#she wants to watch matt smiths first season because shes in love with matt smith via game of thrones

[lesbiten]

i went ahead and started rewatching s4 by myself but half way through partners in crime my roommate came home from work and joined in so now its a group activity

[variousqueerthings]

watching a thing that's going through why someone enjoys doctor who, and it's gone on a little tangent about why romance on doctor who doesn't work (in their opinion, and in mine), and how it made s2 and s7b the creator's least favourite -- and while I would need to rewatch s7b to remember that, I do think that the-doctor-and-rose at least doesn't have to be read as romantic if one doesn't want to

which isn't to say it wasn't intended as such, and also that it was somewhat based in dtennant and billie piper and jenna coleman and (to some) matt smith being hot (sorry matt smith, he looks like a teenage boy, the dichotomy is not hot or ugly, it's does-or-does-not-look-like-a-teenager), which is kind of *sigh yeah okay you're appealing to the people who think people are hot so they wanted a bit of that sexy sexy romance (I guess)*

however I don't think that things that are romance-coded need to be engaged with on that level, as someone who's had to make that translation many many times, and I think especially with the doctor-as-character, including and especially ten when one reads ten as being projected onto, it's actually incredibly fun not to/not even really a translation so much as a textually supported read

what's especially good about the doctor and rose dynamic is specifically that the doctor never gives rose the exact thing she's looking for, and that part of the doctor's heartbreak is that he can't -- take that as a "because I'm immortal and you're not," if you want (and that's also a textually supported read), but it's also very very easily read as "because what you want and what I can give is not compatible so that I will always end up letting you down like I do everyone, and I would rather you be happy than assert what I might want, and in the end everyone leaves for one reason or another"

which... the doctor basically says to wilf. they leave. they find someone else and fall in love. they forget. they break the doctor's heart. not just rose, but everyone. rose is simply the first to remind the doctor of this fact after bringing him back after a massive traumatic event

and I think it elevates s2, which I've now seen a couple of people go "oh because of the romance it's one of my least favourite seasons," which is so fascinating to me, because s2 isn't at all about a romance through my eyes. it is for rose, because she's in love with the doctor, romantically, and that's part of her tragedy, as a mortal, as someone who's in love with her doctor and doesn't want that doctor to go or to change or to... be alien, perhaps (now I do reach, but it's open to reaching) -- and who is growing up throughout, as the first person one sees grow up in nu!who

and the doctor is constantly struggling for words: tell rose... oh she knows. and i suppose. if it's my last chance to say it. rose tyler...

rose tyler essentially brought the doctor back, made the doctor fall in love with the universe again, and brought back a childlike wonder that the doctor had had before the timewar, and how do you encompass that into simple human concepts of "romantic" or "platonic" and know

that this person is romantically in love with you in a very human way

that there is an end-point to this, which is something this person will never fully grasp until it's happened (or that person is dead)

that you do not age. that you change. that you are aliene

that you are fundamentally, always, left on your own in the end

that you have put all of your sense of your new self onto this person and it will eventually fuck everything up

so yeah, there's some heavy-duty emotional subtext in s2, but because of the deliberate lack of clarity given to that subtext, it's very very easy to take it in various kinds of directions. of course rose and the doctor are Like That in s2, they're living a little fairytale life that's about to fall to pieces (something the doctor knows, but won't admit, and rose doesn't fully understand or believe)

when rose asks the doctor how long they'll travel and the doctor says "forever," it's absolutely 100% a lie, and that is... very tragic... thinking back to their first scenes together, which were incredibly simply sweet, and you know it's stretching thinner and thinner in ways I don't think you see with any other companion

the thing is I do personally think that rose as the romantic arc makes rose less interesting than she is, and that's a flaw in the show, but I think giving hers and the doctor's run a slightly different eye, that is absolutely supported by the canon, also opens up all of her other traits, that make her so iconic -- only seeing rose through the lens of romance does her a disservice, there is a bunch more going on there in s2...

but like yeah, I get that there was some david tennant so-called sex appeal, which, yeah whatever, and billie piper was a former famous popstar, and people also do ship them romantically (and that's fine), but I think to focus on that aspect in order to say why rose isn't appealing kind of ignores everything else she is and represents on the show for something you can just read in another way easily and more interestingly and supported by the text

like people will throw around "asexual doctor" but I don't think they know enough about aromanticism (which is what they really mean) to understand how to read that in a text. deeply symbiotic relationships can be aromantic, can be platonic, and can be one-sided or messed up or or...

embrace the symbiosis of the doctor and rose in s2 that is inherently also kind of fucked up and doomed because of their deliberate blinkered perspective of the future even after the sarah-jane episode and the madame du pompadour episode which are screaming at them that things are ending soon!!! It's compelling stuff. it's not necessary to read it as romantic

give rose tyler her due as the ghost that haunts the narrative

[firephoenix2305]

This is a Rory Williams appreciation post

Because I have recently finished season 6 and I need to shout about it to someone.

(Disclaimer: Severe season 5 and 6 spoilers ahead. If you haven't watched them yet, run away very very fast. Or don't, it's up to you. But you have been warned)

Okay, don't get me wrong. I love Amy, she's great. And I love The Doctor, because well, he's The Doctor, and also Matt Smith, so he's great too.

But.

But. But. But

If I had to pick a favorite...

Rory. Fucking.Arthur. Williams.

I don't even know where to start with this man.

The way he loves Amy. The way he cares about her more than the entire goddamn universe. The way he DOES NOT BUDGE from her side even when she kisses another man the night before their wedding, then proceeds to severely third-wheel him in a very Mickey Smith sort of way for the better part of two episodes (which in retrospect isn't really that much, but STILL) and takes her sweet time to realize she is in love with him.

We are talking, ladies and gentlemen, about the Last goddamn Centurion. This is a man who willingly lived through every single second of 2000 years of human history only to protect Amy Pond. 2000 years without so much as a wink of sleep, or rest, or any synonym of the word. How does this man's heart not physically burst from the sheer amount of love he has for Amy?!?!

I just...I want one. I want a Rory. Does anybody know where I can find a Rory? Pretty please?

And another thing. I'm not sure what it was that Rory did to the writers of this show but JESUS CHRIST. Why so much hate?

And just to prove I'm not even exaggerating, here's a brief summary of some of the things which have happened to this poor guy in seasons 5 and 6. (From the point where he officially joins Amy and The Doctor in the TARDIS onwards, that is)

- S5E7. Killed by the Eknodine in the Dream Lord's fake reality. (And given that horrible ponytail, btw)

- S5E9. Murdered in cold blood by a rogue Silurian, then absorbed by a time crack and hence deleted from the memory of the entire universe. (Being murdered obviously wasn't enough, no)

- S5E13. This is a big one. Revived as an Auton, realized Amy doesn't remember him, then when Amy finally does remember he unwillingly kills her because of his programming (which he eventually breaks free from), stays with the Pandorica for 2000 odd years and finally, after all of that, gets erased from reality. Again. (But it's okay because The Doctor has rebooted the universe, so real Rory came back. Or, rather, never left in the first place. Doctor Who is complicated, okay?!)

- S6E3. To start off the season well, he drowns and practically dies, and is then transferred to a spaceship healing facility where he is essentially hooked to a live support system until Amy brings him back to life.

- S6E4. Tortured and "killed" by the thing controlling the TARDIS, who had a blast warping time and making him go crazy and ultimately making him die of old age. (Not sure if it even counts as a death, but his rotting skeleton was there, so I'm counting it)

- S6E6. Finds out that his wife is not actually his wife but is instead a bunch of sentient flesh which is pretending to be his wife; and that his actual wife is nine months pregnant and currently giving birth to their daughter God knows where. (I did say it was complicated).

- S6E7. Finds Amy and baby Melody, only to lose Melody to the creepy eye patch lady because having lost Amy in the exact same way the previous episode clearly wasn't enough torture for him.

- S6E10. Has "other" Amy (the older version) absolutely hate his guts for something which isn't his fault at all, and has to re-convince her that she loves him. Again. (Seriously, Amy?). Then, he has to sacrifice the other Amy to save his Amy, which was extremely painful for him. (Man, this season gets weirder and weirder, doesn't it?)

- S6E13. Suffers inhumane amounts of pain and almost dies (again) when he lets himself be electrocuted by the eye patch thingy to give Amy, River and The Doctor time to escape. (I know this wasn't technically the same Rory that went through all those other things, but I decided to include it anyway)

AND I HAVEN'T EVEN STARTED SEASON 7 YET. Give the man a break! And stop killing him, for God's sake!

(I know this won't happen, because although I haven't watched S7 I accidentally spoiled the whole weeping angel business to myself, so yeah)

And lastly, this scene >>>

Do. Not. Fuck. With the roman.

I just love him.

That is all. Thanks for hearing me out, I feel better.

(@capinejghafa was the furthest back I could track these gifs, but I don't know if they were the one who made them).

[chat-rouge-et-bleu]

i don't know how to feel about the Christmas ep cos om the one hand i enjoyed it which could be said to be the only real goal of watching a show, but on the other hand so many elements frustrated me. realistically that is my whole opinion, but autism has decreed tis not enough and so i must waffle!

i like that the first solo scene of ncuti he's in a club in a kilt just going for it. so often new doctors are introduced straight away with the companion and not alone and so it's nice to see a doctor regenerate and his first action to be go out alone and explore his new body and his new reality and just kind of let loose, though im not sure he'd be such a good dancer after a day of being but I'll allow it. the outfit changes and slightly more 'out there' pieces do point to the showrunners trying something new with dressing the doctor and having it be more self expression and less a strict uniform (like do the previous doctors just have duplicates of their outfit hiding in the tardis??), it's an element of the show that has annoyed me before and I'm glad to see it be altered.

with ruby it feels like they're trying to go for a more matt smith era companion wherein the companion herself is mixed up with the story much deeper than just being along for the ride; but there is no way her family could afford that absolutely stunning flat and no way they could maintain it to such a high standard with a constant stream of foster children coming in and out. bring back rose era companion houses where they just live on some estate and drink tea, the set design of ruby's flat ruined the immersion as there's no way that could be real. she doesn't come across as a real woman with real struggles, she's so obviously a character and so obviously going to be the companion from the very start because her hair is always perfect and her house is spotless and her outfits are freshly ironed every scene. doctor who works for me when you juxtapose the alien doctor with normal people and normal scenarios (it's not done as well in the case of graham and jodie but still present, he lives in a house that looks like a house and eats food there and it seems lived in. though i must admit i know that house in real life as it is near a place i regularly hung out as a teenager so i may be a tad biased there).

the main other thing that doesn't make sense is why they introduced the idea of those gloves and their being on 3% only to not use that to further the plot. felt like a chekovs gun but then it wasn't relevant again so just broke immersion instead of being impactful.

i think if the goblins weren't a christmas special i would have been pretty disappointed with them, they are rather silly and they sing (which everyone i watched the show with visibly cringed at) and i just don't think they would have worked at all as a mid season episode; they need the context of christmas to work. as a silly episode on christmas day to introduce the new doctor and set up some plot points for the series for me that was OK as it wasn't really about the goblins, it was about introducing ncuti's doctor and ruby. maybe a more serious episode would have overshadowed these new characters (or maybe given them a chance to prove themselves better?). the first episode of any new doctor is a tricky one and i can see why they would choose a villain like that to show off how the new series is slated to be more camp and colourful than previous series.

i must stop waffling now, but it seems like they have more of an idea of where they want to take ncuti than they did when they first introduced jodie. i still think the showrunners did her dirty when she could have been so fun and different, honestly i would have loved if the energy they've given ncuti had been given to jodie. if I'd been strictly male for hundreds of years (though they have since retconned that) and i woke up female i would have fun with it, much more than they allowed jodie to have fun with it. goodbye

[aq2003]

just wanted to thank you for your posting about the moffat era lmao, I've been finally watching doctor who for the first time (started with the 9th doctor, just finished season 7, haven't watched classic who yet) and I've been struggling to put into words exactly what I hate about moffat's writing until I read your posts. you get it for real. I totally agree with you about day of the doctor btw, it felt incredibly fanservice-y in a bad way. like they were so close to nailing it with 10 being the doctor who remembers and 11 being the doctor who tries to forget and then they just....missed the mark for the rest of the episode. as an aside I also really liked your post about the wasted potential of the 11th doctor because I LOVE matt smith's portrayal of the doctor and I think there is so much to explore there but his talents are wasted on moffat's god awful writing 😭

i'm rewatching the doctor who vs women video essay and while i think a little bit of the criticism of eleven era is unfair (girl who waited is imo the ep that writes amy w the most agency in the whole era and explores the consequences of her being someone that just waits and remembers), a majority of the criticism VERY much is and god i missed the companion being written as the protagonist/pov character SO MUCH. what's crazy is that i almost expected amy to have an arc similar to martha, like girl who waited and the god complex are both about her blind faith in the doctor and how she has to leave that behind as she grows older. but the s6 finale doesn't touch on this at all it's all about the convoluted river plot (what happened to her being an archaeologist help me). and we kick off s7 with amy being sad that she can't give rory children and then she dies because she can't be without rory she can't exist on her own what would she be without the men in her life lmao!!! i am banging on the glass and screeching like rtd certainly wasn't perfect but basically every female character he wrote had their own rich interior lives and really felt like people. and i really missed that going into eleven era. ironically i think (modern-day) clara does the groundedness of the companion the best between the rest of the main eleven-era companions (besides craig. yes i like craig and i want to die about it). like how eleven views her is written in direct contrast to her being portrayed as this perfectly ordinary girl and this character beat would've really hit if eleven had to grow and change and accept her as just being Some Person. rather than. You know. ik ppl really like twelve-era clara even though it doesn't really go off of what was established w her and eleven so i will still keep an open mind and dive in fresh. hopefully they make each other worse and explode

[daenysx]

don't look under the cut if you haven't seen the first episode yet angels <33

okay, i cried twice watching it and i don't know it might be cause of hormones or something BUT jace and rhaenyra reunion was really good and jace looks great (he def looks like a stark and i'm living for it)

seeing daemon again was amazing considering him being my favorite before having aemond, i love matt smith's daemon so much and he didn't disappoint. for me, daemon is the character who always makes me expect something terrifying to happen because he's impulsive and he resembles a dragon too much and i can't wait to see more of him this season (he's like my first love in hotd lol and he's insane i love him your honor)

AND coming to my mad bf now. first, i love how ewan curves his lips when he speaks, it's like an important piece of aemond and he does it so well. what i like most about this ep is seeing how he's aware of things especially his mother's love for rhaenyra and how she thinks he started the war. he is aware of his power when he's with vhagar but also it felt like he doesn't brag about it like he used to, he seems kind of reluctant now that he couldn't control his dragon once (it's what i felt watching but of course you might disagree) and- i don't know, it so nice to see him back (and the look he gave to alicent sitting at the table- i love him so much!)

(i've always loved the dynamic between daemon and aemond, especially when i first read them in the book. i don't know if the show will be different but so far i'm getting what i want from them. ewan and matt will be perfect delivering the resemblances and differences between them i just love seeing them being aware of the opposite because they have a lot in common and they both look so good, it's a delight to see them)

AND FINALLY BLOOD AND CHEESE

the book version is different as you probably know and reading that was HORRIFYING to me. helaena and her children never deserved that but that's the key thing for both hotd and game of thrones, innocent women and children suffering for crown conflicts and men's decisions. phia saban is amazing, i cried when helaena was leaving the room it was so heartbreaking even though the plot is different from the book but honestly i was expecting to see more tension

of course i don't expect the same plot for each occasion in the book, but blood and cheese is essential for many things and i wouldn't include alicole into this. i don't know what we'll see at the beginning of the next episode but hopefully we get so see more of helaena (i honestly don't have anything against alicole but i never felt them being too important for me, they didn't surprise me but you know, maybe just for this scene i wanted to focus on only helaena)

overall, it's amazing to see all of them back. i missed watching hotd so much and i missed the fandom. these are my first thoughts based on the episode (i literally finished watching it 5 minutes ago) my inbox is always open for your opinions if you wanna share something, love u all <333333

[bardinthezone]

Watching Making myself sit through Moffat's Who, trying to give it a decent chance and I can't stand it already. Y'know why?

The stupid fucking love triangle.

Because not only is it just generally annoying as a trope, but it is so poorly written here. It takes over the show in a really obnoxious way and completely flanderizes characters who, in the first episode, were decent people.

Rory is portrayed as a fool for being... concerned that his fiance is cheating on him with the not-actually-imaginary friend she's been obsessed with since childhood, who she ran off with and kissed (A normal thing to be concerned about!!). And just generally, he's portrayed as a bumbling idiot. As the one who just gets confused and makes one-liners about being insecure. And both Amy and the Doctor just brush him off, leave him behind! Mocked by the woman who's supposed to be there for him and abandoned by the Doctor who's meant to keep him safe. He's being reduced to basically just comic relief here, and it sucks.

The Doctor is so.. aloof. More so than 10 and DEFINTELY moreso than 9. He's a silly, childish man who often fails to recognize the emotional consequences of his actions. He has his emotional moments, yes, but a lot of his writing falls victim to what I call "Sherlock Syndrome." When Moffat just writes an aloof super genius and expects the audience to fawn over him because he has good outfits and witty one-liners. Matt Smith is a fantastic actor and he carries a lot of his run, but putting glitter on a turd doesn't stop it being a turd.

Amy is yet another victim of the "every woman falls madly in love with the Doctor" pitfall. Worked with Rose, got old with Martha and after that almost every one-off woman who flirted with him just made me roll my eyes. Her obsession and anger with the Doctor didn't have to be romantic, but Moffat just couldn't resist writing a "strong female protagonist" who's sexy and she knows it, who loves having all the boys fawn over her and flirts without a care in the world. Who's a brash girlboss in charge of her boys, but who also turns into a sobbing damsel in distress at the slightest sign of danger.

All three of these characters are so blatantly characatures of themselves right now that it takes me out of it. They're all just quippy one-liners of their smartness or their brashness or their insecure foolishness. Can these types of people exist in real life? Yeah. But the way they're written about here is just obnoxious. I'm willing to accept that later Moffat seasons might be better than this (at least on the interpersonal conflict side of things), but it's season 1 and he's already dropping the ball so hard.

We could've gotten something truly marvelous, with a PLATONIC conflict based on the Raggedy Man from her childhood finally coming back and offering her freedom from a boring adult life. She's enamored with him, but doesn't entirely trust him because hey, he massively fucked up once already. Maybe Rory is concerned about his place in Amy's life, and Amy tries to be comforting. Maybe she messes up, maybe she says the wrong thing. Maybe she says the wrong thing right before losing Rory to the crack in space and time. But she has to try, because why should I care about a relationship where one person doesn't care about the other's happiness, at least a little? And right now it just feels like she doesn't.

I'm not saying shows shouldn't have interpersonal conflicts and flawed protagonists. They should! But to pull that off well, you have to make us want to see these characters grow. You have to give us a reason to enjoy watching these characters interact, even at their low points. And revisting Moffat's run as an adult, I don't feel enjoyment. I just feel annoyed.

[bohemian-nights]

Must be sad for you that even Matt Smith likes Daemyra :/ That you want to admit it or not, GRRM wrote Daemon for Rhaenyra and he stated that one of his favorite things about him is his relationship with Rhaenyra. Whereas Matt and Ryan Condal have both said Daemon loves Rhaenyra. Ryan even said Daemon killed Rhea because it prevented him from marrying the ‘woman he actually loves’. He also backtracked from the choking when Matt admitted he didn’t understand that scene and didn’t want to do it (with Emma) sooo. Stay in your delusions and hatred for Rhaenyra and Daemyra but I promise you: the things you want and hope for Nettles and Daemon isn’t happening.

Also, you can claim as much as you want that you love Nettles just as an individual character but no one is stupid. Every time you bring her up its either to talk about Daemon or Rhaenyra. Be serious

This is the third Dumbnyra anon(and the second one trying to use Matt to prop up your dying/dead ship) within less than 12 hours(these anons were literally sent in the wee hours of the night/early morning where I am. If you are living anywhere in US of A this is extremely pathetic behavior especially since it’s a holiday) so to save myself some effort I’m going to do this:

Y’all need to decide if Ryan is trying to “ruin” your ship or not and stick to it because the back and forth is exhausting.

Sweetheart, what will happen will happen and the only way what you want to will happen is if Nettles is cut completely(not just from this upcoming season boo boo) from the show.

The show is heading towards Maidenpool. We all know what happens in Maidenpool😗 If you actually believed what you people say you wouldn’t be sweating it or spazzing out in my inbox right now.

And if you want to ignore all the moodboards, edits, fics, fancasting, character analysis, and gifs (I even created gifs for her mother who isn’t even a character) I’ve done for Nettles, knock yourself out my friend, but the only one here who doesn’t value Nettles as one of the most compelling characters of the Dance is you people.

As for GRRM, he never said what y’all are saying which is why y’all can’t even produce a source(an article or a video) for him stating he created Daemon for Rhaenyra and that she’s his great love. He’s talked about his love for Daemon(he loves his grayness and Rhaenyra is part of that grayness since he flips on her when she needed him the most to save who again?), but not that.

👆🏽Look I provided the actual source for the chocolate you are trying to make out of cow dung.

George doesn’t even agree with your a**es about Nettles being nothing special since he has expressed his interest in writing a whole novella about her😚

You people can call me crazy and delusional all you like, but don’t go saying I’m a fake fan. Nettles is freaking awesome. She's the sole reason I’m still watching this crap show.

She comes from literally nothing and ends up not only surviving the Dance with Sheepstealer but also becoming a goddess-like figure to a whole group of people. I find it strange how she has haters in the first place.

I haven’t had to constantly lie for my fave or my ship(which is why you people get mad when I bring in the text), but y’all literally make up sh*t(fake leaks, changing the lines, removing texts, taking texts out of context, saying one of the few characters who survives the dance is irrelevant and can be replaced with anyone Black) every five seconds to prop up your delusions.

Now I’ve been nice enough to throw some crumbs to you pigeons since you are begging for my attention, but the next anon who wants to start some sh*t in my inbox is getting blocked.

[arcielee]

House of the Dragon tag game!

This was created by the lovely @jotterjots 💜 Thank you for the tag!

Rules: Answer the following questions, then tag any and all people you think might enjoy participating. 

Tags: If you see this on your Tumblr dashboard, consider yourselves tagged. 

see original post here if you want to play :)

Who's your favorite character? What draws you to them?

My initial response is Aemond Targaryen (surprise, surprise). The book and show portrayal have some similarities, but I really loved how Leo Ashton and Ewan Mitchell’s characterization. There was something relating to how Leo carried himself, Aemond just weary but ready to defend Aegon, how he was ridiculed. You have this sense of relief when he finally claims Vhagar that you forget the implications until that group of cunt ass kids rallied against him. Then you see that want for revenge, how it shapes and molds him into this man that is just...

Sigh. 💜

Anyway, after him it would Ser Criston Cole, as this man is so damn petty with his hatred it halted his aging and I’m here for it.  

What's your favorite episode of the season?

I loved the despair of episode 8, where we finally got to see the key players for what was to come. The build up, the tension that lead to this brief moment of serenity and then... the dinner scene, where it just went downhill so fucking fast. 

What is your favorite line from the season?

I have two. The first belongs to Daemon: “You cannot live your life in fear, or you will forsake the best parts of it.”

And second is to Jerrel Bracken, and it makes me giggle: “The princess has a dragon, you dumb cunt.” 

Which actor's portrayal is your favorite?

Of course the obvious answer is Ewan Mitchell. I binged everything he has been in and really enjoy that even though he had similar mannerisms used in each roll, he seems to adjust to fit whatever character he is playing and I think it’s fucking brilliant.

Matt Smith plays a cunt like no other. As much as Daemon makes my skin crawl, I do enjoy watching him. 

Olivia Cooke. 💜 Watching Alicent’s transition from the tepid daddy’s girl to girlboss was amazing. She believed in her convictions and squared off to Otto, to her husband, and we saw glimpses of how she played the Game of Thrones, and I really loved it. 

Which character would you most want to be stuck on a deserted island with?

I mean...

But for real, probably Ser Criston as he seems low key a more practical option, as I could trust him to be able to scrounge for food, kill whatever wild hog might attack, things like that. 

Name a minor character you want to know more about!

I would love more insight on Arryk and Erryk OR, since they kept him alive, if Ser Harrold Westerling came back in a blaze of glory, that’d be nifty. 

Who's character arc are you most interested to see continued, for better or worse?

May the gods pity me, but Aemond. I am curious their interpretation of his story and am super excited to see it unfold. 

Who's your most anticipated new character of Season 2?

Cregan Stark, but this is mostly because of my Mushroom theory of him, but I already know HBO is a bunch of cowards and would never. And Nettles 💜 I really hope they show how she gets her dragon.

Which is your favorite dragons of the ones we saw?

Vhagar. 

I hate that we missed out on some Fire & Blood bonding between Aemond and this she-dragon, but I really loved how they showed the sentient side when she was bonded to Laena. It was beautiful and heartbreaking 💜

What's your favorite relationship from this season? (romantic, platonic, antagonistic- whichever!)

I loved Rhaenyra and Harwin Strong. I really loved the snippets of him knitted throughout, his admiration for Rhaenyra just as she was. There was also so much in the scene after she gave birth, how he was quick to help in any he could, just to be able to touch her, to be there for her. And when he held Joffrey?

Like, goddamn, I love this man so much 😭

Bonus- Fandom appreciation:

Link one or more of your favorite pieces of fanart! (Have you reblogged it already? Consider reblogging it again! Do NOT repost)

Please go and look/follow @lonnson @4yvle1 @azperja @cyeco13​ Just amazing, talented, wonderful pieces they have shared.💜

Link one or more of your favorite fics! (Same deal as above!)

I have a fic recs link on my blog.💜 I also have a series called Interview With a Writer where I get to talk to the talented brains that created some of the best pieces I have found (so far) on Tumblr. 

Link one or more of your favorite gifsets! (^^Same)

The talented Miranda (@aegonx​) who did this and this and this gifset that I love (just to name a few, but she is so creative and talented; her gifsets for this fandom are some of my favorites. She did a GoT request for Rhaegar and Lyanna, and I just love it so much!💜

[witchofthemidlands]

i genuinely don't know how to convey the euphoria i feel about ncuti gatwa being the fifteenth doctor & how excited i am about his first season into words & this is so new for me, i started watching & became a whovian in 2008 & never ever have i ever been excited about a new version of the doctor quite like i have been excited about ncuti gatwa as fifteen. i have always been apprehensive about regeneration, i hate change. when i was 9 & david tennant was going to become matt smith i couldn't imagine anyone playing the doctor other than david tennant, he was my first & this was the first time i was seeing a doctor regenerate & 9 year old me was so negative about it to the point where my parents decided to traumatise me with the doctor who movie to try & show me that this has always happened & that there are so many other wonderful versions of the doctor, that experiment did in fact give me ✨seven issues✨ & is the reason why i am so attached to that little gremlin to this day & then they showed me series 1 & how nine became ten & yet i still was apprehensive about eleven until i watched his first episode & was blown away with how good it was & felt happy about him being the doctor now. then it's 2013 & matt smith was going to become peter capaldi & for me it was an immediate 😬 i couldn't imagine eleven becoming twelve. i couldn't imagine the doctor looking like the character that traumatised me in children of earth & it wasn't until class that i fell in love with twelve. then it's 2017 & twelve is becoming thirteen & yes she's beautiful, it's an absolute win for the women who love women & i loved jodie whittaker in trust me but fluffy space grandad twelve would be leaving & how could i imagine anyone being the doctor after him? but then her season started & i love her so much 🥰

(he's definitely a new version of the doctor but i count the regeneration of thirteen to fourteen & david tennant returning to the role the same way i count jo martin & john hurt's doctors)

BUT NOW?!?! with ncuti gatwa?!? as soon as he was announced i wanted the new season immediately, everything about him becoming the doctor just felt right, i don't know if it was because me & my friend at uni said in the kitchen one morning that ncuti gatwa would be a good doctor who one day or what it was but i just knew that this was the greatest news & that everything, every little crumb, poster, trailer & when the giggle & the church on ruby road aired every moment was just fantastic & left me wanting more & that makes me so happy that i have finally been excited about a regeneration.

so i'm apologising now for the levels of feral i am about to descend to when fifteen's first season airs.

[hxlbrook]

my thoughts after watching Doctor Who vs Women

Okay, so I just finished watching the amazing video essay Doctor Who vs Women by verilybitchie on YouTube and it made me realise two things that I just wanted to get out :)

The first thing is how I look at fictional characters.

When you ask me who my favourite doctor is I can't just give you an answer right away. I always have to clarify some things first and the essay by verilybitchie kind of highlighted this in my mind, which I find funny.

I first have to state that my favourite era is RTD's era, because it's the best written one. Then I have to state that David Tennant is one of my favourite actors (because I'm silly and feel like I betray him otherwise). And then it comes out that 11 is my favourite Doctor. But why is that? One of my favourite parts about the Doctor is that he's such an asexual being. But the eleventh doctor suddenly is sexually attracted to women. How is 11 then my favourite? This brings me to how I look at characters. This isn't the first time that I adore a character but am appalled by the uncharacteristic thing he does.

A very simple example of this is Luke Danes from Gilmore Girls. In season 1 he says something about golf being bad for the environment. I'm a biologist so I loved him for that comment. But later it's written that his hobby is fishing, which to me makes zero sense if you care about the environment. In my mind I just put it in my "no" box and I decide for myself that it's not him.

I create a version of the character in my mind who I think they are. If the writer makes the character do something that I think is uncharacteristic I just don't really view it as cannon. I just say that it's the writers fault and not the character's.

Anyway, that's on how I look at fictional characters, which I think is funny and a bit silly and I know lots of people don't agree with it. But that doesn't matter, cause it makes my own viewing experience better haha. All in all, I think Matt Smith played the doctor very well, but Moffat made some choices for the character that I very much not agree with and I realise I'm very capable of ignoring that.

The second thing I want to talk about is more tied to the actual essay of verilybitchie.

So, yes, I think we can all agree that Moffat writes women and couple dynamics to feed his own fetish. It's not even hidden in his seasons. But I don't like how Amy is always given as THE example of this, as if she is the most 2d character ever. When I watched it I definitely didn't experience her that way (I experienced River much more so). Looking back at her, yes, she was very much written to fullfill Moffat's own fantasy and I very much view her as waisted potential.

The way she acts makes a lot of sense for a girl who didn't have a nice home life and then met a very magical man that then left her again while promising he'd be back in five minutes. She has abandonment issues and is insecure in her relationship with Rory because of it. I also don't like it when people say she didn't love Rory. The whole arc is that she shows love differently than he does. She starts out as someone who is troubled and childish because of her childhood. Over the seasons she grows up.

Yes, the sexual assault of the doctor was very weird and bad and incredibly awful to watch (I physically cringe away from my screen every time I watch it), especially since it was just brushed over. Again, I view this very much as a writer's mistake and not as Amy's mistake, but that's my way of looking at fictional characters xD and I completely understand if you hold her accountable for it.

But now I wonder if the complexity I see in Amy is just something that I see in her and wasn't something that was intended by the writers. Not that it matters, cause it's art and art is about how the viewer interprets it, right?

What I hate the most is how I feel like out of all the companions she is put through the most. Her memory of people she loved is wiped multiple times. She gave birth in the most ffed up circumstances and then lost her child and then realised she grew up with the child! (God, I hate that story line). This is all a lot, but there are no signs that she's actually mentally messed up about it, which makes absolutely no sense. She (and Rory too btw) just take the information as it is and continue their lives. This all really irritated me about that era.

Ironically, I also love this era even though it has so many faults. The little family the doctor created for himself with Amy and Rory is so incredibly special to me. The dynamic the doctor had with that couple definitely comes second place for me when it comes to doctor companion dynamics (Rose and the Doctor on number 1). Rory is also my favourite companion and my favourite Doctor Who episode is Dinosaurs on a spaceship. [I mainly love the episode cause it's just really funny and fun, very much a comfort episode]

So yeah, even though I think Moffat made some very(!) bad writing choices, he did give me my favourite companion and episode. Who would have guessed there is nuance to almost everything?

[variousqueerthings]

okay I didn't go into Victory of the Daleks whilst watching cos I think it's trash, but let's do the Measurement on it!

sexism rank objectification (female character is ogled/harassed/turned into a sex joke by the doctor and/or a lead we’re supposed to root for and/or the camera): 9/10

sexism rank plot-point (lead female character is only there to serve plot, not to have her emotional interiority explored): 3/10

interesting complex or pointlessly complex (does the complexity serve the narrative or does it just serve to be confusing as a stand-in for smart, this includes visually): 6/10

furthers character and/or lore and/or plot development (broader question that ties into the previous ones, at least two of these, ideally three should be fulfilled): 5/10

companion matters (the companion doesn’t always have to be there, but if the companion is there, can they function without the doctor– and overall per season how often is the companion the focus or POV of the story): 5/10

the doctor is more than just “godlike” (examines the doctor’s flaws and limitations, doesn’t solve a plot by having it revolve entirely around the doctor’s existence): 6/10

doesn’t look down on previous doctor who (by erasing or mocking its importance, by redoing and “bettering” previous beloved plotpoints or characters, etc.): 7/10

isn’t trying to insert hamfisted sexiness (m*ffat famously talked a lot about how dw should be sexier multiple times, he sucks at writing it): 8/10

internal world has consistency (characters have backgrounds, feel rooted in a place with other people, generally feel like they have Lives): 3/10

Politics (how conservative is the story): 1/10

FULL RATING: 53/100 (if I can count….)

Christopher Eccleston I hope you never watched the last two episodes, in which the Doctor was personal friends with various members of the royal family and supports its structures, and the Doctor is personal friends with Winston Churchill....

also I've gotta be honest, Matt Smith's acting isn't giving it in this in terms of the Dalek Trauma, but then none of the episode is

I liked the Doctor going "Amy- Amelia!" when worried for her safety

OBJECTIFICATION: At least there's none of that really. Second miniskirt, but youknow. that's Amy's wardrobe most of the time.

PLOT-POINT: nothing is really explored about Amy in this episode, but I guess not every episode needs to be doing that. I think her relationship with the Doctor continues to be written a bit to the left of what makes sense for them, considering the past, but I'm willing to consider that she just wants the adventure and not to think too much about things

COMPLEXITY: I mean, it's not complicated at all. if anything it's a bit simple. bringing the Daleks back like this, in a way that previously was reserved for Very Special Episodes. marks the beginning of the end of the Daleks as serious villains....

CHARACTERS/LORE/PLOT: because the Daleks make very little sense in this, it's kind of dumb lore, but way more interesting is the tidbit that Amy doesn't remember the events of previous seasons

now I've previously disliked this plotpoint, because I feel like it never properly gets resolved despite the cracks in time later on being... uncracked. however it is cool when it's first mentioned!

COMPANIONS MATTER: Amy does mostly one thing, which is remind the guy who's actually a robot what it is to be human, so he doesn't blow up, and she does it by reminding him... that he was in love once.....

“hey Paisley… ever fancied someone you know you shouldn’t… hurts doesn’t it… but kind of a good hurt…” <- look I’m biased but I’d just explode if I were a secret Dalek bomb RIP to all of us aros, but we're not really human

this wouldn't needle so much, if I didn't know that this is so much of M*ffat's thesis. romantic love is better than any other forms of connection

“GODLIKE” DOCTOR: the Doctor is kind of the point of this episode in that they needed his voice to make the plot work, and then he's badass, and then it ends. it's not "godlike," but it's just. not a good episode. the end.

PREVIOUS DOCTOR WHO: So this also ties into the lore -- I kind of like right now how it definitely does acknowledge the previous narratives and it's weird that Amy doesn't know that it happened... highly suspect

“SEXINESS”: we're fine on the sexiness overall. minimum trying to be sexy outside of the general weirdness of the miniskirts as a Choice

INTERNAL WORLD: it's not good folks. it's trying to be so big and impressive and so we've got random planes in space and Churchill is Personal Friends With The Doctor and it's got this whole wink wink we know we're going to beat the Germans, because we know the Future

vs, say, M*ffat's last foray into WWII (which, granted he didn't write this episode, but this is his show now) in which you really got a sense of the fear and the unknown and the Deeply Human, because we're not just hanging out with the Most important people

it's just not recognisable as a Place and Time, beyond the need for some kind of coolness factor

and speaking of The Most Important People--

POLITICS: uuuuuuurghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh okay

I have seen someone say that this episode is actually a critique of Churchill, and honestly I was this close to skipping it, and then that dragged me in to actually give it a go and

no it is not. I mean, yes, Churchill is characterised as someone who will try to win however he can, but he's actually trying his best in a difficult situation and as the Doctor says: “the world doesn’t need me. The world’s got Winston Spencer Churchill.”

UUUUUUURGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH OKAY

the doctor personal friends with winston churchill

the fucking. Hey-Ho Britain Propaganda! We'll Beat The Bally Germans Ey Lads!

FULL RATING: 53/100 (if I can count….)

It loses on the politics of course, and on the internal world-building (again related to the politics), and Amy isn't really much of anything in this episode beyond... there

it does well on... not doing the sexy sexism I guess. and it's not terrible towards other Doctor Who stories, although maybe it deserves less on that because fuuuck the shit it does with the Daleks is an insult in and of itself

it's just not a good episode

[jennyandvastraflint]

3,4,6,8,15 & 16 for the Doctor Who ask game!

Hehe, thank you for the ask!

3. Who is your favourite Doctor? Why?

My favourite is 13! She's just so... on the one hand quite optimistic and hopeful, on the other so terrible at communicating (I like that in a woman apparently) and broody, and she gets so much trauma, my poor skrunkly. I have a particular soft spot for her because her era made me feel properly represented a lot. Also side note, I adore her costume. But 13 is the one I also imagine in my head when I say "the Doctor". (with 12 coming close as well)

4. Who is your least favourite Doctor? Why?

Only counting those I saw, I don't particularly like Four, but the ones I enjoy least are generally Ten and Eleven. (This is gonna piss some people off) I'm trying to figure out which I like less, but it depends on my mood. Ten because I found Series 2 annoying to watch (I am at best neutral towards TenRose, don't really care and find it very annoying at worst), and Ten's treatment of Martha makes me want to bang his head against a wall. Also, he yells soooo much and I get it blah, but urgh it annoys me a lot. (Me during The Martian Invasion of Planetoid 50: Shut up Ten 🙄)

For Eleven, I think my quarrels are with some of the writing, but also Matt Smith gives me the creeps. I again don't like him shouting because uhhhh, idk men shouting is really, ready uncomfortable. I think his characterisation fell apart a bit after the Ponds left...

I feel like I have more textual things to point to with Ten (well there's SA scenes as a "joke" with both and in 12s era which I generally hate), and with Eleven it comes down to me just being creeped out by Matt Smith for no reason I can really point out.

6. NuWho or Classic Who? Why?

NuWho for the simple reason of I've actually watched all of it and it's more approachable to me (it engages my at times hyperactive brain better) plus all my favourite beloveds are from NuWho. I do hope to watch at least a few episodes of each Doctor (or companion actually) at some point!!! So far I have the very first ep, Doctor Who and the Silurians, the Infernoverse story, most of Sarah Jane, and most of Ace.

8. Favourite outfit of the Doctor's? Why?

Thirteen, definitely. I love the style she wears (recommend the video on her costume with Ray Holman!). From the wide trousers to the boots to the shirt (rainbow hellooo!), to her EARRING!!!! I'm in love with the earring!

15. What is your favourite companion outfit and why?

Uhhh... Instinctively said Yaz's PotD one! I actually have a vaguely similar yellow jacket! That being said, while I'm not a fan of Clara, her wardrobe is to die for (specifically thinking of the Under the Lake/Before the Flood outfit... I like yellow, HU XD)

16. Who's your favourite Doctor/Companion duo?

Oh, I'm torn between Thirteen & Yaz and Twelve & Bill. Am I allowed a double answer? 😂 I love Thirteen and Yaz (as Thasmin or outside of that) for the way they just immediately clicked and are so on one wavelength a few episodes in (think "Couldn't you reverse the polarity or something?" "Yasmin Khan, you speak my language."), and just their entire dynamic.

And Bill and Twelve are just soooo grandpa and granddaughter and it's so much fun (Bill deserves so much more), and Bill calling him out on his bullshit? Her calling him a penguin with his arse on fire? Delicious. (S10 was also by far Twelve's strongest season)

So yeah. I can't decide between those two.

I hope you are satisfied with these answers, and thank you for the ask againnn

[princesssarcastia]

thoughts on house of the dragon and what it means to be a targaryen

i watched house of the dragon.  or, parts of it, at least.  the parts I found interesting.  the small but dedicated f/f corner of ao3—forever out here doing the necessary work—made a convincing case.  so, unfortunately, did matt smith’s involvement; i’ve enjoyed him since they heydays of doctor who and i’m not about to stop now. 

so: what this show has further convinced me of, is that the targaryens were never meant to rule.  daario naharis said it best in season 6 of got when he said:

 “you weren’t made to sit on a chair in a palace//you’re a conqueror, daenerys stormborn.”

some of the true dragons, like rhaenys, learn to fake it and live well in the civilized world.  some of them turn fucking insane and weak and abusive, like gold-crowned viserys.  some of them aren’t really dragons, like king viserys and queen aemma, who lack the hawkish nature, wildness, and ruthlessness that seem to be innate traits in most of the others.

but the ones with fire in their blood, the real dragons, like rhaenyra and daemon (and daenerys, in the end), aren’t made for sitting in chairs.  a crown is just another kind of chain, in the end, and it suits them ill.  rhaenerya says what she wants in the first episode, and frankly, i believe her:

I want to fly with you on dragon-back, see the great wonders across the Narrow Sea, and eat only cake.

rhaenerya doesn’t want the throne, in the beginning.  and from her poor political showing in the rest of the series, it’s pretty clear that she doesn’t have the skills or the drive to maintain that kind of position.  she only latches onto it because her father gives it to her (and then she gets backed into a corner by the inevitable series of events that follow).  all she wants is for her father to love her, and for her father to be happy, and when he makes her heir, in her mind he’s saying “this is how you can make me happy.  i love you.  i love you and this is how I’m choosing to show it.”  after that, any threat to that position becomes a threat to viserys’s love for her.

after that, she sets aside what she wants for herself—to live on syrax’s back with alicent, to live a life of wants fulfilled—in order to become what she believes her father wants.  in order to hang onto something that will make her miserable with her goddamn fingertips just to keep that horrible old man happy.

and she is, of course, heartrendingly similar to daemon and his love for viserys and his desire to please him at any cost.   that stupid old man had them both by the throat, and he didn’t realize it, but he also took it as nothing less than his due.  like with rhaenerya in the first episode, i’m also wont to believe daemon when he says all he wants is to protect viserys:

D: He doesn't protect you. I would.

V: From what?

D: Yourself. You're weak... Viserys. And that council of leeches knows it. They all prey on you for their own ends.

Daemon love Viserys so fucking much—the only thing he loves more is rhaenerya, but even then I think it’s close.  I think if the two of them had ever come into direct conflict, it would have been a close fucking call which side daemon picked.

The positions of power Viserys gives Daemon are how Daemon measures how much his brother loves him.  Making him heir is a sign of his love, but it’s not enough; Daemon wants to protect Viserys, too.  He wants Viserys to trust him enough to defend him from all comers—something Rhaenerya later happily lets him do, btw, which is part of why their relationship (mostly) worked.  He wants someone holding his leash who isn’t afraid to let him off it, to let him be a dragon.

So, when Viserys takes away that position (takes away his love), and worse, when he sends Daemon away....it guts him.  Matt Smith’s wounded puppydog eyes remain fucking undefeated, jfc.

which brings me to another game of thrones quote, from maester aemon at castle black:

A Targaryen alone in the world is a terrible thing.

I think Targaryens are like wild gods; immensely powerful, ill-suited to anything but what they want, and the loneliest creatures on earth without someone who understands them.  being the last of old valeyria and a cultural diaspora exacerbates this problem to intense extremes—it’s why rhaenerya and daemon bond over their shared language and converse in it so frequently when they’re alone.  the whole show is the two of them desperately going “same hat!!” with each other because there’s no one else who they feel like understand them and the fire in their blood their desperate desire for the king to love them. 

all daemon and rhaenerya needed was for viserys to love them, and for their own selves to make him happy.  but viserys is too wrapped up in the kingship, in heirs and hanging on to power that he is also ill-suited for, though for different reasons that his brother and daughter, to be what they need from him.  instead, viserys wraps them in chains and ties them to the throne, makes them want that stupid chair through the transitive property of desire.  daemon and rhaenerya want viserys to love them, viserys want to keep the throne and loves the throne and the kingship, therefore daemon and rhaenerya come to want to keep the throne.

and then he does that stupid shit will alicent.  you fucked up a perfectly good lesbian, is what you did!  Look at her, she has anxiety!  so mad about that.  it’s so selfish, and gross, and it wrecks alicent and rhaenerya permanently. 

it’s just tragedies all the way down. 

it all becomes inevitable and locked in when viserys chooses an heir over his wife, when he lets otto make rhaenerya heir, when otto decided rhaenerya will make a good placeholder for the good of the realm but then doesn’t let anyone else in on the secret fact that it’s a temporary gig, in his mind.  off to the races.  first one to kill all the others wins, and claims the terrible victory of once again being alone.

look out for part two, in which i detail the way it could all go...better. not perfect. but better.

[al-hekima-art-astro]

The House of the dragon 1x01 (none reader review)

Coming back to Game of throne HBO show, three years after the infamous finale season 8 is a bit like coming back with an ex after a torrid love affair and a messy break up. Yeah, that was hot but do I really want to go through the same meltdown again?

I've read Game of throne books up to the dance of dragon and watched the 8 seasons of the show, but I haven't read Fire and blood inspiring the house of the dragon. No spoils please!!

Initially my answer was "no, never again" but after watching the first trailers in spring, I was more " ok maybe just one more time?". HBO was really playing music in my ears with more targaryens, more authenticity to the novel, more dragons...

I was the perfect target audience for this spin-off. I really never been that much interesting about neither the Starks, the Nighwatch, and the Others. However I've always been a big fan of Daenerys and really invested into her storyline. Long story short, I'm not against the idea she ended up mad queen, but I think season 8 rushed her struggle with sanity and make it difficult to believe it.

House of the dragon (HOTD) comes like a sincere apologise and a promise to do better. It expands Daenerys Targaryen's tragic story 172 years before her birth. in GOT the targaryens are already gone, Daenerys is born orphan after the downfall of her family she doesn't know much about her culture but what her brother retold her and him also was a child. Dragons were suppose to have disappeared decades before her birth so when she awoke three it comes like a miracle. She didn't really know how to raise them and so do we.

The first episode of HOTD took really great care of old GOT viewers. This pilot was like a date, everything was done to make us comfortable and familiar with the universe : Targaryen's theme was very present, GOT's theme closed the episode for the nostalgia, here some long dialogues around a cup of wine, here some ultra graphic depiction of violence, here some crude sex, here some expensive costumes, here amazing landscape, and here amazing dragons.

Yes it's GOT, but with a complete different flavour almost two centuries ago. I especially love all the scenes with Rhaenyra, our new main character who where a nod to her descendant Daenerys.

Lol the opening scene gave me PTSD😅 last time we saw a dragon above King's Landing it didn't end well... so it's amusing to see we are in a different timeline, nobody is surprise to see a dragon flying above the city. The same dragon above the funeral pyre is an allusion to Daenerys's judgment against the Tarly family. And of course Rhaenyra in front of the throne reminds us Daenerys' final dream of power.

About the new plot in itself the approach seems original. Yes it's still about political struggle: who will succeed the king? but this time it's entirely focused on a deep family feud who happened to control dragons. And this intimacy kind of surprise me. We get use to pompous dialogues, epic war, machiavellian scheme. That will come later because hey! it's still GRR Martin's universe but in this first episode they chose a very human's angle. People think of Targaryens as Godlike because of their control of dragons but without them, they are just like everybody. We see all the main characters dealing with succession in a patriarchal society, the absence of woman consentement during pregnancy, jealousy and envy betweens brothers, dealing with mourning of loved one, hope in dream, sacrifice for power.

King Viserys : Don't ask me why but for some reason he reminds me a lot of Hashirama Senju. Dreamer, easy-going. He seems to not realise how many snakes are around him ready to attack. I love how the actor Paddy Considine plays a well-balanced character, who can take hard decision if needed I was touched by his grief. But as his brother noticed he is really naive about people...

Ah, the brother.... Daemon Targaryen: you can already tell he's going to be the star of this show. Matt Smith's talent is not a surprise for me, I've seen him already in the Crown when he was playing Prince Philip, the Queen's consort. And he already have this talent for playing haughty aristocrat, both attractive and annoying. Prince Daemon is much more rogue, impatient, with a taste for violence. I can't say yet if he is in my top tier because his first action was a big mistake. He was already his brother's heir, all he has to do was to wait and be nice with his brother and niece. But he celebrates his victory too soon and get kicked out. In the same time if he hasn't done anything they'll be no story right😅? So for now I'm like : ok I like his wildness, good villain vibe detected, I can feel the character is much more complex, but I need to see more because for know he's not the sharpest mind...

Rhaenyra : for now she is my favourite, it was easy to like her. She resembles Daenerys both physically and in her attitude. She has the same problem : being a women in a position where everyone is expecting a man. But contrary to her descendant she was not alone. She seems to have a loving family, wealthy and comfortable childhood inside the royal court. Power, dragon and affluence but for how long....? I can feel her life is going to be very difficult. No one is ready to accept her easily as heiress to the throne, will she stay close to her childhood friend Alicent, herself representing her family's interest? And also how will develop her closeness to her uncle Daemon? There is in one side their rivalry to the throne and also we know Targaryens and their openness to incest... so I'm ready to any morally grey situations... 😬

Princess Rhaenys and Lord Corlys : We haven't seen much yet but this couple is intriguing. Rhaenys is called the Queen who never was. Will she accept Rhaenyra becoming heiress to a title she once was legitimate for? And also why her husband is defending Prince Daemon so much during the council lol at some point I thought Daemon was paying his bills lol.

My critics : I was expecting more original scores. They probably choose to play safe for the first episode. GOT's theme is a signature. I think I've never skipped it during the 8 seasons because it emerges you into the universe and there is always tiny details in the opening credits, changing when the story progresses. I've enjoy listened to it again during the ending but I'm ready for a new show having his own identity, I'm expected an original opening next episode for House of the dragon.

To put it in a nutshell, it's an excellent start, I love the plot and actors I'm ready for more drama and bloodshed. And gosh how I missed dragons !🔥🔥🔥

Note 9.5/10

Episode 2

[litcityblues]

Doctor Whoquest Part Two: Capaldi, Season 1

The next installment of my ongoing Doctor Whoquest returns, this time with the debut season of Peter Capaldi in the role. I will be honest: I feel like I missed out on just how excellent Capaldi is. It doesn't come up until his next season, but this entire episode, and especially this sequence might be my favorite in all of Nu-Who and I don't know if any Doctor other than Capaldi could have pulled it off.

(Thinking about 'Heaven Sent', I'd put it up there with some of the greatest science fiction ever seen on television, if not just a great television moment, full stop-- but I'm getting ahead of myself here.)

I loved Capaldi's debut episode. I think a lot of Doctor debuts that don't start fresh out the gate with new companions have that whole 'but are they still MY Doctor' thing hanging over them and I don't think that was the primary focus of 'Deep Breath'- instead, it was about the Doctor figuring out if he was still the Doctor and kind of finding himself in a way you don't normally see. It tracks perfectly with the series however: this is post-Trenzalore, he's got a fresh set of regenerations, courtesy of the Time Lords and it really is uncharted territory- a fact underlined by the phone call Clara receives at the end of the episode from Matt Smith's Doctor, who advises her that this Doctor is going to be pretty lost and looking to figure out who he is.

Also: when are we getting a spin-off with the Paternoster Gang? I know Russell T. Davis is back in charge and he's all about Torchwood but... come on now. They're sitting right there and they're awesome characters. I want to know more!

I think I'm going to have to make peace with Doctor Who's insistence on scattering clues to a big bad season finale throughout any given season. It annoys me because it feels so familiar and doesn't actually end up being all that much of a surprise in the end. (Who is the mysterious woman? Is she up to nefarious deeds? Will we find out conveniently at the end of the season? I think we will!) If there is one thing I would like Nu-Who to do, it's to move away from that or at least be a hell of a lot more subtle about it so there's some actual suspense about it. (I'd also like to add to the list: Daleks and Cybermen. Do something original with them or don't use them at all! We get it: the Doctor hates the Daleks-- I don't know how many variations on that theme I've seen, but it's getting tiresome. If you've been around for six decades, I feel like you can resurrect some old-school villains and people will understand.)

Every Doctor puts their own spin on the character and while 13's was not as twitchy and suave as say, 11's, Capaldi (!2) manages to be eccentric, foreboding, and feels like an alien more than any of the other Doctors in Nu-Who put together. I know everyone has their favorite Doctor-- but I feel like I underrated Capaldi in this role and I can't wait to watch more of him.

Three Episodes I Liked:

'Listen': I understand if you have mixed feelings about the Danny Pink of it all goodness knows there were parts of this season where I had some mixed feelings about him, but this was an excellent episode of Doctor Who. First of all, it's a perfect entry in the 'watch this from behind the couch' category that Whovians will recognize all too well. This was tense, quiet, and creepy dialed up to the max-- not quite the same level of creepy as say the gas mask kids in 'The Empty Child' or the debut of the Weeping Angels in 'Blink' but goodness, can Moffat write. The twist at the end of the episode is just about perfect- both for Clara and The Doctor (and his personal background.)

'Time Heist': Find me a better sci-fi heist episode-- other than maybe something from 'Firefly', I don't think you can. I feel like really effective heist episodes are hard to pull off in any genre, but this episode keeps the action moving and ties it all together by the end of the episode. 10/10, not notes-- might be one of the best stand-alone episodes of the season.

'Kill The Moon': I am not about the whole 'spiders on the moon' thing because I don't like spiders- but what makes this one interesting is that the Doctor puts Clara and Company in a position where they have to make an Earth (or in this case Moon) shattering decision. What I like about this episode is that the Doctor (undercover at Clara's school as The Caretaker) brings one of her students along and at the very end, when they're all on the beach, he does one of those random Time Lord-y things that they show now and again once and only once and we never see again. What I forgot about this episode is that it leads to a rupture between the Doctor and Clara, who is monumentally pissed off that the Doctor just left them on a dying moon to their fates.

Two Episodes I Didn't Like:

'Into The Dalek': Maybe this makes me a bad Whovian, but I'm so over the Daleks at this point. Show me something new, please. I guess it's okay overall- the whole 'Fantastic Voyage' into the Dalek is kind of interesting and the inevitable twist of the Doctor connecting his mind to the Dalek's in an attempt to save the day only to have the Dalek be like, 'ah-ha, HATRED, I like HATRED, you hate the Daleks, so EXTERMINATE THE DALEKS' is theoretically new and kind of a fresh twist, but it all felt so... meh.

"Dark Water"/"Death In Heaven": I know it's weird to pick the season finale for this, but it just didn't land for me. Do I like the reveal of 'Missy' as The Master? I know a common grump I have with this show is that it always comes back to the same old themes (Daleks, Cybermen, etc.) but this take on The Master is excellent and feels genuinely fresh, new, and delightfully villainous. Michelle Gomez is excellent in the role. Love that. The rest of it, however? Danny Pink deserved better- though his fate was probably inevitable. The Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart moment was a nice tribute to a longtime fixture of the franchise, who I believe had passed away shortly before this episode. But the Cybermen of it all? Again, it's reasonably entertaining and has a few bright spots, but it's just... meh.

One Episode To Consider:

'Flatline': You know how Doctor Who always seems to come back to the same old villains time and time again? This episode was NEW, it was FRESH, it was FUN and it was original as hell. Loved every minute of it and could easily bump it up into the 'episodes I liked category.' Worth a watch, especially for the incredible shrinking TARDIS, and the FX work was great-, especially with the 2D villains/aliens.

Overall: The inevitable same-old ticks and villains aside, this was a really excellent debut for Capaldi and I loved the vast majority of it. He inhabits the role perfectly and makes it his own quickly I don't know what the general feeling about where he fits into the franchise pecking order is, but for my own personal pecking order, he requires a reassessment because I feel like I've dramatically underrated him.

(Hey, speaking of fresh ideas: all this alien shit keeps happening all the time in the Who-ni-verse... unpacking it all from a regular person's point of view could be interesting story territory to venture into. What does Courtney or any of the other students think? How does it change their lives? How does it change the way they view the universe? At this point, barring some massive deus ex machina-- which they provided Amy Pond for 11, but not here- people know that aliens are real. How does that change humanity?)

My Grade: 8/10