Lady S.

Updated for 1.04 (I left the name of Alicent's second baby blank since it annoyingly wasn't mentioned in the ep. That's how much I'm trying to avoid spoiling anyone.)

Apparently the castle wall pornography includes dragons in the orgies, which lends credence to the theory that Valryian dragon magic involved actual draconic fucking to create that blood of the dragon power.

I don't think so. Her change in career seemed like new information that he was too hungover to absorb. I read it as the first time they'd seen each other in a while. I've seen others thinking the two of them planned the boy's spying on Rhaenyra, but that doesn't make any sense to me, in part because it would be a terrible plan. I can't imagine Daemon wanting the news to go through Ser Otto or lying on the floor with a knife at his throat to make his bid for Rhaenyra's hand. I also just don't think he's a particuarly cunning schemer type. The proto-Varys hustle is Mysaria's own thing, and this time working against his interests. It occurs to me that as Rhaenyra straight-up lied about Daemon never touching her (sworn on her mother's memory! as Viserys swore she wouldn't be supplanted), Daemon was actually more truthful. He never outright confirmed the allegations and claimed he had pooped her cherry, just said it was better her experience be with him. And I bet that definetely was a night of first experiences for her. If not first kiss, first heavy makeout with a man, first time getting felt up top and bottom, first time getting so horny etc. Yeah, that's what I meant. He doesn't have to be a mind reader but they've known each other four years at this point, with him always at her side. He probably knows her well enough not to fear she'd turning into a raging woman scorned who'd make the rest of his life a living hell to serve if he insisted on leaving her bedroom for very good reason. I don't think it was a pure penis-thinking Jaime Lannister experience either, though. His lingering look at the white cloak was not subtle, it was a consideration of honor vs. temptation. I'd compare it more to Jon Snow with Ygritte. Except Jon had even more immediate threat to his life from his undercover mission, with Ygritte saying he had to prove his loyalty by fucking her. All three sex scenes were meant to bring some level of discomfort, I think, with only the two involving Rhaenyra having any sexyness. One scene involved a scabby older man grunting on top of his dead-eyed teen wife, another was an uncle trying to corrupt his teen niece in a brothel surrounded by witnesses, and the last was a bodyguard sleeping with his teen girlboss. I know the Viserys/Alicent one was most uncomfortable for me where it was clear there was 0 desire on her part, only unpleasant duty, whereas there did feel like reciprocal desire in the last scene. And it's easy to find that one refreshing and least bad when the two are unrelated, he's not old enough to be her father, and Rhaenyra not thinking of the consequences for her partner does not compare to Daemon having ulterior motives, knowingly trying to corrupt her and only stopping when her looking at him with love in her eyes made him go soft. By the end of the ep, Rhaenyra switched out her Daemon necklace for a different one. So I think she's over Daemon for the moment and ready to move on, looking happy to see Criston the next morning. Poor guy must have been nervous when he was escorting her to meet Viserys, though. For any remaining Rhaenicent shippers: was Alicent so hurt by her father's allegations because she was jealous of Rhaenyra's sexual freedom or because she was jealous Rhaenyra had a lover who wasn't her? The jealousy is definitely there, that was not just about concern for Rhaenyra's marriageabilty on Viserys's behalf. The bluntness of saying Rhaenyra was accused of fucking Daemon was striking. I found it funny Viserys's initial response to hearing she snuck out to a brothel was whatever. Like she can take in a sex show if she wants, no big deal, just live versions of the wall art, but it's unthinkable she'd do anything more. Someone earlier mentioned her comfort in taking charge of sex positions, but really isn't it more surprising she was so good at taking off all that armor? Was she spending her younger years as a squire as well as king's cupbearer? (Nice that she graduated to a seat at the council table this ep, btw.)

We're talking about the casting of real people of color, so yeah, I think other real people are relevant. I've never heard that Meghan Markle's mother is biracial, only that she is, but I'm not comfortable nitpicking her ancestry either. The salient point is Laenor's actor is no darker than she is, so no, I don't think it's implausible that any children he had with Rhaenyra would be even lighter-skinned and "white-passing". Which is not to say there's no danger, but the hair color really is the sticking point as both Rhaenyra and Laenor have Valyrian hair and it's surely a recessive trait so neither should carry genes for dark hair. A white-passing white-blond kid would probably be fine, though.

True, she didn't fuck Daemon, though only because he physically couldn't go through with it. But she was very much lying when she said he never touched her, that she did nothing, that she would never, and that she asked to go home before the brothel. The fact that she then fucked Criston after Daemon got her all revved up is just another bomb waiting to go off and will only make her earlier lies seem worse. Alicent made a fair assumption based on Rhaenyra's words and I doubt she'd care about the technicalities if she learns she was misled. Sorry for being unclear. I'm only talking about Rhaenyra's culpability and intent, not that he is a mind reader. What she is likely to do and what she actually did is relevant when considering how guilty she is of taking advantage and how much she meant to. I don't want to victim blame but if we want to assess Ser Criston's motives, his actions are also relevant. He tried to leave only before she kissed him, when it seemed she was only playing a silly game. Then he whispered stop without mentioning any of the many reasons sex would be a bad idea. He shouldn't have to, yes, but when his career and very life could be on the line, it might be a good idea to argue a little more. This leads me to think his hesitance was about a conflict between honor and desire moreso than not wanting to be with her and acting purely out of fear of her displeasure. We'll know more about the aftermath later, and ymmv, that's all I wanna say after too much rape arguments in the GoT days. My point is, almost everyone's concent is compromised here so it's a bit odd for people to be thinking Criston a unique victim while wondering why Rhaenyra can't just marry whoever she's told, spread her legs and bear it like Alicent, and all the while risk her life as her mother did. (I'm speaking generally here, it just feels like a mood.) It sucks for Criston that she is his boss and he can't marry her, but so long as they're better at secret-keeping than the Lannicest twins...well, admittedly that is a big if. Yeah, the old guy was an earlier Lord Beric Dondarrion, according to the subtitles. I also spotted a guy wearing the Frey sigil in the line of suitors. Any kid of Laenor/Rhaenyra's would be 1/4 black, 3/4 white in our skin color terms. Take a look at Prince Harry's kids if you want a real example of what that looks like. Laenor is hardly any darker than Meghan Markle.

Just rewatched the ep and then the inside the ep, where they confirm Daemon couldn't keep it up because deep down he knew it was wrong. But they also suggest he wasn't expecting it to go that far, that his sex-ed demonstration was also meant to shock and he didn't really expect her to get to so turned on that she'd want sex too. Which is pretty brazen of her, come to think of it, as they were surrounded by witnesses. Yes, but would Rhaenyra even want the embarassment of the conversation, even if Viserys believed her? And she was only blocking the door for a minute, he had time to grab the helmet and get out of there. Or leave the helmet, it wasn't that important. Very unlikely Rhaenyra would go snitch about him laying hands on her and then invite questions as to why. Maybe if Criston firmly and consistently said no, Rhaenyra would have ordered him to fuck her, but that's not what happened. I don't think she was thinking in those terms at all so much as assuming he wanted her. There is a power imbalance comprosing his consent but I just don't see it as quite the same as between a male royal and a female servant. And Rhaenyra's disregard of the smallfolk's opinion was prompted by their wish for a cock on the throne, so I don't find that too unsympathetic either. Then again, morally impurity in a character is a good thing and maybe fans shouldn't be looking for who deserves a thrones when nobody actually deserves to be a powerful monarch.

Disappointed we didn't get to see the new tapestries mentioned. Maybe whoever gave them are the same people keeping them supplied in wallside erotica.

She had just been watching demonstrations with Daemon, but yeah. Jon Snow and his tongue were also experts on the first try, must be a perk of the blood of the dragon. He also had a means of refusal by threatening to tell. It's too bad he was 2nd choice to her uncle but he did seem to want it after the hesitant stop. Maybe not, but it was really the only thing he could say once caught. I did wonder whether he had second thoughts on deflowering her when he was in no position to marry her or just went limp again. Surely the man has completed sex with a woman at some point in his life. And finding out Rhaenyra lied to her about her virginity unless that somehow stays secret. When Rhaenyra talked about not wanting to end up like her mother I find it very hard to dismiss it as selfishness after we all watched her mother die horribly. Alicent meant well last week speaking of how "easy" birth turned out to be, but hearing how much better than Aemma she is at babymaking would not be comforting, more like salt in the wound. And as Aemma's daughter Rhaenyra has reason to expect her luck more than her ex-bff/stepmom's. At least Rhaenyra apologized to Alicent for her comment about the unromance of royal marriage. Alicent referred to the Targ "queer customs" after Otto tried to marry Rhaenyra off to her toddler half-brother. I think that was the exact moment Viserys realized Otto's opportunism, the suggestion being in such contrast to his thinking 12yo Laena was too young to wed.

I don't see Daemon burning his own kid to death either. Other people's kids, sure, but a man's got to have limits.

I doubt any of us would say Daemon is a good man or that his word could be trusted but I'd say the differences between him and Ramsay kinda do matter when Daemon's detractors imply he'd kill his own brother to improve his position, something only the likes of Ramsay and Euron did in the main series.

Does he, though, or will he just do anything for attention and is desperate for any recognition? Being king now would mean murdering Viserys and/or Rhaenyra, hardly any less dishonorable than what he's already done, and last ep he showed an unwillingness to harm Rhaenyra or allow anyone else to even shit talk the king. I think he would have been happy if Viserys just gave him more responsibility and listened to him instead of Otto. Not saying he'd be a good Hand, obviously he'd be a terrible at ruling, but I think Viserys had some basis for doubting his ambition for the throne in the pilot. Daemon trying to be a badass but actually being a blowhard and pathetic nuisance is part of what makes him interesting. This is a guy who fucks his mistress with fans looking on then goes limp and pulls out to hide under a blanket and be consoled that his brother loves him. A guy who throws a fuck that dead baby party and then sits moping during the orgy until his mistress and his men pump him up to make his tasteless toast. A guy who called himself the rightful heir and Prince of Dragonstone, yes, while lying about expecting a child in a pointless bid for his brother's attention after his seizure of Dragonstone got ignored for half a year. He's got all the short-sighted amoral violence of a Lannister, the pouty broddyness of a Stark, and all the drama-queen energy of a Targ, but none of this makes him a serious contender for the Iron Throne in his own right.

I'd more readily compare it to Dany roasting the slavers after saying she'd sell them Drogon. Daemon cutting the Crabfeeder in half is still a better death than Ramsay flaying all those ironmen to death or the Crabfeeder's own method of killing enemies.

Ah, good, someone else noticed all the porno tapestries in the royal chambers. I keep forgetting to mention that. Maybe interior decorator was one of Daemon's busy-work jobs before being given command of the goldcloaks. Yeah, that was Corlys's brother being called uncle and calling him nephew. It was also confusing because I don't think anyone called Laenor by name and he was wearing a helmet on dragonback. But I'm glad to see dragonsaddles and armor for the riders in battle. That was one of many, many things that annoyed me about the choices wrt later seasons Dany. I can also buy that Daemon is a good warrior but a mediocre strategist and wouldn't care about dragging the war out when he has nothing else going on in his life. I'm sure he also wanted to slay the Crabfeeder himself and finding some way to defeat them by sealing up the caves would not appeal to him. It was only when he learned Viserys thought he'd lose without royal help that he had a fire lit under him and incentive to end the fighting for good. There were multiple islands mentioned in the ep like Bloodstone and Dwarfstone House Royce is a near equivalent as the most powerful of the Arryn bannermen. And given that the Targs' first choice is marrying within the family, anything else would be a big step down for them. As Viserys said, they don't really think of needing outside strength. The Velaryon kids' real perk is their blood, already half-Targ through Rhaenys and still Valyrian through Corlys. His wealth and ships are an added bonus, made especially valuable by circumstances of the war. Yeah, that was the exact plan Laenor suggested, saying Daemon would be the one brave enough to be bait. He was still suicidally reckless since as noted, the dragon swooped down in the very last moment before he could be killed, and it was plot armor protecting him. Dying victoriously in a last charge would have seemed better to him than being saved by Viserys. Speaking of arrogant dicks, was drunk Viserys even aware he'd made a pun saying of Lord Lannister that "that man's pride has pride"? (Get it, lions and their pride.) Saying Lord Strong's (non-crippled) son was the strongest knight was too much for me, though. Fitting that the Lannister lord provided the killing spear for the royal stag and was so eager to see it dead. With all the other ancestral characters, maybe that boar who attacked Rhaenyra was somehow related to the one that ended up killing Robert. ETA: Rhaenyra saying a man would not content her and being sullen and heartbroken for 3 years can be further fodder for all you Rhaenicent shippers.

According to the bts vids, yes, though it does seem like pointless backstory if it's not made clear onscreen and doesn't affect the plot. Convenient for Daemon then that it's unlikely any of the witnesses to his false surrender survived. Updated for 1.03

That was Ser Laenor Velaryon, son of Princess Rhaenys. He turned into a grown-ass man in the 3.5 years since the pilot. Needlessly confusing when they could have had a teen actor riding on dragonback. Presumably the Queen Who Never Was has a dragon too, if her children can claim them, as she was the one raised as a Targ by name. Forgot to say I love that bit of obvious symbolism about who's meant to be king. Even more on the nose than Viserys breaking his toy dragon last week. The house of the dragon is already cracking and Alicent can't really fix it. They couldn't marry into the Targ family so later they just replaced and imitated them in incest.

Identical twin Lannisters this time. Now that won't get confusing, I'm sure. This is just like when Tommen 2.0 was the same actor who played one of the cousins murdered at Riverrun the season before. (The Lannisters twins/Ser Hugh actor was also Torstein on Vikings. He's using a different name now, but IMDb says it's the same person.) I know boys' puberty growth spurts are sudden and weird but that is still a huge change for Laenor Velaryon from the pilot to now. Some soap-opera kinda aging to have suddenly him looking older than Rhaenyra while her actress is still the same. (My theory is they want Rhaenyra still looking young when/if Daemon starts outright hitting on her.) The pilot showed us what a royal tourney looks like with a bigger budget. Now we see what a royal hunt should look like, not just Robert and Renly wandering on foot in the woods with just Lancel and Barristan.

It's actually GRRM's own nickname from his blog. I like to think an old man who wrote some many dirty scenes is well aware how Hot D sounds. There are other extras on HBOMax when you click on each episode.

Nah, it was Aemma. At first I thought that was unborn Rhaenyra, but when she mentioned her 5 failed pregnancies, that made more sense. The Old King was said to already be in failing health, so unless he surprised them to rally out a few more years, there probably wasn't much gap between the Great Council and his death, so Rhaenyra would already be 3 or 4. You don't need anyone's permission, pal. There are people out there who shipped Theon/Ramsay, so it takes all sorts and this pairing looks squeaky clean in comparison. At least stepmom is not a blood relationship, so in that sense it could still seem the best of Rhaenyra's romantic prospects.

Yeah, I don't blame her for going along with her family's plans, as the Catelyns and Margaerys of this world do. But as far as betraying Rhaenyra, I don't agree that she could have said nothing. Viserys would hardly punish her for letting the secret slip, dude gives everyone a slap on the wrist unless they make a tasteless dead baby joke, and it has to be about his dead baby. She could have explained to him why she felt Rhaenyra had a right to know and he would have listened. Or better yet, advise him to tell her himself and not blindside her. One would think he'd know that himself since he knew they were close enough for him to keep asking her how Rhaenyra was feeling, and worry how she would feel about his secret growing closeness with Alicent, yet he thought suddenly making that relationship official would go off without a hitch. The man isn't a total moron, but he does need support when it comes to hard choices and awkward conversations. When Rhaenyra says she knows there are already plots to re-marry her father and make a new heir, Alicent's all "lords' and kings' matters are none of my business, wouldn't know anything about that", then tests out what Rhaenyra really thinks of the prospect of a (nameless) stepmother. When that gets no response, she just encourages Rhaenyra to make the effort with her father, to follow Alicent's example as a dutiful daughter. All of that is her actively choosing Viserys over Rhaenyra, not acting out of fear of Viserys as much as acting to keep her best chances with him. I don't hate her for it, but I don't think she's meant to a 100% victim nor a 100% selfish temptress/ambitious social climber. I think Otto and Alicent had some warning, since Alicent was the only person there not normally invited to council meetings. There was no other reason for her to be there, which just makes Viserys not telling Rhaenyra the full truth even worse. Again, I don't think the man is that stupid, just a weak-willed coward. I do also wonder what Otto actually wanted her approach to be with Viserys. I don't think he imagined them playing with toys and talking of grief and history together with no real flirtation. Alicent basically secured that match all by herself because she wasn't comfortable with a more open and purposeful courtship. And I doubt the guy who wasted no time after the first Queen's death before launching his marriage plot would have been any more patient if his own daughter was only 12. A lot of his success is probably just due to already having the full-trust of an easily-manipulated king, a uniquely advantageous position.

I was thinking a different Lannister/Stark pairing: Tyrion/Jon in s1. Tyrion told Jon truths he didn't want to hear about being a bastard and the Night's Watch, with some wry bitterness about the subjects and what he thought he and Jon had in common. Rhaenys did say she wished it could be so when Rhaenyra naively and kind of arrogantly said she'd make a whole new order when she was Queen. Yeah, that was the cleverness of his plot, he made Viserys think choosing Alicent was his own idea because he knew her and she "enjoyed his company". Given Viserys didn't really want to re-marry, I wonder if his proposal to Alicent was just a way to refuse Corly as his choosing Rhaenyra as heir was provoked by his anger at Daemon. In which case Corlys' more open and blunt approach only helped Otto. In other matters, Otto only seems to shoot himself in the foot. We're told in the pilot that making Daemon commander of the goldcloaks was his own idea, and only later did he realize he'd given the guy a private army. He was the one who first suggested making Rhaenyra heir, the very same night he first sent Alicent to woo Viserys. Once Alicent is Queen, he'll surely rue Rhaenyra's position as she'll resent Alicent's. And in this ep, he went to face Daemon on his own and somehow just clean forgot the dude has a dragon?! Manipulating the king and ordering his daughter around is definitely his strong suit. Updated for ep 1.02 Btw, I'm glad we've all decided to call that rogue prince "Matt Daemon".

I just watched the premiere for the 3rd time and when they march out and divide, there's a whole crowd of people right there being marched past and ignored. When the chopping's done and the sequence ends there's again a crowd of people looking on, with all their limbs intact. And the lack of variety is what really what makes it feel not random. From what we saw it was mostly theivery accusations, with one castration for rape, and one beheading for murder, which feels like a realistic crime rate. If they were just acting for funsies, I'd expect much more mixing it up.

Yeah, sorry about that, I think the family tree is fixed now.

Fwiw, the actresses have said they are aware of the subtext in their scenes and had talked about it with one of the directors. So the vibes were intentionally played up for the drama of this plot twist.

I think that's exactly what it was. The blood symbolizing the doom of Old Valyria and foreshadowing the future downfall of House Targaryen. Yeah, how did it not occur to him that she needed to be warned not just that he'd be re-marrying but specifally that he wanted to marry her friend? In that sense the 12yo cousin(yuck) is better for Rhaenyra as she could perhaps dominate a younger child-stepmother, but the reality is a personal betrayal where she loses her best friend to father. Rhaenys was harsh but speaking truth with Rhaenyra. Lords ordered to bend the knee to an heiress is not the same as voting to choose their next monarch. I feel like the point of the Great Council prologue scene is a) would it have been better if Rhaenys inherited? since Viserys doesn't really like being king and gets physically hurt each time he sits the throne and b) maybe the only way Viserys could secure a peaceful succession would have been following grandpa's example to call another Great Council. Otherwise, he is kinda a hypocrite ignoring the very precedent which is the only reason he wears the crown. I too have no idea what Daemon was playing at, other than fucking with Viserys/Otto, but perhaps he didn't have much idea beyond that either. Good to know he'll shit-talk his bro but won't let anyone else do so. That's already more family loyalty than the GoT-era Baratheon bros. Also good that Rhaenyra had valid reasoning for choosing Ser Criston beyond all his obvious prettiness.