Lucerys Velaryon's House Of The Dragon Fate Is A Twist Decades In The Making
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 17 май 2024
- Although anyone who is familiar with the book that House of the Dragon is based on was going into the season finale expecting for Lucerys Velaryon to die, the TV adaptation put its own twist on Fire & Blood and made Luke's abrupt death accidental instead of intentional. At first glance it's an unexpected and somewhat strange plot twist, however, author George R.R. Martin has actually been laying the groundwork for something like this to happen for decades.
Content Of This Video:
00:00 Intro
00:43 Dragons Exist To Take Control Out Of The Targaryens' Hands
02:46 The Groundwork For This Twist Has Always Been There
06:16 Why Luke's Accidental Death Didn't Work...
09:22 ...But It's Still A Better Choice In The Long Run
10:45 Outro 
Развлечения
I was so surprised that many fellow book fans were upset with this minor change. I loved it! It made the whole scene so much more tragic. As King Viserys I Targaryen said in episode 1 “the idea that we control the dragons is an illusion.” If you play with medieval nuclear weapons, you will eventually be burned (or eaten in Lucerys’ case). Aemond will plead he did not mean to do it, but no-one (understandably) will believe it. Eventually, I think Aemond will pretend he did mean to do it since no one believes him anyway and he could benefit from this new image of himself. It is likely Aemond will be similar to Jaime Lannister. He will play the role of a Kinslayer similar to how Jaime uses the mask of the Kingslayer persona to cope with his past trauma
really took me by surprise as a book reader. I really love the change as it brings depth to Aemond's character.
@@daze.d5462 I've heard this a lot yet I still fail to see how this brings depth to Aemond's character. From my perspective, it just makes him look incredibly dumb for trying to "play a trick" on his nephew when following him with the biggest, absurdly powerful dragon. What other outcome did Aemond expect to happen? With intent to kill, his actions make sense.
Luce should have just kept flying. Never wound what you can't kill. I loved this change.
@@_philipp__ ppl being dumb? in asoiaf? nah
@@_philipp__ he's a teen. They are dumb.
I think major audiences are not ready for a ‘everyone is a war criminal’ story with how they reacted to daemon chocking Rheanyra. He literally murdered his first wife, attacks peasants, steps on his own men, but chocking the niece he groomed is too far out of character?
I think him killing his wife was BS too, the book is extremely loose with how many bad sources and rumors it used to describe what he did. I wouldn't trust a rumor about Daemon as far as I could throw him.
they created this idea he's an angel and are going mad because it's not true
They are used to 'bad boys' turning good just because they met the 'right woman' because that's how the media has portrayed them since forever.
This realistic portrayal of sociopaths remaining unchanged isn't something they've seen before in media I guess.
Daemon was a victim of a campaign of slander by the Hightower faction
@@user-vj6ws1op4u reminds me of the Dany stans..
Vizzy T did warn us in the first episode: The idea that we control the dragons is an illusion. They're a power man should never have trifled with.
Vizzy T😂😂😂😂☠️
They do control dragons, but they're still animals
Bro Vizzy T? When's the post-morten mixtape droppin? Lmaoo
Vizzy T 🤣👏i like it, like bobby b
@@nont18411 Rip Vizzy T
I just have to say that Ewan Mitchell as Aemond is grade A, nobody could do it better, amazing casting. That eye reveal!!
Yeah he's fantastic, he's one of those rare actors who isn't just perfect for the character but whose performance actually makes the character better.
Ewan Mitchell finally will get the recognition he deserves. He is grade Brilliant, not just A.
That eye reveal was life.
I loved him since his first episode (the feast), what an absolute menace. He speaks volumes with just body language.
Omg yes
I love that both sides were being cautious about war and it's a dragon that pushes them into it. Arax was probably just scared of Vhagar so he panicked and Vhagar is a seasoned war criminal who was not going let that slide. I think Aemond would rather lie and say he did it on purpose than appear weak by telling everyone he lost control of his dragon. That would fit neatly into the book cannon. I really like this change it makes the dragons a lot more interesting than they already are.
Seasoned War criminal 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Man said war criminal😧🤣
Interesting point of view.
Not like anyone would believe him
@@h.r.a5480 At the end of her life Vhagar probably had the highest kill count in Westerosi history. Balerion was bigger and older but he did not fight as many wars as Vhagar. Can you imagine being a death machine for most of your life, a willing participant in atrocity after atrocity, and now in your old age some puny lil tween dragon has the audacity to breathe fire in your face and fly away?
Maybe vhagar just has dragon dementia.
“Visenya this doesn’t taste dornish…”
“...it has a riverlander flavor mix with valyrian spice....what a weird dornish fellow this snack”
Oh nanny vhaegar
'Ooh shit, that rider has brown hair. Visenya, the Dornish have gotten their hands on dragons! Dont worry, I'll get this Dornish fuck!' LMAO nanny Vhagar memes have been giving me life all season.
😂😂😂
“One-eyed Visenya, have we conquered Dorne yet?”
I’d be interested in a video discussing people over romanticising Daemon. As I’ve seen a lot of people getting angry and/or are somehow shocked at him strangling Rhaenyra when I’d argue it’s very much in character.
It is in character. I saw him as a narcissistic irrational psycho from episode 1.
His behaviour towards Rhaenyra has always been distant and beguiling at the same time. He literally usurped her and made her believe she needs him. I've been following Matt Smith's acting for more than 10 years and he is adept at playing sociopaths that most wouldn't expect to be such.
For some reason they thought he was cool with murdering people whenever but he would never ever lay hands on his family. Which makes me really worried for people if they think that those whose first reaction to being upset is violence will keep an exemption list. That means they'd probably ignore a lot of red flags in relationships if they think the guy who kicked the TV in when his team lost would never hurt me cause he /loves/ me.
And notice Rhaenyra wasn't even phased. She knew who she married. She married him specifically because he was a pit bull and she needed that for her and her family.
i think it’s in character considering laena and reya. however i always felt that rhaenyra was the goal so him just disregarding her once they were together was just a little shocking considering he wanted to be w her since ep 1
@@mercedesgazda1635 he wanted her mostly because of who she is, the heiress to the throne. Psychopaths like him do not feel genuine emotions.
@@mercedesgazda1635 Again. Why do people think men who are violent when they are emotional have an exemption list? That suggests those other people somehow just weren't deserving enough to not be hurt by Daemon. He even neglects one of his own daughter cause she's not a dragon rider. Why y'all assume this guy with a kill count in the thousands would be a gentle giant at all times with Rhaenyra makes me worried about any of you dating ever.
Didn't y'all mamas teach you if he'll bust open another woman's head he'll bust open yours too and you're not a special butterfly that can heal his violent tendencies with the power of love?
I don't see why this is hard for many to believe.
Dragons are aggressive beasts, especially those who are seasoned in battle. They also feel the emotions of their respective rider.
Arrax felt Luke's fear and Vhagar felt Aemond's aggression. However, all bets were off the moment Arrax attacked Vhagar by breathing fire at her. Aemond no longer has control.
This is Vhagar's way of saying you may "ride" me, but you don't run shit here.
We see Drogon snap at Dany in season four and it scared her. Jorah had to remind her that they are wild animals and cannot be completely tamed.
I mostly agree. I personally see the dragons as these highly intelligent but emotionally intuned creatures. They aren't naturally aggressive or else every dragon would be the Cannibal on PCP. The dragons on the dragonmont, for example, are pretty peaceful and there are very few reports as to dragons attacking villages or hunting humans (Sheepstealer obviously stole sheep but tbh, good on him for recognizing easy food and taking advantage, lmao). As for Dany, not only does she not know anything about taming/bonding with dragons and is completely out of her element, I always felt like the 'mother' role is unnatural for a dragon to have. Her coddling them makes me think that she thinks of them as pets but in the same beat, she'll completely abuse the power they give her as weapons. She's a very hypocritical person and it only makes sense for her dragons to not quite no what card she's playing, especially back in the earlier seasons when the writing was good. Anything season 5 and onwards just turned the dragons in mindless clones who obey her every whim despite being well ewithin their rights to HATE her for locking them up for YEARS for Drogon's actions...
@@redfyresasoiaf Unrelated but just imagine what it would be like if someone actually was able to bond with Cannibal lmfao. Would such a person have to be just as insane as Cannibal?
@@MrFredstt I would hope so 😂 I read a fanfic (I will not be shamed) about that very thing and it was a trip, let me tell you.
@@redfyresasoiaf I need to know about this fanfic now!
@@lancenwokeji6349 Give me a second and I'll try to find it, lmao
I think the show illustrate well the escalation of violence. Nobody at first wants the death of an entire family but frustration turns to hate, bad words turns to physical violence and each action gets worst and worst till it destroy everything. The intention is always to hurt (but not to much) and things always go out of control.
Much like fire
@@Booya Nice observation
It's also an escalation of violence within the system of a monarchy. Otto was actually willing to kill the entirety of Rhaenyra's family, and had Alicent not played his game and won, he would have had it done. Why is this? It's because legitimacy of leadership in monarchy is dictated by bloodline, and the Blacks are bound to the Throne by blood. To leave them alive would leave a challenge to the Throne alive, even if they do not intend to challenge the Throne. I feel like GRRM focuses on this theme quite a bit throughout Fire and Blood, and the show exemplifies it.
What people not understand is that every single WAR started with this kind of escalation!
We see this with the Rhaenyra proposal scene and how the Braken was killed by a Blackwood. They have hatred towards eachothers house but it escalated to violence and once the Braken died it went to far.
I really enjoyed the twist. Both for the lore and the story. In my mind, it wouldn’t make sense for Aemond as we’ve seen him to kill Luke in cold blood and start a war. Up until now, he has only known a world of peace, so it makes sense this happened due to him not fully understanding how weapons of war work and assuming that what he wants to stay a game will remain a game.
This ending made me quite emotional actually, because this is playing out like a Greek tragedy between a family and it escalates into a war, tragedy in itself. Doomed to their fates due to their fatal flaw of believing themselves in control of everything.
Love this perspective. Literally everything I experienced and thought about. Many of your dragon riders are kids and have not known war. Vhagar is a literal weapon of war. How could things not go wrong. It also had me emotional. So deeply tragic.
Love leads to hate, hate leads to anger and anger leads to the motherfucking dance of the dragons apparently 😅
I agree, I had to pause the video because I simply didn't agree that the potential for the dragons to have their own choice was obivous. Arrax and Luke in particular are young so it makes sense that they don't actually understand the game their playing, and Aemond largely underestimating his dragon too, is a perfect storm. I loved the ending. Aemond's actor did an AMAZING job of displaying the complex emotions of his character and I can watch it on a loop and understand it differently with every loop
You can't really call changes in the show a retcon when they don't contradict known facts. The book is telling the story from third person unreliable narrator perspectives, none of which were there for these kind of major events.
Completely agree. This is the first of OP's videos that I don't fully agree with bc I think this, and other what she calls 'diluting of characters' makes the entire story more tragic. You can argue that making Alicent less gung-ho about war, or changing ages, adding prophecies, etc changes the story but I think it makes it a lot more human. The writers need grey characters on both sides, if they committed to book Alicent, even with the age changes in the show, no one would care what happened to her or her children. She's basically awful in the books, lol.
.
This dragon thing, however, not only makes perfect sense but feels like it clears up a lot of the 'purposefully biased writing' in Fire and Blood. Instead of seeing Aemond as purely evil hell-bent on revenge, we get to see him simply wanting what he's working for as well as losing control of Vhagar, the most powerful dragon in the known world. This makes total sense and I completely disagree that this removes blame from him. He becomes more tragic, like Jaime in ASOIAF, because he now has to own what he did as if he meant to, living with that stigma for as long as it lasts. I think it was a great story beat and I loved it.
I've personally like Alicent better in the show.
@@redfyresasoiaf idk how we can agree or disagree considering she says one thing and right after contradict every argument she gave. She didn’t voice an opinion to which one can agree or disagree instead she gave all the arguments so it’s hard to tell if she even has one
@@redfyresasoiaf you're right about all that, but there's been a lot of apologist bs. Nobody meant to do anything ever and then oops its war. And I even get that greenseers are manipulating stuff, but people just have to be more complicated than this. They can't all be innocent.
@@dmitritrs4867 I never said they were innocent but they, simultaneously shouldn't be planning every single step of a coup and then a war in advance. Things happen irl. Things happens in this book, sometimes out of the characters' control or with little forethought. That's what makes for interesting storytelling. If Aemond or Alicent were cut and dry, set in their ways from day 1 (like they basically are in the books) it's not only harder to relate to them, it's harder in general to want to follow their story. It's in mistakes and circumstances that characters grow. And it's completely in character for both of them to follow the path they're following in the show. Were not all of a sudden having Aemond become a pacifist and choose a nudist life, but we're allowing him to see that maybe all that Kingly prep he did wasn't actually preparing him for the real world...
I liked the change. Aemond looks like a movie villain. We all expected him to act like a movie villain. But in reality, he is still a young man who has probably never killed anyone before.
I think this was the first time. I think he never actually seriously hurt anyone before as well. That's why he speaks like that about tourneys. He has only been sparring so far and that's it. That's why he is so naive.
I feel like it's easy to forget. These are children. I had such helpless heartbreaking anguish watching these children deal with a situation they couldn't possibly fully comprehend and the parents and generational trauma who put them there. The mother in me screams.
I'm still gonna blame their mother for putting so much hatred into them.
I was exactly thinking this. Children "playing" the grown-ups game
@@nicoledenel Playing is the apt word here. To Aemond, it was a game. Much like an older sibling making a game of scaring the younger sibling or pulling pranks. However, Vhagar and Arrax were not playing games. They are intelligent animals with minds of their own with Vhagar being a seasoned war veteran.
Visary's did his damnest to prevent that. Even declaring it his deathwish for his family to stop fighting and quarreling for the throne.
Order of the green hand once posited that the rider doesn't enter the dragon's mind but the opposite, and the dragon acts accordingly. Now imagine a violent terrifying animal reading your emotions/your rage etc..., but not the reason and deliberation that qualifies and restrains it in tense situations and acting accordingly.
Yep, and everything we've seen in GOT and HotD supports this. And for the people who've read the books it's even more clear that the dragons aren't being controlled. They can and will disobey their riders. Heck, even Vhagar was hesitant to burn Laena when she asked for it. It meant she understood and didn't want to do it, but in the end did it because she understood Laena was dying and this would put her out of her misery. They think, they feel, they mourn, they choose. So yeah, Vhagar would choose to fuck up some young dragon that thought it could spit fire in her face.
I always wondered what the dragons were thinking when they were forced to fight each other. I assumed it was like the tragedy of brothers on opposite sides of the war, never once considered they might be more belligerent than their riders. But of course they are, they're death machines. They don't care about their own eggs or anything, and at least one is known to wreck other dragons for fun. And with the psychic connection, they probably vibe more with the resentment and cruelty than the political complexities and sense of honor or family or whatever.
Reminds me of how dogs will feel stressed or nervous if you are
Excellent take 👍🏾
@@MissKashira Yep. Also, Vhagar is an old dragon who has been in many battles. It's akin to some young upstart thinking they can attack a badass veteran and not get beat.
I like it for Aemond because I think it makes him much less one note evil and will allow him to become that villain in coming seasons when more atrocities are committed. More important, the perception of this act will stay as is for the rest of Westeros. Aemond the Kinslayer. Though it does feel odd to end the season on that, I'm sort of expecting an episode next week even though I know it's over.
I think even more that Aemond will almost be forced to lean into it or be thought as weak or foolish. And in a way he will use it to inspire fear for the sake of his family.
LOL I like it for the character but I also feel so bad because I already loved him when I believed he was an unhinged war criminal so now that I know he didn't even mean it I'm like cool, so my new favorite character is gonna non-stop go through it because he made one teeny tiny oopsie one time!
@@HillsAliveYT I believe they'll set him up to become the war criminal in the Riverlands. I'd say what it did for the dragons was mostly worth what it did for Aemond.
I don't think intentionally killing the guy who cut his eye out and declared war against his family makes him one note evil.
@@InitialPC I wouldn't really either tbh. Whether or not he did or didn't kill Luke at that point war was on its way
Just wanted to add that in universe at this point in the story, the Targaryens involved have not used their dragons in war for decades. Aemond and Lucerys specifically have only seemingly used their dragons for recreational flying. And it seems their dragons are more or less pliable in those circumstances. Hence why it completely takes both of them by surprise when the dragons start attacking of their own volition.
Yep. They thought they knew their dragons but they really didn't. Vhagar is also a seasoned war veteran so as soon as she was attacked she did what she's always done in times of war. Both Aemond and Luke were completely unprepared and naive about their dragons and how they would react.
Aemond didn't want to kill his nephew; he wanted him to feel the same pain of losing an eye. The chase in skies was meant to continue the same intimidation they were engaged in, but it simply escalated because Vhagar wasn't going to be attacked without consequence. I think this tragic accident also fits well with the tragic misinterpretation of the prophecy leading to Aegon's ascension.
I think he thought about killing him but didn't actually want to in real life. The thought's and feelings and hatred were there. But again up until this point he wasn't really a killer. He just wanted to intimidate him. Vhagar was feeling it too and unlike Aemond had zero F's to give.
Vissy t's prophecy was talking about the dance of the dragons.
I think this situation adds to the complexity to aemons character. Which makes the show so great! Reader’s can’t always know the finer details or what a character was thinking if it’s written as a second hand account. I like the twists, if you do it exactly like books what is the point then?
Yeah Aemond wanted to scare the shit out of him, he probably would’ve slashed his eye out if he got the chance, but it clearly wasn’t intentional murder.
Yep. Aemond wanted the debt to be repaid. Though he didn't know the dragons had other plans in mind.
I, personally, like this change. "The idea that we control the dragons is an illusion" - King Viserys. They are gigantic flying lizards who can be very hungry and very angry; you dont control them, they listen your words and decide "ok small thing" or "haha, f*ck you, i do what i want". They are not objects, they are not pets, they are huge dragons.
I think it’s mainly to make our views on the greens more positive, most book fans dislike the greens. But in the show they’ve made changes to try and balance out the two sides. That’s why they’ve done this change.
You have to remember that Blood and Fire is a history book written by the side that won. Imagine what southern history books would look like if the Confederacy had won the civil war. A lot of talk about oppressive Northerners attempting to take away States Rights, I'd assume.
@@MissKashira So like current Southern Apologia then?
@@filipmaly6603 Yes. Blood and Fire is the Targaryen version of Southern Apologia. So I find it hilarious people are mad that the greens aren't as mustache twirling evil as they are in the history books written by the side they lost a war to.
@@MissKashira The victors write the history books as they say
@@MissKashira but wasn't it made a point that the maesters side with greens bc *obviously* they would; they're maesters from the citadel.
AND by westerosi law, culture & precedent, they were the ones on the right, not the blacks.
aegon & rhaenyra aren't remembered fondly, but she isn't even recognized as a legit ruler. her sons claim the throne on the basis of their patrilineal lineage, not matrilineal; they don't claim the throne because their mother was queen but because their father was the brother of a king & uncle to another.
so while grrm is clearly biased towards the blacks, the fictional history itself isn't biased towards them.
Vhagar: Visenya did we finally take Dorne?
Aemond: I swear to God-
I think maybe during the fight when Aemond broke Lukes nose, and Luke cut out Aemonds eye, maybe the dragons felt that pain, and held more grudges and less forgiveness than their riders.
This! Also remember the fact that Vhagar has essentially lived her life (excluding her brief time with Laena RIP) as either a war machine or a retiree. She knows war, she knows how to fight dragons, how to murder men on the ground, etc. She doesn't just 'bully for fun.' She's a hardened killer. Though this is, to my knowledge, the first dragon she's killed it still stands that she wouldn't just back down after some taunting, no matter what her rider does or doesn't want.
@SonderDAze X you might be right.
I think there actually is an indication of this in the books, no? Maybe I'm completely making up my own headcanons but I think that Vhagar actually roared when Aemond lost his eye or something, so the whole dragons holding a grudge/protecting their riders from a perceived enemy/getting revenge for unfair treatment in the past is a theory with some legs.
@@HillsAliveYT YES! thats totally what i imagined! along with Vermax and Arrax, struggling against their chains during the encounter, and maybe singeing a dragon keeper.
@@HillsAliveYT also when helaena died didnt dreamfyre freak out even though she was far away? they definitely are connected emotionally
I think it was a fantastic change. Because of how the book is written its more of a telling of history from a point of view so everyone comes across as bit a psychopath. Having it this way actually makes Aemond a person and now he'll probably say he did do it just to save face.
Another point that helps this is when Daemon was arguing that they have 13 dragons to the Hightower’s 4. He’s fully admitting that the Blacks will take losses but since they had more Dragons they would literally wear them down over time. The fact that Rhaynera wasn’t convinced meant that the outcome they want isn’t guaranteed. Why even discuss this if it wasn’t another “Checkov’s Gun”?
Second point, the specific actions resulting in Lucerys’ death are completely immaterial to the results themselves. You could stand in front of Rhaynera herself with a 75” 4K LCD television set and screen the entire episode for her and I doubt it would sway her feeling of vengeance. Aemon might be a little regretful for what happened but I think 99% of his visible distress was due to knowing the implications and consequences of what he (or Vhagar) had just done. He knows explaining himself would be impossible, war was now going to happen and he was going to disappoint a lot of people close to him. The two sets of brothers have always had a “frienemy” type relationship, and now that’s changed forever.
I thought it was an amazing end to the season. Revenge is still undefeated when it comes to storytelling.
I do think he felt bad for the killing because this is his first kill. The first time he kills family. This is when he truly hardens.
*1st of all, It's Rhaenyra..* just had to put that out there... and 2nd of all, you explained PERFECTLY why this is my favorite Episode of House of The Dragon. Even though it was a Tragic Episode, I hated Aemond this WHOLE TIME KNOWING he would end up like Joffrey or Ramsey, but it's not so simple as that, everyone's different. I liked the change NOT ONLY because it seemed as if Vhagar was uncontrollable, BUT ALSO because Aemond did regret it.. which tells me he's not an ENTIRELY Evil person, and made it hard to hate him in all honesty (:/) (even though he will soon be responsible for burning Countless in the Riverlands thus becoming more Twisted like Ramsey Bolton but with THE BIGGEST DRAGON EVER) the fact that he not only regrets it, but that he KNEW what he just did was an Act of War and that he just Started the Dance... *cause we ALL KNOW he regrets the Consequences of his Actions more than the Act itself (:/) more than anything, the #1 thing running through his head was Darksister (No Pun Intended (;)) LOL* which recently beheaded Vaemond Velaryon for calling them Bastards. When DAEMON looked at him at dinner on Episode 8, he just looked at Aemond, and huffed, the kind of breath as in "do I even need to say it (:/)" like NOT ONLY did I just remove someone's head for this EXACT THING, but more like.. "You only have 1-Eye left dude try not to lose it (;)) you're seeing me smile with the last eye you got kid (;))" *...and so when Aemond did that he realized what he just did, and EXACTLY who would come for him for this deviant act of cruelty! Ironically the Rogue Prince will bring him to Justice and come for his FINAL EYE when this is all over, which only makes me feel more sorry for Aemond knowing at 1 point he wasn't TFG but now after killing his Nephew ON DRAGONBACK I'd say that's as Too Far Gone as it gets AND THAT MOMENT made me also see how Lost Aemond One-Eye really is as a Character (he had his revenge Now What (:/) I bet those words never crossed his mind) AND it also made me realize what an AMAZING ACTOR EWAN MITCHELL IS (:)) he was PERFECT for the role, PERFECTLY CAST just like Henry Cavil as Gerald of Rivia (;D)!* I've seen The Last Kingdom, and seen him act before, but he played a supportive PROTAGONIST ROLE, this was something entirely different and yet RIGHT UP HIS ALLEY seeing as how in The Last Kingdom he played a Protagonist Rogue so I knew he'd fit into the role rather well (;))... this Civil War AND SHOW is about to be Championed by Aemond One-Eye (or Aemond One-Incher as I call him (X"D) and Daemon Targaryen... this will only end with ALL DEAD amidst Fire & Blood just as is it written in the books, I only hope Putin doesn't blow the world to ashes so we can see this Magnificent yet Tragic story. IF ONLY Cruelty, Pain, Sorrow, and Hate were just in Shows but they aren't, and for how magical the world of ASOIAF is the Actions and lives of these characters still seems so realistic and similar to our own, this show nails the Human Element of good storytelling, dialog and Character development, UNlike Rings of Power that has moving Cardboard pieces with wigs and faces drawn on them. I can't wait for the rest of The Dance of Dragons, season 2 like Lucerys and Arrax is LIGHTYEARS AWAY Unfortunately (:"().... here's to seeing Blood and Cheese 2 years from now in 2024ish (:/) 7 Hells I might be a Parent by then (._.) LOL fuck.. maybe not.. (X"D)
He didn't want to wear them down. He wanted to take the 13 dragons and kill the every loving shit out of them. Don't need soldiers if everyone leading the opposing army is dead. But given they are unlikely to nicely line up for one dragon to burn mostly just them (again), Daemon's plan requires killing a shitload of innocent people which Rhaenyra isn't okay with.
@@MissKashira Rhaenys didn't seem to mind and the excuse that everybody on the internet has been making for her is that the smallfolk don't matter...
@@edwardirwin3478 I'm gonna assume that Rhaenys had no other way out of the dragon pit and therefore did not kill hundreds of people to strike a pose.
Rhaenyra is not Rhaenys. She's considering giving up the crown in order to preserve lives. And her plan involves a situation where the people would likely riot and kill the greens rather than her having to burn the Red Keep down and killing thousands of people.
I like the idea of it being portrayed as an accident. It has that theme of bullying going too far. And it kinda make's you look at Aemond in a different light. It actually reminds me of pet owners with really violent dogs they can't control. As a child me and my cocker spaniel was attacked by a Pitbull the owner swore he could handle.
Aemond is still a dick. He’s the one who started the fight that got his eye cut out in the first place. The whole shit is his fault.
I personally loved this choice, as well as the choices like 'diluting' (as you put it) who I'm guessing, is Alicent based on the chosen still. In the case of the dragon 'battle,' Aemond becomes a tragic sort of character because he lost control of his dragon (reasonably so) and didn't think of the concequences. He becomes the Kinslayer similarly to how Jaime does is ASOIAF but instead of a (technically unconfirmed in the books) noble reason behind it, it'll basically be either to save face or because he knows no one would believe him if he tried to plead 'I didn't mean to!'
.
In the case of Alicent and aging her down aside, having her be a lot less gung-ho about usurping Rhaenyra's crown for her admitedly horrible son makes for better storytelling. I could do without Larys being a foot-loving perv (no shame to that kink but consent is key!) but she's shown to be someone repeatedly thrust into whatever position men put her into with little say in the matter. Continuing that trend until she finally out-does her father and gets Aegon II first makes more sense. It also makes for a character you can understand and from there choose to root for or not, rather than the IMO god-awful power hungry woman she seemed to be in the book.
,
I also completely disagree with the stance about 'the season shouldn't have ended on that note'. Having the season end there, or rather with Rhaenyra hardening her resolve after finding out she lost a son over this, not only makes for a perfect cliff-hanger, it really doesn't change it narratively from the books. Because only Aemond knows what happened in the sky and because no one will reasonably believe him if he claims it was an accident, he will bear the concequences/stigma/etc as if it was intentional and the war will proceed as expected.
.
Showing the dragons to have a mind of their own was key to this show to separate it from the bs from GoT where Dany essentially controlled three identical clones (except for the one see in the Dothraki scene which now retrospectively feels out of place af) of the same dragon with no personality, let alone will of their own. This is House of the Dragon, I would hope the dragons would be allowed to be just that, dragons. Vhagar is a nuke compared to the rest (excluding Meleys) but she's still Vhagar and she knows war. She saw tiny dragon, she was sent to bully tiny dragon, she killed tiny dragon. It makes sense.
Couldn’t agree more, I really don’t get the hate.
Absolutely loved this episode and the discussion its prompted around dragon riding. It's wild to me ppl were angry about the mere idea that a dragon can disobey!
Ikr, I really don’t get the hate, also it’s not even really a retcon since the books are pretty vague as to what *actually* happens with the only witnesses being miles away on shore.
I think it's an interesting perspective. It's like the idea of children being reckless playing with loaded guns until something horrible happens. Also, we are told the story through the perspective of historians as the Dance of the Dragons happened in the past and no one living is telling their side of the story. Maybe Lucerys actually did survive and live as a fisherman. Strange we didn't actually see his body, right?
i’m pretty sure it’s implied he was eaten
@@tonionknight7472 Game of thrones has never shied away from horror and gore. We didn't see it happen so we can't know it happened. I think it was left deliberately ambiguous.
@@Eco-pu2zs either he got eaten or he fell from above the clouds into the sea. He’s dead
Lol how unambiguous does it need to be?? He was chomped to bits by a giant dragon right in front of our eyes
Had he survived the chomp he would have died from the fall. He's dragon poop. He wouldn't have abandoned his family had he lived.
I heard about it before I saw it and was so sure I would hate it. But after I saw it in context and thought about I really started liking it.
It doesn't remove Aemond’s responsibility or motives. And it makes more sense to me that he didn't start out as a brutal war criminal but grew into being one. And it makes the dragons more interesting.
Although it would definitely have been better if they didn't have such a problem with giving their characters agency, and I think that the series also have problems with character inconsistency and the pacing.
I think the "accidental" killing was GRRM's plan. First we have to take into account that Fire and Blood is written in the most unreliable of narrators long after the events have occurred. With that in mind, kinslaying is easily on of the top three taboos in the world, with breaking of guest rights and incest being the other two. The Targaryans get a pass on the incest part due to the perceived near divinity of the family. That leaves kinslaying and the guest rights as the big taboo for Targaryans. The fact Lucerys was killed by Aemond's dragon is enough to give the title of kinslayer. No rational person will believe after the fact that it was an accident given their decade of bad blood. Everyone in those social circles knows that there is great hostility between the two, and given at that point the whole realm was on the verge of war, every rational person would assume that the killing was an overt decision by Aemond.
GRRM rarely have overtly Evil characters, with the only two that comes to mind are Ramsey and Joffery, although I would put Joffery as the lesser between those two. My guess is for the show, Aemond; like Jamie in ASoIaF; will have to embrace the title of kinslayer. Simply, like Jamie, there is going to be no way anyone will view it as an accident. Unlike Jamie, there is not going to be a Brienne to give Aemond a chance. Alicent and the other Hightowers are too pious. Aegon was last seen embracing the role that was thrusted upon him and has accepted the war during his coronation. Aemond has been presented as the more level headed of the brothers will accept and then embrace the title.
Maybe Alys will, or maybe Alys is her Lyanna to his Rhaegal. Who knows, I'm expecting more tragedy and heartbreak. The more we understand him the more hard is going to see the tragedy unfold.
“You are not a real dragon rider!”
“Slippin’ Mondy with a dragon riding degree is like a chimp with machine gun!” - Alicent to Aemond
Aemond McGill
Also, Otto is a lot more like Chuck than Alicent is
To me, while Vhagar killed Luke and Arrax on her own, Aemond still was 100% responsable, he wanted blood, and Lucerys and Arrax almost died many times during the chase, and Arrax hitting Vhagar made sense with how stressed the two were.
I also think then if Aemond hadn't lost control of Vhagar, he wouldn't had snapped out of his bloodlust and would have far less issues with having killed Lucerys, on the moment anyway.
BTW I hadn't seen the video yet when writing this.
I agree, people seem to be forgetting even tho Aemond may not have ordered Vhagar to kill arrax he still viciously chased them down which no doubt fired up Vhagar and goaded Arrax into attacking which literally causes the death. So I don’t get why people are whinging abt this personally.
@@harleyokeefe5193 Arrax just wanted to protect his bro and himself from the old bitch and Aemond.
It's like when the Red Queen was trying to kill Toothless and Hiccup, Toothless shooting at the Red Queen to protect himself and Hiccup just made sense.
@@harleyokeefe5193 people are "whining" because it absolves him of viciously hunting down a child with the intention of murdering him. It downgrades it from first degree murder to manslaughter which is stupid.
@@danielbroome5690 I mean it’s not made clear in the books what exactly happens. Remember we are only hearing second hand sources, even the first hand sources where stood miles away on the shore only seeing brief flashes of orange through the storm. He may not have directly ordered Arrax and Luce killed but he still demanded an eye from Luce and chased him viciously through a storm.
My take on this is largely the same as yours. It seems like a narrative choice with lots of interesting possibilities. It has thematic resonance in that the Blacks and the Greens "should" have known the full terrible consequences their actions would have, in the same way that Aemond should have known how Vhagar would act in that situation. But, at the same time, as part of a pattern of making many events that were previously seen as conscious decisions into unfortunate mistakes, it does seem to rob various characters of perhaps too much agency. We'll see how things unfold in the next season. Thanks for all this brilliant content!
I i don’t think it takes away from Aemond’s agency bc he still chose to create that situation by his hubris. I think this scene is great by itself, the issue is honestly more with Alicent “misunderstanding” Viserys
@@madnessends2477 Idk if it's hubris more as a desire for revenge and a grudge that he has held for many years
I'm a book obsessed fan and I absolutely love making it "accidental".. It adds so much more tragedy to all of it.. Esp moving forward..
I think the "twist" that dragons have more agency than we ever knew, also grants the Dragon Riders' have much more agency & feelings. It was an amazing ending to an amazing pilot season.
A war was going to happen but none of the sides was planning for it to start that soon, both were trying to get other nobles to their sides. Sometimes wars seem to start by accident, WW1 when an Austrian archduke got shot for example, although pressure had been accumulating for a long time.
We can notice that Aemond had less control over his dragon, he is less fluent in valyrian, reversing to the common tongue when under stress (while Lucerys only spoke in valyrian in that scene). This limited his ability to control his dragon, indicating that the rider was under stress (the dragon should act by himself for a while as the rider isn't in full control of himself) and probably ignoring orders in the common tongue anyway.
LMFAO oh my god I've heard the expression "on a scale of 1 to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand how bad did you screw up" but I think Aemond accidentally getting his dragon to eat his nephew and start a civil war might actually be the first instance where someone actually DID screw up as badly as the assassination of Franz Ferdinand.
I love the comparison to WW1. Sometimes things, even small or regional things, can suddenly explode into far bigger things that gets out of anyone's control
@@HillsAliveYT To make the comparison even more apparent, the Black Hand (the group that killed Franz) were fighting for Serbian nationalism or something along those lines, which was something Franz was actually trying establish to maintain Austria-Hungary's survival.
They basically killed the only person who could've actually given them what they wanted. Like how Aemond started the Dance by killing Luc.
I mean Aemond spoke Valyrian when he claimed Vhagar so he learned the language far before Luce.
Likely Aemond just panicked. Vhagar probably isn't as obedient - why would a 150 year old dragon listen to a teenager?
I disagree that he's more fluent in Valyrian, it's just easier to control a tiny baby, not a 180 year old war crime factory.
Oh I totally don't think this revelation ended the season on a sour note, I thought it made a great point.
All of the context of this season lead to this moment. Vhagar and Arrax disobeying their riders, to me, reflects just how incendiary, easily, and accidentally sparked war and violence can be.
Luke being made to vouch for a seat and responsibility he didn't want within an archaic system of power, and Aemond's hollow posturing and terrorizing really encapsulates each of the two sides in this final chase scene. 20+ years of more quiet conflict have been simmering, and the dragons here as pure manifestations of power can serve as a warning of how that power can take control of us and our own actions. The fact that it was an accident that ended this scene reveals how all the terrible situations and mistakes by both sides, at a certain point, spiral completely out of control of the people who made them. As Viserys said, the idea that the riders control the dragons is an illusion. The mere fact that these weapons of destruction exist even in times of peace as an underlying threat changes people, and forces them to act around the implied threat of death and war at all times. If they don't, this is what happens.
Dragons are fire made flesh, but they also reflect how ultimate power, unchecked character flaws, and mistakes can take on a mind of their own.
My interpretation is that the man who wrote the story as a book within the book, was only able to tell the story as he heard or as was recorded. Which tells me that moving forward, Aemond will own up to this like it was intentional. So he doesn’t look weak and not in control of his Dragon. the writer told Aemonds version.
Nobody :
Hill's Alive : But what do you think ?
The change feels so natural. The main theme HotD has been building up since the beginning is the way political intrigue keeps pushing people into positions of power they either can't handle or don't want (because they can't handle it). Everyone involved in the Dance is madly making policy by the seat of their pants, and tens of thousands will die because of it.
As far as "things they added to make a character look better" go, I think this is much better than the show explicitly revealing that Rhaenyra and Daemon didn't kill Laenor and in fact did him a huge favor.
I still don't understand why people see this as a bad thing other than needlessly breaking my poor Rhaenys' heart. I genuinely would like your take on it bc as I see it, it was a win-win (again, excluding poor Rhaenys and Corlys).
@@redfyresasoiaf yeah that's my point, they changed it just to make Rhaenyra look less terrible.
@@sadhydra so that's a bad thing? Hopefully you're also angry that Alicent was aged down and made helpless against the whims of literally every man in her lift even though that literally made the show. Without it, it would feel like a bad soap opera where a step mom is trying to get in a rich man's inheritance no matter the cost...
@@redfyresasoiaf why would I be mad if it made the show better?
@@sadhydra I don't know. I can't tell if we agree or not, lmao
From a narrative purpose I think it makes the most sense that Aemond's first kill was an accident. Realistically I don't think someone would go from passive aggressively insulting your nephews at a family dinner to straight up murder in the space of a few days. Then in the later seasons I think he'll lean into that persona of the Kinslayer because that level of violence is a line he has already crossed.
But I think the nature of Luke's underlines that this story is a tragedy. That's the whole thing about the war right is the way the conflict between the factions bleeds from the adults to the kids, who get dragged into this mess from birth, are expected to fight for their families and then (spoilers) most of them end up dying tragically young.
This is how you do a misunderstanding leading into conflict better than the one at the end of episode 8.
I was actually thinking of the ADWD book where in the final chapter with Dany, we see Drogon literally refuse to fly Dany back to Mereen and instead chill on a rock. Basically if a dragon isn’t in the mood for flying, it ain’t flying.
Your analyses have been my favourite this season. Amazing work! I'll be watching for you in season 2
The show has been bringing in a lot of elements of the use of Dragons causing excess collateral damage (viserys line about people not being able to control dragons, Daemons dragon smashing his own soldier, and Rhaenys's dragon killing multiple civilians in episode 9) and I believe that was what they were going for more so than making Aemond look like a better person.
Something something power and responsibility, something something absolute power corrupts absolutely
Your commentary is amazing. I'm loving your videos.
I actually really like this interpretation. Dragons are animals and it makes sense that if you were to activate their animal instinct in a chase that they would eventually act on their own accord.
you are such a fresh voice in the asoiaf fandom. thank you! ❤
I really wish you would make a video on daemon and how the audience has romanticised his character and actions and his relationship with rhaneyra. This is much needed in time when people are simping over that groomer.
Yeah, same take. I haven't read the book but it is interesting for Aemond to have some ambiguity here, and I also like the reminder a dragon is not a mindless slave of the rider. What I didn't like about the execution was how they went about establishing Aemond had lost control - not the fact of it so much as the hamfisted way it was demonstrated, Aemond suddenly yelling in English rather than High Valyrian, how strung out the sequence was. It could have been executed much more subtly and would have felt more dramatic and less like the writers were making a point.
You deserve way more subscribers! Your video’s are so original and well though of.
I don’t view it as characters losing culpability in their actions, I see it as an entirely preventable war started by the hubris, ego, and utter carelessness of some absolutely delusional people, and I actually think that’s miles more interesting
Very good review. I wish I had found your reviews earlier!
you couldn't have waited with posting this so it shows up on my timeline until the episode actually aired
As a professional dog handler, watching that scene had me tense. It reminded me a lot of when a dog gets overstimulated past the point of listening to commands. They did a good job treating the dragons like actual animals in that scene imo
You just sent me down the rabbit hole with your reference to Aerea Targaryen; that idea that something is out there that could grievously wound the Black Dread is nightmare fuel, plain and simple...
I actually loved that it was an accident, it is the climax to the bullying we’ve seen through the whole season with all of the kids, while also being ironic because Aemond is using the dragon he was bullied for not having to bully others. They’re also just kids and sometimes horrible accidents happen because kids are kinda dumb sometimes and don’t fully think about the consequences of their actions. This can also be a good character building moment for Aemond as he might blame himself for the death and become more vicious because he’s already killed somebody
Abuelita wanted to fight and really threw her chancla
I felt that it being a freak accident made the scene far more poignant, true Aemond did want to mutilate Luke, but in the end it felt like two children who didn't know what they were getting into (Aemond is like 19 - very young even though he doesn't look like it) for me it painted Aemond as a far more understandable character rather than a maniachal psychopath
WWI started after a series of incredible mishaps on all sides (even the death of Franz Ferdinand was kind of an accident, his assassin had already given up on the plan and went for a sandwich when inexplicably to him the archduke drove by) I felt that the show mirrored this quite nicely. It's what they'll do when they are pushed to the brink which will be interesting to see.
Yeah sure expectation that having Vhagar chase Arrax woudn't end badly was absurd, it wasn't absurd but natural to Aemond, probably nothing similar ever happened to the guy.
I don't think it was exactly absurd. Keep in mind Aemond and Luke have never been to war, let alone rode their dragons into war. They have only ever rode their dragons recreationally and had full control. Now all of a sudden, their dragons are incredibly stressed out and in a serious situation. To them that was not a simple game. So, they attack. Aemond and Luke had never experienced riding their dragons in such a situation and thus had never had them completely ignore their commands like that.
It is blowing my mind that this went up so fast. Like it’s midnight. The episode came out @ 9pm, and this has been up for 2 hrs
I think this change sets several interesting precedents regarding Dany's control over not one but three dragons and that likely her arrival to Westeros will go not as planned and she will be villainized (perhaps by killing fAegon, she has little issue with kinslaying compared to other characters who cite it consisteny).
And regarding Targaryans and them taking on the guilt of atrocities they did not commit or that did not happen as presented, there is precedent for that as well with Daemon who never seems to want to clarify anything. I think they are intended to likely be the most alike, antiheros pitted against each other because no side is innocent or guilty as they may seem.
We also have precedent for Targs not stating when their dragons act out, keeping the illusion Viserys mentions alive. When the dragon wouldn't go North, it is mentioned the rider played it off due to embarassment.
Overall I think people just want a clear bad guy and they can't have it in Daemon cuz Matt Smith is too smooth.
As a book fan I didn't mind Vhagar not obeying Vhagar when he was using her in that moment as a tool or a toy rather than a companion. Something as dangerous as a dragon will never truly be tameable 100%. Even though it's minor there's even moments in the main series where Daenerys says she cannot force Drogon to do certain things
Such a good analysis!
I think it speaks more to the fact that dragons are connected to their riders rather than making Aemond a more tragic figure. Aemond surely still had every intend to kill a nephew, but once it happened he realized what he had done. Lucerys was corned cause on one hand he swore an oath to his mother and on the other hand the weather conditions and Vhagar made him afraid and subconsciously went into defence mode and therefore also his dragon. If we take dragon lore into account than not only one aspect to it. I think what Viserys talked about about is that a dragon both creature and Targaryen is dangerous because these two are connected and emotions are hard to stop
I, for one, like this one change. It shows perfectly that they don't control their dragons as much as they think they do while also showing dragons are intelligent and have minds of their own.
I compare it to an instance I witnessed in high school. A kid who was 6'2" and weighed a good 220 snatched up a kid half his size and body-slammed him, full-force, onto concrete. Then he acted like it was a total shocker that the smaller kid had a concussion, a broken jaw, and a dislocated shoulder as a result. He tried to say he was "just messin' with the kid," but he narrowly avoided being charged as an adult for felony assault.
I don't think Aemond not intentionally killing Lucerys paints him as a better man. Just a less clinical one. 100% his underestimation of the situation lead to Lucerys and Arrax dying but had he had his way Lucerys would've gone home with some pieces missing. That look on his face just screamed "my whole side are fucking idiots and I am one too". I'm more mad at the fact that they're sanitizing Rhaenyra and making her less grey. She deserves to be fawned over and idolized solely for being a badass, not as a Daenerys analogue.
Also Arrax was so rude and so disrespectful and Granma Vhagar is not here for that.
smoking on that luc pack, rip to the bro. Definitely looking forward to how Aemomd takes this death as. As well as how the fight between Daemon and Aemond will go now.
once again, I love tour analysis
Aemond is still acting on inner darkness in this scene, and I like the changes they made to it. A lot of the characters are soft evil instead of overtly evil; these makes them more humanized, ambiguous, and complex. It is interesting that Aemond shows remorse and horror at his cousins death, not delight - even though he stabbed out his eye.
I think Aeomond's hubris was brilliant and the unintended consequence. Contrasted with rheaneras holding back... thus her letting loose the dogs of war was perfect. I think it made perfect sense and I can't wait for more
Btw, what is your speculation that Aemond is actually the father of the twins. It would make Aemond's vengeance more personal. But at the same time, it could have been a great character development for Aegon.
Twins? Is this something only book readers would know and hasn't happened in the show yet?
Aemond would never disrespect his siblings like that. That goes against his entire characterization of being bound by duty. I don’t see him disrespecting anyone’s marriage, let alone his own brother who he knows is his future king: and yes is does take away from Aegon unnecessarily.
@@monie3558 im saying this because how the showrunners are framing aemond and Helaena. Out of all scenes that could be cut, the showrunners intentionally put young aemond wistfully wanting to marry his sister. Also, in the dinner episode, it was aemond who was upset and was staring daggers to jace. His beef was with luke but the person he antagonized was jace. Aegon also looked at Aemond anxiously. He did not appear jaelous, aegon appaered frightened. Like he was anxiously waiting for a reaction from aemond. Moreover, if you think about the scene where alicent came to her rooms and called otto father, the twins surprisingly said Aemond. Now people can say it is incidental. I ask you now, hotd is n expensive undertaking. Dont tell me hbo has not enough budget for noise cancelling sound system. They can easily reshoot or edit that if it was unintentional. Also, can anyone really believe that child actors aged 3 will say a cast member's name unless it was directed or parroted. Also, after that was said, they showed a shot alicent looking shocked/horrified. Then Aemond came to the room. Aemond going to helaena's room has no plot relevance. It does not add to the narrative aside from the fact that it made viewers associate them both. Also, let's not forget when larys was talking about willfull blindness when they were talking about daughters and bastards, larys made a comment how alicent will do the same and alicent immediately cut him off. She was even defensive. Lastly, they were also shot in the same frame over and over again. Tell me one frame where helaena was close to aegon instead of aemond. Heck tell me a shot of adult helaena where aemond is not present. They are ALWAYS shot together even as children. I think that was done so that the viewers would associate the two. Having that said, i think there is something there. My husband who has not watched an episode od hotd and got saw me watching ep 9 and he said, and i quote "Eye patch has a thing for blondie and the redhead knows". I turned to him and asked why he thought so, he said well for one you can see the body language. Secondly he said he admires blondie's ability to distract and deflect. He said she looked guilty when eye patch arrived and that aemond looked shocked.
@@monie3558 aemond has a twisted sense of duty. What if aegon will not perform his marital duties and he decided to to that duty with hus sister insted. Aegon is definitely aware, hence his reaction during the dinner scene.
@@maylynbayani There is no twisted sense of duty. He’s just dutiful, that’s his character. I don’t know why your attempting to romanticize the words of him as a child. He wants to serve his family and do his duty to his mother, not talking about how he loves incest. Aegon has a horrible marriage that’s just simple and it’s left at that. His sister wife is not that relevant to the story there is no grand plot for her especially at the expense of Aemond as a man with morals.
It’s not a Disney movie where someone is going to save everyone that’s not being loved. I can’t believe your saying he has bastard kids because he’s in same room as....his sister omg. If you like the character and think the actor is attractive just leave it at that, no need to force your feelings onto his character. 😂 he’s not a romantic person.
He doesn’t have bastard kids and would never commit treason. Most importantly, would never drag his mother into that kind of situation
I don’t think it was a “change” at all. When reading the book this seemed fairly obvious, Aemond is arrogant but he is not stupid, and killing the Queens son during peace negotiations is incredibly stupid. Aemond or anyone in his position would never intentionally make such a grand mistake, but once it’s done he has no choice but to own it.
This sets up perfectly for Aemond to reveal the truth to Daemon during their final showdown.
I like this change, it adds complexity to Aemond's character. It's a very childish thing to want to bully someone younger and weaker and for it to go too far, while underestimating the will of a creature you're partnered with. Eleanor Roosevelt once said that she thought it was important for children to learn to ride horses because it teaches them to master themselves. Even a horse won't obey you if you don't have control over your own emotions, I can't imagine a dragon would. It's a great contrast with the restraint that Rhaenes has with her dragon when she escapes from the coronation.
I agree. I think the other point was that this was more than a simple case of bullying someone weaker than you. Aemond wanted vengeance on Luke for taking his eye and wanted Luke to lose an eye as well so they would be even.
Good work on the video. Would also like to say your Stranger Things video was well down too. I'm surprised to see the backlash on that video.
So to make another argument in light of the situation as well, cause people say it wasn't in character for Aemond to feel bad for what happened;
I don't think it stripped Aemond of his agency. He hated how Luke got away with what he did to him, but he's never truly wanted Luke dead. Many times he could've pulled a sword or something on Luke, but didn't. Even the rock he had in his hand was used as a threat to stop the other 4 kids jumping him. He never used it when he had many chances too.
He's messed around with him yeah, Aemond bullied him back for what they put him through when they were younger but he's never shown to want outright death for Luke.
If anything, after all we've seen, this whole scenario is perfectly in his character. He wanted to mess and terrorize him sure, but kill him? Notice nothing terrible happened between Aemond and Luke's back and forth debacle ever since they were kids till now.... until Dragons were added in the picture, which made it all the more dangerous and deadly
People are so mad at this series but George is literally a part of this show - I'm pretty sure he's even a writer on the finale
I'll be honest, a part of me wanted Aemond to get his revenge on Luke but I didn't expect it to be that brutal. The way Vhagar just annihilates Arrax made my jaw drop. I love that the first episode ends with Viserys saying "The idea that we control the dragons is an illusion" and the last episode ends with that prophecy coming true
I liked it tbh. The entire time Vhagar has been hyped up and now we truly saw how she is leagues above most other dragons
No. The Climax of the entire season was the Badass Rhineara look at the end, it was fucking chilling.
I always thought that how it happened in the show was how it really happened. You have to think, Fire and Blood was written by the Maesters, and they are hardly unbiased
Daenerys: "A dragon is not a slave."
Also Daenerys: *Locks up Viserion and Rhaegal, and then uses a whip to beat Drogon into submission*
I honestly think that Amen killing Luke as an accident is probably the best ending you can have for that first season. First of all, we all have to keep in mind that Kin killing is a big no-no in Westeros. To our knowledge as far as the show is portrayed Amen really hasn't had any war experience. Up to this point in the show we don't even know if he's killed anyone. To me this act solidifies Amens desire to be feared. Whether or not he planned to make this encounter deadly... He will have to own his actions as intentional or else be seen as weak. Amen thinks that he's about that life... We'll have to see if he really is. But honestly killing your little nephew and his little dragon doesn't make you look like a real badass...
I think the simpler explanation is that the show is trying so hard to "humanize" these characters that it's stripping them of agency. From turning Alicent from a grown woman with her own agenda to a teenage girl the same age as Rhaenyra who was treated as a pawn; to whitewashing Rhaenyra's involvement in Vaemond's death; to Alicent "misunderstanding" Viserys's dying words; and now Aemond's murder of Luke.
There's an essay to be written here about how present-day media has become so... spineless (I wish I could think of a better word but it's the most appropriate that comes to mind right now) that there's a desperate need to moralize everything, which eventually means characters who have no real agency.
@the cat the alternative to making a character evil isn't stripping them of agency.
Alicent came into her power gradually. So too does Aemond become darker and darker as the war and atrocities worsen. It means they still have room to grow as characters.
The Princess and the Queen is on RUclips and it's read by the guy that played Jorah Mormont
For me, at least, the minds of the dragons has always been one of the most compelling but so far mysterious aspects of this world.
*_"If Luke's death was just meant to be just another instance of bullying gone bad, then it probably shouldn't have been positioned as the climactic moment of the finale."_* THANK YOU! Excellent video essay! I didn't think we were going to end when we did. I really thought we'd get dialogue from Rhaenyra's reaction, and hear her plans. I expected so much more. The ending left a lot to be desired.
I wish the series and book would explore more this idea of dragons doing whatever they want and refusing orders, maybe wild dragons could cause chaos in Westeros, eating people and destroying villages, then I would understand the smallfolf wanting to kill all the dragons during the Dance
That's the thing, I don't think they're supposed to be wild, feral, chaotic beasts unless they're ridden. To me, that's the poesy of the dragons is ASOIAF/FaB. They're smart, they hunt when they need but don't just kill for fun, etc. It's only when they get riders and are given their riders' emotions without knowing the logic behind them that they become the monsters they're easily portrayed as. Look at the wild dragons on Dragonstone. To my knowledge, except for Sheepstealer, there aren't cases of dragons encroaching or overhunting (especially humans themselves) (and I tbh respect Sheepstealer for recognizing easy food when he sees it, lmao). There was a minor case of it with Dany's dragons but I blame her and the fact that she thinks she knows way more than she actually does, lol. She didn't know how to train/tame/control/whatever you want to call it, her dragons, she just tried to use them as weapons and then claim to love them as sons when it benefited her.
it's understandable the folks want the dragons gone after rhaeneys was burning that village to kill green forces
@@Janary08 yes, but that's ignoring the fact that the dragons are compelled to commit atrocities. Dragons don't wage war, the people on their backs to.
@@redfyresasoiaf it ain't ignoring. The mob would want the dragons gone so that there would be no more tool for dragonriders to cause big war atrocities.
RIP dragons :(
@@Janary08 we seem to be on the same page about the dragons not being the original perpetrators of violence bc they're too smart for that, yay. Also RIP dragons 💔
My escalation sequence (if the story is going to be changed anyway): Despite the Stormlord's protests the boys end up in their "duel". Aemond quickly has Lucery's pinned with a blade to his eye. He laughs, and we realize he was not serious about taking the eye, a split second before ARRAX bursts through the door (sensing his masters fear) and (bodies flying everywhere) Lucery's grabs on and they escape. In the aftermath, we see the crushed body of Aemond's Betrothed Baratheon daughter. An incident that would incite the fury to chase ARRAX down with no mercy.
I think that making it an accident makes Aemond a more complex and interenting character, wille having made it intentional would have made him more of an evil caricature
Aemond did not understand the responsibility of having a dragon who's older bigger ,and survived a hundredth battles. He simply shouldn't have tempted fate.
I think it will happen in the Books (ASOIAF-Book 6/7) too,mainlyy because we see that Daenerys can't control her Dragons and that is for most of the Story. Yes, she rides Drogon at the End of ADWD but as you said, he refuses to bring her back.
I think it will happen with Catastrophic Consequences at least twice in the Books, once in Essos just to which City I am unsure, I think the best Candidates are Meereen and Volantis. Because I think after she deals with the Dothraki she will leave Essos for Westeros. So in case the Ships of the Ironborne are not enough the next big Harbour is Volantis so maybe Drogon rediscovers his Hobby of hunting Children (running Children out of the battleground that will become Meereen+hungry Drogon=Recipe for disaster) or she wants ships and Volantis refuses to give her Ships. She only wants to demonstrate her Firepower at Volantis and the Dragons decide to do otherwise and destroy Volantis entirely. Whatever the Reason is, Word will most likely spread faster than her Ships can sail.
So some people in Westeros, like Doran and Varys and maybe Littlefinger if he is still alive at this point, will know about that accident, although they won't believe it was an Accident or maybe two accidents? I mean I expect it to happen at least twice but there is no limit for a higher Number. But after the Burning of Kings Landing, which won't be an accident, but unlike her accidental destruction of the City/Cities in Essos, first it will be intentional and second it will be useless. The survives of Kings Landing will tell everybody what happened and now Word will spread very fast and the News of the Cities of Essos will be known by everyone in Westeros. The Lords will bend the Knee until a small Assassin meets Daenerys and kills her.
Actually, I always wondered about the Fact that Bran never said: "You all know that this Firebreathing Lizard is a living being and capable of his own thoughts and desires? I don't think we should use that thing, who knows if they will kill the Dead when they come. When they refuse and instead fly away we have nothing to use." But then I realized I talk about d&d, they are not capable to write such a thing.
" the only thing that matters in writing is the human heart in conflict with itself, everything else is just set dressing" I feel this change reflects the spirit of this quote I partially remember.
It was most certainly being set up the entire time. The show was setting it up since episode 1 with vaserys telling rhaenyra that their control of dragons was an illusion. The targeryans are the most powerful family in the history of westeros and they gained that power on the backs of dragons. To think martin would not make the event that ultimately leads to their downfall a result of their misguided belief that they actually had control of the dragons would be absurd. Aemond and Luke losing control of vaghar and arrax is the only way that the downfall of the targeryans could possibly have started.
This gives me hope that this show won't treat dragons as pokemons
Well said 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼!!
If I was Luke, I would have left as soon as I saw Vhagar. Put the letter on the porch like an Amazon driver and got the hell out.
For me the problem with this specific twist is that the writers have already taken so many liberties. It's not the twist on itself that's exasperating but instead the writers once again not letting a character have agency or accountability for their actions like you mentioned in the video. That is my entire beef with the show.
Yeah, there’s almost too much grey area in the show. On it’s own, still a very good change.
My beef is Rhynera getting away with lies, lies and more lies while her father (the weak hypocrite) turning a blind eye and pretending to be so wise and good when all he is doing is covering for his spoil brat!
@@rashelelashley His daughter is liar, his son is a drunk rapist, his other son is a psychopath. Honestly though his two sons make both Rhaenyra and Helaena look like angels. Viserys was a horrible father.
Also I wouldn't say Rhaenyra gets away with it, everyone constantly shuns her sons and you can clearly see the effect it has on them. Jace, Luke and Joff are paying for the sins of their parents and even grandparents.
Yeah, I actually think that this is the best choice in this particular instance but it's also like okay but SOMEONE has to actually choose to do SOMETHING at some point.
Same, the lack of agency is ny biggest problem with this (and other) changes. How tf are they going to square this with what Aemond becomes later? Is he gonna end up being a sad boi puppet of the evil Alys Rivers? As if we needed another evil sexy lady trope.
The scene would have still worked if Aemond got caught up in the moment. He gets drunk on the power he has over Luke, snaps when Arrax attack, and then regrets it the second the adrenaline comes down. Still gives his character nuance, while not stripping him of agency.
Are you legit the only team green sympathetic youtuber? If so kudos. Enjoying the content
Great video and a great analysis. I think we can include a theory that though Aemond didn't intend to kill Lucerys, his bond with his dragon may have played a part in this ordeal as I assume Vagar could since his animosity towards his nephew and acted upon it. Just like the children could sense the tension between their parents. It may have a similar feel between their dragons as well.
I think while he rationaly did not wanted to kill him Vaghar can feel his hate and emotions about Luke. It may not just be instinct that made Vaghar do that it may be because of his feelings towards Rhaenyra children.
Just like when Rickon is pissed off and his wolf react by being pissed of too growling and even bitting people. However the biggest difference here is Rickon was just very angry at every thing, but Aemond may had wish to kill Lucerys deep inside or at least to do some real damage.
While Arrax could have tried to defende himself but he to could have tried to respond to some hate Lucerys had towards Aemond.
In Daenerys case she didn't forge a especial bond with just one from the start and she lack all targaryan knowledge about dragons all she have is some stories people tell her, not a real font of solid information. Another thing is she had some fear too after the child Drogon may have killed. She chained them out of fear, she truly started to show dominance towards drogon at the arena.
But Targaryan of this Era do things in another way, the eggs they hatch is when they are babies and they learn high valyrian and learn how to bong with their dragons in proprer way. They hatch just one and focus on this one all their lifes, when they take and adult is the same. In Daenerys case she try to take care of all the 3.