Khloey

I still enjoyed this season overall, but yeah, there are some disappointing moments. Alicent's character doesn't make sense anymore, not just compared to the book, but to season 1 Alicent. She's betraying her sons and saying yes to execute them after making both of them fear for their life should Rhaenyra come into power. She and Otto puts Aegon on the throne even though he didn't want it. She told him to do nothing and let them rule in his stead. She and Otto started this conflict. And now that she can't have any kind of power through her sons, she's selling them to Rhaenyra. I had a lot of sympathy for her character in season 1, now she's just as hateful as Criston Cole. I was already really doubtful when they added those sex scenes with him, stupid scenes really. She's not a complicated ambitious woman anymore, just a hypocritical turncoat. I love both actresses, they're great, but reading inetrviews of the cast, I sincerely hope that the writers didn't add all those needless scenes just to please them, because it's really not helping the story to move forward. And that quote following Rhaenyra asking for Aegon's head : "A son for a son"', did they forget about poor little Jahaerys already ? Anyway, there's still a lot of things I love about this show, but some characters don't make any sense anymore. I would just like the writers to stop thinking about 21st century political US landscape when they're writing about a medieval show, but that's too mcuh to ask, they seem to write, watching "show fans' reactions" from the burlington bar..

Same here. I just don't get how characters on the show can allow this guy to be near them.. (I'm not pointing at the actor, who's very good, but just at how Larys is written in the show).

Nice episode. I liked the failed attempt of poor Ser Steffon, it makes a nice contrast to other "claming scenes". I wasn't before, but I'm really tired of Daemon' scenes, even tough I like Considine. I guess because it's Matt Smith, they need him in every episode, but we could have gone without him for a couple of them. Really liked Aemond putting Larys in his place. That guy is so sleazy and doesn't bring much to the war effort, it's a wonder his head is still on his shoulders. I like the small council scenes, but without Otto, it's a bit flat, I wished the members would talk more, elaborate on strategies, both politicals and economics, have debates. They don't feel resourceful.

I don't think she looks at all like Emilia Clarke.. At first I tought it was Alicia Vikander.

Ouch, that's a bold take, between the Sand snakes in S5, Arya's magical ability to survive multiple stabbing in S6, Jaime who survives a fall underwater with his armure in S7 and Dany's behavior in S8.. Nope, sorry HOTD has its faults, but it's nothing in comparison of the last four seasons of GOT.

I think most people underestimate what rape is and its consequences on the victim psychologically. To me, it's just as bad as murder. By making Aegon a rapist, the showrunners knew what they were doing, especially by showing the girl with Alicent afterwards. As others have said, I wish they had included at list one Aegon-Rhaenyra scene before the war. I also wished we'd had the conversation between Aegon and Criston Cole, it would have underlined his motives a bit better. That being said, I think the actor portraying him did a lot of good work with what he had.

At the dinner scene, she tells Lucerys that he'll be great as lord of the tides. But I think that's it..

Re : Blood & Cheese Doesn't Blood tries to go back with Jaehearys's head to get Daemon's reward ? I think you @Lord Varys make very good points, but in the end, I really think Daemon will contact Mysaria and ask her to do his dirty deed. I like your argument about Mysaria wanting to show that even her can get to royal children as a revenge for what Larys did. Daemon and Mysaria might have a scene together in season 2 and plot it together. I don't know, but if they make Blood & Cheese as another misunderstanding/accident (after Alicent/Viserys, Aemond/Lucerys), it would be too much.

It's a bit weird but I completely understand their decision. I saw some many comments about : - "How great is Daemon! - Yes he's bad but he owns it, he's not a hypocrite. - This guys doesn't give a shit about anything, he's an absolut badass and I love it.."" Blablabla, Sara Hess got a lot of hate on the internet, some even calling her names because Daemon strangling Rhaenyra was out of character for Daemon. Show viewers can be so dump..

No, I think Daemon will have the bigger role in Blood& Cheese. Given how Mysaria was portrayed in the show, and that line to Otto about wanting to protect the children in the streets, it would make no sense to have her giving orders to target the kids of Helaena. I think having Daemon strangling Rhaenyra is a way to prepare the audience of what he'll be willing to do. Don't forget, it's Daemon who writes "eye for eye, son for son". I would be really pissed if they didn't show him being the backer of this plan. It's just how he sees justice being done, one son of Aegon for a son of Rhaenyra.

Yep, If we start making assumptions on how good a king or queen would be based on their sexual behaviour and proclivities, we won't get out of the woods until a Republican party emerges in Westeros.

I don't think so, I think that will still be mainly Daemon.. Probably also why they kept cutting some scenes (with his daughters, his grieving on the beach) and showed him almost strangling Rhaenyra to remind the audience that, despite his badassness, he's still a violent and vengeful person. But I think Rhaenyra will have a stern reaction to Blood & Cheese, she won't burst in outrage, she won't be pleased with it, but accept it as war casualty.

It felt quite clear to me that little Aemond understood he needed to let it go at that moment to protect his mother. Even Otto told her to drop the blade. It doesn't mean that he would forgive the person responsible for taking his eye out. I certainly wouldn't.

One thing I would like your opinions is Jace's statement that dragons are faster than ravens.. I don't recall that particular line from the books, but from F&B as well as ASOIAF, it seemed to me that ravens are faster than dragons actually. No ?

I don't think Daemon's character was ruined either. I felt pretty neutral toward Daemon in the book, he didn't stir up my emotions or imagination compared to other characters. But I really dislike him on the show. Maybe I hate Daemon's stans more than anything ^^ No, I think it's because I didn't care much for Viserys in the books whereas I really love his character on the show. Having a sibling myself, I could not imagine said sibling being seriously ill and just walking away. Agreed. I read on this thread somewhere that dragons were not horses, but being a horserider myself, I can think of at least 10 occasions where I almost shitted in my pants when ridding the horse. Or not even ridding actually, once I got bitten pretty badly because the horse got himself bitten by a horsefly and I just happened to be in the way at that moment.. Another time the pony I was riding didn't want to do anything that day and i got thrown off 3 times in an hour.. whereas the last time I had ridden him, it went well. They're animals, they have senses and a will of their own. They get scared, angry or bored. It is no coincidence that horseriding is the most dangerous sport in the world (both in terms of number and gravity of injuries)

Why would they do that ? Of course modern viewers wouldn't see her as a whore. Maybe a little stupid not to take a lover with silver hair like her to father her kids but definitly not a whore. Otherwise every male character in Westeros is also a whore. I never though once she was a whore reading the book.

Both can't be compared. The first one is an obvious mistake. The second is very plausible. It could have been intentionnel or it could have been accidental. They decided to go for the last one. It's a choice but it's a perfectly plausible choice. Rather than Dany being in a war and forgetting about the ennemy's fleet. You can desagree with that choice, but don't compare it to a stupid scene, that wasn't stupid (Unlike their take on Laenor's fate).

Then I won't start coming up with arguments. Clearly, it's wasted energy. But really, if the show makes you feel so negative about it, you should just stop watching it.

I really think Arrax fired out of fear and thenn fleed as fast as he could to an area (above the clouds where the winds wouldn't be as strong) that he felt was safer. Bad idea because then he was just out in the open, but no human nor animal think clearly when thy're freaked out. No, I think he just wanted to scare the hell out of Luke. And succeedeed to the point Arrax freaked out and lash out first.

I find it very plausible that Arrax, out of fear would strike the first blow, little animal can panick quite easily under stress. It doesn't make Aemond stupid, It just means that emotions of dragons and their riders are interconnected and Vhagar wanted revenge from Luke through Aemond. Vhagar also wanted to protect her rider against the fire, it pulled the string and Aemond lost control of her. If we can assume dragonriders really control their dragons at all. I'm a horse rider, and I quite agree with Viserys'statement, while we can think of ourself as having great control over much stronger animals, it's quite often an illusion. I can name at leats 10 different examples when my horse did something that I didn't planned, and things he did while I tried to stop him. But I'm on the fence whether I like that decision or not.. Between that and Alicent's misundertanding, the war seems like it results mostly from accidents.

The problem is also that the character didn't age at all, and they didn't even made an effort for it, he looks the same age as Aegon and Aemond, when he needs to be 20 years older. You'll say Daemon too, but Matt Smith at least looks in his early 40's. Fabien looks like a 25 years old. He still looks like a bitter college guy who holds a grudge against his first girlfriend. And he doesn't have that much lines either to make the character speaks about anything else. So it's difficult for him to appear with a kind of stern charisma.

We can't compare adaptations yet.. There are 8 seasons of GOT only one of HOTD. The only big changes from the book is Laenor's fate and Rhaenys' escape. GOT completely changed entire character's storyline from season 5. It's not double standard. Not yet anyway.

Arya maybe yes.. Although, apart from her bitchy and weird behaviour in season 7, she only slaughtered the Freys which everyone wanted to see murdered. It was clearly shown as a "badass girl moment". And not at all framed as morally ambiguous. Brienne and Jon Snow have clearly remained "good guys" in the show. I don't see how they were more murderous or cold blooded. I can only agree regarding Sansa. She became an arrogant cold bit** in the show. Another kind of Cersei. This character's arc was just ruined. But still, the show tried to sell it as a girl empowerment. Most people hate the character on the show and they're right (there is no logic that she doesn't tell Jon about LF and the Vale before the battle, I don't even know why they bothered to try to add suspens, everyone knew LF the kights of the Vale would arrive at the end..) Anyway, what matters isn't so much what those characters did but how it was framed, and apart from Sansa, those characters always had the moral highground.

No, Drogon landed on the rock in the middle of the lake (btw, it didn't look to be that big a rock for a dragon to land on but whatev') and people climb on his back.

Btw, I don't know if any of you have seen this, but those are the kind of HOTD memes that I'm looking forward to every week : https://scontent-fra5-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/312178651_252931533749576_8875455210195427466_n.jpg?_nc_cat=110&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=7k1oYPbhNLcAX8s3If6&_nc_ht=scontent-fra5-2.xx&oh=00_AT8Hp4Edfas2h1lbjXm3gKr5w4XaZsTDeplFdUTmyJQASQ&oe=635391CE