#mystery skulls animated spoilers

[zecoritheweirdone]

wanna preface this by saying that i am. So normal. anyway i just spent the last week redrawing scenes from mystery skulls animated but as that hermitcraft au i posted about a couple times. you guys should watch msa it is. so so good.

[deadguydeathmatch]

Dead Guy Death Match Round 2: Poll 15

[nebulous-rain]

happy new year! :]

[lewvithur]

so i've been watching dead end paranormal park season 2 (it's out now, go watch it) and after watching episode 2 i thought "fuck it let's design evil arthur and vivi doppelgangers"

but are they evil really? maybe they just represent the worst traits of their respective counterparts. impulsive, obsessive vivi who doesn't stop to think at the risk of hurting others around her. selfish, cowardly arthur who wants too much and is susceptible to forces that will corrupt him.

does this make sense i don't think so go watch dead end paranormal park season 2

bonus:

the culprit!

[heilos]

Hey ya'll, time for the Mystery Skulls Animated September update! For this month's update, we have some background layouts from one of our lovely freelancer artists Alldrawnup! The Kingsmen Mechanics location is getting plenty more love in this video, but we have some fun unique backgrounds we can't show right now since they go way too much into spoiler territory. Secondly, we were asked about some color references and realized we never put out Alive Lewis or Kitsune Mystery's turnaround reference sheets. So we're rectifying that now. So sorry it took so long to make these public!

Full patreon update: CLICK HERE

[wily-art]

hello!! no need to answer if it's a spoiler but is sans ignoring that his big skelly dino thingy (im still catching up on undertale lore) has a mind of its own or is he like. in denial abt it or something? he just gets rid of it so fast and papyrus doesn't...

Pap and Sans have different perspectives when it comes to these floating demon animal skull things. Sans calls his it because it's just his magic right? And Pap literally has his as a lap cat at the moment. Also one of the mysteries is.. uh. Well they shouldn't have minds of their owns but they do sure seem kinda cognizant don't they to a degree. That sure is weird. These things definitely weren't in the past. Weird huh?

[superkitty4789]

I wanna start doing lists/rankings. I doubt anyone will wanna see them, but it's for me, so that's fine.

If anyone does wanna see. Some might have spoilers (like this one), so look out for that.

Anywhoo...

MY TOP 10 FAVORITE STRAWHATS

10 Sanji. I don't hate Sanji per se, as whenever he's not being weird around women, I actually like him. The problem is when he's around women. I don't like it. Stop it. Stahp. That being said at least he's cool when he's not around women and his genuine relationships with his crew and Zeff make me happy. I love his rivalry with Zoro

9. Usopp. Oh boy. I HATED him as a kid. I'm still not the biggest fan of him now, either. But he's... fine, and at least he gets better as the show progresses. He does get braver and less cowardly. But I still hate how much of a wuss and braggart he is. Also... his luck annoys me at times, but at least it comes in handy

8. Chopper. He was once one of my favorite straw hats, but as I got older, his naivity and gullibility started irking me. His "We need a doctor " joke was never funny to me either. He's still AWESOME. Don't get me wrong, all the straw hats are. I know my complaints about Usopp and Sanji may make anyone think i think otherwise, but i do geniounly like all the straw hats as characters. But those irks about Chopper are why he's so low. That being said, he's still a great character, and I love how compassionate he is about being a doctor. He's also adorable. I want to hug him.

7. Luffy. He's awesome! I just like the others more, sorry Luffy...I truly hate to put you this low. He's everything I love in an anime protagonist. Stubborn, brave, determined to protect those he loves. He can be smart when he needs to be and is so dang cool. Luffy is one of the best anime protagonists of all time, and I can't wait for him to be king.

6. Zoro. I love that he's not just a badass. He's also kinda dumb, and it makes him more endearing. But he's also still badass and super loyal. Amazing character, feck yeah. His directions gag is pretty funny, too. I also love the idea of three sword styles, and he actually makes it super cool.

5. Franky. Reverse chopper, he used to be one of my least favorites. But my God is he so FUNNY. He is easily the funniest character, in my opinion. He's also super epic, and I love his take on masculinity and how sensitive he is. I will say, tho...not a big fan of his redesign. I also love that he refuses to wear pants. Overall, great character.

4. Nami. She is so awesome. From day one, she was epic and I love that for the most part, she isn't a Damsel in distress. Her take on Fishmen despite what happened to her makes me respect the hell out of her. She's so strong and brave and even kind. She may be greedy, but it makes a lot of sense. Easily one of the best characters.

3. Brook. Look...I may not like his panty thing, but at least it's over fast and isn't as cringy as Sanji's thing. That being said... I admit I'm biased. I tend to like skeleton characters because I think they're cool. And well...Brook is no exception. He's a gentleman, a musician, and has skull jokes! There's so much to like about him!

2. Robin. She's my 2nd favorite character in the whole show. She's so intelligent and mysterious and super freaking cool! I love how she slowly starts to trust the straw hats and build bonds with them. Her character arc is my favorite in the entire show. I cannot stress how much I ADORE her. Amazing character. I will fight anyone on this.

1. Jinbe. Best character in the show, but it's close between him and Robin. Again,... some bias, as I think he's attractive. But I genuinely like him as a character, too. Fishmen are my favorite species in one piece, and I tend to like tackles of racism in media as a species. I liked this about the faunus in RWBY, too. Jinbe is a badass. He's funny and oh so huggable. Oh, and I love how he acts like a gentleman. So polite and well spoken. He's just...so damn cool, too. Love him. I love him so much

TIER LIST TIME

C Tier, lowest to highest: Sanji, Usopp, Chopper

B Tier: Luffy, Zoro, Franky

A Tier: Nami, Brook

S Tier: Robin, Jinbe

[answrs]

This Is A “Give Arthur Kingsmen A Hecking Nap” Propaganda Post

for the @sleepsmackdown​ poll (link here)

spoilers for Mystery Skulls Animated (which is about 18 minutes long in total over 4 animated music videos (with a 5th coming out very soon!) - please watch it and join us in blorbo hell our small but lovely msa fandom)

let me tell you about Arthur Kingsmen. You may know him as “that twink the sexy skeleton guy was chasing back in 2016″. why was this ghost chasing him? Well!

A group of friends and their dog go to investigate a creepy cave. They split up, Lewis (tall, purple, and fluffy) and Arthur (orange beanpole extraordinaire) go to the left fork and wind up at the top of a cliff over a sea of sharp stalagmites.

Then Arthur gets posessed by a demon, who uses his arm to shove his best friend to his death-by-impalement as he visibly fights it for control. Then whoops! Turns out that dog I mentioned, that little terrier looking pup? He’s actually another demon/yokai that transforms and violently RIPS HIS FUCKIN ARM OFF.

Now because of trauma, Arthur cannot remember this, though he experiences severe PTSD whenever he sees Mystery (who is once again hiding as their pet dog). He doesn’t understand *why* though, and is pushing himself to interact normally with said not-really-a-dog

(notice the subconscious gripping of his prosthetic whenever he’s triggered by the sight of said pup for added fun :))

I mentioned Arthur didn’t remember the scene in the cave? Well he ALSO DOESN’T EVEN REALIZE HIS BEST FRIEND IS DEAD. He’s on a futile search for a man he thinks is missing and even worse? His other best friend, Vivi (the girl in blue) physically cannot remember anything about Lewis existing.

Anyway, Lewis, the guy that died? Didn’t realize Arthur was possessed and thinks Arthur murdered him. So he’s out for revenge on a man working himself to the bone trying to find a friend he doesn’t know is even dead. This includes building a murder mansion to chase him through, and when that doesn’t work, stealing a semi-truck and running their van off a cliff and face-first into a brick wall. Then he grabs him from the wreckage and throws him off the same cliff he himself was killed on.

THIS IS LITERALLY THE MOMENT HE REALIZES HIS FRIEND IS ACTUALLY D E A D.

so he gets thrown off the cliff as Lewis’ twisted form of karmic revenge

and only survives because a shotgun blast shorts out the ghost magic moments before impact

and oh yeah, remember that demon that caused all this mess in the first place? It’s been hopping around in Arthur’s severed arm the whole time. And guess what it finds as its next host?

MURDER MC FUCKING MYSTERY

so YEAH I THINK HE NEEDS A FUCKING NAP

in summary, tags courtesy of @nemesis-is-my-middle-name​:

#P L E A S E VOTE FOR MY MAN ARTHUR SLEEPIEST IN EXISTENCE #no amount of being a gifted kid or whatever assclassboy has going on is gonna compare to arties insane bullshit #HE LIVES IN A VAN WITH THE DIRECT SOURCE OF LIKE 50% OF HIS TRAUMA #even if he DID think about sleeping for more than five minutes it wouldnt take

[purpleandyellowshowdown]

BRACKET!

and after tallying a grand total of 140 votes, here is your season 2 bracket! first, the rules!

this is a duo poll, not a deathmatch. be civil in the comments, light ribbing is fine but don't send people death threats or whatever over this.

if u make propaganda/fanart for this, please either @ me directly or tag it with #purple yellow showdown so i can see and reblog it!

no botting please! old-fashioned voter fraud and propaganda is fine, but i draw the line at botting. in cases of obvious cheating, i reserve the right to hold a rematch!

the polls will drop this april, but i can't say precisely when because i'll have to search for screenshots and make all the images + set up the polls. now then, say hello to your participants, with a matchup list below the cut!

SIDE A

the daycare attendants from five nights at freddy's vs. twilight sparkle and fluttershy from my little pony!

lord garmadon and sensei wu from lego ninjago vs. macaque and sun wukong from lego monkie kid!

zeus and hera from lore olympus vs. derse and prospit from homestuck!

kamui gakupo and akita neru from the vocaloid derivatives vs. the spearmaster and seven red suns from rain world!

peri and callum from neverhome: hall of apathy vs. a purple pencil and a yellow pencil from real life!

dr. moira o'deorain and dr. angela ziegler from overwatch vs. signal and spoiler from dc comics!

raspberry torte and lemon meringue from strawberry shortcake vs. adventurer cookie and blackberry cookie from cookie run!

anxiety and deceit from sander's sides vs. fear and joy from inside out!

SIDE B

waluigi and wario from the mario franchise vs. laa laa and tinky winky fron teletubbies!

vidia and iridessa from pixie hollow vs. tecna and stella from winx club!

share bear and funshine bear from the carebears vs. eeyore and winnie the pooh from winnie the pooh!

neku sakuraba and daisukenojo "beat" bito from the world ends with you vs. blake belladonna and yang xiao long from rwby!

mishou mai/cure windy and hyuuga saki/cure bright from the pretty cure franchise vs. rui kamishiro and tsukasa tenma from project sekai!

espio the chameleon and charmy bee from sonic the hedgehog vs. donatello and april o'neil from rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles!

espeon and umbreon from pokemon vs. spyro and sparx from spyro!

lewis pepper and arthur kingsmen from mystery skulls animated vs. stocking anarchy and panty anarchy from panty and stocking with garterbelt!

[stupid-sloot-headcanons]

Random question but do you have a fav anime/manga art style? Or a least fav?

Keep in mind idk art terms (I only recently got into sketching and watercolor and idk WHAT the fuck I'm doing lol)

So I really love the shading in older stuff like Cowboy Bebop and that era of anime. I can't describe it but the muted color palette and way backgrounds were done back then especially make my eyes happy.

Also speaking of more muted subtle color palettes, I like Naoki Urasawa's art style and I love the anime adaptation of Monster. I also like Pluto but the fire effects look so fucking stupid, I get the effects are meant to clash with the 2D style but I hate it so much, it looks like someone making a YTP and using Adobe Premiere for the first time and it almost ruined the anime for me. All the tension in a scene crumbles when I see those stupid CG effects. But Monster is so pretty to me. I also appreciate Urasawa giving his women actual noses and like. Personalities. Eva Heinemann is one of my favorite female characters in anything, and it helps that she's a bitchy trainwreck who flips the gender dynamics of mysteries by giving HER *SPOILERS* a murdered significant other that fuels HER story as opposed to a women fueling a male character's manpain.

I like the weird wonky art style of Mob Psycho 100 and Chainsaw man, where the wonkiness kind of works to its advantage and can convey expressions just by being drawn Like That. It isn't bad but there's something about the weird expressions in CSM especially that kill me when something funny is happening.

Mob Psycho's anime and the first season of OPM are beautifully animated and MP100 perfectly adapts the original manga style. It keeps the spirit of the original panels but also adds so much stylization and all of the action sequences are gorgeous.

I also like the weird/wonky style of FKMT'S comics like Kaiji and Middle Manager Tonegawa, and the anime adaptations are also examples of great adaptation imo.

Sometimes I'm annoyed by the dehydrated look that JJBA has in the later parts, especially around the arms, but Araki's colored panels are so gorgeous to me. My favorite parts are 4 and 6 and I'm not in love with the manga style he had for faces in Part 4, but the anime looks perfect to me. Look at this boy. His face is perfect.

And yes this includes the piss-yellow sky because I like the color palette of the DiU anime a LOT. Since a lot of animators work on the Jojo anime, characters can look really different between episodes and even between scenes, but I love the way Jolyne looks in almost all of Part 6 when she has a fuller face. And the color palette of Stone Ocean's anime took a bit for me to get used to since the colored manga has a vastly different shade of green for her, but I really like Yellow-green Jolyne and how she stands out while complementing FF and Hermes's green shades.

You can tell by this list so far that I usually like wacky bullshit and artists that just do whatever they want. As far as pure lovemaking for the eyes, I adore shit like Mononoke where texture is king and every shot is pure ecstasy.

I also love Berserk's art style and I'm lowkey amazed Miura's assistants are able to replicate it so well considering his insane attention to detail. Even when displaying grotesque and sometimes misogynistic horrors, every spread of this series is a masterpiece. I also can't believe that he was able to give a skullfaced character so much emotion and expression (subtle, but still there) despite the fact that because he is a fucking skeleton, Skull-King's face can't actually change. This page makes me choke up just looking at it. I choked up while searching for it on Google for fucks sake

Speaking of skeleton characters I love, I like the flatter look of Skull-Faced Bookseller Honda-san, one of my favorite manga of all time! The way the mangaka personifies all his employees is just so cute looking to me, and I love the color palette of the covers and the anime.

And while I give Ohba's writing a metric ton of shit, Obata's art is so pretty. When I think of the trinity of "Mangaka who draw peak fashion", it's Araki, Obata, and Tite Kubo. If I was not a suburban white woman, I would say that they give their characters tons of drip.

[deadguydeathmatch]

Dead Guy Death Match Round 1: Poll 29

[romancemedia]

Review on Skull Island

Today Netflix released a brand new animated series focusing on a group of people who become stranded on Skull Island and now must fight to survive.

Warning this will contain spoilers!

I like most of the characters, except for Annie. She is probably one of the most annoying and selfish characters I’ve ever seen. I know she has been through a lot after being stranded on her island with her only companion being a giant dog, but she is just a terrible person nonetheless. The only characters I truly like are Charlie, Irene, Sam, Cap and Mike.

Charlie is tired of living his dad’s life at sea and wishes to go to collage for a real life for himself. He also develops a crush on Annie. (I REALLY hope they DON’T get together. He can do SO Much Better)

Mike is Charlie’s best friend who was unintentionally responsible for leading the group to Skull Island in the first place when he and his father were secretly hired by Irene to locate the island. He is poisoned during the fight with the Krakken and is slowly dying.

Irene is Annie’s mother who has been searching for her after she and her father were lost at sea and hired the mercenaries to find Annie and bring her back.

Sam is Irene’s friend who is a member of the group. He and Irene share a close relationship, having met each other in group therapy. (I suspect they have feelings for each other)

The comedy on the show wasn’t so bad, but there was definitely too much talking and not enough fighting. 

I’m surprised by how little there was of Kong. He was hardly seen at all for most of the season, until he finally made his official debut towards the end and his backstory is pretty sad. Although Skull Island has plenty of monsters, the real big bad is the Krakken that has been terrorizing and sinking ships that get close and kill anyone who tries to leave or approach the island and... it’s Kong’s fault.

Years ago, Kong accidentally lured the Krakken to Skull Island when he was getting water to heal his wounds after getting into a reckless fight. The result, it killed all the human villagers living on the island, including Kong’s beloved friend and now the Krakken won’t leave until it has killed Kong.

The finale is very action pack and one of the better episodes, but it also ends on a HUGE cliffhanger!

Overall, I’d give the series a 6/10. I hope they do a better job when the series returns for season 2, probably next year since there are still plenty of mysteries that need solving and questions that need answers.

[roachleakage]

So. What's the deal with Malroth's human form in Dragon Quest Builders 2?

AKA "but why does he look like that?" (Spoilers ahead for Dragon Quest Builders 2 and Demon Lord Dante.)

If you're a fan of Dragon Quest Builders 2, or otherwise know a little bit about its lore and cast, you probably know what Malroth looks like in his human form. And if you also know what he looks like in his original, monster form, you might be kind of puzzled by the design they chose to give him. If you're not - well, first of all, fair, but here's a quick comparison image to show you what I mean:

It's not that Malroth's human form is a bad design or anything, and it does have a few neat callbacks to his monster form - most notably, the color scheme, and his bone necklace in place of the original giant skull necklace. But apart from those admittedly minor details? The two really look nothing alike. Original Flavor Malroth looks like Ray Harryhausen's Kraken with extra features and a different face, while Human Malroth looks like nothing so much as the average Japanese concept of a demon, with his oddest features being pointy ears, a pair of hair antennae stylized to look like horns, and red eyes that his original form notably does not share.

If I didn't know these two guys were the same character, I never would have guessed. Your average white twink Tumblr humanization has more in common with the source material than this guy does. And that had been bugging me for a while - again, not because it's bad, but because why? What was going on in the character designer's mind that led to these choices, in particular? It was a mystery I had no idea how to solve.

Luckily, that's no longer an issue. Due to a turn of events that involved the original Devilman manga being misfiled as yaoi on a manga site, I am pretty sure I know exactly what is going on with Malroth's design, and am prepared to explain it with attached evidence. But in order to do that, we're going to have to hop in this little time machine and go all the way back to the far-flung past of 1971.

Part 1: Nagai Go and Demon Lord Dante

For those who are unfamiliar, Nagai Go is the artist and illustrator behind the original Devilman manga. If you know what that is, great, but if not, it doesn't particularly matter - we're not here for Devilman. We're actually here for its predecessor, the equally weird (and unfortunately incomplete) Demon Lord Dante, also known as Mao (or Maou) Dante.

The premise of Demon Lord Dante is similar to that of Devilman - an ordinary human fuses with a demon, gaining supernatural powers and the ability to transform into a demonic form, while retaining his human consciousness and morality. Unlike Devilman, however, who mostly looks like a funky dude or perhaps a Batman-themed stripper, Dante - as Ryo's demon form is known - is a building-sized amalgamation of man, bat, and beast. And, pertinently to this topic, his face looks like this:

If you haven't already noticed the resemblance, go up and take a look at that picture of Malroth again, then scroll on back here. Yes, they have the exact same face, and if you were wondering if that's a coincidence - not remotely. Toriyama Akira's monster designs for Dragon Quest, particularly in the 'demon lord' character category, draw a lot from Nagai Go's artwork - you can see a lot of the details he likes to use for his demon lords in the original Devilman manga, for instance.

Now, while this tells us a little bit about where Malroth originally came from, it's still just setup for the main event. And for that, we'll have to jump ahead to 2002, where the tragically cancelled (and honestly kind of dodgy) manga finally got the adaptation that it, and its main character, deserved.

The anime of Demon Lord Dante starts off basically the same as the manga (albeit with far fewer plothole-inducing timeskips). The protagonist, Ryo, keeps having dreams where he sees (and sometimes is) the demon Dante, escalating in him finding the demon in question, setting him free from his frosty prison in the Himalayas, and immediately getting vored. Next thing he knows, he's been summoned back to Japan by the Satanic cult who's been trying to bring Dante back for ages, only now he's taken over Dante's body and is himself a monstrous hairy colossus. He goes on a confused rampage, and then I run out of manga so I can't really tell you what originally happened next.

In the show, though, another demon explains what's happened to him, and he eventually figures out how to use Dante's powers to regain human form and return to his home. This kicks off a storyline in which he tries very hard not to be a demon, because Angst Angst Angst, while fending off multiple demons whose voices he keeps hearing in his head insisting that he is totally the really real Dante, he just needs to "regain his memories" to supercede the personality of Ryo and get back on track with the whole monstrous rampage thing.

Hopefully this is all starting to sound familiar.

Now, there are pretty big differences between the plots of Dragon Quest Builders 2 and Demon Lord Dante. I won't go into them, because they're pretty major spoilers and aren't really relevant to this topic, but it definitely isn't 1:1. However, there are also some striking similarities, what with the exploration of who is really good or evil, themes of religious violence and exploitation, and so forth. There is also a very cute plane in one episode, which I have to show you not because it's cute, but because... well. See for yourself:

It's not exactly the Buggy Buggy, but it is an adorable animal-shaped flying vehicle, armed to the teeth and ready to fight G*d. I'm not kidding, that's what they use it for. Hopefully they don't keep pushing the wrong button and accidentally shooting beams when they meant to descend.

Anyway, I've been building to a point here, and it's finally time to bring it all together. Because while Ryo spends a little bit of time in his gigantic monster form, and a lot more looking like a normal human, there are points in the show where he needs to demon out without turning into an entire skyscraper, and when that happens, he looks like, well This.

Beefy pecs, pointy ears, fluffy hair, and of course, horns.

It's not exactly Human Malroth, of course. The most obvious difference is that, well, this guy isn't terribly human-looking - he's got wings, furry beast legs, and other assorted features. He also isn't as tan as this screenshot would seem to imply; his skin simply looks darker because, like most of the scenes this form appears in, the ambient light levels are pretty poor. (This particular shot was taken at night.)

But it is a lot closer. Like, weirdly closer. Check out the curve of the horns, which is mirrored in Human Malroth's hair antennae despite appearing nowhere on OG Malroth himself. And while this screenshot doesn't show it very well, his eyes in this form are red, like Human Malroth's.

So... yeah. I won't say there's no possibility of my being wrong, because it's impossible to know 100% of what goes into a game's creative decisions, but it looks like Dragon Quest Builders 2 drew a good chunk of inspiration from Demon Lord Dante - including the design for Malroth's human form.

[toaster-boi]

finally getting around to that frame-by-frame analysis i wanted to do!

link to part 2

link to part 3

!!! SPOILERS AHEAD (and also gore) !!! (but you probs knew that)

"peer reviewed evidence warning" lmao

girl your aura is ghoulish and haunting. i dig it.

big fan of this trope whatever it's called

wick-based headlamp, certified JCJenson Employee Equipment Moment™

yeah, he could probably tell something was up and didn't want Yeva in the line of fire.

hologram distortion.

ah. our first on-screen human dismemberment that isn't discolored.

Welcome to Mystery Flesh Pit National Park

it's hard to make out but that appears to be Ridley's skull

lot to take in here. anime figurine. pattern-dipped ninja star. catgirl humansona drawing. iPod.

early sketch?

damn girl do you take commissions???

and we got blood right out the gate

[ ctrl + b ]

in all seriousness, though...he just lost one of the two people he could genuinely consider a friend. V was finally "on his side" and she just...died, just like that, as far as he knows. his reaction makes perfect sense, he's had so much emotion pent up all this time.

and there's his reminder that he has to be careful if he doesn't want to lose everything else. (and also blood)

yep, that's reaction image material.

and there's the angst

god he's such a dork

they're both such dorks

Murder Drones, the only show where the robot gore looks more painful than the human gore.

ah, the ol' hologram corpse puppet. classic.

reasonable reaction to seeing the definitely dead version of your presumably dead friend in a mysterious mineshaft

"RSCH012 - 'CABIN FEVER'"

"OT IS OPTIONAL! <3"

"UNRELATED: THE SINGULARITY IS ACTIVELY CONSUMING EVERYTHING YOU HOLD DEAR!!1"

"Due to lack of progress in units (sans 048), Team 06 (Ridley), is tasked with reattempting 002's recovery VIA failsafe USB (606b). THE EXPECTED COMPLETION DATE IS: SER 27th, 11:59pm"

the month is probably related to the calendar in Cabin Fever (Ep4) that had "serramoris" as the listed month.

"don't all die and almost let it out again lol we're pretty mad but mostly scared about that"

ah, there's the shot from the trailer.

is that Tessa's dad('s corpse)?

(end part 1)

[where-theres-smoak-2]

HOTD Ep 5 Review/Analysis (Spoilers)

This was an interesting episode for sure, there was alot going on especially in the second half, Westerosi weddings, they are never a dull affair that’s for sure. I will say that there were some writing choices that were made in the episode that I wasn’t that sure on, for me they just didn’t work very well. None the less I still really enjoyed the episode. So without further ado lets get into the nitty gritty of the episode. As always there is a spoiler warning. 

Rhea Royce

I have to say that for the short time that she was on our screens I loved Rhea. She was a sassy, independent woman who wasn’t about to take any of Daemon’s crap. However her death was one of those things that I wasn’t sure really worked. I just wish they had gone one way or the other, either had it be an accident where she fell from her horse and died or Daemon murdered her in a premeditated attack. Instead it was this weird sort of in between where it was sort of both, she had an accident but was also murdered. I also think I may need to stop watching the inside the episode clips because they are only leaving me more confused about the way the directors and writers are thinking. Like Ryan J. Condal said that when reading the book there was a line that caught his attention which was that Rhea when she fell from her horse her skull was crushed, he thought this was odd and out of context and therefore he believes Daemon must have gone to the Vale and killed his wife. But like if you fall from a horse, especially if it happens in the books like it does on the show with the horse falling on top of her, I feel like a crushed skull is an injury that would be consistent with that kind of accident. You know if an on average 900 pound animal falls on you that could definitely crush your skull I would think. Also falling from a horse onto rocky terrain again I could see causing a crushed skull, so to me its weird that the decision to have Daemon kill his wife was based on this considering its not odd at all that she got an injury like that falling from her horse. But hey maybe that’s just me I am far from a expert on horse riding and accidents caused by horse riding. 

I do understand that they were sticking with this whole Daemon is mysterious and you never really know what he is planning theme, usually I find it really interesting and love trying to figure it out but for some reason this time I just felt it was a bit overused as this point. It can be interesting to have a character like Daemon who is a bit of an enigma but sometimes I think I do like to just have a straight answer otherwise it can get frustrating. But again that could just be me. But I am going to try to decipher what Daemon was thinking and planning anyway. 

The obvious thought is that Daemon went to the Vale to just kill his wife. He wanted rid of her and so figured he’d just go do it himself. It was clear that Rhea herself believed he was there to kill her, you can see her piecing it together in her head and then she reaches for the bow and the horse is startled and rears. Daemon’s reputation is infamous enough that Rhea truly believes he would kill her without hesitation, which could be a fair assumption on her part. 

But then I do have some doubts about him going to the Vale with the purpose of killing her because of some of the things that happen in the scene. For one thing Daemon had no control over the horse rearing, that’s not something he could have planned or foreseen happening. Also when the horse rears you clearly see Daemon try to reach for the horse’s halter to pull the horse back down again, like he is trying to prevent her from falling. If he went there to kill her that action doesn’t make any sense. After the fall to me Daemon seemed to have a ‘well that’s annoying’ kind of attitude about him, like he was a bit irritated that his plan didn’t go his way. But then if he didn’t go there planning to kill her what other reason does he have to go to the Vale? We know that his goal is to marry Rhaenyra and he can’t do that whilst still wed to Rhea. Killing her would be one way of freeing himself of his marriage. But when rewatching the scene I did get a thought. In my opinion seeing as they are about to kill her off, what Rhea says to Daemon just before must be important information. It tells us a bit about their relationship and how the dislike goes both ways but the part that I think might be relevant in figuring out Daemon’s motivations is actually the fact that their marriage was never consummated. Now correct me if I am wrong but I am sure that in GOT Sansa was able to marry Ramsey despite being married to Tyrion because her first marriage was never consummated so Littlefinger got permission from the High Septon to have the marriage between Sansa and Tyrion dissolved leaving her free to marry again. Seeing as Littlefinger had essentially stolen Sansa from the Lannisters it is unlikely that he asked the King’s permission which suggests that you don’t actually need the monarch’s permission to have a marriage dissolved only the High Septon’s. I do wonder if Daemon actually went there hoping Rhea would confirm in writing that their marriage was never consummated so that he could take it to the High Septon behind his brother’s back and get an end to his marriage. Basically he was hoping she would agree to help him end their marriage. Rocking up and informing Viserys that he has had his marriage dissolved and would now like to marry Rhaenyra would be a very Daemon like thing to do in my opinion, I think he would see it as getting one over on Viserys. But then Rhea falls from her horse and Daemon just figures well this works just as well and kills her instead. 

Whatever his reasons were though that scene was still pretty messed up. It did seem like Daemon was just going to walk off and leave her to die a long, painful death left abandoned to the elements. When I first watched the scene I did think it seemed like Rhea wanted Daemon to kill her and that was why she was goading him, she was aware that she was paralysed from the neck down, it was possible she would have died anyway with her neck crushed. If she didn’t then she was facing the rest of her life bedridden having to rely on others to take care of her every need, when we know she enjoyed hunting and riding and seemed very independent. Maybe she knew goading Daemon would get her a quick death. In some ways Daemon himself might have seen it as some sick, twisted mercy killing. I do think Daemon definitely saw this as an advantage to be rid of her. Rhea deserved so much better. 

It does say alot about how Daemon views those outside of his family. Daemon truly believes that as Targaryens they are more akin to gods than to men. So Daemon cares very little about those outside of his family which is part of the reason why he shows so little compassion or care to Rhea in this moment. It’s not just because he doesn’t like her its because he sees her death the same way he would seeing an ant get squashed, as irrelevant. Why should a dragon care about an ant? Is very much his attitude to the whole thing. This scene most certainly showed the darker side of Daemon’s character.  

Alicent’s Metamorphosis.  

Alicent really does go through a metamorphosis this episode. She starts out as that same meek, naive girl but come the end she has had enough of being used as other’s pawn and is making moves herself. I do think it all starts with her father leaving. I hated that he blamed her for his dismissal saying that she caused it by choosing Rhaenyra. I do think in this scene seeds of doubt are placed by her father. When he talks about how Rhaenyra will put Alicent’s children to the sword because she’ll have no choice I think Alicent is still in denial but those seeds are there now and from them mistrust and paranoia will grow. 

More seeds are placed when Larys Strong comes to visit her in the God’s Wood. I am very curious to see what Larys’ motives are, he is clearly scheming but we don’t know to what end yet. I did think the metaphor about the non native flower flourishing was interesting. Obviously its supposed to be a metaphor for Alicent who feels very much like an outsider within the royal family. She has never really been comfortable in her role as Queen. Here Larys is telling her that even though it would seem like she shouldn’t be able to flourish it doesn’t mean she can’t. I think Larys knew exactly what he was doing telling Alicent about the moon tea under the guise of being concerned about the princess’ health. If he heard about the moon tea that it is likely that he heard about Daemon and Rhaenyra in the brothel too, he might even know about Criston. But again it puts that seed of doubt in Alicent’s mind. Why would Rhaenyra need the tea if she didn’t do anything and was still a maiden? This is what leads to her questioning Criston. I think Alicent was very shocked when Criston confessed. Obviously the conversation was a bit of a misunderstanding as Criston didn’t know about Daemon so believed Alicent was talking about him as she was also being very vague. Alicent has now realised that Rhaenyra not only messed around with her uncle in a brothel but then also slept with her King’s guard and was the instigator. I feel like Alicent must be thinking about what Viserys said at this moment about Rhaenyra not being innocent. Her anger sets in because she feels betrayed and like she has been lied to by Rhaenyra. It also doesn’t help that her father lost his position over all this and I think Alicent was coping with it by telling herself that the rumours were false and that Rhaenyra was innocent, now she is learning that her father was telling the truth and she may feel like Rhaenyra is responsible for Otto losing his job. I also think some of her anger is still based in that jealousy she feels that Alicent is trapped doing her duty whereas Rhaenyra is running around with two different guys and doesn’t seem to face any consequences for her actions. Another aspect is I feel that Alicent is a very religious person we know from episode 2 that she would often go to the sept to pray. She also seems to have alot of respect for the septon. Rhaenyra is going against the religious beliefs that Alicent lives by so I think this is also something Alicent is struggling to accept and I think she may even have a certain level of disgust towards Rhaenyra’s behaviour. I also think it is safe to say that she will never trust anything Rhaenyra says again. 

When it comes to Criston himself I do think Alicent has sympathy towards him because she’s sees herself in him. Like her she feels he has been used without a care. Alicent was used by her father to get his blood on the throne, she was use by the king to produce more heirs, I think she also feels a bit like she was used by Rhaenyra to get her father fired. She understands that the consequences for Criston are very different than the ones that Rhaenyra will face. I also think the fact that Criston was honest with her in a way that Rhaenyra was not went a long way to Alicent deciding not to punish Criston for breaking his oath. 

Another small moment that shows how Alicent is changing is the fact that after seeing the King collapse she doesn’t go to him, instead informing them that she was busy. This is a complete contrast to last episode where she was giving him a bath and helping tend to him and also going to him when she was beckoned late at night. This time she puts her foot down and decides for herself that she is not going to go. 

Her big moment though comes when she enters the feast in that glorious green dress. We learn that the beacons at Oldtown are lit green when they call their banners to war making the message here very clear, Alicent is declaring war. This woman is throwing down the gauntlet and manning the battlements, she is ready for a battle. What is also important about this scene is by arriving in the middle of the King’s speech she is taking a bit of his power away, instead of the attention being on the King it is all directed at her instead, she becomes the focus of the room. This is a big change for her because usually she tries not to draw attention to herself, here she is saying no I will be seen. 

It is also very interesting that she calls Rhaenyra step daughter and kisses Viserys on the cheek. The first rift between Alicent and Rhaenyra happened because Rhaenyra felt Alicent had betrayed and lied to her about marrying her father. Alicent then put alot of effort into trying to make amends with Rhaenyra and ultimately succeeded, through the whole rift Alicent stuck up for Rhaenyra and I think she now feels it was all a waste of time. By calling her step daughter and kissing Viserys she is bringing back up the cause of that past rift, this is meant to hurt Rhaenyra because Alicent herself feels hurt, lied to and betrayed. It’s like she is trying to tell Rhaenyra that she is no better, she is a liar and a betrayer too. I think Alicent is beginning to ready herself for war, I think she will also try to get Aegon named as heir and I also think she is gathering allies, we see her talk to her family who let her know that they will stand with her, I also think both Larys and Criston will become allies of hers. 

Driftmark and the Velaryons 

Driftmark looked so beautiful and so too did the Velaryons. What I did like about the scenes at Driftmark was that there was honest communication going on and compromises. Like with Viserys and Corlys’ conversation about the succession, Viserys makes it clear that Rhaenyra is his heir and that her and Laenor’s first born will be after her. I loved that he made it clear that it was the first born regardless of gender as well. He is trying to set a new precedent for how successions will work. I also think the compromise that the children will bear their father’s name but when the heir takes the throne they will do so under the name Targaryen, it was a fair deal. On a side note I did also love how happy Rhaenys was to see Viserys, her entrance was so adorable. She also seemed to be genuinely concerned about his health. 

I also really liked the conversation between Rhaenyra and Laenor. It was low key hilarious watching them talk about ducks and goose as a metaphor for sexuality. But again I think they came to a very good compromise. They will do their duty and then after be free to do as they please. 

The conversation between Rhaenys and Corlys was so good too. You can see that they just have such a loving relationship. Corlys clearly feels injustice on behalf of his wife about her not getting the throne, in this house we stan a man that stans his wife. He clearly loves her deeply and it was just such a delight to see. But I also think Rhaenys makes some very good points. She is very aware that because her claim to the throne will be challenged Rhaenyra marrying Laenor will put Laenor in danger as well as any children they have together. It has very similar vibes to the conversation Otto and Alicent had. It is obvious that Rhaenys is concerned for her child.  

Laenor and Joffrey were so adorable. Again you can really see the love between them. I also think the scene on the beach was meant to act as a parallel to the scene between Rhaenyra and Criston on the boat. In both scenes the bride/groom tells their lover about the arrangement. But whilst Criston is not a fan of the arrangement Joffrey is very accepting of it. Joffrey understands why it has to be the way it is and he’ll take what he can get. He’s happy with the arrangement if it means he gets to be with Laenor in whatever capacity he can. There is something kind of beautiful about it but also very sad because they must always be a secret and can never be together out in the open. I also loved that Rhaenyra was accepting of Laenor’s sexuality and I love that little moment at the feast when Joffrey approaches the table and Rhaenyra just gives Laenor a very knowing look. 

Lastly but by no means least I want to talk a little about Laena. I really liked the small moments we got with her in this episode. There is obviously an attraction between her and Daemon and she was definitely trying to catch his eye but I can’t help but wonder if she and the Velaryons have a play of their own here. I could be reading into it way too much or maybe its just that my past experience in the GOT world makes me believe everyone is scheming in some way, but I think maybe Laena was trying to seduce Daemon to take his attention away from Rhaenyra. I also think the reason why comes back to Rhea. The Velaryons interestingly seem to be the first to know about Rhea’s death, in fact they are the ones that inform Viserys, which is odd considering technically Viserys is Rhea’s family as her brother in law, you would think he would have been informed before the Velaryons. It is also possible from Corlys saying it was an unexpected end due to her skill at hunting that the Velaryons not only know Rhea died but suspect that Daemon killed her. It looked to me like Laena clocked Daemon staring at Rhaenyra before she herself caught his eye. I do wonder if the Velaryons put two and two together and figured out that Daemon wanted to marry Rhaenyra. Having now learned that Daemon may have potentially killed his wife to free himself to marry Rhaenyra they’ve become concerned for their son and fear that Daemon may stage an accident of Laenor too so that he is out of the way. I think maybe they are hoping that Laena will be a distraction for Daemon to keep him out of the way, see if they can get him to desire Laena more and in doing so keeping Laenor safe and stopping Daemon from doing anything else to mess up the match. I just think its interesting that the Velaryons are the ones first bringing up Rhea’s death and then Laena herself brings up Daemon’s wife too. I mean like I said I could be reading too much into it and it really could be as simple as Laena and Daemon just have the hots for each other. I am interested to see where it goes though. 

Criston and Rhaenyra

Ok so lets talk about this train wreck. I really do feel some sympathy for Criston but boy did he go nuclear at the end of this episode. I really do think the consequences of everyone’s actions from last episode came to fruition in this episode through Criston beating Joffrey. It was just a tragedy waiting to happen. It was clear that Criston was really struggling with the fact that he broke his oath. The scene on the boat where he asks Rhaenyra to run away with him really showed that difference in the different circumstances the royals live in compared to those below them, but also the way they think. Rhaenyra and Criston were very much on different pages about where they stood with each other. This is what I meant earlier when I talked about the scene on the beach between Laenor and Joffrey acting as a parallel to this scene on the boat with Rhaenyra and Criston. Unlike Rhaenyra and Criston, Laenor and Joffrey were very much on the same page and communicating clearly and openly with each other. This isn’t the same for Rhaenyra and Criston. 

For Rhaenyra this is the perfect situation. She can enter into a political arrangement with Laenor through her marriage to him but then do what she wants like still pursue a sexual relationship with Criston. I said in my review last episode that her taking Criston’s helmet and teasing him was a behaviour she learnt from Daemon. Well this attitude she has of marriage is a duty but I can also do whatever I want and sleep with whoever I want is something else she learnt from Daemon. The flaw with this though is that by doing whatever she wanted it lead to Criston, her lover, beating Joffrey, her betrothed's lover, to death at their wedding feast. Not that I am saying that it was all Rhaenyra's fault just to be very clear, Criston did make his own choices, just that it was one of the dominos that fell setting off the train reaction. 

Criston’s proposal to run away together was very sweet but not very realistic. Again though, it shows how differently they were seeing the situation. I really don’t think it was that deep for Rhaenyra, he was just the balm to soothe the sting from Daemon’s rejection. But Criston, he really does think he loves her. But the thing with the scene where he is talking about how she wants him to be her whore and how he broke his oath and hoped marrying her would fix it makes me believe that he desperately needs them to be in love because that would make him breaking his oath mean something. If they aren’t in love then he has to confront the truth that he broke his oath for nothing. It is understandable that he is feeling very overwhelmed by his feelings right now and that his instinct is to just run away from it all with Rhaenyra. I also think it was such a good choice to have him out of his armour for this scene. I think it helped show just how vulnerable he was feeling in that moment. I also think part of the reason why Criston is struggling was because he was willing to risk it all for her, to be with her but in this moment it becomes clear to him that she isn’t willing to do the same for him. I think this is when he starts to feel like she is using him for her own pleasure and doesn’t care for him the way he does for her. I do think that Rhaenyra cares for Criston but I think ultimately she cares more about her family name and the Iron throne and doing her duty than she does about him. 

Well That Escalated Quickly

Which brings us to the climax of the episode the feast of grand entrances and knowing glances. I actually think this scene was shot so cleverly, the show producers and writers know that the audience has a certain expectation when it comes to weddings and I think they play with that expectation brilliantly. They have all these moving pieces, like what’s going on with Rhaenyra, Laenor, Joffrey and Criston, then there is what is going on between Royce and Daemon, between Daemon and Laena, Alicent and Rhaenyra and also Daemon and Rhaenyra. They flick between each of the plot points so we are slowly getting this build up, with know something is going to happen but we aren’t sure what and with the camera flitting between all these interactions we are left wondering where it is going. I really loved all the little glances they put in where you’ve got Rhaenyra glancing at Laenor and Joffrey, Joffrey watching Criston, Daemon and Rhaenyra throwing glances at each other, Royce watching Daemon, Viserys watching Daemon, Rhaenyra and Alicent. Laena glancing at Rhaenyra and Daemon, Alicent watching Rhaenyra, Criston watching Rhaenyra and Lyonel watching Daemon. You can just see everyone trying to work out what everyone else’s motives and plays are and it was just really entertaining to me, I also found it kind of comical because some of the facial expressions people were pulling were just gold. I’m very impressed with all of the actors and actresses in this scene they did fantastic jobs. 

We had a few grand entrances as well. I already talked about Alicent’s above so I won’t cover that here, but there were two others of note the first was the Velaryons. Now they know how to make an entrance, I just loved everything about it, the drums ushering them, the announcement of Laenor as the future  King Consort. They all looked amazing too, they look powerful and command the attention of the room, the costume department did such as amazing job. I love the little moment between Rhaenyra and Laenor where they call each other ‘my betrothed’ and he kisses her hand, they’ve just got such bright smiles on their faces and you can see that they are happy. I said, I think it was in my prediction post, that I wanted them to be best friends and I do think they have a really beautiful and supportive friendship. The Velaryon entrance does get you very hyped for the feast that’s for sure. 

The next entrance comes from Daemon. This entrance was so different from the Velaryons but just as entertaining in a different way. Daemon very much just swaggers in with this ridiculous smile on his face. I’m sorry but I can’t help but love his antics. That goofy smile he gives his brother when he reaches the head table. You can just see what he’s thinking, ‘I’m here big brother and I’m not supposed to be because you exiled me, what you going to do about huh, what you going to do, make a scene?’ I also love that Viserys is just like get the chair sit him down quick before he makes a scene for the love of the gods. Like he can not be dealing with Daemon’s antics right now so just sits him down out of the way and prays for the best. From the moment he is sat down Daemon just spends that whole time staring at Rhaenyra tying to catch her eye and Rhaenyra is trying desperately not to look his way but still can’t help glancing over every now and then, again I just found this really funny. 

Speaking of Daemon’s antics we have a interesting scene between him and Gerald Royce, Rhea’s cousin. This scene reminded me of the one between Daemon and Otto in episode 1, its that back and forth where someone challenges Daemon and in response he just makes a sport out of provoking them. I think that is what he is doing with Royce here bringing up the inheritance, Sure I do think that Daemon would consider the inheritance as something worth having but I think he is mostly talking about going after it just because he finds it fun to wind up Royce and he knows this is something that will rattle him and upset him. What is interesting in these scenes too is that Daemon himself rarely seems rattled himself, he just acts like he doesn’t really care. He really does seem to enjoy these little spats he has with people. I did find it hilarious that throughout the whole exchange you can see Lyonel and Viserys both sitting there looking more and more done, you can just tell they are trying to work out how much of a problem this is going to become and how much of a nuisance it will be to clean/cover up. Its obvious that they both believe that Daemon did kill his wife. 

Whilst on the subject of moments that had me laughing I couldn’t help but be amused by Viserys’ facial expression when he sees Daemon and Rhaenyra disappearing through the crowd together and he just watches them like a hawk. I do think the conversation between Rhaenyra and Daemon is very telling of what they both truly want, which is each other. It was clear that Daemon was feeling frustrated and jealous, he doesn’t want her to marry Laenor and he’s making it clear to her when he tells her that his marriage was recently dissolved that he wants to marry her. He’s literally like yo I’m single by the way just so you know. This scene where Rhaenyra is challenging him, practically daring him to cut down the kings guard and steal her away to Dragonstone to be wed, reminds me alot of the scene between them on the walkway at Dragonstone where she tells him that if he wants the throne he should just kill her. The only difference is that there she knew he wouldn’t do it, here she really does want him too. I truly believe that Rhaenyra, who is just as restless and chaotic as Daemon, would have found it exhilarating to make a whole scene of cutting down the King’s guard and running off to become husband and wife. Also this scene was really steamy, like there was no kiss or sex yet the scene had a lot of tension and they were so close together that I kept yelling at my screen guys you are in a public place! Like they have no chill. I also thought Alicent’s very scandalised look when Daemon grabbed Rhaenyra’s neck was also peak comedy. Meanwhile Viserys just looks mad as hell. I do think this scene is another parallel to the one of Criston and Rhaenyra on the boat. In both scenes you’ve got this scenario of lovers running away together to be wed. But in Criston’s case Rhaenyra approaches it logically whilst thinking about duty she tells him they can’t. Yet with Daemon she seems to have this throw caution to the wind lets just get married attitude, she wouldn’t run away with Criston but would have with Daemon despite her duty to the crown she would still choose Daemon over everything. I think it shows that Daemon was always her choice in suitor.  

The moment is broken though by the screams and the fight that breaks out between Criston and Joffrey which was really shocking and this is another scene where unfortunately I think the writing could have been a little better as its not really clear why the fight breaks out, what is was specifically that caused Criston to snap. There is a conversation between them both earlier where Joffrey basically tells Criston that they should work together to keep everyone’s secret and keep everyone safe. But it seems like some time has passed since that conversation so its obviously not an immediate response to the talk, so what was it that set Criston off and why at Joffrey? My best theory is that Criston is starting to feel really panicked and guilty, not only did he break his oath, the queen knows and now so to does this guy he has never met. I think some of it is also because Criston sees himself in Joffrey. Like him Joffrey is the lover of one of the bride/groom. During the beach scene we see Joffrey tell Laenor that he will need a sworn protector so it seems like he is even playing the same role as protector. I think when Criston snaps he really has identified the similarities between himself and Joffrey and when he is just pummelling the poor guy I really do feel like Criston was seeing himself and he is just pouring out all his guilt and pain and self-loathing out on Joffrey, much like how Rhaenyra lets her emotions out on the boar in episode 3. When he comes to himself again it is clear from the way he turns Joffrey’s head to the less damaged side that his guilt is eating him up, he’s just taken an innocent man’s life which leads to that scene in the God’s Wood where he plans to take his own until Alicent intervenes. 

This fight scene had some things that I thought were really quite genius but also there were some issues that I had with the scene. I am going to start with the negatives then end with the positives. Something that really doesn’t make sense is that Criston is able to just murder this noble in front of a hall of people and then just walk away without anyone stopping him? Like surely he would have been arrested and questioned at least. How is he free to be sitting in the God’s Wood? I mean did he just leave in all the confusion and no one could find him after? Did he try to argue that he saw the knife in Joffrey’s hand and that he killed him because he believed that he was a threat to the royal family. Or maybe Alicent vouches for him and clears it up. Its just so odd to me that we didn’t see any response to him beating one of the guests to death. 

Another thing that bothered me a little is that when the fight breaks out Daemon just disappears. Now I do think it is obvious that Daemon likely got pushed away from Rhaenyra. There was alot of pushing and shoving and it was just complete chaos so to me it would make sense that he was pushed away and couldn’t find her to get back to her. But I do wish there had been one more scene with Daemon and Rhaenyra, like maybe a farewell scene. I would have been more ok with it if it weren’t for the huge time jump we are about to get. I do feel like the next episode is going to be a kind of second pilot and we’ll get to know the characters again but as adults. It felt like quite a bit was left unanswered and I don’t think they will cover it in the next episode with the jump, so I feel like they could have had more closure.

But going back to the positives I did think that the way the scene where the fight breaks out was shot was pure genius. The way they have these quick very choppy shots where it flicks between various characters really make you feel like one of the guests at the wedding. It’s like you are actually there in the room trying to figure out what is happening, trying to put the pieces together. We see a glimpse of Criston beating Joffrey, then it breaks away to Rhaenyra being pushed, the parents at the high table reacting, Laena trying to push through the crowd, Harwin going in to get Rhaenyra, Viserys’ nose bleeding. It really did create this sense of chaos.    

The final scene of the episode was so sad and kind of chilling. I mean poor Rhaenyra and Laenor having to get married whilst Laenor’s lover’s blood is still on the floor, it is so so messed up and dark. You can see how devastated they both are. I mean Laenor has lost the person they love and Rhaenyra just watched the guy she had a crush on beat her betrothed’s lover to death. I think  Rhaenyra cares about Laenor and feels his pain, it is a really sweet but sorrowful moment where she kisses his cheek during the ceremony in an attempt to comfort him. I think Viserys just was like get them married and this over with before something else goes wrong. The king has not been having much luck with social events that is for sure and it is clear that all the stress on top of his worsening illness is getting to him judging by the way he just collapsed as the wedding finished. 

As I mentioned above the next episode is going to have a substantial time jump where we are going to be getting the adult actresses for Rhaenyra and Alicent. I am going to be sad to see Millie and Emily go because they really did a phenomenal job with the roles. That being said I am also very excited to see what Emma and Olivia bring to the characters. I am really looking forward to the next episode so until then that is all I have for now.  

[staydandy]

Zoo (2015) - Whump List

List by StayDandy Synopsis : Violent animal attacks upon humans are occurring all over the world. Jackson Oz, an American zoologist and his Kenyan friend, Abraham Kenyatta, a safari guide, and Mitch Morgan, a quirky veterinary pathologist, seek to investigate the mysterious pandemic as the attacks become more coordinated and ferocious. (Wiki)

Whumpee : Jackson Oz played by James Wolk (top left) • Mitch Morgan played by Billy Burke (top right)

Country : 🇺🇸 America

Notes : This is a Partial List - I didn't list every bit of whump, just what caught my attention the most • The episode list is formatted season-episode : 00-00

Episodes on List : 8 Total Episodes : 39 Total Seasons : 3

*Spoilers below*

01-11 : (near end) Jackson is shot

01-12 : … continued from previous ep. ... while recouping, saves a few kids from a leopard

01-13 : Attacked & bit by dogs

02-01 : Realizes he is infected / has the mutation

02-07 : Experiencing side effects of his mutation.. They try a hallucinogenic therapy to bring back memories

03-03 : Mitch tells the girls to drill into his skull to remove a device that is controlling him

03-08 : Jackson is captured & tortured .. Mitch is still trying to deactivate the device in his head, electrocuted, temporary blind

03-09 : Mitch is under the control of the villain, knocks out Jackson