Yeah, +1.
And since Alicent was there preventing seppuku and also back in the chaotic room in the very next scene the timing seemed strange.
The reactions of Christen seem a bit much in a society where the king’s word is law. The choice of suitor is odd if Laenor’s preferences were widely known in royal circles.
Is this really the first episode where Alicent has appeared in green? I probably wouldn’t have noticed, I think sometimes she wore a blue dress?
They are certainly his own emotions, but remember that he is not a king and he has sworn a grave oath, which includes an oath of celibacy, as a member of the Kingsguard, one of only five knights selected to guard the king. Violation of his oath is punishable by death, or worse. Yes, he is completely at the mercy of the king. Also, his and his family’s honor is at stake. He has basically ruined himself. Not every person in his position might have had the same reaction, but it’s not a strange one, in my view.
In traditional societies, it is very common for gay men to marry and produce heirs for the sake of the family. I should think that would be even more common in a feudal society when the family is so powerful and marriage alliances so important.
These are fair points.
The series has great production values and good acting. More memorable characters and a better storyline would help immensely. It’s not bad, but it is basic.
He was already deeply ashamed and thought he was sure to be tortured. He got a reprieve when Queen Alicent let him go, but the more people who know about it…
And I’d imagine Kingsguard have some more… Benefit of the doubt. The other KG may have caught up with him later, but I imagine that most would assume in the moment that he was defending the Targaryens in some way.
OK but why kill the other fellow who hasn’t really done him any harm.
Re: the Houses, I actually had assumed the Hightowers ruled the South only to be usurped by the Tyrells by the time of GoT until I read they are a Bannerman of the Tyrells even then. It’s a little confusing and I even read the source material (but don’t remember it well).
He was big on honor, and it got him a very presitigious job. And he threw it all away for what he thought was love. But Rhaenyra turned down his offer to romantically escape and marry, wanting him only as - in his words - a whore. So he has dashed his honor for nothing, which is why he confessed to the queen.
But then nothing happened. He still has his job (but it probably doesn’t feel nearly as honorable now). And now here comes this man, in a dishonorable position that Ser Cristen thinks so low of - a noble’s whore - equates their positions.
Imagine that Raenrya is a prince and Ser Criston is a maiden from a poor, but noble family who took a holy vow of chastity to serve the royal family. Then one night Prince Raenrya forces himself on her and takesher virginity because his aunt gave him blue balls. Septa Criston has broken sacred vows and forever defiled herself. Even though her prince forced himself on and she couldn’t say no she blames herself. The way she can see to redeem herself is for Raenrya to take her as his wife, but Raenrya is going ahead with a political marriage and wants her to be his mistress. They break; at no point does Raenrya really take her feelings or needs seriously. Oh, and to top it off someone accosted her at a party and didn’t just imply she was a whore, she implied she was on the same level as a sodomite. Suddenly Ser Criston’s behavior starts making sense and Raenrya is a bit of a monster.
Yes this is a good way to see his point of view. Not every last person in that world would necessarily see it that way, but it makes sense in context for a particular character to do so.
Here is an interesting analysis of the episode from someone who has read the source material.
Huge disappointment to me was how Ser Christen is the only Kingsguard that doesn’t wear his helmet so that we, the audience, know who he is, and there is no other reason for it. I couldn’t get that out of my mind and enjoy the wedding scene.
Well if there were any questions about the recasting, I believe they’ve been answered. D’Arcy and Cooke were amazing!
And the “he has his father’s nose” line was just a great Easter egg joke for book readers (I literally laughed out loud)!
Rhaenyra insisting on walking to Alicent immediately after giving birth (& still leaking afterbirth?) is pretty badass. And Viserys is justtotally oblivious to how freakishly bizarre this is.. Also Daemon having a happy family life was fun, too bad about Laena. It was painful to watch Vhagar reluctantly immolate her.
There’s only one Gary King (here he plays Simon Pegg’s friend)!
I pretty sure every British actor has to appear in LOTR, Doctor Who, GoT, or an Edgar Wright comedy.
I thought this episode was a bit of a letdown. Lots of stuff that feels like it needs a bit more explaining:
(1) It definitely seemed like Rhaenyra was determined to “do her duty” before dallying. Seemed very in character for her to grin and bear it and produce a few fully blonde pureblood old valyrian heirs before straying. Did she try to and it didn’t work? Did her hubby just refuse to cooperate? I think all the stuff with everyone suspecting her would be much more interesting if she’d had one or two kids who looked “right” and then one or two who looked “wrong”. As it is, it’s just too obvious (as many characters point out)
(2) Also feel like we need some backstory on how Ser Christon didn’t get arrested/killed/whatever for the brawl back at the wedding
(3) And Daemon’s wife’s fate made very little sense. So the childbirth has gone horribly horribly wrong, and she’s still able (both in terms of her own physical capabilities, and in terms of people not bothering to stop her) to get up and wander outside to her dragon, etc? (And also, aren’t Targs immune to fire?) (For a second I thought what was going to happen was that the dragon’s fire was going to burn her away leaving just a healthy fire-immune newborn, which would have been EPIC.)
Who are those people?
Am I watching a low budget soap opera?
Does anyone see any overarching plot lines?
Did the budget for CGI completely wipe out the budget for writers?
Agreed. I thought maybe she would survive the dragon breath, but that the baby would not. The scene does not make very much sense for many reasons.
There are not a lot of attempts at humour and levity in the writing. There are no characters who do not take themselves with utmost seriousness at all times. The scene where tongueless prisoners conspire against the Hand (?) is poorly done, and this plotting does not a Littlefinger make.
I thought it made sense - she just told usa scene prior that she wanted to die a dragon rider’s death. Dying in childbirth clearly ain’t that for her.
The only one we have seen who was immune to heat or fire was Danaerys. Her brother Viserys certainly wasn’t. It was a sign that she was the “true dragon,” but I can’t recall anything in the Game of Thrones TV show or the Ice and Fire novels that said anything about other Targaryens being resistant to heat or fire.
I don’t understand the purpose of Alicent immediately asking to see the new born baby, and also that Rhaenyra complies so easily. What’s the queen really going to do to her? It didn’t seem realistic that in the years we missed, that Rhaenyra would concede so much power and control to Alicent, regardless of the condition of her father. She should have been exercising her control as her father’s successor. This is not the same Rhaenyra that we we witnessed in the first 5 episodes.
Alicent was trying to stir shit up by examining the newborn for signs that it was of illicit parentage. She demanded as such immediately upon birth in order to make her suspicions clear and urgent. But mostly I think she wanted to send a palpable message to Rhaenyra at her absolute weakest moment. It’s a pretty powerful way to say something without actually saying it.
Rhaenyra must defer to Alicent because Alicent is currently the queen and the queen is of higher rank than a princess even if the Rhaenyra is the appointed heir.