S01.E03: Second Of His Name

[paigow]

1 hour ago, gingerella said:

Anyone thinking Rhanerys and the Knight are destined to get it on?

Especially if an obscure Ancestry text magically materializes at the Citadel confirming that the two of them are in fact related.... 

[Constantinople]

1 hour ago, Constantinople said:

Daemon pulled out a dagger then stabbed the guy who had accepted Daemon's sword as a sign of Daemon's surrender 

1 hour ago, magdalene said:

Yes, and it was awesome!  Besides, given the way these people treated their prisoners they didn't deserve any kind of honorable terms. Daemon was what they deserved.

18 hours ago, PurpleTentacle said:

It's not about this guy, it's about the next guy who won't trust you. There weren't very many rules in medieval battles, like feeding people to crabs would have been fine, but backstabbing somebody after you surrendered or at negotiations is a big nono.

[MollyB]

3 hours ago, Lady S. said:

8 hours ago, mledawn said:

I was otherwise distracted by the massive orgy tapestry on the wall behind Alicent when Otto was talking to her at the end about making sure her son is named heir.

Ah, good, someone else noticed all the porno tapestries in the royal chambers.

And how long were those there?  Did Aemma need some visuals to keep trying to produce an heir?  Can't Alicent just have them discreetly painted over?  Is this some weird Banksy stunt that no one in the castle has noticed for a 100 years?  

2 hours ago, Constantinople said:

Daemon pulled out a dagger then stabbed the guy who had accepted Daemon's sword as a sign of Daemon's surrender 

Which sounds really bad on Daemon's part, but there were a bunch of other guys coming at him, too.  Daemon's explanation:  "He ran into my knife.  He ran into it 12 times."  (apologies to Chicago fans.)

Edited September 6, 2022 by MollyB

[Jack Shaftoe]

Really, Daemon and company, you have freaking dragons (or was it just one?) and yet you couldn't flush out a bunch of pirates from the caves for so long? This incest thing is really doing a number on the Targaryens' IQ, doesn't it? How were the pirates feeding their men, you would think the dragons would have burned any supply ships? Did they survive on, you know, crabs, to justify their name even more?

Why is Daemon allowed to use dragons in his private war anyway? For some reason I thought the Crown held tight control over the dragons because otherwise it's just asking for trouble. Then again, Viserys would be hard pressed to steal candy from a baby, so...

I am tired of characters in (pseudo-)medieval worlds being flabbergasted by the very idea of arranged marriages. Complaining about who is picked for them, sure, that's perfectly natural, but the idea itself is at the very core of the aristocracy system and should be almost as natural as breathing for any noble. Rhaenyra's father shouldn't need to remind her that his own marriage was arranged because duh. And in any event, he is so weak-willed that I don't see him forcing her into any marriage, even if it's super advantageous.

The show is shaping up to be about a looming civil war between two factions but I am not particularly invested in the success of any of the characters, so I am starting to think it might not hold my interest for long.

Edited September 6, 2022 by Jack Shaftoe

[CatWarmer]

Didn't realize it while watching but saw online that Matt/Daemon did not speak at all in something like six minutes of screen time.  No dialogue at all in this episode.  Great conveyance of thoughts via face.  Actions speak louder than words!  I can just imagine the enemy forces thinking, why isn't he saying anything?  What's his game - better wait for him to tell us.  Oops!

Edited September 6, 2022 by CatWarmer

[PurpleTentacle]

7 hours ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

A second cousin marriage really isn't that risky for children if it's a single in-family marriage. The problem is when there are multiple second cousin marriages in the same families the risk increases, more recessive genes combining.  

Even first cousin marriages won't lead to genetic problems, if it's not done often. Which is why they are still legal in most places. For second cousin marriages to become a problem, your family has to be seriously inbred already.

7 hours ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

Legal?  Sure.  Ethical or encouraged?  No

I don't see much of a problem, if you didn't know you were related. Clearly there is no familiar bond there and like said above, genetically there is no problem.

[paigow]

12 minutes ago, PurpleTentacle said:

Even first cousin marriages won't lead to genetic problems, if it's not done often. Which is why they are still legal in most places. For second cousin marriages to become a problem, your family has to be seriously inbred already.

I don't see much of a problem, if you didn't know you were related. Clearly there is no familiar bond there and like said above, genetically there is no problem.

Since there is a Westerosi Ed Sheeran, there should be a Jeff Foxworthy proxy who has a bit like this: If you go to a family reunion trying to get lucky... you might be a Targaryen 

Edited September 6, 2022 by paigow

[Stardancer Supreme]

21 minutes ago, Jack Shaftoe said:

Really, Daemon and company, you have freaking dragons (or was it just one?) and yet you couldn't flush out a bunch of pirates from the caves for so long? This incest thing is really doing a number on the Targaryens' IQ, doesn't it? How were the pirates feeding their men, you would think the dragons would have burned any supply ships? Did they survive on, you know, crabs, to justify their name even more?

Why is Daemon allowed to use dragons in his private war anyway? For some reason I thought the Crown held tight control over the dragons because otherwise it's just asking for trouble. Then again, Viserys would be hard pressed to steal candy from a baby, so...

I don't think that the Crown "controlled" dragons; every dragon is bonded to their rider. So Daemon was using HIS own dragon and Laenor was using HIS own dragon. By Targaryen tradidtions, a dragon egg placed in a baby's crib bonds that dragon to the baby.

I'm still bothered by the fact that Corlys couldn't use the 2 dragons at his disposal more effectively.  Upon rewatch, it was Corlys who was describing the current state of the Crabfeeder war; that the Daemon/Corlys alliance pushed the Crabfeeder and his fighters back to the CF's home base. The Velaryon force is too far away from Driftmark for reinforcements.  Corlys' brother Vaemond was the one who sent Viserys the note for aid and complains about the dragons, but it is never stated that Laenor is the other dragonrider. I wonder how long it took for Laenor to come up with the plan using Daemon and to finally get his uncle and father to listen to him?

[WatchrTina]

3 hours ago, Constantinople said:

Daemon pulled out a dagger then stabbed the guy who had accepted Daemon's sword as a sign of Daemon's surrender 

Oh.  Well.  So much much for the "rules" of parley.  (Captain Jack Sparrow would NOT approve!)  But then again, Daemon is not a pirate, he's a prince.  (And a cranky one at that.)

[PurpleTentacle]

8 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

That was a brilliant strategy for taking down the Crab Feeder and his pirates.  Sure, not really acceptable in modern warfare, but for a medieval-based society, it was fairly standard. 

No it wasn't.

8 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

But it really shouldn't have taken them 3 years to come up with something that effective.

Them hiding in the caves was recent.

7 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

Does anyone actually think Daemon is honorable?  The general consensus among the lords at court is that he'd be a terrible king.

Well this certainly isn't going to help. I thought he still wanted to be king, yet he seems to do everything to make that harder for himself.

3 hours ago, magdalene said:

Yes, and it was awesome!  Besides, given the way these people treated their prisoners they didn't deserve any kind of honorable terms. Daemon was what they deserved.

Again, not about what the guy deserves.

[gingerella]

13 hours ago, Stardancer Supreme said:

I wonder how long it took for Laenor to come up with the plan using Daemon and to finally get his uncle and father to listen to him?

They spoke about that plan just before Daemon showed up on his dragon. How the only one who'd volunteer to be a decoy would be Daemon.

Speaking of dragons...we never hear about Viserys' dragon. Surely the king has his own dragons yes? Yet we haven't seen him riding. 😕 

Also, not for nothing but these folks say 'Dracarys' in the most lame way possible! At least Dany had that shit down pat. 

Edited September 6, 2022 by gingerella

[magdalene]

2 hours ago, Jack Shaftoe said:

Why is Daemon allowed to use dragons in his private war anyway?

It's his dragon, he can do what he (and the dragon) want with it.

And it's not quite so easy to win the Step Stones as you make it out to be. A modern equivalent would be the Vietnam conflict. Look how well that went for the US.

17 minutes ago, gingerella said:

Speaking of dragons...we never hear about Viserys' dragon. Surely the king has his own dragons yes? Yet we haven't seen him riding. 😕 

Viserys had a dragon when he was young, a very old dragon.  He didn't actually like riding the dragon, as he fears them.  So when the dragon died he never got another.

[gingerella]

1 hour ago, magdalene said:

Viserys had a dragon when he was young, a very old dragon.  He didn't actually like riding the dragon, as he fears them.  So when the dragon died he never got another.

This was said in the show?

[magdalene]

15 minutes ago, gingerella said:

This was said in the show?

Remember the gigantic dragon head from the first episode when Viserys is talking to Raenyra in the big room with all the candles - that was his dragon.  One of the things he says to her: "The notion that we control our dragons is an illusion". Not a fan of dragons.

[gingerella]

1 hour ago, magdalene said:

Remember the gigantic dragon head from the first episode when Viserys is talking to Raenyra in the big room with all the candles - that was his dragon.  One of the things he says to her: "The notion that we control our dragons is an illusion". Not a fan of dragons.

Thank you! I rarely go back and re-watch but perhaps I should rewarch the first episode again! Still, you'd think as King he'd have another dragon since, yanno, it's the family calling card!

[Athena5217]

9 hours ago, mac123x said:

I don't watch the after-show features, but apparently the show runners confirmed that the Crab Feeder had greyscale.  They need to stop adding information like this, since it undermines their story.  Given how communicable and deadly greyscale is, I find it hard to believe that CF would be the leader of any group of people.

I like that Laenor leans forward on his like he's riding a racing motorcycle.  Lower profile for a smaller archery target.  Meanwhile, Rhaenyra rids Syrax like she's on a show horse.

It makes no sense for the Crab Feeder to have greyscale. As you mentioned, it is very contagious. It also destroys people’s minds so they are like zombies. However, nothing else in the Crab Feeder plot made sense so why should this be different? 
 

I gather the Crab Feeder is mainly a plot device to set up other storylines. However, there are only 10 episodes in a season and three of them have featured this guy so he needs some character development if he is going to have screen time. The Night King didn’t need it because he wasn’t human, but this guy is.

[Lady S.]

8 hours ago, PurpleTentacle said:

Well this certainly isn't going to help. I thought he still wanted to be king, 

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.

Edited September 6, 2022 by Lady S.

[Meredith Quill]

8 hours ago, WatchrTina said:

Oh.  Well.  So much much for the "rules" of parley.  (Captain Jack Sparrow would NOT approve!)

[Jack Shaftoe]

7 hours ago, magdalene said:

And it's not quite so easy to win the Step Stones as you make it out to be. A modern equivalent would be the Vietnam conflict. Look how well that went for the US.

The Vietnam conflict didn't go well for the US because they didn't want to use their WMDs, i.e. the equivalent of dragons. And contrary to what Hollywood movies usually show, the US wasn't fighting just Viet Cong but also the regular army of North Vietnam (supported by a rival superpower). If the US were fighting a force small enough to be wiped out in a single WMD strike and were willing to use said WMD, the war wouldn't have lasted a week, let alone years. I am aware that it's hard to come up with enemies who can pose a real problem for dragons (and the opposite extreme is just as silly - see Euron and his magical ballistae in GoT) but still the writers could have tried a bit harder to make the military campaign somewhat believable.

Edited September 6, 2022 by Jack Shaftoe

[Pestilentia]

I too was confused by who was riding the dragon. I put it down to perhaps some sort of  "Dragonriders" division, but it should have been more clear. 

The fake surrender is fine by me. It's a war, anyone who says they can be fought ethically hasn't been in a war.  You finish it any way you can finish it. 

The killing of the stag setup was ridiculously ridiculous, but no more so than the big game farms our own young princelings make frequent use of.

Not a Matt Smith fan, his lack of eyebrows can be triggering to the eyebrow challenged among us. But he's winning me over here and the choice to go dialogue-less in this episode, whoever made the choice- he or the writers- went a long way toward getting it done. This was the first episode where I felt like "All right!"

Quote

You could hold the cave entrances with a minimal number of men and two dragons easily and just starve the crab feeder out.

Crab is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. There's crab-kabobs, crab creole, crab gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's crab stew, crab salad, crab burger, crab sandwich. They're not hungry.

Edited September 6, 2022 by Pestilentia

[paigow]

38 minutes ago, Pestilentia said:

Crab is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. There's crab-kabobs, crab creole, crab gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's crab stew, crab salad, crab burger, crab sandwich. They're not hungry.

The Crab King was Bubba, First Of His Name?

[mojoween]

There is a big difference between going hunting and butchering a helpless creature, but what I was really focused on is why did the Lannister put a big red poofy thing on the top of the spear?

Edited September 6, 2022 by mojoween

[Meredith Quill]

7 Kingdoms News:

Spoiler

I take no credit for this, saw it elsewhere and laughed. 🤣

[cambridgeguy]

1 hour ago, Pestilentia said:

The fake surrender is fine by me. It's a war, anyone who says they can be fought ethically hasn't been in a war.  You finish it any way you can finish it. 

Then you better hope you're strong enough to dominate any future opponents because they'll never have any reason to negotiate with you and that you don't live in a society where people make a big show about honorable tactics.

[Jack Shaftoe]

Why is Aegon referred to as "the second of his name" when he not only has not been crowned yet but isn't even the heir apparent? No prince has been named Aegon since the Conqueror? Or they reset the counter if the prince in question doesn't get the throne? :)

[Uncle JUICE]

I'm with anyone else who thinks "Wait, THREE YEARS this Stepstones nonsense has been going on AND you have two dragons???" Good grief. Why isn't the dragons thing an actual like 'division' of the army? Subject to strategies and asset deployment sort of thing? Instead it seems like "I own a dragon, I ride a dragon, therefore I'm going to just go battle wherever, whenever." I don't understand. If the enemy is hiding in the caves, AND for whatever reason you don't just want to station a dragon at the mouth of the cave and have it blast fiery death down the tunnels (seems easiest to me, but what do I know), couldn't you have dragons stationed above the caves, basically just sitting there waiting to roast any and all who emerge? What exactly are they DOING with the dragons? I'd think basically you'd arrive and the first thing you'd do is burn every ship to the water line. Then burn everyone on the beach. THEN you'd have a dragon patrolling the skies for reinforcements (see: burn to the water line) and a dragon waiting to toast pirates when they inevitably have to emerge. And do it all at night! Honestly that this has taken any longer than a month is puzzling...if there were a master of dragons or the Captain of the Dragonforce or whatever on the small council, maybe these things could be discussed!

[MrWhyt]

1 hour ago, Jack Shaftoe said:

Why is Aegon referred to as "the second of his name" when he not only has not been crowned yet but isn't even the heir apparent? No prince has been named Aegon since the Conqueror? Or they reset the counter if the prince in question doesn't get the throne? :)

He's the second one to be named Aegon, being crowned or being heir has nothing to do with it.

[qtpye]

20 hours ago, CletusMusashi said:

There's a deleted scene where they unmask him and he turns out to be Albacore Scurvey, the owner of that spooky pirate-themed water park across the bay. He was trying to scare everyone away so he could buy all the islands and turn them into more water parks. Which, come to think of it, would be kind of awesome. Damn you, Matt Daemon! 

He would have gotten away with it, too, if it hadn't been for those darn dragons...I mean kids.

[TaraS1]

I want so badly for this show to be amazing because I am House Targaryen forever!  But the clunky writing and the weak casting (IMO, with the exception of Milly Alcock and maybe Rhys Ifans) is bumming me out so far. Plus, I just don't buy Matt Smith as a badass warrior.  But I'm definitely sticking with it because I love the Targs, so hopefully it only gets better from here.

[proserpina65]

19 hours ago, LadyChaos said:

I might be in the minority here, but I completely understand why Rhaenyra behaves as she does.

Oh, I understand it and think it's fairly normal given the situation, but it's been 3 years since her father married Alicent and 2 years since her baby brother was born.  That's a long time to still be acting like way.  And honestly, it's not interesting to watch.  Now, if she was hiding her resentment better and playing a long game aimed at solidifying her right to the throne, that might be interesting.

18 hours ago, Lady S. said:

22 hours ago, mledawn said:

I was otherwise distracted by the massive orgy tapestry on the wall behind Alicent when Otto was talking to her at the end about making sure her son is named heir.

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

There was a nudity warning before the episode and since I didn't see any, I started to wonder if the orgy tapestry was it.

If that was one of Daemon's jobs, he's welcome to decorate my bedroom anytime.  Porno tapestries for everyone!

[paigow]

1 minute ago, proserpina65 said:

If that was one of Daemon's jobs, he's welcome to decorate my bedroom anytime.  Porno tapestries for everyone!

Tournament Announcer:  Entering the arena now is Daemon, Prince of Dragonstone, Master of Porn

[proserpina65]

14 hours ago, Jack Shaftoe said:

Why is Daemon allowed to use dragons in his private war anyway? For some reason I thought the Crown held tight control over the dragons because otherwise it's just asking for trouble.

Since Daemon rode off on his dragon when he split for Dragonstone, I don't think the Crown could do much about it.  It's not like they could send men to bring it back.

14 hours ago, PurpleTentacle said:

Even first cousin marriages won't lead to genetic problems, if it's not done often.

Yep, it's generation after generation of Targaryens marrying sisters and nieces and cousins, etc., which lead to major problems like crazy ass kings who just want to burn everything.

13 hours ago, PurpleTentacle said:

I thought he still wanted to be king, yet he seems to do everything to make that harder for himself.

I don't think he really understands what being king requires.  Nor do I think he's capable of it.

13 hours ago, PurpleTentacle said:

22 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

That was a brilliant strategy for taking down the Crab Feeder and his pirates.  Sure, not really acceptable in modern warfare, but for a medieval-based society, it was fairly standard. 

No it wasn't.

Actually, from my study of medieval warfare (that was part of my major at college), it did happen a lot.  It wasn't viewed favorably but it wasn't unusual either.  But I'll leave it there because, let's face it, they did it that way since it was cool looking rather than being actual good military strategy.  (Plus, as I said, most of my comment was intended as snark.)

12 hours ago, magdalene said:

Viserys had a dragon when he was young, a very old dragon.  He didn't actually like riding the dragon, as he fears them.  So when the dragon died he never got another.

I believe there was a reference to him having ridden Balerion the Black Dread, Aegon the Conqueror's dragon.  I think in a scene in front of Balerion's skull?

[aghst]

18 hours ago, gingerella said:

Anyone thinking Rhanerys and the Knight are destined to get it on?

Did princesses have their prerogative despite how sexist this culture is?

Raynera seems like the type that wouldn't GAF so given the modern audiences for the show, they would probably depict her getting it on with a man of her own choosing at some point, even before (or after) fulfilling her political obligations.

She better, because she was being matched with little brother Egon and the only reason Viserys laughed it off is because the boy just turned 2.

[cambridgeguy]

Hooking up with Cristin wouldn’t just be a bad idea because hey, all of those sexist menfolk would object!  He’s a Kingsguard, so he’s not allowed to get married.  He’s not supposed to hook up with anyone either, and if anyone of importance found out he’d be exiled to the Wall or executed. 

[MollyB]

2 hours ago, Uncle JUICE said:

Why isn't the dragons thing an actual like 'division' of the army?

I actually thought in the first episode that there was a Dragon division.  Rhenarya refers to sending the dragon riders (plural) to the Step Stones.  With the hype that Targaryans rule the world because of their dragons I thought there would be a whole fleet.

Of course, if dragons are only hatched when an heir is born then that cuts into the supply.  Maybe they should use that Instantpot thing that they took the stolen egg home in and whip up a few more dragons.

Also, how long to dragons live?

[paigow]

53 minutes ago, cambridgeguy said:

Hooking up with Cristin wouldn’t just be a bad idea because hey, all of those sexist menfolk would object!  He’s a Kingsguard, 

Although temporally impossible, he should take a page from the Jaime Lannister playbook... be a Kingslayer, get fired...

[CountryGirl]

I was finally able to catch up with the last two episodes.

I'm still really enjoying this as it feels more like the early seasons of GoT where there was much more focus on the interpersonal relationships and political manueverings and getting to know the players.

While I certainly enjoy a good fight, it did start to feel like battle scene after battle scene in  the later seasons of GoT with a feeling of "fuck dialogue, we've got to burn that CGI budget." For example, I much more enjoyed the aftermath of the Battle of the Bastards with the lowering of the Stark direwolf sigil (still gives me feels) and Ramsey being what's for dinner or the lead up to the Long Night. 

Plus, they certainly brought the excitement with Daemon and company finally getting rid of the Crab Feeder guy. Yes, I'm hand-waving why it took them 3 years to figure this plan out but apparently it took the threat of Viserys helping to light a fire under Daemon's ass). But those scenes and getting yet another new dragon (hello, Seasmoke!) were amazing. 

Also, the parallels...

[paigow]

6 hours ago, SilverStormm said:

7 Kingdoms News:

  Reveal spoiler

I take no credit for this, saw it elsewhere and laughed. 🤣

The only way to top this would be if Florida was the first word in the caption....

[Carolina Girl]

On 9/4/2022 at 7:54 PM, thuganomics85 said:

they would be that rich family who are always preening on the red carpets, probably have multiple reality shows, and always be advertising their logo and name-dropping their products to any poor sod that's within ear-shot!

Their last name would also begin with a "K".....

[mac123x]

5 hours ago, MrWhyt said:

He's the second one to be named Aegon, being crowned or being heir has nothing to do with it.

Jahaerys had an older brother named Aegon who was never crowned.  [Mumble] Hightower, Otto's older brother, was speaking out of turn when he said "second of his name".

14 hours ago, gingerella said:

Thank you! I rarely go back and re-watch but perhaps I should rewarch the first episode again! Still, you'd think as King he'd have another dragon since, yanno, it's the family calling card!

Also, Laena asked him what it was like riding the Black Dread.  He gave a vague answer.  

8 hours ago, mojoween said:

There is a big difference between going hunting and butchering a helpless creature, but what I was really focused on is why did the Lannister put a big red poofy thing on the top of the spear?

My guess is the red poofy thing was to soak up any blood running down the shaft.  As rigged as  that kill was, one wouldn't want the "hunter" to get his hands dirty.

[king of bullshit]

Lord Strong has now twice encouraged Viserys to join houses with Corlys. It may be that he simply has the king and or the realm's best interest at heart but I cant help but wonder if there is an element of self interest at play.

How did the crab-feeder and his men survive in the caves? What were their means for procuring food and water? Unless the Westerosis did not pitch camp close enough to the caves to attack them as soon as they came out?

So Cristan Cole is totally gonna be Rhaenyra's choice of partner right? I mean what other man has even remotely caught her eye yet?

If Viserys honors his vow to have Rhaenyra succeed him as ruler in spite of the kingdom wide pressure and expectation not to, I'm not sure weak is an apropos description of him in any sense.
 

[Meredith Quill]

4 hours ago, MollyB said:

Also, how long to dragons live?

As long as they want to. 😉

Real (in-world) answer:

If they die of old age - somewhere around 200ish. Moreover, the reason for that is apparently connected to Galileo's Square-Cube Law.

[IntrovertRed]

On 9/4/2022 at 9:45 PM, Jaundiced Eye said:

I'm confused about where the third dragon came from. And who was riding it? Was it one of the Sea Snake's relatives? That family line can also ride dragons, not just the Targaryens?

From my understanding of Valrya (I have not read the books), many houses had dragons and Targaryens were just a basic house during that time and only became powerful when they went to Westeros with their dragons.

Wow, Daeman was super badass. 

Has Rhaenyra really basically pouted for two years?  As someone who grew up in King’s Landing, shouldn’t she know that is not the way you go about winning loyalty to your side?

if someone other than Rhaenyra had seen the white stag, wouldn’t that have made most everyone think she shouldn’t no longer be heir? 

*I have a hell of a time spelling all these names correct, geesh.

Edited September 6, 2022 by KLJ

[Constantinople]

52 minutes ago, king of bullshit said:

Lord Strong has now twice encouraged Viserys to join houses with Corlys. It may be that he simply has the king and or the realm's best interest at heart but I cant help but wonder if there is an element of self interest at play.

Lord Lyonel Strong is the Lord of Harrenhal

Quote

In the year 101, the Old King called a Great Council to choose an heir. Over a thousand lords made the journey to Harrenhal.

Narrator in S1E1

Remember how enormous Harrenhal was in the opening scene? The upkeep to maintain the place must be huge, even if most of it is usually mothballed.

In addition to being the lord of the greatest money pit in the realm, Lord Strong is also keenly aware that Corlys Velaryon wants to marry his children into the royal family and that the Velaryon house is the wealthiest in the land

Quote

Lord Corlys is your Master of Ships and she is the eldest daughter of the wealthiest house in the realm.

Lord Lyonel Strong advising Viserys to marry Corlys's daughter Laena in S1E2

and later in that same scene

Quote

 I fear nothing short of a direct line to the Iron Throne would satisfy him.

Id.

And in this episode Lord Strong once again refers to the Velaryon riches.

Quote

It would seem to me the best match for Rhaenyra is the son of The Sea Snake, Ser Laenor. Some years ago, I counseled you to take his sister to wife. My reasoning remains the same. Laenor is of pure Valyrian descent. He shares blood with your cousin, the Princess Rhaenys. And he is the heir to the wealthiest house in the realm.

Lord Strong advising Viserys to wed his daughter Rhaenyra to Corlys's son Laenor.

 

Edited September 6, 2022 by Constantinople

[MBayGal]

12 hours ago, Pestilentia said:

Crab is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. There's crab-kabobs, crab creole, crab gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's crab stew, crab salad, crab burger, crab sandwich. They're not hungry.

But now I am!!

[king of bullshit]

On 9/4/2022 at 10:32 PM, Roccos Brother said:

This is probably an unpopular opinion but I think the whole "dragon shows up in the nick of time" is a lazy plot device, and I really hope they don't continue to overuse it. We've already seen it two episodes in a row.

On 9/4/2022 at 10:51 PM, Roccos Brother said:

Yes, they planned it to take place EXACTLY at the moment when Daemon was completely surrounded, wounded, tension was at its highest, and the audience was manipulated into thinking it might be the end for him. Not a minute sooner, not a minute later. That's exactly how it happens in real life too. 

I thought the Velaryon troops showed up first. I might be remembering wrong but didn't the dragon first make its appearance as a counter measure against the archers?

In any case, showing up in the "nick of time" is a different criticism from showing up "not a minute sooner, not a minute later". The latter, when "sooner" is achievable -they'd already met the condition of drawing out the crabfeeder's men before Daemon was surrounded- as it was in this case, is done for drama. 

[magdalene]

7 hours ago, cambridgeguy said:

Hooking up with Cristin wouldn’t just be a bad idea because hey, all of those sexist menfolk would object!  He’s a Kingsguard, so he’s not allowed to get married.  He’s not supposed to hook up with anyone either, and if anyone of importance found out he’d be exiled to the Wall or executed. 

Well, being Kingsguard never stopped Jaime from hooking up with his darling sis'. If you want it badly enough...

[snickers]

22 hours ago, gingerella said:

Thank you! I rarely go back and re-watch but perhaps I should rewarch the first episode again! Still, you'd think as King he'd have another dragon since, yanno, it's the family calling card!

Well keep in mind I'm pretty sure we are lead to believe Viserys rode Balerion when he was a teenager or in his early 20's so this would have been before he was King....I don't know if he would have been able to just "get" another Dragon so easily since he wasn't first in line for one....

Also, they mentioned in that intro that during the "height" of the Targeryen Dynasty they had only 10 adult dragons....and in that GOT conquest and rebellion DVD that came out with season 7, it was mentioned that when the Targaryens left Valyria for Dragonstone and took their dragons with them, i think we are to assume there was only maybe at the most 20 dragons that survived the doom and Balerion was the only one to make it to Jaherys reign

14 hours ago, TaraS1 said:

I want so badly for this show to be amazing because I am House Targaryen forever!  But the clunky writing and the weak casting (IMO, with the exception of Milly Alcock and maybe Rhys Ifans) is bumming me out so far. Plus, I just don't buy Matt Smith as a badass warrior.  But I'm definitely sticking with it because I love the Targs, so hopefully it only gets better from here.

I would say the only clunky thing the writers have done is the aging of the characters....making Leanor an adult when he looked about 13 in the first episode and Rhanerya being 17 when she was 15 three years ago, and making Leana look 10 when she was supposed to be 12

But the writing and acting is top notch for sure....

as for if the show gets better

Spoiler

I heard a rumor from a TV critic online episode 6 is the episode that will "blow everyone away"

[qtpye]

10 hours ago, Carolina Girl said:

Their last name would also begin with a "K".....

The one family colder than the Night King.

[ferjy]

On 9/4/2022 at 11:01 PM, Lady S. said:

Needlessly confusing when they could have had a teen actor riding on dragonback.

These things aren’t free. They’d have to have paid another actor. They need to save their money for the dragons! 😁