Actually an insane take on f&b/the dance and why somehow what hotd does is better. It’s amazing how the show attracts people that wax poetics over the shit condal and miguel pooped out. “Love conquers all” this is a civil war😭🤡
just a whole bunch of nothing really ... a salad bowl filled with nonversation, not a single number of profundity or deep intellect in that word salad because the substance of hotd's writing that they're trying so hard to praise fundamentally lacks it. that's why there is only faux intellectual prose in that post without explication, just empty words scratching only the surface, only uttered just to sound pretty ... because a genuine picking apart of hotd's writing proves to anyone with more than 2 working braincells that op is flat-out wrong. fascinating how people like this exist really.
H*almond ain't happening, and people need to stop relying on post finale interviews as proof of anything, Geeta Patel says a lot of weird shit that also contradicts what the actors and even the showrunners have stated, I think she just likes shipping whatever character onscreen. Given GRRM's blog post we know Maelor is cut and Helaena dies in season 3, I've been telling people for a long time not to expect any big arc for Helaena, she barely got 15mins of screentime this season.
they had 2 seconds of standing next to each other and a dream that has now been shattered into pieces 😂✌️ you get what you deserve
"well geeta patel kinda confirmed helaemond...." geeta patel said that aegon was acting so "maniacal" that alicent selling him off to die is "oh well, no big deal". geeta patel said that syrax' eggs are gonna be daenerys' dragons. you guys, geeta patel saying something doesn't give any validity to it, actually quite the opposite.
Anything that is not shown on-screen is not canon so unless the writers + directors directly put whatever crap it was that Patel said in the scripts and in the finished product that shows up on my screen to prove to the viewer the validity of such a statement ... then whatever she said is just empty lip service and a PR compensation for the critiques on the writing.
Let me give another such example to drive this sentiment home, but this time for Helaegon: TGC said in one of those after-the-episode documentaries that Aegon's respect for Helaena grew after their staircase staredown post-B&C ... which is a nice thought .... except Helaena and Aegon literally never interact with each other ever again after that moment so there is literally no such development happening on screen for the viewer to see and experience and track. Meaning that that shit he said is just straight-up not canon, just like the crap Patel said about #that ship.
Gonna keep it real anyone bothering to fight with helaemonds has already lost… Can not imagine caring after the season 2 we had, you guys have to get serious. They can post about whatever they want, everyone with two brain cells knows it is not happening 😭 move on atp you look equally delusional. Like you said, everything is secondary to Rhaenicent and that’s not changing.
100% agree albeit it's always hlmds that start shit from what I've seen but like you said after that atrocious s2 like ... who the fuck even cares anymore ... all ships in this show suck ass & the writers only care abt 1 couple so fuck it all anyways 😑
Like even if you’re an adamant TB Stan whatever fine but??? How can you write this bs??? Jaehaera has to live, even GRRM wrote that on his blog that she’s Aegon’s heir (which I don’t think most people considered was the case before his blogpost but that’s a different thing) but wtf is this?
Jaehaera marrying Aegon III is the thematic closure to the Dance of the Dragons that THE WRITER george painstakingly wrote into his story to make the narrative that he was trying to tell WORK. That's how writing a theme goes and anyone idiotic enough to still bitch and moan about Teams when it concerns the narrative purpose of this marriage should go back to reading YA literature for 12 year olds instead of poisoning the ASOIAF fandom with braindead drivel like OP's post 😒
You can disagree with me, but I fucking hate what hotd did to Aegon as a character and how fandom (and his fans too) treats him.
The show has not only made him a comedic figure, but it has also made fun of him (every time they had the chance), humiliating and diminishing him as a secondary character. It's only due to TGC's performance that Aegon has been saved to some extent.
At this point I don't agree with most people on how they view him. Even his own fans by making him pathetic, stupid, good for nothing, just a pretty face little mew mew. He can be that sometimes for fun, but no. You miss the whole point of Aegon's character if that's how you view him.
When I think of Aegon, strength is the first word that comes to mind. Internal strength to overcome everything of what happened to him. To stand up, to accept his fate, to do whatever is needed: marry his sister, take the throne, fight for the throne and take revenge. Many others would gave up, run away or die in his place, but he didn't.
Aegon didn't want any of this, but he accepted it out of a sense of duty. Despite not being perfectly suited for the role, he takes responsibility and listens to those who are more knowledgeable. He wants to end the war swiftly, desires to be loved and make an impact as a ruler.
And let's not forget that he surges to every battle without fearing for his life (it might not be the best decision for a monarch), but it's also admirable.
He loves his family. And trusts them completely.
Aegon is not a fool to laugh at or someone who simply craves violence. He is a complex character (I know people like to laught at that for some reason) and, instead of constantly fighting for sides on who's more right or wrong, or "who's pretty/who's not", I wish fans would rather analyze and understand the nuances of his character and what he could have become with better writing.
"hes not like the others he's wild and cannot be trusted" ....... do you mean like every single unclaimed dragon ever??? 😭😭 what is this writing man im ctfu djjfkffm
ormund in the book canon just being a good person standing up for his family doing what's right as lord and being a genuine proper foster father to his nephewcousin daeron vs. show ormund who's...well all greens are the antichrist in condal & hess' universe i guess
When his grief had passed, King Aegon II summoned his loyalists and made plans for his return to King’s Landing, to reclaim the Iron Throne and be reunited once again with his lady mother, the Queen Dowager, who had at last emerged triumphant over her great rival, if only by outliving her. “Rhaenyra was never a queen,” the king declared, insisting that henceforth, in all chronicles and court records, his half sister be referred to only as “princess,” the title of queen being reserved only for his mother Alicent and his late wife and sister Helaena, the true queens. And so it was decreed.
I've seen many people have pointed out that aegon ii is as cruel, as brutal ,and as tyrannical as Rhaenyra in the book so he basically is not a better ruler than her. but these things are in the book i guess as these people have said . And as a show-watcher only ,i honestly can't see it ??? like he doesn't want the throne and he hates the notion of becoming a king to the point he literally cried when they put the crown on his head??? How can he become a brutal tyrant at the end while he didn't show any hunger for power or even the smallest hints of desire for the throne?? I'm sorry but from what I've seen i don't think it will happen , and i don't think it would be a logical conclusion for his character
Lol Aegon being as cruel brutal and tyrannical as Rhaenyra is a lie I'm sorry but it just is. I will not deny that Aegon was not a worthy ruler either, because that's true. I mean he still waged nuclear war and made the people he claimed the right to rule over suffer tremendously, no matter if it was Rhaenyra that was the worse of the two. But what is not true is that Aegon and Rhaenyra were equally as tyrannical like it just isn't. I already spoke on why that is so.
And yeah I think your assessment of current Aegon in the show is right. I think B&C will be the moment for him to become a true true dark character because B&C genuinely is the top 2 worst most disgusting things that happened in the Dance. Tbh, after B&C, Aegon has every single right to commit atrocities upon the Blacks, in my opinion (and he will lol serves them right). More importantly, Aegon suffers horrific injuries which will leave him incapacitated for a year which is when Aemond will rule in his stead, so he'll be out of the war for a while. In the meantime Rhaenyra becomes Maegor with Teats.... 😬
Aegon's actions during and pre-the war are nowhere near comparable with the things Rhaenyra did all her life, sorry but that's just how it is. Book readers are gaslighting you lol. I would agree with your point on how Aegon becoming a brutal tyrant is unsatisfactory towards his character arc .... but we've seen what these hack writers have done so idk ☹️
Ive not read any of the books so I'm genuinely curious as to how aegon is better than rhaenyra? From what I've heard around Tumblr they are both bad but still why do u think he is better. Like an example if you have. Just curious. Also from last episode on i feel this show is gonna be really revisionist and very pro rhaenyra and it is annoying me especially since alicent is awesome (atleast for now... again haven't read the books) and they keep beating her down and i want her to one up viserys who is the worst.
Also love your takes
To be fair, it's really not that hard to be a better person than Rhaenyra, since she is one of the worst of the worst in F&B. She really has no redeemable qualities, like AT ALL. Comparing Aegon and Rhaenyra to each other is like do you want to get stabbed or get shot? Well, poison is poison either way.
I don't mean that Aegon was a better person than Rhaenyra, morally. I mean it in a political player kind of way. Although, that also does not mean he was a good politician. Rhaenyra's politics and principles are just slightly worse than Aegon's and while that makes him a better person compared to Rhaenyra, it does not make him a better person overall.
The show has kinda forced my hand into defending the Greens, but make no mistake: The Dance of the Dragons had no moral justification, or a "right side". It may come off as if I'm Team Green, and I mean with the show I kinda am, but in the book it's crystal clear that this was a godawful war between two spoiled and entitled children who claimed the right to rule over the people but then did nothing but put the people through 2 years of horrific nuclear war. No so-called monarch deserves to call himself such when he or she is supposed to be protecting the realm, making the realm prosper. Neither Rhaenyra or Aegon did this.
F&B book spoilers under the cut.
To first get his negative qualities out of the way, Aegon cheated on his wife left and right, probably fathered multiple bastards (book is not sure), was a serial sexual harasser, he liked to "pinch or fondle any serving girl who strayed within his reach", was a habitual drunk, characterized as very lazy, quick to anger, slow to forgive, etc. etc. That is his personality, so no I don't think he was morally a good person.
However, the part where I think Aegon was a better politician than Rhaenyra was the simple fact that unlike Rhaenyra, Aegon actually listened to his advisors' council (and anything closer to democracy is better than Rhaenyra's totalitarianism). When his council advised Aegon to send peace terms to Rhaenyra, while he originally did not want to do that, he eventually did send peace terms to his sister. He followed his council's advice to not attack Dragonstone because it was at an inopportune moment, but most importantly, he allowed his prisoners of war leniency, something Rhaenyra never did. He allowed Rhaenyra's bannermen who his army had captured the leniency to defect to his side, or bend the knee as GRRM likes to say. Rhaenyra never did the same.
In fact, after Rhaenyra took King's Landing and became Queen for half a year, instead of choosing to end the war and stabilize the realm and perform her duties, she chose to continue warring all in pursuit of personal vengeance and her whims. She outright rejected her advisors' counsel of war-ending efforts and counsel for peace. (Fuck it's been a very long time since I last read F&B so the details are a bit murky please forgive me) She insisted on inflicting severe punishments on those who served Aegon, lined the walls of the Red Keep with severed heads daily (something that soured the smallfolk's opinion of her and led them to compare her to Maegor the Cruel), refused to offer reasonable surrender terms to the Lord Paramounts on the Greens' side, had members of the small council executed, etc. etc. All of this sent a rather clear message to anyone and everyone: Bend the knee to Rhaenyra and die, or meet the Blacks in the battlefield and die. She practically ensured that the lords on Aegon’s side would stay loyal to him and continue to fight for him until the very bitter end. Both choices would lead to death, so why not go down fighting? Rhaenyra had, as Queen, actively rejected any attempt of peace talks and chose to pursue the path of vengeance instead.
Furthermore, one thing I personally like better from Aegon is that he himself actively fought on the front lines and in battle with his Sunfyre for his crown whereas Rhaenyra sat her lazy ass down and sent other people to die for her. It's also ironic because a dragon mirrors his rider, and Syrax.... well.... I'll just not spoil this part lol. What I therefore also liked better from Aegon is his relationship with Sunfyre. Sunfyre had killed 3 dragons and in the process became severely wounded, barely able to fly, a mangled mess of dragon. Yet even in his last days, he had found the strength to search for Aegon who he had become separated from, and their reunion was pretty touching and beautiful to me. Like yeah yeah yeah dragons are nuclear weapons, terrible beasts, they're not in the story to be romanticized, but I'll just romanticize this dragon for once, ok? ♥
Moreover, something Aegon never did but Rhaenyra did do is turn on her own allies. She ordered Nettles' execution who was protected under guest right, making Daemon betray her, and she ordered for Addam Velaryon to be arrested, making Corlys betray her. Then she orders for Corlys to be jailed and executed. If Rhaenyra could so easily turn on her most loyal supporters, especially Corlys, a man whose house is so intricately connected to House Targaryen, a man who has been nothing but loyal to Rhaenyra and the Blacks, then what's stopping her from doing the same to any other lord that irked her?
In contrast, Aegon never did such things to his followers. If anything, on Dragonstone, he actually managed to convince Rhaenyra's people to defect to his side which actually allowed him to kill her in the end lol.
Also, one thing that makes me like Aegon a little better than Rhaenyra is this: that fucking awful tax plan of hers in KL which (was one of the reasons that) led to the Storming of the Dragonpit and for the people to yeet her out of KL. Good fucking riddance. Fuck you rich people that bleed the poor dry of our barely present money so that those scumbags at the top can live it up while us normal people stay drowning. Fuck her. Fuck Aegon too but fuck Rhaenyra especially.
To come back to the second part of your ask: show!Rhaenyra and book!Rhaenyra have literally nothing in common outside of their names. Like, I'm serious. As a book purist reader, Rhaenyra in the show is unrecognizable to me. They literally stripped her of all of her characterization, her personality, her role, and rewrote her to be some sort of fucking Mary Sue generic self-insert white supremacist but they'll never call the Targs that ohhh no HBO will never it's so obvious and pathetic blank slate of a character that is like every other single "I'm not like other girls!" character that has been popping up in Western media for the past 7/8 years.
Rhaenyra was a villain. It's what made her intriguing. And they took that away from her. Now she is just an annoying hypocrite who I can't help but roll my eyes at every single time she is on the screen. Boo hoo am I supposed to feel sorry for that bitch? I don't! If she had been actually allowed to stay the bad bitch villain that she was in the book, then I would have actually liked her character because there would be no pretense. But the show so desperately needs me to go "team good guys", "team bad guys" as if 10-year-olds are watching this show instead of grown fucking adults. Fuck off Condal & Sapochnik.
