RhaenysBee

I’m trying to pull my thoughts together. Let’s start with the things I didn’t like just so I can stabilize my emotional state. female costume design is a disgrace in this show, while male costume design is quite impressive. Not sure how they do it but they do it. The one thing I appreciate is that servants have sensible clothing. Not that flimsy camisole they did in GoT (Global warming much?). The compulsive recasting is killing me. Okay, go down that road, but maybe go down sober and make it make sense? Why in the world couldn’t Ty Tennant play “adult” Aegon? Why? Yes you had to age up the younger kids, because 10 and 16 aren’t interchangeable. The new actor doesn’t have half of Ty’s presence and they look virtually nothing alike. Aemond looks a fair bit older than he should be, but at least I can buy that they are the same person with his younger counterpart if I squint. Dark (the German sci-fi) did this the way it should be done. But fine, recast everybody every episode because you want to make sure that we know time is flying by. For the love of everything dear, Criston Cole looks the exact same. 20 years and you gave him a stubble? He should be greying! Otto Hightower hasn’t aged a day. In 16 years, he lost his comb. Daemon cut his hair. Rhaenys didn’t even cut her hair, she has the same ridiculous updo. Stop this! Redesign the bloody characters, it’s been 20 years! Oh this pisses me off. No credibility whatsoever. And in spite of the emotional impact, Viserys’s condition was an utter mess as well. Gradual decay would have been more convincing, he should have had at least issues on the right side of the face at the 10 year time jump. And again, we should have seen him with maesters last episode or got some exposition about how his condition progresses and why. Make up something, or just address that the maesters don’t know either why it slows or accelerates at times. The face prosthetics were way overdone and weren’t realistic at all. Acting, cinematography and sound had to save it. Did Lucerys order that pig for his 16-18ish cousin who looks like he could murder three adults with one strike in an alley? Or was that accidental? You wouldn’t be as stupid a little shit to watch that guy fight in the courtyard and then pull that bloody prank on him. You wouldn’t even laugh. You weren’t even there. What the hell now? Who is this unfortunate soul that Aegon married? Did Alicent poison/kill that servant or just pay her off? oh and I can’t bloody believe that I must remember the existence of Daemon’s lady friend after all. At least we can be sure she’s some sort of priestess or mage so at least for her it’s okay not to age. How refreshing. things I liked: Well Viserys. My goodness, every damn second. Paddy Considine acted the heart out of that character and everybody paled in comparison. The emotional experience is still too fresh and raw so I may come back later to gush over his scenes. For the first time in this series: Daemon. When he sliced Vaemond’s head in half because he called Rhaenyra a whore. When he rolled his eyes during the prayers. When he controlled Rhaenyra’s sons with one glance and shut down Aemond with another. When you could read from his face that he just met the new him in his half eyed kid. But most of all how he handled Viserys. There was respect, love and empathy. He didn’t coddle him like Alicent, because he knew Viserys wanted to be a patriarch one last time and show that he was still able. Yet he watched for when his brother would actually need help and he helped as an equal. He almost said, be sensible, when Viserys dropped his crown climbing the iron throne and walked him up. It was utterly moving and beautiful and Matt Smith was the only actor who reached up to the bar Paddy set. You could see the love, the pain, the deep respect for his brother. What has become of this man who he had looked up to in spite of all conflict and rivalry and difference in character and belief? I kinda liked Rhaenyra’s moments of vulnerability, though I still dislike her as a person. I kinda liked Rhaenys and the fact that he supported Lucerys for her granddaughters. Paddy Considine shined on everybody else and the respect and amazement on their faces as they watched this old sick king be king was totally real as they watched this insanely talented actor work his magic in the scene. Interior sets are chefs kiss. Absolutely gorgeous design complemented by skilled and beautiful cinematography. Oh and I also like how Alicent went off on Aegon and told him he wasn’t her son because of how much she related to the servant. That was important for both Alicent and Aegon as characters. I find it quite difficult to accept that the best thing in the series is gone.

This broke me. I can always nitpick, but it doesn’t matter when something has me crying four times. I hope Paddy Considine gets every award known to mankind for this. Highlights: Viserys enters the throne room. Viserys climbs the Iron Throne. Daemon helps him up and hands him the crown. Rhaenys’s choice Viserys’s toast at the supper Viserys removes mask Rhaenyra’s toast Daemon stares down Aemond I gave it a 10 because the pathos swept me off my feet to the point where logic and details no longer reach me. I will nitpick a bit in the other thread, just for the heck of it.

Things I liked: Aegon telling Viserys that everybody know’s Rhaenyra’s children are not Laenor’s. Best character moment since forever. Here’s this hormonally overloaded, spoiled teenager, who is presented as unskilled at fighting, disrespectful to everything and everyone, caring about nothing but wine and women because that’s what he thinks being an adult means. Then his little brother puts the blame on him instead of their mother, and instead of whining, shifting the responsibility back or onto the mother, he stands straight and says it into his father and king’s face in front of a roomful of people that everybody sees what’s going on. Wow. Dragon riding was cool, Vhaegar’s grief was relatable. Driftmark is beautiful and Rhaenys had the first good looking female hairstyle for the funeral that I’ve seen on the show. I kinda liked her quiet chat with Corlys too though it reiterated the same thing they’ve discussed before in a similar scene. Kid fight. I liked Viserys’s handling of the kid fight and I liked the mass scene. Conveyed a lot about every single character present. Things I didn’t like: Rhaenyra. Daemon and Rhaenyra’s scene was not dark (because perhaps hbo heard the complaints that these scenes are impossible to follow?) but making it a low contrast grey dusk scene didn’t help. Looked unflattering and was as difficult to follow. I didn’t like how that was shot at all. What exactly does this show want me to think about king’s guard? How useless are these people? And while I enjoyed the kid scene, these little people pouring all the adult drama around them into a playground fight and showing that they are little savages who will kick and cut one another was a beautiful mirror of the adult world around them, it just raises for issues about how this court even works. Aren’t there guards or servants that would notice that the kids are gone? Do we remember when Ned had a search party looking for Arya because they did notice she was gone? Do we remember that Septa Whatshername existed and her purpose was to look after the Stark girls? Don’t these children have servants/governesses/guards/literally anybody looking after them? They are not that old, especially Rhaenyra’s kids and they are all members of the royal family. It’s so unlikely and unrealistic and odd. I also didn’t like that even though a lot happened this episode and the plot is moving at light speed, I was kinda bored. I paused the episode halfway to have a nap. I just don’t like or care about any of the characters which cripples my investment. After all the effort throughout episodes 3-5 with young Alicent, I thought the show had me because there was this one character I rooted for. Then she was gone and replaced with a different version and once again, I don’t have anybody I like or relate to or root for. Except Viserys but what’s to root for there? Speaking of, the show kinda forgot about this skin condition? I’m okay without seeing rotting fingers but did that illness just stop or heal? In episode five he collapsed TWICE. Now he seems to be ailed with old age only. I couldn’t tell for my life how old he is of course because Daemon doesn’t age and nor does Otto Hightower (what a joke), so suppose he should be around 60 and sickly which adds another ten years to his physical appearance and condition? We dropped his sessions with the maesters because… reasons, so we don’t know how he’s holding up or how he’s still alive. Very confusing visually and narratively. Also if Laenor was in on this plot, which I can only assume he was, he’s a shit person too. Seriously, who am I supposed to like in this show?

7/10 It was all right. My issues are the same as always. Too much happens over too little time, there’s no room to explore what happens in depth and detail. Emotional payoffs don’t work, I don’t care about any of the characters at this point. I like Viserys but I know he will be gone in the matter of episodes and that’s it. This new Alicent is a horrible person, and yes I suppose you can change this much in ten years, but you know, it would have been nice to witness some of the transformation. I explicitly dislike Rhaenyra, Daemon, Laenor or Criston and I wasn’t given enough time and content to really care about Corlys and Rhaenys,same for the kids, Otto Hightower bores me and doesn’t have the Tywin gravitas and presence. I find it quite difficult to stay invested when I care so little about the characters. I have no idea where the plot is headed, but it must be damn far off in time that we have to be racing toward it at this speed. It’s honestly damaging to the story at this point. I had a couple minor world building issues, but really my biggest issue with this show is the speed and the characters. I liked the dragon claiming scene. It reminded me of Harry Potter and Buckbeak. I liked the kids. I still enjoy when Viserys takes charge and stands his ground or attempts to parent. When Aegon told him everybody knew - that was the strongest character moment anybody had since the time jump. That was a job well done. Driftmark is still a gorgeous set.

Very much late to the game, but I’ll share my thoughts anyway. Things that I liked: Set, costumes, dragon cgi, world building of dragon culture, Viserys, Laena, Laena and Daemon dynamic, introduction of the kids. Things that I disliked: Time jump recasting is nuts. It’s inconsistent in the way it was only Rhaenyra’s generation that aged. No other character (Cole - I will get back to this -, the Hand, Daemon, Viserys, Larys) was recast. This could work, if you consistently aged this generation with makeup and a bit of latex, which they didn’t. Only Viserys was aged with makeup. This lands us with Larys, Ser Whatshisname and the Hand looking like they are the same generation even though the Hand is the father of the former two. Laena was recast for ONE episode, but you can’t put make up on criston cole to pretend that he isn’t the same age as he was 15 years ago in the story? So Criston Cole of no name origin beats a guest at a royal wedding to pulp, in fact, he beats the paramour of the future prince consort to pulp and gets away without consequences, in fact, he is training heirs ten years on in fighting (in which he has proven to be completely unstable and dangerous) and is still kings guard. Ser Whatshisname, son to the Hand of the King, Heir to Harrenhal and commander of the city watch punches Criston Cole and bloodies his upper lip and he is fired. I get that he left because of the rumors, but that’s no excuse for Cole being in the position that he is. utter nonsense. For the love of everything dear, could you be in any possible way LESS subtle about “tv represents birth in a false right, please pay attention, because we are going to correct this now” and “men have no idea about birth, please pay attention, because we are going to show how much”. Stop. Stop it. Don’t. Just don’t drag me out of the world you are trying to immerse me in. Please for the love of everything dear, apply some subtlety to your dialogue. You can convey both messages in a far more elevated manner. Pat on the shoulder for you for trying to be virtuous and representing childbirth in a way that’s considered appropriate for 2022. Please do it in a way that doesn’t ridicule your characters and world building and fits the context of your scene. You can do this if you want, but then do it right. there are rats in the king’s room? Because sure, there are rats in the castle, in the cellars, on the ships, in the storage rooms, in the kitchens, on the corridors perhaps, but in the king’s room, really? I can’t tell if this is realistic but it’s sure off-putting and again and I’m not entirely sure what’s the purpose of this shot. What else… Rhaenyra And Alicent actors are very different from their younger counterparts, which wouldn’t be an issue if the show gave us a bit more time to understand how and why they changed the way they did. The exposition about the dragon and rider bond and the 1 minute dragon riding scene AND the reminiscing about her claiming Vhaegar when she was 15 still weren’t enough together to invoke any emotion in me when Laena ordered Vhaegar to roast her. Maybe if Laena had been part of the story and we had actually seen her claim Vhaegar and that their bond was meaningful and important to both of them, maybe then I would have felt something. Show don’t tell. Roughly the same goes for Ser Whatshisname. Was I supposed to recognize this person from a previous episode? Because I swear this was the first time I ever heard of his existence and his confrontation with Cole and two cutesy minutes with his sons was far from enough to make me feel anything when he left or even when he burned in that fire. This is one of the biggest issues I have with the show. I just don’t care. I don’t care about Rhaenyra because I don’t like her. I don’t care about Daemon because I don’t like him. I don’t care about the politics because I don’t know enough to root for anything or anyone. I don’t care about Cole, Larys, the Hand, Laenor, Laena, Ser Whatshisname, the kids, because I know next to nothing about them. I care some about Viserys but literally nothing happens to him. I used to care some about young Alicent, but time jumps always ripped me from the opportunity to really sympathize with her struggle and grow to really care about her, because we never had time for that and she’s now a completely different person than last episode. I don’t know how she became this way so I don’t care. Care is a strong word but I do want to know if a white/grey horse and a black horse can have a bay foal. I think they can but I may be totally wrong. I also wonder where Corlys and Rhaenys are.

I gave it a 7, but it’s more of a 6.5. The time jump was wobbly at best and the recasting is all over the place and nonsensical. Fine CGI and fine introduction of the new Rhaenyra and Alicent (in terms of character, not actor). we had a decent introduction of the next generation, finally pretty female costumes (though wigs are still a disgrace). I like the custom and culture of dragon keeping and training. I kinda liked the dynamic of Laena and Daemon, in fact I liked it better than that of Young Rhaenyra and Daemon. I loved Viserys, I loved the interior sets and the food shots. Absolutely stunning design and cinematography. The plot is as fast as lightning which takes away from both depth and width. Not sure what we are racing toward but I’m sure it’s not worth it. buildup/foundation is provided for the wrong things and not provided for the things that actually need it. For that reason none of the desired emotional payoffs happen. The birth theme was handed out with the subtlety of a battle axe, it bordered on comedy at certain points and even though the attempt was novel and came from the right place, it was severely overdone and failed to do the deserved justice to the topic.

That doesnt sound like fun sorry about the shitty schedule and the lack of classroom. Kinda sounds like those office days when you end up spending the day in 6 different meeting rooms all over the office block so your work station is just coat and bag storage. Aw. This is so sweet! This sounds like an amazing holiday!!! so glad you’re enjoying the Balkan. I’ve only visited Croatia from the locations you mention, but Montenegro is in my top 3 destinations for next year, all the friends who’ve been there already loved it. hope you had a nice relaxed last day and safe travels home! We seem to be looking at a sweet, sunny and mellow weekend, probably the last one this year. I guess everybody will try to make the most of the weather and do something nice outdoors. Congrats on the new place! how long have you been living there? And yeah, energy bills are a whole thing… Sounds like a really nice and practical flat! do you still work in law? Congratulations! yay for you, it’s a big milestone. Well time to celebrate first! the job hunt can sure wait a week or two and lovely to see people in this thread, so nice to hear from you guys!

I don’t drink a lot or very often, but when I do, it’s a shot of rum in my tea at 11:30am on a Monday. And that’s how you ignore life problems rather than jump in headfirst and tackle them. Cheers.

Hi!!!!!! So nice to see you around and lovely to read your news! I do feel like I’m missing a link or two, did you move to Texas recently? To be closer to family or some other reason? Anyway, I’m glad that the grandkids and your daughter make up for not loving the place itself. And Alex is… is he at college in Texas?That’s a vague memory I have from a previous update of yours but I might be wrong or he might have graduated already and hence the move down. I feel you about the workload imbalance. Tends to be the same in my field as well, there’s barely anything to fill day in summer and in January-February, while spring and autumn is a madhouse. Any special plans in the upcoming months? I don’t know how old the grandkids are, do they still do Halloween?

I KNOW RIGHT?!?!?! again, very much agree. Dragons at this point are a random checkbox to throw into every episode for a random minute. They aren’t tradition, they aren’t a status symbol, they aren’t pets, they aren’t a mean of traveling. Doesn’t make any sense and doesn’t enrich the world in any way.

Huh, there’s no high-five emoji…. Oh well, high five anyway.

We know that daemon is not a very nice guy and an arriving letter or just the cousin’s report at the wedding would have been perfectly enough in my opinion. I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings or discredit any opinions based on reading the book, I can’t speak for how this plays out there. I just know that I watched a gratuitous and overdone scene that did nothing for me other than check the plot point box of Daemon’s being free to marry. And while I understand and accept the problems you guys mention, (be it the returning issue of vilifying a grey character for impact or the problematic downplaying of morally black actions into pardonable bad boy quirk), I personally don’t feel strongly about these complaints. On the one hand because I’m pretty indifferent about daemon and mostly find him tiresome, and on the other because I didn’t read the books. But I get it. @DMC yes, it does and it probably is. In my defense, I don’t really have an alternative, when you introduce a character with a first line that’s already rude, give me 2 minutes of trading insults, then kill her right off without backstory. I’m going on what I have. (And sure I could read the books, I accept that, but no, sorry, I won’t) The show could have introduced her being actually amiable to her cousin or have a tender/skillful moment with an animal. I can relate to that and I will see her going off on Daemon on a different light - not because I give a shit about Daemon’s feelings, but because I’ve seen our person be something other than a hardass. Some people can relate to and like that type of character, l just feel they make my skin crawl.

Doesn’t mean he couldn’t have arranged it. I don’t know, I didn’t read the book and I don’t care for this Rhea character at all (though let’s be fair, ugly or pretty, nice or insufferably rude, none of that makes her deserve whatever end she met in either version). I just wish I could understand what the show hoped to accomplish with this scene.

I disliked her within the one sentence she spoke to her cousin, and I wouldn’t watch anything she’s the main character in. And that goes to why we need versatile characters in shows and why every character shouldn’t be full of sass and piss and vinegar. Some enjoy this type of protagonist and some don’t. Didn’t say he was an idiot, but he sure isn’t the wisest or most calculated person in the world. well Laena… it would be nice to see something, anything about what kind of person she grew up to be. Her running after Daemon felt rather bizarre, especially after the cringe fest of baby Laena’s proposing to Viserys. When did Daemon care what Viserys ordered him to do? I don’t think this was the first time he was told to go back to his wife.

I haven’t seen that idea mentioned or implied, I may have missed it. I would say Alicent understands their world far better than to ever want to be Rhaenyra and I also think she is okay enough with herself that she doesn’t want to be like Rhaenyra. Even if she were as unwise as to wish to be Rhaenyra, she doesn’t have it in her to be like her, because she’s a different personality. Yeah, yeah, I see your point… I’m just not sure why he thinks he’s got a shot at Rhaenyra, who’s being married to Laenor. This may be an attempt at one of those tragic situations of information just passing by a character when they most need it, the ones GRRM likes to write and asoiaf is riddled with, but the show doesn’t exactly make a point of it because it’s too busy getting Joffrey butchered on the dance floor. Maybe a better way to burst that tension bubble would have been Daemon’s realization that he finally went all the way but did so too late and Rhaenyra slipped out of his hands again?

@DMC #daemon I don’t think it was surprising at all. What I found odd is why he waited so long to kill his wife, and not get rid of this “problem” much sooner. That and the idiotic manner he chose, but I can see the arguments you guys have made about his not being a planner and the murder reflects the chaotic mess he is in any situation. The most absurd thing about the scene is the choreography to me. It is sooooo unlikely for the horse to flip back like that. I have seen spooked horses throw riders, I’ve been thrown by spooked horses. The horse could have thrown her in any other far more likely manner and she could still have broken her back.

Right, I didn’t think of that! I quite forgot that bedding ceremony was a thing in the ASOIAF world. If they had a bedding ceremony, she could absolutely know indeed.

I thought she meant I knew you didn’t even have it in you to look me in the eye and finish me. But saying “you couldn’t finish” without an object (“you couldn’t finish me”) is a clumsy and contrived way to call back to episode one when Daemon failed to perform in the brothel and have one last double-dig at his masculinity. This is not something Rhea would or could know of course, so it’s just comes off as poor dialogue. Maybe I’m wrong, but this was my first assosiciton when she used that particular word.

I didn’t. Hence “or” rather than “and”. I agree with the rest.

Allow me to indulge in a defending Alicent spree. (Not to say that anybody is wrong to perceive and interpret her differently, or to dislike the archetype. Each to their own, everybody is perfectly free to dislike something that I happen to find likable. I also didn’t read any of the source material, but if you did and that affects your interpretation and perception and reception of the character, that’s 100% valid as well because this is an adaptation after all. That’s all the disclaimers I can think of.) So what I understand is that Alicent was a different character from Rhaenyra from day 1. She is the good girl, who does her studying, cares about her friend and complies with whatever her shitty father tells her because A. she has that kind of personality B. she grew up with those values C. she doesn’t seem to have any immediate family aside from her father and is entirely dependent on him. when she is told to comfort the king, she is visibly uncomfortable with the idea and why wouldn’t she be. It’s so soon after the queen’s death who we have seen to be kind to her, she’s very young and Viserys could be her father, and she’s best friends with his daughter. But she does it because her father says so and she is actually comfortable around Viserys, more so than around her own father, as seen via the cuticle scratching (which was a nice touch). She didn’t try to seduce the king, she was just herself, a caring, warm, dutiful and compliant young woman, which happens to be Viserys’s type as Aemma was depicted in much the same light based on what little we saw of her. She had no say in the king’s choice and unfortunately we skipped through just how much she must have struggled with the new identity of queen and how it alienated her from people. This is hinted at later, but a huge missed opportunity. Rhaenyra is (understandably) a brat about the situation, but Alicent doesn’t get to be a brat because she suddenly had to grow up, mature even more and she became a mother and assumed a new set of duties, expectations and a shitload of pressure of her own - nearly alone aside from her father who was only using her to build his own sand castle, and entirely without moral support for what we know, because I doubt that off screen Otto held her hand while she cried because she felt overwhelmed. That is strength. Not the watch-me-daddy-because-I-won’t-won’t-won’t type of strength, but unthinkable resilience and steadfastness. And while she was coveted and celebrated for giving a son to Viserys, that came with more bad blood with her friend, who was suddenly her child, not only in a legal sense but in terms of behavior as well. Alicent didn’t get to stride off and huff and puff when she didn’t like something. And she tolerated all this because that’s the kind of personality she has and that’s the kind of care and trust she had for Rhaenyra. She trusted that under the childishness Rhaenyra was still her friend, that’s why she didn’t want Aegon to be named heir. To keep her friend, so she could count on Rhaenyra the way she could count on her not pushing Aegon. As someone not well versed in politics, it’s forgivable and understandable that Alicent wouldn’t (want to) see how the rest of the realm would feel (and act) about the matters she saw it as an interpersonal conflict to resolve for which she did her part. From the same sense of care and duty she tended to Viserys in his sickness even though it probably repelled her, as she was never in love with, least of all attracted to him. But there seemed to be mutual care, understanding and regard between them if nothing else. The fact that this isn’t enough for happiness for 16-20 year old Alicent is understandable. Yet she is not complaining and she’s not wavering, which is again, strengths. I really would (have) like(d) to see if there was any joy for her in all this, either in the children or anything else, because it is realistic that there would be a flower or two to smell even in a meadow flooded with shit. It appeared that she found no particular joy in motherhood or that the screaming baby was only adding to the stress of political pressure of inheritance, sick husband and general sense of loss over her youth and dreams (which she sure had). When suspicion arose that Rhaenyra slept with someone, Alicent understandable felt that this friend she cared for and stuck up for (in the business of inheritance), just shit all over everything she stood for and represented as a value. She felt jealous that Rhaenyra may have had a choice she never did or would. And she felt worried about this person who she still regarded and trusted as a friend. Then Rhaenyra lied to her face when she wanted that trust returned and would have offered genuine help. When you sacrifice your entire life for duty, it gets really difficult to see that some people refuse to do even the one job they have and still get away unscathed. It makes you angry and resentful and humiliated. Especially if it all goes behind your back when you offered only help and honesty to both Rhaenyra and Viserys, who both withheld truth from you. What more could you have done to get more than nothing? Especially if it costs your father’s position, who is shitty and stupid but still your father and only blood relation in the entire city with some semblance of concern for your future. Because clearly your friend doesn’t care and your husband will pick his daughter over you and yours any day and not even give you the respect of an honest discussion about it. At this point Alicent is wronged, resentful, hurt, angry and more alone tHan ever before. And her cup that’s been filling for years with Rhaenyra’s shit and Viserys’s lacking as a husband just spilled and she no longer cares. If at this point she says I can play dirty too, that’s understandable. If she takes the high ground, I will salute her all the more for it. She could have told on Cole and projected her rage onto him and nobody would have batted an eye. But she knew full well that Cole was as naive and compliant as she was (until he became a psychopath and minced that guy’s face at the wedding), and Rhaenyra took advantage of his trust in her as she did of Alicent’s trust in her and so she handled him with grace. I hope she will continue to take the high ground, though I don’t think the show will go that way. Alicent is the archetype we no longer see on tv because every female character must be physically capable and skilled, full of sass piss and vinegar, political prowess and drive to achieve their end no matter the means. This is unrealistic, boring, exclusive and reduces strength to a very narrow definition. Alicent has been a breath of fresh air and I find her far easier to like, respect and relate to than Rhaenyra. I will shut up now, even though I’m sure I forgot to even touch on half the points I wanted to make. Never mind.

Well that’s the whole point, she’s not Cersei and the fact that this didn’t even occur to her (or so the show would have us believe) is what separates her from Cersei. And yes, she is the non-sassy and non-rebellious young female character who is passive and trapped but doesn’t have the badassness and immorality to do something about it. And bless her for that and the writer who wrote her that way (even if that strays from the source material). It’s not realistic or necessary that everybody is a Cersei or a Rhaenyra and I dearly hope that Alicent won’t turn into either of them.

The problem was not the horse getting spooked or even throwing its experienced rider. Any horse can and will get spooked and any rider can be thrown. The problem is that a horse doesn’t fall flat on its back when it gets spooked.

Again, I liked a lot. For the first time, I got a sense of Otto Hightower as a human being. His scene with Alicent conveyed a lot about both of them, which was necessary to understand Alicent’s character better. I really liked Alicent, I thought her reactions were founded, understandable and to me at least, pretty relatable. The acting was quite good. I enjoyed Laenor and Rhaenyra’s dynamic, it was sweet and the mutual respect and care showed in spite of the slightly clumsy dialogue (was that intentional? I couldn’t tell). Corlys was great and his conversation with Rhaenys was a highlight. It made them both human and two dimensional, which has been missing from previous episodes. Driftmark was stunning, especially the interior sets, though the beach shots were also lovely especially the grass ones with Laenor and Joffrey. The wedding set was once again beautiful. The arrival of the Velaryons was epic. The actress 100% pulled off Alicent’s power walk (the spectator comments were unnecessary, the scene perfectly conveyed what it needed to convey). The tension they were building throughout the wedding scene was sublime, I as a viewer felt the discomfort in the room, the acting was amazing on everybody’s part. BUT. That whole thing just falls apart when you try to contrive a climax to it that makes as little sense as this one did. For crying out loud, it takes TWO people, TWO people to drag Criston off of that little git this Joffry person was. There were like 10 men around, in close proximity. Also, were is THE REST of the freaking King’s Guard? Aren’t there 6 more of them? Why aren’t they there at a royal wedding in full armor exactly to prevent something like this? Where’s the regular guard? How do you not break up something like this in minutes? Who the fuck tossed Laenor over the table? Cole? Because if he did, why didn’t someone slip in and drag the Joffrey person away, while Cole was busy with Laenor? the choreography of the scene is so terrible because they deliberately directed and shot the extras in a way that suggested a mass confrontation, which this wasn’t. And that begs the question of why didn’t anybody react like a functional human being would do? You have two functional human reactions when a king’s guard starts beating up a noble guest at a royal wedding: you flee the crowd to stay safe and let help get there, you try to break up the fight. You don’t stand around and cheer like it’s the bloody colosseum. Okay, Joffrey dies. Why isn’t Cole arrested or even executed on site? How does he get to that tree WITH HIS WEAPON? He just killed a noble guest at the royal wedding! He is a murderer and a liability to the safety of anybody in the Red Keep. Why is he alone at the tree and why does the queen just walk up to him? What fresh hell is this? and also yes, Viserys is sick, we get it, unless you mean to kill him in weeks (which you don’t because I know from the episode 6 stills I saw on Facebook that he makes the next time jump), there’s really no need to hand this fact out so heavily. We get it. As for Daemon… just how stupid is this dude? Why didn’t you kill that wife years ago and why didn’t you find a slightly less idiotic way? Also, did he fly there at daybreak and wait in case she rode that way? The woman opened her mouth once and you totally understood why Daemon didn’t go anywhere near her by the way. So as a viewer am I supposed to forgive Daemon for killing his insufferable wife so he may get his insufferable niece? Or am I supposed to feel disgusted and deeply sorry for this insufferable woman who was insufferable from the moment she opened her mouth the first time till the end of 3 minutes I knew her as a character? Seriously. I know it’s not a popular opinion, but mostly I’m just bored with Daemon. He is an overrated narcissistic baby, and as such a right match for Rhaenyra. I hated the hairstyles too. What are those updos? oh yeah it’s so weird that they changed the young Velaryon actors. Laena looked 10 and now she looks 25+ While Rhaenyra is still played by the same person. That’s what you get when you compress the timeline so. no, sorry, I’m still not done. I actually had an issue with the tension building too. It relied on characters figuring things we as an audience found out through two episodes’ worth of story by glances and looks. I’m not saying that Joffrey person and Daemon weren’t painfully obvious. But you can’t have the same character be so obvious in their body language and then walk up to Cole and talk to hiM about keeping secrets. What freaking secret, my friend, the entirely room read you like an open book. And sure, let’s say it’s in character for Joffrey and Daemon to be so obvious, where are the consequences? As for the rest of them, can we at least have someone, anyone, not know everything from looks?

I gave it a 6 and once again I feel rather generous. What in fresh hell happened here? How do you screw up 53 decent minutes in only 5 more? How do you ruin something in literal minutes? Who approved this scene? so if you take away the first 5 minutes and the last 5 minutes, the episode was a solid 7-7.5. ridiculous. Seriously… Pfff… I liked the Velaryon score a lot. The dragon shot was nice, you know you’ve got to have a dragon shot. Laenor was fine, Corlys and Rhaenys were great. I really liked the choice for the new hand, I got a whole lot of my questions from the previous episode answered. The wedding set and the driftmark set were stunning, I loved the Velaryon costumes. I loved Alicent’s power walk and her scene with Otto. I… really didn’t love the wedding, and no, you didn’t get the shockvalue of the red wedding and in spite of all effort, the affair remained dull because there were two too few deaths. for crying out loud…

Oh I love me a thick, blanket-sized cardigan and all the soft and fluffy winter accessories. Also coats. Some people love handbags or shoes, I love coats. And I even love the fresh, crispy air - outdoors, not in a room sitting in front of my laptop in three layers and a blanket. I had two pairs of socks on too. that sounds like a nightmare to keep track of! when I used to be at school the most complicated schedule we had was weeks A and B. So how is this working for you? Like how long does it take to get used to? Is it more difficult to schedule other plans around work this way? Do you prefer the four versions to only one (potentially shitty) schedule? Sorry, I’m genuinely curious, never heard of such a complicated system before! Will do