The Black Queen

I would rather feed my sons to the dragons than have them carry shields and cups for your drunken, usurper cunt of a king.

Daemon Targaryen

Major Plot Points: Rhaenyra is crowned Queen on Dragonstone. The Sea Snake returns to the world of the living and joins Team Black. Daemon handles all of this in a healthy way. Lucerys goes on his first big boy mission to prove himself, and does not.

Observations from a Book Reader:

1. Rhaenys was not the one to break the news to Rhaenyra about the crowning of Aegon II. She was already at Dragonstone and never a prisoner of the Greens. Another key difference, it was not written that she or Corlys suspected Rhaenyra in the death of Laenor, and they always gave their support from the beginning.
2. Rhaenyra going into labor immediately after hearing the news of her father’s death and the Green’s coup, caused her and Daemon to blame the miscarriage on Alicent and Otto. What was not stated in the show, the stillborn child was a girl named Visenya, who was one of Aegon the Conqueror’s two sister-wives and the original rider of Vhagar.
3. It’s time for everyone’s favorite part of the blog. Crown talk. When Ser Erryk gives Rhaenyra her father’s crown, it is an important note that this is also the crown of Jaehaerys Targaryen, the king who preceded Viserys. Jaehaerys was called “The Conciliator” and even at the time of Game of Thrones, known as by far the greatest leader Westeros had ever had. Rhaenyra the rest of the episode is following in both her father and great-grandfather’s footsteps by opting for diplomacy over violence. It remains to be seen how she reacts next season now that she has lost 2 children (Lucerys and baby Visenya) to this succession war.
4. I briefly mentioned once how House Celtigar, like House Velaryon and Targaryen, are the only other house with ties to Old Valyria. This episode they were finally mentioned as an ally of Rhaenyra but at this point in the series I doubt they ever are talked about as Valyrian descendants.
5. One reason for Daemons outbreak about “feeding his sons to the dragons”, is because in Westeros history, sending your children to an old enemy to be squires and cupbearers, is actually just the highborn equivalent of taking hostages to ensure obeisance. Theon was a hostage at Winterfell in the beginning of Game of Thrones for the same reason.
6. The page that Otto gives Rhaenyra has an additional easter egg behind it. Interestingly, this specific page tells part of the story of Nymeria, the Rhoynish queen who led her people across oceans from Essos to Dorne, she is arguably the most famous female leaders in Westeros history, and as most will remember, Arya named her direwolf after her.
7. Vermithor, the dragon Daemon sings to, was ridden by Jaehaerys. The only rival to his size and strength is Vhagar (Vhagar is still larger). I am not totally sure what the message of this scene was, since obviously Daemon could not tame Vermithor as he already was linked to his dragon Caraxes. Perhaps he wanted to independently attempt to bring Vermithor to his cause?
8. Lord Borros Baratheon made a point to make his Maester read the letter. In Fire and Blood he was noted as “not being fond of books”. AKA this man is actually illiterate.
9. Aemond is shown to have a sapphire in place of his missing eye now, and in the opening theme, his sigil is now depicted as a sapphire as well. This is straight from the book.
10. It was only written that Aemond slew Arrax and Lucerys in the skies above Storm’s End. This is a more nuanced interpretation, as we see Aemond frantically trying to stop Vhagar from killing them after Arrax attacks Vhagar against Luke’s wishes. Aemond even uses the Valyrian term “Dohaeris” which means serve. This is one of the few Valyrian words viewers may remember, as the answer to the now famous Game of Thrones saying Valar Morghulis (All men must die) was Valar Dohaeris (All men must serve).

Other Points to Notice

1. There are several parallels in this episode to the pilot, one being a tragic birth, first Aemma, now Rhaenyra. One more is how in episode 1, Viserys is crowned with the crown of Jaehaerys, as Rhaenyra is in this finale.
2. Daemon, as is his nature, refused to be with Rhaenyra during her birth because all he could think about was revenge. This descent and division between he and Rhaenyra comes to a much more violent climax later in the episode. I’ll get to it eventually.
3. One brief cut that may have been missed, when Rhaenyra is refusing help and delivering her stillborn child, at the peak of her screams we see a 1 second flash of her dragon, Syrax, also growling and feeling her pain. This scene also comes right after we see Caraxes listening to Daemons commands and threatening the Kingsguard. Knowing how this episode ends, I believe this is showing how the dragons are truly not controlled by the Targaryens, but instead are linked to their rider’s experience and personality.
4. Lighting up the Dragonstone map was an incredible sequence, but it immediately made me think, “Why did Stannis never light it up in Game of Thrones?”. I like to think this is just Stannis being frugal with his candles.
5. The book page that Otto hands Rhaenyra, is the same one that Rhaenyra tears out in the pilot and gives to Alicent, when she remarks how they both should run away together. I believe this can be interpreted as a genuine attempt from Alicent to stop hostilities.
6. A major theme of this episode, and show, is that dragons were not meant to be controlled. When Rhaenyra speaks of the prophecy to Daemon, this lets him know that the only person he ever truly loved, Viserys, did not once consider him an actual heir or candidate to rule since he never told him about it. This causes Daemon to violently assault Rhaenyra, and reminds us once again, that dragons cannot be controlled, and there is no human in the show that personifies the temperament of a dragon more than Daemon.
7. Corlys was swayed to Rhaenyra’s cause once he was able to see her lead a council confidently, as well as when he looked and saw Laena’s children standing beside Jace and Luke. Even though Corlys knows Jace and Luke are not his grandchildren, he still stands behind his declaration that they are his kin due to the name they were given at birth. The music that played during this scene, when the plan to secure the Narrow Sea and siege King’s Landing, also paralleled the war council Robb Stark had in S1E10 of Game of Thrones. And sure enough, the current Lord of Winterfell, Cregan Stark, was mentioned heavily throughout.
8. Besides being the best dragon cinematography of all time, a symbolic aspect of Luke’s death, was that it only happened after he left the raging storm. And this was right after he left the stronghold called Storm’s End. So Lucerys truly met his demise at Storm’s End.
9. The shot of a devastated Rhaenyra turning to look at the camera in the final scene, mirrored the shot of young Rhaenyra turning to look at the crowd of lords swearing to serve her as heir in Episode 1.

Stray Observations:

1. Hearing Luke call Rhaenyra “perfect” is hilarious knowing how much of a little shit she was as a kid. It is nice that we finally got some late characterization of Lucerys though.
2. Very glad they addressed the fact that Rhaenys did not burn the entire group of the Greens last episode. Her justification made sense.
3. Not sure why, but I got chills when Rhaenyra, while going through labor, told Jace how he was her heir and he must listen to her commands alone.
4. Caraxes is the coolest dragon design. Just this evil snake monster that looks completely evil in every way.
5. Rhaenyra not wanting to rule over a kingdom of “ash and bone” sounds eerily similar to when Daenerys did not want to be “Queen of the ashes”. Hm
6. Corlys was so calm about his brother dying once Rhaenys explained what he did. “Yea he had it coming lol shit.”

RIP: Arrax, and Lucerys “Velaryon” (Strong)

Final Thoughts:

Well that was a great season. What started as an uneasy excitement to return to HBO’s interpretation of this world, quickly became must watch TV that once again captured the attention of the world. While this season was not without it’s mistakes (the time jumps made it hard to care about new characters, specifically Harwin Strong, and the children), it also handled the loose way the book was written in a way that was satisfying to both book readers and show only watchers. We now have a much more intricate and character driven tragedy that is set to fully explode in season 2.

Highlights:

-Every scene with Viserys, specifically him walking to the throne one last time, which was definitively the best scene of the season, if not all seasons of Game of Thrones as well

-The casting of young/old Alicent and Rhaenyra

-The attention to detail of set pieces, sigils, and yes, crowns

-Daemon being equal parts cool and downright horrible

Rating: 9/10

See everyone in 2024 for season 2. And tune into my blog next year when I write 5000 words weekly to cover how every episode of The Witcher season 3 is an embarrassment to television.

The Green Council

You desire not to be free, but to make a window in the wall of your prison.

Rhaenys Targaryen

Major Plot Points: Alicent and Otto compete to find Aegon first. Rhaenys escapes the clutches of the Greens. Larys satisfies his urges. Aegon the Second is crowned.

Observations from a Book Reader:

1. Alicent, knowing that Viserys would be dead soon, instructed all of his servants to only report to her when it happened. In the book, Alicent never waivered from her plans to crown Aegon, and did not find motivation in misheard last words of Viserys speaking about prophecy.
2. Lyman Beesbury’s death at the small council was presented as 3 different possibilities from 3 different sources. 1 was that Otto had him confined in a black cell where he died of a chill, another was that Criston Cole slit his throat, and the final recount was that he was tossed out of a window and impaled on the spikes outside the keep. Either way his death was then kept a secret and his family demanded his body/release after months of not hearing from him.
3. The search for Aegon in King’s Landing is a show only invention, as Aegon was crowned quickly the day after Viserys died. I believe the show added this plot for several reasons, to show the divide between Alicent and her father, the divide between Aemond and Aegon, and of course just to demonstrate that Aegon is a depraved loser that does not even want to be king.
4. We get a glimpse of “one of many” of Aegon’s bastards. This one is named Gaemon Palehair, and believe it or not, his story will be a hilarious and interesting one to follow. Just make sure to make a mental note about the white haired royal bastard living in a whorehouse.
5. Lord Caswell, as pointed out in last week’s blog, was always one of the only lords to show constant respect and admiration to Rhaenyra throughout this season. We see him hanged (this is the correct tense btw, not ‘hung’) and killed this episode for supporting her and trying to warn the Princess. In Fire and Blood, he was actually beheaded immediately for refusing to kneel to Aegon in the throne room. At least here he tried to accomplish something with his loyalty.
6. Rhaenys was never a prisoner of the Greens. It gave us a cool dragon scene though.
7. Alright everyone, I’m sorry but this episode is going to make me do it. We have to discuss the intricacies of the crowns worn by the Targaryens. Unlike in other fantasy settings, the crown worn by the current king is not the same for each ruler. The first king, Aegon the Conqueror, wore a circlet of steel and rubies. This crown is the one that Aegon II also inherits in this episode. Besides his namesake, this crown was also worn by the 3rd king of Westeros, known as Maegor the Cruel. Aegon II wearing this crown is clearly a message to the realm that he will use force when needed, as the other men wearing it were the strongest militant kings Westeros had ever known. Viserys, wore the crown of his grandfather Jaeherys (a simple gold band with 7 different colored jewels to represent the faith of Westeros), and both ruled over times of diplomacy and peace, and are historically looked back on fondly. There is clearly something to the crowns chosen that casts a light over the current monarch’s style of rule. I am expecting dozens of emails asking me for a more detailed history on the many different Targaryen crowns and who wore them, so do not hesitate to ask. Maybe after Episode 10’s recap I will just do a full blog only about crown/sigil/and heraldry lore.
8. When Aegon II was crowned, there was not a thunderous applause. Just some scattered clapping and even a few “Long Live the Queen!” shouts.

Other Points to Notice

1. The silent intro into piano music is reminiscent of Game of Thrones Season 6 Episode 10, The Winds of Winter, in which Cersei blew up the sept of Baelor. We also saw a child spy run around in the beginning of the episode, just like we do here as the child informs Alicent’s handmaiden (who we know is a spy for the White Worm) about Viserys dying.
2. Ser Harrold Westerling seems like the only decent person to react to the death of Lyman Beesbury. By all laws, Criston should have been arrested for what he did, but since Alicent always kept Cole safe, he had no power to do what he thought was right, and it was a major factor of why he retired.
3. Helaena still speaks in weird prophecies and phrases. “There is a beast hidden beneath the boards” she tells her mother, and shortly after this becomes literal when Rhaenys explodes out of the floorboards of the dragonpit on Meleys.
4. Alicent asking Rhaenys for help came off as even more desperate than when Rhaenyra asked her for help last episode. Alicent probably knew it was a futile effort, but she seems too stuck in her ways to realize the main reason Rhaenys will not help her, is because Rhaenys sees Alicent as trying so hard to uphold the male dominated society that once robbed her of the Iron Throne.
5. Just as Erykk and Arykk seem to choose different sides of the succession conflict, we also see how divided Aemond and Aegon are from each other. Aemond knows he is more capable of ruling, and what I find interesting about Aegon, is he knows this too. Later in this episode we see that he never once believed his father loved him, and only when the crowd starts cheering for him do we see him smile. An emotionally stunted guy with serious daddy issues who yearns for constant love from those around him will surely end up being the best king in history.
6. It’s probably best to not think about this too long, but Larys having the queen demean herself like that as he pleasured himself, was equal parts about sexual gratification and him controlling their power dynamic.
7. Another strong parallel to Game of Thrones, S1E9 of both shows end with a new king being displayed to the realm, and a crowd of peasants being shown some serious violence (Ned’s execution and Rhaenys destroying the floor of the Dragonpit). It makes sense why Rhaenys did not brutally murder the entire Green side of the family, as she is not really a violent person and sees this conflict between Rhaenyra and Alicent/Aegon. Plus there is a huge stigma on kinslayers in this universe, not to mention half of the people up there were innocent and undeserving of death, like Helaena and even Aemond.

Stray Observations:

1. Harrold Westerling retiring out of disgust from the Kingsguard mirrored Ser Barristan Selmy doing it to Joffrey in Game of Thrones Season 1.
2. It is absolutely hilarious that there are a pair of identical twin brothers named Erryk and Arryk.
3. Criston Cole saying how every woman should be spoken of with reverence is annoying after we heard him call Rhaenyra a cunt. Fun fact, the madam of the brothel that he questioned on Aegon’s whereabouts, was actually the real life acting coach of Fabien Frankel who plays Cole. He said this was the most nervous he had been the whole season filming a scene.
4. Of course Flea Bottom has children fighting pits. Why wouldn’t it?
5. This episode continues a Game of Thrones tradition of displaying the corpse of a main character who died an episode before. This always leads to that actor being credited with 1 additional episode than the one they actually died in. And sure enough, go check Paddy Considine’s IMDB page, he is credited with being in this episode.
6. Myseria seems to be going to the same plastic surgeon as Criston Cole, since they are the only 2 characters to have not aged whatsoever in 20 years.
7. When Otto refers to Rhaenyra as Alicent’s childhood companion, it almost does seem like he is implying that they were closer than normal friends. The writers seem to be letting the audience decide for themselves on the nature of Alicent and Rhaenyra’s relationship as teens.
8. While there have been many more Aegon’s since Aegon the Conqueror, this Aegon is the only one to have been crowned, and thus adopts the title of Aegon II, or Aegon-Second of His Name.

RIP: Lord Lyman Beesbury, Lord Allun Caswell, a bunch of peasants that got dragon stomped.

Lord of the Tides

The crown cannot stand strong if the House of the Dragon remains divided

Viserys Targaryen

Major Plot Points: Rhaenyra returns to King’s Landing. Daemon helps his brother put on his crown. Viserys enjoys a final meal. Alicent misinterprets the dying words of an old man.

Observations from a Book Reader:

1. The title Lord of the Tides, as could be guessed, goes to whatever Velaryon is in control of Driftmark at that time. Historically, this title also almost always came with a seat at the small council as Master of Ships for the King. Unlike every other position, Master of Coin, Grand Maester, etc, Master of Ships was jokingly referred to as being hereditary.
2. The 3 eggs from Syrax that Daemon collects, are for his 2 new children Aegon and Viserys, with the 3rd being put aside for the child Rhaenyra is currently pregnant with. This was not explicitly made clear in the books, but it is a nice connection that Rhaenyra’s children get eggs from her own dragon.
3. Daeron Targaryen has not yet been mentioned on this show for some reason, but he is the 4th and youngest child of Alicent and Viserys. GRRM confirms he will be in the next season, and it makes sense that he is not around in the show at this point, due to him being fostered in Oldtown not in King’s Landing.
4. Helaena enters Aegon’s room and mentions that Dyana is supposed to dress the children. The children she is referring to are those of her and her brother Aegon. At this point they have 3 children all born in the 6 years between this episode and last. Jaehaerys, Jaehaera, and Maelor.
5. House Celtigar, rulers of Claw Isle, are also directly from Old Valyria. They did not make the cut of this show, so for all intents and purposes it is only the Targaryens and Velaryons with direct relations to the ancient civilization.
6. Vaemond did try to become the successor of Driftmark in the book. However, he did not petition the crown directly. Rhaenyra sentenced him to death and Daemon went to Driftmark and executed him. King Viserys then took the tongues of Vaemonds younger cousins who continued the bastard rumors after Vaemond’s death. The show took a more better approach in my opinion, but it did seem ridiculous for someone even as arrogant as Vaemond to yell and question the king so directly. Another slight difference, Vaemond was a nephew of Corlys, not his brother.
7. Since the entire prophecy of the Song of Ice and Fire is never mentioned in Fire and Blood, there was no indication of Alicent being motivated by hearing from Viserys that her son was to be some sort of savior. This is an interesting angle though, as it seemed that somehow Viserys had healed the rift between Rhaenyra and Alicent, only to accidentally break it down when Alicent believed he gave her his blessing to put Aegon on the throne. Of course the Prince who was Promised is Jon Snow, and not Aegon. Classic Jon, fucking shit up before he was even born.

Other Points to Notice

1. Corlys is injured while fighting in the Stepstones. The Triarchy at this point is once again trying to wrest control from Westeros, but this time they do not have a cool leader like the Crabfeeder. Corlys’ brother Vaemond offers an immediate antithesis to Corlys’ statement that history is more about names than blood.
2. Lord Caswell is the only person at King’s Landing who greets Rhaenyra on her return. He was also one of the only lords to congratulate Rhaenyra as she ascended through the palace in Episode 6 to go see her father with her newborn baby.
3. The attendant that brings Alicent in to see Dyana (the serving girl raped by Aegon) is the same woman we see relaying information to Myseria at the end of the episode. Clearly Myseria knows everything going on with the Greens but her endgame is not known. Also it has been confirmed by the director that Alicent gives Dyana moon (abortion) tea, not poison as some viewers initially thought.
4. Daemon at one point said that Vaemond only cared about Driftmark, and not about the greater succession issues that would surface by skipping over Luke as Lord of Driftmark. However when he meets Alicent and Otto to discuss him succeeding Corlys, he outwardly implies he will support them against Rhaenyra when the time comes, showing that he is very plugged in to the brewing succession war as well.
5. Viserys entering the throne room was him as publicly as possible saying that Rhaenyra was his true heir. This was fully an act of support. He also allowed Daemon, not the guard, to assist him, showing that after all this time the brothers were on good terms. Fun fact, his crown falling off was an accident, and Matt Smith placed it back on his head while filming. The crew loved this moment so much that they wrote it in, and scrapped a later scene where Daemon makes a toast, as they found this wordless exchange far more powerful.
6. Viserys did not get cut on the iron throne this time when he sat there. In this moment he was a true king worthy of the seat.
7. Jace and Helaena dancing together and enjoying each others company is especially sad when you remember that Rhaenyra initially tried to marry them to one another.

Stray Observations:

1. Seeing 3 dragon eggs together will always remind me of Daenerys and her 3.
2. Jace why did you wait until you were 16 to learn High Valyrian? This guy sucks
3. GRRM today posted that Paddy Considine should get an Emmy for his performance as Viserys in this episode alone, and I cannot disagree. Easily the best acted character so far.
4. Alicent wearing the 7 pointed star and outwardly displaying banners of the Faith of the Seven serves 2 purposes. First, it alienates Rhaenyra and removes Targaryen heraldry, second it endears her to the population of King’s Landing.
5. It is funny how technically Rhaenyra is not lying when she tells Rhaenys that she did not kill Laenor.
6. Fun fact, this season of HoTD has already employed 2 different female directors (Including Geeta Patel who directed this episode). This is twice as many female directors as Game of Thrones employed over the course of its 8 seasons……
7. Viserys walking into the throne room may be my favorite moment of not just this show, but Game of Thrones as well.
8. I dont know why but I hate in this world when the term “good wife” or “the good queen” is used. It sounds so weird to me
9. Aemond is one loose cannon, It already feels like there is something bad brewing between him and Daemon, as Aemond seems to be an angrier younger version of him.
10. The last words Viserys speaks are “My Love”. Even at the end he was still only thinking of Aemma and the guilt he had over her death. This is probably the main reason he favored Rhaenyra over his other children, since she was his only connection to her.

RIP: Vaemond Velaryon, King Viserys Targaryen, First of His Name