u/House-Of-Black-07

In the latest episode, Helaena said Jace and Luke were always kind to her (or kind in general). And it broke my heart a little.

A Jace/Helaena marriage honestly could have prevented a lot of tragedy, and it undoubtedly would have given Helaena a much kinder, happier life. Which makes me wonder: whose idea was it to marry Helaena and Aegon instead??

If it was Viserys: I guess it makes sense in a "adhering to old Valyrian customs" way, even if it was incredibly damaging to both kids (especially Helaena, who was forced into motherhood so young).

If it was Alicent: This is where it gets fascinating. Alicent is an outsider from Oldtown. She is intensely pious, follows the Faith of the Seven, and was raised to believe that incest is unnatural, an abomination. She even explicitly calls Targaryen customs "queer" in Season 1.

Was Alicent so consumed by ambition and her hatred of Rhaenyra that she actively pushed for her own children to enter an incestuous marriage?

For a non-Targaryen who weaponizes the Faith, the hypocrisy is staggering. It must have been deeply damaging for her psychologically to force her children into something she fundamentally views as a sin, and to watch them have children of their own! Especially since neither Aegon nor Helaena even wanted it.

And to put her daughter through whatever she herself went through … like ma’am, you could have at least waited until she was 17-18.

Thoughts? Any context I am missing?

I’ve been thinking about Fatima’s rapid decline, and the timing with her completing the clay Golem is wayyy too specific to be a coincidence.

She started deteriorating only AFTER that sculpture was finished. Instead of these being two separate plotlines, I think her physical decline and the Golem are directly connected through the show's manifestation rules.

In EP 9 Sophia used Clara to slip her blood into Fatima’s tonic in, triggering a rapid decline in her (possibly turning her into a creature). But what if this transformation is the exact catalyst the Golem needs to activate? In traditional folklore, a golem requires a “spark” to animate.

Conveniently, we just learned a huge mechanic about how manifestation works in Fromville: it often triggers right around death. Look at the creepy dolls. They only materialized into an active, physical threat after the man from Tabitha's vision who feared them died.

If Fromville manifests nightmares upon death, it makes perfect sense that it can manifest hope or protection the same way. Fatima poured all her desperate desire for safety into molding that clay. Her crossing into a near-death state (or dying completely) will likely be the exact trigger required to awaken the Golem.

Imo, leaving a giant mud sculpture in the Colony House attic without a payoff in Episode 10 would be terrible writing. With the townspeople backed into a corner, they need a major wildcard.

In short, I think the wildcard = the Golem

Thoughts?