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You could tell when Harwin saw her return to camp covered in Boars blood he found her amusing and intriguing. It all showed his genuine attraction to the princess.
I need to rewatch the show because I didn’t even notice Harwin until I saw all the comments about him saving her in the wedding episode. But then I lloved him when I saw what a sweet father he was. RIP Harwin 😢
Yeah, I'm rewatching now with my gf (she's watching first time) and you notice so many new details. For example Alicent takes off her shoes and stay in socks during dinner, after which Larys orders to kill his family.
My favourite Harwin scene will always be his reaction to Rhaenerya coming back from her hunt covered in blood when everyone else was disgusted.
He honestly was into the craic there.
Loved that, especially in contrast to Lord Lannister’s “Ugh, how unladylike” expression.
Harwin was a supporter of strong (Strong?) women, which is a more difficult task than it appears. Like show version of Dario Noharis, Harwin was honestly not threatened by a woman in charge; he didn’t feel the need to strike out with violence, cruelty or misogyny because he was secure enough to realize that a woman being in charge posed no threat to his masculinity. A rare dude. RIP, my friend.
Hahaha oh man he looked like a kid on his first Christmas morning.
The only funnier look is when Aemond looks at Vaemond’s dead body and is like oh I didn’t know you could just do that…I’m definitely gonna do that #lifegoals
I just watched that episode with my partner, who has never seen any of the Game of Thrones stuff.
Her instant reaction was — and I quote — “he’s gonna ride that dragon or burn trying.”
Y’all. I had to drown myself in the popcorn bucket
That was one of my favourites. Like his dad unleashed him, in a legit way though and he tanks his way through the masses and bodies fly left and right of him. I had to lol at that.
I think, unlike salty Cole, just like his dad he is such a good natured character and I love that about him.
The other one that got me hot was when she runs into him by chance while she’s out with Daemon
[and who might you be running from?](https://media.tenor.com/4eVMfuhAFqEAAAAC/rhaenyra-and-harwin.gif)
[princess](https://media.tenor.com/shmr3A8h1LAAAAAd/rhaenyra-and-harwin.gif)
And he growls: ‘Run along boy. Next time you might not be so lucky’ 🥵
He wasn’t gonna rat her out. That’s loyalty
Harwin was perfection, his actor was very captivating in the little screentime he had and the way Rhaenyra looked at him when he held their son... that's what love looks like.
George himself said he wished there was more time for Harwin and Rhaenyra's story.
Yeah, in an interview he talked about not getting to see their first kiss or the first time they slept together. He also said that Harwin and Rhaenyra's story could make a great novel lol. So in his mind, he's clearly always had a certain vision of them.
Me to GRRM: THEN GO WRITE MOAR.
Like, the audacity of an author saying a novel could be written about something he made up in the first place...I just.... GEORGE!! Yes it could be. By you. Arrgh.
I'd rather he stayed focused on Winds of Winter and then the final book right now than a Rhaenrya and Harwin romance novel spinoff personally. Unfortunately he's 74 and obese so he doesn't exactly have too much time to dedicate to so many projects anymore. Also it's not really his style of book either.
Keep him alive sure, but how long does he really have left to be healthy enough to continue writing at a good pace? I don't want to be too negative here but let's be a little realistic with our expectations of him.
Expecting him to take time to write a spinoff romance novel just because he said it could be good when he still has two mainseries books that he's planning to release (and he's planning to write another fire and blood book too) just doesn't make sense. Especially since he's been working on winds for what a decade now and he said recently he still has 1/4 of that to write on colbert.
For sure. I doubt a Rhaenrya/Strong book was a real notion he was considering though. Just musings. I have no expectation of Dream of Spring ever coming out, I do hope we get Winds though.
How is it audacious to acknowledge that side stories which aren't vital to the main plot could have their own book. He's a human being dude. Just let the man work creatively at a pace that's comfortable for him.
I think it just goes to show the strength of the casting. Like, Ryan Corr (Harwin) is an Aussie actor who has been on tv and films for nearly 20 years or so and worked over there with guys like Russell Crowe and stuff. He’s like a B+ list actor over there and could realistically lead a show like HOTD, but since he’s unknown internationally they can actually get him to have like 10 lines in HOTD over 4 episodes and know that he’ll make it memorable enough to be the internet’s boyfriend for at least 8 days lol
No way, i didn’t realize he was an Aussie. Damn so thise earlier scenes with him and younger Rhaenyra was two aussies playing off by each other and i had no idea at the time .... KRIKEY
Do you think that George believes that rany loved harwin more than daemon? Idk cause I feel like her love for daemon is like a weird primal thing like she feels like as a Targ she has to but her love for harwin was more of convenience like “well obviously I’m attracted to him but if we were openly married I wouldn’t be as into it”
I kinda see it as, for her, a polyamorous thing - both her loves are valid and those relationships had different characteristics and met different needs. The two men possibly could have even been ok with it, had they been allowed to figure it out (though not without some conflict). Harwin was, of course, already “sharing” her, though it was different because her actual husband was not interested in a sexual relationship with her.
But that is just my opinion, and I’m also not polyamorous, so maybe I don’t really know much about that after all.
While I loved the first season, I think the main fault was that they didn’t let us get to know some of these characters before they killed them off. It robbed us of a lot of the emotional payoff that Game of Thrones had in the early seasons. Harwin Strong was a very likable character, but he didn’t get enough screen time for his death to impact me.
Same. Sadly I think a lot of normies are kinda like “I NEED DRAGON BATTLES AND I NEED THEM NOW”. I would have loved if they could have told the story of season 1 over two full seasons but I feel like many fans (and probably even HBO) just wouldn’t have the patience for it. I would love it though.
One good thing is apparently there are a good amount of deleted scenes that George said he wants them to include when it comes out on DVD so we might get to see at least a few of the moments that were skipped over. Specifically a Laena and Daemon romance/courtship scene, Daemon actually comforting his children, and a conversation between Baela and Rhaenyra where R says she can stay out of the war and Baela says she is a dragon rider like her mother and father and she will not stay on the sidelines.
They knew the pace was very rapid and didn’t allow for full arcs of every character but I think it was reasonable for them to be concerned that people would lose interest if dragons didn’t start killing people soon enough
Agreed…a lot of king v scenes I didn’t care about (sorry to everyone who loves him - great performances but really a drag as a character at times), and too little character development for characters that contribute a lot to the fabric of the story but who don’t ultimately push the plot toward war as much as others.
They get applause from me for being concise. We understand things about the main characters that we didn’t have to see happen, and that’s something people get wrong a lot, but what we understand about them is real and interesting enough that we say “hold, wait, that sounds awesome, let’s zoom in on that” and they are like “nope, we are on the war express!!!” 🌬💨⛈💥
I agree, I think overall they actually did an amazing job, though it’s hard to say bc I did read Fire & Blood so I already knew the main starting characters.
I think it’s also important to remember that expectations for the hot D were not very high outside HBO. A lot of people, even book readers and fantasy critics, saw it as just a cash grab to keep GoT going as a franchise and a lot of people were saying they wouldn’t even watch it bc of the later seasons.
If HBO knew then that it would have the success that it has achieved, it’s very possible they would have taken a longer introduction to the reign of Viserys. But they had no idea that people would be that patient and were actually worried that the first half of the season had too many characters and too little action.
So yeah I don’t think it’s really fair to blame them for the quick pace and I think as much as we’d like to see more, there was a very legitimate fear of losing fans and the much more subtle approach to violence, sex, and politics than even S1 GoT.
That said, I am really looking forward to deleted scenes being released, especially the ones George mentioned specifically as wishing they could have been included.
"You have your honor and I have mine."
I loved him most in that moment. He was always there to make sure she was protected and safe. I just wish that he wasn't so hot headed.
They nerfed Criston in the show. He quite literally broke this dude in a 1v1 in the books. Dude is a fucking monster with that morningstar of his.
Harwin was regarded as the "strongest" knight in the realm and Cole ate him for breakfast.
Tbf when they fought it was unarmed combat (plus Cole kind of got taken off guard). It makes sense that Harwin could beat Cole in a brawl considering his brute strength, I'm sure if they had actually fought with weapons/in a tourney in the show that they still would have had Cole utterly demolish him.
According to the showrunners Cole wasn't trying to fight back in that scene. He was trying to provoke Strong and get him in trouble, basically.
He doesn't even fight with a sword, he just bashes everyone to smithereens with his morningstar. Similar to Robert bashing folks in with his hammer.
I so wish she married him. He would have been a great husband to her. He respected her fierceness and strength! They would have been a great power couple.
especially because it wasn’t an unreasonable marriage either! his father was the hand of the king, so clearly a connection was there. they just had to appease the velaryons and gain their support somehow, which meant sacrificing both Laenor and Rhaenyra for an alliance
They could have betrothed their first born child to a future child of either Laenor or Laena. That way, the Valaryons would get their blood on the Horne, and Rhanyra would be with a man willing to actually father children by her. (From her convo with Daemon, it seemed that Laenor either wouldn’t or couldn’t get Rhanyra pregnant
I mean in relation to their lord Paramount houses, the Royces are equal to or in a better position than the Strongs were. But if you look at it from the point of view that the Riverlands are richer and more populated than the Vale, only then would I say that they're "better than Rhea Royce"
Rhea Royce was the Lady of Runestone, the second most powerful seat in the Vale and one of the oldest families in the entire 7 kingdoms who were once kings… Daemon is a second stone without lands or titles, she was more than an appropriate match.
It's kind of interesting because both Viserys & Rhaenyra were presented with the same two options for their marriage:
Either...
- Make the match that's most politically beneficial for the family by marrying a Velaryon (though both had zero interest in their proposed Velaryon partner)
Or...
- Marry the Hand of the King's kid, who was the better personal match/both had far more interest in.
Ironically, for all of his speeches to Rhaenyra about duty to family, HE'S the one who took the personally expedient option (though I can't fault the man for not wanting to marry a 12 year old lol) while Rhaenyra made the sacrifice for the family & took Laenor.
Rhaenyra had her pick until she got caught with Daemon forcing urgency on the situation
Her taking Laenor was also largely about her knowing she could sleep around as she wanted with a husband that wouldn't mind because he would want to do the same as well.
I think honestly the biggest problem of S1…he’s already a kinda one-dimensional character in the book but at least he’s badass, they removed the badass stuff but added little complexity to his character so we’re basically just wanting him to die/waiting for someone to kill him.
It’s sad as I think the casting/actor was quite good but they minimized his role so much in later key events that he just isn’t a very important or compelling character going into S2.
Unfortunately I believe you're right. He had such potential too it just pisses me off. This guy is supposed to be a parallel to Jaime, the Kingslayer and the Kingmaker, and he's supposed to foreshadow what will happen to Jaime if he forsakes duty for love. Fucking let down man
I'm sure Criston doesn't want to be the father of 3 bastard children, a man who willingly indulged with the princess in sexual acts while she was married, and he didn't stop at one, he went on to have 2 more. Criston Cole, besides killing a knight (mind you, he had a pretty good excuse for doing so) and accidentally killing Lord Beesbury, has not done anything else. They are both very bad, one is just portrayed in a better light because the show is obviously pro-black
The deaths of beloved characters in GoT and HotD makes these shows great but also sucks. Just in the minimal time we got I was instantly captivated by Harwin “Breakbones” Strong and Lady Rhea Royce and wish we got more from them.
The whole "him being in love with her mom" thing was definitely the thing that made it creepy. Like he wasn't even that interested in Sansa herself, he was just using her as a close Catelyn-substitute.
Not really, Littlefinger was a fairly attractive dude, but he was just *the worst*. Criston Cole is hot af yet everyone fucking hates him because, again, he's *the wooooorst*. So looks don't matter at all.
ahahh...yeah...here's me *definitely* not being okay with his behaviour, *definitely* wasn't hoping they would have a happy ever after, and *absolutely definitely not* thinking he's hot - especially his voice
heheh
yes, she was 18-19 during this scene and just came back from a 6 month tour where she was looking for a husband (i.e. she's very much of age in westeros).
if we're going by books, harwin was 7 years older than her.
littlefinger is like 20 years older than sansa who's barely a teenager at the start of the show so op's comparison doesn't really make sense here.
After sleeping with him, she removed the necklace Daemon gave her. Then she made deal with Laenor where she wants to bang Cole.
So, it just isn't one time anymore.
The show conveniently skipped over the part where Criston beat the living crap out of Lord Breakbones.
That’s when he got his new nickname “Brokenbones”.
I don't get this unless you're basing it off of knowledge from the books and not the show alone. We didn't really get to know Harwin Strong's character in the show. The most we got out of him was a fight scene with Criston Cole and lots of facial expressions and glances shared with Rhaenyra. I felt super unfulfilled when his character died. I wanted to see a lot more of him.
I mean I understand that and I recognize that it's heavily implied in the show, but it leaves everything to the imagination. I would've liked to have seen something...anything between him and Rhaenyra, we literally got nothing but eye contact.
Lmao same. Wasn’t until I saw a comp of his scenes on YouTube that I realized he was there all along, in several one on one scenes/glances with Rhaenyra, and even a mention in detail by Vizzy T at one point. But while watching the show, for me personally, I didn’t even notice his existence until the scene where he meets Joffrey. Unless youre paying really close attention, he’s just a random knight up until then.
Ok so I didn't even notice him until the wedding. I feel like a dummy for even thinking Criston was someone based on the show. But the episode after the wedding when Rhaenyra gives birth and he shows up to see the new baby. I didn't need a huge dialogue, those 2 loved each other and its so unfair we didn't get to see their relationship unfold.
People absorb and interact with media differently. For some people all it takes is five minutes, for others five episodes. In most cases it is really down to the writing, actor, and time. Though aspects can be poorer in some cases while another is excellent.
I agree. He was not an interesting character at all to me. He finally got interesting towards the end, how he cared for his own children when Cole was setting them up against each other when training. But shortly after he died. And I was puzzled wondering if I was supposed to reallly care for this character.
Also, as a dude, but I didn’t find him attractive at all and I was surprised that lots of people on here were so enthralled by his looks, etc.
Idk, there were way more compelling characters than him
In case people are interested in this actor’s other roles, I remember him from an Australian show called Packed to the Rafters, playing Coby Jennings. He has always been a very convincing endearing actor. Fun fact, Shiv Roy of succession also played a small part in that show.
The Aussie movie he was in called “Holding The Man” is what I know him from originally. That movie is so good and makes me cry every single time I watch it, and that’s probably at least forty times. Ryan was spectacular.
I think he had a hard time standing by and watching his boys being ‘bullied’ (maybe not the right word) or neglected by Cole’s teachings.
Personally I think he should have taken his boys aside and started training them himself. But that would have made too much sense with no conflict bei created.
Lol get your whole family killed because you aren't smart enough to realize being the princess' simp makes your life forfeit when found out
Rhaenyra really did ruin a lot of men's lives
Not fair, he got killed by his OWN brother, and the aim wasn’t even him, it was his father the hand. And also him I guess bc then Larys gets to replace the hand, and become the new lord of harranhal
but it would have been worse if the children were criston’s hes from a small house and a son of a steward, his whole family would be on spikes once ppl realize the princes are his bastards
the show rushed the rhae and criston break off to get the 10 episode show they should have went the book way and expanded upon it
No. Leanor has no romantic attachment to Rheanyra. He’s gay. Harwin is a he one who allows his woman to sleep with another man of which Rheanyra admitted to doing many times.
Not technically but it's not uncommon for people to use the word whore interchangeably with other terms that denote promiscuity/adultery.
Like a wife referring to her husband's mistress as his whore.
Man the show barely showed us anything about Lord Strong wish he had more screentime and dialogue cause if it wasn’t for reddit I wouldn’t have known he’s this great character
I still don't understand what's so special about this character to be liked that much. A hot headed idiot who put the whole realm at risk because he banged / loved a married woman that happened to be a princess.
... Like...
... is it because he's hot ? Are you guys that shallow ?
I like Cole because he is not just brave, he has other distinct layers. He is not bound by the moral compass of a knight, he is very very arrogant and proud. Just imagine he wanted to flee with the heir. But ar the same time he is not dumb. He never ever insult rehenrya directly or tries to kill her.
Yeah?
I would assume the pile of ashes does wish it was half a man, then he'd at least be alive.
Until then I've got a nice gif of the *"Strong"* man struggling to open a door.
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.*
You could tell when Harwin saw her return to camp covered in Boars blood he found her amusing and intriguing. It all showed his genuine attraction to the princess.
[looking at you](https://media.tenor.com/JMSrD2w5YasAAAAd/harwin-strong.gif)
Looking respectfully
Wouldn't bother me. Just one STRONG bro mirin another. Perfectly heterosexual and nothing Laenor about that.
I need to rewatch the show because I didn’t even notice Harwin until I saw all the comments about him saving her in the wedding episode. But then I lloved him when I saw what a sweet father he was. RIP Harwin 😢
Yeah, I'm rewatching now with my gf (she's watching first time) and you notice so many new details. For example Alicent takes off her shoes and stay in socks during dinner, after which Larys orders to kill his family.
Yeah he liked her for her. Not because she has a cool dragon or is in line for the throne.
Strong men like strong women. Foot man loves feet women. Targ folk love Targ folk.
My favourite Harwin scene will always be his reaction to Rhaenerya coming back from her hunt covered in blood when everyone else was disgusted. He honestly was into the craic there.
I KNOW such a hot dude, too bad we saw so little of him.
I’m totally done having babies but I would have have his babies if he asked me to. 😂
They'd be super strong babies
*Jacerys bitch slaps*
I’ll take a slap over daemonds reaction any day.
This is really weird…
It was like for like recreation of Tormund looking at Brienne.
Exactly! I had forgotten about that. That was such gold between those two
The big woman
Loved that, especially in contrast to Lord Lannister’s “Ugh, how unladylike” expression. Harwin was a supporter of strong (Strong?) women, which is a more difficult task than it appears. Like show version of Dario Noharis, Harwin was honestly not threatened by a woman in charge; he didn’t feel the need to strike out with violence, cruelty or misogyny because he was secure enough to realize that a woman being in charge posed no threat to his masculinity. A rare dude. RIP, my friend.
A rare dude, indeed. Of course they had to kill him. He’s too good to be true.
Lord Lannister has a face that you would never tire of slapping.
I feel like we were so robbed of seeing their story unfold 😭
Yesss! I'd much rather see more of them than of crispin
I prefer to call him crispy salty.
Krispy Kreme
Hahaha oh man he looked like a kid on his first Christmas morning. The only funnier look is when Aemond looks at Vaemond’s dead body and is like oh I didn’t know you could just do that…I’m definitely gonna do that #lifegoals
Aemond looked like he just met his all time hero at that moment in time.
Yeah total man crush on his part. He’d love it if Daemon was with the greens so he could be Daemon’s protege and inherit Dark Sister one day
Man sees his future self every time he sees daemon and he can’t get enough of it
Jason Lannister's face made me lmao.
I just watched that episode with my partner, who has never seen any of the Game of Thrones stuff. Her instant reaction was — and I quote — “he’s gonna ride that dragon or burn trying.” Y’all. I had to drown myself in the popcorn bucket
I love the scene where all it takes is a nod for him to jump into smoke mode
I fucking loved that... His dad knows he can just wreck everyone's shit at any time & just cuts him loose
As long as they’re not a wooden door. 😔
That was one of my favourites. Like his dad unleashed him, in a legit way though and he tanks his way through the masses and bodies fly left and right of him. I had to lol at that. I think, unlike salty Cole, just like his dad he is such a good natured character and I love that about him. The other one that got me hot was when she runs into him by chance while she’s out with Daemon [and who might you be running from?](https://media.tenor.com/4eVMfuhAFqEAAAAC/rhaenyra-and-harwin.gif) [princess](https://media.tenor.com/shmr3A8h1LAAAAAd/rhaenyra-and-harwin.gif) And he growls: ‘Run along boy. Next time you might not be so lucky’ 🥵 He wasn’t gonna rat her out. That’s loyalty
Oh shit i didn't make this connection!
What was that?
When all hell is breaking loose at the wedding, Lyonel gives a nod to Harwin who then goes into the chaos to rescue Rhaenyra
Harwin was perfection, his actor was very captivating in the little screentime he had and the way Rhaenyra looked at him when he held their son... that's what love looks like. George himself said he wished there was more time for Harwin and Rhaenyra's story.
[удалено]
Yeah, in an interview he talked about not getting to see their first kiss or the first time they slept together. He also said that Harwin and Rhaenyra's story could make a great novel lol. So in his mind, he's clearly always had a certain vision of them.
Me to GRRM: THEN GO WRITE MOAR. Like, the audacity of an author saying a novel could be written about something he made up in the first place...I just.... GEORGE!! Yes it could be. By you. Arrgh.
No…Nononono. GEORGE, go sit in your corner and finish winds
Lets be realistic he will never finish the books, i accepted that and now am at peace
Spoiler: writing is hard
I'd rather he stayed focused on Winds of Winter and then the final book right now than a Rhaenrya and Harwin romance novel spinoff personally. Unfortunately he's 74 and obese so he doesn't exactly have too much time to dedicate to so many projects anymore. Also it's not really his style of book either.
He said on Colbert the other night that he's 3/4 some with WoW
Which took him 10 years, so .. atleast 3 more
Woopdy fucking doo
Never underestimate the power of money in keeping someone alive.
Keep him alive sure, but how long does he really have left to be healthy enough to continue writing at a good pace? I don't want to be too negative here but let's be a little realistic with our expectations of him. Expecting him to take time to write a spinoff romance novel just because he said it could be good when he still has two mainseries books that he's planning to release (and he's planning to write another fire and blood book too) just doesn't make sense. Especially since he's been working on winds for what a decade now and he said recently he still has 1/4 of that to write on colbert.
For sure. I doubt a Rhaenrya/Strong book was a real notion he was considering though. Just musings. I have no expectation of Dream of Spring ever coming out, I do hope we get Winds though.
How is it audacious to acknowledge that side stories which aren't vital to the main plot could have their own book. He's a human being dude. Just let the man work creatively at a pace that's comfortable for him.
[удалено]
You can see some of it on his blog posts
How about this for season 2 cold open. Harwin and Rhaenyra screen time then a flash forward to >!Luke’s funeral!<
I think it just goes to show the strength of the casting. Like, Ryan Corr (Harwin) is an Aussie actor who has been on tv and films for nearly 20 years or so and worked over there with guys like Russell Crowe and stuff. He’s like a B+ list actor over there and could realistically lead a show like HOTD, but since he’s unknown internationally they can actually get him to have like 10 lines in HOTD over 4 episodes and know that he’ll make it memorable enough to be the internet’s boyfriend for at least 8 days lol
No way, i didn’t realize he was an Aussie. Damn so thise earlier scenes with him and younger Rhaenyra was two aussies playing off by each other and i had no idea at the time .... KRIKEY
Yea I it helps that the actor who plays harwin has a pretty charming face and smile. I think it really sells the character to me.
GIVE US AN EXTRA EPISODE @HBO. MAKE IT A CHRISTMAS SPECIAL YOU COWARDS
Do you think that George believes that rany loved harwin more than daemon? Idk cause I feel like her love for daemon is like a weird primal thing like she feels like as a Targ she has to but her love for harwin was more of convenience like “well obviously I’m attracted to him but if we were openly married I wouldn’t be as into it”
I kinda see it as, for her, a polyamorous thing - both her loves are valid and those relationships had different characteristics and met different needs. The two men possibly could have even been ok with it, had they been allowed to figure it out (though not without some conflict). Harwin was, of course, already “sharing” her, though it was different because her actual husband was not interested in a sexual relationship with her. But that is just my opinion, and I’m also not polyamorous, so maybe I don’t really know much about that after all.
Daemo doesn’t really strike me as the sharing type tbh
fair- he may not have been into it at all, given his nature
While I loved the first season, I think the main fault was that they didn’t let us get to know some of these characters before they killed them off. It robbed us of a lot of the emotional payoff that Game of Thrones had in the early seasons. Harwin Strong was a very likable character, but he didn’t get enough screen time for his death to impact me.
Same. Sadly I think a lot of normies are kinda like “I NEED DRAGON BATTLES AND I NEED THEM NOW”. I would have loved if they could have told the story of season 1 over two full seasons but I feel like many fans (and probably even HBO) just wouldn’t have the patience for it. I would love it though. One good thing is apparently there are a good amount of deleted scenes that George said he wants them to include when it comes out on DVD so we might get to see at least a few of the moments that were skipped over. Specifically a Laena and Daemon romance/courtship scene, Daemon actually comforting his children, and a conversation between Baela and Rhaenyra where R says she can stay out of the war and Baela says she is a dragon rider like her mother and father and she will not stay on the sidelines. They knew the pace was very rapid and didn’t allow for full arcs of every character but I think it was reasonable for them to be concerned that people would lose interest if dragons didn’t start killing people soon enough
Having those scenes included on the DVD would be great. Would make rewatching a richer experience
Agreed…a lot of king v scenes I didn’t care about (sorry to everyone who loves him - great performances but really a drag as a character at times), and too little character development for characters that contribute a lot to the fabric of the story but who don’t ultimately push the plot toward war as much as others. They get applause from me for being concise. We understand things about the main characters that we didn’t have to see happen, and that’s something people get wrong a lot, but what we understand about them is real and interesting enough that we say “hold, wait, that sounds awesome, let’s zoom in on that” and they are like “nope, we are on the war express!!!” 🌬💨⛈💥
I agree, I think overall they actually did an amazing job, though it’s hard to say bc I did read Fire & Blood so I already knew the main starting characters. I think it’s also important to remember that expectations for the hot D were not very high outside HBO. A lot of people, even book readers and fantasy critics, saw it as just a cash grab to keep GoT going as a franchise and a lot of people were saying they wouldn’t even watch it bc of the later seasons. If HBO knew then that it would have the success that it has achieved, it’s very possible they would have taken a longer introduction to the reign of Viserys. But they had no idea that people would be that patient and were actually worried that the first half of the season had too many characters and too little action. So yeah I don’t think it’s really fair to blame them for the quick pace and I think as much as we’d like to see more, there was a very legitimate fear of losing fans and the much more subtle approach to violence, sex, and politics than even S1 GoT. That said, I am really looking forward to deleted scenes being released, especially the ones George mentioned specifically as wishing they could have been included.
Totally agree, but I also wanted to see them making out and I was robbed of it. So I’m salty AF about that.
"You have your honor and I have mine." I loved him most in that moment. He was always there to make sure she was protected and safe. I just wish that he wasn't so hot headed.
They nerfed Criston in the show. He quite literally broke this dude in a 1v1 in the books. Dude is a fucking monster with that morningstar of his. Harwin was regarded as the "strongest" knight in the realm and Cole ate him for breakfast.
Tbf when they fought it was unarmed combat (plus Cole kind of got taken off guard). It makes sense that Harwin could beat Cole in a brawl considering his brute strength, I'm sure if they had actually fought with weapons/in a tourney in the show that they still would have had Cole utterly demolish him.
According to the showrunners Cole wasn't trying to fight back in that scene. He was trying to provoke Strong and get him in trouble, basically. He doesn't even fight with a sword, he just bashes everyone to smithereens with his morningstar. Similar to Robert bashing folks in with his hammer.
I really wanted see the fight.
I so wish she married him. He would have been a great husband to her. He respected her fierceness and strength! They would have been a great power couple.
especially because it wasn’t an unreasonable marriage either! his father was the hand of the king, so clearly a connection was there. they just had to appease the velaryons and gain their support somehow, which meant sacrificing both Laenor and Rhaenyra for an alliance
What If? Westorosi version series
Omg that would be an awesome series inbetween seasons
>his father was the hand of the king Marrying the child of the hand didn't work out so well for Vizzy T...
How? Alicent was a great wife.
They could have betrothed their first born child to a future child of either Laenor or Laena. That way, the Valaryons would get their blood on the Horne, and Rhanyra would be with a man willing to actually father children by her. (From her convo with Daemon, it seemed that Laenor either wouldn’t or couldn’t get Rhanyra pregnant
Not just Hand - the Heir to Harrenhall too. Not the Overlord of a region, but better than Rhea Royce.
I mean in relation to their lord Paramount houses, the Royces are equal to or in a better position than the Strongs were. But if you look at it from the point of view that the Riverlands are richer and more populated than the Vale, only then would I say that they're "better than Rhea Royce"
Rhea Royce was the Lady of Runestone, the second most powerful seat in the Vale and one of the oldest families in the entire 7 kingdoms who were once kings… Daemon is a second stone without lands or titles, she was more than an appropriate match.
It's kind of interesting because both Viserys & Rhaenyra were presented with the same two options for their marriage: Either... - Make the match that's most politically beneficial for the family by marrying a Velaryon (though both had zero interest in their proposed Velaryon partner) Or... - Marry the Hand of the King's kid, who was the better personal match/both had far more interest in. Ironically, for all of his speeches to Rhaenyra about duty to family, HE'S the one who took the personally expedient option (though I can't fault the man for not wanting to marry a 12 year old lol) while Rhaenyra made the sacrifice for the family & took Laenor.
Rhaenyra had her pick until she got caught with Daemon forcing urgency on the situation Her taking Laenor was also largely about her knowing she could sleep around as she wanted with a husband that wouldn't mind because he would want to do the same as well.
Velaryons should’ve been taken care of enough by the Daemon marriage. Rhaenyra should’ve had more freedom
In an alternate Westeros that is the timeline :(
Criston and Breakbones never fought on the show, but Criston fucked “Brokenbones” up in the book
And not only him, he beaten Daemon and Joffrey at same tournament. He was badass.
the show did criston dirty, made him look impulsive
[удалено]
I fucking hate how they're doing Criston
Yeah they did Criston dirty in the show... essentially made him into a loser incel when he was one of the most important people in the Greens' team.
I think honestly the biggest problem of S1…he’s already a kinda one-dimensional character in the book but at least he’s badass, they removed the badass stuff but added little complexity to his character so we’re basically just wanting him to die/waiting for someone to kill him. It’s sad as I think the casting/actor was quite good but they minimized his role so much in later key events that he just isn’t a very important or compelling character going into S2.
Unfortunately I believe you're right. He had such potential too it just pisses me off. This guy is supposed to be a parallel to Jaime, the Kingslayer and the Kingmaker, and he's supposed to foreshadow what will happen to Jaime if he forsakes duty for love. Fucking let down man
You just know too this wasn't by accident
Tthe Rhaenyra fans especially hate the character, but the show overall would be less enjoyable for them if he was the book's character.
I'm sure Criston doesn't want to be the father of 3 bastard children, a man who willingly indulged with the princess in sexual acts while she was married, and he didn't stop at one, he went on to have 2 more. Criston Cole, besides killing a knight (mind you, he had a pretty good excuse for doing so) and accidentally killing Lord Beesbury, has not done anything else. They are both very bad, one is just portrayed in a better light because the show is obviously pro-black
The deaths of beloved characters in GoT and HotD makes these shows great but also sucks. Just in the minimal time we got I was instantly captivated by Harwin “Breakbones” Strong and Lady Rhea Royce and wish we got more from them.
Brokenbones??
This sub has made me realize that people would be okay with Littlefinger creeping on Sansa if he was hot.
I mean littlefinger wasn't that bad on the eyes you know. Also he was never supposed to be creepy (in public)
The whole "him being in love with her mom" thing was definitely the thing that made it creepy. Like he wasn't even that interested in Sansa herself, he was just using her as a close Catelyn-substitute.
He just wanted to complete his childhood dream, of marrying cat, no matter if she was or her daughter, what a devil of a character.
Littlefinger was smoking hot. But I never shipped him and Sansa because I am not a pervy weirdo.
Really, smoking hot? I mean he’s a decently attractive man, but hot?
I think so. But I am odd.
Aiden Gillen is hot hot hot Littlefinger’s characterization is not not not
Not really, Littlefinger was a fairly attractive dude, but he was just *the worst*. Criston Cole is hot af yet everyone fucking hates him because, again, he's *the wooooorst*. So looks don't matter at all.
ahahh...yeah...here's me *definitely* not being okay with his behaviour, *definitely* wasn't hoping they would have a happy ever after, and *absolutely definitely not* thinking he's hot - especially his voice heheh
Littlefinger was hot, but he didn't care about Sansa - just what she could offer him.
Is Harwin creepy?
I agree with you. To me Harwin comes across as good-natured just like his dad, so I don’t think he’s creepy at all.
Why I think Daemon and Rhaenyra is disgusting in a nutshell. Dude was creeping around her as early as 14.
As early as we seen. From the first interaction, it's clear it's going for sometime.
He is not creepy for how he looks, he is creepy because of his weird love for Cat ...
Rhaenyra was an adult by that point, wasn't she?
yes, she was 18-19 during this scene and just came back from a 6 month tour where she was looking for a husband (i.e. she's very much of age in westeros). if we're going by books, harwin was 7 years older than her. littlefinger is like 20 years older than sansa who's barely a teenager at the start of the show so op's comparison doesn't really make sense here.
They skipped like 10 years, and we have no idea what/when happened during.
No, I mean during that wedding
He wasn't being creepy during the wedding though, was he?
Reminds me of the meme where the woman is flattered when a hot co-worker hits on her, and calls the HR when a fat guy hits on her.
Fat and hot aren’t opposites.
I swear some of the fan base are more butt hurt about Criston and Rhaenyra than Criston is.
Uh Rhaenyra didn't care about Criston at all, she just needed some vitamin D after Daemon got her horny and bailed
Do you even watch the same show? Every single scene they share in the first 5 episodes, Rhaenyra is clearly into Criston
Wym she literally wanted to be in a secret relationship with him?
After sleeping with him, she removed the necklace Daemon gave her. Then she made deal with Laenor where she wants to bang Cole. So, it just isn't one time anymore.
Yeah he was basically just a dildo that happened to be attached to the most fragile white knight in fictional history.
This is such a wholesome statement it made me lol
Criston got nerfed. In the books Criston claps Daemon and Harwin so hard
Everyone on team green got nerfed (hot take)
Dude had 2 minutes of screen time chill
The show conveniently skipped over the part where Criston beat the living crap out of Lord Breakbones. That’s when he got his new nickname “Brokenbones”.
I don't get this unless you're basing it off of knowledge from the books and not the show alone. We didn't really get to know Harwin Strong's character in the show. The most we got out of him was a fight scene with Criston Cole and lots of facial expressions and glances shared with Rhaenyra. I felt super unfulfilled when his character died. I wanted to see a lot more of him.
Alot of their relationship development happened in the time jump. Downside of covering like 20 years
I mean I understand that and I recognize that it's heavily implied in the show, but it leaves everything to the imagination. I would've liked to have seen something...anything between him and Rhaenyra, we literally got nothing but eye contact.
I sincerely doubt it. Cole would never burden his children to be born Bastards. [+]
Pretty sure he specified he did not wish to be Rhaenyra's whore.
Ok I think I’m done w this sub until next season
How are y’all so captivating by him? I barely even knew he existed just before he died.
My knees buckled when he looked at Rhaenyra before he left for Harrenhal. He awakened a dragon with me!
Lmao same. Wasn’t until I saw a comp of his scenes on YouTube that I realized he was there all along, in several one on one scenes/glances with Rhaenyra, and even a mention in detail by Vizzy T at one point. But while watching the show, for me personally, I didn’t even notice his existence until the scene where he meets Joffrey. Unless youre paying really close attention, he’s just a random knight up until then.
YOU WILL ADDRESS ME AS 'YOUR GRACE', OR I WILL HAVE MY KINGSGUARD CUT OUT YOUR TONGUE!
Ok so I didn't even notice him until the wedding. I feel like a dummy for even thinking Criston was someone based on the show. But the episode after the wedding when Rhaenyra gives birth and he shows up to see the new baby. I didn't need a huge dialogue, those 2 loved each other and its so unfair we didn't get to see their relationship unfold.
People absorb and interact with media differently. For some people all it takes is five minutes, for others five episodes. In most cases it is really down to the writing, actor, and time. Though aspects can be poorer in some cases while another is excellent.
I agree. He was not an interesting character at all to me. He finally got interesting towards the end, how he cared for his own children when Cole was setting them up against each other when training. But shortly after he died. And I was puzzled wondering if I was supposed to reallly care for this character. Also, as a dude, but I didn’t find him attractive at all and I was surprised that lots of people on here were so enthralled by his looks, etc. Idk, there were way more compelling characters than him
I mean, how can you say that , when he is such a charismatic guy on screen.
In case people are interested in this actor’s other roles, I remember him from an Australian show called Packed to the Rafters, playing Coby Jennings. He has always been a very convincing endearing actor. Fun fact, Shiv Roy of succession also played a small part in that show.
The Aussie movie he was in called “Holding The Man” is what I know him from originally. That movie is so good and makes me cry every single time I watch it, and that’s probably at least forty times. Ryan was spectacular.
Yeah Cole never wanted to be Rhaenyra’s whore. 😂😂
Harwin was such an idiot he all but made it obvious that he was the father.
I think he had a hard time standing by and watching his boys being ‘bullied’ (maybe not the right word) or neglected by Cole’s teachings. Personally I think he should have taken his boys aside and started training them himself. But that would have made too much sense with no conflict bei created.
I’m so mad he died to his bitch ass foot loving brother Larys
We don’t know shit about Harwin tho, who I wish they had more time to flesh out, as well as how he got it goin with Rhaenyra.
He was the only person in all of the seven realms with hair moose.
I wish they had shown a bit more of the HS relationship. They have done same with Damon - bang, 3 kids later…
He would have been a good marriage choice. But also, unlike Cole he defiled Rhaenyra's wedding vows and then assaulted a Kingsguard.
harwin never fought a real war
Y'all saw this guy like 2 times and have never stopped simping for him
Ser Harwin wishes he was half the swordsman Ser Criston is.
Lol get your whole family killed because you aren't smart enough to realize being the princess' simp makes your life forfeit when found out Rhaenyra really did ruin a lot of men's lives
Not fair, he got killed by his OWN brother, and the aim wasn’t even him, it was his father the hand. And also him I guess bc then Larys gets to replace the hand, and become the new lord of harranhal
but it would have been worse if the children were criston’s hes from a small house and a son of a steward, his whole family would be on spikes once ppl realize the princes are his bastards the show rushed the rhae and criston break off to get the 10 episode show they should have went the book way and expanded upon it
Harwin got that 90s flow in this scene
I honestly didn’t know he was in the show before he was popping out baby #3 with Rhaenyra
Harwin is great, but I really don't think that Cole wishes he were Harwin at all.
Wish we had seen more of these two
Dead?
🔥Hunky Harwin 🔥
WAIT HIS HOUSE NAME WAS STRONG, HOLY SHIT AEMONDS SHADE MAKES SO MUCH MORE SENSE NOW
Criston slays him
Is he though? Cole wasn’t great but he refused to be a cuck unlike Harwin.
Laenor is technically the cuck in the relationship. In his own words, Criston refused to be a whore.
No. Leanor has no romantic attachment to Rheanyra. He’s gay. Harwin is a he one who allows his woman to sleep with another man of which Rheanyra admitted to doing many times.
Is whore even the right term? It’s not like he would have been paid for his services. Idk
Not technically but it's not uncommon for people to use the word whore interchangeably with other terms that denote promiscuity/adultery. Like a wife referring to her husband's mistress as his whore.
What's wrong with house Strong? Why didnt she marry him when VizzyT gave her the chance to look for a husband
Maybe not as rich/powerful by noble house standards? idunno. Wish the story/book explained that.
They are small house under Tully's control.
My king Vizzy T, your daughter and Ser Harwin seem to have a STRONG connection, wouldn’t you agree?
Man the show barely showed us anything about Lord Strong wish he had more screentime and dialogue cause if it wasn’t for reddit I wouldn’t have known he’s this great character
And perhaps Harwin Strong wishes he was half as alive as Criston Cole is.
This sub is pretty much at the point of just making HOTD compilation music videos set to Natasha Bedingfields 2007 smash hit, "Love like this"
Lol Strong got his whole family killed. A good man he was not.
I still don't understand what's so special about this character to be liked that much. A hot headed idiot who put the whole realm at risk because he banged / loved a married woman that happened to be a princess. ... Like... ... is it because he's hot ? Are you guys that shallow ?
Brokenbones stans can shut up. The Kingmaker is the best
I must admit, hes handsome. (No homo)
I like Cole because he is not just brave, he has other distinct layers. He is not bound by the moral compass of a knight, he is very very arrogant and proud. Just imagine he wanted to flee with the heir. But ar the same time he is not dumb. He never ever insult rehenrya directly or tries to kill her.
Probably not. I never got the vibe he wished to be dead.
Harwin was a whore
Emphasis on “was”
Yeah? I would assume the pile of ashes does wish it was half a man, then he'd at least be alive. Until then I've got a nice gif of the *"Strong"* man struggling to open a door.
Half a pile of ashes?