This was absolutely bloody NUTS! The Dragon battle we've been waiting for Want to watch 4 weeks EARLY and access our UNCUT reactions? Join us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/spartanandpudgey
I loved that interaction b/w aegon and synfyre..... He's the only one that loves aegon unconditionally and that's seen in the last scene where despite being injured himself sunfyre is trying to cradle aegon. 💚
Going to pet him would have been enough, he didn't need to send him headlong to his death against a bigger more experienced Dragon lol It's like sending a chihuahua to fight a bulldog and telling him "Forward! Attack" lmao
@@TheMinarus you didn't get it he didn't knew meleys would be there he just went to aid ser criston. And when he saw meleys he had to attack not knowing vhagar is around..... He couldn't have let his army burn..... People seem to miss this thing altogether and point out and add in aegon's dumbasness as excuse.
I feel so bad for Sunfyre. It almost made me cry hearing his horrific screams. He was a relatively young, inexperienced dragon and probably thought he was out for a little fun ride like a puppy when he saw Aegon but instead he had to go through that excruciating pain 💔
I don't know why everyone thinks the dragons are stupid. The books say the dragons are more intelligent than humans. They know exactly what they are doing and what their riders are wanting them to do.
@@miguelmenen8022 When has he said that? There are multiple instances throughout the books that clearly state how intelligent the dragons are. Even in the shows, after they dumbed them down, Drogon for example knew exactly what killed his "mother." Have you read the books at all..?
@@nick4819 I agree but, u can't put Drogon and his mother that and then talk about book, that ain't happened in book since it is not even written and I think if books will ever be finish, will have much different ending . But I agree about dragons, even dragons don't want to cross the wall for knowing what is there, and humans don't
@@nick4819 "Drogon for example knew exactly what killed his "mother." Have you read the books at all..?"... She didn't die in the books and a wild animal suddenly gaining a talent for "subtle" visual metaphors is more of a writer going overboard fora moneyshot in a show than a clear notion about dragon intelligence. From all we've seen, dragon interactions with others creatures (from sheep to human or other dragons) is limited to a range from "food" to "maybe food, tbd". They're opportunistic cannibals. Everything points to a decent reptilian intelligence. That doesn't mean they're dumb of course (and I would agree people tend to make them more stupid or "puppy/child-like" than they should, and anthropomorphize them). Reptiles have a form of intelligence that is very much alien to mammals. All in all, I'd say Sunfyre knew very well that they were not out for a stroll as exemplified by the fact it knew very much what it was doing when it sent forth the first breath of flames in the battle.
@@danielgarcia151 realistically, he should be dead from the impact, but i guess I'll swallow the fantasy that somehow a human survived a fall from that height cushioned by the scales of a dragon.................
Place is starting to feel more like Hotel California, in that Daemon can check out any time he like but he can never leave. At this point I wouldn't even be surprised if Ser Simon is a hallucination.
I think there was a band of Bards from Misty mountains in The Eyrie, they had a song with lyrics like that - "Welcome to the hotel Harrenhal yeah, blah blah blah blah, blah blah blah, but you can never leave!" right?? the smeagols??? was that the band??
Sunfyre falling on his injured stomach to protect aegon was a great touch, despite his injury you can see him turning as he falls in 28:24 the bond between them is legendary
@@RippanYT It is, and was even mentioned in s1e6 when the kids were at the dragonpit "you must hold mastery over your dragon, my young prince. As prince aegon has with sunfyre."
The moment I saw Meleys and Vhagar locking their claws together and spinning in the air, plunging down, I could only think "this is why they would call it the Dance of dragons". The entire sequence is so heartbreaking and yet so beautiful
In the behind the scenes series they talk about how it was designed after how eagles fight called "whirling", they lock talons and spiral towards the ground daring the other to let go first. Fascinating!
Exactly, I've watched Eagles lock their claws like that and immediately thought of that when seeing Meleys and Vaghar lock their claws, it was beautiful but so tragic in the end! RIP to the Queen who never was, she died a true dragon riders death with so much courage and loyalty. RIP to Meleys The Red Queen a true, a warrior and a she and Reayneys had a beautiful bond!💔@@Leocodiant
In the book it was a 2v1, so both Vhagar and Sunfyre went against Meleys at the same time, but th eoutcome was the same. I must say I actually love both versions so much cause it's so tense. But what I really love the most is that in both the book and show, Rhaenys didn't flee but fought on! "Princess Rhaenys made no attempt to flee. With a glad cry and a crack of her whip, she turned Meleys toward the foe...Beloved daughter of Lady Jocelyn Baratheon and Prince Aemond Targaryen, faithful wife to Lord Corlys Velaryon, mother and grandmother, the Queen Who Never Was lived fearlessly, and died amidst blood and fire. She was fifty-five years old." - Fire & Blood 🔥🔥
@@jacobmiller2663Aegon invites him into his council when the rest shun him, he covers for him on driftmark and backs him up during his strong toast at the dinner scene. Aemond essentialy tries to kill him just because he laughed at him when he was drunk🤦♂️ it's just bad writing and disrespectful to their bond in the book
One thing that this show has done which GOT never did is actually make me care about the dragons, the designs, colouring, size difference, gender, personalities and rider relationships are so brilliant that they feel like characters in their own right and not just the living weapons they were in GOT. Massive credit to the writers, designers, VFX and whoever else is involved with that part of this show.
Eve Best (the actress who played Rhaenys) said she turned back due to her sense of duty like a samurai and a chance no matter how small to take down Vaghar.
After not saying Dracarys in the first season and just burning all of the Greens, now she decided not to back down no matter what. Noble and brave. Respect.
@@queenxx1690, she was trapped for god's sake. She just wanted to escape with her dragon. She didn't kill anyone willingly. Rhaenys didn't kill Greens in S1 because she didn't want to be the one to start the war. Now that the war has officially begun, she fought till her last breath.
@@ishan_ghimire Thank you, nobody who makes the "bUt ShE kiLlEd inNocenT CiviliAns!" argument ever seems to think about what would happen if an enraged adult dragon breaks out of confinement in the middle of a city & what riderless dragon would be capable of. There wouldn't be a city left standing.
A lot of people may hate on him, but Cole was basically the father figure of all of Alicent's kids in a way that Viserys never was. He was specially close to Aemond, but he was close to all of the boys
@@bakthihapuarachchi3447 which is why Aegon also made him his hand. He was the only person he trusted. its all sad. You could tell he had good in him but never had a chance. The battle was so tragic. All of this happened because Otto's actions and Viserys refusal to act. Part of me think he was a dreamer and seen all this happen and knew what was coming. That it was a necessity for the song of ice and fire. That would explain why he didn't like his son's and why he brought Otto back.
@@bakthihapuarachchi3447 yeah, people are such simplistic. On another note, calling him stupid is dumb. He's a stupid politician, but he's a good general. People can't fathom that a human can be good at something and bad at other things. But of course, since he hates Rhaenyra who is for some reason everyone's favourite, then he's dumb, ugly and overall bad.
@@Fenix-lr6ezCole has incredibly low emotional intelligence. It's pretty obvious he's still desperately in love with Rhaenyra and can't accept rejection. Alicent also was angry at Rhaenyra because she was everything Alicent wished she could be. Rhaenyra is literally the Ned Stark of this show and the moral compass. Her only real fault is being a punk rocker in a Fox news world.
I hope this will warm your hearts; In the books, when Stannis lays siege on King's Landing, there's a ship that he has in his fleet named after Rhaenys. Her legend lives on guys🥺
There are 3 Rhaenys, the most well-remembered is the sister-wife of Aegon I; the second being the daughter of Rhaegar (since she's the most recent out of the 3)
In the books Aegon and Sunfyre had literally one of the closest bonds of all dragon riders who ever existed.. Poor boy, poor dragons don't deserves all this family drama
Eh... Aagon maybe loved Sunfyre the most. But they were not bonded like Daemon and Caraxes or Meyles and Rhaenys. Daemon has by far the closest bond in that him and Caraxes are always on the same page and can communicate non verbally
@@ben1ben2ben1 The show is hyping the blacks generally WAAAY UP too high. It's ridiculous how the showrunners didn't show us more of sunfyre in season 1 except for the one short glimpse at driftmark. In the books Caraxes bond with Daemon doesn't have anything special. Unlike Aegon II with Sunfyre. I think even miles away each one of them focus on healing to be together again. When he was strong enough, Sunfyre just knew where to go to find his rider.
I think I understand why, if Aegon was even half as neglected in the books as he is in the show, it would make sense that Aegon turned to Sunfyre for comfort, flying him, and generally loving him even more than he might have loved other members of his family, all except his own children. For me, his strong bond with Sunfyre is a reflection, and a result, of his neglect. Also, the unconditional love he got from Sunfyre growing up also helped him with said parental neglect, which in turn, helped him give more attention to his own children; at least Jaeherys.
Also a note, Rooks Rest is the seat of House Staunton. Simon Staunton is on Rhaenyra’s Black Council. Last episode, when Baela reported saw Cole on the way to Rosby, Lord Staunton asked leave to prepare his keep. If Rhaenys didn’t confirm that Vhagar had been incapacitated from the fall, she would have left one of Rhaenyra’s ministers to Aemond’s mercy. Vassals pledge fealty and supply men to fight in return for their Lord’s protection. If Rhaenys had flown away, people like Ser Alfred Broome, would have used this to show the rest of the Black Council, that Rhaenyra’s words are cheap and they would be abandoned.
Yes, let's fly back so she and the castle lord die + her dragon, a very smart move 😂. Instead of retreating to catch her breath and come back with more dragons and an actual plan lol
Alicent "do you think simply wearing the crown imbues you with wisdom?" Did YOU think crowning him would make him responsible?? She spent his whole life forcing him to be heir but didn't bother even once to instruct him He didn't want to challenge Rhaenyra, he wanted to leave, he lost his son, he asked your advice, he was listening the council 90% of the time except ratcatchers - and now after 5 minutes of talking with you he starts drinking and leaves for suicide mission. Damn, I feel bad for Aegon.
Yeah, he has a shitty family, I am green but all of you blacks were right in this series about alicent, she is a piece of crap as a mother, she fucking sent Aegon to war and he went fucking drunk because of her insults and treating him like garbage, like if he were nothing the bit..chh when the boy didnt want the Throne and the obligated him and the other piece of crap betrayed him with the strongest dracarys.. Aegon is fucked with the people that he has at his side and the realm in war, being king in this time is hard as fuck and people dont see that shit, Aerys father of Daenerys was a shitty king, he really was but Aegon was just trying to End a rebellion on the hardest of times
@@godemperorofmankind3.091 Viserys at least cared for her, unlike Alicent with her sons. Poor Aegon was raised in such environmental, even in his first scene in 1x8 the first thing he says " I try so hard but it's never enough for you or father"- it's indeed true. Aegon was listening Alicent the whole time and yet she called him useless. He became king, as she asked. He sent Rhaenyra peace agreement,as she asked. He listened to his council 90% of the time,as she asked. He let his son's body to be shown, as she asked. What else would she ask him to do ? Aegon is not a great person but it makes me so sad that he never gets love from his parents.
@@godemperorofmankind3.091 no, I'm team green since I've read the book and I've been defending Alicent for 2+ years since season 1 release. Alicent was fine till ep8, after that moment the writing in general went down but her character suffered the most. They portrayed her as bad mother this season especially, even though she wasn't like that in eps 6-8( tho, she wasn't perfect but she at least cared for their safety and had great moments). It's not even that I'm mad at her character anymore, I blame the writing becomes its inconsistent and makes her bad on purpose. In ep 8 at least we could have thought she was angry at Aegon for what he did to Dyana but they made it canon that Alicent always been like that.
Sunfyre is the only one Aegon has left. Aegon loved he son and with his passing is more broken than ever. His mother and the council all act like Aegon should be grateful for placing him on the throne but Aegon didn’t even want it. Now they’re all mad at him because he has autonomy and isn’t the perfect puppet.
The entire battle sequence was phenomenal. The build-up, the background music, the visual effects, the depiction of the relations between dragons and their riders, etc. every single aspect was so appealing and beautiful
I think Criston was shaken up in the end because in a way I believe he’s cared for Alicent’s sons as his own. After all, he did take both Aegon and Aemond under his wing and taught them how to fight growing up. Even Helaena hid behind him at the coronation when Rhaenys attacked them. Of course apart of him is guilty for failing in his duties, but I also feel like he felt genuinely sad about Aegon possibly dying because he saw him as his son. If you look back at it, Cole has been more of a father towards Aegon and Aemond than Viserys ever was to them when he was alive.
On the behind the scenes of the episode, the screen writers said that Cole is so shaken by it all as he’s only ever seen battle between soldiers and not dragons but also reconciling that he was the one who started this war between the dragons now
Also he really is loyal and tries to be a good knight and lord commander, especially after him failing in protecting his kings son I guess. Aegon made him lord commander and his hand
Greens : (1) Aegon - rides Sunfyre (could both be dead) (2) Aemond - rides Vhagar (3) Helaena - rides Dreamfyre (tho expecting her to fight is probably unrealistic) (4) Daeron - rides Tessarion Jaehaera - bonded to Morghul - probably a hatchling, too small for anything Jaehaerys - bonded to Shrykos - probably a hatchling, too small for anything. But he's dead now Blacks : (1) Rhaenyra - rides Syrax (2) Daemon - rides Ceraxes (3) Rhaenys - rides Meleys (4) Jace - rides Vermax (5) Luke - rides Arrax (6) Joff - rides Tyraxes (Tyraxes is large enough to ride, but both boy and dragon are considered too young/small for actual combat) (*) Rhaena - no dragon, but should be an eligible rider (7) Bhaela - rides Moondancer (8) Aegon - bonded to Stormcloud - In the text, this is Aegon the younger's hatchling. If Tyraxes is too small to fight, almost certainly Stormcloud is too small, as well. Also Show-Aegon is WAYYYYY younger than book-Aegon at this point, so expecting any ridership / fighting from them is not realistic) Dragons on Dragonstone that have bonded in the past, but are presently riderless : (9) Seasmoke - most recently ridden by Laenor (10) Vermithor - most recently ridden by King Jahaerys (11) Silverwing - more recently ridden by Queen Alysanne Fully Wild dragons on Dragonstone, never bonded before, but Daemon is at least counting as available to them : (12) Sheepstealer (13) The Cannibal (14) Grey Ghost
I am wondering when Vermithor will make another appearance as Daemon was trying to bond with him as well. They could use him against Vhagar with the help of another dragon. ( no spoilers please as I read after the shows or movies are done if possible.)
I love how the episode is called "The red dragon and the gold" (which is the name of the book chapter) and both Meleys and Caraxes are red so its not immediately obvious to a non book reader who will be fighting. I really like how they show Daemon a lot in the beginning to make you think Cole is going for him but then he has different plans.
The sigils of the factions are also red and gold. I think it's more likely that it refers to the sigils than the dragons, especially since it's Vhagar who won the fight.
I think I'm like one of the few ppl who saw that Rhaenys felt some betrayal from Corlys because he hever told her about having another son. He was spending more time with him during the time she was mourning her kids deaths. So both Aegon and Rhaenys only have loyalty from their dragons.
@@kurhanchyk Dreamfyre isn’t forgotten but Haelena can’t fight, she barely has any experience flying her dragon. There’s zero chance she can do anything in combat.
@@guestuser1671 that's a very convenient change in the show to downplay the effect of blood and cheese on her and to avoid showing dreamfyre on screen before that
Ppl are forgetting Rhaenys is a dragon riding soldier. Her running or retreating … Think of a actual soldier at war, A real soldier never runs away from battle win or lose, if they are going to lose they will inflict as much damage/casualties as possible before the outcome and she did that & died a Dragon Riders Death 😢 much respect ❤🫡 🔥🐉🖤
If that is what she did then it was foolish. Rhaenys lost the Blacks most powerful dragon and experienced rider for no gain. Preserving herself and Melys until they could face Vhagr and Aemond with an advantage would have been a strategically better move. What she did only makes sense if she thought she could not successfully disengage.
Going 1v1 vs that flying death machine was foolish. It would have made sense if it was Jace with his teenage angst but Rhanys is experienced. Should realize Sunfyre either dead or out of action for a long time while Melys is unscathed would have been a major win alone considering unexpected 1v2 scenario. Maybe if she was trying to confirm Aegons death or finish him off before retreating, THEN gets caught by Vhagar i would have an easier time accepting, but going back for round 2 vs Vhagar was a silly writing decision imo
@@EyoballinFire and Blood states that Meleys could defeat Vhagar in a 1v1, she’s younger, faster, and almost as dangerous, much like Caraxes. She had a good chance of winning, was just not her day.
Aegon is such a well written character in the show, like you can't help but feel bad for the guy.. And when you think about it, he goes out to try and prove himself to show that he's not usless.. Kind of sad that he got absolutely crushed. And the show does the same for Amond, both these brothers can be truly awful but also very vulnerable.
31:35 well daemon suggested 2v1ing vhagar with caraxes and meleys if only queen rhae-rhae was not busy being peaceful after her son being chomped by grandma vhagar 37:55 Everyone now just agreeing with what daemon has been saying from start
You guys literally made me cry all over again when Rhaenys went back. I read the book so I knew this was happening but oh man it didn't soften the blow. Rhaenys and Meleys will forever be loved. She fought like a true Targaryen warrior.
Incredible episode. Blown away. The look between Rhaenys and Meleys will forever haunt me. Rest now, Meleys The Red Queen and the Queen who should have been. ❤
Alright let's analyse this in detail. To all those who keep saying "why doesn't Rhaenys just fly away?", please think of her options considering the fact that Vhagar is completely unscathed and hasn't just flown from Dragonstone to Rook's rest and so is also completely fresh when she joins the fight: 1: fly to dragonstone. Congrats, now you're leading Aemond and Vhagar towards your queen, granddaughter, husband and Rhaenyra's heir, all nicely congregated inside the dragonstone keep. Aemond and Cole planned this ambush knowing the black's thinking would be "Aemond/Vhagar won't leave King's landing", which would lure out a dragon for them to kill. It's a one-shot opportunity that they're not about to waste, so Aemond 100% is following Meylys to take her out. If Rhaenys turns back, she forces the fight with Vhagar to happen over dragonstone, because if she doesn't hold there Aemond is just going to incinerate the castle and everyone in it as well as the presumably present and riderless Vermax, Syrax and Moondancer. And if she fights him there it'll almost certainly be the same outcome as at Rook's rest with the other three riders only having a few minutes warning. That's not enough time to reach their dragons and get them into the sky. Even if they do, unless the four of them can coordinate perfectly, one decently aimed dracarys from Vhagar and Jace/Vermax and Baela/Moondancer are literally toast. If the stars align perfectly Rhaenys would probaly be fighting alongside Rhaenyra and Syrax for their lives, which is still incredibly dangerous for both of them. More likely Rhaenyra would lift off just as Rhaenys is being killed, at which point a slightly wounded Vhagar probably kills her and Syrax too, ending the war right there. Now maaaaybe you can make the argument that since Meylys is being described as the fastest dragon in the book that she'd have a slight head start between reaching dragonstone and Aemond catching up, and so could raise the alarm in time. But with how short the flight is to dragonstone, and the speeds displayed here on screen I'm skeptical whether that's show cannon, and if it is, how much leadtime it would be. In any case, flying to dragonstone risks her granddaughter and her betrothed (we all know Baela would not have hesitated a moment to help her, and Jace is equally eager to prove himself) and I really don't blame Rhaenys for not willing to risk watching those two die in front of her. The only way this doesn't hold up is if you really believe that under no circumstances would Aemond pursue, and I just don't buy that. He's not afraid of anyone besides Daemon who he knows is at Harrenhal, is not afraid of kinslying, is supremely self-confident, and wants the glory of winning a major battle if not the war. I'm sorry, he isn't letting Rhaenys get away once she shows up. No way in hell. 2: fly west towards Harrenhal. Caraxes/Daemon and Meylys/Rhanys is probably the one combo that Aemond wouldn't be confident facing on his own, so he'd probaly not pursue. However you might as well put up a big sign with an arrow pointing east saying "go ahead, have fun", since that's just giving Aemond clearance to fly to dragonstone and kill everyone there at his leizure, probably piecemeal, before Daemon can even be reched to call upon for help. And if you think that Syrx, Vermax and Moondancer can take Vhagar on their own (take some bites/score some hits sure, but actually kill her? yeah no), then I have a bridge in brooklyn to sell you. That's no real option either. 3: do as she did. Stand and fight were you are to defend the castle you came to defend, and do at least enough damage to Vhagar so that Aemond won't risk flying across the bay afterwards, and maybe, if you get lucky, try and take the greens trump card out in one fell swoop. If Vhagar goes down, so do the greens, it's that simple. It doesn't quite work, but she does do sizeable damage and forces him to the ground, before Aemond makes use of the smoke and the castle to burst out from below (ironically, the same tactic Rhaenys used against Aegon earlier on), taking her out. Still, that earlier skydance and fall didn't look pleasant for Vhagar, and since I suspect Aemond will be needed in King's landing now that Aegon is, uh... let's be friendly and say "no longer in a fit state to rule" to take care of that political mess, Rhaenys was ultimately succesful, even if it did cost her her life.
100% agree. Especially if Syrax is anything like the books where she's so pampered that she doesn't even hunt for herself. You're basically asking asking 3 inexperienced dragons to take on the baddest dragon after Balerion
There's no logic here, Aemond could fly and attack Dragonstone anyway if and when he kills Maelys and Maelys would have a better chance of beating Vhagar with help from the other blacks. How exactly did you come to the conclusion that Maelys 1v1 has a better chance to somehow wound or kill Vhagar than she would have with help above Dragonstone. Rhaenys wasted one of the bed dragons of the blacks just for a small chance to beat Vhagar, with the only benefit being that Rooks rest would've been saved if she did, if she ran the only loss would've been Rooks rest castle
And in her current state of mind, she likely wouldn't be of much use to ride a dragon in combat. Right now, it's basically Aemond/Vhagar, but if you're only going to have one, that's a hell of a one to have. (Although, Otto did mention Daeron, Alicent's youngest son, and his dragon Tessarion, who will probably have to come into play now)
I cant imagine Helaena wanting to fight. So this means the greens basically only have 2 fighting dragons. While the blacks currently have 4 dragons with a rider
@@nadiar.4638 yup, the blacks have Syrax, Caraxes, Moondancer and Vermax who all have riders, tho only Syrax and Caraxes are actually fully adult dragons. They also have dragons like Seasmoke, Vermithor, Silver Wing, Sheep stealer, grey ghost and the cannibal which do not have any riders yet.
Cole has known Aegon all his life, he's been Alicent's sworn shield since Aegon was a toddler. He's the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. He's devastated that he wasn't able to protect or help Aegon at that time. And he knows how much this will hurt Alicent. Greens: Aegon and Sunfyre. (injured at the very least.) Aemond and Vhagar. Helaena and Dreamfyre. Daeron and Tessarion. Blacks: Rhaenyra and Syrax. Daemon and Caraxes. Jace and Vermax. Baela and Moondancer. Joffrey and Tyraxes. There are dragons too young for battle and eggs on both sides. Such as Aegon the Younger's Stormcloud. There are still 6 unclaimed dragons on Dragonstone including 3 that have never been ridden. Seasmoke, Vermithor, Silverwing, Grey Ghost, Sheepstealer and the Cannibal. In terms of size: Tier 1: Vhagar. Tier 2: Dreamfyre, Vermithor, Silverwing, the Cannibal. Tier 3: Syrax, Caraxes, Sheepstealer. Tier 4: Sunfyre, Vermax, Moondancer, Seasmoke. Tier 5: Tessarion, Grey Ghost, Tyraxes.
The Queen who should've been 😢 RIP Princess Rhaenys, you will be remembered as a badass grandma who didn't back, Dies in batlle with the highest honor and died a dragon rider's death just like Lady Laena, You will meet your daughter and grandson in the after life. 😔💔 Also, RIP to the finest, the fastest dragon The Red Queen Melys. That last look broke me. 💔💔😭
@@lynnjohanssen6552you know there's a back entrance right? We see it in the very first scene in 1x01. But tbf It was just a poorly written scene that shouldn't have happened at all tbh
he's also wearing a full set of armor.. not like you have much flexabilty. He pretty much have to turn his whole upper body to have enough power in the swing.
Cole probably sees both of Alicent's kids as his. Remember he taught them how to fight since they were smaller while being mean to Rhaenyra's kids. And I think you're right about him being scared to face Alicent after seeing Aegon.
And this is another viserys's fault for only seeing rhaenyra as his only child and abandoned all his kids with alicent, so cole has to come in and be their father figure
That's an interesting take. I wish we saw more of Cole's feelings towards Aegon and Aemond. From the scenes we see onscreen I see no evidence of that, he was very involved in their upbringing because he wanted to spite Rhaenyra, not for love I believe
@@ayumireborn Yes, indeed Cole taught them how to be psycho douchebags XD Viserys didn't want to marry again. He was forced to it by everyone else. I can see how he wouldn't love them equally. it's his fault yes but a burden of his position to produce heirs
@ayumireborn abandoned all his kids how? We see him watching them train to fight and cheering them on. We see him celebrating Aegon's name day. We see him trying to bring the family together despite his grave illnesses....perhaps he should have trained Aegon more in the ways of being a King. Simply because if something happened to Rhaenyra before she had children, Aegon would have been next in line.
Vhagar and Meleys fighting each other is even more tragic because one generation before Laena and Rhaenys. They were ridden by Baleon and Alyssa, husband and wife.
Say what you want about him but Cole is an amazing battle commander and strategist. I think some people give him way too much stick and not enough credit.
38:20 I don't think I ever disagreed with Pudgey this much. Sure, Rhaenys probably meant well, but she was not level headed, and did not know what had to be done. She kept trying to avoid a war that had already started, and refused to face the reality she lived in, and as a result the blacks lost crucial time and initiative. The other council members did know what had to be done, and had Rhaenys and Rhaenyra listened to them, Criston wouldn't have taken all those castles that easily, and wouldn't have been able to spring this trap for her. But Rhaenys kept shutting them down because she thought she knew better, even though the only plan she ever contributed was for Rhaenyra to go to Kings Landing and meet Alicent, which everyone could have seen was completely foolish.
. And the actor confirmed Aemond didn't want to really embarrass Aegon at council meeting:" Aemond uses the language more lethally. The Council meeting is very much a public shaming, but switching to High Valyrian allows Aegon to save face, since only the two brothers understand it. It allows Aegon to recover."
Why is everyone so negative about Rhaenyra's council and cheering whenever Rhaenys or another character shuts them down with some snarky comeback? They are completely right in everything they say. They needed to act weeks ago, and Rhaenyra and Rhaenys refused to do anything. If they had listened to their advice, Criston wouldn't have been able to conquer all those castles without any meaningful opposition. Even Baela had the chance to deal the greens a major blow by torching Criston, as that one councillor points out. "You do it on your dragon, ser" is not a clever comeback, the guy doesn't have a dragon, Baela does. And if she had used it, perhaps her grandma would still be alive now.
@@louisamay9615they would have been in danger anyway because their sides with Rhaenyra. That’s a stupid excuse. Rhaenyra wanted to exhaust every possibly of their being peace, theirs nothing wrong with trying to avoid burning the entire realm in dragon breath.
@@jacobmiller2663there's a difference between being cautious and being hesitant and indecisive not wanting to unleash dragons immediately doesn't mean just sit on your ass while your enemy gets stronger.
Daemon was right in the beginning when he said caraxes and meleys can put vhagar down because meleys herself almost did but damn vhagar is too big even tho she’s old and slow. 😢 RIP to the Red Queen & The Queen who never was . Died like a real Targaryen. RESPECT to all the dragons! 🙏🏻 cant believe I had a panic attack over fake dragons dying lol… I am team black but i Kinda felt bad for aegon too because he never wanted to rule but he also wants to impress his family but has never been trained to be a king and the way alicent spoke to him is kinda painful to watch. I feel like aemond wants to kill aegon too oh boy! And sunfyre loved aegon more than his family loves him…. the look between meleys and rhaenys broke me as well 😢
Yes and there is nothing wrong to attack 1 dragon with 2, is strategy and a precaution to survive and preserve life, this is war and the idiot of Aemond tried to kill a dragon of his own side when he couldnt even defeat Caraxes nor much less the rest of the black dragons, he is an idiot, nothing in comparison to king Aegon and yes his family is messed up, he loves them all dearly and Alicent and Aemond are just traitors. Aegon is smart for combat and war even though people say he is dumbass which he is not, he is always drunk, that is a disadvantage of course and other things as well but he is doing great in the war, fight against Melys and Vaghar with a smaller dragon is of badas and he is..
"Princess Rhaenys made no attempt to flee. With a glad cry and a crack of her whip, she turned Meleys toward the foe." ------ "Beloved daughter of Lady Jocelyn Baratheon and Prince Aemon Targaryen, faithful wife to Lord Corlys Velaryon, mother and grandmother, the Queen Who Never Was lived fearlessly, and died amidst blood and fire..." -- from the books
32:10 Criston Cole who has essentially fought his way up the ladder from commoner to lord, is much more worthy of life than some high born princess, you can’t convince me any other way.
Yall didnt get that exchange between Aemond and Aegon at the small council meeting it was Aemond Disrespecting and humiliating his brother just as he did him at the brothel he not only showed him that he is incompetent when it comes to warfare and strategy but also outed him as dumb because he could never fully grasp High Velariayan thats why he struggled with his response he cant speak fluently and cant fully understand either so his response barely correlated to what Aemond asked him and the 2 other high intellectuals at the table noticed and could tell that is the Grand Maester and Larys Strong it was soooo gangsta and nasty from Aemond
Dumb at strategy ? Why when Daemon, Cole and Aemond say " Harrenhal is the key to the Riverlands and our chance to win" - everyone says they are smart but when Aegon says it's bad when they lose it he's dumb ? They literally didn't tell the king their plan - it's a treason. And they did it for no reason because Aegon would be on board sending Vhagar with Cole, as he was suggesting the same plan in previous episodes. And the actor confirmed Aemond didn't want to really embarrass Aegon , :" Aemond uses the language more lethally. The Council meeting is very much a public shaming, but switching to High Valyrian allows Aegon to save face, since only the two brothers understand it. It allows Aegon to recover."
@@yasmina3999 Aegon still being hung up on Harrenhall after they have given him all the reasons is pointless and he is still insistent exposes his lack of savvy more than anything.............
Rhaenys is one of the few characters who possesses the knowledge and comprehension of the impending chaos. She harbors a profound sense of guilt for not taking action to eliminate the Greens during Aegon's coronation. The Greens have already established their presence across the bay of Dragonstone. She recognizes the critical importance of prevailing in this battle, as defeat would result in their own demise. Daemon is absent, and Rhaenyra lacks a substantial army. It is imperative that the conflict concludes at this juncture, preventing further escalation into unimaginable horrors and calamities that could potentially annihilate the Crown, the people, and her own lineage.
That moment between Sunfyre and Aegon before they leave, you can feel the love between the two. Sunfyre being a bit playful with a smiling Aegon. As much as people dislike Aegon, there's no denying his true love and affection for his dragon, who is probably the only one who loves Aegon unconditionally.
@@_justinblizzle You clearly didn't watch season 1 properly, did you? both Aegon and Aemond were raised and trained by Cole, since Viserys was a living corpse and even when he was healthy he didn't care for his sons. Cole loves them as his own all helaena, Aemond and Aegon.
@@jamien368 you went to school right? Did your teachers raise you as well? Or did they just teach you math, science, english, etc?? Point me, since you're such an expert on the books and season 1, to a single scene where we heard a kind, comforting or encouraging words from Criston to the boys. Show me a moment where they hugged or he even patted them on the back. Show me a scene of them together doing something outside of the castle, or anything fun, or laughing/playing or anything outside of training. I'll even take an argument or a moment where they came to him for advise again outside of combat or politics. I'll wait. But you know what we have seen and on multiple occasions? Him using those boys as conduits to insult, attack or get back at Rhaenyra in some form or fashion. Cut the shit Jamien 🙄 run your narrative on these others
@@_justinblizzle so you live under the same roof with your own teacher? NO. Cole isn't a teacher, he's at the service of the Royal family and lives in the red keep, he spent his life training them and raising them YES RAISING THEM as the father who actually stood up. Who defended Alicent and Aemond at driftmark? CRISTON. Go Read the book, I don't know why you so pressed over FACTS 😂 "R R R Rhaenyra" 🤡 Rhaenyra ass is irrelevant, y'all bring up Rhaenyra each time Cole Is mentioned it's pathetic, Cole relationship with Alicent and her sons has nothing to do with Rhaenyra, get over yourself.
Unpleasant Character Rule Number 1: "An Unpleasant character can't have clever plans." Number 2: "If an Unpleasant character has a clever plan, it's an evil and bad plan." And number 3: "An Unpleasant character can't feel sad that the man he raised as a son is badly injured"
@@thatoneblackdude3333 Lack of time is a common problem with season 1. But it's still pretty obvious. And the point is that the audience CANNOT believe in Cole’s competence and human feelings because he talks bad about Rhaenyra. It's hilarious.
@@МатвейАбрамов-г1ч I do feel people let there bias blind then a lot this goes for both sides , it was established in season 1 that Cole is war tested its half the reason rhenyrea chose him as kings guard so nobody should be surprised Cole is a competent war commander.
Coles reaction to Aegon possibly being dead is partly because Cole basically raised Aegon (and Aemond). Viserys never really cared about Aegon very much. Cole feels that he failed as a protector.
Rhaenys keeps coming back because shes there to win the battle, to protect the rooks rest from greens. I think shes about to head off when she didnt see vhagar anywhere (notice how shes going towards the sea where the dragonstone is) but vhagar is such a giant sneaky lizard
I know we're sad and all but may I take this opportunity to mention that There has never been a bond btwn man and dragon like that of Aegon and Sunfyre 😂💚💚...btw I'm green but I loved Rhaenys
I don't know if thats true. Its close (as we see in the books) but several have close bonds. Daemon and Caraxes have the closest bond as in they work the best together and share a strong connection to the point that Daemon can command Caraxes non verbally. Rhaenys is said to spend all her free time with Meyles
Remember why Rhaenys was there. She was there to protect a close ally of team black, she would and could never run away and leave Rhaenyras allies defenseless. If she runs away the other houses would call team black cowards and declare for team green. In her mind she had to finish the job.
That's true but I don't think that was in her head at the time... Aemond attacked his brother and killed Luke. Rhaenys escaped from King's Landing without doing anything so now she didn't do that. Remember if she kills Aemond too the war is over.
Long Live to Rhaenys Targaryen, The Queen Who Never Was (because ppl are stupid) who fights till the end as she was: a badass queen with her beloved Meleys 🖤🔥
Apart from the dragon fight there were so many great character moments, like Aemond destroying Aegon at the small council meeting, and Jace calling Rhaenyra out for being a absentee queen who fails her duties. Criston being shown as a competent strategist and battle commander, who effectively tricked the black into losing a dragon, was nice, the guy didn't fail upwards, he's absolutely a force to be reckoned with. I just want to forget Rhaenys' dragon scene in episode 9 where she massacred all those smallfolk for no reason. She can be a voice for peace and restraint then without being a hypocrite, which makes her death as the first main character to fall in war all the more ironic and tragic.
The dragons killing each other is the worse thing ever. Vhagar was previously ridden by Baelon ( viserys and daemon’s father) and Marlys was ridden by Alyssa (their mother) , they were partners and the fact that Rhaenys got killed by her daughter’s beloved dragon I can’t 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
But he’s still caused the death of more important highborn characters, and he always gets promoted. Him sleeping with Alicent allowed Helena and her children to be unprotected, he also killed that council member, etc. I hope Aegon finds out Cole has been sleeping with his mom and that’s why his son was killed.
@@jacobmiller2663 "more important highborn characters" Why are highborn characters more important than commoners? That's a REALLY bad argument, if you want to argue Cole is worse than Rhaenys.
I couldnt believe this end was real... I didnt wanted to... I wasn't ready... Im still not ready to loose her like that... I can't. She's my favorite character, damm you show!
Halaena does have a dragon, called dreamfyre, it was the one in the pit that almost burnt small young aegon. The unclaimed one you spoke about about is Vermithor, which was in the trailer standing behind rhaeneyra
Also got to take account that Rhaenys knew that they didn’t have an army so extinguishing Crispy Cole advancement was a genius move. That’s why she kept attacking. Also it’s just sad Rhaenys was killed by her daughters dragon. Even more sadder is that Vhagar would be team black with Maleys if Laena daughters claimed Vhagar before Aemond stolen, they would be fighting together instead of against.
1. I do think part of why Rhaenys stuck it out was her guilt. Daemon constantly berated her for not killing the Greens when she had the chance, and that led to giving Aemond the opportunity to kill Luke and the Greens to cause more issues. So she stuck it out this time to try and take them down even if it meant dying. 2. Alicent did counsel Aegon. She told him to do *nothing,* which _is_ what is needed of him right now. Aegon doesn't have any knowledge or training and regardless of why that is, he needs to simply listen and learn and observe, not throw around demands. He wants to be a part of things but he doesn't actually take time to learn. Not ONCE did he stop and ask "hey, WHY rook rest and not harrenhall?" Instead of throwing out history books why not read them? He's shown no interest in actually doing the work and Alicent shouldn't have to take blame for his laziness. Aemond is a second son with nothing to inherit so he knew he couldn't rely on anyone to give him any hand outs. Aegon wallowed and Aemond sought knowledge, and instead of trying to get on Aemonds level he just wants to jump over all the hurdles and be at the finish line, no sir. "Then why put him on the throne?" Because it's still a better choice in their eyes than putting Rhaenyra and Daemon. Aegon, if he bothers to actually seek their council instead of ignoring them (he ignored Otto, he ignored Larys, he ignored Alicent, etc), he could grow to be decent as king. But he's impulsive and he wants results now and to be important now, and that's not realistic. He has to _earn_ that, and he hasn't yet. She was harsh, but she's not wrong.
1. That is people’s headcanon it is not why the actor or showrunners said she stayed, I do not think she cared about what Daemon said or took it to heart. She knows Daemon likes to be mean because she knew him the longest out of anyone.
If you want to know the dragons which are still out there: For the Greens we have: - Vhagar and Aemond - Dreamfyre and Helaena - Tessarion and Dearon (Alicent's other son) For the Blacks we have: - Caraxes and Daemon - Syrax and Rhaenyra - Moondancer and Baela - Vermax and Jacaerys There are also unclaimed dragons on Dragonstone: - Seasmoke (Laenor) - Vermithor (King Jaeherys) (this is the one Daemon visited last season) - Silverwing (Queen Alysanne, wife of King Jaeherys) I hope I didn't forget one
Everyone do your due diligence and report any spoiler comments as spam, that includes any about Aegon’s fate. the book readers are getting beyond irritating
The book readers were fine in first season (I'm a book reader too) but I swear since the time the official trailer of season 2 came out these book reader can't shut the hell up. Continuously going "book this..... book that..." and intentionally spoiling everything for show's fans.
33:23 The reason Cole is shaken is because Alicen't kids are like his foster children, and he is the most important father figure they had, since Viserys was a competely absent father when it comes to them. He loves them despite their flaws. He cares about them. He's helped raise them since they were babies, so of course he's shaken.
Considering that Meleys has never fought in a battle before (not sure Rhaenys wrongly implied she had) it was an impressive showing against Sunfyre and Vhagar and she really showed courage in not running away, as that would have destroyed Rhaenyra's support from her allies, so it was do or die. Criston Cole and Aemond work really well together; had Aegon not interfered, Rhaenys and Meleys would have been taken out with very few losses (The forces present under the King's army were Black supporters snatched from Rhaenyra, so only a fraction were Green allies at the siege). Despite Cole's youth, and the fact that the realm has not seen war, he's proving himself a capable battle commander. Cole's devotion to the throne is seen clearly as he was the only one to race to his fallen King, while Alicent's brother Gwayne Hightower led Green forces into the keep following Rhaenys death. We see another parallel of Daemon and Aemond, as he is a 'rogue prince' going after his own agenda (payback for the humilitation by Aegon). The last image showed both dragon and rider were alive, but badly injured.
One aspect to think about is that Vhagar and Meleys were the dragons of Viserys/Damons parents. So them having to fight each other to the death is another crazy situation as they were once inseparable due to their previous riders
I just want to say that I really appreciate how good you guys pay attention to the information. I know it happens with reactions that people get stuff wrong sometimes or don't remember things right, but you guys are really trying your best to understand the story and plot points and the characters thoughts behind them.
I think what Alicent said to Aegon isn't necessarily her being shit as a mother but an actual reality check that needed to happen. Some children and people you can't just coddle and pat on the back they need to be talked to in a way that removes all delusion. And he has been like this since very young. His position as prince was a larger influence over Alicent's ability to mother him the correct way. This is the only way he can actually understand.
Gotta love how Rhaenys flied as close to the ground as possible so that Vhagar could have the only possible scenario for a surprise attack. That was the experienced dragon rider, guys!
Vhagar is the biggest dragon and yet the writers have now twice shown that it wins fights by doing sneak attacks. The physics don't make sense. It looks like the writers only do that to jump scare the viewers.
@@sidscorner1lol you just hate to hate. Vhagar is like a lion. Slower and bigger but guess what it attacks a gazelle using ambush. Idk what you are talking about.😂😂
yeah that really took me out of it honestly, such a dumb move completely devoid of logic, makes no sense. im getting some GoT season 8 logic vibes from this scene...
@@sidscorner1 Yeah first time it was ok as she came from clouds but its cheap to use the same trick twice. I hope they don't use it again. When i saw this first time i was expecting Vhagar to come behind the castle. It wasnt even jumpscare anymore.
Don't know if this is the reason but me and my husband thought that Aemond used fire also on aegon to close his dragons wounds so he won't bleed more but we could be wrong.
*Men in the Black Council:* We need to act. No one is doing anything. (Reactors: "Boo!") *Corlys walks in:* We need to act. No one is doing anything. (Reactors: "You tell 'em, Corlys!")
I just noticed Aemond is slowly killing off his childhood bullies one by one.😭 And his own brother was the ring leader! I believe after Aegon mocked him the last episode, Aemond was like yup. Revenge time. But yeah, Aemond's always wanted the throne and this was his opportunity to take it. The Greens are having there own private civil war😂 They hate each other sooo much fr.
There’s so much is these stories that people miss. I get it though because if you haven’t studied the books then it’s just a superficial story. Here’s an example: Remember when Alys Rivers says she a barn owl in human form well think back to the drawings of Helena which includes a pic of an owl beside a castle. There’s tons of these which really enrich the story.
This was absolutely bloody NUTS! The Dragon battle we've been waiting for
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there is no plot armor in this story. all characters and dragons are on the table to be taken out at any time. strap in.
it has begun.
@@blanketwodahs6741The usurper has some plot Armour here
And this is why u should dracarys your enemies when u get the chance
dreamfyre is helaena dragon
The thumbnail and title is kind of a spoiler. Please remove my comment and change the thumbnail or title.
The bonds between dragons and thier riders in this show is truly amazing.
(Quoting someone else)
that final look between Meleys?Rhaenys was "It was a privilege to fight at your side...and it's and honor to die at yours."
I always imagine this in the books, and now I can see it with all it's glory
I loved that interaction b/w aegon and synfyre..... He's the only one that loves aegon unconditionally and that's seen in the last scene where despite being injured himself sunfyre is trying to cradle aegon. 💚
His sister wife tried but he didn’t want it.
It was heartbreaking.
Going to pet him would have been enough, he didn't need to send him headlong to his death against a bigger more experienced Dragon lol It's like sending a chihuahua to fight a bulldog and telling him "Forward! Attack" lmao
@@TheMinarus you didn't get it he didn't knew meleys would be there he just went to aid ser criston. And when he saw meleys he had to attack not knowing vhagar is around..... He couldn't have let his army burn..... People seem to miss this thing altogether and point out and add in aegon's dumbasness as excuse.
Sunfyre acted like a big golden retriever when Aegon came to ride him. 😭 Kind of cute.
I feel so bad for Sunfyre. It almost made me cry hearing his horrific screams. He was a relatively young, inexperienced dragon and probably thought he was out for a little fun ride like a puppy when he saw Aegon but instead he had to go through that excruciating pain 💔
I don't know why everyone thinks the dragons are stupid. The books say the dragons are more intelligent than humans. They know exactly what they are doing and what their riders are wanting them to do.
@@nick4819 No , they are not. They are intelligent beasts but more like dogs in their level of cognitive capacities as GRR Martin has said.
@@miguelmenen8022 When has he said that? There are multiple instances throughout the books that clearly state how intelligent the dragons are. Even in the shows, after they dumbed them down, Drogon for example knew exactly what killed his "mother." Have you read the books at all..?
@@nick4819 I agree but, u can't put Drogon and his mother that and then talk about book, that ain't happened in book since it is not even written and I think if books will ever be finish, will have much different ending . But I agree about dragons, even dragons don't want to cross the wall for knowing what is there, and humans don't
@@nick4819 "Drogon for example knew exactly what killed his "mother." Have you read the books at all..?"... She didn't die in the books and a wild animal suddenly gaining a talent for "subtle" visual metaphors is more of a writer going overboard fora moneyshot in a show than a clear notion about dragon intelligence. From all we've seen, dragon interactions with others creatures (from sheep to human or other dragons) is limited to a range from "food" to "maybe food, tbd". They're opportunistic cannibals. Everything points to a decent reptilian intelligence. That doesn't mean they're dumb of course (and I would agree people tend to make them more stupid or "puppy/child-like" than they should, and anthropomorphize them). Reptiles have a form of intelligence that is very much alien to mammals.
All in all, I'd say Sunfyre knew very well that they were not out for a stroll as exemplified by the fact it knew very much what it was doing when it sent forth the first breath of flames in the battle.
Sunfyre tried his best to save aegon,he cradles him at the end too 🥹 my heart
more than his own brother
He did save him.
@@danielgarcia151no shit
@@danielgarcia151 realistically, he should be dead from the impact, but i guess I'll swallow the fantasy that somehow a human survived a fall from that height cushioned by the scales of a dragon.................
Aegon is still alive.
daemon gonna give harrenhal hotel a 0 star review
Place is starting to feel more like Hotel California, in that Daemon can check out any time he like but he can never leave. At this point I wouldn't even be surprised if Ser Simon is a hallucination.
While Rhanys out here struggling 1v2 that man is stuck in another genre
I think there was a band of Bards from Misty mountains in The Eyrie, they had a song with lyrics like that - "Welcome to the hotel Harrenhal yeah, blah blah blah blah, blah blah blah, but you can never leave!" right?? the smeagols??? was that the band??
🤣🤣🤣🤣
@@Eyoballin Well had a chance couple days ago when Daemon wanted to go with her to kill Vhagar...
Sunfyre falling on his injured stomach to protect aegon was a great touch, despite his injury you can see him turning as he falls in 28:24 the bond between them is legendary
yeah, been a while since I read the book, but if I remember correct the bond between Aegon & Sunfyre is one of the strongest.
@@RippanYT It is, and was even mentioned in s1e6 when the kids were at the dragonpit "you must hold mastery over your dragon, my young prince. As prince aegon has with sunfyre."
@@RippanYTyup it knows he never had love so the dragon will love him til death
Sunfyre the Golden, Sunfyre the Loyal
Kind of like how Toothless protected Hiccup by covering him in his wings ❤😊
The moment I saw Meleys and Vhagar locking their claws together and spinning in the air, plunging down, I could only think "this is why they would call it the Dance of dragons". The entire sequence is so heartbreaking and yet so beautiful
Literally Stannis to Shireen: "Why would they call it a 'dance?'" You'd have to see to know.
In the behind the scenes series they talk about how it was designed after how eagles fight called "whirling", they lock talons and spiral towards the ground daring the other to let go first. Fascinating!
In the earlier episodes we saw Rhaenyra and Helaena looking at particles in the air; I believe that was meant to evoke these dragon fighting scenes
@@GustavoCardoso95Huh. I never saw it in that way.
What a brilliant take!
Exactly, I've watched Eagles lock their claws like that and immediately thought of that when seeing Meleys and Vaghar lock their claws, it was beautiful but so tragic in the end! RIP to the Queen who never was, she died a true dragon riders death with so much courage and loyalty. RIP to Meleys The Red Queen a true, a warrior and a she and Reayneys had a beautiful bond!💔@@Leocodiant
In the book it was a 2v1, so both Vhagar and Sunfyre went against Meleys at the same time, but th eoutcome was the same. I must say I actually love both versions so much cause it's so tense. But what I really love the most is that in both the book and show, Rhaenys didn't flee but fought on!
"Princess Rhaenys made no attempt to flee. With a glad cry and a crack of her whip, she turned Meleys toward the foe...Beloved daughter of Lady Jocelyn Baratheon and Prince Aemond Targaryen, faithful wife to Lord Corlys Velaryon, mother and grandmother, the Queen Who Never Was lived fearlessly, and died amidst blood and fire. She was fifty-five years old." - Fire & Blood 🔥🔥
I prefer book version where Aegon was included and Aemond did not betray him but just my opinion
thus paragraph is soo bloody perfect. hits us in the feels even more 😢❤
@@queenxx1690Aegon had it coming. You can only push people so far, till they can’t take it.
@@queenxx1690we don’t know that Aemond didn’t betray him- Vhagar crashed down on both of them outta nowhere. I don’t think any distinctions were made
@@jacobmiller2663Aegon invites him into his council when the rest shun him, he covers for him on driftmark and backs him up during his strong toast at the dinner scene. Aemond essentialy tries to kill him just because he laughed at him when he was drunk🤦♂️ it's just bad writing and disrespectful to their bond in the book
One thing that this show has done which GOT never did is actually make me care about the dragons, the designs, colouring, size difference, gender, personalities and rider relationships are so brilliant that they feel like characters in their own right and not just the living weapons they were in GOT. Massive credit to the writers, designers, VFX and whoever else is involved with that part of this show.
Eve Best (the actress who played Rhaenys) said she turned back due to her sense of duty like a samurai and a chance no matter how small to take down Vaghar.
After not saying Dracarys in the first season and just burning all of the Greens, now she decided not to back down no matter what. Noble and brave. Respect.
Rhaenyra was hypocrite and killed innocent men in dragon pit
@@queenxx1690 look who's talking🤣😆
"righteous" Queen Alicent's supporter😆😆
@@queenxx1690, she was trapped for god's sake. She just wanted to escape with her dragon. She didn't kill anyone willingly.
Rhaenys didn't kill Greens in S1 because she didn't want to be the one to start the war. Now that the war has officially begun, she fought till her last breath.
@@ishan_ghimire Thank you, nobody who makes the "bUt ShE kiLlEd inNocenT CiviliAns!" argument ever seems to think about what would happen if an enraged adult dragon breaks out of confinement in the middle of a city & what riderless dragon would be capable of. There wouldn't be a city left standing.
Cole raised Aegon. Thats why hes so devastated.
A lot of people may hate on him, but Cole was basically the father figure of all of Alicent's kids in a way that Viserys never was. He was specially close to Aemond, but he was close to all of the boys
@@bakthihapuarachchi3447 which is why Aegon also made him his hand. He was the only person he trusted. its all sad. You could tell he had good in him but never had a chance. The battle was so tragic. All of this happened because Otto's actions and Viserys refusal to act. Part of me think he was a dreamer and seen all this happen and knew what was coming. That it was a necessity for the song of ice and fire. That would explain why he didn't like his son's and why he brought Otto back.
@@bakthihapuarachchi3447 yeah, people are such simplistic. On another note, calling him stupid is dumb. He's a stupid politician, but he's a good general. People can't fathom that a human can be good at something and bad at other things.
But of course, since he hates Rhaenyra who is for some reason everyone's favourite, then he's dumb, ugly and overall bad.
@@Fenix-lr6ezCole has incredibly low emotional intelligence. It's pretty obvious he's still desperately in love with Rhaenyra and can't accept rejection. Alicent also was angry at Rhaenyra because she was everything Alicent wished she could be. Rhaenyra is literally the Ned Stark of this show and the moral compass. Her only real fault is being a punk rocker in a Fox news world.
@@superkoopatrooper4879 He wasn't even really rejected dude. Rhaenyra literally wanted him to continue to sleep with her.
I hope this will warm your hearts; In the books, when Stannis lays siege on King's Landing, there's a ship that he has in his fleet named after Rhaenys. Her legend lives on guys🥺
Rhaenys is a Baratheon, she's supposed to have black hair (because the seed is strong, after all)
Lol no, it’s named after Queen Rhaenys, wife of Aegon the Conqueror. This Rhaenys was never queen.
@@rakdar1714 Wasn't there another one dedicated to Rhaenys?
There are 3 Rhaenys, the most well-remembered is the sister-wife of Aegon I; the second being the daughter of Rhaegar (since she's the most recent out of the 3)
In the books Aegon and Sunfyre had literally one of the closest bonds of all dragon riders who ever existed.. Poor boy, poor dragons don't deserves all this family drama
Eh... Aagon maybe loved Sunfyre the most. But they were not bonded like Daemon and Caraxes or Meyles and Rhaenys. Daemon has by far the closest bond in that him and Caraxes are always on the same page and can communicate non verbally
@@ben1ben2ben1 The show is hyping the blacks generally WAAAY UP too high. It's ridiculous how the showrunners didn't show us more of sunfyre in season 1 except for the one short glimpse at driftmark. In the books Caraxes bond with Daemon doesn't have anything special. Unlike Aegon II with Sunfyre. I think even miles away each one of them focus on healing to be together again. When he was strong enough, Sunfyre just knew where to go to find his rider.
@@ben1ben2ben1What Sunfyre did for Aegon, Caraxes could never for Daemon
@@zenitsuagatsuma-d1h All dragons protect their riders. Except maybe Vhagar
I think I understand why, if Aegon was even half as neglected in the books as he is in the show, it would make sense that Aegon turned to Sunfyre for comfort, flying him, and generally loving him even more than he might have loved other members of his family, all except his own children. For me, his strong bond with Sunfyre is a reflection, and a result, of his neglect.
Also, the unconditional love he got from Sunfyre growing up also helped him with said parental neglect, which in turn, helped him give more attention to his own children; at least Jaeherys.
the look between Meleys and Rhaenys before they died really broke me
Im still struggling with that. Like why didn’t she get out of there? Or ya know… keep an eye on the giant dragon if youre going to stick around.
Also a note, Rooks Rest is the seat of House Staunton. Simon Staunton is on Rhaenyra’s Black Council. Last episode, when Baela reported saw Cole on the way to Rosby, Lord Staunton asked leave to prepare his keep. If Rhaenys didn’t confirm that Vhagar had been incapacitated from the fall, she would have left one of Rhaenyra’s ministers to Aemond’s mercy. Vassals pledge fealty and supply men to fight in return for their Lord’s protection. If Rhaenys had flown away, people like Ser Alfred Broome, would have used this to show the rest of the Black Council, that Rhaenyra’s words are cheap and they would be abandoned.
Wish i can share this everywhere so people will stop asking why she went back
Yes, let's fly back so she and the castle lord die + her dragon, a very smart move 😂. Instead of retreating to catch her breath and come back with more dragons and an actual plan lol
@@victorgodwin6970it’s not why she went back it’s why she was hovering an inch off the battlefield 😂 like you can fly higher mam
Also Rhaenys knew that with Caraxes away, the next dragons in line to face Vhagar would be Baela's and Jace's
@@lilPavs13She was looking for Vhagar?
Alicent "do you think simply wearing the crown imbues you with wisdom?" Did YOU think crowning him would make him responsible?? She spent his whole life forcing him to be heir but didn't bother even once to instruct him
He didn't want to challenge Rhaenyra, he wanted to leave, he lost his son, he asked your advice, he was listening the council 90% of the time except ratcatchers - and now after 5 minutes of talking with you he starts drinking and leaves for suicide mission. Damn, I feel bad for Aegon.
rhaenyra didnt want to usurp daemon as heir. but viserys forced it on her for no good reason
Yeah, he has a shitty family, I am green but all of you blacks were right in this series about alicent, she is a piece of crap as a mother, she fucking sent Aegon to war and he went fucking drunk because of her insults and treating him like garbage, like if he were nothing the bit..chh when the boy didnt want the Throne and the obligated him and the other piece of crap betrayed him with the strongest dracarys.. Aegon is fucked with the people that he has at his side and the realm in war, being king in this time is hard as fuck and people dont see that shit, Aerys father of Daenerys was a shitty king, he really was but Aegon was just trying to End a rebellion on the hardest of times
@@godemperorofmankind3.091 Viserys at least cared for her, unlike Alicent with her sons. Poor Aegon was raised in such environmental, even in his first scene in 1x8 the first thing he says " I try so hard but it's never enough for you or father"- it's indeed true. Aegon was listening Alicent the whole time and yet she called him useless. He became king, as she asked. He sent Rhaenyra peace agreement,as she asked. He listened to his council 90% of the time,as she asked. He let his son's body to be shown, as she asked. What else would she ask him to do ?
Aegon is not a great person but it makes me so sad that he never gets love from his parents.
@@yasmina3999 as if you care. im betting you blame alicent for marrying viserys
@@godemperorofmankind3.091 no, I'm team green since I've read the book and I've been defending Alicent for 2+ years since season 1 release. Alicent was fine till ep8, after that moment the writing in general went down but her character suffered the most. They portrayed her as bad mother this season especially, even though she wasn't like that in eps 6-8( tho, she wasn't perfect but she at least cared for their safety and had great moments). It's not even that I'm mad at her character anymore, I blame the writing becomes its inconsistent and makes her bad on purpose.
In ep 8 at least we could have thought she was angry at Aegon for what he did to Dyana but they made it canon that Alicent always been like that.
Sunfyre is the only one Aegon has left. Aegon loved he son and with his passing is more broken than ever. His mother and the council all act like Aegon should be grateful for placing him on the throne but Aegon didn’t even want it. Now they’re all mad at him because he has autonomy and isn’t the perfect puppet.
Aegon is fucked with all those around him.
He has a wife and daughter but ok
@@Koko-gp6vn a wife he was forced to marry but ok
He's also just the worst, makes the wrong decision at literally every turn. Great character though
The entire battle sequence was phenomenal. The build-up, the background music, the visual effects, the depiction of the relations between dragons and their riders, etc. every single aspect was so appealing and beautiful
I think Criston was shaken up in the end because in a way I believe he’s cared for Alicent’s sons as his own. After all, he did take both Aegon and Aemond under his wing and taught them how to fight growing up. Even Helaena hid behind him at the coronation when Rhaenys attacked them. Of course apart of him is guilty for failing in his duties, but I also feel like he felt genuinely sad about Aegon possibly dying because he saw him as his son. If you look back at it, Cole has been more of a father towards Aegon and Aemond than Viserys ever was to them when he was alive.
That's not twisted at all. The man was a better father than Viserys
Like it's not that hard. He practically raised them
@@nicolasbls1738and abused and caused the hate for Rhaenyra’s sons. Fuck him
I've never seen any indication on the show that he thinks of either of them as sons lol
Nah I don’t get that vibe at all. I think his reaction there was his mounting failures getting to him.
On the behind the scenes of the episode, the screen writers said that Cole is so shaken by it all as he’s only ever seen battle between soldiers and not dragons but also reconciling that he was the one who started this war between the dragons now
Also he really is loyal and tries to be a good knight and lord commander, especially after him failing in protecting his kings son I guess. Aegon made him lord commander and his hand
Greens :
(1) Aegon - rides Sunfyre (could both be dead)
(2) Aemond - rides Vhagar
(3) Helaena - rides Dreamfyre (tho expecting her to fight is probably unrealistic)
(4) Daeron - rides Tessarion
Jaehaera - bonded to Morghul - probably a hatchling, too small for anything
Jaehaerys - bonded to Shrykos - probably a hatchling, too small for anything. But he's dead now
Blacks :
(1) Rhaenyra - rides Syrax
(2) Daemon - rides Ceraxes
(3) Rhaenys - rides Meleys
(4) Jace - rides Vermax
(5) Luke - rides Arrax
(6) Joff - rides Tyraxes (Tyraxes is large enough to ride, but both boy and dragon are considered too young/small for actual combat)
(*) Rhaena - no dragon, but should be an eligible rider
(7) Bhaela - rides Moondancer
(8) Aegon - bonded to Stormcloud - In the text, this is Aegon the younger's hatchling. If Tyraxes is too small to fight, almost certainly Stormcloud is too small, as well. Also Show-Aegon is WAYYYYY younger than book-Aegon at this point, so expecting any ridership / fighting from them is not realistic)
Dragons on Dragonstone that have bonded in the past, but are presently riderless :
(9) Seasmoke - most recently ridden by Laenor
(10) Vermithor - most recently ridden by King Jahaerys
(11) Silverwing - more recently ridden by Queen Alysanne
Fully Wild dragons on Dragonstone, never bonded before, but Daemon is at least counting as available to them :
(12) Sheepstealer
(13) The Cannibal
(14) Grey Ghost
Jaehaera and Jaehaerys had eggs under their beds that hadnt hatched yet and Condal said that Daeron has a dragon but isnt a dragon rider yet
I am wondering when Vermithor will make another appearance as Daemon was trying to bond with him as well. They could use him against Vhagar with the help of another dragon. ( no spoilers please as I read after the shows or movies are done if possible.)
@@MrRyguy2112 Daemon wasn't trying to bond him. You can't bond more than one dragon.
Aemond is stupid he tried to kill the only one rider to his team and people call him smart ?
@@queenxx1690
He was motivated by revenge. The humiliation at the brothel. He is foolhardy, but calculating nonetheless.
I love how the episode is called "The red dragon and the gold" (which is the name of the book chapter) and both Meleys and Caraxes are red so its not immediately obvious to a non book reader who will be fighting. I really like how they show Daemon a lot in the beginning to make you think Cole is going for him but then he has different plans.
The sigils of the factions are also red and gold. I think it's more likely that it refers to the sigils than the dragons, especially since it's Vhagar who won the fight.
@@Aewon84oh, true🤔
Cole is a good warrior and strategist
28:50 When Spartan said "Nah man..." voice trembling, teary-eyed...damn that shook me.
Never seen Spartan that emotional before, shook me up haha
he lowkey scared me with that reaction 😂
Im loving Aegon.
He was well written.
They all are.
@@samuraiwarriorsunite no not all
he's the best character this season
@@neomohoto8861 he's not well written at all
I think I'm like one of the few ppl who saw that Rhaenys felt some betrayal from Corlys because he hever told her about having another son. He was spending more time with him during the time she was mourning her kids deaths. So both Aegon and Rhaenys only have loyalty from their dragons.
Helaena has a dragon called Dreamfyre and the brother they mention in the show, Daeron (that we havent yet seen) has another dragon called Tessarion.
The Blue Queen. Really looking forward to seeing that dragon in the future.
dreamfyre is forgotten about in season 2 so there's no point in counting her
@@kurhanchyk Dreamfyre isn’t forgotten but Haelena can’t fight, she barely has any experience flying her dragon. There’s zero chance she can do anything in combat.
@@guestuser1671 that's a very convenient change in the show to downplay the effect of blood and cheese on her and to avoid showing dreamfyre on screen before that
Ppl are forgetting Rhaenys is a dragon riding soldier. Her running or retreating … Think of a actual soldier at war, A real soldier never runs away from battle win or lose, if they are going to lose they will inflict as much damage/casualties as possible before the outcome and she did that & died a Dragon Riders Death 😢 much respect ❤🫡 🔥🐉🖤
If that is what she did then it was foolish. Rhaenys lost the Blacks most powerful dragon and experienced rider for no gain. Preserving herself and Melys until they could face Vhagr and Aemond with an advantage would have been a strategically better move.
What she did only makes sense if she thought she could not successfully disengage.
Going 1v1 vs that flying death machine was foolish. It would have made sense if it was Jace with his teenage angst but Rhanys is experienced. Should realize Sunfyre either dead or out of action for a long time while Melys is unscathed would have been a major win alone considering unexpected 1v2 scenario. Maybe if she was trying to confirm Aegons death or finish him off before retreating, THEN gets caught by Vhagar i would have an easier time accepting, but going back for round 2 vs Vhagar was a silly writing decision imo
@@Eyoballin “flying death machine “ 😂😂
@@EyoballinFire and Blood states that Meleys could defeat Vhagar in a 1v1, she’s younger, faster, and almost as dangerous, much like Caraxes.
She had a good chance of winning, was just not her day.
Real soldiers absolutely do run from combat, often on purpose when the battle goes south
Aegon is such a well written character in the show, like you can't help but feel bad for the guy.. And when you think about it, he goes out to try and prove himself to show that he's not usless.. Kind of sad that he got absolutely crushed. And the show does the same for Amond, both these brothers can be truly awful but also very vulnerable.
Team Green is carrying… you can tell the writers are having a lot of fun w these characters
31:35 well daemon suggested 2v1ing vhagar with caraxes and meleys if only queen rhae-rhae was not busy being peaceful after her son being chomped by grandma vhagar
37:55 Everyone now just agreeing with what daemon has been saying from start
You guys literally made me cry all over again when Rhaenys went back. I read the book so I knew this was happening but oh man it didn't soften the blow. Rhaenys and Meleys will forever be loved. She fought like a true Targaryen warrior.
Sunfyre is like the Golden retriever
Meleys a German Sheperd and Vhagar is Cane Corso
Caraxes is a malinois
As a cane corso owner I can confirm. There's a joke that a corso will obey your command but will take her time in doing so. The athletic mastiff 😅
Incredible episode. Blown away. The look between Rhaenys and Meleys will forever haunt me. Rest now, Meleys The Red Queen and the Queen who should have been. ❤
Also Rhaenys never knew that Laenor was still alive. It is very sad.
He shouldn't be alive. Can't wait to see how they deal with that situation.
@@danielleeskelton They prob won't deal with it. They'll likely just infer that he died offscreen.
Alright let's analyse this in detail. To all those who keep saying "why doesn't Rhaenys just fly away?", please think of her options considering the fact that Vhagar is completely unscathed and hasn't just flown from Dragonstone to Rook's rest and so is also completely fresh when she joins the fight:
1: fly to dragonstone. Congrats, now you're leading Aemond and Vhagar towards your queen, granddaughter, husband and Rhaenyra's heir, all nicely congregated inside the dragonstone keep. Aemond and Cole planned this ambush knowing the black's thinking would be "Aemond/Vhagar won't leave King's landing", which would lure out a dragon for them to kill. It's a one-shot opportunity that they're not about to waste, so Aemond 100% is following Meylys to take her out. If Rhaenys turns back, she forces the fight with Vhagar to happen over dragonstone, because if she doesn't hold there Aemond is just going to incinerate the castle and everyone in it as well as the presumably present and riderless Vermax, Syrax and Moondancer. And if she fights him there it'll almost certainly be the same outcome as at Rook's rest with the other three riders only having a few minutes warning. That's not enough time to reach their dragons and get them into the sky. Even if they do, unless the four of them can coordinate perfectly, one decently aimed dracarys from Vhagar and Jace/Vermax and Baela/Moondancer are literally toast. If the stars align perfectly Rhaenys would probaly be fighting alongside Rhaenyra and Syrax for their lives, which is still incredibly dangerous for both of them. More likely Rhaenyra would lift off just as Rhaenys is being killed, at which point a slightly wounded Vhagar probably kills her and Syrax too, ending the war right there.
Now maaaaybe you can make the argument that since Meylys is being described as the fastest dragon in the book that she'd have a slight head start between reaching dragonstone and Aemond catching up, and so could raise the alarm in time. But with how short the flight is to dragonstone, and the speeds displayed here on screen I'm skeptical whether that's show cannon, and if it is, how much leadtime it would be. In any case, flying to dragonstone risks her granddaughter and her betrothed (we all know Baela would not have hesitated a moment to help her, and Jace is equally eager to prove himself) and I really don't blame Rhaenys for not willing to risk watching those two die in front of her.
The only way this doesn't hold up is if you really believe that under no circumstances would Aemond pursue, and I just don't buy that. He's not afraid of anyone besides Daemon who he knows is at Harrenhal, is not afraid of kinslying, is supremely self-confident, and wants the glory of winning a major battle if not the war. I'm sorry, he isn't letting Rhaenys get away once she shows up. No way in hell.
2: fly west towards Harrenhal. Caraxes/Daemon and Meylys/Rhanys is probably the one combo that Aemond wouldn't be confident facing on his own, so he'd probaly not pursue. However you might as well put up a big sign with an arrow pointing east saying "go ahead, have fun", since that's just giving Aemond clearance to fly to dragonstone and kill everyone there at his leizure, probably piecemeal, before Daemon can even be reched to call upon for help. And if you think that Syrx, Vermax and Moondancer can take Vhagar on their own (take some bites/score some hits sure, but actually kill her? yeah no), then I have a bridge in brooklyn to sell you. That's no real option either.
3: do as she did. Stand and fight were you are to defend the castle you came to defend, and do at least enough damage to Vhagar so that Aemond won't risk flying across the bay afterwards, and maybe, if you get lucky, try and take the greens trump card out in one fell swoop. If Vhagar goes down, so do the greens, it's that simple. It doesn't quite work, but she does do sizeable damage and forces him to the ground, before Aemond makes use of the smoke and the castle to burst out from below (ironically, the same tactic Rhaenys used against Aegon earlier on), taking her out. Still, that earlier skydance and fall didn't look pleasant for Vhagar, and since I suspect Aemond will be needed in King's landing now that Aegon is, uh... let's be friendly and say "no longer in a fit state to rule" to take care of that political mess, Rhaenys was ultimately succesful, even if it did cost her her life.
100% agree. Especially if Syrax is anything like the books where she's so pampered that she doesn't even hunt for herself. You're basically asking asking 3 inexperienced dragons to take on the baddest dragon after Balerion
There's no logic here, Aemond could fly and attack Dragonstone anyway if and when he kills Maelys and Maelys would have a better chance of beating Vhagar with help from the other blacks.
How exactly did you come to the conclusion that Maelys 1v1 has a better chance to somehow wound or kill Vhagar than she would have with help above Dragonstone.
Rhaenys wasted one of the bed dragons of the blacks just for a small chance to beat Vhagar, with the only benefit being that Rooks rest would've been saved if she did, if she ran the only loss would've been Rooks rest castle
Dreamfyre is Helaenas dragon, she rarely flies it tho.
And in her current state of mind, she likely wouldn't be of much use to ride a dragon in combat. Right now, it's basically Aemond/Vhagar, but if you're only going to have one, that's a hell of a one to have. (Although, Otto did mention Daeron, Alicent's youngest son, and his dragon Tessarion, who will probably have to come into play now)
I cant imagine Helaena wanting to fight. So this means the greens basically only have 2 fighting dragons. While the blacks currently have 4 dragons with a rider
@@nadiar.4638 yup, the blacks have Syrax, Caraxes, Moondancer and Vermax who all have riders, tho only Syrax and Caraxes are actually fully adult dragons. They also have dragons like Seasmoke, Vermithor, Silver Wing, Sheep stealer, grey ghost and the cannibal which do not have any riders yet.
@@rayous5480
They never had Cannibal.
What sort of nonsense is this ?
@@siran424 hes a wild dragon but he is on dragon stone
Cole has known Aegon all his life, he's been Alicent's sworn shield since Aegon was a toddler. He's the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. He's devastated that he wasn't able to protect or help Aegon at that time. And he knows how much this will hurt Alicent.
Greens:
Aegon and Sunfyre. (injured at the very least.)
Aemond and Vhagar.
Helaena and Dreamfyre.
Daeron and Tessarion.
Blacks:
Rhaenyra and Syrax.
Daemon and Caraxes.
Jace and Vermax.
Baela and Moondancer.
Joffrey and Tyraxes.
There are dragons too young for battle and eggs on both sides. Such as Aegon the Younger's Stormcloud.
There are still 6 unclaimed dragons on Dragonstone including 3 that have never been ridden.
Seasmoke, Vermithor, Silverwing, Grey Ghost, Sheepstealer and the Cannibal.
In terms of size:
Tier 1: Vhagar.
Tier 2: Dreamfyre, Vermithor, Silverwing, the Cannibal.
Tier 3: Syrax, Caraxes, Sheepstealer.
Tier 4: Sunfyre, Vermax, Moondancer, Seasmoke.
Tier 5: Tessarion, Grey Ghost, Tyraxes.
Watching reactors slowly realise why there's no dragons left by the time of GOT is the best part of this series ahah.
yea but this show is 4 seasons long,
so having 2 die this early on is quite surprising
No it's not @@Sapphire_Jack
@@hokagedlo6133 Liar
This comment is kind of spoiler-y.
The Queen who should've been 😢 RIP Princess Rhaenys, you will be remembered as a badass grandma who didn't back, Dies in batlle with the highest honor and died a dragon rider's death just like Lady Laena, You will meet your daughter and grandson in the after life. 😔💔
Also, RIP to the finest, the fastest dragon The Red Queen Melys. That last look broke me. 💔💔😭
Rhaenyra was hypocrite and killed innocent men in dragon pit
@@queenxx1690do you mean Rhaenys? Her dragon was trapped, she had to get him out.
@@lynnjohanssen6552you know there's a back entrance right? We see it in the very first scene in 1x01. But tbf It was just a poorly written scene that shouldn't have happened at all tbh
The Theon graphic juxtaposed with Spartan's overconfidence in the upcoming battle was chef's kiss😂😂
11:41 that's actually how it's supposed to be done, so you can have a clean straight cut.
he's also wearing a full set of armor.. not like you have much flexabilty. He pretty much have to turn his whole upper body to have enough power in the swing.
Their hate for the character clouds their sense.
@@rexibhazoboa7097 sense? It still looks silly. Let them laugh tf 😂
@@KatBee00let them be, they’re just delusional team green and Cole lovers.😂
@@KatBee00 Laughing cause it looks silly vs laughing cause you think he did a bad job. It came off clean.
Cole probably sees both of Alicent's kids as his. Remember he taught them how to fight since they were smaller while being mean to Rhaenyra's kids.
And I think you're right about him being scared to face Alicent after seeing Aegon.
And this is another viserys's fault for only seeing rhaenyra as his only child and abandoned all his kids with alicent, so cole has to come in and be their father figure
That's an interesting take. I wish we saw more of Cole's feelings towards Aegon and Aemond. From the scenes we see onscreen I see no evidence of that, he was very involved in their upbringing because he wanted to spite Rhaenyra, not for love I believe
@@ayumireborn Yes, indeed Cole taught them how to be psycho douchebags XD Viserys didn't want to marry again. He was forced to it by everyone else. I can see how he wouldn't love them equally. it's his fault yes but a burden of his position to produce heirs
@ayumireborn abandoned all his kids how? We see him watching them train to fight and cheering them on. We see him celebrating Aegon's name day. We see him trying to bring the family together despite his grave illnesses....perhaps he should have trained Aegon more in the ways of being a King. Simply because if something happened to Rhaenyra before she had children, Aegon would have been next in line.
He trained them, he didn’t raise them tf. They are not a family unit and Cole is no Ser Rodrick
Aegon was not being stupid, he was being brave. He knew he was outmatched, but the only alternative to attacking was to leave his men to burn.
Vhagar and Meleys fighting each other is even more tragic because one generation before Laena and Rhaenys.
They were ridden by Baleon and Alyssa, husband and wife.
This is an under rated comment
Say what you want about him but Cole is an amazing battle commander and strategist. I think some people give him way too much stick and not enough credit.
38:20 I don't think I ever disagreed with Pudgey this much. Sure, Rhaenys probably meant well, but she was not level headed, and did not know what had to be done. She kept trying to avoid a war that had already started, and refused to face the reality she lived in, and as a result the blacks lost crucial time and initiative.
The other council members did know what had to be done, and had Rhaenys and Rhaenyra listened to them, Criston wouldn't have taken all those castles that easily, and wouldn't have been able to spring this trap for her. But Rhaenys kept shutting them down because she thought she knew better, even though the only plan she ever contributed was for Rhaenyra to go to Kings Landing and meet Alicent, which everyone could have seen was completely foolish.
.
And the actor confirmed Aemond didn't want to really embarrass Aegon at council meeting:" Aemond uses the language more lethally. The Council meeting is very much a public shaming, but switching to High Valyrian allows Aegon to save face, since only the two brothers understand it. It allows Aegon to recover."
But other people can speak it too. The Maester at least speaks it and maybe the others as well
@@bakthihapuarachchi3447 maybe the maesters learn it but others don't
It’s ok Spartan, brought tears to my eyes too. Poor Rhaenys, Meleys & Sunfyre.
Not to mention all those poor burnt soldiers and no doubt nearby civilians
Why is everyone so negative about Rhaenyra's council and cheering whenever Rhaenys or another character shuts them down with some snarky comeback? They are completely right in everything they say. They needed to act weeks ago, and Rhaenyra and Rhaenys refused to do anything. If they had listened to their advice, Criston wouldn't have been able to conquer all those castles without any meaningful opposition.
Even Baela had the chance to deal the greens a major blow by torching Criston, as that one councillor points out. "You do it on your dragon, ser" is not a clever comeback, the guy doesn't have a dragon, Baela does. And if she had used it, perhaps her grandma would still be alive now.
Exactly, it goes both ways too for Aegon and that is why he replaced otto the hand for Criston, time for peace is over, war time must be unleashed.
Yup. Rhaenyra's council have homes and families in danger because of her inaction.
@@louisamay9615they would have been in danger anyway because their sides with Rhaenyra. That’s a stupid excuse. Rhaenyra wanted to exhaust every possibly of their being peace, theirs nothing wrong with trying to avoid burning the entire realm in dragon breath.
@jacobmiller2663 what peace? It's far too late for that. She's not going to get what she wants by asking politely.
@@jacobmiller2663there's a difference between being cautious and being hesitant and indecisive not wanting to unleash dragons immediately doesn't mean just sit on your ass while your enemy gets stronger.
Telling her son the story of Ice and Fire with the cutaways to different scenes was very well done. This show has a great director.
Actually, that work is mostly kept between the editor and the director. Mostly the editor. :)
Daemon was right in the beginning when he said caraxes and meleys can put vhagar down because meleys herself almost did but damn vhagar is too big even tho she’s old and slow. 😢 RIP to the Red Queen & The Queen who never was . Died like a real Targaryen. RESPECT to all the dragons! 🙏🏻 cant believe I had a panic attack over fake dragons dying lol… I am team black but i Kinda felt bad for aegon too because he never wanted to rule but he also wants to impress his family but has never been trained to be a king and the way alicent spoke to him is kinda painful to watch. I feel like aemond wants to kill aegon too oh boy! And sunfyre loved aegon more than his family loves him…. the look between meleys and rhaenys broke me as well 😢
Yes and there is nothing wrong to attack 1 dragon with 2, is strategy and a precaution to survive and preserve life, this is war and the idiot of Aemond tried to kill a dragon of his own side when he couldnt even defeat Caraxes nor much less the rest of the black dragons, he is an idiot, nothing in comparison to king Aegon and yes his family is messed up, he loves them all dearly and Alicent and Aemond are just traitors. Aegon is smart for combat and war even though people say he is dumbass which he is not, he is always drunk, that is a disadvantage of course and other things as well but he is doing great in the war, fight against Melys and Vaghar with a smaller dragon is of badas and he is..
@@juliandorzon I agree so much with you! 🙏🏻
@@scrumlass I feel you. 😭🙏🏻 I started realizing I am going crazy over CGI dragons omg after watching this episode.
Everyone should have listened to Daemon all this passiveness led to this war
"Princess Rhaenys made no attempt to flee. With a glad cry and a crack of her whip, she turned Meleys toward the foe."
------
"Beloved daughter of Lady Jocelyn Baratheon and Prince Aemon Targaryen, faithful wife to Lord Corlys Velaryon, mother and grandmother, the Queen Who Never Was lived fearlessly, and died amidst blood and fire..."
-- from the books
32:10 Criston Cole who has essentially fought his way up the ladder from commoner to lord, is much more worthy of life than some high born princess, you can’t convince me any other way.
Man's a commoner, a victim of a spoiled princess. Nobody can ever make me dislike him for being bitter about being used at the whims of H○enyra.
whatever you say COLE is the leader you need in battlefield. He is far better than DAEMON in battlefield
Exactly.. Take Caraxes way from him and Daemon is just a mediocre fighter. Who can only win a fair duell through backstabbing or foul play
@@LucerysOwner yaa bro but still peoples dickriding him and hating on Cole and Aemond .
@@LucerysOwner and not to forget he even killed his wife for no reason
@@princesharma754 They are just mindless blacks who are can't see the bigger pictures in this whole conflict. Their side aren't saints neither
@@LucerysOwnerhe fought in the stepstones without his dragon bro
Yall didnt get that exchange between Aemond and Aegon at the small council meeting it was Aemond Disrespecting and humiliating his brother just as he did him at the brothel he not only showed him that he is incompetent when it comes to warfare and strategy but also outed him as dumb because he could never fully grasp High Velariayan thats why he struggled with his response he cant speak fluently and cant fully understand either so his response barely correlated to what Aemond asked him and the 2 other high intellectuals at the table noticed and could tell that is the Grand Maester and Larys Strong it was soooo gangsta and nasty from Aemond
Dumb at strategy ? Why when Daemon, Cole and Aemond say " Harrenhal is the key to the Riverlands and our chance to win" - everyone says they are smart but when Aegon says it's bad when they lose it he's dumb ? They literally didn't tell the king their plan - it's a treason. And they did it for no reason because Aegon would be on board sending Vhagar with Cole, as he was suggesting the same plan in previous episodes.
And the actor confirmed Aemond didn't want to really embarrass Aegon , :" Aemond uses the language more lethally. The Council meeting is very much a public shaming, but switching to High Valyrian allows Aegon to save face, since only the two brothers understand it. It allows Aegon to recover."
@@yasmina3999 Aegon still being hung up on Harrenhall after they have given him all the reasons is pointless and he is still insistent exposes his lack of savvy more than anything.............
11:40 that's because of the heavy armor he is wearing that restricts certain movements...That's a good detail...
Ive had to explain this to alot of people who were trashing his swing.
I can’t believe people couldn’t work this out. Well actually I’m not surprised Spartan couldn’t work it out
@@chrisbrooker7260
I'm not sure if this is all just an act, or if Spartan is really that slow and thick in the head.
@@siran424 Have you seen their Stranger Things reactions? It’s wild…. Really don’t think it’s an act
Rhaenys is one of the few characters who possesses the knowledge and comprehension of the impending chaos. She harbors a profound sense of guilt for not taking action to eliminate the Greens during Aegon's coronation. The Greens have already established their presence across the bay of Dragonstone. She recognizes the critical importance of prevailing in this battle, as defeat would result in their own demise. Daemon is absent, and Rhaenyra lacks a substantial army. It is imperative that the conflict concludes at this juncture, preventing further escalation into unimaginable horrors and calamities that could potentially annihilate the Crown, the people, and her own lineage.
Rhaenys was Meleys rider for 42 years......I can't believe we already lost Rhaenys 😭😭
she also died on her birthday…
That moment between Sunfyre and Aegon before they leave, you can feel the love between the two. Sunfyre being a bit playful with a smiling Aegon. As much as people dislike Aegon, there's no denying his true love and affection for his dragon, who is probably the only one who loves Aegon unconditionally.
Aegon amd Aemond are like Cole own sons, he technically raised them and trained them, that's why he felt broken and felt like he failed Aegon.
Just cuz he trained them doesn’t mean he raised them 😒 I’m sure he cares for them to an extent but y’all are dragging it a bit
@@_justinblizzle You clearly didn't watch season 1 properly, did you?
both Aegon and Aemond were raised and trained by Cole, since Viserys was a living corpse and even when he was healthy he didn't care for his sons.
Cole loves them as his own all helaena, Aemond and Aegon.
@@jamien368 you went to school right? Did your teachers raise you as well? Or did they just teach you math, science, english, etc?? Point me, since you're such an expert on the books and season 1, to a single scene where we heard a kind, comforting or encouraging words from Criston to the boys. Show me a moment where they hugged or he even patted them on the back. Show me a scene of them together doing something outside of the castle, or anything fun, or laughing/playing or anything outside of training. I'll even take an argument or a moment where they came to him for advise again outside of combat or politics. I'll wait. But you know what we have seen and on multiple occasions? Him using those boys as conduits to insult, attack or get back at Rhaenyra in some form or fashion. Cut the shit Jamien 🙄 run your narrative on these others
@@_justinblizzle so you live under the same roof with your own teacher? NO. Cole isn't a teacher, he's at the service of the Royal family and lives in the red keep, he spent his life training them and raising them YES RAISING THEM as the father who actually stood up. Who defended Alicent and Aemond at driftmark? CRISTON. Go Read the book, I don't know why you so pressed over FACTS 😂
"R R R Rhaenyra" 🤡
Rhaenyra ass is irrelevant, y'all bring up Rhaenyra each time Cole Is mentioned it's pathetic, Cole relationship with Alicent and her sons has nothing to do with Rhaenyra, get over yourself.
Unpleasant Character Rule Number 1:
"An Unpleasant character can't have clever plans."
Number 2:
"If an Unpleasant character has a clever plan, it's an evil and bad plan."
And number 3:
"An Unpleasant character can't feel sad that the man he raised as a son is badly injured"
This is perfect😂
If an unpleasant character is unpleasant, then f**k em'. lol
To be fair about point 3 we don't really get to see Cole's relationship with alicents kids .
@@thatoneblackdude3333 Lack of time is a common problem with season 1. But it's still pretty obvious. And the point is that the audience CANNOT believe in Cole’s competence and human feelings because he talks bad about Rhaenyra. It's hilarious.
@@МатвейАбрамов-г1ч I do feel people let there bias blind then a lot this goes for both sides , it was established in season 1 that Cole is war tested its half the reason rhenyrea chose him as kings guard so nobody should be surprised Cole is a competent war commander.
Rhaenys should have listened to Daemon back in episode 1 and take Aemond and Vhaegar out together.
RIP The Queen Who Never Was and The Red Queen
Coles reaction to Aegon possibly being dead is partly because Cole basically raised Aegon (and Aemond). Viserys never really cared about Aegon very much. Cole feels that he failed as a protector.
Rhaenys keeps coming back because shes there to win the battle, to protect the rooks rest from greens. I think shes about to head off when she didnt see vhagar anywhere (notice how shes going towards the sea where the dragonstone is) but vhagar is such a giant sneaky lizard
Well surprise. Lost Rook’s Rest and the second most valuable dragon that the Blacks have. Pretty stupid decision I’ll say.
@@akhiltrc9708
It was actually the most valuable dragon, the largest and the quickest on the blacks side.
It was just not used properly..
The looks when cole said "everything is foing according to plan" 😂😂😂
I know we're sad and all but may I take this opportunity to mention that There has never been a bond btwn man and dragon like that of Aegon and Sunfyre 😂💚💚...btw I'm green but I loved Rhaenys
I'm a green too and Aemond and Aegon my 2 favorite characters.
I don't know if thats true. Its close (as we see in the books) but several have close bonds. Daemon and Caraxes have the closest bond as in they work the best together and share a strong connection to the point that Daemon can command Caraxes non verbally. Rhaenys is said to spend all her free time with Meyles
Visenya and Vhagar are laughing at you
@@DarthKay093Daenerys and her children are laughing at all of you 😂
I'm Black but I love Aegon + Sunfyre combo ❤️
Remember why Rhaenys was there. She was there to protect a close ally of team black, she would and could never run away and leave Rhaenyras allies defenseless. If she runs away the other houses would call team black cowards and declare for team green. In her mind she had to finish the job.
That's true but I don't think that was in her head at the time...
Aemond attacked his brother and killed Luke. Rhaenys escaped from King's Landing without doing anything so now she didn't do that. Remember if she kills Aemond too the war is over.
@@Hear.myvoice Also true
Plus she just took down Aegon. If she even just horribly wounds Aemond, the entire war is over.
Long Live to Rhaenys Targaryen, The Queen Who Never Was (because ppl are stupid) who fights till the end as she was: a badass queen with her beloved Meleys 🖤🔥
Apart from the dragon fight there were so many great character moments, like Aemond destroying Aegon at the small council meeting, and Jace calling Rhaenyra out for being a absentee queen who fails her duties. Criston being shown as a competent strategist and battle commander, who effectively tricked the black into losing a dragon, was nice, the guy didn't fail upwards, he's absolutely a force to be reckoned with.
I just want to forget Rhaenys' dragon scene in episode 9 where she massacred all those smallfolk for no reason. She can be a voice for peace and restraint then without being a hypocrite, which makes her death as the first main character to fall in war all the more ironic and tragic.
The dragons killing each other is the worse thing ever. Vhagar was previously ridden by Baelon ( viserys and daemon’s father) and Marlys was ridden by Alyssa (their mother) , they were partners and the fact that Rhaenys got killed by her daughter’s beloved dragon I can’t 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
Yes, Helaena rides Dreamfyre which is one of the oldest dragons.
31:52: Well to be fair, Rhaenys probably still killed more innocent people than Cole with her massacre at the Dragonpit in episode 9.
But he’s still caused the death of more important highborn characters, and he always gets promoted. Him sleeping with Alicent allowed Helena and her children to be unprotected, he also killed that council member, etc. I hope Aegon finds out Cole has been sleeping with his mom and that’s why his son was killed.
@@jacobmiller2663 "more important highborn characters"
Why are highborn characters more important than commoners? That's a REALLY bad argument, if you want to argue Cole is worse than Rhaenys.
@@jacobmiller2663 bullshit
I couldnt believe this end was real... I didnt wanted to... I wasn't ready... Im still not ready to loose her like that... I can't. She's my favorite character, damm you show!
The world of Game Of Thrones is never a stranger to killing off beloved characters
Pudgey’s face during that moment… u represent all of us girl
Cole is a Kingsguard who lost the heir and then the king. That is as bad as it gets for being a Kingsguard, especially the Lord Commander.
Halaena does have a dragon, called dreamfyre, it was the one in the pit that almost burnt small young aegon.
The unclaimed one you spoke about about is Vermithor, which was in the trailer standing behind rhaeneyra
*almost burnt small young _Aemond_
Also got to take account that Rhaenys knew that they didn’t have an army so extinguishing Crispy Cole advancement was a genius move. That’s why she kept attacking.
Also it’s just sad Rhaenys was killed by her daughters dragon. Even more sadder is that Vhagar would be team black with Maleys if Laena daughters claimed Vhagar before Aemond stolen, they would be fighting together instead of against.
1. I do think part of why Rhaenys stuck it out was her guilt. Daemon constantly berated her for not killing the Greens when she had the chance, and that led to giving Aemond the opportunity to kill Luke and the Greens to cause more issues. So she stuck it out this time to try and take them down even if it meant dying.
2. Alicent did counsel Aegon. She told him to do *nothing,* which _is_ what is needed of him right now. Aegon doesn't have any knowledge or training and regardless of why that is, he needs to simply listen and learn and observe, not throw around demands. He wants to be a part of things but he doesn't actually take time to learn. Not ONCE did he stop and ask "hey, WHY rook rest and not harrenhall?" Instead of throwing out history books why not read them? He's shown no interest in actually doing the work and Alicent shouldn't have to take blame for his laziness. Aemond is a second son with nothing to inherit so he knew he couldn't rely on anyone to give him any hand outs. Aegon wallowed and Aemond sought knowledge, and instead of trying to get on Aemonds level he just wants to jump over all the hurdles and be at the finish line, no sir.
"Then why put him on the throne?"
Because it's still a better choice in their eyes than putting Rhaenyra and Daemon. Aegon, if he bothers to actually seek their council instead of ignoring them (he ignored Otto, he ignored Larys, he ignored Alicent, etc), he could grow to be decent as king. But he's impulsive and he wants results now and to be important now, and that's not realistic. He has to _earn_ that, and he hasn't yet.
She was harsh, but she's not wrong.
1. That is people’s headcanon it is not why the actor or showrunners said she stayed, I do not think she cared about what Daemon said or took it to heart. She knows Daemon likes to be mean because she knew him the longest out of anyone.
If you want to know the dragons which are still out there:
For the Greens we have:
- Vhagar and Aemond
- Dreamfyre and Helaena
- Tessarion and Dearon (Alicent's other son)
For the Blacks we have:
- Caraxes and Daemon
- Syrax and Rhaenyra
- Moondancer and Baela
- Vermax and Jacaerys
There are also unclaimed dragons on Dragonstone:
- Seasmoke (Laenor)
- Vermithor (King Jaeherys) (this is the one Daemon visited last season)
- Silverwing (Queen Alysanne, wife of King Jaeherys)
I hope I didn't forget one
Everyone do your due diligence and report any spoiler comments as spam, that includes any about Aegon’s fate. the book readers are getting beyond irritating
Spoiler alert: the dragons become vegans in the next episode and everything's fine
Spoiler alert! The dragons revolt and start riding humans into battle.
@@scrumlass
Yeah, but that's part of the fun.
The book readers were fine in first season (I'm a book reader too) but I swear since the time the official trailer of season 2 came out these book reader can't shut the hell up. Continuously going "book this..... book that..." and intentionally spoiling everything for show's fans.
33:23 The reason Cole is shaken is because Alicen't kids are like his foster children, and he is the most important father figure they had, since Viserys was a competely absent father when it comes to them. He loves them despite their flaws. He cares about them. He's helped raise them since they were babies, so of course he's shaken.
Spartan getting emotional for rhaenys is so real
Considering that Meleys has never fought in a battle before (not sure Rhaenys wrongly implied she had) it was an impressive showing against Sunfyre and Vhagar and she really showed courage in not running away, as that would have destroyed Rhaenyra's support from her allies, so it was do or die.
Criston Cole and Aemond work really well together; had Aegon not interfered, Rhaenys and Meleys would have been taken out with very few losses (The forces present under the King's army were Black supporters snatched from Rhaenyra, so only a fraction were Green allies at the siege). Despite Cole's youth, and the fact that the realm has not seen war, he's proving himself a capable battle commander.
Cole's devotion to the throne is seen clearly as he was the only one to race to his fallen King, while Alicent's brother Gwayne Hightower led Green forces into the keep following Rhaenys death. We see another parallel of Daemon and Aemond, as he is a 'rogue prince' going after his own agenda (payback for the humilitation by Aegon). The last image showed both dragon and rider were alive, but badly injured.
Team green baby. God I love Aemond!
He is a traitor, arent you mad? I am green too.
i don’t get it lol
I can't get over the fact that he took daemon's wig that's why daemon can no longer have that hairdo 😂
@@juliandorzon Traitor, bro what😂
One aspect to think about is that Vhagar and Meleys were the dragons of Viserys/Damons parents.
So them having to fight each other to the death is another crazy situation as they were once inseparable due to their previous riders
I came here ASAP when I saw you posted!!😭😭😭
This was my fav reaction for the amount of “naurs” there were lmao I love it
i have suffered a lot for Sunfyre, the most beautiful dragon ever seen and I even feel a little sorry for Aegon too…
I just want to say that I really appreciate how good you guys pay attention to the information. I know it happens with reactions that people get stuff wrong sometimes or don't remember things right, but you guys are really trying your best to understand the story and plot points and the characters thoughts behind them.
I think what Alicent said to Aegon isn't necessarily her being shit as a mother but an actual reality check that needed to happen. Some children and people you can't just coddle and pat on the back they need to be talked to in a way that removes all delusion. And he has been like this since very young. His position as prince was a larger influence over Alicent's ability to mother him the correct way. This is the only way he can actually understand.
I think she has always been bad mother to her kids. But I think she learnt her parenting skills from Otto.
Remember, Cole basically raised Agon and Aymend
Gotta love how Rhaenys flied as close to the ground as possible so that Vhagar could have the only possible scenario for a surprise attack.
That was the experienced dragon rider, guys!
Even cheap horror movies where people follow scary noises only to get an expected jumpscare look smarter now
Vhagar is the biggest dragon and yet the writers have now twice shown that it wins fights by doing sneak attacks. The physics don't make sense. It looks like the writers only do that to jump scare the viewers.
@@sidscorner1lol you just hate to hate. Vhagar is like a lion. Slower and bigger but guess what it attacks a gazelle using ambush. Idk what you are talking about.😂😂
yeah that really took me out of it honestly, such a dumb move completely devoid of logic, makes no sense. im getting some GoT season 8 logic vibes from this scene...
@@sidscorner1 Yeah first time it was ok as she came from clouds but its cheap to use the same trick twice. I hope they don't use it again. When i saw this first time i was expecting Vhagar to come behind the castle. It wasnt even jumpscare anymore.
Don't know if this is the reason but me and my husband thought that Aemond used fire also on aegon to close his dragons wounds so he won't bleed more but we could be wrong.
I will never understand what made everyone hate cole he is an amazing character he is a grey character he is nowhere near Ramsey or Cersei😏😏
He is hated for his blatant hypocrisy. But you can't fault him on his loyalty to Alicent and her children, tactical mindset and prowess in battle.
Maybe you should watch the show then, if you don't understand. lol
*Men in the Black Council:* We need to act. No one is doing anything.
(Reactors: "Boo!")
*Corlys walks in:* We need to act. No one is doing anything.
(Reactors: "You tell 'em, Corlys!")
I just noticed Aemond is slowly killing off his childhood bullies one by one.😭
And his own brother was the ring leader! I believe after Aegon mocked him the last episode, Aemond was like yup. Revenge time.
But yeah, Aemond's always wanted the throne and this was his opportunity to take it.
The Greens are having there own private civil war😂 They hate each other sooo much fr.
So Jace is his next target? Who next, the girls? Tbh, love to see it.
It's funny how Aemond actually felt guilt for Luke, but purposely went after Aegon.
Well Aegon isnt dead
@@rexibhazoboa7097yep I can’t wait for Daemon/caraxes to use Vhagar/Aemond stealth attacks against them.
@@ARareBreedStory Cause despite Luke taking his eye, Aegon was a more prevalent bully in his life.
There’s so much is these stories that people miss. I get it though because if you haven’t studied the books then it’s just a superficial story. Here’s an example: Remember when Alys Rivers says she a barn owl in human form well think back to the drawings of Helena which includes a pic of an owl beside a castle. There’s tons of these which really enrich the story.
Aegon pushing/breaking the "golden" glass water/wine pitcher with the dragon handle - awesome foreshadowing!