#a dance of dragons | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

docpiplup · 1 year

Text

Daenerys Targaryen Appreciation Month 2022

Day 1: Politics

• Military commander

"Unsullied!" Dany galloped before them, her silver-gold braid flying behind her, her bell chiming with every stride. "Slay the Good Masters, slay the soldiers, slay every man who wears a tokar or holds a whip, but harm no child under twelve, and strike the chains off every slave you see." She raised the harpy's fingers in the air . . . and then she flung the scourge aside. "Freedom!" she sang out. "Dracarys! Dracarys!" - A Storm of Swords - Daenerys III

Dany considered. The slaver host seemed small compared to her own numbers, but the sellswords were ahorse. She'd ridden too long with Dothraki not to have a healthy respect for what mounted warriors could do to foot. The Unsullied could withstand their charge, but my freedmen will be slaughtered. "The slavers like to talk," she said. "Send word that I will hear them this evening in my tent. And invite the captains of the sellsword companies to call on me as well. But not together. The Stormcrows at midday, the Second Sons two hours later."

A Storm of Swords, Daenerys IV

"I have a gift for you as well." She slammed the chest shut. "Three days. On the morning of the third day, send out your slaves. All of them. Every man, woman, and child shall be given a weapon, and as much food, clothing, coin, and goods as he or she can carry. These they shall be allowed to choose freely from among their masters' possessions, as payment for their years of servitude. When all the slaves have departed, you will open your gates and allow my Unsullied to enter and search your city, to make certain none remain in bondage. If you do this, Yunkai will not be burned or plundered, and none of your people shall be molested. The Wise Masters will have the peace they desire, and will have proved themselves wise indeed. What say you?"

A Storm of Swords, Daenerys IV

"If battle is joined, let Grey Worm show wisdom as well as valor," Dany told him. "Spare any slave who runs or throws down his weapon. The fewer slain, the more remain to join us after."

"This one will remember."

A Storm of Swords, Daenerys IV

"Grazdan went to Yunkai to deliver your terms." Ser Jorah got to his feet. "Mero fled, once he realized the Stormcrows had turned. I have men hunting him. He shouldn't escape us long."

"Very well," Dany said. "Sellsword or slave, spare all those who will pledge me their faith. If enough of the Second Sons will join us, keep the company intact."

A Storm of Swords, Daenerys IV

"I want your leaders," Dany told them. "Give them up, and the rest of you shall be spared."

"How many?" one old woman had asked, sobbing. "How many must you have to spare us?"

"One hundred and sixty-three," she answered. A Storm of Swords, Daenerys VI

Daario Naharis gave Grey Worm a smile. "Perhaps the Unsullied should wield the axes. Boiling oil feels like no more than a warm bath to you, I have heard."

"This is false." Grey Worm did not return the smile. "These ones do not feel burns as men do, yet such oil blinds and kills. The Unsullied do not fear to die, though. Give these ones rams, and we will batter down these gates or die in the attempt."

"You would die," said Brown Ben. At Yunkai, when he took command of the Second Sons, he claimed to be the veteran of a hundred battles. "Though I will not say I fought bravely in all of them. There are old sellswords and bold sellswords, but no old bold sellswords." She saw that it was true.

Dany sighed. "I will not throw away Unsullied lives, Grey Worm. Perhaps we can starve the city out."

A Storm of Swords, Daenerys V

(I think this one counts too since she did not waste the Unsullied's lives as Daario suggested)

(Oh and I would also say that her order of crucifing 163 leaders of Meereen for the 163 slave children they crucified is also a statement of equalty. Is her saying that a master's life equal to a slave one)

• Daenerys caring about feeding her people

They made camp before the remnants of a gutted palace, on a windswept plaza where devilgrass grew between the paving stones. Dany sent out men to search the ruins. Some went reluctantly, yet they went . . . and one scarred old man returned a brief time later, hopping and grinning, his hands overflowing with figs. They were small, withered things, yet her people grabbed for them greedily, jostling and pushing at each other, stuffing the fruit into their cheeks and chewing blissfully.

A Clash of Kings, Daenerys I

"I fear no ghosts. Dragons are more powerful than ghosts."And figs are more important."Go with Jhiqui and find me some clean sand for a bath, and trouble me no more with silly talk."

In the coolness of her tent, Dany blackened horsemeat over a brazier and reflected on her choices. There was food and water here to sustain them, and enough grass for the horses to regain their strength. How pleasant it would be to wake every day in the same place, to linger among shady gardens, eat figs, and drink cool water, as much as she might desire.

A Clash of Kings, Daenerys I

"I have heard enough." Dany did not need their squabbling on top of all the other troubles that plagued her. Meereen posed dangers far more serious than one pink-and-white hero shouting insults, and she could not let herself be distracted. Her host numbered more than eighty thousand after Yunkai, but fewer than a quarter of them were soldiers. The rest . . . well, Ser Jorah called them mouths with feet, and soon they would be starving.

A Storm of Swords, Daenerys V

[...]"Ser Jorah, you say we have no food left. If I march west, how can I feed my freedmen?"

"You can't. I am sorry, Khaleesi. They must feed themselves or starve. Many and more will die along the march, yes. That will be hard, but there is no way to save them. We need to put this scorched earth well behind us."

Dany had left a trail of corpses behind her when she crossed the red waste. It was a sight she never meant to see again. "No," she said. "I will not march my people off to die." My children. "There must be some way into this city."

A Storm of Swords, Daenerys V

The grove of burnt olive trees in which she'd raised her pavilion stood beside the sea, between the Dothraki camp and that of the Unsullied. When the horses had been saddled, Dany and her companions set out along the shoreline, away from the city. Even so, she could feel Meereen at her back, mocking her. When she looked over one shoulder, there it stood, the afternoon sun blazing off the bronze harpy atop the Great Pyramid. Inside Meereen the slavers would soon be reclining in their fringed tokars to feast on lamb and olives, unborn puppies, honeyed dormice and other such delicacies, whilst outside her children went hungry. A sudden wild anger filled her. I will bring you down, she swore.

A Storm of Swords, Daenerys V

She had not forgotten the slave children the Great Masters had nailed up along the road from Yunkai. They had numbered one hundred sixty-three, a child every mile, nailed to mileposts with one arm outstretched to point her way. After Meereen had fallen, Dany had nailed up a like number of Great Masters. Swarms of flies had attended their slow dying, and the stench had lingered long in the plaza. Yet some days she feared that she had not gone far enough. These Meereenese were a sly and stubborn people who resisted her at every turn. They had freed their slaves, yes … only to hire them back as servants at wages so meagre that most could scarce afford to eat. Those too old or young to be of use had been cast into the streets, along with the infirm and the crippled. And still the Great Masters gathered atop their lofty pyramids to complain of how the dragon queen had filled their noble city with hordes of unwashed beggars, thieves, and whores.

A Dance with Dragons, Daenerys I

"I am only a young girl and know little of the ways of war," she told Lord Ghael, "but we have heard that Astapor is starving. Let King Cleon feed his people before he leads them out to battle." She made a gesture of dismissal. Ghael withdrew.

A Dance with Dragons, Daenerys I

Her face was warm. The wine, she told herself. Yet somehow she found herself thinking of Daario Naharis. His messenger had come that morning. The Stormcrows were returning from Lhazar. Her captain was riding back to her, bringing her the friendship of the Lamb Men. Food and trade, she reminded herself. He did not fail me, nor will he. Daario will help me save my city. The queen longed to see his face, to stroke his three-pronged beard, to tell him her troubles … but the Stormcrows were still many days away, beyond the Khyzai Pass, and she had a realm to rule.

A Dance with Dragons, Daenerys III

"Not a hole. A ditch, to bring water from the river to the fields. We mean to plant beans. The beanfields must have water."

A Dance with Dragons, Daenerys III

"Oftimes I have heard you say that you are only a young girl. To look at you, you still seem half a child, too young and frail to face such trials by yourself. You need a king beside you to help you bear these burdens."

Dany speared a chunk of lamb, took a bite from it, chewed slowly. "Tell me, can this king puff his cheeks up and blow Xaro's galleys back to Qarth? Can he clap his hands and break the siege of Astapor? Can he put food in the bellies of my children and bring peace back to my streets?"

A Dance with Dragons, Daenerys IV

Dany looked at him helplessly. It was good that dragons did not cry. "As you say, then. We will keep them outside the walls until this … this curse has run its course. Set up a camp for them beside the river, west of the city. We will send them what food we can. Perhaps we can separate the healthy from the sick." All of them were looking at her. "Will you make me say it twice? Go and do as I've commanded you." Dany rose, brushed past Brown Ben, and climbed the steps to the sweet solitude of her terrace. - A Dance with Dragons - Daenerys V

Even feeding them had grown difficult. Every day she sent them what she could, but every day there were more of them and less food to give them. It was growing harder to find drivers willing to deliver the food as well. Too many of the men they had sent into the camp had been stricken by the flux themselves. Others had been attacked on the way back to the city. Yesterday a wagon had been overturned and two of her soldiers killed, so today the queen had determined that she would bring the food herself. Every one of her advisors had argued fervently against it, from Reznak and the Shavepate to Ser Barristan, but Daenerys would not be moved. "I will not turn away from them," she said stubbornly. "A queen must know the sufferings of her people."

A Dance with Dragons, Daenerys VI

"I had to take Meereen or see my children starve along the march." Dany could still see the trail of corpses she had left behind her crossing the Red Waste. It was not a sight she wished to see again. "I had to take Meereen to feed my people."

A Dance with Dragons, Daenerys X

-Daenerys making places bloom

Dany gave him charge of a dozen of her strongest men, and set them to pulling up the plaza to get to the earth beneath. If devilgrass could grow between the paving stones, other grasses would grow when the stones were gone. They had wells enough, no lack of water. Given seed, they could make the plaza bloom.

A Clash of Kings, Daenerys I

"Not a hole. A ditch, to bring water from the river to the fields. We mean to plant beans. The beanfields must have water."

A Dance with Dragons, Daenerys III

"Ghiscari wine?" Xaro made a sour face. "The sea provides all the salt that Qarth requires, but I would gladly take as many olives as you cared to sell me. Olive oil as well."

"I have none to offer. The slavers burned the trees." Olives had been grown along the shores of Slaver's Bay for centuries; but the Meereenese had put their ancient groves to the torch as Dany's host advanced on them, leaving her to cross a blackened wasteland. "We are replanting, but it takes seven years before an olive tree begins to bear, and thirty years before it can truly be called productive. What of copper?"

A Dance with Dragons, Daenerys III

-Daenerys and her duty to House Targaryen

If I were not the blood of the dragon, she thought wistfully, this could be my home. She was khaleesi, she had a strong man and a swift horse, handmaids to serve her, warriors to keep her safe, an honored place in the dosh khaleen awaiting her when she grew old … and in her womb grew a son who would one day bestride the world. That should be enough for any woman … but not for the dragon. With Viserys gone, Daenerys was the last, the very last. She was the seed of kings and conquerors, and so too the child inside her. She must not forget.

A Game of Thrones, Daenerys VI

Part of her would have liked nothing more than to lead her people back to Vaes Tolorro, and make the dead city bloom. No, that is defeat. I have something Viserys never had. I have the dragons. The dragons are all the difference.

A Clash of Kings, Daenerys III

It was good counsel. "Yes, make it so." Westeros. Home. But if she left, what would happen to her city? Meereen was never your city, her brother's voice seemed to whisper. Your cities are across the sea. Your Seven Kingdoms, where your enemies await you. You were born to serve them blood and fire. A Dance with Dragons, Daenerys III

Meereen was not her home, and never would be. It was a city of strange men with strange gods and stranger hair, of slavers wrapped in fringed tokars, where grace was earned through whoring, butchery was art, and dog was a delicacy. Meereen would always be the Harpy's city, and Daenerys could not be a harpy.

Never, said the grass, in the gruff tones of Jorah Mormont. You were warned, Your Grace. Let this city be, I said. Your war is in Westeros, I told you.

A Dance with Dragons - Daenerys X

You took Meereen, he told her, yet still you lingered.

"To be a queen."

You are a queen, her bear said. In Westeros.

"It is such a long way," she complained. "I was tired, Jorah. I was weary of war. I wanted to rest, to laugh, to plant trees and see them grow. I am only a young girl."

No. You are the blood of the dragon. The whispering was growing fainter, as if Ser Jorah were falling farther behind. Dragons plant no trees. Remember that. Remember who you are, what you were made to be. Remember your words.

"Fire and Blood," Daenerys told the swaying grass.

A Dance with Dragons, Daenerys X

-Decisions and Actions

Why Daenerys did not help Cleon

If he proposes again that I wed King Cleon, I'll throw a slipper at his head, Dany thought, but for once the Astapori envoy made no mention of a royal marriage. Instead he said, "The time has come for Astapor and Meereen to end the savage reign of the Wise Masters of Yunkai, who are sworn foes to all those who live in freedom. Great Cleon bids me tell you that he and his new Unsullied will soon march."

His new Unsullied are an obscene jape. "King Cleon would be wise to tend his own gardens and let the Yunkai'i tend theirs." It was not that Dany harbored any love for Yunkai. She was coming to regret leaving the Yellow City untaken after defeating its army in the field. The Wise Masters had returned to slaving as soon as she moved on, and were busy raising levies, hiring sellswords, and making alliances against her.

Cleon the self-styled Great was no better, however. The Butcher King had restored slavery to Astapor, the only change being that the former slaves were now the masters and the former masters were now the slaves. ADWD, Daenerys I

"I warned your king that this war of his was folly," Dany reminded him. "He would not listen."

"Great Cleon sought only to strike down the vile slavers of Yunkai."

"Great Cleon is a slaver himself."

"I know that the Mother of Dragons will not abandon us in our hour of peril. Lend us your Unsullied to defend our walls."

And if I do, who will defend my walls? "Many of my freedmen were slaves in Astapor. Perhaps some will wish to help defend your king. That is their choice, as free men. I gave Astapor its freedom. It is up to you to defend it."- A Dance with Dragons - Daenerys III

"Even then some said that you were coming," said the weaver. "They swore they had seen you mounted on a dragon, flying high above the camps of the Yunkai'i. Every day we looked for you."

I could not come, the queen thought. I dare not. - ADWD - Daenerys V

"They are permitting that, yes," she had replied, "but their warships remain. They can close their fingers around our throat again whenever they wish. They have opened a slave market within sight of my walls!"

"Outside our walls, sweet queen. That was a condition of the peace, that Yunkai would be free to trade in slaves as before, unmolested." - A Dance with Dragons - Daenerys VIII

And it's not like she does not regret it :

"These are not apples, Ben," said Dany. "These are men and women, sick and hungry and afraid." My children. "I should have gone to Astapor."

"Your Grace could not have saved them," said Ser Barristan. "You warned King Cleon against this war with Yunkai. The man was a fool, and his hands were red with blood."

And are my hands any cleaner? She remembered what Daario had said—that all kings must be butchers, or meat. "Cleon was the enemy of our enemy. If I had joined him at the Horns of Hazzat, we might have crushed the Yunkai'i between us."

The Shavepate disagreed. "If you had taken the Unsullied south to Hazzat, the Sons of the Harpy—"

"I know. I know. It is Eroeh all over again."

A Dance with Dragons, Daenerys V

But ultimately she was stuck between a rock and a hard place and as she said : Her host numbered more than eighty thousand after Yunkai, but fewer than a quarter of them were soldiers.

A Storm of Swords, Daenerys V

I just wanted to add this to why she must remember who she is and her words and it's basically because she kinda gave up on her claim (beside the fact that she made too much concesions with the slavers) :

"If you would please me, ser, be happy for me," Daenerys said. "This is my wedding day. They will be dancing in the Yellow City, I do not doubt." She sighed. "Rise, my prince, and smile. One day I shall return to Westeros to claim my father's throne, and look to Dorne for help. But on this day the Yunkai'i have my city ringed in steel. I may die before I see my Seven Kingdoms. Hizdahr may die. Westeros may be swallowed by the waves."Dany kissed his cheek. "Come. It's time I wed."

A Dance with Dragons, Daenerys VII

"He would be willing to wait, the woman Meris suggested. Until we march for Westeros."

And if I never march for Westeros?

A Dance with Dragons, Daenerys IX

#danymonth2022 #canondany #daenerys targaryen #quotes #asoiaf #day 1 #politics #asoiaf book quotes #text #valyrianscrolls #adwd #asos #acok #a storm of swords #a dance of dragons #a clash of kings #a song of ice and fire

137 notes · View notes

bogusavathepit · 2 years

Text

House of Dragon: Episode 7 “Aemond, the Half-Redeemed Menace” and Other Stuff

!!!SPOILERS!!!

AEMOND

The reason why a lot of us did not like Aemond after his confrontation with Rhaena, Baela, Jacaerys, and Lucerys is that there was a level of expectation there, a boundary that was crossed when he claimed Vhagar and it was never acknowledged, even passed over as inconsequential or nonexistent.

Yes, Aemond was bullied for not having a dragon, and I was semi-happy for him to have one finally.

The problem is that this shows how little he holds in regard for Rhaena and Baela, to a discriminatory kind. Not just because he saw an opportunity and took it. That it was Vhagar of all dragons and that it is obvious that he did it because he also wants to be a huge player (or considered to be one by his grandad/mom) in the coming conflict against the blacks. Which spells disaster to both parties as all civil wars do, and this civil war was so preventable on Viserys and Otto's parts.

GIF by daenerys-stormborn @ tumblr

Disclaimer: I do not hate Aemond, I am feeling both dread and excitement for the coming civil war and am trying to see how the show writers envisioned it happening.

An Analogy. Compare this situation to a situation where there is a family heirloom that anyone could theoretically claim after the last owner's death. On the very same day, the entire family of all branches come together to host the funeral for this person, the cousin of that dead person's children decided to take that heirloom for themselves and store it at a place only they know and there's nothing anyone can legally do about it. Meanwhile, that heirloom was seen with the dead person almost all the time, and their children grew up seeing that heirloom--let's say that it is a ring for the sake of argument. They saw that their parent valued that ring, played with it, and kissed it maybe when they were nervous or excited. They may or may not actually know that that ring was even up for grabs--because there was no will and historically, anyone can get that ring if they are a part of that family and that event has happened multiple times.

Those children would still feel like their parent's ring should be passed down to them because of that emotional attachment. That memory. That huge tie to their dead parent.

Again, that parent has just died as well, and they never even met this cousin who stole their parent's ring (since Baela and Rhaena before the funeral never met their cousins, going by what we see in the 6th episode).

We also have to consider the possibility that the girls may not fully know the situation of how to claim a dragon because they have been away from the main family most of their lives AND because we saw in the 6th episode that Laena had to tell Rhaena that if she wanted to have a dragon she would have to claim it (the one put beside her at her birth didn’t hatch).

It reveals that Rhaena and Baela very likely don’t know or understand some things about dragons even though both their parents are dragonriders.

Rhaena and Baela both grew up watching their mom ride Vhagar, and in their hearts and memories, they associate that dragon as having a special connection to their mother. These girls are also children, but even if they were teens are 40 years old, they wouldn’t like that their own cousin had decided to try to claim that almost household pet for themselves on the very day their mother was given her last goodbye. (Perhaps I should have used the analogy of a pet that the prior owner never claimed legally, but lived with for the past years and grew up with that owner's children? That would be closer to the scenario I'm trying to paint.) I can definitely see why Rhaena, another child who desperately wants a dragon to "prove" themselves, felt violated enough to want to hit him and lose control. Her mom just died and he refused to acknowledge her pain/familial tie when confronted. Not all violence is evil, even though all violence is definitely destructive.

The argument that dragons aren't total possessions and can choose their riders after their last rider's death is true, and Vhagar did choose Aemond of her own will.

However:

From a strategic angle, Aemond was clever to use the funeral and people's expectations to try to claim Vhagar, absolutely. That doesn't mean that a tactic or strategy doesn't have ethical problems or that the person doing the deed has not caused particular consequences. (In the context of the greens vs blacks conflict, there’s already feelings of jealousy and unfairness with Viserys letting Rhaenyra and her own family get away with things or recieving more favor from him.) A strategy can be logical and beneficial while also being morally corrupt, like when Otto Hightower pushed Alicent to become the new Queen: from a strategic standpoint for his personal goal, that was cunning of him. However, he also basically coerced his own daughter into having sex with a man that maybe only a little younger than himself, regardless of how she truly felt and wanted for herself. Father of the year, that one.

Dragon choosing their riders or accepting being claimed is true. However, A Song of Ice and Fire’s lore specifically states that Valyrians were the only ones so far to obtain some sort of control and assert a level of dominance over dragons enough to make dragons even accept them as riders. So dragons are actually still technically domesticated creatures (even if semi-so) that the Targaryens and the old Valyrian dragonriders owned and directed. They were still able to use dragons for their human ends, therefore, dragons are domesticated. Just differently so. We don’t really understand how a dragon comes to accept their new rider, what that looks like psychologically, and the book Fire and Blood has many moments where Gyldayn ponders over why a certain dragon did a certain thing (but he’s not Vlayrian, of Valyrian descent, nor a Targaryen with access to that knowledge, so...proceed with caution). At the same time, dragons are owned, bred, and largely open to be chosen by a person who would ride them, even if they may reject them--but that is in the case of claiming dragons. There’s another way people can get a dragon. By Viserys’ time, dragons also largely weren’t given the choice to choose riders because the main practice was to put a dragon egg in the cradle of a Valyrian-born so that it hatches alongside the baby and bonds with that baby from the moment of its own hatching. This practice began with Queen Consort/Queen Rhaena Targaryen (daughter of Aenys I and rider of Dreamfyre, now Helaena’s dragon). Since this is the case, this is also another explanation as to why Rhaena would feel some entitlement to Vhagar--dragons are already considered Targaryen property before Rhaenys married Corlys. Rhaena most likely felt that Vhagar belonged to her "more" than she did Aemond. It was a misunderstanding that isn't farfetched, especially when the person misunderstanding is a child who father hasn't seemed to teach her anything about dragons and has emotionally neglected her, who is a child, and a child still freshly mourning their burnt mother.

Therefore, let’s consider how the other layers as to why she would feel as she feels instead of only thinking about only one side’s background. Everyone’s background in the higher contexts of their environment and socio-political history (in this case Valyrian dragonriding and domestication and conquest of other peoples through that), as well as all the characters more immediate experiences shapes them and must be taken into account to understand the stakes here.

That’s what makes a real, complex and well-thought out narrative. Layers.

Vhagar and Syrax both definitely showed how emotionally attached they were to Laena and Rhaenyra respectively. However, they also still took orders as if they were those person’s subordinates, as if those dragons (despite being hundred times bigger and more powerful then them) recognized that they had authority over them.

Since this is the case, this is also another reason why Rhaena would feel some entitlement to Vhagar--dragons are already considered Targaryen/Velayron/Valyrian property, and she felt that Vhagar belonged to her "more" than she did Aemond, even though the claiming event has the dragon displaying more will from the animal than your average horse. And don’t forget about the cradle-hatching kind of bonding either, which shows no will on part of the dragon.

Back to Aemond. That Aemond even thought to do this, knowing that his cousins will be very upset shows how little he thought of their deserving to at least "fairly" compete for the dragon.

His dismissive attitude in using outright deception against those who share his blood comes from Alicent/Otto's constant teachings that Rhaenyra and anyone close to her (or seemingly close) are inherently unworthy individuals and unworthy for the throne because they don't follow the ethical rules of Westeros concerning composure and sex and obedience. As he fights the boys, it's clear he was ready to kill them and rubs their alleged father's death in.

Having illegitimate kids is frowned on in Westeros, but it is not a grevious error in the practical sense. It is for the Faith of the Seven, yet noblemen generally are allowed to father as many illegitimate children as they can and they do not get reprimanded or publicly punished for it. And many illegitimate children live to actually make their mark in history, whether actively or passively.

One of those illegitimate children of a nobleman was rumored to be Orys Baratheon, the brother of Aegon the Conqueror and progenitor of House Baratheon. It was never proven, and neither is Jaecaerys, Lucerys, and Joffrey's parentage.

More famous illegitimate children:

Ser Benedict the Bold--formerly Benedict Rivers--was born from a Blackwood and a Bracken affair before the Targaryens conquered Westeros

Jon Snow (was believed and treated as such)

Daemon Blackfyre, Shiera Seastar, Aegon Rivers and Brynden Rivers/Bloodraven are just a few of the illegitimate children Aegon IV had (Byrnden Rivers, after being legitimized, fights for his king and manages to force his other brother, Aegon Rivers out of Westeros AND much, much later he becomes the Hand of the new king but was eventually banished since Aegon V was too disgusted with Brynden killing a Blackfyre descendant trying to claim for the throne)

Robert Baratheon's many, many, many illegitimate children; one of them Gendry

Alyn and Addam Velaryon are illegitimate children that Corlys had legitimized

Alys Rivers, who Aemond (yes the very same Aemond of HotD) impregnates with a illegitimate child before he dies

Ellaria Sand was a illegitimate daughter of an Uller man and became Oberyn’s paramour, giving birth to all their illegitimate daughters and some of his (below)

the Sand Snakes, Oberyn’s illegitimate daughters by other women: Obera, Tyene, and Nymeria

So many players in Westerosi history were illegitimate, but were allowed to start their own houses, become part of their father's house after being legitimized, allowed to live in the same space as legitimate children, etc. specifically for political and emotional reasons on part of the father, and even actively particpated and contributed to their parents’ politicking, well being, or their parents’ house

The rules and system that Alicent, Otto, and Aemond all treasure so much allows this to happen even before any of them existed, has continued outside of the ruling family, and will continue into the future.

They are literally fighting for a flawed and unfair system that they tout as above board the sex they do not condone, and Otto at least does so specifically because it stops his own line from becoming the origin to the future king of Westeros.

So Aemond doesn't even regard these girls as family--just rivals. Because:

of the ideology he's been spoonfed

his father Viserys not following that ideology by naming his daughter instead of Aegon heir

his father largely ignoring his green kids and favoring Rhaneyra more

his frustration with not being respected by those he has been taught to not respect AND his own older brother Aegon

Which may seem fair, but again, he’s fighting not for honor or fairness but for himself. And he’s not reluctant to act cruelly towards even those his own family.

Aemond suffers from loveless-ness & "2nd son" syndrome, a thing that runs through this show with Daemon and even Corlys:

In the face of a whole society granting privileges to a person you also are told or already love and/or respect, passing over you, how do you show that you are also a mighty, glorious man on your own when you’ve consistently been denied positions of authority you’ve also been told you have a sort of claim to (or were very close to claiming)?

This, I think, coupled with all that stuff about Alicent and Otto teaching him and his siblings their "rights", pushes Aemond to consider his female cousins "unworthy" enough for their feelings to not even be considered. Meanwhile, these girls are not even illegitimate and they have "Targaryen" as their surnames, the same as him.

Alicent definitely loves him, but her tying his and Aegon’s being to how wronged they were and that they are owed things based on sexist principles also creates an extreme sense of entitlement and turns them into less empathetic people. If all you think about is how you should be something, you also always have to prove that you are enough.

I think that people might also feel that he should have at least, going by how much these people who preach "honor" and "house honor" (Alicent literally said the last episode that Rhaenyra insulted House Targaryen by having 3 illegitimate children), that he would have considered the concept of chivalric "fairness" by allowing Rhaena and any other claimants to have a go at Vhagar.

He perpetuates that “someone must be on top” ideology so much he disregards how he himself was in that position in order to occupy a higher one.

Chivalric honor is a real thing that people know and model their behavior after in the Westerosi nobility, and a Knight's honor is a huge part of the honor that Alicent said she was about.

If you know anything about chivalry and its code, you'd know that there are dues where combatants go against each other for a few formal reasons to "prove" themselves and win some sort of right or prize. Aemond denied his own blood that right. Why? Because he saw an opportunity and took it.

This is ironic because he is canonically known in the history the masters wrote about him to be a very good knight in terms of his fighting ability. (In Fire and Blood, he’s actually not painted very well in terms of behavior.) This means that knights do not necessarily have to be good people, just good fighters and willing to be "fair".....but Aemond didn't even do that.

To the possible argument that this is a fictional world and not the real medieval ages, yes you (whoever you are) are correct that this is a fictional world in House of Dragon or A Song of Ice and Fire.

It is also a fictional world whose author uses the European medieval feudal system, which was defined by a chivalric honor code.

This ethical code is then the social honor code for George R.R. Marten’s characters’ feudal world.

It is reasonable to assume that the Westeros’s Andal/Faith of the Seven honor system mirrors and follow many of the rules of chivalry. and if you go back to Septon Barth, King Jaehearys and Queen Alysanne’s debate over the right of the first night, you will see this point proven when Barton mentions how the right of the first night contradicts the Seven principle of fidelity as well as the chivalric principle of protecting those deemed weaker than men and knights.

Plus, Alicent and Cristin Cole both espouse “honor” and “duty” several times....it’s obviously a chivalric code, this code of honor that they say they support.

Plus, the chivalric code is rife with philosophically and psychologically damaging ideas that establish human self-worth to public perception and according to what body parts you have.

If Aemond can’t even follow that flawed code, he is not acting ethically in any way.

Aemond perpetuated the treatment his cousins and older sibling, Aegon, performed against him.

He's feeling high from his success and ability to show up to everyone who doubted him, and it manifested into the bullied becoming the bully. That won't endear him to a sense of compassion.

Yes, he comes form a loveless house. Doesn’t mean that his all of his actions suddenly become good or “not bad” or not serious.

And again, it shows he holds no compassion for anyone he considers the enemy or "lower" in the hierarchy that his authority figures taught him.

Even from a standpoint of Aemond not feeling close to these girls because they never met before, he doesn't recognize their worth as Targaryens because he sees them as the enemy.

His motivations are not pure and are definitely not as simple as they might seem (due to the element of his arc where he shows up to his bullies) specifically because he acts as if he is on the moral high ground when there is ample evidence to the contrary.

And at this point, it isn't totally his fault because he was raised that way just as Otto did to Alicent, but it does make him a future menace. He believes too much in the social hierarchy's moral purity at such a young age and it will carry into his adulthood, where he will have more physical power and social authority.

OTTO and ALICENT

I despise Otto even more now. It is very easy to hate him and fear his influence.

When he goes to see Alicent after she attacked Rhaenyra and the boys, we see how Alicent anticipated all of his usual words and had been standing in anxiety all this time. Plus, his grandson has just lost an eye and was nearly killed trying to claim a dragon. Yet Otto expresses eagerness at Alicent's loss of self-control, stating that she displayed "determination" in her ruthlessness.

But here's the thing. Ruthlessness can't logically be praised when it comes from a no self-control or emotionally desperate place, because that ruthlessness was not utilized with aim and careful attention. It is actually the antithesis of real strategy, which requires calm. If you don't have that calm in your ruthlessness, you're not strategic and you are actually more vulnerable to both outside forces and the unpredictability of your own emotions. Generally and in critical situations, this is a hindrance not a help.

So truly, why is Otto so "proud" and pleased?

Alicent is now more likely to depend more on Otto and not resist his assertions and pressures or dismissals of her. By doing the very thing that she’s been told all her life not to do--rebel against her husband/male “peer” in a way that casts her as “crazy”--she will look at herself as the blockage to what “needs to be done” without really looking at how her need to make her suffering justified nstead of how bad Rhaenyra is. She will not likely question Otto’s actions because she will perceive them as “just” ways of supporting her. When really they just support him.

I believe that in Otto's eyes, Alicent has finally done what he wanted from her--total agreement with him that Rhaenyra is not fit because her womanhood. Alicen appears, to him, to have broken completely away from her hesitance she showed all those years ago when she stood up for Rhaenyra over Otto. She is now completely acting beneficially for his self-serving agenda. We already know that he doesn't perceive her as a whole person so much as a chess piece and is very willing to have Aemond risk his life for a possible win.

She's more "committed" because now that she has shown witnesses how merciless she is. She has to continue that path since no one would consider her to be either sane or honest if she did try to reconcile with Rhaenyra publicly.

It is the sunk-cost fallacy--her image is lost, so she might as well continue to use Larys (even though he showed himself to be "honor"-less in killing his family), and continue to convince Aegon he should be on the throne and continue to be jealous of Rhaenyra when she has been more the antagonizer.

She's even more trapped than she ever was before, and she doesn't seem to consciously realize it. And the beauty of it is that it is both not her fault and is her fault, but she doesn’t see where her fault lies.

It doesn’t mean the Otto necessarily intended and aimed for Alicent’s spirit to be broken so that he can control her better or decide things for her without her putting up a fight. What I mean is that Alicent’s attack and her inability to see how she adopted a false mindset made it so that a reconciliation with Rhaenyra is now impossible and that the blacks became more united and stronger.

Finally, Alicent decides to punish Lucerys similarly to how Aemond tried to punish his nephews--no chance of explanation, just more violence. And it’s less about Aemond and more about how she is frustrated with how her body has been sold and yet Rhaneyra is getting all the privileges and benefits (in her limited perspective).

RHAENYRA and DAEMON

There was an interesting element that Emma D'Arcy told viewers in the small interview shown after this episode in HBO. They mention that Rhaenyra confronted a wound from all that abandonment she experienced, from the death of her mother, Alicent marrying the king and becoming her technical superior and acting like her superior when she needed a friend more, Viserys for marrying her only friend, Daemon both leaving her after trying to seduce her and then leaving with another woman, Laenor not fully committing to being her and the kids' protector despite agreeing and going through their deal.....The actor for Rhaenyra basically said that Rhaenyra has not only become stronger due to her marriage to Daemon but also more emotionally stronger because she has "lanced" that wound and has been able to get Alicent to show her "true colors". The lines are drawn and now the bloodshed will be less "tainted" by the hypocrisy and hidden hurts..at least for now.

I also noticed that some people doubted Daemon's feelings for Rhaenyra, or at least that they matched hers for him. I find Daemon to not be very expressive in the face, or his expressions are not expressive except for the body and his actions. He seems to be a little repressed and also more of a believer in actions than words. We see him not speak a word in episode 3 when he fought in that battle and won and from the very first episode, we see him actually give Rhaenyra a lot more attention and favor than we would expect from someone who was called emotionless. I think that Daemon tries to be very careful how he emotes and tries to focus more on what's going on around him before he actually does something. In that case with his daughters and not hugging them, I actually felt that tracked with how the show portrayed him thus far. He didn’t really know what to do there because he’s never truly tried emotional nurturing and stops his own to the point where he reacts just before it is too unforgiveable.

43 notes · View notes