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[nobleinfernohideout]

Never thought I’d see the day when I preferred Ulf the White over Rhaenyra Targaryen

[laurenshield]

There are a lot of people, right now, lamenting the despicable writing of HOTD's female character, particularly Alicent and Rhaenyra. There are good reason to: if HOTD writing team is committed to something, it's the refusal to engage with women beyond a neboulos notion of "women as peace seekers, women as victims of patriarchy", not to the mention the tiring and frankly insulting insistence on centering Rhaenicent as an emotional core for all the wrong reasons...

... But in my opinion, almost nothing is as grating as Helaena's characterization.

Rhaenyra and Alicent, for all their handling is abysmal, do have a sort of guideline, at least on paper. Rhaenyra wants the throne: crying every two minute, yes, acting as she's a Geneva convention expert in an ultra feudalistic world, all right, but at least she has a goal she's moving towards. Alicent is an idiot and an hypocrite on an almost pathological level, but she wants to "be at least myself (...) die free and unnoticed" (how she wants to do that in practice is a discussion for another day), which is... underwhelming, but still something.

What the fuck does Helaena want?

She's not a Cassandra figure; she never tries to act on her visions or even warn those around her. She's too little tormented for the reference to stick. She's not a grieving mother, because it's one thing to express grief in an unconventional way, it's another to shrug your child's brutal death because "children die". She doesn't want to burn innocents but doesn't ever advocate herself for peace. She's not a dragonrider despite having a dragon. Aemond is treated as a monster for the crime of asking her a perfectly reasonable thing - help him fight against the side responsible for her boy's murder. She wants to keep chicken, because apparently anything with more layers than that is too far beyond the scope of her Neuro divergent mind.

So, say what you want about Rhaenyra, Alicent, Baela, Rhaena, Rhaenys, Alys: you'd be right. But in some ways, Helaena got the shortest stick of the bunch.

[thehelenas]

The argument that Fire & Blood is a history book that's completely unreliable kinda falls apart when you remember it's a fictional book meant to tell a fictional story, and stories have a theme. They have a why. And if you think the moral of the story is "if only they had let that one woman be the exception" or even "if westeros would also accept women as rulers by right be it of conquest or divine" then you're not engaging with the very prevalent anti monarchy sentiment of GRRM's work, and though that's not a crime, taking the author to the back and shooting him dead is still not a faithful way of adapting and consuming his intellectual property. At one point you have to consider authorial intent. It's why the characters you're entertained by exist after all.

[nobleinfernohideout]

How did Aegon hanging the ratcatchers have more consequences than Jaehaerys’ death??

[nobleinfernohideout]

Tell me they didn’t give Daenerys’s line “How can I rule seven kingdoms if I cannot rule my city” to Rhaenyra…

Rhaenyra is not Daenerys!!! Stop trying to make her Daenerys!!!

Dany’s upbringing (and Jon’s to a lesser extent) is what sets them apart from the other Targs — they weren’t raised in the same wealth and privilege, they understand what life is like for the smallfolk which awards them more compassion.

Rhaenyra is more Cersei than Daenerys. A victim of misogyny, absolutely. But also a mother to three bastards, entitled as hell and absolutely ruthless when it comes to the power they believe is theirs.

First the Elizabeth I quote, now this. Wtf.

[nobleinfernohideout]

It’s mad how Alicent really doesn’t give a shit about her grandson being violently decapitated. But I guess her love for Rhaenyra runs deeper than her love for her own blood. This is the same woman who raised her sons to fear and hate Rhaenyra, only to happily send them to their deaths when the consequences of her actions catch up with her.

Do the writers seriously think we have any reason to like her at this point?

[nobleinfernohideout]

Helaena kinda forgot that Rhaenyra’s sons bullied her little brother and cut out his eye.

She also kinda forgot her two-year-old son was decapitated in front of her (cos only Rhaenyra is allowed to be a grieving mother).

She also kinda forgot that she rides one of the largest dragons in the Dance and could have flown away on Dreamfyre instead of telling Alicent she wants to raise chickens.

As an autistic woman, I hate this representation so much. She’s infantilised so badly and it makes me want to scream. Autistic women are not children, nor are we emotionless robots or manic pixie dream girls.

If I was Aemond, I’d made her get on that fucking dragon and actually do something. Either help your family survive, or fly away to Essos where you can’t be used as a pawn - or, you know, deliver helpful prophecy nudges to the man who killed your son.

[alphard-hydraes-blog]

So let me get this straight.

When Aemond asks Helaena to fight with him in 2x08, he is cruel, dangerous, abusive, power-hungry, etc.

But when Jace asks Baela to fight with him in 3x01, it is brave, romantic, tragic and beautiful?

Helaena has a dragon. Dreamfyre is not some tiny hatchling that bonded with her yesterday. She is an adult dragon, and Helaena has been her rider for years.

So why is one scene framed as Aemond being monstrous, while the other is framed as Jace being heroic?

I don't get it. 🤔

[nobleinfernohideout]

I will never forgive Ryan Condall for giving us Rhaenyra the Pathetic.

Snot dribbling from her nose while she executes Otto? The man who betrayed her and caused the death of two of her sons? Wtf is this? Give us vengeful Rhaenyra. Give us Rhaenyra feeding Otto to Syrax instead of fumbling a beheading (the dragons are her sword ffs).

It’s interesting how many people have said “oh you just don’t like how a woman shows emotion” or stuff along those lines, like hysterically sobbing is synonymous with femininity. If she were a man sobbing while cutting off Otto’s head, I’d say the same thing - pull yourself together ffs. There’s a time and a place to break down and it’s not in front of your entire court. Your subjects need to look to you and see strength, someone they can trust to lead them through a war. I wouldn’t trust Rhaenyra to tie her own shoes at this point.

[nobleinfernohideout]

Daemon slapping Ulf is not a power move, it’s stupidity.

Your queen needs those dragonriders much more than they need her. If they wanted to, Hugh and Ulf could take their massive dragons (who are way bigger than Syrax, don’t forget) and fuck off to Essos where they could live like royalty. The people of Essos would pay them well to fight for them, and they would never have to beg for respect again.

Rhaenyra expects Hugh, Ulf and Addam to jeapordize their lives by taking on Vhagar and she can’t even be bothered properly rewarding them. A knighthood is a pathetic prize compared to the stability of a lordship, lands and income, and it shows that Rhaenyra has lived a sheltered, privileged life as a wealthy princess that she doesn’t recognise that.

Daemon and Rhaenyra will have nobody to blame but themselves when Hugh and Ulf finally realise this and leave them to fight their own war.

[nobleinfernohideout]

I really can’t stand Rhaenyra or Helaena anymore

Rhaenyra “I have the heart and soul of a king” blubbering while cutting off the head of the man who betrayed her. Helaena “i have autism so that means I’m an infant who doesn’t care that my son was decapitated in front of me.”

(I’m diagnosed autistic before anyone jumps on me for that - no, I don’t care if you think she’s good representation. I don’t and this is my blog, if you have a different opinion post about it on your own blog.)

At this point I actually feel sorry for Aemond. “Her sons were always kind” bitch they bullied your brother and cut out his eye? Lucerys laughed about it when they brought out the pig in Season 1, Episode 8?

They’ve tried to make this story about how monarchy is corrupt into a feminist story, yet there’s not a single female character who I give a shit about at this point. No Nettles, no complex Rhaenyra, Alicent instigates a war only to turn on her sons because “men are bad.” Rhaena’s arc should have been a mirror of Sansa’s Vale arc, showcasing a woman utilising political power and culminating with Morning’s hatching. Instead we get her being completely incompetent with Sheepstealer to the point where most of the fandom now hates her. Honestly I think the only female character I enjoy is Baela and that's only because she’s barely on-screen enough for the writers to ruin her.

I used to love this series, this fandom. Wth happened :(