In Season 2, we saw him personally carry Jaehaerys to the council. It could've been the nurses who carried the child, but he did. He tried being a better father to his heir than his father did to him. You can see the look of adoration in his eyes when Jaehaerys is annoying Tyland. And when Otto suggested to parade the Jaehaerys, he said "I will not have my little son paraded around", he even *begged* Alicent to intervene yet the latter did nothing. His actions are guided by a father who wanted revenge. Edit* wrong name.

I think that Alicent didn’t comfort Aegon because she felt that his and Helaena’s pain was all her fault and she didn’t deserve to comfort him.

It’s deeply heartbreaking. Aegon, Helaena and Aemond are struggling with grief.

I like how this episode showed both the dysfunction and grief on both fractions. And they both deal and don't deal with it.

Otto's problem is that he clings to a Westeros that no longer exists, that of Jaehaerys I the conciliator. He desperately looked for that conciliator in Viserys I, in Rhaenyra, he may have briefly looked for it in Daemon (in this one he found the opposite) and eventually in Aegon. I didn't see that this new Jaehaerys was not there and I didn't have anyone like him, being born in a time of peace and living long enough to see a terrible war is hard, not being able to avoid it too and see your family suffer the same.

I always saw the Greens as being the duty-over-love types (whereas the Blacks are more of a love-over-duty), and this episode was the great example of this love-duty dichotomy and how destructive it might be. All the Greens did was out of the sense of duty and went to such great sacrifices of personal desires for the perceived sake of the Realm that they have no love for each other. Otto doesn't want to lend his ear to his daughter when she wants to get something off her chest, Alicent doesn't comfort her son who'd just lost his child and choses to leave him alone in his grief, Aegon never visits his wife to process their loss together, and so on. They do stay together (or used to) out of loyalty to the faction but they don't have love for each other - it was poisoned by the duty

If S2 E2 taught me anything, it's Otto's intentions towards male primogeniture for the realm's stability is purely authentic. If Otto was given complete authority over westeros, I genuinely believe he'd run it better than anyone who ever governed the iron throne.

House Hightower: Machiavellian merchant princes vs House Targaryen: eugenics sorcerer-kings.

One thing that might be semi-related to this and has bothered me for a long time is that Why did GRRM and the fans gave Rhaegar Targaryen so much leniency (even praises) for something that Rhaenyra and Robb Stark are condemned for? Like Robb got blamed for the red wedding because “he couldn’t keep it in his pants” and didn’t honor the marriage pact with House Frey. Or Rhaenyra getting blamed for Dance of the Dragons because she gave birth to bastard boys which tarnished her legitimacy a great deal compared to the greens. But when it’s Rhaegar, people keep praising him that he’s some kind of superhero even though what he did was so much worse than Robb (and might be on the same scale as Rhaenyra). At least Robb felt obligated to marry Jeyne Westerling because he was honor bound to her and didn’t want his kid to be marginalized as a bastard like Jon (not to mention that he was set up by Tywin to meet Jeyne in the first place so there’s no winning for him). Meanwhile, Rhaegar publicly humiliated his own legal wife in a tourney then left said wife and 2 kids in danger while eloping with an impressionable Lyanna Stark because he’s horny and obsessed with the self-absorbed prophecy. The only reason that I can think of that made people praise Rhaegar was that he’s Jon’s father. They didn’t praise Rhaegar for himself. They only praise him because Jon is a good person and the reason he’s good is not because of Rhaegar. It’s because of Ned.

I hate Otto, but he is 100% right this episode. He is the MVP Of this season so far. His reaction when Aegon mentioned Criston Cole had done something is pure gold. Give him an Emmy just for that.

Otto getting mad when he wanted westerling to kill Rhaenyra and hung a bunch of rich nobles in front of the gates while crying about Aegon should respect Viserys when….Viserys never gave a shit about Alicents kids lol.

The most thoughtful analysis I’ve seen about Alicent’s guilt this episode. As a religious person myself growing up I could identify the unease she felt in that moment. She’s such a relatable and tragic character.

Liked the variety of reactions in the family. Especially Aegon being given more sympathetic moments his actor is doing great.Otto's as well because I like to think he does care but he's just dealing with it by putting a positive political spin on this tragedy.

This family is just so tragic. No one knows how to share their grief and pain and it all started because of otto. The trauma he caused to alicent is now reflected in her kids. Aegon and haelena can't go to her share their pain and alicent can't be with them because she can't handle it. Same with aemond. This family doesn't know how to be with each other and handle their emotions. Otto has taught them only to supress it and do what is needed to be done. Aegon was in pain and not once otto thought to be their and listen. Instead all he did was belittle aegon. Not that he was wrong as aegon did make some stupid decision but still atleast have some sympathy. I want Alicent to stand up for her kids somewhere in the show later. The only part i dislike is alicole. There is zero development in their relationship. They don't even talk. Atleast make them have a conversation so we can understand their mindset. Its all sex scenes at the end of the episode to throw off the viewers. Atleast do something meaningful with them. they aren't doing it.

**Aegon digging his fingernails like his mom in grief while Alicent's face shows she wants to comfort him but doesn't know how to is one of the most brilliant scenes.** Imagine being given a juicy Succession style Kendall-Shiv dysfunctional family drama with generational trauma & stunted emotions...& green stans having hysterical breakdowns over why the green characters were not shown holding hands, patting each other's back & singing kumbaya beside Jaehaerys' funeral pyre. Group hugs! Any other fandom would lick it up. But in this fandom the only thing that matters is if your sports team is shown as morally superior to the other team. Rhaenyra grew up with dotting parents & her kids were borne out of love. Whereas Alicent grew up without a mom, had a manipulative dad who used her as a pawn, was forced into a loveless political marriage & was forced to bear children. Ofc she would be incapable of communicating the same affection as Rhaenyra. In turn, her boys undermine her in political matters as they only value her feminine role: for birthing & nurturing them to the throne. Now her value is over. It's conveying a theme of generational trauma & how feudal patriarchal familial relations impede her relationship with her children. Rhys Ifans told us in the BTS of ep 5 that the Hightowers do not know how to communicate affection even if they want to say "I love you" a& then we saw that poignant carriage scene in ep9 where aegon asks "do you love me" & alicent replies "you imbecile" as in "everything I've sacrificed is to give you this day." But they ignore obv themes & say remedial stuff like "Alicent didn't even say anything to Aegon & went straight to Cole". Well in the very previous scene Otto shut her emotions down by telling her "I don't wanna hear it". The cycle is on the nose. She goes to Cole as he's the only semblance of control she has left now that her feminine duty is done. Green stans mad Aegon gets reprimanded for hanging the ratchatchers (which happens in the book too). Rhaenyra's side can do whatever to the smallfolk? But it's a great way to plant the seeds of Rhaenyra's Achilles Heel. There's no Otto to hold her accountable, so she never learns. "Otto wanted to assasinate Rhaenyra too"...when the Blacks didn't yet know Viserys was dead & the Greens had the element of surprise with them. I'm sorry but green stans who wanted Aegon & Helaena to hug & cry simply do not understand the presentation of either character. What they're looking for is a Y/A fanfic. But then again there's a subsection of stans here who ignore every element of her presentation & complained about Helaena being visibly unnerved by the smallfolk during the funeral as if her cassandra coded character who's nervous & fidgety in front of her own family will suddenly act like a rockstar & do a moshpit dive over the smallfolk screaming her name. The team brainworms do not deserve a greek tragedy.

Man, this show holds no punches! With regards to Aemond, I think he serves the role of the archetypal eldest sibling. He is the surrogate responsibility figure for his dysfunctional family. He has to always put on a strong front because they all depend on him but he can't depend on them.

can’t express how exciting it is to hear a women’s perspective on these characters! thank you thank you!!

Absolutely loved this take on the matter. Thank you again Hill’s!

While I love the psychological analysis of the greens isolating themselves in the face of grief I can’t shake the feeling that the writers didn’t gave them scenes together so they’re less sympathetic. Aegon and Helaena’s actors said they had to fight for their meager scenes together.

I hate Otto more than I ever did because now I can see clearly that HE CARES! He cares for the kingdom for real and he cared about Viserys. Rhys Ifans is such a great actor, someone gives this man an Emmy!!!! I really like how this season is taking a more human approach to the Greens. They are not as obliviously villains and the Blacks are not the heroes, we are just seeing people crumbling under the consequences of their ambitions and actions.

Daemon Targaryen to his black kids, stepkids, and toddlers. He will pay equally no attention to you

You know, while Alicent could do better than Criston Cole, she could and has done worse(cough...Viserys... cough). And as the most recent episode proves, Rhaenyra has done worse too(cough...Daemon...cough).

Otto was responsible more than Viserys. Yes Viserys named a female heir, but he did that on Otto's suggestion, because he didn’t want Daemon named hier. They could have annulled Daemons marriage to Lady Rhea, married him to Rhaenyra and then name them heirs as King and queen, that would have prevented the war. Or Otto could have supported Viserys marrying Laena which would have been more stable. But he could absolutely have worked to get Viserys to more forcefully ensure the Lords supported Rhaenyra instead of plotting behind the scenes to elevate Aegon as soon as Viserys died. Without Otto's support there would have been a Great council to solve the succession and also a war wouldn't have happened. Yes Viserys made the situation bad, but Otto put it into effect.

Your in-depth analysis on the show is one of the few things, that *barely* keep me watching it.

I think with Otto it's not just about the times Viserys didn't listen to him it's about the time he did. If Viserys hadn't changed the succession in favour of Rhaenyra. Aegon would likely be the unquestioned king (and probably better prepared for that role); Jaehaerys would still be alive and there would be every reason to expect continued peace. If Otto allows himself to be too self aware about his relationship with Viserys and what it led to, the responsibility might be too much to bear.

I like your videos. Keep up the good work

Aemonds absence in the aftermath of Jaeharys is not unusual. Alicent and Otto view what he did to Lucerys as a huge mistake and have shunned him since.

I loved this break down and everything you said about Otto and Alicent is spot on! I have to disagree a little about Aemond, though. He is very clearly shaken by the death of his nephew, thats what led him to the Street of Silk in the first place. The fact that a handsome young prince has taken an middle aged whore as his bed partner and concubine is pretty telling. Aemond deeply desires a connection with his mother who his emotionally incapable of that connection, so he tries to replicate that when he needs comfort. This was one of the saddest scenes so far, tbh. Especially if youre a book reader, because then you certainly know how violently Aemond does indeed react to Jaehaerys' death. 😢

Wow. I completely missed the missing mention of Jarharys in the wild Aemond/ Sylvie interaction. I might have been distracted by the wild Targaryen-ness of the naked fetal position presented. Great video❤

Thanks for making this

Otto never made me buy into an altruistic for the greater good rederick he spews.

They’re crumbling because the writers need them to be the clear and absolute villains. I feel bad for Fabian. This fandom is brutal.

Say what you want about Otto and feel how you feel about him ....he knows how to play the game of thrones and they should have listened to him.

What a delightful and fascinatingly messy family! I feel like it's hard to connect with the blacks because they seem kind of undeveloped and inconsistent at this point compared to the nuanced, fun, messy greens 😅 We've been told so many times Rhae and her supporters are the good guys, but half of them feel like complete strangers to me, and at best they're less fun to watch!

You might be right on the underlying psychological reasons why Aegon reacted the way he did, seeing Jahaerys as an extension of his own turmoil. However, I think that is the only reason he could care about the child in any way, as an extension of himself. He could not give a pigeon's crap about either of his children or family members from the time he was a teenager.

And black supporters will use this emotional stuntedness & perceived guilt (esp Aliscents) to justify their moral high ground, entirely writing them all (except Helaena, at least) as guilty for Daemons crime.

think the reason aemond doesnt share any feelings with his family is because he deduced how they would react, or not react, most likely, in a comforting way or offer any kind of solace. also the reason he didnt mention jahaerys was because with him in the picture he had no chance of getting the throne, which doesnt mean he hated him but likely avoided/acted like he didnt exist so there was no emotional impact, considering the no love lost between him and aegon or the aparently colder realtionship he has now with his sister. he mightve also realised that with that murder war was a certainty and an eventual battle to the death between him and daemon is all but inevitable, so it was a sort of last tumble before the death soldier style.

THE HILLS ARE ALIVE, WITH THE SOUND OF VIDEO ESSAYS!!! Hey girl!! My A quiet place and GOT crossover is up, if you wanted to check it out haha. 😄

RIP Sigmund Freud. You would have loved HotD

Otto is to blame for all this pain because he is the one that started this whole thing. Viserys made his wishes clear from the start. Rhaenyra was his heir. He did not change his mind but tto manouvred to manipulate the political spectrum and helped steal the throne. So he is to Blame

Could you make a video about Daemon's alleged skills as a warrior? The Blood and Cheese incident makes me wonder if he's really the great warrior he's cracked up to be.

Well we watched only 2 episodes. We have yet to see more of them in future.

I wonder if the show will ever acknowledge that House Hightower has essentially decided to sacrifice Otto and all of his descendants in order to destroy the dragons. I think Otto knows this and it's horrible to imagine how he copes with this.

I can't really agree with the assertion that Otto having more control would have prevented the Dance from escalating. Any option that doesn't end with Daemon on the throne or married to Rhaenyra with her ob the throne would have seen Daemon rebel. Otto would do anything to prevent Daemon from having power.

Pero por q actuan como si solo daemon fuera malo aqui en la serie nadie es bueno la unica persona buena es helena nunca entendere por q rhaenyra y viserys no confían en daemon pero sin confiaron en Otto y alicent y q les llevó eso a q le quitaron el trono y daemon aún sigue ahi con ella apoyandola 🤷 Ahora solo por q paso lo de blood y chese se le olvida q otto queria mandar a matar a rhaenyra y sus hijos Alicent es una hipócrita tanto q critico a rhaenyra por acostarse con otros hombre ella esta aciendo lo mimso Aegon solo por q mostraton q queria a su hijo se les olvido q es un violador q tiene hijos bastardos q pelean en las calle y aemond solo por q supuestamente fue sin querer mato a luke y aun asi luke era un chico pequeño tambien pero todo eso se les olvida nadie dice q daemon es perfecto pero en la serie nadie lo es todos cometen errores 🤷

The sad thing is, Otto is STILL more of an emotionally available father than Tywin.

They are not Hightowers this is Civil war and Aegon, Aemond and Helaena are Targaryens

Aemond ain’t the most loyal of the greens stop trying down play daeron to me aemond this episode made me mad cause he didn’t care about his own nephew but cried about the strong boy

I don't believe Aegon was mourning his son, so much as his pride

Anyone think the series will have Aegon kill Criston for sleeping with Alicent instead of doing his job and guarding the queen and children? That, or Aemond will and lie saying the blacks did.

when otto was having his moment i thought tywin was back then I remember the Hightowers are a weak broken house whoo finally saw a path toreal power

Amazing how you make the analisis saludos desde Argentina i wanna say that how you pointed out the important of a Dorne (Hispanic persone) be in the court was something that not other people talk about and play the stereotypes of our people i would like if a part of Dornish caracters come to join the green side, so not only have one commander but more hispanos in the show but now the military campaing is going to be inspired of the war that Hannibal Barca, fougth against Rome that seems inspired oldtow and hightowers the origins of the faith of the seven but the 3 Criston Aegon and Eadmon are a paralel of Hannibal Mago Barca Asdrubal the brothers and Maharbal the lions of Cartage like a great guerrilla tactic gonna be rook rest with a little of Comandante Che Guevara here in Latinoamerica. I see that the blacks are more desorganiced that the greens and that its going to pop out in their faces in Rook rest wichs is their Cannas the greates battle of Hannibal a great comandante is going to deliber and now we are on the way, muchas gracias por los videos is very educational in my view

Firstman ⚔️

Long Live The Queen!!!

I think cole also was conveniently absent from both gaurding the royal family from assassin's at night and gaurding the royal children the night aemond lost his eye.

House Hightower AND TARGARYEN

Aegon, Aemond and Helaena are NOT Hightowers they are Targaryens. Nobody calls Rhaenyra an Arryn so why should Viserys' other children be called by their mother's house name instead of their own

"New found relationship".. There's nothing new about their relationship.

Viserys didn’t kill his previous wife in order to have a male heir. You’re thinking of Henry VIII

I could have accepted guilt was the reason Alicent didnt comfort Aegon if she didnt immediately go sleep with Cole. I cant say I blame Aemond, who used to worship the ground his mother walks on, resents her.

Why do you call Alicent’s sins “imagined”?

Their own fault they were taking their treachery lightly like fools. Literally killed their nephew, yet we party like normal. 😂😂😂

Why is this video titled this? most of the people you talk about are Targaryens not Hightowers

Way too many mouth sounds

I was with you other than you saying that the Dance never would've happened if "only Visaerys had followed Otto's advice". Otto's advice, riddled with selfish ambition, is what directly led to the Dance of the Dragons. Disinheriting Daemon to begin with (like Otto wanted) is what reopened the issue of the succession at all.

is this an AI voice?

Aegon was upset at what it did to his image. It was all ego driven.

This girl will do anything to defend alicent

Hard to care about the greens with reluctant baby king and Criston Cole. Aemon shouldn’t have killed Luke.

It's all Viserys' fault for naming a female as his heir. The war happened because of him and Rhaenyra. No good will come out with a woman on the iron throne. Only men should sit on the iron throne

Vile woman Alicent, Forced her son to the throne, the writers CHOOSE A VERY VERY CHEAP AND CRAP WAY THE way they made him king, think it's written by woman a LOT THESE Shows, just eye rolling at times and the convo's drag on and on and on , zzzzzzzzz

Fuck Team Black and Green at this time, I'm Team Everyone-needs-to-hug-Haelena-and-get-her-a-therapist 🥹

**Aegon digging his fingernails like his mom in grief while Alicent's face shows she wants to comfort him but doesn't know how to is one of the most brilliant scenes.** Imagine being given a juicy Succession style Kendall-Shiv dysfunctional family drama with generational trauma & stunted emotions...& green stans having hysterical breakdowns over why the green characters were not shown holding hands, patting each other's back & singing kumbaya beside Jaehaerys' funeral pyre. Group hugs! Any other fandom would lick it up. But in this fandom the only thing that matters is if your sports team is shown as morally superior to the other team. Rhaenyra grew up with dotting parents & her kids were borne out of love. Whereas Alicent grew up without a mom, had a manipulative dad who used her as a pawn, was forced into a loveless political marriage & was forced to bear children. Ofc she would be incapable of communicating the same affection as Rhaenyra. In turn, her boys undermine her in political matters as they only value her feminine role: for birthing & nurturing them to the throne. Now her value is over. It's conveying a theme of generational trauma & how feudal patriarchal familial relations impede her relationship with her children. Rhys Ifans told us in the BTS of ep 5 that the Hightowers do not know how to communicate affection even if they want to say "I love you" a& then we saw that poignant carriage scene in ep9 where aegon asks "do you love me" & alicent replies "you imbecile" as in "everything I've sacrificed is to give you this day." But they ignore obv themes & say remedial stuff like "Alicent didn't even say anything to Aegon & went straight to Cole". Well in the very previous scene Otto shut her emotions down by telling her "I don't wanna hear it". The cycle is on the nose. She goes to Cole as he's the only semblance of control she has left now that her feminine duty is done. Green stans mad Aegon gets reprimanded for hanging the ratchatchers (which happens in the book too). Rhaenyra's side can do whatever to the smallfolk? But it's a great way to plant the seeds of Rhaenyra's Achilles Heel. There's no Otto to hold her accountable, so she never learns. "Otto wanted to assasinate Rhaenyra too"...when the Blacks didn't yet know Viserys was dead & the Greens had the element of surprise with them. I'm sorry but green stans who wanted Aegon & Helaena to hug & cry simply do not understand the presentation of either character. What they're looking for is a Y/A fanfic. But then again there's a subsection of stans here who ignore every element of her presentation & complained about Helaena being visibly unnerved by the smallfolk during the funeral as if her cassandra coded character who's nervous & fidgety in front of her own family will suddenly act like a rockstar & do a moshpit dive over the smallfolk screaming her name. The team brainworms do not deserve a greek tragedy.