Chris24601

Pretty simple really... in the TVD-verse the afterlife is a matter of finding peace. If you're lingering in the mortal world (in this case the Necromancer saying that Klaus hadn't found peace because Hope isn't truly happy) its because you have unfinished business. In this case she's saying she takes comfort in his spirit watching over her, but hoping she'll find happiness enough for his spirit to be able to pass on and find peace.

If so, he'd be in for a shock since Josie's a Siphon so she's not really got any magic of her own to steal. My more likely guess is that Evil Wesley needs a large quantity of dark magical energy and is nudging Josie towards using it and then transferring the residue to his object for his own use. One interesting twist would be that "evil" Wesley is actually not so much evil as a thaumivore (fancy way of saying magic eater) who needs to feed on dark magic to survive (his chowing down on the werewolf killer being the messier way he can feed). He'd still be a jerk and a supernatural supremacist, but also not necessarily someone Hope could just run through with a sword either.

Overall, this was a strong episode. I especially appreciate how the A-plot (hunting the Oni) and B-plot (Lizzie's "imaginary" boyfriend being revealed to her) ended up converging. So far I'm seeing no signs of a Sophomore Slump. They're ALL epic loves when you're 17-18 because you lack the perspective to know better. She wasn't shattered by the guy... she was shattered by believing the guy to be a hallucination after haven't spent all summer struggling to address her mental health issues. All that work to get a control over it and thinking she'd finally gotten it handled and NOPE! You're hearing voices and seeing people who aren't even there. She also sees with Josie's darker side that she's definitely the weaker twin (probably a subconscious part of her motivation to work on her mental health so hard) and Sebastian being a "hallucination" just reinforces that she's going to die in just a few years because of it. I actually felt it was a very nice touch on what she's actually struggling with and feel way more sympathetic towards Lizzie and her struggle to overcome her own basic biology than I do towards Josie's temptation by dark magic.

To be fair, I never said the shift would be permanent. The center though is inarguably wherever they have both Hope and Alaric at the time. Between the needed skip episodes for other actors though I’d guess it’ll be mid-season at the earliest... depending on the contracts for the new kids I’d even say not until the lead-up to the finale is a possibility (i.e. if they have the same 12 ep contracts everyone else does they need to be in ten more... i.e. they’re around until at least episode 13 of 16). That said... Legacies-2 is not the same thing as TVD-5. Sixteen episodes is not the same amount of inertia as 88. Other than “Monster of the Week” there’s still some “give” in what the core premise is that hasn’t been locked in by intertia. I’m not married to it either way. I’m also not sure Hope is quite 18 yet. Almost no time seems to have passed for her during the months she was in Malavore so she’s physically about the same age she went in so physically she’s still probably 17. On top of that she doesn’t even have a legal age because there aren’t many records of her to begin with. She was born in a graveyard and declared dead, spent years off the grid with Haley after Marcel became the Beast and then went to live at the Salvator School where the last thing Alaric did before forgetting her was destroy all records of her. She could probably say she’s anything from 16-21 and there’s zero evidence to prove otherwise. That said, I think they’re going with the idea that Hope was a junior last year and is a senior this year and, because she is intelligent, has decided she needs to get at least a high school diploma if she’s going to rebuild something of a life post “Forgetting.” I suspect her pre-Alaric plan was to go somewhere else entirely to start over (because being around people you cared for yet who didn’t even seem to miss you because they’d all forgotten you would have to suck)... hence the bus stop. But she can’t leave a monster roaming around, runs into Alaric and Landon and opts for at least something semi-familiar instead. So this is being treated as Hope’s senior year (which lines up with the football love interest* already having a scholarship lined up post-graduation), which means even if Alaric goes back to the Salvator School, Hope should be going off to college and the center of gravity gets pulled around again (my guess is she gets a job at the school and does online college if Alaric goes back). * He’s absolutely Hope’s LI for the season... introduced a little jerky, but by his second episode he’s choosing to walk home rather than vandalize, standing up to help his team when they need it (despite risking his scholarship if he’s injured) and then getting his hopes for college wrecked by malicious magic use. He’s being made deliberately sympathetic and has a wrong against him that needs to be made right. He is absolutely Hope-bait (same as Landon was last season). side-bar: which I guess is another reason why I’m not worried about Sebastian eating the show a la Damon. Lizzie isn’t THE star the way Elena was. Barring a contract change she’ll miss about a quarter of the episodes this season which means Sebastian will too. Basically... he’s too far from the center of gravity to actually take over so he probably is indeed being played for laughs a bit with his over the top gothic “vampyr” vibe (and then as a legit danger once whatever he really is comes out).

I think it’s worth noting that this isn’t just metaphorical. Last season EVERY character except Hope and Alaric was absent for 4 of the 16 episodes; specific enough that it’s got to be contractural (and also means we’ll probably get a couple Hope/Raf and/or Alaric/Raf episodes down the line as he’s the only one of the part-timers to have been absent in two episodes already). In fact, I’d argue the center of gravity has already moved to Mystic Falls High School. Not only is Hope there, Alaric; the only other “in every episode” cast member; is now principal there too and they added two new apparent semi-regulars (three if the sheriff keeps showing up) to the school for Hope and Alaric to interact with. Further, there will absolutely be episodes this season where the Salvator School crew is largely absent (so it’s a good thing Hope’s got some Scoobies and Alaric a Sheriff to interact with for those... like they planned for it even) as part of keeping to the contracted number of episodes adding further weight to MFHS as the show’s center of gravity. I think they also firmed up this season’s arcs for the season too. - The “mystery” of Hope (mainly Landon assisted by Josie) - The mystery of the Headmaster (mainly Josie plus Alaric and Hope since his spell got a student/Hope’s friend hurt) - The mystery of Sebastian (Lizzie, MG and Kaleb) - What are the monsters after now (mainly Hope and Alaric; new kids and Sheriff as complications) - Raf’s wolf complications (Raf, supported by Landon, but probably also getting a Hope and/or Alaric episode). - Very Back Burner currently, but Twin Merge/Ascendant/Kai is in there too when relevant. My hunch is the absenses in later episodes will mostly align with one of those plot lines getting back-burnered for an episode or two periodically.

All the talk of the other spawn makes me wonder if that’s another reason they may have decided to make the world forgetting Hope stick... no more having to write around Hope having these powerful family members who’d certainly come help if they remembered her. Of course they’d still have photos and such of Hope and there’s the lingering question of why Klaus and Elijah offed themselves, etc. but it at least hangs a piece of plywood over the gaping plot hole.

I’m starting to get the feeling that there isn’t going to be a “everyone remembers Hope” moment and, rather like the time jumps in TVD and TO, the writers decided to shake everything up instead of resuming the status quo. They’ve introduced a new sheriff (Sheriff’s are generally elected and often have term limits or after 16-20 years in office Matt decided to not run again and get his family the hell out of Dodge when he recognized the rising level of crazy coming from of the Salvitor School) with kids who are getting developed as friends for Hope with a reason to hate the supernatural when they find out about how they screwed over the son’s hopes and dreams because the superhumans wanted to win a pickup game of flag football against the mundanes. Then they went and made Landon suspicious of Hope and with Raf not remembering Hope either they’ve given Landon and Josie a plot line where they’ll have the chance to grow closer. Maybe it only runs to mid-season, but we’re three in and another five doesn’t seem like enough time for Hope’s mundane friends, Landon/Josie investigating and then undoing whatever aspect of Malivore made everyone forget her. And if it runs past that I almost think it’s going to be permanent since all new relationships will have been established and cemented by the finale. Kudos for not going with an easy fix/resumption of the status quo I guess? As to Raf not remembering... my hunch is that they didn’t have specific plans for Raf in terms of the finale... they just picked something to give them options. At a minimum it allowed a couple plausible skip episodes in what seems to be the 13 episode/season contracts for everyone but Alaric and Hope (if last season was anything to go by). And the minimum seems to be what they chose to go with... pretty much picking back up Raf’s man/wolf overlap problem that started back in the “Landon is a Phoenix” reveal episode. I’ll be charitable at the moment though and guess that the reason for this is mostly the direction they decided to go with Hope’s story amounting to something of a soft reboot. I’m also not too worried yet about Sebastian being a Damon 2.0 because it’s absolutely clear that he’s NOT a vampire and is playing Lizzie for a particular reason. I almost wonder if he’s not actually an illusion created by the headmaster to get the twin out of the way while he works on corrupting Josie for his own agenda (heck, the headmaster’s introduction was throwing out a lasting full sensory illusion to redecorate the office. Between the illusions and now eating the flesh of the fallen monster I’m wondering if the headmaster isn’t a ghoul (of the Middle Eastern myths variety... who drew people off the travelled paths to their dooms with illusions and could supposedly take on the form of someone they’d eaten... which would explain why Caroline picked him... she picked the guy the ghoul ate).

To be fair about "lonely orphan" Hope; she lost both her mother and father in the span of a year barely three years ago... both of them sacrificing themselves for her. It makes a sort of sense that she'd try to stay away from people she cares about... Landon gets a pass only because he literally can't die. She wanted to say away from Alaric too, but events kept interfering. I kinda take her brazen attitude and desire to throw herself into danger (combined with throwing herself into Malevore last finale) as her having guilt-related issues with that (bordering on a death wish if it potentially has some greater meaning that would justify her parents dying for her). If the show wanted to (not that I expect them to) they could probably use Hope to pull off a whole deconstruction/reconstruction of the Buffy-esque heroine tropes and just how unhealthy a lot of it is. They've already made her the new girl at the mundane high school where one of the faculty members is also a demon hunter/mentor and introduced a couple of named mundane students which makes me think, even if they aren't going that route, they're still planning on keeping Alaric and Hope at Mystic Falls High School until at least mid-season. I can also see the inevitable conflict and return to the Salvatore School where Alaric and Hope have to save the school from Headmaster Wesley and his "you're better than ordinary people, soon we'll reveal ourselves to the world and hostile magic vs. others is only a problem if you get caught" ideas. Sidebar: I wonder if putting Alaric and Hope at the mundane high school for a while is how they plan to introduce a Damon/Elena spawn into the story (even if only temporarily) since they're unlikely to be actively magical (even full doppelgangers were only really useful as magical ingredients... they weren't witches themselves). Sidebar 2: Seeing them revisit the annual game between the mundane and magic school in the promos is a nice bit of continuity and a "werewolf-eating monster" in the woods sounds like exactly the sort of reason for Raf to get returned to normal. If the contracts are anything like last season where everyone but Alaric and Hope skipped a couple of episodes then I'm hopeful that Raf being absent for several episodes at the start means he'll be more consistently present in the back half.

The problem is it's damn cold filming outdoors in winter in Vancouver and the showrunners finally gave in to the practicality of letting their lead not freeze her butt off by making her wear a skirt for it. I'm honestly amazed it took this long to make the swap. It's one thing to have the classic skirt when you're filming in LA. I would have expected to see it by season three after a season of filming up there in it.

In terms of drama, I definitely think it was a smart move as it now puts Seg and Nyssa into “anyone can die” territory if they need it (because no one’s murdering a baby anyway). One thing I did note in this though is that Zod just did his big announcement of their interstellar ships being ready just before Seg and Nyssa really need a ship to go after Brainiac. With three episodes left in the season I expect two of those to be dealing with Zod and then Seg and Nyssa (and Adam, who’s still got a future to save) taking a ship to go after Brainiac as the setup for season three. Because with no sign of Lyta returning (not even a clone mention) and no Jayna in this episode, it really feels like the Zod part of the storyline is reaching its end. Frankly, because they just confirmed Nyssa as Jor-El’s mother and Jor has a younger full brother (Zor) in many versions of the Superman story, even IF Lyta were resurrected, Seg’s relationship with her is now solidly in the past. There’s nothing really dramatic left to mine there. Maybe you could build an episode down the line with a clone with pre-brainwash Lyta’s memories grafted to it; but in that case it would be more about messing with Seg’s feelings about the real Lyta (since he’d know she’s just a copy), Nyssa’s feelings about having been cloned from the original Nyssa as a child (the distinction being Seg’s only known thd clone... she’s defined herself as her own person independent of who the original Nyssa-Vex might have been) and set up the Lyta clone to secretly steal Seg’s DNA to make a baby (thus creating the circumstances General Zod described of his childhood of his mother being a woman who was broken by the loss of his father and refused to discuss him or even tell young Dru-Zod his father’s name). In short, given the Jor-El reveal in this episode, their choice to kill off Lyta actually makes a lot of sense and I no longer believe she’ll ever again show up in anything but a guest star capacity.

Me, last week... Yes! Called it. Also, THAT ending is obviously why the timeline is so screwed up.

Well, one useful bit with this show is that because it’s set so far in the past we can actually give everyone a happy ending while still blowing up the planet after they’re dead. For that matter, if I’m right that Nyssa will be Jor-El’s (and possibly Zor-El’s) mother, then most of the main character’s descendants don’t even go extinct with the planet down the line. Seg and Nyssa’s only two grandchildren (and Val’s great great grandchildren) would be Kal-El (Superman) and Kara Zor-El (Supergirl) who both escape to Earth. Jax-Ur in the comics gets sentenced to the Phantom Zone for her crimes and so survives Krypton’s destruction. Dru-Zod will eventually be born (continuing House Zod) and survive as well (in one comic timeline Dru’s son; Lor-Zod; is even adopted by Lois and Clark) so that’s Jayna and Lyta’s descendants who make it off Krypton too. That just leaves poor Dev-Em as short straw on the descendant survival lottery unless he eventually has a daughter who marries Jor or Zor (in which case Dev would actually be either Superman or Supergirl’s other grandfather). In other words; the future, even when it’s fixed is still extremely up in the air relative to the characters we’re actually following here.

The good news is they don’t actually have to fix everything. The only things they really need to fix are A) Jor-El is born to father Kal-El. B) Krypton must explode so baby Kal-El is sent to Earth. Everything else has varied from one version to the next so if they don’t come to pass it’s not a big deal. Heck, depending on how things go they could probably finagle events such that baby Kor-Vex gets renamed Jor-El (I don’t think the similarity between Kor and Jor is an accident). Then all you need is Krypton destabilized so it explodes in about 200-ish years and it’s as “fixed” as it needs to be.

Not really. Nyssa and Seg never had sex and yet have a son together. Krypton switched from natural births to entirely artificial wombs some time in the past (Nyssa considered carrying children naturally to be barbaric in early season one). It seems they’re running with the “Man of Steel” concept that Kal-El is the first natural Kryptonian birth since the Codex/Birth Matrix technology was developed (at least centuries if not millennia). All Zod needs is Seg’s DNA and Lyta’s DNA (both in the Codex) and a birthing matrix and he can assure he’s born. Depending on Zod’s age this may have even happened already which is why he isn’t starting to fade out (but his memories might change as the history change impacts him). Right now Zod needs a stable time loop to maintain his existence. He has to be born so he can come back and ensure he’s born and raised by Lyta with no knowledge of his father’s identity. Barring more time travel the only way he could still create that outcome is to use a clone of Lyta with implanted memories to raise him. The best way to stop him would actually be to keep that scenario from happening and let the time travel ripples take care of the rest. At some point I really need to sit down and try to puzzle out the original timeline (A) and how Zod and Adam’s involvement altered it into the path of season one (B timeline of the dissolving cape) and ultimately to the future in season two (C timeline; current) to figure out just how possible it is to put things back on track (ultimately baby Kal rocketed to Earth from a dying Krypton is the only element that really matters outside of the planet Kypton proper, so there’s a fair amount of room to fudge; though his parents and therefore grandparents would have to remain the same). Presumably in timeline A, Seg still stopped the Black Zero terrorist and became Nyssa-Vex’s betrothed, but without the crystal brought by Adam his parents never wouldn’t have died from the skimmer theft. Brainiac showed up, did steal Kandor and destabilized Krypton’s core in the process, but at least Seg and Lyta got out ahead of time, but Lyta believed Seg was dead when she made baby Dru-Zod. The initial point of departure was probably Zod stealing Val-El’s way out of the Phantom Zone and arriving in the past in Val’s place. Presumably Val returning would have gotten Seg to the Fortress at some point and involved enough in trying to stop Brainiac (or just saving as many as possible) that the House of El got restored. My hunch is that in this original timeline (and any ultimately fixed one) Nyssa was the mother of Jor-El (and Zor-El if they’re including Supergirl in the mix) because Occam’s razor is that Seg’s betrothed becomes mother of his kids (if not for the laws of narrative causality I’d say most likely would be Seg met someone later, but as a story you’re going to introduce someone as significant as Jor-El’s mother early so you can build it up). Dru-Zod’s arrival presumably resulted in Seg not making it out of Kandor in time (no returned Val to get him involved). Adam got him somewhat back on track by finding the Fortress, but by actually motivating Seg to save Kandor and then get sucked into the Phantom Zone the result was C timeline. Presumably Adam bringing Seg back from Collu (which didn’t happen originally in timeline C) is going to cause a ripple effect that gives us a so timeline D (which may or may not be close enough to A for Superman to happen).

I’m probably giving the writers too much credit, but if they’re keeping to the previous rules for time travel then this means this Zod was always born in a timeline where Lyta died. That probably means that Lyta will be brought back eventually via cloning. In Nyssa’d case her consciousness got copied from her mortally wounded, but still living, body. In Lyta’s case it’ll probably be from the brain scans when she was reconditioned and the clone was who raised Dru-Zod. At some point though something Adam sets in motion has to be what puts the timeline right because right now it’s all still running down whatever path leads to a bottled Detroit with w statue of Zod in it.

Codex: 1) n. A manuscript volume, especially of a classic work. 2) n. A code. It's basically a complete catalog of every Kryptonian's genetic code. It's use as a weapon is that you can use the genetic information to create a selectively targeted bio-weapon (ex. kill everyone from the House of El). Its more like the targeting program for a weapon than a weapon itself. That's why it doesn't need to be very big. * * * * Count me as on the stunned side that Lyta's death wasn't revealed to be a fake out. The only thing I can think of at this point short of a time travel reset would be if they've got a backup clone of her (as was revealed with Nyssa in the finale last year) and even then it technically wouldn't even be her even if they do dump the mind readings from the personality scrubber into it. If not for the fact that all Zod needs to do is put the right combination into the baby-making machine to ensure his birth (only this time without a mother to raise him), I'd think he'd be in danger of fading out of existence like Superman's cape was doing last season. * * * * It was also nice to get confirmation that, not only did Nyssa not know about the sabotaged oxygenators; she'd actually gone to Val about Zod wanting the Codex and had Val put in fail safes before she took it to him. Trying to save your kid can justify a lot, but that little tidbit (not betraying Val and ensuring it couldn't be used as a weapon) definitely keeps her on the side of the good guys.

Honestly, Zod using Seg’s memory as a rallying point is going to bite him in the ass when Seg returns and is able to broadcast a message for the resistance (not a spoiler, just a prediction based on basic story structure). Underestimating the El’s has always been his downfall. I’m 99% sure at this point that the House of El also includes Nyssa at this point. I can’t shake the suspicion that between Seg’s heroism and the cloning thing causing her to dissociate from being a Vex that baby Kor-Vex is going to get a meaningful name change to Jor-El by the time it’s all over. I’m also wondering if the resolution to Zod won’t be using the base premise from season one against him. Just convince Lyta to NOT make a baby using Seg’s DNA and this version of Zod disappears (she’d have another son who becomes a General and Superman’s enemy... but it wouldn’t be his uncle).

I feel sorry for Maddi. No matter what happens her de-facto mom is dead. From the description of the procedure the only way they’re getting Clarke back is by uploading the end of season three version in the Flame; i.e. the one who’s never even met Maddi and wouldn’t remember or have technically even done anything since taking out the City of Light (can a memory backup be responsible for the actions taken after the backup happened?). For that matter; the version of Clarke who comes back would also initially think she’s six years younger, that Earth is still habitable, Octavia wasn’t Bloodreina and Jasper, Monty and Harper are all still alive and she’s not a Nightblood. It’s gonna suck for them barring some hocus pocus involving having once carried the Flame letting her original brain not be wiped out by the process.

My guess is Becca’s chip and whatever is in the Primes’ heads (which has to be why the Grounders 2.0 cut them off) are like the difference between iPad and Kindle; they both do the same basic thing, but are slightly different. For example, the gal Jordan was hitting on seemed to regard that night as her last. I’m wondering if the Prime version doesn’t grant memories, but takes over the person entirely (and after hundreds of years of cult-like indoctrination becoming a meatsuit for a Prime is seen as a great honor). It could be that the alpha version of the tech that completely overwrites the brain was already in existence by the time the bombs fell, but Becca’s Commander AI version was an upgrade that worked out how to have the personalities ride along without taking over.

Actually, it’s NOT his genetic fate. That was the point of Varys’ line about already knowing which way his coin had flipped. Genetically speaking Jon isn’t inbred at all. He’s the result of outbreeding which pretty much resets your genetic clock because all the DNA that was damaged by inbreeding would be patched over by the healthy set from Lyanna. That’s also likely why Jon has pretty much zero obvious Targaryen features and looks like a traditional Stark (see Arya and Benjen on the show); there was so little good DNA from the Targ side to work with. So no, Jon’s not going to go mad like Dany. The recurring theme for Jon is that he’s very good at war and a natural leader; but he takes no pleasure in those things. That reluctance to use power (but being able to if needed) is why he’ll actually make an excellent king.

Well, as I said, there's a reason Jungian archetypes show up all over the place in fiction (its probably as or more common than the Cambellian Monomyth and the two aren't mutually exclusive). That reason is because they do give the author a pre-established conflict (a blueprint as you will) via the simple formula of "Shadow Archetype 1 tries to become the True Archetype while opposed by Shadow Archetype 2." In this case an Impotent King (which could also be someone who doesn't know they're supposed to be the king) needs to become the True King while being opposed by a Tyrant King (or a series of them depending on the story; many of Jon's adversaries have had tyrant traits; Thorne, Ramsey, Dany, even the Night King (when he was showboating) to an extent. Typically in heroic tales the protagonist's shadow archetype is the more passive of the two alternatives because going from passive to active is seen as heroic. The more aggressive archetype is more generally used in redemption stories where learning restraint is an important step in achieving their redemption. The archetypes can further be used to establish a supporting cast. The King archetype isn't achieved on its own. They need someone to motivate and inspire them to start down the path (the Lover), they need to receive instruction in who they really are (the Magician who provides hidden insights), and they need to be reminded of the importance of duty and family (the Warrior). Throw in shadow archetypes for the King, Lover, Magician and Warrior and you've now got multiple conflicts to wrap your story around.

Actually, the point is to overcome the shadow and become the true positive expression of the archetype. The king must have enough self-confidence to both trust his own judgments (i.e. not give his power away) and to not need external shows of their power to boost their own confidence. The true king can confidently reside in a hovel and still be able to provide order and the opportunities for his people to grow. And I went into this in a past episode thread, but it bears repeating; the two shadows don’t complement each other, they always make each other worse because they both suffer the same flaw (insecurity with their power in the case of the king) they just express that flaw differently. In the case of an Impotent King and a Tyrant King, the Impotent King is insecure with their power and so gives it to the Tyrant, who just uses that power for even more grandiose displays to mask their insecurity. That fact (and the show running on reverses) is why I could predict that the premiere would be the high point for Jon and Dany... because they are toxic for each other. The key distinction, and why season five for me particularly, is that Sansa and Arya targeted people they specifically knew were guilty. Dany didn’t. Ramsey’s death was actually the height of irony. Those were HIS own dogs that he’d chosen to starve for a week so they’d tear apart whoever he threw in there after the battle (I believe his plan was Jon, after he’d raped Sansa in front of him). If he’d just treated his own dogs humanely and fed them, he’d have had nothing to fear from being locked in that pen with them. He was literally undone by his own cruelty. Likewise, even as Arya killed all the adult male Freys who’d been involved in the Red Wedding, she was careful not to let any innocents drink the poison. Her desire was to punish those who were guilty and no one else. But for Dany, the moment where I became utterly convinced by the narrative that Dany would ultimately be the villain though was when we she threw a man to her dragons to be burned and ripped apart AFTER admitting she didn’t know if he was guilty or innocent. All she cared about was her pain at Selmy’s death and scaring the others into line. Before that it was the moment that Hizdhar informed Dany that his father, whom she’d crucified, had been opposed to the Masters’ crucifixion of the slaves for which she’d had 163 random Masters crucified as punishment. She didn’t care enough to find out who was innocent or guilty of the particular crime, she just wanted people to suffer for it and her self-righteousness to be assuaged. That’s actually been the most defining trait of Dany’s violence... she cares more about shows of power when she feels she’s been wronged than with actually punishing the guilty... going all the way back to Mirri Maz Dur who was burned alive for killing the warlord who ordered her village burned, her people killed and her to be gang raped... because Dany cared more about the Warlord than the slave seeking justice. Another key distinction is that in the case of Sansa, Arya and Tyrion... they were punishing someone who had done wrong to them first. Dany was the one who started the fight with all the Masters, starting with going back on her deal with the slavers who sold her the Unsullied and killing them all. Yes, slavery is bad, but she went in with zero plan for the long term with the subtlety of a sledgehammer, then got pissed at people when it turned out to not be as easy as a Saturday Morning Cartoon to deal with... and didn’t particularly care whether the particular person she was punishing because she was pissed off was innocent or guilty. I understand that people read things differently, but how much of that reading you made came down to how Dany felt about things vs. objective facts? The Dothraki are objectively murderous raping pillagers, but because they were helping Dany they were “good guys” and the slave who killed Dany’s dreams of conquering Westeros with Khal Drogo’s horde was the “villain.” Objectively, Dany bargained in bad faith with the Unsullied slave traders and betrayed them, but that’s okay because they were asshole victims and Dany got an army to replace the Dothraki with. Objectively, Dany crucified 163 people selected at random from the Masters of Mereen without even bothering to determine who had actually decided to crucify the slaves along the roadside. But that’s okay because they were slavers and probably guilty of something (if the crime is being a slaver... execute them all. If the crime is crucifying slaves, execute the ones who actually ordered it... that’s what actually makes it tyrannical). She fed a man of uncertain guilt to her dragons, but that’s okay because Selmy had been murdered by the Sons of the Harpy last episode and someone needed to be made an example of to keep the former Masters in line. And in retrospect he was almost certainly innocent since the Sons of the Harpy were later learned to have been funded by forces outside Mereen... so the idea that Dany doesn’t kill innocents to keep her subjects in line has actually been disproven since season five when she did precisely that. That’s the difference between Sansa, Arya and Tyrion punishing the guilty for their specific crimes and Dany punishing people based on what will best keep her subjects in line. Daenerys has always been “More of the Same.” It’s now just too obvious for people to be able to make excuses for it anymore. I’m actually kinda relieved it went that way. I was dreading years of debates over whether what Dany did was justifed or not if they’d gone with something more muddy... like the city didn’t surrender and she’d just gone nuclear on the Red Keep and the innocents within died from the collateral damage. We’ve been spared that. There’s no room for doubt anymore that she’s a monster. Madness or deliberate choice is largely irrelevant... the monster needs to be stopped regardless.

That’s like saying the Japanese ended all resistance in the Pacific through their knockout punch at Pearl Harbor. Or that Tarkin ended all resistance to the Empire forever by destroying Alderaan. Sometimes committing an atrocity, particularly one this extreme, just makes people resist harder. Particularly when they think Dany’s going to kill them anyway (see Tyrion, Jon, Sansa and anyone in proximity or who was ever allied with them). One of the reasons in war throughout history that armies honored surrenders was because giving your enemy a way out makes them far more likely to do so once it’s clear victory can’t be achieved and this protects your own side from the casualties they’d take in having to wipe the enemy out to the last man by offering them no quarter. Dany just ensured that a lot of people are going to resist her to the death (costing her men and material) and for others that cooperation will only come at the end of a spear (requiring her to spread her forces thin). Her dragon can only be in one place at a time (her enemies only strike where the dragon isn’t and if she retaliates on innocents she just encourages more people to feel they have nothing to lose. Assymetric warfare by people who feel they’ve got nothing to lose is a bitch when the main tools in your arsenal are an irreplaceable city-leveling beast and the fear it instills. Yeah, she destroyed those Scorpions, but unlike her dragon, it’s possible to build more and one good shot from ambush is all you need to remove the key to her reign of terror. Or you poison it’s food.- One lucky knife-strike or arrow or successful poisoning by someone with nothing to lose and everything to gain by Dany’s death is all it would take too... her armies lose control of the dragon. Welcome to the land of the paranoid tyrant like Saddam Hussien, Ghadaffi or Kim Jun Un. Constantly on the move with decoys, food tasters and regular purges of the leadership lest they get enough influence to betray you.sleeping in a different bed (or even, according to some accounts, occasionally on the street) every night and constantly altering her schedule lest all the people willing to end her reign of terror find and end her. Dany thinks fear is the best motivator and it can be, to a point, but history has proven that when all you have is fear and nothing else... it’s just a matter of time.

But, but, but. Excuses, excuses excuses. The asshole victim trope doesn’t change that Dany’s always favored extreme violence in dealing with anyone she feels has wronged her and has from the beginning. ”She’s always been a monster. You loved her anyway.” So, how about Mirri Maz Dur, a slave that Dany burned alive because the slave had killed the leader of the band of murderers and rapists who burned her village, killed her family and friends and gang raped her? Mirri’s village was slaughtered by Khal Drogo to get a ships to take his horde to Westeros to conquer it for Dany. One of his victims fought back and Dany burned her alive for it because, from Dany’s perspective, Mirri Maz Dur had wronged her. Go ahead. Tell me why she deserved to die if Dany was truly the Breaker of Chains and truly cared for those oppressed instead of as means to an end? She may remove the physical chains, but the yolk of fear and terror has always been her hallmark. Dany’s claims of doing it for the common folk have always been lip service to justify her desire for the Throne. She’s long since forgotten Jorah’s words to her... “The common people pray for rain, healthy children, and a summer that never ends. It is no matter to them if the high lords play their game of thrones, so long as they are left in peace. They never are.” That’s left in PEACE, Dany. Not left in PIECES. If she’d had the slightest care for the common folk she’d have stayed in Mereen and built a better world there. Instead it was just a stepping stone left in the care of a man who didn’t care a wit about it. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that Daario’s restarted the slave trade in her absence. Now that the facade can’t help her she methodically razes the city targeting every side street to maximize the carnage. In her mind this is for the greater good... so that future generations will know the “prosperity” of living under her every whim; to terrified of her wrath to do more than scrape the ground and obey. Next will come the purges. They always do in a reign of terror. All who were insufficient in supporting the “glorious revolution” must be removed; only they won’t be marched to the gullotine, but before the dragon to burn alive. To remind everyone of the penalty for failing to worship the Queen. Tyrion for releasing his brother. Jon for refusing to slaughter innocents and being a threat to her rule. Sansa for not wanting to live as one of her glorious subjects. The more I think on it... Dany’s story is exactly that of Anakin Skywalker. She started as a slave, then gained a power (dragons/the Force) that let her choose her course and at first seemed to use it for good ends, but there was always the undercurrent of darkness (the slaughter of the sand people as revenge for his mother). Last night was her decision to give in to the darkness to get what she most wanted... this was her slaughter of the Younglings moment. The moral event horizon she’d stood on the precipice of for years, but from which there is now no escape.

Tens of thousands is wishful thinking. King’s Landing was home to over a million people. If Dany only killed 10% of them then she matched Hiroshima. If she killed 20% then she matched the deaths from every nuclear bomb ever dropped. Half the population feels more realistic... Half a MILLION people burned to death or slaughtered by her troops. Dany also obliterated the food stores and many of the buildings there with her indiscriminate fire so those who did survive face starvation and death from exposure to the elements as winter drags on. And she is ABSOLUTELY making that charnal house the seat of her Empire. She decided to be feared so she use the shell of the city to remind everyone of what she can do to them if she feels like it. This is her better world; Do as I say or watch everyone you’ve ever loved die screaming. Side-bar: I can’t believe I actually missed it because it was right in front of my face... ANOTHER sign of Dany’s end was basically in her beginning. The True King is Ordered and Generative and one of Dany’s most called back points is that she is barren. She’s always been the opposite of generative. * * * * Whoever rules after she’s brought down won’t be doing so from King’s Landing. Its a mass grave. It needs to be buried and markers placed to remember what happened there. If it’s Jon (and I expect it will be) I expect the ending of the series to mirror its beginning... the King comes to Winterfell, only instead of it being to pull the Starks apart, it will coming home to unite them. And really, who else is there? The Great Houses are gutted and what’s left of the characters we actually care about are almost entirely in Jon’s camp. Dany and Greyworm are all that’s left of her camp. Jon, Arya, Sansa, Bran, Davos, Brienne and Pod, Tormund, Sam and Gilly, Tyrion and Bronn are all that’s left of the cast and every last one of them has reason to back Jon once Dany is deposed and many even have authority to back it up. Sam Tarly has as much claim to the Reach as anyone (Cersei made the Tarly’s the new Lords of the Reach) and he loves Jon. Bronn wouldn’t care as long as he gets his castle. Sansa’s the Lady of Winterfell and the one who floated Jon to Tyrion in the first place. Her cousin is Lord of the Vale and easily led. If Sansa’s uncle (or infant cousin) isn’t returned as Lord of the Riverlands then Sansa herself is the next in line. Sansa brings three of the Seven Kingdoms to Jon’s camp all by herself. Dany may have legitimized him, but Gendry bonded with Jon in battle and would support someone who brought down the person who murdered virtually everyone in his home. After betraying Varys and Dany proving Varys right, I expect Tyrion (now Lord of the Westerlands with the death of his older siblings) to be wracked with guilt and looking for some way to do right. Probably by backing Varys’ choice. That leaves the Ironborn and the new rulers in Dorne as the only powers who wouldn’t be already in Jon’s camp and I don’t think they’d have too many objections. Throw in Jon’s lesson in this episode... that it doesn’t matter if he wants the Throne or not. It HAS to be him; the one who absolutely hates the power, but loves the people; or THIS is what will keep happening... and you have the True King archetype in a nutshell. The True King knows that being King isn’t about him or what he wants. It’s about his duty to the people. He is king not to impose his will, but to protect them and give them the ability to grow. Jon, with Sansa (the lover), Arya (the warrior) and Bran (the magician) standing by him is the truest expression of the True King archetype. Throw in Davos as Hand, Sam as Grand Maester and Brienne as head of the Royal Guard and probably got as close to perfect leadership as a place like Westeros is ever going to see.