#chuz as much as that family love Black men

[megamindsecretlair]

How could anyone say this wasn't the right music for Pen and Colin? 😭 juss binged again and lordt, it's so perfect for them 😪

Because they love out loud. So why shouldn't their special scene be out loud as well?

[lemonhemlock]

my reading of f&b dance was def affected by hotd but aemond's actions post rook's rest seemed to me very much the actions of a man driven crazy with grief and guilt, which are masked by anger and bloodlust. like he's clearly not thinking soundly even before "witchy mind-control or w/e" alys crosses paths with him.

aemond goes out twice, and both times he returns with a huge loss (accidentally killing luke - which "leads" to b&c, aegon hurt and bedridden) for the greens. to me, it only made sense he'd stay in the riverlands and hope to get at least that 1 W (killing daemon) or die attempt trying. this is aemond's last resort to repay all his losses.

aemond seems like the kind of man who does not do well with losses of any sort, so for him to return with ser criston seems out of character even if it is strategically the most optimal choice. criston would've survived, they likely would've been able to retake KL, but alas.

plus there's this hot lady who'll take care of u and tell u that ur choice and action are the right ones, and honestly at the end of the day probably gave him solace from all the family drama plaguing him?

a lot of team black make fun of aemond and aegon abandoning alicent and helaena, but like... aegon was a corpse smuggled out of KL, he had little choice lol and quiet lit. did return for alicent once he had the means. and there is ser criston who very much returned for them (just failed) but he seems to not matter chuz muhh no blood relations. daeron as well attempts to retake KL.

one out of four men choosing suicide bombing over trying to save their family is not the end of the world. aemond can abandon his family... as a treat. yes even if team black will use it as ammo against team green lol.

as much as i love aemond/alys dynamic (grrm I need to know wtf happened to her and her son!) i still think shes more of a companion/side quest/wizard-mentor figure than one true love/endgame, and aemond's deeply fucked up feelings abt his family will always reign supreme in his heart. i don't think he'll abandon his family for alys. he'll abandon his family because of a sense of lost honor, and the feeling he failed as a parentified child and protector of his family. aemond never leaves his family and his family never leaves him. aemond's endgame is suicide bombing daemon.

This is a very comprehensive breakdown, so thank you, anon, for sending this. I agree with most of what you said, with the caveat that I'm not convinced by the parentified!Aemond theory based on what evidence we have been shown so far on screen.

Also, this is the first time I've heard of someone accusing Aegon of abandoning Helaena - I mean, what was he supposed to do? Fight Rhaenyra bedridden as he was? Not to mention that he could barely orchestrate anything himself, it was Larys who spirited him out.

I think there's a way to make Aemond's story not about "abandoning" his family, but trying to do right by them, honestly, it's all about the framing.