#the dragon prince critical

[spacerockfloater]

Aemond baby, get behind me.

[br0kenangel]

Aegon and Aemond in canon:

Aegon and Aemond in Ryan fanfic:

[jade-of-mourning]

hi i love your art it's so freaking cool

pls doodle rayllum i beg of thee (sorry i am just hungry for rayllum in ur style don't kill me)

thank you! rayllum is very cute; they don't give me brainrot like the magefam does, but i nonetheless enjoy their existence and am happy to serve!

this is also in response to @avenger09's ask:

couldn't quite envision it so this is kind of what happened haha

[rayllurn]

the dragon prince, s6 pairings [1 of 10] ↳ soren + corvus || "a good man...with a big heart"

[t-n-c]

@madou-dilou

It got paid off ... In an interview. Viren was confirmed to be a low-born who worked and struggled and bit his way to the top.

I don't really trust anything that's said in the interviews anymore tbh.

I mean, we were told that Aaravos has a kind and giving side to him and sees himself as an advocate for humanity.

(sources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqAuKBdcLQk and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqbyAuVaHQs)

But everything he's been depicted in so far paints him as this cruel, manipulative person who (apparently) is the force behind most, if not all, of the acts of war and terrorism between the elves, dragons, and humans. If there is a kind side to him and/or if he genuinely sees himself as an advocate for humans then they haven't really done a good job of showing it.

There's also the whole relationship between Harrow and Viren; we were told that the two of them had a genuine friendship and really cared about each other.

(source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3RvjGsCSr8&list=PLJ7OL51U_F5Ht9fVTDAtXNsOUUkM-IOL_&index=17)

But this hasn't really backed up in the show (or any of the tie-books/add-on materials iirc). If anything what we're shown in the series/supplemental materials contradicts what they claimed in the interview.

For example, while we do have evidence that Viren really did care about Harrow (ex: there's a scene in the first book where he wants to tell Harrow "I love you and I'll die for you"). There's nothing that shows that Harrow genuinely cared about Viren; in s2 he was depicted as being perfectly fine with leaving Viren behind to die when Avizandum attacked them while they were retrieving the magma titan's heart, he didn't show an ounce of concern when Viren collapsed in the flashback in s3, and iirc, in the books he's described as thinking of Viren as "creepy"--at one point he's even described as straight up despising Viren. Those aren't the actions of someone in a caring and genuine friendship, imho. If that's what they were trying to convey then they've done a very, very bad job.

That being said, I wasn’t really thinking about Viren’s class background when I wrote this; I was more of the mind that the show had (has?) a nasty habit of putting Viren in situations where he's mocked/belittled/brought down by characters more powerful than him and then never letting those characters face any consequences or show us how those situations affected Viren's choices.

For example, Harrow was just as responsible for killing Avizandum as Viren--I'd even argue that as the king he was more responsible. He didn't have to follow Viren's advice, he was the king, he had the power to refuse, that he chose not to is his fault, not Viren's. So by forcing Viren to kneel before him, Harrow's actions are hypocritical.

...And yet Harrow's never taken to task for that. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I can't recall a single instance where Harrow's hypocrisy is confronted; everything I've seen/heard so far has portrayed him as a noble but flawed king that Viren "manipulated"--I don't remember seeing anything that acknowledged that his choices were his own.

And the same is true for Aanya's jab at Viren not having royal power and Aaravos referring to Viren as his "vessel"--Aanya's portrayed as cool and strong for putting Viren in his place and faces no consequences for her classist remark/flaunting the fact that she was born into power. Likewise, Aaravos is depicted as powerful and awe-inspiring in his scene and doesn't have to deal with any negative repercussions for essentially calling Viren an object. He never faces resistance or backlash from Viren nor is it ever acknowledged afterwards.

It's these lack of consequences/confrontations that I didn't (and still don't) like. It might just be me, but I feel that if a writer/team of writers are going to create situations where one or more characters bring another character down they should at least show the audience how the relationship between the characters is affected; there should be some sort of acknowledgement of the act. But that's just my two cents.

Wanna know something that pisses me off? In every single season thus far there’s been a character that’s referred to Viren as someone/something lesser to themself

In Every 

Single

Goddamn Season

AND THEY NEVER DID ANYTHING WITH IT!

Harrow’s never called out for the hypocrisy of having his friend grovel before him mere hours after writing his letter to Callum about the purity of kindness and forgiveness. Aanya’s use of her inherited position to shut Viren down is depicted as something cool and awesome rather than anything negative. Aaravos is apparently the devil incarnate so it’s okay for to him to treat Viren as lesser without repercussions (we were promised that he wasn’t bad and that their relationship would be more complicated than that but it’s whatever)

I just. What was the point of showing us all these times where Viren is referred to as lesser by people more powerful than him if they were never going to do anything with it in 3 seasons? It’s not even mentioned? What was the point???

[synchodai]

I really want to like HotD because I really like The Dance in F&B. But as the season went on, it became less of an adaptation of a story I remembered fondly and more of a prequel to a show I did not want to be reminded of. Please stop trying to mcu-ify the show and just tell a self-contained story. I absolutely do not care how this relates to characters who won't be alive for the next 200 years. Your plot and characters should matter and have stakes and motivations that are relevant NOW.

[snowblack-charcoalwhite]

Now that I think about Jaehaerys and the trace he and his death left in the show (or the lack thereof) I can't help but recall one more thing that makes me sad and angry.

Remember how Aegon raged and cried for his little son, how he destroyed his murderer with his own hands, how he was the one (save for Helaena, maybe) to mourn Jaehaerys the most? In the season finale though, while recounting every terrible thing about the position he is in, even Aegon fails to mention the death of his son. He remembers Sunfyre, his own terrible physical and not much better psychological state - and his, now missing, genitals. Apparently, the writers decided that there was no room for a brutally murdered child, Aegon's own blood who he loved wholeheartedly and lost so tragically.

And why would it be so? Surely not because the loss of Sunfyre, the burns, the broken leg, the pain, the powerlessness (and yes, the destroyed manhood as well) came to Aegon from Aemond, a Green character, his own brother (and the appointed boogeyman of the series)? Not because he feels alone and abandoned not only by Aemond, but by Alicent and Helaena, his family (Green characters as well)? And, of course, not because Jaehaerys' death, on the contrary, was the Blacks' doing (accident or not)? Of course, there is zero connection there, how could we think that even for a second.

[serymn31]

a rant

I’ve tried to forget HotD season 2 and I am definitely not looking forward to season 3 with the show runner so adamant over the changes they made. I expect HotD storyline to destroy itself and their egos will be at fault for not listening to GRRM, but that is a long rant for another time.

One thing that bothered me about the Helaena and Aegon relationship in s2 is they made it about ALICENT. We don’t get Helaena and Aegon mourning their son together, Alicent really had to be in the picture. We don’t get book!Helaena advising Aegon to choose the peaceful option, Alicent had to be there to mock Aegon. Helaena as queen doesn't even join the council. Helaena had to walk in on Alicent and Criston during Blood and Cheese to make it about her again, that she had to ‘forgive’ her.

In hindsight, Alicent saying to Helaena that “While I feel bad for Jaehaerys, my concern has been more for you” is kind of fucked up. It kind of sounds as if she's belittling the death of Jaehaerys. Maybe that’s what the writers and showrunners want, to make us not care about Jaehaerys at all.

We don’t see Aegon and Helaena interact again even after Rook’s Rest, we only see her stare at him while he’s brought in. Who stays with Aegon? Alicent yet again. Aegon hasn’t even interacted much with Jaehaera, his own daughter, except for one touch but we see Alicent carrying her. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[arcadialedger]

It’s the Percy seeing Annabeth pull him out of the River Styx to Callum seeing Rayla in the stars as his one truth to Keyleth seeing Vax as her anchor pipeline for me.

[spacerockfloater]

The way the fandom and the other characters treat Aemond fills me with visceral rage.

He is the only one, save Criston, who’s still fighting for the Greens? Not only does he put all of his time into defending their cause and ruling, he is also risking his life on the daily by launching himself into battle? To win a war his mother gave the green light to? The mother who now hates him? The mother who betrays him for finishing what she started? Outrageous. Fucking outrageous.

And everyone is treating Helaena as if she is this poor little sunflower that must be protected at all costs. Uhm, fuck no? Aemond is right. Who’s going to protect her when Rhaenyra comes after them with her seven dragons? She’s no fucking child. She is an adult. Why are we infantilising her? Why should her brother fight for her if she’s not willing to fight for herself and her child? And the way she’s speaking to Aemond? Holding him accountable for burning her rapist? Their common abuser? And borderline rejoicing in his upcoming death? What the fuck.

I hate how all of the Team Green characters have been redeemed one way or another and their redemption is that they’re abandoning their claim to the throne. But Aemond is depicted as this show’s main villain simply because he’s still standing his ground? And he stands alone? Fuck everything.

Aemond Targaryen they could never make me hate you.

[br0kenangel]

Brain dead writers be like:

"aww Rhaenyra never wanted this to happens to Helaena, Rhaenyra knew she was innocent. Look how kind and loving Rhaenyra is."

"oh! Look how cool she is!!! See!!! Every innocent who she push towards Vermithor is dead BUT LOOK AT OUR QUEEN!!! She's petting him! Even Vermithor knows who's the queen here."

And their brain dead fans be like:

"Aegon usurping Rhaenyra because he was force to, BAD. Aegon don't love his sister, BAD. Aegon r*ping a girl, BAD. Aegon actually trying to be a good king and help smallfolks, BAD. Aegon hanging rat catchers because of his son, BAD. Aegon watching bastards fight, BAD. Alicent wanting revenge for her son's eye, BAD. Criston don't like our queen, BAD. Alicent is mean to her, BAD. Aemond claiming Rhaena's mother dragon, BAD. Aemond losing an eye and wanting an eye, BAD."

"Rhaenyra's bastards usurping Daemon's daughters, GOOD. Jace is a usurper because he's a bastard just like Joffrey, GOOD. Daemon groom his niece, GOOD. Daemon being a p*do r*pist wife killer, GOOD. Rhaenys killing people for a girlboss moment, GOOD. Rhaenyra starving smallfolks, GOOD. Rhaenyra watching the dragons burn innocent people (and mostly bastards), GOOD. Alicent selling out her family because of our queen, GOOD. Rhaenys claiming Daemon's mother dragon, GOOD. Rhaenyra wanting Aegon's head even after her husband already took a 4-6 years old head for her revenge, GOOD."

Now I don't care what team you are, if you think like that or you think one side are the good guys and the other the villains then you're a hypocrite. Sorry not sorry.

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

“catra is a complex poc” fuck that. here are some ACTUAL poc animated characters who are just as, if not more complex than catra. (pt. 2)

mako (the legend of korra) • mixed (japanese and chinese)

min-gi park (infinity train) • korean-canadian

zuko (avatar the last airbender) • japanese

caitlyn kiramman (arcane) • bi-racial (east asian and presumably scottish)

miles morales (spiderverse) • puerto rican, afro-latino

amaya (the dragon prince) • east asian (ambiguous)

marshal lee (fionna and cake) • half-black (technically, marceline is black too but i figured marshal would be considered better representation)

carmen sandiego (carmen sandiego) • hispanic (argentinean-mexican)

toph (avatar the last airbender) • chinese

callum (the dragon prince) • half asian (ambiguous)

[venice-1987]

An annoying phenomenon I've noticed

Alternatively: Whatever you do, don't go onto the TDP reddit

(Alternatively, let people ship things)

[bittrlys]

The Dragon Prince season 6 is like watching people write themselves into a corner in real time. Exciting! Massive spoilers ahead, of course.

THE GOOD

Opening on Aaravos crying was a very strong choice, this is the actual 'Mystery of Aaravos' type content I've been waiting for

Terry picking up Viren while they're excited about him being alive is very cute

As ever, Terry being extremely ride or die is 👍

Terry taking care of Claudia was very sweet; Terry cutting Claudia's hair and Claudia's new haircut in general. Cute.

Viren and Claudia on the beach, "No parent wants their child to suffer for them." Oof.

In general, I was quite happy with everything Viren, Claudia, and even Soren, and I actually wrote a note of "i hate soren" at the start because I thought we were gearing up for another season of him just being a bad joke machine with no real character or feelings to speak of. But then they gave him, like, actual pathos! They let him interact with people in a way that feels human! They let him be resentful and complicated! Wow! Magefam is so back baby!

Viren trying to reconcile with Soren and be a better example for Claudia really got to me. His final sacrifice (OMG CRIMINAL BY FIONA APPLE JUST CAME ON SHUFFLE.......WHAT I NEED IS A GOOD DEFENSE CUS I'M FEELING LIKE A CRIMINAL.......AND I NEED TO BE REDEEMED TO THE ONE I'VE SINNED AGAINST.....) is tied so strongly to his children and that feels like a natural place to leave his character. Now, I've been saying forever that he was going to get a redemption via death, and figured Aaravos would be the one pulling the trigger, so none of that surprised me, but I thought the actual execution was generally good. I do have some more negative thoughts but I'll save those for later.

Viren is very good at justifying himself, and I like that you see him falling back into that, at times struggling with it, at times not even catching himself doing it. It feels very real. At the same time, I don't think he's ever seen himself as a hero, so it was interesting to let him go out on such a heroic note.

Viren's kind of abuse-coded (not actually abusive, IMO, but I understand if this makes people uncomfortable in a similar way) act of forcing Lissa to cry into the vial is interesting. It echoes him taking Sarai's last breath.

Him writing out his whole confession on this subject and then burning it because he realized it was only going to do him good was also very nice.

Though I wish Claudia had stuck by her 'I'm going solo' guns a little longer, I still think there's something to how she is so incapable of being alone, of thinking for herself, and desperately seeks direction. She is literally just like her dad, and it makes them both easy targets for Aaravos.

Like, Viren being such a force that Claudia easily followed him, then Claudia being such a force that Soren and Terry both easily followed her, and Aaravos being a supreme force Viren and Claudia both easily follow because at heart, they're more followers than leaders despite the force of their personalities and ambitions -- it's interesting.

Aaravos using Sol Regem to casually destroy a kingdom and kill Viren just as a small step in his plan is pretty fun. We love a grandiose villain!

Looking forward to Claudia and Aaravos. She's in some ways even more unequipped than Viren to handle Aaravos's manipulations, but at the same time, she's a lot more unpredictable than Viren. If this leads up to a confrontation between them, I think that could be really cool.

Aaravos tragic backstory with deleted child was really not on my bingo card at all -- I never thought 'noble revenge' would be his motivation. I like how this parallels him to Viren.

Aaravos crying enough to fill a sea is great imagery

The lore of the startouch elves being actual stars that descend is SO COOL. This is like, the first bit of worldbuilding in this show that's actually seriously impressed me. I love it.

Actual lore as to why humans don't have magic. Well. Not entirely. But it's better than what we had.

I liked Amaya and Janai's wedding looks. Cute.

Janai like Ehe I'll bring out my armies after I get married 😜 is funny. She isn't a very good queen but she is the moment! The gossip blogs would love her.

Ezran eating shit and not having his """diplomacy""" work out. LMAO.

SOL REGEM DOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

Kinda getting a y'know vibe from Soren and Corvus. I wouldn't mind that. I like that Corvus feels a little more tolerant of Soren than everyone else. It's funny Soren is like finally I'm away from my shit family but his new friends don't seem to care about him at all. Go and be totally free of all this, dude, or get a boyfriend.

Runaan back just when I was starting to think this show really hates gay males.

Rayla correcting her assumption about the sex of the diary's author was cute with the voice over changing. (cont...)

THE BAD

(... cont.) Did unfortunately then make it feel like "Had to be a woman because the author will be pining for a man."

Why is Zym STILL just a dog. Bro. It's like if all through Avatar you had to be aware Appa was going to be king someday. STOP BARKING.

Waiting for the whole cast to become vegetarians and somehow I suspect that will not be happening

When Claudia is listing the spell ingredients she could harvest from that cat thing I was just desperate to have Terry go, "Well, some of those could be ethically harvested, right?"

I find prophecies fairly corny as a writing tool and I get why they're going there -- predicted futures are the source of the anti-human oppression -- but still, I sighed.

Luna Tenebris putting a collar on her pet feels like, weird, right? Right? Right? She's not human and dragons otherwise seem so Respect all magical creatures. (Allegedly.) What is the uneven treatment of animals in this universe.

Naming your episode Red Wedding and I don't see a bloodbath ... oh, come on.

That ramble about ships from Caleb. Shudder.

Jeez, who is Rayla going to save? Her uncle who is an actual character or her backstory parents who are obviously happy and at peace? God forbid one of our main heroes has an actual hard choice to make.

Related: Caleb's 5 second rehab from dark magic.

Making his inner truth being about one other person is ... well ....

Cutting from Viren's rapidly cooling corpse to Lujanne receiving a sensual back massage was certainly a Choice.

Viren missing his wife THIS MUCH when he's barely mentioned her up to now was a little weird. I honestly think they saw the homoerotic interpretations of the very intense dynamics he had with Harrow and Aaravos and have been steadily backpedalling from that. Don't get me wrong, I can believe he loved her and he misses her, but the degree of it feels totally unearned.

I get children's media will have mascots for the children, normally I don't mind them, but dear god this show is hitting critical mass on annoying sidekicks (Zym counts as a very big one and he's already nigh unbearable.)

THE UGLY

I can imagine that the descendants of the human children Leola granted magic to are now able to do magic naturally and this could be the lore behind either Caleb or Ezran's abilities. I actually don't mind this as finally being in-universe explanation for this disparity that isn't just 'they want it more' or whatever, but it doesn't help this show's "Better People Are Born Better" messaging. Now, in that vein ...

King Ezran is a KING. Have we mentioned this? He's a king. He's divinely ordained to be above everyone else. You must show him respect because he's KING. Even Rayla emphasizes what a KING he is. BOW BEFORE HIM.

Ezran's idea of """diplomacy""" is just going "Be nice, please." (Followed by a threat LMAO.) "Go live somewhere else." WHERE. What if they try to occupy territory that isn't theirs? Xadian society seems quite separated and territorial. Ezran doesn't consider this. He doesn't consider anything. He has no actual diplomatic skills because he never offers anything, he just expects people to listen to him because he's KING.

You know in Parasite when they're like Of course the rich people are nice, they can afford to be? When Ezran was going I'm a king and I can choose kindness I was like, You're king because of an accident of your birth, and all your privilege and people looking out for you allows you to operate the way you do.

(Janai having an evil brother who is Not The True Heir To The Throne and Trying To Steal It is just part of the show's overall obsession with this narrative -- see also Viren coming from a less privileged background.)

Of course it's still funny to see Ezran be continuously characterized as So Compassionate, So Loving but when it comes to say, Not burning his own people alive or Extending the hand of kindness to one of his oldest childhood friends or her father, he just turns that shit off. This could be interesting hypocrisy if I thought the show was trying to intentionally paint him this way, instead of just wanting him to not be a total pushover because he's THE KING!!! ALL BOW BEFORE THE KING!!!!

The unbelievable frustration caused by a scene where Claudia is begging to not have to use dark magic -- Terry coming in and saving the day with natural magic -- Claudia staring at the peaceful solution and realizing she needs to change -- BUT IT'S STILL A FUNDAMENTAL DISPARITY IN HOW HUMANS CAN EXIST IN THIS WORLD? Is Claudia supposed to die because dark magic is too wrong to use? Now we have the reveal that humans are being actively denied magic I'm hesitantly hopeful they may get some justice in this regard, but it doesn't change the reality of humans right now. What are humans supposed to do? Rely on others for help? Oh, sure, most of the elves and dragons we meet now are just so nice and helpful to humans, because of the show's 'bad apple' approach to prejudice I've mentioned before, but we know that wasn't always the case.

Like, this actual reminder that the difference in power between a single dragon and a human settlement, and unlike the last time we're on the side of humans this time so you can better appreciate the horror of it ... it's depressing to feel like "Only by grace of your betters do you survive." It's echoes of Janai's 'forgiveness' of the human who put out the fire of that elf who assaulted her. "Aren't you lucky we're so NICE?"

This is all compounded by what I meant at the start of my review, that they've written themselves into a corner, especially wrt dark magic. In universe Soren sees no choice but to ask his father to do dark magic, something all the characters scold each other for constantly. Out of universe, the writers had a huge fuck off dragon come along to commit genocide against the humans and the only realistic solution is .... having Viren do dark magic, something the narrative constantly reinforces as bad. They ultimately frame this act as heroic, and according to a writer (I believe) on the discord, he speaks the spell forward to represent how this act of inherent good overcomes the "inherent evil" of dark magic (quotation marks theirs, interestingly.) I think the writers, for the most part, clearly like Viren and Claudia a lot, and like giving them 'big moments' with dark magic ... but this is part of the reason why the show has continuously reinforced a NEED for dark magic without giving any viable solution for the average human who doesn't have natural magical powers or is friends with dragons and elves like our main heroes. Ultimately, it feels hypocritical of the show to keep going on about the evil of dark magic (now very firmly an addiction metaphor) while having no solution for humans in tricky situations that aren't "magic you and only you can do, for some reason" or "queen dragon who somehow still isn't dead dear god coming to save you" or, y'know, "dark magic." Only one of these is really viable for the average person.

Like, you make it an addiction metaphor, but where's the alternative? Vampires need to drink blood to survive but vampire series often show vampires refusing to drink human blood as an addiction metaphor ... they drink animal blood instead, or something, and you get the metaphor. Right now, in TDP, it's either, do dark magic and suffer, or don't do dark magic and ... suffer more? Okay. I'm not saying life has to be fair or that there isn't value in accepting loss, but when Viren scolds Kpp'Ar for having all his fun with dark magic and then very callously dismissing Viren's fear for his son, I felt that. Viren isn't begging for a beer here. He's begging to save his son. Addiction metaphors need to match the scale and reality of what is being shown to you.

Sorry, I'm now going to harp on more about the Your Betters Are Born Better stuff now because I was actually enjoying (you know, tearfully so) Viren's death until his final lines. WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I GASPED!!!!!!!! HOLD ON!!!!!!!!!!! Like, let me get it out of the way, I get it echoes his last exchange to Harrow and his loyalty to Harrow is tied to his loyalty to Katolis, and they're saying "He was power hungry but now he is acting in a way that is purely, totally selfless for maybe the first time in his life," which is fine. The problem is, I have sat through six seasons of this show kissing royal ass. I have seen Aanya (shudder) mock him for not being a real noble-born ruler. I have seen Ezran's divine authority be reinforced time and again, and seen Viren throw himself submissively before his King to submit to his judgement as King, not as someone he once hurt. I have been reminded time and again that less privileged people who want the power necessary to succeed in a world biased against them are power-hungry lunatics unless they submit themselves enough to the Supreme Order of the world. So to have Viren's last words be him reinforcing that the most heroic thing he can ever be is A LOYAL SERVANT is just ... horrible. If they'd just kept the framing of Viren's death on his love for his family, it would have been way, way better.

Altogether I uh guess the season was mostly fine. They actually did a better job tying disparate narratives together with common themes which I appreciate. I liked the magefam stuff. I hope Soren eventually learns the stuff Viren chose not to tell him. I hope there's realistic forward growth on the attitude towards dark magic and why humans feel they need it, like some acknowledgement that Katolis was only saved because of Viren (make that two nations he has explicitly saved.) Maybe even Ezran can take a break from being unbearably sanctimonious to properly acknowledge his sacrifice. That would be nice!

I really hope humans get some justice for how they've been actively denied a valuable resource. It seems a self-fulfilling prophecy (they punished Leola for giving humans magic, this made Aaravos go darksided, Aaravos gave humans dark magic, humans are very set against the magical community for the way they've been treated so they're more callous about using dark magic) so I hope the ultimate lesson won't be "humans don't deserve this" but "humans only ended up here because they were treated like they don't deserve it, but they do, by right of existing as beings in this world." If Callum (+ Ezran) end the series as the only or some of the only humans with magic powers, I'm going to eat drywall.

[kataraavatara]

isn’t it crazy how jace was the one to come up with the idea of sending them on their dragons and then luke died and then that wasn’t explored like at all. isn’t it kind of crazy that jace learns of luke’s death when he’s in the company of cregan and he canonically reminds cregan of his little brother that died and that was never explored at all. isn’t it crazy how-

[snowblack-charcoalwhite]

Something something the concept of granting meaning and importance to an object/phenomenon/person by giving them a name

It is especially relevant in the world like the one ASOIAF is set in, where the name serves as an extremely important defining factor for many characters (mostly a family name but also their given one). And boy, did HotD writers lean into this - in their own way.

I am not the first one to point out that Jaehaera's name hasn't been mentioned in the show at all - not once. But guess who got to have one?

Sure, everyone absolutely needs to remember a girl who was raped by the prince (who is now the king) and who, except for that fact - which serves the purpose of vilifying said prince (and, in some way, by association, the entire TG) - had zero relevance to the plot. And so we have Dyana - because this absolutely unbiased show can't have anyone forget that the Greens' candidate for the throne has some deplorable proclivities. She even got some extra screen time in season 2: once again, absolutely unnecessary except for reminding the audience of her existence - and of Aegon's sins.

But who cares about the only remaining child of the king; the girl who came within a hair's breadth from death and then lost her twin brother; the one true joy left to her mother? Why would she even need a name?

Jaehaera's fate in the show is uncertain (the writers didn't do away with her at the very least) - but for now she is not even a tool of the story but merely a dead weight that just had to be there for Blood and Cheese to have someone to choose from. And then she was simply conveniently (nearly) forgotten becoming just "Helaena's daughter" - no name, no face, no emotional attachment from the audience. I just wonder if the writers' unwilingness to actually involve Jaehaera in the story (or just let the viewers properly see her) comes from them being equally unwilling to make the audience remember her brother whose death and its consequences they are so eager to sweep under the rug in order to minimize the PR damage done to the Blacks.

P.S. Speaking about the importance of names - they need to be not only revealed but also remembered. Jaehaerys didn't end up nameless - but how many times was he actually called by his name in the show? Right off the bat I can remember only one such case: Aegon asking Helaena where he was in episode 1. And while I believe this was not the only time (I am terribly sorry but right now I can't make myself rewatch any part of season 2, not even for science - so feel free to point out the rest), I have a distinct feeling that he still was far more often referred to as "boy", "child", "son", "heir to the throne" and whatnot. Once again: no name, no memory - which IMO is exactly what the writers were going for.