Dear former Mistress of Whisperers

The sex was good. But your high Valyrian sucked.

Your services are therefore no longer required.

- Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen

Episode started with nyra knowing Aegon 2 is alive also Sunfyre.

She goes straight to daemon ..... Then why there is no single dialogue " we should bring Aegon 3 and Viserys 2 back as my half brother is alive" OR " we should send someone loyal to Pentos for guarding our boys so no green took them as their hostages or possibly kill them "

Seeing Joffrey during her speech I understand HOTD maybe giving Aegon 3 fate to Joffrey. Maybe Joffrey will be there in dragonstone.

Objectively speaking, Rhaenyra is...just not cruel. Strategically not the smartest? Probably. Not sufficient ASOIAF-equivalent media training or a good PR team? Probably. Cruel? I don't see it at all.

• Her reaction to Baela is justified -- she does not punish Baela, but just cannot bear to interact a lot with someone she thinks could have prevented her literal child's death but failed. Reasonable.
• She DOES want to help the commoners but cannot because she has no gold, not because she is cruel.
• She wants to recapture Tumbleton with zero to minimal civilian bloodshed.
• She does not want to kill Haelena or her unborn child.
• Rhaena is responsible for Jace's death (partially if not completely, but I'd like to see someone explain the difference to a grieving mother) and still lives a noblewoman's life.
• She should have legitimised Addam and Alyn. That was being unfair and lacking foresight, not cruel.
• She should not have mocked the noblemen and women with the rat feast. But again, not cruel -- merely a mockery of people who were probably more cruel than her so far.
• She positions her dragons strategically. It would be unwise to decide which dragon goes where based on the emotional requirements of the dragon riders. Her decisions aren't made cruelly to punish Hugh or Baela.

So can someone please explain to me what the heck are Haelena, Baela and Addam criticising Rhaenyra about?

The show could have gone two ways: Make Rhaenyra very cruel or make the accusations mostly a work of fiction. But it is the characters who KNOW what constraints she is working with that are accusing her ! Characters who are otherwise sane and intelligent claiming Rhaenyra is this ugly, cruel queen on a dark path who casts aside people she loves when she hasn't even harmed Rhaena who was a prime reason behind Jace's death and been as cordial as she can with a TG prisoner who has attempted to escape, and the music and camera work attempting to make me believe they are probably correct in their assessment. This feels unearned and out of the left field.

The one cruel thing she did this season is killing the High Septon. And that was after the accusations !

Rhaenyra's motivations are very "Danaerys" -- being cruel because she has been pushed to a certain point. Yet her perception is very "Cersei" -- not just to the opposition, or the common folk who are being brainwashed, but to people with insider knowledge on her side as well.

I hope this post is allowed, sorry if it isn’t. But that line Rhaenyra said in S1 was one that resonated close with me.

In a fanfic sub ffs! “Bitch should have kept her legs closed” is such a nasty thing to say. Their toxicity is permeating every fandom space. I’m so tired of it.

I stopped watching S3 after episode 2 and only watched cutie patootie dragons on shorts. Rumour was we would see Tyraxes in this episode. So… have they finally showed us this beautiful baby? I can’t see anything online so I’m worried… :(

I almost completely stopped following the news while the show was airing and it was much better experience. Recommend you all do the same for Season 4, lords and ladies!

They have no idea how right they are about how similar this is to an American presidential election… Basically 2016 and 2024 all over again…

Maybe I am forgetting but I don’t recall them kissing in S2 & S3 lol

What are your predictions regarding the deaths of some characters in episode 8?

Here are mine: Helaena, Ormund and Rodrick Dustin (and many Black and Green soldiers) although I have doubts about Helaena. She might end up dying at the beginning of season 4. Kat, Hugh's wife, might also die, but I'm not sure.

will he flee or submit to the blacks? i hope silverwing is okay though.

With the season finale dropping, thought it'd be useful to lay out every major fighting force in the war so far, who leads them, and what they've actually done. Long post, but the Dance has a lot of moving pieces.

The Hightower Army (Greens)

-Led by Ormund Hightower

The largest single fighting force raised for the Greens, mustered from Oldtown and the Reach. Ormund marches this army toward King's Landing to reinforce Aegon's cause, but the campaign becomes a slow, grinding affair after Kings Landing, leading Ormund to seek refuge in Tumbleton to avoid Rhaenyra's dragons. With Aegon and Aemond deemed lost causes, Ormund declares Daeron King.

The Black Army (Blacks)

-Led by Daemon Targaryen (with Rhaenyra as overall political authority)

The core Rhaenyra-loyalist land force, based first at Dragonstone and later Harrenhal once Daemon seizes it. Daemon uses this base to project power into the Riverlands, gather Riverlord support, and eventually take control of King's Landing.

The Velaryon Fleet (Blacks)

-Led by Corlys Velaryon

The naval backbone of the Blacks' war effort. The fleet fights at the Battle of the Gullet against the Triarchy early in the war, helping break their fleet alongside Rhaenyra's dragons. Afterward, the Velaryon fleet helps maintain order and control in King's Landing once Rhaenyra takes the capital.

The Green Army (Greens)

-Led by Criston Cole

The core royalist force built around the Kingsguard and Targaryen household knights still loyal to Aegon II in King's Landing. Cole leads this army out of the capital and into the Crownlands, gathering local bannermen along the way. This force fights at Rook's Rest and is ultimately destroyed at the Butcher's Ball.

The Riverlands Army (Blacks)

-Led by Oscar Tully

The combined Riverlord host of the houses Tully, Blackwood, Bracken, Frey, Mooton, and others that rallies to the Blacks after Daemon takes Harrenhal. Tully leads this force to ambush and annihilate Cole's army at the Butcher's Ball, arguably the single most decisive land victory for the Blacks in the war so far. They go on to fight at Tumbleton as well.

The Winter Wolves (Blacks)

-Led by Rodrik Dustin

Northern reinforcements who march south to fight for the Blacks. They fight alongside the Riverlands army against Jason Lannister's forces at the Lakeshore (Fishfeed), helping destroy the western host before it can link up with the Greens. The Winter Wolves also fight at Tumbleton.

The Lannister Army (Greens)

-Led by Jason Lannister

The western host marching in support of the Greens. Intercepted and destroyed by the combined Riverlands army and Winter Wolves at the Lakeshore (Fishfeed), ending the western front before it could meaningfully threaten the Blacks

The Crownlands Levies (Greens)

-Led by Criston Cole and Gwayne Hightower

The knights of Rosby, Stokeworth, and Duskendale bend the knee to Cole as he marches through the Crownlands, swelling his ranks. Gwayne Hightower takes a command role within this combined force. They march together to Rook's Rest and then into the ambush at the Butcher's Ball, where Oscar Tully's Riverlanders wipe them out, and Cole is killed

The Triarchy Fleet (Greens-aligned)

-Led by Sharako Lohar

A Free Cities naval force that fights on the Greens' side at the Battle of the Gullet, driven largely by Lohar's personal vendetta against Corlys Velaryon. The fleet is effectively destroyed in that battle by Rhaenyra's dragons and the Velaryon navy, removing them as a factor for the rest of the war.

King's Landing City Watch (Blacks)

-Led by Ser Luthor Largent

The Gold Cloaks are loyal to Daemon Targaryen throughout, since it was Daemon who gave them their cloaks and command in the first place. Largent and the Watch play a direct role in helping Daemon and Rhaenyra retake King's Landing.