Tatum

I wondered this as well. And he seemed genuinely offended in the previous episode that the Lannisters assumed Rhaenyra was always a stop gap/last resort as heir to the throne and not a commitment the king intended to see through. Honestly, I think part of Viserys just likes to be contrary. He will dig his heels in at this point because everyone expects him to do something different. And pretty much any time anyone tells him directly to do something, he does the opposite, even if he concedes the advisor has a good point.

I agree. Yeah, it's first world problems, but that doesn't mean Alicent can't have any disappointments in life simply because it could have been much worse. I mean, I think it's worth considering that in this world, the best a royal woman can hope to be is merely bored/lonely instead of being beaten/raped by her husband or humiliated when he flaunts his mistresses around and she has no recourse for any of these things. And then basically told to suck it up because at least she's not living in extreme poverty like all the rubes outside of the castle. Alicent was a willing part of her father’s orchestration to get her the role of the queen, but it's not like if she hadn't gone along with it she would have been free to marry or mess around with whoever she wanted. In all likelihood, she was always going to be married off to whoever her father thought would benefit him the most, and the odds that he would be both physically attractive and have a good personality weren't great. She settled for what she knew wouldn't be a bad situation, vs holding out for what had a minimal chance of being better and a much higher chance of being worse.

Doesn't Otto have multiple sons? The announcer at the Tourney said the one guy was Otto's oldest son. I am rather surprised Otto didn't suggest one of them for Rhaenyra. Before he suggested the baby, I was afraid when he said "close to home" he was going to suggest himself.

I did like Viserys for about 2 min when he called out Otto for hemming and hawing when Otto was the one who deemed the matter urgent. No, you don't get to come storming in and then hide behind your little euphemisms and vague accusations. Come right out and say what you know and how you came to know it, and own that you only know because you were spying in the first place. I don't give Viserys much credit beyond that. Look Viserys, Otto has been pulling your strings for years now, and that should have been inherently obvious to you the minute Alicent came into your room with her history book. Do you really think Alicent, timid, unassuming, obedient, most of all protocol following Alicent, took it upon herself to dress up, and come offer condolences in your bedroom, the night your wife died? Even if she was the most opportunistic schemer ever, she would not do that without her father's explicit consent. And who else would have told her to do it? Rhaenyra? Come on, Viserys. Wake up. This is not breaking news. Really, the King should just assume the default is every man is for himself, even the Hand. Maybe especially the Hand.

I agree! I thought I was crazy, but the Targeryans are so boring to me. Alicent and Otto, oily as the latter may be, are a lot more interesting to me. There really isn't much nuance so far to the platinum crew.

Hee, although to me, that is extremely fitting to his character. I can just see someone saying, gee whiz, Daemon, you're kind of one and done with that trick- I hope you never need to surrender or negotiate with anyone ever again. Daemon: um, yeah, I won't. Duh. I guess at that point he figured he really had nothing to lose. He could either be killed by the crab guys or rescued by big brother, and neither of those were more appealing than being the guy who waves the white flag then attacks. I totally misread Daemon's initial reaction to the letter. I thought he was moved by his brother's offer of help. And I did think Viserys, annoying and obtuse as he generally is, did a reasonable job of wording the letter to not be overly condescending and dismissive. He made it sound like a joint effort with a mutual goal, vs. hey little bro, since you've screwed things up so royally, I am going to come sauntering in and save the day along with your sorry ass. Then he beat up the messenger and I was like, well, got that one wrong. I am mostly okay with the plot contrivances and Hollywood tropes in this show. I like how so far, there is a large focus on the relationships between the characters, and no one is all good or all bad. I am bummed though that it seems unlikely there will ever be a reconciliation between Alicent and Rhaenyra. I understand Rhaenyra's anger and hurt, but I don't think Alicent is a straight up villain who used Rhaenyra to get to her dad. She is a victim of circumstance much like Rhaenyra, and reliant upon men the same way. If those two partnered up (and I don't mean romantically, I just mean if they compared notes and worked together) they could each help each other a lot, as well as just make their own lives more pleasant. It can't be fun constantly dealing with this tension and anger, and I am sure they both miss their friendship.

I know, but in this particular case, Corlys really wasn't talking shit. He was venting about a serious problem he has with the king's leadership, and explaining the reason he was willing to pair up with Daemon in the first place. Had he said the House of Dragons equivalent of "your brother sucks at life" I'd agree with Daemon defending his brother while acknowledging his own hypocrisy, but in this case, how is Corlys supposed to explain himself without criticizing the king? I mean, the king is kind of sucky at his job. It's kind of galling he threw his hat in the ring in the first place when he seems to minimal interest in handling any affairs that don't directly impact him.

Right that's what I was getting at- but regardless, she will have to marry Laena off at some point, so I was wondering if she was disappointed/insulted to miss out on a King, or relieved to be able to put it off for a few years. The more I think about it, the more I think Viserys sucks. It would not have been too much to ask to privately tell Corlys beforehand that he did not want to marry such a young girl. And he basically ensured the end of Alisant and Rhaenyra's friendship. Also, he appears to be a completely incompetent king who is unable or unwilling to protect the commoners. I didn't like Daemon telling Corlys that he (Daemon) could insult the king, but Corlys couldn't. First, Daemon said far nastier things, and second, unlike Daemon, Corlys has been directly harmed by Viserys' poor leadership. Daemon is just salty in general; Corlys had a very legitimate gripe. I appreciate that Daemon has an honest affection for his brother and niece, but otherwise I find him pretty loathsome.

That's what I can't figure out! I can't tell if Viserys is (at this point) romantically interested in Alicent or if she is just his only considered alternative to a a 12 year old. If he is resigned to getting married and his only requirement is that she isn't 12 (or younger), it seems he could have found a potential wife pretty easily that wouldn't piss off his daughter. I would be curious to know how the Queen who never was feels about the rejection of her daughter. I loved her schooling of Rhaenyra, who was getting a little cocky this episode. The older princess (can't remember her name) is correct- swearing loyalty to Rhaenyra was merely just kicking the can down the road, they had no intention of actually obeying her.

I feel really sorry for Alicent. Yes, she knows what she is doing, but this isn't a world that is kind to women, even high born ones. Impressing her father and securing a non abusive husband is probably the only way to guaranteed safety, and I don't blame her if that comes at the expense of warning her friend of what their respective fathers are up to. Even giving her friend the heads up could potentially foil Hightower's plans if Rhaenyra confronted her father and discredited Otto, which surely would blow back on Alicent. She really doesn't have a lot of appealing options. Rhaenyra confronting Daemon was smart, but not exceptionally brave in my opinion because I believe she knew there was no way he would hurt her. I don't really consider it badass to dare someone to kill you when you know they absolutely won't. Daemon would take the humiliating retreat over the risk of making Rhaenyra collateral damage.

I haven't read any of the books or watched any previews or followed any press for the remaining season, and I would 100% bet my 401K balance they will go there. Wasn't Viserys planning to rape Daenerys, and was only thwarted, not because rape is bad or raping your sister is bad, but because Daenerys' virginity was the only thing they had to trade? Niece and uncle would be so incidental at this point.

If Daemon was correct in that Kings Landing is no longer safe for those living outside the castle, that is a pretty glaring error on both the King and the Hand. Nice as the king may be, I am not sure he's not a dope.

I could not tell either. I will take Daemon at his word that there are a lot of rapists, robbers, and murderers running around Kings Landing. So I don't know if he assumed that anyone running around late at night was up to no good, or if he simply didn't care, and figured the mere threat of another sadistic punishment orgy would stop the would be criminals from doing anything in the future, and if he killed or disfigured innocent people, well the ends would justify the means. It did seem to be mostly men he was dismembering. At this point, it could go either way. He could feel that Visery's shortcomings as a king are threatening the Targaryen dynasty, and for the good of their legacy he needs to step in, or he could be just a power hungry spoiled child with a case of bloodlust.

I agree. Plus, Rhaenyra seems to have an honest affection for him. I am fine with a more character driven show than GoT was. I am hoping for a smaller cast with a bit more nuanced characters.

One thing that kind of annoyed me about GoT was the characters were either "good" or "bad"- and if you were bad, you were bad through and through and had NO redeeming qualities. I guess there were a few gray characters, like Jaime, but generally speaking, pretty much one extreme or the other. I would actually really like it if neither Hightower nor Daemon were cartoon villains, but rather just both had really strong feelings on what what would be better for King's Landing and were willing to do what it took to get there. I mean, Daemon had a point that the King let far too much crime go unchecked. His methods were cruel and unprecedented, but maybe there will be less crime going forward. That said, I wouldn't want Daemon for a ruler either and I can hardly blame Hightower for doing what he has to do to block his rise.

See, what surprised me is I did not think there was animosity. I thought the king seemed rather indulgent of his brother and I thought the brother was sincere when he said he would have protected the king when no one else would. I wonder if Daemon was one of the 12 contenders to the crown that the council basically blew off. ETA: I did think Daemon looked properly ashamed when Viserys confronted him about what he said about heir for a day. It was a super shitty thing to say, which surprised me because I didn't think Daemon was supposed to be a straight up villain who only cares about getting to the throne.

I had no idea! I haven't really watched much press for the show and I did not read any of the books (I never read any of the books in the GoT series either), and when watching the upcoming season I was so confused as to who the angry blond woman was.

I don't think this counts as a spoiler since it doesn't relate to anything that is going to happen on the series, but it might come from the book. Newsweek was recapping the first episode and said that the King chose to name his younger son as his heir when his oldest son (Rhaenys' father) died, which to me, means the oldest son's line has officially been cut off from the throne. Then, when Viserys' father died, the King has to decide whether or not to make Viserys the next in line, or revert back to Rhaenys, as she was older and daughter of the oldest son. So, in that case, it would make sense to me that Viserys did "win". So the fact that Rhaenys was still a contender is interesting to me.

Yeah I think it's just like anything else- you get some people who put their ambition/needs above all else, and you get some people who don't. I am sure there were fathers like Daenery's brother and fathers like Ned Stark (and grandmas like Olenna Tyrell, who will kill you before you can harm someone they love).

I think it must have been a legit chance, because that was a lot of pomp and circumstance (the council meeting) just to make it look like they're giving women a fair shot, when at that time no one really cared or wanted women to have a fair shot. I think the Queen who never was must have been an incredibly strong contender- even if it was only a charade, to bother with it they must have had a reason. I hope this isn't a spoiler, because the episode didn't talk about specific bloodlines in Viserys generation, but google says that they are both the children of the two sons that died- and Viserys' father was the younger son who died after his older brother, thus being the named the heir before his own death. So, it seems to me logically that Viserys would be the rightful contender, so I don't see how Rhaenys ever had a shot. Either Viserys is that bad, or Rhaenys is that good. I do hope they delve into that.

Given how patriarchal this world is, I actually find it shocking the Queen who never was (can't remember her name) even had a chance of being named the successor. It seems the council preferred her over 12 other would be successors, who were most likely all men. I know they want to get the story going, but I wish they would have delved into that a little more. I assume the Queen who never was probably would have been a more competent ruler than her cousin, and was passed over for being a woman, but I am actually impressed she even made it as far as she did. ETA: What is Alicent to Rhaenyra? I know they are friends, but does Alicent have a job? Is she like a tutor? She was quizzing Rhaenyra in one scene on history. What I am getting at is are they simply friends, or does Alicent actually serve Rhaenyra in some capacity?

I agree, plus, he's probably terrified of Daemon ascending and wants to nip that in the bud now. Interesting that the other guy (the one married to the Queen who never was) did push his own wife but also defended Daemon multiple times. I can't tell who (solely) has their own agenda and who just thinks the King kind of sucks and needs to get his shit in order, feelings be damned. ETA: I realize they ALL have their own agenda, but I assume at least a few of them are genuinely concerned for the future of Kings Landing and aren't just about reveling in their own power.

Oh, for some reason I thought they "had" to marry within their own bloodline, which would severely limit the King's pool of applicants. Maybe I am thinking of another show. I am curious about something else. Even though he has named his daughter as his heir, assuming he isn't either murdered or that back problem he's got doesn't kill him in the next year, he could potentially remarry, have a son, and then what, is his naming his daughter as his heir then revoked?

I am confused by this. I thought Targaryens had to marry other Targaryens, so would Alicent even be in the running? If this is not so, then I don't understand what all the hand wringing about heirs would be- the King can just marry another young woman and start the clock over for potential heirs. Practically speaking though, I think Hightower should have waited, and not even out of respect for the dead queen- I don't think the King would have been in any mood for any kind of "comfort" that soon after his wife died. I guess if Alicent was just there to keep him company (fully clothed) that is fine. I was terrified she was going to actually try to seduce him and we'd have to watch that cringefest. Between Hightower and Daemon I can't tell who the bad guy is supposed to be, but I actually don't mind Hightower that much. I liked that he told Daemon to stop insulting his (Daemon's) wife.

I didn't know he was ever private. I mean, he sought out the local celebrity of Vermillion, SD, and I do not buy for one second that he didn't know who she was. I know they both claimed he did not, but come on, it's a town with a population of 12,000, about as far away from Hollywood (figuratively), as one could get. Cole neither noticed the film crew coming in for the last 4-5 years, nor did he have any friends or family who commented on it? Sure, Jan.