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weareascending · 2 years

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The smile he gives Laena before she sits down is weak but doesn’t reach his eyes. When Laena sits beside him he ignores her. He looks off into the distance and up at the sky as if wishing to be somewhere else but there.

When he’s told the news of Rhaenyra giving birth to another son he instinctively grabs the cup of wine. This is a way to portray Daemon’s handling of negative emotions (we saw him do this after leaving Rhaenyra in the brothel).

Also when Laena mentions Rhaenyra, it’s the first time Daemon even acknowledges her. It’s almost if she’s plucked him out of his brooding reverie and into the present by Rhaenyra’s mentioning.

The bitterness and jealousy in his voice as he sarcastically quips who she’s really with is palpable. It makes it worse for Daemon because the guy she’s hooking up with is in the position Daemon used to be in with his former title. He’s also very aware of her sexual exploits and the resentment and disapproval of them is clear in his tone. This is a stark contrast to his statement of ‘marriage is a political arrangement’.

After remarking on how the wine is not as good as the wine in Westeros, he is alluding to how ‘things here are not as good as Westeros’ implying the company as he detached himself from her on the rooftop to gaze once more at the sky and be alone. She insists that he must miss home and his outright refusal is again paralleling his desire for home previously with his scene with Rhaenyra of ‘the comforts of home’. When she calls his bluff and says aloud she is not the wife he would have wanted, he scarcely refutes it and is sympathetic to Laena’a hurt but does not have the will to lie to her. His obsession with his house and its dynasty and legacy is also revealed and it speaks of his devotion to his family even from afar. To summarise, Daemon is experiencing grief and loss of what he once had: his station, his pride and Rhaenyra and uses alcohol as a coping mechanism for it. His constant gazing at the sky is his wish to escape his current situation and return home and to its comforts — Rhaenyra

#daemyra #rhaenyra and daemon #daemon x rhaenyra #daemon targaryen #house of the dragon #rhaenyra targaryen #HOTD #hotd 1x06

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last-ofthe-starks · 2 years

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HOTD episode six easter eggs and thoughts

Out the gate I immediately noticed the difference in the cinematography, the first two scenes are all one take and it’s incredibly impressive. As the show runners stated, this was meant to feel like a new pilot episode for the series as we reboot with new, older versions of actors. As a book reader, it worked for me. As a non-book reader, I’d be curious how it felt to watch.

The relationship between Rhaenyra and Laenor is established so quickly and with so few words. Their conversation following the birth of Joffrey makes it very clear that not only is Laenor fine with the arrangement they have, but he is often tone deaf and oblivious to Rhaenyra’s daily life. We see that the two are companions but it’s made clear that Rhaenyra is still the stronger of the two personalities, and understands the larger game being played here. It was also interesting to see that the naming of their third son was not a mutual decision in which Rhaenyra agreed and showed great sympathy for Laenor, but a last ditch effort by Laenor to have some input in his own life.

Fuck you Criston Cole. His smug face just irks me, so very well done by Fabien Frankel. The one critique I have over this is that his clear and utter hatred of Rhaenyra and her children is not properly fleshed out. Right now with the time jump, it doesn't give a clear motivation for his anger; many viewers of last weeks episode still interpreted his anger at Rhaenyra incorrectly, and believe it was due to him being in love and heart broken. In reality it stems much deeper than that, and I think the viewers would have benefited from at least one conversation (likely between Criston and Alicent) where he makes it very clear that it was not so much his heart being broken by Rhaenyra that turned him, it was her disregard for his honor and his perceived understanding that she did not care for the consequences of their actions. In reality it takes two to tango and you could see very clearly that he had many opportunities to stop and didn’t so, sorry Criston. I do not feel bad for you.

Moving right along, fuck you to Alicent and her faux concern when Rhaenyra enters her chambers. WHAT A SCENE and introduction to Olivia Cooke’s Alicent. Her character has an interesting arch over the course of this episode, starting with sheer cruelty in order to make a point that her husband refuses to entertain or acknowledge. Because of this rejection of the truth, Alicent is closing in on wits end. In her mind, the search for honor and truth trump the love a father has for a daughter, and Viserys dishonors them all by allowing Rhaenyra to get away with her actions. And I can’t say she is wrong, because Rhaenyra has dishonored her family, and has been able to get away with a lot thanks to Viserys’s protection. But he is the King, and Alicent will do everything in her power to try and undermine and sandbag him, including this shitty scene where she pulls Rhaenyra from labor to present her child to her. To me there is no excuse for that.

Ah, Viserys. Man is looking ROUGH in this episode and Paddy Considine deserves an award for wearing all those prosthetics. Viserys is a wonderful grandfather and father in this episode (in that he clearly loves his children and grandchildren beyond measure) and it’s a shame how in the dark he is. Or rather, how keeps himself there by choosing to look the other way when it comes to Rhaenyra. There are still glimpses of him not being completely oblivious (like accusing Aegon of being the mastermind behind the pig), but overall he continues to create problems for himself and everyone around him.

Speaking of the kids and grandkids, this is the new era of this show finally appearing on screen and I have to say, I wasn’t disappointed. With 10 years between this episode and last, there is a ton of information missing here, but they showed us rather than told us who these kids were. They allowed us to see their personalities in the short amount of air time each had individually and the dynamics of them all were clearly presented.

Jace and Luke are adorable little fire crackers, and it’s interesting to see how they appear to get along fine with Aegon and Aemond at the beginning of the episode. Then we start to see that they tend to side with Aegon since he is the clear leader, and alienate Aemond. Aemond is presented as a very insecure, shy boy and that is what motivates his storyline moving forward. With next to no dialogue I picked up on that. Next is Helaena, who is depicted as a very learned girl with interests likely considered perverse for the time. She is an important character and this is the first time we see her properly so I am curious how she will be presented next time. She also makes an interesting comment “he’ll have to close an eye” which is incredible foreshadowing.

Aegon is a twat. But I do like that we can clearly see that before Alicent’s interference, he was friendly with Rhaenyra’s kids and a typical oblivious teenage boy with no real understanding of his role. The actor did a great job with him.

The CGI on Vermax in the dragon pit is incredibly well done, once again they are killing it with the dragons, including our first sighting of Vhagar.

Daemon and Laena are a power couple like no other and I love the sequence of them racing their dragons, looking all happy. It only that happiness were lasting. Similar to Rhaenyra’s storyline, all looks like Daemon’s life has been happy and care free for the past 10 years, but the longer we watch the more cracks we can see in their relationship.

The triatchy has made an resurgence, and the lords of Pentos are offering Daemon and Laena a home, and their loyalties in exchange for the protection of their dragons, and while Laena wishes to leave Pentos and return to Driftmark to raise their children and return to the responsibilities they inevitably hold due to their ancestral houses. Laena wants her children to be raised Dragonriders amongst her people, not the Lady of a large home in Pentos that does not truly belong to her. Alternatively, Daemon is clearly enjoying the peace that Pentos is offering him, and whether that is because he wishes it for himself, his family, or simply feels the need to stay away from Rhaenyra is still unclear.

In the books, it is said that Daemon, Rhaenyra, Laenor and Laena were all friends, especially Laena and Rhaenyra. It was said they would spend a great deal of time together, and that Rheanyra would visit Laena and Dameon on Driftmark often. With the show, it is implied that none of them have seen each other in all the time that has passed, and likely that Daemon and Laena fell off the face of the earth, with few people knowing their true whereabouts. This will effect how next episode is portrayed because Rhaenyra was grieving Laena as well when her and Daemon meet again. In the show, it looks like that might not be the case (unless they imply that Rhaenyra and Laena had seen each other in those 10 years and had been friends).

The whole episode starts off by making it seem like Rhaenyra and Daemon are both doing okay within the lives they chose, but it’s clear by the end of the episode that this was a.) not the case and b.) certainly isn’t now. During their conversation on the roof, it is clear that Laena and Daemon marriage is not perfect. Far from it actually. And it seems like it’s slowly been unravelling over time. Like we saw in the previous episode, Laena was aware that she was not going to compare to Rhaenyra for Daemon, and had come to peace with that. I hope we see more insight into Daemon’s feelings about the marriage in the next episode, and that he is able to repair his relationship with his daughters.

Speaking of which, this notion that the episode has a lot of false portrayals of happiness is mirrored in Daemon’s relationship with his daughters. The first time we see this family they all look so happy, we see Daemon teaching them how to speak High Verlyrian, kissing his wife’s belly and unborn child, and seemingly being a good father figure to them. But then Rhaena lets it slip that he ignores her, and you can tell something is going on with Daemon beyond his political desires to stay in Pentos.

When Laena is giving birth to their third child my heart broke. This whole scene was explained very differently in the book. In Fire and Blood, Daemon and Laena are already back on Driftmark when she goes into labor. And she does give birth, to a stillborn son who died only a few hours later. After the birth, she is so severely weakened that she remained in bed for three days until she died. It was rumored she attempted to fly Vhagar one last time but collapsed before she could reach her, and that Daemon carried her back to bed. I don’t know how I feel about the change made on the show but with her earlier comment about dying a Dragonrider’s death, I get it. But choosing to make this character commits suicide rather than letting her pass away the way she had in the books seems like it was done for shock factor more than plot.

They really went for a one two punch with Laena then Harwin leaving, and then the fire at Harrenhal. Honestly, justice for Harwin in more than one way. This dude was an amazing man, the scene with him and his father made me feel for him so deeply. Then the scene in the courtyard where he defends his two sons against Criston was another great scene where he did so much without saying hardly anything. You can tell that in an alternative world, he and Rhaenyra would be raising those boys together, teaching them how to be brave warriors and living a happy life.

Lyonel Strong resigning as Kings Hand is SO BAD for everyone wow wow wow. Larys is quickly learning how to play the game and it’s clear he has no issue breaking and bending the rules to get himself in a better position. By arranging meetings with the Queen, he has his finger on the pulse of Kings Landing and can see where he might be of use in furthering the chaos. His allegiance is with the moment. When he arranges the murders of his father and brother, it is so that Alicent is in his debt. She did not directly ask for him to commit this crime, but he twists her words and implies that it was for her benefit so that Otto can be restored of hand of the king. As a retult, Larys has the ear of the Queen and is now the heir to Harrenhal in one move.

Lastly, I love Emma’s portrayal of Rhaenyra, I couldn't take my eyes off of them, I found them to be wonderful. Olivia Cooke was great too, but her version of Alient definitely felt a lot different than Emma’s. I could recognize Milly’s portrayal in Emma's moreso than Olivia’s. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing but an observation.

I also needed more Daemon in this episode, so I guess we will wait for the next one, which looks wildly good.

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