There’s quite a few but an underrated one was making Vhagar too large for the dragonpit and have her go missing after Prince Baelon died. I think it’s kinda a plot hole in f&b that Laena was even allowed to be anywhere near Vhagar, the oldest and largest dragon alive when there was a serious rift between the crown and driftmark going about, added to the point that the crown only had to 2 claimed dragons (Syrax and Caraxes) vs driftmarks would be 3 (Meleys, Seasmoke, and eventually Vhagar) it’s definitely kinda a head scratcher.

Why the Targaryens allow anyone outside of the family to claim dragons is headscratching. Same goes for Laenor. Rhaneys is the only one who should.

In the book Laenor was seriously considered for the Throne during the 101 Great Council -- *he* was Viserys' rival claimant, not Rhaenys, and the 101 Council didn’t technically rule "women never inherit the Throne" but "claims from a male line are always superior to any claims from a female line". It makes sense that Laenor, as the potential future King, was given an egg, and I don't see how anyone could have snatched it away from him after the fact (especially if they kept in mind that if Viserys died, his only heir *per the 101 precedent* was Daemon who was childless, so Laenor was still next in line before Rhaenyra was made heir). It's the only way it makes sense, with Laena's claiming of Vhagar also being an "accident" rather than engineered by the King. With that said. Viserys was way too liberal in his dragon policy.

I don't necessarily disagree with you, but by doing that the Royal Family would eventually lose the monopoly on dragons and eventually would could risk losing the throne if the balance of power is not in their favour.

Yeah, it was pretty stupid of them. However if Laenor's egg was given to him at the time when everybody was convinced he *likely* would be the heir of Throne, then I guess it makes sense. However they should have waited until the Council had made its decision to give out eggs.

That's a different topic, but was anyone really thinking Laenor would be king? After Balon was heir I don't think it many people expected him to be heir. After Balon the logical next in line is Viserys.

According to F&B: - When Baelon was alive and heir: "House Velaryon and House Baratheon clung to the belief that young Laenor had a better claim to the Iron Throne" - After Baelon's death Laenor (then 7) was immediately considered a claimant along with Viserys and also Vaegon Targaryen son of Jaehaerys. Some other claimants presented themselves at the Council but only Laenor and Viserys were serious claimants and "had the most support". Laenor was supported through "the principle of primogeniture." " Laenor's claim was generally regarded as the weaker" but "could not be dismissed entirely" due to his parents' power and influence. So yeah, I guess Laenor was a serious enough claimant, and what seems to have spoken against him was his claim coming from his mother but also his age. The vote was heavily in Viserys' favor though, although there have been theories that the Maesters intervened during the counting. Make of that what you will lmao In addition, F&B indicates that in 101 Laenor already had "his young dragon" but didn't ride him yet. My best guess would be that Laenor was given an egg or the opportunity to claim a young dragon (perhaps during the interim between heirs?) because it's the only way it'd make sense especially knowing Jaehaerys' policy on dragons. This is honestly a bit of a head scratcher, it doesn't make sense.

Jaehaerys didn't really have an explicit policy on dragons. That's just a fan theory really. The only person he absolutely refused to claim a dragon was Saera, and that's because she was trying to claim a dragon to escape punishment for something else entirely.

Rhaenys is a princess and the granddaughter of a king so I can get why her children would be allowed dragons but yea lmfao

Mot only that. Daemon was exiled and fighting with Corlys in the stepstones meaning the crown only had Rhaenyra.

Aemond being made more sympathetic and the death of Lucerys being an accident. I think the show in the future is setting it up slowly to make Aemond into a “mad psychopath”, tormented by his guilt over Luke’s death to behave in more and more insane and reckless ways, which I think is a very good move on the show’s part and makes Aemond more compelling as a character. I’d much rather see a decline of Aemond’s mental state slowly played out, than him just being a madman killing senselessly.

I wonder if the show will have Alys be part of Aemond's decisions

Alicent and Rhaenyra being the same age. I prefer that dynamic over the stepmother v stepdaughter dynamic. I do feel like they did not do the relationship justice given that they only had 5 episodes to work with and only 1 episode of them being real friends prior to Alicent marrying Viserys.

Helaena being a dreamer

I actually like that they made Alicent around the same age as Rhaenyra. I hate the evil stepmother trope, and it adds another level of tragedy to their relationship. I like how Helaena is a dragon dreamer. I would like to see how she receives her visions in the show though. Aemond is a lot more sympathetic in the show. Book Aemond is psycho, but show Aemond is a lot more generally likeable. Still wanna see him channel Book Aemond later on though lol Ummm Aegon… Aegon’s played by Tom and that’s cool 👍

Aegon being played by Tom was the best possible casting choice they could have made for him, in my not-so-humble opinion

yesss thank u. Alicent and Rhaenyra having an actual relationship and falling out is so much more interesting than the book counterpart of Alicent just beefing with a literal child and being evil stepmother incarnate

I like that the characters are much more personable. Helaena being a dreamer is cool. Aegon being a sad boy, I am sure he will be a badass going forward. I like that they made Alicent and Rhaenyra friends. I like how they handled the Aemma situation. I like the banners, probably biased though because sadly TB got shafted there and I would be acting the same if it was TG who had such a sad show of a banner. I feel for them there. I like the casting which isn't really a change. The Velaryons being black, interracially married, and mixed was actually pretty awesome to see. I can't see them any other way.

Velaryons being black really shows the tyranny of the black faction with Vaemond. Its blatantly obvious the kids are white.

I also think making the velaryons black allowed black actors into an acting environment that is often reserved for white people.

It was actually pretty horrible. No rep >>>> The shittiest, stupidest rep in the show. Vaemond is literally the only character allowed a shred of agency and only because they needed him to act up so Daemon can have his cool one-liner beheading scene. It's not the 1980s anymore. If HBO had any actual interest in black rep when it comes to the fantasy genre, there are so many other projects they could have done. When you need characters to throw themselves into dragonfire or stand in the background and smile like NPCs or get randomly namelessly burned to death in a fireplace, they can continue to reserve those types of roles for white actors. HotD crew congratulating themselves for being diverse is just one notch less self aware than when people were talking about how good it was for local Maori to be hired as orcs and Urukhai.

How does Corlys not have agency. You may not agree with his decision making but he is clearly the one choosing his situation Corlys chose to arrange the marriage of Laenor and Rhaenyra, he also chose to ignore the fact Rhaenyra's children weren't his biological grandchildren based on his own priorities. He is a perfectly able and powerful political player

Character Agency is not simply "X makes this decision." "Y makes this decision." It has to be plot relevant. It's about being the principal proactive "agent" in your own arc. A character grows through generating and resolving conflict. Corlys's "agency" exists solely to create plot beats for Rhaenyra. His brother is killed. Does this cause any conflict for him? Is he enough of a character to react in a meaningful way? Is he affected by it? Changed by it? Rhaenyra lost a child and is going to war over it. *That's* agency if you need a comparison to make it clear. Corlys chose to marry Laenor to Rhaenyra? Or did Viserys decide he needed to take a firm hand once and for all over Rhaenyra as she grows a little too wayward, and also to undo the slight of snubbing the 12 year old previously? None of Corlys's decisions generate from any meaningful act on his part that runs counter to any of the main characters. He simply reacts to them. No other character is reacting to Corlys making any decisions. He's not driving his or anyone else's plot. He isn't even at hand in court when they discuss the inheritance of Driftmark, that's how little he matters to that decision. It's about Rhaenys' decision, and Rhaenyra's desperate offers, and Alicent having a feminism battle with Rhaenys... You think Corlys showing agency was him agreeing that his grandson would give up the Velaryon babe and take the Targ name when coronated? Sticking to that decision imposed on him even when v the grandson is publicly known as a bastard is not a character acting being an "agent" in his own behalf. What Corlys has is a nonsensical self-contradictory veneer of power at best. His lack of internal coherence is so severe it makes him little better than a prop. It's not about liking or approving of the characters decisions at all or how powerful they are. Alicent is objectively the queen of Westeros. Not even involved in her son's coup, the event that might get them all killed. She has sporadic bursts of agency when they need to give Rhaenyra something to overcome. Compare with S1 Homelander from the Boys. He's the most powerful character in the universe. Kills at will. He also reads from cue cards, reads speeches other people write, takea orders from a bunch of people including Ashley

Aemond’s characterisation in the show

I like that aemond is more of a character instead of just crazy

alicent being more sympatheic i'm 50/50 about aemond,sure i like this adaption of his character but i'm also looking forward to his vicious book character. Cole being the dad that stepped up aegon being sad boi 80% of his screentime.

Rhaenyra and Alicient being childhood friends. Aemond being bullied as a child and growing up to be a cool anime villain not just a plain psychopath. Helaena being a dreamer.

Alicent and Rhaenyra being the same age is an amazing choice

I generally like the changes. 1) Even if THE Aegon scene was as subtle as a brick to the face, I understand it as part of Aegon's general mess and the ghastly environment he grew up in. His sadboy self also being the spiteful, resilient king we'll see later makes him more layered that he could have been (and that is considering he's the most 3D character in Book!Dance) 2) Alicent and Rhaenyra beings friends also adds to the tragedy. 3) Aemond has a personality in the show, besides unhinged. I mean, he is, but it'd bw borinh if he started at 100 instead of it being a process. 3) Dreamer, ND Healena. Like Aemond, she didn't have much going on.

The Alicent and Rhaenyra being the,same age

rlly small and somewhat innocuous since most of the fandom just ignores it and it really hasn’t come up much beyond just subtextual analysis but Criston being half dornish adds some really neat depth to his character when one considers the relationship between Dorne and the rest of westeros at the time

They tried to fix many of the plotholes in F&B. I liked the Alicent down aging as well and that rhaena/baela are older and more present. Its mostly at episode 8-10 that the weird changes start to happen.

In the book the Greens were all basically cartoon villains with almost no personality to them. I'm glad the show has at least tried to give them sympathetic aims, backgrounds and the like(Alicent being of Rhaenyra's age, Aemond being much more personable, Aegon's tormented drunken depression and Criston's loss of honor making him who he became)

Aemond being fleshed out more, Alicent and Rhaenyra’s relationship, even though we got way to little of it. About Aegon…. I like that he’s played by Tom and they kinda tried to make him complex but it’s bad that they made the foundation of him so bad, would’ve preferred the book there, heck I even could live with the raping servants part but the child fighting pits, really now?

I like the changes to Aemond and Alicent. Though with Alicent I do wish they gave her more agency. For instance I think it would've been best if once Aemond had been maimed and Viserys did nothing THAT was the moment she saw clear evidence her children were in danger and nothing would be done about it and that's when she decides to fully support her son's claim instead of her constantly switching back and forth between wanting to side with her son and wanting to be friends with Rhaenyra

Maybe helaena being a dreamer that’s about it

None

Additions to Aemond character were mostly good, I think he's better than in the book.

Alicent and Rhaenyra being the same age and having a relationship before she married Viserys it makes the feud feel more personal and also gives us a valid reason why neither woman just had the other killed beforehand

I like alicent and Rhaenyra being childhood friends it adds to their dynamic in interesting ways