re: House of the Dragon S1E8: “Lord of the Tides”--Official Thread

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Daemon continues to be the best character on this show.

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No doubt. Not a book reader, but I bet he’s a pretty great character in the books which attracted Matt Smith, the most well-known (and probably best or right there with Paddy C) actor in the cast to take the role. And the series writers—like any good ones—write to the strengths of the actors, so they’ve written to Matt Smith’s talent and he’s pulled it off pretty perfectly.

In a show that—due to its very nature with all the time jumps, new castings, new characters, similar or same names—HAS to break the 1st rule of storytelling (“show, don’t tell”) and rely on exposition to keep the audience from getting completely lost, it’s amazing how well they’ve written Daemon without dialogue. We’ve learned so much more about his character with a few non-verbal actions than we ever could have with even the best written dialogue. That’s good writers who know what they have in an actor and trust him to deliver in quiet facial expressions, body posturing (when he stands in front of Aemond this episode or how he handles his wife and her horse a few episodes ago, etc…), and few words “Say it.”

Jesus Christ I got carried away a bit here harping more on this than I originally intended. And don’t appear to be done. But, as a non book reader, I’d bet Daemon is a pretty bad arse character in the book, which attracted a great actor like Matt Smith to take the role, which made the writers write him better and/or him portray him with more depth where I’d also bet we Hodors like him better than maybe the book readers do/did. It reminds me of Jamie in GOT. Who, after the 1st episode, would have ever thought him capable of redemption? (Forget all the writing frickups regarding that). Daemon has appeared to have grown as a person in a relatively short time and is rather sympathetic and likes me now when he was a monstrous bastard in the beginning.

I’m sure his arc is nowhere near complete and he will wind up doing some heinous shite before it’s all over, but it will probably make at least some sense relative to his personal moral code. Loose as it may be, I think he at least has one. Where it appears to me Aemond probably doesn’t. I think he’s probably a true psychopath while Aegon, the heir, is merely a spoiled sociopath.

Again, no book reader or YouTube spoiler watcher so totally guessing here, but people seem to just too easily be discounting Aemond as a mere “2nd Son.” He’s plenty capable of killing his brother to secure the throne. And he’s not the only one, surely. Psychopathic as he may be, Aemond would still likely make a much better king than Aegon.

Even those that side with the Greens (I’m assuming Alicent’s kids are Greens since they’re half Hightower, though they’re half Targaryen too, so who the frick are the Blacks? Is it:

Greens= Alicent and supporters of her lineage

Blacks= Rheanarys and supporters of hers?

Anyway, I think people from both sides are gonna be willing—and eager—to take out Aegon. Besides the blacks, I think Aemond would do it, Otto would do it (even if it’s his grandson), and I think Alicent would have even done it (“you’re no son of mine”) to protect the realm we’re not for that damn dying dream. I don’t know how much or armor that gives Aegon, but one reason they may have whiffed on the latest actor to play him (and I agree they did) is because he’s not gonna be around much longer to matter.

But shite, don’t he and his weird sister the dreamer have kids already? I just remembered that. If one’s a son (or even a daughter with the precedent Vicerys laid down), their 1st born would be in line before Aemond. And they’re babies. All the more reason for Otto at least to want Aegon gone. It’d go back to the way it was with him and Alicent basically ruling like they were with a weakened Vicerys until the kid could take the throne.

***My apologies for getting out over my skis here. I just meant to comment on Daemon’s badassery, but the political intrigue got the better of me and I started rambling. Maybe those of you who didn’t—deservingly—just auto “TL;DR” me, may have seen me stumble upon a good point somewhere in there and will address it. Or not. )

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No I think Both were in the original offer. It was important that Valaryon blood inherent driftmark

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Excellent point. Thanks

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Otto would not hold more power than the Queen

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You're ignoring that I don't see Alicient defying Otto. He will manipulate her to do what he wants.

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Keeping in mind in this alternative timeline, Laenos would be alive and ruling.

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You're basing your entire "united front" argument off the assumption that Laenor remains alive and Rhaenyra and Daemon never marry. I think we all knew early on this season that Rhaenyra and Daemon together was inevitable. Rhaenyra does what she wants.

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Rheanys has also shown her loyalty to her own family and blood, now suddenly she is going to accept betraying her firstborn

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It wouldn't be betraying her first born. It would be vengeance because she thinks Rhaenyra murdered her first born. But besides that, she literally "betrayed" him in the last episode by siding with Rhaenyra even though she suspects Rhaenyra killed him. She knows the kids are bastards, and she clearly doesn't like it. She doesn't need Otto to tell her anything. As things currently stand she was reluctant to side with Rhaenyra. Take away a marriage offer of Jace to her granddaughter and she probably doesn't side with Rhaenyra.

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it's what bad writing creates, like Season 8 of GoT. Where instead of abiding by the logic of characters and the world they established, you simply break that to produce the end result you want. But on examination it makes no sense.

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I agree that the better story is to have Alicient reject the marriage proposal in the first place - which is why GRRM wrote it that way. But if anything you are the one breaking away from the logic of the characters. You're trying to pretend that a bunch of ambitious characters are suddenly no longer ambitious.

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Literally all the dragons would be under one banner, all the navy, and control of the largest standing Army

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I see you're new to Westeros

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Hot Carl

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Holy shite you entered Scoob-level 10k word treatise post

Sure this is the 147th time mentioned, but I just found out that Alicent(Olivia Cooke) is Art3mis from Ready Player One.

And also, Paddy’s walk to the throne should win him the Emmy just as Zendaya’s drug withdrawal freak out won hers this past year.

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Then the king tells Alicient that he does think it’s true. But he thinks she is his daughter again, right?

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Yes he's literally in his last few moments of life and doesn't know who he is talking to

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What does it mean?

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Probably means he fricked up

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What does the actual story mean though. I don’t remember it and he believes these predictions of the future

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its a prophesy about a forthcoming 'prince that was promised' aka a saviour who will carry something called 'a song of ice and fire', but nobody really knows the exact details about it. Apparently it was a dream of Aegon The Conqueror that has been passed down traditionally by each Targ king. viserys thinks its about saving the world from 'a great winter' threat from the north.