scarynikki12

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.

He’ll yeah!

Agreed though Rory wouldn't have fit that job either as many behind the desk newscasters get that position based on their previous work. I'm friendly with a journalist in my city who worked for years doing investigative pieces around town before landing the desk job. And that's local news not national/international like Rory wanted. Even if we apply this model to Rory, let's say she gets a job at a paper or station in Hartford. At first glance, great fit right? She's in a place she's comfortable and close to family. But you know the second her editor or producer assigned her a story about anything negative about Hartford society she'd meltdown. Any assignment that had even the slightest personal connection would render her unable to do her job because she'd instantly go into "no one is allowed to see me in a negative light" mode.

When the show started Rory wanted to be a journalist ala Amanpour and Paris wanted to go into cancer research. During college they should have swapped career goals. Paris 100% should have been a journalist while Rory should have gone into research. Imagine if Paris discovered she wasn't into her pre-med courses at all while Rory discovered, for example, the chemistry class she signed up to fulfill her science requirement was not only her highest grade of the semester but the one she enjoyed the most. I could have been an interesting story having them run parallel to each other before realizing they were suited to the other's coursework. And it could have been incremental. First they're both in denial and only slightly shift: Rory starts taking more science classes while Paris takes more takes more journalism/journalism related classes and they lie to themselves that they're just adjusting their goals (Rory now thinking she'll be a science journalist while Paris claims she'll need this foundation for publishing her research findings). By season 5, instead of melting down because she couldn't cut it Rory is faced with the reality she should have an actual science career while Paris does the same with journalism. The fight with Lorelai is because Rory tells her all this expecting "no journalism is your dream and you shouldn't change course" placating and instead is encouraged to chart the new path while E/R encourage her to stay the course. Meanwhile Paris gets cut off for changing course (this one is weaker as neither parent was a doctor but she lost her money in the show and getting cut off makes way more sense) but plows ahead. Even that stupid Rory Gilmore building could have been a demonstration of support by the Gilmores once they accepted the change. I can so see Paris traveling the world and pissing people off left and right but getting the story. I can also see Rory being comfortable and happy pouring over data and coming to conclusions.

I love how petty the Inferno is. Dante didn't like you in fiction or reality? Sucks for you, your ass is going to hell. Love it. Brutus and Cassius being chewed on by Satan makes sense when you consider the assassination of Caesar was the third most famous example of betrayal Dante would have known and them joining Judas in punishment by the ultimate betrayer drives home how that was the worst of all the sins. I think Dido, Helen, and Cleopatra were unfairly placed. Even though an argument can be made Cleo was right where she should be (Marc was there with her if memory serves), or that she got off easy in her placement, I think it was just Dante being "famous foreign woman having famous affairs with two leaders of Rome and not feeling shameful=whore". History tends to look as Helen as a whore for making the best of being kidnapped and held hostage during the war. Virgil wrote that Troy was the ancestor of Rome so she's being doubly punished for being the "reason" for countless deaths and the fall of the city/state. I've wondered if Dido's placement was due to Dante maybe conflating Virgil's underworld with his modern day concept of hell? Students to this day will make that mistake and get corrected so Dante could have done the same. Dido got shafted in The Aeneid and, I argue, Virgil was sympathetic to her character and story. He makes a point of having Aeneas run into her in the underworld as the way he learns of her death and her refusing to speak to him (for Regency fans, she basically gives him the cut direct) while he tries to engage. In this epic poem about the founding of the great Roman republic, soon to be empire, Virgil takes the time to makes clear the hero mistreats his love and gets emotionally punished for it. I know Dante would argue he put her in the Lust category because he was being kind (she killed herself and could have been placed in the Seventh circle) but she belonged in the "didn't know Christ" level. I'd have placed all three ladies in that circle. If fucking CAESAR was allowed to be there then they should have been as well. In spite of this I fucking love The Inferno. I love how Dante revealed each circle, the punishments and inmates), and I especially love the Ninth circle and descriptions of Satan. The ultimate sinner is trapped in ice, desperately trying to escape and return to Paradise, only for further trap himself by hardening the ice with each flap of his wings. So good.

Oh hell yes

One book change I would welcome is if only select Bridgertons learn about Pen being Lady Whistledown. Book Lady W wrote far less inflammatory gossip about the ton and Pen barely survived societal ruin. Show Lady W has been vicious* to the point I cannot see Pen, and anyone associated with her, not getting permanently exiled from the ton. What I can see is Colin finding out, and dealing with that before their Happily Ever After, and Pen makes a point to be kinder in her column. *I'm not arguing if she was or wasn't justified just that they were more vicious than the book version.

I think the reason Benedict is once again getting a mistress is to set up his story with Sophie. Whatever else they change I think they're going to keep him wanting to initially make her his mistress and her refusal out of a desire not to repeat her mother's life. Him having multiple mistresses before Sophie enters his life is to set up that part of the story.

Pour one out for a legend.

I like him already.

Pacino's "my eyes see Oppenheimer" makes me wonder if he forgot his reading glasses and couldn't read the prompter?

Oppenheimer cruises to Best Picture.

Pacino is a huge theater nerd so I wouldn't object to him actually doing some Shakespeare.

I thought it was Lily or Emma but Lily winning SAG had me thinking she'd take it tonight and I guess Emma agreed.