#rhaenys and corlys are couple goals

[greenqueenhightower]

She totally fell in love with him here.

[tastydelight]

I LOVE THEM!

[blackbyrenflowers]

Rhaenys: But neither can [Daemon] allow her to command him.

Corlys, lying naked in bed beside her: Pity. I have on occasion found that to be quite enjoyable.

Oh Corlys, never change.

[darklinaforever]

Wait... I just learned that in HOTD, they gave BAELON an illegitimate son ?! The same Baelon who was married to ALYSSA ?! Viserys and Daemon's father ?!

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK ?!

After changing the ages of Corlys' illegitimate sons to make it appear that he didn't cheat on Rhaenys (because the writers are obsessed with making them a couple goal for some stupid reasons... ?) and now making it appear that BAELON HAD AN ILLEGITIMATE CHILD ?!

Like @daenerysies said :

baelon’s…bastard…his? the same baelon who was head over heels in love with alyssa? the same baelon who never took another wife nor even looked at another woman after her death? the same baelon who’s sister couldn’t even convince him to take her to wife? vaegon having a bastard would be more believable.

I want to KILL these STUPID writers (can we even call them writers at this point ?) !

[nrilliree]

https://www.tumblr.com/evebestthinker/751366825102770176/the-way-he-looks-at-her-as-if-no-one-else?source=share

It's funny that their relationship is so romanticized. Whether by showrunners or even people in general.

Corlys and Rhaenys in the original material have a bigger age difference than Daemyra, yet no one talks about grooming.

Rhaenys, from what I remember, certainly chose Corlys, but Rhaenyra also chose Daemon and everyone prefers to say that she was groomed to want her sexy old uncle... 🙄

The fact is that, apart from this age difference, Corlys only wanted Rhaenys to be queen for her own person and the name of her house, let's be realistic.

And in Fire and Blood, it was actually Laenor and not Rhaenys who was actually proposed to the throne with Viserys. Unlike Daemon, Corlys has also always shown a genuine interest in the throne, whether in HOTD or Fire and Blood.

This guy fights for power and always goes against his wife's wishes in general.

Yet they are supposedly a great relationship ? A great marriage of love ? A couple goal ? People's double standards are astounding to me.

I will add that Corlys, aged 60 in Fire and Blood, is having sex, from what I remember, with a girl under 16 or in that age range it seems to me. In any case, a close age that Rhaenys was when he married her at the time, showing that he has a type of age range for women, unlike Daemon who in Fire and Blood was with women of varying ages.

So basically the directors of HOTD and actors said to themselves that Corlys and Rhaenys would make a superb love story ? WTF seriously ? They keep talking about Daemyra's age difference but obviously it's only a problem when it's them and not the others.

Actually, what I'm trying to say is that... most of the criticisms leveled at Daemon : Bad father, bad husbands, way too old for his ultimate wife, power-hungry, throne-seeking, loving the girls are rather young... Well it's actually Corlys who ticks all the boxes.

Exactly! Very good point. Why don't we see any comments about Corlys being a disgusting, smelly groomer and pedophile, as TG like to write about Daemon and even Viserys? After all, they claim that their opinions are based on the book (large part of which they probably only read the cover) 🤔 Oh, does it matter that the majority of TGs believe that Corlys "betrayed Rhaenyra" and "went over to the green side?" ", so they think he's a cool guy and they don't pay attention to his sins? Wait, there's probably a word for this kind of behavior… 🤔

[thesunfyre4446]

hey Dani

Silent follower here 🖐 who always appreciate your honest thoughts.

I just wanted to ask what is your thoughts on baela targaryen this season specifically ep 5 the conversation she had with corlys

hi there! thank you!

her outfits are stunning this season & she's so beautiful. i think that she has a lot of potential. i was really interested about her relationship with daemon. she said "sometimes i think i hate him", which is interesting considering she was the favored twin. i'd really love for daemon to have scenes with baela and rhaena.

also the relationship with rhaena is interesting. baela clearly feels somewhat guilty that her sister's hatchiling never hatched. she prob knows that this was the reason their father favored her and how insecure rhaena is about it. i'd really really love more of baela and rhaena.

her relationship with jace is sweet and wholesome. just 2 semi-normal cousins \ stepsiblings\ couple goals lmao too normal for me but very sweet

however. the relationship with rhaenyra makes no sense. she wasn't raised with rhaenyra, she was raised with rhaenys - who, in ep 8, was convinced rhaenyra killed laenor. also in ep 8 when vaemond asks who will sit the driftwood throne baela suggest her grandmother and not luke - which i found interesting. the wholesome resentment-free bond that rhaenys-rhaenyra-baela has makes no sense. and this is absolutely not because i'm tg. baela is 10000000000% loyal to rhaenyra always has been always will be. but i'd love for tb to have interesting dynamic that makes sense to what we've seen in s1. feels like baela's almost blind worship to rhaenyra is a mirror to rhaena's resentment. and according to leaks, with rhaena taking nettles role i'm really scared the show will villainize rhaena.

also the speech she gave corlys made no sense? he's entitled to his anger poor man just lost his entire family. he didn't say rhaenyra killed them, because she didn't. but ever since his family got involved with rhaenyra it was one disaster after the other. this man is done. his children and wife are dead. his heir is dead. he's given so much and just keeps losing. again, not saying that rhaenya is responsible but corlys is entitled to his grief. baela's speech was meant to show how corlys is in the wrong when he really isn't. i actually think it's sweet that baela wants to see rhaenyra become queen as a way to honor rhaenys. but considering the event of s1 it makes no sense with rhaenys and rhaenyra relationship being very hostile.

so yeah, i love her. but everything regarding rhaenys - rhaenyra - baela makes 0 sense and i'm scared for my girl rhaena i have zero trusts in those writers.

(i know i know i have so many unanswered asks in my inbox but life have been crazy recently and i'm a little overwhelmed. i really appreciate your asks and promise i'll try to get to everything)

[horizon-verizon]

https://www.tumblr.com/evebestthinker/751366825102770176/the-way-he-looks-at-her-as-if-no-one-else?source=share

It's funny that their relationship is so romanticized. Whether by showrunners or even people in general.

Corlys and Rhaenys in the original material have a bigger age difference than Daemyra, yet no one talks about grooming.

Rhaenys, from what I remember, certainly chose Corlys, but Rhaenyra also chose Daemon and everyone prefers to say that she was groomed to want her sexy old uncle... 🙄

The fact is that, apart from this age difference, Corlys only wanted Rhaenys to be queen for her own person and the name of her house, let's be realistic. And in Fire and Blood, it was actually Laenor and not Rhaenys who was actually proposed to the throne with Viserys.

Unlike Daemon, Corlys has also always shown a genuine interest in the throne, whether in HOTD or Fire and Blood. This guy fights for power and always goes against his wife's wishes in general.

Yet they are supposedly a great relationship ? A great marriage of love ? A couple goal ? People's double standards are astounding to me.

I will add that Corlys, aged 60 in Fire and Blood, is having sex, from what I remember, with a girl under 16 or in that age range it seems to me. In any case, a close age that Rhaenys was when he married her at the time, showing that he has a type of age range for women, unlike Daemon who in Fire and Blood was with women of varying ages.

So basically the directors of HOTD said to themselves that Corlys and Rhaenys would make a superb love story ? WTF seriously ? They keep talking about Daemyra's age difference but obviously it's only a problem when it's them and not the others.

Actually, what I'm trying to say is that... most of the criticisms leveled at Daemon : Bad father, bad husbands, way too old for his ultimate wife, power-hungry, throne-seeking, loving the girls are rather young... Well it's actually Corlys who ticks all the boxes. Show and or Book.

Disclaimer: This is to note the discrepancy that fandom does when it tries to bring up age differences, how biased people are towards Daemon. You can look to la-pheacienne's notes about GRRM and age differences HERE, where we talk abt Doylist vs Watsonian readings of GRRM's storytelling and over age diff creepiness vs what story the dude is telling in-world.

It mimics how people will say "Targs are colonizers" and then they ignore what the Westerosi did to the giants and twstsote/children of the forest. There's a clear bias and lack of reading being done, because yeah I agree. Like, Corlys is an impressive man, but that has little to do with this conversation topic. (For all who don't know, Corlys was 37 when 16-yr old Rhaenys chose him as her husband; Rhaenyra was born in 97, Daemon in 81; RhaneysxCorlys has a 21 diff, Daemyra has a 16 diff)

In the show, it makes way less sense as to why Rhaenys & Corlys are together. I did a TikTok abt it, but here it is:

Rhaenys has constantly said that she considers a "good" leader AND [good] person to be one who goes out of their way to avoid violence, war, or great conflicts. Someone who takes measures to make sure their own actions do not lead to conflicts that may hurt even more than themselves. Even at the cost of one's own political advantages. She values what HotD has implied is "self-restraint" & defends Rhaenyra from Corlys' saying everything is her fault [specifically by reasoning that out of all the men who are there, Rhaenyra is the one who is trying to not go to war or any battle]. She is also supposed to care very much for her daughter, Laena, and her own grandchildren through her. Supposedly above Corlys' interests (episodes 6-7). Compare this to Corlys' self-interest evidenced by his pushing for a Velaryon-marriage through his 12 year old daughter & keeping Lucerys as his heir DESPITE the would-have-been-clear discontent from Vaemond abt the Driftmark succession PLUS how the Velaryon boys wete not his grandkids biologically AND Rhaenys advis[ing] him to name [their] granddaughters instead. With every value and action these two take for & against their family and against the other's desires….For what the HotD writers & whoever responsible wrote for these two…. Why do we believe that this ship is one of the best ones --or even makes logical sense-- to earn the reputation of being one of the best during this part of ASoIaF history?! The [show]relationship doesn't stand up on its own without the looks & performances of its actors. It also gets away with the nonsensical dynamic in two other things:

the constant defense of "two canons"

the many time jumps that remove any possibility for us or the writers to show us how these two actually like each other & continue to like each other

Once again, Daemon was never a good person, but he is also not what is depicted in HotD and grooming does not = DV. they are not the same, thus you do not have to include DV with grooming by saying it "eventually" happens with groomers. Espe when GRRM has a track record for just stating abuse when it happens (Jaehaerys with Alysanne, her pushed to keep giving birth; Robert Baratheon with Cersei):

[sunnytarg]

Hi! Could you share some of your headcanons on Rhaenys and Corlys's sex life?

Rhaenys and Corlys are couple goals and no one can convince me otherwise.

First things first: Corlys is definitely getting pegged on the regular. It wasn’t even Rhaenys who brought it up at first, it was Corlys. He had heard about it on one of his trips to Essos and brought it up to Rhaenys when he got back.

She didn’t need to be asked twice. Her strap game is so impeccable that it has Corlys praying to The Seven, The Old Gods and the gods of old Valyria.

The first time they had sex on her dragon Corlys screamed for a good minute until he was able to pull himself together. They both learned that it is rather hard to have sex on a dragon but if he’s sitting behind her it’s awfully easy to slip his fingers underneath her skirts.

Corlys doesn’t really like to admit it but when he isn’t actively running Driftmark, like talking to lords or reading through papers all he wants to do is relax. His idea of relaxing, of course, is to lean back in his throne and have Rhaenys ride him. It’s his favorite position because he gets to watch his wife’s tits bounce and grab her ass at the same time. Rhaenys is also partial to this position because she gets to nip at her husband’s chest.

On more then one occasion they have had to shoo servants and sometimes visiting lords and ladies out of the room because they’re seconds away from jumping each other.

Somehow, they also both give the best head. Corlys will lick and suck at his wife’s dripping cunt for hours. She licks to joke that not enough gold could pull him away from her open legs and he tends to agree. On the other hand, Corlys is pretty sure that Rhaenys’ throat was meant to take his cock. He’s both large and has girth to his cock but Rhaenys has no problem swallowing him to the hilt.

I think it’s probably safe to say they probably have the best sex in the seven kingdoms.

[yoyo-inspace]

something something Corlys and Rhaenys paralleling Daemon and Rhaenyra (though as a much ‘healthier’ version if you will) in couples dealing with grief. Avoidance, anger, leaving someone else alone, putting yourself first, lashing out. All of it. And yet coming together at the end with a shared goal.

[zoya-nazyalenskys]

i don't think any of us are prepared for when addam and alyn velaryon enter the picture and the people, aka general audience, realize that corlys and rhaenys aren't the #couple goals they thought they were

[jewvian]

Listen this is a rhaenicent blog first and foremost and I'm still recovering from that hall scene, but my God. God. Rhaenyra and Daemon!!! The sheer force of them together holy fucking shit y'all. Wow.

The parallels to Rhaenys and Corlys are there, like they are in the same headspace of achieving your spouse's goals. You know? Both of them are the power couples of the realm, and they'll be ruthless as fuck.

And Rhaenyra!! Taking control of her life, deciding her own fate, reaching out for Daemon and declaring her wishes loudly and boldly!! Fucking delicious.

[tastydelight]

House of the Dragon

Season 1 Episode 2 -The Rogue Prince

Princess Rhaenys Targaryen played by Eve Best

Corlys Velaryon played by Steve Toussaint

[just-some-random-blogger]

meow meow, angel!! 'isn’t that what happened to GoT?' i haven't seen it too but have an impression that the whole internet was furious with it's ending. i do remember how i was still a kid and a friend recommended this show (which has been just out) to my mom. for some reason she thought it was i good idea to watch it with me lol? so after about 10 or so minutes there was a sex scene and my mom was like '... no i don't like it let's turn it off' HFHDJD what? when? why? only wrong answers..... i'd love to watch it in the future though bc like... yeah 'its hard to sustain good plotlines' dk i just have this feeling like they wanted to show too much and, although it's obvious what they meant and the storyline is clear, in the end showed too little. more like incomplete. and i didn't mean like i'm a bitch for it? more like overcritical with no reason. 'i dont think its you being bitchy' but thank you) not like i'm worriedly bothered but i indeed could miss or misunderstand smth. i can be rather inattentive and i also was in a hurry. also!! it's reallyreally meaningless but i perfectly understood like 80% of their talking and tbh? i'm proud of myself. it's pretty nice for the first english series i've watched in the original. 'you mean the illigitimate thing' not really. but still yes TT i don't want to seem cruel or inhuman but i'm really concerned and conflicted about this thing. rhaenyra's children are cuties and harwin is pretty, i understand her choice but... it's a complicated topic for me. my bestie ignored me when i wanted to talk about it so i wanna scream TT but it's more about the desire to save the past and the historical greatness. bc the history of the whole europe (esp continental)... (sorry, i can't speak for asian countries bc here we mostly study european history and i don't want to say smth wrong) so 'literally the story of humanity' hurts. as in hotd, as in the reality, our nearly 1 (one) goal is to save what we have and try to make it better. not spoil TT esp hotd. the royal family? it's like your goal #2 to protect and continue the glory of your kin why are you so stupid guys... my strong sense of duty is disappointed. 'best example i have is hitler' yes absolutely agree. also it's obvious but about this photo. he didn't want to kill all people. yes he was a murderer. but he still had criterias for this shit. like daemon did.. ok i feel sorry about it. sorry. all people have their own truth. even if it's wrong. REALLY fucking wrong. 'i felt the helplessness of him' no but how excited he became after the crowd had started applauding?? 'you can always you know' not to be a bad person but these rare af times i want to watch smth i usually win wink. but i haven't found hotd TT THEY STILL HAVEN'T ANSWERED ME *angry emoji pls* i appreciate all these cat media sm TT thanks my love 'she keeps my braincells alive' TRUE!! i also unintentionally had a sympathy for corlys bc 1) he's with rhaenys and this couple!!! love them, 2) the actor was speaking so clearly TT 'come on she’s an ancient dragon' i had a feeling she had hearing problems sorry TT 'GIRL UR ALL MY ANONS AT THIS POINT' NO OMG HOW DO YOU KNOW!!?!??!! 'IM BAD AT MATH' hmmm 'im kinda good at math' HMMMM 30 is... a lot... good luck sis TT not to be overbearing but i was thinking abt modern au and just... no but daemon and reader calling each other 'wife' and 'husband' in high valyrian as pet names bc they ARE a wife and a husband but only in valyrian way TT daemon being eager to go out together "to show off my dear treasure" and reader looking at him like 'wtf?' "husband, you know there's going be a huge scandal if we do?" "i've done it with a thousands of chicks before why can't i do it with my wife??" "we're still not married" "then just marry??" i also imagine reader leaving some small hints for daemon on their past?? he does some shit and reader's like "oh last time you did it viserys was furious" thanks for reading this much!! good morning ig! love you!! take care<з

MEOW

you know what it is (also this ai augmented ? yes i think lol)

meow meow, angel!! 'isn’t that what happened to GoT?' i haven't seen it too but have an impression that the whole internet was furious with it's ending. i do remember how i was still a kid and a friend recommended this show (which has been just out) to my mom. for some reason she thought it was i good idea to watch it with me lol? so after about 10 or so minutes there was a sex scene and my mom was like '... no i don't like it let's turn it off' HFHDJD what? when? why? only wrong answers..... i'd love to watch it in the future though bc like... yeah

LOL i think its mostly about destroying daeneyrs as a character, like they suddenly just made her mad for no reason apparently lol. i also remember my parents watching it but then a sex scene would come up and then 😐😶 yeah theyd be ok 'aite enough of that' idk if i'd ever watch it but like yeah i hope you like it when you come around to watching it <3

'its hard to sustain good plotlines' dk i just have this feeling like they wanted to show too much and, although it's obvious what they meant and the storyline is clear, in the end showed too little. more like incomplete.

capitalism. i think they overstretched it/watered it down for idk what lol i cant really speak about it cos i didnt watch it lolol ??? isn't the author still not done with his book ???

and i didn't mean like i'm a bitch for it? more like overcritical with no reason. 'i dont think its you being bitchy' but thank you) not like i'm worriedly bothered but i indeed could miss or misunderstand smth. i can be rather inattentive and i also was in a hurry.

i see lol

also!! it's reallyreally meaningless but i perfectly understood like 80% of their talking and tbh? i'm proud of myself. it's pretty nice for the first english series i've watched in the original.

that's great !! similarly you know i tried watching doctor who with my mom but the audio was too soft and there was a scene were he was getting emotional and started whispering and i couldn't watch it on my mom's pc from my bed so i just didnt watch it

'you mean the illigitimate thing' not really. but still yes TT i don't want to seem cruel or inhuman but i'm really concerned and conflicted about this thing. rhaenyra's children are cuties and harwin is pretty, i understand her choice but... it's a complicated topic for me.

so true. which is why i totally get why alicent is pissed off about it/with rhaenyra cos she had to carry the king's babies and rhaenyra got away with her boy toy, but then this would divulge into a whole other thing and lahsfas imma zip about it lol

my bestie ignored me when i wanted to talk about it so i wanna scream TT

oof. [pats head] maybe your bestie wasnt in the mood for it hahah

but it's more about the desire to save the past and the historical greatness. bc the history of the whole europe (esp continental)... (sorry, i can't speak for asian countries bc here we mostly study european history and i don't want to say smth wrong) so 'literally the story of humanity' hurts.

its ok im not really a history buff. but yeah humanity sucks for that boo tomato tomato

as in hotd, as in the reality, our nearly 1 (one) goal is to save what we have and try to make it better. not spoil TT esp hotd. the royal family? it's like your goal #2 to protect and continue the glory of your kin why are you so stupid guys... my strong sense of duty is disappointed.

HAHHAHHAHAHHAH

'best example i have is hitler' yes absolutely agree. also it's obvious but about this photo. he didn't want to kill all people. yes he was a murderer. but he still had criterias for this shit. like daemon did..

HAHHAHAAHAHAHHAH daemon i think had less criteria more motive as in 'idc who you are but if you stand in my way i will kill you'

ok i feel sorry about it. sorry. all people have their own truth. even if it's wrong. REALLY fucking wrong.

real

'i felt the helplessness of him' no but how excited he became after the crowd had started applauding??

T_T are you faulting him for that ? for receiving adoration ? that he was always wanted ? HHAHH to be fair there is a power to cheers so id have felt the same way if people started cheering for me even if they had no reason to lol

'you can always you know' not to be a bad person but these rare af times i want to watch smth i usually win wink. but i haven't found hotd TT THEY STILL HAVEN'T ANSWERED ME *angry emoji pls*

😡😡😡👿👿👿🤬🤬🤬👹👹👹����👺👺 here you go HAHAHA

i appreciate all these cat media sm TT thanks my love

'she keeps my braincells alive' TRUE!! i also unintentionally had a sympathy for corlys bc 1) he's with rhaenys and this couple!!! love them, 2) the actor was speaking so clearly TT

HAHAHHAH SLAY WE LOVE GOOD SPEAKERS and so true i love that couple so much. #powercouple

'come on she’s an ancient dragon' i had a feeling she had hearing problems sorry TT

SHE PROBABLY DOES T_T but also i feel like she dgaf cos she like 100000 HAHAH

'GIRL UR ALL MY ANONS AT THIS POINT' NO OMG HOW DO YOU KNOW!!?!??!!

👿 cos im smart no but youre clearly not all of them but im shocked you send me a lot of asks LOL

'IM BAD AT MATH' hmmm 'im kinda good at math'

HAHAHAH I KNEW YOUD SAY THAT HAHAHAH i meant im good at math (cos i am) but as a bad person at math ?? if that makes sense HAHAHH like im good at it if u teach me but also not ASL:FASFHAS HAHAHHAH

HMMMM 30 is... a lot... good luck sis TT

praying for myslef

not to be overbearing but i was thinking abt modern au and just... no but daemon and reader calling each other 'wife' and 'husband' in high valyrian as pet names bc they ARE a wife and a husband but only in valyrian way TT

NOT OVERBEARING AT ALL I KEEP GETTING IDEAD FOR MY MODERN AU T_T i might start writing p3 now lol

ALSO ALSO ALSO i have starrted writing the witch prompt you talked to me about i think i called it 'the copper woods' or something i got super excited about it so pls pls read it T_T

daemon being eager to go out together "to show off my dear treasure"

and reader looking at him like 'wtf?' "husband, you know there's going be a huge scandal if we do?" "i've done it with a thousands of chicks before why can't i do it with my wife??"

FIRST OF ALL A THOUSAND CHICKS T_T no but ur so right

"we're still not married" "then just marry??"

dude cant understand english "SCANDAL DAEMON S-C-A-N-D-A-L" [throws a slipper to his face]

i also imagine reader leaving some small hints for daemon on their past?? he does some shit and reader's like "oh last time you did it viserys was furious"

YOU LIKE ME FR IVE BEEN THINKING OF WAYS TO ADD THINGS LIKE THIS AND STUFF HAHHHAH I WANT TO MAKE IT ANGSTY SO BAD HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH

thanks for reading this much!! good morning ig! love you!! take care<з

i love you <3 i went to school today and was so happy to read this when i got back. i mean i saw it before leaving and i was excited to be able to reply to it when i got back

xxx

[dwellordream]

Initial Impressions of HotD Episode 2

be warned there are spoilers below.

i have read fire & blood, but i am not judging the show as to its accuracy towards the book, as i had major issues with fire & blood, particularly in regard to how grrm wrote the female characters and handled the Dance.

this is not an evaluation of it as an adaptation but on its own merits.

the new opening credits sequence is very dark and confusing. i get they’re going for a Dragon Age-esque thing with the blood running all over the map, but it’s very hard to make out actual landmarks. also, i wish they’d at least compose a new theme song.

bold move of them to go for a six-month time jump between episodes 1 and 2, but i suppose they want to keep season 1 moving at a very fast pace.

Alicent refers to Criston Cole as Dornish in Episode 1, but Episode 2 makes it very clear he is from a Marcher house, who are part of the Stormlands and were ostensibly established to defend against Dorne.

The scene of Viserys urging Alicent not to tell Rhaenyra about their conversations are sowing the seeds of their future rivalry pretty early, and I think it shows that Alicent is very obedient of authority and unwilling to go against it, even for the sake of her best friend.

Having Alicent sound very tremulous and girlish while talking to her father and Viserys, but much more calm and confident in her conversations with Rhaenyra, was also a good choice in establishing her character.

The scene between Alicent and Rhaenyra praying together for their dead mothers was very touching, and Rhaenyra breaking down because she feels her father doesn’t treat her as his heir was an excellent show of emotion and vulnerability. 

“As king it is my duty to avoid war until open war is unavoidable.” is a pretty huge foreshadowing line. 

Corlys and Rhaenys are initially set up as the ‘cool, fun uncle and aunt’ but the reminder that they’re still willing to marry off their 12 year old daughter to Viserys is a stark reminder of where their goals lie. They may be a likable couple, but they still see their daughter as a pawn like many Westerosi families. 

I think the show does a good job of showing Viserys’ affection for his daughter, but how casually he dismisses her, while also showing how much he relies on Otto; he doesn’t hesitate to tell Otto about Corlys’ proposal.

Young Laena’s wig is horrible, but the actress is very sweet, and the horror of her little rehearsed speech to Viserys about bearing his children and not bedding him until she turns 14 is pretty blatant.

Rhaenys is much more bitter here towards Rhaenyra than she ever was in Fire & Blood, but I think it’s interesting that they are starting them off as more hostile towards each other, when they will clearly be allied later.

The contrast between Viserys holding Rhaenyra at a distant but developing a very close rapport with Alicent says a lot about Viserys as a person. He seems almost threatened by the thought of Rhaenyra gaining power while he lives, but doesn’t view Alicent as a danger at all, given how she is presented to him.

Daemon never attempted to make Mysaria his second wife in Fire & Blood, but I think it makes sense Daemon would push for something this scandalous as a challenge to Viserys, and having Otto and Criston go together to confront Daemon is nice foreshadowing of their future alliance.

However, given how little they developed Mysaria in Episode 1, she falls pretty flat as a character in Episode 2. The accent is horrible and her speech about how she is with Daemon to be free of fear falls kind of short given how Otto threatened to kill her to her face.

I do think having Rhaenyra come negotiate with Daemon was a very smart move by the writers, and shows her potential as a ruler, which we get very little of in Fire & Blood.

Milly Alcock did a great job of conveying Rhaenyra’s horror when Viserys announces he will wed Alicent just through silent facial expressions, and Matt Smith did a great job of showing how protective Daemon still is of Viserys, despite their falling out. It gives him a lot of nuance that wasn’t there in Fire & Blood.

Overall, while the episode was slower paced and much more conversation-heavy than Episode 1, I appreciate that they dialed down the violence, and the writing was strong.