#hotd meta

[daenerysies]

deep diving into the episode three line from rhaenyra, “no one is here for me,” and how if the takeaway from that scene is that rhaenyra is a selfish brat you aren’t proficient enough to do anything past surface-level reading.

in episode one rhaenyra expresses to alicent that she hopes her father gets his son, “for as long as i can recall it’s all he’s wanted.” which leads us (the audience) to understand that while rhaenyra loves both of her parents she feels ostracized from her father (and mayhaps even her mother, to some extent, because of her constant pregnancies) due to his ‘need’ for a son to continue the targaryen dynasty. she is a daughter, only seen as valuable for her womb, which is evidenced that she knows about when talking to her mother. rhaenyra wishes to be a knight and ride off to battle and glory, with aemma giving her a gentle reality check on her lot in life. she does not want to serve the same purpose as her mother.

aemma dies near the end of the episode, with viserys ordering her butchered for the chance that his long-awaited male heir might live. this is a violent and gruesome scene, followed by rhaenyra not even being given the privilege of hearing her mother’s death first. she is instead relegated to members of the small council being alerted, even corlys and rhaenys learning about this before her, she is a silent member on the sidelines. she does not know the extent of what has happened, but she knows that something is wrong.

we have to think about how she learns of her mother’s fate. did otto tell her? did rhaenys? did viserys? did she see her mother’s body ripped open? did she see the bloody sheets left at the scene? was she allowed to hold baby baelon, considering he didn’t die immediately? was she there when he took his last breath? maybe it would bring her some comfort, she didn’t get to say goodbye to her mom. maybe she held him until he passed. did her father offer any explanation? we’ll never know, but these are all such heavy questions in regards to what she experienced that day. she’s fourteen, has spent her entire life watching her mother grieve dead baby after dead baby, losing little bits of herself in the process. it’s no wonder this was a traumatizing period for her, fueling her want (her need) to not be shackled down by marriage and childbirth.

even at her mother and brother’s funeral she isn’t allowed to just grieve, to just be. she has to hold her head high, she has to comfort her father, she has to order their corpses burned. was her father happy for the few hours he had a son? she wouldn’t know, she never will be that for him. how long does he spend wallowing is his self pity? he admonishes daemon for not being there for his niece, but where was he, her father? he banishes daemon, takes comfort from his daughter’s best friend. he finally comes to her, tells her of a great danger rising from the north; from my blood comes the prince that was promised, his will be the song of ice and fire. she hasn’t heard from him in days, a targaryen must be seated on the iron throne to unite the realm against the cold and the dark. her mother is dead, and he has wasted the years since she was born wanting a son. she is now enough, her mother never was.

it has now been six months since her mother's death (murder), and she has been heir the *entire* time. her father won't talk to her, she is still the cupbearer for the small council. lord corlys is angry about a war he says has cost him, the crown will not help. she suggests they use dragons, a show of force against their enemies. her father admonishes her, "it isn't that simple, rhaenyra." he allows the lords at the table to belittle her efforts. the only one appreciative is corlys, "at least the princess has a plan." otto says there are better uses for her talents, she has been heir to the iron throne for six months. she's been given the chance to choose a future kingsguard, she wants one with actual combat experience. the hand is exacerbated, she is firm in her decision. ser criston cole will be the replacement for ser ryam redwyne.

alicent has been visiting her father in his private chambers secretly, corlys wants his daughter to be the next queen. viserys begins openly courting lady laena of house velaryon. rhaenyra and alicent visit the sept, she expresses her worry, her mother has only dead for half a year. the lords seek to replace her, alicent convinces her that she cannot worry about the plots of lords and men, she is the heir, however. why shouldn't she worry? she misses her mother.

she meets with her father, he reassures her, "i loved your mother very much." she apologizes for speaking out of turn at the small council meeting, he tells her she will learn (will he be the one to teach her, though?) daemon has taken a dragon's egg and seized dragonstone, bringing news of his future marriage to lady mysaria. the king means to go himself to stop him, otto will not let him. daemon took baelon's egg. rhaenyra is angry. she reaches dragonstone just after otto's party, she knows they were about to come to blows. she confronts daemon, she is the reason he was disinherited. if he kills her, he'd be done with all this bother. daemon scoffs, walking away from her. he throws the egg whilst still retreating. rhaenyra smiles and leaves. her father is mad once he learns what she's done. she left without his permission, but she retrieved the egg and prevented bloodshed, he should be pleased with her efforts. otto would never have been able to accomplish what she did, he relents.

rhaenys lectures her about the order of things. the realm will never accept a woman ascending the iron throne, but it's different for her. her father is the king, rhaenys' father dies as a prince. her father made the lords of the realm swear obeisance to her, rhaenys never had such a thing. the lords chose viserys over rhaenys at the great council, viserys has not given them a choice. rhaenys is the the queen who never was, rhaenyra is the queen to be. when she is queen she will create a new order, rhaenys warns there will be war (unfortunately she is right).

another meeting takes place between father and daughter. he must take a new wife, someone to help propagate the targaryen line. they are vulerable, to easily ended. rhaenyra understands, it is his duty as king. obviously he will marry laena, the daughter of one of the most powerful houses in the realm and of pure valyrian stock, it is a fine match. alicent is still visiting her father in secret.

her father calls a small council meeting, he means to announce his next wife. rhaenyra is ready, she gave him her blessing (why is alicent here? she never has been before.) her father starts speaking, "i intend to marry... the lady alicent hightower." corlys is enraged, otto is pleased, alicent is anxious. rhaenyra was ready, it has all fallen apart. alicent is her best friend, that friendship dies before her very eyes. she runs from the room.

it has been two years. viserys and alicent are married, and they have a son, with one more baby on the way. the boy's name is aegon, it is his second birthday. he has past his infancy, the lords believe it is only a matter of time until the king names him heir, rhaenyra is well aware of this. the queen visits the godswood where rhaenyra sits. she overrides rhaenyra's authority, commanding the singer to leave. she states the king wishes for her to join them, he wants them to have fun as a family. they do not need her to celebrate his long-awaited son. it is the king's command, she leaves unhappily. alicent wishes for things to be different, rhaenyra knows they never can be.

together they all sit, traveling towards the kingswood. rhaenyra asks after alicent's well-being, viserys reminds her that she will be in this position sooner than late (the same position that killed her mother). "it isn't so bad, the days are long but aegon came quickly and without fuss." the queen states. rhaenyra is hurt, she tries not to show it. the king reminds her she has duties, rhaenyra retorts sarcastically. how long will these duties last, once her father names alicent's son as heir over her? her life will be forfeit before long. no one is here for her.

"no one is here for me." translates to "no one has been here for me. i’ve been alone and angry and terrified for years. i am my father’s heir, but what does that mean? what will it cost? you put me here. daemon put me here. alicent put me here. you have a son now, he outlived baelon and my other siblings. how long until i am cast aside again? made to be some petty lord's wife, made to be a broodmare until it kills me? i don't want to end up like my mother. this heirship is all i have. it will soon no longer be mine. i'm only seventeen. no one is here for me."

rhaenyra is never shown the same amount of grace as alicent for her strifes and anguish in life, for the fact that she too was a child from episodes one through five. rhaenyra might not have been a child bride, but she still spent her life being told she was never enough. she was not a boy, she could not be the heir, her father needed an heir. he kills her mother for it, he ignores her unless she can benefit him. he makes her believe that he will marry laena, only to blindside her by marrying alicent. she realizes alicent has been lying to her for months. her father continues to undermine her throughout the years. he names her heir to spite daemon, which she admits she knows about in episode two. he allows the lords to ignore her. it takes him two years to reassure her he won't replace her. rhaenyra is an angsty teen who has seemingly lost everything and has no support to counter that. she is not upset that no one showed up to a two-year-olds birthday party with her in mind, she is upset that her father continuously overlooks her, that he takes and takes and takes everything from her. he took her mother, he took daemon, he took alicent, he had a son. she has not been able to catch a break due to her father's selfishness. in all honesty, she should have acted out worse, maybe burn everything to the ground. viserys would deserve it, she was far too lenient with him.

#house of the dragon #rhaenyra targaryen #pro rhaenyra targaryen #in defense of rhaenyra targaryen #anti viserys i targaryen #team black #pro team black #anti team green #anti team green stans #hotd meta #i wrote most of this within the past two hours #if you see any typos no you didn't #putting the anti tg tags bc its always them calling rhaenyra a selfish brat #that is my wife i will not let you slander her

[ride-thedragon]

We can't tell Baela and Rhaena apart is okay as a criticism of their small part in the show, not as you not being able to tell them apart. Keep that to yourself.

#hotd meta #hotd critical #like you mean the one with locs and the on e with curls #the one at Rhaenyra’s side and the one at Rhaenys' side #the one wih jace the one with luke #the one that looks like young laena and the one that looks like adult laena #the one with a dragon and the one without a dragon #dont piss me off #baela and rhaena #rhaena and baela

[backjustforberena]

I do find it funny how they say that Rhaenys always bends to Corlys will when his ass didn’t even want to join the war and only joined because she basically told him to. It’s a relationship lol. It ebbs and flows. The only time we’ve genuinely seen them disagree in course of action was in ep 7. Idc what anyone says but refusing that marriage proposal when Viserys hurled his dying ass across the sea would’ve been impossible.

So ok, he overruled her on the succession argument ( which I’m sorry technically he can because it’s his house and name) and then he didn’t want to join the war and she was like “nah we’re pulling up lol”. That’s super balanced so like how is she hypocritical?

H answers questions that have been in her inbox for far too long.

IT IS A RELATIONSHIP. IT DOES EBB AND FLOW. IT'S CALLED COMMUNICATION. SHE'S NOT HYPOCRITICAL.

With grace, I can vaguely assume why some people think there is a power imbalance. Just on a surface level. But I also think that those people are not willing or haven't actually considered the scenes and the dynamics that they are watching or the context of when these sorts of remarks are made, either.

Criticisms I've seen have generally gone along the lines of: she didn't want Viserys to marry Laena, but Corlys pushed her, she didn't want Laenor to marry Rhaenyra, Corlys pushed her and she didn't want Lucerys to be the heir, but Corlys overruled her. Very, very basic readings of what happens, with no more depth than that. For me, I can see how not only are those very, very different examples and moments, but they are also not examples of Rhaenys bowing down the whims of her husband. Just because she is not the active participant does not mean she is not a willing participant.

My main frustration with this sort of reading, certainly with the first and second examples that I've listened (the third is an outlier due to Corlys's monopoly on the subject), is that it dumbs down Rhaenys's complexity, cruelty and frustrated ambition. It also takes away her agency and her equality with her husband. I've said before how I view her perspective to not be against either move, but simply more realistic.

She's not going to cheer Laena marrying Viserys but she is going to stand by side with her husband and say that it's the strongest match Viserys can make. She can want that match and that marriage and still be a bit bothered by it. The two can live together and probably do. To her, this is how the world works, especially at that point in her life. So, of course, she's going to be present in that decision and advocating for that course of action.

And again, she's not going to be jumping up and down about Laenor matching with Rhaenyra because there's danger in the match as much as there is achievement. But, nevertheless, she's standing side by side, nodding and giving her agreement. She can still be seduced by the idea of elevating her children and wearing a fabulous frock and sticking it to Viserys, and take some satisfaction in her cousin having to beg. She doesn't actually express a wish to veto the betrothal. She just says that she's worried about the dangers of Rhaenyra's succession.

Her powerlessness against the "system" that she buys into and props up is not the same as her being powerless against her husband. By which I mean that, her acknowledging the negative impact of these political choices is not taking away the fact that she is making them alongside Corlys. He is at the forefront because he has to take the lead as a man. Not because he's having to drag her along with it all. It's a reflection of their reality rather than their relationship, if that makes sense?

In short: in political decisions and in public, Rhaenys plays second fiddle because she's a woman, not because Corlys forces it to be that way. These are deals for Corlys to make as Head of House Velaryon. He is on the front-foot, he is the public political power in their marriage because that's how society works. In other words, it's actually pretty redundant to analyse that because it's just... normal.

What isn't normal is that Rhaenys is side-by-side with him. That he values her opinion. That she speaks. That Corlys and Rhaenys often share looks and silent communication: most notably when it comes to the betrothals of their children. There is real implication that these two have spoken, at length, about these choices and come to a united decision about it. How else can they present such a united front to their adversaries?

We don't see Rhaenys and Corlys speak privately about Laena. We barely see them talk privately about Laenor. And with the succession thing, as you say, it's his name and his house. She has no power to meddle in that succession. She cannot declare the succession for Driftmark on her own. That's not in her gift.

And again, as you say, she yells at him, tells him to get his ass in gear and they go down and declare for Rhaenyra because that is what she wants to do. That is what she thinks is right and so he is doing it for her. It's clear as day when he looks at her and she smiles at him and Rhaenyra thanks her because she's painfully aware that Rhaenys is the one who made it happen.

Rhaenys's just never toiled in "service to men". Has she been affected and degraded by the patriarchy? Yes! Big yes! They took her birthright from her. They made her roleless in a society she should have been running. But she doesn't toil to Corlys. She has never toiled to Corlys. To say so is a degradation to their marriage, quite frankly.

And it's a degradation to the awareness that Rhaenys has of the political structure around her and the agency she exerts and free will surrounding her own mind and choices. She does things that prop up the patriarchy. Yes. All the women do. She definitely does things that, in an ideal world, she wouldn't have to do. But she does that because it suits her own interests at the time. Never because a man told her to. And never to the detriment of herself and her safety and her sanity. It's always her choice. For good or ill.

#house of the dragon #rhaenys targaryen #hotd meta

[alicentsgf]

nothing is more subtle or more heartbreaking to me than alicent in the wedding feast scene. and half these shots dont even follow her, they follow viserys shes just in the background, (which just perfectly sums up the way alicent and her desires are stifled by viserys/his wants just btw)

so shes just watched whatever it was that was happening between daemon and rhaenyra. salt in a very fresh wound. and as far as i can work out was literally tearing up over it (if we look at the screenshot above). but then people are screaming and pushing and shoving and alicent instinctively gets up before anyone else at the table even does, still looking like shes about to cry the whole time, right up until the moment she realises its not just pushing and shoving - theres a fight happening exactly where rhaenyra was just a moment before, and suddenly her expression changes to this shot of her blatantly worrying about rhaenyra:

"but lydia, how do you know shes worried about rhaenyra? she could just be in shock at seeing the fight and concerned in general."

because its spelled out for us the next time we see her:

this shows us pretty obviously alicents only really interested in where rhaenyra is. this is a tv show, they don't show someone's reaction to something just for the sake of it and alicent is the only person we see react to rhaenyra being safe. she even appears to relax at the end, as if relieved.

this very clearly sets the stage for alicent's refusal to accept any physical harm to rhaenyra - so we can understand why she feels so much guilt and self-loathing over slicing open rhaenyra's arm, and why she is so adamant about protecting rhaenyra in episode 9 even after everything she and rhaenyra have put each other through. just as rhaenyra has a desire to reconcile with alicent she cant shake, reaching out for her even in moments when shes been given no reason to hope (like at the council in episode 6 and dinner in episode 8), alicent has this desperate need to make sure rhaenyra's safe, even at times when she has no intention of reconciling with her. even when shes at her most hostile, harbouring enough resentment to show up to rhaenyras wedding wearing a declaration of war, alicent still cant stomach the thought of rhaenyra being physically harmed. and it doesn't seem to be an aspect of her characterisation thats going anywhere anytime soon.

#the subtext is subtexting ! #thats a useless lesbian if i ever saw one #hotd #alicent hightower #rhaenicent #rhaenyra targaryen #hotd meta #hotd thoughts #just look at her face #fuck #i have tried to make this post 10 times. its been gathering dust in my drafts #because i literally cant express how insane alicent in this scene makes me #also i feel this explains why i have such an issue with the post-birth scene. it goes against alicents #characterisation as we've been led to understand it otherwise #for her to be largely unaffected by rhaenyras pain

[atopcat]

Super worried about how they’re going to handle Nettles, my only hope is that the show makes parallels between how Daemon groomed teenage Rhaenyra to how he interacts with another teenage girl.

I want a scene where Rhaenyra realises the kind of monster Daemon has always been. This man would openly insult his “bronze bitch” older wife whilst fawning over his 14 year old niece. She’s the new Rhea Royce whilst Nettles is the new her, that realisation should hit like a ton of bricks.

Would honestly add so much more nuance to the story rather than it being Angry Wife vs. Teenage Mistress.

#rhaenyra targaryen #nettles #team black #Rhea Royce #house of the dragon #hotd #hotd meta #anti daemyra #anti daemon targaryen #hotd spoilers #asoiaf meta #1k #valyrianscrolls

[grendelsmom]

I think it's fair to give hotd shit for quite a few things, but I still think that how they chose to change Alicent's character was genius. To look at her and ask: what if she was young? What if she was scared? And then, in turn, to have this scared young girl, that was pushed into the cycle of violence and abuse that is feudalism, grow up into a scared wary woman, that doesn't stop the cycle for her children but instead pushes them into it as well, because it's the only way the world works that she knows. Because when her father pushed her into the cycle, he kissed her brow and called it duty. And now she makes her children wed each other and ursurp a throne, continuing all the abuse and violence, because she was told as a girl that if you just follow the rules enough everything will be alright.

And that's also what makes her relationship with Rhaenyra so fascinating. It's love, but it's also resentment. To Alicent Rhaenyra is free. She doesn't follow the rules, flaunts some of them openly. And still it seems like there are no consequences for her. She doesn't follow the rules and still Viserys loves her in a way he never did his children by Alicent. While Alicent breaks and reprieves herself in an attempt to do everything right, but it won't save her.

#sometimes i try to read rhaenicent fics and it just doesn’t hit the same spot because the resentment is such a big part of it #it's love and it's resentment and it's the messiest lesbian divorce westeros has ever seen #hotd #house of the dragon #alicent hightower #rhaenicent #hotd meta

[greenqueenhightower]

when you’re morally GAY

#we love a morally gay character #the parallels tho #rhaenicent #morally gray #rhaenicentdaily #rhaenyra targaryen #alicent hightower #rhaenyra x alicent #alicent x rhaenyra #the green queen #house of the dragon #hotd #asoiaf #a song of ice and fire #hotd meta #hotd thoughts #alicent #greenqueenhightower #olivia cooke #emma d’arcy #hotd parallels #welighttheway

[bbygirl-aemond]

i feel like there are lots of parallels between rhaenicent's outfits, almost like they're trying to emulate each other at times. like here rhaenyra wears a dress with a squared neckline like alicent's:

and then alicent wears a dress with points at the shoulders like rhaenyra's (pic is tiny ik but click to enlarge):

and there are two instances where alicent wears dresses with similar sleeves or shoulder pieces to ones rhaenyra's worn:

something something two girls reaching out to each other the only way they feel they can, without words, but it's never enough. alicent is trapped in her memories of her girlhood with rhaenyra but she can never go back. i just love and miss them okay.

#hotd #house of the dragon #rhaenyra targaryen #rhaenyra #alicent hightower #alicent #rhaenicent #meta #hotd meta

[pendragora]

Placing Dimensions and Eye Directions Analysis for Season 2 Posters

Disclaimer: before we go forward, I want to remind everyone that I am a random person on the Internet and this is a simple interpretation that I created using my knowledge on composition, dimension plains and perspective in drawing. If you choose to add input – please, be respectful about it, it’s an open discussion; as the creator of this take, I am not going to take any insults, hate or negativity over a simple fandom post, so be warned that I will block such on sight. If you find my ideas and analysis unpleasant for your perception of the characters – please, disengage and feel free to block me as well. Let’s all be civil :))

In this post I will talk about the placing of each team individually, towards team members and then each other. Along with that, I will be analysing characters’ poses and line of sights for each of them individually since it is telling a pretty compelling story. As a reference I will be using a merged image of all posters together in one (credits to @liv-cole for the image that I saw here and @ara-meyy for showing it to me when it first appeared on Reddit)

Let’s first take a look at Team Green and their stance:

The far back is taken up by Criston Cole and then Aegon on the Iron Throne. First and foremost, the farthest in the whole plain. He does not line up with anyone in the picture and his placement makes the most sense – in the canon of next seasons, Criston will take the position the Hand, which does put him so close to Aegon with his sword at the ready. He the final line of protection for the king, however, his eyes are not directed to the side – in the direction of Team Black.

However, he is placed slightly behind Aegon and his throne. His eyes are also looking forward at the angle that makes him look beyond the banner of Team Green and, in order, is directed at Aemond, not Team Black. The sight is not the one you would describe as of certainty. I could go off about the shot being not the most pleasant, but I could also theorise that Criston’s sight is telling us about the caution with which he could potentially treat Aemond in further seasons.

Aegon’s position on the poster is slightly closer to the viewer than Cole’s but still is further than Aemond’s or Alicent’s. His figure is quite interesting and, in all honesty, contrasting to what we saw in the sneak-peek of the second season. He looks both relaxed and tensed on the throne. The general language of the way he is seated is aloof, he is not wearing his crown, but is holding it as a window into his future. He comes off as the transition period between the man we saw in the sneak-peek and the previous season. He is tensed by his duty, by the Iron Throne, but his hedonistic nature has not left him yet.

What is most interesting is his line of sight. If we look at his eyes, they are not directed at anyone at all. They go straight throne the circle of his crown and off into the distance. He is not on the same field to look at Rhaenyra or anyone else. His look is one of absence. Being the king on the Iron Throne, he is isolated from the conflict by his posing. The reasoning for it might be 1) his transition period into an active participant of war (before Blood and Cheese), 2) his present reluctance to be in this conflict that was established in previous season or 3) mostly his absence in the season after his character goes through dragon fire. Perhaps, we would see more of his struggles as the king and, if lucky, even the progression from an unwilling heir to the king that takes charge and makes decisions.

Interestingly enough, his line of sight goes beyond all of Team Green members and out the frame before it reaches Team Black members. If it is not his future he is looking at, it is like a prison cell’s window at the freedom he could have, perhaps?

Next comes Aemond, who is in the most front of the picture. What’s important to note here, his figure is the closes to the viewer and is actually on the same dimension field as Rhaenyra. He is stood between her and Aegon which makes sense since Aemond will be a driving force of the war (which also affected the number of episodes we will see him in). He is not the focus of the conflict, but he is the line of defence for his family and a force to reckon with. His hand is above the hilt of the sword, he is at the ready to draw it and, unlike Criston, his stance is not cautious but confident. He also has his lip corners up in the poster, enjoying the thrill of war, the hold of power that he has.

His line of sight is directed straight into Rhaenyra’s face, not anyone else. She is his primary concern or, perhaps, a target, because she is the main threat to his family and his brother’s ruling. Among his team, he looks like the most natural and merged into his role of protector. Note that this does not oppose Aemond and Rhaenyra, and, if it does, it is a one-sided conflict in which Aemond is involved while Rhaenyra is not an active participant.

The last in Team Green and the closest to Team Black is Alicent.

It is clear why she is stood in front of everyone in the team, but she is much further in the background. The placing of her dimension makes her stand a layer above Aegon but two layers deeper than Aemond. She looks reserved and worried, and such placing shows that she is not Rhaenyra’s main opposition. She, as was shown in the previous season, would stand in front of her kids to protect them, which places her front-line in team’s order, but it is no longer her conflict, no longer a rivalry between her and Rhaenyra. Unlike the book version, show!Alicent is not the mastermind, but a scared and devoted to her cause mother, and when the time comes for war – she gives way to her children (being placed in the background) but still shows that she is present and protective of them (being the first in line).

Her eyes are terrified and teary, looking at Rhaenyra. It shows very well her stance in the show, that her motivation was the fear for the life of her children before Rhaenyra.

Now off to the Team Black.

Since we are going from left to right, I’m going to start with Rhaenyra, who is also the representative of Team Black.

Surprisingly so, her and Alicent have similar poses, but the position translates a different message. While Alicent is one of resolve and acceptance of her position in the background, Rhaenyra’s pose is showing her leadership. She is showing herself as the queen in this poster and, it is really hard to miss, but in a way her stance reminds me of 8th season Daenerys (I personally dislike the parallels because I think Rhaenyra would be better off as a stand-alone character, but hype train is a hype train).

She stands tall, she wears her crown, she is dressed as a ruler and as a dragonrider. What is interesting, though, is that her line of sight is directed forward. Since she is on the same plain as Aemond, they both are the closest to the viewer and share dimension, she is not looking at him. She is looking forward, past him. My ideas for this are 1) she is looking at the Iron Throne in the background, not even Aegon, but the throne itself; 2) she is looking into the future, since, in Western culture, the idea of looking forward is associated with the future. Her sight shows determination and readiness for battle or her looking forward for her victory. The entirety of Rhaenyra shows here that she is the rightful heir in her own eyes and she is going to take what is hers.

The idea that her sight goes through both Aemond and Aegon and ignores them, in a way, reinforces the narrative that they are irrelevant to her, they are not the threat and, because of that, be the things the other way, she would not have them executed because they simply do not matter to her this much. It is not a battle between her and her siblings here or her and Alicent, but it is a story about her battle for the throne, as it seems.

What also caught my attention is that both Daemon and Alicent stand distant from Rhaenyra, practically within the same distance from each of her sides. It is purely my take here, but perhaps it is showing the relationship that she lost or is going to lose (given the rift that awaits her and Daemon?).

Now moving along to Daemon. Personally, I expected him to placed closer to his queen, given the establishment of their relationships, but in the poster, he is one a layer deeper into the background than she is. His overall posture of, not protectiveness towards his queen, but rather protectiveness of himself gives mixed signals as if it is not him being Rhaenyra’s shield, but her being his. Given what happens in canon between them, it might be foreshadowing.

However, what drives the point is his line of sight. He is looking up and forward, and, unfortunately, the way he is placed behind Rhaenyra makes it seem that his eyes are directed not at her, but at the crown. His general expression is not of a man that is preparing to protect his loved one, but one of a man who is scheming a way out for himself, there is a fleeting concern and calculation in the way he looks. For the sake of not hurting anyone’s feelings, it is purely my take and my reading of his character in the poster, take me as biased.

Daemon is ready to strike, but strike who?

Following figure is Rhaenys.

Rhaenys has a reserved pose and a look that is peeking at someone or something. Given the background from the show, there isn’t much to say about her in the poster. She strikes me as an unwilling participant of the war, but a participant that is going to do her bidding and show her strength. Rhaenys stands tall, truly like the Queen Who Never Was, and her stance shows that she will be a force to reckon with too, considering she is a dragonrider and a skilled one at that.

Her eyesight can indicate two things: she is looking forward, with a tilt of her head, which potentially places Alicent at her line of sight. It makes sense in a way given their confrontation in two instances in a previous episode. It feels as if she, as a mother who lost both of her children, asks her how far she is willing to go to protect who’s dear to her. It feels like in this there is a conflict of two mothers that is established: the mother that lost everything and now fights for what is left of her children (since Baela and Rhaena are indirectly pulled into the war as well) and the mother that will lose everything in the future. Alternatively, Rhaenys could be looking at Aegon and the Iron Throne, but at this point of her development as a character, that makes little to no sense.

Lastly, Corlys. Just like Aegon, he looks isolated from the conflict, but for different reasons. Initially, I had a thought that he was looking forward, and, considering that he takes place further in the background than anyone on Team Black, he could be looking at Aegon and the Iron Throne, but upon close inspection I concluded that Corlys is most likely looking outside the window. It perhaps is foreshadowing for him later on searching a way out of the conflict or out of the list of Rhaenyra’s supporters.

Now, to the parallels between the characters.

Aegon and Corlys are literally the last men standing of both their teams – both on the poster and in canon. They will be the last surviving men of their respected teams, having only Alicent outlive them both.

Daemon and Aemond being opposed only by their placement as the second from the centre of the poster – perhaps, a foreshadowing for a battle that they will clash in; Aemond is looking forward and, like in canon, anticipates the fight and goes in confidently while Daemon is looking out for himself specifically and does not acknowledge Aemond as a threat for himself.

Rhaenys and Alicent – a conflict between two mothers that already lost everything or will lose everything, the Queen Who Never Was and the Queen in Chains, both trapped in this conflict because of their children or what is left of them (grandchildren).

Aegon and Rhaenyra and the way they treat their role – Rhaenyra merging into her role as a queen and wearing her crown proudly while Aegon looks through in as if a window outside his prison.

Overall, the teams display different attitude.

Team Green looks like a well-established line of defence around Aegon: his Hand is by his side; his brother is the main force of protection and then his mother who would sacrifice herself to save him. Their placement is to protect Aegon from the threat of Team Black.

Team Black appears, to say the least, not as the protection for Rhaenyra, but people who hide behind her, which surprised me. It looks rather fickle, with Daemon and Corlys being anywhere but present to protect their queen. They also form a perfect line from the back to the centre that shows that it is not only Rhaenyra’s fight, but it is also not them fearing Team Green, but having a goal to get back the Iron Throne.

#hotd season 2 #hotd season 2 posters #hotd critical #team green #team black #rhaenyra targaryen #aegon ii targaryen #alicent hightower #daemon targaryen #aemond targaryen #corlys velaryon #criston cole #rhaenys the queen who never was #rhaenys targaryen #poster analysis #house of the dragon #hotd meta #lena goes off

[pessimisticpigeonsworld]

"The closest relationship she had is probably with aemond, but she’s watching him grow up into an absolute killer, which is terrifying for her."— Olivia Cooke

There's something so funny to my about this quote. Like, it paints Alicent as being just a passive observer in Aemond's life, not his, you know, fucking mother. Alicent was the most active parent in Aemond's life (show canon), if anyone would have had influence in his development, it would've been her.

This is something we see play out in the show. Alicent allows Aegon to bully Aemond, as long as it's not in public. She does nothing to actually help Aemond by dealing with her other son. Instead, she nurtures Aemond's resentment of his nephews and allows the divide between him and his brother to grow worse. This leaves him completely without a support system other than her, an emotionally unstable woman who uses her son as her anchor, a very unhealthy situation for Aemond to grow up in.

Now I'm not saying it's all Alicent's fault that Aemond is a psychopathic kinslayer, he's responsible for his own choices. I'm just saying she definitely majorly contributed to his fucked up view of the world and his family. She raised him to be an elitist blood purist who barely saw his nephews as people, had no issue beating up and insulting Baela and Rhaena, and has a major Madonna-Whore complex regarding Alicent/Helaena and Rhaenyra. She taught him to hate his family and view himself as better than them. She isn't a passive observer, she is Aemond's greatest influence.

#anti team green #alicent hightower #anti alicent hightower #aemond targaryen #anti aemond targaryen #team black #house of the dragon #hotd meta

[franzkafkagf]

okay so i want to hear about your take on aegon i know you like him and all (so do i no matter how much i wish not to) but whyy

yess thanks for asking, I love being insane about him<3

I think Aegon is such a wildly tragic character– many asoiaf characters are but I'm so drawn specifically to him; he didn't want power or responsibility or the crown. It all was bestowed upon him against his will, and he shouldn't; putting on the crown is his definitive death sentence. The coronation scene has got to be one of my favorites in the season– he is quite literally walking up to be butchered like a sacrificial lamb, there are tears streaking his cheeks in the scene! I love the tragedy of it, the way it couldn't have been avoided anyways; his fate was sealed from the very start! He was quite literally dead from the very beginning.

I'm going off a mix from the book and the show but I actually love what they did with the character in the show? The book version does have some hard-hitting moments from him that are missing ("What sort of brother steals his sister's birthright?") but there wasn't that much there in terms of characterization and relationships. And wow, did they deliver on that in the show; I'm gonna give whoever came up with his mommy issues a forehead kiss.

Because YES! He and Alicent are reflections of one another– Alicent suffered under the heavy boot of Otto, turned into the perfect daughter, turned into the perfect queen for him. She recognizes that this was wrong and abusive of him, then she turns around and does the same thing to Aegon– the poison DOES drip through, the wheel is NOT broken!! It's BRILLIANT.

@atopvisenyashill put a GREAT tag under one of my posts–

#he looks like her and he’s weak like her so why can’t he get strong like her.

While Alicent persevered, Aegon crumbled under the pressure. He is miserable when we meet him– and he should be! He is unfit for the role of king, but it is his destiny nonetheless, everybody tells him so. It destroys him.

It's so sad too and I cannot help but to feel bad for him. No one knows where he is in ep 9, I don't think he has anyone to confide in; it must be lonely. Everybody seems to have written him off already– he is a drunk and a failure at being heir, being a son, being a father. He tries to prove them wrong later, and does in some aspects.

His loneliness plays into another aspect of him that I really love; his desperation to be loved. He will never be enough for anybody, he probably knows it deep down.

"[Aegon is] desperate to be loved but destined to be hated." – Tom Glynn-Carney

Obviously there is the carriage scene with Alicent that shows this. But I also really love the moment in his coronation, where he basks in the people's affection and cheers. He is poised to bleed out in front of the throne, he was crying and fighting for his life not to take the crown just minutes before. But now he's here and they love him and he can't help but love that.

He takes the crown to protect his family (the show does hint at that with Alicent telling him as much in ep. 6– in the book it's much more explicit with Criston pressuring him on the day of the coronation itself) and then his son DIES because of it! And he drinks and rages and drinks some more; he must've blamed himself. He goes to battle, flies too high (figuratively), and he FALLS; he burns and falls to the ground. He isn't made to be king. He knows. He does it anyways.

"You have already written yourself into legend, you survived dragonfire" – Larys Strong in season 2 (probably)

He survives, he is gone for over a year, unable to do anything but he SURVIVES. He escapes the capital, takes Dragonstone, he falls AGAIN, he loses most of his family; but he still goes on. Fueled by what? Maybe anger, or bitterness or just pure lust for revenge. It doesn't matter. He must've realized somewhere on the way that this was always meant to go this way, ever since he put the conqueror's crown on. It doesn't matter.

And then he dies and it's not grand or spectacular or anything like that. He drinks poisoned wine, nobody even sees him die, they only find him after. It's so uniquely lonely.

#hotd #house of the dragon #tom glynn carney #aegon ii targaryen #aegon targaryen #hotd meta #aegonposting #alicent hightower #otto hightower #omg now im sad </3 #ales.txt #asks

[kataraavatara]

No, Corlys and Otto did not do the same thing here.

And this is in no way defending Corlys, so please don’t twist my words. These things are both awful, one is just worse.

Look at Laena and Viserys. Corlys and Rhaenys openly approach Viserys and say they have an offer of marriage. Laena and Viserys then take a walk outside, where they’re both visible to lots of people, including her mother.

However, Alicent is instructed by her father to visit Viserys “in his chambers” ie alone and without supervision. While Viserys is definitely a creep for marrying his daughters best friend, I (and I would also say Otto) don’t believe he would ever force himself on Alicent or that anything “untoward” would happen, and nothing physical did happen between them. But that absolutely would not stop the rumors that something happened from springing into existence, just like they did in F&B. There’s no way to keep these “meetings” a secret. In the best case scenario, Alicent marries Viserys and people whisper about the circumstances under which it took place. Worst case, Alicent’s reputation and chance to make a decent match is ruined.

Although obviously both these scenarios are disgusting, the Velaryons being very clear about their intentions and having it take place in a public setting is much more “honorable” in Westeros than Otto essentially telling Alicent to sneak around with the king and gain his trust. Although Laena is rejected by Viserys as a match, it doesn’t negatively affect her standing or reputation. This is not the same for Alicent.

Let’s go back to our worst case and say that Alicent’s “Vizzy Visits” become a scandal- while we, a modern audience, recognize fifteen year old Alicent is a victim, Westeros is a society that A) Regularly practices child marriages, at least among the nobility and B) Sees sixteen as the age of adulthood. Alicent would 100% be painted as an evil seductress who seduced the poor grieving king- hell, a lot of people in the fandom paint her that way in the 21st century! Otto, in an attempt to save face, could easily throw her under the bus. “Omg I can’t believe my daughter engaged in such scandalous behavior, things just haven’t been the same since her mother died :( poor me, pls don’t be mad, I had no idea.” If it’s Otto’s word vs Alicent’s, people will believe Otto.

Not to mention how aware he is of her friendship with Rhaenyra. And yes, Rhaenyra is just as much a member of Westerosi society as everyone else. She does not have the 21st century view of things we do. She at 14 has the responsibility of being heir to the Iron Throne with people swearing oaths to uphold her succession. Even if Alicent told her afterwards her father forced her into it, she just wouldn’t (and didn’t) understand- to her, Alicent and her both are becoming adults now and handling adult responsibilities and are accountable for their actions. Rhaenyra is headstrong, rebellious, and fiercely protective- “Because my dad told me to” is not going to cut it as an excuse. Otto knew this would ruin her friendship with Rhaenyra and didn’t care.

Now, the above analysis is mostly about the secrecy of it all. Rhaenyra didn’t seem to hold any ill will towards Laena in particular, which is why I believe her anger was as much about the secrecy of it as it was at the actual marriage itself. I think if Alicent was like “hey, my dad wants me to marry yours” there’s not much I can really do about it” she’d still probably balk but be much more accepting and sympathetic.

Now, look how they’re respectively dressed. Laena just has much more fabric covering her, with the cape sleeves and two layered dress, while Alicent’s is pretty form fitting. Not to mention the creepy incestous undertones when Otto instructs her to put on her mother’s dress and says how much she looks like her mom.

While both fathers are disgusting for doing this, Otto put his daughter in a much riskier situation where the question wasn’t if there would be fallout, just how much fallout there would be. By never formally and publicly declaring his intention to present Alicent as an option for the new Queen Consort, he put Alicent’s reputation and livelihood at stake in a way Laena’s was not. And this is not to take away from how inappropriate Laena’s situation was for a little girl. This is just to say-

When the bar is literally in hell, Otto Hightower finds a way to keep digging.

#anti otto hightower #rhaenyra targaryen #alicent hightower #dance of the dragons #house of the dragon #house velaryon #corlys velaryon #laena velaryon #viserys targaryen #hotd meta #house of the dragon meta #asoiaf #anti team green

[alicent-archive]

I’m sure what I’m about to say has been reiterated many times before, but the fact that there is not one interaction between Rhaenyra (Heir to the Iron Throne, the Kings firstborn, and head of Team Black) and Aegon (the Kings firstborn son, the other legitimate claimant to the throne, and the head of Team Green) is genuinely INSANE to me, and from a writing and narrative perspective…just plain BAFFLING.

Like, what do you MEAN that the two main figures of the ENTIRE Dance (Aegon being the literal reason there’s an inter-house war in the first place) don’t even interact BEFORE it begins?

What do you MEAN they’ve been in close proximity for YEARS and somehow not a SINGLE conversation has occurred for the viewer to listen too and say to themselves:

“oh so those two characters are going to be the MAIN figureheads for the fast approaching civil war that tears apart the realm and begins the demise of an entire house. gotcha.”

But what is worse is that there are literal episodes, literal SCENES, where this could have be done easily and without seeming like an afterthought or a weird insertion.

In episode 6, both teams are in the Red Keep the entire time, and yet, Rhaenyra and Aegon do not meet even once; Rhaenyra could have encountered him as she was making her way to Laenor, for example.

In episode 7, literally the entire family is at Laena’s funeral, Rhaenyra and Aegon could’ve, at any point, crossed paths. She could’ve said something about him being “in his cups” and he could say something about “needing a few more to get through this utterly depressing funeral” or something.

(+ bonus points if Rhaenyra gets upset because that’s her friend who just died “you drunk imbecile”).

In episode 8, the crème de la crème of episodes concerning crazy Targ+Hightower relations, how EASY would it be for hungover Aegon to say something petty and/or derogatory to Rhaenyra just before both families entered the throne room:

“Sister, what a surprise to see you here!”

“It shouldn’t be a surprise as it is a matter concerning my son inheritance-”

“I did not think you concerned yourself with any matters at all, but I’m glad you’ve returned, court has been lacking without its ‘delight’ to brighten up these gloomy halls.“

AND THE DINNER?! DONT GET ME STARTED ON THE LACK OF INTERACTION, THEY WERE ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE TABLE AND NOT EVEN A SINGLE WORD WAS EXCHANGED?!

LIKE WHY!

#house of the dragon #hotd #hotd meta #my own #team green #team black #rhaenyra targaryen #aegon ii targaryen

[henriettadreaming]

I really don't understand the writer's reasoning for race swapping the Velaryon's, when every Velaryon is mistreated or cast aside by the all white Targaryen's. Literally everyone of them.

• Corlys - Is apparently so selfish he's willing to disregard all of his blood related family to put a white boy that is no relation to him on his ancestral seat just because he carries his last name? Even though there's plenty of other actual Velaryon's that carry the Velaryon name.

• Vaemond - Gets murdered for telling the truth, and not wanting Driftmark to go to someone who isn't a true Velaryon. I think they only added him calling Rhaenyra a whore after calling her son's bastards to try and make his death justifiable, as if calling someone a bad name = off with his head.

• Laena - Is married to Daemon but knows that she isn't his first choice, and if he had his way he'd be with his (white) niece. Is stuck by his side in Pentos even though he knows she wants to return home. Supposedly dies a *badass* dragon rider death, but I just saw a pregnant black woman dying in agony. Like that doesn't already happen in real life when black women are four times more likely to die in childbirth.

• Laenor - The cuckold of all cuckolds. In almost every scene of adult Laenor he's completely miserable. And apparently he too is willing to disregard all his trueborn family to put a white boy that isn't his on the Driftmark throne. And I don't find Rhaenyra to be some great LGBTQ ally by "letting" Laenor run away and permanently leave his home and family behind so he can be with his partner and she can remarry.

• Baela and Rhaena - Have actual Velaryon blood through their mother, get passed over so another white boy can get something he has no entitlement too. Baela would have had a slim chance of ending up queen because even if Rhaenyra became queen, the lords of Westeros would have been very unlikely to accept an illegitimate son as her heir. Rhaena could become lady of Driftmark but only as a consort through Luke, meaning if he died her claim to Driftmark would die with him.

I'm all for diversity and representation, but was the family who consistently gets walked all over the best choice to make POC?

I think they were aiming for liberal and inclusive, but that doesn't really work when your white characters use and exploit the black characters you've purposely made black.

#hotd #house of the dragon #anti team black #house velaryon #corlys valeryon #laena valeryon #laena deserved better #laenor valeryon #baela velaryon #baela and rhaena #rhaena velaryon #vaemond velaryon #team green #hotd fandom #hotd meta #hotd text post

[alicentsgf]

i think peoples understanding of alicent very much hinges on whether or not they have enough empathy and self-awareness to overcome that first scene we get with older alicent.

we are reintroduced to this character as this callous, passive agressive woman who apparently plots to snatch newborn babies from their mother's arms, someone who lashes out with her tongue and eventually a knife, a far cry from the 'inoffensive' sweet pro-rhaenyra girl that she was. and then like.... we never see her again. not really. because every other scene we get after that walks it back a little, giving us new (or maybe renewed) reasons to understand her point of view; she's frantic. she's scared. she's angry. she loves her children. shes scared for her children. she still loves rhaenyra. she's a caring wife. her husband doesn't love her. her husband barely acknowledges the children he forced on her. she wants peace. she abhors violence. she thinks of the smallfolk when no one else does. she expresses an ability for genuine self-reflection and regret, especially after her own loss of control at driftmark (something we see in absolutely no one else btw, except for rhaenyra once). and i think having your entire view of her dictated by that first scene with her in the Princess and the Queen and never exploring the character further because you've already decided she's not worth it is such a huge mistake.

it speaks to an ability to change your views when presented with new information and reconcile the fact victims can also be perpetrators. because the alicent we meet in the Princess and the Queen is still Alicent. people will say 'oh younger alicent was innocent but older alicent is just a bitch' to justify their hatred of her and it stresses me out because how can you have seen what younger alicent was subjected to, empathise, and then see that she is STILL being subjected to it, and yet not understand and empathise with the woman shes become? is it just because she is now expressing her pain in uglier, more outwardly damaging ways? expressing it in ways that hurts others and not just herself. ways that hurt rhaenyra and her children.

victimhood isn't always going to look like a timid young woman with bleeding nail beds whos easy to feel sympathy for because she doesnt make life difficult for your faves. sometimes its seething, spitting, and wielding a knife but that doesnt make it any less worthy of acknowledgement.

#hotd #alicent hightower #pro alicent hightower #hotd meta #alicent meta #anti hotd fandom

[atopcat]

"baela is daemon's favorite daughter" so favorite that he doesn't say a word to her the entire series like (???) the way they treat baela and rhaena in the series is sad and problematic, the two just sit in a corner saying absolutely nothing and every now and then giving little smiles

The treatment of House Velaryon in general is an actual joke, Ryan Condal expects us to give him a pat on the back for doing the bare minimum by casting black actors whilst simultaneously ignoring everything about them.

Look at Baela and Rhaena in the show:

Does this tell you anything about their individual personalities? All I see are two girls who don’t have much going on other than standing around looking pretty, they might as well be cardboard cutouts with how little they’re given to work with.

Now compare this to fan art:

(art by chillyravenart) (art by dalberadiata)

Straight away I know Rhaena is feminine and sweet, whilst Baela is more assertive and a fighter.

George has told us so much about Baela:

She’s wild, willing and fearless

She was considered more boyish than ladylike

She was overly interested in boys

She loved riding her dragon so much she cropped her hair so it wouldn’t whip around her face

She was often chastised for wrestling squires

She was quick to anger

What does the show tell us? Absolutely nothing. We just needed ONE scene, a scene where Baela stands up for herself when Aegon is a creep instead of them making it all about how great Jace is. She refuses to leave Jace’s side in the books, why couldn’t she have a line where she says just that? The idiots even robbed us of her scene with Rhaenys where she shows her fearlessness as a Targaryen princess because apparently Larys being a creep is more important. The show is literally going out of their way to screw her over because she is brimming with personality in the books!

Ryan has told us absolutely nothing about Baela the Brave and Sweet Rhaena of Pentos because he didn’t think of them to be of any importance. He didn’t think the girl who takes down King Aegon II Targaryen and her sister who becomes the last dragon rider until Daenerys Targaryen are of any importance. It’s been left to fans to fill in the gaps and stress the importance of House Targaryen’s final girls because the show refuses to.

These writers are racist af because you just know if they were cast instead it would be a completely different story.

#thedragonschant #baela targaryen #baela of pentos #rhaena targaryen #rhaena of pentos #the dragon twins #house of the dragon #hotd meta #team black #valyrianscrolls #asoiaf meta #anti hotd #hotd critical #hotd #house Targaryen