RobertDeSneero

I can give a plausible reason for why Rhaenys let them live, I think. The instinct of the Gold Cloaks was to close the doors. Otto is yelling at them to open the doors because he wants Rhaenys to have an exit lane so that she will just leave. Do you think he wants the doors open because he wants as many smallfolk lives to be saved? He just doesn't want to put her in a situation where she has to fight her way out because he dies in that scenario. If Rhaenys cooks up some Green barbecue, the doors will be closed, she will be trapped, and there will be a strong possibility that she and her dragon will be killed. She doesn't want that. Aegon and company are hostages. She demonstrates that she can kill them if she isn't given a way out. In the background, the doors stop closing. Once her off-ramp is confirmed, she sticks to the terms of her unspoken deal, that they get to live so long as she gets to escape, and flies off.

Ser Criston's only gotten laid once in his life, right?

At this point, I want to kill Aegon, kill Rhaenyra, kill Daemon, make Rhaenys queen and Aemond her heir and let Aemond decide what to do with the Strong bastards.

Maybe they're setting up a contrast where Rhaenyra is quite the opposite next week and wants to rain down fire and death on the Greens.

I think it's implied that mithril's qualities stem from "light". Gil-Galad seems to believe that the existence of mithril proves that a Silmaril was hidden in the tree, suggesting that the key ingredient is the light of the Two Trees contained within the Silmaril. Elrond's retelling says merely that some claimed it was hidden there, but the song says that a mighty elf poured "all of his light"--his life?--into the tree, so maybe it doesn't come from a Silmaril. Whichever explanation, it makes sense that this light captured by mithril could be helpful to replenish the "fading light of the Eldar". Maybe this leads to Sauron crafting the One Ring by stealing the light within an elf, killing them. It is also possible that the mithril in the show has a unique origin due to the Balrog and the lightning --what if the Valar sent special lightning?--and that there previously had been some sort of mithril, called something else at the time, that was made directly from the light of the Two Trees rather than indirectly, so had different qualities and may not have been obviously recognized as the same substance.

Regarding inheritance in Westeros, Martin has said it is uncodified and irregular. It sounds like it defaults to male-preference primogeniture, but this can be overruled. Someone can designate their own heir different from the traditional succession. This seems to require confirmation by the crown. The crown can also overrule either the traditional or designated heir. Of course, overruling either traditional or declared succession could cause the displaced to wish to contest the succession, which may lead to armed conflict, so a wise ruler usually needs a good reason to approve a change in inheritance.

I wouldn't hate it if they build up Rhaenyra only to pull the rug out from under viewers and make her a mad queen who becomes increasingly paranoid and murderous so that the audience thinks she deserves her book ending.

I remember when GoT renamed the character Asha Greyjoy as Yara because they thought viewers would be confused because the show already had an Osha. Book readers were mad that fans were basically being called stupid. Were the showrunners actually right?

I think she can accept Rhaenyra as heir. What she cannot abide by in any way is Jace as Rhaenyra's heir. I'm absolutely certain his plan for the ending was a Dany heel turn out of nowhere after a defeat of the White Walkers, with Jon ending up having to go against her. Was there a way to do the last season in a way that pleased fans while keeping that key element?

Aegon and Aemond act like they should be Daemon's sons. Aegon would have laughed at "heir for a day". Helaena is the Luna Lovegood of the Martinverse. Rhaenys accept the marriages for the sake of avoiding war. Baelq and Rhaena are a bit older than their betrothed, but I suppose not too old. Alicent treated the serving girl exactly how I expected she would, but also like she's paid off so many girls to quietly leave that she always keeps a pouch of money ready for the inevitable next one. Someone in Westeros needs to invent the male chastity belt.

This doesn't feel like a question that needs to be answered this season. Or even next season.

Is it worse to employ two murderers or to marry one?

If Rhaenyra hadn't birthed her brood of bratty bastards, Alicent wouldn't feel danger for her children and herself. Instead, Rhaenyra had to produce her plain-faced sons, which calls into question the legitimacy of their succession. Even if Alicent wanted to support Rhaenyra, everyone with a grievance is going to use the obviousness of those transgressions as justification for opposition and some sort of conflict is inevitable. Because Rhaenyra lacked self-control and because she couldn't figure out a way for Laenor to impregnate her, she practically guaranteed a civil war. Rhaenyra prioritized her own sexual satisfaction over the many lives that will be lost in the coming war. Much of the suffering that is obviously coming in the rest of the show is all her fault. Any town that gets set on fire is all her fault. The deaths of any of her children are all her fault. She had a duty to not f--- around and now she's going to find out. Alicent is just trying to make sure her children won't be among those lives lost. Forced to play the game of thrones, she is merely doing what she has to do to try to win and not die.

I'm a fan of shows not trying to explain every little detail, leaving room for fan theories. Having little things to debate that are never fully resolved make books/show/movies better.

She taunted him by saying "I knew you couldn't finish". I think there's a clear implication that he had failed to finish in the bedroom.

Maybe my view is overly colored by modern politics, but why shouldn't someone who colors within the lines and does what duty requires be angry at the person who never gets punished for doing wrong things and always gets away with perpetuating some big lie that affects how the realm is to be ruled. Alicent is completely justified in being mad.

Did anyone else feel like Bam Bam was flirting with Boone?

I feel like Daemon is the kind of guy who would let Rhaenyra plan this sort of ending for Laenor because it would make her happy, then secretly fly to Essos to kill Laenor to tie up loose ends.

I can understand Alicent wanting an eye for an eye in the heat of the moment--in her place, I probably would, too--but given time, she turned down the offer from Larys to do it for her. I don't think that's as bad as Daemon killing some random guy who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Kids fight. Bloody noses happen. Where it went wrong was someone introducing a dagger into the mix. That goes beyond letting kids be kids.

Who he is dating will turn out to be a suspect or a victim in an NCIS investigation and/or a possible spy.

Which elf were they going to send to carry a message to Linden?

No one important died during those ten years. Someone has to die each episode.

I see it as a compromise. Elrond will not lie to his king, who seems to know the answer anyways, but he won't break his promise, so he's pleading the Fifth.

I think it's pretty clear that she had no desire to see them killed and was appalled at what Larys did. Now that it's done, it's clear she has few allies and has to accept her flawed options.

Since Cameron's grandparents mentioned Nifheim, I wonder if they are creature of Norse mythology and....not human? Looks like we're going to see a bunch of people converging in the tunnels next episode and hijinks will ensue. Maybe the Crocks will probably find a reason to go there.