#house of the dragon theories

[whitegownsandflowercrowns]

Theories I’ve Seen About HOTD Season 2 Rated

Rhaenyra will be the one to order Blood & Cheese but Daemon will take the fall for it, both immediately and to be remembered by history. 9/10. There is something about this theory that I just absolutely love. Maybe it’s the idea of Rhaenyra taking explicit action, maybe it’s the fact that it’s something that would cast her in a genuinely morally dubious light, maybe it’s just that one face Emma D’Arcy made in the trailer that made it look like Rhaenyra was ready for absolute murder. No matter what I think this is an intriguing theory that could very well happen.

Helaena will turn to Team Black. 5/10. The reason that this is exactly in the middle is because there are one or two right ways to do this…and about fifty million wrong ways to. You know what I would be down for? Helaena, who knows the pain of losing a son, cannot defend the way her family keeps justifying Lucerys’ death to herself, right as Baela and Rhaena realize that they are going to get tossed over for Rhaenyra’s sons no matter what happens. The girls team up and burn some shit down. Very unrealistic but I would love it.

Nettles will be replaced by Rhaena. -10/10. Please, please no, I am begging y’all not to do this. At best we’re taking away an interesting character, at worst we are turning Daemon into something he is very much not (and I say this as someone who hates the man).

Helaena is pregnant with/will give birth to Maelor. 8/10. This seems likely, and I am also begging for it to happen because I really don’t like the implications of a Maelor-less B&C…

Aegon & Aemond will fight over Helaena. 1/10. Please, no, I hate this. Feels very reductive towards all three of their characters.

Rhaenys will die this season. 8/10. Given the timeline this seems very likely. Her scenes in the trailer gave me some “wise mentor giving last bits of advice” vibes, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this is what leads to…

Rhaenyra goes completely mad this season. 7/10. The only reason this is rated slightly lower is because I agree with a lot of people that Rhaenyra’s death will be pushed back as far as possible, probably into the final season. Depending on how “mad queen” she goes, that could lead to a lot of viewers being frustrated with her, and I don’t see the writers going so hard so early. But I think we’ll at least start to see slips in judgment later in the season.

Otto Hightower dies. 8/10. This is absolutely something I can see happening in the season finale (we did have that clip in the teaser of Daemon seemingly beheading someone). This is the way I can see the show going “the Dance is getting really serious now.”

[reagan10108]

Trigger warning sexual/rape/incest

It’s the world of Game of Thrones so automatically be warned

House of the dragons spoilers

So I have a theory well technically three theories, and I am going to be telling you guys about it. It’s about second season of House of the Dragon. so I watch the trailer many times and some theories just came to mind.

The first theory is so alys in the trailer is seen to be the new lover of Aemond and I think she also had a sex scene with Daemon. So I have a theory connected to the scenes so in the books, she is rumored to be a witch and has practiced witchcraft before and she is also rumored to be a strong bastard and that’s ironic for Aemond. But anyways, I think she is the bastard daughter of Larys Strong and he ordered his daughter to manipulate and get into his bed and make him fall in love with her to manipulate him, and I can actually see that I can see him taking advantage and being manipulative and he also might ask her also to sleep with Daemon. I don’t know. I think he might do it. Tell me what you guys think?

The second theory is when Daemon and Rhaenys went to KingsLanding they went at the time of blood and cheese and Daemon wanted to teach his nephew a lesson for what he did and he raped his nephews lover to teach him a lesson I wouldn’t put it past him to do it because Daemon is just very unpredictable. That’s just his personality. So you guys can tell me what you think about my theory, but I can see that happening as another form of revenge.

The third is alys was hired by Aemond to distract his uncle. you guys can tell me what you think about my theories don’t be shy you can talk to me.

[alannacouture]

Okay, I just want to talk about this. There are only TWO times we see Rhaenys wearing a hairpiece (or a CROWN, if you will). The first is at her son’s wedding. The wedding where he is marrying the daughter of the man who one could accuse of usurping Rhaenys’ throne and said son’s birthright to eventually sit on his mother’s throne. And not only is he marrying Rhaenys’ replacement’s daughter, he’s marrying the young woman who is being given the throne Rhaenys was denied BECAUSE of her gender, while her son’s fiancée has already been named heir DESPITE her gender.

The next time Rhaenys wears a hairpiece (or CROWN) is to inform Rhaenyra the Iron Throne is being usurped by a younger, male relative. She is also wearing it when Rhaenyra is officially crowned Queen, a title The Queen That Never Was very obviously was denied. 

There is no way it is a coincidence that Rhaenys Targaryen, The Queen That Never Was, wears a crown to her son’s wedding to the female heir to the Iron Throne & wears a crown to the abrupt coronation of the first leading Queen of Westeros. I’m not going to make any conclusions, other than the fact that HOTD’s costume department is full of geniuses & Rhaenys Targaryen is a BAMF to walk into King’s Landing in a crown, then watch Rhaenyra’s coronation in a crown (while not bending the knee). The woman is truly a queen, whether she ever sat on the Iron Throne or not. 🙇‍♀️👑🙇‍♀️ New Addition: So I was rewatching the first episode and happened to notice that Rhaenys wore a hairpiece a third time on the show. When? Oh, just during the Great Council, when she’s basically usurped by Viserys, her younger, male relative. Seriously, the costume department are geniuses. Having Rhaenys only wear crowns when she’s making a direct statement about her superiority to sit on the Iron Throne and each time, she never made it there, is brilliant. The woman’s a Queen, no matter what her nickname says.

[hotdaemondtargaryen]

THE CAST OF ‘HOUSE OF THE DRAGON’ REACTING TO HELAEMOND'S THEORIES

AEMOND is the father of helaena's kids.

PHIA: ‘how do you feel about that?’

TOM: ‘it pisses me off, actually. i'm so protective over my children. that would be so sad for aegon. he loves them so much.’

[ra-horakhty-art]

Dream fire with her children: Drogon, Rhaegal, Viserion.

Comission.

[witchthewriter]

Dany Targaryen who cannot have her own biological children but when she liberates Westeros she adopts so many orphans. She DOES break the wheel, she restores peace and even though she has lost people close to her, it doesn't stop her from loving her subjects.

She especially has a soft spot for women and children. She makes sure the children she rules over are always fed, with proper clothes and shoes.

They are all given a choice of schooling, boys and girls alike, children from all classes, cultures and backgrounds.

There is no more Iron Throne because Drogon still melted it down. Maybe her reign does begin with ashes ... but like a phoenix, her people rise.

[i-am-traveling-the-multifandom]

So, I noticed Heleana's jewelry and decided to overthink.

Sunflower ring represents Sunfyre.

Blue ring represents Tessarion.

Green ring represents Vhagar.

[okmcintyre]

I really don't go here, BUT: What if the story about Rhaenyra we hear in GoT is a fake....?

Alicent is already headed for a quiet life. If Rhaenyra wants that too, faking her death is the only realistic avenue for that to happen. No one would accept her stepping away, otherwise.

Maybe she fakes her own death. Maybe her son is even in on it. He tells the world that he watched her get eaten by a dragon, brings an empty box of remains back with him, and goes on to become the next ruler.

In the meantime: his mother fakes her death (just like her 'late' huband did). Rhaenicent finally get their happy ending together. The story comes full circle, with them quietly enjoying each other's company under a tree. HoTD finishes with a soft ending.

[synchodai]

Let's talk adaptation theory, because I've been seeing a lot of accusations that criticism of HotD is just "wanting it to be exactly like the books" and "book purists" not knowing what an adaptation is. So okay, let's talk about what an adaptation is, then.

I'll mostly be quoting from Linda Hutcheon's A Theory of Adaptation, because this is the first book most everyone reads when going into adaptation studies. Let's look at several ways we can approach and critique adaptation.

ADAPTATION AS INTERPRETATION

The adapted text, therefore, is not something to be reproduced, but something to be interpreted and recreated [...]

No one expects HotD to be a 1:1 reproduction of F&B. Hutcheon often compares adaptation to the process of linguistic translation, in that there will always be an inevitable loss of fidelity when translating from one language to another. However, the translator is still expected to provide an accurate representation of the source text — hence, adaptation as interpretation and recreation. Some may call this approach "fidelity criticism," an evaluation of quality based on how much the adaptation aligns with the source text.

("Fidelity criticism" is not what GRRM did. He didn't criticize the show simply because it differed from the books, and often even praises changes from the source material if it "strengthens" the impact of the work. His priority was never fidelity.)

This approach has its detractors, but there is merit to pointing out that HotD and its audience will have a difficult time interpreting and conveying F&B's message (story) if the showrunners actively take out key words (characters) and terminology (plot events). If we view adaptation as translation (from one medium to another), then the role of the adapter is to convey the intention and meaning of the source text as accurately as possible. And people do have a right to criticize "accuracy" of meaning if we see adaptation as a process of translation and remediation — which you are free not to, but some people DO come from this angle and are often dismissed as "book purists."

If you see adaptation as interpretation, are you a book purist? Perhaps, depending on what the definition of "book purist" is, but to make it clear, the people who are coming from this viewpoint clearly do not expect a blow-by-blow reproduction, and to argue that they do is dismissing a whole school of thought when it comes to adaptation.

ADAPTATION AS SUBSTITUTION

Another way to look at adaptation is through a "process of substitution." Pretty simple to understand, right? Prose that says "red dress" is substituted for an image of a white gown but with ruby embellishments, two characters are merged into one for the show, and Aemond and Aegon working together in Rook's Rest is substituted for the former betraying the latter. Your mileage may vary on whether you find these acceptable substitutions.

I believe this is the camp GRRM falls into. He brings up fidelity only insofar that he's concerned a lack of it will lead to poor and unacceptable substitutions.

How does one know if a substitution is "acceptable?" Well, I'd like to use the analogy Hutcheon brings up about surgery:

Usually adaptations, especially from long novels, mean that the adapter's job is one of subtraction or contraction; this is called "surgical art."

Good adaptations are like good surgeries: the body remains holistically intact and ideally functions better with the replacements and removals. Bad adaptations are like bad surgeries — hence the oft lobbied critique of an adaptation "butchering" the source material. The body of the adapted text cannot function on its own, being maimed or crippled by the adaptation process.

For example, the adaptational change of making Rhaenyra and Alicent the "heart" of the story has been discussed a lot by fans and critics. It was praised in the first season because it gave the story an intimate and personal "face." But it was lambasted in the second season because it actively deterred the plot progression, "crippling" the pace and stakes of the show.

In GRRM's case, his argument was that while Maelor was an unimportant part by himself, his presence was necessary for the continued function of other more vital organs. He goes on to suggest possible replacements and reprecussions upon the text as a whole. While he expresses disapproval that Maelor was removed in the first place and mentions other potentially "toxic" changes, there's also the (albeit wary) admission that Condal and his team could very still find acceptable substitutes that may stave off the damage he foresees being done to the body.

Again, this is valid criticism and a legitimate approach to HotD as an adaptation.

ADAPTATION AS AUTONOMOUS

Perhaps one way to think about unsuccessful adaptations is not in terms of infidelity to a prior text, but in terms of lack of creativity and skill to make the text one's own and autonomous.

Basically, this approach to adaptation asks, "Is the show still good by itself? Or does it fall apart without its source text and paratext (interviews, podcasts, press releases, etc.)?" This mode argues that adaptations cannot be simply sequels, prequels, or any sort of expansion of the source text. They must be separate retellings that actively evolve and mutate into a species that can survive on its own — mainly, that it adapts to a new context and audience so to speak.

A critique lobbied at the season two HotD finale was that its impact relied solely on the legacy of the prior show and the A Song of Ice and Fire mystery of who truly is The Prince That Was Promised. If the audience had no connection to Daenerys, no investment in the question of who truly was TPTWP, and never watched Game of Thrones, would Daemon's decision to finally devote himself to Rhaenyra make sense? Or does its emotional resonance rely solely on the audience's investment to another story that is not this one? Is it an adaptation of F&B or a prequel to GoT?

There's nothing wrong with it being a prequel, but if it was billed as an adaptation, then the audience has the right to feel misled because both conventional wisdom and esoteric theory agree that prequels are not adaptations. I think this is the school of thought most people subscribe to when they say HotD feels like "fanfiction" — because while fanfics CAN be written as adaptation (like modern AUs, video game novelizations, etc.), a vast majority of them are not. Most fanfics are grafted on expansions reliant on the source text for context.

This is all to say that a lot of criticism levied against the show, including GRRM's, can't be chalked up to "people not knowing what an adaptation is." There are several different ways to approach adaptation — the question is does HotD succeed in any of them?

[aphrmoosun]

Streets are saying what Aemond is doing here is taking a ring from his brother.

Some say it is some kind of betrothed ring with Helaena and others that it is Viserys'. I don't know what to think actually bc I don't know anymore what they want to do with Aemond in this part. What do you think?

It can be he wears both rings but I think Viserys' ring is the one he wears on his little finger and it's the one he wore before going to battle (????

[angrygirlromero]

𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄 𝐓𝐎𝐘✧•. • °

AUTHOR’S NOTE: credits to the amazing artists who made this, I’m not sure who it is I came across this on Pinterest, but I’m not sure who made it to give credits so if you know please do tag them!

WARNINGS! Pure filthy smut honestly, possible grammar mistakes.

Maegor Targaryen loved fucking his little niece, it serving as him throwing the fact back into his brother’s face every time he’d fuck his warm sticky seed into her, he loved her, he adored her, he was obsessed with his queen.

Obsessed with the euphoric feeling of having her tight warm walls wrapped around his thick pulsing length, the painful pleasure of the constant stretch of his thrust leaving his darling niece a dumb drooling mess of pleasure, as she moaned and screamed his name for everyone in the keep to hear just exactly who she belonged to.

He could never get enough of her being infatuated with the feeling, taste and smell of her, she was his everything, she’d wake up with him buried between her thighs him eating her out, basically making out with her pussy, spitting biting and sucking on her sweet spot constantly.

Having his thick and long pretty length abusing her cunt, until she passed out as he watched mesmerized at the sight of the bulge in her tummy at his every thrust, he’d use her as his little cum dump stuffing her with his children every chance he got.

He’d summon her to the throne room just to have her ride him on the iron throne, Maegor ordering the guards to not look if not they would suffer his warmth, “oh, please kepus, please cum in me, p-please want to feel y-you fill me up” she would scream out, and Maegor would groan and moan into her neck leaving an insane amount of bruises, while she rode him, her little figure humping his huge muscular one, as his large hands would guide her hips into his pelvis.

[whitegownsandflowercrowns]

Characters I Am Extremely Confident We’re Losing In Season 3

Massive F&B spoilers below the cut

Jace

Gwayne

Aemond

Daemon

Criston

Otto

Jason

Simon

Potential Season 3 Losses

Helaena

Joffrey

Mysaria

[greenqueenhightower]

He was obviously talking about Alys.

The "claiming an emotionally and sexually manipulative relationship with the outcast woman who bears a similar name to the witch stepsister who breastfed him and probably was the sole person to provide him with affection" theory is gaining ground as we speak.

The levels of twisted Oedipal complex would be enough to resurrect Freud from the dead.

[alannacouture]

The Catspaw Dagger

Since I can’t sleep, you guys are being gifted w a HOTD/GOT theory I just thought abt & now is stuck in my head. Since the catspaw dagger is literally written w the Conqueror’s vision of “A Song of Ice & Fire”, do you think it’s the only weapon capable of killing the Night King? (We’re going to have to look at the timeline chronologically, instead of when the shows came out. You’ll also have to forgive any book inaccuracies, as I’ve only seen the shows [& spend some time on GOT Wiki].) Bran specifically gifts Arya the dagger, despite knowing he could just wait for Jon & give it to him. I know GOT basically abandoned Bran’s ability to time travel, or whatever, but giving something so historically important to his sister, when Bran probably knew the origins of it, seems odd now. Especially when he discovers Jon’s a true Targaryen, he could’ve asked Arya for it back, gifting it to who many believed was “The Prince Who Was Promised”. Instead, he lets Arya keep it. So, if she hadn’t been armed w that dagger, could she have even killed the Night King? Is the fact that the prophecy is in the blade the reason she was able to at all? Or was Bran playing the long game, knowing 2 Targaryens (who both could be the prophesied Prince(ess)), plus Arya armed w the dagger, gave them a much better chance of defeating the Night King? Maybe anyone holding the dagger could kill him, but a Targaryen without the dagger would be able to as well? … Well, that’s where my head’s at right now. I hope everyone else is sleeping (or being more productive).

[alicentflorent]

I think the reason why Alys Rivers is the character I have enjoyed most this season is because she brings a unique, less privileged perspective (much like mysaria) and most importantly, She’s the only character female character that they have allowed to be morally grey and maintain a sense of agency. Unlike the main female characters who sit on councils wringing their hands unable to make decisions or being stripped of any agency during the war efforts that they should be leading. Alys clearly has the upper hand in her dynamic with daemon, she’s drugging him and invading his mind which definitely not a moral thing to be doing even if it feels like daemon deserves it. She exploits the image that someone like daemon might have of her - a powerless, bastard woman - when we know she is far from powerless. She’s also shown to care about the crimes being inflicted on the riverlands and it’s people, her people, which shows she has motive and good reason for messing with daemon, she’s not just tormenting him for fun. Alys is allowed to be a complex character with questionable methods and unclear motives but at the same time she’s a character that we can root for, an underdog who understands the cost of war on the innocents.

[hotdaemondtargaryen]

EWAN MITCHELL & PHIA SABAN talking about 'helaemond':

PHIA SABAN:

“I mean, sometimes Ewan [and I] will be doing a scene and we’ll be like, ‘Do it for Helaemond.’

And he’s like, ‘You know what the people want.'”

EWAN MITCHELL:

“I think it’s nice to leave, you know, little seeds out there for the audience to kind of create their own theories on things. I mean, Targaryen-ism is known for that.”

PHIA SABAN:

“It just felt like Helaena felt safer with Aemond than she did with Aegon and that they’ve got something, Some affinity there.”

PHIA SABAN talking about working with Ewan Mitchell and Tom Glynn-Carney:

"Yeah, we worked together in The Last Kingdom. He is probably quite a safe person for me when I came onto set and stuff. I know Tom as well actually. It’s a very small, incestuous. Well, not that incestuous.”

PHIA SABAN talking about the 'helaemond' theories:

“Yeah, we had a sort of thing when we went like, ‘Oh, I think they quite like each other,’ but we didn’t expect it to be what then was online, which was like, he’s the father of her child, which I don’t know.”

“Yeah, it is, but I just like that people find fun things in it.”

“That’s nice. It’s always nice to be engaged with.”