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hollandwhore · 2 years

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he stikes again

#hotd #house of the dragon #daemon #daemon targaryen #got #game of thrones #hotd episode 5

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wine4thewin · 2 years

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*Rhaenyra Targaryen’s wedding goes to shit*

Lord Lyonel Strong: Harwin do the thing.

Harwin Strong: *proceeds to smash everyone to bits, rescues his Princess from the mob as her wretched sadboi lover kills a bro on the dancefloor*

#I literally never grow tired of Harwin Strong #Harwin is still winning #hbo hotd #house of the dragon #hotd #rhaenyra x harwin #harwin strong #rhaenyra targaryen #hotd episode 5 #hbo house of the dragon #hotd spoilers #hotd season 1 #game of thrones

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zaintastic · 2 years

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Cristin Cole broke his vows and when he realised that Rhaenyra, who btw is the heir to the crown and has been fighting for her right to the throne, will not run away with him, He started feeling guilty. Just to make himself feel better about himself, he wanted Rhaenyra to throw away her birth right and crown, so he could feel better about breaking his chastity vows...

And when she refused he felt justified in breaking the other vows of being a sworn protector. He blabbed to the queen just because he thought he had done his white cloak dirty?

He couldnt shut up even if he thought the queen suspects him? Just to appease his guilt? Man...that is not being noble. That is just stupidity. Plain idealistic stupidity.

And that Joffrey Loudmouth...

Bro all of these guys need to shut the hell up! His mouth got him killed

And did our lover boy snapped over his reputation? Oh boy!

And be like our Ser Harwin Strong..silently sweeping princesses off their feet!

#house of the dragon #hotd episode 5 #criston cole #joffrey lonmouth #rhaenyra targaryen #harwin strong #daemon targaryen #jorah mormont #side piece #daenerys targeryan

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horizon-verizon · 1 month

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Master Post of Anti-Criston Cole-ism

He was Never Raped or SA-ed

A) [HotD] HotD's Episode 4, from the Actor and Writers

🔗LINK to Entertainment Weekly Article that Describes Frankel & Writers Making this Scene Consensual Sex Scenes where Criston "Chooses" to Forget his Vows

Neither of these reveal that either the actor nor the writers or directors wrote the sex scene to be something Criston was afraid of or didn't want. The way it's talked about, with people "discovering" each other and themselves shows consent and enjoyment. Frankel wanted to play out his fear of Criston's own desire to break his own vows and facing the guilt of that; Rhaenyra never pressured him into anything.

REMINDER: He's still not "commonborn" nor Dornish, since:

he has a last name, which peasants don't have AND his father/house is House Cole, stewards of the Dondarrions...the Tyrells at one point were stewards to House Gardner in the Reach & they were still nobles of that time, stewards don't mean full fledged "servants"

Blackhaven is in the Stormland part of the Dornish Marches, not the Dornish part of the Dornish Marches...Samwell Tarly's family's castle is in the foothill of a part of the Dornish Marches, ....Barristan Selmy's family's castle, Harvest Hill, is based in the Dornish Marches in Stormlander territory, so is Barristan Selmy Dornish? Cole is a Stormlander!

Marchers hate Dornish people more than other nonDornish Westerosi do...Criston said his dad was a steward of the nonDornish Dondarrions...HotD has never shown us whether either of his parents are Dornish by origin so what proof do we have he is Dornish even in the show?!!! And we see no discrimination (hint or overt) the court has against Cole...

lets' say that Cole was Dornish...the Velaryons are black and realisitically, even rich Black people do not manage to avoid subtle racial discrimination (there's a black woman on TikTok from a wealthy family that talks about it, idk her name)...so if Criston faces racism and the Velaryons don't either the writers are incompetent or don't know racism

Not only is this a misreading of what the Dornish Marches are on the HotD writers'/producers' part, it's a misreading or understanding of race either in medieval times or the modern day, AND people have tried to use a supposed racial disparity b/t Rhaenyra (Valyrian-Targ princess) to argue that Cole (the racially-inferior) felt racial pressure as well to comply to sleep with her and avoid censure or punishment if she blabs...as if his race would give him the right to sleep with a teen girl who some have argued was also very drunk here-- even if Criston was Dornish!

ii) [HotD] HotD's Episode 4, from the actual Episode

People don't know what SA or rape actually looks like...can we just, please?...

B) "If the Roles were Reversed" [HotD AND the Original Story]

Rhaenyra didn't "make" him do anything b/c she doesn't have the ability to take on that new level of risk. So much protest using the "if the genders were reversed", and yet no acknowledgment or breakdown of what their respective unique positions are.

A male heir =/= a female heir in terms of power and privilege, gender really matters even here, as every source on the matter--whether HotD or the original story--has made every single minute to point out and emphasize...the only reason we are even talking about the Dance is that it was a group of people arguing that no woman should go before a man inn any line of succession which comes from the belief that women are inherently insufficient military leaders. And female chastity is a whole concept in of itself where the woman/girl must be sexually "pure" as to ensure that a man's and his family's lineage remains "proven" to be inherited by someone blood-connected to them. To preserve that wealth and privilege. etc., within that family. Female chastity - female "obedience" or submission to male supremacy.

Women could never be knights so they can never be Kingsguard.

Brienne is not a knight...yet[?], and she exists YEARS after the Dance; even if there were female monarchs before, check out real history for how medieval people regarded female rulers if they didn't happen to be very "good" ones...I mean just check out Juana I of Castile!

We can never equalize these situations in matter of gender because this society structures on the inequality of its genders.

A World of Ice and Fire shows us glaring examples of women over men being brutally sidelined or physically attacked to make way for male leaders or candidates (Shiera Blackwood, Agnes Blackwood, that unnamed Lannister woman who had to marry a non-Lannister man so he could take her name just so he could lead the Lannister house instead of her, Argella Durrandon, Marla Sunderland); Fire and Blood has a bunch of girls raped, mutilated, SA-ed or sexually manipulated so the men can inch their way towards power or to just feel in control (Cassandra Baratheon, Lucinda Penrose, those Tumbleton 8-year-olds, the septas, etc.).

Making as if sexual violence against men or just general violence against men is treated the same, as frequent, and socially justified as violence against women and girls both in real life and in the ASoIaF/HotD/GoT universes is disingenuous. As long as we live in a society where enough people think a woman's body is never totally her own, it never will be.

ii) Let's play with this "Reversal" Anyway:

a) We already see Rhaenyra-Criston in the version of her approaching him...

In F&B, we already have one verison of what happened b/t them in Mushroom telling us of a situation of Rhaenyra approaching Criston and Criston denying her, with no material consequences for him...and he freely decides to hate and try to destroy her anyway ("A Question of Succession"):

Even IF Rhaenyra approached Criston and in this way, she does not go to Viserys to ruin Cole or do anything else to him. She sleeps with Harwin instead. And why doesn't she go to Viserys to fuck Criston's life up? Bc he has been her trusted guard for ages, but also because of what I say below in section b) below and i) above.

Reminder, Viserys in both the show and book forces Rhaenyra to marry Laenor, and book!her explicitly is rumored to say she wanted Daemon. She faces censure or punishment, not Cole.

Show!Rhaenyra has also been "friends"/friendly with Cole for years; what reason do we have to expect or fear that she'd complain to Viserys? How much does Criston really expect Rhaenyra does, since he's the said friend in her "confidence"?

b) Occam's razor

Since women cannot be Kingsguard in Westeros, the female-Cole would either be a lower-ranked noble woman or she would be like Jonquil Darke, the female sworn-shield of Alysanne Targaryen (who still wasn't part of the Kingsguard). JD was also a Darkling bastard.

It's so very unlikely that even if female-Cole become the guard to young/older male-Rhaenyra.

That's inconceivable to these people. Why would the probably already-sword trained male-Rhaenyra need a personal female-guardsman when they'd have an actual Kingsguard knight (still all male) as the male-Rhaenyra's guard before a female warrior is ever considered? This is the mindest of these royals and nobles, btw.

And again, Jonquil was the protector of Alysanne, not Jaehaerys. But Jaehaerys did use Jonquil to stop Saera from running away, and this proves that Jonquil's "final boss" is and always has been Jaehaerys, aka, the Monarch, not the person she was protecting. If a male-Rhaenyra approached a female-Cole (but not a bastard) who was a sort of Jonquil Darke person, even with that female-Cole being well-versed in swordsmanship or anything physical to defend herself, the social consequences of that woman sleeping with a royal man while not being married to him is still as real and worse for her than for him. She'd be less willing to fully engage with him and dread the consequences of his growing angry with her.

What if female-Cole was just a regular noblewoman, either ranked high from a prestigious family/Great House (Starks, Martell, Hightowers, Lannisters, Manderlys] or from a lower ranked or not-as-prestigious and influential family (Tarlys, Selmys, Boltons, Wyls)? And male-Rhaenyra took a liking to female-Cole but didn't want to or expect to marry them?

Because female-Cole is a female noble and had grown up knowing that women & girls are socially condemned for actually practicing sexual autonomy, they'd be much more cautious and vulnerable to censure in either scenario:

If the female-Cole was from a more prestigious or "Great" House, male-Rhaenyra wouldn't as likely approach them unless they thought they'd be good for marriage because that house is powerful and important enough to put some pressure on them IF they ever found out. An affair is very possible, and depending on female-Cole's age and assessment of her own abilities and worth growing up female, we don't know whether they'd be willing to pursue a true consensual affair with male-Rhaenyra without there being a hope or guarantee for marriage. Because, like Lysa Tully, they still run the risk of tainting their family/house' image and face punishment or abuse from their own family if such affairs were made public. (If I have to explain Lysa Tully to people, they either forgot what happens b/t her & Petar Baelish or never read the bks, and if the latter they should not speak on anything to do with any character in things like this that requires lore knowledge AND some objectivity. Or they don't see what happened to her as "a big deal"...) Still, there is room for her to not want the attention because women are not a monolith of the exact same personalities or circumstances for us to believe every single woman would go for a real affair regardless of there being a desire or expectation of marriage. Thus what I describe below for lower ranked women/girls still counts. If anything, the stakes can be said to be higher because her family's prestige or power is so high that they could also take the path of blaming her. Therefore, a woman/girl of this group could still feel cornered.

If female-Cole came from a lower/less prestigious house, male-Rhaenyra is more interested & likelier of pursuing an affair or making female-Cole their paramour/mistress. Same situation, but the girl has even less reason to believe that there would be a marriage bc her house' rank/prestige/powers are so low for a possible marriage to the future King. She'd have to be either be mentally incapacitated (Priscella Hogg), under another immense pressure, or very young to believe that. So in this case, there is a stronger likelihood that if she sleeps with male-Rhaenyra, it's because she was cornered or felt she couldn't avoid him and had no assurances to avoid him later on. Or that he'd later feel slighted and begin rumors of her in court and her reputation gets ruined either way.

in either case, because male-Rhaenyra is a man while female-Cole isn't and men are far more likely to use physical force to intimidate or push a woman down then the reverse; men on average feel entitled to women's bodies' and attention, what more a royal prince like Aegon & Aemond? (I didn't use these examples by accident: that 12 yr old "paramour" Septon Eustace informs us and Alys Rivers)

And male-Rhaenyra would be the heir, still. There would be no doubt against male-Rhaenyra because she'd be male, male leaders are credited their deserving to rule armies by being male. His path to ascension is clearer than what real-Rhaenyra currently and will have to face. Male-Rhaenyra has no reason to even be all that secretive with female-Cole if he did intend on making her his paramour & he thought he'd get away with just making her his paramour...which is most likely a woman in a much lower "rank" or of a family with much lower powers than some others. Yes, Viserys would say that he is acting "unseemly", he could be called stupid or reckless, and some lords and ladies would think he's acting too licentuously...but no one would begrudge or hate male-Rhaenyra long for extramaritally/premaritally sleeping with a woman of any origin as to say they were a "whore" or try to use this as their primary reason be shouldn't be the next King. The "new" greens don't as much shit to stand on. They'd look silly(ier) for actually using this as a reason to say he shouldn't be King.

Female-Cole has little to no leverage against a male-Rhaenyra in the specific moment of a sexual cornering bc there is simply more risk for her than for him based on their respective genders AND ranking. We can't separate the two, they will inform the other.

Cole-Cole has more social leverage than a woman actually corned by a male higher-ranking noble/royal bc Rhaenyra-Rhaenyra's reputation can be ruined a lot easier than a male heir's. In any iteration, female-Cole rather than Cole-Cole has more risk & pressures in because women are given less grace in events where it's known they extramaritally/premaritally sleep with a man. Because she's already side-eyed or doubted to be a capable leader or worthy, censures against her lack of practicing female obedience and chastity would make her seem less deserving of the throne and give her enemies more fuel to fire their own agenda.

Again, this hierarchical feudal society is built on making gender, class, etc. essential differences that grant individuals privileges over others.

Finally, Criston Cole, his relationship with Rhaenyra, AND their sex /how it happened cannot be compared to a modern-day boss-employee-relationship/sexual harassment sort of sex-reversed MeToo! situation. Viserys is, as many have said on both camps, Criston's real and unequivocal "boss". Really, this whole argument then diminishes what actual SA is and the MeToo! movement's focus on holding mainly male professional superiors accountable for willfully using their positions to assault those under them.

The writers trying to make Rhaenyra the one in with more psychological control over Criston when canonically there' isn't much evidence to support that is very suspicious.

Reasons to Hate Cole

A) Show/House of the Dragon

Let's really think about Criston's suggestion to run away and marry.

The guy said this in episode 5 of season 1:

I've soiled my white cloak. And it's the only thing I have to my fսck¡ng name! I thought if we were married, I might be able to restore it.

Criston's logic reveals he's more concerned about retaining his own sense and perception of his honor and not "honor" in general bc running away to elope would bring great disgrace to both his and Rhaenyra’s families & houses. Not just Rhaenyra herself. If it is Rhaenyra's "duty" to marry Laenor, she would be breaking her vows to become Queen. If she runs away, she arguably broke her vows to "protect" the realm from the Others as by her and Viserys' conversation about Aegon's prophecy. Cole may not have heard this from Rhaenyra, but he didn't want to hear anything from her because all he wanted was for her to go along with what he wanted, not to actually listen to her any misgivings she may have had.

He looked at marriage as a way to "bring back" a sense of honor for himself. Vows hold "sacred" honor. Criston is trying to distance himself from the very idea of freely and willfully “soiling” his cloak by trying to "replace" his brken vows with new marriage vows.

Remeber, he consented to sex with Rhaenyra, so it was his willful decision to sleep with her and "soil" his own "cloak". The writers and the actor, again, both work in the understanding that Cole "chooses to lie with Rhaenyra" [top of this post].

Criston absolutely knows that she can't marry him in the usual, open way and still retain her position as heir or even as part of the royal family. He's asking her to abandon her entire family...let that sink in. It shows a gender disparity that does not justify "if the roles were reversed". Lower-ranked-Female-Cole would never and could never hope to convince the male-Rhaenyra to run away with her and start an entirely new life, abandon both of their families (for marriage specifically) bc he doesn't have to in order to marry her. He may lose some people's respect if he marries her, but the consequences for him versus a female heir are not the same. A female heir would have to run away & not be among other Westerosi nobles, become a peasant, etc. to marry someone like Cole. *EDIT (3/17/24)* Example: Prince Duncan and Jenny of Oldstones. *END OF EDIT*

He was attracted to her, but his main motivation was to escape the shame of his soiled cloak and soiled honor. That his honor is actually a lie, a made-up thing in itself. That he, himself, soiled it and thus he, himself, has made himself a liar.

ii)

He has been living in court being Rhaenyra’s personal guard for years. Some of us thought that he should have known that nobles largely do not follow the same rules that excuse their positions through rumors. That they withhold and lie to protect themselves. (And generally, humans are wont to try to bend their own rules to satisfy their own desires.)

And so we think that he should have done the same--patiently withhold information and observe what happens so he could adapt to it--while Alicent was getting to ask if Rhaenyra had slept with Daemon, and not if he slept with her.

It may not be faithful to one's vows, but if he actually knew what kind of person Rhaenyra was--that she would never run away with him (as he should after so many years of being with her and thus I think he did know but asked anyway, this he never really cared about her but himself)--then he should have never brought up the suggestion of running away or thought she'd ever marry him. What exactly did he think would happen for him after sleeping w/her? And as I argued, he had much more choice than some may think and took advantage of it. As nobles often do.

And yet, he decides that Rhaenyra is responsible for what he freely chose for himself AND what he could have easily avoided as a man/Kingsguard and her being female. And he does so so he can avoid accountability. Rhaenyra is much less likely to be able to & doesn't want to, once again, "make" him do anything with her. And Rhaenyra does not control Criston Cole's conscience nor his penis nor his reasoning.

Occam's razor again.

iii)

He decides to take it out on the Velaryon boys, as clued by what happens in the training yard of episode 6. It's obvious he refuses to treat them similarly to the green princes and train them at the same level. He's also much more physically rough with Jace than with either green boy. Finally he presses for Aegon to get more violent than necessary against Jace, clearly taking pleasure in vicarious revenge against Rhaenyra.

He's a loser who uses children's pain to inflict his own frustrations. And no, "illegitimate" children are not less human than "trueborn" ones.

B) Fire and Blood (The Original Story)

These are the versions of what happens b/t them, Septon Eustace's vs Mushroom's ("A Question of Succession"):

Really, alinahams already tackled this HERE, so check them out.

Excerpt:

In both versions, Criston is never involved with Rhaenyra in any way. Both versions take care to mention how it was all about Rhaenyra's choices about her life and body that bothered Criston and made him hate her. It's never about Criston being used and discarded. That is what makes Criston an Incel and a villain. Rhaenyra never did anything wrong to him. She didn't do anything to deserve his life long hatred and betrayal. It was his own twisted madonna/whore complex that ruined his friendship with Rhaenyra.

Criston decides to make it his life mission to destroy Rhaenyra because he couldn't handle her making her own decisions, bc honestly even if she (a 16-17 yr old) had decided to try to seduce him as Viserra did with Baelon...did Baelon hold it against Viserra or say that she was a whore or try to condemn her or get back at her for daring to "disturb" him in his grief over his dead wife, their sister, Alyssa?

Even with Baelon being a prince to Criston's Kingsguard, we see that both Viserra & Rhaenyra were desperate to have some sense of control over their own bodies through sex--and for Viserra through a marriage to a more powerful man--because it is through sex and marriage that their entire autonomy is being taken away or suppressed. And some in this fandom have argued that Viserra was bad or amoral for trying to seduce Baelon in his grief, and some have even said she was trying to take advantage of him! But does Baelon think this way or try to "avenge" himself on her? No.

Why try to ruin her and her kids' entire lives? Once more, Rhaenyra, even in Mushroom's version, does not ever complain to Viserys or try to ruin Criston. So....

#criston cole #criston cole's characterization #fire and blood characters #hotd characterization #rhaenyra and criston #rhaenyra targaryen #rhaenyra's characterization #hotd episode 4 #hotd episode 5 #asoiaf #fire and blood #hotd #book vs tv show comparisons

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starkcontrasts · 2 years

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*house of the dragon episode 5 spoilers*

giggling bc rhaenyra had all of her men at her engagement/wedding feast. literally all of them. she said royal flush: her uncle, her kingsguard paramour, her husband, and her future baby daddy and yes, for people not familiar with the fire and blood book, these are all different men😭😭

#technically some of them will eventually overlap *cough cough daemon cough* but i just found it funny #hotd reaction #house of the dragon #rhaenyra targaryen #daemon targaryen #criston cole #harwin strong #laenor velaryon #hotd episode 5 #we light the way #(also just realized those are house hightower's words which make sense bc this was a definitive ep for alicent)

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pantomist · 2 years

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So here’s how I think the fight started at the end of the wedding in ep 5 of HOTD:

Last time we saw Daemon he was leaning in to kiss Rhaenyra and Criston Cole was watching Rhaenyra intently bcuz he’s down bad so I think the sight of this made him snap and he ran in to beat Daemon. Daemon clearly made a quick getaway because we don’t see him in the fight but I think Criston probably pushed Rhaenyra by trying to get to Daemon or something, details aside I think Laenor saw Rhaenyra was in the middle of something and he went over to help her because even though they’re not “in love” y’know they grew up together and they have a deep respect, care and understanding for and of each other. So Laenor goes over to help Rhaenyra and make sure she’s safe, then Criston turns his wrath on Laenor - the soon-to-be-husband of the girl he’s down bad for - and starts beating him which is where Joffrey came in to protect his boyfriend and then Criston killed him because he’d already felt threatened by him and he’d just been stewing to a boiling point all episode.

#house of the dragon #hotd #hotd ep 5 #HOTD episode 5 #hotd spoilers #rhaenyra targaryen #criston cole #daemon targaryen #laenor velaryon #mira has thoughts

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desmond-the-queer-dragon · 2 years

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UPDATED DRAGONS WE HAVE UNLOCKED SO FAR (AS OF EPISODE 5)

Syrax the Golden She-dragon

Rider: Rhaenerya Targaryen

Ceraxes the Blood Wyrm

Rider: Daemon Targaryen

Seasmoke the Phantom Menance

Rider: Laenor Velaryon

Meleys the Red Queen

Rider: Rhaenys Targaryen

INCOMING DRAGON: VHAGAR THE MISTRESS OF DEATH

Rider: Laena Velaryon

Rider: Aemond Targaryen

INCOMING DRAGON: Vermax the Green

Rider: Jacerys Targaryen

#hotd #hotd dragons #hotd gifs #hotd episode 5 #dragons so far #house of the dragon #house of the dragon vhagar #house of the dragon Meleys #house of the dragon seasmoke #house of the dragon Syrax #house of the dragon Ceraxes #house of the dragon Rhaenerya #house of the dragon rhaeneys #dragons #house of the dragon dragons

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theroguequeen · 2 years

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the way daemon was heavily breathing while rhaenyra was talking, that man was ready to kill everyone in this room to get her out in that moment. The desire, the longing, the angst, the passion.

"MAKE ME YOUR WIFE"

#daemon targaryen #daemon x rhaenyra #rhaenyra targaryen #daemyra #hotd episode 5 #I will never recover from this

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malewifedaemon · 2 years

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So what if Rhaenyra agrees with getting married after the vile accusation, but her father has to let Daemon stay?

Then it would make sense that he'll be there on her wedding day

#hotd #house of the dragon #rhaenyra targaryen #rhaenyra x daemon #daemon targaryen #daemon x rhaenyra #male wife daemon #queen rhaenyra #prince daemon targaryen #daemyra #hotd episode 5 #hotd episode 4 #hotd 1x04 #house of the dragon spoilers #hotd spoilers #daemyra wedding

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last-ofthe-starks · 2 years

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For those arguing that Daemon went to the Vale with the calculated plan to murder his wife Rhea Royce in order to gain a political advantage...you easily could be right (because Daemon is a baddy with twisted morals and I wouldn’t put it past him). But I have a few issues with this theory. Hear me out.

Daemon flew to the Vale after being exiled, which means he would have been seen by someone or many people flying there on Caraxes. If your plan was to murder your wife and steal her land, wouldn’t you want to arrive and leave a little more incognito?

And why suddenly is he motivated to murder Rhea? Many argue it is to gain her inheritance in order to strengthen his claim to the thrown, but it’s already been established that he supports Rhaenyra’s claim. Instead, the only motivation we’ve seen Daemon have for killing off Rhea is so that his marriage commitment can be ended, freeing him up for a better political match. But hey, the only match he seems interested in making is with Rhaenyra, under the guise that he is protecting her from a marriage to Laenor based solely on political gain and not of her own desire. That argument would be sort of hypocritical, wouldn’t it? Which is why it doesn't make sense to me. Daemon wants Rhaenyra for himself, because he chooses her for who she is, and he wants her to choose him too.

And for a man who twice now has stated that he wishes to take a second wife of his choosing (first with Mysaria, second asking Viserys to let him wed Rhaenyra), it is Rhaenyra who uses his marriage to Rhea as a roadblock. In episode 3 on Dragonstone, in episode 4 in the courtyard, and now again in 5 Rhaenyra brings up how Daemon’s existing marriage is an issue, so he is eliminating that issue by eliminating Rhea.

So say he had pre meditatively planned to murder Rhea, why was he standing there in the road unarmed? He hardly said a word to her, and he never pulled out a weapon. So what, he anticipated her horse would do the work for him? For such a calculated human, that is a shit plan.

After Rhea falls, Daemon steps on her arm. Some people are saying it was to inflict further pain but I see this as him checking to see if she is paralyzed. When he can tell she cannot feel anything, he walks away from her. Presumably to leave her there which is of course, shitty. It is only when she opens her mouth again to taunt him at his inability to finish that he turns.

This implies once again that Daemon was not originally going to kill her, and Rhea knew that he was going to leave her there (which in her eyes was cowardly). When he does pick up the rock, of course it could be construed as an angry response to her comments, but the argument could also be made that it was to quicken the inevitable. And while I don’t think Daemon is quite that good a person, this could still be perceived as a mercy killing. Despite the narrative I’ve read on here, he is allowed to be decent occasionally, his character was never meant to be purely evil.

At the wedding, Daemon tells Sir Gerold Royce that because he and Rhea had no heirs, he is going to petition for Rhea’s inheritance. That would be Runestone, the home of House Royce on the coast of the Narrow Sea in the Vale, a place he has been adamant that he absolutely despises. Sure, inheriting a castle and overseeing lands in the Vale would be an advantage to Daemon in some ways, but the important element here is that he states once again that he and Rhea had no heirs. Having been overtly outspoken about their unconsummated marriage and fathering no heirs, Daemon must know that he is actually not entitled to anything; it’s all a bluff.

An of course there is his marriage to Laena, which can clearly be explained as a political move on Daemon’s part to gain power back for himself, but think of it this way. Laena clearly saw that Daemon and Rhaenyra share something, and was intrigued anyways. After his conversation with Laena, Daemon still tries to extend an olive branch and gives Rhaenyra an out from the marriage to Laenor if she were to instead marry him. Before Daemon even has the chance to respond to Rhaenyra’s ultimatum, all hell breaks loose and before the night is over, Rhaenyra is married. So what does Daemon do? Marry her sister-in-law, which naturally strengthens his status and creates a strong political advantage for him, but it also keeps Rhaenyra close to him.

What I think is important to remember is that Daemon is described as being as ‘loved as he was hated,’ and composed of ‘good and evil in equal measure.’ Most people focus only on his darkness, but he was said to have often been capable of good as well. The fun of his character is that every move he makes can be interpreted in multiple ways, but I am starting to see the breadcrumbs the show might be laying to reveal how all of his calculated moves add up to a clearer picture of him by the time we reach the end of the season.

I do not think Daemon wants the throne at all, because for every example that suggests he is motivated by power, there is an explanation that shows a far more human side to him that is motivated first and foremost by his love for his brother and niece, and those are two very different sides of the coin. As they say, the God’s flip a coin every time a Targaryen is born, I think Daemon lives his life with his still spinning on the table.

#hotd #hotd thoughts #daemon targaryen #daemon #house of the dragon #house of the dragon episode 1x05 #hotd 1x05 #hotd episode 5 #viserys targaryen #daemon x rhea #rhea royce #hotd spoilders #house of the dragon spoilers

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zaintastic · 2 years

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Daemon's own words coming to bite him in the ass! 😅

#house of the dragon #hotd episode 5 #daemon x rhaenyra #daemon targaryen #rhaenyra targaryen #poor daemon #leanor velaryon

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strollthroughstars29 · 2 years

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Episode 5 of House of The Dragon marks the end of one phase and the beginning of another, not just a new chapter but a whole book.

Needless to say, the episode in itself was phenomenal and as always I've got quite a few things to say, or rather, point out.

A targaryen can never be nameless, ser Criston had already marked a path that Rhaenyra wouldn't walk upon. I see the origin of his fury. His proposal wasn't out of love, it originated out of regret and desperation to save his dignity.

We once again see the display of absolute dominance by the Targaryen's when Viserys stated that Rhaenyra's children may be born Valarion but they shall rule as Targaryens.

And again, when Viserys refuses to accept a chair in Corlys' throne room as no king, (especially not one residing on the iron throne) shall ever sit beneath another.

We finally see Otto sow the seed of Rhaenyra's betrayal in Alicent's mind which is further watered by ser Criston, (just because he wasn't patient enough to let Alicent complete her sentence).

I loved the subtle comparison of Alicent to the flowers which thrive where they aren't supposed to. She was expected to wither without her father by her side, but instead further solidifies herself as a formidable force by wearing her house's colors of war to Rhaenyra's betrothal celebration.

An enchanting parallel was drawn between the carriage ride in episode 3 and one in episode 5, both times Rhaenyra is treated as a commodity to benefit the realm. Earlier, she was expected to be a paragon of virtue and behave like an ideal sister (during Aegon's 2nd name day) and this time, she is expected to marry for the sake of an alliance between house Valarion and Targaryen.

We also see that Rhaenyra has completely forsaken the necklace gifted to her by Daemon as she attempts to erase him from both her subconscious and physical self.

I, for one, loved the phrase dining as we see fit because not only did Rhaenyra dine very well last episode, she wishes to continue to do so after, which again highlights how she loves to be in control.

Coming to the feast.

The entry of House Valarion gave me literal chills!! (I would be lying to say that I didn't start clapping tbh)

Daemon's entry was extremely symbolic of his mistakes. Last time, he entered with Rhaenyra walking by his side but now, he walks alone, TOWARDS Rhaenyra.

I have to applaud Daemon for coming back to king's landing (while in exile), to attend a feast (he certainly wasn't invited to), and to try and tempt the bride (his literal neice) to chose him instead. He not only dances with said bride but also proceeds to (almost???) Kiss her in front of her father (his brother) AND GET AWAY WITH IT.

(Rhaenyra tempting him like this didn't help either, but I loved each second of it)

(Viserys' face here is so funny)

And finally...

Alicent's entry was breathtakingly powerful, I couldn't take my eyes off her. I even felt an urge to bow, I believe she brought a perfect end to the chapter of her trying to reconcile with Rhaenyra and finally having enough.