ShadowKitteh

Walter White intentionally poisoned Brock and framed Gus for it. Not to mention all the other countless deaths he’s responsible for including the collision of two aircraft because he caused Jane’s death. The only person Draper isn’t cruel to is his first wife (how he got his name.) Everyone in Succession is a narcissistic sociopath. King’s Landing isn’t just “a city.” The ramifications of it getting destroyed will hopefully be in the Snow sequel. Jamie prevented that the first time. He also saved the world by attempting to kill Bran (Helaena’s bug with no legs on the last ring), because Bran is integral to defeating the Night King. Bran’s fall was what triggered his visions and who he became.

I think it’s a matter of perspective, considering everyone in GRRM’s universe are various shades of gray. Remind me when he’s been a bad father. (Seriously. I just don’t remember the book that well.) I think show Daemon is a good father. In the show his wife basically insults him into putting her out of her misery, because his first instinct was to abandon her. Considering there’s no Cedars-Sinai or UCLA Medical Center to airlift her to via Dragonback which she likely wouldn’t have survived anyway, he showed her mercy, which is likely what she was after with her, “I knew you couldn’t finish.” comment. I think show Daemon always loved his brother and Rhaenyra. If he was truly “not nice,” he would have killed Vaemond instead of laughing at him during his ridiculous eulogy that insulted Laena and her children more than it insulted Rhaenyra’s and the King’s offspring. Yes, he killed the body double quietly instead of killing Laenor. And Cristin Cole murdered Laenor’s lover by beating him to a bloody pulp very publicly at the first feast of Wedding Week because Rhaenyra wouldn’t give up her life and leave her responsibilities, family, and everyone she loved in order to save his private honor by running away with him, and likely destroying her life (and breaking her father’s heart) in the long term… by running away with a guy with huge anger control issues (Fabian Frankel is not only a clone of his late father, he’s rocking the F out of this role!! Love love love this cast! And Paddy needs an Emmy.) Many, many shades of gray.

Jamie has no business being lumped into the likes of White, Draper, and the horrific Roys. Jamie literally saved the world when he killed Mad King Aerys.

That and since Rhaenyra’s pregnant, they need a new egg for the new baby’s cradle. Daemon’s being a good Dad.

Yes. Talya.

Exactly. This way, all the non-book reader GoT fans will be familiar with the prophecy and know just how wrong Alicent is to believe him.

Ok, after a quick rewatch of that scene, I’m going to venture a guess on what Helaena’s, “Beware the beast below the boards” means. Jacaerys has just finished toasting his uncles health and the hope they can become allies, Aegon mumbles, “You as well.” followed by her line. Jace’s dragon Vermax reportedly lays a clutch of eggs down in the crypts under Winterfell, or am I remembering that wrong?

Same. I need a rewatch. Blessed is the HBOMax app, accessible while in my dragonfire-hot bubble bath. Huzzah.

Helaena: “Beware the beast under the boards.”

I know this question wasn’t directed at me and that I’m butting in here a zillion pages later… but I have some thoughts. Adapting the written word, where everything happens in the reader’s imagination, to a visual medium like film and television, sometimes creates obvious additional issues that cannot be ignored. In GOT the biggest one was THOTU. In the book, because it’s from Dany’s POV, she doesn’t recognize anyone (at the Red Wedding) so the reader doesn’t either. But for TV, the audience would recognize people, places, even if Dany didn’t. In HOTD, Alicent’s agency is mostly removed when Viserys decides she’s really the one female he can tolerate marrying who is kind, not a child, and seems to understand grief. She also loses her best friend, and becomes a brood mare. Rhaenyra is everything she is not: She’s brave enough to ride a dragon. She’s confident and comfortable around men. She has a father that loves her and while he wants her obedience for the sake of the realm, he doesn’t manipulate her to get it. Alicent knows and resigns herself that she’ll never have a lover, or experience sexual pleasure like in the songs, stories, or those tapestries on the wall. All of that is on full visual display for all to see in the series. It doesn’t have to be said in words, but the actors, especially they two brilliant Alicents, can’t ignore it. It has to affect them. Alicent is likely rightfully jealous of everyone at court who is happy. Viserys and Aemma were obviously madly in love. Corlys and Rhaenys are as well. Knowing you’re likely to never experience that while being a professional baby machine will eat your soul, especially since giving birth is dangerous AF.

Excellent point. However, who would know that they could ask, other than Rhaenyra, and she could always make the excuse she preferred making love in the dark and had no idea, which no one would question considering everyone knows Laenor’s nature, and Qarl is gone. It’s also assuming there’s any reason for anyone at Driftmark to suspect it’s not Laenor. As for using pokers…if they pull the legs, there’s a high probability they could sever the body leaving the burning part in the fire. Have you ever grilled meat like split chicken and had part of it stick to the grill? If you grab the bottom of the leg bone, chances are you’re just going to get that bone with the rest of the half stuck to the grill.

I thought it was entirely appropriate considering what he was laughing at: what Vaemond said as he was eulogizing Laena: ”Salt courses through Velaryon blood. Ours runs thick. Ours runs true. And ours must never thin.” It’s totally laughable considering Laena was half Targaryen, and her daughters are only 25% Velaryon. Better Daemon laugh than take offense.

I think the show is going with Helaena as having The Sight. In Ep6 she says that "He's done it again." [Aemond] regarding going down into the rookery of the Dragon Pit before he says anything. Then when Alicent tells Aemond that he "will have a dragon." Helaena says, "He'll have to close an eye." predicting the loss of his left eye in Ep7. Earlier in Ep7 when she's playing with the spider she says, "Hand turns loom; spool of green, spool of black; dragons of flesh weaving dragons of thread." Different factions of the same House of Targaryen taking shape, and later that night the children basically begin the Dance where Aemond closes an eye and gains a dragon.

No he didn’t. He assisted Laenor and Qarl’s escape by not only funding their getaway, likely hiring the ship, and murdering the body double (dude on the stairs) they pulled out of the fire as Laenor.

I loved how the last scene in the episode mirrored the very first scene in the pilot: the opening of the gate at the tunnel in Castle Black the leads beyond The Wall....

Not after he's dead they wouldn't. And I doubt seriously they'd not accompany him to the Trident unless the baby would be a legit heir. They have a duty to perform no matter what the person they're protecting says. The POTUS can't tell the Secret Service to stand down, nor can the POTUS do whatever they want if it might cause them harm... like some wacky extreme sport like base jumping. The SS can stop them from participating in any possible dangerous activity.

Because Kingsguard fighting to the death in the books isn't enough..... They protect the King. Not some bastard.

I think the only thing getting destroyed along with the WW & AotD, is the Iron Throne. Dany already sowed the seeds of democracy in The Bay of Dragons..... My question is... what about the Old Gods & The New? Are the religions real? If so, which ones? And will they assist in The Great War? If so how? so many questions.... It's got to be Bran who tells Jon and everyone else who he is.. right? Do we have to wait until the last episode of season 8 for that to happen? When does Bran realize he just broke the Wall? Moat Calin or Winterfell gets iced? Or... ??????? WHATSHAPPENING???? I think my TV seatbelt is already broken.

Loved it. Loved.... - The wonderful cold open. Family kills his own family in his own house, by Faceless Jedi Arya Stark, who tells them why. *This marks the second time a female has worn a male face. Badass. - Cersei as Lear. Lear's Alzheimer's drove him mad. Cersei's lack of vision has driven hers. The map. I think she's going to be the next/penultimate Big Bad... so Jamie can kill her, so Dany & Jon can save the world. I think I can see it... - I loved Jamie in the Euron scene. I want Euron to be the shortest-lived villain in ASOIAF. I want him to take on Quentyn's storyline. Hilarious and epic. And perfect. Cersei needs to rock the BAD. She deserves it. No reason why a female can't be the biggest in every category at the end of all of this. - Loved all of the North, except for anyone at this point not seeing the bigger picture - the Army of the DEAD is coming for everyone. Rewarding loyalty? Punishing...anyone who's breathing...? - We know they're past The Wall because Sandor saw it. Which means Bran removes magic. - Lyanna Mormont needs her own show. - Loved Dani's arrival. All of it. Including the silence. What I don't want to happen: Euron steals a dragon.

Agree. I finally decided to make use of the Ignore function. I've been much happier.

No. Qhorin Halfhand and Mance Rayder.

Agree. I also don't get that so many people have no clue about basic brazier/lantern/torch/candle technology. I can't be that old.

Perhaps you're not familiar with the way lanterns/braziers/torches work. A lantern doesn't just have a wick. It must have oil in order to keep the wick alight. Same principal with a torch, and a brazier. That's how braziers work. They're not just standing fireplaces - no one would be able to breathe since there's no chimney. Braziers fuel is mostly the oil itself, which burns a long time, with very little smoke, like lanterns and candles. Dany would be familiar with brazier technology.

She's been in there before, in season 1: - When she eats the horse's heart. - When her brother is killed. - When Drogo swore he would take the Iron Throne for her after the wine merchant almost assassinated her. As she explained in that scene tonight. Perhaps you missed that part. - Last episode when they brought her to the Dosh Kaleen. It's a central location, where lots of important Dothraki business happens. That has been established by the show with the many scenes that have already taken place there. And those are just the scenes we saw. I'm not one of those people who think character only exist when talked about or shown. I believe they continue to exist and talk and have things happen to them, even when not on stage. Dany has likely been in there a lot, especially when she was Kaleesi. I doubt the layout and location of the braziers changes much. They're heavy braziers filled with oil, and likely lit all the time, since there are no windows.

Randomly? Did you see season 1? - Dany enters the bath, her handmaiden runs in to stop her, "No my lady! It's too hot." But Dany is fine. - Dany picks up a dragon egg from the brazier she's been baking them in. Her Dothraki handmaiden runs over and snatches the egg from her hands, burning them in the process. She turns Dany's hands over, which are unhurt, compared to her burned ones - the scene even includes a closeup of both sets of hands. - Viserys is killed via molten gold to the skull. Dany realizes the difference between them, he died easily from the heat, while she has been unhurt thus far in the show. - She walks into Drogo's pyre and survives with three baby dragons. So are all those lore-filled foundation exposition scenes random? Sure, if you've never seen any episodes from the first season, or any subsequent episodes where Dany and other characters continually go on about The Unburnt, or Jorah always talking about her surviving fire..... then sure, yeah, completely random and out of nowhere. Sure. okay. /sarcasm I think the show has done a very good job establishing that Dany is impervious to fire, and how that is unique to Dany. Even Joffrey talks about Aerion Brightflame drinking wildfire, and dying. Whereas Jon burnt his hand saving Mormont from the wights. So tonight, when she grabbed that hot brazier with her hands, no wonder the men just stared at her - your brain would seize if you witnessed that - because your brain couldn't process it. How is she holding that and not screaming her head off. How is her skin not sticking to the hot metal? Not to mention then trying to dodge a wave of flaming oil heading your way.