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[jason10mm]

There were always black people in some parts of Essos, like Lys. Remember Salladhor Saan from GoT? Greyworm, Missandei, etc. That maester could be from there. People traveled between Westeros and Essos all the time. I guess they're just making it so it's canon now that some intermingled into Westerosi society as many Westerosi's tended to move and settle in Essos.

Essos =/= westeros. Maesters only come from Oldtown IIRC.

Canonically all black people come from the Summer Isles. But within the show it seems only velaryons are black, or for some reason drift mark has way more than anywhere else, presumably from velaryon stock.

 

[Tams]

Essos =/= westeros. Maesters only come from Oldtown IIRC.

Canonically all black people come from the Summer Isles. But within the show it seems only velaryons are black, or for some reason drift mark has way more than anywhere else, presumably from velaryon stock.

Eh. We all know that they just wanted to shoehorn diversity in there.

Thankfully the actors they chose have been at the very least decent, in some cases pretty great, so it can all be looked past.

 

[BadBurger]

Essos =/= westeros. Maesters only come from Oldtown IIRC.

Canonically all black people come from the Summer Isles. But within the show it seems only velaryons are black, or for some reason drift mark has way more than anywhere else, presumably from velaryon stock.

All go to Oldtown to train as a maester, yea. I don't remember reading about maesters being trained anywhere else either.

Eh. We all know that they just wanted to shoehorn diversity in there.

Thankfully the actors they chose have been at the very least decent, in some cases pretty great, so it can all be looked past.

Outside of what they did with House Velaryon I don't think they're making the world all that much more diverse. A sprinkling (or single) of black people were added in settings where typically we'd only see white people or those assumed to be Dornish, like the Small Council. And I thought it was an elegant move merely making House Velaryon historically black. It's not like other shows where they just randomly and inexplicably make characters random races of all kinds in ways that don't make any narrative sense, such as The Wheel of Time or The Rings of Power.

Regardless this is the most kick-ass show out right now. Of all the shows I am currently watching only two others even come close.

 

[Tams]

All go to Oldtown to train as a maester, yea. I don't remember reading about maesters being trained anywhere else either.



Outside of what they did with House Velaryon I don't think they're making the world all that much more diverse. A sprinkling (or single) of black people were added in settings where typically we'd only see white people or those assumed to be Dornish, like the Small Council. And I thought it was an elegant move merely making House Velaryon historically black. It's not like other shows where they just randomly and inexplicably make characters random races of all kinds in ways that don't make any narrative sense, such as The Wheel of Time or The Rings of Power.

Regardless this is the most kick-ass show out right now. Of all the shows I am currently watching only two others even come close.

Seems a bit like you're going off at me.

I never said there was any other diversity shoehorning, but House Valeryon very clearly was that. And the wigs don't look good on the younger actors there. The acting makes up for it though, so it's fine.

 

[BadBurger]

Seems a bit like you're going off at me.

?

No, not at all. Was just discussing the topic. I just re-read what I wrote and I don't see where I could have been mistaken for being aggressive, but I guess inflection isn't always easy to gauge on discussion forums. All good homie.

 

[HoodWinked]

The diversity casting at least served a purpose. It made the bloodlines and characters visually interpretable without explicit explanation. With so many characters in the show and the time leaps it would become confusing.

This gave a visual cue that the person came from Velaryon lineage. It's actually kind of elegant. And I say this as someone who was rolling my eyes into the back of my skull initially.

 

[SlimySnake]

The diversity casting at least served a purpose. It made the bloodlines and characters visually interpretable without explicit explanation. With so many characters in the show and the time leaps it would become confusing.

This gave a visual cue that the person came from Velaryon lineage. It's actually kind of elegant. And I say this as someone who was rolling my eyes into the back of my skull initially.

Same. It's surprisingly well done in retrospect. Still not a fan of how ridiculous the black actors look in white braids though. Silver hair on white actors is already very hard to pull off. Danyres brother looked awful but he was supposed to look like a bitch. Even Matt Smith looks really bad in some shots, but these actors and actresses had no hope of pulling it off. Only the young Laenor looked good in it, but the actor is the best looking of the bunch so that could be it.

P.S I think the casting of the mixed race kids isnt accurate either. Especially Daemon and his wife who was already biracial. Their kids should look like Meghan Markle, not Rihanna.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

I watched two episodes so far and this show shits all over Rings of Power, the difference in quality and maturity is ridiculous.
Also kudos to finding a girl that is not a typical beauty for the main role.

 

[DeepEnigma]

10 minutes or so! Let's goooooo!

 

[BaneIsPain]

Let's go green council

 

[EviLore]

Between Crispy, Larys, Aegon, Alicent, and Otto, Team Green has the entire DSM-5 covered.

 

[AJUMP23]

Why would a knight have anything to do with crowning a king. That was the only weird thing that stuck out or me. The rest of the episode was great.

Egon is going to be a bad king. Valerian lady should have dragoned them when she had the chance.

 

[EviLore]

Why would a knight have anything to do with crowning a king. That was the only weird thing that stuck out or me. The rest of the episode was great.

Egon is going to be a bad king. Valerian lady should have dragoned them when she had the chance.

Criston was named the new lord commander of the Kingsguard.

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

That was a badass last scene.

People all over twitter expecting Rhaenys to kill half of her entire family with fire like that would never be something she would do, come on now!

This is going to be tough to wait for that 2nd season, god damn...that preview is fire!

Btw...i don't get one thing...every Targaryen can die with fire except Daenerys from GoT? Is there an explanation for this or did i miss something?

 

[SirKicksalot]

Criston Cole being an anime character, the foot fetish guy, the I STUDIED THE BLADE guy - this show is basically written by 4chan.

 

[EviLore]

That was a badass last scene.

People all over twitter expecting Rhaenys to kill half of her entire family with fire like that would never be something she would do, come on now!

This is going to be tough to wait for that 2nd season, god damn...that preview is fire!

Btw...i don't get one thing...every Targaryen can die with fire except Daenerys from GoT? Is there an explanation for this or did i miss something?

The Targaryens aren't fireproof. Dany isn't either, except for the special one-off magical event from the "unburnt" namesake.

From GRRM:

Granny: Do Targaryens become immune to fire once they "bond" to their dragons?

George_RR_Martin: Granny, thanks for asking that. It gives me a chance to clear up a common misconception. TARGARYENS ARE NOT IMMUNE TO FIRE! The birth of Dany's dragons was unique, magical, wonderous, a miracle. She is called The Unburnt because she walked into the flames and lived. But her brother sure as hell wasn't immune to that molten gold.

Revanshe: So she won't be able to do it again?

George_RR_Martin: Probably not.

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

The Targaryens aren't fireproof. Dany isn't either, except for the special one-off magical event from the "unburnt" namesake.

From GRRM:

That would be great if that scene was the only one where she's literally in the middle of a fire...but it isn't

Spoiler

 

[EviLore]

That would be great if that scene was the only one where she's literally in the middle of a fire...but it isn't

Spoiler

Season 6 onwards the showrunners stopped caring and it deviates from the established lore heavily and arbitrarily. Regardless, the Targaryens aren't fireproof.

 

[AJUMP23]

Criston was named the new lord commander of the Kingsguard.

I caught that but I don’t know if that had any bearing on crowning a king. Normally it is a religious leader or head of the church that lays the crown to signify the authority derived from god. It could be the military commander as might makes right.

 

[adamsapple]

Whew this show is so god damn good.

 

[Thaedolus]

My 14 year old nephew is here for the next 90 minutes or so, he wanted to try Boneworks on VR so I’m sitting here thinking it’s really fun watching him get so excited to play a game he wants to play and also I can’t watch this show because he’s flailing about in front of my expensive TV and need to standby stop him from breaking it…

The things I do for love. (Of my wife, whose nephew he is)

 

[BaneIsPain]

Damn, Alicent is great and more depth on her character. Larys scene is funny ngl. Time to embrace full time anime villain.

 

[jason10mm]

Goddamn that coronation was HOT TRASH.

Rhaenys killing HUNDREDS of rando civilians with not a single care shows she would have been a SHIT QUEEN and the council of 101 chose correctly.

That she thinks she can fly away, leaving Aegon and Aemon alive and NOT kill THOUSANDS more in a civil war shows that she is still a SHIT QUEEN.

That whole scene.....ugh. Stick to the book guys, when you go off script......

Condal, that dumb shit, thinks Rhaenys would spare a mother even if it meant war, when she just CRUSHED a dozen mothers at least. Fuck these guys sometimes.

#TeamGreen, the only side that actually cares about the people (Lord Beesbury was TOTES an accident....)

 

[mortal]

Larys is a foot guy? As if he couldn't be any more despicable lol

The relationship between Ser Criston and Alicent seems peculiar, her charge to him with finding Aegon was noticeably intimate.

Despite Aegon being a degenerate rapist, they somehow managed to make me feel pity for him. I hope to see his character developed even further.

What the hell, Rhaenys? She really just killed and maimed hundreds of civilians and proceeded to not even go for the kill lol.
She let Aemond live after threatening their lives? I'd imagine it'll be her undoing.

Also, the actress playing Mysaria is just terrible. I wouldn't mind at all if she were killed off lol.

This has been a fantastic first season, looking forward to the finale.

 

[BaneIsPain]

Let's dance next episode.

 

[EviLore]

Also, the actress playing Mysaria is just terrible. I wouldn't mind at all if she were killed off lol.

Meesa called Mysaria. Meesa your humble servant.

 

[SlimySnake]

I didnt like this episode. Not having Team Black in the episode at all was a big mistake especially since this takes place literally the night of Viscery's death. I get that they felt team green's plan needed focus but this has the feel of a video game story told through the protagonist without cutting to other characters.

But thats the least of this episode's problems. The foot fetish scene felt oddly out of place. Is she being blackmailed? Does she enjoy it? Why even put it in this episode? it detracts from her arc in the episode.

And finally, the dragon scene was dumb. Sorry but her grand daughters are going to be directly affected by it. She couldve ended the whole conflict and no one wouldve said a word. She killed thousands of people but wont kill Alicent? gtfo.

the episode gave me Game of thrones seasons 7-8 vibes. Lets hope this is a one off because the rest of the show has been fantastic.

 

[Elysion]

I wonder if they wanted that last scene to come across as a genuine badass ‘girlboss’ moment for Rhaenys, or if we’re supposed to be horrified. Because as far as I’m concerned, after this she’s now the most evil character in the show lol. They turned her into a fucking psychopath who kills hundreds (thousands?) of people for no good reason, but then she doesn’t kill the Greens right in front of her? Also, her dragon breaking through the fucking floor was ridiculous lol.

While the episode as a whole was good, the ending felt as nonsensical as the ending of episode 5 tbh.

 

[What A Shame...]

That was a real stinker of an episode.

What the fuck was that ending? I understand that you can't torch the opposition because a show still needs to happen, but wtf... at least put Rhaenys in a situation where she's FORCED to fly away. Every character who dies from this point forward is on her.

 

[jason10mm]

I really really thought that Aegon and Alicent were going to cower on that stage then Aemon disappears.

Seconds later Vaghar pops up, crunches the head of Rhaenys dragon, then eats her right off the twitching corpse. They are making Aemon a proper warrior king, no way he just stands there. Was he winking at Rhaenys but she couldn't tell?

And Misara, that Cajun accent thing. WTF? 100% that actress is banging a showrunner to keep her job. We.need to start getting Nawlins folk to read her lines and show her how it's done

 

[AJUMP23]

That was a real stinker of an episode.

What the fuck was that ending? I understand that you can't torch the opposition because a show still needs to happen, but wtf... at least put Rhaenys in a situation where she's FORCED to fly away. Every character who dies from this point forward is on her.

She could have ended a war and any contention to the throne easily.

 

[Methos#1975]

I really really thought that Aegon and Alicent were going to cower on that stage then Aemon disappears.

Seconds later Vaghar pops up, crunches the head of Rhaenys dragon, then eats her right off the twitching corpse. They are making Aemon a proper warrior king, no way he just stands there. Was he winking at Rhaenys but she couldn't tell?

And Misara, that Cajun accent thing. WTF? 100% that actress is banging a showrunner to keep her job. We.need to start getting Nawlins folk to read her lines and show her how it's done

Cajun??? You have obviously never heard a Cajun accent lol. An lol, New Orleans is hardly Cajun itself. Real Cajuns wouldn't be caught dead in New Orleans, they rather stay on their side of the atchafalaya. Her accent is just broken English. Nothing more.

 

[EviLore]

Rhaenys isn’t going to torch her brother’s family—her blood—the day after he dies. The provocations at this point are not strong enough to warrant going nuclear. She isn’t prescient, either, and has no way to know the extent that everything will continue to escalate. As for the bystanders getting trampled, no one ever cares about the smallfolk. This is the big leagues. All they can try to do is get out of the way.

 

[DetectiveBananas]

Thoughts and prayers to little Timothey who was crushed by a fat ass dragon with an old lady on top. On lookers said his last words were “I wasn’t supposed to be here today!…gurgllgehhh..“

 

[jason10mm]

Rhaenys isn’t going to torch her brother’s family—her blood—the day after he dies. The provocations at this point are not strong enough to warrant going nuclear. She isn’t prescient, either, and has no way to know the extent that everything will continue to escalate. As for the bystanders getting trampled, no one ever cares about the smallfolk. This is the big leagues. All they can try to do is get out of the way.

Possibly, though I'd argue it shows HER lack of leadership capability and decisiveness. We are talking the.kids of her nephew versus her own grandkids (one side at least), seems an easy choice to me. If she can't tell that Otto, Alicent, Aegon and Aemon are the very heart of the Greens cause then she also hasn't been paying any attention.

If she hoped Alicent would parley later on, I gotta think popping off right in the middle of the coronation instead of, I dunno, hiding quietly until everyone has left and passing up in a grand entrance....well, good luck with that plan.

I mean, she had the time to get in that fancy armor that I guess was just sitting next to her dragon even though we've NEVER seen anyone do that before, so it wasn't as if those valyrian speaking dragon keepers were hot on her trail or anything.

 

[What A Shame...]

Rhaenys isn’t going to torch her brother’s family—her blood—the day after he dies. The provocations at this point are not strong enough to warrant going nuclear. She isn’t prescient, either, and has no way to know the extent that everything will continue to escalate.

Commanding your dragon to burst through the floor of the king's coronation and having it scream in his face is pretty fucking nuclear. If that's not a provocation for war I don't know what is.

 

[BaneIsPain]

Rhaenys isn’t going to torch her brother’s family—her blood—the day after he dies. The provocations at this point are not strong enough to warrant going nuclear. She isn’t prescient, either, and has no way to know the extent that everything will continue to escalate. As for the bystanders getting trampled, no one ever cares about the smallfolk. This is the big leagues. All they can try to do is get out of the way.

It is typical Targaryen anyway. Look at Aegon I is willing to burn peasants to win.
Anyway, it is established Rhaenys is siding with the traitors from peasants' pov (I doubt they even care who's right on the throne).

Somehow the meme comes true

 

[jason10mm]

Ha ha ha, that is hilarious.

I don't recall the exact wording, but Rhaenys says something to Alicent along the lines of "You have never been in charge" and I was like WTF? Alicent has been running the kingdom for DECADES in some capacity or another. Sometimes I wanna throttle the screenwriters when they can't be consistent from one ep to the next.

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

Ha ha ha, that is hilarious.

I don't recall the exact wording, but Rhaenys says something to Alicent along the lines of "You have never been in charge" and I was like WTF? Alicent has been running the kingdom for DECADES in some capacity or another. Sometimes I wanna throttle the screenwriters when they can't be consistent from one ep to the next.

Or maybe Rhaenys is wrong in her assessment and it has nothing to do with the writers.
She wasn’t in King’s landing during the worst years of her brother. She had nonaccess to small council meetings.

Anyway everyone talking about that last scene and all i can think about is…how did that dragon pierced that huge floor like that without using any fire at all or anything…the scene was a bit weird and had poor planning tbh but it was cool to watch and that character deserved that moment.

 

[SlimySnake]

Ha ha ha, that is hilarious.

I don't recall the exact wording, but Rhaenys says something to Alicent along the lines of "You have never been in charge" and I was like WTF? Alicent has been running the kingdom for DECADES in some capacity or another. Sometimes I wanna throttle the screenwriters when they can't be consistent from one ep to the next.

She was just trying to fuck with her. Plant seeds of doubt in her brain. Just saying shit that would trigger her.

 

[Barrico82]

Rhaenys isn’t going to torch her brother’s family—her blood—the day after he dies. The provocations at this point are not strong enough to warrant going nuclear. She isn’t prescient, either, and has no way to know the extent that everything will continue to escalate. As for the bystanders getting trampled, no one ever cares about the smallfolk. This is the big leagues. All they can try to do is get out of the way.

I think he was her cousin not brother

 

[Dynasty8]

"Beware the beast beanth the table"

 

[jason10mm]

Or maybe Rhaenys is wrong in her assessment and it has nothing to do with the writers.
She wasn’t in King’s landing during the worst years of her brother. She had nonaccess to small council meetings.

Anyway everyone talking about that last scene and all i can think about is…how did that dragon pierced that huge floor like that without using any fire at all or anything…the scene was a bit weird and had poor planning tbh but it was cool to watch and that character deserved that moment.

She was just trying to fuck with her. Plant seeds of doubt in her brain. Just saying shit that would trigger her.

Could be. But again, this is a world that THRIVES on news. Rhaenys is cousin to the King, her hubby SAT on the Small Council for YEARS, do you really think she was ignorant of dealings at that level? Rhaenyra herself saw it, surely they spoke of it. If she had made up her mind to go against the Greens I'm not sure it was at that point, though it is hard to say because the Rhaenys actress is pretty inscrutable. She seems reconciled to the fact that she lost the vote. But how mad is she about Rhaenyra with Harwin? How mad is she about Daemon and Laena? She seems to support Corlys' desire to have Luc take over, knowing full well he ain't a Velaryon, though I feel like her own thoughts are somewhat different.

I feel like the show succumbed to the meta about "episode 9 is always NUTS!" and did this for the audience, even if narratively it was preposterous.

 

[SlimySnake]

I feel like the show succumbed to the meta about "episode 9 is always NUTS!" and did this for the audience, even if narratively it was preposterous.

This I agree with. Thats exactly what i thought of when the dragon came out and did absolutely nothing.

 

[BadBurger]

I hate to bring up The Rings of Power, because almost no one cares and it's tired, I get it, but I think it should be pointed out how this show - with a much smaller budget - can show such scope and grandeur, while Amazon struggles to have settings that show more than like 20 people at a time.

And the story telling man. It's amazing how on point it is, all the time. I'm one of the founding members of /r/freefolk, and we're finding difficult to make fun of this show. Hell, Vizzy T may have usurped Bobby B - an idea that would have been unimaginable a month ago.

 

[BadBurger]

This I agree with. Thats exactly what i thought of when the dragon came out and did absolutely nothing.

The Queen That Never Was was reminding them of the fact that in a more perfect Westeros she would have ruled, and it was a clarion call to Allicent to leave her and her family the fuck alone, and she'll do the same to them. The Dance of the Dragons is about to begin and she wants no part of it unless they force her to.

I thought it was an awesome scene. Right as Aegon embraces the crown and the people go wild, she breaks in and reminds them that there is one union left of pure blood from Old Valyria (her and Corlys).

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

I hate to bring up The Rings of Power, because almost no one cares and it's tired, I get it, but I think it should be pointed out how this show - with a much smaller budget - can show such scope and grandeur, while Amazon struggles to have settings that show more than like 20 people at a time.

And the story telling man. It's amazing how on point it is, all the time. I'm one of the founding members of /r/freefolk, and we're finding difficult to make fun of this show. Hell, Vizzy T may have usurped Bobby B - an idea that would have been unimaginable a month ago.

A year ago i still remember some people doubting the Game of Thrones hype because it was ruined after that last season and always talking about The Rings of Power...how wrong were they?

It's like Season 8 didn't taint this world in ANY way tbh. This IP has never been this big. And here we are barely commenting on ROP in comparison with this show.

 

[jason10mm]

The city CGI is pretty dodgy, as was the coronation. To think that a few decades ago all of that would have been filmed in a real city with a real stadium and the end cost probably would have been significantly less. Still, it was cool to see the scale of the Dragonpit versus the coronation taking place in some side alley with a dozen beggars in attendance.

 

[jason10mm]

The Queen That Never Was was reminding them of the fact that in a more perfect Westeros she would have ruled, and it was a clarion call to Allicent to leave her and her family the fuck alone, and she'll do the same to them. The Dance of the Dragons is about to begin and she wants no part of it unless they force her to.

I thought it was an awesome scene. Right as Aegon embraces the crown and the people go wild, she breaks in and reminds them that there is one union left of pure blood from Old Valyria (her and Corlys).

Rhaenys' mother was a Baratheon, so she is as much a mutt as Aegon the Elder in this context. Plus both of her kids are dead. She has only bastards and daughters to offer.

 

[Hardensoul]

Was enjoying the episode until the last scene! Last scene made no sense. Sure it was a badass scene but Rhaenys killed all those innocent people and did not finish off the greens.

We all know it wasn’t going to happen, I thought Rhaenys was going to die instead but nope she just flys away! Which was the intention to warn the blacks that Alicent has installed her son as King!