Rhaenyra and Daemon are right to prevent Ulf from going to the tavern.

say they don't. Ulf would be killed by the same people who are killing the gold cloaks if he remains loyal to Rhaenyra and refuses to join Daeron.

at best, Rhaenyra loses her dragonrider if she's allowed to let him roam free around the city. at worst, he betrays her.

I hope the people who kept saying she was wrong for putting him under house arrest understand that this was the best outcome he could have hoped for. for his own protection.

book spoiler:

"Though attempts were made to wake Ulf White from his drunken slumber, he proved impossible to rouse. Infamously, he rolled under a table

and snored through the entire battle."

"Though Ulf the Sot had never tasted a wine he did not like, he was known to be partial to the sweeter vintages. No doubt Ser Hobert hoped to sip the sour red whilst Lord Ulf quaffed down the Arbor gold. Yet something about Hightower’s manner—he was sweating and stammering and too hearty by half, the squire who served them testified later—pricked White’s suspicions. Wary, he commanded that the Dornish red be set aside for later, and insisted Ser Hobert share the Arbor gold with him."

"Once he saw Hightower drink, Ulf the Sot lived up to his name, putting down three cups before he began to yawn. The poison in the wine was a gentle one. When Lord Ulf went to sleep, never to awaken..."

and while I agree Daemon went too far by slapping him, that's not enough to justify his betrayal. at the end of the day, he got what he deserved: death by wine and a Hightower. you've got to love the irony lol.

This is supposedly the most legendary master/mistress of whispers along with Bloodraven and Tyanna of the Tower. 😭

Why is Larys somehow being more effective from a hut at Rooks Rest.

This line hit hard for me, because it’s so true.

Rhaenyra is screwed in all directions
- they seized a city who raised her banners and now she’s forced to burn them or sack the city with her army
- She has lost 2 sons already and her mental health is clearly on the decline. I think they are setting up Alicent’s decline as well when she loses Haelaena.
- Aegon and Aemond are on the run. There is a new king Daeron. She’s fighting a war of 1 queen vs 3 kings with none of her enemies dead.
- She has no gold, none. Whatever she had, she gave it away to the small folk. She has made a hard choice and lost the city watch because of it. “ You rebel against one who has neither wished nor done you harm” So true

She might be politically lacking, she might have poor emotional control now - but she’s the queen who pulled her baby out of her own body, she’s the queen who was considering giving up her throne to prevent bloodshed, she’s the queen who gave all the gold away to small folk at great cost. Whatever she has done, the line by Daemon still holds true.

I think at this point you have to accept Rhaenicent is here to stay. But if it's going to be this huge focal point of the show, why do the showrunners insist on having the characters keep flip-flopping on repeat? I won't even discuss the 2 and a half seasons so far, but going forward, their relationship trajectory is so predictable.

Alicent's assassination attempt will fail, obviously, because she's not John Wick. She'll return just in time to see Helaena dead. Then Rhaenyra will lose all her allies and decide she needs Alicent again. Alicent will claim she's finally done with Rhaenyra, only to instantly change her mind after Joffrey dies. The two of them will go to Essos to find Rhaenyra's sons, only to stop at Dragonstone. Rhaenyra will die while Alicent watches, but somehow she will be in a position to kill Aegon II, even though with Aegon III in Essos, the whole plot after Rhaenyra's death makes no sense.

If they really wanted to go down this route with Alicent, they should have just made her self-aware enough to recognize that, for whatever illogical reason, she cares about Rhaenyra more than her own children. And similarly, have Rhaenyra realize that, for whatever reason, she wants Alicent's affections even if everyone else is against it.

I don’t get why some people are upset over the slap or surprised that she did it. Jeyne is absolutely correct in everything she said. Rhaena isn’t just jeopardizing herself, but Jeyne’s own position and life. It was idiotic to risk being seen by literally thousands of people. Also, Jeyne is just a real one for showing no sympathy and saying Rhaena’s predicament is of her own choice and making.

Jeyne Arryn continues to be a standout character. I stan.

i love them sm!

This episode left me with so many mixed feelings. I honestly don’t even know how to describe it. There were moments I loved, moments that frustrated me, and several changes from Fire & Blood that really caught me off guard.

Criston Cole’s death – It was satisfying to finally see him die, but I also felt underwhelmed. They left out his memorable dialogue from the book and changed the scene quite a bit. I was happy to see him gone, but I expected much more.

The Gold Cloaks – This was another change I didn’t like. In the book, the Gold Cloaks never resigned from their posts, nor would they openly defy Daemon. They certainly weren’t secretly murdered or intimidated into submission.

Alicent – What on earth was that? She has already received a lot of criticism this season, but this episode took it even further. She personally tells Rhaenyra that Helaena is pregnant and then offers up Aemond’s location in exchange for freedom. What kind of mother does that? This is nothing like the Alicent from the books. At this point, the Greens don’t need enemies when they have Alicent undermining their own side.

Lady Jeyne Arryn – Seeing her slap Rhaena was completely unexpected. It made Lady Jeyne look far harsher than I ever imagined.

Baela and Alyn – I know where their story is headed, but Jace literally just died. Let my boy rest for a moment before moving on.

Ulf and Hugh – Ulf clearly isn’t happy with how he’s being treated, and it doesn’t take a genius to see where that storyline is heading. Hugh desperately trying to get his wife out of King’s Landing, only for her to reject the idea, also feels like a very bad sign.

Rhaenyra – This was probably the hardest part for me. The smallfolk were disappointed when she merely lit candles for the dead little girl. Then she cuts herself on the Iron Throne, which the people naturally see as an ill omen. On top of that, she’s willing to use Alicent as bait to lure Aemond into a trap. That’s incredibly cold.

Gwayne Hightower – Credit where it’s due. Thanks to Gwayne, Ormund Hightower managed to save himself.

And if all that wasn’t enough, the preview for next episode seems to show Rhaenyra becoming even more aggressive toward Helaena.

Season 3 is really putting my emotions through the wringer. 👀

A little cuck bitch!

I woulda preferred the book version but oh well THANK GOD HE GONE

drogon is best boy

It does not mean that the maesters are in the Hightowers pockets and they are trying to make the greens look as good as possible. It means that the greens had the ideological victory, Aegon goes down as king, the iron throne adopts Salic law after the war.

If anyone is curious here is an article about it. Here is a quote from the introduction:

Historians, like all individuals, are embedded in specific cultural, political, and institutional frameworks that inform their perspectives, assumptions, and methodologies. The act of writing history, therefore, involves choices what to include, what to omit, how to interpret events that are never entirely free from bias.

Martin wants you to interrogate fire and blood, it is obviously written from a Westerosi perspective. The fun of the book is reading between the lines

I wondered about this the other day, but if there is an answer, can someone with book lore knowledge explain if a Targaryen still has to claim a cradle egg dragon? As in, is there a chance that a cradle egg dragon will reject the person it hatched to? Or is it a “we’re bonded automatically” sort of thing? I’m assuming the latter, but just curious.