#rewatching Aemonds scene with Vhagar

[greenaswildfire]

My green heart needs an oneshot/imagine/headcanon/anything of Aegon following Aemond when he attempts to ride Vhagar. Then riding Sunfyre nearby just to be sure he would be there to catch Aemond if something went wrong. And when they return to the castle it's not Aemond who loses his eye, but Aegon, after he tried to protect his brother.

Maaan, Aemond would not only be 100% loyal to Aegon from then on, but also even 200% nuts later in Storm's End for that, something like "you can mess with me all you want, I can defeat you any day bastard, but don't mess with my familyyyy". And instead of feeling guilty this time, he would be actually proud.

Oh green brothers, you deserved so much more...

"Do not worry about it, brother. I may have lost an eye, but I've watched you gain a dragon" - Aegon II

[yandereunsolved]

Hi 👋 I have a few technical questions for the self aware au for HOTD, if you wouldn’t mind me asking.

Does the world just… stop if we pause the tv? If I rewind a scene bc of whatever reason would that give then motion sickness? Back on pausing the show, does the world stop but the character don’t? Like if I paused the tv and started talking to someone about whatever, is Aemond crossing his arms and tapping his shoes while pouting? WOULD MUTING THEM ACTUALLY MAKE THEM MUTE??

Are the dragons jealous if we talk about dragons from other forms of media? I have loyalty to Paarthurnax for best dragon 😅 ooo what If we had a Skyrim tattoo? Imagine comparing lore?

And lastly, how would they react if we had started watching game of thrones? I like to try to rewatch stuff in chronological order if prequels or branching media gets made, I like to see the chain of events you know? Would the self awareness spread to more of that verse bc of that? Can we pull John Snow?

Sorry for the wall of text and rambling, I love LOVE self aware aus and love learning more about them

Let me retrieve my sacred lore scroll.

retrieves it.

For every rule I lay down here—they can be broken under one circumstance: if the character is completely self-aware. None of the characters I have written so far have gotten to that point. Complete self-awareness may drive any of them to insanity.

(1) Does the world stop if we pause the tv?

That version of the world stops. So that canon timeline is still there, but other things are happening off screen. They are subconsciously led back to the plot when the television is unpaused again.

(2) If I rewind a scene because of whatever reason—would that give then motion sickness?

It erases their memory and gives them a sense of deja vu. They prod inside of their mind but it's like a wall has been put up inside of their minds.

If the character is already predisposed to motion borne illnesses then they would get motion sickness.

Example. If Aegon II was incredibly drunk and you rewinded a part he was in it'd make him feel like he was going to throw up. However, he wouldn't actually throw up because he wasn't as drunk/or drunk at all (depending on how much your rewound) at that time.

(3) Would muting them actually make them mute?

Yes, it would. They would be talking in their world and wouldn't be able to understand how you aren't listening.

If they found out how to work the volume then you'd be screwed. Some may be able to do this unintentionally, while others would have to be more self-aware to unlock the ability.

Dreamers are more likely to be self-aware due to their inante abilities. So Helaena would it without even realizing it.

(4) Are the dragons jealous if we talk about dragons from other forms of media? —Imagine comparing lore.

Yes and no. It depends on the dragon's personality. If you were head over heels for another dragon in another form of media then any one of them would be jealous. If you just enjoy the dragons in that verse then some of them are okay with it.

Example(s). Vhagar would be okay with you liking other dragons as long as you liked her the most. Vermithor goes into a rage anytime you so much as mention another dragon in a positive context.

(5) How would they react if we had started watching game of thrones?

Confused at first. Since hotd is the prequel to got they'd be very puzzled. Then they'd be curious. If it took up all of your time then they'd be angry. There would already be an undercurrent of jealousy, but there's also a superiority complex there.

"We were here before them."

"Without us they wouldn't exist."

Them meaning got characters.

(6) Would the self awareness spread to more of that verse because of that?

When consuming any form of their media it is like a portal is being opened up into their world. That's the crux of what helps them become self aware. There's usually a moment in their lives that spurs that on.

With the hotd characters already being insanely jealous that interference between the two media's would cause the self awareness to spread.

(7) The most important question—Can we pull Jon Snow?

Yes.

The shit that dude has been through? He has plenty of opportunities to become self aware. Having someone there for him, even passively, would cause him to become obsessive. Possibly a bit bitter because you aren't helping him until he realizes that you are physically unable to.

Don't 👏 be 👏 sorry. 👏 I love giving lore.

[lovelykhaleesiii]

rewatching the scene at Storm’s End, it’s so funny to imagine, that even tho Luke left the castle first and was running back to Arrax, Vhagar and Aemond already took flight. so I know for a fact as soon as Luke left the room, that motherfucker sprinted to his reptile granny, like no tomorrow, climbed up so quickly just to flee the scene before his nephew… man was on x4 speed. 💀

[lunarflux]

I'm rewatching HOTD with a friend who's never seen it, and we just finished episode 8. When I watched the show the first time, I binged the entire first season in one night while I was doing work, so there was a lot that I didn't really pay attention to.

At the final dinner scene with the Greens and the Blacks, I didn't see the look on Aemond's face during the toasts. The sheer look of disappointment at mild anticipation from waiting for either Jace or Luke to bring up the eye incident was so obvious, and Aemond looked genuinely disappointed. There's more than one layer to this - Aemond claimed Vhagar, not knowing Rhaena was to try to claim her next. There's room for at least acknowledgment that he took something from Rhaena.

In the same breath, Jace saying he had fond memories of their childhood without acknowledging that it wasn't fond for all of them definitely hurt Aemond. There's little blame there because even Alicent tells Aegon that "his cousins can't be his play things forever" which would insinuate that Jace and Luke followed after Aegon's lead as the oldest just as Aemond followed suit when Aegon brought him to the Street of Silk.

I think this would be a matter of who wants to step up first as each of the children had some kind of reason to feel angry, and at a young age, it requires a lot of humility (which is not easily learned) to take ownership of your part in an incident that had so many layers to it. There was more than one incident where we see young Aemond want to talk to one of them about their treatment of him, for example, at Laena's funeral.

Had Aegon, Luke, and Jace not teased Aemond, Aemond would have not felt such a burning urge to claim a dragon as soon as one was available. That directly led to him claiming Vhagar, then into him losing his eye. Had Alicent done more to keep all of the children from treating Aemond differently, the behavior might have changed sooner. At the same time, Rhaenyra wasn't aware of how the kids treated Aemond, and if she had known, she should have also said something. However, the rift between her and Alicent prevented them from talking about their children in a way that would benefit all of them.

Aemond's eye is gone, full stop. If Jace's toast was different or if Luke said something about that night, that final meal would have ended basically everything. We know after season 2, episode 2, Rhaenyra cares for Helaena as they are both mothers, but in theory, if Rhaenyra would have seen how Aegon, Helaena, and Aemond were more or less emotionally neglected, Rhaenyra would have been the best person to step in and create a bond with them. Aegon would have learned about how to be a king and would have been close to his half-sister, possibly negating the notion that he would be cast away from the kingdom once she ascended. Helaena would have felt more compassion about her affinity for the odd, and Aemond would have had a sibling beyond circumstances.

Alicent had too much forced on her to be able to be a mother in it's highest capacity. There's blame, but there's reason. Otto clearly has the most influence on her, and had Otto used it to its full potential, he could have easily given her reason to treat her children as the "just in case rulers" and foster them into good leaders with Vicerys as "what not to do" examples. However, Otto, while he does care about his daughter, had such a broad goal that he didn't take into account what the kids should have learned from Vicerys in terms of what he did right as king.

This whole show is a "which came first, the chicken or the egg" situation. Just like Rhaenys says in episode 3, did Luke's death really start the conflict or was it when Luke took Aemond's eye?

[alishaaxo]

ok ive just had another thought from bingewatching ppls reactions to hotd to get a quick recap

ive heard TB stans blame aemond for losing control of vhagar in a way like “he cant control her cos of his weakened blood” and “his connection to dragons is sullied by hightower blood” but i literally just rewatched that scene and arrax literally sets vhagars face on fire like no wonder granny vhagar gets pissed and eats them 😭

ik luces dragon is a baby and its is kinda understandable that it doesnt completely follow his command but using TB’s explanation for aemond, then luces blood is “sullied” by his strong blood making his dragon-bond weak

every team is so obsessed w blood when that’s honestly not that important in connection the dragons (like dany has prob like 10% targ blood and its only a problem whens its miniscule amounts like w quentyn martell)

my full interpretation of this is now believing that arrax was just a baby reacting to getting chased by a literal HUMONGOUS dragon and vhagar was valid to react that way because she got fired sprayed in her face so ofc shes gonna fight back. tbh i don’t believe the connection to dragons (in regard to the riders) is that important in what happened because theyre just beings that reacted naturally to what was occuring and they have no knowledge westerosi belief in laws and taboos, so why would vhagar even care that shes killed her riders nephew and a baby dragon

[dreaming-of-the-reality]

The last couple of days, I have been rewatching House of the Dragon Season 1 in preparation for Season 2 which begins next month. There have been small details I have begun to notice this time round watching. So I just wanted to share some.

In this post, I would like to mention a few details regarding the bond between Aemond and Vhagar.

——————————

Some people view this bond as a weak one. They use evidence from episode 10 where Aemond “loses control” over Vhagar and she kills Lucerys. Claiming that Aemond does not have a clear strong bond with his dragon in comparison to Daemon and Caraxes, or Rhaenyra and Syrax.

I disagree

To explain what I mean, I need to give some context regarding the shows timelines (please disregard the books timelines which are different to the ones of the show)

In episode 2, 12 year old Laena Velaryon and Viserys are walking through the gardens as Laena has been offered up as Viserys potential bride by her parents. To make conversation, she asks Viserys about Vhagar and where she is - Viserys mentions that no one had seen Vhagar and the dragon keepers believe she rests somewhere far away.

Vhagars rider before this was Baelon and it is assumed that she left after his death and has not been seen since.

Episode 3 starts with Aegons second name day celebration. This implies it’s been atleast 3 and a bit years since episode 2. We can assume the royal wedding happened very quickly and Alicent got pregnant shortly after with Aegon. Once born, Alicent would’ve gotten pregnant with Helaena as she is heavily pregnant during this episode.

Laena would now be around 15 years old based on this timeline.

In episode 4, only 2-3 months have passed as Alicent has now given birth, and Rhaenyra is returning from her tour. This episode ends with Otto being fired.

Episode 5 picks up right after as we see Alicent in the same outfit as the end of episode 4, and Otto readying his horse to leave. Rhaenyra and Viserys have sailed to Driftmark, and return shortly after with the Velaryons for the royal wedding.

When arriving, Rhaenys and Laenor fly their dragons Meleys and Seasmoke, together towards the red keep. This implies that Laena (15) has yet to claim a dragon - as we know she claims Vhagar and we would have very obviously seen her if she were there.

I believe that at the wedding, Alicent is already pregnant with Aemond, conceived during that awkward and gross sex scene in episode 4. We know that Helaena and Aemonds age difference is about a year or two, so this would line up.

In episode 6, Laena is speaking with her daughter about how she did not have a dragon even when she was 15, but then claimed Vhagar. By my timeline, Laena would’ve claimed Vhagar, who had suddenly come back after years, in the same year as the wedding of Rhaenyra and Laenor. Aemond would’ve also been born in the same year.

——

Here’s my theory:

Vhagar only returned when Aemond was born because she knew that he would be her last true rider.

We can assume that Vhagar had her strongest bond with her first rider Visenya - a bold warrior and a brave fighter. Aemond, Vhagars last rider, grows to become a brave and bold warrior too, appealing to Vhagar as he was bold enough to claim her, one of the largest dragons left, in the middle of the night, alone as a young boy.

So what if Vhagar only returned to Westeros from wherever she was hiding all those years, specifically for Aemond? Symbolic of the dragon egg in the cradle, Vhagar was bound to become Aemonds dragon from his birth.

We know Aemond felt very embarrassed about the fact he was the only one who hadn’t claimed nor hatched a dragon, which only encouraged him to continuously attempt to claim one over and over again. But wouldn’t it be a twist if he did in fact have a dragon all along but never knew it? It was more of a spiritual bond before it was a physical one?

——

Laena and Vhagars bond was never demonstrated in the show. It was portrayed subtly as weak in comparison to Rhaenyra’s and Syrax’s bond or Daemon and Caraxes’ bond.

When Daemon gets shot with an arrow in the step stones, we can hear Caraxes let out a roar in pain. When Rhaenyra is having a miscarriage and attempting to give birth, we see Syrax roaring in pain reflecting Rhaenyra’s.

When Laena is trying to give birth, and clearly in pain, struggling to walk, we see Vhagar… having a nap. She only wakes up when Laena is standing right in front of her. Vhagar did not sense Laena’s pain or distress like other dragons have sensed their riders.

It reminds me of Jon and Rhaegal in Game of Thrones - Jon may have ridden him, but he did not bond with him like Danaerys bonded with Drogon.

In this post thus far, I have not mentioned or referenced any differing events and timelines from the books as I have only used examples from the show, but in the books, it is written that when Aemond loses his eye, Vhagar roars in pain - thus demonstrating their strong physical bond.

You can choose to discard that if you want, but it is a little crumb of context taken from the book as in the show, it is not shown when we cut straight to everyone gathered in the Driftmark hall.

In episode 10, when Aemond is chasing Lucerys through the skies above Storms end, I believe Vhagar could sense Aemonds anger towards Lucerys, and acted upon it as an instinct of revenge. She understands Aemonds pain and suffering at the hands of Lucerys, and in return kills him.

People look at this as being disobedience and a weak bond, I see it as such a strong bond that Vhagar didn’t even need to be told by her rider, because she could sense it. Just like Arrax, sensing Lucerys’ fear, defended him by blowing fire at Vhagar without being told. This also would’ve been an act that would’ve triggered Vhagar to attack - wanting to defend her rider from a dragon and boy who wished to harm him.

——

I believe there is reason to believe that Vhagar only returned to Westeros for Aemond. It would be the biggest coincidence that just before the dance, after so many years, Vhagar returns for no reason around the same time that Aemond, her soon to be rider, is born.

Vhagar could’ve left again after Laena died, but she didn’t. She flew to Driftmark where Aemond was, and waited. Roaring out to him when she landed.

Helaena foreshadowing Aemonds claim by saying he would have to close an eye, means that this was something already destined to happen. This wasn’t a random event.

I don’t believe the writers would add something in about Vhagar not being spotted for YEARS, if it were not important to the plot in some way.

——————

This take is certainly an interesting one, and is one to think about. The timeline matches, the foreshadowing matches, there are small hints that match, there is evidence to similar cases already in the show that imply this.

I think Vhagar knew that Aemond would be her last true rider, and that she would die with him as well. She is a war dragon, she would die a war dragon.

[coffeebooksrain18]

To the people who say "Aemond wanted to kill Luc!" Have you watched the scene? I beg you to rewatch it, cause when you do you'll notice these things.

1: Aemond having plenty opportunities to kill Luc and order Vhagar to kill him and his dragon

2: Vhagar only getting aggressive after Luc.s dragon Attacked her.

3: Aemond begging her not to do it and to stop

4: that it's symbolic of Viserys saying "the idea we control the dragons is a lie."

Aemond didn't want to kill Luc, Vhagar wanted to kill the dragon that attacked her. End of story.

[rise-my-angel]

I had a thought, the stakes for taking Kings Landing are so severely broken that it's going to lose it's momentum way before we finally see it.

In Blackwater, we spent all of season 2 leading up to it, knowing it was going to happen. There was no question. Someone was going to march onto Kings Landing and it was a bouncing question of who at first. Robb? Renly? Before landing on Stannis. And it did not waste it's time. We had many scenes of characters on both ends discussing the battle that was going to take place and we knew what the stakes were very early. Stannis takes the city, every Lannister he finds, dies.

Then in the battle, we know the stakes but not the outcome. We get tricked into not knowing what's coming. We get a scene where Littlefinger discusses with Tywin an arrangment with the Tyrells, but we are so distracted that in that scene because of the tension of Arya trying to avoid Littlefinger from recognizing her, that we forget we heard it.

So, when the battle seems lost, it comes as a surprise that more troops appear and we have to piece together whats going on between blurry flashes from Tyrions fading perspective. As footsteps apprach Cersei in the throne room, we just like her, have no idea whose about to walk through that door. And yet it's so well done, that when it's Tywin announcing they've won, a rush of emotions waves over you as it does Cersei because we knew the stakes but had no idea what the outcome would look like and it never fails to deliver each rewatch.

But now, we know whats going to happen. Alicent already agreed to surrender, and the terms to that surrender. But, we also know that Aegon isn't even in the city, so we're not even worried that Rhaenyra will in fact take his head, because when she is given the city by choice, we know Aegon is long gone.

What about Aemond? What if he's in Kings Landing? He has Vhagar after all and Heleana has Dreamfyre. Except no. Helaena explicitly refuses to fly so we know she won't join. And we know as per the end of episode 7, that Vhagar alone is not enough to go up against how many dragons Rhaenyra now has. He can't win that. But, we also know he probably won't be there anyways.

Since Heleana apparently read the script and just dumped massive spoilers onto Aemond for no reason that do not match what is about to happen in Kings Landing.

We know the stakes, but it doesn't matter. Alicent agreed to a full surrender, and gave up the locations of her armies so we know Rhaenyra knows where they are too and they don't yet. We know she can't kill Aegon because he's already left. We know there can't be a big dragon fight because we already saw that Aemond is smart enough to not take on multiple dragons alone and he has no back up.

Where's the tension? I know what's going to happen already. Unless they pull a serious bait and switch, they are going to have a massive problem with there being no tension going into this. They had this long ending montage of all the armies, but Alicent already gave most of them up. Rhaenyra has more dragons. Aegons life isn't even at stake because he's not there. We already know Rhaenyra has agreed to terms including letting Alicent, Helaena, and Jaehaera live.

Where is the emotional tension of not knowing who will win the battle? Where's the loss or triumph of an outcome we knew could happen, but had no way of knowing which it would be or how?

You have Helaena dump character spoilers, then you have Alicent dump future plot spoilers all in the final act of the season finale.

What am I waiting for, I already know exactly whats going to happen and how. You spoiled the last page of the book to me before I even got to the final chapter.

There's no surprises left.

[sunfyre-targaryen]

HOUSE OF THE DRAGON S2E7

i've taken some time to rewatch the two last episodes to express my opinion.

the conversation between addam and rhaenyra. addam is one of my favourite characters and i cannot wait to see him in action. for whom that hasn't read the book, remember just one word: loyal

alicent getting the same wound as rhaenyra on her arm. i appreciated this detail, because now alicent is in the same position as rhaenyra was before deciding to move to dragonstone with laenor and the kids. alicent doesn't have power anymore, aemond doesn't need her and she is kinda lost because all her life, as she said to orwyle, she only has served her house and family and she ruled as regent for her husband.

rhaenyra and mysaria. guess that kiss was kinda useless, but i adore mysaria as master of whispers. when rhaenyra said "let us raise an army of bastards" i thought that in this way she is going to make vain every time her and her father tried to defend her children (even if in the book this is a jace's idea)

corlys and addam. it can be seen how addam would like corlys to behave like a father or at least admits that he knows that he is his son.

lord oscar tully, the man you are. he literally tamed daemon. catelyn tully and the black fish being his descendants totally makes sense.

daemon's vision of viserys asking him if he still wants the crown. i actually adored the visions he had with his brother. they revealed the loyalty and love daemon has for his family and house.

aegon trying to walk again. his pain. that broke me. (tom's interpreation is just chef's kiss).

alyn and corlys. when alyn said "i am of salt and sea". differently from addam, it can be seen that alyn is angry at corlys for leaving them behind.

rhaena and her obsession for dragons. it reminded me of little aemond, they are sooo different obviously, but they share the weight of being a dragonless targaryen while their siblings/relatives have one. i cannot wait to see her and sheepstealer at this point, since we won't get nettles.

alicent going out alone. it was kinda sad to see, especially because in the first season she was so fierce. i would have liked to see book alicent now, but i kinda understand this development of her character now.

jace being angry at rhaenyra. i kinda understand him, as a bastard the fact that he can ride a dragon is the only thing that make him worthy of his status to the eyes of the people. i understand his rage. on the other hand, he proposed to search for dragonriders among the nobles, it isn't so different. in both ways people will think that targaryens aren't so special if a mallister or a lowborn can ride a dragon.

rhaenyra's valyrian is like music for my ears. i absolutely adore when she speaks in high valyrian. (emma's voice is like honey to me fr). when rhaenyra summons vermithor, it is so targaryen, you know what i mean

hugh hammer claiming vermithor. perfection. he is saera's son for sure!

ulf claiming silverwing was kinda funny. vermithor be like "i will kill you all", silverwing on the other hand "you'll do baby boy". silverwing is so beautiful and watching her flying upon king's landing made me think that she used to fly like this with good queen alysanne, kinda emotional somehow.

THE FINAL SCENE. as a team green supporter i shouldn't have enjoyed it, BUT COME ON. AEMOND AND VHAGAR LITERALLY RUN AWAY AND RHAENYRA'S DRAGONS ALL "SINGING". THAT WAS JUST AMAZING.

i'll post ep8 after the rewatch. i have to figure out some things.

if you want to talk about it, feel free to send a raven!

[pterodactylterrace]

*less than two months ago*

Beloved? You sure about that Condal? Just… forgot about the mass murder at the coronation? Never happened? Not one of those small folk remembered when she killed hundreds of them for absolutely no reason other than to stare at Aegon and then fly off?

If you were going for a more realistic reaction, they would have been cheering that the dragon and dragon rider that slaughtered so many of them answered for their crimes.

So, according to Condal, hanging a dozen rat catchers (I believe?) to ensure no other assassination attempts befell the royal family would turn all the small folk against Aegon, but the dragon that killed HUNDREDS of them was “beloved”? Did Aegon not meet the quota for small folk slaughter to be beloved or something? Is that it? You have to kill at least 200 before they go from hating you to loving you?

Someone get Condal’s dumbass out of the writing room. Let like 3 hardcore fans take his place. One TB, one TG, one Team Smallfolk. They will make a MUCH better and balanced show. And maybe something interesting will happen. I mean, do we really need five episodes of Rhaenyra’s council not listening? And huge chunks of those episodes just being a bunch of old men squabbling about “women can’t!” While Rhaenyra continues doing fuck all but getting upset about it?

Jesus, show us Aemond decimating the blockade with Vhagar now that Meleys’ patrolling isn’t an issue. Show us Sunfyre’s wounds and the men left to guard him! FFS, stop just standing around talking about what they should do and actually DO something already! Fuck, after Jaehaerys assassination why didn’t they all jump on their dragons and just burn down Dragonstone in the middle of the night? Riders without their dragons are just people. Dragon fire can cook them through the stone walls (see Harrenhal) but nooooooo. Just have a bunch of scenes of people blaming each other and doing nothing about it. Super compelling TV.

Season 1 I rewatched several times because there was usually something going on. Season 2, I was able to catch husband up on the entire season in under two minutes. “Aegon wants to be a good king, his son gets killed by assassins, Rhaenyra grieves the loss of her son, Daemon left for Harrenhal after Rhaenyra found out he sent the assassins. Cole leads an army through the crown lands, sets a trap at Rook’s Rest, Aegon drunkenly interferes and ends up getting roasted by Vhagar. Aemond is now regent.” Tada, five episodes summed up. Hit all the major plot points. Most of which weren’t even impactful.

The only two major events have been B&C and RR. We are over halfway through the season, and we have had less action and interesting things happening than the last three episodes of season 1.

We were promised all out war. Is the all out war in the room with us?

[lonelyvampx]

rewatching the scene where Aemond meets Vhagar, after two years, sent shivers down my spine just as it did the first time I watched it

[writingsofwesteros]

Was rewatching the last supper scene and you can see Helaena sneaking Aegon some glances and smiles when he’s talking to Jace about the act. They are so canon in my heart!!!

Sweet babes are silently bonding with each other through their dragons. Taking flights out with their dragons after their marriage, especially after Aemond claimed vhagar. Maybe Aegon helping her get ready by having dreamfyre all set, either he does it or has the dragon keepers do it.

But their first time together! I can see confident Aegon performing but sweet boy is only use to whores, probably not lasting long or not paying too much attention to her. But it’s enough for her to be hooked on him, quietly initiating the second round🤭. Imagine her tugging or pulling him away from a rooms because she wants him. They’re both so greedy!!!

When they have the twins, they are panicking, their little babes are completely angels and soft little things for this cruel world. But once they have Maelor, he gives them a run for their money. I can imagine him being the complete opposite of his siblings and his father’s twin😌but a complete mama’s boy

The show/book were too scared to give us helagon be happy and in love

ALL OF THIS!!

Oh Helaena will just come in and collect her Prince thank you; he's speaking with the Boyz but only has eyes for her when she enters the room.

Aegon is lazy; its canon and will sleep in till late morning - his babies will come into the bed and try to hide from their lessons as well

[snowblack-charcoalwhite]

The best episode of HotD so far? For me it's Driftmark. I hated the Laenor ending, the sex on the beach was a bit cringe (because imo Emma and Matt don't really have much chemistry as a couple) and ofc the night scenes were too dark. However, the rest was really good, the score during Laena's funeral was beautiful, I liked Vaemond's eulogy, then that little scene between Jace and Aemond was also great and it always makes me sad to think about what could have been, Aegon hilarious as usual (minus the helaena comment), Aemond claiming Vhagar which was one of the best scenes in the show, the children fight, Alicent vs Rhaenyra... As for s2, I can''t name one episode i really liked. The whole season is a mess. Funny, because when I think about it, s2 of GoT was one of my favourites. I've rewatched it many times and yet I'm 100% sure I'll never again watch s2 of HotD.

Hello!

What a coincidence:) Driftmark is my favourite one as well. The two gems of that episode were Alicent going feral and attacking Rhaenyra on behalf of her son (actually, looking deeper, on behalf of all her children and herself) and my favourite HotD scene of them all - Aemond claiming Vhagar. The cinematography (night filter aside), the acting, the score - everything was great.

And what's really important, in Driftmark we saw what the Greens look like as a family: Alicent defending Aemond; Aemond and Aegon silently teaming up to protect their mother; Aemond trying to console her; Criston, while not being able to actually do something, remaining by Alicent's side and clearly being worried about Aemond and his injury; Helaena being in the background but glaring daggers at Viserys. And look what the show did to the Greens in season 2.

I have zero desire to revisit anything we've seen this season either (apart from a couple of separate scenes). Firstly, the show's quality dropped so low that at times it simply becomes laughable; secondly, my disgust about the way the writers treated the characters I love is almost palpable.

[blue-mint-winter]

House of the Dragon s2e4

Amazing episode. The writers from ep2 must have come back because the dialogue is ON POINT.

Aegon and Rhaenys were stand out performances, but everyone else was very good too (except Alys, she feels out of place).

Daemon's stuck in Harrenhal, haunted by his personal demons and having weird dreams and visions. That part really felt like he was existing in some other plane. He accomplished nothing so he doesn't even write to Dragonstone with any updates.

Daemon advising the young Oscar Tully to smother his grandfather and take over as the lord WTF that was so unhinged. Is kinslaying a disease and he wants to spread the virus? If he makes everyone else a kinslayer, will his guilt lessen?

I can't believe Daemon took a drink from a suspicious woman and just drank it without any question. And then he blanks out for hours and regains consciousness in the middle of a council. What was he doing when he was out of it?

The Blackwood guy is the kid who killed a Bracken during Rhaenyra's tour in s1. I don't trust him.

Aegon was great, the scenes with the council not listening to him, not needing him, Aemond mocking him in Valyrian, Alicent telling him he is there to do nothing. It all just accumulates, until the realization that he was never meant to rule, but to be a figurehead, a puppet. The feeling of helplessness, uselessness which drives him to go into battle and prove his worth. If he fights like conqueror, maybe they will finally listen.

I love that Aegon questioned Larys Strong about Harrenhal, that he cared about taking the central castle to spread and cement his rule. No one else did.

It's interesting how Rhaenys was similarly not listened to at Rhaenyra's council. I was thinking that she also maybe wanted to get some respect for going into battle. Though it wasn't a main reason, her situation was way more complicated, she had many motivations. The most logical reason was that her dragon had the actual battle experience unlike others on Rhaenyra's side. And I think she felt responsible for Lucerys' death.

Aegon and Rhaenyra again being opposites. One isn't listened by his own council, the other's council can't do anything without their queen there. One goes into battle against the advice, the other listens to the advice and doesn't go. One mocked then betrayed by his heir, the other questioned but protected by her heir.

Finally more Jace!!! The one who respects his mother even if she's reckless and he worries about her safety. It's good to see how he grows into his role as the heir, when Rhaenyra finally tells him about the prophecy, it felt monumental. He is the real heir now. That's what makes one the heir - the passing of the secret known only to the king. This is what Aegon, Aemond and Daemon lack.

The battle sequence was amazing, I had to rewatch it. Aegon messing up Cole's plan, Aemond taking advantage of the situation to backstab his brother, Vhagar being a cunning war machine, Meleys showing experience, agility and grit during the fight and almost pulling off a win against 2 opponents, if not for the ambush. Rheanys coming back to finish the job, I was rooting so hard for her. Vhagar crushing the soldiers on Green side underfoot. Meleys' last look at Rhaenys before she dies and Rhaenys falls. Cole being knocked out by Vhagar's passing then barely preventing Aemond mercy(?) killing Aegon. Sunfyre curled up protectively around Aegon's body. WOW just wow

How ironic that Aemond became the backstabbing second son that lusts for the throne. That is exactly what Otto thought of Daemon for years and yet Daemon never betrayed Viserys, stayed loyal to him to the end and protected his wishes for Rhaenyra to rule. Otto and Alicent raised Aemond to become who they feared the most.

[starogeorgina]

I'm currently re-reading Game of Thrones and have just started to rewatch season one of the TV show and I feel I've got a lot more opinions on the ASOIAF universe that I wish to share, so I've been making lists of my top 10 moments, characters, etc while killing time between hospital apps.

My top 10 favourite moments/scenes from House of the Dragon

10. Rhaenyra having Rhaena and Baela join her at the painted table

9. Ser Harrold Westerling remaining loyal to the crown and forgoes his title as Lord Commander of the Kingsguard

8. Ser Harwin beating up Ser Criston in the training yard

7. Aemond claiming Vhagar

6. Daemons at Rhaenyra and Laenor’s wedding (the smug look on his face when he walks in, remaining seated when Alicent enters, the way he holds Rhaenyra’s face, and giving zero fucks when Gerald Royce accuses him of killing Rhea.)

5. Rhaenyra coming back to the camp after seeing the white stag, covered in blood

4. Rhaenyra vs. Alicent: an eye for an eye

3. The battle at the Step Stones

2. Viserys entering the throne room to defend Rhaenyra and her children

1. Rhaenyra’s coronation

[molter-writes]

dude i have a question that might be considered out of pocket but i need your brilliant take on it

i was rewatching the finale last night (because i like to cause myself pain) and i got to the part where aemond said he wanted to make a gift of luke's eye to his mother

so my question is

genuinely, what the hell do you think alicent would have done if aemond returned with luke's fucking eye😭😭😭

lmao welcome to my entirely unrequested character study of aemond. short answer: she'd be horrified, and that scene more than anything speaks to the beautiful fraught asymmetry of alicent and aemond's relationship, palpable and tragic and woefully understudied.

alicent does not desire violence and does not particularly respect violent people. e.g., we can imagine characters who might have been heartened or reassured — even if interspersed with guilt — that larys had been willing to kill to advance their interests. alicent is never shown to appreciate this silver lining; she is deeply remorseful and properly disturbed. the end of the season finds her attempting to stave off catastrophic violence surrounded by men who are effectively unbothered by the thought. aemond is one of these men. he is also her favourite man. i think this breaks her heart a little.

i'll preface this by stating again how much i sympathise with aemond, who is really neither a slick badass — his facade — nor a calculating psychopath — his caricature. aemond spends his childhood awash in a feeling of inescapable, humiliating powerlessness, and everything he becomes is a direct response to this experience, including his unfailing loyalty to his mother, his sole childhood advocate and ally. but aemond clocks alicent's powerlessness, too; and probably at no other time more palpably than during the quarrel at driftmark. viserys leaves her in the lurch; cole backs out when the rubber hits the road. when he tells her i gained a dragon, i don't think he's actually saying it was a fair exchange; clearly he doesn't really feel that way — he's still seeking his revenge years and years later (and fair enough). rather, i think he's telling her — and importantly, telling the people he perceives to be her enemies — we have real power now. we're safe. i got you.

aemond consistently strives to be alicent's one reliable ally. aemond also spends his life trying to make himself more powerful, and, if i were to really speculate, probably hasn't determined within his own heart whether he's done so to protect himself and his mother in the conflict he's seen presaged at driftmark, or in excited anticipation of that conflict as an opportunity to seek revenge. herein we find the crucial difference in how alicent and aemond each perceive safety, and perceive power — alicent thinks safety is found in the absence of violence, and power is the ability to be free from it; aemond seems to believe safety is found in a monopoly on violence and power is the ability to do it. it's entirely unrelated, and not to be insensitive by mixing factual and fictional tragedy, but i think sometimes about something prince harry once said about his childhood experiences watching the press chase and torment princess diana — his frustration knowing he would one day be a man, that he would one day be able to protect her, but not yet — and the anger, the frustration that caused. i append to aemond, though fictional, a very similar pain.

regardless, to whatever end, aemond's intention is to be feared and to be dangerous. he tells cole i don't give a fuck about tourneys for the express purpose of tipping us off: aemond is trying to become as effective as possible at killing real opponents in a real conflict. two things here: first, though aemond may not care for tourneys like the knights Rhaenys calls green as summer grass, he's equally inexperienced; he also doesn't know — cannot know — the true meaning of war or the costs associated. (see, e.g., his crucial misunderstanding of the nature of vhagar.) and second, tragically, though he's probably (if perhaps only partially) done so for her, he's become exactly the kind of man who has left alicent feeling trapped and perpetually terrified. olivia cooke somewhere noted that alicent lives in trepidation surrounded by 'psychopath men', and part of this fear seems to be what these men will do in her name and under the guise of advancing her interests. e.g., she knows larys' murder of lyonel did double duty. Tis only a look of pride, Ser Criston. Larys is the new lord of Harrenhal. to have become somewhat afraid of aemond — apprehensive, at least, of his adult nature — will likely only grow harder on her and harder to ignore. and the same will likely come of aemond's unintentional killing of lucerys, and would come had aemond returned instead with his severed eye: horror at the act; guilt and terror and frustration at the knowledge — however deeply buried — that aemond would have done it not for her, or for their family, but for himself; and that once again, she has been made the unwilling catalyst for the very violence she strives so painfully to prevent.