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greenqueenhightower · 1 month

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Alicent's Fifth Child, The Realm

Or a rant about where I think Alicent's character development in S2 is going:

"All my life, I've endeavored to serve both my house and the realm, and somehow none of it matters."

Wow. Just wow.

If that line alone does not give us insight into the character development of Alicent in S2 I don't know what else will. To me, it very well encapsulates the idiosyncrasy of Alicent in that moment of turmoil that befalls the realm for which she is seen as the prime instigator. And yet, she only wished for peace and happiness for the realm as its Queen. But at the same time, and ever since her children were born, it is as if her interests were divided, if not equally, among her children and the realm. Her interests as a mother and her duty towards her children battle with her interests as the realm's Queen when she is married to Viserys. And we see the constant struggle to balance the two dichotomies of service in S1: Alicent wanting to support Rhaenyra's claim and yield to Viserys' wishes, but at the same time feeling extremely worried about her children's safety and future. It is, at times, almost impossible for Alicent to choose whom to serve because she aches for her children but also wants the realm to prosper. Heck, she wants all her children and the realm to prosper and survive. So when she installs Aegon to the throne, she truly does believe that she is finally bridging the gap between the two extremes. That she is performing her duties towards both the realm and her family.

This is, of course, a more thoughtful decision than any of the ones Viserys ever proposed. Alicent is used to thinking alone for the survival of her family as well as what's best for the realm because she learned early on that her children were the weakest link in the equation. Since she equated the realm to her children and viewed and cared for it as her child, it was much easier for her to make a decision that excluded Rhaenyra. Because a) she wasn't her child, b) Rhaenyra never placed herself under the jurisdiction of true servitude to the realm to view it as "a sibling" and c) Rhaenyra had never shown any sisterly affection to any of her siblings and Alicent's kids. So in Alicent's equation, Rhaenyra had to be subtracted for her two goals to be reconciled: protection and survival for her children and the realm.

And yet, all this inner struggle, all this sacrifice, all the pain she went through, "somehow none of it matters" when she realizes soon enough that war and destruction and further pain and suffering are just around the corner to upset the balance she believed in and tried to build. It is a truly harrowing thought, that all she endured and all she hoped for... could prove to be all for nothing.

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lullaebies · 8 months

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episode 1 of season 2 being named a son for son…. i’m so done with this show. bitches couldn’t give jaehaerys and jaehaera one episode to have a screentime in prep. SICK AND TIRED!

#hotd rant #alice speaks #im really on the verge of not watching next season #i am hoping this is falsly reported I HATE THISSSSS

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horizon-verizon · 1 year

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The show gives Rhaenyra's characteristic nervous habit of playing with her rings to Alicent in having Alicent shows her nerves through picking her fingers' skin, sans rings. But Rhaenyra/Emma D'Arcy, has no obvious outward expression of anxiety, whilst Young Alicent/Emilia Carey does (but not Olivia Cooke? where is the consistency?).

They gave Rhaenyra's canonical black/red dress reveal-and-entry to Alicent in her green-dress moment of episode 5. Rhaenyra's entry in canon is: her declaring political opposition to the already formed green faction; autonomous monarchial claim against Alicent and Otto's attempts to lessen the legitimacy of that; where she draws that claim from (the colors representing her house, her blood connection, and Viserys choosing her); AND her defying Alicent's domestic attempts at ruining her self esteem or disconnect her from her roots. It was her first real moment of triumph. Whereas canonically Alicent is one of Rhaenyra's antagonists; Alicent was the one who independently and intentionally used female chastity (a principle of sexual repression for women) against Rhaenyra to tarnish her reputation and public image in order to raise dissent against her and her prospective reign. And make her son seem even more desirable...which didn't work, as she continues and eventually has to imprison people to make way for herself and Aegon the Elder.

Second, not only does what HotD did steal most of Rhaenyra's agency and boldness to give to their diluted version of Alicent and incorrectly center her as if she were the protagonist of this story, it makes Alicent, of all people, the one who experiences the a central problem of this story: societal misogyny. It removes Alicent's accountability and suggests that Rhaenyra is the problem. That whatever Show!Alicent perceives Rhaenyra to have done (lied to her, didn't stay "chaste" like her by sleeping with a person outside of marriage, didn't recognize her queenly authority how she thinks she should...when all that actually matters is Viserys' word AND it is actually Otto who put her in the position she is in to fear absolutely knowing what that portion entails [as he thinks]), that is the wrong being done here....when it is really Show!Otto's ambition.

Some may say, after watching this show, that Rhaenyra should have observed her friend's anxiety as she was "talking" with Viserys...but Rhaenyra 1) lost her mother just a few months (presumably) earlier 2) is just coming into her heir duties and activities, one of which was her choosing her personal guard in the various candidates Otto tries to present to her, and we see in that particular point that she also had to come up against people doubting her, questioning her...why? because she is both young and female. It does not require much imagination to figure out that Rhaenyra was going through her own stuff that justifiably draws her attention away from Alicent, who could have also told her what was going on but didn't. 3) By principle, Rhaenyra was also developing her own life and growing into her own adulthood -- making a life for herself.

Where would she have the emotional bandwidth to catch everything going on with her friend in the face of all mentioned?! In relationships, we take turns to support the other. Rhaenyra is the one with less room to do something since her fears, duties, grief, loneliness, and prerogative to live all are present and probably emotionally overwhelming, understandably making her less aware of others when the are not either the focus or means to accomplishing those ends of monarchial duties or alleviating misery. Alicent is fully aware of what's happening and knows that it would hurt Rhaenyra' emotional and political position even worse to follow through without resistance...yet chooses not to tell her and maybe thinks of ways to resist, even with Rhaenyra.

And again, even that ambition is being denied to Alicent herself, who canonically drives much of the green cause by attacking Rhaenyra since the latter was 10 before the war begins until her grand moment of calling the green council.

Thirdly, all of these changes...just to ultimately create confusion in narrative direction and switch/reduce the philosophical and political priorities (are we against misogyny or against others having what we want but deny ourselves because we actually like the patriarchy that has actually victimized us?). We have fallen from criticizing how women with internalized misogyny target other women to gain whatever power a patriarchy seems to bestow them to what HotD gives us -- a woman not being rewarded by being "good" and compliant with the patriarchy, as if compliance is the answer to escape the suffering caused by the oppressve forces one is told to comply with and obey! So the message is that we should always follow and conform with unjust social hierarchies?!

The fourth problem with what HotD did is that in the writers' probable justification of not giving Rhaenyra her dress moment because viewers should already know that red and black are her families colors and that they will deduce that the blacks' name come from that, they reduced all of what I point out the moment meant in canon to it being "obvious" why the blacks are called the blacks.

Fifthly, the Hightowers' colors are not even green. If anything it would be silver or grey! And the firelight the Hightower tower basis the usual red, orange, and yellow in real life and in their sigil. So not only did they remove Rhaenyra's agency-practicing moment, they moved away from the fact that Alicent chose green independently as her own faction and cause' color. She was staking a claim herself, for herself! And as @mononijikayu says in the linked reblogs, green-as-the-color-Alicent-chooses thematically works to show how her own envy, greed, ambition, and tyranny subsequently has her lose all of her children and die alone and delirious. Similar to how Jaehaerys I's tyranny and misogyny against his own family causes him to be completely alone the day he died, as Saera was his only living relative aside from Viserys, Daemon, and Aemma Arryn, who all did not seem to care about the man one way or another nor were raised close to him.

This user/anonymous asker told me how some green stans give Daemon's narrative of self sacrifice for family and faction to Aemond.

The show refused to give Mysaria and Daemon his and Mysaria's grief over their baby's loss and a justification of anger against Viserys other than not being made his Hand, but it will very likely give Aemond an arc of passion with Alys Rivers and a pregnancy partially to mimic the "children having children" arc they gave to Alicent and partially to facilitate the idea of him making mistake after mistake from him maybe choosing "fuck duty", or just running from it (Ryan Condal's "theory of reactions and accidents") as this other user contemplates. Meanwhile, Mysaria and Daemon were always in a consensual relationship even if he was definitely exploiting her being in SW....and Alys was Aemond's war prize and sex slave, so there was no consent there--to all the shippers of the latter. (And if she did have visions, and she told Aemond that he should meet Daemon and where to find him....it is also very possible that she saw Aemond die....such a situation leads me to believe that this was not the sunshine and roses relationship many green stans like to think.) [8/30/23] AND the show cheapens Daemon's contention with Viserys after his habitation in Dragonstone to his just fucking around to fuck around, as this Twitter user named Branwyn the Half-witch says:

Mysaria’s pregnancy and subsequent miscarriage (which hardened Daemon’s heart against his brother) to Daemon just messing around for no reason. It removes any sympathetic or human motive Daemon has for his rebelliousness, and ditto for Mysaria.

Yes, Daemon loves his chaos to a degree…but that is to a degree and circumstantial. Viserys definitely committed wrongs against Dameon, which motivates Daemon to "act out" or ignore/defy him. Plus, as hamliet explains, there is a pattern of Mysaria being concerned or affected by the loss of children from her own loss of a child by Viserys forcing Daemon to abandon her. As a sex worker, she's not "allowed" to grow a family or obtain some sort of self-sustenance outside of the exploitative sex industry embedded within this patriarchal system. Thus, it is likely she targeted Nettles, arranged for Blood & Cheese to kill either Aegon or one of his kids, & gave away the information about Maelor to Heleana (triggering Helaena to kill herself) to strike back against any Targ...perhaps. [check out hamliet's breakdown of Mysaria's motivations for doing all she did after being exiled HERE] NUANCE!

The show made it much easier to see Rhaenyra as the aggressor against Criston....meanwhile it's too arguable that even as young as Rhaenyra was at the time (15), she'd ever go for Criston when you read the account (in order: HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE). That it was most likely Criston who wanted Rhaenyra and she rejected him while he tried something. It is especially important to note this part of the text I didn't include that is between the last two quotes I do give:

However it happened, whether the princess scorned the knight or he her, from that day forward the love that Ser Criston Cole had formerly borne for Rhaenyra Targaryen turned to loathing and disdain, and the man who had hitherto been the princess’s constant companion and champion became the most bitter of her foes.

Thus relying more on Mushroom's (the arguably most unreliable narrator and source for the events pre and during and post-Dance -- those who will try to make anything sexual and exaggerate just to self-aggrandize and attention) account of how Rhaenyra and Criston fell out......sure.

It refused to insert or to imagine any of Aegon and Aemond's pre-Dance misogyny towards Rhaenyra (an example) that would have existed following Alicent teaching them all how to view her. Or any of his pre-Dance viciousness: "Two years later, she produced a daughter for the king, Helaena; in 110 AC, she bore him a second son, Aemond, who was said to be half the size of his elder brother, but twice as fierce ("A Question of Succession"). Aemond's probable bullying of the V boys made into Aegon, his own brother, being one of his bullies despite this quote and its emphasis that no matter what Viserys tried, all five boys couldn't get along and that the green boys resented the V boys for taking what they thought was theirs.

But sure, we get Show!Daemon obviously kill his wife with a rock -- not even an assassin -- despite the fact that he was at the Stepstones, still fighting and preoccupied, when Rhea died and it took a few more days after the nine it took for her to die for him to even be notified of her death and travel to the Vale AND what we know about horses (reblogs of @the-king-andthe-lionheart's post....forgot to credit and tag). The same woman who would have, if she had been able to sit up and talk, immediately name foul play with her canon dislike of Daemon.

As I mentioned before above, this show even removes Alicent's biggest and game-changing, plot-driving, self-determined act to convene the green council while purposefully leaving Viserys' body to rot over to the council members acting under Otto and ignoring her until she has to yell at them, and even that is ignored as we see her wrestle against Otto to bring Aegon in. Instead of them working together to do so, illustrating further how a woman can work with patriarchal authorities and use the power the system allows her to block another woman. The most memorable thing adult Show!Alicent did was to gives her feet over to Larys to drool over in a very disturbing voyeuristic scene, just so she gets information...this show is even more misogynist and unrealistic towards Alicent than the book/the maesters could ever be, for the sake of making Alicent a victim instead of a woman who decided to use power for power's sake. Because apparently that's an anomaly or a sexist take...that women could hurt themselves, their children, the children of others, and other women who arguably are in similar sociopolitical positions for power.

And because they aged Alicent down, her kids are all supposed to be aged down, so that in itself can and has drawn more sympathy (whether intentional or not) for the greens for what will happen in the next season to them. And I mean for locals who've never read the book or just its account of the Dance.

While we get no other scenes of how Alicent and Rhaenyra even interacted and how their relationship became nothing (ignore Alicent of episodes 8-9, this is such a terrible switch up because it makes no psychological sense) during the time between the 6th and 7th episode, how Alicent would have a isolated, victimized, antagonized, and pressured Rhaenyra as we saw her do at the 6th episode's council. Because, apparently, these women can still theoretically become friends again even after all of this AND Lucerys' and Visenya's deaths?

But then you can't tell a good or fair story about a feudal family, about "generational conflict"...without showing how two of those generations....fought each other at home AND then at war.

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helaenasaegon · 1 year

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I’ve seen people like “If only Viserys had been a good father and Rhaenyra had been a good sister, all of this wouldn’t have happened...”

Sure, let’s not blame that (period-typical) misogynistic Power-Hungry Pimp Oreo or Alicunt (who is an UWU 🥺 fanfiction insert version on HotD) for all of this! 🙄

Viserys paying attention to his other kids may have made Aegon and Aemond less spoiled, terrible pieces of shit (unlikely), but the GIANT problem of their mother’s and grandfather’s influence would still be there. People don’t become like Aegon and Aemond because their daddy didn’t show them attention or affection; they get that way from abuse (Aegon) and influence (Aemond and Aegon); both of those things were given by Alicent and Otto.

Rhaenyra owes them nothing. They’re her siblings, not her children; she never owed them shit.

#Imagine refusing to blame the 2 most responsible people for a literal war. 🤨#rhaenyra targaryen #viserys i targaryen #aegon ii targaryen #helaena targaryen #aemond targaryen #team black #hotd #house of the dragon #hotd rant #rant #txt #anti alicent hightower #anti otto hightower #anti greens

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madame-fear · 1 day

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a bit of mindless ranting related to the fandom drama not only because ✨ I can’t drop it ✨ thanks to my own outrage,, but also because I need to stress it

Days passed, and I still feel baffled over everything that’s been happening in the fandom. I know I should stop overthinking it and drop it, like I said above, just to focus on the good things— but this made me think about how incredibly toxic most fandoms (HOTD I am staring at you) became... And people, too.

Fandoms are supposed to exist for us to have fun in a safe little place, it’s our comfort zones on the internet, and I said this before. We should be sharing our theories, ideas, writing fanfic for the people that thirst over the same men and/or women as we do, meet new people whom we will eventually grow to absolutely adore— not backstab, doxx, throw shit on authors, people, and your OWN MUTUALS, make racist/xenophobic remarks at someone’s who’s native language isn’t English, and jump at everyone’s neck when they disagree with you.

I still don’t understand how people can have the nerve of being incredibly rude with a whole display of Regina George behaviour, and even gossip and make fun of the people that literally loves you. Is this what fandom and communities on the internet have become? What even is the point of spreading lies, hate, and gossiping?

If you have nothing kind to say, then don’t say anything at all. You don’t like an author or a certain fic? I don’t know, scroll past or block, maybe? It never has to be that hard when it comes to the internet. If you do send anon hate merely because you dislike someone or their fic/writing in general, I suggest you try going out to touch some fucking grass.

Sincerely, I hope the fandom can return to a slight level of normality after all of this. I believe we should all take our time to process things, heal, and focus on the good things and on people that are as genuine as you are. The point is to, like I said above, have fun— we should be able to escape reality in here,, not be overwhelmed with unnecessary highschool bullshit. Sincerely, fuck off if you are part of the toxicity in any fandom, and grow up, people.

Thanks for coming to my TED Talk. I send the biggest hugs to everyone and lots of forehead kisses. I hope you all have a nice, very positive day— remember to take care of yourselves. 💗

#hotd fandom #hotd fandom rant #sorry i had to get this off my chest #hotd drama #hotd rant #fandom rants #✧.* amiraverse #house of the dragon

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corporalicent · 1 year

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If Viserys Targaryen has a million haters, then I am one of them. If Viserys Targaryen has only one hater then that is me. If Viserys Targaryen has no haters then that means I am no longer on earth.

#hotd rant #anti viserys i targaryen #viserys targaryen #i hate that old man with so much passion #how could you marry your daughters (lover) best friend #if my dad would've said that my older sister was his only child he would be a dead man

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viktoriakosci666 · 1 year

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So if we're being HOTD canon correct, the Velaryons are POC. Alyssa Velaryon, who would be a woman of colour in the show, somehow made a completely white baby, Jaehaerys? If DNA is correct, he would be at least brown and not ghostly white like the show made him

If I'm wrong, please tell me and inform me. I don't know much about how DNA works with skin tone and skin colour.

#hotd #hotd rant #jaehaerys #house of the dragon #team green #pro alicent hightower #aemond targaryen #pro helaena targaryen #aegon ii targaryen

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fiora-miriel · 1 year

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Rewatching House of the Dragon

I've rewatched episode 1 today... and ugh continuity where art though?

Some timeline things in episode 1 DO NOT ADD UP. The whole aspect of where Daemon has spend the last few months and why his family seems to have no clue where he is?

Daemon meets Rhaenyra and she says something along the lines of "you haven't been at court in ages"

Viserys speaks with Aemma and it seems Daemon is more reappearing and disappearing randomly and they don't know where he is BUT Viserys has just appointed him commander of the city watch

and then we see Daemon with the City Watch and says "when I took command of the watch you were a bunch of stray mongrels" indicating that he has been in KL for a while?

Daemon speaks about the current situation in KL like he has been there for a while in the council. Also if he just came basically yesterday and then immediately took over the city watch. Who trained these men and how did they get their gold cloaks. Viserys literally says "The council has at great expense bettered the city watch to your exacting standards” --> such a thing takes a while and it implies that he knew where Daemon was (in contrast to the talk Aemma and Viserys had where they didn't know) Daemon got money and support from the Small Council, for that he must have been there? And Viserys said before that he named him and they don't know where Daemon is basically. It doesn't add up? if he had trained the city watch they'd know he had been in KL for a while

#house of the dragon #hotd #hotd rant #hotd rewatch

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ladyhawke · 2 years

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the more i think about it the more i agree that the 10 year time skip in hotd should have been left to season 2

the story would’ve been less rushed and better developed for sure and we could have had more of harwin and laena but mainly i think it would serve rhaenyra’s character the most

unlike alicent the young version and the older version of rhaenyra are very different people, she goes from a rebellious teenager to a wiser woman who understands her place in society and knows how to challenge the rules better. in a way she has to become “a woman stuck in a castle squeezing out heirs” because she needs to do that if she wants to be queen

i think seeing these two versions of rhaenyra with the difference of a year instead of a week would have felt more right but i guess it’s too bold to have your two main actors arriving at season 2

#hell even criston cole would benefit from it #they could have explained why he got away with killing joffrey #or they could have kept the death in the tournament like it should #but i have a feeling they wanted to do it during the wedding to keep up the meme of ‘weddings in westeros’#anyway no one asked #hotd #hotd spoilers #?#hotd rant #carol.txt

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greenqueenhightower · 9 months

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Alicent had to grow up fast, and brutally, totally robbed of any chilldhood she could have had. To my eyes, a young Alicent is struggling with motherhood, but she takes it on as a part of her “duty” and “sacrifice,” the same professional-like way that a young Rhaenyra takes on the role of heir when she tells Criston adamantly that she “is the crown” and she would never choose infamy because she has a duty towards the realm and her people. In more ways than one, Alicent & Rhaenyra are each other’s flip side of the same coin.

And so, Alicent’s children “come quickly and without fuss” because she is seeing motherhood as her role, thus embracing whatever else comes with it: Viserys, the Kingdom, Otto, Larys, etc., until she has to face Rhaenyra again. Up to that point, Alicent had been a “royal womb,” the “childbed being [her] battlefield,” and she had definately learned to face it with “a stif lip,” just as Queen Aemma had forewarned us since episode 1. But Alicent’s destiny calls her to challenge the norms of familial duty and sacrifice towards that of her kingdom, and she has to face a quite literal battlefield, a literal war, that might very well make her say to herself that yes, she “is the crown” too. And I’m all here for it.

#alicent #alicenthightower #hotd thoughts #rhaenyra targaryen #rhaenyra #rhaenyra x alicent #rhaenicent #house of the dragon #team greens #the green queen #asoiaf #a song of ice and fire #alicent hightower #alicent thoughts #hotd rant #hotd analysis #hotd meta #greenqueenhightower

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dxliriumoftheendless · 1 year

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« ok but if you read fire and blood-« am i reading it???? do u see a book in my hands rn??? no??? THEN I DONT CARE WHAT HAPPENS IN THE BOOKS

#like i’m watching a tv show talking about a tv show don’t come here using fire and blood as evidence #hotd rant #hotd #house of the dragon

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horizon-verizon · 1 year

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Another HotD Rant (HotD misses Misogyny w/Prophecy)

HotD either forgets or ignores that the Dance was more about misogyny than "who would make the best leader by personality and 'serving the realm' alone"?

Aegon's prophecy about the Long Night and needing to unite the prior Westerosi kingdoms and create a dynasty to rule said united regions-as-one-realm for this cataclysmic event only needs one thing as its base: for the Targs to stay untied and continue. But the Targs didn't stay united, and why? Heavily because of misogyny and patriarchal selfishness.

When Jaehaerys I ignored and dismissed Alysanne's protests about making Daenerys and then Rhaenys heir, leaving it up to male lords as to who would be next ruler knowing how and who they will choose, do you think he was concerned about "who is serving the realm"? NO! He wanted to solidify male-exclusionary power so the Targ dynasty would become more and more assimilated into Westerosi patriarchy through that male-exclusionary power. He over-compromised. For AND using male political dominance.

What the hell is all this "what will serve the realm" nonsense and why does HotD feel that to make the female leaders stronger, they have to suffer, and "sacrifice" to the patriarchal authority, and be excluded much more from politics than they were/did in canon?!

Rhaenyra serving all the council members instead of just Viserys.

Alicent marrying Viserys at 15 instead of 18 and having a rotting man thrust into her.

Alicent forced into marrying said man.

Rhaenyra not given her red/black dress moment as her moment of defiance. And it given to Alicent instead!

Rhaenyra totally ignored twice at council (by Viserys in episode 2 and by Alicent in episode 6, and Viserys not saying anything bout that...meanwhile he's the one who appointed Rhaenyra in the first place...).

Rhaenyra having to travel to King's Landing to "make her case" in a bogus hearing lead by the Greens instead the whole deal taking place in Driftmark away from Viserys and her dealing with it herself with her partner taking her orders to kill.

Alicent not knowing or being included in the council's plans for Viserys' death. In the book, she actually spearheads the whole operation, imprisoning people and gathering the council while leaving Viserys' body to rot to extend the time needed. A much more active and self-driven act than in HotD.

Rhaenyra facing Daemon loudly question her in front of all her councillors...also doesn't happen.

Rhaenyra facing domestic abuse (once again, doesn't happen by reading b/t the lines of F&B and considering context and events that follow)

Oh god, this damn show.

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sirius-lives · 8 months

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the way the hotd writers didn't even tried to give jace, luke, baela and rhaena any ounce of personality. they really said just make the boys Tall One and Short One, and make the girls wear different colours and they got away with it???

#hotd #hotd rant

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helaenasaegon · 1 year

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I’m so fucking done with Green stans/Alicunt stans acting like she’s a better parent than Viserys was to their children. They both suck(ed). They were both too stuck in their own UWUs to be decent parents.

The thing is: Viserys wasn’t fucking abusive! He was uncaring and uninvolved, but Ali*ent is overbearing, controlling, manipulative, and emotionally and physically abusive. How the fuck can anyone consider an abusive parent to be better than a simply neglectful one? I’d personally take an uninvolved/barely involved parent over an abusive one any day.

Viserys was the better parent, but only because the bar was so fucking low.

#Male character: *is a neglectful or basic shitty dad* Fandom: ''HE IS A MONSTER WHO DESERVES A MISERABLE DEATH!!! FUCK HIM.''#Female character: *is literally an abusive mother* Fandom: ''OMG MY QUEEN!!! ICON! She loves her babies so much.'' 🥺#viserys i targaryen #hotd #hotd rant #txt #anti alicent hightower #anti alicent stans #anti greens

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rhaenatargryn · 1 year

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The dance is the most straightforward story that GRRM has written. Rhaenyra, a woman was the legitimate heir to the throne and the greens did not want her to be the queen so they usurped her throne. It was never about the legitimacy of her sons or her sexual partners, even if Rhaenyra had been the perfect prude princess the greens would have spewed the same lies because they simply wanted the throne for themselves.

It’s not that the writers missed the point of the story, they just simply chose to ignore it because they are not interested in actually adapting the books. They wanted to tell a story were a woman is punished by the narrative because god forbid she dared to have any sort of free will.

#hotd rant #rhaenyra targaryen #please if you’re going to ignore the source material just write an original story

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chemicalreal · 2 months

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Viserys is just as despicable as Daemon and Otto, except in a different way

It's weird enough how King Viserys is widely well seen by the audience despite his evident selfishness, which is perhaps one of the most pronounced traits throughout the show. This perception is predominantly fueled by Rhaenyra's camp, who views Viserys' unequal treatment of his children in her favor as a redeeming quality of his character.

The subtle detail of Rhaenyra eagerly desiring a sister while her mother is still pregnant often goes unnoticed, just like her displease of the life she is supposed to endure going through many difficult pregnancies. Her strong insistence that it will be a girl contrasts with her father's wishes, hinting at an awareness of the changing dynamics within the royal family in case a boy is born. Despite spending her early years as the king's only child, the frequent pregnancies of Rhaella imply the king's persistent efforts to secure a male heir to the throne.

Therefore, Rhaenyra is effectively being sidelined as a potential heir in favor of a yet-to-be-born phantom brother. The king's intense desire for a male heir leads him to make the drastic decision of sacrificing his own wife during childbirth. While it's understandable that a mother would prioritize her child's life over her own, the scene becomes disturbing due to Aemma's clear distress and pleas for help let alone the fact that she was literally cut open while being awake, highlighting the king's unwavering determination that will lead to others suffering and this is a leit motive for the rest of his life, be it physically or emotionally.

The claim that Viserys, a now seasoned king, was manipulated by a teenager into marriage is one of the most absurd ones in this fandom, especially if we take into account how Alicent is portrayed. In reality, it was another self-centered choice driven by his own desires. Alicent, despite being urged by her ambitious father to seduce the grieving king (much to her horror), maintains the demeanor of a respectable lady. During her time with Viserys, the focus is on shared interests such as history and books, creating a dynamic more akin to a father spending time with his daughter. Alicent even mends the temporary rift between him and Rhaenyra giving him genuine advice. Viserys undoubtedly married Alicent out of his own desire, not coercion as some suggest. The scene where he announces it reveals Alicent's almost shocked reaction, indicating her lingering hope that he might not proceed with the idea. If Viserys were a virtuous man, he would have found Alicent a suitable match with a respected lord to acknowledge her services and simultaneously spite her father's ulterior motives.

Viserys continues to treat Alicent as an object throughout their marriage, often demanding her to fulfill his physical needs, even after he is plagued by illness and Alicent shown to be visibly uncomfortable because of it. After a somewhat "honeymoon" phase, which is still marred by a strained relationship between Alicent and Rhaenyra which puts the former in isolation despite her efforts to show support for her as the heir, Viserys is suddenly consumed by guilt for his actions towards Aemma. At this point, Alicent and their son Aegon (and by consequence their future three children) cease to exist for him. It's important to highlight that despite this epiphany and subsequent emotional neglect, Viserys' requests for physical intimacy with Alicent persist, which only makes him more of an hypocrite who still can't help but indulge in his selfish needs at the expense of others.

Viserys' insensitivity towards Alicent is further emphasized when Daemon returns to King's Landing and both he and Viserys mock Alicent's attempts at conversation about the new tapestries. Even Rhaenyra is visibly appalled by their behavior and chooses to support Alicent to prevent her from feeling humiliated. The temporary resumption of friendship between the two women adds layers to their tragedy, as their later falling out is ultimately induced by the men who view them merely as tools of power.

In addition to Daemon's emotional hold on Rhaenyra that will lead to their scandalous marriage, Otto's influence over Alicent, and his manipulative schemes, Viserys perpetuates the conflict through his inaction and convenient stance in the middle ground. He neglects his other children, projecting guilt towards Aemma onto them and Alicent. While he outwardly shows love and favoritism for Rhaenyra and ignores her infractions, it seems more like a projection of guilt rather than genuine support, as he fails to take concrete steps to legitimize her ascension, especially now with the presence of sons. Viserys' actions ultimately work against Rhaenyra's favor, rather than supporting her. His handling of the family feud after Laena's funeral closes the door for any potential reconciliation between the queen and the princess.

The truce dinner in episode 8 is unmistakably a ticking time bomb. The Rubicon was crossed years ago, but Viserys prefers to maintain the illusion of a happy family, akin to the illusion of Alicent being Aemma, for his own peace of mind. Rather than addressing the underlying issues, he opts to create a facade to avoid dealing with the potential chaos of his family members turning against each other once he is gone.

In conclusion, Viserys embodies those problematic people who often evade accountability for their actions due to their seemingly kind and sympathetic demeanor. His ability to project an amiable facade masks the deeper issues and consequences of his decisions, allowing him to avoid the scrutiny he might otherwise face.

#viserys targaryen #king viserys #house of the dragon #hotd #rhaenyra targaryen #aemma targaryen #queen alicent #alicent hightower #daemon targaryen #prince daemon targaryen #prince aemond #aemond targaryen #aegon targaryen #anti viserys i targaryen #otto hightower #asoiaf #just a rant

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