the issue with the sheepstealer x syxar/seasmoke/caraxes fight this episode is that, most of all, this is very clearly nettles' death within the narrative of the show and it's completely opposite to what the character was and represented in the books.
honestly, plot wise what has this accomplished for the show? nettles is THE schism between rhaenyra and daemon but in the show rhaenyra is seen in the very same episode fighting with mysaria insisting that daemon "didnt betray her in truth".
dragonwise, sheepstealer is also done incredibly dirty in comparison to his book counterpart. rhaena claims him, makes him go to war, and then gets him mauled by three other dragons from her own family and abandons him (...to later on claim another dragon when Morning hatches??? thats what Baela says implies which is ridiculous, a dragonrider doesnt get to have and ride two dragons). this feels particularly heartbreaking to me because while tradicional targaryen dragonriding bonds are very much implied to be a sort of master-slave relationship, nettles and sheepstealer have a much more natural and equal standing.
not even rhaena's own character was elevated from this whole side quest. she's back at the exact same place she started character wise, dragonless, not an active participant of the war in any way that matters. all she gained was humiliation, no real new perspective other than "well I guess I'll have to wait to fulfil my role" (she was already at this place earlier)
