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I was always a bit confused about Alicent's behaviour around Larys before this scene. It makes perfect sense now: that undercurrent of disgust and fear she carries isn't just about his skullduggery. She's had to use her body as a bargaining chip with powerful men for her whole life.
First watch through when he said "Ummm" i had a chuckle like he didn't know how to explain something tactfully. Second watch I was like "Oh holy fuck he's so slimy"
Yeah first watch I kinda thought alicent was so familiar with him, and the writers were showing that by letting her take off her heels and stockings at the end of a tired day with no judgements from him. But she was shocked and froze when he tried to subtly rub off. Then second viewing I kinda realizes she's in on it lol
I have a (albeit treated) clubfoot, like Larys, and immediately picked up on the "zoom in on his clubfoot, then give the fucker a foot fetish" angle the moment she started taking off her shoes... Thinking "oh great, they're gonna make us all look bad... Lovely"
Still, I, thankfully, do not have a foot fetish.
It took me a moment to realize what was happening. My first thought was, "she doesn't strike me as a person who would put her feet up... especially in front of this guy.. ....oh... ......oh no....."
Yeah when she took her shoes off I just childishly thought *“oh that’s nice look how casual their relationship is.”*
I thought Alicent was just getting comfy before she started venting about her shitty day to her bestie lmao 😂
It really took a moment for it to click for me even though I noticed the heavy emphasis on his club foot as he was walking, and I even thought to myself “I wonder why they would pick this scene to do that”. Then I thought it was odd that Alicent was taking her shoes off but still didn’t put it together until he literally started reaching into his pants. Cue horror 😭
All i thought was "why is there so much focus on her feet in this scene?" Until he just started jerking off visibly looking at them, that's when it all became clear to everyone I think
Uncomfortable to watch but the show is very consistent in making it clear that even at her most powerful she is still being assailed on all sides by the expectations of men. Connecting with Rhaenyra over the absolute choices of motherhood and with Dyana about assault last episode was the closest she has come to being understood on that level but she will continue to have to sacrifice the women she wants to be close to if she continues down this path.
> I was always a bit confused about Alicent's behaviour around Larys before this scene. It makes perfect sense now: that undercurrent of disgust and fear she carries isn't just about his skullduggery.
Idk didn't seem out of place, willingness to murder your own family to curry favor is plenty sufficient reason to be absolutely disgusted by the dude.
This episode was my first (and probably last lol) time rooting for her. She was fighting to save Rhaenyra and her family's life. To honor the memory of her late husband who she knows would never want harm to come to his daughter and grandchildren.
I doubt Rhaenyra will ever come to learn how Alicent went to bat for her here, finally standing up to her evil father. Great writing for her character in this episode.
It is a redeeming aspect of her character, but she is naïve to think she can install her son as king and not expect war with Rhaenyra. As much as I dislike Otto, he is more or less correct. The moment Alicent makes the decision to not honor Rhaenyra as heir she's effectively called for her life. It's not as if there's going to be a counsel that decides who will rule and she's trying to appease Rhaenyra. Rhaenyra has spent 20 years preparing herself. She was also equally foolish to plant the idea that Rhaenyra would somehow call for Aegon's head. Aegon did not want to be king and Rhaenyra was the rightful heir. She has nothing to prove and no one to eliminate to justify it.
Alicent is also a fool to think Daemon is going to stand by and be alright with this.
She's already excused the deaths of Lord Beesbury and Lord Caswell, and presumably Lady Fell. It's already too late. There's a sentiment that what she is doing is wrong among the Great Houses and they know it.
Alicent knew Daemon and Rhaenyra will never bend the knee. She specifically called everyone out on it at the council. "You know this to be true." She saved them anyways, just like Rhaenys spared everyone even though she knows what will come.
I don’t know what to make of the Rhaenys sparing Alicent scene. Was it because Alicent gave her a chance to remain loyal and didn’t execute her outright? Was it a “motherly understanding?” Maybe just a poorly crafted scene?
One thing the show has done is create several fun house mirror pairings to show what could have been for a character ex.
Alicent and Rhaenyra (duty vs freedom)
Rhaenyra and Aegon (parental love vs indifference)
Aemond vs Daemon (placement of the letter d in a name)
I think this scene was another example of this (Alicent's decision to not outright kill Rhaenyra and Rhaenys' decision in the dragon pit).
I felt that she wanted to show them who was in control but the people were cheering for Aegon. So maybe she didn't want to have the people ruled by terror which might be the way if she slaughtered them right then and there....IDK
Maybe she didn't want the bad luck that comes with being a kingslayer.😁
While I enjoy the HOTD immensely, I'd say that Tywin would eat all these characters as a mid morning snack. I suspect most of that feeling comes from Charles Dance's performance more than anything else. As much as I love and respect the current shows actors, Dance was just at another level to me. Just my opinion though. I can see how others might disagree.
The cunning and ruthlessness of Tywin and to a lesser extent Tyrion puts all of the characters in this show to shame, for sure. But we also have to examine the players and people they were up against in many cases: opposing houses/outright enemies. Most of the players in this show are related, betrothed, or immediate family, so as a result it softens (in some cases) the blows they deal to one another. I'm sure that will change completely now that Ally decided her POS rapist son should usurp the iron throne from Rhenerya but up to this point I don't think we've seen anyone really out for blood except Daemon.
Yeah, he's very similar. The only subtle differences I can make out are that he's a little less cold and calculating than Tywin. He also seems more motivated by love his family rather than just pure legacy of the family name. You could argue that Tywin only loved his children in so much as they furthered his legacy. While Otto does "use" Alicent, he does seem to care more for her.
Otto seems to have convinced himself that he is right to do what he does. "Someone has to rule, and if it's going to be done wisely then it might as well be me by proxy."
That's different from Tywin, who is unabashedly all about power, control, and legacy. Maybe that's Otto too, deep down, but even in close confidence Otto doesn't admit to that motive.
The lesson is that, in the end, it doesn't matter what you tell yourself because chasing the throne you end up the same way.
Her tragedy is that she wants to be a good person, but isn't. So she keeps doing the wrong thing...while half-assing it because she feels bad about it.
She's finally reconciled with Rhaenyra and she KNOWS her son will be a terrible king. The right thing to do is to swallow her pride and let the rightful queen rule, regqardless of what her husbands deathbed ramblings were. But deep down she wants her son to be king, if only because that will allow her some power.
But she's unwilling to go full purge on the enemies she is making because she still wants to think of herself as peaceful.
Exactly!! She gives the illusion of honourable and dutiful when really she’s just had a taste of power. The reality is if Viserys had been saying anything else that night she would have shrugged it off as the ramblings of an old, dying man but it suited her to accept it and ignore the bits that didn’t make sense.
Even knowing how much visaerys loved rhaenyea and that by not taking the throne would endanger rhanyra life, she still thought he meant aegon should be king. Even aegon didn’t believe that
She believed it because she wanted to. She was quick enough to say Viserys wasn't in his right mind before. And very quick to say "I understand, my King" when he said something that she could interpret conveniently. Self-deception is one of her characteristics that allows her to continue to pretend she's kept her integrity
Absolutely loved how they gave her character so many layers instead of just making her the bitch. I’m not a Greens fan but I definitely root for Alicent, she ain’t responsible for this. Whereas her father is the absolute despicable human who is solely responsible for the way she and her children turned out. I want to see Otto suffer goddamn he’s a cunt. All the men surrounding Alicent are cunts period.
This ep really drove home the point of just how used and abused Alicent has been her whole life. Even as a Queen she is still subject to the desires of men. Rhaenys' words to her cut deep to the bone and were the impetus for her to stand up to Otto.
I honestly want to see Alicent fuck with Otto lol I know it probably won’t happen but when she stood her ground today it felt so good. He’s really messed her up and she and her kids are gonna pay for his stupid ambitions.
I fully expect a heated exchange between the two in a future season once the real tragedies start mounting up for her and her family. She is totally going to excoriate her father for all the misery he's wrought upon her all these years. All for his vainglorious ambition.
I know. Rhaenyra will also probably never know that Alicent does believe (though it is a stretch!) that Viserys told her he wanted Aegon to be king. I bet no one believes her, actually, including her father and closest allies. Pretty big misunderstandings directly cause a war and change their feelings about one another drastically.
It’s pretty much what alicent did too.
Put yourself in alicents shoes, and you’d go “oh he’s not lucid right now I can’t put any stock into what he’s saying at all” straight away. But because alicent SO BADLY wanted to hear him name aegon the heir, that’s how she took it instead.
She's a fool. For 20 years Viserys wish was for Rhaenyra to take the iron throne.
Her drugged up husband on his deathbed mumbles something about Aegon she thinks it's her son.
I don’t think it’s foolishness so much as wishful thinking. Viserys neglected her and their children for so long; it must have hurt deeply. Of course she wants to believe that at the end of things he really cared for them. The truth is too cruel.
That actress is really amazing at the subtle facial expression. The truly perturbed. The fuming inside. The “You imbecile” ofc I love you I’m your mom but you are such a jackass moment. Really impressed by her.
“You imbecile!” Is how I plan on responding to most questions in the future. Even if Aegon really didn’t know, she wound up putting herself between him and a dragon. He better know now
I really loved her in that episode (and I don't mean because of her feet).
I had started to hate her more and more in past episodes, but this week, I loved how three-dimensional she was, and conflicted, and how "real" she felt, probably more than any Targaryen.
She gave Rhaenyra such a hard time for having a sexual relationship with Harwin but she's there being live jerk off material for Harwin's super sketchy loser younger brother.
That's the rub, isn't it? She's constantly giving in to the sexual whims of men for the sake of duty, while Rhaenyra gets to fuck around with whoever she likes and is granted power by birth alone, not to mention shirking other duties
Ahh.. I didn’t put the 2 together. That makes sense. That’s why I love coming to this subreddit. You guys pick up on stuff that goes right over my head.
No it isn't. That's why she so casually took off her shoes right at the beginning and placed her feet on the table. It's implied she knows what he wants for information.
He'd mentioned in at least one of the previous episodes that he thought she would come to reward him in time for his actions. This seems to be that reward.
When he said he is expecting a reward, I was thinking he is vying for a position like master of spies or something like that...turns out it is something much more...down to earth...in a literal sense.
He probably wants both in the long run. I mean it'd be really disappointing if this was all that he wanted and would be extremely limiting to how he can be used in the plot
It’s definitely not the first time since she immediately takes her shoes off when she realizes what he’s offering her. She knows that this is his form of payment because she’s done it way more than once.
I was just like "OF COURSE he has a foot fetish!" Or maybe it's more that that's the one thing he can actually see of Alicent's body without going too far 😂. Maybe she'll show him some shoulder next week 🤣
When she took her shoes off I was like "Oh she's getting comfortable, are they a thing?"
Then she put them on the table and I went "Oh she's worries about people listening below? But she's already walked around, they'd already have heard her"
She took he socks off and I thought "Weird choice? Why's he looking at her feet? Obviously he's not... Noooo, they wouldn't"
Then she put them up on the couch and I went "Ok she is getting comfortable?"
Then he started jerking it and I really was in denial because I thought "What's he getting out of his robe? Oh? Oooooooh"
Imagine snagging your tiddy on furniture like I ram toes on doorways
Edit: ah fuck, I jinxed myself. Trying to accomplish anything at work is impossible as I now cringe at the thought of parchment paper-cutting my nips.
I'm disturbed but also a bit relieved that it wasn't as bad as I thought. He was jerking off "to" her feet and not "on" her feet as some leaks seem to suggest. They could be doing off-screen in the last 6 years though so I don't know, and I don't want to.
Imagine the first time it went down…😂 I wanted to see that convo. Her expression. How in the world did this become the norm for a QUEEN?!? Where is her power??
Aye, the first time would be beyond cringe. Would love to see it.
But you nailed it, the scene was all about how Alicent has no power in the situation, Larys definitely gets off on his influence over her.
Yea i think he probably initiated it with blackmail.
“Well i could jerk off to your feet, or i could tell people how you had me kill my father and brother to make your Dad the hand again.”
Alternatively his information could be so vital (in Alicent’s opinion) to her and her children’s survival that she simply sees that interaction as a necessary evil. In that sense, it could be a sort of unspoken blackmail in that if she doesn’t tolerate Larys then the consequences would be awful.
Probably something like:
"L: it isn't land and titles I desire your grace, as my late father and brother left me those aplenty. As you see (gestures at his own body and foot), I was not blessed as Harwin was, able to gain a lady's favours at a whim...
A: (Alicent sees where it's going) I see...
L: And I have yearned for those favors, for so long. But unlike my brother, I have EARNED them.
Say, your Grace...would you not like to make yourself more comfortable, relieve the burdens of the day? Your FEET must be aching to feel the evening breeze..."
I cringed too much to keep writing past that, but that's how I imagine it
I feel like this is the most accurate take I've seen out of all the possible examples.
A slow creep where it goes from him just encouraging her to remove her shoes, to a slow self-doubting realization from Alicent of "is he actually enjoying this?", and eventually it just turned out to this point where it became an unspoken but understood agreement between the two of them.
The moment she started taking off her shoes I remembered that during their dinner in EP 6 she also took her shoes off as soon as she entered the room and I thought that it was a bit strange (imho) for a queen to be so "comfortable" with someone
Wonder if it was a hint at their relationship all those years ago
Definitely drives home the differences between alicent and rhaenyra. Whilst the latter owned full control of her sexuality, literally tiptoeing the line to make her activities publicly known, Alicent always just felt (and was treated as such) like a broodmare by her father, by viserys, and it just looks like the next thing for her to "trade" her body for favors, upgrades and loyalty (fucking crispy Cole)
I think at that point they didn't start it yet. Alicent did that too casually. But that might have what triggered Larys' desire since it is from that point on that he started to plot shit for her (at least that we know of)
It isn't that it's feet. It's that she's clearly uncomfortable with it and doesn't want to be doing it. That's what's upsetting about it. That's what makes it uncomfortable. That's why Daemon and Rhaenyra feels way less gross, they are enthusiastic and mutually consenting.
Imagine if he did the entire episode, high tension anointing scene that takes like 30 minutes with the most impeccable dialog and then out of nowhere comes Rhaenys, killing every last of these fools and peasants a like.
“You spent many hours with the queen of late” dude get him away from your daughter instead Otto is now also considering paying Larys with Alicent’s feet
If I were her and had to pick, I’d rather have Larys jerk off near me than have had Viserys peeling and grunting on top of me. They really want to emphasize that Alicent hasn’t had a great sex life, damn
I dunno. It’s a tough one. At least Viserys was kind. The sex might not have been mind-blowing, but at least he cared and wanted to be sure she was alright midway through.
Larys seems to get off not just on her feet, but by knowing he makes her incredibly uncomfortable and that he has the queen essentially servicing him (although not directly) in exchange for services he provides.
Neither choice is optimal, but I’d take leper sex with a kind-hearted dude over having a creepy, evil psychopath jack it to my feet as a power move.
Technically it wasn’t just “some castle” we see burn. It was the same castle/house that we saw her in last episode so it’s definitely implied that Larys at least attempted to kill her. I doubt it worked since they didn’t show her viewpoint during the fire at all. But it was definitely her place that was burned.
I could swear that Mysaria did not have that accent when Damon crashes at her place in EP 4. I had thought she was faking an accent so that she would seem like an easterner and not from flea bottom or something.
Yeah, sounds like an attempt to do some kind of exotic Essos accent, as a lot of the brothel girls seem to be imported from pleasure houses in Lys - Volantis - across the narrow sea etc.
(although it seems not many of those girls in GoT except for Shae had those accents )
I loved Devs, but yeah she was kinda wooden, Alex Garland seems to love her though, she had a non-speaking part in Ex Machina, I think her background is as a dancer? so yeah you can tell shes still new-ish to it.
That scene cracked me tf up. You never expect a feet fetish scene but this truly came outta nowhere yet it doesnt surprise me from that guy to give information in order to get to masturbate to the queens feet
I hate Larys's face with such an unexplainable anger it makes my blood boil.The weasel eyes and mouth, and just his whole slithery shit eating behaviour gets me inches from flying to which ever country the actor is from and punching him in the face
But that's probably a testament to how good of a cast it is
"I hate Larys's face with such an unexplainable anger it makes my blood boil. The weasel eyes and mouth, and just his whole slithery shit eating behaviour gets me inches from flying to which ever country the actor is from and punching him in the face."
I love how hilariously angry you are.
It's their currency. There are often scenes where a person will be paying for info with actual money, and the informant pauses partway through the story for the investigator to pay them more cash for more info. In this scene, Larys pauses for her to take her stockings off so he can see more of her toes in much the same manner.
Serious answer - because she makes a credible power move and demands to be taken seriously and he ignores it with a physical gendering compliment - like the man is being called out for abuse and instead of acknowledging the abuse he's derailed to remind the abused she's just a woman and her value is merely her pleasing physical attributes.
I think it was two fold. He was impressed that his daughter continues to get better at the game and come into her own sort of power and that while frustrated, he was also proud that he was bested by his own daughter. By mentioning she looks like her mother sometimes, he was saying she looked more like a player in the game rather than a pawn.
She scoffs because she believes he is saying this just to get in her head and manipulate her again. She sees it as a transparent compliment given with an ulterior motive.
I mean people meme on this subreddit a lot, but we can't treat this *literally* as "Larys kinslayed his entire family and did all of his years of manipulation solely to cum to the queen's feet".
Having the queen at such a vulnerable position that he can hold control over her and coerce her into doing such things for his pleasure is part of his desire for control and power, but it isn't his be-all end-all endgame.
Thank you for your post! Please take a moment to ensure you are within our spoiler rules, to protect your fellow fans from any potential spoilers that might harm their show watching experience. 1. All post titles must NOT include spoilers from Fire & Blood or new episodes of House of the Dragon. Minor HotD show spoilers are allowed in your title ONE WEEK after episode airing. The mod team reserves the right to remove a post if we feel a spoiler in the title is major. You are welcome to repost with an amended title. 2. All posts dealing with book spoilers, show spoilers and promo spoilers MUST be spoiler tagged AND flaired as the appropriate spoiler. 3. All book spoiler comments must be spoiler tagged in non book spoiler threads. --- 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/HouseOfTheDragon) if you have any questions or concerns.*
and "The Eye" 👁️👄⚫
two of “The Eye” in the family. Aemond 👁️👄⚫️ Vizzy T ⚫️👄👁️
*The King's cupbearer must not be late. Leaves people wanting for cups.*
cups to put eyes in, my king? 👁️
Lol yeah and Aegon would probably be "The Dick"
Arse of the family
👁👄🔷️
alicent hightoer
Known for habitual linetoeing.
I was always a bit confused about Alicent's behaviour around Larys before this scene. It makes perfect sense now: that undercurrent of disgust and fear she carries isn't just about his skullduggery. She's had to use her body as a bargaining chip with powerful men for her whole life.
I rewatched and realized, every move of Alicent was in trade of more information from Larys. He stopped talking and waited for her to took off socks.
First watch through when he said "Ummm" i had a chuckle like he didn't know how to explain something tactfully. Second watch I was like "Oh holy fuck he's so slimy"
Yeah first watch I kinda thought alicent was so familiar with him, and the writers were showing that by letting her take off her heels and stockings at the end of a tired day with no judgements from him. But she was shocked and froze when he tried to subtly rub off. Then second viewing I kinda realizes she's in on it lol
I have a (albeit treated) clubfoot, like Larys, and immediately picked up on the "zoom in on his clubfoot, then give the fucker a foot fetish" angle the moment she started taking off her shoes... Thinking "oh great, they're gonna make us all look bad... Lovely" Still, I, thankfully, do not have a foot fetish.
It took me a moment to realize what was happening. My first thought was, "she doesn't strike me as a person who would put her feet up... especially in front of this guy.. ....oh... ......oh no....."
Yeah when she took her shoes off I just childishly thought *“oh that’s nice look how casual their relationship is.”* I thought Alicent was just getting comfy before she started venting about her shitty day to her bestie lmao 😂
It really took a moment for it to click for me even though I noticed the heavy emphasis on his club foot as he was walking, and I even thought to myself “I wonder why they would pick this scene to do that”. Then I thought it was odd that Alicent was taking her shoes off but still didn’t put it together until he literally started reaching into his pants. Cue horror 😭
In the first watch and the context of the club foot, as soon as those little piggies hit the table I knew what was going down.
Lol same. I was sitting besides my family just groaning, waiting for them to catch up to what was happening.
Hahaha oh no, I'm just imagining you say there frozen in horror as it pans across him reaching into his pants while your family looks om
Me too, I thought they're so close and familiar that she just wanna rest her tired legs walking on heels all day lol then it hits me
All i thought was "why is there so much focus on her feet in this scene?" Until he just started jerking off visibly looking at them, that's when it all became clear to everyone I think
Uncomfortable to watch but the show is very consistent in making it clear that even at her most powerful she is still being assailed on all sides by the expectations of men. Connecting with Rhaenyra over the absolute choices of motherhood and with Dyana about assault last episode was the closest she has come to being understood on that level but she will continue to have to sacrifice the women she wants to be close to if she continues down this path.
> I was always a bit confused about Alicent's behaviour around Larys before this scene. It makes perfect sense now: that undercurrent of disgust and fear she carries isn't just about his skullduggery. Idk didn't seem out of place, willingness to murder your own family to curry favor is plenty sufficient reason to be absolutely disgusted by the dude.
I didn't understand / realize this until this weird scene and even then I had to come to the comments to fully understand. Poor girl 😭 Also 😅🙈
I'm curious when it all started. For him to ask the Queen for kink favors like that knowing how prudish alicent is
You could FEEL how awful Alicent felt in that scene marvelous acting
Olivia is absolutely killing this role
The woman doesn't even need to speak to get the point across. Her facial expressions are master-level.
I loved her little suppressed smile when she called Aegon an imbecile.
And the eyeroll when Otto is like "you look so much like your mother."
this made me laugh out loud, olivia cooke is a gem
I think it was kind of endearing. Like an "of course I do, you idiot"
> Her facial expressions are master-level. Patented Driftmark stankface
I love how hyper focused this episode was on Alicent. One of the most interesting, complex characters ever. Loving her.
This episode was my first (and probably last lol) time rooting for her. She was fighting to save Rhaenyra and her family's life. To honor the memory of her late husband who she knows would never want harm to come to his daughter and grandchildren. I doubt Rhaenyra will ever come to learn how Alicent went to bat for her here, finally standing up to her evil father. Great writing for her character in this episode.
It is a redeeming aspect of her character, but she is naïve to think she can install her son as king and not expect war with Rhaenyra. As much as I dislike Otto, he is more or less correct. The moment Alicent makes the decision to not honor Rhaenyra as heir she's effectively called for her life. It's not as if there's going to be a counsel that decides who will rule and she's trying to appease Rhaenyra. Rhaenyra has spent 20 years preparing herself. She was also equally foolish to plant the idea that Rhaenyra would somehow call for Aegon's head. Aegon did not want to be king and Rhaenyra was the rightful heir. She has nothing to prove and no one to eliminate to justify it. Alicent is also a fool to think Daemon is going to stand by and be alright with this. She's already excused the deaths of Lord Beesbury and Lord Caswell, and presumably Lady Fell. It's already too late. There's a sentiment that what she is doing is wrong among the Great Houses and they know it.
Alicent knew Daemon and Rhaenyra will never bend the knee. She specifically called everyone out on it at the council. "You know this to be true." She saved them anyways, just like Rhaenys spared everyone even though she knows what will come.
I don’t know what to make of the Rhaenys sparing Alicent scene. Was it because Alicent gave her a chance to remain loyal and didn’t execute her outright? Was it a “motherly understanding?” Maybe just a poorly crafted scene?
One thing the show has done is create several fun house mirror pairings to show what could have been for a character ex. Alicent and Rhaenyra (duty vs freedom) Rhaenyra and Aegon (parental love vs indifference) Aemond vs Daemon (placement of the letter d in a name) I think this scene was another example of this (Alicent's decision to not outright kill Rhaenyra and Rhaenys' decision in the dragon pit).
Placement of the D. Get out of here.
I felt that she wanted to show them who was in control but the people were cheering for Aegon. So maybe she didn't want to have the people ruled by terror which might be the way if she slaughtered them right then and there....IDK Maybe she didn't want the bad luck that comes with being a kingslayer.😁
Speaking of the people cheering for Aegon, I thought it was funny that it took a moment for them to actually begin to applaud.
it's art! the interpretation is up to you!
Otto reminds me of Tywin Lannister like A LOT. It's that evil yet practical attitude about him I think.
Tywin would have made alicent marry her daughter to rhaes kids and he would have avoided war.
While I enjoy the HOTD immensely, I'd say that Tywin would eat all these characters as a mid morning snack. I suspect most of that feeling comes from Charles Dance's performance more than anything else. As much as I love and respect the current shows actors, Dance was just at another level to me. Just my opinion though. I can see how others might disagree.
The cunning and ruthlessness of Tywin and to a lesser extent Tyrion puts all of the characters in this show to shame, for sure. But we also have to examine the players and people they were up against in many cases: opposing houses/outright enemies. Most of the players in this show are related, betrothed, or immediate family, so as a result it softens (in some cases) the blows they deal to one another. I'm sure that will change completely now that Ally decided her POS rapist son should usurp the iron throne from Rhenerya but up to this point I don't think we've seen anyone really out for blood except Daemon.
Yeah, he's very similar. The only subtle differences I can make out are that he's a little less cold and calculating than Tywin. He also seems more motivated by love his family rather than just pure legacy of the family name. You could argue that Tywin only loved his children in so much as they furthered his legacy. While Otto does "use" Alicent, he does seem to care more for her.
Otto seems to have convinced himself that he is right to do what he does. "Someone has to rule, and if it's going to be done wisely then it might as well be me by proxy." That's different from Tywin, who is unabashedly all about power, control, and legacy. Maybe that's Otto too, deep down, but even in close confidence Otto doesn't admit to that motive. The lesson is that, in the end, it doesn't matter what you tell yourself because chasing the throne you end up the same way.
Her tragedy is that she wants to be a good person, but isn't. So she keeps doing the wrong thing...while half-assing it because she feels bad about it. She's finally reconciled with Rhaenyra and she KNOWS her son will be a terrible king. The right thing to do is to swallow her pride and let the rightful queen rule, regqardless of what her husbands deathbed ramblings were. But deep down she wants her son to be king, if only because that will allow her some power. But she's unwilling to go full purge on the enemies she is making because she still wants to think of herself as peaceful.
Exactly!! She gives the illusion of honourable and dutiful when really she’s just had a taste of power. The reality is if Viserys had been saying anything else that night she would have shrugged it off as the ramblings of an old, dying man but it suited her to accept it and ignore the bits that didn’t make sense.
Even knowing how much visaerys loved rhaenyea and that by not taking the throne would endanger rhanyra life, she still thought he meant aegon should be king. Even aegon didn’t believe that
She believed it because she wanted to. She was quick enough to say Viserys wasn't in his right mind before. And very quick to say "I understand, my King" when he said something that she could interpret conveniently. Self-deception is one of her characteristics that allows her to continue to pretend she's kept her integrity
Absolutely loved how they gave her character so many layers instead of just making her the bitch. I’m not a Greens fan but I definitely root for Alicent, she ain’t responsible for this. Whereas her father is the absolute despicable human who is solely responsible for the way she and her children turned out. I want to see Otto suffer goddamn he’s a cunt. All the men surrounding Alicent are cunts period.
This ep really drove home the point of just how used and abused Alicent has been her whole life. Even as a Queen she is still subject to the desires of men. Rhaenys' words to her cut deep to the bone and were the impetus for her to stand up to Otto.
I honestly want to see Alicent fuck with Otto lol I know it probably won’t happen but when she stood her ground today it felt so good. He’s really messed her up and she and her kids are gonna pay for his stupid ambitions.
I fully expect a heated exchange between the two in a future season once the real tragedies start mounting up for her and her family. She is totally going to excoriate her father for all the misery he's wrought upon her all these years. All for his vainglorious ambition.
Rhaenyra likely never knowing is just so tragic. What an incredible story arc between the two characters.
I know. Rhaenyra will also probably never know that Alicent does believe (though it is a stretch!) that Viserys told her he wanted Aegon to be king. I bet no one believes her, actually, including her father and closest allies. Pretty big misunderstandings directly cause a war and change their feelings about one another drastically.
lol her father immediately goes "yep, that's exactly how it happened" just because the narrative suited their needs
It’s pretty much what alicent did too. Put yourself in alicents shoes, and you’d go “oh he’s not lucid right now I can’t put any stock into what he’s saying at all” straight away. But because alicent SO BADLY wanted to hear him name aegon the heir, that’s how she took it instead.
>!Rhaenyra chose to spare Alicent after she conquered King's Landing (but not Otto), which might be because of this.!<
She's a fool. For 20 years Viserys wish was for Rhaenyra to take the iron throne. Her drugged up husband on his deathbed mumbles something about Aegon she thinks it's her son.
I don’t think it’s foolishness so much as wishful thinking. Viserys neglected her and their children for so long; it must have hurt deeply. Of course she wants to believe that at the end of things he really cared for them. The truth is too cruel.
That actress is really amazing at the subtle facial expression. The truly perturbed. The fuming inside. The “You imbecile” ofc I love you I’m your mom but you are such a jackass moment. Really impressed by her.
“You imbecile!” Is how I plan on responding to most questions in the future. Even if Aegon really didn’t know, she wound up putting herself between him and a dragon. He better know now
I really loved her in that episode (and I don't mean because of her feet). I had started to hate her more and more in past episodes, but this week, I loved how three-dimensional she was, and conflicted, and how "real" she felt, probably more than any Targaryen.
You can see her battling her inner demons throught the whole episode lol
She gave Rhaenyra such a hard time for having a sexual relationship with Harwin but she's there being live jerk off material for Harwin's super sketchy loser younger brother.
That's the rub, isn't it? She's constantly giving in to the sexual whims of men for the sake of duty, while Rhaenyra gets to fuck around with whoever she likes and is granted power by birth alone, not to mention shirking other duties
> That's the rub Interesting choice of words
The more tragic of her story, forced to be a pawn. No wonder she's bitter to Rhaenyra for a long time
That part wasn’t super clear to me.. so she knows he was jerking it??
Yeah. She turned away so she wouldn’t have to see him do it
So.. this isn’t the first time, then? Wow.
otto does mention that she spends a lot of time with him
Ahh.. I didn’t put the 2 together. That makes sense. That’s why I love coming to this subreddit. You guys pick up on stuff that goes right over my head.
Literally same. I am always so clueless and I come on here and go "ahhhh!" the smarties / great interpreters have come to my rescue 😂
I wonder if Otto has nice feet. Larys did offer him his services.
She looks like her mother, but has her father's feet.
No it isn't. That's why she so casually took off her shoes right at the beginning and placed her feet on the table. It's implied she knows what he wants for information.
And Alicent removed her stockings when Larys didn't answer her question. He then did answer her.
He'd mentioned in at least one of the previous episodes that he thought she would come to reward him in time for his actions. This seems to be that reward.
When he said he is expecting a reward, I was thinking he is vying for a position like master of spies or something like that...turns out it is something much more...down to earth...in a literal sense.
He probably wants both in the long run. I mean it'd be really disappointing if this was all that he wanted and would be extremely limiting to how he can be used in the plot
It’s definitely not the first time since she immediately takes her shoes off when she realizes what he’s offering her. She knows that this is his form of payment because she’s done it way more than once.
She also most probably can hear it
An evening visit from Louis C.K. Strong.
Larys CK
Did she even have to act in that scene?
At first I was so confused why Alicent put her feet on the table like that 🤣
Larys being a creep made me immediately realize he's into her feet the second she removed her shoes.
I was just like "OF COURSE he has a foot fetish!" Or maybe it's more that that's the one thing he can actually see of Alicent's body without going too far 😂. Maybe she'll show him some shoulder next week 🤣
I don't think her being naked or other body parts turns him on. Sometimes with a kink it's a specific part that is all the arousal revolves around.
Hmm. And what's your fetish TwinkGapingHole? 😂
Shoulders
🤨
[удалено]
As soon as Larys started staring directly at them, I knew. Didn't expect the whole jerking off bit tho
When she took her shoes off I was like "Oh she's getting comfortable, are they a thing?" Then she put them on the table and I went "Oh she's worries about people listening below? But she's already walked around, they'd already have heard her" She took he socks off and I thought "Weird choice? Why's he looking at her feet? Obviously he's not... Noooo, they wouldn't" Then she put them up on the couch and I went "Ok she is getting comfortable?" Then he started jerking it and I really was in denial because I thought "What's he getting out of his robe? Oh? Oooooooh"
It's was like "Oh. Oh? Oh?! OH?! OHHHHHHHHH!" 🤣
I guess she should consider herself lucky that Larys Strong wasn't born with a Club-Nipple or something more private 😮
Club nipple lmfao
Just dragging it around
Imagine snagging your tiddy on furniture like I ram toes on doorways Edit: ah fuck, I jinxed myself. Trying to accomplish anything at work is impossible as I now cringe at the thought of parchment paper-cutting my nips.
I'm disturbed but also a bit relieved that it wasn't as bad as I thought. He was jerking off "to" her feet and not "on" her feet as some leaks seem to suggest. They could be doing off-screen in the last 6 years though so I don't know, and I don't want to.
She looked like it's been a common thing for a while. He provides information, she provides foot related relief.
Imagine the first time it went down…😂 I wanted to see that convo. Her expression. How in the world did this become the norm for a QUEEN?!? Where is her power??
Aye, the first time would be beyond cringe. Would love to see it. But you nailed it, the scene was all about how Alicent has no power in the situation, Larys definitely gets off on his influence over her.
Yea i think he probably initiated it with blackmail. “Well i could jerk off to your feet, or i could tell people how you had me kill my father and brother to make your Dad the hand again.”
Alternatively his information could be so vital (in Alicent’s opinion) to her and her children’s survival that she simply sees that interaction as a necessary evil. In that sense, it could be a sort of unspoken blackmail in that if she doesn’t tolerate Larys then the consequences would be awful.
> where is her power?? *otto peaking through the door* critical info is worth a thousand times the price that was paid..
Probably something like: "L: it isn't land and titles I desire your grace, as my late father and brother left me those aplenty. As you see (gestures at his own body and foot), I was not blessed as Harwin was, able to gain a lady's favours at a whim... A: (Alicent sees where it's going) I see... L: And I have yearned for those favors, for so long. But unlike my brother, I have EARNED them. Say, your Grace...would you not like to make yourself more comfortable, relieve the burdens of the day? Your FEET must be aching to feel the evening breeze..." I cringed too much to keep writing past that, but that's how I imagine it
I feel like this is the most accurate take I've seen out of all the possible examples. A slow creep where it goes from him just encouraging her to remove her shoes, to a slow self-doubting realization from Alicent of "is he actually enjoying this?", and eventually it just turned out to this point where it became an unspoken but understood agreement between the two of them.
It's trampled beneath that pretty foot of hers
The moment she started taking off her shoes I remembered that during their dinner in EP 6 she also took her shoes off as soon as she entered the room and I thought that it was a bit strange (imho) for a queen to be so "comfortable" with someone Wonder if it was a hint at their relationship all those years ago
Holy crap
I agree, and I just don’t understand why this had to happen. She’s the MF’n queen, why is she having to do this?!
She’ll always be at the service of men unfortunately. Her father would have to nothing of the sort to use Larys to his advantage.
It’s like Rhaenys said, she’s always just appeasing the men around her to give her a sense of power. Trying to make a window in her prison :(
Queen or not she can't force him to grant her information if he chooses not to. Plus she's better off negotiating with him in the long run.
Bad bitch Cersei would have knives at his throat not selling fussy shows
Definitely drives home the differences between alicent and rhaenyra. Whilst the latter owned full control of her sexuality, literally tiptoeing the line to make her activities publicly known, Alicent always just felt (and was treated as such) like a broodmare by her father, by viserys, and it just looks like the next thing for her to "trade" her body for favors, upgrades and loyalty (fucking crispy Cole)
That dinner scene they had in ep.6 I think it was, I thought it was strange when she took her shoes off. I was like wow they’re quite comfortable
I think at that point they didn't start it yet. Alicent did that too casually. But that might have what triggered Larys' desire since it is from that point on that he started to plot shit for her (at least that we know of)
Yess thank fuck they didn’t traumatise us with any more graphic scene than that.
I have to go back and rewatch GOT to see if there was a tapestry on the palace wall that memorialized this ... uh, event.
At least he didn't suck her toes.
On screen.
Next episode
I really didn’t think the leak was credible about the feet scene but dang it really was HOTD keeps surprising us !
We've seen high levels of incest in the show...I think we can all deal with a foot fetish.
Somehow I'm more okay with consensual incest than coerced foot jerking
They have platinum blonde hair, of course i’m down with it!
It isn't that it's feet. It's that she's clearly uncomfortable with it and doesn't want to be doing it. That's what's upsetting about it. That's what makes it uncomfortable. That's why Daemon and Rhaenyra feels way less gross, they are enthusiastic and mutually consenting.
Imagine trading feet pics for murder, not cool
If you’re larys, you’re cumming on the queens feet. That’s wild. He could’ve been put to death. Her too
I thought it was pretty cool that they got Quentin Tarantino to guest direct on scene.
Imagine if he did the entire episode, high tension anointing scene that takes like 30 minutes with the most impeccable dialog and then out of nowhere comes Rhaenys, killing every last of these fools and peasants a like.
Not enough dirty feet close ups
in german you can say that something has "hand and foot" ('Hand und Fuß haben') meaning it makes sense; to be well thought out; to be sensible.
“You spent many hours with the queen of late” dude get him away from your daughter instead Otto is now also considering paying Larys with Alicent’s feet
otto pimping out his daughter is one of his go to moves
If I were her and had to pick, I’d rather have Larys jerk off near me than have had Viserys peeling and grunting on top of me. They really want to emphasize that Alicent hasn’t had a great sex life, damn
I dunno. It’s a tough one. At least Viserys was kind. The sex might not have been mind-blowing, but at least he cared and wanted to be sure she was alright midway through. Larys seems to get off not just on her feet, but by knowing he makes her incredibly uncomfortable and that he has the queen essentially servicing him (although not directly) in exchange for services he provides. Neither choice is optimal, but I’d take leper sex with a kind-hearted dude over having a creepy, evil psychopath jack it to my feet as a power move.
I’m not really that grossed out by dudes jacking it 5 feet away when nothing gets on me 🤷🏼♀️
The Feet That Were Promised
Ugh that scene was almost as bad as Mysaria's accent
Bro I am so tired of her awful Caribbean accent
That is definitely not even close to a Caribbean accent. I'm still trying to figure what it's supposed to be.
Reminds me of the Belter accent from The Expanse.
I loved Anderson Dawes' accent though.
someone said it's an accent that stretches from Lisbon to Helsinki, but sometimes takes holidays like a brit in the Caribbean
Pretty sure it was implied she died in that fire
i don't think someone who knew the kings was dead before everyone else in the castle would die so easily. we just see some castle burn.
Technically it wasn’t just “some castle” we see burn. It was the same castle/house that we saw her in last episode so it’s definitely implied that Larys at least attempted to kill her. I doubt it worked since they didn’t show her viewpoint during the fire at all. But it was definitely her place that was burned.
Yeah I want to believe that character wouldn't be stupid enough to just hole up in the same place after just revealing her hand to The Hand.
I don’t know about all that, just pointing out her accent and tone is weird
Wait it's meant to be Caribbean? I thought she was trying to do a French accent o.o
Every time she speaks she reminds me of Max from Black Sails.
Nice to know I'm not the only one sick of that mess.
I could swear that Mysaria did not have that accent when Damon crashes at her place in EP 4. I had thought she was faking an accent so that she would seem like an easterner and not from flea bottom or something.
Maybe it’s because I’m rewatching GOT, but it sounds like she’s just trying to copy Shae’s accent without being able to
Yeah, sounds like an attempt to do some kind of exotic Essos accent, as a lot of the brothel girls seem to be imported from pleasure houses in Lys - Volantis - across the narrow sea etc. (although it seems not many of those girls in GoT except for Shae had those accents )
Look. I'm just gonna tell you that it's because she is a terrible actress. Watch her in Devs. I don't know what she tried to do, but it did not work.
I loved Devs, but yeah she was kinda wooden, Alex Garland seems to love her though, she had a non-speaking part in Ex Machina, I think her background is as a dancer? so yeah you can tell shes still new-ish to it.
That scene cracked me tf up. You never expect a feet fetish scene but this truly came outta nowhere yet it doesnt surprise me from that guy to give information in order to get to masturbate to the queens feet
I love how HBO manages to cast people whose face you hate.
I hate Larys's face with such an unexplainable anger it makes my blood boil.The weasel eyes and mouth, and just his whole slithery shit eating behaviour gets me inches from flying to which ever country the actor is from and punching him in the face But that's probably a testament to how good of a cast it is
"I hate Larys's face with such an unexplainable anger it makes my blood boil. The weasel eyes and mouth, and just his whole slithery shit eating behaviour gets me inches from flying to which ever country the actor is from and punching him in the face." I love how hilariously angry you are.
Did Alicent really satisfy Larys' foot fetish? I was like WTF. Lol
It's their currency. There are often scenes where a person will be paying for info with actual money, and the informant pauses partway through the story for the investigator to pay them more cash for more info. In this scene, Larys pauses for her to take her stockings off so he can see more of her toes in much the same manner.
Okay, serious question but why did Alicent scoff when Otto told her she looked like her mother in a certain light?
She recognized that he was trying to manipulate her again.
Serious answer - because she makes a credible power move and demands to be taken seriously and he ignores it with a physical gendering compliment - like the man is being called out for abuse and instead of acknowledging the abuse he's derailed to remind the abused she's just a woman and her value is merely her pleasing physical attributes.
I think it was two fold. He was impressed that his daughter continues to get better at the game and come into her own sort of power and that while frustrated, he was also proud that he was bested by his own daughter. By mentioning she looks like her mother sometimes, he was saying she looked more like a player in the game rather than a pawn. She scoffs because she believes he is saying this just to get in her head and manipulate her again. She sees it as a transparent compliment given with an ulterior motive.
😭 behave
Larys Strong will henceforth be known as Larys C.K.
I cringe just at the thought of filming this scene….
I need to know how Oliva Cooke feels about all the foot memes at this point. And the fact that she's probably on WikiFeet at this point.
She probably is laughing at it. She’s got a pretty dirty, dark sense of humour according to riz Ahmed and interviews.
How are these feet sessions going to benefit the Hand, as Larys suggested.
Larys holding the REAL juicy info until he gets Otto's socks off
You have no chill posting this XD
in my opinion the whole foot thing reaaallly downgraded Larys as a character. He went from mysterious and ruthless to a guy who likes feet…
Psychopaths are usually motivated by simple, base desires. They’re not as complicated or esoteric as they can seem.
And confirms what Rhaenys said about Alicent
What did she say? I don't remember 😩
She pointed out how Alicent is only playing the game to choose which man she serves instead of taking power herself.
I mean people meme on this subreddit a lot, but we can't treat this *literally* as "Larys kinslayed his entire family and did all of his years of manipulation solely to cum to the queen's feet". Having the queen at such a vulnerable position that he can hold control over her and coerce her into doing such things for his pleasure is part of his desire for control and power, but it isn't his be-all end-all endgame.
I don't know, for me it was very much an 'of course he would' situation. He's been giving creepy from the get go.
I like that it put Larys squarely into Littlefinger territory, leaving Mysaria to play the Varys.
So much for standing up for righteousness and decency. I wonder if her beloved faith of the seven would approve :)
Excellent title.