#God bless Rhys Ifan

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

Challenge: Aegon had to be King for his own survival. Rhaenyra would have killed him. And Alicent. Maybe not Helaena. DEFINITELY Aemond. He was protecting himself. AND he offered her the chance to p much keep living her life in peace.

Rebuttal: We have absolutely no evidence of this short of Otto's claims. And Otto is lying.

He saw firsthand what happened when a member of Rhaenyra's family tried to steal her inheritance. When Daemon occupied Dragonstone and declared himself Viserys' heir, did Rhaenyra resort to bloodshed? Did she use this as an excuse to try and kill Daemon? No. She called his bluff. She invited him to strike first. So when Otto tells Alicent that Rhaenyra will have "no choice" but to put her brothers to the sword, either he is suffering from memory loss, or he's lying through his teeth. He should know better than anyone that Rhaenyra is no kinslayer.

Here's the real truth. Otto realized that he couldn't control Rhaenyra. That she would not accept her position being taken away without a fight. He saw how easily she won over Daemon, how alike the two of them were. Just look at Otto's expression when Rhaenyra is flying away. He's realized that if it came to a fight with Rhaenyra, she'd have Daemon backing her. And that terrified him.

The story that Rhaenyra would preemptively murder her brothers to prevent any challenges to her claim is just that, a story. Otto uses it as justification for his plot to reject the succession. During the Green Council, he tries to have Rhaenyra and Daemon murdered so they won't challenge Aegon - exactly what he claimed Rhaenyra would do. Realistically, why would she ever do this in the first place? If she murdered her own brothers without any provocation, she would look like a tyrant. All the lords actually on her side would abandon her. Rhaenyra doesn't have a reason to harm Aegon unless he gives her one, and it's clear as day that he wouldn't do so on his own. She'd likewise have zero reason to hurt Helaena or Alicent. They have no real power. I suppose Aemond might be a problem, but again, only if he initiates. Rhaenyra isn't going to pick a fight with him.

The terms offered to Rhaenyra in 1X10 are, frankly, a complete joke. They offer her Dragonstone...which she already has. She's been living there, and now that she's queen, the castle belongs to Jace. They offer to re-confirm Luke as heir to Driftmark...even though he was already re-confirmed, just two days ago. Not to mention that Corlys survived, so the Crown really doesn't have jurisdiction over that anymore. Corlys will always choose Luke. Oh, and they offer to take her two youngest children as hostages. Sure, they don't call it that, but Rhaenyra's no fool, and it's plain as day that they would be hostages. Perhaps treated as guests, but taken for no other reason than to keep Rhaenyra in line. She's the rightful Queen, why should she entertain such nonsense? Oh, and they offer to spare any Lords who "conspired" against Aegon's ascent. Even though the story of Viserys "changing his mind" isn't well known, and these Lords would have simply been following the succession as they knew it to be. Get real.

Finally, Aegon acting in self-defense based on what he was told might have been his motive in the book. But in the show, it's very clearly a case of enjoying the attention. He feels validated and seen by the crowd. It's the first time he is actually shown to enjoy being King and maybe even start to want it.

[tybaltsjuliet]

i am planning on seeing the little mermaid this week sometime, so, my current ranking of the live-action disney remakes that i've seen, to be updated following:

01. cinderella. god's perfect faery tale movie. it's so beautiful-looking, and -sounding. it's brilliantly cast. it adapted things like the mice in cute ways that weren't distractions or CGI abominations. (that said, my unpopular opinion about this movie is that the dress transformation moment actually *does* look a little too CGI for me. it could have looked WAY more interesting.) it expanded on the story without needing to act like cinderella and her prince were idiots, and most importantly, it does not treat people who enjoy this story like idiots, either.

02. maleficent. the codifier! the risk-taker! it's linda woolverton with the steel chair! the only time disney has put a Twist into one of these that WORKED and didn't feel like dumb fucking around with the audience because THE HEART IS THERE. the cursing at the christening is a perfect illustration of how *good* these movies can be when they want to at honoring what came before and literally bringing it to life. that scene gives me chills every time.

03. the sorcerer's apprentice. this counts as a disney live-action remake. to me. this is a very silly movie and i wish there were five sequels and a balthazar blake meet at disneyland.

04. aladdin and alice in wonderland occupy a deadlocked middle ground for me. i enjoy them a lot and it's clear they were made with care and love by people who wanted to try something a little creative and different, and not just as soulless cash grabs by The Rat. but the execution still leaves things to be desired. why must the hatter be so goddamn annoying? why the Girl Power clichés? WHY DID YOU FIGURATIVELY AND LITERALLY DEFANG JAFAR?

05. dumbo. it tried. i can never decide if i think dumbo looks charming or terrible and the plot was insanely contrived but, hey. i love circuses and i whooped out loud when i saw the map beginning in sarasota, florida. colin farrell did NOT have to put his whole heart into this movie but god bless the man for it.

06. the jungle book. it was fine, and far be it from me to look a gift tiger voiced by idris elba in the mouth. but this was not necessary.

07. alice through the looking-glass. points for alice's dope chinese court outfit and the, what, sixty seconds featuring richard armitage and rhys ifans. demerits for literally everything else. possibly unfair to class this with the others since it's technically not a live-action remake but a sequel to one.

08. 101 dalmatians. even as a kid i thought it was silly that this movie got made, and i just don't find cruella very funny in this. plus i get annoyed every time i see that take about how she says SUCH feminist things.

09. beauty and the beast. how 'bout that dan stevens done up full rococo dandy? that's all i've got.