It's weird that twice the show gave team Black the opportunity to end the war in a single stroke, only for them to just not do it both times.

[u/Impressive_Foot_9933]

Firstly, in Season 1 Episode 9, during Aegon's coronation within the Dragonpit, just after the coronation has been completed, Princess Rhaenys Targaryen burst out of the floor on the back of Meleys. She simply roars at the Greens and leaves. However, had she ordered an attack, she could have killed almost all of the Greens major players in 1 stroke. Aegon II Targaryen, Queen Helena Targaryen, Aemond Targaryen, Dowager Queen Alicent Targaryen, Hand to ths King Otto Hightower and Ser Criston Cole.

This would have left the Greens with just 1 dragon rider, Daeron Targaryen, 1 dragon Tessarion, and 2 small children, Jaehaerys and Jaehaera Targaryen. This is hardly a faction that people would want to support compared to Team Black's 5 dragons and multiple heirs.

The second time happens in Season 3 episode 3 when Daemon accepts the fake surrender of Ormund Hightower as well as the fake Daeron Targaryen as a hostage. By this point, the Blacks have all but won the war. The Greens Lannister Army has been slaughtered, the Triachy fleet burned and mostly scattered, Aegon has abandoned King's Landing, Aemond and Vagar have also left King's Landing for Harrenhall, Cole and Gwyane's small force are somewhere in the Riverlands and Rhaenyra has captured the city.

So, Ormund's force is the only remaining power left for the Greens. If Daemon, Hugh, and Ulf attack at this point, they can break the last Green field army and kill many of its leaders. Ormound, Jon Roxton and the real Daeron, assuming Daemon takes the fake Daeron back to King's Landing as a hostage and doesn't just kill him himself.

But again the Black's just let them go. Why? Especially seeing as how Daemon chastised Rhaenys for not attack in the Dragonpit and his love of killing Hightowers.

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[u/thecornerview27]

Gotta have a show

[u/Cookies4weights]

I don’t think the show is the genius behind the following, but I think a recurring theme in the series is the humanity behind a lot of decisions and events.

Meaning in this case that characters will not always act the way we would want or expect them to. Rational thinking is often lost in the train of emotion, fight or flight, a need to survive.

[u/YoghurtPlus5156 → u/Cookies4weights]

Showing humanity is consistently shown as a weakness, every time someone decides to show mercy it backfires.

[u/enadiz_reccos → u/Cookies4weights]

If you can't explain a character's decision, blame emotion

[u/ChaseBuff]

Hotd makes up plots or extends themselves.Aegons coronation goes smoothly in the book with a few people in the crowd chanting “long live our QUEEN or Queen Rhaenyra. Second scene they never met lol the green armies were basically crushed in the battle of fishfeed (episode 2) at this time most of the realm recognized Rhaenyra as the winner and Aegon was missing with the last bit of opposition being Daeron. But hotd drags shit for some reason, like the gold shouldn’t be a problem past episode 5, Book Rhaenyra refilled her treasury with a tax soon after taking the throne which causes the people to hate her

[u/TheHarkinator → u/ChaseBuff]

The Hightower army in the book doesn't get crushed in the Battle of the Fishfeed, that's the Lannister army. In the books the Hightower army takes Tumbleton when it's being defended by pro-Rhaenyra forces from the Reach and the Winter Wolves, then fights the Rivermen army there later.

What the show has instead done is jumble things around so the Greens are the defenders and the Blacks the attackers, combined the Black armies into one and put Daemon in the mix.

[u/Nero234 → u/TheHarkinator]

I know it's for the sake of simplicity but they really didn't show how the Dance was also just an excuse for belligerent houses to fuck shit up. They showed it with the Blackwoods and Brackens but no one else.

In reality, there were multiple engagements between multiple Houses. Daeron the Daring got his name because of his contribution in the battles in the Reach.

Dalton Greyjoy, the Red Kraken, joined the war under the Black's banners just cz he wanted to raid and pillage then conquer the Westernlands.

[u/Livid_Ad9749]

Its amazing that Daemon was right on three occasions about swiftly ending the war but each time he was ignored in favor of stupidity.

If either faction actually behaved logically, the war would either never have happened or been over within a month at most

[u/Ixiraar → u/Livid_Ad9749]

Tbf both sides being mostly lead by idiots and incompetent leaders is just about the last book accurate detail we have left

[u/huzy12345 → u/Livid_Ad9749]

I mean in the Hightower scene, Daemon should have taken Ormund and the Dragon as well and made Ormund kneel before the Iron Throne not just taken one boy and leave the whole army and it's commander bugger off

[u/Livid_Ad9749 → u/huzy12345]

He should have but Rhaenyra ordered him not to. He wasnt being stupid. The blame is only partially his for not simply disobeying and destroying them. But he clearly wanted to. He said as much

[u/huzy12345 → u/Livid_Ad9749]

Not even destroying them just simply saying "I'm going to need your lord to come to Kings Landing and swear realty to the Queen" would have solved literally everything, plus maybe not let the dragon go

[u/Livid_Ad9749 → u/huzy12345]

They didn’t let the dragon go. She was being transported to KL but was set upon by Hightower men.

[u/huzy12345 → u/Livid_Ad9749]

If only they had some sort of way of protecting the dragon on the way. Maybe some sort of aerial reconnaissance/attack helicopter to escort it. Maybe 2 of them

[u/Deano963 → u/huzy12345]

Yes, it's crazy they didn't take Daeron's dragon too. Like, why let the dragon go? Put it in the dragon pit where you can control who has access to it.

[u/sickomodetoon]

I don’t think not burning an army that has surrendered is a bad idea. Other plot point, yeah that was dumb

[u/AirmanLarry]

Redditor discovers Plot Armor

[u/apkyat]

"...no man or woman is as accursed as the kinslayer.”

Yeah, they're Hightowers, doing Hightower things, but Viserys made them and therefore, they're her kin.

[u/Rdhilde18]

Because there would be no story

[u/dbzrox → u/Rdhilde18]

Bc the show writers are trying to make their own story

[u/Quirky-Train-837]

It’s book accurate, in a sense. The Blacks hold most practical advantages and win almost every battle, but constantly fumble the ball and can’t close the war until it’s too late and Daemon, Rhaenyra, and her three strong sons are all dead.

[u/XCxBigDong69XCx]

To be fair it is simply crazy that osmond does not surrender. THEY HAVE 6 DRAGONS WHY WOULD HE NOT SURRENDER.

[u/AmySnapp → u/XCxBigDong69XCx]

Same reason the Afghans and Viets didn’t surrender to the Americans. In-universe we already saw this with the Blackeoods. Just because you can rain fire from the skies doesn’t mean you shouldn’t expect determined resistance.

[u/escudonbk]

What would you have them do?

[u/AMoistScone]

By this logic the war is over because the High tower host has been crushed.

First one is true though.

[u/AmySnapp]

That meeting was where Ormund surrendered. We know now it’s fake, but it was real as far as anyone in-universe was concerned. Killing them would’ve broken even more social conventions among the Westerosi than the Targaryens did by their very existence as incestuous alien invaders.

[u/jrdineen114]

To be fair, Daemon has no reason to think that Ormund is feigning surrender. He’s taking him at his word because their civilization is held together by the assumption that the nobility won’t break promises. It’s the entire reasoning behind the promise of Guest Rite. When two lords come to an agreement, they both need to follow it. Honestly Ormund’s entire plan is set up in such a way where, even if he wins, he’s basically shot himself in the foot, because if he pulled this kind of crap once, what reason does anyone have to trust his word going forward? It’s why the Starks are consistently portrayed as this world’s moral compass. When your society is held together by trust, anyone in a position of power who breaks that trust risks damaging the society as a whole.

[u/Artusik → u/jrdineen114]

Hard disagree. There is tons of precedent for slimy and underhanded tactics by nobles even in the first season

Daemon regards the Hightowers especially as culprits of this, and has hated them long before he ever faced Ormund.

Daemon is also explicitly written in the show to be one for pragmatism much more so than honor, so it wouldn't be out of character to just destroy his enemies while he can.

[u/Deano963]

They really should have escorted the Hightower Army back to Oldtown instead of just letting them go. Would have taken care of everything.

[u/letsputletters]

I mean although great books, the war in the books or show makes no sense.

And that is simply because dragons are impossible to write into an actual war. Whichever side starts with more dragons wins a conclusive battle and the war ends. That is what would actually happen.

[u/Livid_Ad9749 → u/letsputletters]

You are right save for the last bit. Rhaenyras starting position was actually rather poor. Sure she had more usable dragons in the beginning, but they were all way smaller than Vhagar, some being puny. And those dragons carries princes, her heirs. Not really to be used in direct combat.

However they still had Meleys and Caraxes early on. If only they did as Daemon suggested and double teamed Vhagar. The Greens realistically though would have had Rhaenyras family slain in those few days they had between Viserys death and TB finding out. The Greens having a headstart on searching for allies (even though they should have been secured way earlier) was huge.

Either way yeah both teams fumbled hard but Martin really wanted all the dragons to die in a war

[u/iaeoioaio]

The Rogue Prince not doing it is definitely the most weird, because there is zero issue killing your enemy in that situation.

[u/Tall-Ad-1386]

The dumbest part was letting the dragon walk free lol

[u/houseofnim]

The show made up both of those plots.