scarynikki12

I know who won the competition but I haven't watched yet so we'll pretend I don't. Go go USA!

Back from vacation let’s do this. Oscar The Lord getting in Daemon’s face is great. I think Daemon wanted to adopt him in that moment. I hope Oscar names his children Birdie, Hooper, and Cookie. Aegon is a great demonstration of being able to feel bad for someone while finding them repulsive. Love ya Tom. My opinion has always been the dragons are the ones who choose their riders for their own reasons and the Targs just did a mix of really good propaganda and then falling for their own BS. Put Rhaenyra’s handmaiden on her council and this war ends tomorrow. She’s getting shit done and in record time. I know she was in a lake but it would’ve been funny if a shark had eaten Alicent as she floated on the water. Vermithor came out of the shadows like a badass. And then killed a bunch of people. And then found his new human. Guy went from badass to terrifying to cuddly doggy in a few minutes. Dragons are wild. Ulf stepped on (I think) a dragon egg and didn’t get burned? Silverwing must’ve really missed having a human.

Oh Alicent. First you don’t get to be regent and now you’re fully fired from the council. Really regretting your choices aren’t you? It occurred to me during this episode of Daemon’s vision quest how wild it would be if Alys wasn’t doing a damn thing and the Targaryen madness simply decided to reveal itself. Seasmoke was willing and eager to bond again but Darklyn was the wrong guy. Seasmoke: MY new human hangs out on the beach and YOU ARE NOT HIM. Hats off to Aemond for leading Larys to thinking he’d be Hand only to pull the rug out and request Otto’s return. Nicely played. The Maesters are better than I thought. Aegon took direct dragon fire and is already healing much more and better than expected. How to tell this isn’t Game of Thrones? Our Prince Joffrey is a sweetheart. Sending food to Kings Landing was a smart move. And Rhaenyra has a ladyfriend! Did Otto send Daeron away the second he was born? How does Alicent know nothing about him? Her mothering gets worse every episode. He went about it in a cruel way but Larys’ chat managed to get through to Aegon. Aemond earned himself a significant enemy this episode. I love how the Tully family are named after Sesame Street. I’d like to meet Snuffy Tully.

For sure. Tom is so good in the role. Aegon absolutely sucks yet Tom has me wishing they could go back in time and make sure he's raised to be a mischievous but harmless prince who just flies around on Sunfyre all day.

He may be the best choice in the sense that there aren't any good ones but I think he's already doing a bad job by locking everyone in Kings Landing with no food.

Good job, Cristy and Aemond. Parading Meleys' head through the streets of Kings Landing has taught the small folk that the dragons and, by extension, the Targaryens themselves, are not the gods they'd been led to believe. Now the small folk know they're flesh and blood like any other animal and human. Will they do something about it tomorrow? No as they're focused on getting food but the seed is planted and it could lead to an uprising in the shadow of the Red Keep. There's not a single Targ who isn't super creepy when it comes to the Team Incest thing but Daemon manages to be the creepiest of them all. The hallucinations are because of external forces but I think it's his own brain choosing what to see so he's the one deciding to fantasize about screwing his mother. Who knew marrying his own niece would NOT be the creepiest thing about him? I bet Alicent and Cristy aren't done fucking but they're no longer pretending to be friends now that he's sided with Aemond against her. I'll grant her confidence in making a claim to be the Regent but she still managed to be naive in thinking that room would actually vote in her favor. You and your father based your coup on Rhaenyra's vagina so don't act surprised and hurt when they reveal to value yours as little as hers. Jace did well in his meeting with the less disgusting Frey ancestors and his dragon is a pretty shade of green. Once again a stark contrast between Rhaenyra's relationship with her kids and Alicent with hers. Maybe Alicent will turn out to get along well with Daeron whenever he shows up but I doubt it. I don't know if it will occur to any of the Greens to find dragon riders to add support to their cause but I'm so ready to watch Jace and Rhaenyra go searching. Lots of potential. This is episode 5 by the way.

They think if they screw each other they're somehow screwing over Rhaenyra. They both think if Rhaenyra somehow found out she'd be upset. Alicent has the man who originally wanted Rhaenyra and Cristy gets to sleep with Rhaenyra's ex friend. They fail to realize Rhaenyra wouldn't be interested in the slightest if she did find out (if anything she'd see what they're doing right away). She only thinks about Alicent in the sense of their former friendship rather than as a romantic rival and she doesn't think about Cristy on a personal level at all. Remove Rhaenyra and Alicent and Cristy have nothing bringing them together.

That was a nice moment for sure. In a different version of this story Aegon and Sunfyre would spend a lot of their time flying around together and enjoying the sights without a care.

Vhagar has twice ambushed smaller dragons in a clear and open sky which really demonstrates how good she is in battle. She's so big and neither Arrax nor Meleys had an indication as to her presence when she made her final attack. I can only imagine what she was like at her peak. I also think Aemond still doesn't have the kind of bond with her he needs it's just their desires are aligned right now so she's not resisting him.

I really appreciate Alicent telling Aegon to his face he's nothing more than a figurehead. She should have followed up with the truth that he's existence is to ensure the Hightower hold on power but I think he'd have probably attacked her in response so it's wise she didn't. I'm far more entertained by Daemon's vision quest than I thought. He's so freaked out by what he's seeing. It's great. I'm glad Jace feels secure in his position to speak up at the council. It was a nice contrast to Aegon who doesn't care to know things but also wants to be ignorant in charge. Then Rhaenyra told Jace the story. Their relationship also stands out in contrast to the other familial ones on the show including her own with Viserys. This episode really demonstrated why it's a bad idea for the Hand and the Lord Commander to be the same person. Cristy's out fighting battles and there was no one to keep things running in King's Landing and, more importantly, keep Aegon from doing stupid shit. Sunfyre's a pretty dragon. Aegon doesn't deserve him. And I love me some Vhagar but I wish she was just hanging out, watching the fight and eating some popcorn, refusing to fight any more battles. I actually wish all the dragons had refused to fight each other but that was never going to happen. There's no way in hell Aemond didn't know EXACTLY what he was doing when he told Vhagar to dracarys Aegon. He'll pretend his only thought was taking out Meleys but he knew the brother he hates was in the path and called it anyway. We said when Vhagar ate Luke his only recourse was to lean into the Kinslayer title and he did it twice. I know Aegon's not dead because Aemond had drawn his sword to finish the job (up to debate whether it would have been a mercy killing or one he'd relish doing up close). Aemond doesn't have to be successful when he goes after family members, he just needs to make the attempt. Alicent will be so proud. RIP Rhaenys and Meleys. Imagine how things would have been if Jaehaerys and the aristocracy weren't such sexist assholes and let you be queen.

I celebrated July 4th by seeing Jaws in a movie theater. The place was packed and it was a lot of fun. The whole place cheered at "we're gonna need a bigger boat" and then fell deadly silent during the Indianapolis scene. I was surprised how emotional I got when Alex was eaten and I can only assume I was feeding off everyone else feeling sad and sorry for him and his mom. For those like me who were born after the movie came out I really recommend seeing it in theaters.

My first thing about the termite episode is Lorelai's issue should have been getting nothing but bad offers rather than no offer at all. Second, even though she ended up going with Rory's suggestion to involve Emily she was right to be upset with her for bringing it up after expressly told not to. That was one of those moments that demonstrated both how little Lorelai put up boundaries where Rory was concerned (in both good and bad ways) and how easily Rory had already become accustomed to the Gilmore way of life. To Rory the solution was simple: ask the rich grandparents to pay for it. To Lorelai it was complicated: asking her parents for more financial help would come with more strings. And Emily did add more strings in the form of moving her regular DAR meetings to the Inn. Those meetings aren't a big deal to us because we watch the show and know Emily does love Lorelai and has trouble showing it but Lorelai doesn't have this perspective. She thinks her parents look for any way to control her life and she has a point because they always attach something to their generosity even if it's a meeting that Lorelai doesn't have to attend. I wish Lorelai had managed to get the loan on her own. Maybe indirectly due to her parents in the form of meeting with a young loan officer who doesn't know the Gilmores personally but is aware of them being important clients and assumes Lorelai's doing a rich kid thing where she's Trying To Make It On Her Own and indulges her before revealing he gave it to her because of her name after all. Once the papers were signed I think Lorelai would take the loan but hate herself immensely and there's some comedy to be mined from it.

It also lets her continue with the facade of being a Good Person. “I showed Rhaenyra mercy by letting her return to Dragonstone unharmed so I’ve made up for pretending Viserys changed his mind about Aegon and I’m once again a Good Person! Everyone applaud!”

I see it as she both was and wasn't genuine. She was genuine in that she knew nothing of the story so it's easy to misinterpret his final words as being about her son. Where it stops being genuine is her latching onto it as a reason for Aegon becoming king. She'd been trying to displace Rhaenyra since they fell out and had run out of ideas. Then Viserys starts speaking incoherently, which she doesn't seem particularly interested in, and says the magic name: Aegon. Alicent can be forgiven for not going to the Conqueror but Rhaenyra has an Aegon of her own so, if Viserys was having a deathbed change of heart who's to say it wasn't about his grandson Aegon? Grandson Aegon has more of those creepy incest genes the Targs value so much so, for all Alicent knew, he was being named the heir. She just chose the flimsiest piece of "evidence" to support her own desires to see the Hightowers on the throne without sacrificing her reputation for being a Good Person. The fact that literally no one believed her story seems to be lost on her. I want more details on Seasmoke. He's back and seems distressed so are we to think Laenor has died offscreen? Rhaenyra was the master of restraint when Alicent accused her of being a kinslayer. Yes, there was no way in hell Alicent would have believed she had nothing to do with the baby's murder but I would have hit back with Vhagar eating Luke in full view of Storm's End. I can only assume it's relatively normal for septas to join people in prayer or for council from time to time because that's the only reason Rhaenyra talking to Alicent would go unnoticed. Now that they've had their talk it's time for Rhaenyra to move on from Alicent. It would be cool if Alicent became a double agent in exchange for Halaena's, and maybe Daeron's, safety but she's digging in and continuing on with the Greens so Rhaenyra has to let the childhood affection go. Time to go war until you find an accepted avenue for peace.

Genuine question: do any of the characters actually like Cristy? Even Alicent doesn't like him personally. She just uses him as a way to (metaphorically) fuck Rhaenyra and alleviate her own horniness. On Twitter there were rumbles of a surprise cameo which turns out to be either young Rhaenyra or Aemond's dragon but I was so hoping we'd get a flashback to Balerion burning Harrenhal. I mean, Daemon had visions there so let us see the Black Dread in all his glory. Speaking of Harrenhal, that place is a mess. The best thing for it is to just divide up the castle among five or so rich families and turn it into something functional again. I feel bad for Rhaena feeling inadequate for not having a dragon and having to leave with the babies but I hope she takes Baela's words to heart and sees that being trusted with this kind of responsibility is a major point in her favor. And your mom died in childbirth, not because of anything specific to Pentos. She'd have died just the same in King's Landing if that's where she'd been when her contractions started. Aegon just can't help himself in being King Jackass. Shame Lorys talked him out of flying to join the war because he could use a life lesson. I love Rhaenys being the unofficial Hand of the Queen. Those men are way too eager to go to war and I'm wondering if some of them want to use battles as an opportunity to switch sides. The talk between Rhaenyra and Alicent was great. Rhaenyra now knows her father never betrayed her and Alicent was confronted with the truth that family members having the same names as each other can be confusing enough to cause a civil war. Of course, Alicent being Alicent she'll purposefully move the truth of Viserys' death aside and continue on the current path because her whole identity is tied up in being a Good Person and a mistake at this level undermines that. Also I wonder when she'll realize how her and Otto's actions have trapped her? Had she stood by Rhaenyra's claim this whole time and raised her children to do the same she may have been granted an estate far away from Kings Landing and been able to live a happy life.

Oh for sure. They did get him it's just they don't know which one he is. My point is how bad a job they did in the investigation that the big solution was to kill all the rat catchers rather than find out which one is called Cheese. They didn't seem to consider finding out which ones have dogs (assuming dogs aren't common among the catchers) and then finding out which of that group is called Cheese. Blood told them his accomplice was a rat catcher and then all of them were hanging from the walls for the whole of King's Landing to see. It's all good as it's meant to underscore how much Aegon and Cristy suck at this.

Another thing I thought was well done was the twin fight. I assume that was Erryk at the end because there's no reason for his brother to fall on the sword right? Anyway, him taking his own life was sad. Opposite sides or not that's his twin who he literally shared a womb with and he may not have been able to live with himself anyway but also Rhaenyra would have had no way of proving he wasn't his brother so killing himself was really the only choice he had. It was also important for Rhaenyra to see and get the reminder that this war will be breaking up more families than hers. If she wants to win she'll need to be mindful of those losses rather than share similarities to Aegon. Speaking of, Blood quickly and easily gave up Daemon and Cheese so I'm surprised Aegon and Cristy were unable to find the right rat catcher. Do they all have dogs and we only saw the one? Do none of them know each other's name and were unable to point out the guy going by Cheese? Cristy (or whoever) was able to find Blood quickly yet they were stymied by him not being able to recognize his accomplice? Go watch some Columbo and Murder She Wrote reruns and maybe you'll do better should there be a next time.

This episode felt like watching a play at times. This is a compliment. The fights between Daemon and Rhaenyra and Aegon and Otto in particular felt very theater. All the actors did really well. I have to say I wish they'd gone the Purple Wedding route with Daemon hiring Blood and Cheese. What I mean is leave the question of who hired them unconfirmed for the rest of the season. It would have been interesting seeing the Hightowers using the baby's murder to their own advantage without confirmation of who ordered the hit. Otto made a point of not caring if Rhaenyra was actually behind it or not because he saw an opportunity to use it to Aegon's advantage so why not play with it for the season? Especially if they were to sow suspicion as to the possibility of a third party taking advantage of the Greens and Blacks focus on each other. I'm glad Rhaenyra was upset about the murder both because it was a little kid but also on Helaena's behalf. I'm telling you if those sisters had thought to band together they'd easily put the Hightowers in their place. While I appreciate Alicent genuinely caring for Helaena she didn't care enough not to make her take part in that funeral farce. Alicent is interesting to me because there is a caring person buried deep down but the bulk of her personality is tied up in being a Good Person and she'll do anything to keep that facade alive. I wonder if Otto will ever hold up a mirror and make her face her self deception about Viserys choosing Aegon on his deathbed? Otto wasn't even there and he knew that story was bullshit. He just went along with it to advance Hightower interests. I love him basically telling Aegon as much in their fight. Not that Aegon or Cristy will care because they're both invested on him being on the throne and even Viserys' ghost showing up to tell him the truth wouldn't change things.

If any of them do realize her prophecy skills we'll probably get a "if you go to war a great house will fall" (see: The Iliad) and it'll only encourage them to move forward with the war.

I think this is it exactly. Each side will escalate, likely due to the outcome of whatever plan being different than the intent, until most of them are dead. In all likelihood the one left standing will win because they're the one left alive.

I thought Cristyn didn’t want to be anyone’s sex toy? Jace’s trying to hold it together when he returned to Rhaenyra and failing was sad. I’m glad they grieved together. SIGH. I know it would have been too on the nose but Alicent should’ve named her Cassandra. None of these fools will realize they need to be listening to her will they? Daemon for fucks sake! You should have been VERY specific in your orders. That baby did nothing wrong and now YOU’RE the one crossing lines. It won’t happen but I want Haelena to usurp Aegon, forge a treaty with Rhaenyra, and co-rule while Aemon, Daemon, Alicent, and Otto are forced to watch from behind one way glass. It was nice seeing Winterfell and the Wall again.

I saw speculation that Netflix didn't actually sign off on season 4 until the first half of 3 came out. If so, they're stupid, and they better use this long wait to give us an amazing season 4.

Still no Sophie sighting but at least we know we're getting the masquerade ball and Benedict's story next season so I can only hope it happens in the first episode. I wonder if they'll keep the time jump after meeting Ben or if they'll just truncate it? Also people on social media were saying Cressida's mom's name is Araminta but we got nothing of that, or any kind of Sophie related hints, this season so I wonder if someone just made that up. I didn't want to post in the episode 8 thread because it's potential spoilers but I get why they had Francesca react to Michaela the way she did. Yes, book Fran genuinely loved John and only fell for Michael later but her story is also about how the love they shared, while wonderful, did not have passion. She finds passion with Michael and that allows for each relationship to stand on its own rather than offering the opportunity to compare. With regard to the show, I think it will also go a long way toward making non-book readers ok with Michaela when the time comes AS LONG AS they make clear Fran's committed to John even while be attracted to his cousin. Years ago I speculated Fran would not be straight and yay I was right! I'm never right, let me have this. I'm kind of hoping they run her and Eloise concurrently for season 5 which will give Fran enough time to have at least one kid with John before his death and give the Not-Twins time together. I'm also going to need the show's decision maker to get it together and give us actual Anthony and Kate stuff. I know Bailey's availability was limited due to the million things he was filming at the same time but they can only write Anthony and Kate traveling the world so many times before it looks like he should just abdicate to Benedict. I loved Anthony's scene with Gregory last season and his scene with Ben and Colin this season so I'm not asking to see him at clubs or the House of Lords but just some family moments scattered in each episode. And why not let Kate and Violet have fun doing viscountess things together? It's nice of Kate to let Violet continue doing the bulk of it but it would be nice to see her get involved when the family finds themselves in a jam. I'm worried we'll get even less Anthony and Kate next season or, worse, they'll get written out because Violet's there to do the viscountess stuff.

Pen giving some of her money to her sisters for their ball was sweet and she saved Portia's ass in the process. The ball looked beautiful. See, Portia? This is how you take the colors, fashions, and general preferences and make them something truly beautiful. Everyone called Pen having the next Lord Featherington* but I love how her sisters are both delighted with their daughters. Small bone to pick: tell us the baby names! We got little Philomena but nothing for the other two? If you're going to show me some adorable babies (thank you by the way) then I need to call them something!!! I LOVE Eloise joining Francesca in Scotland and I hope we get to see some of it before everyone returns for Violet's masquerade ball. Poor Ben, sad to see his BSF (Best Sister Forever) go but I know we'll get more Swing Talk next season. I'm so mad it's going to take two years before season 4. *They didn't dwell on it but I love that Varley's forging skills are so good the inspector was totally unable to prove the documents were fake. The true hero of this show.

So we’re getting a Hunger Games prequel set during Quarter Quell 2, aka Haymitch’s Games. That and the March release date is all the information so far so here are my hopes/theories: I expect we’ll get Haymitch’s POV but I think we’ll get Maysilee as well. I’m curious about the other two tributes from 12 so I hope we get something significant from them beyond names and how they die. Like Ballads I think we’ll get more outside of the Games. I can’t imagine Collins will leave out the murders of Haymitch’s mom, brother, and girlfriend so we’ll get the tragedy of the Victor gaining fame and fortune while losing everything. Our final scene with Haymitch may be him getting blackout drunk for the first time though the book will likely end elsewhere. I hope we get some details on how the volunteer process actually works. 1, 2, and 4 will be sending twelve tributes, all of whom I expect will have been on the Career path, so the volunteering must have been more dramatic than other years. Let’s see it! All Hunger Games stories so far have centered on 12 even though people are clamoring for stories about other areas and characters in Panem, Finnick being the most popular. I think the only reason we keep getting the books is because Collins wants to have an actual story to tell rather than an easy cash grab so it’s possible she’s only having luck finding a story she wants to tell when she thinks about 12 and the people living there. You know the Lionsgate executives are doing cartwheels around the office today so I hope the inevitable movie is given the same approach as Ballads.