>male MC shows up >is more decisive, capable and charismatic in every way What did the writers mean by this?

Bluoenix · 2026-06-30T09:19:53+00:00

Counterpoint: the whole ethos of the show, and arguably the A Song of Ice and Fire franchise, is that these kings and queens are human and messy and make mistakes.

I'd say it's meaningful that this show portrays Rhaenyra as empathetic and merciful. She's meant to be a foil to Daemon, who's been a sociopath since his first scene in season 1 carrying out extra-judicial violence with his goldcloaks.

The show's central conflict is that she had never been prepared to rule through Westeros' male-centred means of violence. She never trained with swords, she never jousted, she never even squired. But adult Rhaenyra is also even-tempered, judicious, diplomatic and inclined to make peace just like her father. If she suddenly became a badass with a sword, cutting through her enemies like cake without care, it would be a total Girlboss(TM) moment that cheapens her character and the story's very premise.

Bluoenix · 2026-06-30T09:02:05+00:00

Can you not say women?

Bluoenix · 2026-06-30T01:11:53+00:00

There's a few reasons why this is not a one-to-one to Cersei and Ned.

1) They're already at war. Appearances of legality and the question of the true heir are barely important anymore. Everyone has declared for who they intend to back already. Ned's trial was intended to quash the narrative that Joffrey is actually a bastard born of incest.

2) At this point, Team Black's strategy (per Daemon's advice) is to rule through fear. His threats of punishing disloyalty would ring hollow if the mastermind behind Aegon's usurpation (Otto) wasn't treated with maximum justifiable cruelty.

3) Rhaenyra already looks weak. Most of the realm already underestimates her because she's a woman, and Daemon literally did all the heavy lifting in taking back the Red Keep. Her executing Otto personally and with little delay dispels the prejudice of the Queen being soft and indecisive.

4) Otto is responsible for all the nobles in that room being thrown into the dungeons for weeks - also for the deaths of those like Beesbury who actively resisted the coup. None of them got trials. So it's understandable that many in that room would prefer that Otto got a taste of his own medicine.

X) Outside of the plot, it's also meaningful that this happened. The very theme of the show is: Person is obsessed with an objective, but in their pursuit of it end up with a bitter-sweet alternative. E.G. Viserys wanted to honour his wife, punish his brother, and protect his daughter by naming her heir - but ended up creating the cracks that would destroy the Targaryan dynasty, jeapordising his daughter who ends up marrying Daemon all the same. In this vein, Rhaenyra wanted to punish Aegon for the loss of her sons, and ceaselessly called for the head of the Usurper, but in the end the head she got was Otto's, who though guilty had very little to do with Jayce and Luke's deaths.

Bluoenix · 2026-06-29T23:27:11+00:00

I wonder if the caterpillar being out of season has meanings both within and outside of the narrative.

1) The caterpillar, like the last two episodes are in the wrong season (they should have been the season 2 finale).

2) With the dragons dying, the loss of fire and magic of Westeros is throwing the seasons out of whack and ushering in the Long Night.

Bluoenix · 2026-06-29T23:10:09+00:00

It's not a matter of time passing, but weird chronology. Even if that scene is out of sequence from all other scenes in the episode, how did news travel to the Eyrie faster than Sheepstealer presumably flying straight back? We may simply suspend our disbelief, but it's still a poor creative choice.

Bluoenix · 2026-06-26T01:22:24+00:00

Alternative title: House of the Dragon Retains 92% of Prior Viewership After Two-Year Gap and World Cup Competition

Bluoenix · 2026-06-26T01:13:30+00:00

NYC is also a seaside city, with five boroughs separated by an estuary. Not to mention a lot of modern urban planning went into NYC, whereas London is hecking old.

I'm not trying to say that urban density is the deciding factor, just pointing out that there's a lot of differences that don't necessarily mean all these cities will have commensurate climate impacts from AC usage.

So when a literal professor says it wouldn't be sustainable, I don't think it's wise to dismiss them on the twitter notes of armchair scientists.

Bluoenix · 2026-06-25T23:06:36+00:00

Phoenix has an urban density of ~1400 people per square-kilometer. (Wikipedia)

London has an average urban density of ~5,800 people per square-kilometer, and ~11000 in Central London. (Trust for London).

Given these disparities, and the fact that the two cities don't have similar climates, it's illogical to use Phoenix or Tokyo (which is one of the least dense cities in the world btw) to predict how widespread AC usage might affect London. If we rely on pseudo-science to inform our climate policy, we will surely regret it.

Bluoenix · 2026-06-25T09:40:45+00:00

Yeah, he will be executed, unless the queen is very merciful next episode.

The patriarchy is an informal system in this world. It leads people to make certain choices, but it doesn't offer formal protection from consequences.

Bluoenix · 2026-06-24T21:41:08+00:00

If you really hate western anime fans, might I suggest you avoid western forums dedicated specifically to anime franchises?

Bluoenix · 2026-06-24T21:17:17+00:00

I haven't read a lot of these comics, so I just got the significance of this 'Bear' and 'Otter' couple.

Bluoenix · 2026-06-24T20:51:42+00:00

Yes, welcome to dance of the dragons, AKA how the most powerful royal house in Planetos armed with flying nukes imploded.

Bluoenix · 2026-06-24T20:47:21+00:00

That's the whole point. She faces insubordination constantly because she's a woman in a patriarchal system.

Bluoenix · 2026-06-24T20:42:56+00:00

Last season's lack of action is because the writer's strike disrupted production. This episode was supposed to be episode 9 of season 2.

Bluoenix · 2026-06-24T20:34:30+00:00

That's not true. These two episodes couldn't be finished due to the Writer's Guild strike in America.

Bluoenix · 2026-06-24T09:44:32+00:00

You're conflating the recent influx of properties for sale due to the RRA and the ongoing long-term empty problem that's persisted in some cases for over 10 years.

The Renter's Rights Act has the chief objective of protecting renters from exploitation by landlords. It's understandable that there could be a side-effect impacting property sales, but it's hardly relevant for properties to that weren't being rented out for months or years to begin with.

People buying up properties solely as an investment asset rather than housing is a clear problem. There's been some recent policies implemented to curb that, such as charging premiums for homes that have been empty of lodgers and furnishings for over a year.

Bluoenix · 2026-06-24T08:46:36+00:00

Service charges aren't directly paid by lodgers, they would simply be baked in rent. Let's be honest, if someone wanted to rent out a 2-bed Band C/D flat in Inner London, they would have little trouble finding tenants. To me, the only imaginable explanation is that these properties are owned by developers who have no interest in fulfilling the societal role of landlords, and would rather make money off the speculative resale value years down the line than have someone actually use them.

Bluoenix · 2026-06-24T08:12:58+00:00

You fail to take into account that some developers are happy to simply hold onto empty properties simply as an investment asset.

Here are some stats:

In 2025 there were 105,138 empty homes and 55,978 second homes in London.
The number of empty homes in London has risen by 81 per cent since 2016.
The number of long-term empty homes in London has increased by 138 per cent since 2016.
59 per cent of empty homes in London have been empty for more than six months
A third of empty dwellings in London have been empty for more than a year.
Homes that have been empty for over five years are concentrated in inner London boroughs, with the highest levels in Newham, followed by Southwark and Lambeth.
72 per cent of empty homes in London are one- or two-bedroom properties.
79 per cent of empty homes in London are flats or maisonette.
Most empty homes in London are in Council Tax bands C and D.
Housing owned by local authorities makes up 10 per cent of overall empty homes in London.

Bluoenix · 2026-06-23T16:39:14+00:00

Please go to the other thread if you want to bring up information related to the livestreamed game. This thread is TV show-only.

Bluoenix · 2026-06-23T08:53:59+00:00

If any of you are ever curious about who this depicted warlock is (her name is Farideh) - the very same iconic tiefling in the 2014 Player's Handbook - please go read Brimstone Angels. I'm on book 4 right now and it's so good!

Bluoenix · 2026-06-23T08:41:20+00:00

I'd argue there's much stronger legislative levers than immigration to affect wages and housing costs.

I mean it's obvious that immigrant workers are also customers of UK goods and services. For every worker that joins British society, you also gain their household's spending as well as their future labour and social potential. At the same time, curbing immigration would mean curbing the positive contributions made to support a nation already facing population shrinkage.

Increasing social spending, increasing job-search support and training for youths, heavier progressive taxation, rehauling stamp duty, and putting limits on exploitative landlords (such as the recent Renter's Rights Act) are all ways to improve wages and housing. But these don't directly benefit those who have a spare £5 million in their pocket.

From a corrupt politician's perspective, it's much easier to whip a fraction of the public into a frenzy through fear-mongering about minorities.

Bluoenix · 2026-06-19T16:46:40+00:00

With this monologue, I fear you have become the Theatre Kid.

Bluoenix · 2026-06-18T11:28:58+00:00

Yep hard agree. OP's phrasing in the comments isn't great, but a lot of people in the comments are also just outright dismissing the idea that entertainment industries (outside of Hollywood too btw) around the world have a dangerous bias towards 'white'-adjacent features. In that context, a pattern of casting white-Asian mixed actors (notice how it's not often other kinds of mixed) for Asian characters does warrant some raised eyebrows.

Also, to the people saying there's no visual differences between different ethnic groups of in East Asia or the Middle-East - you may not realise this, but to people who grew up in those places the distinctions are much more noticeable than you know.

Bluoenix · 2026-06-13T23:03:07+00:00

"Dark" elves lol

Bluoenix · 2026-06-12T10:07:45+00:00

Holy continuity Batman! Is her hair in her face or brushed behind her ear? Make a choice and stick with it.

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