S01.E08: The Lord of the Tides

[DigitalCount]

4 minutes ago, Lady Whistleup said:

I feel like Daemon is getting the Jaime-character-arc pivot. He started off as loathsome but has become more likable, just like Jaime.

I really thought after the first episode that it would be Daemon vs. Rhaenyra with their tension in the background heating things up. I forgot that this universe just...goes for the incest, so that would have been too tame.

[paigow]

27 minutes ago, MrsR said:

This is produced by George's company. This is unquestionably the authors message.

Maybe The Hand of the Author is working against the Author..

[Lady Whistleup]

One thing that Rhaenyra has over Alicent is Rhaenyra really loves the people she loves. She loves her father, her kids, uncle/husband Daemon. All of Alicent's relationships are very mercenary and transactional. Even her relationship with her father isn't warm. 

[Helena Dax]

I can't remember now, did Daemon speak at all? He's at his most dangerous when he's silent.

As someone who lives in a country with a monarchy, I find very difficult to believe that the heir to the throne has been spending her time so far from King's Landing. She should have had a permanent chair in the Council and now that she's a grown-up woman, she should be the one acting as a Regent, not the Queen consort. 

If ser Cranston could kill ser Joffrey and that kid could kill the lord that was mocking him, sure as hell no one is going to stop Daemon from killing the guy who has called his wife a whore, especially if she's the heir to the throne.

[PurpleTentacle]

2 hours ago, Affogato said:

13 hours ago, PurpleTentacle said:

I assume it's just bacteria living in his body, slowly eating him and the Maesters cutting off more and more infected parts. Times before antibiotics were no joke.

I think the show runners have confirmed leprosy. Which makes sense. 

So I guess we know the specific bacteria living in his body. :D

Thanks for the info.

[Lady Whistleup]

3 minutes ago, Helena Dax said:

 As someone who lives in a country with a monarchy, I find very difficult to believe that the heir to the throne has been spending her time so far from King's Landing. She should have had a permanent chair in the Council and now that she's a grown-up woman, she should be the one acting as a Regent, not the Queen consort. 

The thing about Rhaenyra (and Viserys) is that she's like many people who were born into royalty -- they actually sort of hate it. They feel entitled because it's their birthright but they're not keen on actually ruling. 

Alicent and her father are typical of people who try to work their way to the throne -- it's their dream, their ambition, getting on the Iron Throne consumes their lives. Alicent is willing to put up with sex with a man whose flesh is rotting off, a son who is a psychopath and serial racist, awful people like Criston and Larys, all to get the Iron Throne.

[Roccos Brother]

3 hours ago, qtpye said:

Yes, some people seem to age decades in minutes and Criston is still the same sexy bastard we met on day one. 

Those fuckboy genes are strong.

[LanceM]

20 minutes ago, Helena Dax said:

If ser Cranston could kill ser Joffrey and that kid could kill the lord that was mocking him, sure as hell no one is going to stop Daemon from killing the guy who has called his wife a whore, especially if she's the heir to the throne.

I doubt there was not one lord in that hall who would not have done the same thing if someone had insulted their wife like that it or at the very least would have called for a duel.

Edited October 10, 2022 by LanceM

[Roseanna]

2 hours ago, Stardancer Supreme said:

Viserys had told these very same people 6 years ago at Driftmark that whosoever spoke on Rhaenyra's children would lose their tongue.  Vaemond knew he was a goner as soon as he said what he said.  You see no one moved to stop Daemon and did nothing when Vaemond's head hit the floor.  Corlys probably won't say much when he learns of Vaemond's fate; he is firmly on Rhaenyra's side.

That means that the King is a tyrant and even the lords have no rights.

4 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

I too agree with @Cristofle that Helaena seems to be THE BEST of Alicent's children. Jace was kind to ask her to dance, but yes, Jace and Luce need to let those insults roll like water off a duck's back. Every time they react they let the taunter win.

An advice fit to the modern world. An aristocrat must react to insults, otherwise he loses his face. 

[Stardancer Supreme]

2 minutes ago, Roseanna said:

That means that the King is a tyrant and even the lords have no rights.

I respectfully disagree. Viserys was no tyrant, and lords knew better than to go against the King. Everyone knows the King is weak, but Viserys was still King until he took his last breath.  Vaemond knew he was out of pocket; this wouldn't have happened if Corlys was around.

The only thing Viserys was guilty of was not properly backing up his named Heir.

[aghst]

What was Vamond saying at the funeral?

Forget but he kind of rose out of the background and decided he might be a player.

[Roseanna]

10 minutes ago, Stardancer Supreme said:

I respectfully disagree. Viserys was no tyrant, and lords knew better than to go against the King. Everyone knows the King is weak, but Viserys was still King until he took his last breath.  Vaemond knew he was out of pocket; this wouldn't have happened if Corlys was around.

There was no trial - that is a sign of a tyrant. 

[Oscirus]

1 hour ago, MrsR said:

This is produced by George's company. It's right there in the credits. He's right there in the credits. How many articles have to be published about George's involvement in this project .

This is unquestionably the authors message.

So when the author himself says that nonsense that happened in season 8 was not his message, we should just tell him to stfu and stop lying cuz it was indeed his message since he has a producers credit, got it.

[Oscirus]

Other than Aegon, none of the kids are bad. Only thing Aemonds guilty of is being pissed at kids who poked his eye out for talking and defending his brother. Im sure in the future he might be bad, but at the moment, Ive yet to see anything that hes done thats been particularly heinous

[proserpina65]

Initial thoughts: Aegon is an ass and a creep.  Aemond is the dangerous one and a shitstirrer to boot.  Makes him far more interesting.  And I've been dropping the d from his name - must have been confusing him with Maester Aemon on GOT; not the characters of course, just the names.  (That actor has one hell of a chin.  Almost Hapsburgian.)

Interesting that Alicent was there at the end to hear Viserys ramble about Aegon and the Prince Who Was Promised.  Quite unfortunate for the realm, I'd guess.

Sorry to see Vaemond meet his death.  He was one of the few characters I liked.

[Stardancer Supreme]

10 minutes ago, Roseanna said:

There was no trial - that is a sign of a tyrant. 

There was no need for a trial. The King told everyone to keep Rheanyra and her babies names out of their mouths or there will be consequences.  His word is to be followed.  Did you jump into HotD at this episode? If you watched the episodes from the beginning, you would not say Viserys was a tyrant.

[cambridgeguy]

3 minutes ago, Roseanna said:

There was no trial - that is a sign of a tyrant.

No king would have allowed that to stand.  He publicly called the princess a whore and her children bastards, and his proof (look at them!) had already been declared insufficient years before.  Daemon jumped the gun on the punishment (is losing your tongue and presumably being exiled really better than getting executed?) but that's it.  Even Otto and Alicent knew he was toast.

[Helena Dax]

32 minutes ago, Lady Whistleup said:

The thing about Rhaenyra (and Viserys) is that she's like many people who were born into royalty -- they actually sort of hate it. They feel entitled because it's their birthright but they're not keen on actually ruling. 

Alicent and her father are typical of people who try to work their way to the throne -- it's their dream, their ambition, getting on the Iron Throne consumes their lives. Alicent is willing to put up with sex with a man whose flesh is rotting off, a son who is a psychopath and serial racist, awful people like Criston and Larys, all to get the Iron Throne.

It may be so, but at some point the heir has to learn and she's never been like Aegon the Rapist, who explicitly said that he wasn't interested in the throne. And Viserys should have ordered her to stay and learn. Besides, the question of Rhaenyra being in charge, and not Alicent, is the way things seem to work in Westeros too. When Ned left Winterfell, it was Rob who became acting Lord of Winterfell, not Catelyn. 

[MrWhyt]

20 minutes ago, Roseanna said:

There was no trial - that is a sign of a tyrant. 

why would there be a trial? he slandered the heir to the crown and her children in front of multiple witnesses and the king. No need to go through the motions.

[Oscirus]

1 minute ago, Helena Dax said:

It may be so, but at some point the heir has to learn and she's never been like Aegon the Rapist, who explicitly said that he wasn't interested in the throne. And Viserys should have ordered her to stay and learn. Besides, the question of Rhaenyra being in charge, and not Alicent, is the way things seem to work in Westeros too. When Ned left Winterfell, it was Rob who became acting Lord of Winterfell, not Catelyn. 

Yea they failed twice with that. Once with Rhae not being in kings landing. I get that she cant be in kings landing for the story to move forward but still, is he expecting Rhae to just know how to rule and command respect from the council cuz he said so. Couldve been a bit more creative.

Second time with driftmark.  If she's expecting Luke to inherit it, why wouldnt she at least ask for Luke to be a ward of Rhaenys, Rhaenys is openly plotting to steal it right from under luke and she apparently didnt even notice. Dont know if thats a character flaw on her part or a flaw on the part of the writers

[proserpina65]

16 hours ago, mac123x said:

Maybe it's just the wig and the prominent chin, but Aemon looks remarkably like his uncle Daemon.  He has a good Matt Smith-esque smirk too.

I thought that, too.  If you'd told me he was Daemon's son, I'd have believed it possible.

16 hours ago, aquarian1 said:

Did Rhaenyra and Daemon really name their first son Aegon?  It's bad enough having so many similar names, now we have 2 living characters with the exact same name.

Yep.  These people need to find new names.  Aegon, Aemond, Daemon, Rhaenys, Rhaena, Rhaenyra, STOP IT.  At least Jace and Luc are different.

16 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

I have to say, I want to give a big shout out to Eve Best for her portrayal as Princess Rhaenys. It’s a part without a lot of flashy dialogue but she’s done an excellent job. LOVE HER. 

She definitely is a MVP here.  She's mostly quiet and yet completely magnificent.  What a loss the realm had when the council decided against her as queen.

[sistermagpie]

11 hours ago, Oscirus said:

Aemond's that dude you want having your back. Everybody else preparing to rule or whatever else and this dude is prepared to go to war.  I get the feeling if he catches luke or jace alone in an alley, it'll be curtains for them. Aegon on the other hand is gonna be the epitome of a bad king, drunk lustful, no filter.  This civil war, green will go as far as aemond can carry them.

Can't say for sure yet, but Aemond seems like the dude that never really has anyone's back. If it suits him, sure, but he's not going to feel obligated if it doesn't.

8 hours ago, Roseanna said:

No, it was the simple truth at that kind of society and age.

A woman accusing a man for raping her must have people who testify that they hear her to cry and/or saw her clothes were torn. A servant had no chance against her master, still less a prince. Alicent showed kindness towards the girl that was really rare.    

It was another matter if the offer was a lady who had a powerful family as the rape was considered a crime not against the woman herself but against her father or husband.     

I think it can be both. Alicent certainly seemed to be intentionally warning her with the talk about people not believing her, not just giving her good advice. It's not like she was going to stick up for her.

5 hours ago, jeansheridan said:

It is unfortunate Aemond looks so much older than the actor playing Aegon. And I kind of miss the young teen actor. This guy feels one note at the moment but he didn't have much time. He looks badass.

OMG, this confused me through the whole episode. I knew which one Aemond was, but at the table I thought Aegon was some younger son I couldn't place. Not only does he look younger, the Aemond actor looked more like the guy who used to play Aegon.

10 minutes ago, cambridgeguy said:

No king would have allowed that to stand.  He publicly called the princess a whore and her children bastards, and his proof (look at them!) had already been declared insufficient years before.  Daemon jumped the gun on the punishment (is losing your tongue and presumably being exiled really better than getting executed?) but that's it.  Even Otto and Alicent knew he was toast.

Yes, I thought part of why Viserys would appreciate what he did was that Viserys felt the need to pull out his knife. If he'd tried to take his tongue himself he obviously wouldn't have been able to overpower him and it would be painful and pathetic. So Daemon stepped in and saved his dignity. And the tongue.

[Oscirus]

Yea he mightve escaped with exile and loss of a tongue if he wouldve just stuck with bastard, but once he called the crown princess a whore, it was pretty much over. He likely knew it was over too, he just didnt want to work somewhere for a bastard that didnt really earn it so he went all out.

[Stardancer Supreme]

16 hours ago, aquarian1 said:

Did Rhaenyra and Daemon really name their first son Aegon?  It's bad enough having so many similar names, now we have 2 living characters with the exact same name.

I get naming one of their sons Viserys, after his grandsire, but why did they name their other baby Aegon? What will the new baby be named? Harwin? (I kid. LOL!)

I also question the shortening of Jacerys and Lucerys to Jake and Luke. It further gives the impression that these are not Targaryen children, which they are. You can't really shorten Joffrey; I can imagine him asking who he was named after if he gets to grow up.

[DigitalCount]

1 hour ago, aghst said:

What was Vamond saying at the funeral?

Forget but he kind of rose out of the background and decided he might be a player.

He was essentially saying the same things he said at the petition, except more veiled. That's why Daemon laughed as he was talking. There's a reason why Laenor called him the Master of Complaints.

Edited October 10, 2022 by DigitalCount

[proserpina65]

14 hours ago, Stardancer Supreme said:

He wasn't even going to let Rhaenys keep the throne in the event of Corlys' death? 

As magnificent as she is, Rhaenys is not a Velaryon.  She's a Targaryen.  Vaemond cared about bloodlines.  Who knows if he had kids, though.  Too late now.

13 hours ago, bunnyblue said:

I'm unclear as to why Rhaenys did a 180 and sided with Rhaenyra at the last moment?

I think she felt she had little choice since Viserys was there.  Had he not managed to drag himself to the throne room, she might not have back Rhaenyra up.  I guess she's seeing it as promoting her granddaughters.

13 hours ago, Roccos Brother said:

- Aemond's speech seemed relatively tame and harmless, but I suppose the biting sarcasm was too much for Jace and Luke to accept; even though the placing of the cooked pig in front of Aemond was a much sicker and cleverer burn.

I suspect it was Aegon behind the pig.

12 hours ago, Oscirus said:

Aemond's that dude you want having your back. Everybody else preparing to rule or whatever else and this dude is prepared to go to war.  I get the feeling if he catches luke or jace alone in an alley, it'll be curtains for them. Aegon on the other hand is gonna be the epitome of a bad king, drunk lustful, no filter.  This civil war, green will go as far as aemond can carry them.

Yeah, he's not pissing around.  When he and Ser Criston were sparring in the courtyard, I thought it was Daemon at first.  Aemond is that serious a threat.

[Constantinople]

3 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

I'm surprised that the show is really leaning into the Song of Ice and Fire prophecy, even using it as the final spark that ignites the war between the two sides. Both because the whole prophesy turns out to mean a whole lot of nothing, a Song of Jack and Shit...

2 hours ago, MrsR said:

They explained Aegon's dream in this show twice now. Why, you ask, because people saying still stuff like that.

Again, the dream is about who will UNITE people to defeat the darkness. Not who will strike the killing blow or who will win the throne (the dream actually predates the throne). So considering that Jon did indeed UNITE, then it means a lot more than "jack shit".

My question is, how many times does it have to be explained, reiterated, pointed out, highlighted, etc for folks to get it. Three times, ten times, a hundred times? This is clearly an author's message. So maybe listen to the author.

Of course the dream predates the throne. The motivation for an action must predate the action. And if the action is unimportant, so is it's motivation.

I would also dispute that everything we've seen in both Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon is clearly the author's message based on interviews of the author and what's in the books so far, but this is the No Book Talk thread, so I'll rely on what's occurred on screen.

Viserys: Aegon foresaw the end of the world of men. 'Tis to begin with a terrible winter gusting out of the distant north...Aegon saw absolute darkness riding on those winds. And whatever dwells within will destroy the world of the living. When this Great Winter comes, Rhaenyra... all of Westeros must stand against it. And if the world of men is to survive, a Targaryen must be seated on the Iron Throne. A king or queen, strong enough to unite the realm against the cold and the dark. Aegon called his dream "The Song of Ice and Fire." House of the Dragon, S01 E01.

Almost none of that happened. Westeros didn't stand against what came out of the North, only part of Westeros did, maybe 2 of the 7 kingdoms with special guest appearances by Jaime Lannister and Yara and Theon Greyjoy; a Targaryen was wasn't on the Iron Throne; its occupant wasn't strong enough to unite the realm. It wasn't even that bad of a winter.

And despite his protestations, even Viserys didn't take the dream that seriously. Keeping Rhaenyra as his heir after having a son, and even after Rhaenyra had three children by Harwin Strong, were the most divisive actions he could have taken. Viserys's motivation for naming and keeping Rhaenyra as his heir appears to be feeling guilty over gutting his first wife Aemma like a fish, not Aegon's dream.

Even Rhaenyra acknowledged Viserys's actions were divisive.

Rhaenyra: You told me it was our duty to hold the realm united against a common foe. By naming me heir, you divided the realm.

So a lot of viewers, including myself, will wonder why the show continues to reference the prophecy when in universe characters don't take this allegedly all important prophecy seriously -- see also no clear succession law and feeble old men like Jaehaerys and Viserys not abdicating -- and the prophecy turned out in almost no way to be accurate, and only serves to remind viewers of the worst aspects of Season 8 of Game of Thrones.

tl;dr Just because it was the author's message doesn't mean it was a good idea or that it made sense.

[proserpina65]

4 hours ago, bluvelvet said:

Helaena/Aegon as married siblings and Daemon/Rhaenyra as married uncle/neice and now we're throwing the first cousins in the mix.  At least the Strong blood mixes it up a bit BUT still - blech.

They're not actually first cousins.  They're related through Rhaenys since she and Viserys were first cousins, but Rhaenyra's sons and Rhaeny's granddaughters are second cousins, I think.

[proserpina65]

Regarding Aegon's dream/prophecy: people talk about prophecies a lot in medievally type stuff and they rarely actually come true.  That it doesn't end up happening the way it seems it should is irrelevant.  The only thing which matters is who believes it and how they act as a result.

[bunnyblue]

5 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

her brother in law had been with her ruling for many years after her husband went back to the StepStones to fight,

This just reminded me: wasn't Laenor going off to the Stepstones to fight? And if Corlys spent the last 6 years there, I wonder if he ran into his son or even Qarl and now knows the truth?

[Constantinople]

2 hours ago, Roseanna said:

There was no trial - that is a sign of a tyrant. 

1 hour ago, Stardancer Supreme said:

There was no need for a trial. The King told everyone to keep Rheanyra and her babies names out of their mouths or there will be consequences.  His word is to be followed.  Did you jump into HotD at this episode? If you watched the episodes from the beginning, you would not say Viserys was a tyrant.

Outlawing the truth is typically considered a mark of tyranny.

Moreover the consequences were supposed to be having one's tongue cut out, not death. And since there were no consequences for Daemon, Viserys retroactively changed the law. That's the very definition of tyranny since no one can know whether they're committing a crime or what the penalty will be if one or the other is changed after the fact. That's why the US Constitution prohibits ex post facto law.

1 hour ago, MrWhyt said:

why would there be a trial? he slandered the heir to the crown and her children in front of multiple witnesses and the king. No need to go through the motions.

Tyrion: It's not slander if it's true. Game of Thrones, Valar Dohaeris (S03 E01).

Edited October 10, 2022 by Constantinople

[ursula]

15 hours ago, RobertDeSneero said:

Baelq and Rhaena are a bit older than their betrothed, but I suppose not too old.

The girls are supposed to be the same age as Jace, at least. Rhaenyra and Laenor got married before Daemon and Laena. None of them should be older than 15, which is how long it's been since the wedding in episode 4 (16 years) - 9 months of pregnancy. The boys still look like teenagers but the girls look much older, which makes me wonder/suspect if there's going to be a romantic dynamic between one of the girls and Aemond.

Edited October 10, 2022 by ursula

[Oscirus]

10 minutes ago, ursula said:

The girls are supposed to be the same age as Jace, at least. Rhaenyra and Laenor got married before Daemon and Laena. None of them should be older than 15, which is how long it's been since the wedding in episode 4 (16 years) - 9 months of pregnancy. The boys still look like teenagers but the girls look much older, which makes me wonder/suspect if there's going to be a romantic dynamic between one of the girls and Aemond.

Dont imagine Aemond would be too happy with the girls either. Only real dynamic i noticed is between aegon and baela and I hope they're not going down the sa path i think theyre going down

[meep.meep]

6 hours ago, Affogato said:

I think the show runners have confirmed leprosy. Which makes sense. 

Well the last time they confirmed that it was grayscale.  Leprosy is more in line with the symptoms shown.

The makeup folks must have had a field day with this.

[MrWhyt]

40 minutes ago, Constantinople said:

Tyrion: It's not slander if it's true. Game of Thrones, Valar Dohaeris (S03 E01).

yeah but nobody knows it to be true. They suspect it, but no one has done a DNA test, Strong never acknowledged the children as his, Rhaenyra never admitted that the children aren't Laenor's. You and I know the truth but Vaemond did not. What would his defense at trial be? "c'mon just look at them.... come onnnnnnnnnnnn *stampy feet*"

[Affogato]

32 minutes ago, meep.meep said:

Well the last time they confirmed that it was grayscale.  Leprosy is more in line with the symptoms shown.

The makeup folks must have had a field day with this.

Well someone confirmed leprosy. Has anyone figured out what grayscale is?  I remember trying to make it work with leprosy at some point but it really didn’t. 

Edited October 10, 2022 by Affogato

[proserpina65]

36 minutes ago, meep.meep said:

Well the last time they confirmed that it was grayscale. 

I thought that was about the Crabfeeder.

[Kath94]

2 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

I suspect it was Aegon behind the pig.

Hasn't it been six years since the pig joke, and Aemond has had Laena's bigass dragon since then?  I wouldn't think having a roast pig set in front of him would be a problem at this point.

[proserpina65]

14 minutes ago, Kath94 said:

Hasn't it been six years since the pig joke, and Aemond has had Laena's bigass dragon since then?  I wouldn't think having a roast pig set in front of him would be a problem at this point.

I agree, but it doesn't seem like Aegon has matured much in those years.

[Oscirus]

I think the pig was coincidental. Joke doesnt even make sense at the moment. Honestly wish the show didnt even put that part in cuz it brings attention to something thats not even important in the grand scheme of things

[Constantinople]

1 hour ago, Constantinople said:

Tyrion: It's not slander if it's true. Game of Thrones, Valar Dohaeris (S03 E01).

59 minutes ago, MrWhyt said:

yeah but nobody knows it to be true. They suspect it, but no one has done a DNA test, Strong never acknowledged the children as his, Rhaenyra never admitted that the children aren't Laenor's. You and I know the truth but Vaemond did not. What would his defense at trial be? "c'mon just look at them.... come onnnnnnnnnnnn *stampy feet*"

I'm not sure what your point is.

If you're suggesting Rhaenyra would lie at the trial, I agree. The show has made it clear that she'll do anything.

If you're suggesting Viserys wouldn't be able impartial I also agree and decide for Rhaenyra no matter what, I also agree. But he knows the truth. After Aegon said "We know, Father. Everyone knows. Just look at them." in the previous episode Viserys stopped using words like lies and calumnies.

If you're suggesting medieval courts didn't decide matters of bastardry in the absence of DNA, I disagree.

If you're suggesting courts don't rule against someone who denies something to be true, I disagree with that as well.

[Cristofle]

5 hours ago, MrsR said:

This is produced by George's company. It's right there in the credits. He's right there in the credits. How many articles have to be published about George's involvement in this project .

This is unquestionably the authors message.

Are we talking about this show or GoT? This show, since it's only one season in, I think we can be pretty sure has GRRM's message in it. But GRRM has been relatively open that he had less and less say as the OG show went on. We know he gave the show runners some broad strokes, and we can presume that in the end they used at least some of them, but IIRC, the one thing they've been open about just being them is Arya killing the Night King. Not trying to get too in the weeds about the whole thing, but I do think in terms of when the prophecy specifically is mentioned, like it was in the end of the episode, it's at least possibly GRRM hinting to us something apart from how the mothership ended. 

I'll probably go to my grave wondering if GRRM really means for Jon's name to be Aegon though. Hence my "Oh no, not AGAIN" with this episode, LMAO. Y'all. You need to have more than like four male names for kids. Everyone is getting confused. 

[ursula]

1 hour ago, Oscirus said:

Dont imagine Aemond would be too happy with the girls either. Only real dynamic i noticed is between aegon and baela and I hope they're not going down the sa path i think theyre going down

Yeah I wonder what Helena’s meant when she said “most of the time he ignores you except when he’s drunk”. 😬  Alicent went the incest Targaryen route and couldn’t even marry her daughter to the brother that would have treated her decently. smh…

Baela and Rhaena are the only single Targ girls in the realm. It fits their culture of in-breeding that Aemond (and even Aegon) would feel resentful that they’ve been married off to such “Strong” boys. 

Edited October 10, 2022 by ursula

[paigow]

3 hours ago, bunnyblue said:

This just reminded me: wasn't Laenor going off to the Stepstones to fight? And if Corlys spent the last 6 years there, I wonder if he ran into his son or even Qarl and now knows the truth?

Laenor & Qarl ran away to Essos / Pentos... nowhere near the war zone....

[MBayGal]

18 hours ago, aghst said:

Raynera and Damon got busy didn't they, didn't waste time, 2 more sons and one more in the oven in the intervening years.  

It has been 6 years, so I'm surprised that they didn't have a 5-year-old

[go4luca]

Matt Smith says so much with only a sigh.  What a moment between these two.

Spoiler

[bluphoenix451]

3 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

They're not actually first cousins.  They're related through Rhaenys since she and Viserys were first cousins, but Rhaenyra's sons and Rhaeny's granddaughters are second cousins, I think.

Technically they are, and were raised as such, since their parents (Laenor and Laena) were siblings, yeah genetically not so much. 

Edited October 10, 2022 by bluphoenix451

[nikma]

8 hours ago, ybrik said:

I keep seeing people why the focus on the prophecy when we know it doesn’t mean anything

How it doesn't mean anything? It literally happened in the original show. Aegon united the realm to fight against the White Walkers.

[proserpina65]

25 minutes ago, bluphoenix451 said:

Technically they are, and were raised as such, since their parents (Laenor and Laena) were siblings, yeah genetically not so much. 

Biologically was what I meant.  Yes, they have been raised otherwise.

[nikma]

7 hours ago, Oscirus said:

Except its literally not the author who did that last season its the showrunners. We dont know what the author is planning

Neither does he obviously.

Showrunners of GoT had long meetings with GRRM where they've discussed the future of the story and that was confirmed by all sides including GRRM himself, who said just before S8 aired that the show's ending won't be that different from his and that it's based on his ideas from 20 years ago.

Only when the ending became controversial he tried to distance himself from it. Which is really shitty behavior on many levels, especially when you consider that he is not capable of finishing even penultimate book, let alone the whole thing.

5 hours ago, Oscirus said:

So when the author himself says that nonsense that happened in season 8 was not his message, we should just tell him to stfu and stop lying cuz it was indeed his message since he has a producers credit, got it.

Yes. And we should show him his quotes from before S8 aired. And tell him to finish the story or shut up forever because no one cares about his fake promises anymore. And descriptions how amazing his ending will be.

Edited October 11, 2022 by nikma