#viserys and otto are genuinely quite good i like that dynamic

[navree]

Sorry but Visotto>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Visdae or whatever the ship name of Daemon's cringe relationship with Vissy

Viserys and Otto do have a glorious dynamic, it must be said, we love the tale as old as time of the pathetic fail king and his evil advisor (and also they did have a genuine affection for each other, probably more on Otto's side than on Viserys's which is an interesting thing about it)

Unfortunately whatever Daemon's got going on in his head with Viserys is so gloriously dysfunctional and sordid that I've already got plot bunnies percolating about in my head that really shouldn't be there when I've already got such a huge backlog

[kazz-brekker]

hotd episode 6 thoughts

boy oh boy this episode was so full of many delicious character moments, i feel very well fed

aemond really was in his best goth villain era tonight, honestly good for him!

i have never seen tyland lannister look more uncomfortable than he did with aemond looming over him lmao

i enjoyed the scene where aemond is firing alicent from the council while also simultaneously holding her hand in place so she'll keep touching his face…tasty tasty family issues

loved that song that the dragonkeepers were singing while summoning seasmoke, it was a very cool detail

also, it was really fun seeing seasmoke again, especially since he's grown bigger since we last saw laenor riding him

man, aegon and rhaenyra really need to put out an ad in the paper for new members of the kingsguard and the queensguard, those guys are dropping like flies

ever since daemon's visions at harrenhal started i really hoped that we would get to see viserys since so many of daemon's issues stem from being cast aside as heir by his brother so i'm SO pleased we got those scenes, it was a present Just For Me

daemon bro stop threatening simon strong he's a nice old man who's done literally nothing bad to you

greatly enjoying this dynamic of daemon and his new bestie the weird witch who may or may not be psychologically tormenting him with visions of his past mistakes and issues

genuinely alys is my favorite new character this season, she's so fun and i just adore her scenes

madam sylvi, dyana, and ulf getting together to bitch about the food shortages…the greens better look out the smallfolk are unionizing

i am getting the sense that aemond and madame sylvi had a…less than amicable end to their working relationship

aemond tormenting aegon in his sickbed really made me go c'mon dude haven't you made him suffer enough, leave him ALONE!

from rhaena's scenes in the vale it appears that they've cut the character of nettles and give rhaena her storyline instead. not sure how i feel about this…i'm all for rhaena getting more to do but nettles is also an interesting character in her own right

knowing alyn and addam's parentage going into the show i suspected that alyn shaves his head because he inherited the velaryon white hair and i was pleased to see i was right

baby stormcloud is so cute! but holy shit my the pit of my stomach really dropped when jeyne arryn mentioned the ship the gay abandon. my fellow book readers, i am full of dread!

i really liked the scene between gwayne and alicent, since he wasn't in the first season it's interesting to see how their relationship with each other and otto has been affected by that huge distance

i kind of miss otto, i hope he comes back by the end of the season

daeron mention! facts about daeron! a personality! never thought i'd see the day!

one of my favorite hobbies is being emo about scenes of alicent physically putting herself between her children and physical harm so i liked her and helaena fleeing from the riot together

that scene with larys and aegon was sooooooo interesting, there's definitely some manipulation/attempts to curry favor coming from larys, but i also hadn't considered that he might now feel some genuine solidarity with aegon after his injuries and can speak frankly about his disability and offer advice

i have been waiting since daemon got to harrenhal and began being tormented for him to have a breakdown and start crying so i was quite pleased when that happened :)

knowing that seasmoke is chasing after addam because he wants him to be his rider made that whole sequence really funny to me

i have often blogged about how daemon and rhaenyra each have what the other one wants (freedom and patriarchal status vs. viserys's love and position as his heir) so it was super fun for me to hear rhaenyra actually verbalize that

i have been super into queer readings of this show since the beginning and all season whenever rhaenyra and mysaria interact i've been like "hmm…are they flirting…" but i truly did not expect them to actually kiss. rhaenyra targaryen canonically queer! on my tv screen! never thought i would see the day!

crazy to think that we only have 2 episodes of this season left after this, can't wait to see what unhinged drama still awaits us

[dwellordream]

Initial Impressions of HotD, Episode 5

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.

Rhea’s actress did a great job establishing her character in such a short amount of time as confident, independent, and blunt - similar to Daemon in many ways, but clearly not someone he would ever find appealing because she would never flatter his ego.

I think her death scene was a little silly; they could have had her riding out alone, and then show Caraxes’ shadow overhead, then cut to her being found dead, but I’m glad they kept it nebulous as to whether Daemon directly caused her death, or even meant to hurt her at all.

Otto is a horrible person, but it’s true that Rhaenyra’s claim will never be secure so long as Alicent has living sons. Rhaenyra might not initially intend to harm them, but they would always be a threat to her, and Daemon would have zero qualms about killing them.

Having it be autumn at this point in the story is a good choice, because everything is declining; Rhaenyra and Alicent’s relationship is dead in the water. Viserys’ health is fading fast. Daemon has repeatedly squandered the power he has. Laenor and Rhaenyra’s betrothal is depicted as a rather tedious, reluctant affair.

Not getting to see the shiny silver roofs of Driftmark was a missed opportunity. It looked very generic and seemed quite desolate, as opposed to a bustling port.

Larys’ actor is great, and he and Alicent have a very fun dynamic. He comes across as much more awkward than the typical scheming advisor, but in works in his favor because he is aware people already pity/scorn him due to his disability.

Laena’s actress is great, but this show has done her very dirty. Laena easily could have featured in Episodes 3 and 4 as Rhaenyra started to pull away from Alicent. They also cut her claiming Vhagar, which annoys me a lot. The writing for women of color on this show sucks, frankly.

It was a delight to see Rhaenys again. Then, again, we could have seen a lot more done with her in the last two episodes. What a waste.

Corlys and Rhaenys seem to have become disillusioned with Daemon now that Laenor and Rhaenyra are a possibility, which makes sense. They very pointedly bring up that Daemon may have murdered his wife, and have probably heard the rumors about him and his niece.

Viserys never says anything about Rhaenyra’s firstborn child succeeding her regardless of gender in Fire & Blood, so it’s strange here that he doesn’t even try to go ‘well, of course Rhaenyra will have sons...’. 

It’s nice to see Rhaenyra trying to be kind to Laenor and proposing a marriage of friendship and respect, even if his actor is much more stiff than hers. 

To be honest the breakneck pacing of this season could have been slowed down considerably, and the finale could have been Rhaenyra and Laenor wedding, and Alicent turning against her permanently. It would have developed the Velaryons much more.

Corlys being in denial about Laenor’s sexuality and insisting he’ll ‘outgrow it’ seems silly. It would make more sense for him to be aware, but not see it as a genuine impediment to Laenor siring children.

Joffrey Lonmouth is very fun, and I think his actor has a lot of charm. You can see how Laenor, who seems much more solemn, would be attracted to him.

I assume the implication here is that Rhaenyra and Criston have continued their sexual relationship in the few months since last episode. He never seriously proposes running away with Rhaenyra in Fire & Blood, and I don’t really like his characterization here - I can’t see Criston being willing to abandon his post as Kingsguard and the honor/fame of it for a life on the run with a princess.

However, I do think his reaction to Rhaenyra proposing they continue the relationship after her marriage is good. Criston wants to preserve Rhaenyra in his head as a pure and chaste princess who was only willing to give up her virtue to him, and then never stray from her husband. He’s horrified at the thought of being the third party to a marriage between her and another man, even if Laenor is gay.

Alicent’s nervous speech to Ser Criston, trying to ascertain if Rhaenyra actually had sex, is very well done, especially when she tries to play the wise older woman reflecting on the ‘flush of youth’. Alicent never got to make youthful mistakes or have any lapses in resolve. And the thought of Rhaenyra having had sex doesn’t just upset her on a moral level, but seems yet more salt in the wound of the life she never got to lead, and the pleasurable relationship with Rhaenyra that ended abruptly with Alicent’s marriage.

Nice to see some actual dragons again the dragon show.

Daemon waltzing in to the wedding celebrations uninvited and knowing damn well he is still exiled is such a Daemon thing to do.

Alicent’s evil stepmother entrance was beautiful. Seeing her do the first genuinely petty, selfish thing for herself right at the perfect moment to show up Viserys was so fitting. The music was also great; a very sinister waltz.

Joffrey massively underestimating the consequences of joking about Criston Cole is pretty heartwrenching. 

Harwin being completely unthreatened by Daemon, but also never contradicting or defying him establishes a lot about him as a character. He doesn’t have much of a temper or ambitions; he just wants what he wants, and is willing to bend rather than break for it.

Criston ‘accidentally’ killing Joffrey during a tourney was one thing. Brutally killing him in a brawl during the royal wedding celebrations is another. I hope they’re prepared to explain the consequences of this next episode. The Lonmouths are not a minor house, and they would be enraged by this act from a Kingsguard.

Despite my issues with how they have handled the Velaryons, especially Laena, I do think this was the best episode since Episode 2. The pacing was tight and the suspense was genuine, and there were a lot of great shots of characters carefully observing one another.