#3x08

Starting off with Daemon and Rhaenyra:

This season, Daemon functioned as Rhaenyra’s voice of reason whenever she was grieving or in need of guidance. I never thought Rhaenyra would make a particularly great ruler, but making Daemon her moral and strategic compass felt like a weird choice. The grooming and choking we saw in season one were never revisited. Daemon lying about Rhaena and Sheepstealer was resolved easily in a single episode. Almost nothing has real consequences. The problematic aspects of their relationship were swept under the rug once more, just so we can get half a dozen scenes of Daemon "reminding" Rhaenyra what she’s fighting for.

Daemon’s framing in general has always been off to me, and this season in particular made me wonder where his arc is supposed to lead. We see him struggle with the ethics of war, for example when he hesitates to kill the children at Tumbleton. This is supposed to show the audience that he struggles with what he feels like he needs to do to win the war. But as a viewer who watched him murder Rhea Royce in cold blood...? it’s very hard to find sympathy.

What is the point of showing us that a violent, misogynistic man feels troubled? Have we not seen that arc a million times? An awful man feeling awful about the awful things he's done, to ultimate fly to his awful death, is a storyline I can't bring myself to care about unfortunately.

Moving on to Alys Rivers and Harrenhal:

So, apparently Alys was married or otherwise tied to Harren the Black. She had a son with him, whom she tried and failed to save. She discovered that she was cursed, and she's been stuck at Harrenhal for over a hundred years, alone, which is why she clings to Aemond so desperately.

I think this is an interesting backstory. My only issue is that, yet again, a female character's tragedy is tied to losing a child. But that aside, I don’t mind it. I always believed the theory that Alys was far older than she looked, and that her power was somehow tied to Harrenhal and the slave labour used to build it.

What I do, however, find unbelievable is how dependant she seems to be on Aemond. Throughout the season, Alys uses all kinds of means to keep him by her side at Harrenhal. I understand that she's lonely, but why now, and why him? Why does she believe this Targaryen prince can help her? What creates such a strong emotional dependency on him in particular? And why are we expected to believe Aemond would abandon his family and cause to remain at Harrenhal with her (which he was fully ready to do before Aegon arrived, at least)?

Aegon and Aemond’s reunion:

Was it entertaining? Yes! That aside, the writing leading up to it (specifically Aemond and Aegon’s "redemption" arcs) felt weak. I don’t like that Aemond is written to feel strong regret for what he did at Rook’s Rest. I understand having some remorse, but Aegon is his abuser. Season three paints Aegon as an underdog victim and Aemond as a villainous perpetrator who must atone for his sins, but I just don't see it that way.

The way the reunion played out suggests the brothers are going to reconcile in season four and fight side-by-side until Aemond goes to die in the Gods Eye. Unfortunately, that doesn't feel rewarding to me at all.

I really enjoyed the rivalry established in season one. I never thought Aemond was completely proud of what he did at Rook's Rest, but that doesn't mean I wanted to see him grovelling before Aegon and losing all his (very understandable) bitterness and ambition that made him so interesting in the first place. Overall, it feels like the show is trying to strip Aemond of his darker motives and make him more palatable. Maybe that is what viewers desire, but personally, I liked watching him burn his brother and fight for himself in season two.

Helaena's death:

I suspected Helaena was going to die this season, but her death broke me anyway. Although I have my issues with how she was written, Phia Saban delivered such a humane performance, and I will miss her so much in season four.

And finally, some general thoughts:

Ormund... in a world of Targaryen glazers, you were the one voice of reason. Fly high king. 🕊️

Alicent needs to have a violent crash out when she finds out about Helaena's death or I'M going to have a violent crash out.

Rhaenyra the Cruel was entertaining to watch — especially when she closed that window? Oof.

Alyn killing the High Septon... this will have consequences. 😭

At the beginning of the season, I said I didn't care about the dragonseeds, but I actually ended up enjoying their arcs a lot in the last episodes! It will be interesting to see how their loyalties develop in the final season.

I'm also really glad we finally got to see Baela show some disappointment and anger. Her criticising Rhaenyra felt like an important moment of autonomy.

Gwayne and Daeron were just the sweetest duo this season. I have no idea what's going to happen to Daeron in season four, but he was a positive addition to the show — and Freddie Fox as Gwayne is just great!

I'm still grieving Criston. I hope we get some recognition of his and Alicent's affair in season four. And also Aemond finding out that Alys turned him away when he came to Harrenhal, thus resulting in his death...