Watch the Edited RU-vid reaction to the FINALE of this show RIGHT NOW on Patreon: www.patreon.com/posts/house-of-dragon-76793685 Watch the full-length watch-a-long reaction on Patreon: www.patreon.com/posts/house-of-dragon-76313461
Alicent knew they were plotting to put Aegon on the throne in the books, but in the show they're trying to make her a grayer character by having her motivation for making Aegon King a misunderstanding of Viserys's last words. But I still don't defend Alicent because if she truly thought she was doing the right thing she wouldn't have hid Viserys's death from his daughter and brother just so that she could crown her son.
lol the level of denial was actually hilarious ngl. You're literally watching him wearing Aegon the Conqueror's crown asking "is he gonna be king? can't be right? is the crown gonna fall off?will he not be stopped mid ceremony? when is rhaenyra coming to Slay Kween👏 the crown off his head!!" Yes dawg. He is king, you're literally asking that while the High Septon proclaims him Aegon, the 2nd of his name lmao. Wish casting really hard is not gonna make that crown sprout wings and fly over to Daemon lol. Hoo boy you're really gonna love how it ends for them lol.
Paddy Considine the actor that plays King Viserys is also in "The Outsider" staring Jason Bateman on HBO. (Yall need another series to watch) Its real good 💡👌
Heleana is basically a walking spoiler and I love her for that. Actually in the books, everyone loved Heleana, even Aegon, he just couldnt love her in the romantic way. It's said that Viserys would ask for Heleana and her children to go to his room so that he could tell the children stories. And in the books, one of the last people he spoke to before he died was Heleana and her children
It is funny that all there things Otto said Rhaenyra would do when she came to power He and the Greens did.. killed the ones who didn't recognize Aegon
I realize that y'all have seen the whole series by now, but the next episode is why we needed Emma D'Arcy as Rhaenyra and not Milly Alcock. Despite how fantastic she was, Emma was cast first and the last episode proves why. I will always be Team Black, but Team Green has characters I feel sympathy for or just find interesting. I LOVE Helaena and she deserves so much better. Alicent, despite how much I hate her hypocrisy, is a victim up to this point of the show. She's been used and manipulated and she can't seem to escape that. However, she is also responsible for her own actions at a certain point, so there are times I do genuinely want to shake some sense into her. Aemond is the Greens Daemon but more calm, so I find him fascinating. Plus Ewan Mitchell is captivating every time he appears so I'm VERY excited to see him and Matt Smith on screen together.
I agree with everything you said with the exception of finding Aemond fascinating. Although like you I'm very excited to see Ewan Mitchell and Matt Smith on screen together just because I want to see them go at each other with no holding back. I thought season 1 was outstanding and season 2 is going to be nothing short of epic.
Oh and I feel the same way as you about Helaena. You are so right she deserves to be treated so much better especially by Alicent. I mean we all have known how Aegon was going to end up just by watching his growth as the season went on, even with the time jumps we all could tell how much of a buffoon he was turning in to. Lol
"Emma was cast first and the last episode proves why." So well said. Zero spoilers, but her (and really the entire cast's acting, shout out Visarys's actor) really gives you that "oh god no oh no oh here we go..." feeling that classic GoT used to give. Unfortunately, it also comes with the pain of having to wait for the next season to come around. :(
@@annjenkins2677 I just find Aemond's arc interesting. Show wise, at least. We've spent the most time with him out of Alicent's kids and we saw his history with being bullied and how that night at Driftmark changed that. Getting Vhagar to allow him to be her rider instantly took away any sort of insecurites and quite frankly, empathy he had. He wasn't an awful kid, but the second he gained her, he became wildly cruel. The loss of his eye and the repercussions of that show us that maybe he wasn't as convinced it was worth it. That there's still an insecure kid behind all that stillness. I think that's a really interesting angle they've taken with him and a bit more human than he feels in the book. 🤷🏻♀️
@@sarcasmxkate oh yeah I agree Aemonds arc on the show is so interesting actually imo it's the most interesting even tho he is not one of my favorite characters and I dont like him very much I'm still drawn to him when he is on screen. Hopefully that makes sense. Lol your comment was one of the only comments that I read and after reading it I felt like that's exactly how I feel.
@@DaemonTargaryen13 showrunners confirmed it was about the dragon. Why would they put foreshadowing on event that won't happen until much later? Helaena's "prophecies" isn't even canon and was just there as a plot-device to hype what will happen this episode or the next, just like in the last episode's "he will lose an eye". Eager bookreaders really wanted it to connect to other "future event" just to say they knew things show-watchers don't.
@@soulscyther666 the show runners confirmed in a exclusive interview that Helena made that statement because of a future event that’s going to happen in season 2. This is when vagher (aemonds dragon) was killed in an explosion that was planted under kings landing, just like in GOT when cerise made her explosion. This is literally all in the book lol
Someone said TGC has a sadness about him you only see in catholic stained glass windows. That is the perfect descriptor for Aegon. Obsessed with the imagery when the Silent Sisters were wrapping up Viserys' body. Gloomy dimly lit hallway, religious ikons, incense burning, Alicent's silhouette beside the window with the sunlight falling on her. It's like a symbolism heavy mysterious renaissance painting. That's my type of aesthetic.
*"The child is a boy Aemma. I'm certain of it. I've never been more certain of anything. The dream. It was clearer than a memory. Our son was born wearing Aegon's iron crown. And I heard the sound of thundering hooves, splintering shields, and ringing swords, as the bells of the Grand Sept tolled. And I placed my heir upon the Iron Throne..."* That famous opening soundbyte from the house of the dragon trailer. Viserys was right all along. But it was destined to be the boy he refused to acknowledge.
@@James-kd2qm Aegon was far more likeable than Rhaenyra in the books. He was not a rapist (unlike the show) and refused to wear the crown until the lives of his family was brought up. You can read the books yourself. I'm not in a mood to spoonfeed anyone
The actor who plays Larys said recently that his arrangement with Alicent is about the power he has over her, rather than it being a foot fetish. He can make Alicent, the most powerful woman in the realm, degrade herself for him and that’s what he gets off on.
Viserys was a bad king in my opinion. I think they hinted very heavily at his inability to resolve problems. He preferred to avoid confronting his problems and chose let problems build up. The hints I mentioned were the rats in kingdom , where the kingdom is supposed to represent royalty and the rats represented problems underneath the surface. He avoided disciplining his daughter and letting her get away with things which ended up becoming a bigger problem and people losing their lives. The leprosy eating away at his body slowly and his unwillingness to resolve the battle of the shores quickly. He was a King that enjoyed the peace to a fault and often looked for a way to avoid his problems which inevitably led to his downfall.
@syraxes I mean, he had a good heart but he was not a good nor wise king. Him being soft and not doing what he was supposed to do is part of the reason all of this drama happened in the first place. Of course, Otto deserved most of the blame though.
Viserys never had a proper "enemy" to confront. The issues he faced basically came from his own family. He's not stupid, and he perceives a lot more than people think, but he is more concerned with keeping the House of the Dragon internally strong and united in the minds of the people. He was always between a rock and a hard place.
The sword crossing, the tapestry, the flutes playing “king’s arrival” from GoT, proud Otto enjoying his life’s work, the veiled & somber Queen kissing the King, the Septons marking his forehead...I was blown away by the details in the coronation. It felt like watching Nicholas II being crowned in an Orthodox ceremony with all the hollow pomp & circumstance of a rotting system. It's what I'd always envisioned from a GoT coronation. TGC was terrific in bringing out Aegon's fear, hesitation, pride & euphoria all at once. He’s got a sadness about him you only see in catholic stained glass windows. The much despised Criston putting the Conqueror's crown on Aegon II's head. The Kingmaker is born! "Reluctance to murder is not a weakness" is the very dilemma at the heart of asoiaf. The aesthetics of Hightower KL, already so soulless, so dark and dreary. Love it! What the show's doing really well is the details, down to splitting the treasury or locking up servants. Usually the passionate debates, the sense of treachery, the heartbreak are glossed over & we only see the regime change as a "fait accompli". This bring to life the mechanism that historically goes behind a coup, which I assume is as emotionally taxing for the people seizing power. That's why I like agonized & conflicted Alicent more than her steadfast source counterpart. It's more flesh & blood. She vacillates but her messianic fear for her children fates her to make this cursed gamble.
In the book Alicent is the villain, she lets Viserys' body rot and decompose for 7 days without telling anyone while planning to put her son on the throne.
Grrm has said the book is supposed to be written by a fictional author, a maester or some such, and he is an unreliable narrator. Readers should be skeptical of his version of events, this show is supposed to show what really happened.
@@Einomar I totally agree! But I think the show is also a different retelling. Both GRRM and Condal said that they should be seen as companions of each other.
The book is told via third person perspective. It's up for interpretation. The show is the behind the scenes look at everything, this is considered THE canon as far as the Dance of Dragaons goes.
@@LetsGetitBoah That’s absolutely ridiculous and contradicted by what GRRM himself said. The show canon is entirely separate from the real canon thank god.
@@RoyKoopaling GRRM has endorsed the show as being more accurate than the book as to what happened before and during the Dance of the Dragons. To be clear; we are talking HOTD here and not GOT. But... he has also said that he sees the show canon (HOTD->GOT) and book canon (all the ASOIF books) as potentially different, so he leaves himself open to contradicting the book canon in a future book. The way he explained it is a bit confusing and is up to interpretation.
Hmm I think Alicent heard what she wanted to hear when Viserys spoke. She wanted the littlest thing to grab on to make her own choices feel justified. She knows Viserys would always choose Rhaenyra in the end.
Yup, exactly. Viserys was ranting on his deathbed and not speaking clearly, not even clearly addressing her. She heard what she wanted to hear in order to do what she has been setting herself up to do bc of her father.
I don’t think wanting the throne for them was EVER her choice. If people start using “heard what they want to hear” than I think anything and everything can start being justified
@syraxes because on their deaths beds people often reveal real wishes/wants, or become their most vulnerable selves, usually speaking the full truth in the end. They do have clarity more than you’d think. It’s not far off for someone to take their words seriously.
Tom absolutely killed it here. Hard to believe the only thing we've seen of perhaps the most important character of the show until now is them hammering in that he's a sexual deviant, ffs. There's so much more depth to Aegon and finally we get a tiny glimpse of it. King Aegon's two defining traits : depression and resentment. Depression ...the way he tells Aemond "let me find a ship and sail away" at that moment I can't help but feel bad for him. Resentment...when he asks his mother "do you love me". The childhood neglect, the burden of expectation being the king's firstborn son, the validation he always craved from his father and never got that shattered his self esteem, and finally the roar of the crowd serving to feel that void. Tom's acting during the coronation...the changing facial reactions and body language to the adulation of the crowd was unreal! Hoping to see this direction for King Aegon in S2!
Yeah he killed it and I think the fact he watches kids fighting is more of an indication of what he feels like, a child forced to fight for his parents' affection, rather than a sign of his sadism.
Honestly disappointing how the showrunners keep insisting that this story has gray characters and there are no good sides yet make the key character of one side a r*pist who enjoys children fighting. How did they expect anyone to support him?
@@AdriaNicoo yeah that’s the point. From what the showrunners have been saying it seems like they want a more equal amount of support on both sides yet they made it impossible to root for the greens with the head of their team being like that.
@@slayerr3086 it's a reach calling Aegon the head of greens. Aemond, Otto, Alicent play more significant roles. Also, the showrunners intentionally changed many plot lines in the books to validate some inexcusable behaviour. Like Rhaenyra not killing Laenor, Aemond accidentally killing Jace.
I'm team black too 💯 And have similar feelings abt Heleana, she is so pure and innocent 😇 and she is actually a high intelligent... but man, you have no idea... 😔😔
Rhaenyra during the play at Fleabottom : their wants are of no consequence. Mysaria here to Otto : there is no power but what the people allow you to take. This little nugget goes totally noticed. We will find out who is right won't we?
Beast beneath the boards is referring to more than Meleys me thinks. GoT phrases always had multiple entendres. Everything in this episode is kind of like a 'beast beneath the boards' simmering in the surface and I think that's the point. It's referring to Aemond's ambitions for the throne. It's referring to Otto's brutal machinations behind his calm exterior. It's referring to Aegon's hidden depravity -- the way Helaena recoils when bowing to Aegon? It's referring to the White Worm's warning to Otto about how it's the people who ultimately enable them. As Larys said, Otto knew about the White Worm but allowed her to exist and essentially grow in the shadows. That was a great way to plant future seeds with the smallfolk. Our newly anointed King was hiding beneath the "boards" too. Maybe we were looking at the wrong beast this whole time.
I said it the last video, but I'll say it again... "rewatching" HoTD with you guys has really made me appreciate how amazing the first season was; it's like when you rewatch a movie/reread a book and with hindsight you can see all the puzzle pieces! Plus, y'all's love for GoT is so infectious! lol.
That last scene annoys me so much, it only needed a little change to make sense. Team green have three adult dragons and one young dragon, and none of them were at the coronation; really. Instead we have a single dragon not cooking the entire other side for no good reason
Made zero sense. Only thing it shows is that the royals don't give af about the people they're fighting to rule over. None of them do. Rhaenys killed hundreds probably thousands that day but her royal enemies she leaves untouched. Sends a very clear message that unfortunately most viewers are to slow to notice.
@Jennifer C I haven't read the books, but apparently that was not in there. HBO went for spectacle over story. Also, allisant is far more guilty in the books, but we can't have that in 2023.
Team Black here, Alicent is so misguided, Otto Hightower is manipulating Alicent like a puppet master! Ser Christian Cole is a spurned, vindictive one- night stand. Larys Strong is Littlefinger 2.0. Rhanys bursting thru the floor on her dragon was great, too bad she didn't burn them all, but then we would have no story! Really looking forward to episode 10. ✌
Tyrion Lannister said it best, it is difficult to put a collar on a dog when you put a crown on its head. Aegon II is a man who has sought approval all his life, the power and prestige of this is likely to go to his head, and who knows what kind of monster will spring from that. Alicent and Otto want to control him, I think they don't understand what they have done.
Aegon never really cared about ruling...he wanted his father's love and acceptance. I think the character he will become will shock you. If you read the books you'll know.
@@jenniferc6285 I think the general audience is still stuck in the Starks vs Lannisters = good vs bad mindset. They want a new Dany and Joffrey so they project that onto Rhaenyra and Aegon.
you have no idea, there is not a Joffrey in this story, Rhaenyra be even closer to Joffrey/Cersei than Aegon. Aegon never wanted power, thats why the power didnt corrupt him.
@@ladansemakabre she's not 'bad' at all on the show though, she has been turned into a blameless innocent victim with no agency and no ambition. The show would never let her (or Rhaenyra) be responsible for anything 'bad'.
Otto and Alicent believe they'll be able to council and control Aegon, Cersei thought the same thing about her son Joffrey, Tyrion told Cersei in season 2, that it's hard to put a leash on a dog once you put a crown in its head. Otto and Alicent will find that out.
Fans when Daemon executes Vaemond for RIGHTFULLY accusing Princess Rhaenyra of siring b@stards & committing treason vs fans when Criston executes Beesbury for WRONGFULLY accusing Queen Alicent of regicide. This show is a case study in tribalism. Bu but Vaemond went against the king's almighty word! He insulted his daughter! And what you think Beesbury was doing talking about the new king's mother? It's a new regime. Read the room.
Haven't you realised. Team black's motto is good for me but not for thee. That's why they care so much that Aegon raped Dyana but no one bats an eye when Daemon kills his wife, the servant to use his body or beats the messenger to death. Not to mention this Rhaenys scene. The peasants only matter when it's the Greens committing the acts of violence.
@@jenniferc6285 Right?!! Like where's the outrage for Wifeslayer 😭. If Viserys says the sky is orange it has to be orange or it's treason. The world is whatever the king says. Well we should keep the same energy now 🙃
Your grandfather, the Hand, will try to impress on you that Rhaenyra should be put to the sword. You must reject this counsel. We must not rule with cruelty and callousness. For all her faults, she is your sister, your father's daughter...Nooo babygirl! I want to scream & warn. You will have to pay with everything for this because they will not do you the same goodwill when the shoe is on the other foot. Instead of sending Rhaenyra generous peace terms, if they followed Otto's plan and immediately sent assassins to poison or slit Rhaenyra's throat before the Blacks were prepared, maybe we would've been spared a civil war as even less houses would've rallied around Daemon. The tragedy of mercy will be ur ruin sigh 😭
This reaction series is so interesting, because you can see how the most basic, the real casual GoT/ HotD fans (probably the majority) watch and understand the show.
I don't know, is Alicent extra hard on Aegon due to the fact that all her hopes, dreams, aspirations and sacrifices she had made rest upon him? It is because she is so disappointed with him due to the fact that she has the most expecations from him? How else do you expect a parent who actually cares to react to her son's sexual proclivity? By coddling him and telling him "you're my sweetest boy and you can do whatever you want!!" Huh? Look at the level of hurt and pained expression in Alicent's eyes when she is berating Aegon in episode 8. Does it come across as an uncaring, abusive and tyrannical parent? Or does it come across as a mother at her wits end with a wayward son on who's basket she has put all her eggs? Look at the close up of Alicent's face when the servant girl is drinking the Plan B tea. What does that scene convey? An expression of pained resignation, she is relieving her own trauma with Viserys. Does that say "a mother who doesn't care" or a mother who's desperately clinging on to her hopes of a better future around her son? Alicent's motivation in both f&b and hotd is always primarily her kids. The carriage affirms the fact that everything she has sacrificed is to facilitate Aegon's ascension. The one thing this show has done a great job of is showing media literacy is an all time low and people will take any sentence literally instead of understanding subtext. All ambiguity and nuance is lost unless it's directly spoonfed to them. Aegon, Aemond, Helaena and Daeron are all an extension of Alicent's personalities and represent herself when she had them. From her being sexually repressed at an young age (aegon) to embracing duty but being angry (aemond). Her first child is the most sexually depraved & depressed while Alicent was gripping with her rocky relationship with Rhaenyra & the repression she felt with Viserys. Nobody outside shallow Targaryen Girlboss Warlords are supposed to have complex emapthetic qualities.
Allicent heard what she wanted to hear. Viserys said, “It is true of the prince who was promised in Aegon’s dream.” Allicent asked, “What are you talking about? Viserys tried to get her to understand the importance of Aegon’s dream and that Rhaenyra, of whom he thought he was speaking to, would have to ensure that happened. Allicent was confused because Viserys began speaking with her by completing his conversation with his daughter. It seems more like she used that to say he said he wished his first born son to be king. He said nothing of the sort. This episode was amazing and I have fun watching you guys try to put pieces together to complete the puzzle.
Alicent didnt want her son to be king though, by the end of episode 8 she was fully in support of Rhaenyra, she only reluctantly crowned Aegon because she thought her husband told her to.
Cristen Cole is certainly not a saint but people hating him for the choices he made seems a bit hypocritical , for example him killing the old dude for accusing the Queen of murder without any evidence is basically treason , it's the same ground as to why Daemon executed Vaemond previously and ironically what Vaemond was telling was actually true , But the audience have a different reactions towards Daemon , lol .
Everyone who says Alicent is just following what she heard from Viserys is naive. She heard what she wanted and no one would take what a sick, clearly out of his mind person say on their death bed as gospel. And all her actions after show that she would have gone against his wishes regardless.
the actress who played her said she wanted Rhaenyra to be queen after the dinner scene and was annoyed that the king told her to name Aegon instead. The entire point of that scene was to absolve her of all responsibility for 'usurping' the throne.
Dude must watch each episode 2 or 3 times because on the episode that we can react to he talks through a lot of important things that are said and as a reactor it gets somewhat aggravating especially when you know more is going to be said or done.
Rhaenys pre-emptively nuking half her own family for the ppl who supposedly killed her son would've been OP. She hasn't read Fire & Blood to know of horrors to come so I understand the logic behind her not wanting to shed the first blood. BUT having said that, the Rhaenys bit was to give audience a 'send home happy' moment which was absolutely not necessary. The coronation was fantastic in itself. But gawd forbid the ''bad guys" are on top for just one episode. Those who thought commoners of KL have any obligation to support Rhaenyra are in for big disappointments. Aegon claims his birthright from the greatest king himself, Jaehaerys I, who ruled the king's firstborn male son should be the next king. Viserys himself won it over Rhaenys like that. Best part of this was the politics, less Meleys the better. Despairing mom version of alicent does highlight her humanity more than the colder iteration of the og green council. It's well needed imo and also a continuation of her temperament from the Harrenhall fire or dagger scenes where despite having good intentions she got trapped by larys & rhaenrya. They've constantly shown subtleties in that character which the audience tend to wilfully ignore since we're watching this as a team sport and we gotta cheer team lovable manipulative dad. The show should not remain grotesquely tilted towards Team Black (like giving Rhaenrya a pass on Laenor & Vaemond's deaths)
Popping out of the ground on a dragon and killing thousands of civilians just to prove a point definitely pushed me wayyyy over to the Greens. Also Daemon is the literal worst but people give him a pass cuz he’s daddy or whatever
The point of the series is not to be on any side and literally rhaenyes even said it herself she doesn't side with anyone and using your logic I'm very much with the blacks considering they kill anyone who disagrees with them and thier king rapes women left and right
That scene of Rhaenys pissed me off so badly lol Sara Hess is an idiot. What was the point of it. The only way I would’ve been hyped about it is if she actually burned them. It was unnecessary and goofy.
@@marleymarsss I know I'm just saying that's what I got from it. She killed those ppl as easily as if they were insects but for her enemies, she leaves untouched. Clearly says they care more about them than they do the peasants.
@@marleymarsss let's not forget that while Sara Hess was lead writer for this episode, every plot detail is decided upon by a TEAM of writers and then signed off by the show creators before even coming close to being filmed
*Viserys causes the Dance of Dragons, biggest civil war in history which brings the extinction of dragons and the borderline extinction of House Targaryen* "I think Viserys was the best King"
Fun fact! At the Small Council they were discussing Lord Grover Tully of Riverrun, ancestor of Catelyn, Edmure, and the Blackfish. It's fun and interesting to note the names of Lord Grover's grandson, Elmo Tully, and Elmo's sons, Oscar and Kermit. They are Lord George R.R. Martin's nod to Sesame Street and the Muppets.
People that paid attention during Game of Thrones already know exactly how this series will end. King Joffery tells the tale to Margaery while touring the Great Sept.
Both sides are in the wrong lmao. Don't recommend choosing one over the other or treating it like a sporting event. I wouldn't personally root for either side in a boxing fight between Joseph Stalin, and Mao Zedong. But hey, that's just me.
I agree it doesn't make a big difference at the end of the day. If your king isn't a madman just wait a generation or two, Monarchy, love it or off with your head.
@@SmegmaFU Especially when you have a royal family that believes themselves to be gods, and have nukes at their disposal. The Targaryen dynasty is built on fire and blood, and that's what will be their ultimate fate. We even knows what happens to the Targaryen after this war and they basically just kill each other untill there only are three of them left (Young Griff, Daenerys and Jon) who are doomed to basically repeat history in a second dance of the dragons.
Otto Hightower gets his daughter to be with the King. Seen as a bad guy Daemon gets with his own Niece, murders man to fake Laneors death seen as a morally grey character
because he is a morally grey character. the men who wrote these books and made this characters said it many times which is the reason Daemon is his favourite character.
Daemon gets with his own niece because it's a Targaryen thingTargaryen..Why don't you complain about Aegon and Helena?? He rather kill a stranger than kill his cousin's remaining son.. Otto threw his own daughter to the king for his own gaining
Viserys was a great character in the show. I really like the idea based on a Paddy Considine interview that Viserys didn’t seek a cure for his illness feeling it was punishment for his wife, Aemma’s death. I also like how that plays into the idea at least for me that it also could have been why he not only chose Rhaenyra as his heir but also refused to change his mind. He didn’t just want to honour Aemma’s memory and her sacrifice trying to give him a son and male heir. But also wanted to go against the precedent set by the decision of the great council that made him King in the first place. He perhaps feels that he should never have been King, then he could have been satisfied with the family he had and not pushed his wife to have more children after her previous pregnancy issues and sealing her fate. He maybe even had guilt towards the fate of Rheanys’ children, had the decision put her or Leanor on the throne then maybe they would have lived and the crown would have stood stronger and the family less divided. Which adds a deeper layer to his speech during his last supper with his family. He likely realised the truth in his brothers words, that he was weak and the leeches around him would seal his fate eventually and all he could do was too try and hold everything together until Rhaenyra was ready to take the throne. This also shows in his statement of Rhaenyra being his only child, while he was somewhat delirious at the time he likely did feel that she was his only true child because of his love for her mother. Aemma is almost certainly the face he saw as he passed, speaking out to her ‘my love’. He may even have seen the truth of Rhaenyra’s children not being true born Velaryans but felt that everything that had happened came down to his unsuitability to be King, at least in his eyes and that he had to ignore or combat the rumours as yet another punishment for his failings. I would love for the show to allow Daemon to find a letter from Viserys either to him or even written to Aemma long after her death when he no longer wavered about his decision to name Rhaenyra his heir that sets out all of this. Just to give his character a little more depth on screen rather than between the lines. Maybe even have Paddy back for a flashback scene writing the letter and reading it aloud as Daemon holds it. Then Daemon could smile at the memory of his brother, before falling into a rage and destroying the letter not wanting anyone to see that he remained even further outside of his brother’s thoughts about the crown than his cousin, Rheanys.
Helaena’s kids aren’t Aegon’s. They’re Aemond’s. Rewatch the scenes between Helaena and Aemond. Aemond previously said he’d marry Helaena to keep the blood pure. Especially in this episode. Watch her face as he comes into the room. Also, after Otto says “father” the kids start to babble “Aemond”. Heleana literally pets Aemond when Rhaenys burst through the dragon pit at Aegon’s coronation. She’s calming him from taking action against a dragon, and just her touch stays him. It adds to the story more as well down the line.
If Viserys was the "best King" his death wouldn't have led to an immediate Civil War. Viserys was a good man but a horrible King. His indecisive actions almost destroy the Targaryen family.
People forget because it was back in episode one, but Ser Westerling was Rhaenyra's Sworn Protector before he was Lord Commander and Ser Criston was appointed to The Kingsguard. Just another reason he can't harm her.
Super happy to see this pop up tonight. Re-watching this episode with you guys will be a blast and I need something good in my day ;) We all do right? :)
What Rhaenerys tells Alicent about her "desire not to be free, but to make a window in the wall of her prison" I think opens her eyes a bit. At the same time, she continues to let men use her (like letting Larys beat-off to her feet! lol)
She pushed for it because her dad has planted it in her head that Rhaenyra will kill her kids to claim the throne. Even if you thought your kid was a horrible person, you'd fight for them just so you can protect your3 other children (we haven't met her 4th child yet).
@@krayzy932 I think she knew deep down Rhaenyra wouldn’t do that, they were literally just reconnecting too. Atp as an adult, you gotta make your own choices and think for yourself which she did in this episode, but idk to put your rapist son on the throne is kinda insane to me, but we are talking a different time period.
Thats how Rhaenys sees it because unlike Rhaenys and Rhaenyra, Alicent doesn't have these freedoms and that's what y'all don't get. The rules aren't the same for them as they are for her. There's no being free for her.
@@marleymarsss I'm not sure what she knows deep down. Remember, Lucerys used a knife to take her sons eye, and the only story she knows of that would be from her kid. The fact that he picked up a rock and threatened to kill them was probably left out. This entire situation she is probably constantly questioning what would happen.
I think Rhaenys would stay on Rhaenyra's side just based on that she publicly sided with her, and she is a person of her word. Great reactions to this episode, Anthony & Kacee!!!!🎬🎬👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
9:56 Not even close. Their plan doesn't work unless it's Aegon. They need it to be the first born son and the name "Aegon" to have any chance at legitimacy.
alicent didn’t misunderstand she heard what she wanted to hear, none of what viserys said beside the name Aegon pointed to her son. She missed all the points of “song of ice and fire” “the north” she just didn’t care. She always wanted aegon to be king and twisted Viserys words so she wouldn’t feel guilty
She gave up on naming Aegon king and fully supported Rhaenyra after the dinner scene, she reluctantly went along with crowning Aegon because she thought her husband told her to.
"They are going to kill Aegon." WHAT!?!? He is their claim to the throne. With him dead their claim looks even worse. Especially since it is based off Vicerys' dying words. I just have to shake my head and laugh at the lack of logic.
@@krayzy932 Well, to be fair to them, one of the twins mentions to Aegon at 21:25 that they're going to meet Otto outside the city walls which is...suspicious. Like, why would they leave the city if they're going to install Aegon as heir?
@@krayzy932 bro they literally didn't read the books and that doesn't even count, you can see when it was got all the important deaths were surprises, stop being a bit boring with them
they're gonna kill her! .... not they're gonna kill him! .... not they're gonna take them all out! ... not he's gonna kill himself! ... not Helena says like 3 times "theres a beast beneath the boards" nobody understands.
As much as I hate Aegon, that scene of him walking up to be crowned, his outfit was incredible, along with the mix of Targaryen and Hightower themes was absolutely majestic 🔥🔥🔥
@@jenniferc6285 The ones that will love him are so confusing to me. He is a rapist, he is a drunk, and let's not forget he has multiple bastards abandoned/starving through the kingdom, many who he bets on to fight on child fighting rings. Everyone has done and will do effed up things in this show but child death matches is another twisted level.
lol the level of denial was actually hilarious ngl. You're literally watching him wearing Aegon the Conqueror's crown asking "is he gonna be king? is the crown gonna fall off?will he not be stopped?" Yes dawg. He is king, you're asking that while the High Septon proclaims him Aegon, the 2nd of his name lmao. Something Rhaenyra Targaryen will never be officially. Wishing really hard is not gonna make that crown sprout wings and disney its way to Rhaenyra. Aegon II is the lord of the seven kingdoms and protector of the realm as is his birthright. And when you go down the list he's one of the most notorious Targ kings and imagine how much ground that covers.
I was thinking that too untill Meleys burst out of the floor because then it became obvious that he is not a king. Kings dont have dragons bursting through their coronation only usurpers have that kind of coronation.
@@yusufraage8554 They had to give the general audience something to be happy about cause they were so mad at Rhaenyra not getting the throne lol. But don't worry we got something in store for Rhaenys and Meleys next season, it's gonna be good!!
Guys just keep in mid Kinslaying is super taboo. Rhaenys would not burn her entire kin just like that. She would be considered probably the worst Targaryen by doing that. Looking forwards for the finale!
I think this episode was a bit of a failure in directing. Rhaneys just slaughtered hundreds if not thousands of innocent people but we never saw the impact of their deaths. Couldve had more focus on the chaos and people sobbing or looking for loved ones in the aftermath to show how conflicting it was to root for her
Rhaenyra Targaryen unfortunately lacks two things. The Conqueror's name and the Conqueror's anatomy. As Daemon had warned/foreshadowed all those years ago during the play in Fleabottom, Rhaenyra's monarchy dies to thunderous applause. The actual coronation with the swords and all that was so freaking cool..our boy dripped out to the max. The black leather and cape with the dragon sigil!! Wut?! We need this fit back next season!
We do not care about a rapist he and the whore alicent are one of the most hated characters and it's deserved ❤️ now please get out of the comment section this only for Blacks 🖤
Did you notice they played The King's Arrival tune that we heard in the first episode of Game of Thrones when Robert was coming to Winterfell. Stuff like that gets me nostalgic outta nowhere. Well done.
Well and that's of course the right thing. She has no claim to the throne herself at all. She only married the king, she is not a part of the succession line, only her children are.
Why would it? She has no claim. Alicent understands the position of women in their society. They don't all have a daddy who's going to allow them to do as they please. She knows if she wants power, she's going to have to use men to get it. The same way women influenced rulers in those times. You also completely missunderstood that scene. Rhaenys wasn't telling her she should aspire to more, she was trying to get her to see things from Rhaenyra's pov and why she shouldn't stand in her way. A woman on the cusp of taking power.
Hey Dos Cavazos, Idk if you are gonna see this comment but I've a fan for a while, I am happy that you review a lot of my favorite show, BUT THIS IS WHERE I DISAGREE WITH YOU !!!!!! TEAM GREEN 💚💚💚 ALL THE WAY, AND AEMOND IS THE BEST CHARACTER EVER BETTER THAN YOUR DAEMOND, MALE CAVAZO , BUT I KNOW EVERYONE IS ENTITLED TO AN OPINION SO CAN'T WAIT FOR HOW THIS WOULD PLAY OUT HAAHAHA what a spinoff right?? I hope you're as excited as I am for tomorrow's third epi S2