If I See One More Post About Aegon “bullying Aemond His Entire Life”, I Will Go Fucking Ballistic,

Aemond baby, get behind me.

My perhaps controversial take on the HOTD characters, the GOT characters the writers are trying to mold them into, and the GOT characters they actually most resemble in the books (in my opinion - feel free to disagree).

Disclaimer: these are entirely disconnected series with unique characters, so it's impossible to do what the writers of HOTD seemed to be trying to do in season 1 i.e. mold the characters from Fire and Blood to fit the characters of GOT to try to recreate the success of the early seasons. Given this, I tried to choose one single character analogue from GOT that each HOTD/FB character is most like, but oftentimes the reality is that if any single character from Fire and Blood resembles a Game of Thrones character it is likely that they are a combination of more than one. All of this said, here is who I think the writers are trying to fit certain HOTD characters into vs the character they are actually most like (according to Fire and Blood):

Rhaenyra Targaryen: obviously the show wants her to be the new and improved Daenerys, a protagonist everyone can root for who wants to revolutionize the existing order. In reality, Rhaenyra is most like Cersei: a woman who seeks to use her three bastards to usurp thrones and gain even more power than she already has, all while committing incest with a family member and using her power to punish and silence her enemies. She uses the existing system to raise herself up and keep others below her. She does reach her goal of ultimate power but ultimately she is unable to hold it. In pursuit of holding onto power or gaining more of it, she watches as her children die early deaths. The smallfolk despise her for her methods of ruling. Eventually, she will cause her own downfall and die before her time.

Alicent Hightower: the show wants her to be Cersei, a mean-spirited, jealous woman protecting her problematic children and using her status as queen to put others in their place (they even used Cersei scenes as audition material for the role). In reality, I see Alicent as most like Catelyn - a flawed woman, mother to a king, seeking to further the rights of her son in the hopes of protecting her family from those who would harm them, guided by her own sense of justice, honor, and understanding of the laws of the land (and of course, hyper aware of the bastards in the room). All she wants is her and her children's safety, and she is willing to go to war for it. In the end, however, she watches as every last child is taken from her before she herself dies alone.

Viserys I Targaryen: the show wants us to see him as the ultimate father who loves his child unconditionally and always supports her, and that his view of right and wrong should be what guides the world. In reality, he is most like Robert Baratheon: a weak king unsuitable for rule whose mistakes and complacency lead to civil war after his death. His preoccupation with past events and people, and his role in a former love's demise, leads him to neglect his current wife and their children and make decisions that create long-term issues for his family and the realm.

Criston Cole: as soon as Criston turns away from Rhaenyra, the show wants you to view him as a Meryn Trant type of Kingsguard - a man unconcerned with honor and violently anti-women, more than willing to carry out terrible acts commanded of him. In reality, Criston is like more like Jaime: he seeks to make a name for himself as a knight, guided by his own sense of honor and justice, though he is judged by others as lacking such principles. His devotion to his position on the Kingsguard and his love for the royal family motivates him. Occasionally his self-confidence and delight in goading his enemies can make him appear callous and proud. Although he is not officially the royal children's "father," he has guided and protected them and their mother from early on in the absence of their official father.

Daemon Targaryen: the show wants you to both love and hate Daemon. It seems he should fill many roles that Jaime did - a sword fighter whose swagger and danger mix together, whose dishonorable acts follow him through the world. He acts primarily out of love or his pursuit of it, whether for his brother or his lover and her children. The viewer is supposed to see that deep down he is a good guy, no matter how many characters say that he's not. In reality, I see Daemon as a more capable Viserys III: a man adamant in his family's racial superiority, who believes he and his loved ones should have access to unchecked power because they're better than everyone else. A man who enjoys exercising his power over others and demanding obedience out of fear of his wrath. A man who uses his younger family member to further his own interests without much thought to her own wishes or agency and willing to hurt her if she doesn't act the way he wants her to.

Otto Hightower: the show wants you to view Otto as a new Littlefinger, someone sly about his intentions who uses spies, information, and unsavory methods to take advantage of the ruling family and further his own interests and increase his own power. I see him instead as more similar to Tywin: a Hand of the King seeking to put his family close to the throne in pursuit of legacy and advancing his family's station, a man who arranged for his daughter to marry the king so his blood would sit the Iron Throne and bring his family power for generations, a man acutely aware of the political world and how the game is played and willing to get his hands dirty to play it.

The Strong boys: the show wants you to root for Rhaenyra's perfect, good natured and pure intentioned sons as if they were the Stark boys (mixed with Jon Snow). Raised in a good family, these boys know right from wrong and love each other. Yet some people unfairly think less of them for their birth. In reality, the Strong boys are closest to Joffrey, Tommen, and Myrcella. Bastards set to inherit positions they have no claim to, they are coddled by their mother and protected from any consequences to their actions. When one attacks another child, their mother demands that the other child's family is punished for their actions (and doesn't even reprimand the child for his role in the conflict). The result is the child has no remorse for the harm done, and the other child's family festers resentment against the child. Some people uncover the truth of their birth and object to their place in the line of succession, and these people are killed for speaking the truth. Eventually, a war is fought to keep them and their mother away from the throne, resulting in all of them being killed.

Aegon II Targaryen: the show wants you to see him as Joffrey 2.0. A man interested in viewing sadistic acts for his own pleasure, who abuses women for his own enjoyment, and who is unfit to rule. In reality I see Aegon as closest to Robb: a first born son reluctant to rule as king once his father dies but who rises to the occasion to try to keep his remaining family safe. A king willing to fight his battles alongside his men, no matter the risk it might pose to him. A king who tries his best to rule but makes mistakes along the way that cost him dearly. In the end, he watches as he loses everything, and he dies young.

how interesting that when Rhaenyra looks at a maimed boy whose eye was gouged out by her own son and says "he must be sharply questioned" (aka tortured) for repeating things about her that she knows are 100% true, and when Alicent is horrified that an insult to Rhaenyra (which is, again, 100% true) is considered more important than her son literally being maimed and whose broken skin is currently being stitched up as they speak, Viserys chooses to support Rhaenyra. He walks up to his bleeding brutalized son and orders him to tell him where he heard such lies. He offers him no comfort or reassurance as a father, just an order. "Your King demands an answer."

(and frankly, he expected them to say Alicent. Look at the way he looked at her. He was almost expectant. He wanted her to be condemned)

and both of them prove completely unwilling to obey him. they look at this piece of deadbeat shit right in the eye and say: "We know, Father. Everyone knows. Just look at them."

And now that the accusation has turned back to Rhaenyra, does Viserys choose to listen and do something about it? does he? no, lol.

Instead he declares: "This terrible infighting must cease. We are family." How convenient. how fucking convenient. when Rhaenyra wanted justice (aka the further torture of a maimed kid for telling the truth) Viserys is fully willing to indulge her. He wasn't Aemond's family when he questioned him: he said it himself, tell me by the order of your King. But when his children refuse to listen to him, when the issue turns back to Rhaenyra? We're all family, let's reconcile and put this behind us :)

and that is when Alicent asks Viserys for justice of her own.

just look at Alicent's tone. Rhaenyra was the one who flat-out demanded that Aemond be questioned. Alicent isn't demanding anything, she is pleading. You think she cares about taking Luke's eye? (just minutes later, it's Rhaenyra she goes after. and when Larys asks her flat out if she wants him to do the deed for her, she tells him that it won't be necessary). Look at what Alicent says after this: "He is your son, Viserys. Your blood." This fucking asshole has raped her and abused her, and she is begging him to at least care about his children with her. And he does not.

He displays, for the whole court to see, that he does not give a fuck about his wife and their children. His young son has been horrifically maimed, but shielding and coddling his adult daughter from completely justified "accusations" is what he is most concerned about.

"This matter is finished," Viserys says. And right after? "Anyone whose tongue dares question the birth of Princess Rhaenyra's sons should have it removed." So essentially: the matter is over, everyone should make goodwill, but his precious daughter is always right and will always be his first priority. partly to soothe his own guilt over murdering his previous wife, and partly because Rhaenyra is a Targaryen which, to him, will always make her more worthy than Alicent.

and so it is his wife and other children - including the one who is bleeding in the same damn room - who pay the price for that

And thus, all of Alicent's well-founded fears about the life of her children and herself if Rhaenyra takes the throne are completely solidified. She and Rhaenyra do not share equal culpability for this conflict in the show, because Rhaenyra begins by fighting for power and Alicent begins by fighting for survival. The blame is fundamentally unequal.

you CANNOT tell me that Alicent was unjustified in how she reacted. you CANNOT tell me that she wasn't 100% right in grabbing that knife and going right to Rhaenyra (to rhaenyra! not to luke), demanding justice.

"and now you take my son's eye, and to even that you feel entitled" She is right. She is absolutely right. (She has no idea how right she is, actually, because that entitlement will lead directly to Rhaenyra's downfall someday)

Alicent Hightower finally snapped. GOOD FOR HER.

“Luke was just a baby defending his brother’s life.”

He was around 11 years old and in knight training, he absolutely knew better. Luke and 3 other kids ganged up to beat up 1 kid who Jace and Luke had a history of bullying. Aemond was being insensitive, yes (after having been bullied for years), but they started the physical violence. Luke was a “baby” who was happy to take part in beating up someone who was outnumbered and on the ground. It’s pure cherry-picking to pretend this interaction started with Aemond threatening Luke’s brother with a rock and Luke was a poor innocent baby “defending himself”, no, he was taking part in a gang assault which he was well old enough to know was wrong.

Yes, after getting knocked down and punched repeatedly by multiple people Aemond was threatening Luke’s brother with a rock but to say he was going to kill Jace and Luke “saved his brothers life” is a stretch. Aemond was keeping them back because they were the ones attacking him, he had plenty of time to hit if he wanted to but Aemond’s preferred method of attack is verbal. Luke was mad at what Aemond was saying and even if he felt Jace was in physical danger, Aemond was already temporarily blinded by the sand Luke threw first. Luke could’ve disarmed Aemond at that point which was what he was trained to do. He chose to go after Aemond’s face with a knife instead. Rhaenyra literally says after whispering with her sons that Luke was “defending himself from vile insults” meaning he himself admitted to his mom that he cut Aemond’s eye out because he called him a bastard not because “he was gonna kill his brother with a rock”.

But the thing is, no one thinks Luke should have his eye cut out or been killed. I don’t particularly like Rhaenyra’s kids because they have all the personality of cardboard and they’re hypocritical, spoiled little bullies. But unlike many bloodthirsty Team Black stans, I don’t cheer on harming children. An apology or an age-appropriate punishment would’ve mitigated the situation. That’s literally all anyone had to do, to care AT ALL about Alicent’s children EVER and they couldn’t. It was Rhaenyra’s insistence that her precious little baby boy couldn’t possibly ever do anything wrong (but Alicent is the “toxic boy mom”, yeah right…) and instead threatening to torture and further maim and disable the already freshly maimed and disabled child that pushed everyone over the edge. If Rhaenyra had a diplomatic bone in her body and could think about anything other than hiding her bad choices she made that endangers her children every day then she would’ve had the tact to apologize and find a resolution. If she had, not only would Aemond maybe have been able to forgive Luke and avoided all of this but the final nail on the coffin confirming to Alicent that Rhaenyra was a danger to her children would’ve been avoided and maybe that would’ve changed everything.

Viserys and Rhaenyra doomed everyone to War during The Driftmark Incident, and so many viewers completely missed the point of what happened and blame Alicent for being “crazy”. Alicent’s children’s safety is already in a dangerous position once it’s time for Rhaenyra to claim the throne to almost certain backlash, the only way to avoid War is for them all to have strong bonds of trust. Alicent’s son, one of the possible threats to Rhaenyra’s claim, had just been mutilated and disabled by Rhaenyra’s son. This was the chance for Rhaenyra to show that she is willing to be a family with her half-siblings even though she has never made any effort towards that before. She’s so arrogant she doesn’t even seem to understand that she should do that. Instead, Rhaenyra’s response was to not even apologize for her son’s behavior and not propose any possible consequence (obviously not cutting Luke’s eye out, but literally any consequence for example having to do grunt work for the Maesters and/or lose access to weapons until he can be responsible with them). Rhaenyra made it abundantly clear she doesn’t care at all about Alicent’s children and has zero remorse about them being harmed. Of course Alicent isn’t going to lay her children’s lives at Rhaenyra’s mercy by letting her take the throne after that.

And Viserys is even more to blame. His behavior in this scene is utterly abhorrent. Does he even make one single attempt to comfort or console his severely injured child? Nope. None. Viserys himself said he doesn’t think of Aemond (or Aegon or Helaena) as his children and that couldn’t be more clear than it is here. Instead of comforting or consoling Aemond, Viserys blames and interrogates the still bleeding and in pain child (starting by telling him to look at him, I know that’s a thing adults say when they want to have a serious conversation with children but… really? In this particular situation that’s what you go with?) for the sake of Rhaenyra. The full grown adult who is not injured as of now. All he cares about is Rhaenyra. And as if that’s not apathetic enough, he then threatens that “ANYONE” (meaning including Aegon, Aemond, or Helaena) who points out the obvious fact that Rhaenyra’s bastards are bastards will have their tongue cut out. He threatens his own mutilated, freshly disabled child with further, even more disabling mutilation all for the sake of protecting Rhaenyra’s lies and misdeeds (even though he could just admit they’re bastards and legitimize them but that’s another issue). And Rhaenyra thanks him for this direct threat to Alicent’s children, they’re both just beaming in their agreement that they can do whatever they want to Alicent’s children because they’re not really Targaryens, not really their children or siblings.

Alicent didn’t just “go crazy” because she’s an evil, vengeful character. She’s consistently one of the least vengeful and most level-headed, practical characters in the show overall. Alicent lost her composure in complete desperation in this moment because her children’s safety was just compromised. The King and his heir made it clear in front of everyone that Alicent’s children mean nothing. If one of Rhaenyra’s illegitimate crotch goblins had their eye cut out, no doubt Viserys would be enraged and demanding at least some kind of punishment. We know that because even over an “insult” (aka the truth literally everyone knows) towards them, he threatens grievous bodily harm. But Alicent’s children can be harmed without any punishment, not even a slap on the wrist, they’re not worth anything and no one will defend them. Alicent needed a show of force to say someone will defend these children and Rhaenyra cannot just do whatever she wants to them and smirk “Thank you, father” like a spoiled brat who tattled on someone and got them in trouble (tbh I’d cut her more than Alicent did for that line alone, it is so infuriating). Alicent isn’t a fighter but she tried every other option and found she’s the only one who will fight for her children.

Questions I would like to ask Rhaenyra, part 3

I don't need sleep or mental health, I need ANSWERS

1) Why, for God’s sake, did you personally and all alone go find out who saddled Seasmoke? If it weren’t Addam, who for some reason was loyal to you (for what reason, by the way? He saw you for the first time in his life, and doesn’t owe you anything), but for example Daemion or Daeron, you know, sons of Vaemond Velaryon, whom your husband viciously beheaded? Do you think they'd gladly bend their knee? Let's be honest, ma'am, Seasmoke would make a kebab out of Syrax in a 1vs1 fight, you risked ending the war in favor of the greens.

2) What would you have done if Laenor hadn't been so loyal and obedient? If he'd seen Jace and asked "Who's white baby is that? Definitely not mine, daddy would skin me alive if I tried to say opposite"? Or if he hadn't agreed to leave his family in their time of need after losing his sister, and hadn't agreed to your fake death plan? What would you have done then, huh?

3) What if Rhaenys had refused to go along with your "perfect" plan to betroth your children to her granddaughters? She doesn't like you, after all, and for good reason. What if she had decided that supporting you had cost the Velaryons too much (which is true), and had said that Corlys had changed his mind and chosen Baela as his heir? Or even announced to everyone that Corlys was disowning your snow-white children?

4) What if Baela had turned out to be as much of a racist ass as her daddy? What if she had decided that sleeping with Strong was beneath her because she was a true Valyrian and he was a filthy half-breed? What if your grandson was born red-haired, or Asian, or looked like Alicent's son Daeron (this one is a joke… or is it?)? Only you are allowed to have consensual sex with the man of your choice, while the rest are supposed to suffer?

5) What was your plan for Aegon and Viserys? Traditionally, the "extra" sons became septons or maesters, do you agree with that? Does Daemon agree? If not, what are their roles in future? They are the most Valyrian-looking of your children, their existence sabotaging Jace's legacy.

6) Do you ever regret marrying Daemon? In season 2, you seem constantly unhappy with his presence, he undermines your authority at every turn - he is partly the reason why your Small Council does not respect you. Laenor at least acknowledged your authority. Do you regret this "exchange"?

7) How can you trust Mysaria so easily when she has proclaimed herself the protector of the smallfolks? Rhaenys killed hundreds and wounded thousands at Aegon's coronation, Daemon… is Daemon, you killed dozens of innocent dragonseeds for one dragon rider. You all have no regard for human life. Or is it okay because she's sexy and tells sad stories?

8) What was your script for meeting Alicent at the sept? You went in there with certain expectations, but if this woman hadn't been humiliated by the scriptwriters with every breath she took, Alicent would have called the guards in a heartbeat. You risked everything… for what? What was the original plan?

9) Question for the book and show versions of Rhaenyra - are you happy with each other? Is the show version not irritated by Rhaenyra's femininity and her "weakness" in not trying to fight every possible battle? Is the book version not disgusted by Rhaenyra's hypocritical righteousness and attempt to gain respect by adopting traditional male characteristics?

10) Are you able to admit that your marriage to Laenor was entirely your own fault? Viserys gave you the chance to choose your own husband, but since the suitors weren't Daemon, you rejected them all. And then you disgraced yourself with Daemon in a brothel and with Criston in your chambers. Yes, Viserys was covering up his own political mistakes with this marriage, but if you had decided on the tour that Harwin Strong was the one you wanted, there wouldn't have been a farce of a marriage to a gay. Viserys could have simply chosen him for you, but even he knew that a swordswallower was not the best option for a princess who needed heirs, and this was a last resort after your antics. Do you ever regret how you behaved on that tour?

Aemond is my closest blood and our best sword. I welcome him.

AEGON II TARGARYEN and AEMOND TARGARYEN in HOUSE OF THE DRAGON

Something something the concept of granting meaning and importance to an object/phenomenon/person by giving them a name

It is especially relevant in the world like the one ASOIAF is set in, where the name serves as an extremely important defining factor for many characters (mostly a family name but also their given one). And boy, did HotD writers lean into this - in their own way.

I am not the first one to point out that Jaehaera's name hasn't been mentioned in the show at all - not once. But guess who got to have one?

Sure, everyone absolutely needs to remember a girl who was raped by the prince (who is now the king) and who, except for that fact - which serves the purpose of vilifying said prince (and, in some way, by association, the entire TG) - had zero relevance to the plot. And so we have Dyana - because this absolutely unbiased show can't have anyone forget that the Greens' candidate for the throne has some deplorable proclivities. She even got some extra screen time in season 2: once again, absolutely unnecessary except for reminding the audience of her existence - and of Aegon's sins.

But who cares about the only remaining child of the king; the girl who came within a hair's breadth from death and then lost her twin brother; the one true joy left to her mother? Why would she even need a name?

Jaehaera's fate in the show is uncertain (the writers didn't do away with her at the very least) - but for now she is not even a tool of the story but merely a dead weight that just had to be there for Blood and Cheese to have someone to choose from. And then she was simply conveniently (nearly) forgotten becoming just "Helaena's daughter" - no name, no face, no emotional attachment from the audience. I just wonder if the writers' unwilingness to actually involve Jaehaera in the story (or just let the viewers properly see her) comes from them being equally unwilling to make the audience remember her brother whose death and its consequences they are so eager to sweep under the rug in order to minimize the PR damage done to the Blacks.

P.S. Speaking about the importance of names - they need to be not only revealed but also remembered. Jaehaerys didn't end up nameless - but how many times was he actually called by his name in the show? Right off the bat I can remember only one such case: Aegon asking Helaena where he was in episode 1. And while I believe this was not the only time (I am terribly sorry but right now I can't make myself rewatch any part of season 2, not even for science - so feel free to point out the rest), I have a distinct feeling that he still was far more often referred to as "boy", "child", "son", "heir to the throne" and whatnot. Once again: no name, no memory - which IMO is exactly what the writers were going for.

This is not just another whining, I say, you know, like a liar

This isn't really a new essay where I hysterically ask what's going on in the writers' heads, but a legitimate question.

Why was Joffrey Velaryon never considered for the role of heir to Driftmark in the show?

I even googled the answer, and there were many interpretations, the most popular being that after Rhaenys's death, Corlys's relationship with Rhaenyra deteriorated so much that he refused to support her farce, and demanded that true Velaryon's blood be on the throne of Driftmark (with Lucerys there would have been no such problem, his bride was Rhaena, but Joffrey was betrothed to Manderly girl), and Rhaenyra couldn't refuse him, considering that he was her strongest ally at the time.

But this is a book, you know, a thing with letters on paper, written by a person who tried to at least make ends meet a little, even in the format of a medieval historical chronicle.

But in the show, Corlys from Season 2 is the same tasteless cardboard cutout as the rest. He barely mourns the death of his wife, and rushes around with his inheritance like it's a hot potato, not knowing who to throw it to.

And for a man whose character traits were declared to be ambition, loyalty to his House and heritage, a desire to put his blood on the Iron Throne - Corlys seems to not try at all. There was a lazy attempt to marry Laena to the rotten Vizzy, then Rhaenyra's marriage to Laenor, but after that, nothing.

In canon, the marriage of the twins and Rhaenyra's children was arranged in infancy, so Corlys quickly received assurance that his legacy would continue. In the show? No one gives a shit, if Rhaenyra hadn't begged Rhaenys for support during the disputes over the Velaryon inheritance with Vaemond, no one would have thought about the marriage of these four.

With that attitude, where history doesn't remember blood, only names, the Corlys of the show would have shrugged and said "oh well" to Joffrey being named heir to Driftmark.

But instead he tries to hand the inheritance over to Baela first, who decides it's the perfect moment to gaslight gatekeep girlboss, and refuses the title of heir to the richest House at the time (why? It wouldn't have affected the engagement to Jace, Laenor was Corlys's heir AND the future King Regent, she could have a couple of children, and named the second one as Velaryon heir).

Why did everyone forget about Joffrey? Why should I care about him if the show doesn't? I'll be sad to see him die, because children's deaths are always sad, but otherwise - I don't give a shit.

PS. All grammatical errors are intentional, I refuse to correct my gaps in English

"I don't think he was the sole reason they had Alicent hand KL over to Rhaenyra but he was most likely one of the reasons."

Alicent Hightower is the poster girl for Team Green, since the first season HotD has always advertised the show as Alicent vs. Rhaenyra rather than Aegon II vs. Rhaenyra I so there would have been a lot of reasons to pull the rug from under the audience and have her switch sides. It would have been discussed at length, weighing out pros and cons, deciphering how best to do it etc. It wasn't a last minute decision, they would have put thought into this.

At the end of the day all roads lead back to Rhaenyra Targaryen and their refusal to make even slightly morally grey.

So the reasons they had Alicent betray Team Green:

Rhaenyra the Cruel

Helaena's suicide

Rhaenicent

Jace

They hate Alicent

They love Rhaenyra

Rhaenyra the Cruel: they've already used this name in 2x02 with the purpose of showing it was undeserved, Rhaenyra had nothing to do with B&C so how could the people give her such a horrible name? 😢 But as we know she was given this moniker for raising taxes as the Greens hid all the gold and even after being mutilated by the torturers Tyland Lannister refused to tell them where the gold was. By having Alicent betray the Greens all blame will be placed on her because she should've known this was their plan. I bet they'll even have her suggest raising the taxes and thus be called "Alicent the Wicked" instead.

Helaena's suicide: her son was violently decapitated in front of her leaving Helaena an emotional wreck. Once Rhaenyra seizes Kingslanding she'll be forced to play nice with her son's killers, worsening her mental state. In the books what ended it for Helaena was Myseria telling her Maelor's dead, he doesn't exist in the show so it will probably Daemon cruelly telling her Alicent's the reason Rhaenyra's on the throne. Finding out your own MOTHER colluded with your son's executioner is enough to tip anyone over the edge, and that's exactly what's going to happen. Helaena's suicide now has nothing to do with Rhaenyra, it's all because Alicent betrayed her.

Rhaenicent: well this is an obvious one, they're obsessed with this ship and for some dumbass reason think this is what viewers want. If they have to destory George's work to force this doa relationship to work then so be it!

Jace: I don't think this was the no.1 reason simply because even if Alicent didn't betray the Greens they can still have Rhaenyra seize Kingslanding without Jace dying, he doesn't have to be the trigger. That being said, when they were having the brainstorming sessions I'm sure this came up as one of the justifications for the change. Pretty boys make money, and he's all Team Black has in the pretty boy department.

They hate Alicent: it cannot be said enough, never in my life have I seen writers hate half of a ship so much, it's so peculiar to me. So they've reduced her to nothing, she's lost her fanbase and every single positive character trait, she's been downngraded from Queen Dowager to Rhaenyra's "pet". Her existence is a neverending punishment for daring to turn on Queen Rhaenyra I Targaryen, she needs to be humbled and degraded! Now she's the reason Otto's executed, Gwayne's killed and Helaena commits suicide, everything that happens to Team Green is solely her fault because she's a traitor.

They love Rhaenyra: Rhaenyra must be 100% perfect, to suggest otherwise is blasphemy! Forget about morally grey, they can't even make her off-white because she has to be pure with no real flaws. Episode 8 was all about Alicent being humbled and the writers reminding the audience why Rhaenyra is 100x better than her awful stepmother as both a mother and a Queen.

You breakdown perfectly. 💯

What better way to break team green as valid choice than break the head of it?

If the show wasn't bias as claim to be they would make Alicent the one that pushes and plan things with Aegon like the books hint at. Even Aemond betrayal is more forgivable when you put into context the parallels between him and Daemon.

But Alicent? She is the front figure they use to promote tg and then destroying her breakdown all the base for tg. Humiliating her, means humiliate team green. Making her betray her own faction and saying nothing of this matter, makes any team green claim invalid.

Now there is only one claim that is some what valid, and a bunch other people with their own agendas.