The Treasons at Tumbleton

I’m alive! Imbecile.

Aegon Targaryen

Fuck you too

Ulf White

If a person is useful to you, you wield them. If they are not, you abandon them

Baela Targaryen

Major Plot Points: Rhaenyra endears herself to the people of King’s Landing by having Alyn murder their religious leader and then gives a speech about how much more important she is than everyone else. Daemon gets his ass kicked in a fight with Bold Jon Roxton. Aegon and Aemond finally unite and have some brother time. Daeron and Gwayne sit through a battle without doing much while Ormund does too much. Corlys escapes certain death again. Baela crashes out against the still non-anointed Queen. Ulf fucks over and kills everyone ever. Alicent looks at some butterflies. Joffrey Velaryon is awake! Did I mention that Alyn murdered the High Septon? What the fuck?

Observations from a Book Reader

1. The First Battle of Tumbleton was different in many ways from what was shown here. Originally it looked like the show would combine the first and second battle into one, but since only major events from the first battle happened in this episode, I’ll cover it assuming there is a second major event to come
   1. It was the Blacks, not the Greens, that held Tumbleton when the fighting began. By the end of the battle, the Greens had taken the largely destroyed town but with Ormund dead, they were essentially a bandit mob.
   2. Daemon was not present at this battle. The Blacks were led by Garibald Grey and Roddy the Ruin (crazy old northman that defeats Ormund in a fight).
   3. Daeron flew on Tessarion and helped the Greens win the day. Gwayne (having been dead in King’s Landing for a long time at this point) was not present.
   4. Ulf, alongside Hugh, turned on the Black army at the last minute, but this time Ulf stayed on the Green side. However, with Ormund dead, Ulf and Hugh (known as the Two Betrayers) took control of Tumbleton after the battle and thought to make themselves kings. They are obviously going in a much different direction with Hugh on this show, as he is a much more nuanced and motivated character. Who knows where his allegiances lie now that his wife Kat is dead.
2. Not only did Rhaenyra never give a speech talking about Aegon the Conqueror’s Prophecy, in the books there was never any mention of a prophecy at all that drove Aegon to conquer Westeros. Maybe it is something that has yet to be revealed but as of now, this is a show only motivation for Rhaenyra. She also calls herself the Prince that was Promised. This prophecy is mentioned several times in the books by different characters. We do not know the origin, just that some vague hero was destined to come and save the world. The followers of the Red God R’hollor believed the Prince that was Promised was the same hero as their chosen one, Azor Ahai. Melisandre believed Stannis to be TPTWP, Maester Aemon thought it was Rhaegar Targaryen, Rhaegar believed it was his son Aegon (although he probably later thought it was his son with Lyanna Stark that ended up being Jon Snow). On Game of Thrones it could be argued that either Jon or Dany was TPTWP, or perhaps even both.
3. The Septon in King’s Landing (not the High Septon, since at this point the High Septon still lived in Oldtown not King’s Landing) was not murdered by Rhaenyra or on her orders at any point. He definitely did not coronate Rhaenyra though which enraged her. Killing a ranking member of the faith is essentially a death sentence for any ruler, and in this case it will probably lead to the peasants calling Rhaenyra by the nickname she had in the book, “Maegor with teats”. This is because the closest another Targaryen got to killing a septon was Maegor the Cruel, who besieged the High Septon of his time for speaking out against his incest and the Targaryen rule. He then mysteriously died before the attack on the Starry Sept could begin, but that did not stop the faithful from rising against Maegor. Cersei Lannister also famously had the High Septon killed, which led to the rise of the High Sparrow, and her naked walk of shame
4. Knighted by Ormund as Daeron the Daring, Daeron earned this title due to his accomplishments on the battlefield, as he led the Greens to take many a small town or holding from Team Black while astride Tessarion ‘The Blue Queen’. The show went a different direction and made this moniker into more of a propaganda speech. This is more fitting in a way and it could be argued that since Fire and Blood is written as a historical account with many biases that Daeron never actually did any combat but the propaganda persisted through the years.
5. Myseria was never dismissed, but she did not do much anyway. With her being betrayed by Rhaenyra, I expect she will be leading many of the major book events yet to come in King’s Landing next season. I don’t think that her whisperings to Helaena are what drove her to suicide though.

Other Points to Notice

1. Interesting name for the episode. I suppose the “treasons” in question are Ulf betraying the Blacks, Ulf betraying the Greens, and maybe Daeron/Gwayne betraying Ormund by asking for peace? Hugh technically broke orders by leaving King’s Landing to go to Tumbleton, that could be viewed as treason.
2. Aegon and Aemond’s meeting really showed us how far Aemond has fallen, and how high Aegon has risen. Aemond is alone, dragonless, and completely under the spell of Alys Rivers. It almost looked like Alys was upset that he rededicated himself to Aegon’s cause, and I’m curious if this split motivation will be a large talking point on the show next season
3. Rhaenyra giving a speech about all these prophetic ideals the Targaryens aspire to seems to directly contradict Game of Thrones, and A Knight of Seven Kingdoms. If the common-folk all knew about this prophecy, why was it never talked about? Why did no one have any idea about a threat from the North? I think the explanation is that the smallfolk immediately though Rhaenyra had lost her mind. Especially once news about her murder of the septon gets out, the public opinion against her will be so low that this prophecy will be lost to time, undiscovered until Rhaegar Targaryen discovers it in some scrolls at King’s Landing.
4. Alys being alive since the Conquest is an interesting bit of lore. The only issue with it, is that unless we get some definitive end to her story next season, there is no reason why she would not be in Harrenhal still in Game of Thrones. It would be strange to introduce this character and just leave her untouched as the series ends, and we know she is probably pregnant now as well. Will there even be time to dive into this next season?
5. Daeron and Gwayne’s peace terms at first asked for too much. However, the version of the deal that Corlys proposes would have effectively ended the Dance of the Dragons immediately. Daeron would rule as a Hightower from Oldtown and be Lord Paramount of the Reach. But, although not relevant in this show, the Tyrells are Lord Paramounts of the Reach, not the Hightowers. I doubt they would accept this willingly. The Tyrells were a minor irrelevant house at the time of the Conquest, but assisted Aegon the Conqueror in overtaking House Gardener and were granted status as the Lords of the Reach in return.
6. Helaena’s final tapestry depicted Rhaenyra on the Iron Throne, covered in her own blood and surrounded by dying dragons, and even human hands that were on fire. Rhaenyra seemed to disregard it and closed the window on Helaena, maybe indicating that she gave up on believing in Helaena’s ability to see the future, or perhaps not caring anymore.

Stray Observations:

1. Rhaenyra really crashed out about Aegon being alive. Her saying “He is risen!” was clearly meant to make Aegon’s return seem biblical.
2. I’m surprised that Aemond did not ask Alys any questions about Balerion or Aegon the Conqueror after her speech about her age.
3. Ormund’s master plan was to use literal children as a shield. Thats so in character.
4. Ulf getting drunk and talking shit about Daemon to the other peasants was wild.
5. Alyn is kinda turning into a Rhaenyra zealot?
6. Aegon’s entire speech to Aemond was pure gold. He even called his brother Daeron a twat for good measure. Rhaenyra is in trouble.
7. Another Aegon note, Rhaenyra never announced him dead after he disappeared in the books, but I think it works perfectly in the show, because now to the peasants it almost seems like he returns from the dead, giving them even more reason to believe he is chosen by the gods over her.
8. Roddy the Ruin had more fun dying than anyone ever has.
9. I thought the battle choreography was outstanding this episode. The only questionable part was how Ulf managed to escape to Silverwing mid battle. Maybe it was because the Blacks thought he was one of them.

RIP: Queen Helaena Targaryen, Lord Ormund Hightower, Lord Roderick “Roddy the Ruin” Dustin, Septon Eustace,

Season Verdict: While this season had some insane deviations from the book, overall I thought it was much stronger than season 2. The only deviation that made no real sense and did not add anything was Rhaenyra letting Alicent go to Harrenhal for her completely ineffective quest to kill Aemond. Two seasons in a row Alicent was given a new plotline to kill one of her sons, and both failed. This was largely overshadowed by the show-only plot given to Aegon, who somehow turned into one of the most interesting and exciting characters, and the fleshed out characters of Daeron and Ormund. Aegon was missing for all of this time during the story in the book, so it was great to see the new arc work so well, and we never had any insight into the twisted relationship between Ormund and Daeron. My only concern for Season 4 is how they can fit the rest of the story into only 8 episodes, but that is a problem we can all deal with in two years from now. That is so far in the future it might as well never happen.

Season MVP: It’s a split between King Aegon and Sunfyre. Ormund was right behind but it’s hard to compete with the Dracarys scene from Episode 7. See you all in a couple years.

Faceless Men

There is in any one of us, I venture, much to admire and much to be deplored.

Ser Tyland Lannister

Major Plot Points: Rhaenyra listens to the common folk and decides not to help them at all. Cole gets shot in the face by an arrow. Aemond falls under the spell of Alys Rivers. Daemon goes deep undercover on a sting. Hugh and Ulf continue to hate their new jobs. Aegon sets his sights on Essos. Alicent embarks on a super secret spy mission.

Observations from a Book Reader

1. While Cole did die at “The Butcher’s Ball” (named so for the fake corpses that drew him in), we were robbed of one of the best lines of the series. When Cole challenged the three leaders of the opposing army to fight him, Pate of Longleaf told him “I’ll have no songs about how brave you died, Kingmaker. There’s tens o’ thousands dead on your account” before having his men rain arrows down on him. He knew Cole wanted to go down like a hero and the arrows robbed him of that.
2. Daemon mentions Aegon the Conqueror and his Field of Fire. The Field of Fire was the only time during Aegon’s Conquest where all three Targaryen dragons were used in one battle. Outnumbered five to one, Aegon and his sister wives brutally annihilated the armies of House Lannister and House Gardener, and essentially wiped House Gardener, a longstanding ancient house, off the map. The Targaryen army only suffered 100 casualties compared to the other side which lost five thousand in a matter of moments.
3. Alys Rivers shows Aemond a clutch of dragon eggs and it is mentioned they come from Rhaena Targaryen and Dreamfyre. Rhaena Targaryen was the daughter of King Aenys Targaryen, and was married to her brother Aegon, heir to the throne. Aegon never got to take the throne as he was murdered by his Uncle Maegor right outside Harrenhal. Rhaena lived a long life after this with her dragon and it was filled with many tragedies, including being forced to marry her uncle, her third husband killing all of her friends, and the death of her daughter. She eventually spent the last twenty years of her life living as a recluse in Harrenhal, along with Dreamfyre. While it was never stated in the text that Dreamfyre laid eggs while there, it isn’t a stretch. When she eventually died most of the small folk thought of her as a witch. Dreamfyre did not take another rider until Helaena Targaryen.
4. I have said it many times, but Alicent was largely irrelevant for the remainder of this story. She absolutely never left on a spy mission to help trap her son for Rhaenyra. Aemond did spend the rest of his time using Harrenhal as his home base with Alys as his “queen”. No dragon eggs were mentioned, but it makes sense that with the eggs Aemond believed he could set up another generation of Targaryens with Harrenhal as his seat, defended by the strongest dragon in Westeros.
5. Since Daeron was never pronounced king, we never got to see much of his relationship with Ormund, and Gwayne was long dead by this point. Gwayne mentions that he is “second in line” for House Hightower, but it is unclear if this means he is behind Ormund, or if Ormund has a child in the show universe. In the book, Ormund has a son who would be his heir, and this son actually ends up marrying his step mom, Ormund’s current wife. It was a rather large controversy for the Hightowers and it would be odd if the show removed Ormund’s real son from the narrative for no discernible reason.
6. Corlys was never captured by the Greens and Jon Roxton (and how did he get from Tumbleton to find him so fast?). In fact, at this point he and Rhaenyra still maintained a healthy working relationship, as there was never an issue about her giving legitimacy to his two bastard sons. The show made it unclear if he died or not, but I doubt he is dead, as that would be a massive deviation from his book plotline. If he is still alive this will mark the third time the show has done a Corlys death fakeout, and the second time this very season. Seems a bit much.

Other Points to Notice

1. The episode title “Faceless Men” is a bit confusing since I do not think any of the famous Faceless Men assassins were present in this episode. The 2 assassination attempts we see were the men impersonating Baratheons, and then the group led by Jon Roxton to attack Corlys. Maybe the title is just a callback to the group, while referencing how many literal faceless men in war carry out death sentences. Not too sure here.
2. The Vulture King that the Baratheon’s inform Rhaenyra about is no major player. Basically every 50 years or so since the Conquering, a bandit from the Red Mountains south of Storm’s End (Baratheon Castle) rises up and declares himself the Vulture King, before being killed in battle later without accomplishing anything. A time honored tradition.
3. Mysaria clearly did not inform Rhaenyra about Alicent’ s pregnancy. This implies that she took Alicent’s words about Rhaenyra seriously in last weeks episode. So far Mysaria has been one of Rhaenyra’s most loyal friends, so it is interesting that she is now making contingency plans in case she fails. So far though I am not sure how much value Mysaria brings to Rhaenyra but it looks like something is being set up.
4. Rhaena is in no position to bargain, or have control, but the idea of Jane Arryn striking a Targaryen, even one in exile, seems far fetched. If Rhaena ever returns to her family’s good graces, that would be enough for Lady Arryn to be burned to death.
5. Alyn and Baela kissing seemed like it was lacking any real set up. While they eventually are a couple in the books, you would think the show would have them interact before they started hooking up. In case you forgot, Alyn’s father, is Baela’s grandfather, making him her half-uncle. Pretty mild incest by Targaryen standards.
6. If you missed it, the tapestry Helaena drew depicts Aemond (identifiable by his sapphire eye) trapped by Alys Rivers in Harrenhal. This is how Alicent was able to identify his location to Rhaenyra, since she is aware that Helaena has the gift of dragon dreams. It also is an accurate portrayal in the sense that Aemond is completely ensnared by Alys at this point and does not even realize he is trapped.
7. It looks like I was too early in condemning the show for not showing Rhaenyra cut herself on the throne. This act will spread unrest through the entire city as they think the throne is rejecting her. To Rhaenyra it is even worse as she remembers the wasting sickness that killed her father seemed to have originated from the cuts he suffered on the throne.

Stray Observations:

1. It’s ridiculous that the Targs wont let Ulf go drinking with the lads.
2. The Baratheons are utilizing the Tywin Lannister Civil War Strategy. Stay out of the fighting until a winner is obvious.
3. Daemon’s vengeance speech this episode just felt sad.
4. When Aegon was deciding between the plan of Larys to go to Essos, or the plan of Tyland to go to Lannisport, the director used a classic Game of Thrones shot, where the camera is behind Aegon and both men offering choices are shown on either side of his shoulders. We first saw this in season 1 of Game of Thrones when Ned made the decision to go to King’s Landing and be the Hand of the King.
5. Finally we get to see the Moon Door in the Eyrie. Although we only heard a scream.
6. Helaena does not seem like she is having a good time in captivity.
7. Rhaenyra does a hilariously poor job helping the common folk with their complaints.
8. The assassination attempt on Ormund would have worked easily if Gwayne was not there. Rhaenyra was smart to instruct her assassins to cover themselves in shit, after knowing Ormund had a weakness to bad smells from Alicent’s info.
9. Poor Ulf, poor Hugh.

RIP: Ser Criston Cole and his men, a few fake Baratheos, one of Ormund’s peasant spies in King’s Landing, and a bunch of Velaryon soldiers.

Tumbleton

We must cling to our honor, lest we become beasts ourselves

Lord Commander Criston Cole

Major Plot Points: Daemon runs into the daughter he always forgets about. Ormund teaches Daeron how to be a leader. Aegon and Larys engage in some manual labor. Rhaenyra makes decisions that will have no negative repercussions whatsoever.

Observations from a Book Reader

1. Briefly mentioned last week, but the Hightower host did not occupy Tumbleton until after a battle between them and the riverlands army. I think we can expect this battle next week
2. A few differences on Rhaenyra’s small council, Grand Maester Orwyle was placed in the black cells for the entirety of Rhaenyra’s time in the Red Keep, so she used her own Maester from Dragonstone to give her advice. She also appointed Bartimos Celtigar, not Torrhen Manderly, as her Master of Coin. Torrhen Manderly does come into the story later and helped guide the next administration, so it makes sense the showrunners would just combine the characters.
3. Criston Cole arrived at Harrenhal before Aemond did, but only by a day. When Aemond arrived with Vhagar the day after he was furious to find out Daemon had left. While his whereabouts on the show are unclear, Aemond and Cole fiercely argued about what to do next after arriving there. Ultimately, Cole decided to take his army south to join with Ormund, while Aemond relished the opportunity to wage war like Aegon the Conqueror, and he destroyed countless towns and people alone with Vhagar. Gwayne Hightower never left King’s Landing and died when the Gold Cloaks handed it over to Rhaenyra, so it’s impossible to know where his story is going.
4. Both Hugh Hammer and Ulf the White were sent to fight Ormund’s army alongside Rhaenyra’s and secure Tumbleton. The idea was that Vermithor and Silverwing would be easily able to handle Daeron on Tessarion. At this point Daeron was the biggest threat to Rhaenyra as he still was leading battles against loyal towns and cities in his brother’s name, and unlike Aemond was actually traveling with his army.
5. Rhaena remained in the Eyrie as a ward for the remainder of the Dance. She was completely irrelevant in that story, so now that she is on the show as a dragonrider I am sure we won’t see the end of her and Sheepstealer. Her and Daemon briefly mention that Rhaena should be watching Daemon’s two youngest children but from this dialogue it’s unclear if they are still at the Eyrie or if they did make it to Pentos.
6. Ormund had no outspoken hatred of the Targaryens. He was not as much of a fully fleshed character. A bit hypocritical of him to hate the Targaryens when his own family has a history of conquest and subjugation. The Hightower’s lineage is so ancient that it goes back to the days of the First Men. Before anyone else came to Westeros they were ancient kings, and Ormund seemingly wants his family back on the throne. Their name comes from the gigantic fortress castle in Oldtown that they rule from, aptly named the Hightower. His plan here seems a bit harebrained, as Daeron and Tessarion are no match for Aemond and Vhagar. Fun fact, the Arryn’s based the construction of the Eyrie after the Hightower.

Other Points to Notice

1. We hear a few references to Orros Baratheon and his lack of an army. He was the lord that picked Aemond over Luke in the season 1 finale, right before Vhagar killed Lucerys and his dragon Arrax. Currently Borros is using the war as an excuse to attack the Dornish settlements to the south of his land, which seemed like a better use of his time than fighting dragons.
2. When Aegon finally found the “corpse” of Sunfyre, his comment that he was still alive seemed prophetic. Later in the episode we see the carcass of Meleys (Rhaenys’ dragon) on the walls of Rook’s Rest. If you look closely you can see that Meleys seems to be actually decomposing while Sunfyre to me looks more whole. I of course could just be coping here, since I refuse to believe Sunfyre is dead.
3. The end game of Larys remains cloudy. Aegon is not one for taking orders and without Sunfyre, he is completely useless. He mentioned Sharp Point as a destination but there cant be much he could achieve there either.
4. Orwyle brings it up, but the Hightower’s and the Church are intrinsically linked. The Hightowers’ are from Oldtown, and Oldtown is home to the Starry Sept which for hundreds of years has been the seat of power for the Faith of the Seven. Oldtown is also home to the Citadel, which is where Maesters become Maesters. By the time of Game of Thrones, the seat of the faith is actually in King’s Landing at the Great Sept of Baelor, but that building has yet to be constructed at this time. Cersei also blows it up with wildfyre in season 6 so maybe by the end of that series, the faith moves back to Oldtown.
5. Heleana being pregnant is surprising, as she was already done having her children in the book by this time. In the show she has had 2 children, Jaehaerys (deceased) and Jaehaera. But in the book she had a second son, Maelor. Perhaps she is going to have Maelor now and the writers will try to quickly shoehorn his book plotline into the remaining 12 episodes.

Stray Observations:

1. I still can’t tell if Daeron actually has reddish brown hair, or his silver Targaryen hair is dyed. I guess it doesn’t really matter in the end.
2. Alyn now gets to be on the Small Council and still can’t get a real last name. Tough break.
3. Kinda funny to see Rhaenyra playing with the same model toys of Old Valyria that her father wasted all of his time with.
4. Did anyone actually believe that Ormund was a good guy just for punishing his rapist soldier?
5. Rhaenyra calling Orwyle bloodthirsty was a highlight for me.
6. From Jon Roxton and Daeron’s reaction to Ormund’s temper tantrum, it is very clear he reacts this way a lot.
7. Ulf was either being a complete dumbass, or a complete badass, when he mentioned the graffiti to Rhaenyra that disparaged her.
8. What will happen when Sheepstealer reappears with a rider in the future? Will Daemon insist it is someone new that has claimed the dragon?
9. Taxing the peasants and having your soldiers attack them in the streets is a great way to earn loyalty.

RIP: Hugh Hammer’s Brother in Law, random shepherd in the Vale.

NOTE: My recap for Episode 5 will be delayed one week or so. Sorry.