“The Green Wedding,” or maybe “The Rat Wedding,” – it was another banger of a Westerosi union… and another wedding where a Joffrey died. We honored him and Rhea Royce, this weeks’ dearly departed, and I broke down the very fracas and Alicent’s rise to power in this postgame breakdown!
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Alicent fends for herself, trapped as she is. I wouldn't know what to dislike. At all.
I know adaptations have to have changes, I've actually enjoyed most of the changes so far in this show condensing time and plot elements. But I'm troubled that they've now changed 3 mundane deaths from the book to brutal murders in the show: Queen Aemma, Lady Rhea, and Ser Joffrey. Now you can argue Ser Joffrey was deliberately targeted in the book by Criston, but tourney injuries and deaths aren't unheard of in Westeros. And making Daemon a wife murderer is a very weird change! I hope this isn't a pattern, the books are brutal enough without adding more carnage.
I love what they're doing with Alicent, I never thought I'd feel so sympathetic for her but she's become a character I love to watch.
Guys, we all totally got manipulated by Larys Strong. He comments about the green flames of the Hightower as a call to war, but why do we in the audience all immediately take his word for it about Alicent's motive or intent? He's so sly, it's like he broke the fourth wall and we didn't even notice he was feeding us a line.
Alicent hasn't made any war-like political moves or comments. Just being cold to Rhaenyra isn't a declaration of war. We're ascribing motive to her actions with the benefit of hindsight, but it's years before the war starts. The audience is essentially being maneuvered into accusing her of a Minority Report-type 'FutureCrime'.
So far, all we know for sure is that she is "standing tall" as a Hightower. She's finally an independent adult once her father is removed from court and she's making a confident public statement of her individual identity.
And I think it's an overreach to interpret the usual power politics of court as equivalent to calling banners to war. Of course she wants allies at court and the support of her kin. Of course various lords already have opinions about Rhaenyra vs. princeling Aegon as heir. They had opinions when he was purely theoretical, too. People maneuvering for the strongest possible political position at any given time is not explicitly preparing for war, it's just politics. And of course war was constantly possible in this feudal system. That weakness is inherent in the system.
I know it's tempting to see that dramatic scene and go, "ooh she's declaring war and now the catty jealous girls are gonna fight!", but that's a pretty facile interpretation. The view of Alicent and Rhaenyra constantly at odds with one another as the inevitable outcome of the inherently jealous and petty nature of females is something I'm getting tired of reading in the comments. The idea of girls and women as always jealous, scheming rivals is sexist and presumes they are incapable of more complexity and self-possession. The world is not populated entirely by Real Housewives.
So far I see all the mistakes so far all the main characters have made and the people who could’ve prevented the war by some simple critical thinking but ultimately, the war wouldn’t have happened if Otto didn’t push his daughter onto the king
Joffrey's mangled face still haunts me, the main reason I haven't rewatched yet lol
Hi From Canada LML🙋🏼♀️🇨🇦 If I remember correctly Ser Harwin and Ser Larys Strong said a remark when they saw Queen 👸🏻 Alicent wearing a green dress. They said that the Hightowers the last time they went to war they showed a Green Flag….so Alicent wearing a green dress means a Declaration of War towards Rhaenera. In my opinion Alicent is a good woman but for now on she has an Agenda….put her son Aegon ll on the Throne for him to become the King 👑 ( sorry for my bad English, I speak French 😉😅😅😅Thanks for sharing this video LML🙏🏻👌🏻👍🫶🏻🙋🏼♀️🇨🇦
Did anyone else notice Lyonel Strong's uncomfortable wine sipping? First on High Tide when they agreed on the marriage pact and later after Gerold Royce confronted Daemon.
Criston is such a temperamental fellow.
I believe Cole saw Daemon kiss Rhaenyra and lost it and took it out on other dude! Daemon booked it!
I def dig the humor and jokes 😎
I disagree that Joffreys move was savvy. It was stupid and he overplayed his hand. Yeah he couldn't have predicted to die because of that, but I don't see how it was to his advantage in the moment.
They should’ve gone differently about Joffrey’s murder. It seems utterly illogical to me that Cole would get away with that shit. It’s so much better with the tourney in the books, and if they didn’t want to do that, they could’ve at least have it be a bigger brawl that goes to far, not just Criston jumping him out of nowhere.
I really don't care for the behind the scenes stuff they show after the episodes, and I tend to skip them. They really suck any interesting ambiguity out of every scene they discuss and limit the audience's ability to draw their own conclusions.
I am really frustrated with Allicent and Viserys this week. It appears Allicent never spoke to Rhaenyra about Ser Criston's confession. She could have done that, or at least brought it to Viserys' attention. Instead she assumed Rhaenyra is a serial liar, and that her father was let go unjustly. It looks like she can't even consider that Otto is trash, and was let go justly. And then she undermines Viserys at his heirs' wedding feast. He is so weak, and was incapable of even saying anything about it to Allicent. Top tier intrigue this week.
I really don’t understand Alicent anger towards Rhaenyra lol it’s baffling. All because she lied about having sex? Why would that anger her, she’s not her parent. That’s the break of a friendship, when she literally married her dad? Lol
Criston not only killed a knight but he also assaulted the King consort, how the hell did he survive this? Lol
Not all seduction is sexual. Alicent definitely seduced Viserys by giving him what he wanted (a friend) while he was grieving, just because it wasnt sexual doesn't mean it wasnt manipulation.
Its not her fault, Otto definitely put her up to it and she didnt feel she could say no, but she knew what she was doing. In this episode she owned it and we're going to see her become a major political player
Watched it again. It gets worse.
Unfortunate send off for Milly and young Allicent.
Didn’t rate this director at all. Character motivations were way off. Cristina wasn’t immediately taken into custody. Just whack decisions all round.
Rhaenyra didn't ASK Daemon to marry her, she CHALLENGED him. He said he wanted her and she replied "then do something about it". I think she knew he wouldn't just take her away then and there and she was kind of giving him grief.
Speaking of immoral Ramsay Bolton — that horrific face smashing was a nod to Jon Snow. I find similarities between Ser Criston and Jon Snow. Both want to be honorable bc that’s all they have. But it’s always these characters in ASOIAF who feel powerless have more power than they know. And they’re pregnant with stubborn morality and it gets them killed. So tragic.
I don’t know where all this hate for Alicent and Ser Criston is coming from ? They both share a purity mindset and are broken by Rhaenyra’s thoughtless actions.
Alicent will be Ser Criston’s redemption. I think she was relieved that Rhaenyra was with Ser Criston instead of Daemon— that’s what I saw.
And why is everyone thinking Ser Criston was a simple minded virgin who got laid, fell in love and turned evil bc he was rejected?
Didn’t he tell Rhaenyra “I had an adventurous youth” and could have married a common born girl.
I took that to mean he played around and had his fun.
Also I don’t think he’s madly in love with Rhaenyra. I think his proposal was more for him to restore his honor, do the right thing & marry the girl so he doesn’t have to live with guilt and shame or danger and drama.
The way I see it: if Ser Criston had this kinda tryst with a common born girl, he’d probably do the same thing.
I don’t see his motivation as hopelessly in love with her.
I’d think people would know by now: there are no good and bad people in ASOIAF—
They’re just people doing good or bad things or making good or bad decisions
But that’s Grr Martin’s brilliant writing that gets people so invested in the characters.
I don’t think Alicent is a manipulative or malicious creature. She saw the consequences of corruption and lies. She’s in it now whether she likes it or not. They’re both unwilling players now in the Game.
She’s smart to keep Ser Criston around. I mean — she saw him fight in the tournament. I believe her intentions are sweet: to help him, make him feel useful again and restore his honor.
And she needs him!! Let’s be honest. I don’t think she has to resort to emotional blackmail to convince him to be her ally bc he’s probably lost all respect and regard for Rhaenyra.
I was hoping we’d see a double entendres behind his Kingmaker title. That would be interesting but could get too soap opera-ish.
I think he backs the Greens more so bc he doesn’t want Daemon in power — he’s no dummy. He knows the dark influence Daemon has over her and his motivation is protecting the realm. I think he’s a good dude.
Its all just beautiful tragedy. Or comedy of errors. (When Ser Criston Lady Macbeth-ed himself) All of this…the dance of the dragons and all the battles bc of a misunderstanding.
Is it possible that Ser Criston snapped partly because he saw Daemon courting Rhaenyra? Jealousy, anger, disapproving , they all combined and boomed.
I love how Nanny Vhagar is continuing to watch over chat.
There was some debate last week about how consensual the relations between Crispy and Rhaenyra were (pressure/imbalance of power/etc). Now in this episode, we see him put in a position to just continue being Rhaenyra’s plaything upon being enlightened to the truth of their relationship (friends with benefits). Ending on him getting his ass grabbed, lashing out, and then turning to suicide in shame.
I’m not arguing for or against this, but from a point of view, you can see him as feeling trapped like some women are. Pushed into a sexual relationship by their “boss,” losing your chastity/purity, falling in love, finding out you’re “just their whore,” your future being affected by this loss of chastity, and this same information being used to threaten you (not to mention it all ending in an ass grab, which probably felt pretty scary for him…this guy knew enough information to have him killed! For all Crispin knows, the could lead to even more comprising sexual positions).
Even though he was wrong for what he did, but I see him as a victim in his own way. I can understand him wanting to take his own life. Alicent will likely sympathize with him- she has no agency over her sexuality either.
I think Daemon was @ a point where he had nowhere to go so he went home. He couldn't love Rhea bcuz she was 2 rigid for his free spirit as shown by how she shunned her cousins company. When he wasn't received well he gave up. After Rhea went for her weapon he felt it didn't matter anymore & decided to take advantage of her fall.
🤯🤯🤯
Just a random thought
Otto seems to instill the thought into Alicent that Rhaenyra might have to kill her children to protect her claim. But I not only think there is no indication she would do that, but quite the opposite.
We saw in Ep3 that Rhaenyra is unwillig to kill an innocent even if it would advance her position (the white stag). Only when she is cornered and full of fear she will lash out violently (the boar).
So Alicent might just be putting her children in danger by accepting her fathers words as truth
I love the realism that they all look like teenagers, think like teenagers , act like teenagers, we cant expect much else then the occasional adult moves they make, espescially since we never see much guidance from the actual adults
I think people hate how they chose to portray Alicent more than hate the character herself. I saw a lot of people who are scared that the audience are going to root for the Greens. I think that's just that. Nothing to do with Alicent on the show really. About Criston I took it as he doesn't love Rhaenyra but needed to find a way to fix his own mistakes and restore his honour.
Omg your bird is so cute! More cameos please!
What!? There are ppl who dislike Alicent??? Like why? Honestly she is the only person on this show that hasn't done anything even remotely questionable (yet). Her arc has been great to watch too with her going from this meek nervous individual who just did as she was told to now this confident person who is going to make her own choices. This episode in particular shows her growth from a reactive protagonist into a proactive one. Honestly I'm team Alicent and team Green all the way! (I've not read the book so I have no idea which side actually wins so don't spoil it for me plz)
Bron wasn’t around yet to warn Ser Cristin not to get blood on his fancy white cloak
Every week I watch/read countless HotD reactions/reviews. Thank you for being my safe place.
I think it’s time you all just accepted that the greens is the way to go. I’m glad we had this talk, We Light The Way!
Cristin Cole although very misguided in his perspective, I felt, was very human in this episode.
Vhagar is clearly on the after episode sneak peek leana is mounted on her
Dude, that Parrott cameo was awesome – he likes to be pet!
None other than Otto himself got him fired. He couldn’t keep his mouth shut. He knew what he was doing. Rhaenyra didn’t bang Daemon. Otto claimed she did. He does everything in his power to discredit her as the heir.
Rhaenyra told Alicent the truth about not banging Daemon. It’s nobody’s business Rhaenyra banged Cristen. It isn’t the reason Otto got fired. He got fired because he chose to talk and what he said wasn’t true. It backfired on him.
So I don’t understand this anger Alicent has towards Rhaenyra. They weren’t best friends anymore for a long time. Alicent betrayed Rhynaera first by quietly dating her dad 😅🤷🏾♂️
I also don’t understand why Viserys would accept such disrespectful behavior (wearing a green dress on his daughters wedding) from Alicent. Viserys is weak.
ofc You won't applaud for Cristen Or any character from the green team You even admitted that you are the black team
Joffrey threatened and blackmailed ser criston What did you expect him to do?
And as I remember Before the series begins in the trailer we see this shot criston smash some1 and you like that on him ,I wonder what changed your mind
Where is reading rheagar? Also love all the streams…more music interludes please!!