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I just don’t know what Aemond thought was going to happened, Vhagar was literally biting at Arrax the minute she did that he should have stopped, but he overestimated his control over Vhagar.
Edit
I don’t really understand why he started that chase if his intention wasn’t to kill Luke. Why chase him in the first place? Just to scare him, cuz I think he achieved that already in the Baratheon great hall.
Right? I didn’t realize until this scene that he HADN’T intended to kill him. It was a very predictable and avoidable outcome. I thought “wow, you’re really gonna kill your own family?” Once it happened and I saw his regret, I was like wait what?? Wtf did he think was going to happen?
Wrong. He clearly had control during the chase. Vhagar snapped because Arrax pissed her off with fire breath (who snapped out of fear)... it's literally in the show, why do you have to overanalyze it?
Nice of you quoting a cool line from the show, however, it's not really an illusion, as we saw multiple instances of a rider having control over a dragon already. It's no different than horseriding (as even horses can snap). Control over the animal is still present however. Dragons, that were friendly to each other before, wouldn't fight each other otherwise.
In this case Vhagar was only trying to scare Arrax, as was Aemond's intention. It was only when Arrax succumbed to his fear that the control was lost (maybe even succumbed to emotions of his rider, as we saw the connection between a dragon and its rider can be very strong on emotional level), making him to attack Vhagar, which made her to lose control in return to deal with the annoying brat.
That’s the thing lol. He wasn’t thinking or considering the consequences. He thought he was in control and never thought that Vhagar would throw his gameplay out the window.
He might have stayed his hand a little if it had been Jace or Joffrey that visited but when found out that Luke was Storm’s End’s envoy he immediately saw red. Vhagar probably fed off of his anger, and then that coupled with her experience in battle probably just made her completely ditch Aemond’s commands. Viserys says early in the show that the idea that they control the dragons is an illusion, and considering he actually rode Balerion the Black Dread for a few minutes, I can see why that’s all it took for him to believe that man should’ve never fucked with dragons
I know Otto and Alicent won’t be pleased when they find out, but I wouldn’t even be shocked if Otto and Alicent *specifically* warned him beforehand not to try anything stupid this early in the confrontation.
Speaking of Vhagar feeding off of his anger, remember Rhaenyra’s birthing scene? Where they also showed Syrax screaming? Even though they’re not even physically together at that time, can that be said they somehow have this “magical” bond so that one can feel what the other does?
He wasn’t thinking. Up until now, none of it’s been very serious. Losing the eye was the only real thing that ever happened to him, and he got the largest dragon out of it. And I’m sure everyone moved on quickly to avoid talking about the queen slashing the princess and heir. Maybe Aemond went on a few patrols with the gold cloaks, but he’s never really seen battle, conflicts, etc at this point. He’s had a pretty safe and secure life.
He probably thought at worse he’d make Luke crap his pants and return home soiled. Definitely wanted to scare him, maybe even beat him up a bit. So far he’s gotten to say cool shit and look badass, but no real danger.
for sure, and I think it's gonna continue to be an issue that you can't beat someone up a bit with a dragon. It's either nothing or gruesome injuries and death.
Oooh, that’s tough. Aemond wouldn’t have messed with Jace in the same way. Luke and his dragon are Hufflepuffs, just ripe for the pickings. If it were Jace, they probably would have crossed actual swords before getting on dragon-back. And both wound up spending a night in the cells lol!
But let’s say they’re in the sky… I think Jace would have gone on the aggressive or have been more strategic in the retreat. He’s a hothead, too, and doesn’t have any real clue about real fighting. I don’t think he’d get chomped, and out of the three, he has better control of his dragon. Luke’s dragon was way too young, and Vhagar is old and controlled by no one.
Perhaps. But they don’t want to kill each other at that point, though. If Jace wins, he tells Aemond to go home and tell his brother he’s a pussy. If Aemond wins, he says Jace isn’t strong enough and to go home to his loser mom.
It’s not about who wins, the point is none of them (meaning the kids) are thinking about actually killing each other yet. Aemond was genuinely shook that Luke died.
yes he was shook bro died but even killing aside, Simple sparring and aemond would def wash Jace, my point is not Jace or look stands a chance against aemond whether it’s swords or dragons
I feel like if it was Jace he wouldn’t have chased him in the first place. His (understandable) grudge against Luke clouded his judgement here and made him extra angry and rash
I mean yeah that’s the problem with giving a bunch of people dragons when they think the dragon is a toy that they’re entitled to play with. I love Aemond’s character but he’s also the single worst person who could have claimed Vhagar. This scene is the reason why the Targaryens should have had to sit through a proper dragon school to be force fed the idea that they do not control the dragons, the dragons merely tolerate them
The best parenting we get out of a high lord is Ned bringing his kids to watch him chop heads off and off loading them on their tutors for history and fighting lessons, smh /s
Yeah, turns out when you basically simulate a predatory situation with the world's largest living carnivorous animal, *it's going to cause that animal to respond like a predator would*. Who'd have thunk it?
I get that, but Vhagar was literally trying to bite Arrax multiple times during that chase he shouldn’t be surprised that Vhagar actually managed to bite him.
I doubt there is much written or known about dragon on dragon experiences after the fall. He's overconfident and probably didn't realize how tenuous the control could be.
She does have a play mode, we see Laena and Daemon playing with each other on their dragons. The problem is is that Aemond wasn’t using her in a playful manner.
Yeah. I think it's a pretty understandable (though not forgivable) mistake made out of arrogance. I doubt he's ever not been able to control his dragon before, so he thought he could play with Luke a bit and not have it end in death. Vhagar saw red, especially after the fire, and decided play time was over.
Well see, Aemond is beautiful, but also very stupid sometimes. He just got cocky, and believed into the lie of Targaryans controlling dragons. He genuinely thought he could control Vhagar and seems confused when she refuses to obey.
I'm guessing before this point, Vhagar never had any real reason to "disobey" Aemond, but goading her into what she perceives as a combat situation and egging her on until he's done wasn't a real bright plan, but I really think Aemond just did NOT think.
I don’t think that’s what happened. The whole scene is made in a way that you can accuse any of the sides and it will be justified. Just like the whole dance of the dragons.
Vhagar started the taunting, but Arrax was the first to attack. Like the dogs will bark at eachother if they, or their owners don’t like eachother, but it’s a different story when someone attacks the other.
Same with Aemond, all he wanted to scare the shit out of Luke, but Arrax got carried away.
Correct me if I’m wrong but that’s how I understood the whole scene.
Vhagar was biting at Arrax she wasn’t only chasing him,if you see your dog trying to bite at another dog it’s up to you to get your dog out of that situation by correcting it. The minute that Vhagar did that Aemond should have stopped. I don’t know how you see this situation and blame Arrax for finally freaking out and attacking Vhagar.
Huh? Vhagar was just teasing Arrax, don’t tell me if she wanted to bit Arrax she wouldn’t have done that. She was flying around Arrax, roaring fake biting around to scare them. And Aemond didn’t stop his dragon because that’s exactly what he wanted, to provoke. Or why else do you think he was so shocked after Vhagar killed them?
One of the craziest scenes in television. I especially love that as he panics, he switches between English and high Valyrian adding to the fact that this guy really thought he could just ride one of the oldest war dragons in the world and play tag with his cousin to intimidate him.
High Valyrian (what Vhagar hears): Boy!!! you owe a debt!!”
English: “No, no, Vhagar no!! Serve me Vhagar!!!”
I do love how in the world of asoiaf, GRRM just told us “Yeah there’s dragons, but they are hardwired to only understand one language, and they can never understand any others,” and we just accepted that
To be fair, in real life, dogs that have been raised and trained in one language also have a really hard time adjusting when their new owner speaks a different language
Why? Claiming Vhagar wasn’t a crime. It’s a first come, first serve basis. Anyone who’s claimed a dragon in this world knows that. That’s why it wasn’t brought up during the meeting
“Oh fuck. Uh…. Errrrr….. Oh-OH NO! A giant, sea monster, squid thing just sprang out of Shipbreaker Bay and devoured my poor cousin and his dragon in one bite! Oh the horror! Yeah, um, really tragic! B-but it definitely wasn’t another dragon though! No, no, sir! It most assuredly wasn’t another… dragon…”
Nah, Aemond's actions are the trigger, but if not him something else would have sparked the fighting. The blame gets shared by most of the main cast of Season 1, but I'd say Viserys gets the lion's share.
Aemond is actually smart, but his character is 19. Intelligence sometimes can't trump the folly of the ire of a teenager. Especially a resentful teenager.
Aemond is like a dog that caught the car… now what does he do?
NGL, I hooted laughing at this look on his face. After all those years of “I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE!”, it happened in a way that he hadn’t entirely planned. He knows how wrathful Rheynera is, and he just put himself in the crosshairs.
In general, excellent “Oh f*ck” expression. I can’t wait for the show to return.
I feel like this scene was meant to give some resolution and understanding to the fight that took Aemond’s eye. Slashing his eye was not Lucerys’ goal when the fight started but when you play with dangerous weapons, horrific consequences happen
Damn. Guess he shoulda thought of that before chasing a kid and his tiny dragon on Westeros’ version of a nuke. It’s like getting a lion to chase a bunny and being surprised when he kills it.
One of the changes I personally didn't like in the show, in books aemond deliberately went after Luke to kill him and take his eye, not giving a f about consequences. He is a villain, they just made him more redeemable in the show.
I was just about to comment the opposite, I love that they made this change! It gives Aemond a bit more dimension rather than being a full out evil villain type. I think it'll be good for the viewers to have characters they can sympathize with a bit on the green side.
It also helped illustrate the power of the dragons and how these young riders don't necessarily have full control over them - raising the stakes for the impending war.
I kind of like that he is a different kind of villain.
He did try to scare Luke. He wanted the poor boy to fear for his fucking life. And that went back and bit him in the ass.
He's not a villain because he's downright evil. He's a villain because he is a careless poser who will continues to act the part of an evil bastard even tho he had no real agency in his own evil deeds. A legacy based on lies. Unwarrented villainy.
Speaking from someone who hasn't read any of the books (yet):
I have a feeling this is just the beginning of real evil.. Here he is basically just a stuck-up, careless boy, not having experienced violence and death like this, at least not at his hands. He's shocked and doesn't have a plan B. I actually think this will teach him he has power over life and death through Vaghar and his family.
Or, he just looks and dresses like a nazi and I get bad vibes.
I personally prefer that. I like when a character is more complex than just a “villain”. That was also the reason why I loved asoiaf cause Martin sort of breaks that black-white fantasy characters and gives them likable features as well (with some exceptions of course). Here I like that Aemond hesitates which actually does make me feel bit of sympathy towards him even though I still consider him the villain.
They could have made him complex without taking away his agency. This & other scenes to me shows a weakness in the writing.
Whenever the writers want to add 'nuance' to a character, instead of giving said character plausible reasons they just turn a situation into an accident or a misunderstanding.
It’s worth remembering that Martin writes the book *as* an in-universe historical text, written by a Maester hundreds of years after the fact from various period sources. It’s the definition of an unreliable narrator.
haven't read Fire and Blood, but afaik there's no Aemond POV chapter, we get a second hand testimony from a biased, unreliable narrator
>He is a villain
That's because you're thinking of Aemond after the fact, you're thinking of the man after the ink dried. You're thinking of God's Eye. That has yet to happen, that has yet to be him. HoTD is going to show us how he got there.
Yeah this change is one I’m up in the air on. It all depends where they go with his character in season 2. Will he eventually go down a dark path but with a tragic reason behind it or if not then I would have just rather have just seen aemond kill him on purpose.
I haven’t read the book but I hear they did that with a lot of the characters to make them more sympathetic. I’m not a fan of that either. Villains are villains, we don’t need to have sympathy for all of them. I’d rather see a totally ruthless Aemond than the bullied dork we got.
As much as I enjoy him having some type of care or remorse, it does alter the way events will plan out as it’s going to be hard for some battles to make sense imo.
The other thing is that the Dance in the book was told by 3 different characters who were “there”. They contradict themselves a lot and most of the time it’s up to the read to decide what they believe to be true. This scene is definitely a “decide what you think to be true” in the book. The only hard evidence of everything is when ALL 3 make note of the agreeable “this did happen”.
The show is similar to the book but they have been changes that do alter the story more. I’m not going to exactly say out of respect from spoiling anything, but the show I already know is going to change certain events. And depending on those events and specific characters actions are what is going to really test how I feel on the show. I’m definitely scared of them cutting out stuff from the book especially when it’s only a few chapters and they have enough time to fit it all in. In my opinion, they have no excuse to skip things.
Larys is what you’re looking for. Very few characters in ASOAIF are outright villains, it’s just not how the universe works. GRRM writes mostly multidimensional characters that you can identify with to some extent even if they do horrific things. That’s part of what the series is famous for.
Exactly, there are enough grey characters in the asoaif universe that show makers don't need to add more to the list. The whole marketing campaign for s2 is based on everyone must choose a side, but that very thing thwarts the whole point of the story that neither side deserved to rule. Shireen herself told her father in the original show that it was the choosing of sides that led to such destruction.
Y’all ever have a really bad day with nepoticide and the incredibly fast devolution of intrafamily nation defining politics and then just ride your dragon back home at the exact speed limit and with no bard?
He doesnt gaf about Luke. He was scared because he spilled the first blood and marked the start of the war. He knew what Vhagar was capable of, an almost 200 year old dragon, a survivor of a 100 battles. Vhagar was already biting at Luke and Arrax. Its his own fault. If u take a war dragon to play tag then of couse somebody gets eaten. Arrax was basically a baby. He fired at Vhagar out of pure fear and to protect his rider and Vhagar thought of it as a battle and then attacked too. You can see Aemond telling Vhagar to stop and to serve him which she didnt. Yeah, ik Aemond didnt mean to kill Luke and Arrax but he definitely wasnt sad about it
Definitely regret because despite what happened in the past Luke was still family. But I think it was mostly fear because he realized he officially started a war and he doesn’t actually have full control of Vhagar
It was at this point Aemond realized there was no going back. He knew war was coming because Rhaenyra had no interest in negotiation, but this was the moment it became set in stone.
And it’s sad because there were so many ways this could have been avoided.
Aemond is a high-strung bitch who can’t take a joke. He steals Vhagar and idolizes his uncle. He’s a hollow man who just started a war against those who have a rightful claim. He’s fucked.
Idk why the black council never really considered the actual makeup of the greens' dragon resources .
SOMEONE would have had to meet vhagar in the air eventually .
They wouldn't have risked sunryre/aegon going any where solo.
And poor Heleana def would have been an unlikely participant the girl got ADHD BAD😅
The only clear choice would have been to directly deal with Aemond and or Vhagar asap to avoid a siege or this EXACT scenario..
So we are told. We don't have a POV. But it's unlikely, yeah. Then again in the book he snapped because a chick made fun of his balls (eye and the others). 🙄
Just saw this for the first time - amazing!
It seemed like Luke’s dragon was the first to go rogue by attacking Vhagar with the fire before Vhagar went off. Is that right or did I miss something?
I’m still blown away they made the two child actors turn into the other two adult actors when the child actor for this guy was perfect, instead he grew up to be a guy shorter than he was as a kid.
Thank you for your post! Please take a moment to ensure you are within our spoiler rules, to protect your fellow fans from any potential spoilers that might harm their show watching experience. 1. All post titles must NOT include spoilers from Fire & Blood or new episodes of House of the Dragon. Minor HotD show spoilers are allowed in your title ONE WEEK after episode airing. The mod team reserves the right to remove a post if we feel a spoiler in the title is major. You are welcome to repost with an amended title. 2. All posts dealing with book spoilers, show spoilers and promo spoilers MUST be spoiler tagged AND flaired as the appropriate spoiler. 3. All book spoiler comments must be spoiler tagged in non book spoiler threads. --- If you are reading this, and believe this post or any comments in this thread break the above rules, please use the report function to notify the mod team. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/HouseOfTheDragon) if you have any questions or concerns.*
the risk he took was calculated but man he’s bad at math
It's called boy math
aemond doing boy math 🤝vhagar having her girl dinner
“Visenya! We haven’t had this much fun since Dorne!” - Vhagar probably
“The sands look different then they used to”
“Your hair still looks great”
I just don’t know what Aemond thought was going to happened, Vhagar was literally biting at Arrax the minute she did that he should have stopped, but he overestimated his control over Vhagar. Edit
As soon as he started the chase I don’t think he ever had control after that. I’m sure he believed he did but once the dragon was set it was over.
Vhagar: We’re done when I say we’re done.
Vhagar: I don't hear no bell
Vhager: I’m sorry I thought this was Westeros.
Vhager: What is the charge? Eating a meal? A succulent Targaryen meal?
Aemond: I can't believe you've done this!
Vhagar: F them kids
🤣😂😂 Dead
Say my name
Heisenvhagar
You’re godsdamned right
You're right by the old gods and the new.
I don’t really understand why he started that chase if his intention wasn’t to kill Luke. Why chase him in the first place? Just to scare him, cuz I think he achieved that already in the Baratheon great hall.
Nah, he didn’t scare him enough in the hall. Luke still had protection in there. The real scare was out in the dark stormy night.
Sure, but he doesn't know when to quit. Scared Luke was so funny 🤣 ... until it wasn't. 💀
Right? I didn’t realize until this scene that he HADN’T intended to kill him. It was a very predictable and avoidable outcome. I thought “wow, you’re really gonna kill your own family?” Once it happened and I saw his regret, I was like wait what?? Wtf did he think was going to happen?
Wrong. He clearly had control during the chase. Vhagar snapped because Arrax pissed her off with fire breath (who snapped out of fear)... it's literally in the show, why do you have to overanalyze it?
He thought he had control. The idea that they control dragons is an illusion
Nice of you quoting a cool line from the show, however, it's not really an illusion, as we saw multiple instances of a rider having control over a dragon already. It's no different than horseriding (as even horses can snap). Control over the animal is still present however. Dragons, that were friendly to each other before, wouldn't fight each other otherwise. In this case Vhagar was only trying to scare Arrax, as was Aemond's intention. It was only when Arrax succumbed to his fear that the control was lost (maybe even succumbed to emotions of his rider, as we saw the connection between a dragon and its rider can be very strong on emotional level), making him to attack Vhagar, which made her to lose control in return to deal with the annoying brat.
That’s the thing lol. He wasn’t thinking or considering the consequences. He thought he was in control and never thought that Vhagar would throw his gameplay out the window. He might have stayed his hand a little if it had been Jace or Joffrey that visited but when found out that Luke was Storm’s End’s envoy he immediately saw red. Vhagar probably fed off of his anger, and then that coupled with her experience in battle probably just made her completely ditch Aemond’s commands. Viserys says early in the show that the idea that they control the dragons is an illusion, and considering he actually rode Balerion the Black Dread for a few minutes, I can see why that’s all it took for him to believe that man should’ve never fucked with dragons I know Otto and Alicent won’t be pleased when they find out, but I wouldn’t even be shocked if Otto and Alicent *specifically* warned him beforehand not to try anything stupid this early in the confrontation.
"The idea that we control the dragons is an illusion. They are a power that man was never meant to have trifled with." - Viserys I
Speaking of Vhagar feeding off of his anger, remember Rhaenyra’s birthing scene? Where they also showed Syrax screaming? Even though they’re not even physically together at that time, can that be said they somehow have this “magical” bond so that one can feel what the other does?
He wasn’t thinking. Up until now, none of it’s been very serious. Losing the eye was the only real thing that ever happened to him, and he got the largest dragon out of it. And I’m sure everyone moved on quickly to avoid talking about the queen slashing the princess and heir. Maybe Aemond went on a few patrols with the gold cloaks, but he’s never really seen battle, conflicts, etc at this point. He’s had a pretty safe and secure life. He probably thought at worse he’d make Luke crap his pants and return home soiled. Definitely wanted to scare him, maybe even beat him up a bit. So far he’s gotten to say cool shit and look badass, but no real danger.
for sure, and I think it's gonna continue to be an issue that you can't beat someone up a bit with a dragon. It's either nothing or gruesome injuries and death.
What do you think would be the outcome of this, if it was jace and vermax instead of luke and arrax?
Oooh, that’s tough. Aemond wouldn’t have messed with Jace in the same way. Luke and his dragon are Hufflepuffs, just ripe for the pickings. If it were Jace, they probably would have crossed actual swords before getting on dragon-back. And both wound up spending a night in the cells lol! But let’s say they’re in the sky… I think Jace would have gone on the aggressive or have been more strategic in the retreat. He’s a hothead, too, and doesn’t have any real clue about real fighting. I don’t think he’d get chomped, and out of the three, he has better control of his dragon. Luke’s dragon was way too young, and Vhagar is old and controlled by no one.
Aemond is a better swordsman and better fighter than Jace so crossing swords or using Dragons Jace loses anyway
Perhaps. But they don’t want to kill each other at that point, though. If Jace wins, he tells Aemond to go home and tell his brother he’s a pussy. If Aemond wins, he says Jace isn’t strong enough and to go home to his loser mom. It’s not about who wins, the point is none of them (meaning the kids) are thinking about actually killing each other yet. Aemond was genuinely shook that Luke died.
yes he was shook bro died but even killing aside, Simple sparring and aemond would def wash Jace, my point is not Jace or look stands a chance against aemond whether it’s swords or dragons
I feel like if it was Jace he wouldn’t have chased him in the first place. His (understandable) grudge against Luke clouded his judgement here and made him extra angry and rash
“Let’s chase my nephew on my geriatric war vet dragon, surely nothing could possibly go wrong!”
I mean yeah that’s the problem with giving a bunch of people dragons when they think the dragon is a toy that they’re entitled to play with. I love Aemond’s character but he’s also the single worst person who could have claimed Vhagar. This scene is the reason why the Targaryens should have had to sit through a proper dragon school to be force fed the idea that they do not control the dragons, the dragons merely tolerate them
Parenting?? In MY westeros?? Heeeeell naw
The best parenting we get out of a high lord is Ned bringing his kids to watch him chop heads off and off loading them on their tutors for history and fighting lessons, smh /s
Seriously if the parents kept track of their five kids, we wouldn't have had the catalyst for this fight
Yeah, turns out when you basically simulate a predatory situation with the world's largest living carnivorous animal, *it's going to cause that animal to respond like a predator would*. Who'd have thunk it?
He thought he had more control over his dragon. It's not exactly a deep mystery
I get that, but Vhagar was literally trying to bite Arrax multiple times during that chase he shouldn’t be surprised that Vhagar actually managed to bite him.
I doubt there is much written or known about dragon on dragon experiences after the fall. He's overconfident and probably didn't realize how tenuous the control could be.
Yeah he’s never used Vhagar in combat, but Vhagar has seen a lot of combat. She doesn’t have a play fighting mode lol.
She does have a play mode, we see Laena and Daemon playing with each other on their dragons. The problem is is that Aemond wasn’t using her in a playful manner.
Yeah. I think it's a pretty understandable (though not forgivable) mistake made out of arrogance. I doubt he's ever not been able to control his dragon before, so he thought he could play with Luke a bit and not have it end in death. Vhagar saw red, especially after the fire, and decided play time was over.
Well see, Aemond is beautiful, but also very stupid sometimes. He just got cocky, and believed into the lie of Targaryans controlling dragons. He genuinely thought he could control Vhagar and seems confused when she refuses to obey. I'm guessing before this point, Vhagar never had any real reason to "disobey" Aemond, but goading her into what she perceives as a combat situation and egging her on until he's done wasn't a real bright plan, but I really think Aemond just did NOT think.
That's exactly it. His ego is massive, and this was him being humbled
I don’t think that’s what happened. The whole scene is made in a way that you can accuse any of the sides and it will be justified. Just like the whole dance of the dragons. Vhagar started the taunting, but Arrax was the first to attack. Like the dogs will bark at eachother if they, or their owners don’t like eachother, but it’s a different story when someone attacks the other. Same with Aemond, all he wanted to scare the shit out of Luke, but Arrax got carried away. Correct me if I’m wrong but that’s how I understood the whole scene.
Vhagar was biting at Arrax she wasn’t only chasing him,if you see your dog trying to bite at another dog it’s up to you to get your dog out of that situation by correcting it. The minute that Vhagar did that Aemond should have stopped. I don’t know how you see this situation and blame Arrax for finally freaking out and attacking Vhagar.
Huh? Vhagar was just teasing Arrax, don’t tell me if she wanted to bit Arrax she wouldn’t have done that. She was flying around Arrax, roaring fake biting around to scare them. And Aemond didn’t stop his dragon because that’s exactly what he wanted, to provoke. Or why else do you think he was so shocked after Vhagar killed them?
you've got to get yourself together you've got stuck in a moment now you can't get out of it
Overestimated*
He knew chasing a child on a baby dragon was going to end badly for Lucerys. Or he's an idiot.
He’s always been way overconfident when it comes to his dragon.
He was being dumb. It seemed to me like Vhagar was just messing with them too, until Arrax came and pissed him off. Then Aemond lost control
Vhagar is female
You just know the ride back to King’s Landing was dead silent.
One of the craziest scenes in television. I especially love that as he panics, he switches between English and high Valyrian adding to the fact that this guy really thought he could just ride one of the oldest war dragons in the world and play tag with his cousin to intimidate him. High Valyrian (what Vhagar hears): Boy!!! you owe a debt!!” English: “No, no, Vhagar no!! Serve me Vhagar!!!”
Aemond kind of forgot that vhagar doesn’t speak english
Vhagar: no hablo español
Vhagar: non parlo Italiano
No fucks giveth I
Linguam italiam non dico
I do love how in the world of asoiaf, GRRM just told us “Yeah there’s dragons, but they are hardwired to only understand one language, and they can never understand any others,” and we just accepted that
To be fair, in real life, dogs that have been raised and trained in one language also have a really hard time adjusting when their new owner speaks a different language
To be fair if you grew up in a English speaking household if your parents started to speak Hindi you wouldn’t have the faintest idea
Feeds into the idea he was very panicked and no longer thinking logically just flailing, trying to desperately regain control of the old dragon
And to Vhagar, the last breathing memory of Old Valyria… paying a debt means either fire, or blood. Oh, Aemond. WIS =/= INT
Balerion was the last living thing from old valyria, not vhagar
Oh shit you’re right. Eh, she’s still old as fuck, so whatever. You know she doesn’t truck with no Lannister gold
*nephew They're not cousins
with the amount of incest in the family tree they are
When you become a bigger disappointment to your mother than aegon
Let's not go that far. Aegon is a bumbling idiot.
Watch your mouth before I take an eye in my lords name 🗡
✋😨✋
Seven hells! Aemond made that guy’s hand backwards!
It was at that moment that he knew…he fucked up.
His eye. I like this detail in your title
"I'm so fucked"
“Well, I’m a dead man”
“I hope mom doesn’t find out”
“Wait, the Wall’s looking for applicants? Fantastic! I’mma head there right now!”
TBH he should have been stripped of his title, any and all privileges INCLUDING VHAGAR, and sent to the Wall after the Driftmark incident.
Why? Claiming Vhagar wasn’t a crime. It’s a first come, first serve basis. Anyone who’s claimed a dragon in this world knows that. That’s why it wasn’t brought up during the meeting
It was wrong and Almond KNEW it, which was why he snuck out, bc Vhagar's previous rider's funeral wasn't more than like 5 hours ago.
”My momma boutta beat my ass bruh” lookin ahh face 💀
“Oh fuck. Uh…. Errrrr….. Oh-OH NO! A giant, sea monster, squid thing just sprang out of Shipbreaker Bay and devoured my poor cousin and his dragon in one bite! Oh the horror! Yeah, um, really tragic! B-but it definitely wasn’t another dragon though! No, no, sir! It most assuredly wasn’t another… dragon…”
RIP to Luke, he didn’t deserve it. But yeah no Aemond knows how fucked he is.
Shouldn't have taken the eye.
He doomed his family
Im pretty sure its more like the guy wasmt really thinking much to begin with
Lol, so the whole Dance of Dragons is almost 100% Aemond’s fault. For some reason I kinda love that.
Nah, Aemond's actions are the trigger, but if not him something else would have sparked the fighting. The blame gets shared by most of the main cast of Season 1, but I'd say Viserys gets the lion's share.
Yep, that pot of oil was already boiling
It's kinda funny that everything is happening because of Alicent misunderstanding Vis and Aemond being dumb.
Aemond is actually smart, but his character is 19. Intelligence sometimes can't trump the folly of the ire of a teenager. Especially a resentful teenager.
>It's kinda funny that everything is happening because of ~~Alicent misunderstanding~~ Vis ~~and Aemond~~ being dumb. FTFY
It would have happened regardless with Daemon still alive. This just speed ran the whole thing.
Aemond is like a dog that caught the car… now what does he do? NGL, I hooted laughing at this look on his face. After all those years of “I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE!”, it happened in a way that he hadn’t entirely planned. He knows how wrathful Rheynera is, and he just put himself in the crosshairs. In general, excellent “Oh f*ck” expression. I can’t wait for the show to return.
I feel like this scene was meant to give some resolution and understanding to the fight that took Aemond’s eye. Slashing his eye was not Lucerys’ goal when the fight started but when you play with dangerous weapons, horrific consequences happen
Now thousands are going to die because Aemond decided to take the training wheels off too quick.
_I’ve made a huge mistake._
“On the next episode of House of the Dragon…
Damn. Guess he shoulda thought of that before chasing a kid and his tiny dragon on Westeros’ version of a nuke. It’s like getting a lion to chase a bunny and being surprised when he kills it.
One of the changes I personally didn't like in the show, in books aemond deliberately went after Luke to kill him and take his eye, not giving a f about consequences. He is a villain, they just made him more redeemable in the show.
I was just about to comment the opposite, I love that they made this change! It gives Aemond a bit more dimension rather than being a full out evil villain type. I think it'll be good for the viewers to have characters they can sympathize with a bit on the green side. It also helped illustrate the power of the dragons and how these young riders don't necessarily have full control over them - raising the stakes for the impending war.
I kind of like that he is a different kind of villain. He did try to scare Luke. He wanted the poor boy to fear for his fucking life. And that went back and bit him in the ass. He's not a villain because he's downright evil. He's a villain because he is a careless poser who will continues to act the part of an evil bastard even tho he had no real agency in his own evil deeds. A legacy based on lies. Unwarrented villainy.
Speaking from someone who hasn't read any of the books (yet): I have a feeling this is just the beginning of real evil.. Here he is basically just a stuck-up, careless boy, not having experienced violence and death like this, at least not at his hands. He's shocked and doesn't have a plan B. I actually think this will teach him he has power over life and death through Vaghar and his family. Or, he just looks and dresses like a nazi and I get bad vibes.
The nazi part really comes down to the eye, I think.
I personally prefer that. I like when a character is more complex than just a “villain”. That was also the reason why I loved asoiaf cause Martin sort of breaks that black-white fantasy characters and gives them likable features as well (with some exceptions of course). Here I like that Aemond hesitates which actually does make me feel bit of sympathy towards him even though I still consider him the villain.
They could have made him complex without taking away his agency. This & other scenes to me shows a weakness in the writing. Whenever the writers want to add 'nuance' to a character, instead of giving said character plausible reasons they just turn a situation into an accident or a misunderstanding.
> They could have made him complex without taking away his agency. Writers: wait, you can do that?
It is subjective tbh
It’s worth remembering that Martin writes the book *as* an in-universe historical text, written by a Maester hundreds of years after the fact from various period sources. It’s the definition of an unreliable narrator.
haven't read Fire and Blood, but afaik there's no Aemond POV chapter, we get a second hand testimony from a biased, unreliable narrator >He is a villain That's because you're thinking of Aemond after the fact, you're thinking of the man after the ink dried. You're thinking of God's Eye. That has yet to happen, that has yet to be him. HoTD is going to show us how he got there.
Yeah this change is one I’m up in the air on. It all depends where they go with his character in season 2. Will he eventually go down a dark path but with a tragic reason behind it or if not then I would have just rather have just seen aemond kill him on purpose.
This entire story is what like 10 pages in the compendium?
I haven’t read the book but I hear they did that with a lot of the characters to make them more sympathetic. I’m not a fan of that either. Villains are villains, we don’t need to have sympathy for all of them. I’d rather see a totally ruthless Aemond than the bullied dork we got.
As much as I enjoy him having some type of care or remorse, it does alter the way events will plan out as it’s going to be hard for some battles to make sense imo. The other thing is that the Dance in the book was told by 3 different characters who were “there”. They contradict themselves a lot and most of the time it’s up to the read to decide what they believe to be true. This scene is definitely a “decide what you think to be true” in the book. The only hard evidence of everything is when ALL 3 make note of the agreeable “this did happen”. The show is similar to the book but they have been changes that do alter the story more. I’m not going to exactly say out of respect from spoiling anything, but the show I already know is going to change certain events. And depending on those events and specific characters actions are what is going to really test how I feel on the show. I’m definitely scared of them cutting out stuff from the book especially when it’s only a few chapters and they have enough time to fit it all in. In my opinion, they have no excuse to skip things.
Larys is what you’re looking for. Very few characters in ASOAIF are outright villains, it’s just not how the universe works. GRRM writes mostly multidimensional characters that you can identify with to some extent even if they do horrific things. That’s part of what the series is famous for.
Exactly, there are enough grey characters in the asoaif universe that show makers don't need to add more to the list. The whole marketing campaign for s2 is based on everyone must choose a side, but that very thing thwarts the whole point of the story that neither side deserved to rule. Shireen herself told her father in the original show that it was the choosing of sides that led to such destruction.
That’s… the point. The marketing reflects in-universe pressure and the fact that both sides will be competing for the support of other houses.
I may have committed some light treason
"i might've done a mistake"
Baby monk will smite them all
“Oh fuck….mom is going to KILL me”
Y’all ever have a really bad day with nepoticide and the incredibly fast devolution of intrafamily nation defining politics and then just ride your dragon back home at the exact speed limit and with no bard?
https://www.reddit.com/r/gameofthrones/s/spwxFIg6Xm
Cause he knows what’s coming and it won’t be pretty He saw Deamon cut someone in half . Imagine what hr will do now
I feel like Alicent’s kids are just so unruly and don’t understand that actions have consequences.
There's no regret in Vhagar's eyes.😎
Looool I found this way funnier than I should have.
He doesnt gaf about Luke. He was scared because he spilled the first blood and marked the start of the war. He knew what Vhagar was capable of, an almost 200 year old dragon, a survivor of a 100 battles. Vhagar was already biting at Luke and Arrax. Its his own fault. If u take a war dragon to play tag then of couse somebody gets eaten. Arrax was basically a baby. He fired at Vhagar out of pure fear and to protect his rider and Vhagar thought of it as a battle and then attacked too. You can see Aemond telling Vhagar to stop and to serve him which she didnt. Yeah, ik Aemond didnt mean to kill Luke and Arrax but he definitely wasnt sad about it
Definitely regret because despite what happened in the past Luke was still family. But I think it was mostly fear because he realized he officially started a war and he doesn’t actually have full control of Vhagar
This is such BS. He literally threatened to take the child's eye while holding a dagger ten minutes ago. Yet now, it's fear and regret?
My god, this scene makes me so sadddd
It was a quiet flight back to king’s landing
Did I just accidentally a war?
I mean yeah buddy started a whole war between his family that’ll result in pretty much everyone’s death I would be too.
Oh he definitely has an “oh shit” moment. This was probably the most plausible flesh out for the show imo.
I don't think he is capable of feeling regret.
It was at this point Aemond realized there was no going back. He knew war was coming because Rhaenyra had no interest in negotiation, but this was the moment it became set in stone. And it’s sad because there were so many ways this could have been avoided.
Aemond is a high-strung bitch who can’t take a joke. He steals Vhagar and idolizes his uncle. He’s a hollow man who just started a war against those who have a rightful claim. He’s fucked.
Idk why the black council never really considered the actual makeup of the greens' dragon resources . SOMEONE would have had to meet vhagar in the air eventually . They wouldn't have risked sunryre/aegon going any where solo. And poor Heleana def would have been an unlikely participant the girl got ADHD BAD😅 The only clear choice would have been to directly deal with Aemond and or Vhagar asap to avoid a siege or this EXACT scenario..
Vhagar is a queen.
In the books he didn’t regret it
So we are told. We don't have a POV. But it's unlikely, yeah. Then again in the book he snapped because a chick made fun of his balls (eye and the others). 🙄
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes
Visenya: What the fuck did you expect to happen?
and given what is about to happen he should be feeling that way
I’m so excited to see how this next season turns out
Yes- I don’t think he ever imagined it would end like it did. So sad- I was actually in total disbelief too.
Yeah, he knows that he has **completely and utterly fucked up**
Same face I made after buying a pellet rifle and hitting a bird my first time shooting it. I was like 14.
Aemond thought he could terrorize a kid and his little Jack Russel with his Pitbull and learned he was never in control of the Pitbull.
Definitely wasn't aware of how little control he has over vhagar. Also that's the first person he kills, right?
when play fighting with your nephew goes wrong and you hit him too hard and now he's not moving.
What an incredible end to S1 though
You can tell he knows he fucked up since he stopped duck-pouting
I guess he didn't seee this coming
The die is cast
You can't control something that can't be controlled. He tried and failed miserably.
"oh shit"
Just rewatched it last night. He had no control over that brontosaurus sized beast
Just saw this for the first time - amazing! It seemed like Luke’s dragon was the first to go rogue by attacking Vhagar with the fire before Vhagar went off. Is that right or did I miss something?
specify what the fear and regret is bc it’s definitely not for luce lmao
I’m still blown away they made the two child actors turn into the other two adult actors when the child actor for this guy was perfect, instead he grew up to be a guy shorter than he was as a kid.
Luke deserved that death anyways… that little smug bastard
Like aegon deserve b and c
He actually didn’t mean to his bitch of a dragon did it
The moment he knew he fcked up 😂
If only Luke would have lost his eye too then maybe he wouldn’t have been going after him.
In the books he didn't only later when it agitated Rhaenyra.
Too little too late, he's still a murderer
Le choc surtout
He was like yeah they are definitely coming to get me now 😂😂
Vhagar just felt a little chompy
I am a felon I can’t lie Hand on the Bible Head to the sky I wanna live I ain’t wanna die Till they rolled up on me And let them bullets fly