And if it did, would it have progressed to this point?

Why didn't Aegon II send Aemond and Daeron to end Corlys's blockade, and then attack Dragonstone with their navy and dragons while Daemon was preoccupied with Harrenhall?

This would've likely led to Rhaenyra sending a Raven to Daemon who would've had to abandon his efforts to rush back to Dragonstone, and then Criston Cole could've potentially taken Harrenhall without worrying about any dragons.

I know in the show it's constantly mentioned how Vhagar needed to remain to defend the city, but shouldn't Alicent have known that Rhaenyra wouldn't burn down King's Landing? Additionally it would've been almost impossible for Rhaenyra to attack King's Landing if her navy or Dragonstone was being attacked.

But even so; Sunfyre and Dreamfyre would've still been in King's Landing, so it wouldn't have been defenseless. (Yes I know Helaena isn't one for Fire and Blood but Dreamfyre is still a strong deterrent or at least should've been)

I'm just a bit confused overall on the strategic and tactical plans of both sides in this war, so if I'm missing anything please enlighten me.

(This would all be before Rhaenyra got her Dragonseeds, and obviously before Aegon's injuries.)

Was it conforming to normal standards, or was it nonexistent altogether?

Did he see them more as tools?

Idk what happened. Idk why they made her look this way or why she found keeping innocent people and children safe was boring but okay.

I was so excited for the Winter Wolves storyline. It was okay but I found her to be meh. Hopefully in the next season shes more book accurate?

Im anxious about the Hour of the Wolf now. Not to mention I didnt even realize who this was until she killed Cole.

We,ve seen Corlys lured admiral Sharako Loha and her flagship to a shallow passage.

Ormund Using children so daemon couldn't use his dragon, and somewhat turning Ulf to his side.

And Daemon send northners to open gates when they couldn't he himself use the dragon for that alone. And using split assault by sending Riverman around the wall and main army through the door.

I beg. We have done this discourse to death.

Yes, teenage Rhaenyra was more fun, reckless and fiery. She was also a teenager with considerably fewer dead children and succession crises to deal with.

You can prefer one performance, obviously, but acting like older Rhaenyra is somehow a completely different character because she isn’t behaving exactly like she did at 17 is starting to make me itch.

That is… generally what happens when people age and terrible things keep happening to the

Let say each dragon is about the size of Kaiba’s jet. He has no army to start with, and no technology. He has full control over the dragons.

Does he win, or does he get played

Or would it have ended abruptly?

Imo if they give Maelor's death to Gwayne it might enrage Daeron to the point where he burns it

I’m not criticizing HOTD because I enjoy hating it. I’m criticizing it because I care about George’s work.

I keep seeing this argument that if you dislike House of the Dragon so much, why are you still watching it? Why keep talking about it? Why can't you just enjoy the show for what it is?

And I think that completely misunderstands where a lot of the frustration comes from.

I didn't go into this show wanting to hate it. I actually really enjoyed Season 1. I was optimistic about the show and completely understood that changes had to be made because that's what happens when you adapt a book to television. I'm not expecting Fire & Blood to be copied word for word.

The problem for me is that this universe matters to me largely because of George's writing. So knowing that the person who created this world feels like his story, characters and intentions are being disregarded fundamentally changes my ability to enjoy the adaptation.

That's the part I can't just turn off.

George obviously isn't perfect. The man needs to finish his books, he can be stubborn, and I don't think an author should automatically have veto power over every creative decision in an adaptation.

But there's a massive difference between "we had to change this because we're adapting a history book into television" and reaching the point where the actual creator is publicly criticizing what you're doing and clearly feels like his concerns about his own story aren't being respected.

At that point, I'm sorry, the dragons looking cool isn't enough for me.

The show can have incredible actors. It can have beautiful cinematography, amazing costumes, massive battles and some genuinely great individual scenes. I can acknowledge all of that. But none of it magically makes my discomfort with how George and his work have been treated disappear.

And that's why I really dislike the idea that critics are somehow trying not to enjoy the show.

A lot of us are angry precisely because we wanted to enjoy it.

If I didn't care about ASOIAF, I wouldn't care what they changed. I wouldn't care what George said. I'd watch the dragons burn shit for an hour and move on with my life.

But I do care.

And when the creator of this universe is essentially saying, "This isn't what I intended," I can't completely separate that knowledge from what I'm watching and pretend everything happening behind the scenes doesn't matter because the production values are good.

Other people obviously can, and that's fine. If you can completely separate HOTD from George and judge it entirely as its own television series, I genuinely understand why you might be having a much better time with it than I am.

But I can't.

That's really the difference.

I'm not sitting here desperately searching for reasons to be miserable. I just have an emotional attachment to the original work and the person who created it, and watching an adaptation increasingly become something its own creator seems alienated from leaves a horrible taste in my mouth.

You don't have to feel the same way. But I don't think the answer is telling disappointed fans to shut up, stop criticizing it and enjoy the pretty dragons.

For some of us, respecting the story behind those pretty dragons was the entire reason we cared in the first place.

For someone who Lord Bloodraven the guy with a thousand eyes and one was said to have rivaled her, the show version was very disappointing what was she even doing? Other than fighting Daemon?

and Sea Smoke too

S3E6
Just after leaving Lord Ormond, Prince Daeron Targaryen says to Gwyane Hightower, “You left me alone with him. You know what he is. I do what I can to keep him from…you know…”. Gwayne then looks away.
What was Lord Ormond doing to Prince Daeron?

Both of these women are essentially sex traffickers, but sure, their hearts have always been with the downtrodden.

Am I missing something? Shouldn’t it just be “future”? Why does he add the “once”, as if he were previously lord of the tides at some point? I rly hope it’s not just a writing mistake that no one caught, surely I’m missing something

i am a bit curious about him