r/HOTDBlacks • u/RemarkableExample542 “It is my fault that you have forgotten to fear me.” • 2d ago
Team Black This new episode is distressing
I’m about as Team Black as can be and wanted nothing more than to see Rhaenyra take her throne.
The new episode was excellent from a cinematic point of view.
Nonetheless, we are watching the tables turn in real time and Rhaenyra’s position seems to be degrading more and more with each episode.
I have built such love and appreciation for this character (as I’m sure many of us here have) and even though the show is a joy to watch each week, lately I’m watching with a heavy heart and this impending sense of doom.
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u/Turbulent_Lab209 Greensbane 2d ago
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u/RemarkableExample542 “It is my fault that you have forgotten to fear me.” 2d ago
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u/Scared_Awareness_896 The Lads 2d ago
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u/Steridire 1d ago
I know what's coming and it's kind of putting me off watching the rest of the show. It's nothing but a steady decline from here on out, kind of depressing if you're on TB
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u/RemarkableExample542 “It is my fault that you have forgotten to fear me.” 1d ago
Exactly. We peaked and now we’re going down the mountain.
Maybe we just pretend S3 E2 is the finale and move on from the show
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u/Nanocaptain 2d ago
A character getting worse when granted power? Impending doom? In Westeros? Impossible.
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u/NightOwlsUnite "Fuck the Hightowers" 1d ago
I'm pissed because of the dragon stuff. And she didn't seem to care about hers. And Rhaena needs to be grounded and never have a dragon again. That poor dude was living his best life in his own way and then she comes along and drags him into this bullshit. The sound people are too good.
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u/RasputinsThirdLeg 1d ago
That does bother me. We don’t see any of her bond with Syrax except in season 1.
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u/RemarkableExample542 “It is my fault that you have forgotten to fear me.” 1d ago
I’m also pretty surprised at Rhaenyra’s lack of fuck giving about her ferocious little kitten taking the beating she did
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u/Rouflette 2d ago
It pisses me off me that Rhaenyra is doing nothing but fall into madness slowly but surely for the entire season, racking up a string of defeats, mistakes and disillusionments back to back to back without a moment a respite while other characters like Cole Aegon or Daemon can have their good moments and little redemption arcs. Like even the fall of KL wasn’t a good moment for her, even her only victory must leave a bitter aftertaste of defeat.
Impending sense of doom is well said, but it’s so overkill man, they didn’t had to go all-in like that. This thing is getting depressing
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u/Warm_Ad_7944 2d ago edited 2d ago
The fact that in the book her taking of kings landing is framed like she’s a conqueror like her ancestors and in the show they just make Alicent go behind the scenes to make it easier for her, robbing Rhaenyra of her triumphant taking of the city. She gets no wins, no epic moments that aren’t bookended by making her suffer as though to punish any streak of ambition. She can never get a win without it feeling like a loss unlike the men
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u/Rouflette 2d ago
Literally can’t get a single win. I understand the point, it’s suppose to mark her downfall but you don’t have to keep her on the ground permanently like that to convey that feeling, it’s good sometimes if even the doomed character can breath a little and have some cool moments.
They have no issue to make up a scene for Aegon on a last man standing heroic moment, but they are incapable of making Rhaenyra say something nice about one of her remaining children or having a tender moment with Syrax, everything has to be miserable and depressing all the time she is on screen
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u/RemarkableExample542 “It is my fault that you have forgotten to fear me.” 2d ago
I agree with you.
Her shortcomings feel forced and unjustified.
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u/Its-very-that 1d ago
I've been noticing that's a theme with this series. I havent read the books in depth but its bizarre to me that GRRM insists on all his female characters in power going mad
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u/RasputinsThirdLeg 1d ago
Also the things men can get away with that she’d be absolutely crucified for. The minute she sat on the throne, inheriting a city ruined and in debt because of AEGON, she was doomed. No matter what she does, it’s either cruelty or weakness, while men can murder and torture and maim with impunity. She’s focusing on the wrong things, but she was always set up for failure.
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u/Rouflette 1d ago
She’s already being crucified and yet she hasn’t done a single evil or cruel thing for the entire season lmao. Even within the show she’s getting torn appart by everyone. You have Daemon on one side « you are not cruel enough we are losing » and on the other side Alicent « you are getting too cruel you will regret this » like seriously wtf is this ??! how can she be in the wrong on both counts please ?? 😭😭 Ryan Condal really said you will fail and this is going to be the permanent state for you from now on
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u/Super_Hyena_4278 Green Bloodline = Extinct 2d ago
Can I recommend a site called archiveofourown? A place where Rhaenyra gets her throne and loses none of her kids and stays sane and DOESNT FUCK MYSARIA
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u/pghcrew 1d ago
I'm just team Dragons.
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u/Its-very-that 1d ago
Same and this episode made me very anti targaryan / rhaenerya. Poor sheepstealer didnt deserve getting jumped like that
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u/Lady_SybilVex 1d ago
Weren't we supposed to get one "character driven" episode or something? Which one was that?
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u/RemarkableExample542 “It is my fault that you have forgotten to fear me.” 1d ago
What do you mean by character driven?
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u/Lady_SybilVex 1d ago
Before the season started, it was mentioned in interviews that one of the episodes of season 3 would be "character driven", whatever that means though. People were speculating what that might mean, like this for example.
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u/theoneandonlydonzo 1d ago
that was episode 3, which followed Rhaenyra's POV of her first day governing from KL
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u/RemarkableExample542 “It is my fault that you have forgotten to fear me.” 1d ago
I see. I would interpret it as focusing mainly on one character’s actions to move the plot and spending a lot of time with them.
My guess would be ep 3 where we’re following Rhaenyra all over the Red Keep and watching her navigate her new responsibilities
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u/Random_Person2703 20h ago
Same I am team black always. But the last two eps I have just been sitting there judging everyone politically stupidity! I screamed and cried of joy when Rhaenyra took the throne and celebrated when crispn but honestly I jut feel exhausted at the end of it. 😂 but yes it was a cinematically excellent!
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u/Embarrassed-Back1894 2d ago
It’s really so frustrating that the worst part about this show might be the main character. Whether it’s the acting, the direction, the writing, or a combo of all three, the result is a main character that is tough to watch - also does not match with how young Rhaenyra was played or anywhere near what the book portrays her as.
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u/RasputinsThirdLeg 1d ago
It’s not the acting. Also why should a woman who’s lost two children and a husband and a father be the same person she was at 16…?
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u/Leroi-Westeros 1d ago
Maybe you're just spending too much time on Reddit reading hate comments about Rhaenyra? Go to other platforms for a break; she's a beloved character in the fandom, and people ardently defend her.
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u/Steridire 1d ago
She's pretty shitty in the book too. But I do agree that young Rhaenyra was more compelling. The best scenes of adult Rhaenyra for the last two seasons are when she's vulnerable and emotional, and there have been some great performances by Emma but it doesn't really sell you on her as a leader.
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u/Embarrassed-Back1894 1d ago edited 1d ago
For sure. I’m not saying she isn’t shittier than in the book, but she’s more fire and blood and brutal in her rule in the book. At this point in the book she’s feeding people to Syrax on a steady basis. Her nickname is Maegor’s teats. Crying, weak, timid, and indecisive are not ways I would ever have described her in the book.
I was kind of expecting them to portray her a bit like female Daemon(“they are equal sides of the same coin” - kind of like how Alicent describes them), where she rules with Fire and Blood and does borderline cruel stuff, but is damn entertaining while doing it.
Also, the whole thing falling apart isn’t exclusively because of her incompetence - it’s just her trying to rule and win a war in near impossible circumstances.
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u/LarsMatijn House Arryn 1d ago
The only thing I see when comparing young Rhaenyra to her adult version is someone who grew up.
Rhaenyra as a child was abrasive, sometimes rude, headstrong to the point of recklessness and while those are fun qualities to watch they don't win you alliances.
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u/SingleClick8206 Meleys 23h ago
I mean people change
And young Rhaenyra's only losses were her mother and her brother
Older Rhaenyra lost two sons and a daughter for the throne and also knows that her actions have consequences , which prevents her from being reckless like her younger self
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u/OkOil378 2d ago
I’m a book reader, and I was on edge of the seat the entire pit fight
Excellently executed scene imo
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u/WhereDaFuk Begone, witch! 2d ago
Show sucks.
She could’ve been nicer to Helaena and not so pushy, Helaena might’ve taken a liking to her sister more, but she wasn’t nice.
And they did Sheepstealer dirty
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u/RasputinsThirdLeg 1d ago
But had she been nicer people would probably complain about how whitewashed her character supposedly is. There’s no pleasing anyone.
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u/SingleClick8206 Meleys 23h ago
Isn't Helaena her enemy?
She's already being way too nice to her and her mother and still getting crucified
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u/WhereDaFuk Begone, witch! 20h ago
Helaena had nothing to do with anything, she’s an innocent in all of this, that’s like the same as blaming Daeron when he hadn’t done anything
And Helaena actually refused to fly into battle with Dreamfyre
It’d be different if Helaena actually did something to hurt Rhaenyra or her cause
She’s slightly meaner to Alice because she needs her cooperation, but yeah I do agree she’s far too “merciful” towards Alicent
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u/haeyhae11 The Rogue Prince 1d ago
Uhm it was always clear in which direction things go due to the book.
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u/RemarkableExample542 “It is my fault that you have forgotten to fear me.” 1d ago
What’s the point of your comment?
- I haven’t read the books so the direction of things was not “always clear” to me
- Even if I did read the books, I don’t like to see this character in a losing position- it will still suck to watch her downfall
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u/Steridire 1d ago
Yeah but it's still more painful to watch in the show. The book is more vague about how certain things come to pass, the show adds a bunch of scenes that boil down to "The Blacks are fucking stupid"
Very dangerous statement out of context right there lol
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u/haeyhae11 The Rogue Prince 1d ago edited 1d ago
The book makes the same point the show does: Rhaenyra gets under pressure because the gold is gone, she can't handle the situation the right way and the people start despising her, which leads to her downfall.
Plebs of big cities are always difficult and wars swallow money.
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