Knight of Ren

House of the Dragon 2x04 The Red Dragon and the Gold
 
Wow, that ending battle was incredible, certainly one of my favorite battles in all of GOT and HOTD.  It was fascinating to see actual dragon-vs-dragon combat, since the Luke/Aemond stuff at the end of last season was quite brief, and the ice dragon stuff on GOT was, well... yeah.  It really was like a dance in the sky, the way they would interlock and spin around... and claw and bite each other, damn!  I dunno how the humans hold on during all this, lol
 
TEAM GREEN
 
Criston Cole's war is going well, and I'm glad we get to see how brutal he is, with decapitating anyone who doesn't bend without much fanfare.  Alicent taking abortion tea was interesting; At first I thought it was more like a morning after pill, until I realized that at this point Cole would have been gone long enough that maybe she ended up missing a period, and knows she's pregnant?  The maester that brought it to her, I couldn't tell if he believed her that it was for someone else or not, but I loved that Alicent asked him if Viserys really would have changed his mind about his heir.  Of course he'd never say anything about that, though! But I'm glad she's thinking about what she learned from Rhaenyra and not just ignoring it.  I also wasn't sure what to make of Larys coming in and noticing the cup, and if he knows that she was banging Cole or not?  What knowledge he has is being kept much more secretive this year.  I'm not sure why he even went to see her, and she seems to have no more power to help him out.  Maybe he wanted to try to see her feet somehow, but realized that was off the table when he saw her condition?
 
The council that Alicent missed was one of the best council scenes yet.  Aemond switching to Valyrian to put Aegon in his place was not only super effective, but spared Aegon some dignity since no one in the room can speak it. And his response in broken Valyrian was SOOO funny.  Glynn-Carney is just great this season!  I loved how mad he was that Daemon beat them to Harrenhal, though Larys informing him that he has all the gold anyway, and the castle will drive Daemon mad, seemed to calm Aegon down, if only because Larys had his back last episode maybe.
 
Alicent looking for books is another nice bit; Clearly she wants to find evidence of this Price That Was Promised story.  Boy, was I glad that Aegon said they were only removed, not burned!  But then, the talk they have was terrifically written.  She's SO right to point out that everyone on that council EARNED their spots, and he was simply born into his, and that he should rely on their wisdom and experience since him putting on a crown didn't automatically embue him with either.  I thought that might have sunk into him, until he got drunk, put on that Valerian Valyrian armor, and took off on Sunfyre, lol.
 
TEAM BLACK
 
So now I think I understand what is going on with Alyn of Hull; He's Corlys's bastard, and Rhaenys knows it.  That kind of explains all the awkwardness he had with Corlys earlier in the season.  So is his brohter Addam a son of Corlys too, or from a different father?  I love that Corlys goes to Dragonstone since the council is headed to war with Rhaenyra being gone, but i REALLY didn't understand why she was gone so long.  SO MUCH episode happened before she finally showed up, and I didn't get the impression that it takes very long to take a boat from Dragstone to King's Landing, so what was that all about?
 
I do love that when she returned, thanks to her conversation with Alicent, she is now prepared to do battle.  The change in energy in a Black council scene was finally electric; Even Jace was really beginning to lose faith, eh?  I love that Rhaenyra was willing to go fight at Rook's Rest herself, preventing Jace from doing so.  But then Rhaenys stepping up, man, I loved it.  Eve  Best killed it this episode.  It's the right move, and both she and Melys have the most experience.  Rhaenyra of course allows it, but I am glad that she didn't order it herself, that Rhaenys volunteered.  The only thing I miss was that, I would have liked it if before she left, Rhaenyra took her aside and told her that her son was actually alive.  Maybe that would have been a distraction, but I dunno, now its too late for her to ever know.  I loved the bonding moment she has before she too takes off on Melys for Rook's Rest...
 
TEAM DAEMON
 
It was great to see Milly Alcock again in another one of Daemon's visions.  And then later he sees Laena too; Are we going to see Rhea Royce next week for the wife trifecta?  The best vision though was when he followed what was basically Aemond, then it turned out to be Daemon himself in an eyepatch.  It felt like the writers lampshading how similar the characters are, but in a way that I found hilarious and loved it.  Oh, I hope these two characters get to face off for real before season's end.
 
So this mysterious lady has a name Alys Rivers, and claims to be both old, and a barn owl in human disguise, lol.  Still getting potential Melisandre vibes from her.  I LOVED the explanation that many weirwood trees were felled to build the beams of Harrenhall, and that even the bed Daemon sleeps on is felled weirwood.  I was reminded of felling all the trees for Isengard, but also Poltergeist-y themes of making homes on ancient magic land.  I do wonder if what Daemon sees is purely from his own subconcious, or of Rivers is feeding him specific visions, for some purpose?
 
THE ENDING
 
The ending of this episode was just incredible.  The entire battle was perfectly staged and executed, tense and exciting throughout.  Before the dragons got involved, the actual siege was nicely depicted, the arrow hits felt so brutal, and boy was it clear that Rook's Rest was unprepared and would have lost quickly.  But man, the reveal that it was Cole's plan all along to draw a Black dragon to the battle, because Vhagar was hiding in the woods with Aemond on top, was terrific.  I don't know HOW you secretly get the biggest dragon in the world from King's Landing to there (wasn't Baela supposed to be watching from the skies?), but no matter.  I loved how sleepy Vhagar looked, and how she basically seemed happy to lie back down when Aemond saw Aegon in the sky and held off attacking.  Immediately I realized that he's hoping Aegon bites it here, which certainly is the most likely outcome.  Him saying "idiot!" in Valyrian was soo funny too, and a nice parallel to the council scene where Valyrian was spoken.
 
Before Aegon's arrival, Melys's contribution to the battle was perfectly horrific.  With one battle-field sweep of firey dragon breath, you realize just how different war is now with dragons involved.  How quickly so many people instantly die.  Already we have a way to one-up all the battles we saw in Game of Thrones, and I'm here for it.  Then Aegon and Rhaenys dueling in the sky was just incredible, with Melys seemingly more than capable of taking out Sunfyre (I do wonder if Aegon being drunk meant Sunfyre was kinda drunk too?).  But then Vagar showing up, wow.  Aegon was so happy to see him, until he realized all Aemond was going to do was yell
"Dracarys" and BURN THEM BOTH!
 
I loved that when Sunfyre falls to the ground, it's like a building fell on the battlefield, it's almost just as scary as swaths of flame.  The fact that Rhaenys goes back to attack Vagar again when she could have just left here a small victor tells you a lot about her character, and the fact that she holds her own against Vagar and is able to escape death is truly remarkable.  But then, oh Rhaenys, now is the time to fly home, but she just can't do it.  Is this Targaryen's worst traits coming through, to want to die on the battlefield? Or is it the bond they have with the dragons; The dragons want to fight each other, so she does too?  It was so sad to see Aemond win this time, and her fall to her death.  RIP the Queen That Never Was.
 
I loved Criston Cole's actions throughout this battle.  First the thrill of his plan working when Melys shows up, then the confusion when Aegon shows up in the sky instead of Aemond, which he quickly spins as a rally cry to the troops that they should be honored their king is there to fight for them.  Then the horror of seeing what dragon fire does on the battlefield, with nothing but smoking bones remaining in their armor.  Then when Aegon falls, he rushes to him instead of sticking with his men.  When he arrives and finds Aemond sheathing his sword, was that meant to be that Aemond was about to approach Aegon and finish the job if he wasn't dead?  It was ambiguous I think.  One thing's for sure, the war has well and truly started now, and both sides have a lot of adjustments to make!

House Of The Dragon 2x03 The Burning Mill
 
Holy cow!  The pacing of this season is such a drastic change from season 1, it's crazy.  I could see a world where the events of just these three episodes could be the bones for an entire season of the show.  Think about it, you could spend the first episode reseting things more, and not have the Jaeherys execution happen until the second episode.  You could spend way more time building up both Arryk and Erryk and how they feel about the side they're on; Maybe have a scene where the meet each other and discuss things a few episodes into the season, to pay off with their battle midway or so into the season.  And you could spend way more time building up the effect the way is having on the small folk around the country, specifically with the Brackens and Blackwoods, and have the fight that happens off-screen at the beginning of this episode instead be a big battle depicted late in the season, both both sides having more of a reaction to it.  And the talk between Rhaenyra and Allicent could be more built up, with lots more planning involved to make it happen, etc.  Just food for thought.
 
TEAM GREEN
 
Criston Cole, man, you love to hate him.  I liked seeing him have to psych himself up in his room for his first council meeting as hand, and then show up and basically say he wants to take off to go wage war immediately    The fact that his plan is basically the plan that him and Aemond came up with in the first episode was funny, and the look on Aegon's face was hilarious.  Gwayn Hightower showing up was cool, because I recognized the actor from The Great, and he was, well, pretty great in that show so I hope some of that energy will be brought here.  I loved how he seemed to figure out that Criston was banging his sister, which they were barely secret about anyway with her giving him her boob hankerchief out in the open (what is the purpose of that thing anyway?)
 
Aegon was again great this episode, that actor is killing it.  I loved him wanting to spin the Burning Mill battle as a victory for him, even though basically everyone died and no one won, and I love that he has this Valerian steel suit of armor and he wanted to ride out on his dragon with Cole's men.  Larys showing up at exactly the right time, and knowing exactly what to say, was really interesting; And nicely led to him getting the official title of Master of Whispers.  He's more and more like Varys all the time!  And it seems he really has nothing more to gain from Allicent any more.  Speaking of Alicent, one of the most interesting scenes of the episode was Helaena saying that she forgives her.  I think we're meant to assume that she means she forgives Alicent for banging Cole on the night her daughter was killed.... BUT I am wondering if she's actually forgiving her for something Alicent will do in the future that we haven't seen yet, but Helaena has. 
 
The scene in the brothel was interesting too, because it shows just how bad Aegon's new kingsguards are, and also re-inforces Aemond's mommy issues seeing him with the same prostitute again.  But then the way he stands up and says she a whore like any other and leaves makes me think he'll never go back to her now, lest Aegon have something on him, so I wonder if that will lead to a change in personality and/or drive.
 
Man, when Baela spots them marching in the open and chases them into the woods, that was an exciting scene, mostly because of how CLOSE things were to going a different way.  She was almost able to burn them all up, but would she have if given a more clear opportunity?
 
TEAM BLACK
 
I love that Rhaenyra had Erryk and Arryk buried together, even though Arryk was a "traitor", with Rhaenyra rightly pointing out that both thought they were doing what was right.  And boy, what a hard choice it must have been for her to send her youngest children away!! We know Alicent/Viserys have another child that's been warding elsewhere so I guess that is a somewhat common practice, and this is due to keeping her heirs safe, but still... damn.  And to send Rhaena, who is so young, to oversee it all, seems so risky.  If I understand the plan, she's only temporarily going to The Erie to drop off Joffrey and two dragons, for Lady Jeyne Arryn to ward, then she is moving on to Pentos with 4 eggs to ward Viserys II and Aegon III there, right?  If so, I am 100% certain that 3 of those 4 eggs are the very eggs gifted to Daenerys and Viserys III in the first episode of Game of Thrones.  Book it!
 
Rhaenyra's council are full of jokers, I hate all these guys.  They basically laugh at Rhaenyra openly whenever she refuses to commit to battle, and seem to somehow simultaneously think she should be the true Queen, but also think woman shouldn't lead.  It's weird.  I do love that instead of listening to these guys, she basically seeks true council from the smartest people around her, who happen to be women; Rhaenys, who encourages her that reasoning with Alicent could be the thing that prevents actual war from happening, and Mysaria, who has the means to make this happen.  I never expected Mysaria to be seen again after season 1, but she's becoming a character who gets involved in the most interesting stories.  I wonder what's next, now that she's on the council.
 
TEAM DAEMON
 
Holy cow, his rainy approach to Harrenhal on dragonback was just incredible visually, I loved it!  And he entrance into the castle was so funny; Why was he holding his sword way out in front as he rounded corners, like modern day soldiers would do with a gun?  In this circumstance you'd walk around with your sword held back, so you can swing it forward to strike if needed!  I loved that he only found one guy to briefly tussle with before finding everyone eating dinner in the dining hall, and happy to pledge fealty to Rhaenyra.  I love that Simon Strong thinks Larys was behind the fire that killed Harwyn and Lionel (which we know to be true) and therefore has no loyalty to the technical lord of Dragonstone (Larys).  I also loved the bit where Simon (correctly!) calls Daemon My Prince, and Daemon wants him to be called My King.  I suspect Daemon is toying with the idea of opposing Rhaenyra and claiming the iron throne for himself, hence me giving him his own section here.
 
Wow, Harrenhal is a weird place.  I already loved the wet, dripping atmosphere, but when things kick up a notch with Daemon having visions, I was so on board for this.  Especially when we got to see Milly Alcock as young Rhaenyra again, that was fun and expected. And what is it trying to tell us about Daemon's subconcious, that she was sewing Jahaerys's head back on?  And who is this lady that told him he would die here?  My first thought was that this is a young Melisandre, since we learned late in GOT that she was actually very old and could make herself look young to others.  Could it be?
 
SMALL FOLK
 
I loved the opening scene, seeing the Brackens and Blackwoods at it again, with the new wrinkle that one of them chose allegiance to Aegon, and the other Rhaenyra.  I was bummed at first that we skip right over their fight and only see the aftermath (and speaking of that aftermath, did it seem like there was maybe too many dead bodies to anyone else?), but in the end I think it makes sense; Surely they are saving their battle budget for other battles featuring main characters.
 
This random new character showing up at a bar and claiming to be Viserys and Daemon's bastard half-brother (or was he saying he's the son of their bastard half-brother?) was super interesting.  It makes sense that there could be random Targaryens out there who are so far away from being heir to the throne, they married into other families and have offspring that would have different last names or whatever.  But is this guy as he claims, or just making it up?  Will the real half-brother guy show up at some point and out this guy?
 
THE ENDING
 
I loved the ending of this episode, it was a perfect button on the misunderstanding from the end of episode 8 last season.  I hadn't thought before that we'd gone almost 5 entire episodes since then without Alicent and Rhaenyra sharing a scene together, and as soon as they got together it was just electric.  I love that Rhaenyra was completely prepared to murder Alicent, knowing her guards would then kill her, if she screamed out, and it was funny on her way there how nervous her own guard looked about the whole thing   It was such a brilliant idea to dress up as a septon to get access to her, and that this really would be the only place Alicent ever goes outside the Red Keep, more than likely.  But man, their conversation, I wasn't sure if things would be made clear, but I was SO happy that eventually both of them completly understand what Viserys really meant, and that nope, he never changed his mind on who his heir would be.  Despite Alicent getting this, it's not surprising that she rather quickly says there's nothing to be done and leaves.  Because she's right!  It's too late. The men are already waging war, and there's no way to undo the transfer of power now.  But the fact that Alicent gives me no impression that she will even TRY, well, that's why I find it hard to believe that anybody could be team green after this.  Their side may try to paint Rhaenyra as the usurper, but it is them who have usurped the power.  And they'll never give it up without the fight of their lives.

If you love Rings of Power you should also try other McCreary like Outlander. Were it not for RoP I think that might well deserve being called his magnum opus. Foundation is also fantastic, both in and out of show context.
 
I second the recommendation for Penny Dreadful. It's hard to say since RoP is ongoing, but I think it might rival McCreary's work on that as my favorite TV scoring of the past decade.
 
Yavar

JNH's score for the fourth episode of the mini has received an Emmy nomination! 
 
Outstanding Music Composition for a Limited or Anthology Series, Movie or a Special (Original Dramatic Score):
 
All the Light We Cannot See – “Episode 4” James Newton Howard
Fargo – “Blanket” – Jeff Russo
Lawmen: Bass Reeves – “Part I” – Chanda Dancy
Lessons in Chemistry – “Book of Calvin” – Carlos Rafael Rivera
The Tattooist of Auschwitz – “Episode 1” – Kara Talve & Hans Zimmer
 
https://filmmusicreporter.com/2024/07/17/2024-emmy-awards-nominations-announced/

Fantastic episode! I'm loving all of Daemon's Harrenhal scenes, as I feel they give the castle a really unsettling and eerie vibe that it didn't have the previous times we saw it. Also, I'm really liking Aegon as a character this season. I don't entirely side with him but he's such a complex, tragic and sad character and Tom Glynn-Carney's portrayal is really layered and makes you emapathize with him.
 
And then the battle at the end was amazing. All of Cole's and Ser Gwayne's strategies and battle plans are worthless when confronted with the sheer force of a dragon. The scale of it all, the way it's portrayed on screen, the building tension, it was a horrifying yet oddly beautiful sequence. It is indeed portrayed like the dragons are dancing in the air when the lock their claws and are spinning around spitting fire. The humans on the ground cannot do anything more than run for their lives and try to escape the devastating dragon fire.
 
The direction, production design and acting on the whole episode and those final minutes in particular were amazing, as was Djawadi's music, who continues to deliver an amazing and emotional score episode after episode that I cannot wait to listen on its own!

Season 2 x Episode 4 - The Red Dragon And The Gold
 
Uuuhm, that was fucking intense!
Fantastic episode with a final 15 minutes that were phenomenal! I'm very very sad though.
 
I loved the connection between Rhaenys & Meleys. The final few looks Meleys & Rhaenys gave each other and throughout the whole battle was very special I thought. It really showed a certain connection between dragon and rider we haven't seen before. Not even between Daenerys & Drogon I think.
Eve Best completely owned this role and was maybe my favourite of the whole series, so I'm really sad to see her go. Great role and great performance.
 
The whole battle was really well done. Incredible tension throughout and what a joy to see such a big dragon battle in broad daylight. Made the whole experience even better. The battle just kept building and building. First Rhaenyrs arrives, then Aegon comes in and ruins the plan of Aemond & Cole. But that Aemond just chose to burn Sunfyre, just because he might take out Meleys as well, was brutal.
Also really loved seeing the different sizes of the dragons next to each other. We knew Vhagar was big, but to see her next to Meleys, which is the second biggest was quite scary actually. Vaghar really is just a beast.
 
The way the battle on the ground doesn't really matter anymore once a dragon is in play, was shown very well. As soon as a dragon appears there is chaos on the ground, people don't care anymore about their allegiance, it's just about not being burned alive.
 
Djawadi did some really amazing stuff with the music. His Dance Of Dragons theme fully explored here and I thought it packed quite the punch. Can't wait for the album.

The Sadness theme has its time to shine in the movie, but it's absent on the album.

Yeah, you're right about the new themes. That "emotions" theme is a bit confusing on what it means but yeah, it's there.
 
As for Giacchino's themes, she also uses the Family theme in The Life of Riley and I think I also caught a reference to the Sadness theme but I'm not sure about that last one.

Agree! I love Datzman's new main theme and while at first it might not br as memorable as Giacchino's, the way both themes are joined in Glide and Joy is indeed a brilliant moment!

Saw the film today, absolutely loved it!!
 
Score works really really well. Datzman does a fantastic job incorporating Giacchino's themes while composing a few great ones of her own.
 
Anxiety's theme (like said before in the thread) perfectly encapsulates the emotion. Really love the whole thing.
 
One of my favourite cues is "Glide And Joy" where Datzman unites the main themes of both films. That was such a beautiful moment.

So far I've been really enjoying tjis season, and I lovr how they're slowly building up the conflict, not relying on action and gore, but on the characters clashing motivations, on the different sides and points of view, and giving depth to each of the characters before the war fully explodes, allowing us to connect with them and understand them (at least some of them). And man, the visual aspect of the show is miles above many other shows out there right now. The direction, cinematography, production design and costumes, it's all on a whole other level, as are all the actors.
 
I have to say that there are some decisions I don't fully buy, especially how episodes 1 and 2 ended with Cole and Alicent, as I feel the endings were a bit flat and disappointing, but I really enjoyed Alicent and Rhaenyra's conversation this last episode.
 
Also, Djawadi's music, for me, is an essential element of the show and I feel he really enhances the emotions of many scenes like Daemon leaving Dragonstone, the lament at the beginning of episode 2, Rhaena departing on episode 3, and many more. Cannot wait to hear all of them on album!
 
And next week looks like it's going to be a big battle so really looking forward to that!

I asked him about it this weekend, but I've gotten no answer...

Made me revisit all his scores for God of War and I feel it's some og the best work he's done. So many great themes and great use and development of them!
 
It's great that he still finds some time to post these blogs, even if it's for works a year old. I hope he does some extensive blog articles for RoP S2 as they did for S1!
 
Still waiting for Masters of the Universe: Revolution though...

So far I've been really enjoying tjis season, and I lovr how they're slowly building up the conflict, not relying on action and gore, but on the characters clashing motivations, on the different sides and points of view, and giving depth to each of the characters before the war fully explodes, allowing us to connect with them and understand them (at least some of them). And man, the visual aspect of the show is miles above many other shows out there right now. The direction, cinematography, production design and costumes, it's all on a whole other level, as are all the actors.
 
I have to say that there are some decisions I don't fully buy, especially how episodes 1 and 2 ended with Cole and Alicent, as I feel the endings were a bit flat and disappointing, but I really enjoyed Alicent and Rhaenyra's conversation this last episode.
 
Also, Djawadi's music, for me, is an essential element of the show and I feel he really enhances the emotions of many scenes like Daemon leaving Dragonstone, the lament at the beginning of episode 2, Rhaena departing on episode 3, and many more. Cannot wait to hear all of them on album!
 
And next week looks like it's going to be a big battle so really looking forward to that!

Blog on God Of War: Ragnarok - Valhalla

The story of a man suffering from trauma as a result of his inaction in a war environment isn't genuine? 
 
Also, I don't think a series formula evolving overtime should prevent the occasional revisiting of the roots. God knows how many other current franchises wish they had entries this true to their original spirit.

I mean, I enjoyed King of the Monsters as a dumb and fun movie, and it has a brilliant score by McCreary, but Minus One for me is on a whole other level in every aspect. More profound and complex characters, emotional connection with them, actual stakes, and a great use of its titular monster as a raw force of nature, both scary and awe-inspiring. If that film it's too boring and too artsy, then I guess that's my kind of film, because I prefere Minus One over Godzilla (2014) by a long shot, even if I also enjoyed it. Also, Noaki Sato's score works brilliantly in context, and I agree that it's one of the most effective scores of that year. Cues like Resolution or Pray have been frequently on repeat since I saw the movie!

I mean, I enjoyed King of the Monsters as a dumb and fun movie, and it has a brilliant score by McCreary, but Minus One for me is on a whole other level in every aspect. More profound and complex characters, emotional connection with them, actual stakes, and a great use of its titular monster as a raw force of nature, both scary and awe-inspiring. If that film it's too boring and too artsy, then I guess that's my kind of film, because I prefere Minus One over Godzilla (2014) by a long shot, even if I also enjoyed it. Also, Noaki Sato's score works brilliantly in context, and I agree that it's one of the most effective scores of that year. Cues like Resolution or Pray have been frequently on repeat since I saw the movie!

No doubt at all there will be a season 7 album, but I share your frustration. The 'experience it in the show' argument doesn't wash because it's been behind a paywall for years on Prime so I have no plans to watch the last couple of seasons any time soon. I just look forward to Bear's concept albums.
 
Very much the same idea as Gold apparently (if at all) waiting for series 1 of Who to be finished before even releasing music from the specials. Wait till the end to put out a nice box set, sure, but how is doing a digital release that difficult?

Last week tge 7th season of Outlander finally became available on Netflix where I live and I just finished it.
 
I'm really hoping for an album for the 7th season after the 2nd part airs later this year, because there is some astonishly beautiful music in the series. Wonder why they didn't release 2 volumes lile with the first season?

turuturuturuturuturuturuturuturuturu tuuuuruuuuuuuuuuum.

After listening to the album a couple of times and watching the film I appreciate more Datzman's score, and I have to say is a great continuation of the score and themes from the first movie. I agree that the first soundtrack tends to wander off in the middle section and something similar happens with this one, but I feel both have very strong openings and endings, which make up a pretty great listening experience.
 
The new themes aren't immediately noticeable at first, but now I identified at least three new ideas, with the most prominent ones being that new theme for Riley/friendship that is literally everywhere in the score, sometimes cleverly joined with Giacchino's main theme for the first movie, and then there's also the Anxiety theme, which was a bit wierd for me at first, but it's actually a pretty great representation of the character of anxiety!
 
Overall, solid score that pays homage to Giacchino's score while also doing its own thing. I was surprised by how prominent the rock elements are in here, but I think they fit perfectly!

Djawadi's scoring continues to be elevated further for this series. The music during the opening stretch of the the latest ep, and over the funeral scene, is very very good. I love the use of extended techniques on the strings, so textural, eerie and upsetting. He's built on the success of cues like "Light of the Seven" and injected some shades of The Green Knight, it works really well.

After listening to the album a couple of times and watching the film I appreciate more Datzman's score, and I have to say is a great continuation of the score and themes from the first movie. I agree that the first soundtrack tends to wander off in the middle section and something similar happens with this one, but I feel both have very strong openings and endings, which make up a pretty great listening experience.
 
The new themes aren't immediately noticeable at first, but now I identified at least three new ideas, with the most prominent ones being that new theme for Riley/friendship that is literally everywhere in the score, sometimes cleverly joined with Giacchino's main theme for the first movie, and then there's also the Anxiety theme, which was a bit wierd for me at first, but it's actually a pretty great representation of the character of anxiety!
 
Overall, solid score that pays homage to Giacchino's score while also doing its own thing. I was surprised by how prominent the rock elements are in here, but I think they fit perfectly!

Just finished listening to both Inside Out albums back-to-back. It was ages ago that I heard the first movies album and I think it starts very strong but kinda lost itself in by the end. I found the second one to be the opposite, together they make a interesting 2-hour album. 
 
One of the new themes remind me of another one from Forrest Gump... probably just my mind playing tricks on me.