I struggled with this initially and ended up semi-giving up after episode 6, but I’ve finally gone back to it and finished the series. Episode 9 was a whirlwind.
However, I’ve got a few questions, can anybody help clarify a few bits for me (also I don’t know if I’m spelling half these names right):
- Is princess rhaenys (lady of driftmark) King Viseryus’s sister?
- Is Aegon’s wife his sister? Same for Aemond?
- Is Ser Crispin Cole having a fling with Alicent?
- Is Larys (foot fetish guy) a relation or does he just snoop about and collect gossip?
- Why does Alicent want Aegon to be king? Simply because it’s her husbands (supposed) dying wish? Or because she feels as though she’ll essentially be the ruling queen as she’ll keep him under control and do her bidding? Because she knows he’s a bit useless, so it seems weird why she’s fighting his corner so much.
- Why don’t the small council want Rhaenyra (Matt smith’s wife/niece) to be queen? Good ole fashioned misogyny? Or because she’s not easily controlled? And is that why they want Aegon, because they’ll control him?
- Is Rhaenyra bastard children’s dad still alive? Or was he killed? I can’t remember.
- Did we already know Rhaenyra was pregnant? Had I missed that?
- Why are they referring to the Alicent etc as the Greens?
1. Rhaenys is King Viserys' cousin and roughly the same age. She is the only child of Prince Aemon Targaryen and Lady Jocelyn Baratheon. Her father was the crown prince but died before becoming King. His father King Jaehaerys (the old King we saw in e1) decided to skip Rhaenys and chose his next son Baelon as crown prince. When that son died too, he decided to put the matter to a vote. By this point Rhaenys was already married to Corlys and had a son, Laenor, but the realm still chose Prince Viserys (son of Prince Baelon) over her. Hence why she cautions Rhaenyra that the realm already had a chance to have a queen and rejected it, as Rhaenys had the best claim by primogeniture and Andal law/custom, a better claim than Rhaenyra had. Obviously marrying Rhaenys and Viserys would have resolved everything.
2. Aegon is married to his full-sister, Helaena. In the books they have three children: twins called Jaehaerys and Jaehaera, and a boy called Maelor. Aemond and Daeron (so far unseen in the TV series) are unmarried.
3. I think it's purposedly left ambiguous, but there seems to be a profound emotional involvement at the least.
4. Larys Strong is the son of Lord Lyonel Strong, who we see in a few episodes of season 1. Lord Lyonel was King Viserys' Hand of the King whenever Otto was fired. Lyonel's eldest son, Harwin "Breakbones" was Rhaenyra's lover and father of her boys. When a mysterious fired killed Lyonel and Harwin, Larys inherited the family's very rich estate (Harrenhal), became one of the great lords of the realm and a royal councillor. He's very similar to Varys in the way he controls an independent espionage network the royals want and need.
5. Because he's her (blood) son and putting him in power puts not only her, but her family and bloodline in power. This seems a personal project of her domineering father Otto but is a general (standard) ambition of any noble family: to annex the supreme sovereign authority for themselves and used it on their own behalf. Aegon being shit or unbalanced doesn't matter so long as he can be used or manipulated to benefit the family. Think of House Lannister's and even House Tyrell's support of Joffrey and then Tommen, despite one being mad and the other a child.
6. Because she's a strong-willed woman married to an even stronger-willed guy. Because she doesn't have popular support and people in genera would prefer a male heir. Because her sons are obviously illegitimate and that places her immoral. They either hate her, her husband, or anything in Aegon's way (Hightower ascendancy).
7. He was killed in a fire.
8. No.
9. It was the colour of a dress she wore, itself an allusion to the colour of the flames in the Hightower's flames when the family goes to war.
