The sad part about Alicent realizing her error, is that it ultimately woudn't have mattered. Otto was always going to conspire to make Aegon the king in Rhaenyra's place. So no matter what they would have found themselves on opposite sides of a war of succession. The difference being that Rhaenyra wouldn't have been burdened with the soul crushing idea that her father didn't love her and wanted someone else on the throne. Alas she did come to realize her father did love her, but it chnages nothing, except some modicum of solace.
The petty as fuck rivalry between the Brackens and Blackwoods never fails to make me laugh. They've gone for literally THOUSANDS of years, all the way back to the mythical Age of Heroes, absolutely hating each others guts because they both claim that in ancient times, they were kings who ruled the Riverlands and the other house betrayed them. Through time immemorial, through countless dynasties, from the Targaryens to the Baratheons, they will never not find a reason to kill each other for something stupid. They're the Hatfields and McCoys of Westeros and they always fuck stuff up for other people.
@@rexibhazoboa7097 I mean, there would be no mistake about it if she did that. Criston and Gawain were where they were not supposed to be and therefore legitimate military targets unlike Luke. Why do you think Criston is insistent on keeping a low profile while they're there?
35:00 Dragonstone (and Driftmark) are just islands in the bay with Kingslanding at the mouth. Travel time by ship is a day and by dragon is a couple of hours. It is very close in the continent of Westeros. Edit: That's why Rhaenyra sent her young kids away because they are sooo close to Kingslanding.
Emma D'Arcy's performance in this episode was immaculate. They deserve everything. Every award. All recognition. Rhaenyra was so jittery. Uncertain. The physical tics alone made me so uneasy. Until that final shot. Where the look in her eyes just shifts.... to an acceptance that war is now inevitable. To say all that with your eyes... it's a gift I can barely imagine.
@@x0x0skiller2 it’s amazing, the acting the cinematography, the music. it was all SO good and i had chills the whole time. i wouldn’t be surprised if emma or olivia get emmy nods for this.
I think Helaena's "I forgive you" might end up having double meaning. Partly about the whole Criston Cole thing but I also think it's about something she saw in the future.
@@funnylilgalreacts I believe it's more so forgiving Alicent for forcing her to marry her rapist brother and bear his children in a bid for politics, much like how Alicent's own father forced her to marry for political gain.
Here's a wild (....or maybe not so wild) take: Maybe she was saying "I forgive you" to mean she forgave Alicent for misunderstanding Viserys' last words and therefore inadvertently starting everyone down this path that's led (and is going to lead ) to so much bloodshed. Because of that misunderstanding, it's led to a series of events that culminated in Helaena's son getting slaughtered in his bed. And Helaena's power is almost like Bran's in the sense of being able to see and hear conversations in rooms where no one else is in - except she has a weird way of expressing what she heard.
I think it could be that, or a vision, or anything, but I think ultimately what she is forgiving her for doesn't matter. Helaena is incredibly observant and empathetic. I think she saw her mother fretting and agonizing over the guilt of sleeping with Cole and being denied the opportunity to confess and find absolution at every turn and granted her the relief she needed in that moment. It's less about the event and more about consoling her mother. Which, she didn't HAVE to do nor be expected to, but she's a sweet girl who understands the suffering of others.
Rhaenyra coming up with a plan to treat with Alicent (and bonus show her she's wrong) is very tragic; because she doesn't know that the rest of the council had conspired behind Alicent's back to install Aegon before Viserys was even dead. The war has already begun and both Alicent and Rhaenyra are being left behind by other players
Aegon appointed his drinking buddies (“Aegon The Magnanimous”, “the untamable beast!”) to the Kingsguard which is why they aren’t taking the job as seriously as they should, like forgetting it comes with a vow of chastity 😂. That’s why Cole specifically only wants to bring men he’s worked with, not Aegon’s posse.
Love how everyone is so concerned about Baela when she is dive bombing Criston, even though there is no reason to be. I think it’s because we all have PTSD from Lucerys’ death with Vhagar coming out of nowhere.
@@rexibhazoboa7097 I think she was trying to kill them, not scare them. Even though she told Rhaenrya that she did not engage them (......."as such",.....as she deliberately addeed,.....which Rhaenrya understood quite well what she meant). And it would have been a smart strategic move as it would be a massive blow to the Green's side if they lost the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard and The Hand.
@@funnylilgalreacts I mean it’s like the official title of the monarchs spouse, so like Alicent was called your grace when she was married to Viserys and still is as queen mother, this was the case with Cersei as well, all the Targaryen queens would have been called your grace. Think of it like this, not calling Daemon your Grace is basically not acknowledging Rhaenyra as the true queen, as the spouse of Westeros true monarch the official way to refer to Daemon is Your Grace.
People who mistakenly continue to think that Daemon is in it for himself, misinterpret what these little details mean. Once more, this is proof he is loyal to Rhaenyra.
I don't think we can say this for certain. There hasn't been a queen ruling the Seven Kingdoms in her own right before Rhaenyra, and we haven't been told what the custom was in each of the Seven Kingdoms when they were still seven kingdoms. Perhaps it's like in the real world, where a woman does get the title of queen when her husbands becomes king, but when a queen ascends to the throne her husband remains a prince, because the title of king is said to outrank that of queen.
@@thomasvrielink299 That was what I considered. Rheanyra also calls Daemon "Prince Daemon" still. Why not "King Daemon"? He is definitely assuming a position he doesn't belong in according to the realm.
That person who didn't bow to Daemon and was in the Godswood when he woke from his dream is Alys Rivers, a healer among other things. If the show follows the book, you'll see more of her
I think the fact that guy kept messing it up and saying “prince…” is because he didn’t really see Rhaenyra as the true queen and ruler. Yikes. Damon should be paranoid while he’s there.
FYI, in case no one noticed, the dragon's eggs that were sent off with the kids; the three eggs of different colors, are the three eggs that were given to Daenerys at her wedding.
I love your reactions! You have so much insight into the characters, and understand their motivs even though you don't like them. Something not many reactors do ❤
As far as Crispy Cole being named Hand: he is almost certainly one of the only adults Aegon II was around growing up who _ever_ gave him praise or positivity. Cole is an excellent fighter, and has plenty of martial prowess. Aegon II wants war, he decided to name a warmonger as his chief advisor. Otto didn't just steer towards moderation, he was extremely critical in a cutting way towards his grandson. Let's not forget Alicent literally slapped the shit out of him (deservedly in the case of the serving girl he r---d) when he messed up.
Two series' based on misunderstanding and intentional failures to communicate. Writing tricks to create drama and conflict where it isn't necessary. If these characters had actual conversations, we never would have gotten past season one of GoT.
@@user-uu9vh4zg5v The Hightowers aren't even able to support each other when grieving, you think they would be able to talk about their feelings to others?
@@vinnycordeiro Both series suffer from the same cheap writing trope. But we love them regardless. If Rhaenyra and Alicent ever had an actual honest conversation, Rhaenyra would be Queen, and Alicent would be Queen Consort. And there would be peace in the realm.
@@user-uu9vh4zg5v That happens IRL as well, you have small portion of people who can communicate clearly and then most, especially if they dont like each other, will often assume the worst and act acordingdly without much communication.
I get that Rhaenyra meeting Alicent was essentially folly - they're well past the point of no return, so as much as they may want to reconcile, they can't. But Rhaenyra may have accidentally pulled the best psy-op of the war so far, and that's kind of hilarious.
Even if Alicent understood what Viserys was talking about there would still be a mutiny and a war cause Otto was still conspiring with the small council to put Aegon on the throne
Joffrey's actor didn't quit because people hated him. That's a bit of GOT urban legend. The actor has actually personally dispelled this, saying he has never had a single negative interaction but finds it funny that everyone comes to him assuming he has. He quit acting because he didn't enjoy being a celebrity.
I thought he quit simply because he wanted to go to school and pursue a different career he was more interested in. Either way I'm glad he's back acting now because he really was brilliant as Joffrey
@@SaiyanSerenityV He did. He wanted to go into education. But as things go you change your mind and you do other things to make a living. He has done so theater, comedy and now back on a series show.
"Why would you name your kids the same name with just different letters?!" There were twin girls in my grade in school. Nikki and Nichole. They had an older brother, Nick, and a younger sister Nikita. They weren't identical twins, and the names are at least different enough, but it was definitely a "wtf" moment learning all of their names lol.
"Wouldn't it have taken Rhaenyra weeks to get to KL?" - Lol no, Dragonstone is very close to KL. Basically just a little north of Blackwater Bay. A few hundred miles at most. I'm guessing like a day of travel or so. On dragon back, probably a couple of hours.
'm I the only one ? or no reaction channel recognized Diana in that tavern scene. She was Aegon Maid sent away by Alicent because of "what happened to her"
The end of this episode changes everything! Now that Alicent knows the truth, any horrors can no longer hide behind believing she was right. She can no longer claim Aegon is the rightful king now knowing she misunderstood. I'm glad Daemon is finally facing some guilt for all of the terrible things he’s done. POS. Nice to see Milly Alcock again.
The final scene between Emma and Olivia was one of the best scenes in television, imo. ❤ They're remarkable actors, both. Btw, Legend of Vox Machina S3 in October. 😃
The scene with Alicent and Rhaenyra was totally contrived but I’m here for every second of it. I think Alicent has lost so much control over the situation that she is just horrified about the revelation, because she can no longer put a stop to the bloodshed
Usually, the rule is that once a dragon bonds with a human, the dragon cannot bond with another until that human dies. Since Laenor is not dead, I would assume his dragon, Seasmoke, cannot bond with another. Of course, no dragon rider has ever abandoned their dragon before, so who knows? Maybe the dragon _can_ move on and that rule isn’t absolute.
@@Arnorian3320 Yeah that's my concern too. It's been a few years since Laenor "died" so the fact he specifically recently has been acting restless/etc makes me think it's more likely that something changed rather than just missing his rider.
when Baela dives on Criston's party, the music cue is the theme of the Mother Of Dragons. _specifically._ Ramin never plays anything randomly.... that tune is there for a reason.
@@funnylilgalreacts not sure, but that confused me as well. I'm still watching your reaction, but wanted to throw that in because it perplexed me as well.
Possibly because there has never been a reigning queen, therefore never a king/prince consort before. Although people were used to a queen consort being addressed as Your Grace, they might stumble over using that form of address for a male consort?
Otto Hightower’s first command, as soon as Vicerys died, was to send the Kingsguard to kill Rhaenyra and her kids, so Rhaenys saying he wouldn’t approve of the attempt on Rhaenyra life is naive. Didn’t she tell Rhaenyra that the greens were coming for her?
I'm not sure why a lot of people seem to believe this (maybe we need the map in the intro back!), but it wouldn't take days, let alone weeks or months, for Rhaenyra to sail to King's Landing from Dragonstone. Dragonstone (and Driftmark) are in the Blackwater Bay in which King's Landing sits. That's why the Blacks can blockade King's Landing from Dragonstone and Driftmark; they control the entire bay from those islands. That's why Aegon the Conqueror first landed there, from Dragonstone. You may also recall Stannis attacked King's Landing from Dragonstone in season two of GOT, and he seemingly got there in the span of less than a single night (and that's with an entire fleet to manage!). We don't have exact distances or know the precise time it takes to sail or fly between King's Landing and Dragonstone (Martin is very bad with numbers anyway), but it's probably hours or at most a day by ship and much quicker by dragon (in Fire & Blood it's said young Rhaenyra often commuted between the two places every day, so by dragon it must be a matter of minutes away, or at most a few hours). Dragonstone is VERY close to the capital, which is partly why they're so in danger; an attack from the capital would be SO fast.
47:48 Rhaenys's father is Aemon Targaryen Daemon & Viserys's father is Baelon Targaryen (Baelon the brave) Jaeherys Targaryen is Daemon, Viserys & Rhaenys's grandfather Rhaenys was talking about her grandfather Jaeherys
how? the green council had been planning to take the throne long before alicent ever first found out about it in 1x9. Her words mean nothing to them, they would have taken the throne regardless of what she thought.
King consort. Like if a king married a woman she becomes queen consort when he dies , queen dowager ( alicent) if her children are minors she rules as queen regent ( cersie) or if the king is away at war . Deamon beat her brother at the tournament in episode one season one
Daemon feeling guilty about having the boy killed, seeing young Rhaenyra speaks volumes I think.. Young Rhaenyra had respect and adorned Deamon and Queen Rhaenyra is disappointed and can't trust him because of his actions. That's how I saw it, Daemon is growing a conscience. Alicent didn't want Aegon to go with Cole so Lary's made it happen it while moving himself forward at the same time.
Rhaena has already tried riding seasmoke, he would not take her as a rider I dont see why daemon shouldnt be adressed as your grace. Queen consorts have been addressed as such in westeros for the last 130 years, why not the king consort? Massive respect to Ewan Mitchell for performing the brothel scene completely nude with absolutely 0 prosthetics It wouldnt take rhaenyra long to get to kings landing, dragonstone is incredibly close. Its like a 15 minute dragon flight or a days sail
Seasmoke would'nt accept Rhaena because Laenor is still alive. I believe a dragon only bonds with a new rider when the original rider died. Btw I love how the actress playing Baela steers her dragon it looks so real, when she pulls on that leach, like she is actually trying to control a 1000 ton beast.
I've been wondering if the focus on Seasmoke being so restless lately is a foreshadowing that something has happened to Laenor. Like, if he accepts a new rider it'll be a moment where Rhaenyra understands that Laenor has died for true, but can't really tell anybody. Could be potentially heart wrenching
The crow eating Cheese eyes was a nod to the book “A feast for crows” the 4th book in the series. It’s said in the book that when war breaks out no one wins but the crows. Who feast on the corpses of the fallen.
They do realize both that he meant Aegon the Conqueror, but the overlying theme that they both realize is that it is too late for either of them to do anything about the upcoming war.
This is what happens when there are many Targaryens called Aegon and at this point there are three Aegons. When Rhaenyra told Alicent Viserys was talking about Aegon the Conqueror, Alicent realised it was true, Viserys never wanted Aegon to be king.
Small detail but Aegon wasn't allowing his Kingsguard to break their chastity vows. Yes, he took them out drinking but the prostitute was meant for the new squire, who hasn't taken any vow.
We're partway into the second season now and I'm just wondering all of a sudden if we've seen a sword with a name in this show. I don't remember any but I also didn't give this series any personal on my own rewatches, unlike GoT several times over in the first years.
Man I love Daemon. Everybody else is busy sitting around a big table talking, while he goes and takes Harrenhal by himself. Same thing he did with the crab feeder. The army couldn't reach him, so he goes and does it by himself. He's the living embodiment of "If you want something done right, do it yourself."
It is 100% appropriate to call a consort monarch 'your grace', 'the queen/king', or 'my king/queen', in fact it would wildly inappropriate for a vassal to refer to consorts by any other titles. When Cersei was queen consort, everyone called her 'your grace', 'the queen', or 'my queen' and she was regarded with reverence due to said title, the fearful reputation of House Lannister at the time, and the reputation of Cersei herself, even when she became queen dowager and Joffrey was king, people still referred to her in this way, albeit then she was also queen regent. It's kind of weird that they're going this route with Daemon's character considering by all precedent, consorts are generally treated with great respect and reverence, at least at court and in public, even if they don't have the full powers of their respective spouses. Daemon is literally one of Rhaenyra's strongest allies as well, making the treatment all the more bewildering. Maybe it's some sort of weird misogyny/toxic masculinity thing where because he's a man, being a consort is regarded as shameful, that he would "debase" himself by 'letting' his wife be the queen regnant.
Dragonstone and Driftmark are not far from King's Landing. King's Landing is at the mouth of the Blackwater river which empties into a bay. The two islands are in the bay. It's about a day's travel by ship or a matter of hours on dragonback. The scene with Rhaenyra meeting Alicent isn't in the book, but then since it was very secret, that's entirely credible. The book (Fire and Blood) is presented as an in-universe history book, written over 100 years later in GoT times, based on accounts by people who witnessed SOME of the events in HOTD, then wrote them down years later. Secret stuff gets lost to history all the time, plus the author and ALL of the sources for Fire and Blood have agendas of their own. Three out of four of them likely have a pro-Green bias, so even if they did know about it, a last-minute attempt by Rhaenyra to avert war wouldn't fit the narrative they were trying to push. "History is written by the winners", and all that...
I think if there was a REAL push to make Rhaenys a queen, there would still be war. Young Viserys would probably not want to, but sure as heck everyone around him would. Most prominently Otto and/or Daemon. Rhaenys is no Rhaenyra. Rhaenyra was officially and wholeheartedly backed by her father as the heir for decades. As such major houses' oaths were actually pledged to her for decades. Rhaenys had neither official backing from the king nor major houses' oaths. And she literally lost the vote. Idk by how much, i'm also a nonbookreader, but I imagine by a lot. Baratheon by blood backs her, sure. And Velaryon of course. But everybody else likely didn't. And the Targaryens are the ones with the dragonblood. Not Velaryons. Velaryons are of the sea, Targaryens are of fire. It's Targaryen blood that makes Velaryon dragon riders, not Velaryon blood.
Corlys notw anting his granddaughter to succed is different than Rhaenys excluded from succession - Baela and Rhaena are Targaryens, not Velaryons, and legally their stepbrothers/legal cousins comes before them. By all rights, Joffrey is rightful heir to Driftmark, just like Rhaenys was rightful heir to Iron Throne.
The funny thing is that when Aegon realise the stupid mistake that he did by not aiding Cole in Harrenhall, there would be many lives lost, at least the Greens would have the consolation of the death of Rhaenys, but by the end, no one would win, it would be a slaughter.
