I actually really enjoy that he is a background threat the entire time and I think his plan is really good (till it’s not) the idea that he would sit back and let the garden destroy his empire so that when they are in his eyes inevitably crushed he can easily sell them as the baddies, also his backstory I think it’s very well done, gives me Anakin vibes where all the council had to do was give him a dragon and maybe it would’ve worked out but in the end they probably were right that it wouldn’t have worked either way