Nothing really tops Aemma’s manner of death for me in terms of brutality and shock value.

Here’s this woman who just suffered the grueling horrors of a stillbirth trying to rest and regain her life only to be pinned down and cut open while at her most vulnerable. The sheer fear she must’ve felt in the moment- not to mention the physical torture.

This was the beginning of my incessant dislike of Viserys.

If she hadn’t given up her acting career...

I loved seeing the relationships between dragons and their riders, the little moments that show they’re more than just weapons. Aegon and Sunfyre especially knowing how their story plays out. I wish we got more scenes of the riders just interacting with their dragons outside of battle. Not holding my breath it’ll happen next season. Are there any moments from the books you also wish the show had included? If I talk about Helena and Dreamfyre I’ll end up on a mad rant!!

Rhaenyra lost FIVE children, had a useless council, an empty treasury, inherited King's Landing in absolute shambles, and had to clean up Aegon's mess. Yet she STILL kept fighting. Meanwhile, Aegon had the money, home-field advantage, Vhagar, and the best council and somehow STILL fumbled. Plus, Aegon lost ONE child and ditched his other 2 kids to run away. Give Rhaenyra half of Aegon's advantages and she'd have been one of Westeros's greatest rulers, which is what makes the greens so mad.

The premiere of season 2. Season one had its flaws to be sure, but I was still hyped for HOTD then. The stark music kicks in and it feels great, but then this happened:

Jace: "Surely the great Torrhen Stark would've sooner died than bent the knee. Unless he believe the Conqueror could bring unity to the Seven Kingdoms."

Cregan: "You are right in that."

I'm sorry, what? We went from Torrhen swallowing his pride so no northerner would be burnt alive and no northern swords would be burnt into the Iron Throne to making him an Aegon the Conqueror fan boy?

That a random peasant in the north would not know the details fine I can believe. But the Lord of Winterfell? Come on.

What would Torrhen have cared about unity in the seven kingdoms? They'd been divided for centuries before this.

I don't know. Just weird dialogue. Also because, to my memory (I could be wrong tho) I don't think Torrhen Stark is ever mentioned in Game of Thrones. This would've been a good exposition opportunity. Like they did with Meriah Martell in season 3

Of course, they "kinda forgot" that:

"It's said that whenever Blackfyre and Lady Forlorn clashed, you could hear the sound for a league around. It was half a song and half a scream, they say" - Ser Useless Simpsgray

The Purple Beauty

John ruining the flow

In the show this scene was not done like it should have. The writing and the.. acting was not the best for this scene. So I decided to re-write it.

Jace's body would sink in the ocean like in real life.

Rahenrya is in a council meeting after some other knight opened her chambers door — She will be discussing what their next step should be after Jace and Baela return back — Some time later Baela will arrive at dragonstone — some servant will inform Rahenrya of Baela's arrival — Rahenrya will leave the meeting to go check on Jace and Baela — But she will only find Baela — Baela will have tears in her eyes and have a horified look — Rahenrya will ask where Jace is — Baela wouldn't have an answer — Rahenrya will understand something bad has happened and leave for the privacy of her chambers to not look weak in front of her lords and ladies — after composing her self she will come back to Baela and ask her once again for what happened — Baela will tell her of the battle — then Rahenrya will fly on Syrax towards the battle..

She killed hundreds or thousands of innocent lowborns at teh Drogon pit just to stare at Aegon and his family.

Which Targaryen queens and princesses do you think these characters could be fancast as?

Actresses and their characters:
Rebecca Ferguson —Elizabeth Woodville (The White Queen) — top left
Meryl Streep — Donna Sheridan (Mamma Mia!) — top right
Sarah Jessica Parker — Sarah Sanderson (Hocus Pocus) — middle left
Charlize Theron — Queen Ravenna (Snow White and the Huntsman) — middle right
Emily Blunt — Freya (The Huntsman: Winter’s War) — bottom left
Elizabeth Mitchell — Snow Queen Ingrid (Once Upon a Time) — bottom right

Could you please suggest more characters (male and female) from other shows who you see as Targaryen-looking? (I could possibly create a family tree using their images)

Edit: TLDR in its basic form of

book = good out,

show + Mary Sue + being not in the book = surprised but intriguing to consider.

So due to a massive surge of anger as I’ve only watched house of the dragon season one but put off watching the rest because I wanted to read the book and then watch the rest because I already liked Game of Thrones and loved the books being the source material but never truly wanted to read until season one rammed me and left me wanting more.

And reading the book and learning how it was written by maester with second hand knowledge and a huge bias in my understanding that dragons and magic and Targaryens = basically the Salem witch trials but in reverse as magic is actually part of the real world’s ecosystem and balance but its existence is completely wrong because that’s not how the world works as I’m entirely correct but completely uneducated because The Citadel (a place to learn) says so yet hoards knowledge to the point where it’s essentially just an circle of indoctrination and no independent thinkers (Even if my understanding and analogy isn’t that good it’s still incredibly ironic and amusing in a sense that Hey I know this one!)

So the historical recount of the Dance of Dragons is factual and yet not accurate in terms of what Season One of the show established which was why I had to stop and think because the beginning of Game of Thrones had fantastic storytelling and writing with my favorite being when Tywin sets up the table and waits with the chairs out of place and it’s so simple yet so much depth that the characters show their hand to Tywin without even knowing (Except for maybe Tyrion I’m not entirely certain but it’s still fun) The chairs are set up that way because it forces those in the rooms to pick their place and reveal to Tywin their actions in regards to him. All of whom are essentially not what Tywin needs/wants following his death cause the Lannister name is what he made it and yet it cannot continue unless he’s shown the truth. And Tyrion’s display of character in both cases in moving the chair and making it a display of what Tyrion feels and how he can essentially be what Tywin wants because of spite (and a lot of lessons but I digress) and it’s glorious in how Tywin’s actions have karmic consequences. (But mostly in how I see anyways)

As such, I needed context and the origins to make sure this wasn’t truly season eight in the making which wasn’t true at the time but sadly came true because of lots of stuff I won’t get into because that’s not the point of this.

Because I was so angry and betrayed about the loss of the story opportunities I channeled my rage into creating a Mary Sue character (it was my own therapy so it’s completely understandable and I won’t hear anything about it to change my mind) but in doing so I realized that this might have been the plot point that could have been what the show needed to balance out the very wild characterization being as complicated as my love life right now (therapeutic as I can justify my actions but also adapt the outcome which reveals I was right but there’s no tangible evidence for the jump from the rock bottom to suddenly on Mount Everest kind of thing so I have some interesting stuff that developed from this)

Given how season one was already established and I didn’t want to mess with it because it’s a good starting point and I can basically insert my character into the beginning of season two and then put all of my anger and rage into practice but in doing so I accidentally made some kind of magnum opus for the Mary sue that actually made sense and likely could have been true to a degree that the Mary sue character was essentially a narrative foil to Viserys.

She had no dragon, defended both her family yet completely destroyed Viserys’ actions because he was failing on both parts which was true but something he would see and acknowledge (as it happened in public but still worked) it but wouldn’t be able to have the spine to do it because that’s essentially his character in that he has no spine and the easy way out to avoid the bigger problem was essentially what makes the Mary sue so fascinating is that she is a woman, has no dragon, but unintentionally was a doe eyed naive woman whose actions were defiant yes but kind of fit into the role of a noble girl’s expectations that Alicent used to make the choices she did but without the Otto to remind her of the questionable nature of that.

Essentially my Princess Character, (who I name Alaena for no reason than it sounded cool but maybe not a Targaryen traditional one but it works so I’m gonna use it for this). Alaena doesn’t come into the story until season one has finished and both sides now recognize the importance of Rhaenyra’s act at the Hunt (which Harwin basically falling in love like Tormund was my favorite callback even if it wasn’t intended that way but I digress).

She already has a not so good reputation as she has no dragon as her cradle egg didn’t hatch and given her life at the moment being calm and rather dull was why she chose not to focus on it. She’s Targaryen yes but being a woman, dragonless, of course with blood purity (Mary Sue again), and essentially being the naive and innocent person I wanted her to just to pull the ‘Sike I’m actually not that and can read you for filth and simultaneously fight like a badass even though it doesn’t make sense but without a dragon I’m better so take that!’ and actually doing that was..where I realized that the show needed the Mary Sue character who was physically and metaphorically the exact thing Viserys wasn’t but since she was a woman and accepted being without a dragon because realistically she’d have a dragon but actually trying to fight back with one was detrimental to her character development already having come to fruition in that it made the character’s decisions more rooted in their respective traumas caused in part by Viserys himself more realistic in that he was doomed by the narrative from the beginning because he had the right stuff to be what he wanted which was the King who kept the peace but also the father who loved his family which included Alicent but not at the same time so it’s still not clear and it’s pretty obvious but fits in with her actions and helps my character better feed into being a woman of noble birth who could fit into the role set by society but also make Alicent feel so desperate to hide as she does and yet give more substance to the decisions.

Essentially dying to the point where he was drugged up on milk of the poppy but somewhat aware (I’m shaping this to fit what my character does essentially) enough to have some kind of idea of his actions being the root of the problem but still didn’t address it until it was literally his first decision to stand up and finally be the person he could have been that did work but also was the downfall of the established family as a whole.

In essence, my character has every reason to stay away and the occasional letters from Rhaenyra or anyone else that would have been aquainted with her was technically everyone but also not in how she refused to take sides because when you’re a narrative foil to Viserys her critical thinking skills and beatdown of the others you’re everyone’s image to try and be like because some part of her character validates them and shows somethings are possible but at the same time Viserys manages to undo it which leads to more flip flopping around and then that’s when their choices both align in how they both fade into the background.

Because the point of her character was to argue the facts from her point of view as Viserys had everything to be a good king but his one fatal error was that trying to be both at once and stick to his ideals was what could have produced results just as she did.

Now I’m not sure if this would have worked or if the storyline is a bit contrived or whatever the point of this is that not choosing a dragon to fight back completely undermined his role and gender mindset as it was hypocritical.

She had chosen to not continue trying to pursue a dragon because at the end of the day it wasn’t going to change anything. Trying to break out of a cage that’s always existed and will exist even if you somehow manage to break it as it just confirms the truth that she is what they think of her but that doesn’t mean she’s completely unarmed. The power of the spoken words and the fiery temper to back up and stick with it as at the time there was no greens or blacks just a king and his poor decisions. And when the gender roles were at their most peak a dragon could only take her so far as it would take having her own teeth and claws in the only thing that speaks louder than a king or even men in that the misogynist mindset automatically made some woman the same in their minds but when she learned to raise her voice and speak her words as harshly as she could but seemingly never have any ‘real’ wounds to show for it limited their own personal perception from other women around them.

Whenever she spoke up, it was always meticulously planned and strategic that her entering a room wasn’t cause for concern as she was being as she always was but the moment the room suddenly seemed to thicken or just tense the woman seemed to notice long before the men ever would. It wasn’t for lack of skill or training it was just the product of having to literally be on the prowl and be a predator in a zoo that would only remind people of that fact as its human nature to feel safe when the animals are safe and therefore they were safe. But in a zoo those rules work both ways. When a person breaks the rules in that regard of seeing zoo animals as if they were tamed and not docile or relaxed as zookeepers do (it’s not a universal thing but it’s still important as a whole) take great care of the animals that humans that don’t cross the barrier or their established domain it seems the animals will remain that way as if they wouldn’t be like that in the wild but it’s less documented as it’s the wild and not a zoo where they’re able to be both the predator and the content animal as (I know it’s not totally true but still very important to point out) separate when in reality they are still both as they need enrichment and entertainment that sometimes can come from entertainment for humans but there’s things you cannot do because it’s not a puppet show. it’s a living animal. Jumping into the cage or trying to pet a bird or even a giraffe despite the no petting sign because human unpredictably will somehow choose to see the status quo and decide to be the daring one. And that’s when the predator or animal will defend themselves which is why when some incidents occur where the animals are killed it’s incredibly distressing because they were doing what they do and the human was the intruder as any other invader would be and then corrected in a different manner. The story will fade and most might choose to ignore it or remember the rules when seeing a sign that sparks the memory but there’s always one person.

As such, when my character sees the speech that Viserys gives and how he stands up for once and becomes what he needed to be but not until it was almost too late. And that’s when my character chooses to leave because despite having the skills to be a rather beneficial part in the early stages of both sides (mostly in that her ability to speak and not hold back the truth) as it would justify some of the actions done before Aemond killed Luke showing how Vhagar isn’t truly under his command as she is a war dragon and he has the same temperament that bonded them but that’s not a guarantee of success. And when Daemon retaliated with blood and cheese, it was a demonstration of his impulsive behavior by not consulting with his ruler (not to mention his wife) before doing so.

But as the story demands, my character disappears as there’s no record of her ever existing in the book canon. For who would look at the person who did everything right in the moment which was clearly helpful in the beginning as it gave the characters their own unique connections to her as both an inspiration and also being the realistic (in my manner I don’t know if it’s true in my writing this) and trauma focused reality of their own decisions. Viserys saved the day by doing what he should have done before and my character made the decision to leave because there was no need for her to remain as she only came to defend what was her territory. But Viserys being on the verge of death and being so delirious he mistook Alicent for Rhaenyra and then gave her the validation to jump the gun and basically ignore what she had realized at dinner because Viserys giving her that validation could have been caused by my character’s departure. Alicent would have seen what my character was doing as proof that a noble woman in this world could still protect her family but didn’t view it from the large scale or chose to ignore the signs that didn’t fit in with her ideal being a woman defending her family and largely being less able to truly see the damage she was doing to her family was the exact opposite of my character’s actions or ignored it it’s debatable.

But watching my character’s departure and Visery’s words could have been a realistic choice as she had the validation in how to fight back which was Otto at this point because he was at a clear disadvantage with the unification of both sides and Alicent recognized that but jumped the gun because Aegon’s name was said but in reference to Rhaenyra and a prophecy? So she had to put Aegon on the throne because what else could it be but another one of Visery’s bad decisions and what if my character being gone and Alicent was correct?

The rest of the story could play out as the show runners wanted but it didn’t have the context required to make it that way because there was a lack of someone to show the contrary behavior of Visery’s back and forth.

As the history of my character would’ve been forgotten as who wants to remember the one Targaryen who actually was right in this biased writing or maybe she faded into the background and where she ended up or even if she lived to know of the Dance of the Dragons is a mystery. And that’s why I think that the show runners could have done as it’s a logical series of events giving the original book its credibility but also highlighting the perspective of the show being from a Targaryen standpoint and how the ultimate fate of some characters like Nettles (I am sad she wasn’t included but there was merit to the change of character and Sheepstealer in what gave Daemon some more depth in his character being a father or family member that wanted to protect his family and how he was a good father by including the deleted scenes of showing that part of himself but with my character’s inclusion it could be rooted in more of a frantic ‘I am the protector’ which is fine on its own but becomes more interesting with Viserys last thing Daemon knew he did was unite the family and successful which was probably a bit bittersweet for him but it was a good outcome. Alicent’s actions and concealing Viserys death would have felt like an insult but Aemond killing Luke, kinslaying no matter how it happened or Vhagar ignoring Aemond and violating guest rights (I hope that is the right term) and Rhaenyra’s obviously deep grief would have been cause for him to snap and retaliate as now he couldn’t let the greens get away with insulting Viserys last act and now he’s got blood and cheese (though how the scene would go down to be as gruesome for everyone involved and Alicent’s involvement in harming Helaena and killing her son’s son and her daughter’s son (I love this so much even if the incest is weird and yet can be nostalgic as it’s Game of Thrones after all and writing out the weird ways they are related and what their romantic relationships look like and the family circle which isn’t a circle but it’s rooted in the same bloodline is always funny when you think about it).

Now that Daemon has been set up to be that family protector, learning that his own daughter finally claimed her own dragon which was a wild dragon even if it was Sheepstealer it still would be a surprise but maybe also a good one if not for her unintentional choice to join the battle. In this case, she wanted to be a dragon rider so badly that Sheepstealer being Wild and untrained (as it wasn’t something dragons had automatically that Targaryens had to learn to do to command them but could have seemed that way to a girl who wanted a dragon but never got to train one only seeing others doing it from the sidelines and lacking the context to it) and jumped into battle essentially because she wanted to prove herself as a dragon rider and was one in her mind which was to her detriment and Jace’s death.

Knowing this Daemon would have more than enough credibility and established family figure but what could he do when both of your family members were each other’s biggest enemies? Concealing her and Rhaenyra finding out (though I don’t know about the rest of it like Nettles last known location and the tribe people and I know I butchered the name) would have been personal and beneficial for her paranoia and the further descent into her inevitable demise.

And I do have a way for Nettles to fit into the story while also expanding upon an already established character. Morning was already a sign of hope for she was a healthy hatchling and gave hope for the dragons recovery which now having Nettles be the one to hatch her and bond with her would have both enhanced that hope and seemingly make Rhaenyra’s son more hateful of dragons as now this outsider who has no apparent Targaryen blood has just became a beacon of hope and hatching Morning would have still been the shocking truth it was in the book though having it remove how it was done might be a bad thing but perhaps in how Sheepstealer’s fate played out it would be a better outcome as the confusion of a Wild Dragon choosing a Targaryen only to end up having to flee after being attacked and a hatchling which was essentially a delayed cradle egg choosing Nettles would have been more interesting.

Well that’s my whole rant! I hope it makes some sense for what I think and the Mary Sue character being forgotten in the book and the new plotline and its potential for at least mending the massacre done to the show somewhat enjoyable even if it has the unintended consequence of highlighting the dumb decisions of the show writers with just one character changing so much?! I hope you enjoyed!

Emilia Clarke and Emma D'arcy take a photo together backstage at the Emmy's.

This is my first time posting here, I'm not good with English so please be patient :)

I've read all sorts of opinions about Cregan Stark, but recently a girl on TikTok said that Cregan was a rapist for demanding Alysanne's virginity in exchange for not executing Corlys.

I believe that Cregan is not a rapist, nor did he pressure Aly; he was simply rough because he doesn't know how to be "romantic," but he always intended to marry her. Furthermore, the book says that Alysanne accepted the proposal with a smile.

I'm asking this question in a subreddit that doesn't belong to any specific side in the interest of more neutrality.

My absolute favorite is from one of the Game of Thrones animated lore segments, where Viserys is telling the tale of Aegon the Conqueror, that's how I imagine a proper fantasy dragonrider king's armor. The horned helmet is just the cherry on the top. Maybe it's a bit too cliche sword and sorcery, but I just love it, can't help it.

Rhaenyra looks so experienced to jump of Syrax so casually. Also Syrax knew immediately that Rhaenyra wanted to jump off, the dragonbond runs deep.