This Gotta Be The Worst Character Assassination I've Ever Seen, Alicent Betraying Her Family Because

“You toil still in service to men. Your father, your husband, your son. You desire not to be free, but to make a window in the wall of your prison. Have you never imagined yourself on the Iron Throne?”

A couple of things:

1)  Alicent is a queen consort and is a Hightower by birth, so no, she cannot imagine herself on the Iron Throne, because Targaryen succession does not work like that. This is basic knowledge that 5-year-olds would presumably be expected to know, and I am astounded and embarrassed that Rhaenys, with her age and experience, lacks this fundamental bit of common sense.

2) Alicent has been the functional regent of Westeros for the past six years. In the previous episode, we see her actively governing the realm and overseeing all royal matters (while Rhaenyra sits on her ass with her loser husband in Dragonstone). We also literally hear Vaemond tell Rhaenys “It’s not a king who sits the Iron Throne these days, good sister. It’s the queen”, so I can assure you, Rhaenys, that Alicent has physically sat on the Iron Throne just fine. She lacks authority, obviously, as she is the consort and not the king, but she certainly did not and does not lack power, to say nothing about influence. This ridiculous show, however, does not seem to be able to differentiate these terms.

3) Does this show not understand that Alicent installing her son as King is not just beneficial to him (which the show acknowledges) but also directly beneficial to her? This is a patriarchal and patrimony-inclined world; Alicent’s son being King would not only mean immense prestige for her family; it would also mean the ultimate peak of power and influence for her (which we see her unapologetically wield in the books). In Westeros, we see Visenya Targaryen supporting her brother and her son’s kingship rather than angling for the throne in her own right, and wielding absolute power and authority in their reigns. Historically, Empress Matilda (the female claimant to the throne in the Anarchy, the war this story is based off) relinquished her claim in favor of her son, Henry II, presumably because she recognized he stood a better chance at gaining the throne (which he did) and continuing her legacy. Joanna of Flanders, who literally wore armor and led troops into battle, did it to support the cause of her husband in direct opposition to the claim of his niece. Yet according to this show’s logic, every single woman who has fought for their fathers and brothers and husbands and sons subscribes to internalized misogyny rather than, idk, supporting their families and gaining power, security and status in the process. Not to mention, Alicent relinquishing her children’s claim and stepping aside would not only be utterly humiliating and degrading for her from a political and personal standpoint, but also legitimately life-threatening for her children and her family. More competent writers would understand that she did not have much of a choice.

4) “You desire not to be free but make a window in the wall of your prison” is the MOST SICKENING PIECE OF VICTIM-BLAMING BULLSHIT I have ever heard in a long, long time. Alicent was a teenager when she had to marry the much-older King (her best friend’s own father) because of his desire for her. He repeatedly raped her and forced at least four pregnancies on her that she did not want. She was utterly isolated at court after her marriage, lacking comfort and friends (including Rhaenyra, who abandoned Alicent for three years after learning that she was being made to marry her father and, based on the comments she made, did not even stop to consider the awfulness of Alicent’s predicament). She had to endure the humiliation of her father being fired and made to leave court, leaving her even more alone than she previously was. She had to endure her husband constantly favoring his firstborn and his grandchildren by his firstborn rather than Alicent’s children who were a direct result of her rape by him. Her son was maimed and bleeding and her husband chose to defend his firstborn’s moronic decisions rather than bring him justice.  She is not a Targaryen, she does not and cannot ride a dragon. WHAT WAS ALICENT SUPPOSED TO EXCEPT TRY AND SURVIVE? HOW ON EARTH IS SHE BEING JUDGED FOR IT?

(And this ridiculously condescending comment is coming from Rhaenys of all people, lmao. A dragon-riding Targaryen who was an actual claimant to the Iron Throne, unlike Alicent. So, what was stopping HER from seizing power, pray tell? After all, she even has the Velaryon forces to back her claim. Instead, in her own words, she made peace with her sidelining. She constantly disagreed with her husband’s ambition regarding her claim and her family’s power. She volunteered her 12-year-old daughter as a child bride for her own aging cousin. The hypocrisy and double standards here is pathetic, and the lack of self-awareness on the part of the show is even worse)

Alicent was legitimately terrified for her children and her family’s lives, and she was entirely justified in doing so: if Rhaenyra ascended the throne, Alicent’s children would inevitably become threats to her whether or not they directly opposed her. This is unavoidable. Look up any historical usurpation, and that’s the inescapable result - and that’s not even going into the fact that Rhaenyra and Daemon are people who are reckless, cruel and indifferent to violence, and would not hesitate to kill any opposition to their reign. The show’s so-called claim that Alicent is upholding the patriarchy falls apart when you consider the fact that this is the only solution that guarantees the security of her children and herself. How is Alicent’s perfectly understandable motivation written as internalized misogyny? 

And moreover, from a writing perspective … why give her this arc at all? Fire & Blood was badly written, but it doesn’t change the fact that they looked at an ambitious woman who wanted to enhance her power and improve her family’s standing, who directly defied her husband’s wishes in terms of succession in favor of her own, and rewrote this choice into one borne from internalized misogyny. They wrote her as a child bride, a rape victim, an abuse victim and a teen mother and then used this backstory to say that she was conditioned to become the so-called agent of patriarchy (which they do not support with believable evidence) who opposes their so-called feminist protagonist (whose primary enabler is Alicent’s rapist and abuser, btw, not that his abuse is acknowledged nearly enough by the narrative considering how heavily he was romanticized in the last few episodes) It’s a heinous, disrespectful, absolutely terrible writing choice, and I cannot emphasize this nearly enough.

(Oh, and speaking of Rhaenyra, let’s talk about how her queenship solidifies Viserys’s claim over Rhaenys’s. Let’s talk about if she truly cared about women inheriting the Iron Throne - as opposed to just herself - she would have considered this. Let’s talk about how she disregarded the claims of Baela and Rhaena in favour of her son when it came to Driftmark. Rhaenyra is not challenging the patriarchy, her ascension to the Iron Throne will not change anything for anyone except for herself, do not make me laugh by claiming otherwise)

ON TOP OF THIS, the show can’t even decide on a consistent motivation or characterization for Alicent. They repeatedly show us her visceral and justified fear for her children’s lives, which is somehow forgotten in episode eight in favor of her saying that Rhaenyra will be a good queen. Her desire to see her son crowned and thus ensure her children’s safety is disregarded in favor of her actually wanting to fulfil Viserys’s half-baked wishes on his deathbed. They have her say that everyone knows Aegon will be king, and then act surprised when the Green council plots to install him as King. They do not care about Alicent’s personhood and individual character; what they care about is her position as a foil and antagonist to Rhaenyra.

In conclusion: this show sucks. It shows absolutely no understanding regarding the politics of its own world and our medieval history and is a parody and a travesty of respectful storytelling. It has inconsistent and baffling character motivations and downright misogynistic writing, and this is not acknowledged nearly enough by the fandom.

The champions of couples that should have been canon.

So... don't think about Flapjack...

Don't think about a palisman coming to life into a vast world of colors, seeing first a cowlick of blonde hair, a wide enthusiastic smile and eyes so very proud and so very full of love. The immediate connection, the will to learn about each other, how it was suddenly a duo where there was nothing before.

Don't think about how it was the carver and the palisman, then it became Caleb and Flapjack, two souls facing a world with so much to discover and so much to see. Their adventures, their experiences, their dangers and their joys, never leaving one's side as it was a bond meant to last beyond the magic.

Don't think about Flapjack singing Caleb, Caleb feeding Flapjack. Flapjack pulling Caleb's cowlick when the man was really tired but was begging for another chapter from that new book of magic. Last one Flapjack.

Don't think about Flapjack noticing that only his Caleb has round ears. He doesn't care why, he likes that Caleb is unique.

Don't think about people being wary of Caleb because of his appearance, but eventually growing fond of him, because that was simply how Caleb was. Looking in control of it all... while being as lonely as it could get

Don't think about Caleb telling Flapjack stories about a different world, one never seen by the palisman, where the rain was cold and people had round ears. How he used to belong to a place, but never felt a purpose, and eventually realized it wasn't the life he wanted. How he missed only his brother, but that he left him with their village to watch over him and he was to grow up into a man just fine.

Don't think about just another day, only to turn out into that meeting, when the girl with the brown mane came into the picture. And Flapjack couldn't stand her at first.

Don't think about when he started to like her. How she was nice, fun. And how she made Caleb so incredibly happy.

Don't think about the years passing, a couple united, Flapjack watching over them. Love in the house, a baby on the way, another one Flapjack could pull the hair of. The eternity of two lives to enjoy the beauty of it all.

...

Don't think about another round eared person coming in. How Caleb was so happy to see.

Don't think about Flapjack feeling something wrong into such person, perhaps because he felt nothing like Caleb, perhaps because he kept glaring in his direction. But, again, it made Caleb happy. So it was fine. It was.

Don't think about when it wasn't.

Don't think about the fight, when Caleb tried to use Flapjack but got scarred instead so was pushed away. It never felt like he was an object, a bare magical staff to him. It felt like he was being cherished, protected, as a friend.

Don't think about how it was the last of Caleb. The last of his immaculate skin, the last of his gentle smiles. The last of his curious eyes, opened for the world around, because he had fallen for this world and everything in it.

Don't think about the pain, the loneliness, the guilt. How it was too inbearable to stay with the grieving mane woman and her child.

Don't think about how from then on, all Flapjack wanted was to forget.

Don't think about how guilty it made him feel.

...

Don't think about his new life, being protected by the Bat Queen with so many other palismans. A time when things hurt less, but the world doesn't have much colors, and Flapjack prefers not doing what's been told just to feel something less spent.

Don't think about a day like others, where he remembers Caleb, but not all. His face, his figure, his gesture are gone. All that is left is how he used to make him feel.

Don't think about how Flapjack still sings in the morning for him.

Don't think about adoption day, something Flapjack sees as another way to be a bit of a rascal just for the taste of it. He doesn't dislike other witches. There's even one with round ears like Caleb, she seems fun. But the Bat Queen says that there needs to be a click to truly find yourself a witch partner. Flapjack knows that, he felt that a long time ago.

Don't think about the palismans being taken, the fear, and how the round eared girl is calming them down. Flapjack likes her.

Don't think about the crash, don't think about the forest, the uncertanty.

Don't think about the confusion.

Don't think... about the meeting. How at first Flapjack is so very wary of the boy. He stole the palismans, his friends at the end, and round eared girl seems to believe he is evil and Flapjack trusts her enough. He is very rude, very annoying, very not likeable.

Don't think of the chase in the city.

Don't think of the top of the building, the plan, the forced alliance.

Don't think of that talk. One that sparks something so far it is foreign in Flapjack. Because the boy feels different in a world made of magic, he feels purposeless in a time of responsibilities, and yet there is a spark in his eyes when he talks about what a single spell can offer. It's absurd, because it's all pushed back behind a wall of rigor and harshness and yet Flapjack can see it all so clearly.

Don't think about how Flapjack wondered if he was seeing right, because this boy betrayed, lied, he did bad things.

Don't think about how Flapjack knows. My name is Hunter. This boy is much more than what he shows, what his exterior wood might show. Maybe this time it will be the palisman to carve out the best of it.

...

Don't think about how this is not Caleb.

Don't think about how Flapjack knows they are similar in some ways, but this is not him. As they go from witch and "subject of his observations", as he used to call him, to witch and palisman, to actually Hunter and Flapjack, he realizes there are several differences from Caleb and Hunter.

Don't think about how Caleb was older, free, so ready to take onto the world and experience every moment. Hunter is young, bitter and trapped into a cage made of duties and hopes for the future. Caleb was calm and serene very often, an aura of serenity and joy all around him. Hunter seems lost at times, constantly battling what he feels, what he wants and what he needs, losing every single time. Caleb was a carver. Hunter is a guard.

Don't think about the biggest difference, that makes sense to it all to Flapjack. Caleb has been nurturing him for so long, never needing his help. This boy, his new witch, he needed his help. This time, Flapjack was going to be the one taking care of someone.

Don't think about how he already knows how, as he has been taken very good care of in the past. He knows what to do, and wants to be there on every step of the way.

Don't think that Flapjack is ready to protect Hunter no matters what's to come.

And he is not going to lose another friend

THEY CALLED ME CRAZY FOR STANNING BUT WE ARE WINNINGGG!! RAHHHHHH💚💚

I'm genuinely weirded out by team black fans that are so obsessed with the whole team Nyra vs team Aegon war that they feel bad for liking a character from an opposing faction.

Like those who say shit like:

"Oh Haelena is adorable! She's the ONLY green I like ^⁠_⁠^"

Or

"Aemond is such a hot and interesting character 😍. But g-guys I'm still 100% team Rhae Rhae don't worry about it!"

Bro why are you saying it like it's a bad thing?We're not actually living in Westeros. You won't be thrown in the black cells for treason or something.

I'm personally team green ftw but that doesn't make me feel bad for liking a lot of black characters! It's quite shocking that a lot of fans don't get this. You would enjoy this show a lot more if you stopped mindlessly hating on your "enemies".

i think it's really funny that rhaenyra is like "why do they think that i sent assassins after it - i mean after dear helaena's son"

*cue montage*

"children squeal like boars" while glaring at baby aegon, later proceeds to violently stab a boar to death, gives aegon more death glares while covered in blood

never interacts with her siblings, seemingly does not give a shit about them

"sharply questioned"

has laenor "killed"

marries daemon, number one fear of everyone in westeros

*end montage*

i mean, rhae-rhae, you've shown yourself to be an insensitive, violent person, and you stand to gain from jaehaerys's death. of course they think it was you.

Viserys : I want Rhaenyra to succeed me as queen as she's my eldest living child. If anyone dares to object my decision they'll be charged with treason!

Also Viserys: *Marries another woman and has sons by her who could have a better claim that Rhae's for the Lords. Doesn't legally change the law of succession to absolute primogeniture, thus treating Rhaenyra's status as heir like a one time exception. Doesn't do anything to prevent her from having bastards so her position is even shakier than before. Doesn't teach her how to rule properly and allowes her to do as she pleases. Appoints Otto Hightower as hand even though he's known for being a schemer and generally a shady guy who obviously favors his grandson for the throne. Lets her marry her unstable uncle who's the reason he named her heir in the first place*

Half of Westeros: *understandably doesn't accept her and supports her brother instead, thus starting a devastating civil war*

Viserys from the seven hells:

"Based on Fire & Blood by George R.R. Martin".

No, not really, more like loosely inspired.

Do you know what infuriates me the most about Rhaenyra?

No, it's not her entitlement, her spoiled princess behavior and surprisingly not even her insufferable stans.

It's her complete lack of action after she marries Daemon. She finds herself in a situation where her father's health is declining at a steady pace and is as such incapable of ruling and in need of a regency. This is her big moment right? Historically when an old king/queen needed a regent their heir always stepped up to fulfill that role, to start taking the crown and testing the waters while their parent was still alive and show the council, the nobles and the people what kind of ruler they were going to be after their mom/dad died.

But not Rhaenyra. Who loved to talk about the things she was going to do after becoming queen, who loved to remind everyone that she was still the heir in spite of Aegon's birth.

This is her occasion, her opportunity to take power and start ruling, to hold her first meeting with the small council, to begin making allies at court and establish her authority and gain respect as future queen.

But no for some reason she decides to fuck off to Dragonstone and leave all the politics, all the big decisions and royal duties to the greens.

And after that not only has the audacity to complain that Alicent and Otto are the real power behind the feeble Viserys, but to get mad after being "usurped".

Like girl you literally handed them the chance to dismiss you and crown Aegon in your place on a silver plate, you don't have the right to react like this, cause unlike you they can actually recognize an opportunity and seize it lmao.

In the show, I kind of wish that there were more moments between the greens being a happy family.

I agree wholeheartedly.

The greens weren't really given lots of wholesome family moments, which is something I could forgive, if they didn't have pretty shitty scenes that really did not need to be there instead.

Like the creepy Larys feet scene.

Like come on we could've had some moments between the green siblings! Aegon and Aemond interact, but I've practically never heard either of them talk to Helaena!

And maybe they could've fleshed out the Helaegon kids, especially knowing what's coming at the start of season 2.

How much do you wanna bet that Helaena won't get any screentime with her babies before blood and cheese?

On one hand, you don't really need to know a child character to feel bad for their death, butttt, it would hit so much harder if we actually allowed Aegon's kids to be characters, instead of just offspring in the background.

(I have to be honest, the twins got so little screentime that I'm pretty sure casual viewers have forgotten Aegon and Helaena even have children).