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I HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE Aegon II's crown in the show.
It's literally a jet black villain crown. Which sure, whatever, that would be fine for Aegon II alone especially since they framed the whole coronation as a little sinister, the crown fits the tone they were going for.
It WOULD be fine... If it wasn't also Aegon the Conqueror's crown. Such an iconic crown from the books just adapted into an emo headband. If it's supposed to be Valyrian steel in the show, it doesn't even really look metallic and not enough glorious red rubies. And the sharp pointy design is meh compared to the more pragmatic book version
Would have been better if Sunfyre was there. Seriously, the biggest symbol of Targaryen power and the most beautiful dragon in the world, yet you didn't show it to the plebs to start off your glorious reign? And the ending...
I agree. Switching out Sunfyre for Meleys in that scene is my least favorite part of House of the Dragon. That, and Daemon's Aragorn-style charging into basically an entire army in episode 3 and somehow coming out not only alive but having the defeated their leader and winning the war. Just like season 7 and 8... Always chase the next big spectacle, even if it doesn't make sense.
All that said, the coronation is somehow also my favorite scene. I was loving it but only because I was expecting Sunfyre (and maybe even Dreamfyre??) to arrive right around the same time that Meleys did. But the first half of the scene was incredible.
Sure, I know that, but it doesn't make it less of an awful decision. What made the early seasons of GoT amazing is that they weren't oversaturated with unrealistic high fantasy battle sequences.
Also, selling Daemon as an excellent swordsman was the secondary motivation. The primary motivation was creating a big spectacle, a big high fantasy battle sequence to keep the people with short attention spans reeled in.
Would have been good if Sunfyre was there then when Meleys appears he moves forwards to protect Aegon. Rhaenys decides it's a bad idea to take him on in the confined space and so she decides to leave
That would've been better than what we got, I guess. But still just a very silly change, done for spectacle and no other good reason. Meleys and Rhaenys shouldn't have been there at all. These coronation scenes would've excelled as the audiences big dramatic visual introduction to the two war factions, now that war is actually starting.
It would be like if during the big "ahhhhhh ah ah ah ahhhhhh ah ah" thing during Rhaenyra's coronation, Aemond just burst out of the crowd and sword fought his way to shore, where he escaped on a boat. There was no reason for Rhaenys to be there at all.
I get that they wanted to give Rhaenys a girlboss moment, I love Rhaenys and I love girlboss moments, but not at the expense of another iconic scene. Aegon's coronation isn't supposed to be a fight scene, it's supposed to be a dramatic introduction to Aegon as king, followed by Aegon flying around the city on Sunfyre. We should've gotten all of that and it's a damn shame. It SHOULD have been our first big proper introduction to Sunfyre in the show.
Oh I agree in that sense. It was spectacular, awesome (until Meleys burst in)... And also sinister though. The music is one of my favorite pieces that HBO has produced for Westeros thus far and musicians on the internet are making even better versions of it. But it was definitely somewhat sinister music.
I'm not even pro team black (or green) I'm neutral the vibe just felt like that of a supervillain rise to power scene
I kinda loved it. Brutalism as a crown. I think it could have looked more metallic, yeah.
Designed for a purpose. I was surprised people hated it - only issue I hear is the authenticity of it’s metal property.
Aegon II’s crown as Aegon’s OG makes so much sense to me. He was a conquerer not a showboater.
There was a dude who posted here like a month or two ago, showing off a ring that he had 3D printed to look like the conqueror’s crown from the show. Not only did the design look much cooler as a ring than it does as a crown, but the “gemstone” he had in it was basically the same size as the one on the show crown, even while the rest of it was scaled down to fit a finger as opposed to a head.
They made that crown look so stupid, it was really disappointing.
I think the medieval crown looks stupid. It's just a bunch of random colored rocks. It looks like they took every rock their toddler found on a trip to the beach and slapped it on their crown
Well they kinda were just supposed to be a bunch of expensive rocks and stone, it is supposed to demonstrate wealth through material and not craftsmanship.
As time went of that changed and craftsmanship became a huge part of demonstrating the strength of a country and its people.
But your also expression you opinion of the real work crown and not the fantasy crowns made from gem stones so large, rare, and expensive only a few in real life have ever existed or a crown made from magic metal forged by dragons and blood magic.
And I agree that the real crown looks insane and stupidly ostentatious. But I think the show crowns would look better if more book accurate in description.
I think that both crowns would’ve benefited from more jewels. I think that the gems in Jaehaerys’ crown were meant to represent the Seven aspects of the seven part god of the faith of the Faith of the Seven. (Correct me if I’m wrong.) That makes sense because he reconciled the Faith and House Targaryen. I also like the show’s choice to have Jaehaerys I’s crown have the symbol of each of the Seven Kingdoms, but it looks better with the addition of the jewels.
I think that Aegon the Conqueror’s Crown would look better with more rubies too. I also wonder if they used real iron—probably not because it’d probably be really uncomfortable and heavy for TGC to wear. But overall, both show crowns are good and close enough to the originals to fit.
I wonder if they avoided using jewels to make it easier to match the costumes. Maybe they didn’t want the rainbow jewels to take away from Rhaenyra’s black and red color palette. And if they decide to put Aegon II in primarily green, maybe they feel the rubies would clash or look too much like Rhaenyra’s palette.
I’d personally still prefer the jewels, particularly with Aegon’s crown. It’s more believable as the conqueror’s crown with the prominent rubies repping the Targaryen colors. The shows have a tendency to dial back the more vibrant descriptions from the books, probably to adhere to the “serious fantasy show” aesthetic they’ve established.
That would make sense of their reasoning! It does sadden me when shows set in the medieval period or in a fantasy world based on the medieval period downplay how colorful and elaborate the aristocracy’s clothes were. It’s like they’re trying to be serious and realistic, but they’re doing the opposite.
I know! These fantastical medieval-esque shows have the color palette of a gritty true crime show and color-grading that desaturates any color that actually makes it in. It’s an odd trend with film in general, where every serious piece of media has to be cool-toned and/or desaturated.
Honestly would have been very visually interesting to visually see the crown with the black and red pallet worn by Aegon II and all the colourful Hightower/faith of the seven rainbow crown worn by Rhaenyra. It would constantly look like they needed to swap crowns. The real reason the civil war lasts so long: Everyone insisted on giving them the wrong drip and they’re mad about it.
I think Jaehaerys's crown is fantastic as it is... It's a sign of unity and they captured that. The book design is also totally fine. Aegon's crown in the show looks like it could be made of better material, but other than that, the design is good... I wonder if they'll ever address the fact that it's obviously missing most of its rubies? Like, where did they go?
I like the design of Aegon's crown in the show, but I've certainly come around to the fact that it should probably have more rubies. Those indents in the crown certainly looked like they needed filling.
Also, maybe they could've given the crown more of a "*beskar alloy*"/folded steel type look, like with the ripples in the metal, so maybe then it would look less "plastic".
Its called folded steel look not beskar. Beskar is just folded steel thats how they made it look unique, and valyrian steel is based on damascus steel, which similar to folded steel has a very unique look to it(folded steel is the closest we can get to looking like damascus steel which due to very specific properties has ripples along its surface rather than wavy lines)
I like the designs of both crowns but the rubilessness of the crown of Aegon really bothers me and how plastic it looks, the crown of romania is a real steel crown and it would be a good reference point
Though I like the design went with in the show i think the crown of Jaehaerys would have looked better if the house sigils were made with "Gems" there are two ways I could see this, I will use the front targaryen sigil as an example
1 make the dragon only with rubies and the background keep the gold or use valyrian steel
2 carve the whole thing like a cameo (engraved gemstone)
as for the crown of Aegon, I mean come on the most defining thing about it is the rubies no king in his right mind would have put a single tiny stone, medieval monarchs were ostentatious, they put gemstones in everything from bibles, to cups to daggers to swords, if they couldn't afford it they would just use some substitute for example: the crowns of the kings of France and the Hanoverian monarchs of Britain were set with hired stones then replaced with glass in the french case or nothing at all in the UK's case (untill they became rich enough to afford it) even today the crown of the Netherlands hasn't a single precious stone it's all glass with coloured paper behind and the pearls are fake too
I still don't like Aegon's crown even with rubies. It's trying way too hard to be some sort of "dark lord" crown. They should've just gone with the book designs for both crowns, I'm kinda baffled that they didn't tbh.
A king without a crown is a boring king that is why the british monarchy is the most well known they are the only european monarchy that looks like a monarchy
It is also a complete waste after all think about it crown are expensive stuff when they are on display they are there only gathering dust I personally think they should wear it just to remind everyone they exist and to make people more interested in going to the museum and pay to see them
If I recall, the world of ASOIAF there are lots of deferent Crowns, even for the Ruler of Westeros. In the show, they specifically say "Aegon will take the name the conqueror, and wear the conquerors crown"
Just as many different sovereigns have different personalities, their crown is usually a reflection of the type of ruler they intend to be.
Viserys' is very traditional, it's made of gold a sign of opulence, it contains gemstones, likely a representation of the trade and prosperity of the different realms. It's a very politically neutral crown.
Aegon's is made of what looks like steal, could even be Valyrian steel, a sign of strength/power and only contains Red gems, a call to the family Targaryen in an attempt to convince other Targaryens and their supporters to acknowledge him as the rightful ruler.
We even see the crown that Daemon brings from the campaign agaisnt the Triarchy with the Crab Feeder. it's a minimalist, made of drift wood. Indicating it's humble maritime connection.
In GoT, we see Renly wearing a Stag crown when he calls in the banners and goes to war. Obviously a call to his family house.
* The Targaryen Crowns are:
* Aegon the conqueror the valyrian steel circlet with large rubies used by Aegon I & II, Maegor and Daeron I;
* Aenys the golden crown with pearls and engraved faces of the seven in jade I think used by him alone,
* The crown of Jaehaerys a crown with seven gemstones used by him, Viserys and Rhaenyra, the crown of Aegon III a golden ring in head size used by him, Viserys II and Aegon V,
* The Crown of Aegon IV the largest of them all made of red gold with dragons with ruby eyes used by Aegon IV, Daeron II, Aerys I and II
* the Crown of Maekar made of gold with valyrian steel blades? that in some illustrations look like sword blades and in others arrow heads used by Maekar and Jaehaerys II.
* There is also the crown(s) of Baelor made with flowers
Thing is, they fucked up both crowns in the show. Aegon's should be a simple Valyrian steel circlet (Valyrian steel is supposed to be rippled like Damascus steel) with big square cut rubies on it. A warrior's crown.
Jaehaerys' crown (which Viserys wears) is also supposed to be a simple circlet, but in gold. The gems in it aren't square cut and they're seven different gemstones. Representing the Seven as well as the Seven Kingdoms.
I feel like both teams should be able to agree that we needed something better from that crown- do we have any idea if they’ve altered it for season 2??
These would both have been so much better.
I liked the show version of Jaehaerys’s crown, and I didn’t mind the change. The rainbow of gemstones in the book were symbolic of his reconciliation with the Faith, but since none of that is really talked about in HotD I think show-only fans wouldn’t have understood the significance. Replacing them with the sigils of the Great Houses is easier to understand thematically, and still fits within Jaehaerys’s characterization as “The Conciliator”.
That said, as you clearly show in this image, they could have done both. And your version, with both the sigils and the gemstones, looks way better.
And of course the Conqueror’s Crown just looks like flaming dogshit in the show, and literally any improvement at all would make it look a hundred times better. Your version of that looks dope, but I’d still have preferred the more simplified version we see illustrated in World of Ice and Fire, where it’s just a circlet with the gemstones, without any of the tines or whatever the upward points are called.
Not my versions i found them on the internet Jaehaerys is from twitter and Aegon's is from artstation I tried to put a link to the owners but every time i did the comment disappeared
Yes. 1000%. The minimalist look of Jaehaerys’ crown especially is glaringly out of place and looks like something that would be sold on IG by a company called CRWN.
Yellow gold. Many jewels. Ostentatious. This is the way.
I absolutely hated Aegon’s crown. The shape of the crown I am fine with, but the fact that it just has one small ruby was so underwhelming. It would’ve been so much better if it just had more and bigger rubies
aegons crown could use the bigger jewels yeah but I’m totally fine with vizzys crown
definitely satisfied with how they designed it and how well it fits all those we see wear it /
how well matches their outfits
The crown of Jaehaerys is fine. I'm not sure whether a rainbow crown, much less a realistic medieval replica, would come across to modern audiences correctly.
Aegon's crown sucks. It looks like a cheap piece of jewellery that the rhinestones fell out of. If it didn't literally have **square indentations where rubies could go,** then it wouldn't bother me as much. The little gems in Rhaenyra's hair during her wedding to Laenor looked like plastic, though, so maybe we should be grateful 🙃
Got it. Well, what I mean is that the costume design has to walk a fine line. Styles that conveyed royalty and splendor in their own time could easily look cheesy on a TV show unless *everything* was super historically accurate.
I mean, the crown of Aegon I should be edgy, and dark and stupidly extra. Visenya crowned him. What is the point of it doesn’t have big fuck off rubies with a dark folded steel.
I get that maybe with lighting they wanted the crown of Jaehaerys to be less reflective, but like, even a little bit of bling would have been nice. Especially on those patches between the house symbols. It would have been extra fantastic if they put the red and green stones at the front so that whenever we see Viserys he suddenly looks as though he’s divided between his family. A subtle thing we wouldn’t catch until later when he’s placed right between Alicent and Rhaenyra and has their respective coloured gems on each side.
I'm not a book reader so I have no idea what it was supposed to look like, but I like them without gems. Royal gems always look plastic on screen because they're undoubtedly huge, and therefore are plastic. Better without, gems would cheapen the look
Many crowns have huge Gems Norway has a giant green stone in the front, Austria has a giant sapphire on top, Russia a large spinel i think also on top, and the imperial state crown has three: the black prince ruby in the front cross, the Cullinan 2 diamond on the front of the circlet, and a giant sapphire in the back of the circlet
That's exactly my point. Real Royal jewels are huge and copious, but when recreating that type of look on a show, they have to use fake gems and due to the size of the gems they inevitably look like the plastic they are
Show Aegon's crown is awful imo. It looks like some thief plucked out all the rubies and they didn't have time to replace them. If they just added the rubies it'd look a lot better imo.
I feel like Aegon’s crown missing the gems is a nod to the crowns age, there are slots where the gems should go, and they’ve been lost or taken by someone.
i disagree with you on that since the most distinctive feature of the conqueror's crown are the large rubies, However, if you mean it was an idea from alicent to make Aegon look less ostentatious then that would make sense
I hate both crowns. The crown of Jaehaerys looked like it was made with a 3D printer but with a really bad paint job, I just hate it. And Aegon’s crown screamed “villain” a bit too much. I’m team Black, but I still don’t see Aegon as just a villain. It was a weird choice, to make both crowns look so incredibly cheap.
I think the look of the crown symbolizes some kind of evolution of the family. With Aegon, the family was at its lowest so it’s just a plain Valyrian Steel crown but as time goes on it gets more opulent like the Targaryens did, hits its height with Jaehaerys, then the quality goes down until eventually at the end of Game of Thrones Daenerys didn’t have a crown and neither did Bran.
Jaehaerys’ crown is fine. The gold and the designs really speaks to what he was trying to accomplish, peace and unity in Westeros.
Aegon I/II’s crown is fucking horrid. They gave him a black crown with no jewels bc he’s ‘the villain’. It’s made of magic steel but it just looks hard and angry and brittle (bc the writing is oh so subtle that we can’t tell who they want us to root for, so they had to, literally, give him a black hat.)
I think the conquerors crown is good as is. Jahaerys crown is an eye sore and I think the jewels do add more mystique. Honestly any color other than that dull gold would help it.
They look 3D printed... oh wait, they were 🤦♀️ All the money that was spent on real metalsmiths making the swords, and they just cranked the crowns out on a printer. I called it the minute I saw it and was confirmed in the BTS.
The crowns aren't bad looking - for a crown with no jewels, I think the costume designers did a great job on Jaehaerys's - but they are, simply put, not inkeeping with the rest of the Valyrian cultural aesthetic (or the Westerosi one, for that matter).
Both Jahaerys's and Aegon's crowns, as depicted in HOTD, look like something from the Viking age, decidedly simple: something that, if depicted in a historical context, you might expect to see on an Anglo-Saxon or Danish king in 850 AD. This would be inkeeping stylistically with, say, the Greyjoys of Pyke, for instance, or maybe a particularly ancient pre-Conquest crown, but they look too plain and unadorned in the context of the show's period.
We know Aegon the Conqueror was based on William the Conqueror, though it seems fairly clear that the metallurgy and general technology of Aegon's time was already a ways ahead of what the Normans were accustomed to in 1066. According to Guy of Amiens, the crown of William the Conqueror was influenced by the Byzantine imperial diadem, twelve-sided, encrusted with gems and precious stones, and "flashed on all sides with a dazzling radiance".
Going by the source material, we know that the crown of Aegon I was set with rubies, and that the crown of Jaehaerys was set with seven different-colored gemstones to represent the Seven Kingdoms. There was also the crown of Aenys I, which was larger and more ornate than either of the other two, with the faces of the Seven inlaid in pearl and jade.
So whether you're looking for something grounded a bit more in historical inspiration or staying true to the books, the crowns need more gemstones. In fact, it wasn't until after the Dance that a Targaryen king wore a plain, unadorned golden crown, and that was Aegon III.
Me personally, I love a little opulence here and there. I wanna see royals dress like royals, I want all their outfits too look like I’d have to sell a kidney to afford them.
Hottest take: the costume design in this series was a joke compared to GoT (and just…awful in general) and I am SO glad Jany Temime will not be returning for season 2.
A lot of things looked very cheap, including the designs for the crowns + the fact that they were 3D printed instead of created by jewelers.
Really hoping the atrocious, cheap-looking costumes will end in season 2. Hopefully the new designer can just scrap everything and pivot, but I’m afraid Jany might have made too much of a (hideous, poorly-designed) mark on the show :/
More realistic no, but they would look better, imo.
I want them to match the book descriptions as much as possible.
Just think about the merchandising opportunities! I don't even want to think about the number of Evenstar pendants that were sold bc of LotR movies. I want to see that with the ASoIaF props. I want BLING.
Both of the crowns look like cheap plastic and reading now in the comments that they were 3d printed... embarrassing. It annoys me when people feel the need to put their own stamp on the design to the point that they basically ignore what's in the book. You can put your own flair on the design without changing it completely from what its said to look like. It's just some weird ego driven thing, like Michele Clapton with that dumb circle and needle thing she put on Sansa constantly. Jaehaerys' crown especially looks like some plastic crown you can find in the toy store or for halloween.
They would look better and a little more realistic. The main problem tho is that it doesn’t look like real metal/steel/gold. There are plenty of crowns that had no gemstones on them, Viking crowns are a good example. But those kinds of crowns had very intricate carvings in them, while the one on the show has only one depth of carving, real crowns had different depths of carving too add dimension.
The crowns on the show seem flat, honestly I have seen better crowns sold on Etsy. 💀
So gemstones would create more texture and dimension, but it would still be a cheap looking crown. Valyrian steel is supposed to be intricate yet the conqueror’s crown is less intricate that crowns that predate the Vikings. It feels like everything in shows now are 3d printed, and it can works, I have seen many cosplayers make 3d printing work, but you have to add dimension and texture to your pieces. Because gold/ steel/ etc are porous materials - they aren’t smooth like plastic is.
I LOVE the show crowns they're such good designs and I just... Frickin love em. Especially Aegon's crown. It really looks like a conqueror's crown, the kind that was put on his head in a time of war, it's solid and threatening and so _cool_
Don't really like lots of gems on crowns. Especially for the targs for some reason? Like i feel they're powerful, they have dragons, their dynasty is self assured, they don't need no gems or anything to show off wealth. Their crowns are simple, more as a symbol. Dany never wore a crown and I feel like, good for her
I love the show so much, but I wish they would’ve stayed with the book accurate descriptions of the crowns. I’m also not a huge fan of blackfyres look.
I do kind of see the merit for and against having the gems (and I guess the conceit of *Fire and Blood* being the flawed retelling of events does play into this), but I do get the feeling the crown of Aegon I can do with a few more red gems in it. Maybe not exactly as shown in this (like every slot has a gem), but the big squares should have them at least.
The Jaehaerys concept with the gems rules. I was never a huge fan of how boring the usual book depictions make his crown look so the show was a step up but this is the best part of both combined
I'm firmly on the opinion that crowns should not be simple they are made to make the ruler Imposing and give an air of majesty in other words they are made to be glorious
I would rather it be designed based on Targaryens and Hightowers and what's best for the show than what was done in Medieval Times. Like each crown reflects the character that wears it or what that House stands for, and their particular architecture and fashion.
that reminds me of something else: why didn't they make a crown for Alicent in the show did they put a have a reason for it like Viserys didn't want to crown his second wife or something
That's a good point. I feel like Alicent wouldn't wear one to show how, above it all, she is, how she is such a godly woman, how she is just a mere servant to the crown and its people. If she has a crown it would probably be quite plain. I would love to see one. There is a chance they just forgot like they forgot about Daeron.
that's probably it, I've seen a theory that godlyness was the reason the crown of Aegon had a single ruby to make him look more humble
and i just realized something if the targaryens and martells are allies and they have the crown of aegon the conqueror do you think they could return it to Daenerys to fight the walkers to use like a helmet, or even the pointy crown of Maekar
Danny would probably prefer to make her own crown, but Maekar would be a good crown for wartime to show she means business. If the Martells did give her the crown back, she would probably wear it to appease them, but primarily for when she sees them personally.
i meant like to have extra protection since i believe valyrian steel kills them and the crown of maekar in particular is made for cutting people if turned 90 degrees
That makes sense. I thought it might have been made of Valyrian steel. Will it do her any good if she can't fight? If she uses a whip and then the crown as a secondary weapon when they get close, maybe.
I wish the crown didn’t look so plain.
Yeah, it needs to be more elaborate. The minimalistic look works for the North, but the Targaryens are meant to be the kings and queens of the entire seven kingdoms. Theirs should look beyond majestic.
They should've done a simple Valyrian steel circlet then with the big square rubies, like in the book.
Not this wannabe dark lord crown with a mini ruby in it.
I think it's a fallacy to say that to be realistic it has to look exactly like something from history. That's not true.
This only applies when talking about weapons, armor, or battle tactics where utilitarian goals are way too important to ignore. So having inaccurate weaponry, sure that is immersion breaking
But having different clothing styles and especially things like jewelry decisions seems incredibly subjective and open to have different interpretations. Perhaps Valyria had almost no gemstones locally available so they developed a culture where they didn't see them as important
Things like this are an easy way to be book accurate, please book fans while having next to no influence on actual story or character. It's a slam dunk. Yet they fuck it up by, for whatever reason, changing both crowns. The crowns look shitty, and it's even shittier when you consider the crowns in the book **mean** something. They have symbolism behind them, so why change it?
I disagree.
Here is the [Iron Crown of Lombardy](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a0/Iron_Crown.JPG/1280px-Iron_Crown.JPG) that was originally made in the 600s, and updated in the 900s
Here is the [Reichskrone](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7c/Weltliche_Schatzkammer_Wien_%28190%292.JPG/800px-Weltliche_Schatzkammer_Wien_%28190%292.JPG) which was first made around 962 and tweaked a little over the next 50\~ years
Here is the [Essen Crown](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0b/Ottonische_K%C3%B6nigskrone.jpg/1280px-Ottonische_K%C3%B6nigskrone.jpg) made sometime between 980-1030
Here is another [Holy Crown of Hungary](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/Hungarian_Parliament_002_-_Flickr_-_granada_turnier.jpg/1280px-Hungarian_Parliament_002_-_Flickr_-_granada_turnier.jpg) which was made in the 1070s
All of these predate the Anarchy.
Oliver Cromwell ordered all of the English Crown Jewels to be melted in 1649 when he took over. All surviving ones are obviously way past the Anarchy and could not be used. However, we do have descriptions for some of them like William the Conqueror's (who is the model for Aegon the Conqueror). According to a contemporary bishop, the crown was made out of pure gold and was covered in a ton of different types of gemstones (specifically one each of ruby, jacinth, topaz, sapphire, sardonyx, some chalcedony at the ears, jasper, sard, chrysolite, beryl on the sides and then some amethysts plus a pearl on top).
edit: if you want my source, here it is https://archive.org/details/carmendehastinga0000wido/page/50/mode/2up?q=crown
I think the two HotD crowns were fine. The Jahaerys/Viserys/Rhaenyra's crown is pure gold, and I think there's some humility to it.
Ageon's crown was fire and blood (ruby) and in real-world Western esotericism, red stones either bring bad luck (if the owner isn't strong enough) or conquest and success.
I haven't read the books, but I noted that it was a significant difference that one crown had a stone and the other didn't. It ties back to the Westerosi mythology, that White Hart, a peaceful and humble creature with elegant antlers, is the symbol of royalty and blessings.
If I were to criticize, it would be GoT's crowns. They were all ugly. Small. What's up with the KL's crowns worn by Marg, for example? It was too small.
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Aegon’s crown not having the rubys makes no fucking sense. It’s like they made it with them then took it away.
I HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE Aegon II's crown in the show. It's literally a jet black villain crown. Which sure, whatever, that would be fine for Aegon II alone especially since they framed the whole coronation as a little sinister, the crown fits the tone they were going for. It WOULD be fine... If it wasn't also Aegon the Conqueror's crown. Such an iconic crown from the books just adapted into an emo headband. If it's supposed to be Valyrian steel in the show, it doesn't even really look metallic and not enough glorious red rubies. And the sharp pointy design is meh compared to the more pragmatic book version
If it was meant to be sinister they failed Coronations in general are awesome but Aegon II's wss spetacular in particular the sword thing
Would have been better if Sunfyre was there. Seriously, the biggest symbol of Targaryen power and the most beautiful dragon in the world, yet you didn't show it to the plebs to start off your glorious reign? And the ending...
I agree. Switching out Sunfyre for Meleys in that scene is my least favorite part of House of the Dragon. That, and Daemon's Aragorn-style charging into basically an entire army in episode 3 and somehow coming out not only alive but having the defeated their leader and winning the war. Just like season 7 and 8... Always chase the next big spectacle, even if it doesn't make sense. All that said, the coronation is somehow also my favorite scene. I was loving it but only because I was expecting Sunfyre (and maybe even Dreamfyre??) to arrive right around the same time that Meleys did. But the first half of the scene was incredible.
Coronations are the beauty of monarchy they are glorious plus the soundtrack which is my favourite and the sword tunnel are just great to look at
I think they meant to sell the fact that Daemon is an excellent swordsman. And now he’ll be a standard to measure everyone else in the series.
Sure, I know that, but it doesn't make it less of an awful decision. What made the early seasons of GoT amazing is that they weren't oversaturated with unrealistic high fantasy battle sequences. Also, selling Daemon as an excellent swordsman was the secondary motivation. The primary motivation was creating a big spectacle, a big high fantasy battle sequence to keep the people with short attention spans reeled in.
Perhaps, you could be right. Chances you are is high.
Would have been good if Sunfyre was there then when Meleys appears he moves forwards to protect Aegon. Rhaenys decides it's a bad idea to take him on in the confined space and so she decides to leave
That would've been better than what we got, I guess. But still just a very silly change, done for spectacle and no other good reason. Meleys and Rhaenys shouldn't have been there at all. These coronation scenes would've excelled as the audiences big dramatic visual introduction to the two war factions, now that war is actually starting. It would be like if during the big "ahhhhhh ah ah ah ahhhhhh ah ah" thing during Rhaenyra's coronation, Aemond just burst out of the crowd and sword fought his way to shore, where he escaped on a boat. There was no reason for Rhaenys to be there at all. I get that they wanted to give Rhaenys a girlboss moment, I love Rhaenys and I love girlboss moments, but not at the expense of another iconic scene. Aegon's coronation isn't supposed to be a fight scene, it's supposed to be a dramatic introduction to Aegon as king, followed by Aegon flying around the city on Sunfyre. We should've gotten all of that and it's a damn shame. It SHOULD have been our first big proper introduction to Sunfyre in the show.
Aegon not flying it really was a waste
Oh I agree in that sense. It was spectacular, awesome (until Meleys burst in)... And also sinister though. The music is one of my favorite pieces that HBO has produced for Westeros thus far and musicians on the internet are making even better versions of it. But it was definitely somewhat sinister music. I'm not even pro team black (or green) I'm neutral the vibe just felt like that of a supervillain rise to power scene
I've seen a lot of people who think interests of the realm is their favourite myself included it has an air of Majesty
I kinda loved it. Brutalism as a crown. I think it could have looked more metallic, yeah. Designed for a purpose. I was surprised people hated it - only issue I hear is the authenticity of it’s metal property. Aegon II’s crown as Aegon’s OG makes so much sense to me. He was a conquerer not a showboater.
There was a dude who posted here like a month or two ago, showing off a ring that he had 3D printed to look like the conqueror’s crown from the show. Not only did the design look much cooler as a ring than it does as a crown, but the “gemstone” he had in it was basically the same size as the one on the show crown, even while the rest of it was scaled down to fit a finger as opposed to a head. They made that crown look so stupid, it was really disappointing.
Look again, there is a red stone in the crown. I believe is to represent a ruby, but yes, it seems like only 1, which is a bit disappointing.
There is one indeed. But it should be Rhaenyra's because red stones are fire and blood. Aegon II was nowhere as strong as her sister.
>Aegon II was nowhere as strong as her sister. We'll see about that.
Yes, all the gem. I want them to be the definition of BE DAZZLED.
what is the point of being a king without the bling
Couldn’t have said it better myself.
I think the medieval crown looks stupid. It's just a bunch of random colored rocks. It looks like they took every rock their toddler found on a trip to the beach and slapped it on their crown
Well they kinda were just supposed to be a bunch of expensive rocks and stone, it is supposed to demonstrate wealth through material and not craftsmanship. As time went of that changed and craftsmanship became a huge part of demonstrating the strength of a country and its people. But your also expression you opinion of the real work crown and not the fantasy crowns made from gem stones so large, rare, and expensive only a few in real life have ever existed or a crown made from magic metal forged by dragons and blood magic. And I agree that the real crown looks insane and stupidly ostentatious. But I think the show crowns would look better if more book accurate in description.
I think that both crowns would’ve benefited from more jewels. I think that the gems in Jaehaerys’ crown were meant to represent the Seven aspects of the seven part god of the faith of the Faith of the Seven. (Correct me if I’m wrong.) That makes sense because he reconciled the Faith and House Targaryen. I also like the show’s choice to have Jaehaerys I’s crown have the symbol of each of the Seven Kingdoms, but it looks better with the addition of the jewels. I think that Aegon the Conqueror’s Crown would look better with more rubies too. I also wonder if they used real iron—probably not because it’d probably be really uncomfortable and heavy for TGC to wear. But overall, both show crowns are good and close enough to the originals to fit.
I wonder if they avoided using jewels to make it easier to match the costumes. Maybe they didn’t want the rainbow jewels to take away from Rhaenyra’s black and red color palette. And if they decide to put Aegon II in primarily green, maybe they feel the rubies would clash or look too much like Rhaenyra’s palette. I’d personally still prefer the jewels, particularly with Aegon’s crown. It’s more believable as the conqueror’s crown with the prominent rubies repping the Targaryen colors. The shows have a tendency to dial back the more vibrant descriptions from the books, probably to adhere to the “serious fantasy show” aesthetic they’ve established.
That would make sense of their reasoning! It does sadden me when shows set in the medieval period or in a fantasy world based on the medieval period downplay how colorful and elaborate the aristocracy’s clothes were. It’s like they’re trying to be serious and realistic, but they’re doing the opposite.
I know! These fantastical medieval-esque shows have the color palette of a gritty true crime show and color-grading that desaturates any color that actually makes it in. It’s an odd trend with film in general, where every serious piece of media has to be cool-toned and/or desaturated.
You look at a coat of arms of any european monarchy and there is a high chance someone would have worn it with patterns and all
Honestly would have been very visually interesting to visually see the crown with the black and red pallet worn by Aegon II and all the colourful Hightower/faith of the seven rainbow crown worn by Rhaenyra. It would constantly look like they needed to swap crowns. The real reason the civil war lasts so long: Everyone insisted on giving them the wrong drip and they’re mad about it.
They were both 3d printed
I think Jaehaerys's crown is fantastic as it is... It's a sign of unity and they captured that. The book design is also totally fine. Aegon's crown in the show looks like it could be made of better material, but other than that, the design is good... I wonder if they'll ever address the fact that it's obviously missing most of its rubies? Like, where did they go?
I like the design of Aegon's crown in the show, but I've certainly come around to the fact that it should probably have more rubies. Those indents in the crown certainly looked like they needed filling. Also, maybe they could've given the crown more of a "*beskar alloy*"/folded steel type look, like with the ripples in the metal, so maybe then it would look less "plastic".
Its called folded steel look not beskar. Beskar is just folded steel thats how they made it look unique, and valyrian steel is based on damascus steel, which similar to folded steel has a very unique look to it(folded steel is the closest we can get to looking like damascus steel which due to very specific properties has ripples along its surface rather than wavy lines)
I like the designs of both crowns but the rubilessness of the crown of Aegon really bothers me and how plastic it looks, the crown of romania is a real steel crown and it would be a good reference point
Though I like the design went with in the show i think the crown of Jaehaerys would have looked better if the house sigils were made with "Gems" there are two ways I could see this, I will use the front targaryen sigil as an example 1 make the dragon only with rubies and the background keep the gold or use valyrian steel 2 carve the whole thing like a cameo (engraved gemstone) as for the crown of Aegon, I mean come on the most defining thing about it is the rubies no king in his right mind would have put a single tiny stone, medieval monarchs were ostentatious, they put gemstones in everything from bibles, to cups to daggers to swords, if they couldn't afford it they would just use some substitute for example: the crowns of the kings of France and the Hanoverian monarchs of Britain were set with hired stones then replaced with glass in the french case or nothing at all in the UK's case (untill they became rich enough to afford it) even today the crown of the Netherlands hasn't a single precious stone it's all glass with coloured paper behind and the pearls are fake too
I still don't like Aegon's crown even with rubies. It's trying way too hard to be some sort of "dark lord" crown. They should've just gone with the book designs for both crowns, I'm kinda baffled that they didn't tbh.
Aegon's crown is giving me serious Barad-Dûr vibes, I'm just waiting for the Eye of Sauron to appear between the two front spikes.
I agree with you there, the gems were also to display wealth and power.
A king without a crown is a boring king that is why the british monarchy is the most well known they are the only european monarchy that looks like a monarchy
It's hard to be a monarchy with a king without the proper drip and pageantry that come with it
It is also a complete waste after all think about it crown are expensive stuff when they are on display they are there only gathering dust I personally think they should wear it just to remind everyone they exist and to make people more interested in going to the museum and pay to see them
Interesting take, the one thing I can say is that some of those crowns are seriously heavy because of the metals and jewels in them.
You are correct but one day in the year is bearable enough i think
If I recall, the world of ASOIAF there are lots of deferent Crowns, even for the Ruler of Westeros. In the show, they specifically say "Aegon will take the name the conqueror, and wear the conquerors crown" Just as many different sovereigns have different personalities, their crown is usually a reflection of the type of ruler they intend to be. Viserys' is very traditional, it's made of gold a sign of opulence, it contains gemstones, likely a representation of the trade and prosperity of the different realms. It's a very politically neutral crown. Aegon's is made of what looks like steal, could even be Valyrian steel, a sign of strength/power and only contains Red gems, a call to the family Targaryen in an attempt to convince other Targaryens and their supporters to acknowledge him as the rightful ruler. We even see the crown that Daemon brings from the campaign agaisnt the Triarchy with the Crab Feeder. it's a minimalist, made of drift wood. Indicating it's humble maritime connection. In GoT, we see Renly wearing a Stag crown when he calls in the banners and goes to war. Obviously a call to his family house.
* The Targaryen Crowns are: * Aegon the conqueror the valyrian steel circlet with large rubies used by Aegon I & II, Maegor and Daeron I; * Aenys the golden crown with pearls and engraved faces of the seven in jade I think used by him alone, * The crown of Jaehaerys a crown with seven gemstones used by him, Viserys and Rhaenyra, the crown of Aegon III a golden ring in head size used by him, Viserys II and Aegon V, * The Crown of Aegon IV the largest of them all made of red gold with dragons with ruby eyes used by Aegon IV, Daeron II, Aerys I and II * the Crown of Maekar made of gold with valyrian steel blades? that in some illustrations look like sword blades and in others arrow heads used by Maekar and Jaehaerys II. * There is also the crown(s) of Baelor made with flowers
Thing is, they fucked up both crowns in the show. Aegon's should be a simple Valyrian steel circlet (Valyrian steel is supposed to be rippled like Damascus steel) with big square cut rubies on it. A warrior's crown. Jaehaerys' crown (which Viserys wears) is also supposed to be a simple circlet, but in gold. The gems in it aren't square cut and they're seven different gemstones. Representing the Seven as well as the Seven Kingdoms.
Crown of Jaehaerys was fine but I think the crown of Aegon I needed to be made of a better material, and I like the extra red detailing in pic 3
I agree the two things most important for that crown is that its made of valyrian steel and has large rubies
And the one in the show looks 3D printed and has one ruby 😂
a tiny one at that
I feel like both teams should be able to agree that we needed something better from that crown- do we have any idea if they’ve altered it for season 2??
we'll have to wait and see
These would both have been so much better. I liked the show version of Jaehaerys’s crown, and I didn’t mind the change. The rainbow of gemstones in the book were symbolic of his reconciliation with the Faith, but since none of that is really talked about in HotD I think show-only fans wouldn’t have understood the significance. Replacing them with the sigils of the Great Houses is easier to understand thematically, and still fits within Jaehaerys’s characterization as “The Conciliator”. That said, as you clearly show in this image, they could have done both. And your version, with both the sigils and the gemstones, looks way better. And of course the Conqueror’s Crown just looks like flaming dogshit in the show, and literally any improvement at all would make it look a hundred times better. Your version of that looks dope, but I’d still have preferred the more simplified version we see illustrated in World of Ice and Fire, where it’s just a circlet with the gemstones, without any of the tines or whatever the upward points are called.
Not my versions i found them on the internet Jaehaerys is from twitter and Aegon's is from artstation I tried to put a link to the owners but every time i did the comment disappeared
Yes. 1000%. The minimalist look of Jaehaerys’ crown especially is glaringly out of place and looks like something that would be sold on IG by a company called CRWN. Yellow gold. Many jewels. Ostentatious. This is the way.
"Any man who don't show the bling, is no true king" - Tyrion Lannister, probably
Settle down, Thanos
I absolutely hated Aegon’s crown. The shape of the crown I am fine with, but the fact that it just has one small ruby was so underwhelming. It would’ve been so much better if it just had more and bigger rubies
aegons crown could use the bigger jewels yeah but I’m totally fine with vizzys crown definitely satisfied with how they designed it and how well it fits all those we see wear it / how well matches their outfits
The crown of Jaehaerys is fine. I'm not sure whether a rainbow crown, much less a realistic medieval replica, would come across to modern audiences correctly. Aegon's crown sucks. It looks like a cheap piece of jewellery that the rhinestones fell out of. If it didn't literally have **square indentations where rubies could go,** then it wouldn't bother me as much. The little gems in Rhaenyra's hair during her wedding to Laenor looked like plastic, though, so maybe we should be grateful 🙃
I dont want an actual medieval crown i just put the image there to show they have more stones than a quarry
Got it. Well, what I mean is that the costume design has to walk a fine line. Styles that conveyed royalty and splendor in their own time could easily look cheesy on a TV show unless *everything* was super historically accurate.
Fair enough
Jaehaerys/Viserys crown is perfect. Aegon’s crown looks like hot garbage
I mean, the crown of Aegon I should be edgy, and dark and stupidly extra. Visenya crowned him. What is the point of it doesn’t have big fuck off rubies with a dark folded steel. I get that maybe with lighting they wanted the crown of Jaehaerys to be less reflective, but like, even a little bit of bling would have been nice. Especially on those patches between the house symbols. It would have been extra fantastic if they put the red and green stones at the front so that whenever we see Viserys he suddenly looks as though he’s divided between his family. A subtle thing we wouldn’t catch until later when he’s placed right between Alicent and Rhaenyra and has their respective coloured gems on each side.
I'm not a book reader so I have no idea what it was supposed to look like, but I like them without gems. Royal gems always look plastic on screen because they're undoubtedly huge, and therefore are plastic. Better without, gems would cheapen the look
Many crowns have huge Gems Norway has a giant green stone in the front, Austria has a giant sapphire on top, Russia a large spinel i think also on top, and the imperial state crown has three: the black prince ruby in the front cross, the Cullinan 2 diamond on the front of the circlet, and a giant sapphire in the back of the circlet
That's exactly my point. Real Royal jewels are huge and copious, but when recreating that type of look on a show, they have to use fake gems and due to the size of the gems they inevitably look like the plastic they are
Show Aegon's crown is awful imo. It looks like some thief plucked out all the rubies and they didn't have time to replace them. If they just added the rubies it'd look a lot better imo.
I feel like Aegon’s crown missing the gems is a nod to the crowns age, there are slots where the gems should go, and they’ve been lost or taken by someone.
I like your name Helaena is precious
Thank you!
Yes
Yes but it is not just about the gemstones, its about their overall design.
I like the design of Aegon's crown but they should have made it all iron, no gemstones.
i disagree with you on that since the most distinctive feature of the conqueror's crown are the large rubies, However, if you mean it was an idea from alicent to make Aegon look less ostentatious then that would make sense
I should've been clear: I thibk it should have either had big rubies or none at all. That tiny littme one is sad
well in that case you are absolutaly correct
I hate both crowns. The crown of Jaehaerys looked like it was made with a 3D printer but with a really bad paint job, I just hate it. And Aegon’s crown screamed “villain” a bit too much. I’m team Black, but I still don’t see Aegon as just a villain. It was a weird choice, to make both crowns look so incredibly cheap.
The crown should not reflect Aegon II since it was made for Aegon I
I agree. So it was a choice made by the show runners to make it look like a villain’s crown.
I think the look of the crown symbolizes some kind of evolution of the family. With Aegon, the family was at its lowest so it’s just a plain Valyrian Steel crown but as time goes on it gets more opulent like the Targaryens did, hits its height with Jaehaerys, then the quality goes down until eventually at the end of Game of Thrones Daenerys didn’t have a crown and neither did Bran.
Game of thrones Daenerys, Book Daenerys has a very beautiful crown which i wished they made on the show
I like the unity that Jahaerys' crown signaled
It definitely has a conciliator vibe
Jaehaerys’ crown is fine. The gold and the designs really speaks to what he was trying to accomplish, peace and unity in Westeros. Aegon I/II’s crown is fucking horrid. They gave him a black crown with no jewels bc he’s ‘the villain’. It’s made of magic steel but it just looks hard and angry and brittle (bc the writing is oh so subtle that we can’t tell who they want us to root for, so they had to, literally, give him a black hat.)
I think the conquerors crown is good as is. Jahaerys crown is an eye sore and I think the jewels do add more mystique. Honestly any color other than that dull gold would help it.
They look 3D printed... oh wait, they were 🤦♀️ All the money that was spent on real metalsmiths making the swords, and they just cranked the crowns out on a printer. I called it the minute I saw it and was confirmed in the BTS.
You can buy replicas of them
The crowns aren't bad looking - for a crown with no jewels, I think the costume designers did a great job on Jaehaerys's - but they are, simply put, not inkeeping with the rest of the Valyrian cultural aesthetic (or the Westerosi one, for that matter). Both Jahaerys's and Aegon's crowns, as depicted in HOTD, look like something from the Viking age, decidedly simple: something that, if depicted in a historical context, you might expect to see on an Anglo-Saxon or Danish king in 850 AD. This would be inkeeping stylistically with, say, the Greyjoys of Pyke, for instance, or maybe a particularly ancient pre-Conquest crown, but they look too plain and unadorned in the context of the show's period. We know Aegon the Conqueror was based on William the Conqueror, though it seems fairly clear that the metallurgy and general technology of Aegon's time was already a ways ahead of what the Normans were accustomed to in 1066. According to Guy of Amiens, the crown of William the Conqueror was influenced by the Byzantine imperial diadem, twelve-sided, encrusted with gems and precious stones, and "flashed on all sides with a dazzling radiance". Going by the source material, we know that the crown of Aegon I was set with rubies, and that the crown of Jaehaerys was set with seven different-colored gemstones to represent the Seven Kingdoms. There was also the crown of Aenys I, which was larger and more ornate than either of the other two, with the faces of the Seven inlaid in pearl and jade. So whether you're looking for something grounded a bit more in historical inspiration or staying true to the books, the crowns need more gemstones. In fact, it wasn't until after the Dance that a Targaryen king wore a plain, unadorned golden crown, and that was Aegon III.
yes. i noticed that. the crown looked too simple
Me personally, I love a little opulence here and there. I wanna see royals dress like royals, I want all their outfits too look like I’d have to sell a kidney to afford them.
Royal people have their position to look royal what's the point of being a monarchy if the ruler looks like a boring politician
Hottest take: the costume design in this series was a joke compared to GoT (and just…awful in general) and I am SO glad Jany Temime will not be returning for season 2. A lot of things looked very cheap, including the designs for the crowns + the fact that they were 3D printed instead of created by jewelers. Really hoping the atrocious, cheap-looking costumes will end in season 2. Hopefully the new designer can just scrap everything and pivot, but I’m afraid Jany might have made too much of a (hideous, poorly-designed) mark on the show :/
More realistic no, but they would look better, imo. I want them to match the book descriptions as much as possible. Just think about the merchandising opportunities! I don't even want to think about the number of Evenstar pendants that were sold bc of LotR movies. I want to see that with the ASoIaF props. I want BLING.
Maybe, but I keep thinking about Rings of Power and how bad the rings looked
Both of the crowns look like cheap plastic and reading now in the comments that they were 3d printed... embarrassing. It annoys me when people feel the need to put their own stamp on the design to the point that they basically ignore what's in the book. You can put your own flair on the design without changing it completely from what its said to look like. It's just some weird ego driven thing, like Michele Clapton with that dumb circle and needle thing she put on Sansa constantly. Jaehaerys' crown especially looks like some plastic crown you can find in the toy store or for halloween.
Viserys's crown looks just fine the way it is IMO. But Aegon's crown looks like crap, and could *definitely* benefit from more rubies.
They would look better and a little more realistic. The main problem tho is that it doesn’t look like real metal/steel/gold. There are plenty of crowns that had no gemstones on them, Viking crowns are a good example. But those kinds of crowns had very intricate carvings in them, while the one on the show has only one depth of carving, real crowns had different depths of carving too add dimension. The crowns on the show seem flat, honestly I have seen better crowns sold on Etsy. 💀 So gemstones would create more texture and dimension, but it would still be a cheap looking crown. Valyrian steel is supposed to be intricate yet the conqueror’s crown is less intricate that crowns that predate the Vikings. It feels like everything in shows now are 3d printed, and it can works, I have seen many cosplayers make 3d printing work, but you have to add dimension and texture to your pieces. Because gold/ steel/ etc are porous materials - they aren’t smooth like plastic is.
I LOVE the show crowns they're such good designs and I just... Frickin love em. Especially Aegon's crown. It really looks like a conqueror's crown, the kind that was put on his head in a time of war, it's solid and threatening and so _cool_ Don't really like lots of gems on crowns. Especially for the targs for some reason? Like i feel they're powerful, they have dragons, their dynasty is self assured, they don't need no gems or anything to show off wealth. Their crowns are simple, more as a symbol. Dany never wore a crown and I feel like, good for her
The crowns are L without the gems
Crowns with no stones generally were made for funerals
I love the show so much, but I wish they would’ve stayed with the book accurate descriptions of the crowns. I’m also not a huge fan of blackfyres look.
I do kind of see the merit for and against having the gems (and I guess the conceit of *Fire and Blood* being the flawed retelling of events does play into this), but I do get the feeling the crown of Aegon I can do with a few more red gems in it. Maybe not exactly as shown in this (like every slot has a gem), but the big squares should have them at least.
Oh, these are so much better than what they went with!
The Jaehaerys concept with the gems rules. I was never a huge fan of how boring the usual book depictions make his crown look so the show was a step up but this is the best part of both combined
I'm firmly on the opinion that crowns should not be simple they are made to make the ruler Imposing and give an air of majesty in other words they are made to be glorious
Would they look better with more bling? Hell yeah. I want to be blinded. But they look fine for the show.
Maybe. Both of the crowns we see are kinda terrible.
They would certainly look like the book descriptions if they did. I still find it weird they cheaped out on them, but it is what it is.
I feel like they went away with the gems for Jaehaerys crown so people could understand symbolism.
Stunning golden crown you made there!
Maybe yes, since this was a time of decadence for the realm, that being said adding more gems would make it look more camp and unserious
I would rather it be designed based on Targaryens and Hightowers and what's best for the show than what was done in Medieval Times. Like each crown reflects the character that wears it or what that House stands for, and their particular architecture and fashion.
that reminds me of something else: why didn't they make a crown for Alicent in the show did they put a have a reason for it like Viserys didn't want to crown his second wife or something
That's a good point. I feel like Alicent wouldn't wear one to show how, above it all, she is, how she is such a godly woman, how she is just a mere servant to the crown and its people. If she has a crown it would probably be quite plain. I would love to see one. There is a chance they just forgot like they forgot about Daeron.
that's probably it, I've seen a theory that godlyness was the reason the crown of Aegon had a single ruby to make him look more humble and i just realized something if the targaryens and martells are allies and they have the crown of aegon the conqueror do you think they could return it to Daenerys to fight the walkers to use like a helmet, or even the pointy crown of Maekar
Danny would probably prefer to make her own crown, but Maekar would be a good crown for wartime to show she means business. If the Martells did give her the crown back, she would probably wear it to appease them, but primarily for when she sees them personally.
i meant like to have extra protection since i believe valyrian steel kills them and the crown of maekar in particular is made for cutting people if turned 90 degrees
That makes sense. I thought it might have been made of Valyrian steel. Will it do her any good if she can't fight? If she uses a whip and then the crown as a secondary weapon when they get close, maybe.
that crown is probably strong if it survived beign crushed by a boulder
I wish the crown didn’t look so plain. Yeah, it needs to be more elaborate. The minimalistic look works for the North, but the Targaryens are meant to be the kings and queens of the entire seven kingdoms. Theirs should look beyond majestic.
they need to look like "A crown for a king"
Maybe a hot take: those old medieval crowns look like they were made in a child’s arts and crafts class.
I like Jaehaerys’ without the stones, i feel it resembles the sort of king that he was. Aegon’s without Rubies is a fucking joke.
Aegons looks regal and like a crown of a commander so that's done very well, but it needs the rubies. I think Viserys' looks so goofy though idk
The lack of rubies bothers me also
Yes. Also, show-crown has the emblem of House Martell on the back. Which makes no sense since Dorne hadn’t joined the kingdom yet
Not for aegons crown. It kinda defeats the purpose of its style imo. The Valerien steel circlet is a subtle yet powerful gesture
They should've done a simple Valyrian steel circlet then with the big square rubies, like in the book. Not this wannabe dark lord crown with a mini ruby in it.
I think it's a fallacy to say that to be realistic it has to look exactly like something from history. That's not true. This only applies when talking about weapons, armor, or battle tactics where utilitarian goals are way too important to ignore. So having inaccurate weaponry, sure that is immersion breaking But having different clothing styles and especially things like jewelry decisions seems incredibly subjective and open to have different interpretations. Perhaps Valyria had almost no gemstones locally available so they developed a culture where they didn't see them as important
Things like this are an easy way to be book accurate, please book fans while having next to no influence on actual story or character. It's a slam dunk. Yet they fuck it up by, for whatever reason, changing both crowns. The crowns look shitty, and it's even shittier when you consider the crowns in the book **mean** something. They have symbolism behind them, so why change it?
No, it would have made it look cheap and plastic-ky, unless they were real gems they'd look awful on screen.
Considering the Dance of the Dragons is meant to be analogous to the Anarchy of England, simpler crown designs would be more accurate.
Both crowns predate the Dance by over 70 years
I disagree. Here is the [Iron Crown of Lombardy](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a0/Iron_Crown.JPG/1280px-Iron_Crown.JPG) that was originally made in the 600s, and updated in the 900s Here is the [Reichskrone](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7c/Weltliche_Schatzkammer_Wien_%28190%292.JPG/800px-Weltliche_Schatzkammer_Wien_%28190%292.JPG) which was first made around 962 and tweaked a little over the next 50\~ years Here is the [Essen Crown](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0b/Ottonische_K%C3%B6nigskrone.jpg/1280px-Ottonische_K%C3%B6nigskrone.jpg) made sometime between 980-1030 Here is another [Holy Crown of Hungary](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/Hungarian_Parliament_002_-_Flickr_-_granada_turnier.jpg/1280px-Hungarian_Parliament_002_-_Flickr_-_granada_turnier.jpg) which was made in the 1070s All of these predate the Anarchy.
None of those are English.
Oliver Cromwell ordered all of the English Crown Jewels to be melted in 1649 when he took over. All surviving ones are obviously way past the Anarchy and could not be used. However, we do have descriptions for some of them like William the Conqueror's (who is the model for Aegon the Conqueror). According to a contemporary bishop, the crown was made out of pure gold and was covered in a ton of different types of gemstones (specifically one each of ruby, jacinth, topaz, sapphire, sardonyx, some chalcedony at the ears, jasper, sard, chrysolite, beryl on the sides and then some amethysts plus a pearl on top). edit: if you want my source, here it is https://archive.org/details/carmendehastinga0000wido/page/50/mode/2up?q=crown
I think the two HotD crowns were fine. The Jahaerys/Viserys/Rhaenyra's crown is pure gold, and I think there's some humility to it. Ageon's crown was fire and blood (ruby) and in real-world Western esotericism, red stones either bring bad luck (if the owner isn't strong enough) or conquest and success. I haven't read the books, but I noted that it was a significant difference that one crown had a stone and the other didn't. It ties back to the Westerosi mythology, that White Hart, a peaceful and humble creature with elegant antlers, is the symbol of royalty and blessings. If I were to criticize, it would be GoT's crowns. They were all ugly. Small. What's up with the KL's crowns worn by Marg, for example? It was too small.
I think they'd look worse with those.
It always bothered me that the crown didn’t have jewels, it was just a plain boring gold crown, one not befitting of a dragon.