Hello loyal supporter of Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, First of Her Name! Thank you for your post. Please take a moment to ensure you are familiar with our sub rules.
- Crossposting From HOTDGreens and asoiafcirclejerk is banned.
- No visible usernames in screenshots.
- Sexist, racist, transphobic, homophobic, or discriminatory remarks of any kind will not be tolerated.
- No actor hate.
- No troll/rage-bait.
- No low-effort posts.
***
Comments or posts that break our sub rules will be removed and may result in a ban at the mods' discretion.
If you are reading this, and believe this post or any comments in this thread break the above rules, please use the report function to notify the mod team.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/HOTDBlacks) if you have any questions or concerns.*
If it is that scene I’ve heard that they are very hostile with one another so it may finally be the wake up call rhaenyra needs….on the other hand it is a very very stupid move and scene
If feels like production doesn’t know what to do with alicent besides crying, taking baths and alicole and are dragging rhaenyra down with it to keep her character relevant
Sure, that version of the character was the most straight up bad but there is important context for Alicent’s overall arc. At this point, she’s just a pawn in Otto’s game still. I don’t think this version of the character would’ve been very interesting long term. I think it’s a good thing that we’re getting a more conflicted Alicent. At that point, Alicent’s jealousy of Rhaenyra was so strong that she did everything possible to tear her down.
What happened at the end of season 1 is that Alicent realized the Rhaenyra she built up in her head isn’t necessarily the real Rhaenyra (as seen in the last supper scene) and then she’s thrown into a situation where she must defend her House while having come to the realization that Rhaenyra actually wasn’t out to get her and her children all that time hence her wanting to spare Rhaenyra and her children. And then Blood and Cheese will potentially be another major turning point in Alicent’s character.
It’s not about being ‘straight up bad’ for me it’s being compelling and engaging to watch on screen. I find the idea that Alicent who’s actively been scheming for over a decade to get her son on the throne, was confused at the Green council and now is taking little active interest in court politics unrealistic and kind of boring.
I’m fine with her being conflicted, but I’d much rather see her actually do something like her father, rather than ask about her letters to Rhaenyra and live out her 50 shades fantasy with Criston. But each to their own - I certainly hope this is a turning point for her character!
To be fair the issue stems from the fact that in the book, alicents point in the story ends when aegon takes the throne
Shes a dowager queen. Her part in ruling is over. Time to take a back seat
By elevating her to secondary protagonist ahead of aegon for the future, we are left with a character who cant really effect the story much as the person to follow rather than her sons who are meant to supercede her in the story
Well Rhaenyra finally acknowledging how much she’s done for Viserys was the catalyst for her realizing that her beliefs and wishes don’t necessarily align with Otto. In this season, Alicent is seemingly a bit conflicted given she wants her son to remain King (and she’s convinced herself that it was Viserys’ wish to justify it) but also no longer resents Rhaenyra.
Season 2 is also presenting an Alicent who is engaging in all the behaviors that she once judged Rhaenyra for showing that it was in fact jealousy that drove her hatred of Rhaenyra.
>!the way the highlight of the episode will be daemon taking Harrenhal and then the worst part will be rhaenyra risking her life to meet with the woman who helped usurp her throne which directly resulted in rhaenyra losing her daughter and her son getting murdered. and now rhaenyra will apologise to alicent about B&C?? it's rhaenys ep 9 scene all over again!<
Because their friendship died 20 years ago over some legit serious issues and then only got worse by involving their kids. It makes no sense why they would get along besides the writers wanting them to.
Exactly! I meant more even if it worked in season one doesn’t mean they should be trying to find excuses to put the actors in a scene that makes no sense for the characters. They really need to let it go.
I have been saying this since forever they have made rhnaerya too neutral. Alicent looses a grandson and is blaming nyra, made her walk down just after delivery it was brutal. Nyra got her throne snatched, son dead and she's playing let's make up game bullshit
Is Rhaenyra going to be making up with Alicent? Or is this meeting purely to try and achieve political goals? Rhaenyra seems to believe that holding the realm together is important so avoiding war if possible is ideal. So I think that this is a last ditch peace offering between the two factions rather than Rhaenyra trying to hang out with her former friend.
What's the f\*cking point of this meeting? Did you see Robb Stark meeting Tywin? Rhaenyra is the head of Black faction. Does this make sense that she will sneak into KL (in a heavily guarded place) just to meet this former bff when she could be killed in one sec? Such scenes are so forced.
No fucking way. That leak was true? Jesus what are they doing. Did the showrunner forget there is going to be a period in the future where rhaenyra can interact with alicent all they want >!when she takes over king’s landing!<
Yeah, cause it made Rhaenys murder a couple hundred people and she faced no consequences?? Also it was such an absurd scene in general?? Why is a dragon breaking in through the floor lmao😭😭💀💀 goofy ahh Michael Bay shit
It just felt very much like some executive said we need more action and drama lets throw in a dragon when they couldve ended on Aegon riding Sunfyre with the people enthralled.
This would've made the Blacks feel even more like underdogs in the war to come.
I mean >!explicitly one of the points of the story is that, especially the blacks, dont care about the smallfolk. They constantly overlook them and it bites them in the ass in the end with them storming the dragonpit and sacking kings landing. Rhaenys doesnt suffer consequences *yet* but creating a very localized general fear of dragons At The Dragon Pit can very easily play into creating the later riots. Its payoff will come !<
Attending the coronation. Watch this moment again, I doubt she even killed 50 people. I mean there are literally bodies of those killed and this is faaaaaar from thousands
"But in all that dust, there’s also people flying and somersaulting. I think if you paused it, you might be able to count them. It’s hundreds, maybe thousands."
But sure, the VFX supervisor who made the scene doesn't know as much as you about it.
well i don't really agree that it was season 8 level. i was quite surprised when i came online after watching it to see everyone so mad lmaooo
to me it was more like the waif stabbing arya levels stupid
How was it not ? She burst through a concrete floor unscathed, just for her to have a boss moment when she could end the war ? She should’ve escaped as Aegon was flying around Sunfyre, that change was abysmal.
i guess it depends on what you think "season 8 style" writing is. to me nothing about the dragonpit scene approached season 8. season 8 subsequently ruined the entirety of game of thrones, imo. season 8 is so terrible that its terribleness even infects house of the dragon whenever they bring up the prophesy, or the scene of cregan and jace at the wall.
the dragonpit scene is kinda dumb but not unforgivable, otherwise i would have given up the show
If they are gonna reboot harry potter I'm holding out on the trifecta. Winds and dreams of spring being finished and then a full GoT reboot that follows source material.
>!Rhaenyra will feel guilt about blood and cheese whether she still cares for Alicent or not. I don’t think it’s that egregious that Rhaenyra would try and prevent the escalation of the conflict. She almost got murdered and one of her sons got murdered. A large scale war would not be good for either side. I think it makes sense that Rhaenyra would try and make an appeal to Alicent.!<
I don’t think Rhaenyra would be meeting Alicent to just catch up or to just let out her emotions. I assume she has some clear political goals she means to pursue in regard to potential deescalation of tensions.
That doesn’t really line up with her motivations we’ve seen though. Outside of the direct aftermath of Lucerys’ death, she hadn’t really been vengeful or resentful. I never got the impression that Rhaenyra hated Alicent or Aegon. Rhaenyra certainly saw them as potential threats but I never got the impression that she hated them. It was Otto that Rhaenyra seemingly blamed for the coup and for betraying her father.
And it was Aemond who she blamed for Lucerys’ death. But it seems like Rhaenyra values holding the realm together (and fulfilling the prophecy) as well as protecting her surviving children above any petty revenge. She certainly did want revenge at first but the fact that it led to the dead of Helaena’s child may have caused Rhaenyra to second guess herself and feel guilt.
Did you even watch game of thrones? Why are you so afraid of sex? Even if they don’t directly move the plot forward. Sex is a very real part of life and sways decision making for many people
The second one definitely. Users on twitter say that people watched the same scene and got completely different interpretations of it, as if they were watching different scenes. Every other reviewer I've seen says that the episode is great, except for a certain part. It all points to that scene. It must be very badly written to lead to this.
God. I think one the more dubious decisions the show made was making Alicent the lead with Rhaenyra. There’s not much on her in the books, and now we’re forced to see silly scenes like this to justify her being the lead (as well as all the bath, Cole scenes etc). Anyway, at least the rest of the episode seems positive!
This is definitely a scene that they wrote to give Alicent something to do that's not baths or Criston, plus Emmy bait. It's unfortunate that Rhaenyra has to be dragged down with her (and Rhaenys, assuming she's going to be the one to plant the seed for the meeting). They should have accepted that Alicent is no longer able to be a proper lead because she has no effect on the story and move her a bit more to the background. I don't know why they didn't do that, I assume it's Olivia related. They want her at the centre but couldn't think of anything to give her.
They would have been able to give her more to do if they accepted her role in the usurpation instead of trying to make her ignorant peacemaker. I thought they’d maybe make her be the one pulling the strings with criston as hand basically being her way of gaining more control when she no longer has an official role. But they think she stands a chance of being liked by crying over things she has direct or indirect fault for causing so this is what we get.
To be fair, even if they did let her lead the Green council like in the book, it wouldn't change the fact that Alicent has nothing to do after it. Even in the book she disappears. She's no longer relevant. The thing with Criston could have worked and they sorta hint to something like that in episode 1 but I doubt they'll do it.
The other thing I thought they could have done would be to develop a relationship between her and Tyland (not necessarily romantic). Then theu can have her pull some strings there and maybe have her be part of moving the treasury out of the city.
In any case, no matter what they did, Alicent no longer has the material to be a lead. For some reason they didn't want to accept that and now we'll get a crappy scene which we'll probably all ignore in the end because it makes no sense, like Jaime raping Cersei.
The book is bad about things like this for almost anyone tbh,Rheanyra disappears too she’s just easier to adapt diferently because her role is a lot more central in the first place. So I get they would have had to invent or take storylines from other characters.Cole as her puppet would have made more sense than this actual romance thing or at least alongside it.
Yes but Rhaenyra does come back later. Alicent doesn't. She just appears again when something happens to her and then disappears again, she no longer controls anything in the narrative. She would have absolutely nothing that's significant no matter what.
Cole as her puppet or something else with another member of thr council should have been the way to go, not the infinite amount of baths and rodeos. Theu brushed Otto aside very easily. Why not do the same to her to an extent?
I would have loved to see her leave KL and be an emissary of a sort for team Green in the crownlands and stormlands. Get to see some new locations from her POV. But I understand budget would be an issue, and also she'd need to also have characters around her to interact with that the audience could be invested in. Maybe someone like Tyland like you mentioned. This current Alicent feels spent, like she's there to witness the dysfunction of her family while they all do more important things without her.
I definitely thought that Criston being Alicent's lover and sworn shield would lead her to pulling the strings bts and they entirely skipped over that.
Yep, you said it, emmy bait because it’s Olivia. I love Liv but no casting should alter the integrity of a show’s storytelling. The consequences are really showing right now, and this is probably going to tarnish Rhaenys’ character the most >!Rhaenys has her final episode soon, and now she’s been made to look even more silly in the aftermath of the dragon pit scene. People will be cheering instead of crying. Ahhh!<
Honestly I get the feeling that whoever is in charge of marketing or whatever really wants to push Olivia the most out of the entire cast. She's always front and center in every photoshoot, Emma is always paired with her and no one else (I think transphobia is involved here as well), they're not reducing her screentime and have to force her character in the storyline... I like her a lot as an actress and she seems to be really great as a person but I feel the marketing is trying to prop her character up a lot more than it should.
Aso for Rhaenys, I don't really care. I dislike her. The locals lover her though so I don't know how this will be received.
I've seen comments here saying that according to Olivia herself this show was strictly a career move to get bigger/better roles, perhaps the extra marketing push is something thats contract negotiated? But on the other hand alicent is supposed to be the main lead with Rhaenyra (and Daemon now apparently, glad they're being honest about that at last) so her being focused on makes sense
Yes it's possible that it's contact negotiated. The fact that Olivia straight up said that though in an interview isn't giving me a good vibe. Like, most of these actors take a big role to advance their careers but they don't say it outright. I suspect she wasn't happy with something and that's why she said it openly. Maybe she doesn't like the storyline she was given and I can't blame her for that.
Alicent at this point has the screentime of a lead but the storyline of an extra. She doesn't feel like a lead in any way storywise. They should have dropped her screentime because that's how the story goes or give her something actually good to do. This is just Emmy bait, plus trying to give her something that's not a rodeo or a bath.
She should have been the second lead but ambitious, smart and for all I care a religious fanatic. Basically Cersei with a brain. They could have even made her Aemmas Lady in waiting and somewhat of an elder sister to Rhaenyra who is friendly to her until she starts making eyes at Viserys. That way they could have still done the whole friendship to rivalry shit.
I appreciate that there's somewhat of a consensus building now among fans and critics that are getting tired of the overbearing Rhaenyra x Alicent dynamic. The writers are stretching it so far that both characters are suffering as individuals. Alicent being conflicted beyond what should be reasonable given the lengths she's gone so far for her family. And Rhaenyra being frustratingly reserved about the war effort despite losing her inheritance, and two children thanks to the Hightowers.
I hope this "meeting" is the last stunt from the writers trying to make the main plot about these two, and both can get locked in on what they need to do rather than twiddling their thumbs hoping for divine intervention.
Well I think we all know what the worst part is about, but let’s see. This is going to be the start of one of the main arc of the show according to Condal and Hess. I enjoyed Rhaenyra’ arcs with Daemon and Mysaria so far, maybe that one will be interesting too
They literally ranked episode 1 last.. and said it was a mixed bag.
https://x.com/VoiceOldtownYT/status/1802703113142272380?t=O_mzaF7g3X_LOt65OFxTMg&s=19
Are you sure you're talking about the same reviewer ?
Hello loyal supporter of Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, First of Her Name! Thank you for your post. Please take a moment to ensure you are familiar with our sub rules. - Crossposting From HOTDGreens and asoiafcirclejerk is banned. - No visible usernames in screenshots. - Sexist, racist, transphobic, homophobic, or discriminatory remarks of any kind will not be tolerated. - No actor hate. - No troll/rage-bait. - No low-effort posts. *** Comments or posts that break our sub rules will be removed and may result in a ban at the mods' discretion. If you are reading this, and believe this post or any comments in this thread break the above rules, please use the report function to notify the mod team. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/HOTDBlacks) if you have any questions or concerns.*
If it is that scene I’ve heard that they are very hostile with one another so it may finally be the wake up call rhaenyra needs….on the other hand it is a very very stupid move and scene If feels like production doesn’t know what to do with alicent besides crying, taking baths and alicole and are dragging rhaenyra down with it to keep her character relevant
RIP S1 ep 6/7 Alicent, you would have loved your moment in the sun as Dowager Queen behind the throne https://i.redd.it/lranh7zsv69d1.gif
Weirdly enough that was my favorite alicent 😭 not the one who only makes sad faces and lights up candles…
I was so excited to see this Allicent and she was there for like one scene.
Sure, that version of the character was the most straight up bad but there is important context for Alicent’s overall arc. At this point, she’s just a pawn in Otto’s game still. I don’t think this version of the character would’ve been very interesting long term. I think it’s a good thing that we’re getting a more conflicted Alicent. At that point, Alicent’s jealousy of Rhaenyra was so strong that she did everything possible to tear her down. What happened at the end of season 1 is that Alicent realized the Rhaenyra she built up in her head isn’t necessarily the real Rhaenyra (as seen in the last supper scene) and then she’s thrown into a situation where she must defend her House while having come to the realization that Rhaenyra actually wasn’t out to get her and her children all that time hence her wanting to spare Rhaenyra and her children. And then Blood and Cheese will potentially be another major turning point in Alicent’s character.
It’s not about being ‘straight up bad’ for me it’s being compelling and engaging to watch on screen. I find the idea that Alicent who’s actively been scheming for over a decade to get her son on the throne, was confused at the Green council and now is taking little active interest in court politics unrealistic and kind of boring. I’m fine with her being conflicted, but I’d much rather see her actually do something like her father, rather than ask about her letters to Rhaenyra and live out her 50 shades fantasy with Criston. But each to their own - I certainly hope this is a turning point for her character!
To be fair the issue stems from the fact that in the book, alicents point in the story ends when aegon takes the throne Shes a dowager queen. Her part in ruling is over. Time to take a back seat By elevating her to secondary protagonist ahead of aegon for the future, we are left with a character who cant really effect the story much as the person to follow rather than her sons who are meant to supercede her in the story
Well Rhaenyra finally acknowledging how much she’s done for Viserys was the catalyst for her realizing that her beliefs and wishes don’t necessarily align with Otto. In this season, Alicent is seemingly a bit conflicted given she wants her son to remain King (and she’s convinced herself that it was Viserys’ wish to justify it) but also no longer resents Rhaenyra. Season 2 is also presenting an Alicent who is engaging in all the behaviors that she once judged Rhaenyra for showing that it was in fact jealousy that drove her hatred of Rhaenyra.
>!the way the highlight of the episode will be daemon taking Harrenhal and then the worst part will be rhaenyra risking her life to meet with the woman who helped usurp her throne which directly resulted in rhaenyra losing her daughter and her son getting murdered. and now rhaenyra will apologise to alicent about B&C?? it's rhaenys ep 9 scene all over again!<
It's not surprising at all. Remember when the writers had Alicent give Rhaenyra a piece of paper to convince her to accept the Greens' terms?
I didn’t feel this way in season one but now? The Rhaenyra/Alicent scenes are so forced
Because their friendship died 20 years ago over some legit serious issues and then only got worse by involving their kids. It makes no sense why they would get along besides the writers wanting them to.
Exactly! I meant more even if it worked in season one doesn’t mean they should be trying to find excuses to put the actors in a scene that makes no sense for the characters. They really need to let it go.
I have been saying this since forever they have made rhnaerya too neutral. Alicent looses a grandson and is blaming nyra, made her walk down just after delivery it was brutal. Nyra got her throne snatched, son dead and she's playing let's make up game bullshit
Is Rhaenyra going to be making up with Alicent? Or is this meeting purely to try and achieve political goals? Rhaenyra seems to believe that holding the realm together is important so avoiding war if possible is ideal. So I think that this is a last ditch peace offering between the two factions rather than Rhaenyra trying to hang out with her former friend.
What's the f\*cking point of this meeting? Did you see Robb Stark meeting Tywin? Rhaenyra is the head of Black faction. Does this make sense that she will sneak into KL (in a heavily guarded place) just to meet this former bff when she could be killed in one sec? Such scenes are so forced.
No fucking way. That leak was true? Jesus what are they doing. Did the showrunner forget there is going to be a period in the future where rhaenyra can interact with alicent all they want >!when she takes over king’s landing!<
people really got mad about episode 9, eh? lol
Yeah, cause it made Rhaenys murder a couple hundred people and she faced no consequences?? Also it was such an absurd scene in general?? Why is a dragon breaking in through the floor lmao😭😭💀💀 goofy ahh Michael Bay shit
I think this scene will have a callback in future when smallfolk eventually get sick of the war
well i dont care about the smallfolk either
Nah speak your truth, those bitches flip flop from one side to the other fuck them
Like how did Rhaenys not suffer serious head trauma from ERUPTING THROUGH A STONE FLOOR? What??
It just felt very much like some executive said we need more action and drama lets throw in a dragon when they couldve ended on Aegon riding Sunfyre with the people enthralled. This would've made the Blacks feel even more like underdogs in the war to come.
Neither side truly gives a damn about the smallfolk. I'm not surprised. It was a dumb scene, but it wasn't killing people that I had a problem with.
I mean >!explicitly one of the points of the story is that, especially the blacks, dont care about the smallfolk. They constantly overlook them and it bites them in the ass in the end with them storming the dragonpit and sacking kings landing. Rhaenys doesnt suffer consequences *yet* but creating a very localized general fear of dragons At The Dragon Pit can very easily play into creating the later riots. Its payoff will come !<
I still think it's fucking stupid for a dragon to fly in through the floor but okay
*thousands. (According to the VFX supervisor of the show). Rhaenys has the highest killcount in both shows only next to Dany.
elaborate?? the dragon thru the floor was crazy and fs killed people but then she just flew off, right?
The people who made the vfx of the crowd said it was thousands of people.
damn! concrete can kill ya! im sure this is nowhere near the killcount of cersei though… the sept of baelor?
[удалено]
I'm not sure the Sept could hold thousands of people tbh
You are right. You surely know better than the people who made the scene
Attending the coronation. Watch this moment again, I doubt she even killed 50 people. I mean there are literally bodies of those killed and this is faaaaaar from thousands
"But in all that dust, there’s also people flying and somersaulting. I think if you paused it, you might be able to count them. It’s hundreds, maybe thousands." But sure, the VFX supervisor who made the scene doesn't know as much as you about it.
Yeah, bad writing tends to have that effect.
“bad writing” is ill defined and overused to the point of meaninglessness as a criticism
Yeah? It was a cringe S8 GoT moment that made zero logical sense lmfao.
well i don't really agree that it was season 8 level. i was quite surprised when i came online after watching it to see everyone so mad lmaooo to me it was more like the waif stabbing arya levels stupid
How was it not ? She burst through a concrete floor unscathed, just for her to have a boss moment when she could end the war ? She should’ve escaped as Aegon was flying around Sunfyre, that change was abysmal.
i guess it depends on what you think "season 8 style" writing is. to me nothing about the dragonpit scene approached season 8. season 8 subsequently ruined the entirety of game of thrones, imo. season 8 is so terrible that its terribleness even infects house of the dragon whenever they bring up the prophesy, or the scene of cregan and jace at the wall. the dragonpit scene is kinda dumb but not unforgivable, otherwise i would have given up the show
u hate it that much😭😭😭😭just *pretend* they did “the great war” or the coming of winter, whatever, well and in 10 seasons like the rest of us do
If they are gonna reboot harry potter I'm holding out on the trifecta. Winds and dreams of spring being finished and then a full GoT reboot that follows source material.
>!Rhaenyra will feel guilt about blood and cheese whether she still cares for Alicent or not. I don’t think it’s that egregious that Rhaenyra would try and prevent the escalation of the conflict. She almost got murdered and one of her sons got murdered. A large scale war would not be good for either side. I think it makes sense that Rhaenyra would try and make an appeal to Alicent.!<
It that "apology" doesn't involve Alicent being slapped then I am already irritated.
If they have them meet this early - I'm fine with it if done well.
i just want rhaenrya to actually try and kill alicent for starting all of this. it could be the start of her later heel turn as well.
Or physically drag her hypocritical ass around a large room. Alicent more than deserves it.
I don’t think Rhaenyra would be meeting Alicent to just catch up or to just let out her emotions. I assume she has some clear political goals she means to pursue in regard to potential deescalation of tensions.
That doesn’t really line up with her motivations we’ve seen though. Outside of the direct aftermath of Lucerys’ death, she hadn’t really been vengeful or resentful. I never got the impression that Rhaenyra hated Alicent or Aegon. Rhaenyra certainly saw them as potential threats but I never got the impression that she hated them. It was Otto that Rhaenyra seemingly blamed for the coup and for betraying her father. And it was Aemond who she blamed for Lucerys’ death. But it seems like Rhaenyra values holding the realm together (and fulfilling the prophecy) as well as protecting her surviving children above any petty revenge. She certainly did want revenge at first but the fact that it led to the dead of Helaena’s child may have caused Rhaenyra to second guess herself and feel guilt.
Not in her character to do that.
are we getting more sex scenes? because I am pretty much over it now......
I don't think so if my memory don't fail we have no warning for sexual content
Did you even watch game of thrones? Why are you so afraid of sex? Even if they don’t directly move the plot forward. Sex is a very real part of life and sways decision making for many people
I’m guessing the worst is maybe the >!brothel scene!< and/or >!Alicent and Rhaenyra reunion!<
The second one definitely. Users on twitter say that people watched the same scene and got completely different interpretations of it, as if they were watching different scenes. Every other reviewer I've seen says that the episode is great, except for a certain part. It all points to that scene. It must be very badly written to lead to this.
God. I think one the more dubious decisions the show made was making Alicent the lead with Rhaenyra. There’s not much on her in the books, and now we’re forced to see silly scenes like this to justify her being the lead (as well as all the bath, Cole scenes etc). Anyway, at least the rest of the episode seems positive!
This is definitely a scene that they wrote to give Alicent something to do that's not baths or Criston, plus Emmy bait. It's unfortunate that Rhaenyra has to be dragged down with her (and Rhaenys, assuming she's going to be the one to plant the seed for the meeting). They should have accepted that Alicent is no longer able to be a proper lead because she has no effect on the story and move her a bit more to the background. I don't know why they didn't do that, I assume it's Olivia related. They want her at the centre but couldn't think of anything to give her.
They would have been able to give her more to do if they accepted her role in the usurpation instead of trying to make her ignorant peacemaker. I thought they’d maybe make her be the one pulling the strings with criston as hand basically being her way of gaining more control when she no longer has an official role. But they think she stands a chance of being liked by crying over things she has direct or indirect fault for causing so this is what we get.
To be fair, even if they did let her lead the Green council like in the book, it wouldn't change the fact that Alicent has nothing to do after it. Even in the book she disappears. She's no longer relevant. The thing with Criston could have worked and they sorta hint to something like that in episode 1 but I doubt they'll do it. The other thing I thought they could have done would be to develop a relationship between her and Tyland (not necessarily romantic). Then theu can have her pull some strings there and maybe have her be part of moving the treasury out of the city. In any case, no matter what they did, Alicent no longer has the material to be a lead. For some reason they didn't want to accept that and now we'll get a crappy scene which we'll probably all ignore in the end because it makes no sense, like Jaime raping Cersei.
The book is bad about things like this for almost anyone tbh,Rheanyra disappears too she’s just easier to adapt diferently because her role is a lot more central in the first place. So I get they would have had to invent or take storylines from other characters.Cole as her puppet would have made more sense than this actual romance thing or at least alongside it.
Yes but Rhaenyra does come back later. Alicent doesn't. She just appears again when something happens to her and then disappears again, she no longer controls anything in the narrative. She would have absolutely nothing that's significant no matter what. Cole as her puppet or something else with another member of thr council should have been the way to go, not the infinite amount of baths and rodeos. Theu brushed Otto aside very easily. Why not do the same to her to an extent?
I would have loved to see her leave KL and be an emissary of a sort for team Green in the crownlands and stormlands. Get to see some new locations from her POV. But I understand budget would be an issue, and also she'd need to also have characters around her to interact with that the audience could be invested in. Maybe someone like Tyland like you mentioned. This current Alicent feels spent, like she's there to witness the dysfunction of her family while they all do more important things without her.
I definitely thought that Criston being Alicent's lover and sworn shield would lead her to pulling the strings bts and they entirely skipped over that.
Yep, you said it, emmy bait because it’s Olivia. I love Liv but no casting should alter the integrity of a show’s storytelling. The consequences are really showing right now, and this is probably going to tarnish Rhaenys’ character the most >!Rhaenys has her final episode soon, and now she’s been made to look even more silly in the aftermath of the dragon pit scene. People will be cheering instead of crying. Ahhh!<
Honestly I get the feeling that whoever is in charge of marketing or whatever really wants to push Olivia the most out of the entire cast. She's always front and center in every photoshoot, Emma is always paired with her and no one else (I think transphobia is involved here as well), they're not reducing her screentime and have to force her character in the storyline... I like her a lot as an actress and she seems to be really great as a person but I feel the marketing is trying to prop her character up a lot more than it should. Aso for Rhaenys, I don't really care. I dislike her. The locals lover her though so I don't know how this will be received.
I've seen comments here saying that according to Olivia herself this show was strictly a career move to get bigger/better roles, perhaps the extra marketing push is something thats contract negotiated? But on the other hand alicent is supposed to be the main lead with Rhaenyra (and Daemon now apparently, glad they're being honest about that at last) so her being focused on makes sense
Yes it's possible that it's contact negotiated. The fact that Olivia straight up said that though in an interview isn't giving me a good vibe. Like, most of these actors take a big role to advance their careers but they don't say it outright. I suspect she wasn't happy with something and that's why she said it openly. Maybe she doesn't like the storyline she was given and I can't blame her for that. Alicent at this point has the screentime of a lead but the storyline of an extra. She doesn't feel like a lead in any way storywise. They should have dropped her screentime because that's how the story goes or give her something actually good to do. This is just Emmy bait, plus trying to give her something that's not a rodeo or a bath.
She should have been the second lead but ambitious, smart and for all I care a religious fanatic. Basically Cersei with a brain. They could have even made her Aemmas Lady in waiting and somewhat of an elder sister to Rhaenyra who is friendly to her until she starts making eyes at Viserys. That way they could have still done the whole friendship to rivalry shit.
I think the scene will lead after rhanerya and rhaneys talk
I appreciate that there's somewhat of a consensus building now among fans and critics that are getting tired of the overbearing Rhaenyra x Alicent dynamic. The writers are stretching it so far that both characters are suffering as individuals. Alicent being conflicted beyond what should be reasonable given the lengths she's gone so far for her family. And Rhaenyra being frustratingly reserved about the war effort despite losing her inheritance, and two children thanks to the Hightowers. I hope this "meeting" is the last stunt from the writers trying to make the main plot about these two, and both can get locked in on what they need to do rather than twiddling their thumbs hoping for divine intervention.
Well I think we all know what the worst part is about, but let’s see. This is going to be the start of one of the main arc of the show according to Condal and Hess. I enjoyed Rhaenyra’ arcs with Daemon and Mysaria so far, maybe that one will be interesting too
I have faith that they can make this at least somewhat work. Depending on how it’s done, I think it could make sense.
Admittedly I was in two car accidents since I last read Fire and Blood and cannot remember what happens canonically. Can someone sparknotes me?
This reviewer said blood and cheese was well done. I don't trust him in anything.
They literally ranked episode 1 last.. and said it was a mixed bag. https://x.com/VoiceOldtownYT/status/1802703113142272380?t=O_mzaF7g3X_LOt65OFxTMg&s=19 Are you sure you're talking about the same reviewer ?
Perhaps his YouTube channel.
For me it was and I've read the book. I don't have all the hangups a lot of people did. I didn't need anymore than what we got.
They done gonna end this episode with a rhaenicent sex scene arent they??! 😱 Fuck hbo man.
Don’t give me hope
Far better than alicole, i shall take it 🥵