Samson Toromade

<h2>18 months after fans of the political intrigues of the Seven Kingdoms watched Aemond's Vhagar destroy Lucerys and his dragon, Arrax,&nbsp;House of the Dragon is finally back with a second season.</h2>

With its June 16 premiere, the Game of Thrones prequel is back with the civil war of the Targaryen family, marked by devious schemings, bloody vengeance, and, well, gigantic dragons.

Sunday nights are about to be fun again for the next eight weeks of the show's run.

In an eventful hour of television, here are <a data-link-role-code="open_new_tab" href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/movies/you-must-read-this-before-house-of-the-dragon-s2-premieres-this-weekend/tty7mzj">the most notable moments</a> from the pilot episode of House of the Dragon's new season (spoilers ahead, if you haven't watched):

'House of the Dragon' restarts in a familiar Winterfell and the Wall guarded by the Night's Watch [Ollie Upton/HBO]

Harry Collett and Tom Taylor in 'House of the Dragon' [Ollie Upton/HBO]

Much of the plot of the first season of House of the Dragon is limited to King's Landing and Dragonstone, a departure from the more expansive world of the show's original, Game of Thrones, which took viewers everywhere from Casterly Rock to the slave city of Astapor.

But the prequel makes a nostalgic nod to the sequel by opening the new season at a familiar haunting ground: Winterfell, the home of the beloved Starks. Cregan Stark (Tom Taylor) gives viewers the same sense of honour and duty synonymous with his descendants in Thrones.

He provides Jacaerys Targaryen (Harry Collett), who’s delivering a message from his mother, a lecture on the importance of the Night's Watch guarding the wall against the dead.

We all know by now how important the wall becomes hundreds of years later.

<h3>2. Aegon's reign is going as well as anyone expected</h3>

Aegon Targaryen is settling into his new role as the king of the Seven Kingdoms in chaos [Ollie Upton/HBO]

Tom Glynn-Carney plays Aegon Targaryen in 'House of the Dragon' [Ollie Upton-HBO]

Westeros has had its fair share of leaders, from the moronic Joffery, to sadistic Ramsay Bolton, scheming Tywin Lannister, empathetic Ned Stark, and coldblooded Stannis Baratheon.

Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney), the firstborn son of the late Viserys and Alicent (Olivia Cooke), ended up on the throne due to plotting by the Hightowers, but he's never really shown an aptitude for leadership.

He's settling into his new role by the time the new season starts, challenged by the official heiress Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy), and he's handling everything as best as anyone could have imagined. Even the chaotic state of his council is a testament to how unsuited he is to sit on the Iron Throne he so desperately clings to.

Where does he rank in the league of leaders in the history of the Seven Kingdoms? Posterity will judge.

Otto's days in the highest levels in the king's court may well be numbered [Ollie Upton/HBO]

Rhys Ifans plays Otto Hightower in 'House of the Dragon' [Ollie Upton/HBO]

Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) has been one of the most competent schemers <a data-link-role-code="open_new_tab" href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/movies/house-of-the-dragons-second-season-streams-on-showmax/x95gbdm">in House of the Dragon so far</a>, and Aegon's dubious crowning as king has been his prize jewel.

Now serving as his grandson's Hand, as he did for Viserys, his continued reign is immediately under threat as the season starts. Lord Larys Strong (Matthew Needham), especially, is already whispering in Aegon's ears about a change of personnel in the king's court.

Aegon being Aegon, Otto's days in the highest levels in the brash king's court may well be numbered.

<h3>4. Cole and Alicent are bedmates</h3>

Alicent has found someone new, and familiar, to warm her bed in the wake of her husband's death [Ollie Upton/HBO]

Olivia Cooke as Alicent in season two of "House of the Dragon."Ollie Upton/HBO

Despite his predominantly sour disposition, Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) seems to be a magnet for the royal bed. After an entanglement with young Rhaenyra in the pilot season, he becomes close allies with Alicent mostly out of mutual spite for the heiress.

That allyship is closer, and steamier this season, as the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard is now protecting more than whatever is stated in his job description. HR would like to have a word.

ALSO READ: <a data-link-role-code="open_new_tab" href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/movies/house-of-the-dragon-returns-with-the-ruthlessness-of-game-of-thrones/8r3d3vr">'House of the Dragon' returns with the ruthlessness of 'Game of Thrones'</a>

Daemon has drawn first blood this season in the Targaryens' civil war [Theo Whitman/HBO]

Matt Smith plays Daemon Targaryen in 'House of the Dragon' [Theo Whitman/HBO]

One of the most brutal storylines from Fire &amp; Blood, the George R. R. Martin book House of the Dragon is based on, has come to life on the show.

Desperate for revenge over Aemond's murder of his son Lucerys in last season's finale, Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) sets two assassins loose in King's Landing to murder his nephew, played by Ewan Mitchell.

However, a twist of fate puts the assassins in the same room with Helaena (Phia Saban), Aegon's sister and wife, and her kids. After terrorising the young queen, they elect to kill Jaehaerys, Aegon's crown prince in place of Aemond, fulfilling Daemon's "a son for a son" pledge, which is also the episode's title.

This event sets the tone for the rest of this season of House of the Dragon. Let the dance of dragons begin!

Tom Glynn-Carney plays Aegon Targaryen in 'House of the Dragon' [Ollie Upton/HBO]

House of the Dragon is finally back with a second season, and the gloves are off.

5 moments that stand out in new 'House of the Dragon' season

<h2>Essence star, Wizkid, has joined the growing list of top Nigerian artistes explicitly creating a distance between themselves and the Afrobeats tag.</h2>

The sound has increasingly <a data-link-role-code="open_new_tab" href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/music/afrobeats-stars-with-international-awards/1cxeltp">gained global traction over the past few years</a> and showcased Nigerian talents <a data-link-role-code="open_new_tab" href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/music/world-international-youth-day-2023-artistes-taking-afrobeats-to-the-world/mxgp34j">on the biggest global stages</a>, but Wizkid has spent the past two days announcing on his Instagram account that he's more than the one sound.

Shortly after announcing that his next album, Morayo, was done, on Friday, March 15, 2024, he followed it up with a series of posts including, "I am not a fucking Afrobeats artiste! I'm not Afro anything!"

Wizkid on Afrobeats [Instagram/@wizkidayo]

Many critics immediately labelled the rant a ploy to promote the album and condemned the damage his posturing could cause the further advancement of the sound, but the superstar didn't relent.

On Saturday, March 16, he made a longer post explaining why he shouldn't be called an Afrobeats artiste.

<h3>1. He makes other kinds of music</h3>

The music star wrote, "Listen, am I an African? Yes! But I do make all sorts of music. Fine music! But I don't want these labelled just Afrobeats. That's like saying every American artiste makes rap. That's stupid."

He later added, "Made in Lagos is not an Afrobeats album, that's a fusion of different sounds. Real music!"

<h3>2. Something to do with award categorisations</h3>

Wizkid also appears to be bothered about how the Afrobeats categorisations can affect his chances during awards season.

He wrote, "This is why no matter how good or amazing the music we make, be it RnB or whatever the genre, we all get nominated in the one Africa category or the other, I've made songs from different genres of music."

<h3>3. The origin of 'Afrobeats' tag</h3>

Wizkid also appears to be bothered by the origin of the Afrobeats tag and clearly disagrees with it.

He wrote, "The word Afrobeats was made up by y'all to put all we make into one box. Fela created Afrobeat! I make all sorts of music. Fusion of sounds! "I'm an artiste" before anything else. True to my art."

Other Nigerian artistes who have notably tried to shed the Afrobeats tag include <a data-link-role-code="open_new_tab" href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/music/burna-boy-says-that-afrobeats-has-no-substance/hvhfc75">Burna Boy</a> and <a data-link-role-code="open_new_tab" href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/music/fireboy-is-set-to-drop-a-new-album-in-2024/59wh1b7">FireboyDML</a>.

Essence star, Wizkid, has joined the growing list of top Nigerian artistes explicitly creating a distance between themselves and the Afrobeats tag.

'I'm an artiste' — 3 reasons Wizkid is disowning Afrobeats tag

Nollywood actor, John 'Mr Ibu' Okafor, has died after a protracted illness that put him in the public spotlight in the final months of his life.

The national president of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Emeka Rollas, announced that <a data-link-role-code="open_new_tab" href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/celebrities/mr-ibu-died-of-cardiac-arrest/b5jjc87">the comedian died of a cardiac arrest</a>, according to his manager, Don Single Nwuzor.

<h2>This is the timeline of Mr Ibu's illness until his death.</h2>

<h3>October 17, 2023 — Birthday in hospital room</h3>

The Nigerian public was largely unaware of Mr Ibu's health issues until he shared a video of himself <a data-link-role-code="open_new_tab" href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/celebrities/nollywood-actor-mr-ibu-celebrates-62nd-birthday-in-hospital-bed/mwtx173">celebrating his 62nd birthday inside a hospital room</a>.

In the video, the actor was wearing a hospital gown, visibly in discomfort with a swollen left leg, as his family sang him a birthday song.

Before cutting his birthday cake, the ill actor said a short prayer, including praying for peace. His condition worried fans who flooded the comment section with prayers for him.

<h3>October 18, 2023 — Mr Ibu begs for financial assistance</h3>

A day after his birthday post, the actor and his family posted another video asking for help to sort out his medical bills.

The actor said he'd been sick for weeks and doctors had suggested the amputation of his leg to save his life. "If they cut off my leg, where will I go to? I don't want my leg to be cut off," he said.

His family said the cash donations would help him fly abroad for better treatment, as he'd been ill on and off for years.

<h3>October 31, 2023 — Mr Ibu undergoes five surgeries</h3>

Mr Ibu's family announced in late October he had received a lot of help from the public and had gone through five successful surgeries.

The family also expressed hope he would be stable enough to fly abroad for further treatment.

<h3>November 6, 2023 — Mr Ibu's leg is amputated</h3>

Mr Ibu's family announced in November that doctors had to amputate one of the actor's legs after two additional surgeries, in a bid to save his life.

It was an outcome that was received with sadness by the actor's fans who had hoped he responded well enough to treatment to avoid the fate he didn't want.

"This development has been hard on us all but we've had to accept it as Daddy's new reality to keep him alive," his family said.

Mr Ibu acted in more than 200 Nollywood films [AMVCA]

Pulse List: 5 Nollywood actors who have dabbled in music

The family further noted that the actor was still delicate and needed all the assistance he could get from Nigerians.

<h3>December 16, 2023 — Clarification on his condition</h3>

In a final official update on his health issues, Mr Ibu's family noted that he was suffering from "constant clotting of the blood in his leg (diseased blood vessels) and other health challenges," not diabetes as rumoured.

The family also clarified that only one of his legs was amputated, not both of them, as was reported on social media. The first amputation didn't completely correct his health predicament so doctors had to amputate the same leg further.

The family also noted he wasn't flown out of the country as initially planned because doctors determined that he wasn't fit to fly.

<h3>March 2, 2024 — Mr Ibu is dead</h3>

Mr Ibu will be missed [Instagram/@realmribu]

John 'Mr Ibu' Okafor [Instagram/@realmribu]

With no further updates from the family for over two months, <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/celebrities/mr-ibu-john-okafor-nollywood-actor-dies/v3x5f38">news of Mr Ibu's death on March 2</a> came as a rude shock for many of his fans.

In the hours following the announcement of his death, <a data-link-role-code="open_new_tab" href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/movies/celebrating-the-legacy-of-mr-ibu-with-7-movies-that-defined-his-career/p2r10jw">one of Nollywood's most popular comedians</a> has received posthumous plaudits for his onscreen career which spanned 40 years.

Nollywood comic actor, John 'Mr Ibu' Okafor, has died after a protracted illness that put him in the public spotlight in the final months of his life.

Timeline of Mr Ibu's blood clot illness that cost him his leg and life

<h2>Sibling rivalry can be a potent ingredient for drama because even though blood may be proverbially thicker than water, conflict is no respecter of relationships, especially in film.</h2>

There's naturally a lot for siblings to fight over — who gets the most attention from parents, who should eat the bigger piece of meat, and who gets not to do the dishes. With any luck, the rivalry means nothing more than squabbles that end as quickly as they start.

Before she became Nollywood's sweetheart, glowing with the air of industry royalty and commanding fevered devotion, Genevieve Nnaji was Esther, "a devil with a black heart" in the Tchidi Chikere-directed Blood Sister.

Esther and her older sister, Gloria (Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde), are raised with an iron grip by their widowed mother, played by Patience Ozokwor at her shouty best.

Toxic sibling rivalry is at the heart of Blood Sister [YouTube/Nollywoodcity TV]

The film is immediately marked by the casual cruelty Esther treats Gloria, capitalising on every opportunity to put her in trouble with their impressionable and hot-tempered mother. A little lie here and an unprovoked malicious scheme there build tension that prompts an obvious question: why does one sister hate the other so much? Esther confesses pretty early in the film she's just jealous of her sister because she's smarter and always wins the affection of everyone, especially men.

The jealousy sucks up all the air in Blood Sister as this destructive addiction becomes Esther’s driving ambition. Across the years the sisters grow from young schoolgirls to adults, she ruins her sister's life at every turn. Gloria is constantly criticised or beaten by their mother, loses a lover due to Esther's devious orchestration and eventually loses her life, poisoned by a sister whose evil she only ever repays with love.

No good deed goes unpunished [YouTube/Nollywoodcity TV]

Jalade-Ekeinde is the sweet perfect foil as Gloria, naively overlooking her sister's repeated attempts at ruining her life and always trying to build a loving relationship with her.

Nnaji delivers a force-of-nature performance, nailing the mean streak that makes Esther a formidable antagonist, a departure from many of her more common sweetheart roles. What makes her terrifying in Blood Sister is she has no redeeming qualities and is driven purely by the jealous hatred she has for a sister she desperately wants to be but finds impossible to match. She plods from one evil plot to another against her sister and, when she needs new targets, her sister's young children.

Blood Sister is all about Esther's casual cruelty to family [YouTube/Nollywoodcity TV]

This isn't without its drawback, because even though Esther's characterisation as the embodiment of evil is effective, it also exposes her as one-dimensional in the way many Nollywood villains are cursed to be. It's the perfect manifestation of the industry's past and present struggles with building characters with nuance and complexity that make them more memorable. Esther is all bad for no well-explored reason other than to tick desired plot points, and she has bad things happen to her as a reward. Gloria is all good and is rewarded with good things, like a rich loving husband who's predictably the ultimate prize her sister considers worth killing for. They’re less developing characters and more, admittedly entertaining, cardboard cutouts to drive the agenda of the story without being affected by it.

The real surprise soul of Blood Sister is Ozokwor who bears the brunt of a murderous sibling rivalry quite impossible to define with any coherence. Of the three central women in the film, she experiences the most meaningful character development — from a mother easily misled to one who finally realises, although too late, the consequences of not being a more discerning parent.

Jealousy sucks up all the air in Blood Sister [YouTube/Nollywoodcity TV]

The major question Blood Sister leaves anyone from the very first scene through to the last is, "Can siblings be this cruel?" A quick scroll through the metro section of any news publication would suggest the answer is yes, so there's that.

Perhaps, the film's only sin is arriving at that destination by any means necessary, jumping from trope to trope and cliche to cliche to pass the message. It doesn't ruin the watching experience, but maybe a little bit more nuance in the storytelling would have elevated Blood Sister's exploration of why siblings bicker, and how a rivalry between sisters can reasonably become unhealthy enough to end in cold-blooded murder.

ALSO READ:&nbsp;<a data-link-role-code="open_new_tab" href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/movies/lagidigba-created-a-radical-feminist-icon-and-crushed-her/k2r1yrs">How 'Lagidigba' created a radical feminist icon — and crushed her</a>

ALSO READ: <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/movies/issakaba-and-jungle-justice-my-nollywood-nostalgia/cvykjbf">I hate jungle justice now, but 'Issakaba' made me love it as a child</a>

Blood Sister stars Genevieve Nnaji and Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde as siblings with a twisted relationship.

What 'Blood Sister' gets right — and wrong — about sibling rivalry

Bayo Wahab

Chinedu Okafor

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, as the winner of the 2023 presidential election.&nbsp;

The commission's chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, announced the former Lagos governor winner of the election after four days of collating the results of the February 25 election at the National Collation Centre in Abuja.

Tinubu won 12 states across the country, the same as his two closest rivals, but he secured more votes than Atiku Abubakar of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP). The third republic senator secured 8,794,726 to defeat Atiku who finished second with 6,984,520 votes and Obi who finished third with 6,101,533 votes.

Peter Obi (left) and Atiku Abubakar (right) were on the same presidential ticket in 2019, but they were opponents on the ballot in 2023 and lost to Tinubu

Peter Obi (left) hugs Atiku Abubakar (right) before a meeting in Abuja on October 12, 2018

The LP and PDP have strongly condemned INEC's handling of the election and rejected the collation process for not being transparent enough. They accused the APC of rigging the polls, called for the cancellation of the election and demanded the resignation of Yakubu.

The election is the most closely contested since Nigeria returned to democratic rule in 1999. Tinubu lost his home state of Lagos but recovered with wins in key areas including Rivers, Zamfara, Borno, Jigawa, Kogi and Kwara. He also won in Benue, Ekiti, Niger, Ogun, Ondo and Oyo.

Vice-president-elect, Kashim Shettima (left), and president-elect, Bola Tinubu (right) [Twitter/@officialABAT]

Kashim Shettima (left) and Bola Tinubu (right) [Twitter/@officialABAT]

Atiku won in his native Adamawa, as well as in Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Gombe, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Osun, Sokoto, Taraba and Yobe.

Obi swept through his southeast region — Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo. He also won in Cross River, Delta, Edo, Lagos, Nasarawa, Plateau and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) polled nearly a million votes in Kano to win the state and finish with a total of 1,496,687 votes. He also joined calls for the election to be cancelled a day after the LP and PDP walked out of the National Collation Centre.

The LP and PDP are expected to escalate their grievances with the process and challenge the legitimacy of Tinubu's victory in court. But as it stands, the 70-year-old will take over from Muhammadu Buhari as Nigeria's new president on May 29, 2023.

Buhari is poised to hand over Aso Rock Villa to his fellow party man, Bola Tinubu [Twitter/@officialABAT]

Muhammadu Buhari raises Bola Tinubu's hand [Twitter/@officialABAT]

INEC will issue the president-elect and the vice-president-elect, Kashim Shettima, their certificates of return at 3 pm on Wednesday, March 1, 2023.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, as the winner of the 2023 presidential election.

BREAKING: Tinubu wins Nigeria's most closely-fought presidential election

<h1>United States president, Donald Trump has announced that he will head to the Supreme Court to contest the conduct of the presidential election while votes collation is ongoing.</h1>

Trump has been trailing his challenger, Democratic candidate, Joe Biden, in electoral college votes since the announcement of results started late on election day, Tuesday, November 3, 2020.

Despite trailing, the election result is still considered by analysts to be too close to call with Trump still with a strong chance of winning.

However, the Republican candidate announced during a press conference early on Wednesday, November 4, that the process is being rigged against him.

"This is a fraud on the American public. This is an embarrassment to our country.

"We were getting ready to win this election. Frankly, we did win the election.

"This is a major fraud on our nation," he said.

He said to ensure the integrity of the election, he will approach the U.S. Supreme Court to stop all voting.

"We want all voting to stop. We don't want them to find any ballots at 4 o'clock in the morning and add them to the list," Trump said.

<div class="embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">WE ARE LOOKING REALLY GOOD ALL OVER THE COUNTRY. THANK YOU!&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1323765884268224514?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 3, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Trump accused a 'sad group of people' of trying to disenfranchise millions of Americans that voted for him.

He said he was getting ready for a big celebration until collation was called off in some states.

The president expressed satisfaction with winning in states he didn't even expect to win.

He said some of his validly-won votes in Texas were not included in tabulations.

Trump, 74, is currently trailing with 213 electoral votes to Biden's 221, but he expressed confidence that he'll win the election.

"To me, it's a very sad moment. We will win this.

"As far as I am concerned, we have already won," he said.

The winner of the election is expected to get 270 electoral votes.

Biden, 77, had earlier told Americans during his own press conference to be patient <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/news/politics/us-election-biden-holds-lead-over-trump-in-tight-race/z7k3d2s">while every vote is counted</a>.

"We're feeling good about where we are," he told supporters.

<div class="embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">We feel good about where we are. We believe we are on track to win this election.&mdash; Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1323868327744253952?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
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He also insisted that it wasn't Trump's place to declare himself the winner of the election but that of the voters.

Trump's decision to approach the Supreme Court does not come as a shock as the president has over the past months called the integrity of the election into question.

He has especially raised alarm about the mail-in ballots which he has dismissed as a fraud that will be used to rig the election.

A historic haul of mail-in votes is expected to delay the official announcement of the winner for longer than usual.

President Donald Trump holds a rally at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport on November 2, 2020.

Trump will approach the U.S. Supreme Court to stop all voting.

Donald Trump heads to Supreme Court, calls US election 'a fraud'

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