Ok let’s be fair and start with what I liked:
The daemon/gwayne/corlys/roderick scene was excellent and felt like a glimpse of decent writing and a good snapshot of each character
The aegon/aemond scene was funny af but worked really well for them as characters and to move that storyline forward
I have overall enjoyed how they’ve handled ulf
RIP babygirl but I have overall enjoyed how they’ve handled Helaena
That’s about it… everything else I feel has been fumbled and I don’t get how or why because they had time! They had ample time to set up and explore everything they’re trying to do! Yet for some reason they spent AGES on some stagnating plot lines only to speedrun others.
Rhaenyra’s villain arc is so needlessly rushed!!! It feels like mad queen dany lite. First of all, they didn’t do a good enough job making it clear to the audience that she’s not in her right mind. The whole damn show moved on from Jace too quickly (looking at you baela), when that really should have been the poison in the well for the whole season. Rhaenyra was reeling from grief and rage and regret when her moment came to take the throne, and they gave us one (1) really good episode portraying what that headspace was like for her, but it should have been the rest of the season. Have her dreaming of jace and luke every night and seeing glimpses of them around corners. Have her regularly breaking down from emotional exhaustion or lashing out in directionless rage. Have her drinking to dull the pain. Have those around her lose patience with her and have her frustrated with herself that she can’t get over it, that she is finally queen but she can’t do the job because she’s too broken. And in the midst of all that, I would have her relationship with daemon fracture - leading to him going off and finding Rhaena and choosing to lie about it - and her dependence on mysaria grow (more on both of those below). We needed to see her struggling and desperate and erratic and searching for a way out all season, so that it felt natural for her to finally buy into the targ madness (belief that they are dragon gods with divine right to rule) because she’s tired and disillusioned and heartbroken.
Speaking of mysaria… they could have done so much more with her! I wish she’d been more proactive, but in a way where we as an audience understand that she truly believes rhaenyra is the way forward, that together they can and will create a better world, that with the right guidance mysaria can turn the monarchy into a force for good. In her own way, she’s as delusional as daemon. Give us a mysaria who sees rhaenyra’s pain and showers her with genuine empathy, reassuring her that it’s ok, they’re a team, they can get through it together. Have her fully replace daemon as rhaenyra’s partner, so much so that he leaves in disgust. Have her use her spies to pull strings, and have her be GOOD at it for a while, smoothing over problems and bringing rhaenyra clever solutions. And then, when things have gotten worse and daemon is saying ‘I told you so’ and rhaenyra’s trust in mysaria fractures, have mysaria finally realise that the brothel madam was right! These people will never be anything but what they are. I would have had rhaenyra and mysaria actually break up onscreen, with both mirroring each other, both distraught that their shared dreams have crumbled around them, and I would have had mysaria walking out on rhaenyra as the final breaking point that pushes her back into daemon’s arms, and his delusions of grand prophecy. I would have used mysaria and daemon as rhaenyra’s shoulder angel and demon, but also the forces that are tearing her apart, because she can never live up to what either of them want her to be.
I’ve spoken about Rhaena/nettles before but I really wish they’d committed to this. After the fake head thing, with his disappointment and frustration in rhaenyra growing, daemon could have returned to rhaena and tried to actually train her in dragon riding, and when rumour spread of sheepstealer’s new rider, daemon could have made a deal with Jeyne Arryn that they would never speak of rhaena, but would tell people of a lowborn girl living in the nettles who claimed sheepstealer after his rider died. Rhaenyra, hearing of daemon’s closeness with this new dragon rider, might order him to bring her to their cause and assume he’s taken her as a lover; daemon would have no interest in correcting this assumption. I simply wouldn’t have rhaenyra find out (yet) but leave it as a ticking time bomb to explode in s4. ‘Nettles’ could be this mysterious figure who keeps evading the others and only reports to daemon, fuelling the rumours.
Alyn needed far more fleshing out in so many ways… it felt like they were just doing whatever with him. I’ve lost interest.
I hope to god alys is lying about being the immortal lady of harrenhal… if she is, and she’s just spinning tales to ensnare aemond, great. But if this is her actual backstory… ugh.
Hugh… I truly don’t know WHAT they were trying to do with him. Whatever it was, it flopped. Even vermithor just kinda left him behind. Fair enough, vermithor.
Here’s hoping they can scrape together a decent s4, but my hopes are not high.