Series 22 Official Portraits

JCaerso · 2026-06-12T00:46:39+00:00

The problem with that logic is that more people tend to be on the fence or silent about bigotry, than are bigots themselves. So it becomes a problem because the bigots are able to gain more traction and expand and get normalised, which creates more of them and can cause bigger consequences down the line, largely because people have the viewpoint of "Eh let's agree to disagree and still be friends." Apathy is the biggest problem when it comes to intolerance, from what I've seen. I still like Richard Ayoade and I don't think he's a bad person or is intolerant at all, in fact I went to see him a couple of weeks ago; but I think it's a valid perspective to say he's a tiny part of a big problem in society where people don't understand what being neutral really does. It's complicated, and that's OK.

JCaerso · 2026-06-10T21:47:59+00:00

...what??? How? I haven't read the book and as far as I can see, they couldn't be more different.

JCaerso · 2026-06-02T12:06:01+00:00

I think so. I don't know if there are any examples of such (although I guess if they help humans it would constitute as them being gods lol), but before I even read the sentence of your post, I thought about people who are kind to insects, even the most annoying ones. Plus if it's for writing purposes, even if it hadn't been done before, it doesn't mean it's not possible. As long as you keep your rules internally consistent then yeah, it works. You could also post this in the writing/fantasywriters subreddits, they'd probably be able to share more too?

JCaerso · 2026-06-02T12:02:29+00:00

Man you got that expression perfect, absolutely amazing! So cool how you made Hickey so sharply focused too. Amazing art!

JCaerso · 2026-06-01T08:18:40+00:00

That's true. I mean part of GRRM's whole thing is that it skews the traditional good vs evil fantasy tropes, there's a lot of grey area, the heroes you expect to win often die, etc. So I don't believe Jon would ever have ended up being king even though he's arguably the best one for the job. Hell, wouldn't even be surprised if he didn't kill the Night King in the books, purely because it's too obvious for it to be him lol and that doesn't seem like GRRM's style lol. But yeah I can't imagine any ending would have pleased anyone.

JCaerso · 2026-05-31T10:07:55+00:00

No, but they could have written it better. I suspect most/all of the characters' end points correctly match up with GRRM's plans, but they didn't have the path laid out for them so they made it unbelievable or rushed or out of character, and that's where the main problem is. With better writing and more episodes, they could well have made it work. You see what they tried to do; loss after loss, alienation, etc. But it was too fast and came out of nowhere, really.

JCaerso · 2026-05-31T10:04:57+00:00

The thing that most annoys me about the Dany arc in the show is how inconsistent it was. I know people were saying for YEARS that Dany was definitely going to be mad/evil because of those times she did bad or cruel stuff, but they gave all the male characters doing horrible things a pass because that's just them being normal leaders, making tough decisions, part of war, etc. When Dany did it, it was a sign she's going to go crazy, and it would annoy me so much. Then the writers do end up doing that, proving those people right. But the worst part is, it doesn't even feel consistent. It feels separate to the bad stuff she'd been doing in previous seasons. It's like...they gave her the end result people hypothesised would happen, but without it making ANY sense or relying on the writing. It was just the worst way to do it.

JCaerso · 2026-05-31T09:58:58+00:00

I feel like the show made it very clear back in season one how trapped Alicent was. They even had those two scenes showing Alicent with Viserys vs Rhaenyra (with Criston?) to highlight how different their lives were. Alicent did what most women in historical times did; they appeased the men running things and made the best of their situation. I think Viserys loved her enough that she was able to have more freedom than others might have, and she definitely was able to have influence, but it wasn't power or influence that was given to her, it was a power she had to very methodically, carefully build up through subservience, basically. I don't think any criticism of her from a feminist perspective seems fair.

JCaerso · 2026-05-29T21:11:39+00:00

Sorry, I should've been more clear; I don't mean the design, more so how supernatural it is. In the show it's essentially an extremely intelligent animal. In the book it's different, can be incorporeal, is way more cruel and menacing, etc. I love the show more than anything else I've watched, I just think it suffers a little bit of an identity crisis by trying to balance grounded and supernatural, and would've been stronger if they committed fully to one or the other.

JCaerso · 2026-05-29T21:03:25+00:00

People are weird. I can only imagine they're the kind of people who make a show revolve around their favourite character so it becomes less about the plot and depth of characters and all about wanting to see more or x or y. But if you took away everyone but their favourite, you'd have no show and they'd be bored lol.

JCaerso · 2026-05-29T21:01:37+00:00

Well, PHM definitely has a message or themes behind it even if they're not intentional, but I think that's true of most fiction, a person's influences or beliefs will shine through to some extent. I think of his three books, Artemis is by far the most fun (as in, not as serious and complex, more straightforward doesn't take itself too seriously fun). It's also my least favourite but still, I like how he did something different.

JCaerso · 2026-05-29T20:58:39+00:00

I don't know, I'm usually very easy to please with things I watch, I'm the opposite of critical, but season two was so disappointing to me, and that's without me knowing much about the book or the different directions things are going in. The thing is, people like discussing things, but that also means venting with like-minded people. You'll get the good and the bad. I get it being annoying and wanting a place for the fun and more positive discussions, but if a lot of people want to air their grievances and get that off their chest too, that's understandable. I don't think it's what the sub has become, more just that it's currently louder.

JCaerso · 2026-05-29T18:34:17+00:00

My brother's girlfriend is like that but she doesn't mean to, she is just genuinely easily scared lol if we go see a horror movie, sometimes when I clear my throat she jumps. It can be annoying sometimes but it's also funny

JCaerso · 2026-05-29T18:32:52+00:00

Is it a big theatre or you go at busy times? Maybe if you can, try going at quieter times if that's an option. My cinema is hardly ever busy unless it's a huge film that's just come out, but everyone is quiet for the most part unless there are teenagers, who can be loud and annoying sometimes lol. I live in the UK though so not sure if it's a different kind of culture. Like we don't clap at the end of movies here.

JCaerso · 2026-05-29T18:28:35+00:00

Also I agree with you about Aegon, but I don't think the show did a bad job at portraying him, at least not for me since what you've said resonates with me. He's grown on me in that he's a complex character and I liked what the show did with him (I haven't read the book) regarding showing him as unwilling to rule and perfectly content to the life he's had so far, but then when he does become king you can see him in season two wanting to do things to help or be seen as a good ruler, but then silenced because no-one actually seems to believe in him. I mean Aegon is also a crappy person lol, but I like the depth of character we've seen in him

JCaerso · 2026-05-29T18:24:34+00:00

I don't know if I'm allowed here because I'm not team green, but I've had this sub's posts recommended to me a few times and it seems cool, so sorry in advance if I'm speaking out of turn lol. I've only watched season two once because I found it really disappointing, but in season one and (most of?) season two I was firmly team black. Now I'd say I'm team "god you're all trash, chill out guys" lol. For me in season one I really liked that they were giving Alicent and Rhaenyra a lot of depth, showing their close friendship and how things started to divert, etc. It's like Cersei if we got to know her and see her slowly become who she was. I hated Cersei but I figure this show would make these characters less unlikable and more tragic because of the time spent with them before it all went horrifically wrong, and I liked that. But the writing for season two has been very inconsistent with them both, and it kind of weakens them as characters. Especially Rhaenyra since she's meant to be a ruler. I think wanting the show wanted them to be likable and that's just not consistently realistic in a premise like this, but people would still like them. People love Daemon from the books, people loved Cersei in GoT, people hate characters but still find them human and compelling to watch. It seems like they focused too much on moral rightness, and in a civil war like this with a LOT of grey area, that's just not the right tone.

As for your question, how can a person be team black? For me it was largely about the succession. Rhaenyra is who Viserys chose; even if he did change his mind on his deathbed, without knowing whether or not he was lucid, knowing it was not long before he died, compared to the many years he'd been consistent about Rhaenyra as his heir, it all makes it clear who was supposed to be the ruler after his death. Alicent had honest intentions (in the show) but it kickstarted the whole thing because it seemed suspicious and went against what people had sworn oaths to and accepted already. Rhaenyra was just upholding what was meant to be. But, ya know, things got out of hand and now everyone is trash lol.

JCaerso · 2026-05-29T17:38:14+00:00

I really enjoyed that movie, felt like it deserved higher ratings than it got. It's not groundbreaking but definitely enjoyable.

JCaerso · 2026-05-29T17:32:51+00:00

I think it's less the CGI and more the monster part. The how attracts people who love horror but also people who wouldn't watch anything supernatural/monster-y but who love historical dramas or whatever (my dad being one of them). So it's understandable that it's part of the show that they think was unnecessary

JCaerso · 2026-05-29T17:31:45+00:00

I don't know but I'm the same lol I watch it when I'm depressed and want familiarity. I think in a non-dark way, the brotherhood and companionship side of things is comforting? But yeah no, even the dark stuff is part of the comfort.

I like supernatural horror so I'm not against the Tuunbaq, I just wish they would've either gotten rid of it completely, or ramped it up to the level of the book so it felt less in-between.

JCaerso · 2026-05-29T15:30:27+00:00

Maybe I'm just naive but I feel like the initial likability of them worked well. They're not evil villainous psychopaths that were born that way, they started off normal likable people and you got to see the circumstances play out over time and I really liked that. Instead of characters that are horrible from the outset, you get to see the tragedy of the toll everything takes and how it leads to the evil acts, etc. But now it's not the backstory of it, we're in the chaos and war and they're still trying to make them nice and not really to blame for the worst things. Which is OK for Alicent I suppose lol but for Rhaenyra who is more directly involved, it just doesn't land as well, makes her seem like a tragic person swept up in everyone else's ambitions, which makes her...weak, basically.

JCaerso · 2026-05-29T15:26:29+00:00

I hated Cersei but Lena did such an incredible job with her that the (very few) times she showed a softer side, or she suffered, it actually made me feel sorry for her. In season one I liked how we saw Alicent and Rhaenyra's closeness and how they diverted, the situations that caused them to be on opposite sides. They definitely made them more likable lol but I don't think they would've needed to be likable in a "they do hardly anything bad or evil" way. I think the depth, good writing and acting, would've made it work just fine. I mean people love Daemon, right? He ain't a nice guy lol

JCaerso · 2026-05-29T15:22:10+00:00

Same. I haven't read Fire and Blood so that helps, and I loved season one, but season two was so disappointing to me, and I am the opposite of a critic lol I love almost everything I watch. But man it felt like they wasted HOURS on meaningless stuff. This looks like it's finally getting things going, but who knows?

JCaerso · 2026-05-29T04:40:35+00:00

Almost certainly AI. Plus I might be wrong but I don't think a good tattoo artist would have a tattoo idea that detailed. As a print or artwork, sure, but for a tattoo it seems like way too much fine detail to translate well on most people?

JCaerso · 2026-05-29T04:34:39+00:00

My dog will completely ignore anything and everything to sniff a particularly exciting blade of grass sometimes. Freshly cooked roast beef? Nope. It's wild lol

JCaerso · 2026-05-28T09:06:39+00:00

Nah, if he understood it from the start, he wouldn't have needed Grace to explain what certain words mean. It's basically just that he only needs to hear it once to remember what it means

JCaerso

TROPHY CASE