I’ve never really seen anyone talking about this, but I noticed that one of the main reasons why I am team green is because team green feels like an actual team that is in this whole thing together.

Team Green feels connected, united, like a family.

Team Black on the other hand is… meh.

And let me explain why:

Rhaenyra being delusional and thinking that Daemon is actually in love with her when he literally just groomed her since she was a child because he has always been after her title and now wants to be her king consort. They have one of the most toxic, creepy and problematic relationships in the entire fucking show.

Then there is the very awkward and uncomfortable moment of Rhaenyra and Daemon having sex on Laena’s funeral, while Rhaenys, Corlys, Baela, Rhaena and Laenor are mourning the loss of their daughter, mother and sister. How fucking disrespectful is this. And then the fact that they have Laenor “killed” just so they can get married and have their own perfectly blonde targaryen babies.

And Rhaenyra lying about Jace, Luke and Joff to everyone in her very own “team”, trying to gaslight not only Corlys, and Rhaenys but also her own sons into thinking they are trueborn, when even Jace himself. as a child, starts asking questions.

Then there are obviously Rhaenys and Corlys, who for some fucking reason neglected their trueborn granddaughters in favor of some dark haired white bastards their daughter-in-law is trying to pass off as their son’s children. Rhaenys is trying sooo hard to please her misogynistic husband because he so desperately wants his name to go down in history. Then the disrespectful betrothal of Jace and Luke to Baela and Rhaena. Rhaenyra is literally robbing these poor girls of their rightful claim to Driftmark and usurping them. And now, with Luke being dead, Rhaena’s claim dies with him.

Baela and Rhaena losing their mother, and now their father suddenly remarries, and has two blonde boys. Rhaenys losing BOTH her children and then seeing her son-in-law and daughter-in-law getting married soon after that.

Everyone in team black is after their own ambitions. They lie to each other, they don’t trust each other, they suspect each other in different things, they cheat on each other (with each other) and lie about it, they give each other forced ultimatums, and yada yada. All their scenes feel forced, tense, awkward and uncomfortable. They look so miserable with each other.

Team Green in this sense is the exact opposite.

Although their dynamic is far from perfect, obviously, you cannot deny that they care about each other very very deeply.

Alicent loves all of her children, and even while acknowledging their flaws, she still loves them.

Aemond might’ve been a little envious of Aegon, but he would never turn his back on him. He would never betray his brother, be would never try to take his crown from him.

Aegon was far from being a perfect man and king, but, as we know, it was his love for his family, and the fear of them getting hurt that made him a more responsible person and a more protective father, husband and brother. Sure, he is a cheater, but at least he’s honest about it and doesn’t lie to his wife. He is not a hypocrite.

Criston is working for Alicent not for ambition or for self-gain, but because he genuinely loves her, whether it’s romantic or platonic, doesn’t matter.

Helaena would never betray her family, her brothers, her mother. They are all she has. She would never switch sides even if given an opportunity.

And even Otto, arguably one of the main villains of the whole show, still loves his family. Sure, he is ambitious, but he would never become Corlys level of ambitious.

Team Green feels like they are fighting against the enemy all together, they have the same goals, they feel united and you can feel their devotion to each other. Especially after blood and cheese, when they become closer than ever. They’re in this together and only if they stick to each other, they can make it. It feels genuine and honest. They don’t hide anything from each other, they always have their loved ones’ best interests at heart, they would never in a million years betray each other. Yes, they are all doomed from the start, but their dedication and love to each other is truly something else.

“You toil still in service to men. Your father, your husband, your son. You desire not to be free, but to make a window in the wall of your prison. Have you never imagined yourself on the Iron Throne?”

A couple of things:

1)  Alicent is a queen consort and is a Hightower by birth, so no, she cannot imagine herself on the Iron Throne, because Targaryen succession does not work like that. This is basic knowledge that 5-year-olds would presumably be expected to know, and I am astounded and embarrassed that Rhaenys, with her age and experience, lacks this fundamental bit of common sense.

2) Alicent has been the functional regent of Westeros for the past six years. In the previous episode, we see her actively governing the realm and overseeing all royal matters (while Rhaenyra sits on her ass with her loser husband in Dragonstone). We also literally hear Vaemond tell Rhaenys “It’s not a king who sits the Iron Throne these days, good sister. It’s the queen”, so I can assure you, Rhaenys, that Alicent has physically sat on the Iron Throne just fine. She lacks authority, obviously, as she is the consort and not the king, but she certainly did not and does not lack power, to say nothing about influence. This ridiculous show, however, does not seem to be able to differentiate these terms.

3) Does this show not understand that Alicent installing her son as King is not just beneficial to him (which the show acknowledges) but also directly beneficial to her? This is a patriarchal and patrimony-inclined world; Alicent’s son being King would not only mean immense prestige for her family; it would also mean the ultimate peak of power and influence for her (which we see her unapologetically wield in the books). In Westeros, we see Visenya Targaryen supporting her brother and her son’s kingship rather than angling for the throne in her own right, and wielding absolute power and authority in their reigns. Historically, Empress Matilda (the female claimant to the throne in the Anarchy, the war this story is based off) relinquished her claim in favor of her son, Henry II, presumably because she recognized he stood a better chance at gaining the throne (which he did) and continuing her legacy. Joanna of Flanders, who literally wore armor and led troops into battle, did it to support the cause of her husband in direct opposition to the claim of his niece. Yet according to this show’s logic, every single woman who has fought for their fathers and brothers and husbands and sons subscribes to internalized misogyny rather than, idk, supporting their families and gaining power, security and status in the process. Not to mention, Alicent relinquishing her children’s claim and stepping aside would not only be utterly humiliating and degrading for her from a political and personal standpoint, but also legitimately life-threatening for her children and her family. More competent writers would understand that she did not have much of a choice.

4) “You desire not to be free but make a window in the wall of your prison” is the MOST SICKENING PIECE OF VICTIM-BLAMING BULLSHIT I have ever heard in a long, long time. Alicent was a teenager when she had to marry the much-older King (her best friend’s own father) because of his desire for her. He repeatedly raped her and forced at least four pregnancies on her that she did not want. She was utterly isolated at court after her marriage, lacking comfort and friends (including Rhaenyra, who abandoned Alicent for three years after learning that she was being made to marry her father and, based on the comments she made, did not even stop to consider the awfulness of Alicent’s predicament). She had to endure the humiliation of her father being fired and made to leave court, leaving her even more alone than she previously was. She had to endure her husband constantly favoring his firstborn and his grandchildren by his firstborn rather than Alicent’s children who were a direct result of her rape by him. Her son was maimed and bleeding and her husband chose to defend his firstborn’s moronic decisions rather than bring him justice.  She is not a Targaryen, she does not and cannot ride a dragon. WHAT WAS ALICENT SUPPOSED TO EXCEPT TRY AND SURVIVE? HOW ON EARTH IS SHE BEING JUDGED FOR IT?

(And this ridiculously condescending comment is coming from Rhaenys of all people, lmao. A dragon-riding Targaryen who was an actual claimant to the Iron Throne, unlike Alicent. So, what was stopping HER from seizing power, pray tell? After all, she even has the Velaryon forces to back her claim. Instead, in her own words, she made peace with her sidelining. She constantly disagreed with her husband’s ambition regarding her claim and her family’s power. She volunteered her 12-year-old daughter as a child bride for her own aging cousin. The hypocrisy and double standards here is pathetic, and the lack of self-awareness on the part of the show is even worse)

Alicent was legitimately terrified for her children and her family’s lives, and she was entirely justified in doing so: if Rhaenyra ascended the throne, Alicent’s children would inevitably become threats to her whether or not they directly opposed her. This is unavoidable. Look up any historical usurpation, and that’s the inescapable result - and that’s not even going into the fact that Rhaenyra and Daemon are people who are reckless, cruel and indifferent to violence, and would not hesitate to kill any opposition to their reign. The show’s so-called claim that Alicent is upholding the patriarchy falls apart when you consider the fact that this is the only solution that guarantees the security of her children and herself. How is Alicent’s perfectly understandable motivation written as internalized misogyny? 

And moreover, from a writing perspective ... why give her this arc at all? Fire & Blood was badly written, but it doesn’t change the fact that they looked at an ambitious woman who wanted to enhance her power and improve her family’s standing, who directly defied her husband’s wishes in terms of succession in favor of her own, and rewrote this choice into one borne from internalized misogyny. They wrote her as a child bride, a rape victim, an abuse victim and a teen mother and then used this backstory to say that she was conditioned to become the so-called agent of patriarchy (which they do not support with believable evidence) who opposes their so-called feminist protagonist (whose primary enabler is Alicent’s rapist and abuser, btw, not that his abuse is acknowledged nearly enough by the narrative considering how heavily he was romanticized in the last few episodes) It’s a heinous, disrespectful, absolutely terrible writing choice, and I cannot emphasize this nearly enough.

(Oh, and speaking of Rhaenyra, let’s talk about how her queenship solidifies Viserys’s claim over Rhaenys’s. Let’s talk about if she truly cared about women inheriting the Iron Throne - as opposed to just herself - she would have considered this. Let’s talk about how she disregarded the claims of Baela and Rhaena in favour of her son when it came to Driftmark. Rhaenyra is not challenging the patriarchy, her ascension to the Iron Throne will not change anything for anyone except for herself, do not make me laugh by claiming otherwise)

ON TOP OF THIS, the show can’t even decide on a consistent motivation or characterization for Alicent. They repeatedly show us her visceral and justified fear for her children’s lives, which is somehow forgotten in episode eight in favor of her saying that Rhaenyra will be a good queen. Her desire to see her son crowned and thus ensure her children’s safety is disregarded in favor of her actually wanting to fulfil Viserys’s half-baked wishes on his deathbed. They have her say that everyone knows Aegon will be king, and then act surprised when the Green council plots to install him as King. They do not care about Alicent’s personhood and individual character; what they care about is her position as a foil and antagonist to Rhaenyra.

In conclusion: this show sucks. It shows absolutely no understanding regarding the politics of its own world and our medieval history and is a parody and a travesty of respectful storytelling. It has inconsistent and baffling character motivations and downright misogynistic writing, and this is not acknowledged nearly enough by the fandom.

I think the love that Rhaenys gets is kind of insane when you really look at her as a character. Because frankly she is insanely hypocritical and selfish.

Rhaenys is incredibly passive in her behaviors and essentially dedicates her life to make her husband happy. Which is totally fine and her choice…except for the fact that she insults Alicent for serving the men in her life and belittles her for it.

She willingly offers up her 12 year old child to a creepy older man to get her blood on the throne and to please her husband by getting his blood on the throne. Which is just as bad (arguably worse than) Otto offering up his 15 year old. So if you hate him, hate Rhaenys.

She kills a bunch of small folk without a care simply to show off that she’s powerful and better and can’t be chained down. And I’m sorry, if you hated Cersei for blowing up the sept (as her one and only option to survive) and the smallfolk in and around it…you can’t support Rhaenys caving the walls in on a bunch of people for no reason.

And really consider this. In the case of Otto, everyone hates him for plotting to get his daughter to marry Viserys and then get his grandchildren on the throne over Rhaenyra. But if Viserys had taken the ludicrous offer from Rhaenys to marry her 12 year old daughter…do you think she and her husband would’ve accepted Rhaenyra as heir? Obviously not. If Viserys married Laena and had sons with her, Corlys and Rhaenys would’ve been the #1 supporters of the “Rhaenyra isn’t the heir” brigade. They’d have used all their power to intimidate Viserys until he changed his mind, and if he didn’t…as soon as Viserys would die, they’d have their grandson on that iron chair faster than you can say “Rest in Peace”.

The only reason she supports Rhaenyra now is because of the marriage between the strong boys and her granddaughters. And the concept of her husbands “blood” being on the throne in name.

You can’t convince me in any way that Rhaenys is in any way a girlboss or feminist. What she is a hypocritical woman who, if the circumstances were different, would place herself and her family above Rhaenyra in a heartbeat. Lord knows she tried.

I know it must’ve really gagged Rhaenys when Vaemond told her that it was a queen that sat the throne. Like I bet it truly boils some Targaryens *cough Daemon cough* blood that little miss sad brown eyes with no dragon managed to peacefully rule over something they see as a right or a power only someone who is like them should have. They lash out at her because she is the outsider in ‘their’ territory.

And it’s extra sad bc Alicent literally tried with all of them. She dressed in red and black, she wanted to show Daemon those nasty tapestries, she supported Rhaenyra’s claim till she just couldn’t anymore. She wanted to ‘assimilate’ bc often that is all you can do when you are in a hostile environment or powder keg situation. It’s why I hate the ‘alicent’s kids aren’t real targs’ or ‘she’s trying to get rid of targ culture’ arguments. On top of just not making sense, it’s not true. She TRIED. All she was met with was resentment, often for decisions that were out of her control.

It is easy for them to use Alicent (the outsider) as a scapegoat bc if they didn’t they’d have to look at their own behavior and how their ‘Targaryen exceptionalism’ has done nothing but make them greedy and stupid

The biggest hypocrite in HOTD has to be Rhaenys. The scene where she's practically belittling Alicent, accusing her of only serving the men in her life had me speechless.

This from Rhaenys, who has done everything her husband wanted, even when it went against her own wishes? This is someone who wants to accuse another woman of upholding the patriarchy?

• She had the highest claim to the Iron Throne, was passed over for a man with a lesser claim, and apparently just gave up and didn't even attempt to fight for her own claim.

• She offered up her 12 year old daughter to Viserys because her husband wanted his blood on the throne.

• Again her husband wants his blood on the IT, so she agrees to marry her gay son to Rhaenyra.

• Completely bypasses her grandaughters claim to Driftmark , and instead supports a boy she knows isn't her son's child and has no legitimate claim to the Driftmark throne. Even if she didn't support her own granddaughters, she could have raised her own claim to DM or supported her brother in law Vaemond. But she does none of those things. Why? Because it's not what her husband wanted.

rhaenys is such a hypocrite. she is an actual claimant to the iron throne and has a female, egg-laying dragon at her disposal, thus allowing her to provide dragon eggs for her own children, which she absolutely does! at one point, house velaryon ends up with two dragonriders (rhaenys & laenor), the exact amount house targaryen has (daemon, rhaenyra). when laena claims vhagar, the balance actually becomes 3-2. 

she is married to corlys velaryon, a very rich man with the ability to summon a very impressive fleet - military might few other lords can dispose of. this grants her a high amount of privilege that no other woman in westeros has, not even aemma or alicent (a half-targaryen with no dragon and a lowly andal woman with no special magical blood, daughter of a second son, not even the lord of oldtown).

yet rhaenys spends the entirety of her life kowtowing to the men around her, even acquiescing to the batshit crazy ploy of marrying her 12-year-old daughter to the king, just because her husband is obsessed with the idea of being the future king’s grandfather. she allows rhaenyra to make a mockery of her adoptive house by having 3 obvious bastards. yes, laenor should be giving part of the blame because he accepts to be cuckolded in such a conspicuous manner, but it creates very real, very valid feelings of disgruntlement within the velaryon cousins when it comes to succession rights. passing off jace as a legitimate heir to the iron throne could be brushed off as the targaryens’ problem, but pushing luke as a claimant to the driftwood throne is absolutely house velaryon’s problem. rhaenys ultimately accepts her granddaughters to be relegated to the status of wives, when they should be heiresses in their own right. she bends over backwards to accommodate rhaenyra when she believes she had her own son killed, just because her husband wants bragging rights for being the king’s “grandfather”!!! this is insane!!! 

jace won’t even be a velaryon when he becomes king, since viserys insisted he revert to the surname targaryen. his kingship isn’t even guaranteed, since he is so obviously not laenor’s child, that a succession war is very likely to be fought over his illegitimacy. so what exactly is all of this tomfoolery even for? 

and then she has the gall to lecture alicent about serving the patriarchy. girl, please go out and touch some grass!!! 😭

how could alicent “imagine herself on the iron throne” when she has zero claim to it? rhaenys, like rhaenyra, has done nothing for the rights of womankind, but enjoys lording over other women, mocking their coping mechanisms. 

how about she start imagining baela on the driftwood throne instead and actually does something about it

Not Team Black friendly

None of my upcoming HOTD fics will be team black, Viserys, Daemon, Rhaenyra, Corlys or Rhaenys and Strong boys friendly. Please stop sending messages hoping to change my mind about Daemon not being a paedophile and domestic abuser.

I don’t support people who celebrate the murder of a six year old and threatening to rape a six year old girl in front of their mother. Nor do I support a woman who sends men to raid septs and rape civilians.

These are the things that will not be included:

Aegon being a rapist and a shitty brother. In the books, he loved his family and went full warrior and that’s how he’ll be in my fics.

Aemond being a psychopath and rapist.

Daemon being nice, he isn’t a nice man and nor is he a good father.

Viserys being a good father, he wasn’t a good father to any of his children and he only cared about Rhaenyra.

Anti Alicent Hightower, I adore that woman and she’s been through hell.

Helaena dies, hell no. Helaena will be given happiness in my fics and no B&C in my stories.

Not Cregan Stark friendly, I think he’s overrated and I’m not a fan of him. Nor will he be having affairs with my OC’s.

Jacaerys, Lucerys, Joffrey, Baela and Rhaena will not be redeemed in my fics. In my opinion, they’re bullies.

Not people wishing that they cut the Storming of the Dragonpit scene entirely. Nah, you cheered for Daenerys when she burned Kings Landing despite the city surrendering. You cheered for Rhaenys when she trampled the small folk who attended Aegon's coronation just so she could have her "Girl Boss Moment Slay".

Now sit and watch as those Mediaeval Nukes of oppression get hacked to pieces when the Small Folk, whom you said "didn't matter in the story" have had enough.

rhaenys really didn't give a shit that three boys will be in danger as long as driftmark would go to her / then baela didn't she? at least until viserys showed up so she changed her mind because;

1. she thought viserys gonna support rhaenyra anyway even if she'd say that corlys wanted driftmark to go to baela

2. if it was otto's decision she would be AGAIN dismissed bc she's a woman and driftmark would go to vaemond and then his sons instead of baela and with rhaenyra's offer at least rhaena would be lady of driftmark and then her line would rule for next years

3. even if she would won there's still would be daemyra against her and later rhaenyra on the throne, so people would still spread the rumours but ignore it officially so velaryon boys would still matter in the line of succesion, daemon and nyra would marry baela to luke so the driftmark would go with velaryon name thanks to luke anyway (in the matter of marriage it was daemyra's decision after all and twins were targaryen by name)

4. corlys would be pissed for ignoring his choice and also for endangering jace, luke and joffrey and there was still chance for him to come back

I'd give her points for announcing officially that jace and luke are betrohed to dragon twins so rhaenyra wouldn't back off but otherwise rhaenys was bitch right there. she does not have a prove that nyra killed laenor, the truth is it could all just daemon who after losing laena could see this as opportunity to be with rhaenyra

as far as rhaenys knows nyra was keeping laenor's secret and gave him sons he took as his own. if that was such big of a problem and rhaenyra was really so ruthless she'd killed him long time ago, before jace and then marry harwin (which now viserys would more likely agree to it, especially that harwin's status was better since his father was officially the hand and also nyra kept her part of a deal with marrying laenor and before that viserys let her choose her spouse). all rhaenys knows that laenor loved those three boys, corlys loves them and so the twins and she has a problem bc they're not directly laenor's blood. bitch. what those three boys did to you exactly to throw them under the bus dragon

rhaenys in books is so much better character, i don't like how creators made her inconsistent in the show (and looking at trailer, they keep going with that), how she switches and changes her mind to please anyone, mostly her husband, her killing people for badass moment but stopping at killing greens... if it was for kinslaying, she would take that to assure safety of baela and rhaena at very least, but it just wasn't her war to start and now we have consequences, while it was her in books who said to use dragons against greens. GIVE ME BACK MY BOOK RHAENYS

Dear fellow team green fans, I’ve finally managed to make a list of fanfictions on AO3 that every team green fan should read;

(Most of these aren’t aggressively team green but focus on team green characters and explore them in interesting and respectful ways )

Fist we have the holy trilogy:

1. Burning Jasmine by our national treasure @scalyfreaks and literally anything else that she writes (BJ is a beautifully written Aegon centric alteration of the dance of the dragons)

2. See, what happened was by @daylander1000 / Daylander on AO3 (the best Aemond centric fanfic I have ever read. If you dislike the strong boys and how Baela and Rhaena were done dirty in the show and love angsty preteens and “dark fluff” as the author herself describes it this is the jam)

3. All of @dulcewrites fanfictions are an absolute must for any team green fans (she handles the characters with such care and the humor is amazing)

Then we have the category that I like to call JUSTICE FOR ALICENT:

1. Springs end by Navree (long one shot that explores Alicent’s feelings at the beginning of her marriage to Viserys, beautifully written, I cried)

2. Give me back my girlhood it was mine first by JustA_Person (beautiful multi-chaptered fic that dives headfirst into Alicent’s depression at the beginning of her marriage and does not shy away from roasting the fuck out of Viserys and is currently heading towards a rekindling of the relationship between Alicent and Rhaenyra)

3. In your grave by 136108 (short but brilliant one shot on what Alicent should have told Viserys on his death bed)

Then we have Daemon and Viserys haters must read section staring;

1. Sins of the father by SelfProclaimedUnicorn ( ABSOLUTE MUST for any Daemon haters out there, this is the best there is. This fanfiction centers around two children Daemon has with Rhea Royce at the beginning of his marriage and follows them in their childhood and teenage years (the children are the same age as Rhaenyra and Alicent). This is one of the best written team green fanfictions I have ever read and it tells the story in such an intelligent and thought out way with some perfectly seasoned Daemon bashing sprinkled all over it. It also holds up so well considering that its plot is unlike any other team Green fanfiction out there and centers around characters that aren’t really explored enough. Oh and it also addresses the suffering Aemma went through trapped in marriage with Viserys which is always a great touch)

2. Out of the mouth of Babes by UnknownEnigma ( beautiful six chapter fanfiction exploring Aemonds relationships with Viserys that shows Viserys’ neglect and cruelty in all its glory and ends in a very satisfying way)

And then we have a few more brilliant fan fictions that I don’t really know how to sort into a category:

1. Lose your Ego by Fjlh (this series just started and is about Aegon USING HIS BRAIN and fighting for his claim. Very promising so far)

2. The sky is always red above Valyria au by Aifsaath (beautiful series of one shots about Aegon x Baela that explores the trauma of growing up with a father that maritally rapes your mother)

3. Lady Dreamfrye by Ai_Megurine (story about Sansa Stark being reborn as Helaena)

4. I’m never gonna love ( again ) by @crescenthoax (very interesting Aegon x oc fanfic )

5. My hand was the one you reached for by haught_hightower ( explores Alicent’s relationships with Criston and her children )

6. a poison tree by Juliet_Capulet ( very detailed and well written story about the younger brother of Daemon and Viserys returning to the capital with his daughter, after the death of his wife and witnessing Viserys’ brain dead decisions unraveling while forming a bond with his nieces and nephews. Full of Daemon and Viserys Bashing)

I hope you enjoy, it took me a real long while to find some of these gems

My thoughts on Vaemond is that he had valid concerns and I think people have to understand that wanting to have power is not necessarily a bad thing. At the end of the day it’s pretty obvious visually that those 3 strong boys are bastards and are not of velaryon blood. It’s just an insult to house Velaryon. Regardless whether Laenor accepted them due to fertility isues/lack of trying etc, from an outside perspective of the nobility in a medieval setting she has cuckolded her husband. Imagine if Rhaenrya was not a crown princess from the royal line, I don’t think another lady would have got away with it or Corlys’s avid support as he is being ambitious/power hungry in wanting to get his blood/name on the iron throne. So when obviously Laenor/Rhaenrya didn’t do their duty in having legitimate children. I wonder if he didn’t kick up a fuss because he couldn’t question/actively go against the king daughter without losing his head & causing dissent. Also, their families were very intertwined with Daemon being married to laena at the time. Plus, he knew the king would favour her, so had to be hush about it due to these factors. That would be logical thinking the show could have given to Corlys but Rhaenrya would be portrayed as negatively abusing her station/power & the show couldn’t ever possibly have that for her 🙄.

That line for corlys reason is stupid in my opinion that “history remembers names not blood” when the strong boys have their legitimacy questioned/rumoured so heavily that will be attached to them within history- whilst obviously not confirmed it will still be talked about. Also, whilst corlys may be head of his house he cannot willing decide his heir knowing full well they do not have a blood claim to it & break succession law. He is the head and should think of & has the responsibility of the well-being of the entire family & not deprive those with a legal blood claim due to his desire for his own ‘legacy’. 

Rhaenrya was happily in all essence to ‘usurp’ driftmark throne for her son because of the power it will bring Luke- a second son who in any other setting would inherit nothing. So she is being power hungry herself here on behalf of her family. Abusing her father & Corlys’s power as accomplices for this farce. The extended velaryons have a right to be affronted/worried by this. So vaemond whilst corlys was in the 50/50 whether he would live & the king not being well enough to handle his duties, both who would not be impartial in this matter, saw an opportunity and took it. 

The argument that he should argue for Baela or rhaena to inherit, which I agree 100% they should have been corlys rightful heirs due to being legitimate daughters of laena- who was I believe is corlys first child in the show, but, corlys due to his own misogyny & ambitions chose to bypass them. Funny, I don’t see a lot of people criticise corlys for this (Rhaenys even pleaded for Laena’s daughters to be named but corlys denied her). Thus, Rhaenrya only decides to offer marriage pacts to her step daughters when she’s backed in a corner & realises that Rhaenys was more than likely going to not back her & claim for Baela. As a ‘fix-it’ so Baela get promoted to queen consort (more powerful position than lady of driftmark) & Rhaenys knowing her husband ambitions & desires for getting his blood on the throne will get his wishes through future grandchild. Maybe this time the plan will work out for them if Baela doesn’t die from childbirth & have a stillborn that is. So Rhaenys ends up backing Rhaenrya with this deal. 

However, arguably Rhaena is short changed of her birth right & demoted to being lady wife of driftmark (no power as Luke is the decision maker & can overrule/go against her- we saw this with Corlys/Rhaenys). A lot of people say it doesn’t matter if Luke is lord because their kids will end up having velaryon blood. Again, that is only the case if they successfully have a child together. The show has already shown the difficulties/mortality of mother & child during labour. What if scenario if rhaena dies in childbirth alongside the babe. Luke is then free to remarry whomever/lady of another family & what will the extended velaryons do then??? 

I think people have to understand that blood is important in this society as why else is kinslaying so accursed because it offers protection. Luke has no blood kinship or have any relations/interactions or living at driftmark towards the extended velaryons & with his mothers/stepfather actions have proved that they can be harmed/killed. Also, this child Luke has already shown to having a lack of remorse in his dealings with Aemond (his blood kin) & others, seems to be a-okay with his parents actions in people being killed over it & stealing his step sister Baela’s claim to Driftmark. Luke growing up under Daemrya’s tutelage doesn’t bode well for the extended Velaryons.

Back to vaemond, another reason he is thinking to fight for his claim is that corlys himself bypassed his legitimate granddaughters, thus, showing that the current head of house velaryon Corlys does have a preference for male relatives to inherit . Also, in the books Corlys got his bastard son/grandson?? legitimised to inherit driftmark during the war, again bypassing his granddaughters. So, as Corlys is currently out of commission, Vaemond by all rights is logical to push himself as he is the next living legitimate blood related male. He took his chance but alas was thwarted by viserys arrival & then Rhaenys, whether she had decided to agree prior to Viserys sitting down, smartly knowing how things would play in Rhaenrya favour declared aloud (so that Rhaenrya had to uphold the bargain) the marriage pact deals to the court & sided with her. At this point, he should have been smart & backed off but was goaded & lost his life for it. 

I’m sorry but it’s literally so dumb and silly of Rhaenys to support the widow and the widower of both her dead children that died violent deaths under suspicious circumstances, especially after the two of said them got married like, the day after Laena’s funeral, and especially if they want to put THEIR OWN children on the throne.

Like there is literally no reason for her to be on Rhaenyra’s and Daemon’s side 💀💀💀💀 Why tf is she supporting Luke’s bastards’ ass claim to Driftmark when Baela is literally there?? To please her husband?? Wtf

Let it be known that when Mrs Rhaenys "I talk a big game...but when my husband speaks up I shut up" Targaryen dies I will be the first person to cheer.

No sympathy for dumb characters spewing nonsense to Alicent Hightower about "toiling in the service of men" when she spent an entire season not only cowering to her husband but also to her daughter-in-law who, as far as she knows, killed her son.... ma'am, good riddance you won't be missed.

I'm supposed to believe she's some badass who challenges what it means to be a woman in Westeros when she's exactly the same as every high standing woman who is willing to sell her daughter to a man (at least) thrice her age so her husband can gain a political advantage.

^ What wouldn't have been a problem if the show didn't try to sell us a story of her being better than Alicent and other women for being independent and in an "equal" marriage.

The truth is that even when she wanted the best for her children she still went with whatever her husband said and decided. No authority. Nothing.

She is a Queen Who Never Was for a reason. Apart from her Targaryen pride she is spineless and delusional about it.

Ok so Rhaenys gets on Alicent’s case about being “in service to men” and perpetuating male power.

But that entire scene was so hypocritical. Rhaenys lost her chance at having the iron throne and simply accepted it. She didn’t fight for her claim or anything. Instead she flew off to driftmark and lived her life.

Even worse, Rhaenys tried to bring Alicent down for essentially perpetuating the patriarchy by placing her son on the throne. But in the episode prior she perpetuated the patriarchy tenfold by deciding that the boy who is completely unrelated her or her son should take the throne over the daughter of her daughter. A true born heir. If you choose a bastard boy who you know is not related to your marital Velaryon family in any way (and therefore has zero claim to the lands of that family) simply because he is the assumed son of your son, over the daughter of your daughter whom you know for a fact is related to the family who owns the lands…that’s not feminism.

Say what you will about bastardy or whatever. But you can’t claim you’re a girlboss feminist when you pick an unrelated bastard boy to rule over his true born cousin who is a girl. That is perpetuating the patriarchy. That is showing that any man is better than a woman to rule according to you.

The hypocrisy of that scene was astounding. Alicent places her son on the throne over Rhaenyra (for their family’s own safety), and suddenly she’s a victim of patriarchal society (not when she was a child bride being raped tho). But Rhaenys will claim she is rocking the boat by *checks notes* accepting her title of “The Queen Who Never Was” and putting a bastard boy on the seat over her true born granddaughter simply because he is the “son” of her son.

“behold, the work of Rhaenyra the cruel”

“the traitor dragon meleys slain at rooks rest by the king”

1. This show never fails to make me laugh. Everyone is going to burn in hell but I’ll laugh at the s2 antics for sure

2. This is just sooo genius from team green. Having a public funeral for the unjust death of a young boy, the new king and queen’s first born son. Not only that but also positioning Rhaenyra as the aggressor, even if she has nothing to with b&c (we don’t know what route they will go in the show.) is A+ pr work. Bc at the end of the day, Rhaenyra either knew, and will be seen as cruel bc it is her faction - Far too emotional to rule. Or she will be painted as too ‘docile and weak’ to rule - Can’t even stop something happening right under her own nose. Both misogynistic tropes that often get placed on female leaders. Also it just perfectly describes how Daemon has done nothing but undermine her claim, rather than solidify it like she hoped. How men in this story undermine the women around them. He commits the atrocity, but much like in the feudalistic world they live in, the buck will stop with the woman. Also they just have more of a reason to disenfranchise Rhaenyra bc she’s the figurehead of team black

And as for traitor meleys thing. This is the greens positioning themselves against someone/something who I am assuming all the smallfolk remember. Rhaenys and Meleys killed/injured hundreds, maybe thousands of smallfolk during Aegon’s coronation. Positioning Aegon as a proactive king who takes out threats to his people, including other dragons/dragon riders

This coupled with if they go with the idea, in the book, of both Helaena and Alicent being seen as sympathetic and beloved, makes these pr move make so much sense. I’m honestly of the belief team green even ‘survived’ as long as they did with significantly less allies than team black bc of said moves. They simply understood politics and the importance of public perception far more than team black 🤷🏽‍♀️

glass houses

"Yet you toil still in service to men."  Princess Rhaenys' voice was flat, and she narrowed her eyes at Alicent.  "Your father, your husband, your son."  

 

If Alicent Hightower was still the girl she had been when she first wed Viserys,  she'd wilt.   The way she had that foul night at Driftmark when she understood how little regard the king could promise his own blood.  When her blood understood the same thing.   Aegon, Helaena, and Aemond.  Aemond, most of all.

 

 

But she is not anymore.  Alicent has long shed the skin of that lost girl.  The girl who once loved Princess Rhaenyra, but what was left behind by the ruins of such affection was enough to not want the woman reduced to ashes.  The woman who honored Viserys in everything, but would not in this one thing.  Alicent could not give Rhaenyra the crown no matter how long it may have been promised her, for it was not her right to give.  It was the right of the Seven, and if they had wished Rhaenyra to rule, they would have made all of Alicent's children daughters and Rhaenyra's bastards trueborn.  But they did not.  While Alicent did her duty, Rhaenyra shirked hers.  And now the consequence was that of Rhaenyra's five sons, only the youngest two were legitimate.  Daemon's sons.  They might be behind their half-brothers in the line of succession and thus far from the throne, but Alicent knew better.  That it did not matter how far Daemon was from the throne, he would cut through everyone in his way to seat his own son on it.   His own line.   Even if he never desired Rhaenyra, she would always be necessary for that dream to happen.  By contrast, Alicent was likely viewed by Daemon in the same light as the Lady Rhea, and her children were only necessary murders to him.

 

 

Alicent lifted her chin and did not look away from the handsome older woman. 

 

 

"When you were not long a wife and with child, you objected to King Jaehaerys' decision to appoint Prince Baelon heir in the wake of his brother's death.  But you and Ser Corlys did not object for your sake, did you?"  Rhaenys goes rigid, and Alicent strikes. "No, you did it for your unborn child.  The son that turned out to be a daughter.  A daughter whose rights you did not defend later at the Great Council of 101.  You fought for her brother, though. How do you reconcile that person with the woman who would one day let her only son be shamed because you would not defy your husband's will? You say that I toil in service to men, my lady, and perhaps there is some truth in that.  I have given so much of myself to the men in my life. My father, who served your grandfather before the time of Viserys.  My husband, your cousin and king. My son, your rightful king.

 

 

I ask you this, Princess. How can you look down upon a woman for wanting to secure the rights of her sons, when you wanted to do the very same thing, but for a child that had not yet drawn breath?"

 

The princess does not answer, as the queen knew she wouldn't.   What can you say in response to the truth?