, no money is withheld.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] From the checks they were receiving, from whoever they were being paid,


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[Assistant] As a non-employee on the 1099s. So they get all the money and then they're not being held liable for the tax later.


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[Assistant] And so I'm hoping that it's just one of those things where it's one digit off on a social security number or something like that, that it is clerical in nature. But in either case, you are not responsible for the tax on that $30,000 either to the feds or the state.


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[Assistant] Silence creates obligation. That's why you're doing the right thing with the state. And if the feds send you the same thing saying you owe


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[Assistant] Uh, additional tax on $30,000 of unreported income, you'll start the dispute process with the feds. So who knows if it's only the state


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And it's not happening with the feds, it means somebody did probably make a clerical error. But in either case, you have hassle factor here, but not liability in this circumstance.


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[Assistant] So, and it could be, in Krista's case, it was complete fraud. In your case, you don't know yet, but in neither case, as long as you assert your rights, are you liable for


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[Assistant] Not your problem as long as you deal with it. Dealing with it is a problem, but the money will not be your problem.


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[Assistant] Coming up straight ahead, we're gonna talk about people trying to separate you from your money and the tech scams.


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[Assistant] Continue to grow. Why? Because they've worked.


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[Assistant] Scams have been part of what I've talked about for the last, oh,


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[Assistant] Only 37 years of providing consumer advice and consumer protection information in various formats and the scams, all that happens is they morph over time. Today what's different


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[Assistant] Is the amount of money that a criminal is able to get with very low risk to them.


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[Assistant] And very high consequence for you with almost no way of regaining your money after it's been taken. It has made this


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[Assistant] Such an area of concentration of con artists. And it's got many different flavors.


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[Assistant] But they involve a lot of things where they take advantage of your, for lack of a better term, I'd say innocence. Uh, one of them,


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[Assistant] That first appeared probably 20 years ago and I guess we put in the category of oldie but badie.


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[Assistant] Who claim that something is wrong with your computer and they're going to help you fix it. And before you're done, they have not only taken over your computer, but they have gotten in your accounts.


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[Assistant] And this one, that's, this one's had legs. If you think about it, it's gone on for a generation where criminals have been able to take control and these all come under


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[Assistant] Generally what are known as imposter scams. So anytime you get a pop-up on your computer,


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[Assistant] Saying that there's a problem with your this account, that account or the other account telling you there's a virus, whatever it is.


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[Assistant] They're predicting the future because if you respond to that pop-up by clicking on a link or by calling a supposed tech support number, most often they'll claim to be from Microsoft or whatever. That


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[Assistant] The fake security pop-up appears on your computer.


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[Assistant] Because odds are it's just a crook getting ready to get in your wallet.


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[Assistant] The next thing is anytime you hear from somebody who pretends to be from your bank, credit card company, Amazon, the cable company, any organization


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[Assistant] That you would consider to be a legitimate organization.


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[Assistant] The imposter scams involving them pretending to be from that organization.


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[Assistant] Where there has been fraudulent activity on your account.