#Rhaenyra targaryen critical

[redrosesandcharmingsouls]

Its the way we know that Otto and Rhaenyra were Alicent's emotional support when she was a girl ,and how they both use's Alicent's memory of her mom against her to get something from her .Otto by telling her how much she looks like her mom in episode 9 and Rhaenyra's swearing (lying) on her mother's grave when the fact that both girls were motherless was important to their bond.

[henriettadreaming]

I find it so funny when Team Black stans get so angry about Alicent "spreading rumours" about the legitimacy of Rhaenyra's sons, putting them at risk of being killed.

First of all, these rumours are clearly true. Rhaenyra knows they're true. Viserys knows they're true, even though he acts blind to it. I'm sure the servants and guards across the Red Keep knew they were true and had a grand old time gossiping about it. Hell even Daemon, who's all the way in Pentos, knows Rhaenyra's children are illegitimate.

The illegitimacy of Rhaenyra's children affects Alicent's children. By Westerosi law bastards cannot inherit land or titles, meaning that even if Rhaenyra were to ascend the throne with no issue, Aegon should legally be her heir instead of Jacaerys.

Viserys knows his grandsons are illegitimate, and does everything in his power to shield them anyway. He's always protected Rhaenyra and allowed her indiscretions where likely no other king would. He continues to protect her from the consequences of her actions, saying that anyone who spoke out about his grandson's parentage would have their tongue removed.

And you can love and support Rhaenyra as much as you want, but you cannot tell me if the roles were reversed she wouldn't speak out against Alicent. If she knew, or even believed, that any of Alicent's children had been fathered by say, Ser Criston or Tyland Lannister, that she wouldn't hesitate to run straight to her father.

[alicentsgf]

the way people pick apart alicents reaction to baby joffrey in that scene so hard trying to figure out why she's smiling so genuinely at him like idk guys maybe she just thought the baby was cute? maybe she doesn't hold an actual newborn accountable for his parents stupidity? just a suggestion lmao

[sunnysideaeggs]

We spent 8 seasons watching how everybody south and north of the wall scorned Jon for being a bastard and how even the doubt of the future king being illegitimate (while having the very plausible excuse of looking like his mother) burst a giant war where almost everybody dies and now we are supposed to believe Rhaenyra putting bastards (that don’t even look like her) on the throne has no political repercussions whatsoever?

[alicenttully]

a most basic understanding of feminism is that ALL women should be empowered and equal. so as long as rhaenyra targaryen does nothing to challenge or end a system which enables there to be a difference in power between noble and lower-born women, she cannot be considered one. the same thing applies for her aunt. corlys might be justifiably angry at her being passed over twice but criston was spitting facts when he told rhaenyra that there were plenty who would kill to have her life. similarly, there will be plenty of women who would kill to be in rhaenys position because of all the security and privilege she enjoys.

it's the same way I don't consider arya a feminist for saying "the woman is important too" or catelyn for saying "a woman can rule as wisely as a man" because they're referring to highborn women. or sansa for refusing to consummate her marriage or be tyrion's dutiful wife when the whole time she's plotting to escape him because at the same time she also believes that social status should determine marriages. a character can have feminist themes imo but to call them a feminist would be incorrect imo.

nor do I think this is a personal failing for them either. I just think it's funny whenever I see people call those more sympathetic to the greens/alicent as supporting an anti feminist character (when this is a fandom that worships TYWIN) because quite honestly I don't think I've seen an alicent stan try to argue that she is a feminist queen like I've seen the blacks do for rhaenyra. we're honest about who she is.

[ladyalicentshightower]

I think people overestimate how feminist team black is. If someone brings up how Baela should be the heir to Driftmark, it's always "she would've been Queen if not for the Greens!", ignoring that 1, she would be Queen consort, not a Queen in her own right, and 2 she has a legitimate claim in her own right to Driftmark. Team Black's goal is to crown Rhaenyra, but Rhaenyra becoming Queen isn't a win for feminism because it does nothing to dismantle the rest of the patriarchal system that exists in Westeros. From what we've gotten so far, it reads that Rhaenyra wants to be the exception and not the rule. Rhaenyra has made a lot of bad political decisions, which means she can't acknowledge Baela's claim because it would weaken her own claim (blatantly admitting her eldest sons are illegitimate would not end well for her to say the least). So she betrothes Jace and Luke to Baela and Rhaena to kind of atone for that, like as a consolation prize Baela will be Queen and Rhaena will be lady of Driftmark, neither of them would hold either title in their own right. It's good matches because the kids like each other and will treat each other well, but it's not a feminist win or a feministic liberation. It's usurpation, usurpation that takes place because Rhaenyra has to do damage control after having illegitimate children and after a serious of bad political decisions (both hers and her fathers, Viserys is the arbiter of this entire mess). To me, Rhaenyra is very reminiscent of Mary Queen of Scots, I can see a lot of elements drawn from Mary's history in Rhaenyra's story and character, down to their sons eventually taking the crown they failed to claim/keep.

[irintican]

both rhaenyra and alicent are fascinating characters. while i love alicent and am more inclined toward her, i would like to speak in the defense of rhaenyra with my criticisms. (i will not go into inheritance claims as i believe both teams have various and strong reasonings for assuming aegon or rhaenyra as heir.)

is rhaenyra a strong woman? yes. there is no contest. she diffused confrontation on dragonstone upon syrax with domineering grace, she is a skilled dragonrider, and she survived a pregnancy leading to the death of her child by herself. does that make for a great, or even competent, queen? no.

upon her ascension as heir, rhaenyra shows no interest in her queenly duties such as choosing men for her queensguard and selecting a fit husband for rule (she had freedom of choice!). she has shown aggression when faced with the “claims” (they are pure truth) of jace and luke’s legitimacy, going as far as to rely on viserys to back her up and threatening aemond with torture after his eye was cut out by HER sons. what political/ruling experience does she have, as princess or newfound queen? i am genuinely asking because she is not seen on the show to engage with the small council, work on her image as ruler, create alliances through marriage or common cause, or work to gain widespread adoration from nobles and peasants alike.

i must admit, though, that rhaenyra acted wisely in the last episode when she did not declare war on the greens or give into personal ambition and rage when first approached by ottto hightower. she acted like a true queen during her council about discussing her duties to the realm.

i do, however, believe rhaenyra would have made a great conquerer based on her courage, vigor, and ruthlessness.

[greenmeanqueen]

Alicent. Poor poor kid. Anyone hating her based on the show (and not what they’re projecting onto the book) needs to go back to Media 101. I’ve seen too many people decry her reaction as ‘internal misogyny’ or ‘slut shaming’ but that’s stupid- Rhaenyra was taken advantage of and Alicent is right that she doesn’t have the freedom she thinks she does if she wants to be the first ruling queen. Reputation matters a very great deal and while her dragon gives her more space to move than Alicent does, it’s still not enough to escape the restraints of their society. That’s the whole tragedy of it!

thank you for your asks, both of you!!

from alicent's perspective, rhaenyra is throwing away her status as heir, something that both women have been struggling for rhaenyra to keep ever since viserys declared it. while both grew up at court, alicent is more familiar with what life is like for noble ladies, while rhaenyra is a bit more sheltered with the status of a princess. and this is the unfortunate reality: women can't be sexually free without being viewed as tarnished in westeros, especially single women, and while we know how ridiculous and misogynistic that is, that's the world they live in and it's not going to automatically change for rhaenyra. maybe alicent is slightly jealous that rhaenyra gets to experiment while she never did (and jealous that rhaenyra didn't experiment with her, i see your sapphic vibes, miss alicent), but her being upset moreso stems from alicent's stress for what this means for rhaenyra's position! remember the first episode, when alicent was concerned that rhaenyra didn't care about her position if aemma gave birth to a boy? same deal. rhaenyra doesn't think that the rules can keep her down, but alicent knows all too well that yes, yes they can, bc she's living in a literal prison with bars on her windows and no secret passages connected to her chambers!

and after rhaenyra lies to alicent, alicent believes her. she is righteously disgusted that daemon took advantage of her rhaenyra (which, truthfully, he did, even though rhaenyra responded to his advances), and she continues to defend her position like she has been doing this entire time. we've seen rhaenyra remain concerned about her future as a queen, but we haven't seen her actually trying to play the game that would help her towards sitting the throne and reigning prosperously. and she is no fool! she wants to have her cake and eat it too, but she doesn't know how to bake so she takes.

so she continues to subscribe to, "what i want, i shall have", and she feeds the dragon inside her even if it threatens to burn everything down.

[hellsbellschime]

Although House of the Dragon has been building up the conflict between the Hightowers and the Targaryens from the very start of the series, it's likely that the loss of Aemond's eye is where the Dance of the Dragons truly began.

The buildup towards the confrontation over Aemond's mutilation is an interesting one, and the framing of the fight between all of the children was rife with subtext.

The violence that the children inflict on each other was frighteningly over the top on all sides, and the broader context for all of their reactions is heartbreaking and sadly goes to show how much of the Dance of the Dragons is truly driven by crappy parenting and unresolved emotional tension.

Jace and Luke haven't gotten much individual development beyond simply being Strong bastards, but the trauma of both the realization of their true lineage and of losing their father and being completely unable to process or even acknowledge that is clearly terrible. Nearly killing Aemond is absurdly violent for such young children, but it is at least easier to understand in this instance because this is likely their first time truly expressing any of the trauma surrounding an issue that all of the adults around them are literally pretending isn't real, and they understandably have no idea how to handle it or express all of that pain without any guidance or support.

Baela and Rhaena are in a similar situation, as it seems that their grandmother has been doing most of the emotional heavy lifting for them since their mother's death, and the loss of Vhagar has the dual brutality of losing another enormous part of their mother and losing potential equitable treatment from their father. Rhaena's rejection by Daemon has to be painful and confusing for both of them, so to so quickly lose the opportunity to finally be equal must have been extremely difficult and infuriating for both girls.

And Aemond, also understanding how little value anyone of Targaryen blood seems to have if they can't ride a dragon, is finally lashing out at bullying that seems to have gone unresolved or poorly addressed for far too long. Because yes, mounting Vhagar is some king behavior, but it's also incredibly telling that a boy who is supposed to be ten years old at this point was willing to risk literal death in order to become a dragonrider, and it goes to show how early on anyone of Targaryen blood learns that they have no inherent value to the rest of their family if they don't have a dragon.

So, as scary as it was to see all of the children go full Lord of the Flies, it is not surprising that all of this unresolved tension finally messily and violently exploded, and it's tragic that the consequences for all of their outbursts had such permanent effects on Aemond. But the way that the situation is handled afterward is likely where the war truly began.

The confrontation over Aemond's mutilation is fascinating and so rich with subtext that it's almost impossible to pick up on everything that is happening for every character in the moment.

One of the most interesting aspects of the argument is something that anyone who hasn't read the books would clearly miss. When Rhaenyra discovers that Aemond has called her sons bastards, she demands that Aemond be "questioned sharply" about where he heard these rumors. In A Song of Ice and Fire, questioning someone sharply is a euphemism for torturing someone for information. It's not a term that comes up outrageously often, but it is never used to refer to anything aside from that.

For example, in A Clash of Kings, Jon 5 Mormont and Qhorin Halfhand are discussing a wildling who was questioned for information and Qhorin says "He was questioned perhaps too sharply, and died with much unsaid."

In another instance, Daenerys is discussing the interrogation of criminals with the Shavepate in A Dance With Dragons, Daenerys 2, and they have this exchange:

Mercy , thought Dany. They will have the dragon’s mercy . “Skahaz, I have changed my mind. Question the man sharply.”

“I could. Or I could question the daughters sharply whilst the father looks on. That will wring some names from him.”

“Do as you think best, but bring me names.”

So suffice it to say, being "questioned sharply" is not a pleasant experience, it is torturous interrogation that can be brutal enough to kill someone. Meaning that before Aemond's empty eye socket is even done being sewn up, she's asking that her ten year old brother be further brutalized for saying something that is essentially an open secret and that he arguably doesn't even have the full capacity to understand the importance of.

In the same vein, the lack of care that Viserys shows for Aemond is truly astonishing. He's a horrifically wounded and now permanently disabled child, and Viserys' only concern is where Aemond actually heard this rumor. And instead of telling his absentee father that up until 30 minutes ago he had two entire eyes and that's how he figured it out, he is clearly considering whether or not to out his mother for being the one to introduce him to this idea, and the interplay between Alicent, Aemond, and Aegon in this moment is really fantastically done without saying anything at all.

It's interesting, because while Alicent was clearly in the wrong to discuss the illegitimacy of Jace and Luke with her children both because none of the children deserve to have the burden of this issue put on themselves and because the open acknowledgment of their bastardy actually puts Alicent's own children in danger, this is likely the first time that Aemond is fully realizing that his mother's concerns about the threat that Jace and Luke's parentage could pose to Aemond and his siblings is completely true. Clearly, given that this knowledge can put the children in physical danger, it was insane for Alicent to inform them of this before they were mature enough to understand it and keep their mouths shut, but she definitely wasn't wrong about the danger that Rhaenyra's children could pose to her own.

There's no way that any children are fully capable of understanding the seriousness of the situation at this point, but Aemond having to confront the fact that he has been horribly mutilated, that literally no one besides his mother seems to even be concerned about his injury, and that there is the potential that he'll be hurt even further for mentioning Jace and Luke's illegitimacy, is an enormous reality check about his standing with everyone in that room. He might be the king's son, but no one besides Alicent is even acting as if something bad or unfair has happened to him, and there is a clear implication that he might actually be punished for what he said while no one is seemingly going to be punished for cutting his eye out.

Throwing Aegon under the bus was lowkey hilarious and more than deserved after all of Aegon's terrible behavior, but it's interesting to see Aegon and Aemond both wordlessly rally to protect their mom. Of course there is likely an element of them both caring for her and not wanting to get her into trouble, but I can't imagine that it it evaded their notice that in a room full of the most powerful adults in Westeros, Alicent was literally the only person advocating for them at all. And once again, that must have been a brutal reality check for both of them, and is likely a contributing factor as to why they covered for her.

It was incredibly inappropriate for Alicent to stoke any fears about Jace and Luke for her own children, and all of the parents suck for putting their kids in this position. But this is also the first time that Alicent's children probably realize that their mother was not only telling them the truth, but that the danger that their in as a result of it was very serious. From the beginning it seems as if Aegon liked the Strong boys better than he ever liked Aemond, and yet he follows suit with his younger brother, probably because he very abruptly realized if any of the people with power in this situation have to choose, they will protect Jace and Luke at his expense.

It's actually fascinating to see how quickly things turn around for all of Alicent's children. The scene literally begins with Jace, Luke, and Aemond squabbling like children would despite the severity of the situation, and by the end, Aemond is the one comforting his mother because he has come to the realization that if the situation isn't ameliorated, then his mother and his siblings are likely the ones who are going to suffer for it. They have all been very abruptly thrust into the realities of adulthood because they're being forced to recognize that being their father's least favorite kids can have real and dangerous consequences for them.

And what's actually interesting is that despite being in denial for more than half of her life at this point, Alicent probably snaps because she realizes the same thing. She realizes that her father was always right and that if she has any hopes for herself or her children having any kind of livable life, she is the one who is going to have to fight for it. She can't rely on anyone else's charity or expect that being an obedient lady, wife, queen, or mother is going to yield the results that the world always told her it should.

Clearly, lashing out at Luke and demanding an eye in return is insane, but lashing out at Rhaenyra and Viserys was a near inevitability. All Alicent really needed was exactly what she got, which was an object lesson in the reality that Viserys and Rhaenyra do not care about the welfare of her children and will throw them under the bus to save themselves or those that they do care about. Rhaenyra literally looked at the ripped-open face of her ten year old brother and demanded that he be tortured for information to find out where he heard that the Strong boys were bastards, as if he didn't have two whole ass eyeballs thirty minutes ago and just figured it out himself.

And what's worse, is Viserys went along with it. Viserys is undeniably a pushover, but as soon as Rhaenyra points out that Aemond was mutilated because he called her sons bastards, Viserys literally looked into Aemond's remaining eye and asked him where he heard this rumor before asking if his now-disabled son was even okay.

It's not as if his favoritism towards Rhaenyra is news to any of Alicent's children, but the level of deadbeat dadding here is truly beyond comprehension. And to add insult to literal injury, when Aegon points out the obvious, Viserys simply says that everyone needs to apologize to each other and if anyone speaks of Jace and Luke's bastardy again they'll be losing their tongues too.

Alicent likely wanted to believe that at the very least Rhaenyra likely wouldn't harm her own family, but her reaction to Aemond pretty clearly demonstrated that this wasn't the case. And that, along with the complete inaction of everyone around them, likely illustrated to Alicent that the price of Rhaenyra taking the throne was not something she was willing to pay, and if she was going to fight for her own children then she was going to have to do it herself.

There are dozens of contributing factors and people stoking the flames of this conflict, but Alicent's total freak out was the culmination of everything she has tried to ignore and has pretended wasn't real exploding into her reality all at once. Being the wife of the king isn't going to protect her. Having the children of the king isn't going to protect them. And regardless of whatever love once existed between them, she can't bet the lives of herself and her children on Rhaenyra's kindness, because if Rhaenyra has to choose between Alicent's family and herself or her own children, she will throw them under the bus to save herself.

The war is about far more than just Alicent and Rhaenyra, but this moment is likely the incident that made war an inevitability in Alicent's mind. Alicent has clearly been preparing herself for war for a very long time now, but it seems like Aemond's mutilation was the moment that Alicent decided that she had no other options outside of going to war. The Dance of the Dragons was begun by literal squabbling children, and Aemond's lost eye was the point of no return for Alicent.

[wandering-scavenger]

I think in contrast to Show Daenerys, I feel House of Dragons is portraying Rhaenyra as deeply flawed person. I am for it, she actually does get nuance and but at sametime you see where she is leading towards her own downfall both morally and literally.

Hello anon!

I do agree with you to an extent. However, I think it is mostly that Rhaenyra's opponents are given more nuance which allows us to understand that she herself is flawed.

Game of Thrones did portray Daenerys as a flawed person, as early as season 2 we see how her answer to opposition was almost always violence (i.e. threatening the Lords of Qarth that she'd come back to burn them all if they didn't allow her and the Dothrakis to enter) and that she makes promises based on her dreams rather than reality (i.e. asking for their ships to retake Westeros without offering a concrete reward in return for Qarth and having no solid evidence that Westeros was waiting for her return). The thing was, much of Daenerys' journey pit her against characters that the audience didn't care about or even know enough about to be invested in. If I recall, this was a deliberate choice on GRRM's part because of the eventual intention of pitting her against other asoiaf main characters. Because she was pit against slavers, rapers and other supposed men who only wanted for power and riches, she always seemed like the underdog to root for.

However, they even made it explicitly clear in Season 5 that she had issues with her Targaryen exceptionalism and deluded sense of having a moral high ground. This was seen when she was in the fighting pits with Hizdahr debating over the savagery of having men fight to the death for entertainment. Eventually, they come to this exchange:

Daenerys - One day your great city will return to the dirt as well.

Hizdahr - At your command?

Daenerys - If need be.

Hizdahr - And how many people will die to make this happen?

Daenerys - If it comes to that, they will have died for a good reason.

Hizdahr - Those men (the fighters) think they are dying for a good reason.

Daenerys - Someone else's reason.

Hizdahr - So your reasons are true and theirs (the fighters) are false? They don't know they own minds, but you do?

D&D's issue is that once it got to seasons 7-8, they were so invested in the "shock value" of Daenerys burning KL that it came at the cost of actually taking the time to have other characters besides Sansa Stark speak against Daenerys' actions from the start. Even worse, much of the heroes' POVs were always in relation to Daenerys without giving enough emphasis to their personal thoughts and motivations (*cough*jon*cough*), which then painted anyone who opposed her as automatically in the wrong (at least until she burned KL). But the truth is that Daenerys was a deeply flawed person relatively from the start. It was only when she was pit against the Starks that some people actually noticed those flaws and thought "hmm, maybe this isn't okay?" Emphasis on *some* because we still have a massive number of people who think she was done dirty lol.

Rhaenyra is more clearly viewed as a flawed person because the hotd showrunners took care to give nuance and explore the fears and motivations of characters like Alicent and Criston, which I am all for. There's still a ton of people who think she's precious and can do no wrong, who are likely the same people who view her as a proxy for their Daenerys hang up hahaha.

I really thank Condal and Sapochnik for having more respect and care for the hotd characters than D&D ever did for the asoiaf characters.

I can't wait to see how everything continues to unfold. While I sympathize with Alicent and her motivations more, I definitely enjoy Rhaenyra and sympathize with her as well.

[spacerockfloater]

Cersei Lannister & Rhaenyra Targaryen:

Are forced to marry someone they don’t love, so they find solace in the arms of a family member and commit incest

Seduce members of the Royal Guard

Have their husbands murdered because they didn’t like them

Have three bastard kids

Commit atrocities to claim the Iron Throne

Betray their allies when they feel threatened

Rule with fire and blood

Live in constant paranoia so they murder innocent servants whom they believe will betray them, even if said betrayal would be a direct consequence of the way they treat their subjects

Are hated by the people

and lets us not forget the -

But no, please go ahead and tell me all about how Rhaenyra is this feminist icon who has the divine right to rule over hundreds of thousands of people because her daddy said so, therefore if I don’t support her I’m a misogynist.

[thesunfyre4446]

"but rhaenyra's line survived !!!!! she won!!!!!"

i don't.... care.

no fr, who gives a shit? if y'all think that rhaenyra's deeply traumatized son inheriting the throne as Aegon iii (meaning : there was an aegon ii), having a miserable life and dying in his 30's is this great big win for the blacks... then ok, they won i guess. rhaenyra & daemon died. most of rhaenyra's children died. the entire green bloodline died (and no, it's really not the win y'all think it is. it's sad and tragic). all of aegon ii young innocent children died. almost all of the targs dragons were killed, and the dynasty never recovered. yes, f&b is about misogyny, but it's also about the pointlessness of war. it's about a family with too much power that can't help but destroy each other - they literally have a dragon named cannibal who feeds off other dragons and can't be tamed - AND Y'ALL STILL DON'T GET IT???? like come on, it's not even subtle. this idea that a war can be honorable or rightful goes against the entire point of asoiaf. and the thing is, the targs literally go on to have another bloody succession war a couple of decades later because that's who they are!!! there is no lesson to be learned. there is no happy ending.

[alicentsgf]

the reason i find it impossible to sympathise with rhaenyra's cause, her version of 'creating a new order' is that... theres no evidence she actually would. nothing in her actions to suggest she cares about ordinary women. shes not exactly alysanne reborn, she never once talks to an ordinary woman, let alone acknowledges ordinary people in general as deserving of her consideration. when shes younger she openly says she doesnt care what the smallfolk think or want. and, f&b spoilers: its what her ultimate downfall hinges on.

so no. no part of me believes rhaenyra would have necessarily changed the world in any kind of meaningful way. perhaps she could have evolved over time, she had the potential for it with the right influences i think, so who knows, but given whats established about her characterisation its not unfair for anyone to suggest she never would have changed other womens lives for the better despite transcending the limitations of her gender personally. so how is it anti-feminist to sympathise with alicents perspective? even if it were relevant, alicent had no reason to believe rhaenyra sitting the throne would mean any kind of legitimate progress, and she certainly doesnt oppose rhaenyra on the basis of her being a woman, she just understands how rhaenyras gender interacts with the poltical landscape of westeros. this is not ideological for alicent, its about survival. which is in stark contrast to rhaenyra whose original goal is just personal liberation.

hotd does position rhaenyra as the feminist choice with little visual things like her bringing baela and rhaena to the table, which might have been deliberate so they can later subvert that assumption or point out her hypocrisy later idk, but either way it just doesnt track with rhaenyra's wider actions or professions. yes the liberation she desires is a feminist goal but she primarily only cares about achieving it for herself. shes not daenerys. shes not an idealist. she doesnt plan to change the world from the ground up. and that isnt a crime, but its also not feminist its just personal ambition.

i know most fantasy stories that centre on a war lean toward portraying a clear dichotomy of good and evil with easy real world comparisons, but this doesnt. this is just not a story about ideology at all so assigning real world ideologies to fan factions or characters is so reductive. it immediately kills any kind of nuanced discussion.

[kataraavatara]

i’ll never forgive the hotd writers for benching laena in order to make rhaenyra look bad. RHAENYRA & LAENA made the Jace/Baela and Luke/Rhaena betrothals, not Rhaenys. Rhaenys was never involved. But instead we get Rhaenyra making this desperate last attempt to secure Rhaenys’s support at the when Luke’s inheritance is about to be taken away. No, Laena went to her grave with the expectation that her daughters would be Queen Consort of the Seven Kingdoms and Lady of Driftmark because of the matchmaking she did. Not Daemon. Not Rhaenys. Her.

[mejcinta]

The more script leaks and news of cut scenes we get, the sicker I become. Because what do you mean such weighty scenes delving deeper into characters and their relationships with each other were removed? Scenes that would make all of us more invested in these characters and their relationships??? Alicent voicing her clear powerlessness against her forced marriage to Viserys, Rhaenyra being willing to wield her power to save her (while cruelly but also understandably doubting Alicent's virtue in the matter with Viserys)? Rhaenyra and Alicent reaching a sorrowful resignation to their fate while preparing for the wedding? Harwin rowdily and tactlessly defending Larys from a bully while Larys begrudges him for drawing attention, showing the latter's desire to not be perceived and to maintain an agreeable public/political presence? Baela convincing Rhaenys to join Rhaenyra in the war, appealing to what Laena would have done and who she was? Are you fucking kidding me???? Why did the producers cut these meaty informative scenes and keep some rather empty, indulgent and unnecessary ones like the Larys foot scene??? What happened to insightful storytelling???

[very-straight-blog]

I swear I love how insane the ratio of the ages of the actors and the ages of the characters in this series is. For example, we have the third episode, where Rhaenyra is 17 and Aegon is 2 - everything is fine, they look like they should. And now let's look at the eighth episode, where another timeskip takes place and BOOM - everyone starts to look the same age, because Tom Glynn-Carney was 26 back then, Ewan Mitchell was 24, Olivia Cooke was 28, and Emma D'arcy were 29. And it's hilarious that almost all the characters literally turned into different people in ten episodes, but Daemon Targaryen, played by Matt Smith, has not aged a day. Chaotic.