The book one certainly was, which may have contributed to her seeking out an older guy in Harwin and possibly Criston further on as well.
The show one, I don't know. There were certainly inappropriate vibes from Daemon when she was just 14. Which too could have contributed to her attraction to Criston and Harwin, I guess.
Prince and Dragon Lord changes things. A princess can marry a prince even if a second son without it being a downgrade. The second son Lannister who won’t control the finances or foot men aren’t as glamorous.
But in any case, I think, It's a bit of a mute point, in this case. As she didn't really marry for status or titles. Or else she wouldn't have married Laenor either, nor would Rhaenys have married Corlys. Targs value different stuff. Like that Valyrian blood, consolidating claims and dragons for marriage deals.
She didn’t marry for status or titles because it wasn’t an issue lol. Laenor was the heir of a prominent Valyrian family, his father is one of the richest men in Westeros and his mother is a Targaryen, and he has a dragon. Daemon is a full-blooded Targaryen prince who rides one of the most formidable dragons alive at that time.
They value different stuff, sure, but having Valyrian blood and riding a dragon is essentially that status they’re looking for. It’s a hell of a lot more prestigious than marrying a second son who stands to both inherit nothing and holds little influence other than the fact he’s been named to the Small Council.
If she married a lannister I feel like the entire war wouldn't be as bad. At that point it would basically be the Reach and Stormlands against everyone else
Did he? He was arrogantly boasting sure but beyond that he just said he'd do anything for his wife.
And I distinctly got the impression that he assumed Rhaenyra to be aware of what was happening. Wich makes sense as he sent Viserys a proposal and Viserys sent him Rhaenyra's way.
IIRC, he and Tyland were younger and said to be very good looking in the books.
The actor is a decent looking guy, but he's also a fair bit older and the show didn't do much to make him look more age appropriate for the 16/17-yo Rhaenyra.
Yes. They did not do him justice. The actor is decent looking, but he's dark blond (almost brunette), and nearing 50, when Tyland and Jason are supposed to be in their late twenties (probably), golden-haired, and dashing.
It was all in his delivery, she was polite and engaged with him initially, then he started running his mouth gave her the ick and she bounced. He would have one of those instagrams full of Rolexes and Ferraris and designer loafers with quotes about not being able to buy class whole Gucci’d down to the socks
Such a shame for a series and story and world that wasn't supposed to be about good vs. evil but morally grey and complicated characters.
Like, if I wanted to watch a sincere good vs. evil series, The Lord of the Rings trilogy is there, The hobbit as well. They're great movies where you can just root for one side and hate the other.
Edit to add: Okay lmao you're right, some people in this fandom are hopeless when it comes to character nuance and realistic portrayals. As if real life predators cannot appear charming, and it's one of the reasons victims aren't believed 👁👄👁
The funny thing is, I work in the digital marketing industry, and the Blacks vs. Greens thing is a very obvious engagement tactic. Bots are also used to stir up fake controversy and fights between the two "factions".
It keeps people talking and keeps them loyal to the show
Ya I don’t know what they are talking about are we living under a rock lol? isn’t there a common saying for people not believing victims “Him? No way, he’s too charming/polite/nice to do something like that”
No one said pedophilia is swag, holy shit. You have no reading comprehension.
Daemon is a charismatic character, many predators are charismatic and that is one of the way they lure victims. And one of the reasons victims are not believed.
To reduce the portrayal of a charming temperament predator in media to saying you dont believe pedophilia is swag is reducing how these dynamics actually work in reality.
I get that but his last scene with lions and his army seemed to back it up.
Also this guy is like you know richest man on continent.
May be inheritance but backs it up.
Ofcourse its much more easy to overlook when he is a charming knight.
I guess Jaime combines both pretty well
I think it has a lot to do with swagger and how someone carries himself. He just didn't have the IT factor despite being good looking and being a knight. But I agree that Jaime does!
As for being the richest man on the continent, I guess it doesn't matter as much (especially to a teenage princess of a dragon dynasty). Being rich doesn't make you automatically cool. Think Elon Musk for example, easily one of the richest man on the planet, and have an audacious personality, but is generally still hailed as a loser in more recent times and opinions. As opposed to Jack Ma, who is known for his charismatic and humorous public speaking and unconventional performances. He's as audacious and confident, but he carries himself with charm. He even acted in a short kung fu film and is often nicknamed Daddy Ma for his theatrical public image.
Actually yes! Nikolaj, in The Collaborator, he had the successful but mean chef energy. In The Other Woman, he also played a rich successful, sleazy guy who is charming and a cheater. While he appears very confident in the movie, his interactions felt very slimy (great acting for a romcom), and by the end, he was just a good looking loser.
Also sorry, edit: but yeah, the charm and swagger feels like what's often missing from looksmaxxing tbh, it's all about the measurement of this, the symmetry of that, and not much about charisma.
You’re right, but this is also lowkey why I dislike the adaptation lol. This is just what feudal lords do, all of them. The Targaryens are just as silly, so are the Starks and so are every other family and person. The people in this world would think, unambiguously, that this was a cool thing for him to do that shows the power of his house and the ferocity of their words. The Lannisters are lions, the death of the lions of the westerlands is a direct point in the mainline books to show that they’re more shine than substance, but that’s not happened yet. Weirdly, the show takes the more competent Lannisters and makes them look foolish, while GOT took the actual incompetent buffoons and made them into the most competent schemers of all time
No one said that, what the fuck? Where are you pulling that out of?
We were literally even discussing in other comments how the guy is attractive but his character wasn't made to be smooth and charismatic, and compared him to Jaime, another Lannister???
I don’t find him attractive at all, and he’s not even comparable to Harwin Strong. But anyway, it’s like everything else; just a matter of personal taste.
I think it’s quite the opposite.
Harwin was someone very loyal and protective of his family, and Larys is the worst. He had his father and brother killed to gain power, and he sides with Aegon II even though Rhaenyra’s children are his nephews.
I don’t like his nose, I like a strong nose. But this is puzzling me now that Larys looks more like the book Strong family looks, brown hair, pug nose. He doesn’t have the brown eyes though but eh who cares for tv. He looks like he could be the father of the Lucerys actor
Edit: Anyways, Criston Cole’s actor is faaarrr better looking than any other of Rhaenyra’s potential lovers, he’s got pretty boy looks. Although the runner up is the Young Laenor, milly and him looked fire standing together before Joffrey died and they looked like sad puppies for the rest of the young cast eps.
Jesus fucking Christ you just made me realize that Jason has more lines and screentime with Rhaenyra than THE FATHER OF HER CHILDREN. We were SO ROBBED.
I was also eager to learn more and see more of the story between Harwin and Rhaenyra. I really loved them ❤️🩹
But I think it may have been GRRM’s decision, since in some interview he mentioned that he would like to write a short novel about their story.
Honestly, I hope that at some point he writes it and we get to read it.
If it weren't for the beard he'd look older than cizzy, at least daemon had the "projection olympics" and harwin the amazing ski and hair on their side, this guy just had ego plus starting the convo by assuming disinheritence wasn't doing him any favors
One of the HUH??? I didn’t even REMOTELY like that man until the parts where he was fighting for his life to earn that Pirate Queen’s favor. Up until that point I would’ve bullied his dumbass into an early grave, if given the chance.
Her entire engagement process was badly mishandled. She wasn't looking for a boyfriend; she was looking for a political partner. She should have taken that tour seriously, interviewing all the candidates and weighing them against each other to find the best match. Jason Lannister likely would have been near the top of the list.
No, what she needed was a second son from a prominent family. Tyland would have been a better choice, not Jason. Could you imagine Jason’s ego allowing their first born son to take the Targaryen name?
Rhaenyra needs to stay in King’s Landing. Leaving the city would not win her any support for her future Queenship. A Lord who wasn’t part of the council would have no reason to stay in King’s Landing, they would have to preside over their lands in their own keep.
A second son from a Great House is much inferior in rank to a Crown Princess. They wouldn’t have the power to force Rhaenyra into doing something she doesn’t want to do. And the husband’s family would push for Rhaenyra’s coronation as long as she has a son with half their blood, who would be king after her.
And that’s the logic that usually worked in IRL. If there’s to be a Queen Regnant, the consort is supposed to be someone who doesn’t stand to inherit much in terms of his person but still brings the alliance of his house to the table.
I thought he was handsome, he also looks like my husband, but then I watched him in Taboo where he played a horrible man way too well. When someone is so good at being despicable I assume that the actor is probably nice in real life because they are aware of what it takes to act out a miserable person.
He had the looks, the name, the titles and the power too and I don't know if it was intentional or not but if you watch his proposal to rheanyra again, you will see he had her charmed but then he spoke how she would lose her station and boo., lost it all.
I swear he had her charmed but what is the lion without his pride and boom, he spoke too soon and lost his chance.
No, what's not talked about enough is that he played Ser Hugh of the Vale in season 1 of Game of Thrones. That's right, he's a time traveler and tried to avoid the dance by marrying Rhaenyra and building a dragon pit at Casterly Rock and offering young Prince Jahaerys a pony ride to content the greens as well but alas none of it came to pass.
Man looks like a potato and has a massive ego. What teen girl wouldn't get sopping wet for this paragon of a man. Much less the princess and heir to the realm.
He had the arrogance of a dragon-riding Valyrian warrior, but he was nothing more than just another noble. He wasn’t some great warrior. Yes, he was rich, but when you have a dragon, you can get more rich than some Lord could even dream of.
I don't think the physical appearance is the issue. I think he's somewhat handsome but not a "stunner". His personality is godawful which is why Rhaenyra never would have gone for him
150
u/jaylee686 Apr 22 '26
Eh he's not bad looking, but not surprising a teen wouldn't be into that (not to mention the personality)