Deft wordsmith and notorious daydreamer of dragons, George R. R. Martin recently broke his silent vow of monastic blogging to offer certain musings on HBO’s “House of the Dragon” – season two, episodes one and two – to be precise. This comes off as somewhat pleasantly surprising, considering how this proverbial late-comer, known for his irritatingly delightful ambiguity, seldom graces his labyrinthine realm of Spinoff with periodic updates on the series.

The big wheel at the castle of HBO spins the chronicles of Westeros yet again, this time adopting Martin’s epic prequel, “Fire & Blood.” The first salvo detailed the spine-chilling “Blood & Cheese” incident, bearing the prophetic title “A Son for a Son.” Episode two, captioned “Rhaenyra the Cruel,” tumbled into the aftermath.

Fury swirls in King Aegon II Targaryen’s stormy gaze, brought to life by Tom Glynn-Carney, as he exacts brutal retribution for his son’s death with swift gallows justice, making public examples of the hapless ratcatchers of King’s Landing. All the while, Rhaenyra strains to keep an inconspicuous estrangement from the charted course of violence; a royal tenuousness accentuated by her copious rebukes directed at husband-cum-uncle Daemon Targaryen, done justice by the chameleonic Matt Smith.

According to an excerpt of Martin’s July 5th blog entry, he declares the two opening performances of the season as a delectable feast for the senses. And his overview, like a seasoned maestro introducing a symphony, carries an undercurrent of gleeful anticipation: “The directing was superb… And I cannot say enough about the acting. Emma d’Arcy has only one line in ‘A Son for a Son,’ but they [did] so much with their eyes and their face…”

He continues showering accolades on Tom Glynn-Carney for humanizing a strained monarch, then acknowledges Rhys Ifans’s Otto Hightower for crafting a riveting scene with King Aegon and Criston Cole following the ratcatchers’ execution. Not to be left out, Olivia Cooke, Fabien Frankel, Eve Best, and others receive their share of applause. And who could forget the Tittensor twins, carving a scene that rivals the Mountain vs. the Red Viper of Dorne’s iconic face-off!

Those curious for deeper insights into Phia Saban’s portrayal of Helaena Targaryen, and Martin’s musings about a four-legged addition to the canon missing from his original nightmares, are most welcome to delve deeper into the complete blog post.

“House of the Dragon” – courtesy of the corporate dragon lords at HBO – continues to unfurl its flaming wings every Sunday, leaving a trail of streaming embers on Max. Let’s not cut the throats of our storyline scribes or hoard our coins – instead, let’s buy into their fantasy, validating their toil and paying homage to their craft.