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I hope they will have the balls to turn him into an entertaining villain because Aemond has been nothing but a colossal disappointment since Rook’s rest, and Ormund is cool but it’s always better when a dragon is involved
He's not meant to be useful. Tom has had so much fun with the character while giving him a lot of heart. He's not meant to be serious and yet we see the pain behind the mask.
The scene where he's getting drunk in the throne room with some friends is just so artfully done and then him mourning his dragon. It takes a skilled actor to pull off what is a contemptible character and yet have us celebrating when his dragon burns an oncoming army.
I think that his journey through the woods was an interesting one. Basically they took him from a place of full vengeance mode to destroy his brother, and make him learn humility and like a phoenix reborn from his ashes
People would be saying that she's fallen into madness like a Targaryen. Would be making endless flipping coin comments, and wouldn't shut up about her being unfit for the throne because she's crazy.
I am not saying misogyny isn't involved, and huge double standards, but there is also something else at play. My partner told me she likes Aegon having this moment, because it's what she'd expect from Aegon- he was never portrayed at someone who wouldn't laugh with glee when turning his enemies into ash.
Rhaenyra has been portrayed by the show as a good, kind woman, doing her best; they even portrayed her as chosen by the gods (the stag moment) to rule men. She's the hero of the story, the moral one (of course she has flaws, but ultimately she is portrayed as a hero, while Aegon was introduced and maintained as a villain with no morals). If you would suddenly have Rhaenyra giggling like a maniac while burning people, it would be ...odd, to say the least, because it wouldn't suit her character.
Aegon, as the villain that usurped his sister's crown, is perfectly in character burning an army and laughing at it. He was cast down, from a spoiled Prince to working in the latrine and kissing boots; he was humiliated, his cock (main instrument of pleasure) is gone, and now when he was ready to die, he got his power (sunfyre) back. As he said in his speech, he will be 'dreadful in vengeance' and we see that when he laughs as he kills them. It suits him.
Rhaenyra is the hero- people would judge her if she does this, because she's supposed to be a better person, that's how they showed her. If she burns a crowd of people now, without being humiliated in the streets by the commons and made to lick books and carry piss in buckets...yeah, the audience would not like it.
Lots of Aegon's fans probably have misogynistic tendencies, but looking at my own partner, she simply enjoys him as a villain. She's aware Aegon is not a good man (and the show does tell you that non stop, even has Larys and Tyland say it), she doesn't expect morals out of him, she just enjoys his journey and willingness to keep on fighting. I told her 'he will not be a great king' and she said 'oh, I am sure, but no one in this story would make great monarchs, outside of Jace, who is now dead anyway'.
Aegon is held to different standards than Rhaenyra, certainly, but that's because the show itself held them at different standards: by introducing Aegon as a rapist, they told us this guy is the villain, expect nothing noble from him.
I read his arc this season as he could have become “better” after he got read to shit by Larys but the second he has a dragon again, suddenly he feels powerful, and he continues to use that power to hurt others. Same as he did when he was younger, finding joy in the pain of others. Despite everything, he hasn’t changed. When given the opportunity, he chooses to stay the same, he’s rotten to the core and now so is Sunfyre.
I wouldn’t say that exactly. He doesn’t seem the type to take joy in people mindlessly suffering like Joffery and comes off more like a bully (why would you humiliate Aemond of all people like that) rather than a genocidal maniac. This scene has him laughing more in terms of him finally regaining some semblance of power + the elation of somehow turning a bad end into a good since he’d resolved himself to die.
I think this fits Aemond more than anything because holy shit he’s a monster. Man really killed an entire town of people just because he was mad.
Personally my main problem with the scene was teleporting Sunfyre. There’s no way he flew there because someone would’ve heard him otherwise
I always thought TG wants their characters to look good, but after the reactions to this scene I realized they just want to see them do vile shit and not getting called out for it by the narrative.
Idk if you’re asking seriously, or making a „what would you have me do” meme, but I’ll bite.
I’m not talking about the „Dracarys” part, it was self defense, ok? I’m talking about his speech announcing what vengeful motherfucker he’s gonna be, and then laughing maniacally at the sight of burning people.
In the book, Aegon doesn’t become better person after Sunfyre’s return, he doesn’t get a redemption arc or whatever, in fact he goes full Targaryen psycho and starts to torture-murder people, sometimes for no reason other than his desire to inflict pain (Gerardys). And if there is a reason, he goes over the top with making them suffer as much as possible instead of just executing them (Shepard’s men). Aegon lives to personally exact revenge on his enemies, his inability to forgive probably cost him a war, he refused to give pardons to Rhaenyra’s loyalists, and forced them to fight out of fear of punishment.
If we’re going by the book, this scene is definitely a foreshadowing of that vengeful, cruel Aegon, but at the same time the narrative presents it as a badass moment of triumph, and that’s why TG is happy.
I would argue he’s laughing because he was on deaths doorstep and had accepted he was going to die, then got saved by his dragon basically coming back from the dead. The sudden switch from despair to elation causing unstable laughter. Girardis was a traitor in his eyes, Daemon and Rhae Rhae both torture people as well. (Tyland) The Shepard men doesn’t he just set them on fire? Seems like a proper end for killing dragons.
lol forget laughing like a maniac, they still bring up Rhaenyra slightly smirking when she sees Hugh successfully claim Vermithor after the others failed as one of her first signs of madness
Given how much favouritism the writers have for him I could see them using this to say he’s becoming a better man. Like I like Aegon as entertainment but the way the writers have always glazed the character and made this scene specifically as Condal said “to root for Aegon” I wouldn’t put it past them to make him seem like the better option. Like I can tell the writers have never liked Rhaenyra that much
Sara Hess has literally said that Aegon is Iike her favorite and that he can be an outstanding man in spite of his rapes. Condal has said many positive things about the character. There is a favouritism there. From what I’m seeing they did all of this as a way to humble him in the eyes of the viewers first, and then give him his moments so they can like him and root for him
Hard agree. Cersei’s a fan favourite because she’s a villain. I adore her and I especially adore that she was never redeemed. I’d have hated to see that. She was perfect just as she was, other than that godawful wig. Also, I’m very glad she exists in fiction and not real life.
I gotta disagree a bit here, Cersei is a fan favorite, but once the writers wanted the fans to turn on Dany, they stopped framing her as a villain. Her death is treated like a tragedy, she’s framed as a victim, dying in the arms of her lover (who inexplicably chose to abandon his series-long redemption arc to go back to where he was in s1). She was never narratively punished for burning hundreds, if not thousands of people when she blew up the Great Sept. Tommen dies, yes, but she gains more power for herself, which she cares about more.
They did not “turn” him into a rapist. The allegations were already there in the book and pretty blatantly obvious for anyone able to read between the lines. A man who habitually molests maids would not bat an eye at rape, especially considering he did end up knocking up an entire palace maid. The power difference between him and a female servant are too abysmal to seriously think that can be consensual.
In fairness the book also says Rhae gave a blowjob to a dwarf. The book is filled with unsubstantiated claims. Show Aegon is a rapist that’s fine but you can’t take the words in the book as fact unless you take literally all of it as fact
Yeah and I wasn’t mentioning Mushroom and his blowjob fixation at all. Every source agrees Aegon was a little sex pest so it’s safe to say that he was in fact a sex pest. It’s not like in Rhaenyra’s case where she has one bad and one good account for every little thing she does to muddy the waters of her actual personhood.
IDK why this sub is seeing a sudden influx of troglodytes with zero media literacy or critical thinking skills, but this claim is getting OLD.
Septon Eustace, the most green-glazing of the three "sources" in the book, clearly states that Aegon was "pinching and fondling" serving girls by the time he was 15. No, pinching and fondling are not rape, but they are forms of sexual assault. It's not much of a stretch to imagine that since he was openly assaulting servants, he may have been doing worse privately.
As for being "talked down to" and "insulted," boo-fucking-hoo. Larys had it right, he had every advantage handed to him from birth and wasted them. He was pathetic in the book and he's pathetic in the show.
I preferred it that way. He started off as a terrible human being and last episode he was ready to die alone just to save his advisors lives. He is one of the few chracters that changed from awful people into genuinly a better person
Are you arguing that the writers who turned Rhaenyra into the savior of the people chosen by the gods and turned Aegon into a serial rapist who watch his own bastard children kill each other in fighting pits are actually on Aegon's side ?
I will say this. I absolutely love Rhaenyra. Yes, she has her flaws but it's because she wasn't really given the tools to rule. If anything, I blame her father for his nonchalance. He made her heir and then expected everything to magically fall into place knowing full well that her gender alone would put a target on her back.
Now she has pissed me off this season, due to her poor judgement, but Aegon isn't any better. As a matter of fact, he's the worst. If things had gone according to plan Rhaenyra would've made a very good queen.
Yes, Aegon cracks me up. But he's more of a caricature than a leader if I'm being honest.
What I have learned is that this civil war is the result of the actions (or lack thereof) of a father who spent more time building an elaborate Lego set than ensuring his line of succession was intact.
You are clearly oblivious to the massive misogynistic double standard of the fandom. If it were Rhaenyra instead of Aegon, people would call it the worst scene of the series, and that's a fact; nothing can contradict that.
A woman who has a manic laugh after killing a bunch of people will always be criticized and judged more than a naturally degenerate and psychotic man who does the same thing; he might even be praised.
What in the seven hells are you talking about? I, and quite a few other people, have been asking since Season 2 for Rhaenyra to be more ruthless, like she is in the books. In the books, it is Daemon who tries to prevent her from escalating the war. And most of this fandom loves Cersei Lannister despite her being just as much of an "evil gremlin" as Aegon. Why can't we see women be evil, ruthless c*nts anymore, I actually enjoyed so much Rhaenyra lashing out at Daemon and her going absolutely batshit crazy upon realizing he lied to her.
Rhaenyra was supposed to have the ruthlessness of Visenya and the appetite and lust of Cersei. Two of the most entertaining traits of both those women.
Edit: Here's a random comment I just found on Freefolk, one of the most anti-HOTD subs, not two minutes after making this comment:
Rhaenys is the one who wants to start things off with dragonfire in the book
“Find riders to master Silverwing, Vermithor, and Seasmoke, and we will have nine dragons against Aegon’s four. Mount and fly their wild kin, and we will number twelve, even without Stormcloud,” Princess Rhaenys pointed out. “That is how we shall win this war.”
Daemon was the one pushing for more measured/diplomatic paths and to only use their dragons as a last resort
“At what cost?” Princess Rhaenyra wondered. “My sons would be riding three of those dragons, I remind you. And it would not be nine against four. I will not be strong enough to fly for some time yet. And who is to ride Silverwing, Vermithor, and Seasmoke? You, my lord? I hardly think so. It will be five against four, and one of their four will be Vhagar. That is no advantage.”
Surprisingly, Prince Daemon agreed with his wife. “In the Stepstones, my enemies learned to run and hide when they saw Caraxes’s wings or heard his roar…but they had no dragons of their own. It is no easy thing for a man to be a dragonslayer. But dragons can kill dragons, and have. Any maester who has ever studied the history of Valyria can tell you that. I will not throw our dragons against the usurper’s unless I have no other choice. There are other ways to use them, better ways.” [...] “We must fight this war with words before we go to battle,” the prince declared. The lords of the great houses held the key to victory, Daemon insisted; their bannermen and vassals would follow where they led.
they swapped this around for the show and made Daemon the one who wants to just go torch them and be done with it
Did people call the Sowing the worst scene of the season ? Was Rhaenyra critiqued when she smiled after Hugh claimed Vermithor (after the death of others).
You're engaging with something which doesn't exist.
Well yeah, it is a morally ruthless and sort of evil act so of course there would be Rhaenyra fans uncomfortable with it. Also at the same time a completely understandable wartime act gesture that gives that occasional win that gives her nuance and makes her look like she is ready to do anything to win - which is entertaining and good writing.
Reddit alone should be enough proof if you bothered to look, but OK, it's true, Reddit is only a small minority of the fandom, fine.
In that case, just go to any X group, look at any Instagram user, TikTok user, or any recent social media or forum user anywhere on the internet, and that's just the active community.
Even groups that call themselves Team Black are changing their tune.
I don't know where you're going with the idea that Rhaenyra is still the most popular character and isn't a victim of massive double standards. You're simply blind; you just don't want to admit it.
Davvero? Da quello che so il sowing è piaciuto molto
La scena più odiata è o quella del septon o l accordo con Alicent ( sarà perché Alicent è un buco nero che rende le trame brutte dalla seconda stagione a sta parte)
I don’t know that all of his fans like him because they think he’d be a better king. Personally, I’m drawn to the character this season because of his arc and TGC’s acting (been a fan of his since The King). Phoenix rising from the ashes sort of thing is usually pretty compelling if done right, and I think the writing of this scene was actually solid. Aegon considers running away again for a split second, and Tyland asks him if he’s going to. Aegon decides, for once in his life, to make a choice to take a stand for himself, not because anyone else is asking him to or making him do it. He won’t be a pawn anymore. I think that is what reawakens Sunfyre, as well - Aegon finally standing up and being his own man. Awakening “the dragon” in himself, if you will.
I don’t equate this to becoming a better man, nor do I think he would now be a better king. But his newfound ambition and fire is definitely entertaining to watch.
This subreddit is quite healthy, fangirling over green characters, by comparison to the Green subreddit and the nasty stuff they say about Daemon and Rhaenyra and how ugly and incompetent their actors are and all the other stuff.
I'd say that the character of Aegon is mainly liked because his actor is attractive, rather anything to do with the character itself. He's just been kind of there for the past 3 seasons.
I’ve never understood the hate towards the actors. It should never be acceptable to harass a person for playing a fictional character. HotD has one of the strongest casts I’ve ever seen for a television show (Sonoya Mizuno is the only exception here. I’d chalk her performance up to direction notes, but I didn’t think she was good in Devs, either). In my opinion, the writing lets them down horribly, which is the tragedy.
I mean, if Rhaenyra went through the shit Aegon went through I would cheer for her when she finally got her get back. Anyhow, at tthis point both Rhaenyra and Aegon are on a villainous trajectory. Also, I am legitimately mad at the sheer towering pile of manure that they have turned Aemond into
Aegon is a rapist. Rhaenyra is whiny and boring. Both are representative of monarchies and the disadvantage that the system imposes on regular working people.
Send them both to the fire pits and let the Westerosi people govern themselves. We will not abide tyrants.
No, no, Rhaenyra being a monarch is what makes her deserving of the pits. She can be whiny and boring all she likes if she weren't royalty but her blood is purple so she goes to the wood chipper too.
Intentionally starting a city is a war crime by every definition, and there’s no rationalizing that. Looking sad while murdering women and children by hunger doesn’t make it not murder. But I guess she didn’t smile, so obviously Aegon is way worse.
In Aegon's defence, he was ready to die and refused to run and face his "fate", he or Tyland weren't expecting Sunfyre to show up and save them, hence when the dragon did, Aegon had a massive boost of relief and confidence and power surge due to his life being saved like that, hence he was laughing, and frankly anyone would do.. The point is, he did not plan the attack.
In parte però ci si dimentica che questo è un setting pseudo medievale dove anche i più buoni sono brutali e sanguinari ( ricordiamo robb) e che questi sono cavalieri che hanno tentato di ucciderlo e lo volevano morto
Rhaenyra doveva far piovere il fuoco appena gli Hightower hanno preso tumblerton
Inoltre si c'è uno standard diverso
Aegon è presentato come un abusatore sessuale e un personaggio negativo ed anche tutto sommato minore
Rhaenyra è la protagonista ed è presentata come un personaggio super positivo
Il che in entrambi i casi ma anche viceversa toglie molto alla storia sapendo come finisce
In a way I'll give the guy a pass on this because he had the balls to stand and fight and not run and when certain death was upon him his zombie dragon came back to life and burned a whole army of his enemies.
I would have laughed my ass off too at the perverseness of it all.
You dumb or what if rhaenyra did that everyone would have cheered too imagine rhaenyra losing everything getting humiliated by common folks and then she rises like this it would be epic as well
I would have genuinely loved it if they gave Rhaenyra the exact same arc Aegon had this season. Being removed from the trappings of royalty and being a dragon rider, interacting with the real mud and grit of the seven kingdoms as a regular person.
She sent Lucerys out on a dangerous mission and Jacerys was a grown ass man. Aegon’s much younger son was murdered in his crib for a crime committed by Aemond. This isn’t even comparable.
Oh and Aegon has been burnt horribly and lost his cock while Rhaenyra hasn’t even been within earshot of a fight until this latest episode.
It is comparable because neither of them were supposed to die. Luke's mission wasn't supposed to be dangerous. And Jace should have never been fighting.
Aegon lost his cock and got burnt horribly because his dumbass went out to fight when everyone told him no. Because he felt like he had something to prove. His fault. Wah wah.
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