All the kids were so delightful!!! Can't wait until sunday to see even more of them. Also the idea of Jace and Helaena being betrothed surprised me, what could have been...
Yes I agree!! Helaena being betrothed to Jace was a surprise to me as well, I don’t remember it being mentioned in Fire&Blood at all. It probably would have actually done a lot to fix things, as the Hightowers might actually be able to accept any kids of theirs as rulers, and so stop backing Aegon’s claim.
The problem of course is that Alicent hates everything about that. We see in the episode that she clings to this idea of “honor and decency”, not surprising given the nature of Rhaenyra’s “betrayal” or Alicent’s strong faith. However, as I expect we’ll see, especially with Aegon II, I think Alicent is as much personally invested in never letting Rhaenyra or her children come to power as she is morally. Her resentment has festered. Criston and Larys never truly disagree with her, and otherwise she remains so isolated that I doubt she *can* do anything but dig in. Therefore, although Rhaenyra’s proposition would be pretty excellent politically, Alicent can’t agree to it: 1, it would be a “reward” for Rhaenyra’s bad behavior, 2, it’s a lot harder to justify hating someone who marries your daughter unless he actively sucks (and Jace does not), and 3, Alicent *knows* the Hightowers might stop supporting Aegon’s claim, and at this point she’s all in and has been for ten years.
And of course, I’m reasonably certain that Helaena would dislike marrying Jace less! Poor darling 🥺. Expecting to see her betrothal/marriage to Aegon next week.
Thank you for the ask!!
