S01.E02: The Rogue Prince

[Guest]

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Episode Synopsis:

Princess Rhaenyra dives deep into the prophecies about House Targaryen while confronting a realm that resists the idea of a woman on the Iron Throne, and Prince Daemon, embittered over being passed over as the heir to Westeros, prepares to go to war.

Reminder: 

This is for discussion of the TV show only, no book talk allowed - including saying "but it's different in the books". Any other spoilers (previews, media articles,etc) and HotD extras (After The Episode, Behind The Scenes, etc) should be in spoiler tags.  

[Meredith Quill]

We haz opening credits! 

Poor Rhaenyra, everyone is being a dick to her.

Dragonstone: I don't really know what Daemon is playing at.

StepStones: I don't understand what The Sea Snake is playing at.

Marriage: I 100% know what Otto has been playing at...

[Constantinople]

Well look who was pimping their 12 year old daughter now?

But hey, she wouldn't have to bed Viserys until she turns 14.

[mac123x]

Hey everyone, it's been 6 months since the queen's death!  In case you didn't catch that the first time, they kept repeating it.  

Good acting all around, especially the King and Daemon of course.

Corlys's wig is just awful.  I guess it's appropriate that he's Master of Ships since he has a deck swabbing mop on his head.  It takes me out of the scene every time I see it.

1 hour ago, SilverStormm said:

We haz opening credits! 

What was that?  I t looked like blood pouring through the King's playset and sort-of-but-not-really activating some gears. 

[nilyank]

The King should have told his daughter that he was going to marry her best friend and not her cousin.

[Jaundiced Eye]

Rhaenyra is a bad ass, no doubt about it. This is going to get very interesting. So far, I'm in 100%. 

[ferjy]

They changed the intro! I have to go watch it more closely. I’m not sure about the blood (I would have expected a stream of fire!) but I have to admit it was great to hear the beloved GoT theme, A Song of Ice and Fire. I do believe I got (pardon the pun) a bit emotional! 

I liked this episode so much more than the first. Not sure if the theme song perked me up or whether it was actually better this week. But it held my interest more. 

Otto was NOT happy when the Grand Maester agreed with the Lady Laena alliance. It was apparent what he was after. And he won in the end. 

[AntFTW]

Didn't realize I posted in the Book Talk thread 🤣

Interesting episode. I actually liked this episode better than I liked the first one.

Imagine your best friend marrying your father. Wow!

Whatever the opening titles were depicting, it went over my head.

[Jaundiced Eye]

Did anyone follow what was going on with all the crabs? Were people being staked to the ground and eaten alive? These were Corlys' men from one of his fleet?

[peridot]

Not only was Alicent was maneuvering her way into being the Queen, she was using information from her conversations with Viserys to push Rhaenryra into reconciling with her father.  She was already acting like a stepmother, and not as a friend.  I don't care if she tears her fingers to bits, it was a shitty move to spring this on her supposed friend.  Viserys is shitty too, for making Alicent keep their conversations secret.  He can't be a moron, right? He had to know that it was all due to Otto's wishes?

Wow at Corlys pushing his 12 year old daughter into marrying the king.  When it was said she was young, I wasn't expecting for her to be that young.  It's interesting that Rhaenys didn't agree with pushing her daughter forward. 

I'm glad Rhaenyra pushed back against Otto trying to have her removed from the meeting on the bridge.  What the hell was he going to do, when she has a dragon at her command?!  I'm glad she was able to de-escalate.  Otto just seems like a smug bastard, he thought he could just shit-talk Daemon with no consequence, knowing that he had a dragon at his command?  He's way too big for his britches.  I wanted Corlys to punch him when Otto gave that smug look.

[WaltersHair]

This was an infinitely better episode, however, I like all the female characters and dislike all the male characters. This is a new feeling.

This show needed it's own theme song. The visuals on the opening were strong, but dear GOD that music. Again. Earwig.

[ferjy]

17 minutes ago, mac123x said:

Corlys's wig is just awful.  I guess it's appropriate that he's Master of Ships since he has a deck swabbing mop on his head. 

🤣 I’m never going to unsee that now. 

The king’s dark stubble still bothers me more than the wigs. Now that Alicent will be permanently by his side, hoping she gets to touching it up (putting IN the grey!).

[dramachick]

"I ensured long ago that I would never be threatened by childbirth." Mysaria (nobody's fool)

That opening scene with the crabs eating people alive followed by the bowl of maggots! 🤮

Alicent was the smart choice for Viserys to strengthen his line as soon as possible.  Laena is 12! Rhaenys knew her daughter wouldn't be the king's choice, but Corlys is blinded by ambition and doesn't see as clearly as she does.

Otto is a crafty one, but Rhaenerya swooping in on that dragon showed him that she is THAT bitch. 😲 

Corlys knows that Daemon is an unreliable ally (befitting an agent of chaos). Daemon is no Fredo and will ultimately be loyal to his family because he doesn't see anybody as equal to the Targaryans. It'll be interesting to see how he betrays Corlys and then how Corlys counters -- if he can.

[AntFTW]

2 minutes ago, peridot said:

I'm glad Rhaenyra pushed back against Otto trying to have her removed from the meeting on the bridge.  What the hell was he going to do, when she has a dragon at her command?!  I'm glad she was able to de-escalate.  Otto just seems like a smug bastard, he thought he could just shit-talk Daemon with no consequence, knowing that he had a dragon at his command?  He's way too big for his britches.  I wanted Corlys to punch him when Otto gave that smug look.

I think Otto's overall treatment of Rhaenyra is intentional because he's trying, and seems to have succeeded, to push his daughter onto the King. He's trying to make Rhaenyra seem less important because that would heighten his own daughter's importance and stature if she were to become queen and have the King's heirs. To me, everything he does is within that lens.

Rhaenyra riding in on her golden dragon and resolving this conflict peacefully doesn't really help Otto's cause because it maintains, or perhaps, raises Rhaenyra's standing as the heir and future Queen, over his own line.

[CletusMusashi]

This was easier to follow than the pilot, but also more riveting. very good second episode.

I still think Matt/Daemon is kind of a gothy douchebag. I mean, hell, even the hooker who's living in a castle with him seems to agree with me on that. And I'm rooting for Otto over Corlys. But Corlys isn't all bad. I respect him more now that I understand that the reason his hair game is so gods-awful is that he's in debt like a zillion bajillion gold dragons to his daughters' hair stylist. For all his tough guy talk, the big soft-hearted lug just can't say no to his little girl wanting to look like Marie Antoinette.

I do hope they spread out the pirate story arc for a few weeks. September 19th isn't for a while.

[dramachick]

12 minutes ago, peridot said:

Wow at Corlys pushing his 12 year old daughter into marrying the king.  When it was said she was young, I wasn't expecting for her to be that young.  It's interesting that Rhaenys didn't agree with pushing her daughter forward. 

I almost fell off the couch when I saw how young she was!

[ferjy]

8 minutes ago, WaltersHair said:

This show needed it's own theme song. The visuals on the opening were strong, but dear GOD that music. Again. Earwig.

I was a little surprised they used the same one, but I’ve always loved the music. And it is called A Song of Ice and Fire and this show is part of the story so it may work. 

[Jaundiced Eye]

9 minutes ago, dramachick said:

That opening scene with the crabs eating people alive followed by the bowl of maggots! 🤮

Are we going to watch the King lose body parts bit by bit? He certainly doesn't seem to heal well. First the torso wound needing cauterization and now one of his fingers is necrotized.

[CletusMusashi]

I do love starting the show with that music. There are certain instrumental themes, like Buffy and The Simpsons and Game of Thrones, that should just never be changed.

5 minutes ago, Jaundiced Eye said:

Are we going to watch the King lose body parts bit by bit? He certainly doesn't seem to heal well. First the torso wound needing cauterization and now one of his fingers is necrotized.

It's just a flesh wound. He's fine. And by "fine" I mean that's short for "finally just two days away from retirement." 

Edited August 29, 2022 by CletusMusashi

[AntFTW]

10 minutes ago, dramachick said:

I almost fell off the couch when I saw how young she was!

I saw that and I said "Fuck this show."

That would have been my first on this thread if that would have happened.

[Lady S.]

25 minutes ago, mac123x said:

What was that?  I t looked like blood pouring through the King's playset and sort-of-but-not-really activating some gears. 

I think that's exactly what it was. The blood symbolizing the doom of Old Valyria and foreshadowing the future downfall of House Targaryen.

20 minutes ago, nilyank said:

The King should have told his daughter that he was going to marry her best friend and not her cousin.

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.

[Jodithgrace]

That crab feeder dude is majorly creepy. 

Did the king forget that he had his hand in a bowl of maggots? I know they were eating dead flesh, so it shouldn’t exactly hurt, but he seemed a bit too blasé about it, if you ask me. 
 

What was Alicent doing that caused her father to accuse her of mangling herself? I couldn’t see it.  I think she owed her BFF at least a heads up about the impending marriage. What girl wouldn’t want her Dad to marry her best friend? 

Rhaenerys is a total badass, even at 15. She showed up both her uncle (Matt/Daemon, I love it!) and Lord Otto in one fell swoop. But Otto got her back pretty darn quick. 
 

it was good to hear the theme again, but I’m not sure I got the visuals. Lots of blood flowing and messing up the little clockwork pinwheels.  I miss the little clockwork kingdoms. 

[mac123x]

3 minutes ago, Jodithgrace said:

That crab feeder dude is majorly creepy.

Were they implying that he has greyscale?  He looked a bit scabby

[Jaundiced Eye]

Daemon seemed turned on when Rhaenerys swooped in and told him to just kill her already and be done with it. Or maybe that was just me, but I definitely felt the sexual tension in that scene!

[Lamima]

1 minute ago, Jaundiced Eye said:

Daemon seemed turned on when Rhaenerys swooped in and told him to just kill her already and be done with it. Or maybe that was just me, but I definitely felt the sexual tension in that scene!

Yes. And I wonder if his stealing the egg and leaving that letter was to set her off and see her reaction. Like a test to see if she has feelings for him. 

[AntFTW]

14 hours ago, Jodithgrace said:

What was Alicent doing that caused her father to accuse her of mangling herself? I couldn’t see it.  I think she owed her BFF at least a heads up about the impending marriage. What girl wouldn’t want her Dad to marry her best friend? 

It doesn't seem like Vicerys told anyone before announcing it in front of the entire council.

I get the feeling that Alicent was not entirely in the know about Vicerys' decision to choose her. However, she could have told Rhaenyra about her father's plan to pimp her out to the King.

Additionally, Rhaenyra told Vicerys that she understood that he had to remarry and she was okay with whatever decision he made. I think that's what really motivates him and makes him more confortable with the idea of remarrying and making a choice. Vicerys didn't exactly know that choosing Alicent was the one decision Rhaenyra was not okay with. Rhaenyra didn't know Alicent was an option. Alicent didn't say anything about Otto's plan. There's a lot of non-communicating going on here.

Edited August 29, 2022 by AntFTW

[dramachick]

17 minutes ago, Jodithgrace said:

What was Alicent doing that caused her father to accuse her of mangling herself? I couldn’t see it.  I think she owed her BFF at least a heads up about the impending marriage. What girl wouldn’t want her Dad to marry her best friend? 

She picks at her fingernails. There was a closeup on her fingers in the scene where she gave Viserys that gift.

[AntFTW]

2 minutes ago, dramachick said:

She picks at her fingernails. There was a closeup on her fingers in the scene where she gave Viserys that gift.

Ah! That makes sense. I picked up on the fingernail thing but I didn't know that was what Otto was referring to.

[Constantinople]

11 minutes ago, Jaundiced Eye said:

Daemon seemed turned on when Rhaenerys swooped in and told him to just kill her already and be done with it. Or maybe that was just me, but I definitely felt the sexual tension in that scene!

That may be, but I think so of it is he enjoys it when someone pushes back.

Daemon: Ser Crispin wasn't it?

Criston: Ser Criston Cole, my Prince.

Daemon: Ah yes,, apologies, I couldn't recall.

Criston: Perhaps my Prince recalls when I knocked him off his horse.

Daemon: (laughs) Very good.

[Bulldog]

1 hour ago, mac123x said:

Corlys's wig is just awful.  I guess it's appropriate that he's Master of Ships since he has a deck swabbing mop on his head. 

This made me laugh much more than it should. 

To Vicerys' credit, he did seem repulsed by the idea of marrying a child.  I wonder what it says about the show that for a split second, I thought they might actually go there. 

One thing I'm liking about this show is that it is much more compact (for lack of a better word) than GoT.  I was a huge GoT fan, but must admit that the sprawling cast often made me confused about who was who.  Having a much easier time keeping up with the folks on this show (so far).   

[bunnyblue]

45 minutes ago, peridot said:

Wow at Corlys pushing his 12 year old daughter into marrying the king.  When it was said she was young, I wasn't expecting for her to be that young.  It's interesting that Rhaenys didn't agree with pushing her daughter forward. 

The entire time Corlys was talking about his daughter to Viserys I was telling myself he was NOT talking about the little girl at the Tourney we saw last episode. I thought for sure he had an older daughter, but NOPE it was indeed the child from the Tourney. I was so uncomfortable during the scene between Viserys and Laena and then wanted to barf when she mentioned them sleeping together when she's 14. At least Viserys looked like he wanted to be anywhere else but courting a 12 year old.

[mac123x]

4 minutes ago, bunnyblue said:

The entire time Corlys was talking about his daughter to Viserys I was telling myself he was NOT talking about the little girl at the Tourney we saw last episode. I thought for sure he had an older daughter, but NOPE it was indeed the child from the Tourney. I was so uncomfortable during the scene between Viserys and Laena and then wanted to barf when she mentioned them sleeping together when she's 14. At least Viserys looked like he wanted to be anywhere else but courting a 12 year old.

Margaret Beaufort gave birth to the future Henry VII at the ripe old age of 13.  That garbage happened back then.

Presumably if he'd gone through with it, Viserys would have had a long long long betrothal.  Glad he's marrying someone who's at least post puberty.

[WaltersHair]

1 hour ago, Jaundiced Eye said:

Are we going to watch the King lose body parts bit by bit? He certainly doesn't seem to heal well. First the torso wound needing cauterization and now one of his fingers is necrotized.

I was wondering if he has this world's version of diabetes. There are parts of an elderly king that might not work so well if that's the case.

[AntFTW]

8 minutes ago, WaltersHair said:

I was wondering if he has this world's version of diabetes. There are parts of an elderly king that might not work so well if that's the case.

I'm guessing he keeps getting poked and prodded by the Iron Throne, and the GOT/HOTD universe doesn't really seem to have high standards when it comes to sterilization, and therefore, these grow into nasty infections.

[MrWhyt]

1 hour ago, Jaundiced Eye said:

Did anyone follow what was going on with all the crabs? Were people being staked to the ground and eaten alive? These were Corlys' men from one of his fleet?

that was the work of The Crabfeeder, a pirate that was mentioned last week.

opening credits!!

[snickers]

I so look forward to Sunday's now 😄

I think at this point the only character i LOATHE is Otto....even with GOT I had a hard time really liking anyone except Dany and Jon Snow (it took a while for me to get annoyed with him)....I didn't even like Tyrion until episode 6 when he had his "confession" that scene alone made a fan, but Otto just reeks of Tywin mixed with Littlefinger into one, its pretty apparent he sees Rheanyra as a threat, but I'm team Daemon, its so obvious to everyone but King Viserys that Otto is no good-

At least Corlys is "family" and Viserys is an idiot for dismissing what is happening in that stepstone region, but like Daemon said, he's not a good king...

1 hour ago, peridot said:

Otto just seems like a smug bastard, he thought he could just shit-talk Daemon with no consequence, knowing that he had a dragon at his command?  He's way too big for his britches.  I wanted Corlys to punch him when Otto gave that smug look.

That whole scene made no sense to me....did he not think Daemon would "dracarys" Caraxes on them????  I even laughed when Rhaneyra showed up, they all looked like they had never seen a dragon before-this is HOUSE OF THE DRAGON

I did really like that-not only does Caraxes look really different from the GOT dragons, but sounds way different too....very cool scene....you could also really see how much bigger he is than Syrax from that brief wide-shot

this is pure speculation but i cannot wait for

Spoiler

Otto's death scene----whenever that happens, I hope he gets eaten but a Dragon---I'm waiting patiently for some Dragon chaos but it looks like we may see some next week 😄

Edited August 29, 2022 by snickers

[ybrik]

Really enjoying the series so far. I agree with above about keeping the focus on the Targs and goings on around their family makes it easier to follow. Though I wouldn’t mind seeing the other families from GOT like Lannisters and Starks even if for an episode. 

Vicerys really seems like a somewhat kind person but really doesn’t seem to have the mind to be capable ruler. Hell marrying Alicent can be argued makes perfect sense as he should produce more children for his family line and he wouldn’t have to wait at least two years for it. However, he should have also tried to make some type of offer to Corlys. From the last episode it looks like Corlys has a son as well so he could have offered a marriage with Rhaenyra as a way to not only appease Corlys but provide an ally to aide Rhaenyra in becoming queen when he passes. 

Daemon is definitely continual chaos. He chose to take the dragon egg of his brother’s dead son as provocation. Not sure what the end game was that but I think he was pleasantly surprised by Rhaenyra. Daemon really is a younger brother, he pesters and calls his brother all types of things but will still protect his brother from slander. 

It really doesn’t matter at this point but does Rhaenyra have more than friendly feelings for Alicent?

Rhaenyra does seem to have good instincts for being a leader. I liked that she wanted to find the best person for the King’s Guard and not just the most politically advantageous. Though she needed to hear what Rhaenys said. 

[bunnyblue]

57 minutes ago, Jaundiced Eye said:

Daemon seemed turned on when Rhaenerys swooped in and told him to just kill her already and be done with it. Or maybe that was just me, but I definitely felt the sexual tension in that scene!

It wasn't just you, I felt the tension too. When Daemon gave Rhaenyra that smoldering side long stare, I found myself thinking "Dude, that's your 15/16 year old niece. Control yourself." That's twice already in the first 2 episodes where there's been a weird tense scene between Daemon and Rhaenyra. Considering these are the incestuous Targaryens, nothing should surprise me at this point. As a side note, I'm finding bad boy Matt Smith really freakin' hot! 

15 minutes ago, mac123x said:

Margaret Beaufort gave birth to the future Henry VII at the ripe old age of 13.  That garbage happened back then.

That's who came to mind during the Viserys/Laena scene. 

[thuganomics85]

I see that they decided to take the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" approach with the opening credits, which I'm cool with.  I do like how it focuses on blood though (instead of the world of Westeros like on the credits for Game of Thrones), since that has always been so important to the Targaryens.

Honestly, I'm kind of impressed everyone waited six months after Aemma's death before they tried to be all matchmaker for the king.  Which included the Velaryons trying to set him up with their daughter.  Who is twelve.  Yeah, while I'm sure that wasn't far off from how things were back in medieval times in real life, that was all kinds of fucked up.  At least Viserys had the decency to be unsettled over all of that.  Granted, it was only kind of worse than what he ends up deciding on.

Because, yep, it turns out all of Otto's plotting payed off and Alicent will be the new queen!  Certainly an unpleasant surprise for Corlys, but also one for Rhaenyra.  You do you, Viserys, but maybe next time you should give your daughter a heads up if you are planning on marrying her BFF (although I suspect there feelings might be stronger than just being friends...)

Curious to see how this potential alliance between Daemon and Corlys will play out.  Right now, Daemon kind of comes off more like a preening peacock who doesn't have much substance under that style, but maybe this will make him a bigger competitor going forward.

Rhaenyra swooping in on her dragon and stopping bloodshed was awesome.  Milly Alcock is proving to be a great find for this show.

Probably my Graham McTavish love talking, but I dig Ser Harrold and hope we get more of him soon.

Viserys' sickness is even spreading to his fingers.  Hmm...

The crab pirates are certainly a creepy bunch.

The Rhaenyra/Rhaenys scene was probably my favorite: reminded me of some of the classic one-on-one scenes from the past where it's just two characters facing down one another verbally and could be just as interesting and intense as an all-out battle.

Solid second episode.

[Lady S.]

13 minutes ago, ybrik said:

It really doesn’t matter at this point but does Rhaenyra have more than friendly feelings for Alicent?

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.

[snickers]

13 minutes ago, bunnyblue said:

It wasn't just you, I felt the tension too. When Daemon gave Rhaenyra that smoldering side long stare, I found myself thinking "Dude, that's your 15/16 year old niece. Control yourself." That's twice already in the first 2 episodes where there's been a weird tense scene between Daemon and Rhaenyra. Considering these are the incestuous Targaryens, nothing should surprise me at this point. As a side note, I'm finding bad boy Matt Smith really freakin' hot! 

He's been giving those smoldering side long glances in all of their interactions it seems like, yeah, I think the writing is on the wall where this is going.....

As much as I love Matt Smith as an actor, I'm not loving his look in this (looks too much like a Lord of the Rings elf as others have said) but when he pulled out his sword in front of Otto and his the kingsguard and gave that "look" while his dragon came up behind him, I was like, "that's hot" 😂

[Constantinople]

4 minutes ago, thuganomics85 said:

You do you, Viserys, but maybe next time you should give your daughter a heads up if you are planning on marrying her BFF

Viserys has a talent for blindsiding the women in his life.

[ZeeEnnui]

1 hour ago, Jaundiced Eye said:

Daemon seemed turned on when Rhaenerys swooped in and told him to just kill her already and be done with it. Or maybe that was just me, but I definitely felt the sexual tension in that scene!

The incest chemistry between these two is strong like wildfire. Between this scene and that very charged necklace scene in the throne room in episode one. I fully anticipate Daemon and Rhaenerys are going to make the dragon with two backs at some point.

At least Viserys isn't down with pre-tweencest. Did not expect lady Laena to be young enough to still be playing with her My Little Dragons. 

I like that Daemon isn't a total one-dimensional douche-dragon. He's petty but he still loves his brother and his niece even if he acts like he doesn't. It was interesting that he smacked down Lord Corlys about how he spoke about the king (only his brother can talk smack). He's pissed at his brother but he's also hurt. He chose Baelon's dragon egg because he knew it would upset his brother. It's petty af, but no one knows how to hurt like family. 

Am I the only one who immediately thought of the crab people from South Park? 

From best friend to stepmother. I believe that movie has been done before on Lifetime, and it never ends well. 

One thing that is missing for me with this series is some dark humor. Someone's gotta lighten up the Red Keep with a couple of clever quips. 

[goldilocks]

2 hours ago, dramachick said:

I almost fell off the couch when I saw how young she was!

Especially since she looked more like 8!

[MBayGal]

3 hours ago, Constantinople said:

Well look who was pimping their 12 year old daughter now?

I have the feeling she is older.  She looks more mature to me.  Maybe 15?

2 hours ago, CletusMusashi said:

Matt/Daemon is kind of a gothy douchebag.

Maybe Matt Damon will make a guest appearance😉

[yellowfred]

33 minutes ago, thuganomics85 said:

Because, yep, it turns out all of Otto's plotting payed off and Alicent will be the new queen!  Certainly an unpleasant surprise for Corlys, but also one for Rhaenyra.  You do you, Viserys, but maybe next time you should give your daughter a heads up if you are planning on marrying her BFF (although I suspect there feelings might be stronger than just being friends...)

I have to wonder if Otto really thought that one through.  Like, after he went out of his way last episode to have Rhaenyra officially named the heir, wouldn't it have been smarter to try and have her married to one of his sons?  If his plan was to have Alicent marry the king, and presumably have children with him, it would have been smarter to just let Daemon remain the heir.  Then again, it kind of gives credence to Rhaenys' point that no one seems to be trying to wed their kid to Rhaenyra; it seems like no one really thinks of her as her father's heir.

I also agree that I think there is (or, at least could have been) more going on between Rhaenyra and Alicent than entirely platonic friendship.  There was definitely a very charged look between them when Viserys announced the engagement.  That being said, I have a feeling that the plot of this show is going to be moving too quickly for that element to really be explored.  It's too bad, because I feel like Alicent has a lot going on beneath the surface, but I'm not sure they have any scene partner for her where she can totally let her guard down.

As a side note, while I appreciate them pointing out the awkwardness of (someone I assume is) a middle-aged man trying to court a 12 year old, the fact that he's now getting ready to marry a 15 year old kind of undercuts that idea.

[goldilocks]

49 minutes ago, snickers said:

As much as I love Matt Smith as an actor, I'm not loving his look in this (looks too much like a Lord of the Rings elf as others have said)

HOTD was trying to stay within their budget by borrowing the LOTR props. I wonder if we’ll see one of their dragons. 😆

[MBayGal]

1 hour ago, ZeeEnnui said:

One thing that is missing for me with this series is some dark humor. Someone's gotta lighten up the Red Keep with a couple of clever quips. 

This show needs a Tyrion!!

[goldilocks]

20 minutes ago, MBayGal said:

I have the feeling she is older.  She looks more mature to me.  Maybe 15?

They specifically said she was 12. Remember she said to Viserys that her mother told her that she wouldn’t have to sleep with him until she were 14. The actress herself looked even younger than 12 to me and I wondered if they got a younger actress to stress the point more. And to make Alicent seem much older. 

[ferjy]

2 hours ago, Jodithgrace said:

Did the king forget that he had his hand in a bowl of maggots? I know they were eating dead flesh, so it shouldn’t exactly hurt, but he seemed a bit too blasé about it, if you ask me. 

lol I shuddered at that scene. It really is supposed to work, but personally, I’d rather they just lopped off my hand.