It really cannot be overstated how much everything is Viserys fault. He really set everyone up to fail and created a precarious house of cards that would blow over the moment he wasn't standing there holding it up. He could have foreseen the issues pretty easily and headed them off, but instead he did everything to undermine his own family. His obsession with prophecy blinded him to things right in front of him or only a year away.
Heleana forsaw it all. "Hand (Otto) weaves loom (stokes the embers of hate and later war), spool of green (Alicent), spool of black (Rhaenyra), dragons of flesh weaving dragons of thread (banners).
And even if you take out the prophecy stuff, this feels so realistic. People are complex beings and SO very good at denial, this is something that happens in real-life, dragon-less families too, alas.
I'm still a little disappointed the show went full Mushroom with him but I'm hoping the second season really nails the bond with Sunfyre and gives him a character arc after he's burned. I'm also hoping that perhaps Alicent will have a much larger influence over him and the faction than previously thought. For a real world parallel though Aegon is what you get when you're neglectful to your child. At first they'll try to do what's expected to gain your attention and respect, when that doesn't work they'll act up and do things they aren't supposed to illicit some sort of reaction even if it's negative, and then finally they stop caring entirely
After they made him rapist in season 1 i don't know how can you go back from that they should make him womanizer and man who overuse his power not rapist
@@queenxx1690ppl also loved jamie and drogo after what they did they technically could redeem him but they 100% wont cuz how would u sell feminist queen girlboss icon daeny 2.0 then. Its so blatant what the showrunners are doing its not even funny. Give rhaenyra: -prophecy for the world (only she/the blacks know abt) -disney like appearance of mythical creature to strengthen her claim to the audience -let her keep laenor alive when in the books she is responsible for his death Give aegon: -rape scene the very first time we see him as an adult to make sure the general audience will never back him despite arguments he might have for himself cuz “evil rapist” -just to make sure that the audience roots for the right side they also have him watching children fight for his amusement Theory: They will also make HIS children be aemond’s cuz then the evil greens are hypocrites cuz one point of them against rhaenyra is her having bastards one more reason to dislike the greens ❗️❕❗️SPOILERS❗️❕❗️ My theory for rhaenyra‘s death is as follows: -she will be brought before aegon -she will see that she is not getting out of this alive -she will then tell aegon abt the prophecy but he will have none of it and wont believe her -thus leading to everyone in the audience being against aegon/the greens It is such a shame that the writers go out of their way just to dictate the viewers which side they should be on. It could’ve been such a great show if they just tried to make both sides appealing instead of making one side completely unable to root for bcs targ woman like daeny (even tho rhaenyra has NOTHING in common with her besides the hair and name) sell to the general audience
I love love love your channel! And your hair! Every iteration of it! The bun, short or long! It’s great!!! Thank for always giving thorough content that’s fun and thoughtful. I can’t wait for S2 of HOTD! Aegon is messed up thru no fault of his own. OTTO and King Vizzy messed those kids up! All of them. Otto groomed his daughter. Vizzy didn’t bother to actually teach Rhaenera how to rule. And he should have taken several instances to solidify that she would reign even tho Alicents children existed. He knew the realm didn’t want to accept a female! Ughhh. He set her up for failure (tho that throne room walk was EPIC and should have won him multiple awards!). I can’t wait to see this play out!
First, the show is not the same as the book. Second, the book is written from the perspective of an unreliable narrator. Third, I already know how it ends...@@TheDream6842
Never expected HOTD to immediately hook me back in after GOT season 8. Glad the creators seem to care about the story and why fans loved it. Can’t wait for season 2 and the discussions in this community
As excited as I am about seeing the Dance I am already mourning the inevitable dragon losses. They are so magnificent and we know this leads to a long period where there were no dragons until Dany birthed them.
So glad I found this channel. Been absolutely binging this content, especially all the insightful streams. The fact that we get this for free is a crime!! Will def be tuning in to the next live
Your username reminds me of that donut man clip where they put dough in the oven and this terrifying foam rubber loaf puppet emerges and immediately begins preaching the good news to the delighted children
@@jarroncarlton I had been looking for space stuff cause I was thinking about the seasons and if planetos was a rogue planet/ or had some highly eccentric orbit. Obviously that quickly led me to Lightbringer and I've been a squisher cultis-FAN OF THE CHANNEL since
Sunfyre is the most important relationship in Aegon’s life.😮😮 They’d better do beautiful Sunfyre the Golden justice and show him as described in the book, not just one of the other "plain" looking ones (sorry Caraxes and Dreamfyre). Sunfyre must stand out and they should also focus on the special bond both rider and dragon share.❤
Aegon was not well developed or focused on in season 1 so I am excited to see what he will bring in s2. I think if done right, he can be very interesting and complex. And Tom Glynn Carney plays him so well.
I don't really understand this complaint. Based on your comment you must be a book reader, comparing the show to the high points of F&B. But remember, We are also talking about a story that everyone already knows the ending of. Even show only fans, It was already said in the prior series that Aegon killed Rheanyra with his dragon, and her sons saved the dynasty. book readers especially are much more familiar with how Aegon & Rheanyras development turns out. Knowing a character's future, already adds so much unstated development and context, and dramatic tension. It would honestly be a waste to spend more time developing deeper aspects of characters, that are already implied by the way they turn out. When that run time is precious & limited, can go elsewhere in the series.
Spoilers: I mean ageon defiantly was badass in the war. yes he was permanently maimed In his first battle but he lived and he did outlive both Deamon Rheanys and Rhaenyra and he did survive and win his second dragon battle. So I would say overall he did good, he might not be fighter like Deamon or Aemond or had a epic showdown like Dearon but he did good
I'd argue he's the best rider aside from Daemon and Rhaenys who are a league above the rest and way more experienced. Aemond had an overwhelming advantage in every fight due to Vhagar and didn't win the one time he didn't. Imo Aegon had a better showing in the dance than Aemond.
@@vayne-he9yiVhagar was old and slow though. Her size is not just an advantage, it also made her cumbersome especially when facing much faster and more agile dragons such as Caraxes and Meleys. Add to that that her rider is half blind. And that smaller dragons can still cause lethal damage on larger ones if they get the chance we are shown time and time again. With Tessarion and Seasmoke against Vermithor, with Moondancer against Sunfyre and with Caraxes against Vhagar. Therefore I think it's not exactly fair to claim Aemond had this huge advantage in every fight. He and Vhagar faced the most fearsome dragons of the blacks and he demolished Meleys unscathed and got a draw against Caraxes.
@@pg1448 Despite everything Daemon did from outsmarting Aemond, utilizing his blind spot to attack, and getting a surprise attack to latch onto Vhagar from the start, it was STILL a draw. Vhagar is just that much of a beast that even with everything going Daemon's way, she was still able to get a draw in that fight. I also think Meleys is slightly overrated. Still one of the top tiers for sure but people take the "might have stood a chance in a 1v1 vs Vhagar" line and run with it.
@@vayne-he9yiyep totally agree, people act like it says Meleys would certainly win a 1v1 against Vhagar when in reality she would be an underdog to do so
I love the empathy with which you spoke about Helaena. Like when you were saying how she'd need a partner who was understanding and appreciative of her. Even the words you picked -- "different," never anything negative. It came off really kind of you, especially considering a lot of people -- me included -- read Helaena as neurodivergent. Thank you for it !!! :)
I've got the raging ADHD so yeah I'm coming from a place of having thought about some of this, and I also think I am generally an empathetic person haha
I just can't connect with hotd, Dany was my favorite character, and I'm still traumatized by GOTs ending. I just feel empty watching it. I didn't mind her dying, but I had massive problems with them turning her into hitler, Wtf we know this character, we've been inside her head for goodness sake.
It'll be interesting to see his behaviour on the show and how the traumatic stuff he experienced will inform that. Like you said, he will be much more complex than Joffrey although he might be somewhat similar due to them both having the pampered upbringing/not having limits set on them. They have a great opportunity to do something different with the archtype which, Joffrey was something of a subversion of to begin with.
@@MrFredstt I'm confident he will be. Both from a text perspective and how I believe the show writers will want to change things up. The last thing they want is to be accused of rehashing GoT, especially after the later seasons caused so much uproar. The book gives them plenty to work with and from my reading of FaB between S1 and 2, it seems like the book is guiding almost all of the show storylines and characterisation
@@MrFredstt He'll be pretty similar. The writers already made it clear they personally prefer Alicent and Aemond and centered the green narrative around them. They already set this up by adapting the worst possible Aegon rumors (even the unreliable Mushroom ones) while removing his few decent traits. They went on to whitewash Aemond and set up up as a complex character when they had it in their hands with Aegon. They clearly don't care as much for Aegon's character as the others, the signs are already there from the trailer where they're going to have him act like a brat during small council meetings.
SPOILERS FOR S2 AND S3 Aegon’s an awful person but actually does really well considering Aemond was playing on easy mode. Sunfyre and Aegon are easily the Green MVPs in the war. Both survive getting maimed, recover, get back out, get maimed AGAIN and then finally succumb. Sunfyre kills what, 3 dragons? What a legend.
@@donvalladares6930 Spoilers: Aegon fights twice, Rook’s Rest and Baela Targaryen’s ambush with Moondancer. Sunfyre fights 3 times, Rook’s Rest, hunting and killing Grey Ghost, and Moondancer. Sunfyre is large, but not even in the same ballpark as Vhagar. Yet in the Dance of the Dragons, Vhagar kills Arrax, a dragon 1/5th his size, Meleys (with Sunfyre) and then ties with Caraxes (I’d say since Caraxes crawled to the shore, he won, but it’s a moot point because they both died). So Sunfyre honestly has a more impressive streak.
I would say that in terms of dragon riding, Aemond was definitely playing on the hardest setting. Because the first danger of dragon riding is the dragon that you are riding. A bond like Aegon's, made from birth to a dragon egg would make the dragon be much more in tune with their rider with less effort, but Aemond, with a dragon that has had many previous riders, and that could just reject their new rider at any point even if bonded, he would have to earn it every time he rides Vhagar. Yes, she's massive, but, that also means she is harder to control. Only a skilled rider would be able to ride her.
Don´t forget about Dearon and Tessarion he has some badass dragon fights, he was basically the whole deciding factor in the reach part of the war. Melys is taken out pretty fast. Rhaenyra has zero dragon battles during the whole dance, in the books Syrax is basically a fat lazy dragon constantly chained. And Luke and his dragon is basically gone. Vermax is taken out pretty fast. If Ageon and Aemond had double teamed Deamon and Caraxsas early in the war the blacks would have lost their general and main dragon fighter you can't compensate for experience and Deamon is the only one that is a battle hardened solder and has experience fighting on dragon back. the dragon seeds are a problem of course specially Silverwimg and the bronze fury. but apparently the seeds are for sale. and nettles leaves.
I'm walking home from work, about 5 pm, I look up and see a solitary star, Venus, the Morningstar, and it made me think maybe Lucifer(Venus) means Lightbringer aka LML has a new video, and you did not disappoint, thanks for all you do bro.
I think that Helena was probably autistic. As we all know Targaryen's have mental illnesses. She seems intelligent along with having her dreams. She's very special just different.
The Lords of the Realm being the most powerful warriors is the gist of Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Age of Sigmar whereby the lords are dragon riders (or dragon rider equivalent as one of them rides magic waves etc).
Unrelated to HOTD so I apologize but I didn’t know where else to ask; I was re-reading COK in the chapter where Renly and Stannis are meeting and was wondering the significance of their standard bearers. Catelyn remarks that both standard bearers are women with Mellisandre holding Stannis’s fiery stag heart banner and Brienne holding Renly’s crowned stag banner. Possible duality of Nysa Nysa as a warrior and a priestess of some sort? Not totally sure though what’s your take?
def a sort of ice and fire blue and red queen pairing, and we see a lot of those. I tend to associate that with Nissa Nissa and Night's Queen, or the two moons
So Aemond must be 17 or 18 but looks 27 I only just found this at 1.30am but as always great to watch talking about dragon battles is awesome like you said Danny against the Lannesters but the death of Dragons is heartbreaking
Glidus indicated that Helena is probably being portrayed as someone on the spectrum. Her behavior and reactions mirrors those of autistic people. He covered this subjet extensively in his Blisstake series.
I'm a mental health worker who also happens to be on the autistic spectrum, and I interpret her character this way as well. How much of her behaviour might have to do with her psychic abilities and knowledge of the future is impossible to know, but it doesn't change the fact that her character doesn't read as neurotypical at all. And I'm fine with that. She's a sweet, kind girl, and hey, why shouldn't a seer be a little neurodivergent? It just makes sense!
many people (including myself) have covered this extensively. In short, yes that's valid interpretation, but it's a viewer interpretation -we know that she is psychic, so to the extent they are using neurodivergent coding, they are using it to help portray what it might be like to be hearing or seeing messages from the spirit world. That's what we should think of when we see her reacting to things. I'm all for people's interpretations and such but it really cannot in any way supercede what we know about the character, and some people were def doing that last season. She's a psychic, so it makes sense to delve into conditions that deal with sensory overload or overstimulation (I have ADHD and deal with that to a smaller extent).
I'm ok with the glasses, but it's really cool to see your whole face. I totally agree, if we are going with Targs NEED to marry their siblings to be able to be keep having/taming/riding dragons, Aemond and Helaena would have been a better match. I also like the theory that Helaena's children are Aemond's and not King Aegon's If you're still reading this comment, pound the like on the video! ❤
I await patiently for the day that the Others invade, crown their king Jon snow and turn the entirety of the world populations eyes blue and plunge the world into an evee dark and frozen hellscape.
I thought that was Alys Rivers… but I guess it is Helaena . Kinda looks like the actor that was casted for Alys in the shot. Oops 😢 I guess I’m wishful seeing. Love Helaena, but Can’t wait for Alys. 😅 Love the Rhaegar commercials! ❤️ Aegon is a “sorry” unfortunate dude. He may have matured physically since the last time jump but not mentally. It’s hard for me to hate him. Kids who are unsure of their parents’ love are very sad over all.
I wonder if Aemond will start to doubt himself after what happened at Storms End. He was the only eyewitness and we know how VERY unreliable human memory is. He could start to doubt what really happened there that day. Also someone as proud as Aemond would not want his life to be defined by a mistake, he would want to take credit for it because he wants to be in charge of his own destiny. In a way, Aegon’s destiny was decided by Alicent and Otto, and Aemond’s destiny was decided by Vhagar.
@thesahel7218 I would say it was decided more subtly by Alicent and Otto as well, as they caused the division in the family which led to him being bullied and resentful of them. On top of that, all of them having dragons. It would've been only a matter of time for something like this to happen with the enmity that was set between them.
David, any thoughts on what the next 2 seasons will be? 3 and 4? Do you think they'll still be in the Dance of Dragons or will that be done? My guess is that the Dance will be done by the end of this season, with the Finale showing the Starks taking the iron throne and ending the war, then season 3 will pick up much later... with Aegon the unworthy legitimizing his bastards and starting the Blackfyre rebellion. And I'm also thinking that atleast the last 5 episodes of season 4 will show us the Mad King... however then they might have to show us what happened at Summerhall which George has stated before he wants to keep close to the vest so maybe they won't. Seems logical though, to give the history right up until the start of GoT, since its called 'House of the Dragon', which to me says its about their entire history, not just the Dance.
8:14 I always thought Alicent’s expression was more of an exhausted relief. She has finally accomplished her goal, but she has sacrificed so much to get here, been so tormented about what to do when Viserys is gone. Now it’s done and she can breathe a sigh of relief. I really cant read how people interpret it as “what have we created. But if someone can explain it to me, please do!
Will you bleach your hair to silver for the beginning of the new Season? You'd have the perfect length. I did it already, halfway 😉 The Narcissa Malfoy look is so easy to keep up and still has a tad of Targaryen 😁
“Treason…is only a word. When two princes fight for a chair where only one may sit, great lords and common men alike must choose. And when the battle’s done, the victors will be hailed as loyal men and true, whilst those who were defeated will be known forevermore as rebels and traitors. That was my fate.”
