Jul 1, 2024
Rhaenyra was so wild when she said "I make my way to the Red Keep, ring the bell, scale her wall, and enter the window."
I swear she reads Rhaenicent fanfics at night before bed.
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Rhaenyra was so wild when she said "I make my way to the Red Keep, ring the bell, scale her wall, and enter the window."
I swear she reads Rhaenicent fanfics at night before bed.
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Rhaenyra realizing Viserys' own weaknesses as a ruler was wonderful to see: "He did not prepare me to fight!" Viserys undermined Rhaenyra's position as heir by denying her privileges that male heirs would otherwise have, and its toll has become apparent in this episode. I am glad Rhaenyra was finally able to voice it out. We are slowly taking Viserys down from his pedestal and I'm all here for it.
Alicole was underwhelming, but B&C takes the cake as the worst adaptation of a single asoiaf/f&b event so far:
It was so rushed and whitewashed and did not focus on Helaena at all. Where is Helaena pleading for her son's life and offering up her own life instead? Where is Maelor whom Helaena was coerced to offer up as a sacrifice and does not bear to look at? Where is Heleana being forced to make a decision that haunts her entire life? She is obviously traumatized by what happened, but having her just say "they killed the boy" does not do her character and her grief justice. I really hope we get to see more of Helaena in episode 2 because it would be really upsetting if the show just brushes her off.
Not to mention Alicent's absence from the events of B&C. Alicent was really there, worried for her daughter's and grandchildren's lives, and was the first person to offer Helaena some comfort and consolation. The more I think about it the more mad I get because we got robbed of what could have been a truly harrowing and distressing scene that would do the events and the characters justice. Book!B&C was about two mothers and their shared agony, pain, and grief. It could have been powerful and shocking from an acting perspective alone if they had followed the events of the book.
The ending scene at the sept is peak cinema to me because it frames inescapable tragedy as one possibly averted had Rhaenyra and Alicent not let that chasm deepen between them, and had they put aside their pride and differences and met sooner. There is now nothing left to be done and for the first time, they realize just how powerless they are in stopping the current from sweeping everyone away. They leave the sept discovering that lighting candles doesn't bond them anymore, as they have each previously lit the fuse of the dangerous war that will devour all of them, with their own hands.
I can't stop thinking of how Otto brought 100 cats to the Red Keep to take the place of the hanged ratcatchers. There was a ferocious war going on, there was danger everywhere, and Otto had the time and energy to go like: "Man, we have way too many rats. Imma do something."
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I think people forget that if Alicent had not pursued her ideals and installed Aegon to the throne then the result would have been the sameāRhaenyra would be compelled to kill him and his brothers to ensure her own rule and to minimize the chance of any uprising.
Show!Rhaenyra seems averse to the idea of killing her siblings to secure the throne, but the thing is, she would essentially have had to do it because it would pave the only way to legitimize her rule, as it were, and to hold it in place without any question. If all the challengers to the throne no longer existed, then no other rule would pose any threat to Rhaenyra, which means that her own reign would be secure.
Some might argue that āno, Rhaenyra wouldnāt have to kill her siblings if theyād sworn fealty to her and stayed putā but this is a foolish idea as per Westerosi/medieval standards because AS LONG AS ANY OTHER HEIRS WERE ALIVE there always was a threat to the current monarchās reign. Anyone dissatisfied with Rhaenyraās rule for any reason, big or small, could very easily inspire an uprising using the remaining Targaryen heirs as figureheads to pursue their own ideals. It is very important to me that people finally understand that, and eventually see the harsh reality that Alicent had to accept, and the necessity behind her decision to install Aegon to the throne. She knew that if she didnāt get to do it, then she might be risking his life and that of his siblings. So for Alicent and her sons, pursuing the throne was really the only available option, since they were, in fact, living in a patriarchal society, and they would never be viewed as anything LESS than pure-blooded, thoroughbred Targaryen heirs.
Making yet another parallel with Alicent and Margaret Beaufort: history proved that any living heir is dangerous to the rule of a rather new and controversial monarch, which is what both Henry VII and Rhaenyra are. Henry VII because he is a TudorāLancastrian heir instead of a York, and Rhaenyra because sheās a woman instead of a man in a patriarchal society. Therefore, for Rhaenyra to stay in power and secure it, she would have to eliminate all other possible heirs. Only then would the realm accept Rhaenyra as their rightful Targaryen ruler, as they finally accepted Henry VII as the unifier of the two houses when all the York heirs (along with their pretenders) were dead and buried.
The scene at the sept with Alicent lighting three candles as Rhaenyra lights a funeral pyre is the highlight of the episode for me. Alicent and Rhaenyra are so intertwined in each other's psyches and I loved that detail. It was also interesting to see Alicent's inner conflict and religious torment since she recognized that her family, and to an extent her own actions, have caused Rhaenyra's pain and suffering and she needed to atone for this.
The primary reason I love the Greens is that they are so messed up. They are not perfect, they are not disinfected and favored by the narrative, and they are raw to the bone; they are real.
Aegon is as real as a devastated and soul-crushed father gets whose grief translates to anger and violence. Helaenaās silent inner turmoil and anguish haunt the Red Keep. Alicent has become a wreck as she weighs this tragedy the only way she knows how: against her own failed moral compass, holding herself responsible.
Otto sees his strings of power stretch and snap as he pursues the unattainable dream once more. Criston feels unworthy and consoles himself with the deception that he remains unsullied by still bearing a white cloak to his name, having been absolved of his original oath-breaking years before. And Aemond refuses to acknowledge any weakness or softness in front of his family so he seeks consolation elsewhere.
This green family doesnāt know how to process emotions, doesnāt know how to grieve together, and canāt find solace in each otherās suffering despite yearning for comfort. Otto doesnāt know how to comfort Alicent, Alicent doesnāt know how to comfort Aegon, and Aegon doesnāt know how to comfort Helaena.
Larys exerts his influence and puppeteers Alicent to his own liking by giving her a much-desired grasp of agency over political affairs. Alicent finds escape in undiscovered indulgences that give her the intoxicating illusion of control over a lifetime of servitude. Criston succumbs to the addictive drug of being desired and wanted on equal terms. The Greens live in a vicious circle of unhealed trauma, a bottomless pit of fears and insecurities, and a tangled web of deception and control.
They are wounded, dysfunctional, and forsaken, and that makes them so intriguing.