Is there any evidence that such age differences were indeed an accidental “screw up”, or were they conscious decisions made by the writers using a similar rationale I cited as GOT? At the end of the day, does it really damage the story irrevocably?
According to the timeline as established by the show (which is in itself different from that of Fire and Blood), the events of the first season take place over the course of 20 years, from 112 AC (after Aegon's Conquest) to 132 AC, with an episode-by-episode breakdown going as follows:
- Episodes 1 and 2 take place in 112 AC, with a 6-month timegap between Rhaenyra being named Heir and Viserys announcing his intention to marry Alicent
- Episode 3 takes place in 115 AC at around the time of Aegon II's 2nd birthday (placing his birth year in 113 AC); his sister Helaena is shown to be a newborn in this same episode, placing roughly 15 months between the two siblings
- Episodes 4 and 5 take place in 116 AC, a year after the events of Episode 3
- Episodes 6 and 7 take place in 126 AC, 10 years after the events of Episodes 4 and 5, specifically the wedding of Rhaenyra and Laenor, and we learn that, in those 10 years, Alicent has had at least one other son by Viserys', Aemond, who, according to extrapolated dates, would have been born in or around 117 AC, making him 4 years younger than Aegon and 2 years younger than Helaena; we also learn that Rhaenyra has already borne 2 sons (ostensibly by Laenor) , Jace and Luke (whose birth years can be extrapolated to be 116 AC and 119 AC, respectively) and see her birth a third son, Joff, in Episode 6
- Episodes 8, 9, & 10 take place in 132 AC, 6 years after the events of Episodes 6 and 7, which, based on the birth years I outlined, should make Aegon 19, Helaena 17, Aemond 15, Jace Valaryon 16, Luke Valaryon 13, and Joff Valaryon 6. Episode 9 also reveals that Aegon and Helaena, who are betrothed during the events of Episode 6, have married and have fraternal twin children, Jaeherys and Jaehera, whose birth years, according to the timeline as laid out, cannot have been born any earlier than 129 AC due to wedding preparations, the pomp and circumstance of Aegon and Helaena's marriage, and 9 months of gestation
I did some reading into where the show is likely heading and found some things that have me worried given my specific issues with Game of Thrones, but not watching this as it airs should hopefully provide enough of a warning system that if things go in a direction I'm not going to be happy with, I can just avoid it entirely
In regards to this quote specifically, I posted it in response to the show's decision to explicitly depict Helaena Targaryen as neurodivergent, and used it to, without specifically spoiling anything, express my trepidation about the potential, as a neurodivergent individual, of the show depicting events in her future in a way that would feel like a personal betrayal and explicit turnoff based on the show having made her positive representation for the neurodivergent community.
Yeah, you clearly like it lots…
I am not a hatewatcher, and would not have chosen to rewatch Season 1 and watch Season 2 if I felt negatively about the show.