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SAG-AFTRA in New-York - 13th October 2022

Source Pictures: Screenshots (by me) - Hulu Youtube

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What the HOTD writers are seriously not getting about GRRM's story and about good stories in general:

You can NOT simultaneously write a narrative about "the futility of lust for power and how the throne devours and destroys those who seek it" while writing a narrative about "girl-boss queen who is righteously fighting for her ~birthright~ to rule over people".

These two narratives cancel each other out. You can either have one or the other.

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And...? What exactly was stopping YOU from disregarding the men around you and YOU taking the throne for 20+ years, Rhaenys?

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At least Game of Thrones had 4 passable seasons before it went down the drain, but House of the dragon literally deteriorated in mere episodes. Pathetic.

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I don’t even care about this show anymore, it was clear to me early on that they aren’t going to do this story justice. But the way they’ve basically given the female characters almost no agency and made Alicent be a victim of sexual exploitation multiple times for no reason is gross. There were other ways to make her more sympathetic. Not to mention, her character is so inconsistent and confusing. Like she lived with Rhaenyra and her kids for 10 years and couldn’t consider reconciling, but one speech at a dinner party and she wants to be bffs again? One episode she’s screaming at Aegon that he’s going to be king one day, but all of a sudden she had no idea that her father and his allies were planning for him to usurp the throne? And why on EARTH would she have genuine grief for the man who basically raped her and neglected her children? Give me one-dimensional evil step-mother Alicent from the book over this wishy washy bs any day.

I was super confused by her reactions to things this episode but didn't care enough to really explore the confusion because when she was crying over Viserys I was like ... ... do you actually mean this? Why tho?

And then her freaking out at the mention of killing Rhaenyra and Daemon just had me like, this is extremely naive thinking for a character who is supposed to be hardened. Why are we doing this?

And then the scene with Larys, so I've seen people say it was supposed to make her seem more sympathetic and I was like I don't see how they thought that would achieve this, they already did that pointed conversation about how she can't even imagine herself as queen but instead chooses to give herself away to men, we

And I'm also not sure why Alicent wasn't sympathetic before. Like I stand by what I've said about these characters, they lack interiority and depth and nuance and, well, life to make them anything more than cutouts, really, but she hasn't actually done anything that makes her unsympathetic.

And the thing with the complaint that none of the female characters have agency on this show is not that it's invalid but it's just, what does agency look like on this show? But actually. Because what the are the men actually doing? Like what is anyone doing?

Criston is basically unhinged muscle for Alicent, Aemond stands around pouting, Alicent and her father are supposed to be in this kind of chess match but he doesn't ever seem to actually be ahead of her even though we're meant to think he is but there's nothing to suggest that except that Larys tells him that he could potentially benefit from what he tells Alicent, Daemon kills people to get closer to a goal he seems nowhere near getting, like...

The ending of the episode is actually the perfect summation of HOTD as a whole, you had a whole ass dragon and burned no one just had it scream and then flew away, the lack of tension or consequences just makes this whole show an exercise in being pointless.

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Imagine the Dance of the Dragons as written by the writers of Succession...imagine writers for HOTD that get that you don't have make terrible people "justified" in their terrible actions or passive to the point of stupidity to make them "sympathetic"; you just have let them have clear, honest human reactions when terrible things that happen to them, before they plough forward in doing terrible things to other people. This slap-dash attempt at making characters both worse & better than the book versions is starting to warp the story in bizarre ways.

Additionally, Succession's creative team knows when you are dealing with characters with high profiles, you need to show and give importance to the reactions of not just the main characters, but of "the chorus" aka the other people that fill out the world of the story; otherwise the story just seems small and low stakes. GOT only got away with not doing this for awhile because they had 4-5 storylines going on at a time; HOTD has no excuse for us not seeing for ourselves how the smallfolk and, in particular, the court feel about the conduct of the royals and their advisors (imagine Succession without them checking on news reports about the Roys or phone calls from the White House). This means the only real consequences that matter are physical torture and death...that's just not realistic in any society. Even the most empathy deficit people fight like hell to gain some external approval or to insulate themselves from the effects of external disapproval because in our lizard brains, rejection from our tribe IS death, and that was still quite literal for medieval society. We need an understanding how close any given character is to social rejection, but that isn't being explained. HOTD is cutting corners in developing the context of this story in many ways, and it shows.

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If every Targ is a bastard after Aegon ii, that means that, even if Aegon/Griff is a Blackfyre, he has as much as legitimate claim as any other bastard.

Yes, turns out antis were right, Aegon VI is from an illegitimate line.

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Max Minghella and Elisabeth Moss at THE HANDMAID’S TALE Season 5 Premiere

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So June is back in Gilead... Again??

Watch Nick having to come with another plan to get her and Luke out.

I'm done with this show!!!

The way they changed Luke's character, turned him into a Nick wannabe... Or they are killing him at the end of the season or he and June are endgame.

#the handmaid's tale #june osborne #nick blaine #luke bankole #june and nick #osblaine #elizabeth moss #max minghella #ot fagbenle #osblaine should be endgame

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So Daemon murders his wife and everyone is still happy with him? Everyone still loves him?? In fact they actively ship him with his child niece??? Cool Cool. Glad to see Targ stans have not gained any brain cells since the end of GOT and may have, in fact, lost whatever ones they had.

Like. He spent all his time married to this woman calling her ugly and complaining about her to everyone and cheating on her. Then decides to kill her so he’s eligible to marry the child he groomed so he can use her for power. And how does he get rid of his wife? Paralyzing her and beating her to death with a rock. And then he lies that SHE was unkind to HIM to everyone.

And now everyone in fandom is going around saying he’s so perfect and that the dance scene is romantic like the man in that scene didn’t BEAT HIS WIFE TO DEATH WITH A ROCK SO HE COULD MARRY HIS UNDERAGE NIECE FOR HER TITLE AND POWER.

I hate it here

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“So what, I’m pretty, who’s pretty to you? Yeah, to me I’m pretty, I adore myself You should adore yourself too.” I’m Not Cool (2021), Hyuna.

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(210128) hyuna - i’m not cool

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Hyuna at online Comeback Press Conference for ‘I’m Not Cool’ / 210128 © Topdaily

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it’s the 21st day of the 21st year of the 21st century.

you can only reblog this today.

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things I cannot wait to hopefully see in season 2 of Bridgerton:

- Kate Sheffield

- Kate Sheffield hiding under a desk

- Kate Sheffield being a dog mum

- Kate Sheffield & the mallet of death

- Kate Sheffield being the worlds worst flutist

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Anthony and Edwina’s total lack of chat makes me lol

After The Serpentine incident:

Before Pall Mall:

Also how after Anthony and Edwina have their little zero chemistry chats, Kate’s always like: “did Lord Bridgerton seduce you??? Did he flirt with you??? Did he look at you with his perfect, perfect face??? Did you see rainbows and shooting stars and melt into a puddle of lust???”

And Edwina’s all: “Who? Oh yeah, he’s nice enough. Zero philosophy chat tho 4/10 would ideally not marry if poss.”

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“Your nightmares are kind of epic.”